Hi!
This is just sort of an intermission chapter, since I got the suggestion to let Tatsumaki know about King being a weakling from a reader, but I'm tweaking their suggestion a bit, but the duel will be next chapter!
I hope you enjoy!
Initial Release Date: August 6, 2020
~~~~~
"Hey, Baldy, why do you seem off all day?" Tornado asked, crossing her arms. "It's a Saturday, and we're at the grocery store, and it's bargain day."
"And?" Saitama responded dryly, pushing the cart like it was nothing, even though it looked like the cart was about to collapse from the sheer weight of the items the bald man had insisted on getting on the weekend. It was a special day, because it wasn't your ordinary bargain day. It was a bargain day that only happened every year, on the anniversary of the place's creation.
Which only made the issue more pressing, considering how the attitude that the short woman's boyfriend had didn't seem nearly as excited as it would be. She narrowed her eyes as she stared at Saitama with a sour expression on his face.
"You know," she observed. "I think you've been a bit off since you met King. Did something happen when you met him? Did he try to do anything? Kick you out of the Hero Association?" She clicked her tongue at that, knowing it wasn't the case; even if King did try to intimidate Saitama out of the Association, it's not like he even cared about being in the organization in the first place.
"No, not really," he shrugged, his eyes drifting off. "It was just how King acted. It didn't seem like something I'd expect King to be like."
"And that was?" Tornado quirked an eyebrow. "What did you expect King to be like?"
"I don't know. Stoic. I expected him to have a bunch of trophies, a bunch of stuff in his home, maybe even something...extra. But his place was practically barren. I think my place had more stuff in it," Saitama shrugged again, not really knowing how to explain it properly. "King just...didn't seem like the type of person to be like that."
"What did he even have?" Tornado asked, gesturing her hand blandly as the two of them walked through another aisle. "There had to have been something interesting, at least, right?"
"Nope," Saitama emphasized the 'p.' "The main thing that he had was a gaming console, a bunch of games, and a small T.V to play them on."
"And? People have hobbies other than training and just going out beating up monsters," Tatsumaki scoffed, somewhat amused. "I guess King doesn't seem the person to play videogames, at least."
"Yeah, it's a bit weird, honestly. He's really good at fighting games, but...well, you know those Shoujo manga stuff?" Saitama began, though followed up with a seemingly random question.
Tornado nodded.
"He has an odd sort of interest for those sorts of games, like dating sims. You'd think someone like King would probably be attractive to someone, right?" Saitama explained. "He probably wouldn't even need to play something like that if he actually wanted to get a girlfriend."
Tornado cringed at that, her face wrinkling up in what she felt was just disgust, but was just an amalgamation of random emotion that she couldn't quite piece together. She felt a bit confused and curious as to why he'd get a game like that, annoyed that there were dating sims in the first place (the music bugged her to no end), and that King could actually get a girlfriend when he literally did nothing in battle.
"Actually, King wanted me to play some fighting games with him later. Wanna come with?" Saitama suggested, continuing to push his cart as he picked up another random thing that Tornado didn't even know existed in the world. It was a wonder that the cart still hadn't broke, and she had the urge to hold some of the objects midair herself.
"I don't see why not."
"Cool. I'll call him and see if it's fine. Is it cool if you take care of the cart, real quick? I'm gonna go grab something. I forgot to grab shampoo," Saitama explained, causing the shorter woman to nod.
Quickly, she started pushing the cart with her powers, not even bothering to let some of the objects fall. She didn't even push it, really.
She just held the entire thing up and let it slowly orbit around her as she looked for what interested her.
It only took about 30 seconds for Saitama to come back, his phone in his pocket and what felt like way too much shampoo for someone who was literally bald should have. Besides, it's not like Genos needed to use shampoo, since his hair was cybernetically enhanced.
"Uh, why do you have shampoo?" Tornado asked, taken aback by the sheer quantity that he had. "It's not like you're buying that for me, and Genos sure as hell doesn't need it."
Saitama sulked, a little bit of insecurity filtering into his voice, "Jeez, can't I try to fit in with people who have hair while I'm in private?"
She chuckled a little bit at the realization that he still used shampoo in the shower just to feel, or at least reminisce on the time that he still had hair. To be fair, losing your hair in your 20s didn't seem natural, either.
Though, having powers beyond the galaxy probably wasn't natural in the slightest either. A trade-off, she found it to be.
