Chapter 022 - Blizzard Satellite

I sit on the red couch and cross my legs. I sip on a glass of wine while my other arm is placed on my lap. Eyelashes is behind the couch while Mountain Ape is by the door. Lily is standing before me while grabbing her arms.

"I heard something is wrong with you," I ask. The black under her eyes is obvious, as if she hasn't slept for a while.

She looks at me, and then she bursts into tears. She wraps her arms around my waist and buries her face in my lap.

"Genos is older than me!" she cries and I frown. "I thought I was older!"

"O-okay…" I say while trying to remember what her age is. She's been my personal assistant for quite a while.

"I am fifteen and he is already twenty! That's too unfair!"

Unfair in what way? Is being older unfair? Without understanding her emotions and tears, I just rub the top of her head to calm her down.

"What's the problem if he's older?" I ask.

"I won't have the right to tease him!" she cries.

"Well, if the two of you are friends, it doesn't matter, right? You can tease him if you like, as long as you are not hurting him."

I don't understand. Why is she too focused on him? I sense footsteps from outside. One is undoubtedly Saitama, the other would be Genos.

"I think they are here," I say. "Are you ready to inform them?"

She looks up at me and nods. "Okay, I will let them know that we have created a station in City Z… For our training."

Lily withdraws from my hold and opens the door. "Hey!" she calls.

"What do you want again?!" Genos annoyed voice asks.

"Why are you here?" comes Saitama's voice.

"We rented the room next to yours! From now on, this will be our training station! B-class from the Blizzard will come pouring into this part of City Z!" she shares. "Come, you can visit us."

The two enters. I raise my arms and place them on the arm of the couch. I hold a glass of wine while I look over them. Saitama sits heavily in front of me.

"Is that a housewarming drink?" he asks. His gaze moves to the glass of wine that I am sipping on.

"Yes, but these are not free," I answer.

I want to congratulate myself for not tripping over my own words. It's been a week since I kissed him because of that chocolate-coated biscuit! After that, I make myself scarce because I don't know how to face him. At least, I've matured a bit these past few days.

"I'm glad," he says. "Since you disappeared for a while, I thought you are going to back out on your promise. You will pay the rent for this month, right? Even if you have gotten the room next to mine?"

I groan. I forgot about it. More importantly, why does he look so relaxed in front of me? We kissed already! But it's as if nothing happened at all!

"This is the Blizzard Group station, not my room. I will still be at your unit," I start.

Yet for me, I can still feel the way his lips and teeth smash in my mouth. It made my lips swell. Not only that, it's too late when I discovered that my lips are as bruised as my arms!

"And yes, I will give the payment to you at the end of the month."

"Good," he says. He stares at me and all I can think of is why did I even fall in love with this man?!

**************************

Zombieman strikes the monster with his slightly curved katana. This time, it stayed dead, much to my relief. It's been a long three hours of grueling attempts to kill this monster.

Zombieman brushes the extra flesh on top of his scruffy black hair and approaches me. "The radio," he asks.

I look away as I hand him the radio he left for my safekeeping. The multiple deaths and rebirths have reduced his black singlet to a piece of cloth that's barely hanging on his body. Not to mention that he wears it underneath his gray trench coat. He is also barefooted now.

"It's done," he says over the radio. There is a sound of static as a response and then he presses the end call. His eyes scour the area and he clicks his tongue. "This is why I hate groups."

"Sorry," is all I can say.

Even if that simple apology has just crushed my pride. Now, I feel weaker than an insect—powerless and injured. It was understandable, though. The Blizzard group once again proved itself to be ineffective against powerful monsters.

It was earlier this morning when the Heroes Association sent us on a mission to defeat a monster that is wreaking havoc on H city. It is supposed to be a demon-level monster. And the Blizzard group is supposed to be enough to handle it.

But when we arrived, we realized that the monster was stronger than its current threat level. It's dragon level and even with Zombieman, who came as reinforcement, we had a hard time defeating it.

Zombieman took numerous regeneration that Lily became faint of disgust–making her ineffective in battle. The major point in her fainting comes when Zombieman talked to me while holding his impaled head in his hand. It was too late when I sensed Lily fainting beside me.

"Nevertheless, you prove to be sufficient bait while I was healing," he adds.

"At least you know where to place where credit is due," I respond.

He raises his eyebrows at me. "I will make sure I mention that on my reports," he adds.

When Zombieman leaves, I check myself before scouring my surroundings. I am hurt, but not injured enough to send a warning to my sister. My problem is the other Blizzard group members. Most of them are unconscious on the ground. Worse, half of them need immediate care.

After calling for the medical team, I slump heavily on the ground. I am exhausted. Fighting against a much stronger foe while ensuring that I don't get fatally injured is hard. I need more training. There are rumors that Zombieman is the weakest combatant among the S-class heroes, and yet… he still overwhelms me in terms of physical combat.

I hear the helicopters overhead. The surrounding wind and dirt also start to rise. I look up just in time before the first medical personnel climbs down.

"Are you the only conscious one?" he asks.

I nod. "Zombieman was here earlier," I inform. "But he left me the responsibility of sending the injured heroes to the hospital."

As the medical team pours in, so are the stretchers, the grunts, and complaints. Another medical practitioner approaches me and looks after my bruises.

"You will be fine after two days of rest, Miss Fubuki."

I nod. I'm certain one day is already enough.

"Would you like to get confined to the hospital instead?"

"No," I answer.

Besides, I want to stay at Saitama's apartment. My clothes are there and lately, I've become more comfortable living in that tiny unit. I feel safe, especially when both King and Silver Fang are common visitors. Not to mention that Genos is also an S-class hero, even if he is a brat.

When the last of the Blizzard group members are carried into the helicopter, I stand up. I need to take a bath and probably get that much-needed rest from an entire day of fighting monsters.