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Z City Neighbors Chapter 17 [Reupload]
🕑 Added 2022-11-15 20:16:01 +0000 UTC“I don’t know what I was expecting.”
Getting back to City Z was considerably more difficult the second time around for Fubuki as she was without her private transportation. As for said transportation she stood before its crumbled remains. It looked as if it were trampled by a stampede of wild animals though with how the gate was seemingly torn asunder it would seem to be the correct assumption.
“At least I took out that insurance.”
Fubuki walked through the destroyed fence and followed the familiar path to the apartment taking note of some further changes since last she was here. Mainly an entire section of the street was covered in scorch marks and Fubuki knew the look of dried blood anywhere.
‘Was there a battle of some sort?’
Not just any battle. From the looks of things it seemed as if an army had strolled through which made sense when the state of her vehicle and the gate came to mind. Now a bit weary Fubuki continued only to come across something even more unexpected, people.
“Oh great you got us lost” she heard a female voice.
“We’re not lost” a male voice replied “this is where he said he lived.”
“Who the heck would live here of all places?”
“He’s a martial arts grandmaster so I don’t think the monsters are going to be a problem.”
“Well yeah but even then it’s not like there’s going to be any utilities still working.”
“Pretty sure-” Fubuki heard him pause for a moment before a voice suddenly spoke up behind her “don’t you know it’s not polite to eavesdrop on other people’s conversation?”
Fubuki reacted with a psychic blast pushing the unknown man away and riding the wave of her attack to gain some distance.
‘I didn’t even sense him move’ the esper thought with some degree of concern.
One moment he was well around the corner and the next he was standing right there. Speaking of which the dust settled and Fubuki was nonplussed to see a young man with tanned brown skin and long silken hair standing exactly where she blasted him seemingly unperturbed by her sudden attack aside from his ruffled clothes and hair the latter of which he was brushing the dust out of.
“Hey don’t just go disappearing on me like that Suiryu!”
Fubuki turned to see a young woman bearing a similar resemblance to the man now named Suiryu, tanned skin, dark hair cut short and the same colored eyes. Other than the familial resemblance the two were also wearing the same dark martial arts outfits.
“Sorry about that I sensed we were being watched so I decided to check it out in case it was a monster.”
“I know I sensed her too” the younger woman gave Fubuki a once over “who are you?”
Still weary but seeing as how the two before her were civilians Fubuki decided straightened “I am the professional hero Blizzard of Hell and I would like to know what two civilians are doing out here.”
“Hey we’re not doing anything suspicious” the girl immediately spoke.
‘That by virtue makes you suspicious.’
With a subtle roll of his eyes the man came to her defense “don’t mind her we were just visiting a friend.”
“In the section of the city cordoned off by the government?” Fubuki retorted with a raised brow.
“He’s an eccentric old man” the younger woman shrugged.
‘What are the chances that there happened to be someone else living here?’
With that thought Fubuki took a gamble “would that ‘friend’ happen to be Tomoro Sazaki?”
Fubuki was grateful that the name evoked a response from the two with the man looking at her curiously “you know him?”
“I do. What is your business with him?”
“He invited us to a party” was the woman’s response and Fubuki had to admit it momentarily threw her for a loop.
“Party?”
“No joke he’s moving out of his apartment and is throwing a party” the young woman clarified.
As Fubuki stared at her a thought occurred ‘didn’t that note also say something about a party?’
She ignored that bit assuming that ‘party’ was just code for a strategy meeting in case her sister somehow found the note on her person.
“Who are you?”
“I’m Suiryu and she’s my sister Suiko miss Blizzard of Hell”
Fubuki cleared her throat a bit “you can call me Fubuki.”
“Well Fubuki do you know where Tomoro lives because my brother got us lost.”
“For the hundredth time we’re not lost. He really does live around here.”
“He’s right” Fubuki chimed.
“See!”
With that Fubuki led the way to the apartment complex where they came upon the unexpected sight of their shared target of interest directing another on loading a desk into a moving truck. The individual in question who was frustratingly trying to wedge the piece of furniture into the back of the truck was someone Fubuki was very familiar with.
‘O-O-O-One-Punch Man!?’ Fubuki mentally exclaimed with a gobsmacked expression ‘what is he doing here!?’
Her thoughts were interrupted by Tomoro exclaiming “you’re not listening to me Saitama! You need to twist it counter clockwise.”
“I am twisting it.”
“The other way!”
“Dammit this shouldn’t be so hard!”
“You’re making it harder than it needs to be! See right there now pivot it to the side-NO not like that I said pivot!”
“What the hell does that even mean!?”
“Jesus, just-just put the damn desk down. I’ll do it.”
“No I can do this. It can fit.”
“It’s not going to fit like that.”
“It’ll fit!”
As the trio watched the two mean devolve into an argument whilst trying to fit the piece of furniture into the truck Suiko leaned a little closer to her brother not taking her eyes off the scene.
“So which one of them is your martial arts grandmaster?”
“…the one with hair” replied Suiryu not quite believing what he was seeing.
After several short minutes in which they both tried to wedge the desk into the truck to no avail the two men finally admitted defeat.
“Okay, I think we have a problem.”
“No shit” the bald man grumbled “we haven’t even put in the rest of the stuff yet.”
“Might need to empty out the truck and rearrange everything.”
“Oh no, we are not doing that! Let’s just use some rope and strap it up top.”
