Pixie and the Beast

(Disclaimer: This story is not for profit, and I do not own any rights to One Punch Man. The series and its characters belong to ONE.)

Haa... Haa... Haa...

The onset of rapid breathing intensified as the target of interest came to an abrupt stop in the middle of the pavement. Without any warning whatsoever, an impending sense of doom washed right over the paralyzed man; not brought on by any surrounding threat, but rather something from within.

Thump... Thump... Thump...

The pounding in his chest was off the charts – louder and faster than ever previously recorded. In order to avoid the heavy sound of his infamous heartbeat drawing unwanted attention to himself, King stumbled over into a nearby alleyway, and slunk drunkenly behind one of the dumpsters. Clutching the fabric over his chest out of panic, King wondered if this was it – was death coming for him? He'd never experienced anything like it before, and it didn't show any sign of easing up. Gravity itself felt like it was compressing in on his head from all sides – the dark walls around him were blurry and spinning; his skin tingled all over, as if rolling through a field of needles; all background noise melted into one big, droned hum –

'Tornado... Please... Come back...'

The green-haired hero had been the last person he'd seen that could possibly offer any kind of assistance. At the same time, he wasn't so confident that even her powers were enough to do anything – a pretty rare feat. The man was the most terrified he'd ever been. In that blind, deafening moment, all he could do was reflect on his memories, his family, his friends...

Gradually, something felt like it was expanding from the very centre of his core; tearing straight through his organs, bones, and soon breaching the surface of his skin. With his entire world crawling into darkness, everything from that point onwards went black.

It had been an ordinary afternoon in City M. It was a weekday, so the streets weren't too busy, which was King's preferred time to run errands. On that day in particular, the only errand he needed to run was to the game store, to pick up the latest release of Forbidden Fantasy XX: The Monster Realm. With his new purchase tucked discreetly under his arm, King's one and only mission that day was complete; thus, the journey back to the comfort of his living room began. It was on this run-of-the-mill journey, however, that a mere, unsuspecting occurrence would later alter the course of King's entire future.

"Yoo-hoo! You there! Yes, you – you look strong! A strong man like you needs to fuel their body with hearty, nutritious food. Come – come, have a seat!"

From the other side of the street, King glanced over to find someone waving and calling out to him from a mobile sushi cart. As if siding with the merchant, King's stomach gave a little rumble then. Looking down, King patted his stomach and said: "I guess I could eat..."

"Ah, yes! I knew it! You are Class S hero, King, yes?" The thin, fox-faced man clasped his hands together and beamed up at the hero as he approached the cart. "In which case, your meal is on the house today! Please, have a seat." The squinting man gestured to one of the short stools, and King obligingly took a seat. After all, if it was free... why not?

The man crouched over then to start preparing something behind the counter, and when he resurfaced a couple minutes later, he had a plate in his hand – decoratively laid out with slices of some weird-looking, reddish-blue substance.

"What kind of sashimi is that?" King questioned apprehensively as the man lowered the plate down in front of him. Using his chopsticks to poke at it, King scrutinized it even more, wondering if it was too late to change his mind.

"Why, it's only the best, most nutritious kind a man can eat! Obtained from one of the last remaining exotic islands, people from all over the world go there specifically in search for this rare delicacy."

King creased his brows and looked back up to the man, not overly convinced. "And you're just giving it to me for free?"

The man clasped his hands together as he nodded emphatically. "Normally these fetch for a very high price, but it's your lucky day! I happen to be a huge supporter of The Hero Association, and with you being a Class S hero yourself, I feel indebted to you and your outstanding services." Bending over, the sprightly man offered King a deep, exaggerated bow.

Returning his attention to the repulsive-looking sashimi, King's dull expression refused to budge. Being the kind of person to at least try anything once, he daringly picked up one of the pieces in his chopsticks and, without overthinking it, popped it right into his mouth. The man sprung back up then, observing King with piqued intensity.

"How is it?!" he pressed at once.

King chewed on it for a decent amount of time – the texture was weird and gummy, and it didn't taste like fish at all. In fact, it tasted a bit like lightly salted licorice.

