"Genos, could we go over to Saitama's? Tatsumaki still owes me some money and I think that she's still over there," Fubuki sighed, stretching as she slowly sat up.
She'd used Genos' cybernetic stamina to her advantage, to put it short.
It took a while for Genos to get used to what was going on, but he seemed fine with it. He'd felt emotions (the primary one being sheer rage), so he did derive joy from making Fubuki happy.
That was really it, though.
"I don't see why not," Genos shrugged; he'd talked with Saitama about potentially moving in with Fubuki, which came to a very indecisive Genos and a bored Saitama. Frankly, he saw nothing wrong with either scenario.
In the end, Genos had decided to stay living in Fubuki's home. He'd still spent a large chunk of time with his Sensei whenever he wasn't occupied with the matters of the Blizzard Bunch. Considering how his main priority was still his training, Fubuki understood his choice, although a little dissatisfied that she didn't spend the majority of his time with her.
"What time works?" Fubuki asked, scratching the back of her head as she yawned slowly. He'd made breakfast for her often, and this time was no different. She hated getting up early, and she couldn't understand for the life of her how Genos and Saitama did it so consistently. It was a question both Psychic Sisters had, yet one that both of them would never understand.
"Any time should be fine," Genos explained casually. "Did you hear about this man named Speed-O-Sound Sonic? He's declared himself Saitama-Sensei's rival, but it genuinely makes no sense. If he cannot defeat me, he's nowhere near his level."
Fubuki scoffed, finally getting up, "Speed-O-Sound Sonic? He's a ninja, isn't he?"
Genos whirled his head, somewhat confused, "How did you know?"
Fubuki lightly giggled, "Redundant names, remember? Flashy Flash? Every ninja seems to have something like that, I guess."
Genos smiled too, though tried to hide his amusement, "I seem to recall you brought up something going on between Tatsumaki and Saitama-Sensei. Is there something that I should know about? Does it regard Sensei's emotions?"
Fubuki nodded, snickering, "If you wanna call it that, sure."
Genos narrowed his eyes, "I swear, I know Saitama-Sensei is physically strong, but I am unsure if he is used to his newfound emotions. After all, I believe the only emotions he has felt was joy when it came to Tatsumaki, in addition to boredom with...well, most other things."
Fubuki hummed, picking out what shirt to wear, "Well, I think it's the same for her. She's usually only angry or frustrated, and holy fuck I'm so glad Saitama's usually there when we hang out, otherwise she'd be so goddamn insufferable."
Genos rolled his eyes, amused, "I suppose I can't argue with you about that."
As Fubuki put on her shirt and sweater, she muttered, "Babe, what do you got for breakfast today?" She softly tiptoed her way behind Genos before snaking her arms around his shoulders.
"I decided I would try something of Mexican origin: Enmoladas."
Fubuki scoffed, no heat behind it, "Is that why you're wearing a sombrero?"
Genos, impassive as normal, nodded, "I thought it would be best for immersion."
"You know...that's pretty stupid."
~~~
"Oy, Baldy," I yawn, sitting up. Even though I lived right next to him, I still chose to sleep in his apartment. Warmer that way. I don't care if it's as hot as balls outside, it works for me.
Plus, we shared a kiss or two last night.
Fuck it.
We shared a few. We watched some anime, ordered some pizza, and collapsed at 2 A.M. I dunno how the Monster Association didn't shoot down the drone that delivered the pizza to our door, but it worked. And I'll take it. It was comfy.
Plus, the Hero Association stupidly accepted it because we spent a bunch of our day just hunting monsters and gaining money for it. Don't get me wrong, money wasn't a problem at all. But Genos insisted that we start investing for stocks or something, looking into real estate to settle down, and all that.
It's not too bad an idea, if I'm being completely honest. A lot of this stuff is getting pretty boring, and hunting down monsters with bounties helps a lot. Genos seems to like fighting criminals more, since he's always been protective of human life and all that. Fubuki usually goes with her gang alongside Genos to see if they can take on any monsters that come near.
Me and Saitama?
Honestly, we didn't care. It was just cool, cause for every monster we got, they started paying us more and more. Things still happened in the cities, and a bunch of others usually took care of that.