“Are you insane? We’ll be pulled over by the first cop we come across.”
That gave the bald man pause and for a moment he was silent then as if a figurative light bulb appeared over his head he perked up “what if…we weren’t driving?”
“What are you saying?”
“Bear with me here” and with a gleaming twinkle in his eye and a raised pointed finger he spoke in a conspirator tone “what if we picked up the truck and just ran with it.”
‘What?’ Fubuki would like to think that she wasn’t the only who thought at the idea and judging from the looks of the two siblings she assumed correctly.
As for Tomoro he gave Saitama a deadpan stare “Saitama just when I thought you couldn’t get any dumber” then he broke out into a huge grin “you go and totally redeem yourself!”
And as the two men’s started to giggle while they scheme their legally questionable methods of transport Fubuki couldn’t help but question reality as he knew it.
Tomoro knew One-Punch Man?
What was One-Punch man even doing here?
Was he in on the plan?
Why was she just standing there staring like a fish?
Finally her thoughts were broken by Tomoro yelling out “Do-S!”
The exclamation caused the esper to recoil.
‘What?’
At the same time another voice yelled “what!?”
“We figured out what we’re going to do with the desk!”
“Good for you!” was the sarcastic reply.
“We need rope!”
“You don’t have any rope.”
“We’ll use one of your whips now get out here!”
There was a brief moment of pause as the doors to one of the apartment on the second floor opened and a familiar unwelcomed sight befell Fubuki.
“If you think for one second…” the irate woman trailed off as unlike her male counterparts she actually acknowledged their presence.
Her appearance no doubt drew some reaction from the siblings however neither had as much a pronounced one as Fubuki. Even if she no longer wore that revealing leather S&M outfit and mask giving an unobstructed view of the scarred skin around her partially opened mouth which itself had sharp needle-like teeth Fubuki still recognized the woman, no the monster.
“You” the esper intoned with barely contained fury as an emerald aura enveloping her as she tapped into her psychic powers.
Her low exclamation seems to finally catch the attention of the two men with the S-Class hero giving a confused “huh? Who are you guys?”
Fubuki wasn’t paying attention however instead she stretched out her hands using the full might of her powers to eviscerate the monster in her sights.
“HELLSTOR-”
*Tap*
With wide eyes Fubuki felt more than she saw herself losing control of her powers. Fubuki has been trained in the psychic arts for most of her life by the greatest esper on the planet. Therefore she was intimately familiar with her powers and something like this has never happened before. It was as if there was a disruption in the part of her brain that allowed her to use her powers rendering her without them.
And that disruption, she found, came in the form of a hand that was casually placed on her shoulder.
“W-what?” her eyes went from the hand to the face of the man it belonged to.
“That’s enough of that.” Tomoro Sazaki seemed to look over the esper despite only having a few inches on her in height.
Green eyes went from his face to his hand and back again “h-how are you doing this?”
“Hello Fubuki, I’m glad you took my invitation” he stated completely ignoring her question “I would like to stress that you are guest here just as she is” he pointed to Do-S who smirked when the esper met her eyes causing her to grit her teeth.
“You’re harboring a monster?” she hissed trying and falling to get out of his grasp.
“Do-S is my informant who will be providing us information on the Monster Association so I would appreciate that you not kill her.”
Fubuki glared at him then Do-S before taking a breath “fine-FINE!” finally she shrugged his hand away and once out of his grasp she felt the connection with her abilities re-establish.
“And you” he continued looking to Do-S “don’t antagonize her.”
“Oh you won’t have any troubles from me” Do-S raised her hands though she completely undermined her words by returning Fubuki’s venomous glare.
~O~
“These friends of yours?” Saitama questioned.
“More like acquaintances and speaking of which” Tomoro muttered before turning to the pair of siblings “Suiryu I didn’t expect you to reach out so soon.”
The martial artist gave a polite bow before he answered “I didn’t want to but my sister was very insistent.”
At that said sister approached him with a fist resting in her open palm “my name is Suiko sir.”
Tomoro returned the greeting “just call me Tomoro and this is Saitama” he gestured to the bald man “‘sup.”
“You’re friends with One-Punch Man?” Suiko breathed causing Saitama to frown just a bit.
“Yeah” his attention was taken by a shift in the immediate air as Do-S strode or rather stalked her way towards them while keeping her gaze on Fubuki and vice versa.
Tomoro couldn’t help but roll his eyes as she came up to him “I take it you two have met before.”
“What do you think?” the monster girl snapped.
She’s been snippy with him ever since their talk which wasn’t exactly a problem. Tomoro preferred her like this than to a despondent husk.
“I think you two want to kill each other” in response she gave him a no shit look “but I’m sorry to say that you can’t and you’ll have to play nice with each other.”
“Tch” her gaze then went to the two ‘Void’ siblings “and who are they?”
“Suiko and Suiryu” he then gestured to the woman herself “meet Do-S.”
Both siblings gave the monster a once over though Suiryu’s gaze lingered a bit on her curves something the monster saw and rolled her eyes at.
“Are they heroes? I don’t recognize them.”
“Not heroes though if you want to make a comparison their skills are easily A-Class and S-Class respectively” he informed pointing at the sister then brother.
That gave the monster girl pause as she seemed to reevaluate both them and their presence “are they going to be involved in the raid?”
“No” Tomoro denied “this is just a social call. Now if you don’t mind hand Saitama the ‘rope’ so he can get to strapping the desk down.”