"Uh..." He swallowed hard. "It's pretty unique, gotta say... but, hey, the healthiest things aren't always the tastiest, right?" Not wanting to insult the man, King reluctantly went in for another bite.

"Yes, yes, quite true. But I assure you, you will be feeling the benefits in no time!" A brilliant stretch of white flashed across the man's face before he turned to occupy himself with something else.

The less amount of time he had to endure it, the better, King thought, as he hurried to stuff the remaining few pieces into his mouth. Standing up as soon as the final slice sealed the deal, King muffled a 'thank you' and a polite wave to the man, before forcing the unpleasant grub down and promptly getting back on track with his previous journey home.

It was only a couple minutes later that a slow, growing rumble created a disturbance in the area. Worried it might've been his stomach disagreeing with the food, he soon realized that was not the case, when a giant beetle-looking thing shot up over the roof of some building and zoomed directly overhead. Before he could follow the creature with his eyes, King caught a flash of something green, hot on its trail – Tornado, he recognized at once.

Clearly she'd noticed him too, as her gaze locked onto his, mid-chase, from the corner of her eye. "Stay out of this, King! I've got it under control!"

Telling him once was more than enough; the pseudo-hero's skittish feet had already whipped around and picked up pace.

That was the exact moment when King's whole world suddenly came crashing down on him.

"Not so fast, buggy!" Tornado yelled out to the large, speeding insect. Stretching her arms straight out in front of her, a bright green aura surrounded the scurrying beetle and it finally came to a halt mid-air.

"There. Now I've got you – " Eating her words was the abrupt disappearance – no, not disappearance, but shrinkage – of the beetle. "Dammit! Not again!" she wailed; panic-stricken as her eyes frantically searched around for the shape-shifting insect. It wasn't long before she found it – not through sight, but through feeling – as a sudden, sharp prick in her neck alerted to its whereabouts.

"Ack! You give me the creeps!" The esper's hair stood on all ends as her whole body shivered and squeamishly flailed about. Through reflex alone, an erratic flash of green surged haphazardly around the panicked esper, which was shortly followed by a repugnant 'splat!' far too close for comfort. For a moment, she went dangerously still; and then, reluctantly daring a glance down at her shoulder, she found the remains of the monster bug splashed all across it. Her face never looked so revolted.

'Crap... I went overboard again. The association's experimental department won't be happy...' she sulked while carefully trying to wipe off whatever goo she could – with very little success.

Just then, a boisterous roar bellowed through the air, making Tornado forget about the now-permanent stain and whirl around to face it. There, on the radio tower several metres away, was the pocket-size version of some Godzilla-looking creature climbing up it. "For crying out loud!" Tornado whined, rolling her eyes before jetting off in its direction.

"You're the wrong monster for this, pal!" she yelled as she flew right up next to the creature. It did its best attempt to swipe at her with one of its clawed hands, but she swerved around it with ease. "Play time's over," she snapped, performing the same trick as with the beetle, and enveloping the monster's entire body in a bright, green glow. Prying it from the structure with minimal effort, Tornado then spun around and was prepared to start her journey back to the HQ, when something on the ground suddenly caught her attention. From high up, her eyes narrowed and recognition slowly sunk in. 'That hat...' While keeping the monster suspended in mid-air, she simultaneously made the hat float up to her and grabbed hold of it. Its black color and the distinct K on the front was what had caught her attention. 'King...' Her eyes swept the area, in search for the hat's owner, but he was nowhere to seen. Shaking her head free from any doubt that tried to invade it, Tornado's face turned even more serious as she gripped the hat tighter and flew off, with the reptilian monster trailing close behind.

"This is a feisty one. I'm taking it down to BF 14," Tornado announced to the HQ prison's security guard upon reaching her destination. After assessing the creature personally, the security guard nodded nervously and granted her access at once.

