No one could open their eyes when a white light flashed as the protocol completed.
Their ears deaf, their eyes blind, their voices dumb, the explosions seemed to take their every sense away.
After the series of missiles, bombs, and other fatal inventions of the Metal Knight were shot, the crowd of people gathered behind Saitama began to take in their surroundings.
First they felt the extreme heat, and they realised their status as alive.
Second, noticing that smoke covered the area, they concluded that they would be blind for a few moments more.
Third, after those few more moments and the place had cleared up, they realised that there was a trail of broken ground around them, spread at an angle that protected them, and the house.
In the angle's centre stood a man. The ground needing fixing from the spot where he stood.
"Brother!" Manabu's voice called out first. She ran to her brother, her stiletto's forgotten.
Before she reached him, he slowly turned around, surprising the crowd.
The man hadn't a single injury. Just a few scratches and some dust on his shoulders, with a ripped shirt and jacket. Though what the women noticed was that it wasn't just his clothes that were ripped.
His focused look remained, rather than the goofy one with dead eyes they were all used to.
"Are you all alright? I think I walked close enough to the rocket to protect the house? Was I correct? Please someone answer me?" He scratched his shiny head awkwardly.
"Brother! Oh thank god!" She woke them all out of a trance.
"Sensei! That was truly remarkable! Let me use it as a future reference!"
"My my my. You really are a hard man to crack aren't you? Do you really wish not to join my dojo?"
"Hn! I bet those missiles weren't even real! How come you would be able to save us?"
"Ha...ha...ha... Just like a game..."
"You won't be taking my spot of number one in B class anytime soon! Get it!!?"
"Yuusuke! Are you hurt anywhere? Do you need anything to eat?"
"Haha!! That's my son for you!"
The various responses came from various people, but Saitama was not in the mood to answer anything.
He really, really, just wanted to eat those cookies from earlier, and sleep.
So that's what he did.
Ignoring the bombarding of questions, he entered the house, took the plate of cookies, and threw it into the air.
The heroes and family who followed watched with analytical eyes as he caught each cookie impressively in his mouth, gobbling them up at the speed of light. Metaphorically or literally, you take your pick.
He then walked up the stairs and went into the room suspected to be his own, and shut the door at their faces, and another minute later, he stood wearing the exact same suit. This time without the tie, cuffs, and jacket, with his top button open.
"What?" He asked the stare of the women, except his mother. They replied with red faces, and the older people laughed.
"So, what's your deal? Are you secretly the strongest man alive or something?" Tatsumaki asked sarcastically.
"Well, yeah. I wouldn't say secretly though." To his blunt reply, the rest didn't know how to respond, other than Genos.
"As expected of sensei! And Tatsumaki. Sensei hasn't been hiding his true abilities at all. The world has simply been ignorant to the fact, and has decided to turn a bind eye on his strength. That is why the ones with a brain, like Metal Knight and Dr Genus, know not to ignore him."
Leaving the Tornado of Terror -quite frankly- fuming.
"How did you get so strong?" Bang asked, stroking his moustache thoughtfully.
"Okay. For all those curious. Don't doubt me. Please accept that what I say is the honest truth. I can bet my life, all my belongings, and all that I believe in, that how I gained my strength, is the way I'll tell you, not by some method that I want to keep secret."
Looking at her son tenderly, "We'll believe in what you tell us." His mother replied.
"For three years, I trained. Sticking to a strict regimen off 100 sit ups, push ups, squats, and a ten kilometre run every day. I also ate a healthy breakfast, and never used any type of cooler or heater when hot or cold."
"What!? That's it!?" Half of the audience yelled. Genos, Manabu, Mr and Mrs Saitama excluded.
"Yeah."
"But that's not even excruciating!!"
"I know. But even if you say so, I really didn't do anything else!"
"You've got to be kidding! A person who can destroy the universe obtained his strength by doing a simple regimen of training to become so!?" Fubuki complained.
"That's why I told you at the beginning. You may not believe me, but what I say is the white truth. Nothing more, nothing less."
"Then a more interesting question for you to answer. Why the different personality? Which is the true you?" Bang asked.
"Hm? Oh! You mean which is the real me in terms of me in a suit, and me in a hero suit?" They nodded their heads eagerly, and his family, who hadn't an idea about this 'different' Yuusuke, listened intently as well. "A mixture I guess. Most of the time I feel rather lazy, the aftermath of being the strongest I guess, but I also know that I have to be serious at different times."
"My brother's smart enough to be able to act as either." Manabu added.
"No need to raise me onto a high shelf Manabu. I'm not that smart."
"Don't deny it. Or I'll make you uproot all the weeds in the garden." She said sternly, and Saitama nervously scratched his neck, the childish punishment often the worse of sorts.
"Yes miss."
"Will you be staying for dinner darling?" Yukiko Saitama, his mother asked.
"I don't think these guys will let me, will you?" He glanced at the pack of heroes who all cracked their knuckles. All except King, who shrunk into the corner.
"Don't even think about it. Sorry Mrs Saitama. He'll be joining us for dinner." Tatsumaki grinned.
"Well, visit soon Yuusuke. Your visit was pleasurable." Masashi Saitama, his father replied.
With all introductions finished, Saitama reverted back to his 'normal' self, lazily letting Genos drag him outside. Though he quickly turned serious, hugging his sister and parents, and thanking each and every worker in the house.
After the delay, they all ran back to Z City, Saitama gently nudging King along, letting King thank him for hiding his own secret identity.
"So you noticed us right from the beginning huh?" King mentioned, remembering how he was able to keep up with the rest of the superhuman group as they followed Saitama, earlier in the day. He had felt the wind push him forward, and now he knew that Saitama was helping by punching the space behind him, letting the air carry him.
"You weren't exactly hidden..."
That was true. Four S-ranked heroes together, travelling at extreme speeds was a rare sight. People had gathered to watch, and some had helicopters reporting from the sky.
Tatsumaki chose to fly, and was in plain sight along with her sister, Fubuki. Genos had to use his jets to keep up, so had flames lighting up on his feet and hands, occasionally setting things on fire. King was flying, and Bang was the only one stealthily jumping over the trees.
After the travel, the heroes stood in a clearing without a single building in sight.
"Why not Fubuki start? She's the weakest here." Tatsumaki said, insulting her sister as if it were a daily occurrence.
"I will forewarn you. I was the one who defeated Boros. You know, the alien king who came with that massive ship? Leader of the Dark Matter Thieves -which is a stupid name but who cares- a group of alien invaders responsible for the destruction of A City? Ring a bell?"
"That was why you came off that ship!?" Tatsumaki exclaimed, her powers returned.
"Why else?" She couldn't answer to that.
"So. Let's get started eh? Fubuki."
"As you wish."