Summary: Long before the start of what would become the story known as One-Punch Man, someone ended up within the world and has gone on to have his own adventures. Now with the 'story' about to start he attempts to guide the main players from the sidelines until such a time as they might need his assisstance.
Word Count: 68,000
Status: Ongoing
Link: https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/z-city-neighbors-one-punch-man-si.95797/
Chapter 1: Chapter 1
The day was bright and sunny, not a cloud in sight, the perfect day for a family vacation at the beach. Even better they managed to come at a time when the place wasn't crowded. The mother was reading a book under a lounge chair, the father had taken a pair of younger siblings to go play and frolic in the waters leaving the last sibling to his own devices. The last child and the eldest sibling had decided to sweep the beach for 'treasures' like in that one movie.
On that day he did not find any treasures.
What he found was…
… was…
"TOMORO!"
A woman screaming his name…
A flash of purple light…
A voice
"YOU ARE A WORTHY VESSEL…"
~O~
BEEP… BEEP… BEEP… BEEP… BEE-Click
The hand receded from the alarm and a man groggly sat up with a groan. After stretching his arms and heaving a great yawn he threw off the covers and left the comfort of his bed to begin his morning routine. Minutes later he stepped out of the shower while drying his body with a towel. The resulting steam from the shower had fogged up the mirror and wiping it down revealed a man looking to be in his early 30s. This man could have passed off as being average however his striking violet hair, sharp purple eyes and muscular body covered in a few scars meant he was far from being just an average man.
At least that would be the case in other circumstances but he was able to cover the most apparent of his abnormalities with a professional looking (if cheap) business suit with a matching purple tie. His short violet hair was neatly combed to be presentable, his sharp eyes became hidden behind the perpetual glare of his rectangular glasses and to complete the look he took up his black briefcase.
Finally after eating breakfast Tomoro Sazaki left his apartment as just another salary man.
~O~
Tomoro worked as an accounting clerk at a private firm. There wasn't much to the job itself as all he had to do was crunch some numbers, do some analysis, hand in some documents and attend some meetings. It was the very definition of a 'dead-end' job where the work itself was a monotonous grind but Tomoro didn't mind it much. The work was simple, expectations were minimal, working conditions were acceptable and the salary was great for a man in his position.
His co-workers were also good people, sure he wasn't really close with anyone but they were nice and he had a good relationship with most of them all the same. Tomoro himself was something of a wallflower but not one people overlook when they go out to celebrate. Those infrequent office parties and invites for after work drinks were the only things that broke up the monotony.
Well that -
"Hey, did you hear? There's a monster attack happening in A-City!"
-and that, the other thing that broke up the monotonous grind and something everyone secretly looked forward to during work hours. Not to say that the people here, including himself, would wish a monster attack on anyone but it was the only viable reason to do something besides staring at a spreadsheet all day. So instead people could now stare at a TV, computer, phone or at each other as they watched, read, listen to, gossip and speculate about whatever monster attack occurring.
It's the reason why everyone pitched in to get that big screen TV and speakers. Monster attacks don't have a pattern to them so if one happens to be nearby the boss thought it prudent for everyone to be aware and appraised of the situation. The citywide alarm doesn't ring for anything below a Demon level threat so it was up to the people to save themselves until a Hero showed up.
By now everyone had stopped what they were doing and had their eyes glued to the big screen. The news was reporting that the monster had destroyed a significant part of A-City and showed no signs of stopping. Tomoro didn't let the broadcast impede his work as the job was bearable so long as he didn't let anything pile up unnecessarily. Besides that Tomoro had seen this type of thing reported many times and he knew any minute now a Hero was going to show up to stop it.
"We now have word that Lightning Max and Smile Man are on their way!"
'Right on cue' he thought upon hearing the reporter.
Even with this break in routine there was nothing out of the ordinary until this kept going for another half hour. At that point it became more than just a break in the routine. The headline read 'HUGE EXPLOSION IN CITY A' and it would appear that they just got the threat assessment from the Hero Association. It was a disaster level Dragon which was enough to finally get Tomoro's full attention. If a disaster level is Dragon it meant that the Hero Association would have to send out S-Class Heroes to combat it.
If it's a city those Heroes aren't in or near then it's a genuine toss up as to who would respond to the threat. That's why an impromptu betting pool was set up in the office, something even Tomoro himself got involved in.
"I'm betting One-Punch Man will handle it" Tomoro said with quiet confidence.
"Tch, you always bet on One-Punch Tomoro" someone laughed.
Tomoro could only shrug, it was true, Tomoro had a preference for the hero and while he has lost more times betting on the man than he won he was feeling particularly lucky today. Several minutes later and they were given a verdict and it turned out that One-Punch Man was the one to take care of the Dragon level threat. Apparently he did it all within minutes of arriving on the scene and like his namesake he did it in a single punch.
"Looks like I'm eating fancy tonight" Tomoro smirked as he accepted his winnings.
"You mean you're treating everyone to the first round of drinks tonight" one coworker said jokingly.
"Yes, yes, of course" Tomoro rolled his eyes good naturedly.
It was something of a tradition in the firm for the workers to have drinks after a difficult monster is beaten. At least that was the excuse but really it doesn't take much for this lot to go drinking with after a hard day's work. After that everyone got back to their daily grind but with considerable more gossip on their tongue.
Tomoro himself was in deep thought 'is it finally starting?'
He dared not get his hopes up, this wasn't the first time. He was starting to feel impatient though which was something considering the past three years were a lesson in patience.
"I really hope I'm right this time" he mumbled to himself.
After work he accompanied a few coworkers for drinks and as he promised he paid for the first round. Tomoro stuck around for about an hour before he left, much to the disappointment of the others but he knew most of them just wanted him to stick around so he could bear the burden of sending their drunken selves home safely later on. As much as he would 'love' to do that he could not for two reasons with the first being that he wasn't about to play keeper to a couple of adults. The second reason being that his neighborhood isn't somewhere one should be out roaming about late or inebriated let alone both.
