Precious Little Angel {Naruto/One Punch Man Crossover}

7 - Fake Smile

"Hey, what happened to your arm?" Kiba interrupted. "It's all bandaged up. Did you fall down the stairs again?"

"Huh? Oh, uh... Yeah. It's nothing serious." I said as he gently took my arm in his hands. "That looks pretty serious to me. You should go to a doctor and get that checked out." He said.

"I'm fine. Really, don't worry about it. Look, I've gotta go. I'll talk to you later. Thanks for returning my bracelet." I said before heading back inside the house. I closed the door behind me and Mom was standing right in from me.

"Yes, ma'am." I replied as I lowered my head and closed my eyes. 

Kiba's POV

"Bark!"

"Yeah, just what I was thinking, buddy. Something is totally wrong with Hitomi today. What do you think is up?" I asked.

"So, you're concerned, too?"

"Huh?" 

I turned around and my soul nearly jumped out of my body when a cyborg stood over me. "You feel that there's something wrong with Hitomi as well?" He asked. "Uh..." I stared at him with confusion and wide eyes. Why is this dude so freaking tall?!

Wait, this is that Genos guy Hitomi mentioned. "Um, I'm a friend of Hitomi's." I said. "Is she home? My Master would like to see her." He said. "Yeah, she's home. But I think she's busy right now." I replied. 

"I see. Then, I shall come back another time. Excuse me." Genos said. He bowed his head respectfully, then walked away. "Hey, wait!" I said, chasing after him. "This Master of yours... He knows Hitomi, right? Would it be okay if I spoke with him?" I asked. 

"What business do you have with Master? Genos asked. "I just wanna talk to him." I stated. "Very well. Then, please follow me." He said, leading the way. I walked behind him until we got to an apartment.

"Master, this boy wanted to speak with you." Genos said. I looked at this guy's so-called 'Master' and my jaw dropped open.

'This is his master?! It's the same guy who was with Hitomi! What was his name again? Saitama or something?' I thought. "Do I know you?" He asked, twisting a pinkie in his nose. "Uh, no. Not really. My name's Kiba." I said.

"Ah, wait! We've met before, didn't we? You were on a date with Hitomi!" Saitama said. "Yeah. Anyway, how well do you know Hitomi?" I asked.

"Pretty well. I've known since I started becoming a hero for fun. She even encouraged me to keep going even when my body started aching from the intense training." Saitama explained. 

"Have you noticed anything... weird about her lately?"

"Weird? Hmm... No, I don't think so. Why?"

"I ran into her earlier and she looked pretty nervous and a bit beaten up."

"Beaten up?"

"Yeah. She said, she fell down the stairs, but I don't believe that's entirely true."

"Is that so? Well, now that you mentioned it, I have noticed one thing off about her. Her smile."

"Her smile?" I repeated. "Yeah. I can't really be sure, but whenever she smiles, they always seemed to be fake. Like she's forcing herself to smile." Saitama mentioned.

"How come?" I asked. "I think I do," Genos said. 

"About a week ago, I analyzed Hitomi while we were eating lunch. Her emotions were expressing nervousness and happiness at the same time. It's like she's trying to hide something behind her happiness."

"Oh, come on, you two. Cut it out. There's nothing wrong with Hitomi. She's as cool as a cucumber. I'm sure she's perfectly fine." Saitama assured us. "But Master-"

"Stop worrying. Come on, let's get something to eat. I'm getting hungry. You can tag along if you want. While we're at it, we could show you around town." Saitama offered. "That'd be great, thanks." I said. Saitama hopped off the futon mattress he was sitting on and led us to a restaurant.

"Cute dog." Saitama commented, pointing at Akamaru who was resting on my shoulder. "Thanks." I said. "What's his name?" Genos asked. "Akamaru," I took a sip of my drink and fed some meat to Akamaru.

"So... What else can you tell me about Hitomi?" I asked. "She's a real sweet girl. Also, funny, cool, energetic, has that happy-go-lucky spirit, calm when faced with a monster, and always just a joy to be with." Saitama explained. "Does Hitomi have any siblings?" I asked.

"Nope. No siblings. But she does live with her mother." Saitama said. "Her mother?" I repeated. "Yeah, Marika Ninamotoe. She's a sweet lady, always being protective of Hitomi. I guess I can't really blame her since the city is usually crawling with monsters. But whenever I greet her, she always glares at me. I think she has some kind of grudge against me." He explained.

"Wait, what did you say about monsters?" I asked with a raised brow. "Oh, yeah. This city is filled with monsters. But you don't have to worry about them." He said.

'A city full of monsters? How can I not worry?' I thought with a sweat drop.