"So, is his place repaired and all?" Tatsumaki asked absentmindedly as the two of them walked towards the self-checkout. They couldn't find it in themselves to make a cashier take all of the things they had, though it was at the request of Saitama rather than Tatsumaki, who hadn't been at the receiving end of the endless yelling of a persistent customer who didn't understand that their coupons expired and that the manager would say the same thing. That was one of the biggest things that Saitama envied about his girlfriend.
"Yep. You down to head over there now?"
"Let's at least put away the groceries, dumbass."
"Fine, fine..."
~~~
"Hey, King!" I call out to him, as I buzz the door once again. "Come on! I've been waiting to play that game, for like, forever!"
I try to buzz the door again, only to get a buzz in my pocket from a notification. It's a text from King.
I read it out loud, "I'm taking a shit right now. Just come up here like you did before."
"What does he mean, Baldy?" Tats asks me, sighing a little bit. "Are you seriously this casual with him, or do you just not care? And what did you mean like coming up like before?"
"Oh, the last time that I came over, I jumped up from the ground to the 22nd floor. That was actually the first time we met. Every other time was just meeting up outside or at my place," I explain. Weird. I actually just noticed that we've hung out at one of our homes only once before.
"Jeez. Wasn't that when Genos had to deal with G4?" Tats rolls her eyes as she simply floats up to where the 22nd floor was. I just jump up there. Screw it.
I just punch through the window and the screen, even though that's probably gonna cost a few thousand yen. Meh. King's got more than enough, anyways, even with how much he does spend on videogames.
"God, how many dating sims does he have?!"
Well, that's sort of the reaction I expected Tats to have when she saw his gaming collection. He categorized it pretty neatly, though the distribution, as Genos would say, was incredibly skewed.
I'd have to say he had a bit over 100 games, but I dunno. Don't really play too many. And even then, I think about half of them had something to do with an attractive woman.
"Is he this much of a pervert?" Tats wonders out loud, and somewhere within me, I'm wondering the same thing. I didn't really have the time to look over what he had the last time since, you know, giant bird, but now that I see it? Some of these have some really, really weird names.
Kingdom Hearts 2.8 Rainbow Road vs. Zombie Assassin's Creed Souls, Find Love in Tokyo Tower?
God, I miss playing games. Then again, I didn't have any friends to play them with, but single player games were fun either way.
That wasn't even the weirdest one that I saw there. But it did have one of the weirdest covers I'd ever seen, that's for sure.
I hear a faint groan, and I realize something: Tats isn't foolish enough to not realize that King doesn't have any powers, and when she does, I doubt she's gonna hold back.
As King exits the bathroom, I hear a groan again as he exits, cracking his back, "Saitama. Tornado." His greetings were quiet, and simple. The same way he'd talk to anyone else in the hero world.
That was because he didn't wanna give himself away, I'm pretty sure. Either that, or by what he's told me, he's too afraid to say anything else and anger the other heroes if they find out that he's not strong.
That was kind of the problem that I didn't think of when King seemed fine with Tats coming with me to play videogames with King.
Well, I think I just screwed him over. Because knowing Tats, she's too curious about how strong or weak some people are. That was what she usually categorized people as, and exactly how she determined how much respect she had for most people, unless there was some sort of different thing that she respected, like Bang's discipline or Child Emperor's intelligence, though that was held back by his voice, which she found grating.
So, here's the thing. I did not expect Tats to like videogames.
And some of the videogames that King offered to play? They were probably total dogshit in her eyes.
But weirdly enough, she got hooked on one of them. It was a fighting game, a 2.5-d fighting game. Mortal Kombat.
I don't know why she got interested in that, but I guess it must have been the gore, or maybe the fatalities. God knows it definitely wasn't Johnny Cage.
I actually remember playing some of the games before arcades got shut down! Granted, I always got my ass handed to me by Shang Tsung, but it was pretty nice playing as Scorpion.
Of course, all of this knowledge of Tats actually liking Mortal Kombat actually stemmed from a single question.
"Tats, you wanna take a round next or should I play first?" I offer as King turns on the console. Mk9 was the best one, easily. Luckily, King had it, but only on the Ps3.
Jeez, it's been so long since I've actually played videogames. I think I only played Mk9 once, and that was on a rented console for a week.
"You take a round," she answers as she grabs a juice box from King's fridge. "Oy, King, you got some apple juice? I only see orange juice in here."