Do-S frowned however did conjure up a very long thorny whip from out of her gloves which seemed to be part of her body much like her boots. As she handed it off to Saitama Tomoro ushered the siblings away a bit.
“Not gonna lie you two caught me at a peculiar time.”
“I’ll say” Suiko looked to the side seeing Saitama getting to work while Do-S and Fubuki stood apart glaring at each other. She could almost see the sparks fly from their intense glares as well as the visage of two terrifying creatures of myth above each woman squaring off against each other.
“Never thought I’d see a hero and a monster in the same space and not killing each other.”
“No offense but what are you two doing here?”
Suiryu immediately pointed to his sister “Suiko wanted to meet you for…pointers.”
He raised a brow to which the girl stood her ground “I just wanted to make sure that my brother wasn’t being tricked by some random guy claiming to be a martial arts legend from grandpa’s era” she gave him a once over “I don’t think you’re the actual Shiva or anything but you’re still a skilled master from the looks of it.”
“Grandmaster actually” he corrected “and I’d like it if you kept information about me being related to Shiva to yourself. Grudges run deep in the martial arts world and I’d rather not deal with the fallout.”
There was a reason why Tomoro left the martial arts scene unceremoniously all those decades ago…well more than a few reasons actually.
Suiko gave him a look clearly wanting him to elaborate but holding her tongue “okay.”
“I see that you are injured.”
“It’s nothing” she waved off.
“I wouldn’t call a rib fracture and multiple contusions ‘nothing’ Suiko.”
“I’ve endured worse.”
“Be that as it may hold this” then he summoned a purple orb much to her and Fubuki’s shock.
Suiko stared “what is it?”
Tomoro waved her concerns “don’t worry about it.”
She looked to her brother who nodded “it’s fine.”
Though hesitant Suiko accepted the purple ball of energy into her hands which seemingly began to sink into her skin until a soft aura surrounded her body. The phenomenon only lasted a scant few seconds however by the end Suiko felt her sides.
“I’m healed!” she exclaimed to her brother who grinned at her while folding his arms. She then turned to Tomoro and bowed “thank you!”
“I like her, she’s nice” Tomoro’s smile suddenly slipped off “the same can’t be said for youthough.”
As he said this his gaze swept upwards with Suiryu following along with Suiko though with more confusion.
“So are you just going to hang around up there all evening Tatsumaki?”
His comment gained the attention of the other three causing Do-S and Fubuki to look to the skies. As they did both of their breaths hitched as they stared wide eyed in panic and even Saitama took his attention away from his task to join their viewing with a rare serious expression. The subject of their shared scrutiny floated several hundred feet above them with a green aura outlining her petite form, the ends of her precarious dress waving about in a nonexistent breeze as hardened eyes like emeralds glared down at him.
The 2nd ranked S-Class hero Tornado of Terror was here and she did not look pleased.
~O~
Though she tried to keep it under wraps Tatsumaki was livid. Originally she came here to interrogate Tomoro, retrieve whatever intel he had on the Monster Association and even drag him back to the Hero Association itself. Instead she arrived here to see a gathered motley crew consisting of the insufferable informant, the annoying baldie, a vaguely familiar looking monster, two strangers she’s never even seen before and her younger sister.
Fubuki’s presence here stung the most. Perhaps in another time she would have believed Fubuki to be an obedient little sister who listened to her without any reservations however this was not that idyllic time. Their adoptive mother taught the two of them a lot of things as espers, as women and as adults but if there was one thing Solaria has always taught them it was to never back down unless it was a strategic retreat.
Deep down Tatsumaki knew Fubuki wouldn’t have kept out of this. Really her little sister had never taken any of her advice about anything which was the reason why ever so often Tatsumaki had to bail her out of trouble.
Like right now.
“Hey!” Fubuki exclaimed as her body was suddenly enveloped in a green tanslucent bubble and levitated away from the group “put me down!”
Tatsumaki silenced her with a glare “I’ll deal with you later.”
As she lowered herself Tatsumaki heard the annoying baldie ask the insufferable informant “did you ‘invite’ her too?”
“Hell no, if I had it my way she would never know this place even existed.”
“Then why is she here?”
“Other than collecting her sister? No idea.”
“Wait, that’s her sister?”
“Yes.”
Ignoring the byplay Tatsumaki’s gaze was cast on the monster who took a step back out of fear. Her vision was then blocked by the insufferable informant and annoying baldie.
“Hello Tatsumaki.”
“What are you doing here?” the baldie butted in.
She answered his question with one of her own “why do you have a monster skulking around your home? She doesn’t look like a prisoner.”
“That’s because she’s my informant” Tomoro interjected.
“She’s the one giving you information on the Monster Association?”
“Yes though I’d like it if you answered Saitama’s question. What are you doing here Tatsumaki?”
The esper tilted her head a bit “wanted to know what was taking so long with that information you promised to send to Child Emperor. I was planning to drag you back to the Hero Association but since she’s your informant I’ll just take her instead.”
Then Do-S gave a shocked exclamation as she found herself enveloped in bubble similar to Fubuki except not as gentle. Tatsumaki didn’t even get her off the ground before her psychic bubble was destroyed.
“Yeah that’s not happening” Tomoro drawled.
Tatsumaki’s glare hardened as her aura flared. She reached a hand out prepared to blast him away when her hand was suddenly grabbed by something heavy.
