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For once in his nineteen years of existence, Genos was at a complete loss of what to do. It wasn't every day you found yourself side-by-side with the class S rank 2 hero, Tornado of Terror — even less so when the aforementioned heroine was red in the face and looking on the verge of tears.
Genos took a breath, closing his eyes for a moment. Then he opened them and tried again.
"Tatsumaki-san —" he began, but any further words died in his throat as the green-haired woman turned to glare up at him. It was shocking how someone so short could make someone feel so insignificant. Genos somehow felt that he was being looked down upon.
"Cut it with the formalities, Demon Cyborg. Unless you want me to call you Genos-kun. I'm not an old lady or anything, so don't treat me like one!"
The tears in her eyes were nearly brimming over with this latest development. Genos winced internally and backtracked. "Tatsumaki." She continued to glare at him but did not cut him off again. "The festival does not require its attendees to wear any kind of formal outfit. Your day-to-day attire is — appropriate enough." The word his brain initially supplied him with was 'attractive' but Genos doubted it would be taken well, given the circumstances. "We shouldn't delay any further, sensei and Blizzard of Hell are both waiting for us at the festival grounds. At this rate, we'll miss the —"
"I can't show up in this!" Tatsumaki wailed, tears finally spilling over her cheeks. Genos put his hands up unconsciously, letting them hover uncertainly between them as his virtual support systems frantically searched for a way to remedy the situation. "Not... not when you l-look like that..." The esper sniffled while vaguely gesturing to Genos' own getup. This set off a fresh wave of tears.
Genos shifted awkwardly, feeling strangely guilty about wearing his yukata and geta. He'd bought them new the previous year when he'd attended the festival with sensei. "Should I change?" Genos offered uncertainly. He didn't care either way, plenty of festival-goers attended in t-shirts and shorts and no one paid any mind. What he was really worried about at this rate was making Saitama and Fubuki wait any longer.
"But that would kill the mood," Tatsumaki pouted, wiping at her eyes. "That's not in the spirit of obon at all."
Surreptitiously, Genos glanced at the clock on the wall. Thinking quickly and ignoring the suggestions made by his programmed AI, he said, "We can purchase one for you."
Tatsumaki lifted her face from her hands. Her green eyes were red-rimmed but still striking. "What?"
"If we're quick, we can make it in and out of the store, and still arrive in time to see the fireworks with the others. What do you think?"
The expression on her face was close to awe. Genos stood stiffly, a nervous swallow was the only indication that he felt anything under that stare of hers. But then a small smile appeared on her face, and it seemed he had made the right suggestion.
---
Truthfully Genos wished to take Tatsumaki somewhere nicer than this.
However, they were in Z-City and the only clothing store which Genos knew of was a thrift store which Saitama liked to frequent. (Maybe frequent was too mild of a word — sensei bought his clothes exclusively from this store.)
Judging from the way Saitama liked to dress, Genos knew this was a gamble. He had no idea if the store would carry any yukata which was fashionable enough for the high-profile S-class rank 2 heroine. At the very least, he thought, they would get a good deal. The clothes there were dirt cheap.
When they entered the store together, the clerk greeted them with a cheerful irasshai. Her eyes quickly widened though, upon taking notice of who her new customers were. Her elbow which had been holding up her head as she assumed a sleepy countenance, dropped to the counter as she brightened up with interest.
"What brings two S-class heroes to this place? And on a festival day?" She sent them a wondering smile. "Shouldn't you two lovebirds be at the grounds, having a good time?"
Both heroes blushed furiously at the words and as Genos felt his face heat up, he wondered why in sensei's name had Dr. Kuseno equipped him with a blushing function. Probably for moments like these. The doctor had a strange sense of humor sometimes.
Together, esper and cyborg roamed up and down the aisles. Working as a team, they were incredibly efficient about going through the racks and before long, Genos had a number of yukata in his arms, awaiting Tatsumaki's judgement. Some were actually quite nice and in good condition, but Tatsumaki cycled through them all, waving a finger this and that way as she sent them flying back into their slots on the rack. At last there was one outfit left in Genos' arms, and his AI booted up once again, preparing to suggest a whole new slew of solutions to the oncoming predicament.
