Hey, guys, chapter 21 here!
Did y'all like the last chapter? Hope you guys liked it! Cause I'm really gonna do my best to bring my A-Game with this one, and I really hope that you guys enjoy it!
Anything going on in your life? Last week was my performance for Mary Poppins Jr. (I was George) and it was super fun! It was tough to learn my lines but the cast was so supportive and I'm really glad to have them. I'm really glad to have you guys too!
So, let's go!
Hey just to note: The following few chapters are mainly going to be my work, and will probably not get back to mainly plot for quite a while.
Initial Release Date: April 22, 2020
~~~
"Hey, Tats, you should really take a break."
"Don't t-tell *HIC* me wut to doo, ya fuckin' avocado!" Tornado slurred, nearly falling over. She was still on the stool, absolutely wasted as Saitama warned her to stop, but to no avail. With a bright blush on her face, a slur to practically every word she said, and her sense of balance having left ages ago, the powerful Terrible Tornado had turned into the Tipsy Tatsumaki.
"Tats, seriously, you should really stop before you get hurt," Saitama urged again, his eyebrows slightly furrowing.
"Don-Don't ya worr-worry bout *HIC* me, baldy!" She slurred again, almost falling out of her stool again. Even though Saitama tried to reach for the bottle, she was still capable enough (which was incredibly surprising, considering her motor abilities had vanished) to pull the bottle away, only to fall out of her chair but only barely missing the ground due to Saitama's reaction speed and ability to catch her.
"T-thank," she stuttered, "b-bu don't pulllll that stuff a- *HIC* gain, mmkay?" She slammed her head on the table in faux frustration, and groaned. She was suffering from the most annoying headache from the blow, one that made the bartender cringe from how loud it was.
"Alright, missy, I think that's enough for ya," the tan bartender declared but in a simple tone, one that held no anger. "And you, make sure ya take care of her, mmkay? Don't want the world's strongest psychic gone cause she tripped and hit her head, ha!" He glanced at Saitama, who shared an awkward smile. He didn't know what to do in the situation, but he reminded the bald hero slightly of Tetsuya.
"Yeah, I gotcha," he finished, sliding over the bottle that Tatsumaki had emptied over to the bartender before the heroine lifted her head. Most of the place was empty other than the four heroes who had entered in addition to a few stragglers.
"C'mon, Tats, we gotta go, now," Saitama began, but before he could get up, Tornado groaned again, even louder this time. "Tats, c'mon, you're drunk, it's okay, we'll take care of this, but we'll take care of this AFTER we get back to our room, yeah?"
"YOU'RE DRUNK!" She blurted out in retaliation, appearing to be completely offended at the mere thought of her being the slightest bit intoxicated, before deflating. "Y'know what, fine...but don't try to carry me or any dumbass thing like that..." she drifted off, the pendulum of her mood swings slowing to a stop for a moment. Just long enough for Fubuki and Genos to have come behind them and the former to tap Saitama on the shoulder.
"You really let her drink, Saitama?" She asked, slightly accusatory, only to receive a shrug. "Damn it, you should've known she couldn't handle her booze."
"Saitama-Sensei, if I may not intrude on your actions, but may I analyze Miss Tatsumaki's intoxication levels? I recently installed technology to ensure the overall health of those around me," Genos explained. As Saitama nodded, Genos' eye glowed for a bit before a scanner went over Tornado a few times while Genos analyzed the data.
He blinked before reading the analysis, "Sensei, I think you might have given her too much to drink."
"Well, no duh, Genos," Fubuki sighed. "How bad?"
"Honestly, bad," he explained, before elaborating upon Saitama's gesture to continue. "Considering how she's approximately 120 pounds, and her blood alcohol level is .16, she's far past the point of 'legal intoxication.'"
"Sh-shut the f-fuck *HIC* up, cyborg," Tornado whispered but in an annoyed manner. "Y'kno-know, I ca still hea y-you guys." She slowly sat back up. Her eyes were unfocused, staring off into nothingness, and her posture was poor. Her hair was disheveled, her shoulders were too relaxed, and she was softly breathing, as if tired.
Fubuki had an amused smile on her face as she suggested, "Fine, fine, we'll just head back to our place, mmkay?" As Tornado dejectedly nodded, seemingly defeated, she slowly stood up from her stool before trying to walk before nearly falling over. Saitama had to catch her again. This time, she didn't even fight back.