The indestructive glass cells were much larger and stretched out across the long, dark hallway in BF 14. Relying on her powers the entire way, Tornado glided past all the cells to the one on the very end, where she slid it open and effortlessly sealed the monster inside. Once she'd relinquished her hold and the beast was finally free to roam around, it instantly clashed against the inside of the glass and let out a mighty roar. Tornado, on the safe side of the glass, simply glared up at it with a completely undaunted expression. Even as the monster stubbornly refused to end its rampage any time soon, Tornado's unforgiving gaze never once faltered – not even from the shrill scraping of its claws down the glass. It was only as she remembered the hat still clutched tightly in her hand, that she looked down to it and started to wonder.

Offering one final glance up at the monster that was still raging around the confined box, her eyes narrowed at it as she said: "Have fun wearing yourself out." Less than a second later, she was gone.

While normally Tornado would've gone straight home after such an annoying task – especially to change out of her tainted clothes – something was tugging at the back of her mind, spontaneously guiding her in the direction of King's apartment. Well, she was obligated to return his hat at the very least.

Like any normal hero, Tornado entered through the open window, and was instantly faced with the discovery that he wasn't there. 'He's probably just still out... at the gym or something...' she gathered. But, glancing at the hat in her hand once more, she couldn't explain the doubt behind that assumption. After all, King never parted with his hat... She'd always known him to have it for as long as... well, ever. Letting out a frustrated sigh, it annoyed her that she was even digging into her own personal time to bother with such things. Looking around, she surveyed his apartment, realizing she'd never actually been inside it. The mess disgusted her – empty cans, ramen cups, chip bags... 'What a slob,' she judged, turning her nose up at the sight. Tiptoeing past the TV area, where there laid a whole jungle of cables and games, Tornado wondered if the hero had a sister as she bent over to investigate the massive collection of romance-themed titles. Just then, there was an unexpected knock at the front door, startling her back upright and making her head snap in that direction.

"Hey, dude, I brought – Oh. It's You."

'Saitama...' She would recognize that stupid-looking face anywhere, and not necessarily in the most friendly way possible. 'What the hell is he doing here?'

"You lost or something, Baldy?! This apartment belongs to Class S hero, King," she declared, subconsciously straightening up as a way of asserting herself as the dominant one, despite her innate stature.

"Uh... yeah, I know," the unfazed man said as he proceeded to waltz in like he owned the place. "Is he around? I couldn't get through to him." Sticking his bald head around one corner, his eyes darted around the room in search for the out-ranked hero.

"I was just returning his hat!" Tornado blurted defensively, causing her to rise off the ground alongside the anxious feeling that she'd just been caught doing something illegal – even though the man hadn't seemed remotely interested in why she was there. As if the treacherous item itself suddenly combusted in her hand, she tossed it furiously down onto the sofa. "I found it on the ground after spotting him walking around earlier. I have no idea – nor do I care – where he is!"

Not wanting the additional intruder to get even more suspicious than she already expected him to be, Tornado chose that moment to spin around and hastily flee to the window.

When her small body had just made it halfway out of the frame, she faintly heard the words uttered from behind: "Man, hope the dude's ok..." She stopped then, and, with her torso sticking out, shot an incredulous look over her shoulder toward the mildly concerned man who was bending over to pick up the hat she'd carelessly thrown.

"King? What are you, a moron?! That man is more than capable of taking care of himself." Indicating no sign of weakness in that statement, Tornado returned her stuck-up nose forward and whizzed away without another look back.

Somehow, she still hadn't been able to make it back home. From her position on top of some gargoyle's head along the perimeter of a cathedral, Tornado peered down onto the familiar streets below – the same streets that she'd crossed not too long ago. The evening was in full effect now, compared to then, and she still found herself wondering what in the hell happened to King. She'd already tried calling him multiple times, but only ever got as far as voicemail. There was no way she could actually allow any doubt to edge its way in; King was extremely capable – more capable than the majority of Class S, in her opinion. That's the main reason why his elusiveness bugged her even more so. Even when he was in the middle of a battle, the man would always still answer his phone.

"Tch," she grimaced, and before she knew it, she was flying back over to the HQ.

The monster still hadn't given up, apparently, as the miniature woman peered into the glass deep beneath the prison. There was something about this monster... but she couldn't quite place her finger on what. Nevertheless, it was pissing her off how much of a drama king the monster was being.

