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This chapter is a bit shorter than usual since it's supposed to be a two parter.
Though the next chapter may possibly involve smut or not because I'm a bit on edge on whether I should do it or not.
I mean I can write it but I've never done so before on Wattpad but you guys let me know in the comments whether you want the little spice or keep this story as innocent as it can get. (It's not innocent)
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Tatsumaki had quite the day and now had a party to look forward to tomorrow. It was hard enough to process the things she just received with Genos and Saro but now a new challenge approached her thoughts...
'Wait...- does this mean he and I are an item or something?!' Her face exploded in a blush while she was flying. 'W-what are we supposed to do now...?! Is this couple thing supposed to be hard? Does he think we're a couple!?'
Tatsumaki aimlessly flies around before deciding that she should bolt it for Fubuki's house, hoping that she could help her understand a few things and maybe prepare for the upcoming party, if she feels the need to go.
B-City, Fubuki's house
"Wait, slow down. What's the problem again?" Fubuki set her cup down while staring at her fidgeting older sister sinking in the couch.
"What do you do if your....'opponent' overpowers you in another way, nothing be stronger, not have psychic powers but has something more t-that counters you without even trying to fight...?" The green head asked weakly. Her attempts to hide her blush were too difficult.
"..."
"..."
"You're in love, aren't you?"
"H-HUH?! HOW DID- I MEAN...! HOW WOULD YOU COME TO A CONCLUSION LIKE THAT?!" Fubuki's tiny older sister yelled frantically at the precise deduction of hers.
"Because I made the exact excuses and scenarios up to understand my confusing feelings, we're sisters so it's not that hard to pick up when you're playing dumb." Fubuki shrugged.
"Ugghh...!! Well- You-!" Tatsumaki gripped her hair in a childish tantrum as she kicked the couch. Eventually rubbing her hands down her face and hiding behind them.
"Sooooo. Since I actually got to admit it and take a hunch that it's Rebirth, isn't it?"
Tatsumaki parted her middle and index finger to reveal her one flustered but knowing eye that stared at Fubuki, she knew that she was done being in denial by now. "It's not an 'in love with' thing but...I mean it is but, I think we're already together."
She said reluctantly.
Fubuki was surprised, to say the least, but for two things. "Wait what do you mean, you think? Do you not know you're his girlfriend now?"
"Cut me some slack will you?! I've never been in this situation before!"
"You've never been any regular situation before, fighting a new monster, or dealing with new heros who think they can one up you. Yet to still make this work in your favor." Fubuki sipped her tea.
"W-well this is different...!!"
"It is?" Fubuki displayed a very smug smile as she looked down at her distressed sister on the couch. "How so?"
Tatsumaki refused to answer. She grumbled as her powers displayed her emotions far better than her words, her cup was afloat and her body glowed. Fubuki decided to answer for her.
"Is it because it's exactly as you said? He's more powerful than you in different things and you can't handle that. He's overwhelmed you and now you don't know what you're supposed to do to counter him." Fubuki walked around the couch and began running her fingers through her sister's long silky green hair.
"You just want to hear me say it...that's not happening." Tatsumaki pouted.
"I only wanted to see you admit it, this is exactly it and I'm enjoying it. My older sister finally has a boyfriend, at 28 years old..."
"What does my age have to do with this...?!"
"Well it took you long enough! You were so stuck on not ever trusting anyone else, you've nearly missed out on your love life and NOW is your chance!" Fubuki aggressively braided her hair.
"Agh..! I never needed it anyway, this is just...- He's...special." Tatsumaki calms her voice and begins twiddling her thumbs. "He's not like any suck up hero I've ever seen...he talks so casually to me, even though he knows what I'm capable of he still sees me as an equal....he was dumb enough to try and be friends when I nearly tried killing him a few minutes before. By now he's proven himself enough that he's not using me for anything... I'm not that stubborn to ignore things like that."
Fubuki took a moment for herself, all she did was stare down at the top of Tatsumaki's head. Soon, a soft smile crept on her face as she finished up her braiding and placed her hands on her sister's shoulders.
"So you already know what you've been feeling. Then what's the problem?"
Tatsumaki gave this some thought, she no longer has to hide her feelings for him, nor did he ever hide his. It's clear that they feel the same and are even taking initiative for it, she's more so worried about the implications this may have on their professional life as heros, if it'll change things.
"I don't want to sound selfish but I'm just worried if this will come between our job as heros... I don't want either of us to get distracted-"
"It's been fine for me.." Fubuki mumbled.
Tatsumaki freezes, she jogged her brain and connected the dots after what she heard her say.