"T-thank," she whispered. She glanced down at her hand, which was being held tight by Saitama for the sake of trying to stop her from falling again. A blush hit her face, but she wasn't even composed to deal with it properly.
"So...warmmm..." She whispered again, slowly leaning on Saitama. This time, even the bald hero didn't know what to say. He was sort of dumbfounded, like this sort of behavior from Tornado was completely new around him. It certainly hadn't been to this sort of degree, but he never paid any attention to it because he thought it was just her being who she was.
Fubuki smirked knowingly, but kept her mouth shut and only turned around and began walking with Genos back towards their room, leaving Saitama and Tatsumaki to trail behind.
~~~
"Fubuki."
"Yeah, Genos?" I responded, hearing the question in his voice already. "Whatcha wanna ask?" As the two of us were walking towards the group room the four of us shared, it was pretty quiet throughout the walk other than the quiet taps of our shoes on the marble floor.
"Is there a reason that you keep making us leave Saitama-Sensei and your sister?" He began. "I may be overanalyzing this, as you have informed me of my habit, but I have noticed a continuous trend. Whenever your sister is in some sort of emotional turmoil, you usually leave it up to Saitama to resolve the issue. Why not do it yourself?"
I blinked, realizing just now that Genos had no real idea what I was up to. I remained silent for a few more moments before he began.
He noted, "Well, whatever the case, it always seems to result in a strengthened bond between your sister and Saitama-Sensei. In fact, I believe that Miss Tatsumaki may have romantic feelings for Saitama-Sensei." I raised my eyebrow, slightly surprised at the usually oblivious cyborg's observations. I put my hands on my hips, slightly curious.
"What makes you say that, hm?" I asked, even though it was rhetoric. I knew damn well that he was right; hell, she said it flat-out right to me, even though she didn't even give the smallest explanation about it. That reminds me! I'll have to ask her later.
"The signs are there," he simply explained. "Her heart rate always seems to rise around him, she seems more amiable, her general demeanor change, her posture, even her voice slightly becomes higher pitched. Common signs of romantic interest, according to this report done a few years back." I blinked.
"You noticed all of that?" I asked, dumbfounded. Wait a fucking minute.
What the fuck has he noticed about me?! Did he even notice a thing? What would he even do about it?!
"Fubuki," he snapped me out of my almost zoning out before continuing. "The odd thing is in Saitama-Sensei's response."
"What is it?!" I asked, incredibly curious, not only because I was curious, but for Tatsumaki's sake. If she got rejected by the only person she's ever had a crush on, I don't think she could handle it.
"While her romantic sort of transformations are more external, Saitama-Sensei..." he tried to word it properly.
"It's more subtle. But it's there. Despite his incredible physique and typically lower heart rate due to his fitness, his heart rate still rises dramatically when around Miss Tornado. From 53 to 102, a 92.45% increase whilst awake. I have also noticed his facial expressions are more alive, as I have tracked his patterns of expression; normally, he is completely apathetic. However, around your sister, he seems more vibrant," he explained. "However, there is one large factor that I believe exists. It is not from my analysis, but rather from my general belief of human behavior. Hey, don't look confused. I used to be a human too, for your information!" I guess he noticed my incredulous look on my face, and slightly suspicious one when he spoke about how he thought humans worked.
"Well, I suppose that is irrelevant," he cleared his throat. "As I was saying, I believe that the largest reason that Saitama-Sensei may potentially reciprocate her feelings is because--"
"Ah, I was wondering what the noise had been around here," I heard the familiar voice of Silver Fang come from behind us, the door that he had closed perfectly silent. How he did it, I have no idea. Most of these doors don't even close silently in the first place.
"Bang!" I gasped, realizing he had heard in slightly on our conversation. "I-I--!"
"Do not fret, Miss Fubuki," he greeted kindly. "You need not worry about me discovering anything." He chuckled a bit, before staring off into space for a moment.
"You forget that I, once, was also lovestruck as your sister was," he continued. "I could tell from a few weeks ago that she was interested in Saitama."
"And what do you think of the situation?" Genos inquired.
"Well...I suppose I cannot do much but spectate for the time being. However, should they come to me for whatever reason, I find no reason to keep my door closed," he spoke cryptically. "And yet...I feel you should remember one thing. For both of them."