“Oi” Tatsumaki paused to glance into the uncharacteristically serious eyes of One-Punch Man “don’t start any trouble.”
Tatsumaki gritted her teeth ‘why did it have to be him?’
Of all the heroes, of all the people she detested dealing with One-Punch Man was at the top of the list. She was Tatsumaki the Tornado of Terror able to move mountains, shift continents and though she’s never tried was reasonably sure she could pull nearby asteroids from space. Yet for all her power it became mute in the face of this bald simpleton. Even now as he held onto her it felt like the weight of the world had latched onto her hand in a vice grip of epic proportions.
Exerting her powers did nothing, trying to move him was like moving the world he was so heavy and the psychic shield she summoned shattered under his grip on her hand. The first time she met Saitama he made the mistake of assuming she was a child. Then Tatsumaki made the mistake of attempting to show him his place only to have the tables turned on her. To this day One-Punch Man was the only person in the entire world in recent memory who has ever made her feel completely helpless and she detested him for it.
“…take your hand off of me” she growled while her aura grew menacingly.
One-Punch Man was unfazed however a hand on his shoulder had him turn to Tomoro who nodded with a reassuring squeeze. Reluctantly he did so and Tatsumaki wrenched her hand back rubbing her wrist while glaring at the duo.
“I’m not leaving until I get that information.”
The two shared a look “it’s your place Saitama.”
“Are your two friends going to stick around? This is Hero Association business plus I don’t think my apartment can hold this many people.”
“That’s a good question.”
“Hey wait a minute I’m a hero too” Suiko exclaimed.
“Really?” Tomoro asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Well not officially” she admitted a bit bashfully but recovered quickly “but I can still operate in an official capacity so long as it’s under a hero’s supervision.”
When his eyes went to Suiryu he shrugged “I’m not leaving her by herself.”
Saitama sighed and Tomoro added onto his exasperation by pointing out “we’re definitely going to need the table for them.”
“I’m gonna have to unpack some of the furniture then.”
“I’ll help out, in the meantime Do-S escort our guests to Saitama’s apartment and tell Genos to get started on the food.”
At that moment the bubble keeping Fubuki contained burst allowing the other esper to float down with her own power. Despite the sweat beading at the top of her forehead the leader of the Blizzard Group was the very picture of impeccable. Tatsumaki gave her a pronounced frown however apart from a brief glare Fubuki did not acknowledge her presence which irked her.
“Lead the way” the Esper grunted and Do-S begrudgingly complied.
She didn’t bother using the stairs instead leaping to the second floor followed by the two siblings and Fubuki floating to their shared destination. Tatsumaki followed behind lazily trailing the group with her arms folded and a glowering expression on her face.
As Do-S entered she relayed Tomoro’s message “they said to start preparing the food Demon Cyborg.”
As she entered the rather sparse and dingy apartment made even emptier with the absence of personal effects she was surprised to find several familiar faces. The aforementioned Demon Cyborg was present, she heard he participated in the battle against Elder Centipede and he definitely looked the part. He was missing any semblance of clothing revealing his damaged cybernetic body for all to see missing foot and all. She also found the other S-Class participant present as well which surprised her.
“Silver Fang?”
“Ah Tatsumaki” the old hero greeted from his seated position at the small low table “I’m surprised to see you here.”
“I should be saying the same thing” the esper floated forward to scrutinize the older hero.
Compared to his counterpart he looked perfectly fine with the only signs of damage being the scuff marks on his clothing.
“Is this young woman a co-worker of yours Bang?”
Tatsumaki almost snapped at the person who said that out of instinct however it was quickly tempered once she got a look at the man. He looked just as old as Silver Fang and she vaguely remembered his face from somewhere.
“Tatsumaki this is my older brother Bomb. Brother this is Tatsumaki otherwise known as the Terrible Tornado.”
“Tornado of Terror” Tatsumaki corrected absentmindedly.
‘Bomb, now I remember. Didn’t the Hero Association try to recruit him at one point?’
Well not that it mattered now “what are you doing here?” she questioned.
“For the same reason as you I think” Bang replied “information on the Monster Association.”
“Right you are Bang.”
Tomoro announced as he and Saitama entered the room. While the bald hero went to the kitchen to assist his ‘disciple’ Tomoro holding the low table in one hand put it down and took a seat before and fished out his laptop. He sat next to Do-S who sequestered herself in an unoccupied corner.
“So without further ado let’s get this meeting started.”
“Shouldn’t we wait for One-Punch Man and Demon Cyborg?” Fubuki suggested seeing as the two S-Class heroes weren’t in the room.
“Genos can hear us just fine and as for Saitama-”
“Everything said would just fly over the idiot’s bald head” Tatsumaki scoffed.
“Hey I heard that!” came a shout from the kitchen.
“Good that was the point caped baldy!”
“Don’t call me bald you flying leprechaun!”
“Chrome Dome!”
“ANKLE BITER!”
“SHAVED MONKEY!”
“LOLI-MAKI!”
“BALD-TAMA!”
“Would you two pleaseskip ‘Tsundere Phase’ of your relationship and just start making out!” Tomoro loudly announced silencing both immature heroes and before any could refute he continued “I mean really you two are arguing like a pair of teenagers too proud or confused to admit they have feelings for the other so you antagonize each other instead. Frankly we’re all way too old to be dealing with this kind of drama so either use one of the empty apartments or shut up so we can get this thing started.”
