AN: Okay, well I honestly expected this chapter to be absolute garbage. I mean, I was even expecting a few flame reviews, but everyone seems to enjoy it thus far, so I'm gonna go ahead and make it official! This is no longer a test chapter. This is the first chapter!... It's a bit longer than I would have liked it, but whatever. I guess this is the word count for each chapter. I want to thank everyone who reviewed, they were well appreciated and gave me the confidence to go ahead and start posting this.

Now, I am currently in college which means I will not have much time to write, so I wouldn't expect weekly posts, but for this one with it being fresh on my mind, I CAN guarantee at least a chapter every month. There are stents when I just come down with writers fever and work like a madman though, so there could be bursts of four or five chapters in a month, who knows!? Buuut, its not very likely right now.

Again! Thank you to everyone who reviewed when this was a test chapter, I appreciate your help dearly!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own One Punch Man or any of the characters. All rights go to their respective owners.

What it means

Chapter 1:
The Sea King

Absolute devastation. That was the state of city J. Bodies of heroes having fought their hardest scattered around the devastation. This was the hellish sight the civilians looked upon in dread from within the destroyed bunker designed to keep them safe from monsters such as the one outside, facing off against a child-like woman. The monster very truly lived up to its name with green skin and a rather humanoid body. The only pieces of clothing on its form were a crown and a speedo for whatever reason. It was absolutely monstrous in the face and very bulky with muscle. Despite all of this, it's most attention grabbing feature was the heart shaped coloring that took the place of its nipples.

The woman was very short, easily mistakable for a child even. Her hair as green as fresh grass and eyes to match. Her attire consisted of a form-fitting black dress with long sleeves and four slits that traveled up to her hips, exposing her legs. She had a faint green hue surrounding her body as she floated at the monster's eye level, completely exhausted and bleeding from her hair line. Her position in the air swayed and dipped, speaking volumes for how worn-out she was.

"Heh, you're a tenacious little monkey, aren't you?" the monster spoke in a patronizing manner, completely unaffected by the seemingly lengthy battle they've been fighting. He didn't seem as if he'd fought at all. "You esper's are quite a nuisance, but when you've reached the limit of your psychic prowess, you're just about useless it seems. I am likely a monster that is the bane to your existence as my scales secrete a high-pitched frequency that rattles even the strongest of minds. I didn't think I would have to use such a tactic, but you were a formidable opponent for quite a while. Now that your brain has been overwhelmed with pain, you can no longer continue to fight."

The girl slowly lowered, that green hue around her flickering in and out like a fading light. Eventually, the tips of her toes met the wet cement below and she fell to her knees, still determined to do what she could. "sh-.. Shut up…" she muttered out through bated breaths as she stuck her hand out. 'I c-can still-..' she tried her hardest to mentally lift a sizeable piece of rubble near her in an attempt to use it as a weapon of sorts. It shook ever so slightly, but it did not budge.

"Try as you might, you have been defeated child." The monster said, getting closer and closer to the downed girl.

His words, although brutal, were the truth and she knew it. She could not defeat this beast, no matter how hard she tried. All these years of hero work would be coming to an end for all of them. Every S-class hero was taken down by this monster from Puri-Puri prisoner to herself. Only three had not shown to stand against it and those three would be their last hope. 'k-.. King… Metal Knight…' she mentally muttered, reduced to a begging mess for the first time in a long time. '… Blast… if there was ever a time we needed you… it's now.'

(On the television)

'As of now, City J is all but demolished and… oh… oh dear god, it seems even the Tornado of Terror has fallen to the power of the beast within. That is now thirteen of the S-Rank heroes having failed to stop the monster. The failure of these valiant heroes has prompted the situation be raised to threat level DRAGON for safety reasons. As it stands, we now rest this matter in the hands of the remaining three: King, Metal Knight, and Blast. The Association is asking that we all remain calm and put faith in the standing three. Even though the situation is taking place in City-J, it is advised that everyone find their way to a shelter as soon as possible, no matter the distance. This is exactly a situation in which we are expecting to see Blast make an appeara-..'

At a local gas-station within City-Y, an elderly woman stared in horror at the screen above on the wall behind the cashier who was now bagging her items. "Oh-.. dear…" she muttered quietly, catching the young man's attention.

"Hm?" The man was of fair height, standing at about 5'10 with a rather basic build that could be quite deceiving as his work uniform was rather baggy. He had a very plain face, easily forgettable in a crowd of people, but his most striking feature being his unnaturally bald head. Not a single strand of hair sat atop his dome and it almost seemed to reflect the light above him. He followed her gaze up towards the television and figured he understood her worry. "Oh, you must want to view the weather channel."

The woman looked at him incredulously. "w-What? Did you not here what she said!?" She asked, pointing at the screen with a trembling hand.

He dug a finger in his ear with a rather uninterested look on his face. "Eh, not really. I don't really like the news. It's all boring nowadays. Would you like a bag?"

"h-Hoh!" She couldn't seem to contain her worry as she turned and left the store as fast as she could scurry away, leaving the young man confused as she simply left her items after already paying for them.

"h-Hey!" He called after her, watching as she scrambled away from the store. Watching her through the glass windows of the shop brought the street into view and he was shocked to see so many people scrambling into the shelter across the street. Were they being attacked?

He turned back to look at the television and saw a helicopter view of some kind of monster standing outside of a different bunker. The caption of the report is what caught his attention. 'DRAGON LEVEL THREAT: Find shelter'.

"Oh, it's a Dragon level." He muttered. 'This means I am legally able to close up shop early and receive pay for the full day.' He thought to himself with a rather bland smile. So, that's exactly what he did. He went through the daily shut down procedure of checking over the produce and ensuring everything was in order for the morning crew. While he did this, he reached into his pocket and turned his phone on. As he was headed to turn off the television he stopped and took one last glance at the screen. It was still showing the very far helicopter view of the same monster now being confronted by a hero on a bicycle strangely enough. With an unimpressed look, the man gazed over to the clock next to the television.

Just as he did, his phone cut on completely and began to fire off rapid notifications from a single number. "o-Oh.." he exclaimed rather plainly as he watched it continue to beep. On the screen there were a ton of missed calls and unread messages. When it finally stopped, he opened it up to see it was all from none other than his cybernetically enhanced student, Genos. 'Was he fighting this monster as well?'

'We are receiving even more disturbing news from our inside source within the bunker of City-J that is truly distressing in a time like this.'

Saitama glanced back towards the television to hear the rest from the news woman.

'It would seem that the S-Class: rank-7 member, King, widely known 'strongest man in the world' was actually just a normal man with no special ability or strength whatsoever. He coward in the face of this Sea-King and confessed before the other downed S-Class heroes. There is still hope however as S-Class: rank-6 member, Metal Knight, has just arrived and is engaging the beast with an onslaught of powerful robots. His abilities at the moment are sorely restricted due to their close proximity to the downed heroes and civilians. He is the last line of defense unless we truly do witness a return of S-Class rank-1 member Blast. If Metal Knight cannot stop this monster, we can only hope Blast can.'

"If Metal Knight cannot stop this monster, it's all over." A man sitting behind a desk said. He was an average looking guy with a rather huge nose resting on his face, dressed in an all-black professional business suit. The man he was speaking with was a younger looking man with a robotic right eye, some sort of metallic line beneath it and wearing a suit of his own.