As he turned around and walked into his room, he advised, "You know they are strong; maybe the strongest on Earth. Do not let that cloud your knowledge that their emotions do not have that same power."
~~~
Well, at least we're...halfway there, I guess? I have no idea. I feel like the entire time's just been me trying to lead her away from the nearest exit, but half of it's been filled with me having to wait for her to finish puking while I awkwardly pat her on the back. It's a weird experience, having to take care of a drunk person.
Right now? I was waiting for Tats to get through another round of puking, and she was just about finishing up. I blinked again as I heard the hurling sound echo throughout the hallways, and since it was practically 1 a.m., there probably wasn't any staff here, or maybe even awake, at this time.
I sighed, "Tats, you ready to go now?"
She groaned in response, her groan echoing within the trash can. That's a no.
Five more minutes passed, and she finally raised her head from the trash can. Maybe her hangovers happen really quickly? I dunno. I've only drank a few times, and I've never really felt drunk from any of it. Meh. I don't really think I'm losing out.
"H-Hey, Sai-Saitama," she slurred. "Gott-Gotta tell you somethin'." Her balance was slowly getting better, but barely. She still had to mostly rely on the wall, though. I should've known she was a lightweight, anyways, so it's kinda my fault.
"Whatcha wanna say, Tats?" I asked softly, honestly getting a bit sleepy. It wasn't really fatigue. I just wanted to sleep.
"I honestly *HIC* f-feel like I 'aven't been the most hon-hon *HIC* honest about...ya know, about who I really am. Like you've said a lot about your childhood and all that but I don't even think I've said a word about when I like grew up or anythin' li-liiiiike that, you know?"
That caught my interest. By god I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but I think that at that point, it was too late to get out of it.
"I guess...Don't think it's the best idea to do it while you're drunk though. I don't want to know anything that you really don't want me to know, Tats," I recommended half-heartedly; it was true, but the problem was that I really didn't have the drive to stop her.
"W-WhO *HIC* c-care, anyway!" She burped, coughing a bit afterwards. I had seen a bunch of different types of drunk from Tetsuya's, but this was a new case. Sort of like an abnormal case, in a way.
~~~
As I heard her talk, as I heard her story, I couldn't ignore the weight that I felt on my shoulders. The stuff that she went through?
I don't think anyone should ever have to go through that. Nobody. The years of child abuse, trauma, isolation, shame, and self-loathing bottled up within her, the fact that she had to keep all that in, to let nobody know other than probably Fubuki?
It was probably heart-wrenching. Like an unending pressure, having to be strong all the time, never wearing your heart on your sleeve.
It was pitiful, in a way. But I know she wouldn't ever want anyone to look down on her like that. In any way.
So I didn't pity her. At all. I just listened to her, and absorbed all the knowledge I could. At least the important details. Even if she wanted me to forget what she said, some of it, I just couldn't forget.
And then, I heard words that I'd never forget.
~~~
I had no goddamn idea what the fuck had just went on the past three hours, but I felt like actual shit. I was puking, coughing, stumbling, everything except acting like a normal human being. Then again, I wasn't normal.
But the past three hours were a fuckin' whiz. I had what felt like the strongest hangover ever but I only drank three small shots from what I remember. Everything else after that went really weird.
So here I am, standing in front of Saitama, and realizing that I probably looked like a fool, drunk and all that. So trying to keep my composure, I try to stand up again and promptly fall over. I didn't even have the energy to yelp as I fell to the ground, or even get angry at him when he caught me by the neck of my dress. Yeah, I didn't change when we got to the resort. Why would I if I'm not going to swim?
Well, whatever it is, Saitama seems...different. He doesn't seem apathetic like he does most times and he doesn't seem annoyed like when something minorly inconvenient happens to him.
He seems somber, like something's wrong. But not like it's just an annoying type of wrong. It was like distress, like something emotional. So even though I was drunk, and probably completely shit-faced, I still had the thought to ask.
"W-what's wrong, Baldy?" I stuttered out, the intoxication of the alcohol gradually leaving. It was far more tolerable than how it was before, and I didn't even remember what it was before.
He opened his mouth, but was silent, like he was trying to choose out his words. It was weird, seeing him this legitimately concerned. And even when he spoke, his voice was nearly silent, but his words were gigantic. It was something out of a horror film, and probably my worst nightmare.
"You told me about your childhood. Your parents, the experiments, your sister, growing up, all of it."
