Hello everyone!

For those who don't know, I typically don't write on here, but this really got me for some strange reason. While reading fanfics on here (which is why I have an account), I found the fic "Say Something" by Kawaii uke27. It's a dramatic fic based off Tanner Patrick's cover of the song "Say Something". Despite the fact that the lyrics were almost the only thing said, I liked it. The only problem was... it was so dramatic with no before. What happened to push our Genos this far? Well, with permission from Kawaii, I'm going to fill that in... and expands on pretty much everything. Yup. Very Genos-centric.

If you want to read the origin of this fic, the link is:

www dot fanfiction dot net/s/11818707/1/Say-Something

or

Go to the search, type "Say Something" (exactly) and then filter it on your right to the following:

Section- Anime/Manga

Category- One Punch Man (cleeeeear at the bottom)

Disclaimer- I own neither One Punch Man nor Say Something. They belong to their respective owners.

Giving Up

By Esvandetta (aka TLA)

Inspired by Kawaii uke27

Kimchi.

That was Genos' current quest. According to his latest surveying of Sensei's habits, the bald man had been craving the Korean dish for at least the past week. Unfortunately, the grocery store was out and, due to being in just on the edge of City-Z's inhabited zone, one can imagine how often supply trucks came. Add on the fact that Sensei was the greatest and deserved better than what Genos could purchase preserved in a cup and you have the current situation.

Standing in the center of the grocer's produce section, the blonde cyborg glared at the cabbage with enough intensity to set the display on fire. The cashier had said that they were having a sale on cabbages.

She lied.

Now Genos was in a dilemma. While he loved his sensei and wanted to do everything he could to make the man happy, he couldn't get past the fact that his sale- the only reason why he had forced poor Sensei to suffer through the past kimchi-less week -didn't exist. What was he supposed to do? Should he buy the cabbage, despite the lack of sale, and be done with it or should he wait longer and, maybe, miss Senei's craving all together? Would Genos' lack of coupon-clipping upset Sensei? Would Sensei be so disappointed in him that he wouldn't enjoy the kimchi after all his hard work? Could Genos even make kimchi that was good enough to satisfy Sensei?

Genos fidgeted in his place, his internal fans whirring in order to battle the excessive heat Genos' warring mind generated. Still, despite his inner turmoil, Genos' face remained as it typically was:

Stoic, calm, if not slightly annoyed.

Genos had no intention of moving from his spot until he made his decision. Should he or shouldn't he? That was the question. He knew that, if he succeeded and made kimchi, he would be thrilled to see Sensei's typical fleeting smile and receive a noncommittal "it was good". That's all Genos wanted- Sensei's approval. Sensei's affection. Granted, he secretly wanted much more than that, but if Sensei's approval was all he could get, Genos was more than happy to earn it. For Genos, Sensei was everything.

Genos' golden irises flickered towards the price again, looking at the round numbers and daring them-begging them- to go down. One minute passed, then two... nothing. Letting out a defeated sigh, Genos folded. He could already see Sensei's disappointed face in his head as he stepped forward, grabbing a bag and sizing up the cabbages one by one. He weighed each one mechanically, measuring weigh verses size and trying to find the best deal despite the sale. This was what he was good at- measuring, thinking, planning. At least he was of proper use to Sensei in one area. Usually.

Roughly halfway through fondling all of the leafy balls, there was a small beep inside his head that had the cyborg freeze in his tracks.

Incoming life form. Not friendly.

The wall to Genos' left imploded, blasting inwards and raining stone and plaster on the occupants close by. Customers screamed in fear, hiding behind shelves or leaving if they so possibly could. All the while, Genos looked up at the approaching enemy, a single cabbage still in-hand.

The monster wasn't of exceptional size, maybe three times the size of a human, but there was something... strange about it. While its body was closer to having a skeletal appearance, the head was huge, bald and bulbous, looking far too heavy to be supported by such a thin neck. Its three eyes were gleaming unnaturally, looking from person to person as it's overly-large grin stretched almost to the point of slicing the monster's face in two.

"I am Brain Man!" a voice called out, seeming to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time, "I have been blessed with a brain that far exceeds any of your pathetic, insignificant imaginations! I have surpassed nature, logic and emotion, making me the most powerful life form in existence. You and all of the members of your inferior species will now call me God! Come now! Crumble before me and bow to your new master!"

