Disclaimer: I clearly do not own One-Punch Man, otherwise it would not be the amazing manga it is now.
Side note: There are probably going to be details that are incredibly inaccurate, and potentially grammar mistakes. I'm sorry if it seems like their personalities are watered down a tad, I'm just grossly incompetent at writing. Furthermore, I am going under the assumption that the reader has knowledge of characters' appearance and voice.
Original release date: July 23, 2019 (Small update on April 25, 2020) (Small edit on May 25, 2020)
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Important Note: If you're one of those people who want the romance immediately, this isn't the story for you. I want the story to stay true to the characters, instead of them only having the trait of 'lovesick with each other.' You're either gonna have to skip ahead a long way to see romance, probably to like the 20th chapter which I haven't even planned yet, so probably further, or find another story. Sorry, but I firmly believe that if I want to ship two (or more) characters, I should stay true to their personalities instead of shipping them for the sake of shipping them, or because they're super different or some weird ass clash of personalities.
If you do want to just skip to the point where there is romance and that the two are in a relationship, go to the chapter "The Storm." If you want to go to the point where romance starts, go to the chapter named "Routine."
TL;DR of important note: you aren't gonna find any immediate romance until a long way into the story, so either wait till then or find another story that fits your wants. also i'm actually having these characters be them.
And finally:
I know that I am open to criticism and all that, and I am currently working on fixing it in the future, but I do not need to be reminded that I made Tatsumaki too weak. Yes, I did. In both the meteor chapter, and now, and depending on your perception of her power, maybe in Resolution or whatever (which would just mean you're a bit wack cause I don't think she could take Boros). In the future chapters, I am planning and making sure that I keep true to her abilities and keep her like extremely overpowered.
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A green energy ball flew through the city, followed by shrieks and screams of whoever remained. A lone figure crashed down, creating a large crater around where he stood. Smirking, the lone figure figured he would only further intimidate the vermin he viewed.
"I am Vaccine Man!" The tall, muscular purple monster belted. "I am here on behalf on Mother Nature, here to cleanse her Earth of humans who have ruined her lifeforce!" He scowled, as the sound of a whimpering child interrupted him.
The little girl's eyes widened as she cowered in fear while Vaccine Man approached. Shaking, she reluctantly looked up only to be met with the imposing eyes of Vaccine Man. Whimpering once more, she did the only thing that came to mind.
"M-Mommy! Daddy! Help!" She screamed, begging for someone, anyone to come to her aid. Moments passed by, as Vaccine Man sadistically grinned at the sight of a human feeling the last drop of hope leave them. Silence. Heart-wrenching silence was all the young girl received.
"See, young one? No-one will pay for your sins against Mother Nature. I am her messenger, and I shall carry out her will!" Vaccine Man had become tired of what he viewed as vermin. He couldn't stand the sight of a human much longer. However, before he could form another energy ball to cause more havoc, the debris and rubble around him was surrounded in a faint, yet bright green glow. Furthermore, the young girl was also surrounded in the same glow and taken away from Vaccine Man's reach.
"Don't worry; it'll all be okay. Just let me handle this." A gentle voice spoke to the young girl.
The purple monster looked to where the voice originated from, only to be met with the sight of a levitating, short, green-haired esper. He scowled, annoyed with the sight of more humans. Taking a closer glance, he realized that her hair was floating as she wore a long black dress with four high-cut leg slits.
"Who are you, child?" He growled. "What are you trying to do?"
"CHILD?!" The female questioned, absolutely flabbergasted at the fact that even monsters would mistake her for a child. At this point, her gentle tone had all but vanished, replaced with a scowl and an aura of frustration. "I'm 28!" With her recent rage overtaking her, she began to chuck piles of debris and buildings at Vaccine Man. With each building she threw, the more she focused, channeling her previous anger at the monster who dared to assault City Z.
However, unlike her expectation of an overwhelming victory, the short female was shocked at the sight of Vaccine Man effortlessly punching his way through her assault. She captured him by halting him in his tracks with her telekinesis, though it didn't stop his own assault from coming towards her.
"I recognize you," Vaccine Man realized. "You're from the Hero Association. Tornado, if I'm not mistaken." He smirked, sending a barrage of energy balls towards Tornado. Without a doubt in his mind, confidence flowed through him.