"Oh, look on the top shelf of the cabinet," King absentmindedly answers, and I can already feel her shoulders tense from here.
"Fucking tall people," I hear her mutter to herself. "It's cool to have powers but I can't use them to become taller, now can I?"
I roll my eyes, "C'mon, King, I'm gonna crush you!"
"Not if those experiences when I hung at your place are any indication," he chuckles.
"Oy, shut it," I snap, a vein popping onto my forehead as he selects Scarlet.
"Hah! I'll crush you with Shao Kahn!" I taunt.
~~~
Huh.
"You were gonna crush me?" I blink, not even realizing that the round was over until I hear him scream in anguish. "Where's your life bar?"
"Hey! Round two!" He instantly transitions, much to the amusement of his girlfriend behind him.
I don't know how or when it happened, and frankly, the details aren't mine to know. All that happened was that Saitama had told me that the two of them were in a relationship, and Tornado didn't think it could cause any harm to tell me.
I didn't think it was a match when I first read about them in the news. I just thought they were two people who happened to cross each other during the Vaccine Man incident. God, I don't even know how Tornado didn't get the credit for that.
"Hey, Saitama, gimme a round," I hear Tatsumaki urge from behind, poking the back of his head. "You suck too much. Haven't you played this game before?"
"Hey! I've only played a few rounds!" He retorts, an annoyed expression coming upon him. I can't help but crack an amused smile at that blatant lie.
"Saitama, we played for two hours once when I came over," I roll my eyes, and I hear Tornado snicker. Sure, only a few rounds.
"See! It's my turn! I bet in two rounds, I'll be way better than you are," she confidently declares. Honestly? I don't think it's outside the realm of possibility. Considering how much Saitama sucks at the game, I'm relatively sure that a kid only five years old without object permanence or an understanding of how the game even works would probably do better than Saitama has the few times that we have played, even though those times of gameplay lasted a few hours.
"Just don't only use consecutive low kicks and you'll be fine," I mutter under my breath, though Saitama hears me.
"Hey! I heard that!"
"You know your power in real life doesn't translate to the power in the game, right?" I raise my eyebrow, turning around to face him as he plops down on the couch. "I don't think you can just punch my digital character to death like you did with that bird or whatever."
"Wait a minute."
Tornado's tone becomes darker. A bit more suspicious.
Did I just fuck up?
"Hey, Saitama, you told me that King killed the bird!" She points a finger at him accusatorily, her eyes narrowing. She puts the controller down and a bit of annoyance comes onto her face.
Fuck.
I think the two of us really fucking messed up.
~~~
There come a moment in most, if not everybody's, life that they realize they've been caught. Most of it is minor, like cheating on a test, sneaking something where you shouldn't, hiding something that you don't want to be seen.
Then there are things that are more severe. Cheating on a loved one, committing a crime, whatnot.
And of course, the stuff that can absolutely cause harm to so many people, scandals that are scary to have been caught, yet you're glad they were.
Maybe government secrets, a spy for an organization, hell, even framing someone's suicide in their own jail cell and try to pass it off as mere coincidence that all the factors happened to line up.
The degree of it always varies from person to person, at least in their eyes and whether or not it's happening to someone outside of their circle, or someone they know, to someone they consider a close friend, to that person themselves.
King?
He, however, had felt different. He felt as if this was the most severe thing to be caught for, at the worst possible aim as it was happening to him, and being caught by who he thought to be the worst person possible to be caught by.
The Tornado of Terror.
She went by many names in the hero world, and many names to the public, and hell, a few nicknames in her own personal circle.
But there was always one thing that she was nearly unparalleled for in terms of her presence potentially indicating.
Death.
Destruction.
Pain.
He knew her to not hold back on her enemies, to swiftly eliminate them, only restraining herself when the result of her power had the potential to hurt others in the area.
Hell, he knew that Saitama was probably stronger, especially if Tornado herself seemed to have trouble with the monster invasion, that he might not hold her back, or at least, not put effort into holding her back.
At least with the monsters, there was someone there to save him. The physical pain and fear brought upon him were temporary.
But Saitama? He was a physical protector. He'd been there the entire time to punch his problems away, even if the bald man himself didn't know the favors he was doing for King.
No matter if he was her boyfriend. No matter if there was a true savior, a god up there to protect him from the physical wrath who blessed him with the bald man to protect him from fatal harm.