For some reason, we haven't gone to take on the Monster Association yet. Like, a full blown strike to beat them.
I'm fine with that. The kid's still in trouble, but in all honesty, nobody really cares about the funding of the Hero Association except for the Executives. They may fund us, but I've heard of this new group called the Neo Heroes. Might look into them. Hell, if the Hero Association goes to all hell, we could probably go there. Not like they could stop us if they refused.
Now, where was I?
Oh, right.
"Baldy, wake up," I lecture, nudging him a bunch. I think about grabbing some cold water to splash on his face, but he'd probably sleep his way through that also.
Screw it.
As I lean in to punch his arm, I'm interrupted by the ring of the doorbell.
"Damn it, now I gotta get changed...do I?" I wonder out loud, before calling out. "Hey! Who is that?!"
"Tatsumaki!" I hear Fubuki call out. "It's us! You still owe me my money!"
I blink, before realizing what she's talking about.
I groan out loud, leaning over Saitama to reach for my wallet, before stopping.
I break a glance at him.
Yeah, he's out.
I don't see why not. Instead, I reach over to his wallet and grab and grab a few hundred yen.
Not like he'll notice. He doesn't like spending money, but he doesn't even keep track of it. I can't even begin to tell you how many times I've seen him get really annoyed with himself because he put some yen somewhere but couldn't find it.
I saw it get really bad one time. That was fun. He somehow came to the conclusion that it would be inside his balcony so he punched into its interior, clearing out all the hard concrete within it, and still didn't find the yen.
I put the balcony back together since he asked me to pretty politely.
"Just open the door! I'm going to change out of pajamas real quick!" I call out to her, unlocking the door from where I was, quickly opening the balcony door to fly over to my place the room over. I still kept all my stuff in there.
"Where's the money?" She asks loudly. Loudly enough for Saitama to wake up.
I hear a quiet grumble, followed by a soft groan, "Sup, Fubuki. Genos. What're you two doin' here?"
He grunts, "Crap!" Followed by a hard thud on the floor.
"Saitama...maybe not use a blanket in the middle of summer?" Fubuki suggested. "At least turn on the air conditioning if you're going to do it."
"But that costs money!"
"Then why is it still somewhat cold in here?" Fubuki put a hand on her hip. "Tatsumaki, did you turn it on?"
"Nope. I just forced it to work through a few remote barriers," I explained, calling out to them. "If I just exert some force onto stuff, the electricity flows without being marked by the company. Took me a while to get the hang of, but scamming the people who used to manage my electricity bill was pretty fun."
Wait a minute, this'll be so much easier now that I think about it.
Uh...where would be best? I'll ask him.
"Yo, Saitama!" I called out, before flying over there. "Is it cool if I just cut a hole in the wall to merge our two homes? It's easier that way."
He shrugged, taking another sip of his juice, "Meh. Go for it. Just don't like make it super huge or anything."
Do we need a door?
Nah, I don't think we do.
As I cut a hole through the door, I absentmindedly questioned, "Hey, you guys wanna go out or something? I need to buy some things."
3...2...1...there it is.
As Fubuki choked on her drink, the expected reactions from Genos and Saitama were just as you'd think they were. Genos raised an eyebrow, curious at the thought of going to the mall. And of course, Saitama seemed mostly apathetic, but had a bit of concern about spending more than he should.
"You? Go out shopping?" Fubuki chuckled wildly. "What is this? Another universe?!"
"Hmm..." Saitama wondered out loud, still not moving too much (I think he just got up to grab a bit of juice and that was it), "I think the food court'd be fine. Maybe we could go see a movie?"
I scoffed, "As if. There's nothing coming out that'd be really interesting to watch anyways."
"So what? Would we just go shopping to shop?" Genos asked, a little turned off by the idea. "It sounds like a waste of time for all of us to go."
Saitama shrugged, "Yeah, you're right...wait, Genos, why not go to the library to rent out some manga?"
Genos blinked. I tilted my head. Fubuki coughed, confused.
"I shall, but what for, Sensei? It does not seem to help me in any way," the cyborg explained, not connecting the dots yet. I wouldn't blame him. I'm still confused as fuck.