Tatsumaki looked aghast however she bit her tongue in the name of progress though her expression spoke volumes of the unspeakable things she wanted to do. No one save for Genos knew what Saitama’s reaction was but even then the man did not speak aonther word that was audible to them.
With that done he turned to the surprised monster girl beside him “alright Do-S the floor is yours. Tell us about the base first, entrance, exits, surveillances and patrols routes to start off.”
Do-S shook her head now seeing everyone looking to her and with Tomoro ready to type down her words she began giving them the promised information.
~O~
Garou woke up in a daze though that only lasted until he saw the unfamiliar ceiling at which point his mind cleared rather quickly enough for him to survey his surroundings which appeared to be a jail cell. The memories of his protracted battle were blurry however the proof was in the bandages across his body, the fatigue in his bones and the pain he studiously ignored.
‘I remember. I was fighting those heroes then the old man showed up with his big bro.’
He almost died and the memory of the old man, blurry as it was, still sent a thrill down his spine yet he couldn’t help the sardonic smirk.
‘I was getting a bit complacent anyway.’
That one-sided beat down was exactly the kick in the ass he needed to shape up. Watchdog Man was just an animal, a beast of a man in a mascot costume. Bang was an actual grandmaster and now Garou knew where he stood against one.
‘I need to get stronger.’
That battle also highlighted something else, it wasn’t just the heroes he had to worry about.
‘That monster, Elder Centipede or something’ just remembering that thing made Garou uneasy ‘it might be more dangerous than the old man.’
The thought made Garou recall the last memory he had of leaving the old man to fight that thing and according to the bird it wasn’t just a delaying tactic to facilitate his and Garou’s escape.
“Shit” he cursed out loud “that means the old man is dead then.”
No matter how he sliced he just couldn’t see his old master beating a creature like that even with Bomb’s help. Garou let that thought stew for a moment before he let out a harsh breath and stood up.
‘Nothing I can do about that. Now where I am?’
His eyes caught a note on a nearby table addressed to him. The note contained a greeting welcoming him to the Monster Association as well a reminder to be mindful of who saved his life. It also cautioned him to stay in his cell and not cause trouble. Finally it capped off by trying to appeal to him with free accommodations. Naturally Garou crumpled the note into a ball and tossed it aside like trash. The only useful information it had was his location and clothing provision which he gladly took up.
Putting on the tight dark pants and shirt was more of a hassle than it needed to be. The rest and first aid he got came a long way in aiding his recovery but Garou was still far from 100%. Fatigue, hunger, thirst and a splitting migraine were just some his symptoms. His body felt heavy as if he was lugging around 100kg weights on each of his limbs and the pain made even the most minute of movements a hassle. It was precisely for this reason why Garou needed to leave not that he would have stayed anyway but his condition brought some urgency to his movements.
A simple front kick took care of the cell door and Garou wandered out. Immediately he noted the air was stagnant and smelled of blood a noxious combination that made him want to puke. He soldiered on with a grimace however only to experience another problem in the form of an incessant ringing in his ears.
‘Is it because of my injuries or because it’s so quiet?’
That was another thing, the tunnels didn’t just have poor lighting they were also utterly devoid of sound.
‘So annoying’
“Garou”
‘What?’ his head snapped to look behind him but there was nothing there ‘I could have sworn…’
Shaking his head he went to follow along the tunnels…
“Garou…”
This time he whirled around in a battle stance but again he saw nothing, he felt nothing and after a prolonged moment he heard nothing as well.
“Who’s there!?” he yelled out his voice echoing “show yourself!”
…
…
…
“Find me.”
The young martial artist sucked in a breath. This time there was no mistake that it was indeed a voice he heard but for the life of him he still couldn’t pinpoint where it was coming from.
‘It’s like its speaking directly into my mind.’
“Correct” the voice spoke, apparently, into his mind.
Garou raised a hand to his head in momentary shock before calming down ‘you’re a psychic.’
“Yes…” the voice replied.
‘Who are you?’
“Prisoner…help…me…”
Now that he was having a ‘proper’ conversation Garou noted that the voice felt far away and sounded like a whisper. Its dialogue was also stunted with pauses between each word.
As for helping it “tch, you’re on your own.”
He didn’t have time to go playing hero to some unknown psychic and just because they were both prisoners (in a sense) of the Monster Association didn’t mean they were allies. He didn’t have any allies and he wasn’t going to jeopardize his escape for some unknown, especially if that unknown can get into his head.
“Wait…” the voice urged but Garou steadfastly ignored it “place…like labyrinth…won’t find…way out…get spotted.”
‘I’ll take my chances’
“Can help…know…safe route…no surveillance…”
That made Garou pause, he hadn’t thought about any surveillance. At best he figured he’d have to deal with some patrol.
“Incoming-five o’ clock-hide” the words came in rapidly.
Moments afterwards Garou picked up the sound of voices in the exact same direction and leapt up top near the ceiling to brace against the narrow walls. As he did two monsters rounded the corner engaging in
“Did you hear? Elder Centipede bit the dust.”
“Eh, for real?”
“Yeah, someone heard Phoenix Man talking about it and now rumor’s spreading.”
“Jeez that’s the second Cadre down already.”
“I know right, we’re already down two Cadres and it’s not even the final battle yet.”
“You worried?”