~~~
The world went blank for Tatsumaki then. Whirling around in a spiral of confusion and doubt, she tried to process what he just said. As he continued explaining what she told him while she was drunk, the words became more buzzy. More...quiet. She barely heard him anymore, but she knew what he was saying. Even though the words didn't process, she knew everything.
Even though her body was still recovering, her mind was completely alert, blaring, screaming at her. She didn't necessarily feel a headache, but a different kind of pain. The pain someone feels being overwhelmed to such a degree it's harmful.
The world crashed down upon her, her secrets revealed, cards shown, her past just laid out for him to see.
Vulnerability.
She hated it.
~~~
I blinked, "So I really told you all of that?" I didn't even know what I was feeling then. Shock? Shame? Embarrassment? I had no idea.
It just didn't feel good.
Saitama nodded, and my teeth grit. I felt like such a fucking stupid idiot. Why the fuck did I even let myself get drunk? Why the fuck did I think it was a good decision? Why the fuck did I even tell him all of that?!
"Frustrated?" Saitama asked calmly. I groaned heavily.
"God fucking damn it," I cursed under my breath. "Of course I am! I just exposed myself to you in the fucking worst way possible!" The other emotions that I held just a few moments ago were long gone, and were quickly being replaced by sheer rage and anger.
"What else did I tell you, Baldy?!" I snapped at him, and he coiled back more out of shock than out of fear or intimidation. I didn't think anything intimidated him at this point, so I didn't know what to expect.
"You really wanna know?" He retaliated, his tone still calm but his shoulders slightly more tense. He had a lot on his mind, and of course he did. I fucking really did that. Of course I did.
I wasn't even angry at Saitama for knowing, and I didn't think it was even the fact that I really told him. It was the fucking fact that I really let myself be that vulnerable, that I really let that shit happen, that all of that really fucking went on.
"No I'm perfectly fine with not knowing what other vital information I told you -- OF COURSE I DO, BALDY!" I snapped. He really didn't deserve me snapping at him, but at this point I felt like it was justified. I don't even think I've felt this angry at him ever, and I wasn't even angry at him necessarily.
"Seriously, Tats," he tried to reassure me. "Are you sure you wann--"
I interrupted, "Don't 'Tats' me right now, Baldy! Just tell me!" In reality, I was just causing a scene. I didn't care.
His expression turned to stone. He wasn't apathetic at all about this, and I knew he was serious at that moment. More than I expected from him, but exactly what I expected from this sort of goddamn situation.
"I'll tell you, but don't snap at me for what you did," he offered, and I reluctantly nodded. It made sense, and I agreed, even though I probably wasn't gonna follow through.
"Fine," I crossed my arms over themselves, and tapped my foot impatiently. Even the slight bit of tipsy that was still coursing through me had completely vanished, and my attention and rage was completely focused on this.
"You confessed to me," Saitama explained, and even my rage was halted completely.
"...What?!" I practically screamed, clenching my fists so hard that my knuckles turned white. "What do you mean, 'I confessed to you?!'"
"Told me that you'd liked me for a while," he recalled, scratching the top of his head...or at least what dictated as it. Didn't exactly know where the bald separated from the face or the back of his head.
He continued, "Said that it was for a while, but explained that's why you were in the bathroom so long at Tetsuya's."
I started to shake a bit, completely frustrated and angry and my emotions were just in a fucking whirl cause I didn't have any idea what to do.
"I...need a moment," I whispered, my voice weak and strained. His eyes widened for a moment, but nodded all the same. He seemed to understand, and just let me go as I walked away, trying to maintain my composure.
~~~~~
Big question: I'm obviously gonna keep writing on this story, and I'm planning for this to be the main one, but I've been thinking about making a one-shot book about Saitama and Tatsumaki, and maybe one-shot books about other pairings in other fandoms. Should I do it? Also, I'm thinking of making another story regarding Saitama and Tatsumaki, but a much smaller one. Should I do that?
So that's the chapter! It's short compared to the other chapters that I've written, but I feel like this is probably the best way to end this chapter while making the next chapter exactly how I want it to.
So, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. If you want to suggest anything, notice anything, or something else, please let me know. I'm really glad that you guys are enjoying it!
And lastly, again, if there's anything that I can improve upon, fix, or anything like that, let me know about that too! See y'all next time!
Sincerely,
SpiritBloodDragon