Chapter Text
Saitama woke up to a fairly normal day. As normal as a day can get in the ghost town deep in City Z. Monsters come through fewer and fewer these days but it can make a man anxious to go for a morning jog when, on your first day in the neighborhood, a giant crab tries to kill you.
It’s not too bad though, his little home is very comfy (and free!) and actually not too far from his favorite marketplace. Freelance jobs are short and fleeting so he has a lot of free time to just focus on his nice little garden on the balcony, read manga, and so on. It may seem boring or a little sad to some, but Saitama likes this quiet and slow lifestyle. It fits him. He brings the little elephant watering can to the sink and fills it up. It’s a perfect day to sit outside and enjoy the light breeze. Water flows out of the watering can and into the rich, potted soil.
And suddenly, there’s a flash of light. A boom. And smoke. Lots and lots of smoke.
Saitama jumps up and looks over the railing, “What the fuck?” Was there a car crash? Are there even any people who own cars in this area? The road before him shows a crater in the ground. That seems to also be the source of the immense smoke. Saitama puts his shoes on in a hurry and runs outside. It’s not until he’s getting closer to the crater, he realizes it’s probably not an accident caused by a person. He inches closer, repeating to himself- “Please don’t be a monster, please don’t be a monster, please. Don’t be a monster-“ He leans over, and peers into the hole. It’s… A guy?
The man in the hole looked young, probably around Saitama’s age. His arms were black prosthetics lined with a red light. His hair was black, face scarred and clothes dirtied. Saitama gently slid down into the shallow crater. Kneeling next to the mysterious, knocked-out man helps Sai see just how weird his facial scars are. They almost look like cracks in a porcelain doll’s face.
Saitama reaches a hand out to check for a pulse. Nothing. Was he… Dead?
Suddenly, there was movement. The man’s eyes shoot open, revealing black sclera and red irises. He glares at Saitama and sits up instantly.
“What are you doing? Don’t touch me!” Smacking Sai’s hand awake from his neck.
“Oh- shit, sorry! I- I thought you were dead.”
The two stared at each other in silence for what seemed like an eternity. It was really just like 5 seconds.
“Of course, I’m not dead, idiot.” He sneered.
“Well, you did just fall out of the sky and crash land in front of my apartment.”
The guy’s face goes from anger to pure confusion. He looks around the area. “This is a ghost town, isn’t it? Why would you live here?”
“It’s free! And usually pretty peaceful… Usually.” That’s when Sai noticed the man’s leg appeared to be a prosthetic as well, and very, very broken. “Uh- Do you, uhm. Are you… okay?”
He looks down at his feet. His leg is bent horribly with loose, torn wires sticking out from the openings and sparking wildly. Wincing, it seems as if he just noticed.
“I’m fine-“ Using his hand to gesture a ‘shoo, go away’. It promptly falls off. Sigh. “Maybe. But I don’t need any assistance; I can fix myself.”
Just then, the clouds cover the sky, and it turns grey. Rain slowly begins to sprinkle from above. Saitama looks up, and back at this man-robot-thing-guy. It’s clear this is just the tip of the iceberg for him, as he lets out a quiet but strong ‘Fuck.’… Sai offers out his hand again,
“That’s fine, because I don’t know a whole lot about technology, but if you need a place to stay while you repair yourself there’s a bit of room with me.”
Another small staring contest. The stranger eyes Saitama up and down. His eyes are scary… He looks away, and back, clearly thinking really hard… And then,
“Okay… I suppose I need shelter.” And with that, Saitama helps lift him onto his feet- or foot, rather. Walking up to the apartment, he, nervously, continues his small talk.
“Geez these prosthetics make you really heavy.”
“They really aren’t prosthetics. My body is 95% metal, I’m a cybernetically modified person.”
“Cybernetic… Huh? Oh! So, a cyborg, right? I guess that explains the weird eyes.”
“Did you just assume that I was just a normal quadruple amputee? With these unnatural looking arms and eyes?”
“Well, yeah, I guess. I mean, you definitely aren’t a monster, so that really only leaves human as the next option.”
“You… don’t think I’m a monster?”
“No, not really.”
…
“You’re a strange man… What’s your name?”
“It’s Saitama. And, uh, you?”
…
“I am Genos.”