"Excuse me?" Tatsumaki began rising from the couch, floating as she turned around.
"A-aha...! Hold on!"
"You said you've been 'making the same excuses as me' because you've been in a similar situation?" The Tornado crossed her arms as every object in the room began levitating with her, energy levels rising and making a mess around her.
"Is there something you'd like to tell, Fubuki..?"
"O-okay, okay! Stop messing up my furniture... YES, I'm also in an active relationship!"
"With who?"
"What are you going to do if I told you?!?"
"That'll be decided once I know who this 'interesting' person is."
Fubuki blushed and shook her head before stomping her foot.
"Demon Cyborg! It's Genos, okay?!"
Like a gust of wind, Tatsumaki's powers blew away and left nothing but a shocked look in the girls eyes as she stepped back down with a wide open mouth.
"What th... Huh?!"
"What?!" Fubuki was embarrassed enough to tell the truth but to experience this reaction made it worse.
"Why him!? Out of everyone out there you pick an emotionless tin can who does nothing but kiss up to Saro!"
"He's not emotionless!!" Fubuki yelled back with great offense. This was a new first for Tatsumaki, having her younger sister retort so quickly. "Just because his body is cybernetic doesn't mean he can't feel anything...!"
"What has he ever done for you?!"
"More than anything I ever asked of you!!"
"..."
"He doesn't just say he'll be there for me and then leave! He doesn't underestimate me and think I'm in need of constant help or saving...he doesn't tell me to my face about how weak I am and should sit back." Fubuki knows that this isn't what she should be doing right now but she truly felt obligated to speak up for Genos and herself. "He actually cares about what I have to say and not brush it off as if I'm some inexperienced child. He brought me out of my broken mindset and showed me what 'power' actually meant...he may have been oblivious to it but all of that meant so much to me that I just....I knew I wanted to be with him. Does that sound like a heartless machine to you?"
Finally, the relentless Blizzard calmed her nerves and let out a heavy sigh through her nose. Kneeling down to pick up the fallen decorations and cups, she spoke.
"I don't mean to hurt you like this but you need to understand just how strict you've made our lives, your way of protection ruined both of us in some way or another..." The cracked vase and cups suddenly floated from Fubuki's hands, so did everything else in the room.
All items returned to their original spots and every tipped furniture was repositioned, all the while Tatsumaki turned away and hugged herself.
Fubuki instinctively went over and wrapped her arms around her from behind. Resting her chin on Tatsumaki's shoulder, Fubuki found her smile once again. She might never get used to this type of interaction with her sister but she truly enjoyed the feeling.
"But that doesn't mean we can't change everything for the better, we already are." Fubuki continued, Tatsumaki puffed her cheeks in response and looked further away. "Heh, who knew having adult crushes would be the thing to do that~?"
"Can you stop bringing up our ages into this?! You're making feel like a grandmother or something!" Tatsumaki yelled.
Fubuki on the other hand burst into laughter and fell to the floor. Tatsumaki stiffened her face to her signature unamused look as she stared down at her with cross arms.
After a while, Fubuki calmed down and returned to her seat. Tatsumaki took this time to question her further.
"You never mentioned meeting Blast for yourself. Tell me, what was it like."
"Oh my God, my heart stopped when I realized who it was! It was almost like my legs gave out by having him stand near me. Although we didn't get to interact much, he seemed to have some sort of respect for Saro."
"I guess that's clear with all that time travel jazz, they've been through something entirely different from us."
"Yeah but still...Saro acted as if they knew each other for longer." Fubuki shrugged.
'Now that I think about it...Saro would have had to know Blast long ago for him to have such hatred towards him, how would he have such resentment if he's never met him?' Tatsumaki thought to herself. 'He's not hiding things from me is he? No, I just don't know him enough yet but- he knows so much about me. How does this...'
"So, did you just come to me to rant about your new boyfriend or did you just miss me that much?" Fubuki was acting extra spicy today, it was possible it was just her recent interaction making her act up but Tatsumaki wasn't really against it.
"Yeah uh...I guess I just needed help in picking out clothes for this upcoming party or whatever."
"Ohh? A party? For what?"
"I thought....you'd already know. It's supposed to be a welcome back party for m-me and also for Rebirth's promotion."
"Hmh~ It's still unbelievable hearing that...when I first met him, I had the audacity to say he'll never go higher than where he was in A class let alone get into S." Fubuki looked at her levitating older sister. "I don't know if I should ask this but, how do you feel about all this...?"