This enemy of theirs was far more dangerous than they were at first anticipating. "Maybe it is time to contact Blast." The younger man suggested.

The older man chuckled. "Tch-heh! We would've done so already if it were that easy." He spit out mockingly as he grabbed his head in frustration.

The younger man didn't seem to understand that. "I do not understand. Why is it not that easy?"

The man sighed as he reached down into the drawer on the left side of his desk, pulling out a bottle of very clear alcohol. "Sekingar… It is widely known that Blast suddenly went missing a few years back… there are a lot of theories about where he's gone and what he's doing, but…" he poured two shot glasses full, sliding one over to him. "The truth is, he is dead."

"Eh! s-Sitch!" the younger man exclaimed, completely surprised by this revelation. It did explain quite a bit though.

"We kept the story of Blast alive, leaving that S-Class: rank-1 position vacant as to give people a sliver of hope that no matter what monster appears there will always be someone strong enough to stop it… Now, the time has come, and a monster has appeared far more powerful than even Tornado can handle… So, I say it again. If Metal Knight cannot stop this monster, it's all over."

Sekingar stared over to the television screen on the wall to his left, Sitch's right, and they watched the robotic creation bombard the creature with shots of all kind, trying to get it away from the bunker. With a worrying sigh, he reached down and picked up the glass he was passed, drinking the liquor down in one gulp.

Machinegun rounds left the robotic arms of Metal knight at a rapid pace as he barraged the creature consecutively to no avail. The bullets simply bounced off its form, but for the moment, it was all he could do as he put his mechanical body between the monster and the bunker, quite literally working as the last line of defense for those inside. The machine gun blows, although ineffective, did good to irritate the beast who had his hands full thrashing the onslaught of other battle bots that were getting in close, attempting to land direct physical hits. Hundred upon hundred of these mechanical beings came charging the Sea-King's way and he had no choice but to stand his ground and focus on them.

With him busy, Metal knight scoped out the surrounding area. Outside of the bunker, there are nine unconscious heroes. Of that nine, 7 were S-Classed heroes including: The Tornado of Terror, Atomic Samurai, Flashy Flash, Watchdog man, Demon Cyborg, Silver Fang, and Tank-top hero. The other two were the C-Classed Mumen Rider and the respected martial artist Bomb. Then there was the spineless fool King, cowering somewhere in the city, having fled as soon as they dropped him from the aircraft.

If he wanted to defeat this thing, he needed to do it as violently as possible, but he could not be responsible for killing these heroes directly. Not with the helicopter watching the battle. As if told by telepathy, nine of the robots diverted from attacking the Sea-King and made their way to a downed hero, scooping them up and dropping them into the broken bunker much to the people's surprise. With them out of the way, he stopped firing his machinegun and watched intently as the monster destroyed bot after bot. [Engaging Target with intent to destroy] his robotic voice echoed out as the bots suddenly stopped attacking close and hovered, staring directly at the beast.

The Sea-King was not deterred in the slightest. "Ehehe! You humans do enjoy your toys, don't you?" he asked rhetorically as he eyed the biggest bot down, knowing that was the one with the most control. The surrounding bots, in unison, aimed their arms at him, multiple missiles extending out, ready to fire. Still, the Sea-King looked unperturbed as he watched them.

This seemed to infuriate Metal Knight. [Fire]. As one, a barrage of missiles and machinegun bullets flew directly at the aquatic monster, pelting him and exploding upon impact, it was a light show of bullets, scraps, and fire. There was so much smoke that no one watching could even see the Sea-King anymore. By all accounts, he could very well be obliterated.

The onlookers watched on in amazement at the skeptical taking place. The moral was still quite low, especially seeing Tornado fall, but there was a shred of unenthused hope that rung through the crowd of civilians.

(Random Guy 1) "d-.. do you see that barrage of missiles?" he asked, rhetorically with a tone that sounded a lot less impressed than the statement implied. "Maybe… maybe that got him…" his voice drawled off, clearly not believing his own words.

Sure enough, the firing stopped, leaving behind a glob of smoke that was quickly dispersing with the help of the rain. When it finally broke through enough, they were greeted to the sight of the Sea-King with multiple injuries and punctures to his form that he simply scoffed at and healed.

"Hehehe! Impressive barrage. Not quite strong enough, but I commend your efforts." He praised insincerely.

(Random Guy 2) He fell to his knees at the sight, completely out of whatever hope was still settled into his heart. ". . . We're gonna die . . ." his quivering voice muttered out, much to the dismay of the others.

(Random woman) "n-No w-…" She held onto her son who stared at her in worry. She just had to say something to refute the guys words. The sounds of the battle continuing made her quiver. She looked into the distraught eyes of her boy and couldn't find her voice.

(Little Boy) "m-Mommy we're not gonna die. . . r-Right?" he stuttered out, his voice cracking in pure terror.

She pursed her lips together, trying not to cry out. Seeing that face lit a fire within her eyes and she shook her head. "No, baby. We're not gonna die."

(Random Guy 2) "We are…" he said, undercutting her words of comfort for her boy. "There is no hope. We are going - to die."

(Random Guy 3) "Hey! Shut the hell up!" he demanded, jumping to the woman's defense, stepping towards the man in a threatening way.

(Random Guy 2) "It's the truth." He chuckled out sadly. "The Tornado of Terror was the last chance we had… Not even she could take on this monster."

(Random Guy 3) "I said – shut the hell up! There are children here!" he yelled, grabbing the front of the guys shirt.

From further in the bunker, towards the more opened area where the earlier heroes made their stand against the beast, S-Class rank-15, Metal Bat, sat against a wall, completely broken and incapacitated next to S-Class rank- 3, Silver Fang who was finally starting to stir awake once more.

"m-.. mrrr…" the old man groaned out as he tried to move.

"Finally awake, huh?" Metal Bat asked rhetorically from his spot, staring at the budding commotion taking place among the despairing civilians.

Bang glanced towards him before following his line of sight. "… What is going on?" he questioned.

For a moment, Metal Bat just tiredly shook his head, still looking over to the group. "They're… desperate." He said plainly. ". . . Look at them. . . Ready to tear each other apart regardless of their imminent death."

The old man shut his eyes, disguising his realization of the pain that surged through his body. Turning to his left, he saw a number of other S-Class heroes sitting up against the wall, most of them out cold. "So – I take it no one was able to defeat the Sea-King." He muttered, seeing their heaviest hitters out of commission, namely Tornado.

"Nope." The delinquent kid said plainly. For a moment that's where they left it. The sounds of the civilians bickering, drowning out everything else. ". . . Did you think it'd end like this?" he asked.

For a moment, Bang remained quiet, still watching that commotion play out in interest. "No, I-… I had always imagined it would be of old age." He replied.

The younger man chuckled tiredly. "I say you weren't too far off."

Much to his surprise, another voice from his other side responded. "No, Bang still had a few good years left."

The kid turned towards the voice to see Bomb, another great martial artist in the same state, broken and defeated. "You old people sure do stir awake fast." He commented.

The two both chuckled at the amusing statement. "Years of intense training." Bang replied. It was then that a series of explosions shook the bunker to its core, stirring a few others awake. "Someone is still standing?" he asked, looking towards Metal Bat.