"Well, King got some inspiration from this one manga called 'Two Kick Lad' and Tats got a few moves from this manga about this psychic kid. Maybe you could find something that'd help your fighting style," Saitama yawned, finally getting up again. Maybe he'd change for once.
Fubuki opened her mouth, silently realizing what he was going for.
"Ohh...that's actually a really creative way to find some things to apply!" Fubuki gasped, putting a hand to her mouth. "Where'd you get that idea from?"
Saitama shrugged, "I found some inspiration for my workout from 'Three Headbutt Kid.' Thought it'd help others if it worked for me."
Genos whipped out his notebook at what I could've sworn was Mach 3, writing stuff down so fast it tore the paper a little bit.
He used a new page. What a waste of ink. I wonder how much it costs him to keep having to buy new notebooks.
"Thank you for your counsel, Sensei!" Genos bowed, a sight that never failed to amuse Fubuki and me. I wonder how it's like, having to deal with that.
I mean, Saitama seems to not be able to handle it. It's like how the public views me as this all-powerful being, but being constantly followed from it by the most loyal puppy dog.
Hmm...the Hero Association's really sucking at this, I think. There's so much stuff to do with the Monsters and stuff, and all they're thinking about is the damn investor that nobody gives a crap about. In all honesty, they should just let Sitch take the wheel and hope for the best.
"So, Fubuki, since we're going shopping, I guess you're probably the one who's best suited for this stuff," I sighed, scratching my back as I sit down.
To my surprise, she lightly snorted, "Yeah, as if. If anything, Genos is the one who shops more often. He just shops way quicker. He was pretty honest about it."
I raised an eyebrow, leaning back on the couch, "Really?"
"Mhm!" She hummed, nodding over to Genos, who'd just finished writing. "Right?"
"Indeed," he answered tersely. "I buy a lot, but I have a plan every time before I go shopping."
Saitama clicked his tongue, "Yeah, that's how it's always been, unless it's bargain day. Then I'm the one who does the shopping."
I scoffed, "Yeah, and you always cram everything into one cart because you don't wanna use two."
"Hey!" He defended. "It's efficient!"
"And it broke the cart last time," I reminded him.
"So...are we going to get going?"
~~~
The shopping mall might have not been the best place to go to have a group hangout, especially considering how poorly the Hero Association was handling everything. Everywhere they went, it was always accompanied by similar thoughts by some people approaching Fubuki, asking what's going on. A bunch of people swarmed Genos, and most people were too afraid of Tatsumaki to approach her.
Of course, with Saitama, even being with Tornado was enough to repel the public, even if they did shoot him glances of various feelings. Mostly enmity. Though, there was the occasional grateful glance, actually appreciative of the bald man.
It wasn't common, but it was there.
As Saitama strolled through the mall, he couldn't really choose where to go. The only places that seemed pretty interesting were the manga store, the hero store, and the food court. Tornado had just decided to drag him around to...well, a bunch of places. Despite her initial aversion to buying clothes, or just anything that wasn't absolutely necessary, she thought it'd be best considering how her and Saitama had been spending more time, and casual clothes would probably be best.
"So...why are we in here?" Saitama deadpanned, scratching his head. "There's not even anything for me to buy here."
"Because you're going to help me choose some outfits," Tornado casually explained, nodding her head towards some of the cardigans. "I've been thinking of buying some of those for the next time we go out on a date."
Saitama wondered out loud, "Does that mean I have to buy an outfit too? It sounds like so much work."
Tornado chuckled dryly as they walked through the store, "Believe me, it is. Especially when I used to shop with Fubuki as a teen. She never stopped wanting to go to the mall."
Saitama rolled his eyes, "God, I remember when I used to go shopping with my mom and dad. It took so goddamn long...not that I blame Mom, though. She didn't go shopping often in the first place."
"Sat down on a bench, disassociate for an hour or two, feel like you're being herded around like cattle while they try on dresses and whatever, right?" Tatsumaki asked, amused. Saitama nodded, bored.
"Please, for the love of god, don't take that long," Saitama drawled, nearly pained. "I don't think I'll be able to survive the onslaught of boredom."
Amused, Tatsumaki rolled her eyes, "Yeah, as if. Like some shopping's going to be the thing to do you in, asshat."
"Hey! It's not a physical thing, so it might actually work!" Saitama defended again.
