Aaaaahhh, I'm so useless. So useless.

I'm so worthless. So worthless.

I'm so powerless. So powerless.

I'm─

"I'm sooo tired."

"Same here."

It was eight o'clock in the evening. A black-haired woman sluggishly dragged herself out of the lecturers' office.

"Seriously, Saitama-san! Those kids were so annoying. They kept calling me 'Lady Fubuki' all the time, instead of 'Miss Fubuki' or 'Fubuki-sensei' or 'Fubuki-san'...that's embarrassing! Are they growing up to become perverts or what?!" the woman nagged, while peevishly swinging her purse.

"If I were you, I'm gonna give 'em a pull on their ears. Maybe some spanking would do the trick."

"That's...a bad idea," the woman named Fubuki cringed at me, "they're not little babies anymore, Saitama-san. For crap's sake, they're junior high students. Those kinds of punishment won't work really well."

I let out a dry laugh, "it's because you're not as scary as your older sister. I remember her first time teaching composition class, when the students teased her for being 'cute little girl'. Thus, the legendary 'Tornado Incident' happened."

"I don't want to talk about my sister's rampage," Fubuki's head drooped, "I don't want to be like her. It was so scary."

"Heheheh. Instead of Tatsumaki-san, you're the one who's actually cute. That's why the students love to tease you," I grinned, half-jokingly patting her back.

Fubuki's face turned red. She pinched my cheek with her long, sharp nails.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! What was that for?!"

"You deserve that, you perv!" the flustered Fubuki fumed, "you're not so different with those annoying brats! Ah─"

Something caught our attention. A student was standing at the end of the corridor. He has strange appearances─blond hair, fair skin, and sharp eyes. His piercings glimmered from his ears. Awared of our presence, he bowed and greeted us teachers.

"Good evening, Fubuki-sensei...and...?"

"Saitama," I introduced myself. The kid stared back at me, with strange glints on his eyes.

"Good evening, Genos-kun. Why are you still here? It's late," Fubuki asked, looking somewhat disturbed by the young man's peculiar behavior.

"I was just going home, but then I realized...I left my cellphone inside my locker,"he replied, in a cold, almost emotionless monotone.

"What? You know that cellphones are strictly prohibited during cram school sessions, right?" the black-haired woman scolded the kid, unnerved by his blatant, I-don't-care attitude.

"I apologize for that, Fubuki-sensei. I was expecting a call from my parents, so..."

Fubuki shook her head, "fine. I'll let you off this time. But please, don't ever bring your cellphone here anymore, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"C'mon, it's already late. Please go home now."

"Yes, ma'am. If you'll excuse me..."

The blond kid left. He walked out the building, and gone within seconds.

"Who's that kid?" I asked Fubuki, "he gives off a lot of cheeky brat's aura."

"My words, you don't know him?" Fubuki widened her eyes, "he's Genos, that infamous student."

"Well, sorry for being ignorant," I mumbled, feeling ashamed of not being more sociable.

"Remember last year's mock examination? It was set on the highest difficulty of all tests we ever had for two decades, and he scored the highest among all students, scoring 410 out of total 500 points. However, he's also notorious for rule-breaking and fighting with other students, even outsiders."

"Hmm...what a troublesome kid. He's smart, but too arrogant. No wonder he acts so cocky. This one's a tough case, I think."

"Hee-hee, no need to overthink yourself about it. You'll get bald," Fubuki giggled, "that nosy habit of yours...just never change, doesn't it?"

Fubuki donned her white coat, covering her body from the chilling wind.

"I'm going home, Saitama-san. Thanks for the hard work today," she bowed.

"Yeah, you too,"I bowed back to her, followed by a faint smile forming on her lips.

After her figure disappeared, I walked down the opposite road. A strong wind blew through my hair, it sent chills to my bones. I brushed my ruffled hair, thinking about what Fubuki just said earlier.

I wonder, I thought to myself, am I gonna get bald because I'm overthinking everything? Heh...that's pretty stupid.

My stomach growled. I patted it out. I was broke, I don't have enough money to buy dinner, so I just went home and hoped it settle down by itself.

Aaaahhh. This is so depressing.

I was facing a financial crisis three months ago. I nearly got kicked out from my apartment, because I wasn't able to pay my rent. Fortunately, Fubuki─my friend from high school─came to my rescue. She is the daughter of a very influential family, so she used her power to recommend me to work as a tutor on a prestigious cram school─founded by her family. I was saved, even if it's for a while. I was able to pay my rent again, but I'm still having difficulties in my daily necessities. Until this day, even.

I feel so powerless. I feel so worthless. A girl saved my ass once, what the heck?

I know, I owe Fubuki one big gratitude. But I still feel so weak.

That's why, I'm working hard. I'm working as hard as I can to survive.