Lifting a hand, Tornado spread her fingers, and all of a sudden the monster's rampaging came to halt. "Listen here, you ugly bastard. I'm looking for a man by the name of King. You were the only one around when he disappeared, so you better start talking if you know anything."

The monster wailed in protest, to which Tornado only tightened her hold on him. He was forced into a completely immobile state when she said: "Hey! Take it easy, King Kong! You need to learn – squirming around like that is totally useless against my powers." All her focus was directed towards quelling the monster's activity. She'd be lying if she claimed it didn't require the smallest bit of effort. Somehow, it seemed to be having the slightest effect though, for the moment she relaxed even a little, it didn't immediately resume its wild spree. Rather, as her undivided attention bore into the beast, she watched as his hand fought slowly against the invisible pressure to inch its way up to his left eye. Covering it with three of his claws, his entire body shook while struggling to keep them in place – almost as if he was trying to tell her something. Thinking hard about what that could be, while still maintaining her strong hold on him, it wasn't much longer before she didn't need to try and decipher it. Without figuring it out all by herself, something started shifting in the monster, and, despite her powers, the monster started transforming – similar to how the beetle had before; only, instead of transforming into a minuscule speck, the monster transformed into the very person she'd been seeking.

"King," Tornado mouthed dryly, staring in utter shock as her hands gently lowered themselves, enabling him full reign of control. Observing the pitiful man while he lay immobile on the ground, for a second she wondered if he was dead... but then his naked body twitched. Instinctively, her hands flew up again, but no magic was used as she watched him slowly pull himself up into a seated position. Looking up to her then, with a gaze that was totally unbefitting to the 'strongest' hero, Tornado couldn't help but grit her teeth. So... had King actually been a monster this whole time? Was it just another Amai Mask situation? Her expression turned dangerously serious, and she didn't know if she could look at that disgraceful face any longer without doing something regretful. Turning away from the man without another wasted thought, her fierce eyes were set firmly on the exit, when she suddenly heard: "Tornado... Please... Help..."

Tornado's eyes betrayed her as they flickered sideways to the pleading man. He looked utterly helpless and... afraid. In that desperate moment, flashbacks of her younger self flooded her mind – locked behind bars and treated as nothing more than some test subject freak. Her hands clenched near the point of bleeding, and the strained gaze she dug into King was on the verge of making his very existence obsolete. She remembered the times when she, herself, felt like death was the preferable option back then.

"Don't leave me..."

Her glaring eyes shot open, and that was the triggering moment that made the sealed door fly off its hinges and crash into the wall. Without any rational thought, her hand was already outstretched, and in a matter of seconds she was impulsively dragging the two of them through the space like lightning.

The momentum didn't let up for one second until she'd arrived safely back at her humble abode – well, as humble as a giant, abandoned castle on the outside of town could be. Zooming furiously over the bridge and through the grand front doors, Tornado continued to navigate the two of them through the maze of hallways and staircases, all the way up to the west wing. Throwing King carelessly, at last, into one of the dusty armchairs, Tornado snapped her fingers and the fireplace immediately burst to life. Giving a little flick of her hand, a bed sheet soon came flying into the room, and she thrust it upon King's exposed body. Moving to stand before the disoriented man, Tornado crossed her arms and regarded him with nothing but the highest expectations.

"You better have a good explanation for all this."

A/N: So, this idea kinda hit me out of nowhere while I was in the shower the other day. As I was writing my other fic, it occurred to me that a King x Tornado pairing would be super cute, but I didn't think I'd actually do anything serious with it. Then I was tackled by this idea and I couldn't resist. Kinda just throwing this first chapter out there as a 'pilot' (is there even a term for that in the literary world?) and a tester to see what kind of reception I get. Of course, there are still more updates I want to do for my other fic, so if I continue this one then it'll probably be at a bit of a snail's pace. But I'm curious to see if anyone would actually be interested in it. You can probably tell a lot of it is inspired by 'Beauty and the Beast' – hence the name. I haven't thought much past this first chapter yet, but I'm sure I could figure something out. So let me know what you think!