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“Master,” Genos said. "May I accompany you?" Saitama paused halfway out the door as Genos rose to his feet. He'd left his notebook open. The drawing of Saitama holding his flyer of the day's sales was clearly visible; Saitama fought back a sigh.
Saitama hesitated. Genos had never come with him to the store during a sale before; he preferred to spend the time training or going over his notes on whatever nonsense Saitama had said latest to inspire him. Then Saitama grinned, imagining Genos's reaction to the sale-inspired chaos. “Why not?” he said. “It might be educational. And I could use an extra pair of hands.”
Genos's yellow eyes glowed brighter, but all he said was, “Please let me know how I may assist you, master.”
Remembering how the older women of the neighborhood turned into vicious monsters during sales, Saitama suppressed an even bigger grin. He wondered how his nemeses, the elderly Tachibana sisters, would fare against Genos's earnestness. “I'm sure we'll figure something out.”
An hour later, Saitama wasn't smiling.
Somehow word had gotten out about Genos being in the store. Fangirls had swarmed the place. None of them seemed to care that they were blocking the aisles. They giggled and batted their eyes at Genos, cooing compliments and using the store flyers as autograph paper. The only comfort Saitama had was that if he couldn't get to the sale items, neither could anyone else. Most of the shoppers had given up in disgust and headed home. The Tachibana sisters were trapped against the farthest wall, glaring.
Someone patted Saitama's arm. When he blinked and looked down, trying to arrange his face into a polite expression, the schoolgirl patted his arm again. She was short and freckled, her smile sympathetic and understanding. “Must be tough, living in the same neighborhood as a hero.” She sighed as she added, “Especially one like the Demon Cyborg! I'd probably fail all my classes if I lived next door to him.”
Before Saitama could inform her that he was a hero too, she squared her shoulders. In the next second she'd transformed from a dreamy-eyed schoolgirl to a battle-ready warrior. She held up an autograph book and a pen, the latter brandished like a weapon. The determined glint in her eyes promised that she would get that autograph no matter what. As Saitama watched, she barreled into the crowd, knocking people aside in her quest.
Enough was enough. Surely Saitama could turn this to his advantage somehow. He thought a moment. A plan formed, one of his better ones if he was being honest with himself. He passed a hand over his mouth, trying not to grin. Then he yelled, “Oi! Genos!”
Even over the clamor of the fangirls, Genos heard him. He finished signing a girl's flyer and turned. “Yes, master?”
“Herd your fangirls over there so the rest of us can do our shopping,” Saitama said, jerking his chin towards the wall where the Tachibana sisters were trapped. He fought back a grin at their narrow-eyed looks. Their glowering deepened as he waved at them and cheerfully watched Genos and the fangirls swarm the corner.
Now Saitama had plenty of space and a few minutes before his neighbors realized that the fangirls weren't dominating the entire store anymore. He moved down the meat aisle, half-wanting to whistle as he snagged a few packs from the sales bins. He and Genos were going to eat very, very well this week.
“Thank you for allowing me to accompany you, master,” said Genos as they put their groceries away. He frowned and darted a quick glance towards Saitama. When he continued, it was with the hesitant voice he used whenever he didn't understand one of Saitama's lessons but didn't want to offend him. “Though I'm not sure how educational the experience was. It seemed as though I stood by while you did all the shopping.”
Full of goodwill, Saitama laughed. He waved towards the shopping bags, full of the cheapest week's worth of food he'd ever managed during a Saturday sale. “You learned about teamwork.”
“Teamwork?” Genos said. Then his eyes widened. “Oh, I see! I provided a distraction while you earned the best deals.” A slow smile began at the corner of his mouth and then spread across his face. He looked admiringly at Saitama. For once Saitama wasn't embarrassed by Genos's intensity, still too pleased by their success. “You are very clever, master.”
Saitama grinned. Then he looked at the groceries. Rubbing his hands together, he asked, “What should we eat to celebrate?”
Genos's smile lingered. He studied their options. “Doctor Kuseno gave me a cookbook the last time I needed repairs. I was hoping to attempt one or two of those recipes this week.”
Saitama waved grandly. "Experiment away."