Chapter Text
Genos had taken to spending much of his free time wandering through the old fruit orchard behind the palace of death. Most of the trees were dead, rotting under the glow of the cavern's roof, but here and there new growth had started without guidance or supervision. Genos had successfully planted a new pomegranate tree, though it was still no more than a sprout.
"Can you see it?" Genos asked, curiously. "It is alive."
"I see souls, not life," Garou told him. He let Genos guide his hand, and carefully ran his fingers over leaves and stem. "Feels pretty sturdy!"
"Yes," Genos said, pride swelling his chest until he remembered... "But it should be a full tree. I should be able to make it grow all the way to adulthood in a few minutes."
"We're in the underworld, you know. I think being able to make anything grow is pretty impressive."
Genos got the feeling Garou was humoring him. He got that feeling a lot, though he seemed to have caught Garou in a good mood today. When he'd gone to his room this morning Mumen had been rushing in the opposite direction, red-faced, and Genos found Garou humming to himself as he finished dressing. It appeared as though Mumen had walked in on him naked. And yet Garou was downright cheerful, for him.
"Can I ask you something?"
"I know you want to."
"Mumen... he feels indebted to you."
"Yeah, 'cuz he's an idiot."
"Do you enjoy it?"
"What?"
"Having a god feel he owes you?" Genos tried not to sound judgmental, but he didn't think he succeeded.
"It's not that. He's a nice guy, is all. Too nice."
"And you're teasing him?"
"Hey, it ain't teasing if I fully intend to follow through."
Genos didn't know what he meant, but he didn't think he would understand even if Garou explained it.
"You worry too much," Garou said suddenly. "About your powers and stuff. It's still another month until spring-"
"Only a month."
"-and if you actually do your damn job it's still gonna be a hundred times better than the last few years. Just like, focus on how far you've come, not how far you've got to go."
The words sounded rote, like Garou had heard them repeatedly from someone else.
"You're being nice today."
"I'm always nice, asshole!"
Genos liked Garou, for all his rough manner. Once you realized he hated everyone equally it was easy to see the real meaning beneath his words.
"I don't know what to do," Genos said. "I'm improving, but... it's so slow."
"Has any god ever lost their powers before?"
"Not that I know of. Not like this." Genos looked down at his chest, at the black scar where he'd been run through.
"What are you thinking?" Garou asked suddenly.
"What?"
"You're working yourself up over something. If you just tell me you'll save us all some hassle."
Genos didn't know how Garou's new sense worked, but even in the few weeks he'd been here Genos had learned to trust his assessment of someone's emotional state.
His fingers drifted over the edges of his scar. "As far as I know... I'm the only god to ever be restored by death powers. Spring is about birth, growth. Life."
Garou was silent for a second. "You think that's why?"
"I don't know."
There was another stretch of silence. Genos watched the way Garou's face flickered through confusion, discomfort, and settled into careful neutrality.
"Weak is still better than dead."
"I know that."
"Knowin' and believin' ain't always the same thing."
It was Genos' turn to be quiet for a while.
He was glad to be alive. He thought it often enough, so it had to be true. But he'd lost so much in the war - some taken, some discarded - that he didn't know how to live any more. He spent his small amount of free time among these dead trees, trying to regain his strength, and he didn't know if he would ever be able to.
And it might be Saitama's fault.
But if it wasn't for Saitama, Genos wouldn't be alive right now.
But...
Garou's head rose, like a hunting dog catching a scent. "Someone's coming."
A second later Genos heard it too, footsteps on the dirt. Genos stood up and dusted off his knees before helping Garou to his feet.
"There you are!" The voice was familiar, though Genos didn't recognize it until the teased hair emerged from around a resilient pear tree. "That guy was right."
"Which guy?" Genos asked.
"The new guy, the baldy."
"Saitama," Genos corrected. The fact that Saitama knew him well enough to guess where he was at a random time of day made Genos' heart flutter.
"That's it," Bado snapped his fingers. "I almost had it but I was gonna call him Sendaimo."
"That's not even close," Garou exclaimed, laughing.
"Well I don't know, I never met the guy before!"
"He's one of the most powerful gods right now and you can't even remember his name?"
"He never comes to stuff!" Bado threw his hands up. "That's why I'm here, anyway! Tatsumaki wants everybody to get together and figure out this sea thing, and she says she'll drag 'em personally if she has to, so... yeah." His hands dropped to his sides, and he turned to Genos. "Thought I'd come warn you."