City Z was like many other cities, it had its pros and cons but if there was one thing that separated this city from the rest it would have to be that City Z, on average, has higher monster sightings than any other city. In fact, one area in particular had so much that the people abandoned it en masse to move closer to the center of the city.
This 'uninhabited zone' was called the Ghost Town by the locals, an ironic name if Tomoro was being honest considering that the area was in fact inhabited. Tomoro happened to be a resident of this Ghost Town, he even knew of a convenience store being run out of an admittedly half destroyed building and that's not to mention the other residents scattered about.
One could argue the wisdom behind staying in an area known to have frequent sightings of particularly powerful monsters. Tomoro would argue that if the place wasn't fit for human habitation then why were the utility companies still supplying the area with water and electricity instead of cutting it off? Why hasn't the government permanently walled off the area to prevent civilians from entering and monsters from escaping?
For a supposed 'dangerous area' there wasn't a lot being done to actually sell the idea that people shouldn't stay there. In fact the place was a squatter's paradise if one were so inclined. Tomoro was a model citizen so of course he would not choose to live in his apartment illegally. In fact he has no issues paying rent but he was friends with the owner of the apartment complex and said owner didn't mind him staying rent free.
Everyone seemed to still be under the assumption that the area was crawling with monsters. If it was then the Hero Association would have sent people to clear them out. To be fair there have been heroes, there have been investigations and he read that there was an announcement about the lack of monsters in the area. The thing is that by the time this happened the town had been abandoned for too long and no one was willing to move into an area that was a previous hotspot for monsters, at least not without a powerful Hero to act as a deterrent.
There are currently two heroes of such caliber residing in City Z. The first lived far away, did not do patrols, only answered to high threat level situations and wasn't about to move out of his current base for the safety/convenience of the people. The second hero's location is kept private and presumably is only known to the executives of the Hero Association, as such the area was left abandoned and ultimately forgotten by the populace, now nothing more than the abandoned Ghost Town which may or may not have monsters lurking about.
Those rumors at the very least have some truth to them, there are actually monsters lurking in some areas of the town but it's the areas far from civilization. Unless they're specifically looking for trouble monsters tend to keep to themselves and so far Tomoro's experiences with monsters have been few and far between. Actually most of Tomoro's recent experiences with monsters were less like encounters and more like leftovers.
Case in point, as he walked down a street near his apartment Tomoro came across what was left of a monster. At least he thought it was a monster, either that or a car imploded. Looking to the side he found a pair of giant legs with what looked like tires for ankle bracelets and a license plate covering its crotch.
"Definitely a monster" looking up he found more car parts hanging on the phone wires or are they its guts?
With monsters it could be either or, really.
"Something about this seems familiar…" his eyes widened a bit before he shook his head "no, I won't get my hopes up until I can confirm this."
And with that he went home without any more detours.
~O~
The morning started off well enough, Tomoro got up like he always did, went through his routine and made it outside looking crisp and clean as he always did. Then he took a few steps away from his apartment and-
*CRASH*
"What the…"
Tomoro stared as the road before him collapsed into several holes and from these holes came creatures. All of them were short, brown and wore some kind of helmet. All of them except for one who was about the size of a regular human, he had four arms, each carrying a sword and he began screaming a declaration.
"THE SURFACE IS OURS!"
His minions began jeering and cheering as he continued his spiel.
"I AM THE SUBTERANEAN KING!"
At that point Tomoro kind of zoned out because here was a monster proclaiming himself to be the 'Subterranean King' popped out of a hole in the ground in front of his apartment building to declare war on the surface. He only brought with him a few minions and he seemed to be content with the fact that his only audience to this decree was a lone person.
'Is today Tuesday?'
He just about reached into his pocket for his phone to check the date when-
*WHAM*
A bald man in a yellow jumpsuit came out of nowhere and drop-kicked the 'Subterranean King' right in the middle of his speech much to the visible shock of his followers. Their 'king' went down after that single hit and the bald caped wonder turned to them in a battle stance with a very eager grin.
"Al right, bring it on!"
The bald man's enthusiasm blew out like a candle in a snowstorm the next moment when the mole men dragged their unconscious or dead 'king' back through the hole he came from while putting up a white flag with an apology written on it.
Tomoro shook his head 'if they had that prepared in advance then it just goes to show how confident they were in an invasion in the first place'
"I've become too strong"
Tomoro looked at the no longer enthusiastic bald man whose mumbled words he just heard and after a moment of observing the man's funk decided to greet him.
"Morning Saitama"
As if realizing that he wasn't alone Saitama turned his now blank gaze towards him "ah, morning Tomoro"
This man was Tomoro's neighbor, the only other occupant of the apartment building and the other resident of the Ghost Town. He was also technically Tomoro's landlord and a friend he has known for approximately three years now.
"I see that 'hobby' of yours is working out well for you"
"I guess" he shrugged.
"Saw you saved City A the other day, good job"
Saitama was also the 6th ranked S-Class hero who held the title of Strongest Man in the World, the One-Punch Man.
"Eh, it's nothing" he waved off.
"You're the only man I know who could brush off saving an entire city as nothing" Tomoro chuckled "have a nice one Saitama."
"Ah, you too"
Tomoro watched him leave for a second before calling out "hey uh, Saitama."
For a moment Saitama paused to look over his shoulder "huh?"
"Thanks for saving me" he gestured to the hole with the white flag still sticking out of it
Saitama blinked then continued with an overhead wave "you're welcome"
They went their separate ways afterwards and unbeknownst to them they both walked away with a smile on their faces but for two completely different reasons.
'So it begins'
A few days later City D and City B were destroyed by a Kaiju that looked like a giant naked person. The Hero Association gave a press release announcing the one to defeat the monster was none other than One-Punch Man. That same week Tomoro shared his leftover dinner with Saitama after making too much.
