To heal, I had to remember you

Ch. 2: Vacation Work

She arrived at the facilities reluctantly, not wanting to be there. She felt unworthy, yet she maintained her façade of arrogance, pride, and elegance. This caused people to still tread carefully around her, so as not to upset her. This continued until she reached Sitch's office, where Zombieman and Amai Mask were also present.

"Good afternoon, Tatsumaki. I didn't expect you so early. Apologies... um, if you're ready, we can begin," Sitch said.

"What are you implying? I've always been punctual for our meetings... more so than the rest of those useless heroes," she said, arms crossed.

"Calm down, Tornado. He's not attacking you... we were just occupied, and you arrived earlier than usual," Zombieman said.

"Hmph... Anyway, why did you summon me? I was busy," she responded.

"Busy? Yeah, right," Amai Mask muttered under his breath. He had been leaning against the office wall. His careless remark led Tatsumaki to slam him against the opposite wall. Zombieman reacted by grabbing Tatsumaki's hand.

"Please, stop. That's enough."

Tatsumaki shot him an annoyed look and ignored his request for a moment, but eventually released the famous hero.

"You're insane!! I told you someone like her wouldn't behave," Amai Mask said.

"Behave? Am I an animal? You should be the one more careful and not speak in secret, you idiot... I should kill you!! You're lucky that my slight fondness for these two individuals calms me down a bit, and the fact that murdering you is a crime..." she shouted at him.

Sitch was a little frightened, but Tatsumaki's words encouraged him to explain the purpose of the meeting.

"Tornado of Terror, I apologize. I didn't realize you despised him that much... next time, I'll make sure they're not in the same room," which seemed to amuse her. So he continued, "The reason I called you here was to ask if you'd agree to appear in an interview on a hero gossip show. Please accept, we need funds, and this is a great opportunity. We would call others, but you're the one they want."

Tatsumaki sat cross-legged on Sitch's desk, with a teasing smile and a singsong voice, she said, "Alright then. If you're begging like this... I can't refuse. Tell me, what day will it be?"

"It will be today, in... 1 hour," he replied, looking at his watch.

"What?!" Tatsumaki exclaimed. How is it that these people have such an easy way of provoking her bad mood? She closed her eyes, placed a hand over her chest, and took a deep breath to prevent a headache. Finally, she thought that maybe this would be an opportunity to try to catch her sister's attention. She opened her eyes, then levitated towards the door. "Since these useless heroes are once again good for nothing, I have to take the plunge as always... Where do I need to go?"

"I'll go as your manager. They want it to be a surprise, so you can't arrive flying... but don't worry, I'll take you," Zombieman said.

"Hmph, fine, Zombieman. But let's go already, I don't want to keep seeing that idiot Amai Mask," Tatsumaki responded and left, followed by the young zombie.

Tatsumaki went with Zombieman without complaining. They had been friends for some time because they were often paired up to work together, as he was the only one who couldn't be killed by her bursts of anger.

Thanks to this, they developed a trust that grew stronger through the mishaps Tatsumaki involved him in. One of those instances involved her impaling him with a katana.

In the car, Zombieman was conversing calmly about his missions and such, but Tatsumaki ignored him, gazing out of the window. He knew she was doing this, but he also knew that she hated silence and cars. So he continued with his conversation to provide his friend with some stability.

For her part, Tatsumaki loathed relying on anything other than herself and her powers. That's why she never liked being in cars; they made her feel trapped, much like the cell where those scientists had imprisoned her.

During the journey, she was pondering how to defeat Saitama. She believed that this was the only way her sister would trust her again and she would remain the most powerful. But no matter how much she planned, nothing seemed like a successful idea. Even kidnapping Genos had crossed her mind; toying with him would definitely amuse her. However, ever since he helped her in battle, she held a certain respect for him. She sighed... the only path left was the tough one, as always, and that was to fight Saitama every day until she beat him. Proud of her conclusion, she let out a slightly maniacal laugh. Zombieman glanced at her a bit strangely, but as long as she returned to being the crazy Tatsumaki and not the melancholic girl he saw a few days ago, he would be content.

"Ahem... Tatsumaki, we've arrived."

Snapping out of her thoughts, she responded, "Oh... thanks for driving fast. I was getting tired of being cooped up here. By the way, you need to go talk to your friend and confess to him yourself that you were with his girlfriend, because she's going to blame you... Besides, you're not a coward. It surprises me that this is causing you conflict; you're becoming like the rest of us humans, hahaha," she mocked as she opened the door.

"Were you listening?" he asked, surprised.

"Obviously, dummy. Now stop looking at me like that and hurry up. I want to get this over with and go eat something; I'll be hungry soon," she said, as she surrounded herself with her characteristic emerald aura, floating towards the building's entrance. Zombieman smiled; she always manages to surprise him. He hurried and ran after her. If not, she'd probably skewer him with some sharp object... again.