"I always come to meetings," Genos said. "But thank you for thinking of me."
"No dude, I mean the other guy."
"Saitama," Garou filled in, smirking. Bado glared at him.
"Saitama. He is pretty damn powerful and I guess she's pissed off he never shows up. Or she's just pissed off in general and taking it out on anybody who gives her an excuse."
"Insightful," Garou muttered.
"Okay!" Bado put his hands on his hips and jutted his chin toward Garou, though he addressed Genos. "Who is this? Why the hell does he think he can talk like that?"
"Because you're clearly an idiot!" Garou answered instead.
"At least I'm not an asshole!"
Genos was tempted to walk away and leave them to it, but they were getting too close to his pomegranate sprout and this could very well escalate to a physical fight. So Genos put a hand on each one of their shoulders and shoved them a couple steps to the left.
"Bado, this is Garou, a mortal-"
"A mortal?" Bado exclaimed.
"-that Lord Saitama took in out of the kindness of his heart."
Garou snorted. "Yeah, and not 'cuz his friend begged at all."
"And Garou, this is Bado, the god of storge, currently filling in as the overall god of love."
"Family love, huh?" Garou said, and Bado looked at him in surprise.
"I usually have to explain it to people."
"So I read a book! So what?"
"And since we're both Olympians," Genos continued as if neither of them had spoken, "we should go find Saitama and do our duty."
"Yeah," Bado agreed, smugly. "Our duty. That we have. 'Cuz we're gods."
Garou said nothing, but he reached out for Genos' arm, and Genos obligingly came to his side.
"Oh," Bado said, eyes fixed on Garou's hand on Genos' arm. "You guys are... Huh."
"For fuck's sake," Garou growled, his fingers tightening on Genos' sleeve. "I'm blind you idiot! And I'm still new at it, so I I need help getting around."
"Oh!" Bado exclaimed. Genos saw him flush in embarrassment. "Right right, that makes sense."
"Did you seriously not notice my fucking eyes?"
They were filmed over, the supernatural nature of the sun chariot leaving his natural eye color faded instead of bleaching the iris blue. But it was still very distinctly not the way sighted eyes usually looked.
"I was distracted by your huge fucking mouth!"
Garou made what Genos assumed was a rude gesture. "Suck my dick."
"I was just confused, okay? 'Cuz you're not who Genos is in love with."
There was a pause. Or at least Genos assumed there was a pause, since for a few seconds all he could hear was the blood rushing in his ears.
"Crap," Bado muttered. "I didn't say that."
"I-" Genos' voice cracked. "I'm not- Why would you think I'm in love with hi- with anyone?"
He was well aware he hadn't been able to hide his fondness for Saitama from most people, but he was fairly sure they took it as gratitude or admiration instead of... what it had become. At least no one had said anything. And Bado had only heard Genos talk about Saitama when he was reminding the other Olympians that Saitama belonged on his throne. Genos couldn't possibly have been that obvious, could he?
Garou was laughing, and Genos kicked his ankle, not hard.
"Sorry," Bado said, sounding miserable. "I really didn't mean to say anything. Please forget it?"
"How did you... What did I..." Genos swallowed. "I don't want anyone to know. What gave me away?"
"Nothing!" Bado said. Garou laughed again, but Genos ignored him. "I can just see it."
"How? Something on my face, or-"
"No, dude, I mean literally see it. With my eyes."
Genos blinked. "You... you can see..."
"Love. All kinds. Comes with the territory."
A sudden bubble of hope and apprehension swelled Genos' chest. "If you can see that, then you can tell me if he-"
"No, " Bado said, firmly. His face had gone stony. "I don't tell anybody how anybody else feels. About anybody."
"Oh..." The bubble burst. "But if you can see it all the time, why not-"
"Experience," he said. "I don't get involved, not ever." Bado raised one finger, "First 'cuz you gotta figure this shit out yourself or else it's not gonna work, even if he does like ya back." He raised another. "And second 'cuz all you're ever gonna want to talk to me about is how everybody feels about everybody else! I'm interesting, dammit! I got things to say!"
"I'm sorry," Genos said, quietly. "I didn't think."
"Okay," Bado let out a sigh. "It's okay, you didn't know. It just gets old, is all. Everybody always does the same thing."
"Not me!" Garou said cheerily. "I can see it too."
Bado perked up. "You can?" His brow furrowed. "Wait, you can?"
"I can see people's spirits, even alive people. Nothin' else though."
"And you can see love?"
"Emotions, but it comes out pretty much the same."