~O~
Today Tomoro was given the day off from work in wake of a city-wide emergency. A plague of mosquitoes was sweeping the countryside and leaving the corpses of animals completely drained of blood. According to an 'expert' these mosquitoes are a new species which explains their unusual behavior. Regardless the swarm is headed straight for City Z and will most likely attack any living creature outside so everyone was warned to stay indoors and cover any openings.
Tomoro didn't mind the free day he received from this incident. At the moment he was keeping appraised of the situation via the news. They say that people should also lock their windows and doors while blocking any small openings with cloth to prevent entry. Of course bug spray and incense are also an option but the overall message was to prevent contact since these new breed of mosquitoes could be carrying diseases.
Tomoro heard all these warnings, speculations, discussions and updates from the comfort of his balcony chair. The sky was overcast, the city beyond was deathly quiet as if holding its breath and the entire mood of the place was rather dour, Tomoro actually quite liked these conditions. At the moment he was enjoying some nice tea, the good stuff, whilst contemplating life and the silence greatly helped with his concen-
*BAM*
-tration…
*Sigh*
*BAM*
"I knew I was forgetting something"
*BAM*
"God"
*BAM*
"Dammit"
*BAM*
"Saitama"
…
'Is he done?'
*BAM*
*BAM*
*BAM*
*BAM*
*BAM*
Tomoro weathered the earth shaking blows for a few minutes until one significantly harsher clap let loose a miniature sonic boom that tilted his cup over, spilling his expensive tea on the floor. Tomoro inhaled sharply, pushed his glasses up and finally made a stand. Making his way through his rumbling house, past his front door, through the corridor and stopping at his neighbor's door. Tomoro knocked politely but was met with the sound of more sonic claps that rattled the whole building.
In the interest of keeping the building's integrity Tomoro decided to forgo politeness and enter his neighbor's home.
"Saitama I'm coming in"
The man obviously didn't notice, Tomoro could both hear and feel that was the case. Since the layout of the apartments was more or less the same he found Saitama crouching on his balcony like some kind of ninja cat. From his clasped hands you'd think he was praying but from the latest sonic clap Tomoro understood that this was just the position he adopted in the latest attempt in a long line of claps.
For what reason?
*Bzzzt*
The mosquito flying from seemingly between his hands and Saitama's exaggerated look of frustration said it all. He didn't even seem to notice that there was someone in his home he was so blinded by tunnel vision rage. Tomoro saw this, saw the mosquito headed his way and so, before he could experience those sonic claps at close range, Tomoro reached up and casually caught the mosquito between his two fingers.
"Huuuh?" Saitama's jaw dropped, he looked to the mosquito struggling between his two fingers then to the man who caught it "how did you…?"
For his part Tomoro looked very unimpressed "good grief Saitama. Were you seriously having trouble catching this little guy?"
The bald younger man jolted with a look of embarrassment before replying "I almost had him"
"Sure you did~" Tomoro replied with obvious sarcasm.
Now aggravated Saitama pointed at him "what are you doing breaking into other people's homes anyway!?"
"What am I doing?" an ominous glare came over Tomoro's glasses obscuring his eyes and greatly unnerving the bald man "the real question is why did it feel like there was a localized earthquake happening in my apartment? You wouldn't happen to know why it felt like some idiot with super strength was doing sonic claps would you?"
"Uh, well…"
"I was enjoying some tea but then it spilled" Tomoro went on and the more he spoke the more an ominous aura enveloped him "I like that tea Saitama, it was very good and very expensive"
By this point Saitama was stuttering out apologies. Tomoro let him sweat for a minute before waving him off with a sigh.
"Forget it, I'm not gonna ask you for reimbursement"
At this Saitama let out a sigh of relief even wiping his brow "oh, good"
Again Tomoro rolled his eyes at the man's emotional 180 before speaking "I take it you haven't been paying attention to the news."
"Not really. Why, something happen?"
"Saitama, there's a swarm of mosquitoes heading for City Z"
Saitama's face froze "eh?"
"It was all over the news. The entire city is on lockdown and they've told everyone to stay inside and shut their windows or doors"
The more he spoke the more Saitama's face drained of color "mosquito… swarm…"
"Actually they should already be here right now."
"… I'm gonna need a lot of bug spray"
'God help me' Tomoro thought.
"Look, since you obviously don't know, there's a monster attacking uptown"
"For real, right now?"
"Yes, right now and I'm pretty sure it's controlling the mosquito swarm since, you know, it's like a giant mosquito or something"
Saitama adopted a serious look "then I guess I'll go"
"I'll leave you to it" Tomoro said adjusting his glasses as he left.
Outside Tomoro huffed at the absurdity of what just happened before turning his attention to the mosquito between his fingers. Almost the entire time the insect had been trying to draw blood but to no avail. With a flick he let the mosquito go and watched as it immediately flew away with an urgency that was unheard of in an insect like that.
He made another brew of that expensive tea and was enjoying it on the balcony. Then he caught sight of a naked Saitama casually walking down the street and promptly dumped his tea off the side in disgust.
"God dammit, Saitama"
~O~
Today was the special weekend sale at the supermarket and Tomoro made sure he was present. Financially, Tomoro was in a good spot but he would be an absolute fool to pass up on these bargains. He wasn't the only one, there was also a crowd consisting of housewives, single mothers, old folks and those in less than ideal financial situations. Today all of them were his enemies, he learned from past experience never to underestimate the desperation that goes into a high stakes bargain shopping.
Some of these people play for keeps. His gaze went to an elderly woman, hunched over on a walker looking deceptively frail and trembling, his eyes narrowed.
'I'm watching you old hag'
As if sensing his thoughts she turned her closed eyes to his direction then they opened into slits revealing the wolf under the sheep's clothing. The woman who could have been his grandmother brought a thumb up to her neck and ran it across her throat with a smirk. He imagined her cackling over a bubbling cauldron with lightning in the background. Eventually a nervous looking employee wearing protective gear stepped outside, saw the crowd and swallowed before flipping the sign.
