Hey guys! I'm back~ huehuehue

I owe you all an apology for updating so late again ; v ; To be honest, I lost inspiration along the way, and found it hard to compose stories. But since I'm unemployed now, I decided to continue writing while I still have the free time. I hope to finish this story before the year ends mehe.

Also, I want to thank all of you guys who never gave up on this fic and kept on reading! Thank you very much for all your reviews as well! It helps me write even more~

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Saitama always thought that walking with a popular S-class hero was going to be a bother. Mainly because of their reputation and media exposure. Yet here he was, walking side by side with Senritsu no Tatsumaki, the Hero Association's S-class rank 2. It was probably her outfit that made her 'invisible' to the crowd. She wore a plain sundress and a summer hat; anyone looking at her would assume that she was just a normal civilian.

"Why do you keep on staring at me?" Tatsumaki asked as she looked up at the bald hero. Slightly caught by surprise, Saitama scratched the back of his head.

"Ah- I just thought that more people would notice you. You are kinda famous."

"I'm not wearing my hero uniform. Of course they wouldn't recognize me." Tatsumaki said as she stared at the opposite direction, since her cheeks were slightly red.

"Guess you're right. It kinda suits you too." Saitama muttered bluntly, unaware of the fact that the esper beside him was blushing madly now.

"W-what is with him?! I mean, friends compliment each other, right?"

"You look like a NEET without your uniform on." Tatsumaki then said, gradually realizing that she just insulted him.

"Crap!"

"You're kinda right though. If I hadn't joined the Association, I probably would just stay in my apartment and read mangas." Saitama said as he chuckled a bit, his eyes looking around for stores that might have a sale. The small esper sighed in relief. "It didn't even bother him a bit."

The two continued their walk along the city peacefully. There wasn't any sale around, so that bummed Saitama a bit. Tatsumaki also found it a bit odd that not a single monster showed up yet. Usually, especially around this time of the day, random monsters would pop out. Most of them at tiger level, at least.

"Well, at least I can enjoy the last day of my break." the small esper thought as she glanced around the city. Since she always flew around the cities, she never had the chance to see what the actual sight was on the ground. Civilians were everywhere; adults, children, teenagers, office workers, students, and many more diverse people walked around the streets. And it was one of her primary duties to see to it that these people live in peace. These were also people that look up to her as a hero.

"…hmph." she huffed.

"Eh? What was that?" Saitama asked as he heard a sound from her. Tatsumaki simply scoffed and muttered "it's nothing", and that was enough answer for him.

A few feet across from them was another S-class hero walking around with a small girl beside him. It was the famous Metal Bat. Her little sister was holding the hero's hand, explaining that at her next recital, she wouldn't need a bouquet twice her size.

"But ya deserve the best bouquet for yer performance, Zenko! And as yer big brother, it's my responsibility to give ya the best!" the usual brash and aggressive hero said as he proudly looked at her.

"Geez onii-chan! You don't have to overkill it!" Zenko rebutted. As Metal Bat was about to say something, he noticed a familiar bald head walking towards them.

"Ah, he seems familiar. He was at the S-class meeting, right? What was his name again? Bald something? And- ah. Is that his little sister too?" he thought and eyed Tatsumaki, whom he thought was Saitama's sister. "Maybe she could be friends with Zenko."

"Oi, nice seein' ya here." Metal Bat waved a hand at Saitama, to which the bald hero could only nod. Saitama wasn't really sure if he knows this man. On the other hand, Tatsumaki was surprised to come across another S-class hero. Is Saitama friends with him as well?

"Ah, you too. Sorry but do I know you…?" Saitama mumbled awkwardly. Both Tatsumaki and Metal Bat found themselves shocked and partially disappointed. "You look familiar though." he added

"Ya were at S-class's meeting right?" Metal Bat muttered, feeling slightly taken aback.

"Ah, yeah. I remember now." the bald hero said, but he still wasn't entirely sure who he was.

"Strolling with your little sister too?" the delinquent hero said as he glanced at Saitama's "sister".

"What the fu- who are you calling little, you smug-faced moron!" Tatsumaki angrily exclaimed as he looked up at Metal Bat. She glowed green, as if ready to shoot the other hero in to outer space. Metal Bat was about to rebut the esper's insult when he recognized her curly green hair. Extremely surprised, he could only scratch the back of his head while Saitama almost laughed at the scene. Good thing he managed to suppress it.

"Oh shit, my bad. Didn't realize it was ya." he said. Tatsumaki decided to be calm about it as she crossed her arms with a huff.

"O-onii-chan… it's Senritsu no Tatsumaki!" Zenko beamed at his big brother.

