"Incinerate!" The Mysterious Being was engulfed in flames and fell in defeat!

Genos looked on, his scanners confirming that that was it for the monster. He exhaled—the fight had been a quick and had resulted in little damage to the surroundings and to himself, yet he still felt something off... The young man looked at the ports in his palm and purposefully closed his hand into a fist.

"Thank you, Demon Cyborg!"

His attention snapped back to the present moment, where he told the civilians that it was no trouble as he was a hero after all. Genos made his way home after assuring that no harm had come to any of them, but that something continued to bother him…

Steam rose from the pot when Genos removed the lid. This was going to be today's lunch for his teacher, who was watching television, and himself.

The blond was beginning to set out the plates when his phone rang.

"Huh?" Saitama looked back.

"Perhaps it's the Hero Association?" Genos pondered aloud as he picked up his phone.

"Man, right when we were gonna have lunch too…?"

The younger hero's eyes widened- The professor? "Hello?"

[[ Genos, how are you? ]]

"I'm doing well. Is something the matter?"

[[ Not at all, this is just a check-up call. ]]

"I see." This was about his body, wasn't it?

He turned to Saitama, and lowered the phone while covering the speaker piece, "Sensei, you may begin the meal without me. I need to speak with Kuseno-hakase about some…personal matters. It should be quick."

"Uhm, sure, okay. Don't be too long, or it'll get cold." He raised a hand at Genos as he stepped outside.

[[ Genos? Are you still there? ]]

"Yes, I am. My apologies, Hakase, I had just finished making Sensei's lunch."

[[ Oh, sorry for inter- ]]

"It's fine, professor. I wanted to talk to you, although we should keep this brief."

[[ Yes, I understand. Well then, how's your body functioning? ]]

"Smoothly. I have already engaged in battles with Mysterious Beings, and encountered no problems."

[[ Oh that's a relief! ]]

"However, there is something that continues to bother me…"

[[ Really? ]]

"When that girl, your successor, made this, did she do so in a way that was different than your way Hakase?"

[[ Fundamentally she built your body the same as I have. ]]

"Fundamentally?" Genos stressed.

[[ What I mean to say is… what she built met the standards. Genos, earlier you said that you've encountered no problems, right? That proves it's up to par. ]]
The professor paused.
[[ Logistically it would have been highly unlikely—actually it would have been impossible for her to have assembled your body in the same manner as I would have. ]]

"She what?"

[[ Genos, Genos, there's nothing wrong with that. ]]
The old man chuckled softly. Sometimes that boy's unwillingness to loosen up would make him crack a smile…
[[ Your body is operating normally, and can hold out against battles with monsters. It's only a matter… of style. ]]
Professor Kuseno quieted again as a different idea surfaced in his conscious.
[[ Genos, what exactly are you feeling? ]]

"Well I…" he looked down at his hand and flexed it. "Right now I'm using my housework arms, the ones made by you Hakase. Somehow these feel different than the arms she made. It's not because these ones are lighter, I'm certain of that, yet these arms… these arms…"
There was no solid data for this. The doctor was right: this body was the same. Why then?
"I know it makes no sense, but these arms feel similar to the others you have made in the past. And at this moment the difference is more drastic, as the rest of this body was-"

[[ I see ]]

"Yes, professor? Have you come to a realization?"

[[ It's only a hunch. ]] The elder exhaled
[[ In these four years I was the only one building you a body. I suppose you've become familiar with my handiwork, however now that someone else's hands have been at work... Well I believe that's what you've been sensing. ]]

"I'm afraid I don't understand…"

[[ Well it's…]]
He thought of an example.
[[ If you wear a watch on your wrist every day, eventually you'll continue to feel that watch against your skin even after taking it off. Or you could follow a recipe step by step, but it still doesn't taste as delicious as, say, when grandma made it…]]

"But my body's artificial, how can I possibly-"

[[ Genos, you have nothing to worry about; you're not malfunctioning. Hmph, you don't work on something for so long without putting a little piece of yourself into it…! ]]
He sighed.
[[ I'm sure you'll get used to the different mechanic's handprints in time. Now you should go eat lunch; I'm sure it's getting cold…]]

With that Genos perked up, "Yes, of course! Thank you, professor, I'll call if I have any trouble."

"I have some good news, Gigi," Dr. Kuseno announced as he approached his granddaughter who was fiddling with something at a work table.

"I just got off the phone with Genos. He says that he's engaged Mysterious Beings in combat and come out fine."

The table banged!

"Gigi, are you okay?"

She was hunched over, forearms on the table, hands in fists, her body rigid, "I'm fine…" she exhaled and unclenched her hands. "I'm just…" a smile quivered on her lips as some sweat ran down her temple, "I'm glad."

So it pulled through. It didn't malfunction. It didn't stall. It worked. He's alive, he didn't—

"I'm really glad," she felt her body tremble slightly. "Really glad." Keep it together; steady breaths… "Thank you for telling me, Grandpa."
She pushed herself upright again and fixed her glasses, "I-is it alright if I go to town?"

Professor Kuseno nodded, "It's alright. Just stay out of trouble and don't be out too late."

"I will, thank you."

As she walked away the old man looked on. It is a frightening thought: to know that a glitch could cost a life. It would be good for her to get some air.

As Gigi walked through town she felt significantly lighter. It was a tremendous relief to know that Genos had walked away unharmed. With her worries settled she focused again on the subject that had piqued her interest since she had met Genos: the hero association and Saitama.