"Huh."
Hopefully, Genos asked, "Can you tell me how Saitama feels about me?"
"I don't know, man, he makes a pretty good argument for staying out of it."
Genos fumbled for a rebuttal, but all that came out was a frustrated groan.
"Besides, I can't see more than what somebody's thinking right this second. If I try to see the deep stuff I get real tired real fast."
"He does... like me at least, doesn't he?"
"Would he have dinner with you all the time if he didn't like you? Come on!"
"I don't know! He could be pretending, to be polite."
"Saitama?" Garou asked, and he had a point.
"So it is Death," Bado said, reminding them both he was there. "I still haven't met this guy. Is he worth it?"
From the corner of his eye Genos saw Garou shaking his head, and ignored it. "He saved my life."
Bado and Garou exchanged a glance. At least, Bado glanced at Garou and they made identical expressions. A baring of teeth as the corners of the mouth pulled down, a look that said "yikes."
"And I know that makes me indebted to him and my affection may be influenced by it," Genos grumbled. "But the fact remains that he is the kind of person who would do that for a stranger."
"I wanna meet him," Bado said. "We're supposed to be dragging him to the meeting anyway."
"Oh, yes, right." They'd gotten distracted talking about boys and feelings. Genos patted Garou's fingers, still holding his arm, and said, "Let's go."
The underworld was a big place, and Saitama had work he could be doing in every corner of it. Genos had been slightly disdainful of the way he saw Saitama avoiding his underlings when they needed his help, but it had been months now and he understood better.
The work never stopped. Not ever. There was always something Saitama needed to be doing. He still slept like a mortal, he made time to garden, he always took breaks to talk with visitors. If he didn't, he would never get to rest at all.
It was enough to drive a man mad, and Genos could sympathize. It was why he'd all but given up on doing the job he was actually born to. Piloting the sun had to take priority, and he was so tired...
He was still tired, even with Mumen's help.
Garou was the first to hear it, pulling a grimace as they circled around the castle. "Uh, is there a reason a woman might be yelling at Saitama?"
"In general or specifically right now?"
"Right now." Garou's hand wavered in the general direction of the bridge. "I can't see emotions from here but I definitely hear a raised voice and the word 'bald.'"
Genos grabbed Bado's hand, put it on Garou's arm, and started running.
"I don't appreciate being foisted off!" Garou called after him, but there was no anger in it. Genos ran until he could see the bridge, and then he saw the gleam off Saitama's scalp, and just beyond that a flash of green hair, and Genos ran faster.
Tatsumaki had been born a god. She was young - though older than Genos - when the conflict began, and she had stayed out of it. But as conflict became combat, and family started getting drawn in, and gods died...
She hadn't started it. But she'd finished it.
Unfortunately her base appearance was that of an extremely petite doe-eyed woman, and anyone meeting her for the first time tended to vastly underestimate her power. As Genos got close enough to make out the conversation, he heard Saitama ask, "Are you somebody's daughter or something? My predecessor's grandkid?"
"I don't have to take this!" Tatsumaki exclaimed. She was riding, as she often did, on a miniature stormcloud. In order to better look down on her current opponent she was standing on it, hands on her hips, a light rainshower already making a puddle beneath her feet.
"I'm trying to help!" Saitama said, sounding honestly confused.
“My lord!” Genos attached himself to Saitama's side with what he hoped passed as nonchalance. “I see you've met Tatsumaki. The goddess of storms, and current queen of the gods.”
“A kid?”
“I'm older than you, spitshine!” Tatsumaki said, though she'd been slightly calmed by Genos backing up her credentials.
“Well sure, but I know gods take longer to grow up, right? I'm like, sixty now but I still feel-”
“My lord.” Genos smiled brightly and leaned against his arm, which at least drew Saitama's attention. “Lady Tatsumaki's life experience shouldn't be discounted simply because of her appearance. We are, after all, gods. She's the queen because she earned that position.”
“Damn right!” Tatsumaki said. Her miniature rainstorm had slowed to a drizzle.
“Okay, okay, I didn't know,” Saitama said, raising his hands in surrender. “What do you need from me then?”
“You've got a throne.”
“Yeah.” Saitama pointed his thumb toward the castle. “S'over there.”
“A metaphorical one, moron!”
“And a real one,” Genos pointed out. “But what she means is; Death is one of the twelve major domains. I- we need you on Olympus.”
“I've got stuff to do,” Saitama protested. “And I don't understand anything in the living world any more anyway.”