"Yeah." He said lazily. "- think it's Metal Knight. His bots are the ones that brought you all in."

From Bang's other side, a new voice joined the conversation. S-Class rank-8 Zombieman. "Well, I doubt it'll be much use goin out there then." He said, looking down at his still reforming legs. "He's probably blowin' everything in sight."

"Not that we'd be much help." Said the person next to him, S-Class rank-4, Atomic Samurai. His sword was not with him and his right arm looked limp almost as if dislocated. "Whatever the hell that thing is… it's not something a mere human can beat… If it could lay out even Tornado like that, I doubt anything could take it out."

"Except for Blast." Metal Bat muttered.

"Tch, don't be stupid." Zombieman said, shaking his head. "He's not showin' up… not until at least two more cities have fallen to this thing."

"He'll be here." Yet again, someone else entered the conversation. This time it was the unusually quiet green haired woman whose gaze was focused down on the cement beneath her. The blood staining her face making her look rather unsightly.

The others refrained from further shooting her hopes down, all a bit awestruck by how. . . small she seemed. Not in the physical sense. Of course, she was small, and she absolutely hated to be reminded of that fact, but in this moment, she seemed fragile. Defeated. Essentially, the collective feel of all of them.

They were put on alert when a huge blast launched Metal Knight's assault bot through the gaping hole of the bunker. It clattered down and tumbled towards them, stopping just in front of Bang, sliding five feet in front of him. The bot raised its head enough to look at the group, the lights in its eye sockets flickering out. [I am sorry. He is too stroo-o – o] he flickered out, and just like that, their final standing hero was defeated.

With a gust of wind and rain, the monster landed back within the broken opening of the bunker, eyeing the others in glee. Again, there were a few injuries on his form that were already healing. "Heh-heh-heh!" he chuckled out menacingly as he stood to his full height. The civilians who were previously crowding the entrance in hopes he would be defeated scrambled back as far as they could possibly get in a panic. "That sure was an interesting bout, but in the end, you surface dwellers rely too much on outside influences to win your battles. You deprive yourselves of true power, placing your trust in machines and special abilities, that is why you lot are a weak species. I will reclaim this world for the Sea-Folk. As a pyramid scheme, all life originated from the depths of the seas, and as its ruler, I am the sole ruler of all life on earth."

To his shock, one of the already defeated heroes tried to move. It was the armless cyborg, pushing himself up to a sitting position using his head. The first one to confront him after those weaklings before. He was laying faced-down next to Bomb at the end of the line of heroes.

"You." He said, looking his way. "How foolish can you be? Still want to fight?"

The other heroes watched him in interest as he scrambled as much as he could until he made it to his feet, hunched over. For a moment, he seemed to steady himself before taking broken, yet courageous steps towards the monster towering within the opening of the bunker. "Genos." Bang called out. "What are you doing?" he questioned.

"t-… tch!" he grunted in frustration as he continued his trek towards the beast. "I-… I cannot let you… hurt anyone else…" he muttered. "I will do everything in my power - to stall you until he arrives."

"Hmm?" The Sea-King hummed curiously. His interest clearly peeked. "Who ever it is you are waiting on will meet a similar fate when they arrive." He growled out as he stepped closer to him. "But, as it stands, I am tired of waiting. All of you put up admirable attempts, but you have lost. This means you all must die."

The civilians gasped in shock at his claim as they watched the cyborg ignore his threat completely, drawing closer and closer to his doom. It was truly over then. This was it.

"If I am to be fair, I started with you, so you shall be the first one I kill." He said, directing his statement towards the approaching cyborg. Before Genos made it into the Sea Kings range, a bullet met the monsters cheek, stopping everything.

It was completely ineffective, and it simply bounced off, but the audacity of whoever it was brought everyone's attention to a halt. Everyone's gaze shifted towards the slowly rising Zombieman whose legs were finally healed. He held his focused gaze sharp on the monster who looked his way. "Hey, as long as I can fight, I'll side with Demon Cyborg. You won't hurt anyone while we're still here." He threatened pointlessly.

The Sea-King gave him a curious look. "You… I thought I killed you already." He remarked rather blandly.

"Yeah, well you're gonna find it's a lot harder than that." He remarked coolly.

"Hehehe! No matter. I'll get to you soon." He muttered as he looked back to Genos. He made to step towards him and into the cover of the bunker but found he could not move his legs. Some force was preventing him from doing so. This time, everyone's gaze turned towards the person they were sure was responsible. Sure enough, Tornado had her hand stretched out, restricting his movements as she struggled to her feet. "You as well, child?" he questioned, rather surprised.

"You.. will not hurt anyone else…" she said, essentially repeating the words of the cyborg. "w-… When he gets here you'll…" She never finished her statement. Unbeknownst to her and everyone else, they were not speaking of the same person. Regardless, the sentiment was there. They were going to hold out for as long as they could, no matter what. Waiting on a savior. Slowly, it seemed the other heroes were getting on board with this sentiment and were preparing to do what they could, but they didn't get the chance.

The Sea-King chuckled once more before overpowering her hold and standing up right once more. "Heheh! You insolent fools. Your death here is certain. No matter who you pray to for survival. I will start with you, cyborg." He said, looking down at Genos. His gaze then looked back towards Tatsumaki on the other side of the wall. "- but I ensure you, I will take the most pleasure in ending your life, esper." With that proclamation, his gaze turned back to the broken bot before him in interest. "Hmm? You are clearly defeated Cyborg. Why stand before me defenseless, knowing you will only die sooner? Come to beg for your life?"

Genos stood there with his head held low. He had no arms, his body was far too broken for him to do anything with and he couldn't self-destruct with the civilians and other heroes within range. Why he stood before this monster defenseless? That's probably what everyone is likely asking right now. "Be-heh… because… there is… there is only one thing in existence I would ever bow to… and I know that – even if we die here."

"When." The Sea King corrected, rather arrogantly, as he grinned at his prey's words.

Genos steadied himself once more before taking a few more steps, eventually ending up beneath the rain, meaning he reached the opening of the broken part of the bunker. "Even when we die… you will eventually run into him… and when you do, you will TREMBLE IN THE FACE OF TRUE POWER!" He was now looking up into the beasts mocking eyes with true conviction and unrivaled fury piercing through him.

A silence befell them all as they watched the eyes of this beast stare down at Demon Cyborg with uninterested eyes. "Heh… heh-heh!" The Sea King slowly began to chuckle out. "True power… Have I not shown you true power?" He held his hands out, gesturing towards the other downed heroes, those who were conscious trying to scramble their way to their feet as well. "Is this not the pinnacle form of life on this planet? Look at you humans. Nothing but weak flesh and misguided convictions. A few of you blessed with unrivalled ability and yet you still fall at my feet. The strongest of your defenders have fallen victim to my apex power and you believe there is someone far superior? If you are trying to save face for your society of land-dwellers or possibly inspire hope of possible survival, allow me to correct that." His form turned much darker as he morphed back into his mutated form and he prepared to strike. "I AM UNBEATABLE! YOU WILL ALL DIE HER-..!"