... But, Tatsumaki took the last yukata into her hands, unfolding it so she could get a full view of the cloth. It was incredibly gaudy, almost in a way that hurt Genos' eyes. The fabric was silver but not in an elegant way — instead it was almost iridescent. Patterns of rainbows danced over it as it shifted in Tatsumaki's grasp, the light overhead hitting it at different angles. There were large flowers printed onto it as well, in gold ink. The flowers were not beautiful by any stretch of the imagination. Rather they were drawn in a minimalist way, only retaining the bare minimum needed to tell the viewer that these were indeed flowers.
The whole ensemble was like a tasteless work of modern art. Genos found himself internally cringing away from it, just as Tornado of Terror announced, "It's perfect."
Genos felt his jaw drop open.
---
"We won't make it in time."
Genos tsked, clock displaying on his visuals as he bounded across the rooftops. There was no way he could use his blasters and come out with his yukata intact, thus he was forced to travel on foot while Tatsumaki flew through the air by his side.
"Take off your shoes," the esper suggested, and Genos glanced at her. "They're slowing you down."
Genos wasted 2.471 seconds to act on her suggestion before they were off again. His geta clacked together as they hung from his fingers by their drawstrings. The wooden sound of them was not unpleasant.
They'd been able to pick up some sandals for the esper as well, and they remained on her feet as she hovered above ground. Genos observed this before letting his gaze linger on Tatsumaki for a little longer, scrutinizing how the yukata fit. It was a little too big in some places (notably the bust area and in the vertical length). But truth be told, the ensemble didn't look half bad on her person. Much better than it had looked in the store at least, the improvement could not be overstated.
Tatsumaki caught him staring and gazed back. "What?" she asked, eyebrows furrowing the slightest amount in the darkness of dusk.
Just some months ago, Genos would say he had a rather bad opinion of Tatsumaki, and her of him. She was a brat, he was a robotic lapdog. She looked like a child, he was an insufferable ingratiate. Their impressions of each other could hardly be worse.
But things change when a person saves your life, and they had paid that favor to each other. Their relationship would never be the same again, could never return to just "strangers" as it was before — instead they would always be "comrades" hereafter.
"Nothing," he replied, and Tatsumaki looked like she didn't believe him. She opened her mouth to protest but instead, there came the sound of an explosion overhead. It was so startling and unexpected that Genos lost his footing, and he went falling into the alleyway between two buildings.
He jerked to a stop in the air as he dangled from one arm, metal joints creaking in protest as his artificial limb twisted in an awkward fashion. He looked up.
Tatsumaki hovered above him, hand grasping his own like a lifeline. Of course, this was not a life or death situation, and Genos could have easily landed himself on the ground. However, he was still grateful to the one who helped him, and he thanked her.
She smiled down at him, and it made the pulse in his synthetic veins beat a little faster. "Skittish, huh? You aren't afraid of fireworks, are you, Genos?"
He allowed her to carry him back to safety. Her telekinesis did all the work, but she didn't let go of his hand, even when she deposited the two of them in a heap on the nearest rooftop. She was practically sitting in his lap and Genos could barely feel it, she was so light while he was made of metal. Up close like this, she didn't seem so intimidating anymore.
... Or maybe she still was. When Tatsumaki turned away from the night sky to look at him, at this proximity Genos felt his pulse completely freeze. In the background, fireworks were blooming across the darkness in an array of dazzling colors, and the way the lights played over Tatsumaki's yukata was mesmerizing. Genos had the fleeting thought that maybe the dress had been designed this way, not to be seen under the bright lights of a store but rather swathed in the shroud of evening.
His first impression of the yukata hadn't been very favorable, but some things had a way of growing on you, he realized.
"We didn't make it in time," he commented, not feeling particularly sorry about it. Saitama and Fubuki would be wondering where they were, but they were on their own date after all. Genos would apologize to his teacher later.
"Yeah." Tatsumaki laughed. "Sucks." From her expression, Genos surmised that she didn't care much either. He became even more certain about this when she leaned in.
For a split second, the young cyborg wondered whether kissing would feel the same as it did when he was still human. He hadn't ever kissed anyone he particularly loved before the incident, but it had still been nice. Fun. He remembered the way his mouth tingled afterwards, the lingering warmth in his cheeks, the inexplicable feeling which blossomed and stayed in the center of his chest.
It turned out that kissing was even better than he remembered.