"I never thought one of the top heroes in the Association would be so weak." Without uttering further, the barrage only strengthened, forcing Tornado to form another telekinetic barrier around her, fortifying defenses continuously whilst attempting to retaliate, yet to no avail. With each barrage that came toward her, her barriers slowly faltered.
Damn it all, Tornado thought, annoyed. Never thought I'd actually have to put in effort against this monster. Without hesitation, her green glow brightened and intensified, signifying more power being placed into her assault. Almost in an instant, the tides turned as the energy barrage was stopped. Tornado took control of Vaccine Man's attack and instantly turned it around on him, sending his own attacks back at him.
Vaccine Man gritted his teeth as he blocked his own attacks. Taking a solid stance, he wasn't expecting a further assault as the debris of a building smashed him into the ground. Temporarily, the green glow weakened, though still on guard.
The monster growled, as he found it nearly impossible that a human would be able to put down his initial power. Releasing all inhibition, Vaccine Man's primal instincts overtook him, adrenaline flowing through his body. Transforming, he shook the rubble around him.
"You've forced my hand, pathetic scum," Vaccine Man lectured, cursing Tornado. "It appears you too, shall fall. What a waste of Mother Nature's power." This only caused an eyebrow raise from Tornado.
The humanoid form disappeared, as the monster grew into what truly was unsightly. His mouth had transformed into a drooling, sharp-toothed weapon of destruction. Horns and spikes protruded from his body everywhere, and his hands became huge claws with sharp nails that would easily tear down buildings effortlessly.
Tornado, however, was unamused by the monster's antics. Without any sort of intimidation present within, she instantly sent another barrage of debris at him, slightly strengthening the pressure on Vaccine Man's new form.
Despite the offensive capability, Vaccine Man had not bothered to punch through the debris. Instead, he opted to tank the hits that felt as if paper airplanes hit him. Differing from his original cackle, his voice was replaced by a deep, resounding, inhumane guffaw, nowhere near resembling his previous laughter.
Tornado's eyes widened at this; she hadn't expected his transformation to augment his strength to such a degree. It was unfathomable as to how this simple transformation fully changed his power. A slight twinge of fear struck her heart. She had no clue as to how to react. She hadn't felt intimidated like this in forever, and she herself couldn't remember the last time she had felt any amount of intimidation within.
Attempting to conceal her concern, she sent her assault to the maximum. Without further hesitation, she fought with all she had, trying to crush Vaccine Man with her telekinetic force, debris, and anything she could find, all whilst making sure the little girl wasn't going to be injured from this. The powerful hero as Tornado had begun to resort to instinct as Vaccine Man only tanked the hits further, with little sign of struggle against her.
Her hopes slowly began to drain as none of her attacks had any effect. She put everything she had into those attacks, even summoning a small meteor which had caused both a massive crater and a large explosion. The meteor had only damaged one of his horns and a few of the spikes protruding from his back.
"Even you cannot stop me, Tornado. You, along with the rest of this civilization shall fall," the monster claimed. In an instant, Vaccine Man launched himself at Tornado, quickly shattering her telekinetic barrier that had been preventing her from being damaged. He reached out his other hand to grab the little girl, whose own barrier had been removed from Tornado's shock.
Vaccine Man cackled as both of them struggled to escape from his grasp, but to no avail. It was clear that hope had drained from the little girl, though there was still some struggle from Tornado.
Shit! I didn't think he'd actually be strong! What do I do, what do I do, Tornado thought in a panic. She tried sending more debris at Vaccine Man to distract him, though the blows were as useless as gasoline was when it came to putting out a fire. In her mind, there was doubt, there was regret for her temper, there was sadness when it came to her sister. The fear that she wouldn't escape this situation was creeping up behind her, her sins crawling on her back.
"Hello?" A lone monotone voice echoed, snapping both Vaccine Man and Tornado out of their thoughts. "Are you the one who destroyed the supermarket?"
As Vaccine Man turned around to see who spoke, Tornado could not help but wonder what sort of dumbass would openly confront such a powerful opponent. Vaccine Man, on the other hand, could not help but scoff at him just based on his appearance.