“Hah! Of course not! Gyoro Gyoro knows what he’s doing.”
The conversation trailed off as the two heroes left and Garou landed on ground softly. The mention of Elder Centipede’s death got Garou’s attention and he was very interested in their conversation. It was very tempting for him to go and extract information from the two monsters but...
“Dangerous…”
‘Oh you’re still here.’
“Rude…helped…you…”
‘Tch, I could have taken those two fodders’
“Multiple…Dragon level….monsters…present…”
Those he wasn’t so confident in taking on yet especially in his current condition.
‘Alright fine, where are you?’
Directions came in slow yet steady and Garou moved with caution and precision. He chose the path of least resistance by not engaging any of the monsters he came across even though it would have made things quicker. He knew as well as was warned that such actions would only be good in the short term. In the end caution was chosen over swiftness but it came with the cost of both Garou’s patience and physical condition.
He really needed to get some food in him.
Thankfully he seems to have arrived at his destination or close enough. The cave-like tunnels suddenly gave way to a smooth metallic hallway. He noticed on the way that the closer he got to this section the less he saw monsters whether they were patrolling or just loitering.
‘This must be the place.’
“Astute observation” came the sarcastic reply.
Another rather obvious observation he made was the fact that the more he followed the mysterious voice’s directions the clearer its replies became. Not only that but it was also able to convey emotion. Because of this Garou was able to learn a few things about the person behind the voice. Firstly it was a woman, a human woman and she was being held as a hostage to lure the S-Class heroes into a trap.
She explained all this and Garou could vaguely remember the various news stations reporting about some woman being kidnapped and held hostage. Garou didn’t remember the name of this woman but that was of little concern. What mattered was that freeing her would effectively get rid of any leverage the Monster Association had over the Hero Association and they would be able to properly plan a counterattack as opposed to rushing headfirst into an obvious trap.
Garou would gladly throw a wrench into the Monster Association’s plans and set both his enemies against each other on a more even playing field. While they’re busy with each other he can rest up become stronger and pick off key figures from both sides at his leisure. By the end of it he would come out on top as the winner of this whole conflict as well as the undisputed Absolute Evil of the world that no hero or monster could compare to.
“Quite the lofty goals you have.”
Garou bit back a growl.
Or he could just kill this woman himself and ensure that she never enters the board. He didn’t know of any hero who had the ability to enter people’s minds and while he was seemingly uncaring of the intrusion in truth it unnerved him. He didn’t make a habit of killing humans but having someone able to enter his mind at will did not sit right with him.
“Now, now let’s not be too hasty Garou.”
‘You’re not doing yourself any favors lady’
“Think of this as training. What’s the point of being physically powerful when your mind is so weak?”
…he hated that she had a point.
‘But you’re part of the Hero Association so I’d have to deal with you anyway.’
“And what makes you think I’m a combatant? I’m just an innocent bystander in all this.”
Garou scoffed, as if he would believe something like that. This woman was not only a hotshot in the Hero Association she was also far too good at coordination to be just a bystander. Above all else her power to infiltrate his mind and read his thoughts made her an especially dangerous psychic. Garou would rather not have an opponent like that without adequate time to prepare countermeasures so maybe he wouldn’t kill her but he would at least ensure that she’s not a viable asset for the Hero Association.
“I can appreciate your caution Garou but believe me after I get out of here you will be the least of my immediate priorities. Turn left.”
Garou scoffed as he turned a corner and came upon a massive set of steel doors.
“There’s no easy way to get through them, my captor made sure of it.”
“Tch” he clicked his teeth.
“Can you get through?”
Garou pressed a hand against the smooth metal ‘yeah but it’s going to be a pain in the ass.’
If he was in better condition it wouldn’t have been so bad.
Garou drew his fist back prepared to start his work when…
“STOP!”
The voice was so loud Garou actually flinched to a stop before his fist could impact the metal.
‘What!?’
“He’s coming.”
At that Garou spun around preparing for a fight.
“Dammit I thought I had more time-”
He could hear it someone was approaching, Garou’s fist clenched in anticipation.
“No don’t try to fight him you wouldn’t be able to even if you were at your best.”
Garou gritted his teeth not liking the idea of being too weak to face someone.
‘Then what do you suggest?’
“I’m going to shield your mind from him.”
‘What?’
In the next moment Garou clutched his head as an odd sensation overcame him. It felt like someone was taking a stroll through his brain, not the type of descriptor he thought he would ever use to describe a feeling but that’s basically how he felt.
‘What are you doing!?’
“Whatever you do, don’t fight him and act like we never interacted.”
Garou growled however he straightened up once the person who had been approaching finally revealed themselves and wow. What turned the corner was a tall, obese monster with truly grotesque facial features wearing what seemed to be a typical middle school uniform though the jacket was too small for his belly.
‘That is one ugly motherfucker.’
It cannot be understated just how ugly this monster was. Before it had been giggling, its maw opened to reveal misshapen teeth adding an overall new level of unpleasantness to its already hideous appearance.
Then it saw Garou “huh? Who the hell are you?”
Garou would have answered however now that he was properly in its presence hesitation crept up the young martial artist’s being.
‘This guy’s no joke.’
This was the first time Garou felt apprehensive about an opponent outside of his former master.
“You ain’t supposed to be here” spoke the monster as he stalked forward its frame easily towering over Garou and his expression promising a painful death.