“Neither do most of the gods,” Genos muttered.
Tatsumaki ignored that, as she did many things she couldn't argue with. “We need butts in seats, spitshine, that's all that matters. If we can't figure this sea thing out by summer, mortals will die.”
Saitama frowned.
“Which means more work for you,” she added.
“I care about people dying!”
“I'm trying to help,” she said, mockingly.
“What's going on with the sea?”
Garou and Bado had caught up, and Garou was the one who answered. “It's godless.”
“So?” Saitama asked. “I'd think the sea could kinda take care of itself.”
“Not without the moon too.”
“Oh.”
Tatsumaki gave Garou a suspicious up-and-down. “Who is this?”
“One of my people,” Saitama said, calmly, and changed the subject. “Can't we just put someone in charge temporarily? Or is that the problem.”
“The problem is when a titan steps in and starts making demands!” Tatsumaki said. The rainfall had increased again, though she was floating lower, eye level with Genos. “Do you know what it was like when the titans were in charge?”
“No,” the four men said at once.
“Okay neither do I,” Tatsumaki admitted. “But I heard about it! They did whatever they wanted and didn't care how it affected the mortals at all! There's a reason they got overthrown.”
“There's a reason our parents got overthrown too,” Bado said.
“Which means we have to do better!”
She had a point. Genos could see the logic of it sinking into Saitama's skull. “Starting with the sea?”
“It's the biggest problem.” She started counting off on her fingers. “Sea, Harvest, Moon. Those are the ones that most need filling, though there's still a lot of others. We could use a god of sailing to coordinate me with that glasses boy.”
“We still don't know what's going to happen to Wine,” Genos said. “It's not really needed any more. If there's a god of something else important that rises in popularity, they might replace it.”
Saitama's eyes had glazed over. “So... Uh... We need to- How can we fix the sea?”
“We don't know yet,” Genos said.
“That's why we're having a meeting!” Tatsumaki added, as if it was obvious and everyone around her was an oblivious idiot.
Genos did feel rather foolish when someone chose that moment to lean around him and whisper to Saitama. “What are we meeting about?”
Saitama jerked in surprise. “Mizuki! Dammit, get outta here!”
“What?” the woman asked, looking wounded. She was tall, taller than all of their group of five, with a thick mane of hair topped by a crown of laurels, and a light short tunic that showed off her muscles. The muscles themselves were so impressive that Genos assumed she had to be a demi-god of some kind, despite sensing nothing godly in her at all.
“This is important,” Saitama said, “I think. Go home!”
“Let me help! Maybe you need a hero's perspective!”
“I've got an afterlife full of heroes!”
Mizuki huffed and tossed her ponytail. “You could at least thank me. I already dropped off that stuff you asked for at-”
To Genos' surprise – and displeasure – Saitama's ears turned red. “Okay thanks, really, now go home.”
“I found all of it too. Even the-”
“Mizuki!” Saitama hissed.
“I'm a hero and you're sending me on grocery runs!”
Saitama looked around, clearly desperate for an out, but Garou and Bado were merely watching with amusement, and Tatsumaki seemed too flabbergasted to speak. Her raincloud was lighting up as thunder began to build.
“Here's something you can do,” Saitama said. “Mizuki, could you do us a favor and escort Garou back to the castle?”
“What,” Garou said.
“Who's Gar-” Mizuki's gaze fell on him, with his sightless eyes and brand-new cane. “Oh! Of course I can! Hi, we met before didn't we?”
Mizuki was taller and broader than even the tall and broad Garou, and she took his arm and started sweeping him along like a cheerful tsunami. Genos could hear Garou protesting about being “foisted off” again, but he was helpless against a mortal who was both stronger than him and genuinely trying to be nice.
“Let's go then,” Saitama said, once they were out of sight. “That's what this is about, right? A meeting? Let's go.”
“So let's go!” Tatsumaki folded her arms and waited.
Everyone looked at Saitama. Saitama looked around.
“What?”
Genos leaned over. “My lord, you're the only one who can open portals in this realm.”
“Oh. Right right, I totally knew that.” He waved his arm and hopped through the tear when it appeared. Genos followed without hesitation, but he noticed Bado hung back and let Tatsumaki go first.
Neither of them appeared to expect to merely be in the lobby of the palace. Tatsumaki even groaned and put her head in her hands.
“We're going to Olympus!”
“Well I don't know where that is!” Saitama protested. “But the mirror probably remembers, so... here it is.”