"Yeah, but if you focused hard enough, you could probably just...vibe for an hour or two. But I won't let that happen, cause I'm gonna be asking you a bunch of stuff whether stuff looks nice or not," Tatsumaki explained, barely able to hide the small upturn at the corners of her lips. "That being said, it'll be pretty quick, so you're just gonna have to focus hard for a short amount of time. That make sense?"
Saitama groaned, arms hanging at his sides in defeat, "So I can't just go home or something."
"Yeah, no," Tornado snorted in disbelief. "Besides, isn't this something couples do? Someone goes shopping and the other's dragged around for an hour or two?"
Saitama rolled his eyes, "Yeah, but we're not a normal couple, Tats."
"Does that matter?" Tatsumaki chuckled, taking his hand and dragging him further into the store. "Now, come on. I've got a few things I've got my eye on."
"And here I thought you didn't like shopping..." Saitama sighed under his breath, letting himself be dragged. He knew he could've just stood still and waited until she gave up, but he didn't have the will to stop her at the moment. Besides, it'd make him seem like a total douche of a boyfriend, something he adamantly stood against. He'd seen too many assholes in relationships around him to not try to better himself in stride.
///
As Saitama plopped himself down in front of the fitting rooms, he held with him a solid 13 outfits in his lap, each of them having been painstakingly chosen by Tornado after what felt like hours of waiting.
Checking his phone, his eyes widened.
"7 minutes?" Saitama muttered, concern in his tone. "I thought it'd been four hours at this point..."
Tornado snickered, "I can hear you, you know. And I haven't even spent that long. Imagine what shopping with Fubuki would be like."
Saitama shuddered as she grabbed one of the shirts and pants that she grabbed, "No thanks, I'd prefer not to vomit right about now."
"Hey, be grateful that I already found some outfits that I wanted to try on beforehand. Think about this: Would you prefer I came partially prepared or spending 30 minutes to find one single outfit that I might think about trying, only to put it away after being dissatisfied?"
Saitama snorted, "Yeah, I'd rather neither. I kinda wanna spend my life not in a time chamber, thank you very much." As she entered the room, she flipped him off. "Hey, I'm not wrong."
"Yeah, but you have spent a solid seven minutes of your life in this store. More than you've ever spent, right?" Tornado inquired, quickly slipping into the pants that she grabbed. She didn't really like how they felt, but they felt decently nice. She didn't feel really picky with what she wore, unless it was whatever she wore to sleep.
"More than I ever needed to spend," Saitama retorted, leaning back on the wall. He had no idea why the chair he sat in had no back, and frankly, he didn't feel like getting up to go to another chair.
As Tornado walks out of the fitting room, Saitama breaks out into a temporary coughing fit, not expecting what he saw in front of him.
"What, Baldy, do I look like trash?" Tornado rolls her eyes, amused. "You can use your words, you know."
"No, no," Saitama wheezes, gulping down a swig of water. "Just didn't expect you to look that nice."
Tatsumaki blushes, but her teeth somehow seem like shark teeth as she growls, "What do you mean, Baldy?! That doesn't help me!"
Saitama scratches the back of his head, sighing, "I mean...you look really nice, I guess. It looks really cute on you." He doesn't really know what to say than what he's just thinking.
Unfortunately, Tatsumaki grasps at the hem of her shirt and blushes, "Not that! Anything but cute!"
"Then don't wear clothes that make you cuter than you already are," Saitama shrugs, impassive.
Of course, the normal response is a smack on the back of the head, "Shut it...now come on and help me choose out some other clothes...without calling me cute, got it?"
"No promises."
~~~
"Hey, Genos?" I ask as I hand him another bag. "You know where Saitama or Tatsumaki is?"
He shakes his head, "I am currently unaware. But at the moment, I believe he is probably looking through clothes with Miss Tatsumaki."
Just as he says that, I hear a familiar voice groan, and it's far different than what I'm used to the voice sounding like.
"Saitama?" I blink, somewhat taken aback. "What happened to you?" He seems...frail. Weak. Like all the energy he'd ever had was just taken from him. It's actually terrifying to have seen him fall so far. What could have happened to have caused all of this?
