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“Ah! My back..!” A male voice sighed out loud in relief, breaking the silence in the hallway outside the woman’s apartment. Inside the room sat a curvaceous brunette on the floor crisscross, with a watering can in one hand and a small heartleaf philodendron plant on the short legged table in front of her. Her warm amber eyes darted off of her small plant and in the direction of the front door where the voice came from. It was a new sound to her after being the only occupant on this floor and maybe even the whole building. As nice as it should have been to hear the voice, she was also concerned as to why they were here. Were they actual moving in or did they have another motive? Maybe they were trying to loot from the vacant apartments.
In the hallway stood a bald man placing both hands on his back. The stranger was wearing a yellow shirt, pewter green shorts, and flip flops. There were a few boxes scattered around him as he stood in front of a door. He exhaled loudly as he stretched by leaning back into his palms that were still pressed against his back. The door to his left cracked open suddenly though, which drew his attention immediately to it. The door opened and the brunette woman leaned out partially from her apartment doorway. The contrast between her and the dirty hallway threw the male off guard a bit. She couldn't have been a squatter. Right? Her eyes slightly widened with shock when immediately spotting the boxes on the floor then quickly moved upward to the strange man’s face. Their eyes were now locked. The first thing she noticed about him was how unexpressive his face looked as they stared at one another.
After seconds passed, a sentence finally broke the silence. “..Who’re you?” The bald male questioned whilst pointing a finger at her and straightening his posture. Even when asking a question, his eyes and face were almost blank, emotionless, if it weren’t for a brow being raised. “My names Morine.” Replied the woman as a faint yet kind smile appeared at her lips. Was it a mistake to even reply to this man? To interact with him? Maybe she should have stayed inside, but she believed she could handle her own. He appeared harmless, though it still felt bizarre to see another person in a ghost town such as Z-City. “And you are?” She asked in return while letting go of her door handle and stepping out fully from her apartment and into the hallway with him. Her brown, thick, and wavy locks of hair were one of the most noticeable features about her as her hair ended near her ankles. “It looks like I’m your neighbor then Morine. My names Saitama.” The male responded before looking away and down at the box in front of him. “Neighbor?” She whispered under her breath and watched him in disbelief. He is moving in. “Hm?” Saitama glanced at her as he knelt down to grab the box then stack another underneath it before standing up. “Nothing. I-I can help you with the boxes you have if you’d like.” Morine politely offered with a nervous smile now at her lips. Saitama shrugged and moved over to the door in front of him and using his shoulder to open the already unlocked door. “You can if you want. I don’t mind either way.” A neighbor? Here in empty city? For a moment she stood still in the somewhat box crowded hallway. Her mind flooded with thoughts. By having someone else around would be a new change of pace. In a good way she believed too. That’s if, of course, her and Saitama got along well. Morine silently made her way to one of the boxes closest to her while a few pieces of her thick hair extended on it’s own to a few other smaller boxes nearby. The hair lifted the smaller boxes with ease and brought them to her, placing them gently on top of the bigger box she was now holding in her hands. The noise of boxes opening and shifting inside the other room Saitama echoed in the quiet hallway. Morine finally stepped foot into the doorway and stopped. She was hesitant to step further into the apartment as she knew little of this man who was squatting on the floor straight ahead of her in his living room doorway, with his full attention on unboxing what was in front of him in his living room. His sandals were near the door where she stood and a few boxes along with furniture were already inside the small apartment.
“There you are.” Saitama mumbled to himself as he placed a green, elephant shaped watering can for plants outside the box he was going through. Morine’s gaze quickly shifted to him then immediately to the adorable watering can. It made visible smile appear at her lips. “You can place those anywhere.” He said to her while waving a hand in the air with his back still to her. He was engulfed with unpacking it appeared. Morine slipped her shoes off and stepped inside the apartment before placing the boxes in front of the bathroom door. Suddenly an idea crossed her mind. Whilst Saitama was distracted with his box, Morine continued to stand by his doorway and began to use her hair to grab the boxes from the hallway and place them into his apartment. Small, large, light, or heavy, her hair was able to wrap around them and bring them to her. The much heavier ones she would take into her hands and place them down and as for others her hair would place them on the floor themselves. It only took a few minutes before the hallway was now empty and the entrance to his apartment had all of his belongings safely inside.