The bone mirror he'd led Genos through before waited in its cubbyhole. He still wasn't sure if they were real bones or not, but Saitama had just implied the thing had a memory... Was he being facetious? He often did that.
“Oh yeah,” Bado said when he saw it. “My mom has one of these. I think it was a gift from your predecessor.” He put his hand on it, and said, “Olympus.” Just like before, the image rippled and transformed to that of the gates.
“That's more like it,” Tatsumaki said. She hopped off her cloud, leaving it to dissipate in the air, and her delicate feet touched down on the gritty soil of the mountaintop. She looked back over her shoulder and tossed her curls. “Well?”
Bado followed. Genos started to, but Saitama caught his eye.
“Is this okay?” he said, voice low. “I know nobody really wants me there.”
Genos wanted to lie, to tell him everyone would be happy to have him at their meeting, taking the throne that was due to him. But what came out of his mouth was, “I do.”
Something in Saitama's face lightened, and he took Genos' hand as they stepped through the mirror.
The gate swung open in front of Tatsumaki, the three men trailing after her like the inverse of a mother hen with a row of chicks. Genos could hear voices raised in argument before they reached the table. He allowed himself a sigh. This wasn't going to be a productive meeting.
It was, to no one's surprise, Amai and Kamikaze. They were shouting across the table while the other two ignored them. Isamu was nowhere to be seen, but there was a new face sitting in the Harvest throne.
“Oh,” Tatsumaki said when she saw the man. “Buta.”
The man, enormously tall and round, nodded at her. Saitama nudged Genos, and Genos shook his head. He didn't know either.
“You're in charge of the harvest now?” she asked, taking her seat.
“I suppose so,” the man said. “I didn't expect it, but I'll do my best.”
Genos recalled that the throne had once been mostly carved with plants and farm equipment. Now there was a large compliment of food as well, both raw and cooked. Perhaps he was a cooking god before taking over the domain.
“He doesn't even want it!” Amai hissed. “You call this a god?”
“He gained it by right!” Kamikaze shouted back. “How's he any less deserving than the rest of us?”
“You know why! There are plenty of full-blooded harvest gods, not-”
“Enough,” a voice said. Genos almost hadn't noticed Bang, he was sunk so low in the Wisdom throne. He looked... tired. Like he'd been ill, or hadn't been eating properly. He didn't move, but the two gods could hear the dangerous edge to his voice and quieted down.
“That's one down,” Tatsumaki said. “That's good, now we've got- Dammit, where's Isamu?”
“Busy,” Buta said.
“So we're still an even number!”
Saitama's finger bobbed in the air as he counted chairs. “But we'd be an even number if everyone was here too.”
“Once all the thrones are filled we won't have problems this bad!”
“Are you sure? That sounds like wishful thinking.”
“Oh will you sit down!” She pointed at the throne opposite hers, and Saitama shrugged and dropped into it. Everyone watched as the chair shifted subtly around him. Skulls and bones melted into images of chains and scales, and what looked like rows of shades. Genos wasn't sure if it was an improvement.
There were a few carved mushrooms on the armrests though, and Genos found himself smiling at them.
“We only have three major domains left, then,” Tatsumaki said. “That's good. We're making progress.”
“We didn't do anything,” Amai muttered.
“You didn't do anything,” Kamikaze growled. “Isamu and Buta-”
“Let it drop,” Amai said, waving his hand.
“Me? You're telling me to let it drop? To let anything drop?”
“Listen-”
“I've got no reason to listen to you!”
Tatsumaki let loose a lightning bolt, but it wasn't enough. Neither was Bado drawing his practice sword, or even Buta reaching over to take Kamikaze's arm. The two men screamed at each other until Bang stood up, walked around the table, and slapped first Amai and then Kamikaze across the face.
Saitama looked at Genos in the ringing silence that followed. Genos shook his head, helplessly.
“Thank you,” Tatsumaki said, voice hollow.
“Don't thank me,” Bang said. There was still a crackle of menace in his tone. “I've been wanting to do that to anyone recently.”
The threat of being publicly humiliated by an old man seemed to cow even the egotistical god of Art, and Amai sat in wide-eyed shellshock for several minutes while Tatsumaki started running down a list of names. Genos knew all of them, Bado and Buta knew a handful each, and Genos could tell Saitama didn't know a single one.
“What about...” She pretended to think about it. “The goddess of winter, Fubu-”
There was a chorus of Nays, and Tatsumaki scowled.
“She could do it!”
