"So you've arrived," a raven-haired esper said, waiting by a chain link fence. "Right on time."
"Of course, Miss," a burly man answered her, stomping forward. He was followed closely behind by a thinner man who was adjusting his tie.
"Um," Eyelashes said, pulling the fabric closer to his collar. "You really sure about this, Ma'am?"
Standing in front of the ghost town entrance, the girl sighed. She'd gone over this many times in her head.
The bald man was B-Class Rank 7. He had risen through the ranks much faster than anyone could expect, and had left quite the ruckus amongst the heroes who liked to track movements within the Association.
Some say he was a cheat. Some say he was a liar.
Fubuki knew better. That man — Saitama — was in the hot spring. The one who stabbed Zombieman, the S-Class Rank 8 Hero. While obviously considering the danger the B-Class posed to her group, it was a fact that he had been able to catch an extremely powerful man off-guard. That alone was proof enough of his combat prowess. With a little fine-tuning, he would prove a great asset to the Blizzard Bunch. Maybe even give them enough push to try their hand at A-Class…
"Yes," Fubuki nodded, clutching the white fur coat tighter around her shoulders. "I'm sure."
Something else bothered her about the baldy. What was his relationship with the S-Class cyborg that he always walked around with? How was he able to approach her sister without getting flung into the sky?
If she played her cards right, she would be able to get some answers and recruit a powerful (yet foolhardy) hero into her group. If he refused, then Mountain Ape, Eyelashes and herself would be quite capable of forcing him to join. It would be difficult, but she was confident the day would end up with them on top — one way or another.
The esper pulled the gate open, hearing it creak loudly with disuse. She turned to look at her subordinates, who nodded back at her. They were ready, too.
"Let's go."
.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Hey. Didja bring the plunger?" the baldy opened the door, completely immersed in a video game.
"Erm… what?" Fubuki tilted her head. "No."
The baldy looked up, not at all expecting the voice that replied to him.
"Ah," he said, shutting off the handheld device. "Who… are you guys?"
"I'm the Blizzard of Hell," Fubuki said. "We're the Blizzard Bunch. You know what this means, don't you?"
Saitama went wide-eyed.
"Nope! You guys a bunch of performers or something?"
The three stood there in silence.
'This guy… he's copping an attitude…'
"Let's make this clear," Eyelashes said, eye twitching. "You're B-Class. As one, it's customary to offer a greeting to us."
Saitama raised an eyebrow.
"Are you part of the Association?" he asked. "Is this, like, another interview or something?"
"No!" Mountain Ape said. "Are you messin' with us?! We're heroes!"
"Huh, is that so…?" the baldy said. He sighed, stashed the game on his belt, and stepped out the door.
.
"Wassup, fellow heroes? I'm Saitama. Put 'er there."
.
He held out his left hand in greeting.
"You don't seem to know about us," Fubuki said. Strange as the man might be, she had to be more patient than her underlings. Dealing with people was a delicate matter, after all. "Maybe because you live in such a remote place."
"What do you mean?" The baldy's hand was still outstretched. "Who's 'us?' Are you like a gang or something?"
"A faction," the girl said. "Where heroes can stay in comfort and mutual protection."
"Ah," the bald man said boredly. "Really? Good for you, then."
The girl shook her head. "I don't think you understand," she said firmly. "Factions are more important than you think. Necessary, even. No matter how strong you are, you'll never rise through the ranks alone. At the very least it's unrewarding. Boring. Difficult. Am I wrong?"
The baldy stayed silent.
"As someone with a secure position at the top of B-Class," she continued, glad her prepared speech seemed to be working. "I can give you stability. Work with me, and I'll let you occupy a spot near the top."
Saitama's hand was still held out.
"So," he said. "If I decline, you'll try to stop me from moving up? Are you scared that I'll take your place as number one or something?"
The baldy shook his head, chuckling.
"Give me your answer," Fubuki raised an eyebrow. Was he looking down on her? On her group's hard work?