"I just have to accept it. The realization had to hit me like a truck for me to not deny the fact that this idiot is actually more powerful than me...than anyone, but being more than powerful than Blast to earn his respect just like that is a hard pill to swallow." Tatsumaki blankly stared at the floor. "But instead of complaining about it, I should just learn to accept it...especially since the man in question is-"
"Someone you're super into~?"
"I'm going to send you 6ft under if you keep this up."
A-City, Hero's Association HQ
"There's not been a single trace of 'God' ever since, nor have we gotten our hands on those weird cubes of his..." Saro explained to the two men standing before him in his "room."
"What even are those boxes?" Sitch asked.
"Apparently they are sources or rather the very means of communication between those who touch it and God, it allows the person to receive his 'gifts' directly and give them the very power they desire so as long as they do what he wants. Blast showed up during the battlefield to collect the item when it was discovered deep within the Monster Association's headquarters."
"Could that cube be the very reason such an association came into such powerful existence?"
"Most likely, we know for certain that Psykos and her fusion with Orochi was supported by God's involvement but that had happened right at the moment they fused, it's possible that Orochi was already a God gifted creature." Saro explained further as he sighed and looked down at the table before him, the unorganized and frantic contents scattered about that only displayed his recent growing anxiety.
"And why would you know all of this for certain?" Amai Mask spat, he stood further away, leaning at the side of the room door.
"These are all of Blast's speculations, I'm not that clear on all of this either." Saro shrugged.
"Tsk, 'Blast told you'... Wonder who gave you that kind of privilege..."
Mask's words made Saro sigh deeply through his nostrils as he waved at Sitch to leave the room.
As the man left, Saro walked around the desk and then leaned against the front, a similar position to Amai Mask as both men stare each other down.
"Is something bothering you, Mask?" He asked softly.
"Heh...! Why would anything be a bother to me? I'm simply here on my own errand and happened find Sitch here, occupying himself with you." Amai Mask gave an obvious annoyed smile.
"Your tone suggests the obvious, you have a variety of problems you're not talking about. Is it about your promotion? I thought the position felt-"
Mask jumped off the wall and walked right up to Saro, face to face with boiling rage in his eyes.
"Don't just stand there and think you can make assumptions about what I'm feeling! You don't know me, Rookie. You could never understand the likes of me!" He snarled as hints of his veins began popping out from his neck. "You must be way over your head to think the likes of you belongs at Rank 1! You're absolutely delusional if you believe you have what it takes to fill his shoes here."
"I don't, nor do I plan to." Saro said immediately, he seemed stone cold, unfazed by this sudden outburst. "I didn't choose to be here but I have a responsibility to uphold that I, at least, know I can take. I know you admire him, fuck knows who doesn't look up to that guy...but just because he gave me this position doesn't mean I'm owe him-"
As he chuckled to himself, Mask only got more aggressive and even went so far as to grab the chest plate that covered his front to try and pull him down but he didn't budge.
"Choose your words carefully..." Mask grunted.
"Calm down. You'll only hurt yourself." Saro said, again with no aura of aggression in his voice. "But no, I do have to say that I don't care what he's doing out there. In this position, I'm doing the one job he wouldn't do."
Mask didn't wait around, he quickly rocketed his fist to Saro's face. The impact was equal to the sound of a gunshot as the shockwave pushed the desk itself away from Saro but the man himself remained unmoved. Not even the sheer force of Amai Mask's knuckles could shake his skin let alone his emotions. In the end, Saro didn't retaliate.
"Don't waste your time like this." Saro brushed his gloved hand off his face. "All you'd be doing his unnecessarily damage the room or worse."
"You're not worthy of where you stand..."
"Are you?"
These two simple words boomed in Mask's ears, even though said softly, it nearly made his ears bleed. Saro was quite literally looking down on him, barely sinking his chin down to stare at the man.
"I don't intend to fight you Mask but I'm also aware that you can't hurt me, which is why I'm advising you to calm down because nothing you do will get us anywhere." Saro pushed his frustrations. "I don't enjoy my powers like you do, nor am I happy of where I am but I need to be because no one else is capable of holding onto it. That isn't my way of bragging...it's an honest fact that we need to accept."
Saro suddenly pushed forward, now looking down at Mask with such density which made him flinch and step back.
"And much like anyone else, there's a limit to my tolerance...even if I don't want you to see me as some high powered God...You need to show me.Some.Respect."
For the longest silence the two had ever experienced, Amai Mask shared no other expression other than unbridled rage before spinning around and existing the room, not before punching the doorframe which left a wave of cracks on the right wall.
