Heroes

Saitama was overjoyed to have the money Skye had given him. He dashed off at once. Though the place sounded unfamiliar, he didn't have to worry about getting lost, given his abilities. At his speed, it wouldn't take long to run all the way around the planet. Even if he ended up somewhere he didn't recognize, he only had to keep running. The Earth was round, after all, so if he kept running around it, he'd eventually return to where he started. (Funny.)

The golden arches of McDonald's. Saitama ambled inside.

After Saitama entered McDonald's, he attracted quite a few stares. His gleaming, practically reflective bald head was one thing. Bald people weren't all that uncommon in America, though the others were nowhere near as authentically bald as Saitama.

What drew the most attention, however, was Saitama's outfit: a skin-tight, mustard-yellow suit, a white cape, and red gloves. There was no way he wouldn't stand out dressed like that. Especially since superheroes like Iron Man hadn't appeared yet, Saitama's getup looked downright comical.

"May I take your order? Is it for here or to go?" The server looked at Saitama's outfit and couldn't help wanting to laugh, but she was still doing her job and asked what he wanted.

"Uh, I was planning to take it back with me, sure. But isn't 'for here or to go' the same as 'takeout or eat in'?"

"Ah! Sorry, sorry. I meant, are you eating here or taking it to go? So you're getting takeout? No problem. What would you like?"

"Two beef burgers, and an order of fries. The long ones, not the short ones. And two chicken wings, and some pork chops, and then..." Saitama wasn't actually planning to spend all the money Skye had given him. The meat at McDonald's was a little different from what restaurants served, but it was still meat. For Saitama, being able to eat meat from McDonald's was already a very happy thing.

Carrying a huge bag of food, Saitama wore a blissful smile. Getting to eat so much meat this time was truly wonderful for him. He had even temporarily forgotten all about Z City. As long as he could eat meat regularly, it seemed that it didn't matter where he lived.

"Meat, meat, meat. Going home to eat meat. Going home to eat meat," Saitama muttered. He was eager to get back, but in the best of moods.

"Hey, kid. When are you going to pay us back?" A burly Black man snarled at a short, skinny man.

"Uh, Modha, I'll pay you back. I promise I will, but you know I need time. I need time."

"Time? Ha! I don't have the patience to wait. Pay up now, or leave me an arm to teach you a lesson."

"No, Modha, I—I'm working hard to earn the money. You know what my family's situation is like. My wife is in the hospital right now, and she needs money to survive. So I need money. I need to earn it. I'll work hard. I swear, I swear I'll pay you back."

"Your wife? Wasn't she hit by a car already? Oh, right. She's in a vegetative state now. So, Rogues, maybe you should give up on her. She's never going to wake up. You could make the decision yourself and sell one of her kidneys. You know, people can survive with just one kidney." Black Modha gave an insidious, wicked grin.

"No, I can't do that—"

"Then pay up! Maybe you can sell one of your own kidneys. I don't care how you do it. Just pay me back."

"Modha, don't push me."

"What if I do? What are you going to do about it? What can you do to me?"

"Modha, I only borrowed three thousand dollars from you, but I've already paid back three thousand five hundred. That's enough. It's enough!" The frail Rogues couldn't hold back his angry roar.

"Enough? Who says so? When you borrowed the money, I explained the rules to you very clearly. You couldn't repay it by the deadline, so now you have to pay back more. That's only natural, isn't it?"

"But damn it, I borrowed three thousand dollars and have already paid back three thousand five hundred, yet you're telling me I still owe you forty-five thousand one hundred? What is this? What is this?"

"Getting angry won't help. What you need to do now is pay me back. It's only a little money. All you have to do is sell one of your wife's kidneys. You might even have some left over. Isn't that great?"

"No. Absolutely not."

"Rogues, you're making this difficult for me. To be honest, someone's had their eye on your wife's kidney for a long time. Why do you think I lent you the money?"

"You—you..."

"Be smart and go to the hospital now. Otherwise, I'm not going to wait around much longer."

"Bastard, I'll kill you!" The skinny man roared at the burly Black man and swung his weak fist at him.

"Hahaha, what are you trying to do? You think that weak little punch, like a girl's, is going to knock me down? That's hilarious. Come on, right here." Modha stuck out his face and taunted Rogues.

"You—you—you..."

"If you won't do it, then I will! Now stay right there and calm down. Think carefully about what you should do, unless you want both yourself and your wife to die." The burly Black man raised a huge fist and swung it at Rogues' face.

Bang!

Rogues squeezed his eyes shut in fear and waited, but the punch never came. He cautiously opened his eyes and saw nothing in front of him. Even the Black man who had threatened him, Modha, had disappeared.

"W-what... what happened?"

"There aren't any monsters in this world anymore, but there are still bad people. So I can keep being a hero—a superhero who goes after bad people." Saitama casually swatted a Black thug away as he headed home, mulling things over.

As a hero for fun, Saitama naturally didn't want to change because of outside pressure. He'd become a hero because he wanted to be one, not because he wanted to fight monsters. So no matter how the world changed, it seemed that being a hero wouldn't change.