"I refuse, of course!" Saitama laughed. "What kind of game are you playing, trying to hole up in a group and wall out people from moving up? Who cares about rankings?"
"Game?" the esper asked incredulously. "You think this is a game?!"
Fubuki stepped backwards and pointed at the man.
"Eyelashes! Mountain Ape!" the girl spat. "Show him how much of a 'game' this is!"
"GRAAHH!" the two heroes charged at him, fists and eyelash curlers pointed threateningly at the bald man.
"You guys didn't even shake my hand," Saitama sighed.
The man whipped the back of his outstretched hand into Mountain Ape's cheek, then slammed his palm back towards Eyelashes' face. Both of them were sent flying in either direction, knocked completely unconscious.
"You won't last long like this," Saitama said, pointing at her. "Blizzard."
"Are you trying to insult me?" the esper snapped back, a light blue aura surrounding her. A wild rush of wind picked up in front of the apartment, lifting hundreds of small rocks upwards in a spiral.
"Psychic powers?" Saitama muttered.
"You don't seem surprised," Fubuki said, the wind dancing frantically around the two.
"If you're planning on throwing all those rocks around," Saitama said. "Don't."
"Scared now, are we?" the esper smirked. "You're more stupid than you look. My sister could've done this to you in the hot spr—"
But Saitama wasn't listening. He jumped down the apartment building in the hopes of preventing any damage done to his home.
"Oh no you don't!" Fubuki shouted. With a powerful thrust of her hands, the girl sent the stones hurtling towards the bald hero falling in midair. Crossing her arms, the stones began to orbit violently around Saitama, catching him in a vortex of sharp debris. "Rragh!"
'And that's that,' the girl thought to herself as she floated gently onto the street. She closed her hands and the swirling grew faster. 'Who's playing around now, idiot?'
After a while, the rumbling air eventually quieted down. Thirty seconds was plenty of time to teach the bald man some respect.
"Are you really the hero on top of B-Class?" Saitama said, completely unharmed. "You're crazy."
Fubuki stepped back, eyes wide. "You… huh?!"
The man stepped towards her in an instant, fist raised. His whole demeanour had changed. A shadow loomed over his face, the nonchalant demeanour he carried was completely gone.
A red-gloved fist flew through the air toward her in a moment that seemed to pause in time. Her mind tried to make sense of her inability to move — it was just a B-Class about to punch her right? She could just raise a barrier… right?
'No,' her instincts told her.
WHOOSH!
The punch stopped an inch from her face. Fubuki felt a rush of wind blow past her.
The esper stood there, hair blown back by the gale. Her white fur coat was blasted into the sky.
"One day a monster's gonna pop up just like that," Saitama said, retracting his fist. "It'll be so strong that you won't be able to beat it. Not you, not your little gang, not any of you combined. You know why?"
The raven-haired girl didn't reply.
"Because you're distracted," Saitama answered for her. He wasn't really the type to scold, but the way the girl spoke reminded him of the two 'heroes' in tank tops he'd had the displeasure of meeting several weeks ago. Somberly, he wondered if more people in the Association were like this. "If you've only got your eyes on controlling the rankings and using people for your own gain, stop calling yourself a hero!"
Fubuki's right eye twitched.
"Are you telling me that I should just give up my hard-earned position?" she began, her hands balled into fists. "That I should just call it quits when I've established a haven within the B-Class? Do you know how many people the Blizzard Bunch has saved?!"
"From the looks of it," Saitama said, shrugging. "About the same as the people you beat up."
Fubuki could practically feel a vein popping in her temple. That was it. Screw recruiting. Screw questions. Screw talking.
The B-Class baldy needed to disappear.
"RAAH!"
.
.
Tatsumaki tilted her head as she felt her sister taking a small bit of damage.
A few cuts and scraped up hands. A dull feeling of shock. Nothing too major, but… was it worth inspecting?
Tatsumaki shook her head. As much as she wanted to check on her darling sister, she knew it wasn't the right call. The green-haired esper was having more than enough distracting thoughts as of late, and she couldn't spare the added stress of dealing with her sister after the mess in the hot spring. At least, not unless she felt her taking any more damage.