“Wait Fuhrer Ugly.”
The new voice caught both man and monster off guard with Garou’s gaze snapping down to see a short man walking from behind the monster’s legs.
‘Where’d he come from?’
Garou had impeccable spatial awareness so even while his attention was on the monster in front of him he should have been made aware of anyone’s presence. Unless it was being kept hidden from him and only very skilled individuals can do such a thing. Compounding his suspicion and caution was the fact that this seemingly innocuous man was a human with short brown hair and trimmed goatee wearing a white lab coat over a charcoal grey three piece suit and black dress shoes.
The man was also short, like barely reaching past Garou’s waist short.
“What are you stopping me for doc? He’s a damn human.”
The ‘doc’ ignored him to scrutinize Garou and almost immediately it set Garou on edge even more than the ugly bastard did.
As soon as it began the man’s inspection was over “ah, you are the Hero Hunter Gyoro Gyoro brought in.”
“Eh, this wimp’s the Hero Hunter?” ugly bastard muttered.
“Yes, I recognize everyone who has been under my care.”
Garou did not like the sound of that.
“Also I wouldn’t judge a book by its cover Fuhrer Ugly. The injuries this young man sustained were beyond anything a mere human could withstand and from what I’ve heard he was taking on several S-Class heroes at once.”
At that news the ugly bastard tilted his head a bit to scrutinize Garou who returned his glare with a cool gaze.
In the end Fuhrer Ugly sniffed drawing in some of the snot leaking from his nose before hacking a loogie near Garou’s feet “I don’t see it.”
“Regardless” the diminutive man spoke “Gyoro Gyoro and Lord Orochi’s orders are for him not to be harmed.”
“Whatever.”
Turning back to Garou the doctor spoke “you disobeyed the instruction telling you to stay put.”
“…” Garou offered nothing but a cool gaze.
“Not that we expected you to follow it” he turned and began walking away “come we will escort you to Lord Orochi.”
“We?” Fuhrer Ugly frowned “you go ahead with that doc I’m going to spend some quality time with my Star.”
Garou allowed the monster pass by while maneuvering himself to keep both of them in his line of sight.
“Lord Orochi will want all the Cadres present for Garou’s introduction.”
“Feh, Orochi can shove it. I’ve got better things to do.”
“Fuhrer Ugly.”
This time there was the subtlest shift in the man’s tone. One that only the keenest of listeners could identify and it stopped the monster in its tracks.
“She’s not going anywhere. You can visit her later.”
With his back still turned to them the monster replied with a rather bland “okay” before turning around with a blank expression on his face.
‘The hell?’
“Now Garou if you will follow me” he started walking away at a leisurely pace.
Garou didn’t immediately follow as his gaze narrowed on the man’s back.
“Oi, move it!”
That is until Fuhrer Ugly loomed over him from behind. Garou began following the doctor walking at a sedated pace with his hands in his pocket.
‘Who the hell is this guy?’
~O~
On an intellectual level Tomoro knew that his knowledge of future events would become meaningless in due time (and not because they were fast approaching the end of said knowledge) but it’s one thing to know this and another to experience it. Case in point Do-S espousing her knowledge about the Monster Association was a welcome boon, a means of legitimizing his own knowledge on the Monster Association as opposed to glossing things over. As it stands her information should have been mostly to confirm his own as he typed up or rather rehashed said information on a text file he would then send to Child Emperor whose private E-Mail was provided by Solaria beforehand.
So it was for the most part that Do-S’ words made for a refresher on certain vague knowledge he wouldn’t have been privy to while reading the One-Punch Man manga. That was fine, great even, as it made things all the more real for him. He even went ahead and added a few tidbits that Do-S was unaware of and in turn she provided information that he wasn’t aware of. Speaking of he expected to learn a few new things since the One-Punch Man manga (and most entertainment mediums) had a habit of glossing over certain details.
At this point Do-S was speaking on the Monster association leaders a topic that Tomoro was intimately familiar with or so he thought. ‘Lord Orochi’ grant only members who have attained the rank of Dragon the position of executives (otherwise known as Cadres) in the Monster Association. In this sense the Cadres are Homeless Emperor, Black Sperm, Gums, Overgrown Rover, Evil Natural Water, Nyan, Fuhrer Ugly, Elder Centipede and Gouketsu the latter two of whom were already deceased.
It turned out that the ninjas Gale Wind and Hellfire Flame were only candidates for the Cadre position but don’t seem to care about their position. On that note she also spoke on certain Demon level monsters of interest but what really caught Tomoro’s attention was the addition to the Cadres. But there were small generic details that otherwise wouldn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things and then there was the introduction of a completely new character.
“I’m sorry but Dr. Psycho?” Tomoro interrupted
“Yes” Do-S nodded.
Tomoro scrunched up his face ‘that name sounds familiar.’
Distantly familiar like very distantly as in another lifetime and yet Tomoro was sure that it wasn’t something related to One-Punch Man. In any case it seems that Tomoro wouldn’t have to bust his brain trying to trace down that thin thread of knowledge as it appears two of his guests were familiar with the name.
“Hey, Dr. Psycho are you sure that’s his name!?” Tatsumaki demanded with a flare of her aura.
Now fearing for her life Do-S nodded frantically “y-yes that’s what he called himself.”
Tomoro decided to intervene or tried to “hey-”
“What did he look like?” Fubuki questioned with a more level tone though through her stern expression Tomoro could see worry in her eyes.