"I'm sorry, but I can't." Genos said out loud, interrupting the Brain Man's rant. Turning towards the large-headed humanoid, he leveled it with a resolute glare, "There's only one man that I will ever call my master. How dare you try to take his role."

Genos lifted up an arm, his body beeping a few times before he whirred into action, "And how dare you destroy his most favorite place! Incinerate!"

One of the monster's three eyes flickered toward his direction as a plume of flame erupted from Genos' hand. The flame engulfed the surrounding area, setting the produce display on fire in the process. Once the fire died down, Genos found nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

"Foolish vermin!" the voice jeered, "I am too profound, too ethereal, to be destroyed by such feeble strategy! You are nothing but a mere insect hiding in a metal shell! Prepare to feel the wrath of God!"

The air jolted and warped abnormally, causing Genos to stumble in his spot and frantically shift to regain proper balance. He, however, didn't have long before a whistling screech echoed through the store. A burst of wind tore at Genos' clothes and hair before it stopped. Genos blinked a few times before the attack took full effect.

There was a strange noise- sounding somewhere between ringing metal and a crack- before Genos' left forearm fell to the ground, completely distorted and sliced up like metallic deli meat. Genos looked down at his once-intact limb in shock, realizing that his arm wasn't the only thing that was damaged. His torso and legs had hundreds- no, thousands- of tiny cuts dusting the surface. If he had been made of any type of normal metal, he was sure he would currently look like steel wool.

Genos snapped back to reality as the air moved again, prepared for the attack this time. Throwing himself behind a nearby shelf, Genos' scanners combed the area at breakneck speed, trying to find the body of this Tiger- no, Demon - level monster. Brain Man... despite its lack of physical and, obviously, social skills, it was a powerful adversary indeed.

Beep.

Found it.

"Rocket Punch!" Genos' right arm sprang forward, heading straight for Brain Man's hiding place. The air jolted yet again and Genos' arm bounced off of nothing, dropping to the floor with a solid thunk.

Genos reeled as he landed, pulling his arm back as fast as possible. How was this possible?

"I told you, I am God! Your futile attacks are nothing before me!"

Another air jolt, causing Genos to twitch and look for a place, any place, to flee to. He just needed to get closer...

The metallic noise rang through the air again. This time, Genos right leg, from mid-thigh down, shredded just like his arm. Genos crumbled to the ground, landing awkwardly on his torn, and now leaking, left knee. He barely managed to suppress the groan that threatened to leave his lips.

The voice laughed, menacingly, coldly, as Brain Man's body came out of its hiding spot. "You are pathetic, vermin. How did you expect to defeat me if you fail to keep yourself intact? You are worthless!"

Genos growled under his breath, glaring up at the monster and considering taking it out with well-placed eye beam. Just as the thought completed in his head, the voice let out another chilling laugh."An eye beam? You are unsuccessful in attacking me with considerably stronger methods, why would a laser beam from your eye yield better results?"

Genos froze, looking up at the monster in shock. It can... read his mind? Wait, if it can read minds, how is he supposed to defeat it? He knew that Sensei could, Sensei was invincible, but... could he?

"No. You cannot defeat me. You are inferior in every way! You are not worthy to be used as scrap metal. You are inferior to your "sensei"-" the monster spat out sensei, like it was a foul word, "-and, more so, you are inferior to me. You will accomplish nothing! You are nothing!"

That's not true! That can't be true! He still had to avenge his family. He could- no, he would- avenge them, even if it was the last thing he ever did.

"Forsake your meek ambitions! You are nothing. You will never be strong enough to do anything! This word has never had a use for you and never will! Your existence is a disgrace to your family, your sensei and your species!"

Something snapped inside of Genos, forcing the determined gleam right out of his eyes. Genos went from glaring at the monster to staring at it in wide-eyed horror.

No. It can't be true. No. Sensei. He was a... disgrace?

Was he a disgrace in Sensei's eyes?

Brain Man chuckled menacingly again, all three eyes centered on the blonde in sadistic satisfaction.

"You are far too pitiful to exist. Such a worthless existence is an eyesore. Appease me for your ineffectual life by removing yourself from this world! Die, metal bug!"

The air shuddered under Brain Man's mysterious power and a gust of wind tore past Genos. His left arm and a good part of shoulder disintegrated, forcing him to fall and smash his head into the floor below him.

More wind. Everything from the waist down was worthless.