Either way, there really was no time for her to daydream. She was in the middle of a job.
Tatsumaki hovered several meters above the sea of dirt that used to be A-City, keeping her eye on around a dozen worm-looking creatures that writhed about under the ground. From the looks of it, they were around the length of a small truck and a fourth as wide. The dirt that the burrowing creatures displaced left ugly trails on the otherwise flat land.
'Lesser Centipedes,' Sitch called them. Wolf-level threats at most, they currently weren't causing much trouble aside from occasionally burrowing under the roadwork. The man had questioned why Tatsumaki picked such a demeaning task, but didn't really push when the esper didn't answer. He was probably a little relieved that a threat so near the HQ was being dealt with quite quickly.
The girl slowly set her attention to a relatively wide dirt trail forming ahead of her.
She held out a hand, palm facing the creature.
A small patch of soil at the head of the dirt line glowed green, and immediately the monster reacted. The esper could feel the nasty thing struggle in her psychic grip.
She could have pinched her fingers together and squashed it then and there. A mere thought was all it took, and she would be rid of it without a trace.
But that wasn't what she was there for.
Tatsumaki dropped down to the ground — hand still held out — and began walking to the underground monster. The soil above it shuddered with its every movement. She could hear its shrill cries of confusion.
She took a deep breath.
'Here goes nothing.'
Placing herself firmly in front of the bubbling soil, the girl turned her palm upward.
And pulled the centipede out of the ground.
.
Tatsumaki scowled as she saw the monster's form. It was, bluntly put, pretty much what she imagined: a centipede that grew much too big. There was nothing 'lesser' about it. In the place of its head, however, was not the gnashing pincers or twitching antennae an ordinary insect would have. Instead, there was a baby's face.
It cried out loudly, face shrivelling up in pain and fear. The monster wriggled against the emerald glow to no avail. The sunlight seemed to blind it.
The esper quickly felt the other centipedes burrow towards her. They'd heard their brother's call and were drawn to the source by pure instinct, tracing eerily straight lines on the ground.
Tatsumaki raised her other arm and stopped them in their tracks, filling the ground around her with green light. The following wave of frantic wriggling made her stomach lurch.
'Was hero work always this revolting?'
The girl frowned. She already knew the answer to that.
It never mattered before, and there was no reason for it to matter now. A few weeks off didn't change her responsibilities in the slightest.
But still.
Not once had her focus been as unclear as it was that day. Not once had she ever batted an eye at a monster she killed.
No, the esper reasoned, this was different. They were insects! Of course they were unpleasant! Killing them was dirty work, after all. One careless 'squish!' and she would be left with a whole other mess to cle—
Steaming green gunk splattered all over Tatsumaki, painting her in monster blood and guts.
The other Lesser Centipedes shrieked as they sensed their brother torn apart under the esper's grip. Struggling violently inside her emerald aura, the stunned esper almost allowed them to escape.
They turned to bloody fountains the moment she felt them budge free. The droplets rained down on her in a smoky mist.
.
Tatsumaki stood there.
She didn't speak a word.
.
.
"And that's that," Saitama said, clapping his gloved hands together.
In front of him was a knocked-out ninja that he had completely overwhelmed with his side-hopping skills. They weren't moving.
"Is he dead?" Genos raised an eyebrow.
"Nah," Saitama replied.
The cyborg nodded, respecting his master's decision.
"Now that the nuisance is dealt with, I can go and buy the plunger for the house, mast—"
"Nope," the baldy said. "You've got a more important matter to take care of right now."
Genos frowned. "What is it, sensei?"
Saitama pointed at the ground.
The street in front of the apartment was completely ruined. Asphalt and bits of sidewalk were torn away from the impacts of the cyborg's fight with Sonic. Trees had been turned to ash from Genos' blasters and metal shurikens were lodged around everywhere.
"You made a mess," the baldy said, shaking his head.
