3... 2... 1... GO!

"Sensei, why is there sugar all over the doormat?"

And that was question one.

After bringing Genos up-to-date as succinctly as possible, Saitama left the cyborg to stew it over as he walked over to grab a juice box from the kitchen; returning only to find the cyborg still seated, evidently deep in thought. Plopping himself down next to him at the table, Saitama picked up the game that still remained on pause from earlier. Deciding not to question the pensive cyborg, Saitama immediately started up another round against the impervious boss.

It wasn't long before Genos' thoughts came to the surface – naturally. "Your assistance today... I cannot say I fully understand, Sensei," he said.

With Saitama's full focus now on the screen and smacking down on the buttons as rapidly as his fingers would allow, the delay in his response was essentially an open invitation for Genos to continue.

"At the meeting, the Hero Association were suspecting that there is a new association in early development – one organized by monsters," Genos continued, his steely gaze fixed on the distracted hero despite the lack reception. "It is the reason why we have seen an increase of threats in this area. Under suspicion that their hideout might be nearby, they have requested we keep an eye out and interrogate any monsters we encounter."

Saitama only gave a short nod in acknowledgement. "A Monster Association, huh? Wonder how strong their boss is," he muttered, the intensity of his tapping increasing, until – at last, the tapping came to a dead stop; a deep frown on his face as he stared down at the sequence of his in-game challenger getting sliced in half by its relentless opponent.

If only the Monster Association's leader was anything like its digital representation, Saitama thought; glowering as he selected the option to begin another round.

It seemed as though Genos hadn't quite revealed all that was on his mind, however, for an uncomfortable silence passed between them – save for the clicking sound of Saitama's fingers continuing to tap away at the device's buttons.

"Sensei, it does not appear as though that girl has any intention of leaving," the cyborg persisted, finally getting to the real point that he was trying to make. "If what the association is saying is in fact true, she needs to realize the danger she is in by continuing to live here."

Getting knocked out in one hit yet again by the Level 4 boss, Saitama sighed at the ghastly 'Game Over' screen and emphatically (but not too emphatically) tapped the 'Retry' option.

This wasn't a conversation he really felt like have again. "Like I said, she'll probably figure it out soon enough."

Saitama could feel the cyborg's piercing gaze digging into him without even looking up, and if the disapproving glares he received during his explanation of the situation were any indication, he knew exactly what was coming.

"Offering her assistance will only delay that realization, Sensei."

Of course he was right to think that if Saitama hadn't offered any help at all, she might be more inclined to just give up on the whole endeavor sooner, which he honestly did agree with the cyborg on to some extent; but even though he knew this, any inaction on his part would only serve as a catalyst towards having her dreams crushed, which was something that didn't sit very well with him – hero or not.

As his sprite loaded up and charged again towards the monster boss, Saitama said: "We're heroes – assisting people is what we do. Anything outside of that isn't our business." He was pretty much repeating himself by this point, but it was one of those things that they'd probably never see eye-to-eye on, so he didn't see much point in even trying to convincing him otherwise. Plus, he had other, more important priorities to attend to – beating that damn boss!

Before Genos could respond to that though, a sudden knock on the door made Saitama fall victim to said boss once again, and only then did he raise a puzzled look to the cyborg. From the look he received in return, both of them were on the same page in terms of wild guesses. Losing the silent battle – based on Genos' lack of initiative to make any move whatsoever – Saitama sighed and shouldered the responsibility; setting the game back on pause as he put it down and rose to his feet.

Upon opening the door, however, Saitama only blinked up in surprise at the tall, blonde man who was most certainly not the short, blonde girl he'd been expecting.

"Yo," King greeted, holding a game up in one hand while a case of beers dangled in the other. "Just bought the latest edition of Hero Kart, if you're up for getting your ass whooped."

Once the initial surprise wore off, a small, competitive smirk crept up on Saitama's lips."You're so on."

Flop! Beatrice collapsed right onto the bed, allowing herself to take a moment to relish in the missed embrace of a proper mattress. Even though it had only been two nights without one, those were two nights too long, and she would never take suitable sleeping arrangements for granted ever again.

After laying there motionless and staring at the ceiling for a good ten minutes or so, Beatrice eventually rolled over and reached for her diary; she had a lot of catching up to do – from getting the job that morning, to Saitama saving her yet again that afternoon, to getting the very bed she lay on.

Enthusiastically she scratched away. It was only when she got to the part several minutes later, about Saitama and spilling the sugar, that she thrust the book down hard into her lap – her widened eyes shooting upwards to stare blankly at the wall.