“GAH!” Saitama groaned loudly as he stood up and stretched his legs. “I’ve always dreaded mo-“ He was stopped mid sentence at the sight of all of his boxes neatly placed along a wall inside his apartment and no Morine in sight. “..What a strange lady,” He whispered to himself as he brought a finger to his cheek and scratched it. The expressionless face still stuck. “I guess she needed to go use the bathroom or something..” With his boxes now inside, Saitama approached his still open door to shut it. Before he could, the noise of a door close by opening followed by footsteps filled the quiet hallway. Saitama would almost peek out the door until Morine would come into view with a cactus sitting in a small pot in one hand and a friendly smile at her lips. “I wanted to give you a welcoming gift. It’s not everyday that I see another person, let alone have a neighbor!” The woman was beaming and was overjoyed that she now had a neighbor and wasn’t alone. He may have seemed a bit monotonous all around, but he seemed like a good person at the same time.
For a moment Saitama blinked a few times while staring at her then at the spikey covered plant that she held out for him to take. This caught him off guard. “Thanks.” His dot eyes shifted to the plant while extending a hand out to it and taking it carefully from her. “Say,” His eyes moved off from the plant and back onto the woman in front of him who tilted her head with wonder to his words. “What’s someone like you doing here?“ Saitama leaned forward and poked his head out from the doorway to look left to right of the hall. He moved as if it didn’t bother him at how close that made him to Morine now. It startled her and made her bright eyes widen as she took a small unnoticeable step back and looked the direction he was looking in. This was her way of trying to hide the blush at her cheeks. “I thought no one lived here seeing how Z-City is categorized as dangerous area.” He assumed she was just a normal human that was testing their luck for the free rent. His attention moved back onto Morine. Quickly he noticed the pink at her cheeks and blinked a few times curiously. Before he could ask what was wrong, the brunette answered him while still looking away. Although the blush remained at her cheeks, Morine’s face and eyes relaxed and her smile was now faint. She crossed her arms under her chest and closed her eyes. “I’ve been here for over three years now and I’m not sure myself.” Her eyes opened as she huffed and looked at Saitama warmly. “I think it was to get away from the city, to step away from it and see what Z-City was all about and overtime…I just stayed.”
There was more to it than just that, but it didn’t feel right to tell this man a whole story after just meeting him and giving him a present. That’s if he even cared to hear about that! Her family separated in different parts of other cities after her mother passed about six years ago. Morine felt if she were only stronger and understood her abilities at the time, she could have protected her. That eats at her everyday. Going into solitude by moving to Z-City while also fighting whatever came her way to help practice seemed like the perfect combination. Who could pass up on the free rent too? The only family member that she stays in touch and occasionally visits with is her father who she wants to get stronger for. He always tries to reassure her what happened wasn’t her fault and how her mother wouldn't want her to think that, but the feeling still towers over here.
Although the male had a mindless look in his eye along with his deadpan face, Saitama could feel that her answer was only the half truth, but he kept quiet and decided not to bring it up. “Yeah,” He brought a finger up to his smooth head and scratched it. “I guess I could that’s pretty much my reason too.” His dot eyes blinked a few times as he looked at her then at the cactus in his other hand. Morine’s smile became more visible at his response. It felt comforting hearing she wasn’t the only one with a similar idea as to what brought them to Z-City. “Well Saitama,” The busty woman began. “I think I’ll let you continue with your unpacking so you can get settled in.” She said with the smile still glued to her lips. Before turning away and making her way back to her door, she took one last look at Saitama. “If you need anything, at any time, just let me know.” And with that Morine walked over to her door and entered her apartment, locking the door behind her. Saitama continued to stand there for a moment, almost bewildered as to all the events that happened within such a short amount of time before taking a step away from the door and shutting it.
Both saw one another as just a normal human. Little did the two know that both had unique abilities that would soon be revealed.