He wasn't sure if his emotionally incompetent friend would force Tornado to stop. He felt cornered.
Ah...this is what it's like...King thought to himself, though he knew his thoughts were belonging to the character he played. To truly be at death's door. To...be average.
Being weak...I've known it my whole life...but vulnerability...I'd experienced only from that octopus...this...this is new... In a brief flash, King couldn't help but feel his life flash before his eyes.
"You...you lied?"
"Huh?" King heard Saitama wonder out loud, a bit confused by the shorter woman's words. "Me or King?"
"King, obviously!" Tornado crossed her arms, pointing at the scarred man. He could feel his bladder practically collapse upon itself, yet he didn't feel the familiarity of warmth in his crotch every time he felt threatened.
"Oh my god, did I really just have to stop you from pissing your pants?" Tornado cringed, gagging. "Holy fuck, how are you this weak?"
"Tats..." Saitama whispered, putting a hand on her shoulder. "It's fine."
"No, it's not! Because I don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out who he's actually impersonating!" Tornado was seething at this point. He knew that there was no going back. Hell, the worst that could come out of it was that he'd die. Actually, no. Death would be a preferable alternative to whatever hell she probably had planned for him.
The best that could happen?
Hell, he couldn't even think about what would be the best thing that could happen for him in this situation.
"He's impersonating you, dumbass! He took your kills! He took your fame! He's using all this power, this money, this hope for himself! And you aren't doing a goddamn thing about it!" She practically yells. This time, there's no telekinetic power stopping King from pissing his pants.
And boy, did he wish his bladder actually fucking worked like a normal human being's.
Warmth. Sweet, relieving warmth. It helped remind him that he was human.
Well.
Somewhat.
He wished he could be the hero everyone thought he was. He wished he had the power that Saitama made the public think he did. That way, he'd be able to simply escape the pain, knowing that he was in fact, all-powerful. That he had nothing to hide.
But right now?
In the face of true power?
What could he do?
That was it.
He had nothing that he could do.
"I can go down there and tell the Hero Association that he's a fraud! He should come out and tell everyone that he isn't weak and that you're the actual strong one!" Tornado insists, gesturing wildly, flailing her arms around in the air to him. At this point, it was like she hadn't even acknowledged her presence in the room.
And to her defense?
King felt that it was somewhat justified. Considering how Saitama, the man he'd stolen all his credit from, was her boyfriend? It was safe to say that that sort of reaction would've probably come from anyone who felt that someone they care about was done wrong.
"Why would you do that, though?" Saitama simply responded, seeming genuinely confused. "He's the people's hero. The strongest man on Earth."
"That's exactly the point! He isn't! And you know it!"
"So?" Saitama shut her down, gently hugging her. In an instant, King felt like being there was sort of intruding on a private moment, let along being there with soiled pants. He felt like a pervert. Well, he already was, but even more so now.
This was odd, actually.
He'd known Tornado to be incredibly standoffish, to find people who weren't powerful merely unworthy of being in her presence. He'd heard rumors of how she'd fling people into walls if they didn't maintain a certain distance from her.
Yet...this man...this bald man...had been so touchy. He'd somehow found a way to make friends with her, find a way to make her smile, calm down...hell, to the point where he hugged her.
"J-Jeez, Baldy, you don't have to do in front of other people," Tornado muttered, eventually extricating herself from his arms. "I-It's embarrassing sometimes..."
"Hey, this is the first time I've done it," he chuckles. "Plus, pretty sure I got your mind off of him, right?"
"Oh, shut up. You know I'm right," she retorted, dryly scoffing. "He's still a fraud, and I still think we should expose him."
Saitama chuckled again, a different sort of look filling his eyes, "I don't see the point in that, honestly...he's the hero of the people...so why shouldn't we let him be? They have faith in him, think he's strong, and know that whenever the day goes dark...a hero like him'll always be there. And if that doesn't have to do with me, I'm fine with that."
"That...makes no sense," King mutters, a sudden burst of courage allowing him to speak before the crushing weight of having pissed his pants finds its way back onto his chest.
"Why...are you so okay with this?" He can feel the tears make their way onto his cheeks as he backs up against the wall. "How are you so okay with this? I'd be so...unbelievably pissed if I was in your position, Saitama..." His voice was cracking, vulnerable, nothing like the hero that the people knew.