She never replaced the sugar.

Dropping her face into her palms then, Beatrice let out a little whimper – she was doing so well.

And then came the faint rapping noise that temporarily put all her worries on hold. Sliding her hands down to peek over her fingertips towards the entranceway, Beatrice realized it wasn't a knock delivered to her door, but rather the neighbouring one.

Curiosity getting the better of her – as always – Beatrice scrambled off the bed and tip-toed briskly over to the door to press her ear up flat against it. All she picked up on was a brief, muffled interaction, before the sound of the door shutting vibrated through the connecting walls. Whoever it was definitely had a deep voice – another man.

Withdrawing slowly then, Beatrice drifted back over to her bedside, but didn't return to her position; instead, she simply stared down at it as the curiosity refused to subside. Realization sunk in then that she'd never actually gotten around to asking Saitama more about his personal life outside of being a hero: What did he do in his spare time? Did he have many friends? Were he and Genos in one of those so-called 'experimental' relationships? She hadn't even dug more into that whole stalker situation, even though that still had her reeling as well.

Nibbling on her thumbnail, Beatrice glanced thoughtfully over towards the kitchen – she was going to have to sort out her sugar situation one way or another. Even though she felt bad about asking them yet again, especially since Saitama already went out of his way to help her that day, she couldn't deny that she was also a bit nosy about what was going on next door. At least the sugar would give her somewhat of a reasonable excuse.

Not wanting them to suspect that she was paying any actual mind to what was going on, Beatrice spent the next half hour taking her time to finish up the diary entry before making her move.

"What! You gotta be kidding me! You can't just sneak up and throw that shell at me right before the finish line!"

"My apologies, Sensei."

Grumbling, Saitama made a conscious effort not to throw the controller as he very carefully set it down before channelling his frustration towards getting up and occupying himself with grabbing another drink from the kitchen. Not only was King the topmost unbeatable opponent, but now Genos' skills were quickly surpassing his as well. He missed the days when Genos first started playing with them; when he hadn't yet learned all the little secret tips and tricks – in other words, he missed not always coming in last.

Just after swinging open the fridge, however, a sudden knock at the front door pulled him out from his indrawn thoughts, making him stop mid-reach and glance over in its general direction.

"You guys expecting someone?" he heard King's voice carry from the other side of the wall.

There was absolutely no doubt in Saitama's mind who it would be this time around. He'd actually go so far as to bet on it.

"I'll get it," he announced begrudgingly. He was already up, after all. Shutting the fridge then, he made his way over to the entrance and slowly cracked open the door. Lo and behold, his suspicions cheered.

"Hey, again!" For some reason, her eyes started flicking not-so-discreet glances past him. "Um, so, I just realized that after spilling my sugar... I kind of forgot to pick up more while we were out, so – "

"Hang on," Saitama sighed, not even bothering to close the door as he turned around to head back into the kitchen. To be fair, he hadn't remembered either, and the mess still ingrained in the mat beneath her feet was a blatant reminder that he probably ought to do the honorable thing.

"Who's that?" he heard King say again, flashing him a look as the man leaned over to try and get a peek at the doorway.

"Our neighbour," Genos responded when Saitama ignored the question on his way in through kitchen doorway. Preoccupied enough with retrieving the sugar, he figured he'd just let Genos carry on with the explanation.

"Since when do you guys have a neighbour?"

"She moved in two days ago."

"What – "

And then there was a pause, followed quickly by a suspicious shuffling noise.

"Oh, hi! Sorry to interrupt..."

Saitama whipped around then to go poke his head out from the kitchen corner. His eyes landed on King's back, who now stood at the entrance.

"Yo, I'm King."

"Hi King, I'm Beatrice! It's a pleasure to meet you!"

'Oh, so that's her name,' Saitama realized then, glimpsing briefly in the other direction at Genos as they shared a silent nod of acknowledgement.

"You like games?" Saitama heard King say, to which his attention snapped immediately back in their direction, not so sure he was liking the implication behind that question.

"Uh... I mean, I've never really played any..."

"We're playing the new Hero Kart, if you wanna join us. We could use a fourth player."

"Oh, sure! I'd love to!"

Saitama did nothing but stand frozen in place, the bowl of sugar clutched in his hand as he watched the two of them pass by him then on their way into the main room, not missing the cheery smile she flashed him en route.

Both his mind and face went blank as he stared straight ahead into the now-empty doorway, trying to make sense of what was happening. Since when did King have authority to start inviting people into his place?

