Bang!
Another door slamming shut. Johnson turned around — it was Saitama. His expression was a puzzling mix of composure, resignation, and
Bang!
Another door slamming shut.
Johnson turned around — it was Saitama. His expression was a puzzling mix of composure, resignation, and embarrassment.
"So, who was that old lady?"
"That old hag is my landlady." Saitama said, sitting down across from him and taking a sip from his teacup, "Since I'm three months behind on rent, she's telling me to move out by tomorrow."
By tomorrow? She might as well just say right now.
"But wait, didn't you help her deal with all those problematic tenants? She won't even give you an extension?"
"That's exactly why! Since the police arrested all her tenants, no one's paying rent anymore, so the old hag wants me gone."
"..."
✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱
Johnson's apartment.
Neither had eaten dinner yet, and helping with the packing had made them hungry. For a quick meal, they settled on Johnson's special loaded instant noodles.
Soon, the balcony was filled with the sound of their synchronized slurping.
"Thank goodness for you, Johnson. I wouldn't have found a place to stay today without your help." Saitama said between bites of braised beef, "But don't worry, I'll move out as soon as I can. Sorry for the trouble."
A "Limiter Fragment" materialized from the almost baldy's falling hair at the back of his head, and Johnson swiftly caught it, "Don't worry about it. The guest room's always empty anyway, you can stay as long as you like."
Feeling a breeze at the back of his head, Saitama turned around but saw nothing. Though puzzled, he didn't think much of it and went back to slurping his noodles.
✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱
The next day.
Johnson made a brief appearance at the police station, checked in with his boss, handled some backlogged reports, and headed out on his scooter for patrol duty. Even with special privileges, one couldn't always skip work.
After completing his shift, he returned to the apartment building to find Saitama descending the stairs, carrying a large box in each hand.
"Hm? What's up, Saitama? Found a place already?"
"Yeah." Saitama said, stacking the cardboard boxes onto an old handcart he'd found somewhere and wiping his sweat, "The clothing store owner told me about this area in Z-City that's somehow abandoned but still has utilities running. I thought I'd check it out, see if there's any vacant place I could stay in."
Johnson realized — this was when Saitama would move to the abandoned apartment.
"Oh, alright then. Let me help."
"Thanks, sorry for the trouble."
Working together, they quickly loaded his few belongings onto the handcart.
Just as Saitama was about to say he could handle it from there, he saw Johnson extend his hand toward the fully loaded handcart. A faint blue light flashed, and the handcart vanished like an erased drawing.
Saitama: "..."
╔══════════════════════╗
FANTASY CARD: Junk Handcart
CARD TYPE: Item Card
RARITY: N
┌─ SYSTEM DESCRIPTION ─┐
A handcart full of junk, though upon closer inspection, many items are still usable.
┌─ PRIMARY FUNCTION — MOBILE DORMITORY ─┐
Wherever the cart goes, home follows.
┌─ SECONDARY FUNCTION — JUNK COLLECTION ─┐
Selling to recycling stations might yield some returns.
╚══════════════════════╝
Johnson: "..."
When the card materialized, both of them burst into grins.
Saitama: These superpowers sure come in handy!
Johnson: A steady job's not so bad after all!
"Should we head back up and check if we missed anything?"
"Can't recall, but we might as well look one more time!"
The two climbed upstairs, and when Saitama checked the guest room, he emerged holding red and yellow clothing with white fabric bundled in the middle.
Johnson's eyes widened with recognition, "What's that?"
"The clothing store owner knew I wanted to be a hero, so before closing shop, he gave me this costume. The material's really durable." Saitama said, unfolding it with a sheepish smile, "Lucky you reminded me — I almost left it behind."
A yellow jumpsuit, red rubber gloves and boots, and a white cape that attached at the shoulders.
As Saitama held up the costume — which looked like something from a comedy show — his image seemed to merge with that of the Caped Baldy.
Perfect match!
"Don't worry, you could always come back for it if you'd forgotten it."
"Johnson, you're really too kind."
"Come on, let's get going before dark! And enough with the nice guy comments!"
"Oh, okay! But what's a 'nice guy' anyway?"
✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱✱
On the empty streets, rows of streetlights lit up.
Putt-Putt-Putt-Putt-Putt...
A police-painted scooter sped along the road carrying two men, the wind whipping past them. The passenger in back shed occasional strands of hair to the breeze, while the driver remained expressionless, his eyes burning with clear blue flames as his invisible Psychic Power precisely captured unseen cards and stored them away.
╔══════════════════════╗
║ Fantasy Card: Limiter Fragment: 15 ║
╚══════════════════════╝
Though the collected "Limiter Fragments" now exceeded ten cards, the Stand hadn't yet indicated they could be fused.
Johnson understood — breakthrough opportunities weren't easily obtained. Future fusions would likely require even more "Limiter Fragments".
Well, might as well have a hotpot tonight!
Screech—
With a sharp brake, Saitama lurched forward, his wind-tousled hair falling over his eyes.
"Where is this..."
As he brushed the hair from his face, he saw a gray-white apartment building with red brick balconies. Though somewhat dilapidated, it had all the essentials — roof antenna, solar panels, and other facilities — making it the best-preserved building in the area.
"Anyone here?" Johnson cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted.
The entire street was empty, his voice echoing in response.
"Great, no one's here. This is the place."
Saitama: "..."
It was an unusual way to check if a place was vacant, but effective nonetheless. Like everything else they'd seen on their journey here, this apartment building stood completely deserted.
Saitama stepped into the hallway and tested the lights, "Ah, there's electricity! This place will do!"
"Wait a minute!"
He froze and turned to look at Johnson.
Johnson shook his head, "I didn't say anything."
"It was I, the great one, who commanded you foolish humans to wait!"
At that moment, a nearby streetlight sprang to life, yanking its "body" — connected to countless electrical wires — from the ground. It thrashed about wildly as it roared:
"This is my territory! Who gave you permission to move in!?"