"Oy, Baldy!" I hear Tatsumaki call out, quickly flying to his side. "Get back here! I've still got another store I wanna go to!"
I take a moment to look him over. I gulp.
His lips are cracked, his posture hunched and nearly inhuman. His arms, hanging from his sides in a pathetic attempt to seem like he's in control. His legs are in a poor position, his stance unbalanced. I think a breeze could blow and he'd be knocked over. His eyes...they seem even duller than when I'd first met him.
"Geez, what'd you do to him?" I raise an eyebrow, a little more amused. "I don't think normal shopping can do this to a person."
She shakes her head, pouting as she grabs his hand, "No, he's just really dramatic. We've only gone to two stores so far."
"Gotta say, I think you're doing more to him than you need to; you barely shop in the first place," I observe.
She shrugs, "Well, if we're going to go on more dates, I've gotta have some more clothes. Besides, I can't let him go on every single one of our public appearances in either his hero outfit or in a Hawaiian shirt and cargo shorts. I've got standards, thank you very much."
"So you're making him get outfits, too?" I pointedly put my hands on my hips. "Now that seems like a bit much."
"Meh," she shrugs again. "It's fine. Besides, he'll survive." She plants a hesitant kiss on his cheek, and I resist the urge to laugh. It's clear from the expression on her face that she isn't used to any sort of P.D.A, even hand-holding. Bright blush, face all crinkled up.
Yeah, I don't know at this point.
"Fubuki, is there anywhere else you wanted to go?" Genos asks from behind, coming up to me and kissing me on my cheek.
I flush heavily. Normally, I think I'd be fine...except for the fact that Genos gently slips his hand into mine while he does so.
She raises an amused eyebrow at the sight, and I mouth to her, 'Not a word.'
"Saitama-Sensei?" Genos gapes, incredibly concerned. "Are you alright?!"
He weakly groans, "I'm alive, Genos. Don't worry."
Genos purses his lips in concern, "Are you certain?" His gaze goes to Tatsumaki. "Did you have anything to do with Sensei's current condition?"
She waves it off, nodding, "Yeah, yeah, cause he doesn't wanna keep shopping."
Genos has a dark expression on his face as he mutters, "I see. So, despite his immense strength, it appears Sensei has his own weaknesses. I must use this knowledge to humble myself."
Of course, a somewhat embarrassed expression made its way onto Saitama's face, even if his face seemed so inhuman that it wasn't shown properly.
"So, what else are you two going to do?" I ask, somewhat curious. "Genos and I are going to head to another store, and we'll probably head to my place after that."
Tatsumaki shrugs, practically dragging Saitama along with her, "After we get a few more stores, I think we'll also do the same...if he'd ever actually move! Come on, Saitama!"
"God, tell my mother I love her..." I hear him whisper quietly as he's dragged off, barely having energy to walk as Tatsumaki's forced to drag him along, both with physical force and with her telekinetic ability.
~~~
"Was all of that really necessary?" Saitama muttered as he collapsed on his futon, and Tatsumaki could swear she saw literal steam emit from his body to cool down. "We could've just ordered it online..."
"Yeah, but I wouldn't be sure if it'd actually look nice. Besides, you got something to wear other than cargo shorts and your McDonald's colored outfit," Tornado retorted, pointing a finger out to emphasize her point.
"What was wrong with it?" Saitama yawned, some color slowly making its way back onto his face. "It's not like you've ever cared what the public thinks about your appearance."
"Yeah, but I care what y--" Tatsumaki began to snap, before stopping herself mid-sentence.
Saitama slowly sat up to listen to what she was going to say, but brushed it off when she didn't finish her sentence.
"...At least change," Tornado offered with a slightly embarrassed blush on her face, using her powers to grab some clothes from the closet.
"...fine..."
It took only a minute or two for him to slip into his pajamas before slipping back into bed.
Tornado clicked her tongue, crossing her arms as she contemplated her options.
Aw, screw it, she decided as she plopped down onto the futon. As he wrapped an arm around her, which she still believed was unnecessarily heavy, she eventually found herself struggling to stay up on her phone as he yawned near her.
It didn't take long for the short woman to fall asleep in her boyfriend's arm with a subtle smile on her face.
Yep, this was a life she could probably get used to.