"Ah…!" Genos' eyes widened in shock. "My sincerest apologies, master!"
"Got any ideas on how we fix this?" Saitama said, scratching his head.
"I could try melting the debris back to their original place," the disciple suggested, already looking to fix the situation. "It might not harden smoothly initially, but I am sure with a few adjustments, I can make it look brand-new."
"Makes sense," Saitama said. "I'll get some rocks for you to melt, then."
"This is my fault, so I will handle this," Genos announced, shaking his head. "You can go on and spend your free time in the apartment, sensei."
"Sure." The baldy shrugged. "Just gimme a call if you find something too heavy for you."
He went back upstairs, starting up his game.
Genos wasted no time inspecting the ruined street, carefully planning out a path to take with optimal efficiency in mind. Seeing as to how a certain raven-haired sensei attacker was walking towards him, however, he quickly deduced that optimal efficiency was a pipe dream.
"Did you… just call the B-Class… 'sensei?'" Fubuki said, approaching him with a slow limp.
"Yes," Genos replied, already picking up a big chunk of the street and placing it atop the broken ground. Despite his focus, he couldn't help but to smirk. "It must have been quite a shock for you to challenge him — thinking he was a rookie you could easily crush — and end up in that sorry state."
"Er… yeah," she replied, a little too taken aback to register his snark. "So, let me get this straight. Is he teaching you to fight? Or is he your teacher for non-hero work?"
"Yes," the cyborg replied again, blasting the rubble with his arm cannons. "Fighting, self-reflection, discount prices — sensei teaches me many things."
"But you're S-Class," she muttered. "And he's B-Class."
Genos looked at her.
"Indeed."
And he went back to work.
Fubuki frowned, slowly looking up at the baldy's apartment.
His aura felt like her sister's, somehow. From the moment Fubuki met him, he exuded a feeling of disparity that she'd only ever felt with Tatsumaki. The more he spoke, the more clear the similarities were. Aggravating, full of awful advice — neither he nor her sister understood a single thing about her. Not to mention, he was overwhelmingly strong.
Still, it wasn't as if he and Tatsumaki were exactly the same. Where the green-haired esper's presence emphasized her distance with Fubuki, Saitama's was different. How, exactly? The B-Class esper didn't know. Despite how angry he made her, she knew that he was being genuine. Exactly like her sister, but so, so different.
Not to mention — he would be even more invaluable to recruit! If he joined, then Genos would, too, right? Surely the Blizzard Bunch would topple even the Tank-Toppers with those two in tow.
The esper looked at the stairs. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to—
"If you're thinking about having a rematch with sensei, do not," Genos said sharply.
"Ah…! I-I wasn't planning to," she stammered. "I just… wanted to talk to him, is all!"
"Tch," the cyborg said, turning back to the goop in front of him. Was it just her, or were his fire blasts hotter than they were a while ago?
The raven-haired esper cautiously made her way up the steps, checking behind her every so often just to make sure the cyborg was still repairing the road.
.
Knock… knock… knock…
The door opened slightly.
"Your buddies are over there," Saitama pointed to his left, where Mountain Ape and Eyelashes sat unconscious against the wall.
"Ah… yeah," Fubuki said.
"Alright, see ya," he said, shutting the door.
"Wait!"
The girl grabbed hold of the handle before it closed.
Saitama peeked back out, eyes narrowed.
"What do you want?" he said slowly.
His gaze pierced her.
"I… think we started off on the wrong foot," she said quickly. "I think we're alike, you and I."
Not hearing the baldy reply, the esper took it as a sign that he was willing to listen.
"You think you're strong," Fubuki said. "And you are, don't get me wrong, but I've been in the Hero Association longer than you. There are demons in our ranks. People who are strong without limits.
Amai Mask. Tank Top Master. Superalloy Darkshine. All of them posses strength that go far beyond normal capabilities," she explained. "You're just a drop in the ocean of power. Just like me and everyone else. Do you understand? We need to work together to survive."
"Uh huh," he said. She could hear soft beeping noises play in the background. Was he… playing a video game behind the door?
