Disregard

"Welp, now that I've given you the address of my new place, I should get going." Saitama waved at Matt. "See you."

"Wait," Matt called after Saitama. "Coming to see me this time will have put you on their radar. They might investigate you next, and even cause you some trouble. You should be prepared."

"Huh? I might get into trouble? What a pain." Saitama scratched his head. "Oh, well. I'll deal with it when it happens. Worst case, I'll just punch them."

Matt shook his head at Saitama's words, though he knew that was just how Saitama was. Besides, with Saitama's abilities, even if he ran into trouble, he probably wouldn't have much to worry about. With speed like his, if Saitama wanted to run, there was no telling whether anyone could catch him. At least, that was what Matt thought.

"Welp, see you, Matt."

"See you!"

Saitama said goodbye to Matt and left the law office.

The moment Saitama stepped outside, Coulson quickly fixed his attention on him. "The rest of you stay here and keep an eye on Matt. Watch his every move. I'll handle this Saitama myself."

"Yes, sir!"

After giving the order, Coulson quietly followed Saitama on his own.

As he trailed behind Saitama and watched him discreetly, Coulson couldn't help thinking the man seemed completely ordinary. His gait and everything else about him made him look like an average person—at most, an ordinary young man who'd done a little exercise. Yet everything they'd learned from the investigation suggested Saitama was far from simple.

Most recently, S.H.I.E.L.D. had finally located the place where Tony had been held captive after he was taken. The place had struck them as incredibly strange. It was almost impossible to describe: utterly barren, with nothing there except half a cave.

Unfortunately, it seemed S.H.I.E.L.D. had arrived too late. It was as if someone had taken everything from inside that half-cave before they got there, leaving the agents with nothing of value.

As Coulson quietly followed Saitama, he wondered what kind of person he really was. Did he have any special abilities? One thing Coulson was sure of was that Saitama had a secret. The files weren't conclusive, but Coulson's instincts as a man told him it was an extremely important one—possibly no less significant than the mystery of Translucent, whom Nick Fury had ordered him to investigate.

Saitama suddenly stopped up ahead. Coulson hurried to a halt. When it looked like Saitama might turn around, Coulson quickly shifted aside and began fiddling with something at a nearby stall, pretending to be interested in buying it.

But after waiting a couple of seconds, Coulson casually looked up to keep watching Saitama—and was astonished to find that he was gone. Saitama had vanished.

"Did he notice me? He really is sharp. I knew you weren't an ordinary person." Coulson scanned the area, trying to spot Saitama. "But to disappear from my sight so quickly, he must've ducked somewhere."

"Are you looking for me?" A voice suddenly came from behind Coulson. Startled, he spun around, only to be met with a blinding flash of light. He couldn't help squeezing his eyes shut. For a moment, he even wondered if the other man was attacking him with some kind of blinding light.

Coulson braced himself for an attack, but none came. When his eyes felt a little better, he tried to open them and finally saw clearly.

Standing before him was a bald man—a very shiny bald man, as if his head had been waxed. It was so smooth that the sunlight reflected off it more brightly than a mirror, sending a beam straight into Coulson's eyes and making him think he'd been hit with a spotlight.

"It's you?" Coulson opened his eyes and saw Saitama. He couldn't hide his surprise. He'd been following Saitama and thought he'd lost him for a moment, but it turned out Saitama hadn't disappeared at all. He'd come straight to him.

"Huh? You know me?" Saitama scratched his head and asked, puzzled.

"We met not long ago, when Tony Stark returned to New York." Coulson's mouth twitched. He looked a little helpless.

"Oh, you. You're that FFF guy." Saitama suddenly remembered.

"It's FBI," Coulson said, exasperated. He even wondered if Saitama was doing it on purpose. After all, who in America didn't know about the FBI? But Saitama's gaze was full of confusion and surprise, as if he really didn't know the FBI existed.

"Oh, right, right. I remember now. So you were looking for me. What's up?" Saitama asked casually. Whether Coulson was FFF or FBI, it made no difference to him.

"Well, Mr. Saitama, as you know, there are some details about Tony Stark's rescue that I'd like to ask you about." Coulson smiled and came up with an excuse.

"About that, if you have any questions, just ask Skye." Saitama shook his head. He didn't want to answer too many questions. Skye had already gone over their story with him more than once, so he could've just repeated her version. Still, the whole thing seemed like a hassle.

"We'll go back and speak with Ms. Skye, but I'd still like to get some information and leads from you, Mr. Saitama. Two people will have seen more than one." Coulson smiled. He was suddenly feeling optimistic. Saitama didn't seem like much of a talker, which meant it should be relatively easy to get information out of him.

"But it sounds like a lot of trouble. Fine, what do you want to ask?" Saitama was fairly easygoing. As long as someone wasn't acting all high and mighty, he was willing to answer a few questions.

"Then, Mr. Saitama, can you tell me why there were several dozen people on board when you and Ms. Skye took a Stark Industries plane to the Middle East, but only you and Ms. Skye got off when it landed?" Coulson asked with a smile. Their investigation had uncovered this detail afterward.

If Coulson hadn't found Saitama and asked him about it now, someone from S.H.I.E.L.D. would probably have questioned them about it before long anyway.

"Those people? They jumped out of the plane along the way."

"Then can you tell me why they jumped out? The plane hadn't even reached its destination."

"Because they were annoying. I didn't want to sit with them, so I made them jump out." Saitama didn't seem to have anything to hide. He said whatever came to mind.

"You made them jump out, and they did?" Coulson's expression turned a little strange.

"Yeah, I guess so." Saitama scratched his head. "After I threw one person out of the plane, they all jumped out."

"..." A smile spread across Coulson's face. "So you threw someone out of a plane?"

"Yeah."

"Are you aware that what you did was illegal?"

"Huh? But Skye said the plane was no longer in America. It was over international waters, where there aren't any legal issues."

"Mr. Saitama, I think you may have misunderstood the law. Would you mind coming with me?" Coulson smiled. He felt he'd made a huge breakthrough.

"I can't. I'm going to the supermarket to buy ingredients. Skye's waiting for me."

"..." Coulson froze. "Mr. Saitama—"

"Maybe next time. The supermarket sale's already started. Even though I've got money now, you can't pass up a sale when you happen to catch one. See you, FFF." Saitama turned and walked away.

"Wait—" Coulson tried to call after him.

But the next moment, whether it was the crowd or something else, Coulson could no longer see Saitama anywhere. He was completely baffled.

This was probably the most brazen person Coulson had ever met, the one who showed the least respect for S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.

Even vicious criminals might attack S.H.I.E.L.D. agents—that was normal. But Saitama had completely ignored him. That attitude was what made him the most brazen and outrageous of all.

The truth was, Saitama didn't seem like the kind of person who hid anything—not his actions or his identity. Usually, if someone asked him, he'd answer. Coulson was the one who kept talking in circles, which was why he couldn't get anything out of him.

If Coulson had just asked Saitama directly whether he was Translucent, the mystery of Translucent would probably have been solved ages ago.

P.S. Please recommend, collect, and tip.