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Genos had been acting weird, lately.
Even if Saitama wasn’t normally one to notice someone’s change in behavior, he could tell something was up with his disciple.
It had begun with him coming home very late from S-class meetings. And there appeared to be more and more of these, too. Not that Saitama did mind or anything. He just didn’t remember Genos being so busy with his hero stuff before. The HA was probably facing some kind of crisis, but he wouldn’t mention it. And Saitama wasn’t one to ask either. Whatever the association was up to, it had to be boring. Genos wouldn’t quit talking otherwise, right?
Saitama wouldn’t have given it a second thought, had the cyborg not started to space out from time to time. That wasn’t exactly unusual for him to be lost in some internal meditation, or introspection, or any other student-thing crap he had decided to be into. But these days, Saitama sometimes caught him frowning silently, lifting a hand to his head, or day sleeping – Saitama had wondered if he even needed to sleep at all, and had figured the cyborg was resting each night more out of habit, but napping?
And now, he had taken on spending more and more time on his phone, answering calls and messages that had never been so numerous before. And he answered something incredibly vague every time Saitama tried to learn more.
So he was kinda intrigued when he saw Metal Bat one day on his way home, and was asked about his disciple.
Or, rather, when the S-class hero said with a grin nothing short of evil: “Yo, Saitama! How’s our Demon doin?”
… What the hell?? Saitama and bat-guy had barely met before, and he wasn’t aware of any kind of relationship between Genos and him either, other than coworkers. What with the familiarity? How did he know they lived together? And what were the odds for him to ask that when Genos was actually not in a good shape today?
Saitama answered evasively and walked back home with an uncomfortable feeling.
***
“By the way, where is Genos?”
King was at the apartment, beating the shit out of Saitama at their favorite videogame. Saitama hesitated to answer, not wanting to lose his focus on the fight. That was perhaps King’s secret technique: he talked a lot while playing, causing Saitama to chat a bit and eventually lose. The sneaky bastard.
“S-class meeting…” he said absentmindedly, before fighting back a scream of frustration when his character got dismembered by a fatal combo. Struggling to calm himself down, he turned his attention to the conversation, trying to find composure. “Well, now that you ask, I’m not quite sure. If there was a meeting, shouldn’t you be there too?”
“Er. Well. I must admit I’m not attending every S-class meeting there is.”
“Yeah, I guess ‘t must be pretty boring.”
“That, and, you know… I don’t really feel like I belong.”
“Mhmm.”
Saitama was pensively scratching his chin, which King knew only occurred when he was troubled, as rare as that was.
“What’s up?”
“… I don’t know. Have you seen him recently? Does he look… different to you?”
King had to remember they were talking about Genos.
“We meet in HQ sometimes, but I haven’t noticed anything out of the ordinary. What do you mean?”
Saitama let out a sigh.
“Nothing, just… He seems awkward, these days. Not very talkative, not very energetic either. I thought he was just having a rough couple of weeks, but then that guy with the bat said this odd thing and…”
He paused. Then, hesitantly:
“Do you think he might be… huh… bullied or something?”
When King didn’t immediately answer, Saitama went on, softly, as if to himself:
“I know he’s not the kind of guy to care about what people think. Damn, he doesn’t even give a fuck about his fanclubs… But what if some S-class moron was being a real ass with him?”
A warm, heavy hand landed on his shoulder.
“I think Genos’ more than able to protect himself from toxic people.”
“Guess you’re right. But he’s been looking so… down, lately – not exactly down, just… off.”
King gave him a reassuring smile.
“Genos might be a cyborg and a mighty hero, he’s still a teenager, isn’t he? Kids can have mood swings at his age. I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about.”
Saitama’s lips copied his smile.
“Yeah. Thanks, King.”
“Anytime.”
***
There was definitely something going on.
Genos had said he was going out to get groceries, and had not returned. It had been hours. The news didn’t report any incident or threat. When Saitama tried to call him from a booth, he didn’t answer his phone. And now that he was thinking of it, he hadn’t even said where he was going.
That was it. Genos might be in trouble. In a kind of trouble that was less obvious than fighting powerful monsters, but that seemed to be getting to him nonetheless. Saitama didn’t bother to put his suit on – if monsters weren’t involved, there was no point in getting dressed up – and went on a cyborg-centered patrol.
When he finally found him, he had to rub his eyes to make sure he was seeing right. It was night already, and he was standing in the entrance of a crowded bar, full of people and noise and smells. The bartender had immediately asked him to put his phone in one of the many lockers available, “because we don’t want some of our clients to be bothered by selfie requests and all that crap”. Saitama had showed he didn’t have one before scanning the place.
And there, in the far end of the room, sitting between two other young men, was Genos.
And he didn’t look down at all.