"…what about it?" the young hero asked his little sister.

"It's a bit rare to see girls as heroes, so I definitely look up to her! Are you friends with her?" the small girl's eyes twinkled as she stared up at Metal Bat. Feeling his heart getting stabbed with his little sister's cuteness, he stared at the esper. With pleading eyes, it was as if he was begging her to go along with him. Somehow, Tatsumaki found this surprising. So even this brash and loud hero has a soft spot, she thought. And since she can read minds, she decided to go with it.

"Y-yeah… we're friends." she muttered, making Metal Bat sigh in relief and give her a look of gratitude. Saitama glanced at her, still suppressing a chuckle. Zenko clasped her hands together and walked towards Tatsumaki, looking up at her.

"You're really amazing! You take down strong monsters! And you're the only girl in the S-class, right? You're at the top ranks as well! I really admire you, Tatsumaki-nee!" the little girl cheerfully said as Tatsumaki blinked. Somehow, she remembered Fubuki.

"…thanks." she could only mutter as she patted Zenko's head softly. The little girl, on the other hand, turned her head at her big brother, smiling brightly. Again, Metal Bat's heart was stabbed as he grinned back. Somehow, Tatsumaki was surprised that Metal Bat was capable of grinning.

"Come on, Zenko. We shouldn't be interrupting them, ya know. It ain't nice of us," Metal Bat said as Zenko ran back to him, holding his hand. The little girl waved goodbye at the two heroes. "I'll see you two, I guess." Metal Bat muttered.

And with that, the siblings continued their walk.

Saitama and Tatsumaki stared at the two, both mentally asking themselves what Metal Bat meant when he said "they shouldn't interrupt" them. It's as if like they were on a date.

"Even that dude thinks we're a thing," Saitama thought. "I guess I can't blame him."

"What the hell did that delinquent mean?" Tatsumaki thought.

"You know, it's pretty nice of you to help him out like that." the bald hero said with a smile as he looked at the green-haired esper. Tatsumaki scoffed as they continued walking.

"It can't be helped. It's for his little sister anyway." she muttered.

After a few more minutes of walking around the city, they heard a loud scream not far from them. In an instant, this caught their attention.

"It's about time for those weirdos to pop out." Tatsumaki thought as she glanced around the area, looking for something unusual.

"I guess it's never peaceful here, huh?" Saitama said as he turned to where the sound came from. A few more screams were heard from where they were. The two then ran to the source of the scene. They reached a park, as a handful of civilians were already running away. From a distance, four figures emerged. As the two walked towards it to get a better view of what they were dealing with, they saw four humanoid beings with the head of some sort of wild dog. One of them was pinning down a high schooler, sniffing the girl's hair and neck. As one of them noticed the heroes' presence, it pointed at Tatsumaki.

"Ey ey, look bro, this one looks feisty." the blue-colored one said, with his tongue out, dripping with saliva. This made Tatsumaki shiver in disgust.

"Yeah yeah yeah, she looks so adorable. I bet she taste's good." the grey-colored one replied. Rolling her eyes, the esper scoffed and stared up at Saitama.

"Please let me crush them to pieces." she muttered, to which the bald hero could only nod.

"If you don't overwork yourself, I guess it's fine," he replied. "We gotta save the girl first though."

Tatsumaki teleported herself to where the girl was pinned down, as she shoved the monster away using her psychokinesis. It slammed on the trunk of a tree. In an instant, Saitama carried the girl away and put her down a bench meters away from the monsters. Tatsumaki focused on three of the remaining monsters, restraining their motor movements. She smirked, as she levitated them, thinking on what to do when she felt something grab her waist from behind. When she looked back, she saw the fourth monster whom she shoved away.

"Crap-"

Losing concentration on the three monsters, the other one brashly slammed her down the ground. She managed to soften the blow as she created a protective barrier around her, though the monster was still strong enough to create a crater on the ground. The three other monsters then surrounded her, as the fourth one leaned down on her, sniffing her slowly.

"Damn, this one's pretty strong. Her energy's really big." it muttered. With a scoff she debated with herself whether or not she'll use 100% of her powers. Technically still on a break, she was a bit hesitant to use it all on these pathetic monsters.

"Screw it." She muttered as she removed her barrier and readied herself to launch a powerful amount of power. Before she could do so, Saitama landed out of nowhere and punched all four of the creatures in a second. Tatsumaki could only blink.

"You okay there, Tats?" Saitama asked as he lent a hand. Tatsumaki grabbed it as she lifted herself up and patted dust off her dress. She also picked up her hat from the ground and wearing it on again.