The man in question was completely bald, sporting a yellow jumpsuit with red gloves and boots. This was accompanied by a belt that seemed to keep it together. A white cape blew with the breeze, completely clean. However, the main feature of concern was the lack of emotion, nor care, of the situation. It was as if the man was speaking to one of his friends.
"What does it matter to you?! Do you think that you can just waltz up to me?! Who do you think you are?!" The purple monster questioned. His spit was sent flying towards the bald man, who had simply wiped it off, his expression never changing.
"I'm Saitama," the man simply answered. "I'm a hero for fun."
Vaccine Man was dumbfounded. Never before had he even thought that somebody could be as ignorant and apathetic as he was. It was one of the rare moments that he had ever been caught off guard.
"A hero for fun?!" Vaccine Man cackled, clearly looking down upon Saitama. "I am Vaccine Man! I fight for Mother Nature to purge this world of the sin that is humanity's existence! You, as a mere mortal, cannot comprehend the power that I possess! And now you too, shall fall, along with the rest of humanity! Your stupidity as a 'hero' cannot stand up to the force of Mother Nature!"
Dropping the little girl to attack the bald man, he was shocked when the bald man vanished out of nowhere, faster than his eye could see. He also noticed that there was no impact of where the little girl should have fallen.
Tornado was shocked at this. Catching that young girl so quickly that even she couldn't see it was something she hadn't thought possible, especially from a man who looked as average as Saitama. Saitama had landed softly, without so much as dust flying from his landing with all the rubble around him.
As the bald man put the young girl down, he turned back to Vaccine Man. He stared at the monster, his eyes empty. He yawned, as the monster cocked back its fist to attack him.
Tornado yelled at the bald man, "Get out of there! He's gonna kill you!" She tried to warn him, but to no avail as Saitama just stood there. She winced, waiting for the killing blow to hit the baldy, yet there was never any sound of contact against Saitama.
What she did hear was a gigantic boom, and she opened her eyes up again. Saitama had simply thrown a single punch at Vaccine Man. Yet, that one punch had done more than whatever Tornado threw at him. And by the looks of it, Saitama didn't even put any technique into it. His feet were planted as they were before, there was no grunt of effort, nothing. He simply threw his fist at Vaccine Man, yet it was more than effective enough to absolutely destroy the monster that was about to terrorize the world.
As the corpse of Vaccine Man began to fall, Saitama grabbed both the little girl and Tornado, quickly setting them down before they were injured by the falling body of Vaccine Man. Setting both of them down gently, Saitama pulled out his phone and dialed for an ambulance to come, sighing in the process.
After the bald hero had put away his phone into his pocket, which for some reason had seemed to disappear after use, he turned to the two girls. Raising his eyebrow, he wondered why one of them had bright green hair but brushed it off due to sheer apathy and ignorance.
"Are you two okay?" He questioned. "What are you guys even doing here? Where are your parents?" Normally, Saitama certainly wasn't much for words, though he was feeling a bit open in addition to his disdain for the current awkward silence filling the room.
"P-Parents?!" Tornado exclaimed. "Don't you know who I am? T-Tornado from the Hero Association? S-Class Rank 2? Tatsumaki?!" She was completely shocked. Her savior was not only apathetic about everything, but he lived under a rock for the last three years? It was something she could not fathom.
Saitama scratched his head momentarily, as if he was digging through his skull to find missing information. Groaning in frustration, he shook his head. All the meanwhile, Tatsumaki had done her best to comfort the little girl during this scene.
"Sorry, Tatsu, never heard of you or this 'Hero Association' you're talkin' about," Saitama admitted, rubbing the back of his head. "Well, I don't think they'd exactly let children into this sort of job, so you must be an adult. Sorry.
"Anyways, so your name's Tatsumaki? Saitama," he stretched out his hand, which the esper reluctantly returned. "Saitama as you heard. Hero for fun."
As the ambulance pulled up, with multiple associates from the Hero Association, Tornado signaled to the little girl, indicating she needed medical care instantly.
"Tornado! We heard you were injured!" One of the associates exclaimed. "Do you need anything?!"
Tatsumaki, on the other hand, only brushed him off and dismissed him with a simple, "Let me talk to this baldy first."