After that all hell broke loose.
All in all it took several hours for Tomoro to be done with his shopping spree and return home looking ragged but feeling triumphant. He arrived home only to find that in his absence a great battle must've taken place by the apartment building. There were holes in the street reminiscent of the ones made by the subterraneans some time ago, scorch marks and rubble from where explosions must have taken place and the street plus a few buildings looked as if it had been cut up on a chopping block.
Most egregious of all were the various chunks of what were clearly monsters. The battle must have taken place a while back because the corpses were decomposing, flies were circling and Tomoro could smell it from a distance. This was a public health hazard and the worst part was that from the angle of the street it just so happens that his apartment was closer to the scene than his neighbor who probably hasn't even noticed.
"Dammit Saitama"
After confirming that the stench of rot would be permeating his apartment Tomoro put away his groceries and knocked on his neighbor's door. He expected a younger bald headed man to answer not an even younger looking blonde cyborg.
"Who are you?"
Tomoro raised an eyebrow "I should be asking you that" he huffed before looking over his shoulder "where's Saitama?"
"Master Saitama is preoccupied. If you have a message to give him, I will relay it"
"Who's at the door Genos?" came Saitama voice "oh, hey Tomoro. It's okay Genos he's my neighbor"
"Yes Master" the cyborg obediently stepped aside allowing the purple haired man inside.
"Master?" Tomoro gestured to the now named Genos.
"Don't ask" Saitama grumbled "what do you want?"
"I came to complain about a trash problem you left outside my apartment"
Saitama gave him a blank look trying to remember any 'trash' he might have left "uh…"
"Did you have a fight near the apartment today?"
"Yeah, stupid monsters came out of nowhere and smashed my roof in, Genos just fixed it."
This admission compelled him to look up and sure enough while the roof looked unscathed there were signs that it was an impeccable patch job.
"Yes well, the corpses you left to rot are stinking up my apartment. That's a major health hazard Saitama, I could report you to the authorities"
The bald man gave a frustrated grunt before replying "alright, alright I'll get rid of them"
He went to stand up only to stop when Genos spoke "no master Saitama, allow me to take care of this"
"You don't have to" Saitama said but he was already sitting back down.
"My incinerators will be able to render the corpses to ash" the palms of his metallic hands glowed in response "please leave this to me!"
"If you insist-"
"Thank you master!" with a bow the enthusiastic cyborg was off to burn some trash.
Tomoro watched him leave and waited for the door to close before taking a seat at the table Saitama was resting his head on.
"So why'd you get attacked this time?"
He waved his hands around dismissively "something about evolution, I don't know I wasn't really paying attention"
"Did you at least get a good fight out of it?"
Saitama mumbled something incoherently from his face lying flat on the table.
Tomoro had no idea what he just said but he could take a guess "I'll take that as a no then"
After some more grumbling Saitama seemed to finally take note of Tomoro's bedraggled appearance "what happened to you?"
"Bargain sale, stampede, Grannies with freaking nunchuks"
From the blank expression that made absolutely no sense to Saitama but on the other hand "sounds like you had more fun than I did"
What a time to be alive when a cutthroat bargain sale is more exciting than stopping an evil organization bent on world domination.
"Uh-huh. Tell you what, my apartment smells like something died and it's going to take a while to air out. Since it's your fault the least you can do is let me use your kitchen. We'll swap stories over dinner. "
"Sure, go ahead"
"Uh, is your student gonna join us for dinner too?"
Another sigh "yeah Genos is gonna stay over"
"He's gonna live here?"
"Hell no!" Saitama exclaimed even making an 'X' with his hands "don't even joke about something like that" he grumbled something under his breath.
The reaction was so over the top and unlike him that Tomoro couldn't help but say "better not let him find out that no one is living next door then"
Saitama looked panicked for a moment "shit, I forgot about that"
"You forgot we are the only two occupants living in this building?"
'This guy, I swear'
"Tomoro…"
"Don't worry I'll cover for you if he ever asks"
Saitama breathed a sigh of relief "thanks"
"Think of this as my gratitude for beating some monsters and… a scientist…? I want to know the details about what happened" he stated getting up at the same time Genos stepped in.
"Master Saitama, I have finished incinerating the corpses"
"Cool, hey Genos this is my neighbor Tomoro. He's gonna make dinner for us"
Tomoro's eye twitched behind his glasses "I'm making dinner for me. I'm just borrowing your kitchen stupid baldy"
"Who're calling bald shitty glasses!" was Saitama's 'mature' response.
Ignoring him Tomoro held out his hand "Genos right?"
"Yes" he shook the older man's hands.
"I have no idea what you plan to learn from a bald NEET like him-"
"Screw you old man, I have a job!"
"-but all I can say is good luck with that and him."
"Be right back with the ingredients bald NEET"
"Shut up shitty glasses!"
After that Tomoro with some assistance from Genos made a meal for the three of them with leftovers Tomoro gave to Saitama for goodwill. During the meal Tomoro was given an unnecessarily detailed oral report on the happenings of the day as well as how he and Saitama met and the reason behind Genos' motives for being Saitama's disciple.
By the end of it Tomoro wished Saitama luck with the younger cyborg.
~O~
A group of terrorists called the Paradise group had recently destroyed a building they had mistaken as the home of a multi millionaire and showed no signs of stopping. The police and C-Class heroes sent to stop them have failed, mainly because the Paradise Group managed to get their hands on some high tech battle suits. How a group of lazy NEETs managed to get their hands on experimental military technology was beyond Tomoro.
All he knew for sure was that Saitama was probably pissed.
All the members of this terrorist group were bald, which is not a common fashion choice among young men. While Saitama would never be mistaken for one of these terrorists being who he is, they were effectively copying his style and getting national news coverage because of it. Tomoro could imagine the bald man laying in his room watching the news and feeling compelled to go and stop this before people start making comparisons.