"Hey, are you listening to me?!" Fubuki said. "If that doesn't scare you, there are people that are even stronger than them, you know! The esteemed martial artist known throughout the world, Silverfang — the man that stands alone atop the hero world, Blast — and not to mention, the being who is invincible under the heavens, K—"
Her little speech was interrupted by a hooded figure walking towards her.
"Hey," the man said, pulling his hoodie down. "Is this Saitama's place?"
"K-K-K-King?!" Fubuki reeled back, almost crashing into her unconscious subordinates.
"Uh," the scar-faced man said. "Sorry, did I interrupt something?"
"Not really," Saitama replied, eyes glued to his game. "What's up?"
"That," King replied, pointing to the device in Saitama's hands. "I think that's mine."
"Er," the baldy slowly closed the door, avoiding any sort of eye contact.
After a few moments, he opened it again, the handheld completely out of sight. Before King could say anything, the man pulled out a key and locked the door.
"Say, why don't we help Genos fix the road?" Saitama said, wrapping an arm around King's shoulder. "Here, let me show you the way!"
"There's only one way down, dude," the S-Class said, walking along with the baldy. "Hey. I know you got my game. Yo. Are you even listening to me?"
Fubuki watched as the 'strongest man' walked down the stairs, talking like he and the baldy were old college buddies.
The girl was a little glad that her speech had gone unheard.
"Oh, Bang!" she heard Saitama call downstairs.
No. It couldn't be.
The girl hurriedly rushed towards the railing to see that, indeed, Silverfang had joined the party. He was speaking to Genos and Saitama, introducing them to a tall man who was apparently there to fix some tiles in the baldy's apartment. He looked a little nervous to be in the rumored ghost town, but was doing a remarkable job hiding it. The shaking toolbox he carried, however, betrayed his real feelings.
"I've brought this young man here to inspect the damage," the martial artist said. "If we're lucky, he'll have the tiles already at hand."
"Nice to meet you, sirs!" he said, bowing a little too enthusiastically. It seemed he recognized Genos — the S-Class rookie's rise to fame wasn't to be understated — but King had pulled his hoodie back up to keep his anonymity from any would-be fan.
"Thanks for coming all the way here," Saitama said. He turned to whisper to Bang. "I don't have to pay for this, right?"
The old man chuckled, amused by the bald man's concern.
"Not at all, young Saitama," he replied. "Now, let us go and check the damage, shall we?"
"You guys go on ahead," the baldy said, handing Bang his apartment key. "Me and King are gonna help Genos out with the street."
"Oh?" Silverfang tilted his head questioningly. He looked at the ground and noticed the rubble strewn about. "Is this new?"
"Yeah. A little scuffle happened," Saitama said. "Between Genos and that guy over there… hey, where'd he go?"
Sonic had disappeared.
"Anyways." The baldy was unperturbed. "Genos made a mess is all."
"I see," Bang stroked his beard. "And here I thought this was a new training regimen for your disciple. Right then."
The man set his attention back to the task he came there for, leading the repairman up the steps to Saitama's apartment. Fubuki saw him look back a couple of times to check if the man who had been called 'King' by the baldy was the real deal.
Before long, the two reached the floor where Saitama's apartment was. They were met with the three members of the Blizzard Bunch, about to head downstairs.
Bang thought about greeting them, but their serious faces gave clue to their not being in the mood to chat. Fubuki and her two lackeys passed the S-Class quietly and quickly.
On the floor below, Fubuki laid her still-unconscious subordinates back down, breathing raggedly. Using psychic powers to control them while she was slightly injured was more tiring than she realized.
'That baldy… how many S-Class heroes does he know?!' Fubuki thought, frowning.
She looked back down to the heroes working on the street. Genos and Saitama were lugging huge pieces of rubble atop the street, chatting idly about plungers. King was pulling shuriken from the walls and into a raggedy plastic bag, looking quite busy. Every once in a while, he turned to watch Genos melting the road, pulling his shirt repeatedly to fan wind onto himself.