(KA-THEW)

Everything stopped as they watched the black blood of the Sea King spurt out the side of his head almost as if he were shot, the wall of the bunker to their right suddenly impaled by an object of some kind. It looked like he was suddenly sniped in the side of the head, but that couldn't be. They just witnessed Zombieman's bullet bounce off his cheek and not even Metal Knight's missiles could break his skin, so what the hell kind of gun was that? Whatever the case, the massive body fell over to its side right on the edge of the broken wall.

The people watched the clearly dead body of the Sea-King slip out the bunker, all but assuring them this was all over. Still, their speechless gazes turned to look at the spider crack that appeared within the wall opposite all of them. It was unscathed until just then and even the civilians could guess that's where the projectile must have landed. With unmatched curiosity at such a feat, Zombieman (also being the only hero able to move without pain) ran towards the wall to inspect whose bullet it was that could have taken this monster down. Everyone's gaze watched him in anticipation, most of them waiting desperately to hear who they could praise for their salvation.

He made it and looked into the center of the spiderweb like crack, his eyes slowly but surely widening upon his revelation. "Uh-!" he gasped, catching everyone's attention in a death-like grip as they waited with bated breaths to see what had happened. Digging his fingers inside, he pulled the object out, examining it for himself.

"Wh- What is it Zombieman!?" Metal Bat called out, not able to handle such suspense.

Slowly, he began turning back to them, allowing them to see that absolute shock on his face. "It's… It's a pebble!" he shouted, holding it up.

Mass confusion ran through them all as their brains scrambled to make sense of such an incomprehensible revelation. There was no way! Unless… of course!

(Random Guy 2) "i-.. It was TORNADO!" He shouted, pointing his finger towards the small green-haired woman who looked just as shocked as everyone else. But, her hand was still held out in the direction the Sea-King had fallen, simply out of pure shock as her eyes were glued to the pebble in Zombieman's hand. "She used the last of her power to SAVE US!"

His words finally seemed to rally the others as they all shouted, rejoicing in their rescue! Their screams of appreciation as well as the appraisal of a few of her fellow co-workers brought her back to reality. She looked around confused for a moment before she realized what was happening. They believed it was her who had saved them here today, but… looking at that pebble, even from here, she could see it was smooth. It wasn't a piece of rubble that she was using from around here. In fact, there were no pebbles like that around here anywhere! So, where did it come from?

As she was showered in words of praise and approval, a single pair of eyes looked at her from where he himself sat, knowing just as well as her it was not her doing today.

(Elsewhere within City-J, 5 mins earlier)

Saitama, adorning his bright yellow suit with the bright red boots and gloves to match, walked along a cliffside overlooking the city, a map in his hands. He had an irritated look on his face as he used his cape to cover the sheet of paper. "Rgh! I saw it was raining on the television, but I've still forgotten an umbrella." He muttered out, frustrated with himself. 'Where is this Sea thing anyways? I can't seem to find that bunker. This map is so confusing. I can't even read the words anymore. They smudged off in the rain.' He halted his steps when he turned to his right to see an old man sweeping his porch peacefully, despite the rain. An odd sight indeed. "Oy! Old man!" he called out through the roaring of the rain.

He didn't seem to hear him, so he walked towards him, up the walkway leading to the porch. "Oy!" he called again.

"Hm?" The old timer questioned, looking towards him, adjusting his glasses so he could see him better. "Oh, yes? What can I do for you?"

"It's raining out here." He pointed out, giving him a curious look. "You shouldn't sweep while it's all windy and stuff. Its rather pointless. Anyways, could you tell me how to get to bunker 243?" he questioned, holding the map up for him to see.

The old man stepped closer to get a look at the map he was showing. "Oh, no I'm afraid not, young man. I've never been one for going to the bunkers." He said, disappointing him. The Caped Baldy sighed and turned to make his leave. "Say, are you a hero?"

Saitama turned back. "Oh, well. No. Not anymore. I was for a little while." He said.

The old man grew rather curious. "How come you stopped?"

Saitama stared at him strangely for a moment, not saying anything. "… I don't know. Just got kind of boring is all." He said with a shrug.

"You seem dressed up like a hero." He pointed out, looking at his outfit.

He looked down at his clothes. "Oh, yeah. I sort of quit not too long ago, but there are some kind of big scary monsters in this city that they say could kill a lot of people if no one stops them, so I figured I'd come check it out. Sounds kind of interesting."

"Oh, yes. I see. That does sound interesting." He said, seemingly going back to his sweeping. "You take care now." He called back dismissively.

Saitama raised an eyebrow. 'Is he still gonna sweep? Geez, what an odd old man.' His eyes traveled up to his head. 'Even he has hair at his age.' He thought dejectedly as he rubbed his smooth dome.

With that behind him, he left and headed down the gravel road once again. He continued walking for a moment, his boots crunching the small rocks beneath him. 'Well, I was hoping he knew his way around the city since he lives here, but…' A serious expression overtook his visage as he stared straight ahead. 'Whatever the case, I have to find it soon. Genos could be in serious trouble. Plus, I put a hotpot on to boil before I left home.' With that thought in mind, he prepared to launch himself up into the air to see if he could see it through this thick rain, but before he did, his attention turned towards the city.

It was a very far ways away. So far, he had to squint to see it. There was a bunker over there that looked like it was in trouble. A green beast standing within its busted out opening. 'Oh, could that be it?' he questioned. 'Wait, I thought that Sea-turtle guy was supposed to be brown, not green…' Before he could think more on it, he heard it start yelling something that he couldn't exactly hear. 'Oh, there could be people in there, but it is too far for me to make it in time.'

Thinking on his dilemma, he looked down to his feet. "Ah." He muttered as he picked up one of the small pebbles from the gravel road. Holding it on the nail of his middle finger, pinning it with his thumb, he casually took his aim before flicking it away. From his spot he could see it hitting the monster directly in the head, dropping its body down just like that. The splatter of black liquid that hit the wall was also a rather clear sign as well. After a moment, the big body slipped out, tumbling down onto the outside of the bunker. "How… lame" he muttered, clearly disappointed. "Must have been a weaker one. I guess I'll keep searching until I find it." With that, he shrugged and continued on.

After five more minutes of walking around the busier city section with a very ticked off expression at not being able to find the location, Saitama grit his teeth rather comically. "Rrrgh! Where is this stupid place!? You'd think there'd be some kind of big battle going on or something!" he growled out frustrated until his gaze landed on some movement. One of the bunkers across the street suddenly opened up, relieved looking citizens funneling out with smiles and rejoicing voices filling the previously dead quiet street he was on. "Huh?.. Uh, excuse me, Miss?" he said, calling out to the girl closest to him just before she passed. "What's going on? I thought there was a monster warning or something."

"Yeah, there was!" She said happily, pointing up at the giant screen built into the top of the entrance of the bunker which was displaying the live coverage of the bunker that was apparently attacked. There were people funneling out, but the camera seemed focused on the Hero of the day. "It was this big ugly fish king thing, but the Tornado of Terror totally wrecked him a few minutes ago! It was amazing!"

Saitama visually looked upset about this, essentially cringing at this disturbing news. "Tch! So, I came all this way for absolutely nothing!?" he grit out between his clenched teeth, clearly scaring the girl a bit. That's when another thought hit him. "o-Oh! What about the heroes. Was anyone hurt?" he asked rather urgently, gripping her shoulders desperately.