She had tried to look up what the Hero Association had on file about him and for everything Genos had described all they had listed for Caped Baldy was capturing a rampaging ninja, assisting in the destruction of the meteor, and assisting with the defeat of the leader of the deep-sea folk. The other heroes who had taken part had been listed too, but Genos hadn't gone into much detail about them – that is if he had mentioned them at all.

She had tried searching about the bald hero in general but there also wasn't much to look at besides allegations of him being a fraud, although… she had found a comment calling him a great hero who saved the city.

Despite the fact that the younger Kuseno wasn't all that familiar with the cyborg yet something in the back of mind pointed to the idea that that comment had been left by him. The cute emojis were a nice touch! Whether he genuinely typed like a fangirl or was trying to pretend to be a different person she couldn't say for certain.

…But he wasn't that clever socially, was he?

A snicker escaped Gigi's lips but she swallowed it back. After all she was in public and now at her P.O. Box. Her mail had arrived at last.

Maybe she could've tried to dig further into the Hero Association's database, that thought had certainly crossed her mind, but there was simply too much risk involved… The fact that it wasn't her area of expertise would certainly result in her slipping and being tracked.

Professor Kuseno had disappeared from the public sphere years ago- for reasons that he had yet to explain. And he had warned her—the warnings were vague, more implied really, but she understood all the same: the lab's location needed to remain secret. As the successor to keeping Genos maintained she couldn't risk being caught either.

So she had to make due.

The Hero Catalogue – the latest year's edition.

There was no need to bother Genos so much about other the heroes. She could do preliminary research herself and ask follow-up questions later.

Gigi sat on a park bench with her new-just-opened-from-the-packaging book, and pulled out a highlighter and pen.

The Hero Association was founded three years ago by…

…

"Hey, Miss?"

She raised her head, "…Yes?"

There was a little boy in front of her, and not a very cute one either… Bowl cut, unibrow, big cheeks, and a… unique nose.

He smiled at her, "You like heroes huh?" His eyes began to sparkle, apparently in anticipation of a lively discussion on why they're so cool.

"I… Well, no. I never paid a lot of attention to them before. I've been busy. But something's recently come up, and I think it would help out if I learned more about them."

The boy stared at her strangely, unsure what to make of her explanation.

"Umm but…" Gigi cracked a smile, "So do you like heroes?"

Now that he knew how to react to. "Yeah! I have a Hero's Catalog too – I've even met some heroes too!"

He what. "Met? Oh, you must have gotten one of their autographs right?"

The boy rubbed the back of his head, "I uhh…" He looked around, as if worried that somebody would hear him. The boy sat down next to Gigi, "Can you keep a secret?"

This was taking a curious turn, "…Definitely."

He began to twiddle his thumbs and swing his legs, "You see Miss, a while back I got taken hostage by monsters. And a lot of heroes showed up to fight, big ones, famous ones, but the monsters were super-strong too, and Oji-san he… I know, I know it sounds like I'm making it up but they really-!"

"The day was saved, right?"

The boy looked up at her, some of the unease that was building in his expression fading away. He nodded. "You, you believe me…?"

"You sound sincere." And what he was saying was starting to sound too much like one of the incidents Genos had talked about the other day. "Can I ask you a favor?" She lowered the book onto her lap so that it was easily visible and turned the page to where the hero list began, "The heroes you saw, can you point them out and tell me more about them?"

He brightened up, glad that she believed him. The boy pointed at the S-Class hero, Rank 2, Tornado of Terror first…

…

It was getting late; the sun would be setting in an hour or so. That boy had had a lot to say - from Gigi's count he had listed off about a dozen heroes he had witnessed fight that night including Saitama and Genos.

She was on her way home now, with her catalog now brimming with extra information. Meeting that boy had been a stroke of luck – she had never gotten his name now that she thought about it. And he had never gotten hers. But according to that boy Saitama was every bit as powerful as Genos had described, and there were other top-ranking heroes there as witness. Something else that that boy had recounted to her was that 'the bald guy' was the only hero who stood up for 'Oji-san' when the others were demanding his head.

She slowed her pace. Saitama really did sound like a good person.

Gigi sighed. Unless those heroes spoke on his behalf, there was simply no real evidence to support Saitama's strength or 'greatness' as Genos had called it. There wasn't much in the way of public support for him either, and any pictures and videos she had found were of poor quality.

Why was it always like that? Why couldn't people learn to hold a damn camera steady-!

She froze. From the corner of her eye she had seen a glint. Was it from the setting sun? but what was it reflecting off of?

The young woman turned to her side and saw a window full of cameras and a variety of other recording equipment. It was a camera shop, she confirmed as she stepped back and looked up to the sign.

Ah, that's right.

Sometimes, if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.

**Yes, the boy is the ugly little kid who Garou met and befriended. We've never been given a name for him, although he's referred to as busaiku which refers to his ugliness

That kid also calls Garou Oji-san; scanlations have been translating this as "mister."
You see, in Japan (and other countries too) it is polite to refer an older nameless stranger by a familial term. Normally, a child would be referring to Garou as Onii-san or "big brother" because he's a young man, however he refers to Garou as Oji-san or "uncle" which is what would be used for a middle-aged man (not to be confused with Ojii-san "grandpa"). Saitama has also been referred to as "uncle" by kids on account of his baldness making him look older to them. However why this kid calls Garou that I have no idea…