'Whoops, too late for that' he thought watching a panel where One-Punch Man's face was being featured alongside the Paradise Group.
He didn't even need to hear or read the headline to know what they were talking about.
'Seriously, they're all just bald. Why make a comparison between the two?'
The answer was most likely for the ratings.
'And to think if Saitama wasn't famous he could have legitimately been mistaken as one' Tomoro's thought process briefly stalled as his eyes widened 'now that I think about it with credentials like that if I didn't already know him I would think he was part of that crazy group too.'
Luckily the terrorists seem to have it out for Zeniru the multi millionaire so their activities are mostly stationed in City F. Tomoro wouldn't have to worry about a group of lazy bald NEETs in high tech battle armor thrashing about disrupting the peace. That was a small mercy at least, City Z had its own problems to contend with without having to worry about all that.
Later that same day the entire incident was resolved, the Paradise Group was taken out presumably by One-Punch Man but Hammerhead was still at large. Tomoro went to congratulate Saitama and was invited to join him and Genos, who had been staying over, for dinner. Saitama gave an unhelpfully brief summary while Genos gave an unnecessarily detailed report based on Saitama's summary.
"Speed of Sound Sonic?" Tomoro blinked "that sounds like something an edgy teenage brat would come up with. And you say he's a ninja?"
"He looked like one I guess" Saitama answered.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine"
"No you're not, something happened didn't it?"
"…"
This quickly got Genos' attention "is that true Master?"
"… I don't want to talk about it"
Tomoro raised his eyebrow at the man, he could only speculate as to why the strongest man in the world would be depressed. In any case Tomoro needed to change the subject unless he wanted to suffer the awkward silence.
"So Genos, are you going to sign up with the National Superhero Registry?"
"Why would I?" the cyborg questioned bluntly.
"I mean, Saitama signed up and he's you know, One-Punch Man"
"Who?"
"… you can't be serious" Tomoro deadpanned.
Even Saitama looked amazed by the slight widening of his eyes "wait, you don't know who I am?"
"You are my Master Saita-"
"No, I mean you've never heard of me before? One-Punch Man? Strongest man in the world? S-Class Hero for fun?"
"The 'Bald Caped Wonder'?"
If Saitama trained his brain like he trained his body Tomoro's head would have exploded with how hard he was glaring at him.
"I have spent the last three years wandering the world in search of the Mad Cyborg who destroyed my village. That has been my only focus, anything that doesn't pertain to that is overlooked as secondary or unnecessary information."
In short he didn't know who Saitama was but wanted to be his student because he was awestruck by his strength. That was, Tomoro pretty much summed up what they both thought of that.
"Wow"
Ever since Saitama became S-Class and incidentally started gaining fame through his many one-sided victories there hasn't been a person who at least has never heard of him in recent memory. This was definitely a fresh experience for the two of them.
"Huh? And here I thought you were just a really persistent fan of mine" Saitama scratched his head.
While he was doing this Genos, with laptop on the table, was currently blazing through the internet. He had multiple tabs open and all of them were about Saitama, the One-Punch Man. From the Hero Association websites to blogs, videos, fan club and so much more Genos studied them with the efficiency of… well a cyborg. Somehow he was able to make the laptop interface go at super speeds, as if it were a visual representation of his own cybernetic brain.
Finally he shut the laptop down and brief silence overcame the room. Tomoro and Saitama gave each other a glance with the latter pointing and the former shrugging.
Finally Genos broke the silence by standing up, then promptly prostrating himself before him.
"FORGIVE ME MASTER SAITAMA! I HAD NO IDEA YOU WERE SUCH A FAMOUS FIGURE!! AS A STUDENT I HAVE FAILED YOU!"
"Ah, no you didn't. You can get up now"
"But I have! How could I have overlooked such common knowledge when I was doing recon on you" the cyborg mumbled to himself.
"Wait… what, recon?" Saitama shook his head "hey Genos, look it's not a big deal I-"
"How could it not be? You are the One-Punch Man, the strongest hero in the world!"
'He sounds even more enthusiastic than before now'
Saitama realized this too as he gave Genos one of his not often used 'serious' expression "Genos"
"Yes Master!!"
"Knock it off" there was a pause as the cyborg recoiled "I get that you want to become strong but I can tell my way of doing things isn't going to be much help for you. We both know this and yet you stick around but that's fine I don't actually mind having more friends but if you're gonna be a fanboy I don't think we can hang out anymore."
Ah the fans, Saitama had a mixed relationship with his fans. On the one hand he appreciated them, it's always nice to be recognized and appreciated for his work. On the other hand they can be annoying and overwhelming, especially for an anti-social guy like Saitama who prefers his solitude.
At the start of the 'golden age' of Saitama's popularity a couple months back, when he first became S-Class he moved out of the apartment because he could now afford it. He came back less than a month later for a number of reasons, one of which was because his new address got leaked and his 'fans' started harassing him on a daily basis. It made him weary of anyone who calls themselves his 'fans' and he abhors the hardcore types.
Genos bowed his head with a more subdued "I understand Master Saitama"
"Good"
"Should I also join the Hero Association?"
"Eh, I don't see why not. Do what you want" he spoke dismissively
Tomoro gave the bald man an elbow shove "what?"
"Are you seriously going to leave it at that?"
Saitama picked his nose "what do you mean?"
Tomoro smacked his arm down while giving him a piercing look "he may be a cyborg but he's still a kid and an impressionable one. He looks up to you, god knows why, and it doesn't have anything to do with the legend of the One-Punch Man."
"So what do you want me to do about it?"
"I'm not bailing you out this time. You figure it out"
Saitama grumbled, he cast a glance at Genos who was looking at his notes in contemplation "hey Genos"
"Yes Master?"
He stared for a long moment before his serious expression came in "since you want to be my disciple so much I'll tell you now. I can't really help you without getting a proper measure of your strength. So here is your first task if you want to become my official disciple you need to make it into the S-Class during your test."
