Chapter Text
With the city now evacuated, no more screams of terror were heard as the monster rampaged through the streets. The rain continuously poured down on the smoking city. This weather, similar to that of the Sea King, showed no signs of stopping. It seemed as though the universe was mourning a great loss. He hoped he was wrong.
Genos ran as fast as his cybernetic legs could take him, the metal holding no strain as their limit was reached. The only thing keeping him from outright slipping on the wet ground was the pair of treaded shoes he had gotten on sale. His breath came out as steam against the cold air, the artificial lungs working overtime along with his legs.
Genos
Water droplets slid down the cyborg's face collecting at the collar of his thrifted shirt. It was a slight inconvience that the cyborg had no problem ignoring in favor of running. Searching. His optics scanned the area in front of him, stopping when he sensed movement about 45 degrees to his left.
He had found him.
The bright canary yellow of his suit was a stark contrast against the gloomy sky, and the pool of crimson surrounding his body. The red gloves seem to blend in as they lay by his side.
'No.. no it can't be.'
This was wrong. His sensei should not be lying in the midst of rubble. He should have been standing there, complaining about how it had took only one punch yet again.They should have gone home together, eaten dinner together, gone to bed together. The cyborg's feet skid on the water as he came to a sudden halt. Dropping to his knees with a thud, the denim absorbing both water and blood.
You have to know one thing...
"Saitama-sensei!" He cried out. "Saitama- sensei, please look at me!" Metallic hands grasped at the older hero's suit, carefully pulling him to rest on his thighs.
Opening his eyes slowly, he glanced up at his love. "Oh...hey Genos." His voice was worn and quiet almost impossible to hear, yet he still smiled. "That monster really did a number on me, huh?"
Genos could detail a thousands of times he would have loved to see that smile. That rare smile that only showed to those who cared. It could almost immediately change his mood even in the darkest of times. But not this one as oily tears now threatened to spill from his golden eyes.
If something happens to me...
"No matter, s-sensei. You will be fine. I-I'll call the Association for help! Please stay awake until they can reach us. Please, sensei." His statement was shaky and raw with emotion, but as he reached for the cellphone in his pocket a gloved hand stopped him.
"Stop worrying about me, Genos. There's a monster... with your name on it." He coughed slightly, grinning through the pain. The teen knew better than to believe that smile now.
"There- there are other heroes who can take care of it! I'm not leaving you!" The cry came out weaker than expected as he recalled the similiar situation that occured just 4 years ago.
The boy knelt next to the body of his mother vision clouded with tears. His burnt hands frantically grasped at her cardigan deperately trying to move her from the plank that lay across her legs. Wood crackled around him, the house succesfully trapping them inside. Funny thing, he thought later, a home is supposed to protect the family. Every breath he took stung, the smoke slowly choking him like the scrawny hands of death.
"Mom!" The teen bawled, no one here to tell him it wasn't 'manly' to cry. Now if anything would be the right time. I mean, losing your whole town, anyone would start to cry.
"Genos, my baby, I-I need to... tell you something..." she croaked out, clasping his head between her own hands, and bringing him closer. "When you get out of here... I want you to keep fighting. For me, for the family. You got that, baby? I love you so much. Never forget that."
He tried to say something, but his mother shushed him when a distinct mechanical sound was heard as the monster meandered through the remains, looking for any lifeforms left. Those were the last things he heard from his mother.
He hadn't even had the chance to return the affection.
No. He couldn't lose everything. Not again would he let his life be torn away from him. His mind told him he was feeling nautious and he barely felt a red-gloved hand cupped his cheek, the perfect fit. It wiped away the streams flowing down from his eyes.
"Hey...don't cry over me. I'm not worth you tears."
Unfortunately, Genos had no time to retort the man's statement (Saitama would always be worth everything to him) when a cough racked through the bald man. More blood ran down his chin, adding to the dried blood already there. The tears could only stream faster as he cradled his sensei.
"Please, sensei... don't... please." He begged to whoever, knowing fully well that it would do no good. There was no stopping the future without his Saitama. The source of true joy in his revenge-driven life.
Words were lost betweem the two heroes as the rain soaked through any dry fabric previously untouched. Saitama once again spoke up. "Genos, I'd like to tell you... just... keep fighting, okay?" The teen's breath caught in his throat. The pain was obvious in both their eyes, as Saitama struggled to breath much less speak. He still smiled.
I love you so much.
And in that moment, the stongest man in the universe took his last breath as he stared at the teenager, eyes now glazed over. The world came to halt around the blonde as the hand slipped from his cheek.
His head was spinning, everything blurred into one until he couldn't sense the reality around him, not even the creature slowly making it's way towards him. The rug had been torn out from under his feet leaving him scrambling for something. Something to say. Something to do to make this all go away. The need for air was forgotten until his brain was screaming at him.
"N-no. I-" He couldn't speak, couldn't force the words he desperately wanted to say out. His voice was barely over a whisper, "I-I love you too, sensei."
Once the words had finally been spoken, he couldn't help but repeat them louder this time. "I love you, Saitama. I love you, I love you. I-I love you too.."
Minutes passed as the cyborg simply sat there crying over the now cold body letting the rain pour over him. Every attempt to rationalize the thoughts running through his head failed. There was no possible way thay the strongest man, his sensei, could be dead. This had to be a mistake, a dream... something other than this harsh reality.
Genos had nothing now. Nothing but thay shoebox apartment in an abandoned city. Nothing but another life, void of all purpose but revenge. Nothing but his own thoughts in this body he had come to despise.
He hadn't even had the chance to return the affection.
There was no exact moment when the decision was made. He supposed it was a chain of events really that led to this moment. Starting when his village and on to when he met Saitama. But before the surrounding area was swallowed by blue light, he was sure that this was the end. No more suffering for the nineteen year old who lost everything yet again.
The last words he spoke to Saitama, the love of his life, were that of many previous moments. In whispers of I love you's, in times of worry and when the simplest words were enough.
I'll follow you to the end.