"w-Well, yeah. But, everyone survived, so I think its going to be okay." She said, her fearful visage trying to get away from this weird bald guy.

With that, his face returned to a normal plain expression and he let her go. "O-. Ok. Well. I guess I'll go home."

(The Next Day)

Again, unusually quiet, Tatsumaki sat in her seat within their meeting room listening to the blabbering of the others drone on continuously to no end. A very curious look in her eyes as she was lost in thought. She heard their words, but they were dwarfed by the words swimming within her head. Her thoughts consisting of just what the hell happened the day before, as well as something she was told not too long ago.

All day long she has been praised for her defeat of the Sea King by everyone. All of the heroes injured were kept here within HQ for healing and recuperation. In the infirmary, there are nothing but televisions plastered about, displaying the news channels and talk shows. Without fail, every single channel was talking about the recent disaster, namely her saving the day. What's more, they were talking about Blast not showing himself when it was clearly a situation in which he was desperately needed.

Earlier this morning, those headlines of theirs pissed her off. Many of them she assumed were the collective thoughts of the people. 'Blast is GONE, time for a new No. 1' They had lost faith in that all mighty hero spoken about in hushed whispers and tales of unbelievable heroics. The one she herself trusted with her life. Now, it became a debate about moving everyone up a rank and stop holding onto the past. They were going to put her at the number 1 rank within S-Class. That bothered her now for a very different reason than it did just a few hours ago.

"Er, Tatsumaki." Sitch said, trying to calm the small woman down to no avail.

She hovered over his desk, staring down at him with an expression that promised pain. Her head wrapped up from the injuries she sustained the day before. "Did you hear me!? I said, I want to know!" she demanded, leaving no room for refusal.

"We would, if we could." The man said in reply, apparently denying whatever she was requesting. "Look, you're saying it wasn't you who delivered that killing blow, and I believe you. That's not something you'd lie about, but I can assure you, it wasn't Blast either. You should know that as well as anyone. That's not how his power works."

"You don't know that! He's been gone for a long time! He could have been training all this time! I DON'T KNOW! But, I DO know that you know where he is! So, tell me now, or I walk!" she demanded.

"Tatsu-.. Look, you can't just up and walk. These people need you now more than ever." He pleaded looking at her seriously. "… If you were wondering about this recent news, then I can assure you, it is likely going to happen."

"What!?" she yelled out, incredulously. "No! You can't do that! Blast is supposed to be number 1!"

"The people have spoken already Tornado." Sitch said, closing his eyes. "Blast has not shown himself, not even the day before when we desperately needed him. They don't want a hero who waits until the last possible moment to step in. They can no longer put their faith in someone that allows thousands to die before they are saved. But you… you were on the scene as fast as you could be, and you put up more of a fight than any of the other heroes."

"And still I couldn't kill that thing! I'm telling you. It HAS to have been Blast! No one else could'v-.."

"Blast is dead – Tatsumaki." Sitch admittedly regretfully, watching as that shock played out across her face. She seemed too stunned to even speak, so he took the opportunity to explain himself on behalf of the organization in full. "He succumbed to his injuries against Elder Centipede 2 years ago… As his dying wish, he requested we keep his name alive until the people find a new symbol of hope to stand against unparalleled evil when no one else can." He watched as she slowly descended from her floating position, landing in the chair opposite him. "… I am sorry we could not tell you Tatsumaki… I know you cared for him deeply."

Despite what he said, her mind was on something else entirely. Yeah, finding out Blast is dead was a big hit to her gut, but… even so. "Then… who was it that killed the Sea King?"

Who was it that killed the Sea King? That's what she really wanted to know. 'If there is someone who could kill a monster that strong, then they deserve to be the number 1 hero… Not me.' She thought dejectedly. As prideful as she is on her own strength, she knew for a fact that nothing she threw at that beast could even hope to stop the monster that was the Sea King. She had pelted him with pieces of rubble equal to the size of that pebble, crushed him with huge chunks of debris from the broken bunker, even hit him with a couple of nearby cars, but still. None of that hurt him enough to where he couldn't regenerate. Sure, had she been in a more opened space without the fear of hitting the civilians, it would've been a cake walk. She'd have crushed him with a meteor before he could use his little scale screech technique, but there was no way she could have beaten him with a pebble.

The people were desperate yesterday. Not only desperate to live, but even after their salvation, they were desperate to thank whoever it was who killed it. Too desperate to see reason. If they had just rationalized with themselves and saw her previous attacks were useless, then they'd know that pebble was not thrown by her.

"Symbol of Hope…" she muttered out quietly to herself, drawing the attention of the old man sitting next to her.

Bang watched her in interest. He was well aware of the dilemma she was in at the moment. It may have slipped by the untrained eyes of the civilians and even a few of the heroes, but he knew she was not the one to deliver that final blow. This was a feat done by the same man who split that meteor which nearly crushed his dojo. He didn't see it, but he knew it without a doubt. Having met Saitama before, this was exactly something he would do. That man is beyond anything Bang has ever seen and he witnessed the battle between Blast and Elder Centipede first hand.

A part of him wanted to tell her that… or rather, tell everyone that, but it didn't feel right. If people knew someone like him existed, there'd be more chaos than peace. Power is magnetic. It is best if someone like him stays hidden. Catching wind of someone so powerful would draw bigger and more dangerous threats. The world is set to balance itself out that way. It was bad enough Tatsumaki existed. He used to believe her power was limitless… or even Blast's. But… meeting that bald man humbled his beliefs like a child being reprimanded by their idol. Not Tatsumaki or Blast could even hold a candle… or even a fading ember to the flame that is Saitama's power. If he were sent by God or some other deity? Bang didn't know. But, no crisis they endured did he fear could be the end of mankind. As long as he is here and on the side of righteousness, there will always be salvation.

"Blast is dead." Sitch said, yet again. This time a very serious proclamation to all of the S-Class heroes in attendance who looked on in disbelief. "A few of you already know this, but for those of you who do not, please listen closely." He began before he was cut off.

Metal Bat stood up, planting his hands on the table. "Wait! What did you just say!? He's dead!?"

"If you would calm yourself, you may hear his reasoning." Flashy Flash reprimanded him.

Sitch nodded towards the effeminate blonde man. "Thank you, Flashy. As I was saying, please listen closely. 2 years ago, after the appearance of Elder Centipede, Blast appeared for the last time, fighting and nearly killing the monster. Elder Centipede however inflicted just as much damage upon Blast himself before escaping. It is unknown if that monster survived his injuries, but Blast did not. Per his instruction, we were not to inform anyone who was not in the room upon his dying bed of his death as he believed there would be more panic than necessary. He wanted his name to remain as a Symbol of Hope in any situation until another was found to take that mantel. If you've been watching these broadcasts today, it is clear that people have begun to lose faith in his name… for they've set their sights on a new pillar of strength. Someone who has held the second rank for quite some time now has gained the admiration of all and the trust of many. That is why, the circumstances of Blast's death have now been released to the public on the Heroes website just before I arrived. All of you will be moved up one rank, placing Tornado of Terror in that number 1 S-Class position."

Gasps of surprise and joyful looks turned toward the green-haired Esper who didn't seem to care much. Her unfocused gaze still set on the edge of the table, deep in thought. When she did notice the attention on her, she turned towards Sitch with a curious look.