Resting the sugar on the counter then, assuming she would no longer be needing it, he snatched up the drink he'd originally sought out and returned to the open room, dragging his footsteps as he watched King start explaining to her how to play the game. Coming to a halt at the realization that Beatrice now occupied his spot, Saitama shifted a glance in Genos' direction, and apparently he wasn't the only one at odds with the current state of affairs. Letting out a helpless sigh, he went and claimed a new spot at the other side of the table.

"Alright, think you got the hang of it?"

"I... think so..." If confidence was what he was after, she couldn't say her delivery really provided that. Nevertheless, it seemed straight forward enough. Video games had always been strictly forbidden in her world; and without having any guy friends to grow up with, she never really had any experience in the matter.

"Here," King said, snapping off one of the beers then and handing it to her. "You can sit back and watch the three of us play the first few rounds, then join in when you feel ready."

Beatrice accepted the beer with a smile, but stared at it much in the same as how she'd stared at the unfamiliar controller when he'd handed that to her.

Alcohol was another thing that had always been unconditionally off limits.

Glancing over at Saitama then for no reason in particular, she caught him already looking at her with that same stare she'd been brought up to perceive as rude. This time, however, he broke it off the moment her eyes met with his, tipping his head back as he took a swig of his own drink.

Not wanting to offend anyone, and feeling quite uplifted by the unexpected turn of events, Beatrice slapped on a wide smile and cracked open the can, daring a sip as King loaded up the next round on the TV. A lot of effort went into not making a sound or funny face of disgust at her first taste of beer; the little shiver and goosebumps now prickling her skin were a bit harder to control, though. It was probably worst thing she'd ever tasted. If only she had some sugar to put in it... Was that even a thing? Too afraid to ask, she straightened her spine and braved another sip; trying to act like it was something she'd done countless times before.

The boys started their game, and, trying her best to ignore the bad taste now in her mouth, Beatrice concentrated hard on the screen in an attempt to understand how everything worked. Having finally figured out which character was who, over the course of a few games Beatrice watched the square to the left of the screen that had Saitama's character in it – who quite often seemed to keep falling off the track, bumping into objects, and spinning out of control. Sneaking a sideways glance over to the man behind the repeatedly disastrous performances, the distressed look on his face made her unable to suppress the amused chuckle that escaped; quickly cupping a hand over her mouth to try and hide it. It was no use, however, when his eyes flickered briefly over to her; brows pulled down in concentration. His attention was already back on the screen by the time she withdrew her glance, though; her hand still shielding the large smile stretched across her face. It was the first time she'd ever seen him lose his cool composure – to think a simple little game was all it took. She didn't know why she found it so amusing; but as she took another sip of her beer, she was already noticing that everything around her started feeling a little light and fuzzy, making her feel quite giddy about everything.

When the boys finished that last round – Saitama getting frustrated over losing again – Beatrice was finally hit with a spurt of courage.

"Ok, I'm ready!" she announced, turning to King beside her and turning her palm out for the controller.

"Right on," King grinned, happily plopping the device in her hand. "This'll be good."

Holding the controller stiffly up in front of her, Beatrice locked her determined gaze on the screen for a moment, waiting as King went through a series of selections again. In that time, she let her eyes wander curiously back over to Saitama and flashed him a competitive smile when she caught him looking at her again. Quickly, he blinked and looked back to the screen, bringing a hand up to rub the back of his head.

With the smile a now permanent fixture on her face, Beatrice turned back to the TV and readied herself when King announced that it was starting. 3... 2... 1... Remembering what the man told her, Beatrice pushed down a button at GO! and felt the rush of adrenaline course through her as she watched her little character take off, moving along with whichever direction she controlled it. After a bit of a rough start getting used to the hand-eye coordination, she eventually managed to fall into a steady rhythm, keeping her full attention trained on the TV while silently listening to the boys – well, Saitama and King – shouting around her. Pressing another one of the buttons, something flew out from her character, making Saitama curse from across the table. Before long, she'd passed through the finish line, not realizing that was the end until an animated screen popped up and her character no longer responded to her controls.

"Seriously...?" Saitama grumbled when he was, once again, the last to pass through the finish line.

Eyeing the tally on the screen, Beatrice saw that King came in first, followed by Genos, her, and then Saitama. Not bad for her first time, she thought.

"Hey, we've got a natural!" King said, clamping a hand down on her shoulder.

"Beginner's luck," she heard Saitama utter, glancing back over at him then, but his attention was set determinedly on the TV as he loaded up another round himself.