Genos looked floored "S-Class?"
Saitama nodded sagely "that's right. My disciple should be able to do at least that much. Unless you don't think you can handle it?"
Tomoro could have sworn Genos' golden eyes flashed at the challenge "I shall do my utmost to fulfill this mission you have given my Master Saitama!"
Genos then bowed and left the apartment, presumably to prepare for the test.
Once he left Saitama released a breath of relief "there, problem solved"
Tomoro gave him a look, not a stern one but a curious one "I'm legitimately shocked you'd do something like this. If you didn't want him to be your disciple you could have just said so"
"You think he would have left me alone either way?"
"… probably not"
"Exactly, at least this way he won't have anyone to blame but himself when he fails"
"How're you so sure he'll fail?"
"Genos' isn't really strong enough for S-Class"
"And the guy who ends all his fights with a casual punch is a good judge of someone's strength"
"Well even if he might be strong enough, there's no way he can ace the written part. Those questions are super hard"
"…"
'Must… not… criticize…'
"It's like they intentionally made that part to be unpassable, you'd have to be some kind of super genius to ace that part."
'Or a cyborg with a computer brain able to calculate at high speeds and memorize large volumes of information with a single glance'
Like what Genos literally just did in front of them not ten minutes ago.
"Whatever you say Saitama. I think my apartment should be aired out now. I'll see you tomorrow"
"Bye" Saitama waved over his shoulder laying sideways across from the TV.
The next day Genos took the test for the National Superhero Registry and got the highest scores since its inception. He became the lowest ranked S-Class hero thus fulfilling the conditions for being Saitama's student.
~O~
Ever since it began Tomoro has noticed that he has been having more frequent interactions with his neighbor. It wasn't as if he and Saitama didn't hang out, the two of them were best friends after all. Being the only people living in an apartment building for three years tend to give people a common interest and the two helped each other out in the past. Due to Tomoro's job and Saitama's 'hobby' the two haven't gotten many chances to hang out in the past month.
Recently that's all changed and here is yet another sign of Tomoro noticing the frequency of him meeting Saitama. This time around it's in a place he didn't think he'd find the younger bald man, in the middle of a busy street. Saitama was dressed in his typical hoodie, shorts and sandals. His hood was up though and he wore a baseball cap.
"Saitama?"
"Tomoro, what are you doing here?" he questioned.
"I should be asking you that. Years of studying have shown your species don't leave the nest unless it's for food or your hobby"
"Shut up"
"So which is it, food or hobby?"
"… food" he grumbled grudgingly.
"Yeah I thought so, there's not been much crime around here as far as I can tell. Actually it's said to be the most peaceful week in a while"
Saitama hummed "so what're you doing out here, shouldn't you be working?"
"Jealous?" Saitama smirked with a scoff in response "yeah no, I'm on my lunch break, you wanna talk this over some udon, your treat?"
"Sure"
As the two were about leave Tomoro blinked and Saitama was suddenly holding something in his hand.
Tomoro pointed at it "what's that?"
"No idea?" Saitama held up what looks like a kunai in hand.
"That looks like-"
"I finally found you"
The two friends looked over to find some guy Tomoro has never seen before "you know that guy?"
Saitama adopted a shocked expression "you! You're definitely… definitely…"
Tomoro looked between the two, taking the time between Saitama's stuttering to back away from him and the katana carrying, knife throwing, edgelord pretty boy.
Then Saitama went and shouted "Elbow Joint Panic!"
'That can't be his real name' Tomoro deadpanned.
That is too ridiculous.
"It's Speed o' Sound Sonic" the man corrected with a stone faced look of irritation.
'That name is not any better either' Tomoro thought.
He remembered Saitama talking about a 'ninja' who called himself Speed of Sound Sonic but he thought it was Saitama messing up someone's name… again.
'Apparently there are people like that out there'
Go figure.
Well whatever his naming sense, the guy looked like he was out for blood with the way he was glaring at Saitama.
"Saitama, today I'm going to kill-"
"Sorry but I'm busy right now, so come back later"
Sonic wasn't the only one shocked by Saitama's declaration 'what is he doing?'
"Hey Tomoro we still going for Udon or what?" he spoke as he walked away.
Compelled by his actions Tomoro decided to walk with the hero "uh…" the accountant would occasionally look over his shoulder at the casual dressed ninja "are you sure you don't want to take care of him first?"
Saitama waved off his worries "eh don't worry about it. I can deal with him at any time. Besides, I'm hungry."
The casual dismissal was too much to bear for Sonic because in the next moment he was suddenly beside Saitama and broken pieces of metal were falling on the ground. From what Tomoro could gather the ninja tried to cut off Saitama's head with his sword but the hero ended up breaking it. The force of the movement was so much that it blew Saitama's hood off and Tomoro was briefly blinded by the shine reflecting off the man's head.
"I said I was busy, idiot" a pressure of irritation started emitting from Saitama almost distorting his image "I'm pissed off so don't get in my way or I'll hit you"
'It's a good thing I'm not between them' Tomoro thought having backed away to a safer distance, ready to run away or hide somewhere should a fight break out between the two super humans.
Tomoro didn't think it would come to that, whatever stunt Saitama did to break Sonic's sword seemed to have affected the ninja's confidence.
'Maybe a fight can be avoided'
"Kyaa! It's him!" a random woman shouted and suddenly the crowd who had already been forming out of interest from the happenings started surrounding them.
At that point Saitama realized that his hood was down and his bald head was gaining a lot of attention. There is really only one person that is universally recognized nowadays for his bald head.
"Huh, who's that guy?"
"Idiot, don't you recognize him. It's One-Punch Man"
What!? Seriously!!???"
"The strongest hero-no, the strongest man in the world"
"Can I have your autograph Mr. One-Punch?"
"Wait then is there a monster around here?"