"I could've taken them all out, you know." she said as she scowled at the young hero.

"Yeah I know," the hero replied. "I guess the world never runs out of monsters."

"If they were gone, we won't have much use."

"I guess you're right."

As the two of them were about to leave the park, they heard fast footsteps from behind and a familiar voice.

"Alright, where is that doggone monster?! I had to take Zenko to a safe place before-" Metal Bat then realized that the monsters' carcasses were scattered around the park. His grip on the bat tightened as he felt veins popping on his head. "-dammit."

After a few more hours of walking, and finding a sale in the process, the two heroes decided to call it a day. Though it was a bit hard to admit, walking around the city is kind of fun, Tatsumaki thought. She usually doesn't go out during her day offs; she would just stay in her apartment and rest. But ever since her break, she got to go to places she never imagined she'd go in to. And it's all thanks to the hero beside her.

"Ah, that's right. I promised to take you to a ride in a Ferris wheel. There's an amusement park just a few blocks away from here. Want to check it out?" Saitama said out of nowhere. Tatsumaki was taken by surprise as she glanced up at him.

"I mean it's about to get dark. The city's view from up high is pretty nice."

"…sure." the small esper nodded. A promise is a promise.

They walked for a few more minutes before reaching the said park. As they entered, there were fewer civilians inside and most of them were teenagers and young adults. Fortunately for them, the line for the Ferris wheel wasn't that long. The two heroes then got in the cabin.

"This is really slow-paced, huh?" Tatsumaki said as she sat down. Saitama sat across her.

"That's its purpose. It's not meant to be thrilling," the hero replied. "You're supposed to enjoy and relax. I mean, you do know that that means, right?"

Tatsumaki scowled at Saitama, as the other hero only muttered a "I'm just kidding lol"

Finally feeling at ease, Tatsumaki settled in seat as their cabin was slowly reaching the top. She peered out of the window and took in the beauty of the scenery in front of her. The sun has just set, and the city lights were brightly shining around them. It was a very long time since she last felt this calm. And with a companion as well. She glanced at Saitama, who was also looking at the scenery. She let out a huff as she crossed her arms and stared back at the city.

"…thanks for being my friend." she suddenly said. Since Saitama was in daze, he wasn't sure if he imagined what he heard.

"Ah, thanks too I guess."

"And I apologize for not treating you fairly before." the esper added. The bald hero was caught in surprise this time. He was just used to her brash attitude that he never imagined she could actually be apologetic. Tatsumaki then placed her gaze at Saitama, staring at him intently.

"I acknowledge your strength. But that does not mean you can surpass me. Don't think too highly of yourself!" she added as she pointed a finger at him.

"There she is." Saitama thought as he smile slightly.

"Whatever you say." the hero replied.

"You sound like you don't believe me! Stop acting all smug!"

"I'm not."

"Yes you are! That's it! I challenge you to a battle! I haven't shown you the extent of my powers yet, it doesn't even match up to yours, you stupid baldy!"

"And she ruined the atmosphere." Saitama thought as he felt a vein pop on his forehead. She's getting better as a person, but Tatsumaki is still Tatsumaki.

"Can we just enjoy our ride in peace?" the young hero muttered as he leaned back with a sigh. Huffing angrily at him, the esper gradually calmed down.

"Alright. But I'm still going to show you your place." she muttered.

"Fine, fine. Just tell me the date and I'll be there." he responded.

After a few more minutes of silence, their cabin reached the base below. The door automatically opened as the two heroes went out and decided to really call it a day now. Since tomorrow Tatsumaki will resume her duties as a hero, she wanted to get up as early as possible. Saitama had nothing on his schedule for the next day, but he plans on buying some manga and video games. He felt that it was a long time since he bought an issue of his favorite series.

As the heroes walked in silence, Saitama glanced down at Tatsumaki and noticed that she wasn't as wary as she was when they first met. She seemed comfortable with his presence and her verbal insults toned down, too. He then looked back at the streets, mentally noting that being friends with the esper wasn't a bad idea after all. He smiled wryly and patted her head, only to receive a verbal insult from the esper.

Though deep inside, Tatsumaki doesn't mind it at all.

I also apologize for another short chapter ; A ;

I'm planning to end the story in the next chapter, since it would get pretty dragging if I went on with the story. Tatsumaki's walls are slowly breaking down and becoming friends with Saitama along the way. That's entire point of this story, and making it longer would only seem ridiculous. I know some of you guys want me to keep the story longer, but it would just be redundant I guess? When the inspiration hits, I promise to write one or two shots of the two :)

See you all in the next chapter!