It was fitting actually, considering that Brain Man had been calling him exactly that. With over half of his body in the condition of metal shavings, something rose in Genos' chest that he hadn't felt in a while- fear. Chilling, paralyzing, prickling fear. Was he... going to die here? Under normal circumstances, he wasn't too afraid, since Dr. Kuseno always had a knack for patching him up, but this time... this time, it was likely there might not be anything left to patch up.

Boom.

Another wall of the grocers imploded, filling up the space with more dust, stone and plaster. The customers screeched again, all of them crying in anxious voices about there being not one monster, but two. Genos tore his eyes away from the monster, away from the inevitable life-ending attack before him, and looked towards the new hole in the wall.

"S-sen... sei..."

The bald, costumed man stood amongst the rubble, scratching at his head and looking at his surroundings calmly. To the normal person, he would have looked completely neutral, but, to Genos' trained eye, there was the slight glimmer of sadness and, more threateningly, anger.

"So you're the one making all this damage..." Saitama drawled, looking over towards Brain Man with seeming disinterest. Brown eyes flickered towards Genos' mangled form briefly, but he said nothing. Genos proceeded to bury his face in the ground.

Please, Sensei, don't look at me.

At the arrival of fresh meat, Brain Man turned away from Genos, two of the three eyes focusing solely on Saitama.

"This is the esteemed, invincible "sensei"." the voice stated, the tone absolutely soaked in disappointment. "I had my expectations too high. I see nothing but a fragile, insignificant meat bag before me!"

"Don't you dare talk about Sensei that w-"

Another gust of wind.

Crack.

"Silence, bug!"

Genos groaned this time, not being able to even lift his head now. It was a miracle that his spine was still intact.

"Oi, oi. You've chopped him up enough, give it a rest."

"Oh?" One of the monster's eyes gleamed dangerously, "Why should God listen to an inferior life form such as yourself?"

Saitama frowned, stretching one of his arms in preparation.

"Between destroying my favorite store and doing that to my disciple..." he looked up at the monster, "I'm going to have to kick your ass."

There was silence for a heartbeat before the Brain Man burst into laughter, the overwhelming noise breaking a few windows and leaving Genos groaning on the floor again. If only he could cover his ears. Having now lost interest in Genos entirely, Brain Man turned to Saitama entirely, its grin so wide its face was mere centimeters from being split.

"I see. How ambitious of you. Sadly, a courageous piece of filth is still a piece of filth!" The air shuddered once again, "Come. Come witness your inability before the face of God!"

Saitama deadpanned. Shaking his head in confusion, Saitama stretched his arms and took off, whipping behind Brain Man at a speed only those of his level could muster. He threw a punch towards Brain Man's left side, one that it, as expected, tried to block.

Crack.

Genos groaned yet again as what was left of his body slammed into- and through- a wall. Now laying on his back in an ally, all he could do was listen to the fight and pick up the general movement with his sensors. Unfortunately, Sensei was moving a bit too fast for his sensors to fully catch.

Genos let out a sigh, his golden irises drifting up to the clear sky above him.

He... really was worthless, wasn't he? Look at him. Sensei was in there, fighting for his life, Genos' life and the lives of all the people in City-Z and what was he doing? Laying on the concrete in shreds. He couldn't even lay a scratch on the monster. Genos closed his eyes in frustration. Why? Why was he so...

So...

Weak?

"Yo. You okay Genos?"

Genos' eyes popped back open, shifting over to look at the figure standing over him.

"Sensei..." he mumbled, now feeling even smaller at the display. Sensei was looking down on him... literally.

Kneeling down, Saitama let out a deep sigh. "You really did it now. This is all that's left of you this time."

Genos focused on what he could see of his torso.

"I'm sorry Sensei."

Another sigh. "C'mon. Let's get you to your doctor." Saitama picked him up by what remained of his shoulders, tucking him under an arm and walking off.

...

"Yes Sensei."

Okay, that's a wrap for part I! I apologize if I got rambly/long-winded. I got too deep into Genos' character. Either way, I really hope I got Genos down. I think I did a fairly good job, but you tell me. Also, I must apologize for the cheesiness of Brain Man. It was an evil esper, so both Fubuki and Tatsumaki could have took it on better than Genos. I was laughing my ass off the whole time while writing its lines. I was trying to get machismo and hubris, but I just got corny instead. I'm so sorry X'D

Reviews, please! I love to hear what all of you have to say! Please notice me, senseis (I'd say sempais, but I'm sure I'm older than at least 60% of you).

~TLA