"Tatsumaki. I do hope you accept the rank 1 position with the highest honors and step fearlessly into the role of the Symbol of Hope that the people desperately need." His words were said with an air of hope behind them that vibrated strongly throughout the room, flooding smiles onto the faces of a few of the others… buuut, his words were quickly shot down.

"No." She said suddenly, shocking everyone and ending that epic moment where it stood.

"GAH!" Atomic Samurai exclaimed. "Did she just say no!?"

"Oh, Tatsumaki honey." Puri-puri prisoner called out with a sincere tone. "What are you doing?"

She floated out of her seat and towards the television which was playing the aerial shot of the Sea-Kings death over and over again. "I said no." She repeated, pointing at the image, further drawing their attention. "You see this?... this wasn't me. I don't know what the heck did that, but the rubble I was pelting that thing with wasn't nearly as effective! Although I probably could've beaten that Sea-Freak no problem in an open area, I was just as useless as all of you yesterday due to his close proximity to the civilians. But… someone or something did this to this monster with a pebble… a FREAKING pebble!" she shouted. "That's who should be number 1."

"Wait-wait-wait, you didn't kill that thing?" Child Emperor asked from his position as he licked on a colorful lollipop.

"But, it was a pebble. Isn't that like your main weapon or whatever?" Metal Bat asked, lounging back on his seat lazily.

She grit her teeth, clearly upset by such a demeaning comment. "NO! SHUT UP!" she comically shouted out her denial of such a demeaning comment.

Before she could continue, Bang threw in his two cents. "Ah, so my assumption was correct." He muttered, just loud enough to draw everyone's attention. "That pebble that Zombieman pulled from the wall was far too smooth to have been from anywhere near the city-oriented section we were in. I was sure it must have come from quite a ways away. But, the question then becomes: who did throw it?"

Child Emperor thought hard on it before pulling out some kind of tablet. "Well, if I can get the feed of the precise trajectory from the aerial shot – maybe I can find at the very least a general location as to where our pebble thrower was."

As he spoke, a hologram of City-J right before the death of the Sea King came up, covering the table. They all watched intently as he zoomed in on the bunker, displaying vividly the scene they were subjected to just the previous day down to the detail of even the civilians and Metal Knight's broken bots.

Zooming in even further to where the Sea King and the crack in the wall were, he stopped there and continued explaining. "So, assuming there was absolutely no curve to the pebbles path due to precisely how fast it had to be moving for it to pierce the Sea King's skin… our thrower will have been… way over here." He said, drawing the map over to the cliff side a solid 1800 meters away.

"Uh-!" The others exclaimed in utter surprise.

Before anyone protested the theory he quickly explained the theory in full. "It's no question. This road here is a residential walk way with their parking garage being at the front of their community. All of these roads are paved with gravel walk ways.

"Well, was there a camera over there that you could hack into, so we can see who was over there at the time?" Zombieman asked curiously, the others muttering in agreement.

The kid shook his head. "Uh-uh. The power to the city was funneled into the bunkers, meaning all street cams and security cams would have stopped running unless powered by a generator. The only possible way we could even get a hope at seeing who was over there is from the broadcast."

With that, he tapped on his screen a few times before swiping his hand up, seemingly throwing his screen onto the television next to Tatsumaki. It was showing the same scene of the aerial shot, but from the direction the news helicopter was facing, that cliff could be seen.

"They were already backed up quite a bit, so there's no way I'll be able to get a good picture of whoever was over there, but…" he began zooming in behind the back of the Sea King, aiming at the cliff. The distance, coupled with the hellish rain, made it almost impossible to see anything. The further he zoomed, the more everything just looked like colorful smudges. You could make out a red car, but not much else.

"Scroll along the whole cliff side." Tatsumaki demanded, looking far more intense than the rest of them.

Child Emperor did as instructed, going back and forth between both visible ends, but there was just nothing to be found. With a sigh, he stopped scrolling. "Look, I don't think we're gonna find anything. Not through that thick of a storm. Besides, why are we trying to find this guy anyways? If he's really that strong then, I bet he's already a hero. I say we just wait until someone comes to actually claim the kill. Or… maybe they don't want to be a hero."

"The boy is right." Bang said, drawing everyone's attention further. "Whoever this individual is must clearly not want to be seen as they intentionally attacked from afar, avoiding the broadcast camera and our detection."

"I agree." Atomic Samurai muttered. "But, there's also a possibility that this thing wasn't a hero at all… you're all so quick to assume that because it killed a monster, but monsters killing monsters is nothing new. If it took that thing down with a mere pebble, we better make damn sure whatever it is - is on our side."

This new debate topic kicked off, drawing the intense focus of everyone there aside from three. Tatsumaki, who was staring at the screen intently, apparently squinting to see better. There was something there, and she was sure of it. Along the cliff, a small very hardly noticeable smudge of… of yellow perhaps?

The other two not paying attention were Bang and Genos, both of whom were watching her in interest. Genos knew very well who it must have been. Even though he had yet to return any of his 196 calls or respond to one of his 354 SOS messages, he was sure it was Saitama-sensei. He hadn't gotten the chance to speak to him yet as he's been under lock and key here, but no one else could accomplish such a feat. But, he was also aware Saitama-sensei is retired from hero work. So, maybe that meant he didn't want to be found out.

But… then again, what Atomic Samurai said was rather troubling as well. What if… what if it is a villain that strong? At that point, only Saitama-sensei could kill such a beast. His mind was running a thousand miles a minute with possible scenarios that could play out, but he ultimately decided he'd just ask the man himself upon his return. He still had to go see the Doctor for some upgrades, but he had to see if Saitama-sensei was okay with all of this or if he even knew.

Walking down the hall of his sensei's apartment building, Genos continued to think on the possible threat. He truly believed it had to be Saitama-sensei who killed the Sea King, but still, that sliver of doubt was there. With a single pebble, a monster no other S-Class hero could beat was taken down. It was just the difference of strength between himself and his sensei, but if he were to find out it wasn't him? It would be truly dangerous.

Making it to his door, he opened it up and stepped inside. "Sensei!" he called out, not seeing him sitting on the couch or cooking as usual. Was he here?

He finally noticed him stepping out of the bathroom in his work clothes. "Oh, Genos." The bald man called out. "You're all fixed up."

"Not yet Sensei. I received basic repairs from S-Class rank-5 member, Child Emperor. But, my weapons systems were too deeply intertwined with my human parts for him to repair with confidence. In order to be back to one hundred percent and receive upgrades, I must go see Doctor Kuseno."

It didn't seem as though Saitama was fully listening as he pulled a bag from off the counter. "Huh? Oh. Okay. Lock the door if you leave." He said as he began walking towards the door.

"Wait, Sensei, please allow me to walk you to work." He demanded with a bow.

Saitama simply lifted an eyebrow curiously. "Uh.. sure. Do you think it will rain again today?" He asked as they left his apartment.

Walking down the street, Genos came outright and stated what was on his mind, never being one to beat around the bush. "Sensei. The Sea King was recently defeated." He stated, drawing his bald master's attention.

Saitama glanced over to him curiously. "Oh, yeah. I saw that on the news this morning. It was that green haired kid, right? Torpedo of Time or something?"

