Chapter 002 - Uncovering

"You are too slow to erase me. You don't have the ability," the guy named Sonic says.

"When did I show you my ability?" Genos asks. His body whirs and his torso lights up. Even his eyes go white. "You lose," he adds.

In a split second, he disappears in front of me. The next time I see him is when he's already behind Sonic. He punches at him, but Sonic jumps to evade his attack. But Genos's attacks did not end there. He makes another fist to hit Sonic. Sonic bends his body before Genos makes another attack.

I cover my face at the result. He had just destroyed an entire wall, and yet, Sonic is able to evade him. I look at Saitama, he still has that bored look on his face.

The fight continues, but it's becoming hard for me to follow their movements. I see glimpses of them, but the rest I can no longer follow. They are too fast for me! And the only glimpses I see are Sonic bouncing off from Genos's attacks while Genos keeps going behind him. Is it to show off his speed?

The two suddenly stop in their dance and Genos says, "You had lint in your hair."

Genos lets go of the said lint, but in actuality, it is Sonic's hair. Rather, Genos had been cutting up his hair, a little at a time, which makes Sonic annoyed.

Genos moves behind him again and says, "You let your guard down, speed of sound Sonic!"

Lightning appears on his fist, up to his arm, and says, "Machine gun blows!"

Genos batters him with multiple punches. It is too fast that it looks like he grew a couple of arms instead. But Sonic cloned himself. No. Those are his afterimages. He is moving too fast that it starts to look as if there are myriads of him encircling Genos!

"You are pitiful," Sonic says. "Surprised? How does it feel to hit nothing but air?!"

Sonic laughs, as if taunting Genos. "My special footwork and fast movement create an afterimage. I call this, Fourfold Funeral!"

Then, the four of his images take out a sword and continue, "I will kill you with my Scatter-Flash-slash!"

The surrounding air makes a swishing sound and Sonic's four afterimages become nothing but wind and dust swirling around Genos. It's as if he is using psychic power, even if I know it's just his speed.

I watch Genos' expression. Like me, he is flinching and narrowing his eyes. It must also be hard for him to follow Sonic's movements.

Suddenly, Genos's shoulders open up. It lights up, and there is an electric current running along his upper torso. He starts to look annoyed at the same time that he leans forward as electricity appears on his body. Sonic rushes towards him, a sword in his hand. It's like the conclusion of an epic battle. Is this over?

Sonic slices something and Genos falls to the ground. Sonic seems to win, but there is confusion on his face. He looks back at Genos. Saitama is standing over Genos. I'm not even aware when is it that he starts to move!

"Saitama. Did you hit your pupil to save him?" Sonic asks. "You're too soft."

I frown. Saitama hit him?! I didn't even notice!

"I don't want explosions in front of my house," he merely says. Then he looks down at Genos who is lying on the ground. "You have no reason to fight. Genos, are your new parts only for lame squabbles?" he asks as if he is too used to giving advice.

"Sonic wants me, right? So, watch this." Saitama shifts his attention to Sonic. "You're persistent, so I'll fight you seriously. Bring it on."

The way Saitama looks, makes my heart skip a beat again. I punch my chest lightly, annoyed at this stupid body reaction.

Sonic shivers, in fright, excitement, or Saitama's hubris. I didn't know. Then, he shrugs it off and says, "I've been waiting for this. I've developed the ultimate technique. Just for you!"

Saitama has involved himself. Should I still stay out of this? Besides, they have been completely ignoring me, anyway. But in reality, these are monsters. Something that I am not prepared for.

"Show me," Saitama goads him on.

"Ultimate Technique. Tenfold Funeral!" Sonic yells.

Genos sits up at the same time that ten afterimages of Sonic appear in front of them. There are light tapping of feet and a shift in the air, but other than that, there is no way to tell which one is real. He is just too fast for my eyes!

"Ten afterimages? He must have trained like crazy!" Genos says. "But…"

Getting the opportunity to speak, I state, "His combat skills are S class. As a B-class hero, Saitama has no chance, but…"

He will! My mind shouts. Ugh! I groan inwardly, hating myself for such unfounded confidence. Besides, I just met the guy! Why is it that my heart is softening for him? Is this love at first fight?!

To distract myself, I watch how the ten afterimages of Sonic rush towards Saitama. But then, I hear Saitama say, "Killer Move, serious series. Serious sideways jumps!"

There are multiple steps on the ground. There is a slight pounding and when I shift my attention back to Saitama, he had already created a hundred clones! The pounding even starts to become a powerful shock wave!

Sonic grunts, with his mouth and eyes both wide open. I might have been mirroring his expression, especially when Saitama passes over Sonic as if defeating him in his own game. It didn't take long before Sonic lies on the ground defeated.

"What did you just…"

"I did sideways jumps past you," he explains.

"I'll beat you next time," Sonic threatens before he slumps on the ground, utterly defeated.

There is a pause and when Sonic makes no sound, Genos asks, "Is he dead?"

"No!" Saitama protests. "I didn't kill him!"

I am speechless. Saitama is too strong! It's no longer normal.

************************

After the battle, Sonic vanished right in front of my eyes. I am invited inside Saitama's apartment, which surprisingly made me a bit happy, but I keep it inside, making sure that it does not show on my face.

"I couldn't be number one," I start, as Genos sits in front of me, listening to my story. "In intelligence, physical strength, practical smarts, and psychic ability, I would have stood at the top, if it weren't for her–my older sister is the strongest esper. Tatsumaki. Tornado. At the age of 28."

I look down at my fingers on my lap and add, "Because of her, I've never been number one at anything. So, I decided to stay at Class B Rank 1. I bind heroes ranked lower into a group so that we can surpass my sister's individual exploits."

"But that witch—" Genos pauses. "I mean, Terrible Tornado is Class S. Why not strive for Class A Rank 1? You have the skills for it."

"No. Class A is impossible."

"I could rise high in Class A, but I could never reach number one." My fists close even remembering the class A heroes. "Bushi Drill is class A rank 4. Okama Itachi is class A rank 3. Ia-ian is class A rank 2."

I shut my eyes, concentrating on the monsters of class A. "Even these pupils of Class S hero Atomic Samurai cannot reach class S… because no one can surpass Amai Mask aka Handsome Kamen. The one who holds a class A rank 1."

Even the thought of Amai Mask alone sends shivers of fear down my spine. He is holding on to the top rank of class A because he won't allow anyone weaker than him to become an S-class. It is also the same reason why Atomic Samurai's apprentices cannot proceed to S-class.

"Some monsters defy common understanding," I continue. I look over at Saitama. He is now sitting on my left. He is reading comics, unaware and uninterested in our conversation.

Out of spite of him ignoring my life story, I say, "You might be a monster yourself, but you are nowhere near Sweet Mask or my older sister," I say, pointing at him to get his attention. "There are also monsters among monsters like King and the top of all the heroes, Blast."

He still did not respond, so I continue, "It's difficult to move up alone. What's so wrong about creating a faction?"

"Nothing. But I won't join you, Fubuki," he finally answers. And even if he is still engrossed in what he is reading, the mere mention of my name makes me riled up again.

Unable to say anything, I click my tongue instead. I also try to calm my heart before saying, "You refuse my invitation because you are a little strong? You will never reach the top!"

Then, someone knocks on the door. It opens and a deep, growling voice interrupts our conversation.

"Hey Saitama, did you take my game with you?"

My eyes widen, and my mouth opens wide in surprise. This is the second time! The man who owns the voice enters, and I scoot over as I watch King walk towards us.