Chapter Text
There was a warning in the next city about a Demon level threat. Citizens were being urged to evacuate the streets and take shelter indoors. But Saitama had never noticed it. He had been out shopping, which was about the only reason he ever left his apartment anymore, aside from responding to monster attacks. Earlier he had seen a commercial about a great sale going on in the next city, and had excitedly rushed out to make it on time. It was a lot further than he usually cared to go, but the promise of bargain steaks was too good to pass up.
Saitama had run all the way to the sale, barely even noticing the beautiful open country in between home and his destination - sprawling, fertile farmland dotted with grazing cattle and fluffy white clouds drifting through endless blue sky. All he could think about was how much money he had, how much he could buy, and how good dinner was going to be.
On his way back from the sale, Saitama finally slowed down and took his time, walking through the same farm fields. He had ten steaks, and was wondering how he'd freeze and store them all, when he noticed that the sky had suddenly darkened.
"Huh? It's going to rain," Saitama said, looking up. But the black clouds above him were not clouds at all. Instead of thunder, he heard the droning whine of millions of mosquitoes descending on him, his steaks, and the cows standing in the field.
//
Two minutes later, Saitama had killed the monster responsible for summoning her plague of mosquitoes, but it was too late. The devastation was already done.
"My steaks," Saitama groaned, finding his bag where he'd dropped it, still covered in lingering mosquitoes. Most of the unnatural swarm had dissipated as soon as he swatted their queen, but many still drifted around, trying to get his blood.
For a second he considered brushing the mosquitoes off his food and eating it anyway... After all, they'd be cooked later so he wasn't concerned about a few germs... But then he saw what was left of his steaks, all withered and dried up and inedible. Disappointed, Saitama left them where they'd dropped and continued walking home, itching as he went and occasionally trying to swat away one of the annoying pests.
Now he'd wasted his grocery money for the week... but there was probably something still at home to eat. It'd be a hard stretch, but he's been through worse. It was just the idea of all that wasted money and good food that really bothered him. As he mourned the loss of his steaks, Saitama started to actually notice that he had been crossing farm land, and that he was surrounded by the remains of cows. They looked like his steaks had - withered up and dead, almost like mummified skeletons, with mosquitoes still flitting over them. Everywhere he looked, there were more dead cows covered in thirsty mosquitoes.
"Gross," Saitama commented. He was beginning to lose his appetite anyway. Then he heard sound of a cow lowing somewhere. There was one still alive, maybe the only one. Saitama almost didn't spot it at first, until it tried to stand up and shake off a small cloud of bloodsucking pests, only to fall back down and start mooing again in distress.
Saitama went to it, waving his hands to try to disperse the mosquitoes that were targeting this remaining source of blood.
"Get away!" Saitama huffed, swatting uselessly at the annoying little things. "I said buzz off!" he yelled, clapping his hands together as hard as he could to kill a mosquito in front of him. The shockwave killed all of the nearby mosquitoes and blew a gust of wind across the farm, rippling the tall grass and fields for miles.
From in between his hands, however, the mosquito he'd targeted flew away unharmed with a little whining noise.
Saitama started to grind his teeth in frustration, but then noticed the cow in front of him start mooing pitifully again.
It was only a calf, definitely old enough to be weaned off its mother, but worryingly thin. It had probably just escaped being sucked dry of all its blood - maybe the mosquitoes went after the bigger animals first. Whatever had happened, Saitama was pretty sure it wouldn't make it much longer on its own. For a moment, he stared at it, wondering how much steak he could get for himself. One missing cow wouldn't really be noticed, and the meat would be very tender... Veal came from young cows, right?
"Do you want to be my dinner?" Saitama asked, scratching the back of his neck. Maybe he didn't have to come all this way for nothing.
The grey calf simply laid there, staring at Saitama. It had sleek, soft-looking fur and a blocky head on its skinny body, with big, honey-colored eyes framed by long black eyelashes.
"...Is that a yes?"
The calf lowed in response, and rose up on quivering legs. When Saitama reached out for it, it came closer, sniffing his hand curiously... and then sucked three of Saitama's fingers into its mouth.
"Um," Saitama stood there, confused, as the calf nibbled on his hand. "This is the opposite of what I wanted."
Delicately, Saitama extracted his hand from the cow's mouth, and wiped the cow slobber off on his shirt. "Okay," he said, deciding this day had been weird enough. It was time to cut his losses and go home.
Saitama started walking away, making his way back to City Z.
Behind him, there was the clang of a tiny cow bell as the grey calf followed, mooing and fussing loudly at him.
"Go home!" Saitama shooed it away with a wave of his hand, and then stopped midway, remembering all of the dead cows around him. "Oh."
And then the calf licked his hand and tried to suck on his fingers again. "Hey! No licking!" The calf mooed back at him. "Don't sass me!"
No matter how much he shooed it, the calf would not leave him alone. And with every visible field covered in more and more dead cows, Saitama could not bring himself to leave it behind on its own. Begrudgingly, Saitama headed towards the farm, deciding to do the right thing and make sure that the owners got their last remaining cow.
But the farm house was surrounded in mosquitoes, and when Saitama caught sight of a mummified hand, he turned around in his tracks.
"Let's go home," Saitama said.
The calf trotted after him happily, licking Saitama's fingers and drooling all over them, and Saitama allowed it with only a little complaint.
//
Half-way back, Saitama had named the cow Genos
//
Fifteen minutes after that, Genos had grown too tired to continue. He plopped down on the grass and refused to budge. Saitama had to carry him the rest of the way.
//
"This is temporary," Saitama told Genos when they got back to City Z. "My apartment doesn't allow cats and dogs."
Genos was curled up on Saitama's spare futon, his big eyes shiny and blinking at him slowly.
"But... You're not a dog. You're a cow. And I'm the only one in the building anyway," Saitama said, beginning to feel a little guilty. He had never done anything really bad in his life. Not on purpose, anyway. But Genos needed a place to stay. His family and owners were dead, and if Saitama left him outside he'd get eaten by a monster in no time. But he couldn't be in Saitama's apartment either, for obvious reasons.
"Heck," Saitama cussed, and then went to the next apartment and very gently broke the doorknob, letting himself in. "If anyone asks, you're paying rent."
"Moo."