Even if I know, I will never be successful or powerful or influential as Fubuki, but I still work hard.

However, for how long is this going to keep up?

I fought hard to strive within this cruel society, to survive within this concrete jungle following the rules of nature.

I was tired.

I was so fucking tired.

Yet, I want more power, so I can continue living in this merciless world.

It was four o'clock in the afternoon. I was sitting on a bench right in front of the cram school's building, waiting for the next session of lecture. I want to smoke, but I was short on cash to even buy a pack of cigarettes. I was saving up to pay my debts for the next month. I was sure my eyes were falling out of my sockets when I saw the bills this morning.

"Where should I find another job...? Ahh, dammit," I mumbled to myself.

I don't want to bother Fubuki anymore. I don't want to pile up my debts on other people anymore. But...

I sighed again. Fuck. My stomach felt churned like hell.

I feel so powerless. Utterly powerless.

"Maybe I am getting bald for overthinking afterall..." I chuckled a bit.

In a sudden, I heard loud sounds of cheering and screaming within the entrance's corridor. Few students were rushing out of the door, panicking.

"SENSEI! PLEASE, HELP!" a female student cried at me.

"What? What's happening?" I asked. I heard another blood-curdling scream from inside the building.

"They're fighting! Please stop them!" the female student pointed at two figures struggling on the floor.

I ran into the scene, and found a horrible mess. It was the yesterday's blond boy, pummeling another student on the ground. He beat his opponent so hard, his fists turned red of blood. I saw some teeth flying out of the poor kid's mouth. Holy fuck.

"STOP! STOP THIS RIGHT NOW!" I yelled, grabbing the blond boy by his collar from behind. He struggled, trying to broke free from my grasp.

"What is going on here?! Oh, God!"

The lecturers came on the right time. I saw Fubuki among them. They were shocked and murmured in terror, looking at the scene. The other student was sprawled on the floor, unconscious. His face was...ruined. Bruised and battered was an understatement, I think. Blood was splattered everywhere.

"Genos-kun, we need to talk," the Headmaster of the cram school showed up, his voice was menacing, "teachers, please call off today's lecture. Make an announcement for the students."

Fubuki rushed towards the scene, "Father─I mean, Headmaster! Please, don't be too harsh─"

"Silence, Fubuki. You should take care of that unconscious student. Make a call to his parents. I'm having my talk with Genos," the Headmaster cut off his daughter's words.

The blond kid clenched his bloody fists. His face was also bruised, but he doesn't suffer injuries as bad as his opponent does.

"You too, Saitama-sensei," Headmaster called, "I wan't you tell me, what was happening earlier. Follow me to my office, please."

I gulped. What an incident. I thought 'Tornado Incident' was the worst...

Genos was expelled from that cram school. It wasn't surprising, he did a great number on his opponent─the poor guy was hospitalized, I heard from other lecturers. I was charged to walk Genos home, since nobody was going to pick him up.

"Let's just talk before you go home, shall we?" I pointed at a bench on a small park, "sit down."

The kid obediently sat on the bench. I was quite surprised at his change of attitude. He was so conceited and rebellious, but now? Wow.

"Genos, wasn't it?" I asked, starting the conversation, "where are your parents? Why aren't they picking you up?"

"They're overseas," he replied─his voice was surprisingly calm, "they doesn't care about me. It's useless to call them. They wouldn't come here."

"So you were lying yesterday," I reprimanded him, "you said to Fubuki, that you were expecting a call from your parents."

"..."

Ah, shoot. What a problem child, I thought.

"Why do you always picking up fights?" I asked, rubbing my throbbing forehead.

Genos stood up from his seat, walking towards a climbing bar on a playground nearby. He jumped, reaching the top of the bar so easily.

"Sensei, I heard you're facing financial problems, right?" he spoke─his tone was icy cold.

"...you didn't just answer my question, you're also flat-out ignoring me."

"Become my personal tutor, Saitama-sensei," the blond kid jumped down from the climbing bar, "please."

Huh? What did this kid just said?

"I'm sorry? What was that again?" I asked.

I couldn't believe my own eyes. The kid was blushing. By the word blushing, I meant scorching red.

"Saitama-sensei, please become my personal tutor."

"Ehhh...how about no, kid," I shook my head.

What's wrong with this kid? Was he hit on the head or something? Why does he suddenly asking me to become his tutor? What the heck?

"I'll pay you," he suddenly went serious, "a lot."

"Well," I have no choice but to play along─this brat can't be serious, "how much you're gonna pay me for that?"

Genos stared straight at me. His eyes were shining confidently.

"How much do you want, Sensei?" he questioned back.

Cold sweat were running down my neck. I gulped.

Is this kid being serious right now? What the fuck?