"As if the monsters weren't enough of a problem on my plate..." Saro pinched his nose and sighed.
"Narcissists have their cons~ He doesn't seem like the type to accept anyone besting him." A feminine, robotic voice chimed in my ear.
This being was Z.E.A.L. An advanced AI with a personality or rather sentience of it's own that was given to Saro by one of Blast's companions as congratulations.
She's been quite useful to Saro in his new job of S rank 1. She easily hacked and gained control over every known facility of the Hero's Association. Every single speck of information, data and system control was under her possession unknown by all other's, not even the committee itself. With Zeal belonging to Saro, everything technically belonged to him. Seizing control over the entire association to ensure no act of betrayal goes under his nose but this revelation was another burden to bare and only sparked anger in another person's endeavor...As Dr. Bofoi couldn't hack into the Association's servers anymore.
"I got that a while ago but it's still frustrating. I used to look up to this guy and still did up until now..."
"Don't look so down about it, boss. Mask has his own share of unpleasant secrets and maybe there's more to his self centeredness than you may know." Zeal giggled.
"You're fucking creepy..."
"Only for the best~ I'm your gift, a companion that's essential for your mission to protect the earth from this world ending threat that you worry so much about."
Saro stretched his arms and turned to pick the table back up and clean the mess left behind him.
"That's not all that's on my mind now, Psykos has been a growing concern of mine for some time."
"Has she now? I mean I guess she's an interesting specimen considering I can't find any lead on her origins through the files." Zeal began projecting open files infront of Saro's face as he looked through them but dismissed it all.
"And yet...in my first interrogation with her, she said she knew me."
"She did, didn't she? Curious how we got nothing more than that."
Saro recalled how her lack of cooperation had led him to use some force of aggression but all that did was leave him with more questions as she muttered the words.
"I should have known...if it weren't for your name, I wouldn't have even risked taking you on, Saro."
He worried, he didn't want to believe it but he knew that she could a potential threat to exposing him. If she really thinks she knows him then she could only be referring to the fine details he left out about the truth...he needs to get more information out of her before...'she' does.
"By the way, Boss. Hellish Blizzard left a text saying that she needed to discuss an important topic after this upcoming party of yours." Zeal informed.
"Did she say what it's about? I'd assume she'd just call me and give me a little heads up at least."
"Nope, there's nothing, just exactly what I told you."
"Speak of her, did you manage to get a scan of Tatsumaki's condition?"
"All vitals are in top shape, of course the concussion YOU gave her is still a cause for hindering her psychic powers but that should be something that fixes itself in a week."
"A concussion? Fixed, just like that?"
"Remember that we're talking about an individual who has the most heightened mental capacity in existence and uses it as a weapon, I'm sure that even with a blow that hard, she'd be able to regain herself in no time."
Saro gave an empty shrug and returned to his work, now that he had reorganized everything in his office.
"No sign of Garou yet, it's better to keep it that way." He tapped a pencil at his forehead. "Any remnants of the Monster's Association were quickly eliminated, including black sperm who had made numerous clones of himself as a means to escape."
"That guy was genuinely starting to annoy alot of you." Zeal added.
"Do we have ANYTHING on Metal Knight?" Saro said with beaming annoyance.
"Completely dark. But from what I know on this organization's history and your co-workers, he's not been all that known for being interactive with anyone and keeps to his own."
"That's what's worrying me, the doctor is always in the dark himself but at least Metal Knight would show himself once or twice."
"Are you having suspicions, Boss?"
"Maybe, but I'd rather not make any assumptions just yet. There's still alot to do so-"
"Like take a break and relax, use tomorrow's party as a chance, right?" Zeal said with an annoying twang in her voice.
"I wasn't the one who approved it, I don't think I'm allowed to go there anyway."
"Geez! It's a party for YOU, you moron! Why wouldn't you be invited?! I'm the one who's always receiving your calls and texts from others and they're all doing this for you. At least consider this to spend some time with your girlfriend that you just got 4 hours ago!"
"I'm going to ask Blast how to turn off your sassy module..."
"Stop ignoring the topic at hand. You need to get out of this manhole of yours and actually be a human. It's been 2 months and all you've done is sulk and work on a plan you don't even know what it's for!"
Zeal went on in the man's ear but Saro was already silently thinking to himself.
The words 'girlfriend' mixed with the image of Tatsumaki was like an avalanche of pure bliss to him, there was no denying it. He truly does love that woman, after not having her around for a long period of time and only now coming forth with their feelings, he had to admit that he deserves some time with her...but if he truly does love her, he'll have to be truthful with her as well.
With everything, eventually.
END