After Do-S gave the description Fubuki’s façade shattered as she immediately glanced to her sister with open worry and for good reason. Some people have the misconception that due to her temperament Tatsumaki had control issues and while that may be true for her anger management the same cannot be said for her powers. In fact having only met with her a handful of times Tomoro could say that Tatsumaki had perfect control of her powers and any outburst seemingly caused by a flare of temperament was deliberate on her part to either emphasize her emotion or cause a reaction.
Why does this matter?
Because clearly this Dr. Psycho was bringing up some let’s say ‘unpleasant’ memories judging by her reaction and Tatsumaki was demonstrating her complete control and mastery over her immense psychic abilities by not lashing out something Tomoro was immensely grateful for. On the surface it only appeared that Tatsumaki was staring blankly at nothing in particular with wisps of thick emerald energy wafting off of her yet everyone could tell there was more going on below the surface.
As the only person here intimately familiar with esoteric energy signatures Tomoro could say with confidence that with the amount of power Tatsumaki was keeping under wraps if her control was any less ironclad then the entire block would have been flattened already. In the interim of silence everyone was looking to the esper with varying degrees of worry and caution. Not even Tomoro was willing to disrupt whatever internal conflict she was waging.
Eventually Fubuki decided to be the one to bite the bullet and reached out.
“Sister…”
The moment her hand brushed against her shoulder however Tatsumaki suddenly shot off her feet to float above and away from them.
With her bangs somehow shadowing her face she spoke “I’m leaving, make sure to send the information to Child Emperor” the unsaid or else didn’t need to be spoken.
“Understood” Tomoro nodded and Tatsumaki floated out the entrance.
She just about opened the door when Fubuki made to go after her however the esper quickly floated away telekinetically slamming the door on her way out for good measure. Her exit was soon followed by an audible sonic boom as she broke the sound barrier.
The silence was then broken by Suiko who let out a long breath she had apparently been holding “that was scary.”
Judging by the tension leaving Do-S and Suiryu’s shoulders the sentiment was shared. Of course Tomoro couldn’t just let a reaction like that slide
“Fubuki” he spoke with all seriousness “who is Dr. Psycho?”
The esper took a breath, then took a seat on her knees and began speaking.
“I’ve only ever heard stories about him. From what I’ve heard that man who would become known as Dr. Psycho was a brilliant scientist whose field of study was Psionics.”
“What is psionics?” Bang couldn’t help but ask.
As a demonstration Fubuki started to levitate the table “in science it is the proposed discipline of applying different scientific principles to the study of psychic phenomena. Dr. Psycho was a pioneer in the study but he became obsessed with the idea of espers to the point where he would kidnap psychics from across the world to a secret facility and experiment on them” she paused to swallow thickly “children often made for the best ‘subjects’” she poske with distaste.
And it was at that point it clicked for Tomoro as he remembered Tatsumaki’s backstory being that she was held in some facility and was rescued by Blast.
‘And she just found out that the guy responsible for experimenting on her captured her adoptive mother.’
Frankly he’s amazed that she wasn’t uprooting the Monster Association base but that was more credit to her self control and foresight. On another note Tomoro would have words with a certain top ranked hero since as far as he knew this was the third time he let something dangerous slip away and it ended up screwing them over.
Fucking Blast.
‘All jokes aside if this guy was able to get one over on Solaria he might pose a problem.’
And he knew she must have been tricked because he refused to believe some kind of battle took place right under his nose and he didn’t notice. Speaking of he was still keeping a figurative eye on the woman but wasn’t going to intervene on her behalf for pretty much the same reason Tatsumaki didn’t. He had no idea what kind of situation he would be walking into and once he set things off he wouldn’t be able to stop until it was done.
Tomoro would basically have to destroy the Monster Association which he would not do. The S-Class needed the kick in the ass that the upcoming battle would provide for them to evolve and become stronger.
‘Heh, almost makes me not want to send this.’
With a few more taps Tomoro compiled the document and was about a single click away from essentially giving the S-Class a cheat sheet for the battle. In the end he made a promise and the last thing he would want was to incur the wrath of two overpowered espers. With that done Tomoro closed the laptop before going into the kitchen to check with Genos and Saitama.
‘Hope they’re not treating you too bad down there Solaria.’
~O~
Meanwhile…
Tatsumaki did not have a destination in mind as she flew away at top speed. It didn’t even occur to her that she was showing weakness in leaving the way she did however her thoughts were simply preoccupied with thoughts she had long since buried in the deepest recesses of her mind springing forth. Eventually she came across a familiar wasteland, the one where she had used a giant rock to crush that monster who had dared to insult her.
Touching down on that very same rock Tatsumaki was assaulted by visions of the past.
It was in the middle of the night when strange men broke into her room and started dragging her away.
She lost all feeling in her legs and fell to her knees.
They took her to some facility, locked her in a cell and did things to her.
The psychic began to hyperventilate.
They ignored her cries, her screams, her pleas for mercy, for help…for her family.
Green psionic energy enveloped her like an inferno.
All the while she would see him, be visited by him and on occasion even have conversations with him.
The wasteland began to tremble.
“Only good girls get to receive candy and toys Tatsumaki. So tell me are you a good girl?”
“RAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH!”
Following the unholy scream was a wave of psychokinetic energy that shook the entire wasteland apart.
~To Be Continued~