Turning back to Saitama, she blurted out, annoyed, "Why haven't I heard of you?! Why haven't you heard of me, baldy? Did you really just do all of that?! And most of all, don't call me a child! I'm 28!" She didn't know why that last part came out, though she attributed it to habit from other people thinking she was much younger than she actually was. Her facial expression showed anger, though inside, she was confused.
God Damn it, Tatsumaki, why can't you be kind for once? She mentally lectured herself. Smacking her forehead, she continued before Saitama could question her moment of realization, "Look, I'm with the Hero Association. If you wanna be known, just join the Association. I'll make sure you're put into S-Class too."
Wait, what? Tornado questioned her own words as they poured out without thought. Why am I saying these things?
"You sure, Tatsu?" Saitama questioned. Her expression turned to further frustration from the nickname, as Tatsumaki had never been one for any sort of nickname, not even from her sister. "Look, we can deal with that after we make sure you aren't injured. Also, wanna get something to eat one of these days to talk about it? Pretty sure it'd be better if we talked about it over food."
Wait, we? Tornado mentally questioned. She had no clue as to what he was doing. For the first time in a long while, the short hero was speechless. She had never seen anybody be so casual about such a powerful enemy. She had so many questions about him. From his strength to his apathy to his brick-headedness, there were so many mysterious components to the bald hero that she was confused about.
Despite this, she hadn't removed her boiling exterior, which still had not been noticed by the bald hero. A few medics had walked up to her, guiding both of them to the ambulance.
"So you're a professional hero?" Saitama questioned. "That must mean a lot of people think a lot of you." Whether or not he realized it, it was clear to Tornado that there was still some part of him who was treating her like she was a child.
Who knew? Saitama questioned nobody. Guess there are people out there who'll fight for what's right. He hadn't really given it much thought, but he did find it honorable when somebody would put themselves on the line for other peoples' sake. However, when it came to Tornado, he didn't exactly know how to put his feeling about it.
As the two of them sat down, one of the medics noticed instantly, "It appears you haven't suffered any of the damage. Were you possibly there when Tornado had defeated the monster?" This instantly raised some alarms for Tornado.
"Actually, he helped me take that pile of trash down," Tornado rudely informed. To her though, it was clear that she had bent the truth to quite a degree. For those who were actually there, it was clear that Saitama had done much more than help.
In response, the medic had only raised his eyebrow though decided not to question further about what really happened. In his eyes, there was no reason as to why Tornado would go to defend somebody who had probably only been a burden to her.
Saitama could not help but stare at his fist. The blood had faded long ago, wiped away, similar to the flame that waned with the growth of his incredible power. It had been forever since he had felt that burning passion in a fight, the adrenaline he'd feel flowing through his blood when he fought against a tough opponent. He momentarily glanced at the short hero next to him, then back to his fist.
If she couldn't even take him down, then what does that mean for me? He wondered. Am I just doomed to never feel that rush ever again? It hadn't occurred to him that he had zoned out, leaving Tornado staring at him, trying to get his attention to no avail which further annoyed her.
"Baldy!" Tornado exclaimed, which seemed to be enough to catch his attention. "Finally, you listened. Look, since you don't know what the Hero Association is, I'll show you around. Maybe you'll actually be recognized for once, who knows?" She shrugged, mostly apathetic about the result of him becoming a hero.
Only a yawn emitted from the bald man, "Sure, but maybe another day. I've got grocery shopping to do. See you around, Tatsu." Without another word, Saitama rose and sprinted away, his hidden concern for sales vanishing confusing Tornado. She tried to chase after him, or even track his trace with her telekinetic powers, but it seemed he had already vanished. She sighed, knowing that she'd have to find him later on.
Guess he really...cares about...groceries? Tornado wondered, tilting her head in confusion once again, still confused as to the baldy's priorities.
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Well, there's the first chapter! I really wanted to make this chapter one that would seem better than the original work, and I hope that whoever reads this will enjoy! My plan is just to release a chapter every week or two, and I'm going to do all that I can to keep up with that plan.
Anyways, if any of you have any suggestions or complaints, please let me know. I want to know what I can do with my writing to improve it so that this story goes really well, from my grammar choices to how I pace the story to even how the characters talk and how often (like Saitama's preference of 20 words or less not being accurate.)
I hope you guys all enjoyed the first chapter!
Sincerely,
SpiritBloodDragon