"Well, you already know I don't care much for being a professional hero in the first place. I don't even have room to judge, since I'm doing this for fun."
"Yeah, as if," the shorter woman scoffed. "You probably care about what being a hero is all about more than most people. So what?"
"Just cause people have special powers...doesn't make us special. You know?" Saitama clicks his tongue. "I always found, though, that it was what you do to other people that can make you special. And how you make people feel is special too."
"But it still doesn't add up..." Tornado rolls her eyes, unsatisfied.
Saitama softly laughs, "Who said it has to make sense?" He pulls Tornado in, this time patting her a bit on the head. "Besides, all this stuff is giving you time to beat King, Tats...the controller's right there."
Tornado rolled her eyes in response, gently pulling away from him this time, but King notices the light blush on her face, "Fine...but I still think that you're more of a hero."
"Hey, I thought I was supposed to be more of a hero as your boyfriend, Tats!"
"King," Tatsumaki suddenly interrupted, her tone a bit quieter. "If he doesn't want to expose you, and he doesn't care, I don't see an issue with it. But if it becomes an issue...god help me, I'm not helping you out then."
King gulps.
"Good. Now go change into some pants, will you? It's already to start smelling like piss, and I didn't think I'd smell that again since the last time I went to Six Flags or some fair like that."
In an instant, King turned around, whimpering as he gently went into his room.
He knew he'd have to change his life somehow, for the better or the worse.
~~~
"So...what're you gonna do?" I ask, as Tats plops down next to me on the couch. She decided she'd just wait until he comes back to actually play, even if the round just mindlessly went on.
"I dunno, honestly," she answers, and I lean an arm a bit around her to the point where she does that thing she always does.
I doubt anyone would really expect this from someone like Tats, but whenever I lean around her, something happens. It took a while for it to happen, honestly. The first few times I did do it, she just sort of leaned backwards into my arm.
It was like a level-up sort of system, honestly.
First, she just leaned back.
Then, she actually leaned a bit inwards. That was pretty awkward for the both of us.
Now?
She leans inwards, and tucks her legs a bit upwards, bringing them a bit to her chest as she pulls her arms in front of them. It's like a cocoon, almost.
It's a nice sort of touch, and it's more than enough to tell me that she is actually comfortable when I do this sort of stuff. We aren't a really touchy-feely couple, and that's fine with me. I'm not a super affectionate person, either.
But these rare moments where we are affectionate? It's pretty nice, I gotta admit.
So, hey. Tats may know King's a fraud. She'll probably resent him for it for a while. Hell, I doubt she'll actually end up forgiving him for that. But I don't care about that. Cause really, I think King's going to find his own answer to that problem.
I think she's actually become a little fond of King for being so honest, and helped open her eyes a bit. I doubt she realizes it now, but I think she won't be able to get it out of her mind just how aware he is of his own mortality.
Jeez, that's a pretty morbid thought.
But...maybe it's a good insight into how...how do I put this without sounding mean...fragile. Yeah. That's it. How fragile people are. I've seen it a lot, just walking on the street and running. And, to be fair, I lived a relatively normal life.
I was bullied. I got hurt. I got beat, fired, lost a lot. But...I don't think that's what makes a human strong or weak.
What King just let out there...
Personally, I don't think he's weak.
There are tons of ways to be strong, you know?
I think if I were at his level of physical strength, I wouldn't have it in me to keep up the act for so long.
And I don't blame Tats if she seems like she has tunnel vision at times. With the life she'd lead up to this point...I don't blame her. Her parents, her relationship with her sister, those experiments, that time with Blast...hell, if I were in her position, I'd probably take it even harder.
Personally? I'm glad I get to help her through it. Because sometimes, she still winces at physical touch. Her breath hitches sometimes when Fubuki, Genos, or I try to be friendly with her. She's pretty on guard most of the time. And that's fine in my book.
Because over time...even if something dangerous or bad happens...
I think we'll end up okay.
~~~~~
Hi!
This was a pretty weird chapter, especially since there wasn't any sort of real direction and half of it was literally just supermarket and making fun of King.
But I sort of did want to have this be an insight into all three of their characters!
So, I hope you guys enjoyed it. Please make sure you guys take care, stay safe, and stay on top of things!
And of course, if there's anything you wanna say on my story, suggest I do, maybe fix like grammar or just plot stuff and how to improve, I'd be glad to hear it.
Sincerely,
SpiritBloodDragon