Art of Manipulation |One Punch Man| |Reader Insert|

|SHÍ SĀN|

You, Genos, and Saitama were out shopping together.

"Sensei, where to next?" Genos asked, carrying a box.

"Well... uh..." Saitama stuttered, "We got the hotpot ingredients, so that leaves toilet paper and shampoo..." Saitama paused to look at a display shelf. Figurines of Class-S heroes stood on the shelves. You and Genos walked back to get a closer look.

"I guess popularity gets you places..." Saitama said, "Must be cool having your own actions figure." That's when Genos flipped his phone open.

"I will contact the toy manufacturers."

"Hey hey, settle," you said, taking the phone from his hand. "You wait for them to contact you."

"Let's go," Saitama said from the front.

"Right!"
You and Genos caught back up with him.

"I'm gonna split for a little," you told them. "There's something I wanna check out quick."

"See you," Saitama said.

"Stay safe, Sensei!"

~
'Well that was a bust. They didn't have the body pillow I wanted.' You sighed, walking out of the store.

"My my, didn't expect to see you here."
You stopped walking, turning around to see Korrun standing behind you, in all their glory.

"Why are you here?" You asked, "Thought you were afraid of being seen by humans."

"You learn to get over it." Korrun placed their hands in their pockets. "I just figured I'd pay you more visits, you know? I won't be able to when it turns 3:30."

"You just love throwing that in my face, huh?" You asked, glowering at them. "I get it. You just wanna psyche me out."

"Maybe," they shrugged, "But even I know how hard it is to get under your skin."

"Then if you know, why are you trying?"

"Extra points for effort."
You sighed and turned away from them.

"Leave."

"Yeah, yeah."
You and them walked opposite ways, and the farther you got, the closer you could hear explosions.

'... bruh.' You took off, flying overhead and landing on a tall roof. Near Central Park, you could see a giant robot, and Genos fighting said robot. Saitama was walking away.

'Of course...' You watched Genos Incinerate it, the heat blasting up to where you were. The entire thing melted to the ground, still red-hot. However, inside of it, came a smaller sized robot. It's true form. The thing lit up before purple lazers shot from it. However, the energy beams froze in mid air, overtaken by a deeper purple. Genos looked up at you.

"Sensei!" He exclaimed.

"Man... trouble wherever we go," you sighed before snapping your fingers. The lazers were dispersed, and the robot's body was engulfed in purple before explosing in metal parts and wires. You jumped down from the roof and onto the ground.

"Sensei!" Genos came running up to you.

"You alright Genos?" You asked. "Where'd Saitama go?"

"Yes, I'm fine," he replied. "I'm not sure. He might've followed King."

"King?" You repeated quietly. "Well, he's probably fine. I'm going back to HQ."

"Right. Thank you, Sensei," Genos said with a nod.

~
When you got back to HQ, you could sense a lot of presences in the building. Including one strong one—one you didn't recognize.

'Hm? Is there a meeting or something?' You made your way to the room where you could feel the presences. There were two personnel standing outside of the room.

"Oi, is there a meeting going on or something?" You asked the two.

"Yeah. You're not permitted to join, though," the one replied. You tilted your head.

"I don't see the issue."
The two men's eyes' were overtaken by a purple.

"Sleep."
They slumped back against the wall before sliding down, limp. You walked closer to the door, which required an ID card. You knew it wouldn't accept you, since you weren't permitted in the first place. Instead, the doors were outlined in a purple, before forcibly being slid open in loud screeches and sparks. When you walked into the room, Sitch was standing on a stage with a few Rank A heroes. In the main area were a bunch of people of whom you didn't recognize. You looked for the strong presence, but couldn't find them in the sea of people.

"What's going on here?" You asked.

"Psychotica!" Sitch exclaimed, "You weren't granted permission to be here."

"Let me pinch myself--I'm here." You looked around at the people level with you, eyes swirling purple. "Why did you recruit a bunch of criminals?" You then noticed a piece of paper near your foot.

"Hm?" You brought the paper up to meet your hand, reading it.

"Oi, who is that?"
"That's Y/n L/n."
"I heard she goes by Psychotica."
"Isn't she like crazy powerful?"
"Yeah, she's Class S Rank 5 or whatever."

As you read the paper more, your brows furrowed more and more.

"At last we meet, Hero Y/n!"
Your eyes glanced up, and Sonic was in front of you, a glint in his eye.

"What do you want?"

"I swore to you that the next time we met, it'd be your demise," he replied seriously, "I admit I couldn't keep tabs on you, but now that you're here, I can finally exact swift revenge on you--" You just flicked your wrist and Sonic went flying into the opposite wall. All of the present people just blinked at Sonic, who became a part of the room's wall decoration.

"Sitch," you spoke seriously. "Why are you looking to enlist help from a bunch of people who would just turn around and betray you?"

"This matter does not concern you," he dismissed.

"Why is it even a matter to be concerned about?" You asked, "What's your goal here? And don't lie to me." Sitch grunted in discomfort.

"You already know the answer, don't you?"

"Of course I do, but I want to hear it come from your mouth."

"... with the rising monsters of Level Tiger and higher, sooner or later, the Association will be spread too thin, and eventually overwhelmed."

"I see," you said softly. "You don't want us to get overrun by stronger monsters."

'Makes sense, but he can't find anyone more reliable?' You tossed the paper away.

"Well, whatever. As long as it doesn't effect me in any way, I don't care." You turned, walking out of the room and making sure to force the doors closed behind you. As you were walking down the halls of HQ, your vision suddenly lit up. Images of a tall woman dressed in green with a cold demeanor flashed across.

'... Blizzard?' You thought.

'Strange... almost reminded me of Tornado.' You continued walking down the hall.

Ja ne!

{Ruby Red}