“You can't just give a throne to your little sister 'cuz it's open,” Bado said. “If we're doin' that, my sister Zenko is only the goddess of pets. She could be the Sea. You don't know.”
“Not Fubuki,” Genos said quietly. “We can't lose another season.”
“We didn't lose you,” Tatsumaki said. “You're just... a little busy.”
Genos said nothing, but he found himself rubbing his scar through his shirt.
“I know Fubuki,” Saitama said suddenly. It was the first time he'd spoken since he sat down, and everyone looked at him in surprise.
“You do?” Tatsumaki said, narrowing her eyes in suspicion. “Why?”
He shrugged. “Death and Winter have some overlap, apparently.”
“Do you know any gods who could take over the Sea?”
“Why does it have to be a god?” Saitama asked. “That doesn't seem like it's worked out so well for Genos. Why can't you find a demigod without a domain, or a human like me, and-”
“No,” Amai said, lurching to his feet. Rage had twisted his face into a caricature of his natural handsomeness. “One human on a throne is bad enough. I will not see something as beautiful as the sea tainted by a mortal.”
“Shut up,” Bang and Kamikaze said at once, Kamikaze angrily and Bang coldly.
“Motion passes,” Tatsumaki said, slapping her hand on the table. “Amai shuts up.”
“Tell me I'm wrong! No human could possibly do everything the sea requires!”
“Aren't there lots of minor gods?” Saitama asked, brow wrinkled in confusion. “That's how I learned. I had help!”
Bang sighed next to Genos. “I hate to say it, but Amai has a point. The sea needs someone exceptional. It is... unlikely that there is a mortal out there who has the leadership qualities, the big heart, and the sheer bull-headed determination it takes to rule a domain like that.”
“Does the titan that's in charge right now have all that?”
“Not the heart. When the winter storms start up, young Saitama, your domain will be very busy.”
“Ah...” Saitama frowned, and leaned forward with his chin resting on his clasped hands. Genos' eyes weren't the only ones drawn to the bandages on his wrists.
“My sister and I can do something about that,” Tatsumaki said. “But it won't be easy. We'll both be out of commission for...” She tilted her head, thinking about it. “Two months, I think. That's how long the worst of it is.”
“I'd appreciate it,” Saitama said, which seemed to surprise her.
Tatsumaki went back to her list of names, but by the time everyone was getting anxious to leave all they'd managed to do was eliminate people. Bang stood up and walked away the moment she paused to think, and after a moment Buta made an excuse and left as well. Saitama stood up and stretched.
“Same time next week?” he said.
“You're useless!” Tatsumaki said, though there was no bite to it. “All of you!”
“Yeah yeah,” Saitama said. “I knew I was gonna be.”
“Well try harder next time!”
“Try harder to know who people I've never met are?”
“At least do some research! Ask Genos.” Tatsumaki waved at him. “He knows everyone. He killed most of their parents.”
“Not most,” Genos mumbled. He reached out, and Saitama took his hand to help him to his feet. He'd been spending so much time trying to regain his powers recently that he was often exhausted, and at some point Saitama had picked up on it and started taking some of the burden off him.
“Oh,” Tatsumaki said suddenly.
“What?” Saitama asked.
“No, nothing, I'm dumb is all. Didn't realize.” She slid out of her throne, and summoned a new cloud with a swirl of her finger. “Same time next week. And you two-” Tatsumaki pointed at Amai and Kamikaze. “Do not kill each other. We made a deal, remember?”
They both muttered something, and turned and walked in opposite directions, Kamikaze fingering his sword hilt.
“Well that sucked,” Bado said, coming along with Saitama and Genos as they headed away from the peak. “I had no idea those two still held such a grudge.”
“It hasn't been this bad in a long time,” Genos said. “I suppose that new god Buta set Amai off, and Kamikaze can be... defensive. I think he blames himself, a bit.”
“He shouldn't!” Bado said. “I mean, it wouldn't have happened if not for him, but...”
“What wouldn't?” Saitama asked.
Genos and Bado exchanged a glance.
“What?”
“Wait,” Bado said, eyes slowly widening. “Does he really not know?”
“I'm afraid not,” Genos said.
“Why haven't you told him?”
“It's not exactly a pleasant topic of conversation.”
“But he doesn't know anything!”
Saitama muttered, “I'm standing right here, you know.”
“I'm sorry, Saitama,” Genos said softly. “I should have filled you in a long time ago.”
“About what?”
“About the war. About how it started.” Genos rubbed his chest once again. “About what we were all so willing to kill and die for.”