Working as a team to fix a ruined road, the three looked… so normal.
Saitama was mostly a given. His personality and face practically screamed 'everyday guy.' He wouldn't look out of place in a construction site, hammering nails and probably ending up shattering whole parts of the building in the process.
The two S-Class, however, didn't seem the type to be doing menial tasks in the slightest. Fubuki had always imagined Genos to be the serious, unapproachable type. From what she'd seen of him in the hot springs, it didn't seem as if he socialized much at all. King was a whole other matter altogether. Not once had she seen him interacting with other people casually, much less seen him be so friendly with heroes that were much lower than him ranking-wise. And choosing to pick the humblest of tasks instead of flaunting his strength? It was surreal. She felt like she'd seen a side of him people could only ever theorize about.
"Hey!" Saitama called loudly, making the esper jump. "You up there…! What's your name again?"
"Blizzard of Hell," the girl replied.
"No, no," he waved his hand. "Your actual name."
"Fu… buki."
The top-ranked B-Class hero didn't miss the man frowning slightly upon hearing her name. Had she offended him somehow? Should she have given her last name, too?
He whispered something to Genos, and upon receiving his disciple's reply, his eyes widened.
"Ah…! You're that Fubuki," he said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "That… makes so much sense."
Was she a topic of conversation between S-Class heroes? Did they circulate information about lower-ranked heroes like the lower-ranked heroes did within themselves? What did he know?!
"Anyway!" Saitama continued, not knowing that the hero he was talking to was currently losing her mind. "Mind helping us out?"
"M-maybe next time!" Fubuki called, grip tight on the railing. She had to retreat tactically before she could make a fool of herself in front of King and Genos. Getting on their good side was an incredible opportunity, but she had too little psychic power to spare.
"Did we lose… miss?" Eyelashes groaned as he sat himself up properly. He pressed a hand against his cheek, feeling the swollen flesh pulse painfully. "Ugh, are you okay?"
"More or less," Fubuki said, sighing.
"We need to bring more members if we wanna beat him, ma'am," he said, frowning.
The girl looked at the bald man thoughtfully.
"No," she said. "Next time, leave him to me."
.
.
Saitama stretched, checking the newly-completed road.
It wasn't level.
Bumps and bubbles had formed on the street due to Genos' lackluster amount of control, but it was passable for the most part.
King had gone back home, saying he needed some rest after all his work — but he'd be back for his game some other time. Genos had gone to buy the plunger for the apartment, a couple of hours late due to various ninja-related circumstances. Bang and the floor tiler had left while they had still been repairing the street. Apparently the tiles Saitama had were of an older, hard-to-find type. They would be back some other time.
Fubuki and her subordinates had sneaked away, off to do who knew what.
The bald man walked up to his apartment, more than a little drained after all the commotion.
Reaching the landing on his floor, he was met with a familiar sight.
A green-haired girl was leaning against the railings, white fur coat draped around her black hero outfit. The paper bag she carried looked very out of place, but it was being carried very determinedly.
"Hey," Saitama raised a hand in greeting. "Long time no see."
Despite the relatively early time of day, the esper looked tired.
"Yeah," Tatsumaki replied.
She tossed the paper bag towards him with a flick of her finger.
The baldy caught it and opened it up.
"My manga," he said.
"Yup," she said.
A silence settled over the two as Saitama returned the books and folded the bag closed. Tatsumaki shifted her feet a little.
"You wanna come in?" the baldy said eventually.
.
"… Sure."
.
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Happy holidays, y'all! This chapter marks the official start of Season 2! Fubuki has now been fully introduced to the baldy, and it seems King has already inserted himself into the gang as well. That's two 'new' characters I have to worry about, hahah (help me)!
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed! This was supposed to come out on Christmas, but... it didn't.
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Merry 28th!
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-bb
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As a side note, I also plan for Garou's initial attack on the Hero Association to happen a little later than in canon, but that's a topic for another time — and not final in the slightest. Just a heads-up for those who were wondering.