"Well – actually, her name is Tornado of Terror – but no, it was not her. That was the original analysis of all who witnessed the finishing blow, but she has revealed to all of us S-Class heroes that she in fact did not defeat that monster." He informed him.

"Oh? Is that so? Then who did?" he asked, opening his packed lunch to ensure he didn't forget anything.

"That is something the association cannot seem to discover. But, the finishing blow was delivered with a mere pebble." He said. A shocked look immediately overtook the bald man as he halted his steps. Genos was immediately alert as well. "uh-! Sensei!" he called out in worry.

Saitama's eyes were wide, and he looked absolutely terrified. "… oh, never mind. Here it is." He said, returning to normal once he found the item he was looking for. "So, you said a pebble? That's odd. I beat a monster with a pebble yesterday as well."

Genos turned towards him looking very relieved. "You did!? Of course, you did! I had no doubt in my mind it was you who saved us!" He exclaimed, overjoyed and relieved.

Saitama raised an eyebrow. "Oh, wait. Was the Ocean queen like a big green monster?" he asked curiously, already forgetting the name.

Genos nodded. "Yes. It was your feat that saved our lives and I thank you on behalf of my colleagues." He bowed lowly halting their walk momentarily.

"Oh, well it was nothing. It wasn't that hard. I thought it was one of the minions." He said far too casually for it to be meant as an insult. "Well, I guess it did have that crown thing on its head. Hey, do you think we could have pawned that for some money? How much do you think it would have gone for?"

Genos seemed to disregard his question, instead opting to inform him of further knowledge he's acquired. "There is also a new revelation that has just been revealed to the public. It would appear that Blast has been dead for quite some time."

"Blast?" Saitama asked, clearly confused by that name.

"Blast was the S-Class rank-1 hero. Known as the strongest there has ever been. As one of the founding heroes, it was said his abilities were unrivalled. Up until today, his death was kept secret, leading people to believe he only appears when the fate of the world is at stake. It would appear that this was simply a rouse to inspire hope in people no matter the situation, but now that Tornado of Terror has garnished the praise in such a moment, the association has decided to come clean with the death of the rank 1 hero in order to promote everyone, but Tornado of Terror does not wish t-.."

"Yeah-yeah." Saitama called out, waving him off of his long-winded explanation. In truth, he only heard about half of it. "I got it. So, you've been promoted?" he asked, at least picking that piece out of everything he said.

"Yes Sensei. But, not due to everyone moving up. As you may or may not know, the previous S-Class rank-7 member, King, otherwise known as the strongest man in the world, was outed as a fraud. He in fact was a mere regular man with an incredibly audible heartbeat. With his resignation from the Hero Association, everyone beneath him has been promoted, moving me to S-Class rank-13."

"Ah, rank-13 huh? Looks like you're almost within the top-ten." He remarked rather calmly, seeming to praise his progress on the outside… on the inside however. 'Crap! He's already almost top ten!? That was way too fast! What goal am I supposed to give him after he reaches that?'

"Sensei? What is wrong?" Genos asked urgently, seeing the rather distraught look on his face.

"n-Nothing!" Saitama remarked, looking away from him. "I am simply working on my sales face, that's all!"

"I understand." Genos said, with a far too serious look in his eyes as he watched him. "I believe that look may be far too intense for a cashier. May I recommend a more inviting look? More pleasant and welcoming, perhaps a smile."

"Yeah. I guess so." He muttered. Their conversation ended when they reached the quarantine gate of City-Z, approaching the border of City-Y. Saitama's store a block away, he turned to Genos. "Hey, didn't you say you had to go and see your doctor?" he questioned.

"Yes. I shall be home by the time you get off. Is there a meal you would like me to prepare for your arrival?" his cybernetic student inquired.

Saitama thought it over. "Mmm.. No. Just whatever you feel like making I guess. I decided to pull the late shift as well in hopes of impressing my superiors. Maybe I can get a promotion. I'll be home around midnight. See you later Genos." He said, waving over his shoulder.

Genos watched him walk away, a small smile appearing on his face. 'Saitama-sensei is always striving to improve… I shall do the same.' He thought before turning the other way.

(Hours later)

Saitama sat on his stool behind the counter, reading a manga while he waited for a customer. He's been working all day and its been a fairly steady flow of business. With it being the later hours of the night, it was actually a bit peaceful. It would be just him manning the store for the next few minutes or so as his coworker was in the back, packing up to end their shift. He was waiting on the late night worker to arrive, apparently he was running a little late.

The ringing of the bell above the door let him know someone was entering. Looking towards them, it was an elderly man. "Welcome." He called out rather blandly before going back to reading. A few moments later, his coworker, a younger guy maybe in his teens came trotting out from the back room.

"Bye Saitama! I'll see you tomorrow!" the kid called out happily.

"Yeah." Saitama replied basically, not watching as the kid left the store.

A few more moments and the old man finally made his way back to the counter carrying a small carton of milk and a single noodle cup. Saitama stood to his feet, ready to check him out.

"Will this be all, old man?" He asked.

The old timer nodded his head. "Yes sir. Just getting a little dinner is all."

"Ah." The bald man remarked pointlessly. "Ramen isn't very nutritious."

The old man chuckled rather dryly. "Ohoh-hoh. Yeah.. I know, but since my wife passed, I don't really want to eat anything that's not her cooking. These little cup noodles aren't great, but when we were down on our luck, we'd sit down with a few of these and make a night of it."

Saitama bagged his items with a confused expression plastered on his face. 'Geez, I was only joking. He didn't have to give me his life story or anything.' He finished collecting his change, handing it over. "There you go. Enjoy." He said, his expression still as plain as ever.

"Thank you, young man. You have a nice day now." He said happily on his way towards the door. When he made it, he opened it up and stepped aside, allowing the small figure wrapped in a dark green hoodie inside before he stepped out. "There you go little lady." He muttered before leaving himself.

Saitama watched the person enter and head straight back towards the fridges. They didn't even glance his way. "Welcome." He called out regardless. With that, he retook his seat back on the stool, reading through his manga. For a few moments, it was just that as he waited for that customer to return to pay. He was alerted to the door opening yet again. Another hooded figure dressed in all black stepped inside, this one far bigger, clearly a man. 'Is it raining? Why is everyone wearing hoodies?' "Welcome." He muttered again, his eyes shifting back to his manga.

A clicking sound caught his attention and he looked up to see the man who just entered standing in front of him… a pistol in his hand with a silencer muzzling the barrel. "Alright buddy, jus- give me the money a-and I'll leave." He growled out in a threatening voice that didn't hold up through his own quivering.

Saitama's completely uninterested stare watched him curiously. "Huh? Give you the money?" He asked.

"Yes! Give me the damn money!" He struggled to pull a bag out from his back pocket, slapping it down on the counter. "Put it in the bag! And-nd I'll walk! – I won't shoot you! I just need the money!"

"Oh." Saitama said, as if he made an interesting revelation. "Are you a robber?"

The guy sweat dropped curiously. "Wha- look, just put it in the damn bag already! I don't want to shoot you, but I will! I swear I will!"

"Why would you rob this place if you need money?" he asked curiously, completely disregarding his words of demand. "I mean, we do have a help wanted sign out there."