In fact, he seemed to be enjoying himself. Not that he was much of an expressive guy, but a small curve in his lips and a little spark in his eyes gave him a content, even joyful look.
“C’m’on bud’! You HAVE to!” screamed more than said the teen next to him.
Black hair, Pompadour style. Metal Bat? Apparently drunk.
“Yeah! Ya’ve been keepin’ us waitin’ aaaall night for this”, said the other guy, gripping the cyborg’s shoulder. White hair spread in the air, seemingly even more drunk.
“ ’n’ while we drink and drink and drink, ya just stay there watchin’ ‘n’ it ain’t fair, Gen!”
“Now iz yer turn! Do yer thing!!”
Genos sighed dramatically, let out a playful “Alright then”, and the next moment, he was drinking a huge mug of beer that seemed to have no end. This couldn’t possibly be a pint – it had to be at least twice that.
The two teens jumped on their seats, eyes wide, encouraging him wildly.
An incredulous, amazed giggle escaped Saitama’s throat, and he leaned against the wall, crossing his arms onto his chest, watching the scene from a distance. Around them, people didn’t seem troubled by the presence of such popular and recognizable heroes. Maybe they were regulars.
“Ooooh, he’s gunna make it!!” exclaimed the white haired boy. Taking a closer look, Saitama thought he had already seen that teen somewhere, but couldn’t tell.
Suddenly, everyone in the bar seemed to be very interested in what was happening.
When Genos put his empty glass down on the table, he started to burn. Or rather, his parts glowed with a red, warm light, his eyes became two open infernos, and smoke escaped his shoulders, ears and nose. He theatrically exhaled some more steam by his mouth.
That seemed to do the trick for his public.
“Wohooo!!”
“Yeah!! Go Drinkin’ Demon!!”
Genos seemed to come back to a more normal state, smiling a little dumbly, and Saitama lifted an amused eyebrow. Drinking Demon? So that nickname Metal Bat had called him was coming from… a bar private joke? It wasn’t a reference to his hero name? Or, as he had feared, a way to mock him?
The two other teens were laughing more than seemed reasonable, grabbing their ribs, wiping away their eyes, clenching Genos’ shoulders and tapping his back friendly. The crowd cheered as well, entertained, before going back to their multiple discussions.
“Hah, your Demon mode is SO COOL,” said Bat-guy once he could breathe again.
“Man, I wish I could look so good when I drink,” added the other.
“Thank both of you,” answered Genos, smiling, voice hoarse from the drinking – or the burning? He actually seemed drunk, too. Was that even possible for him? Then he took his usual serious look again, “But that was the last time. I shouldn’t do that in public ‘nymore. It’s irrep- irrespi – it is not responsible.”
“There he goes again”, sighed the white haired teen.
“Buddy, ya say that every fuckin’ time.”
“Thiz – This time I mean it! It’s not worthy of an S-class hero. And it’s not worthy of-”
“Don’t ya dare bring yer goddam teacher up now,” said Metal Bat.
“What’s wrong with havin’ fun anyway?” added the third, causing Genos to soften.
Yeah, right? thought Saitama. And of all people, Genos surely could use some good time. Hell, the guy was nineteen and had never lived the common teenager life. He’d never had a chance to.
But right there and then, he looked exactly like who he could have been, who he should be: a random adolescent, spending the night hanging out with friends – those guys definitely looked like friends to him – in a bar where all their stupid games were considered absolutely normal.
But of course Genos would feel ashamed about those little parties. And feel guilty about doing anything else than working hard or defeating monsters. And feel traitorous to his professor and their quest, and probably to his self-proclaimed disciple responsibilities.
Saitama watched as the cyborg relaxed and the trio laughed and went on with what sounded like a shitty conversation. With a smile, he slipped away discretely, leaving them to their night.
***
The next morning, Genos felt tired and unwell.
The first thing he noticed was the empty futon next to his. Saitama was already up. And he had to be really quiet, for the cyborg not to have awoken sooner.
Then he saw a glass of water and an aspirin arranged next to him.
“How’s the head doing?”
He lifted his eyes up to watch as his sensei left the kitchen, a wide, expecting grin spread across his face. Genos suddenly felt a loss for words.
“I dunno if you have hangovers but, well, I kinda suspect you do.”
Was he – teasing him?
“Anyway, your friends seem really cool, buddy. And I’m glad you allow yourself to relax and have fun. Just… please tell me when you do, ‘kay? I won’t get mad or whatever, y’know. It’s totally fine.”
Genos only managed to nod, and Saitama seemed content. He turned to go back to the kitchen, leaving the cyborg alone.
For a moment, Genos remained still.
Then he took the aspirin with a long sip of water and went back to bed.
He was just a teenager, after all.