"No way, I saw everything that pretty boy attacked One-Punch"
"EEH!? For real, he must be a bad person"
*LOL*
"Kick his ass One-Punch Man"
"One-Punch, One-Punch, One-Punch, One-Punch, One-Punch"
And now the crowd was chanting his name and from the way how he pinched the bridge of his nose Saitama didn't really appreciate it"
"HEY WHAT' GOING ON OVER HERE!!"
Then another person pushed through the crowd, a muscular man with gold and brown striped hair wearing tank top.
"It's the C-Class hero Tank Top Tiger!"
Said hero took a sweep of the situation and the moment his eyes landed on a familiar bald man his eyes popped up as his jaw dropped "O-One-Punch M-Man!?"
"Sup?"
"Wh-what are you doing here!?" he stuttered.
"I was just going to take care of this guy" he pointed at Sonic.
Tank Top Tiger looked at the smaller, thinner and slightly feminine looking man who wasn't even paying attention. He gave a brief contemplative expression before breaking out in a confident grin.
"Hah! For a scrawny looking guy like that to fight you, that'd be overkill!"
Tomoro did not miss the way how Sonic's eyes flashed to the C-Class hero 'that's not good'
Ignorant of the ninja's reaction Tank Top Tiger continued "please allow I, Tank Top Tiger to take care of this!"
Saitama wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed and as a result of his 'strength that defies common sense' he doesn't have a very good measure of individual strength. Compared to him, everyone is on the same level in terms of strength. Still he wasn't completely ignorant or maybe he actually seemed to notice the look on Sonic's face?
"Uh, you sure about that man?"
"Yes" the man went into a battle stance "I Tank Top Tiger, who fights with the speed and ferocity of a true tiger shall take care of this!" he lunged at the stationary ninja.
"DIE"
*BOOM*
And promptly exploded.
It was the charred but still living body of Tank Top Tiger that fell forward face first through smoke and ash.
Saitama casually stooped beside him and started poking his form "hey, you still alive?"
"Huuuuurrrrgggghhhh" was the painful groan that came out his mouth.
"W-what just happened!?"
"Something attacked Tank Top Tiger"
"Is he dead!?"
"He exploded, lol"
"Kyaah!"
"One-Punch Man save us!"
"You all seem pretty confident that your hero can save you" Sonic chuckled darkly while a black aura seems to envelope him "and you, One-Punch Man must feel good about having an audience watching you."
"Not really-"
He didn't hear Saitama's reply on account of him leaping up into the air and shouting "too bad your precious fans are going to watch you fail!!"
Sonic pulled out and threw several shurikens at Saitama, who got up and raised his hands, as if to catch them only for the shurikens to veer off and explode into the crowd.
"How do you like that Saitama!?" he shouted, landing on a hanging street sign "your precious fans are all dying and you couldn't do anything!" he cackled pulling more shurikens.
His eyes locked on Tomoro and with a sadistic grin of the devil himself he threw a shuriken right at him. Tomoro saw the weapon coming at him in slow motion, spinning until jets of fire ignited and exploded into the fist of Saitama who caught it several feet before it got near Tomoro.
"What!?" Sonic exclaimed before he caught sight of something.
The crowd, aside from being knocked back, startled or had a bit of ash on them was completely fine.
"How?"
'Those shuriken weren't going to kill them but it should have at least given them injuries'
Immediately his eyes snapped back to Saitama and Sonic noted that right sleeve of his hoodie up to his elbow was burnt off.
"You alright?" the bald man asked the startled glasses wearing civilian.
"Yeah, I'm good"
'He caught them? But when? How!? No one is that fast!'
He looked to Saitama again who seems to have noticed his burned sleeve "aw man and this was my favorite hoodie too"
A pressure unlike anything he had felt before enveloped Sonic. He was no longer staring at an unassuming bald man but a predator whom he had just pissed off.
"You better compensate me for this"
RUN!
'I have to escape'
Pride forgotten, overwhelmed by self preservation Speed o' Sound Sonic took off at top speed hoping to escape from the previously sleeping dragon he had awakened. This was not meant to be however, because just as the ninja took to the sky at a leap near the speed of sound Saitama appeared behind him. Neither the ninja nor the crowd saw the movement, saw Saitama raise his hand and bring down in a sharp arc, chopping Sonic on the back of his head.
*SLAM*
The crowd jumped as the 'terrorist' planted into the sidewalk face first.
Tomoro cringed when he saw that his face was really stuck in the ground 'that's gonna hurt like hell when he wakes up'
Saitama landed casually with his hands in his pocket "I'll let you off with a tap since that attack wouldn't have killed anyone"
At that declaration the crowd went absolutely insane and Saitama could only sigh in irritation and resignation when they started closing in. he was bombarded with shouts of praise, congratulations and adorations. Saitama's gaze met Tomoro's the two friends were almost completely separated by the crowd now. Saitama sighed again before bending his knees and taking off without so much as a word.
Tomoro left as well, making a call to his boss. The two of them never was able to get that lunch together but Tomoro bought takeout on the way home which he shared with Saitama and Genos.
~O~
BREAKING NEWS: A METEOR ON A COLLISION COURSE WITH CITY Z!!!
That was the headline of the emergency broadcast playing on loop. The sirens were blaring and the city was being evacuated. Panicked people rushed through the streets, traffic jammed the highways and the entire city has devolved into chaos pending the oncoming doom. This came in the midst of when Tomoro was at work so one could imagine the chaos which ensued. The office did not even properly close as everyone rushed out to save themselves leaving Tomoro alone to organize the place and close the office.
That was roughly twenty minutes ago when the evacuation order was first released and the meteor is stated to impact in approximately half an hour. It goes without saying that evacuating a city within an hour is nigh impossible so there are a lot of people out on the streets having given up hope, simply staring at their impending doom that was in the form of a massive flaming chunk of space rock hurdling towards them at terminal velocity.