"sh-.. SHUT UP! Just do as I say!" he shouted.

"I can't." the bald man said, folding his arms over his chest stubbornly. "Not unless you make a purchase."

"A purch-! What the hell are you talking about!? Just open the damn register!" he shouted, desperately.

Saitama simply shrugged. "I can't. I have to scan in an item before the register can open."

"Motherf-.. a-alright. Okay, give me… give me a pack of smokes. The red bars." He said, nodding back towards the wall of cigarettes.

Saitama turned around to look for the item. When he found it, he turned back. "Ok. I'm gonna need to see some ID buddy." He said, completely infuriating the man.

"SOME ID!? SOME ID!? ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?" He shook his head, completely passed his breaking point. "rrrRRGH. I didn't want to do this guy, but you've left me no choice." He muttered as he cocked his gun, aiming it right at Saitama's head.

The still rather uninterested look in the bald man's eyes only served to further infuriate him. He couldn't take it anymore. Slowly, but surely, he pulled his trigger. "… Uh-!" he gasped, looking at the bullet that stopped midway towards its target, just floating in the air.

Saitama looked at it as well, watching it in interest. "Oh." He muttered, finding it rather cool to see. Then, before his eyes, the gun seemed to slip up and out of the guys hands, levitating along with the floating bullet, shocking the man.

"a-Ah!" he exclaimed, watching them curiously. "What th-.. i-I'm sorry! I didn't know you were an.."

"Get out." A meek voice echoed from behind him. The guy turned around, stepping back and away, giving Saitama a view of the small feminine figure of the well-known child he just couldn't seem to place a name to. Her hood now down exposing her curly green hair. She seemed… a bit off. Her nose a bright red and her sunken eyes a bit pink. She held a bottle of cough medicine in her right hand as she sniffled a few times.

"a-Ah! t-… Tor-…" he tried to mutter out but couldn't seem to find his words. Her sickly eyes shifted over to him with a dangerously irritated look that warned him of anything else. Without any further warning needed, he scrambled his way out the door, tripping over himself a few times before he made it.

Saitama watched curiously before looking down towards the counter. "Huh-.. he forgot his bag." He muttered, holding the sack up before setting it aside.

The small woman stepped up towards the counter, setting her item down and holding her other hand up as if expecting Saitama to give her something. He raised his eyebrow curiously until he saw the gun float back down, landing in her palm.

"Oh. He forgot his gun too… do you think he'll come back for this stuff?" he asked her.

She squinted her eyes at him before just shaking her head. "Just hurry up baldy." She muttered, a small hand bag floating out from beneath her hoodie.

Saitama cringed heavily at the nickname she gave to him. 'TCH! What'd I do to her!?' His look returned to that of casual irritation as he grabbed her item, pulling it to the scanner. Before he scanned it, he stopped himself. "o-.. wait. Are you-"

She internally sighed. She didn't really want to be recognized right now.

"-old enough to buy this?"

Saitama watched on curiously as her body seemed to stiffen suddenly, her hands clenching tightly.

"Yeah. This is cold medicine. I can't sell to anyone under 18. If your mommy told you to come and buy this, then I'd have to ask you to go and get her to pay for this." Every word he spoke she seemed to shake more and more violently in anger that he simply didn't notice. "Besides, what's a kid like you doing out so late. Is it summer time already?"

"I'M-NOT-A-KID-YOU-STUPID-BALDY! I'M-A-GROWN-WOMAN! WHO-THE-HECK-DO-YOU-THINK-YOU'RE-CALLING-A-KID!? HUH!? DO-YOU-KNOW-WHO-I-AM!?" She began screaming, her words so closely woven together he couldn't exactly pick them apart. "I'M-S-CLASS-RANK-2-HERO! YOU STUPID-EGG-HEAD! WHERE-DO-YOU-GET-OFF-CALLING-ME-A-KID-HUH!?"

"Alright-alright." Saitama said, digging in his ear with his pinky as if a bit annoyed by her voice as he simply scanned it in. "That'll be $11.18."

"That too." She muttered, still rather irritated as she used her power to plop something else down on the counter.

Saitama picked it up to scan it in, examining what it was as he did. "Candy apples?" he asked curiously.

"Yeah! They're candy apples! What, you got something to say about that!?" she demanded, still rather irritated about him demeaning her earlier.

He raised an eyebrow curiously, still seeming rather disinterested with the whole situation. "No. It's just, I don't like these very much. The ones from the amusement park in City-E are a lot better."

She seemed taken back by that as she watched him scan it in. She was expecting some kind of comment about how childish it was. "Oh.. yeah." She muttered along with his comment. Those were the best.

"Okay, and that'll bring your total to $16.23." he said.

She pulled her little hand bag up, a small black card slipping out if it and floating towards the baldy. As he took it, she looked at him a bit closer. What was wrong with this guy? He seemed rather normal, but in the face of that gun just now, he didn't even flinch. It was almost as if he didn't even care. Figuring she'd probably never see him again, she asked him. "So, what's your deal light bulb? You got a death wish?"

Again, he raised an eyebrow at her, not understanding what she was asking. "Huh?"

"You didn't seem to care that you were going to die earlier. Are you depressed or something?"

"Depressed?" He asked curiously, apparently not being familiar with that word.

She nodded slowly. "yyyeah, you know?.. lack excitement in life and all that."

"Oh.." he muttered. 'lack excitement…' that seemed about right to him. "Yeah, I guess so." He said with a small, plain faced smile, completely normal as if he thought it was a good thing.

"Tch, figures." She said. "It must be your bald head that prevents you from living a fulfilling life."

"Hey! So, I'm bald! So what!?" he yelled, clearly hit hard by that careless comment.

"So, I bet you can't get a girlfriend! That's all you regular guys ever think about right!? When you don't have any hero responsibilities, it's all about work and dating!"

He stopped his anger altogether, looking at her curiously. "Huh? Wait.. are you a hero?" He asked. She gave him a look that just screamed he was an idiot. Of course, he didn't notice or care as he seemed to recognize her if even a little. "Oh, yeah. I think I saw you on the news the other day. You're uh.. t-.. Turbine of Talent or something right?"

"… Tornado of Terror." She muttered through gritted teeth.

"Yeah." He exclaimed rather blandly. "You are the one they say killed that Ocean King, right?" he asked.

She squinted her eyes at him curiously. Why did he say it like that? "Yeah."

"Ah, well that's okay." He said, rubbing the back of his head with that bland smile of his as he handed her the bag with her stuff inside. "I mean, I guess since I'm not doing hero work, that credit would have to go somewhere, right?" he asked, much to her confusion.

"w-.." she began before she was cut off by the dinging of the door.

"Welco-.. Oh." Saitama said, stopping when he realized who it was. "I guess my shift is over."

Tatsumaki turned towards the person entering to see an older man wearing the same uniform with a pair of headphones on. When she turned back, the bald guy was gone, presumably in the back. What the hell did he mean?

AN: Now, even though it's no longer a test chapter, I still very much appreciate feedback! So, if you have a general thought on how I'm doing here, just drop a quick review to let me know how you feel! If you have a question or just wish to check in and see how far along I am on the next chapter, feel free to PM me! I get it in an email almost immediately and I ALWAYS reply! Till next time guys!