Turning her smile back to the screen, Beatrice took another sip of her drink as she prepared herself for the next game.

A few rounds later, and she actually managed to come out in second place after hitting Genos with something just before the finish line. Letting out a screech of excitement, King held up a hand to high-five her. The other two were not so pleased, however, when she looked over and saw the defeated looks weighing on their faces.

"Yeah, alright, not bad," Saitama offered in his obvious attempt not to be a bad sport, but the throbbing vein in his temple said otherwise.

Genos opted to remain silent for the most part.

Still, they carried on, and after an indeterminable amount of game-playing passed, Beatrice could feel herself slipping. When she finally came in last for the first time, Saitama never looked so pleased with himself. She could understand now why he got so upset about losing – it sucked.

"Ok, I'll give you that one," she said, feeling a little cocky after such a lucky streak. Reaching down, she picked up what must've been her fourth or fifth can of beer, only to be disappointed when she found it empty. When did she finish it? She'd gotten used to the taste by that point, and had been sipping away mindlessly. Looking back up, she noticed the room swimming in a way that she'd never experienced before, and made her unable to really concentrate on much.

After losing to yet another round, Beatrice brought a hand to her head and let out an exasperated sigh. Her vision was starting to spin out of control as if she herself had been getting pelleted by random objects in a cart. This was her teetering on the edge of drunkenness, she knew, even without any prior experience. The room felt awfully stuffy in that moment, so without any warning, she rose weakly to her feet.

"Hey, you ok?" she heard someone ask, but she couldn't even face whoever it was; she was too focused on finding her footing and not toppling over.

"Yeah, just need some air," she slurred, lumbering over to the sliding doors and letting herself out into the cool night.

She felt a little better, if only marginally, as she slumped against the railing, letting her arms dangle over it. Her eyes floated up to the dark sky, where all the hazy stars swirled around. It was as if all the energy she'd accumulated earlier had suddenly decided to bleed out, making her whole body feel sluggish and heavy. If this was what being drunk was like, she couldn't see what the big fuss was all about. That nice, floating feeling was gone and all she wanted to do now was curl up in bed.

Having no concept of how long she was out there for, it was the sudden ruffle of something behind her that made her snap back to whatever amount of consciousness she could muster.

"You sure you're ok?" It was Saitama, she realized; noticing the bald outline of his head as he moved cautiously towards her.

When she twisted her head around more to better look at him, she noticed that his face, too, was swirling.

"I'm fine. I think – " Using up whatever last bit of energy she had left, she pulled herself up from her slumped position in an attempt to turn around and hopefully make it back inside without embarrassing herself. But, one wrong placement of her foot, and she felt her whole body swerve, only to be steadied then by the soft impact of Saitama's chest.

"Sorry," she mumbled against him, lifting her hands to his shirt then in an attempt to push herself off. But then she felt the touch of his hand rest against her back, gently ushering her back into the apartment.

"She ok, dude?" she heard King ask, but her eyes were too trained on the unstable ground below.

"Yeah, probably just tired. I'll take her back over," Saitama said.

"I should probably get going too, actually," King said, and from the corner of her eye she saw him move.

All three of them made their way to the entrance, and it was just when they were outside the door King that said: "I'll see you guys at the Hero Festival, yeah?"

"Hero Festival?" Saitama asked the exact same question that she'd been wondering.

"Oh. Yeah. Didn't you know? A couple years ago they started throwing an annual festival to honor all the heroes."

"Never heard of it," Saitama said.

"Well, it's the day after tomorrow. You should stop by – it's good fun."

She felt Saitama shrug against her. "Yeah, maybe..."

As King said his final farewell to the two, Beatrice made a vague attempt to smile and wave at him, but it might have been directed at the wall for all she knew. Feeling her body being guided forward again, her consciousness was wearing thin as she rocked against Saitama on the way towards what was probably her apartment. The darkness didn't help with the rest of her night coagulating into one big blur.

Somehow she'd made it back into her bed with a glass of water resting to the side.

A/N: Sorry this took so long, my inspiration took a major dip, and I've been super preoccupied with other fandoms and real-life stuff. So updates will probably be a bit slower from now on. Also I feel a bit bad for always making Beatrice ending up in Saitama's care haha. Must be annoying. I swear it won't always be like this. Next chapter should be a bit of a game-changer. Also, I should probably mention that, in regards to timeline, the Monster Association isn't as big yet as it is in the manga, it's just starting out. So whenever that is. Yeah.