Given the mass evacuation order and widespread panic the city's transportation service was shut down so Tomoro was forced to walk home. He too looked up at the 'Dragon' level threat and hummed.
"No wonder everyone's not even trying to escape, the fallout alone from a rock that big hitting the ground would spread for miles beyond City Z"
Tomoro paused a minute to look at the Meteor that was already encompassing the sky and growing larger by the second.
"Actually that thing is a lot bigger than I thought it would be, even if by some miracle that thing is destroyed, unless its complete disintegration the damage caused by any falling bits could be disastrous."
And knowing Saitama he's just going to one punch the damn thing and not bother with it afterwards.
With this thought in mind Tomoro huffed "good grief"
As he said this several massive explosions lit up the evening sky.
"Looks like its starting"
Meanwhile On a Tall Skyscraper…
Genos stared up in disbelief as the high yield explosive missiles Metal Knight launched had virtually no effect on the meteor. There was less than a few minutes minute left until impact, doubt started to plague his mind as Genos hesitated over what ifs leading to frustration.
"Be calm"
The voice brought Genos from his thoughts and he looked to find the S-Class hero Silver Fang standing behind him.
The old hero went on "I can see you are frustrated, don't be. You should not concern yourself with such idle thoughts. Rather, you should focus on the here and now because regardless it will not change the situation.
Genos took these words to heart 'he is right, thinking about it will not bring forth a resolution' he ripped off his hoodie and opened his chest to reveal his core
'If the situation will not change'
Thoughts of Dr. Kuseno
'If I am to die'
Thoughts of his Master Saitama and Tomoro
'Then I should at least give it everything I got!'
He pulled out his core still attached via a cord and put it into a port in his bicep to power his incinerator.
"Bang, you should take cover"
"Right" the old man agreed though he made no move to actually follow the suggestion.
Not that it would matter anyway.
Genos agreed or at least didn't protest further as he unleashed an overpowered blast from his incinerator canon. The force of the blast was staggering, forcing the roof beneath his feet to form fissures. The massive beam impacted the meteor but to negligible effect as stated by Bang who observed that the meteor was hardly being stopped. Eventually Genos' core lost power and the young cyborg was forced to his knees with his movements disabled as his systems were close to shutting down.
"Only nine more seconds left before impact. You should flee with what little time you have left Bang" the defeated cyborg warned with resignation.
Bang did not listen for he too was resigned to his fate though he faced it with much more calm than his younger hero counterpart.
Suddenly they were interrupted by a very familiar voice.
"Hey old man"
"Saitama" he greeted "I was wondering if you were going to show up"
The bald hero shrugged "Genos said he wanted a shot at destroying it so I let him take a swing at it."
"I am sorry Master Saitama, I was unable to do it"
"Meh, it's alright you did your best I think"
Bang raised an eyebrow at the younger man "Master Saitama"
"Don't ask" Saitama grumbled before looking up at the meteor with a serious expression "do me a favor and take care of Genos for me."
"Very well" Bang nodded.
After such a declaration Saitama bent forward, with his knees crouched and with an almighty push (that was in actuality of minimal effort to the man) did a hefty vertical jump. The force of his jump crushed the roof under his feet, shattered all the windows of the building and the vibrations travelled through it all the way down to the streets creating massive cracks long the road and sidewalks.
Bang watched the strongest man in the world shoot up at the meteor and smash right through the massive space rock creating an explosion that lit up the gradually darkening sky with a literal meteor shower. As Bang prepared to intercept the onslaught his senses suddenly went into overdrive, old instincts flared up with an oddly familiar warning of danger and the leap he was about to make to intercept the falling debris was abruptly halted.
The action might have saved his life.
Adrenaline coursed through his veins making him hyperaware of his surroundings and combined with his mastery of mind and body required of his martial arts he was able to be selective with his priorities in regards to his senses. So despite the commotion, the loud noises he was able to pick up a single word uttered so softly but carried with it such power that it honestly frightened him.
"Hakai"
With the utterance time seemed to suddenly just stop and right before Bang's eyes, the sky above flashed a deep purple. It was only for a moment, one single moment, the kind where if you blinked then you missed it.
Bang did not blink.
The moment was then over, he could see the caped young man making his decent as clear as the sky that was now suddenly all clear. The meteor fragments, the thousands of flaming space rocks that would have hit the ground and even the clouds themselves were just suddenly gone. You could say they up and vanished without a trace but that was not necessarily true.
Bang reached out and caught some dust in his palm, all that is left of that meteorite.
That should be impossible unless…
Suddenly a member flashed before his eyes, a shadowed figure wreathed in purple aura with violet spheres for eyes.
Bang suppressed a shudder of alarm as he vigilantly scanned the area.
"Amazing… as expected… of Master… Saitama…"
Bang looked to the young cyborg who clearly did not pick up what he did. That moment after when One-Punch Man destroyed the meteor and it exploded into a shower. That wasn't unexpected, it was a one-in-a-million kind of moment and Genos wasn't in the best shape to begin with. There was no fooling Bang however, he knew the truth, while Saitama certainly displayed a very impressive feat there was another individual who intervened.
"Hakai"
Destruction
Bang felt this fist clench the dust in his palms "Shiva"
"What was… that…" Genos stuttered, his mild malfunction coming through his speech.
"Oh just the mutterings of an old man" Bang waved off while brushing the dust off is pants "come, let's get you out of here"
Meanwhile…
There was celebration happening in the streets as everyone cheered at the destruction of the disaster level Dragon meteor. One man went against the wave of civilians, wiping his glasses before placing it on his face with a small adjustment. The glare obscured his eyes but the small smile was quite visible.
Looking up to the sky Tomoro wondered to himself.
"I should make something special for dinner tonight."
In the aftermath One-Punch Man, Metal Knight and Genos had their ranks in the S-Class bumped up to 5th, 6th and 16th place respectively. Consequently Child Emperor was dropped to 7th place and Puri Puri prisoner was dropped to 17th place.
~To Be Continued~