Cliche Chapter 579-580: The Secrets

Asahi took back his flames and slowly made his way down to where Saitama was standing. “Yo.”

He somehow sounded more bored than Saitama.

(My love, if he is annoying you so much… should I take care of him?)

‘It’s not like that, though. I’m just not in the mood to go all out in a fight with him.’

(Let me know if he does. I’ll press the delete button on his existence.)

Klyscha became more aggressive after the wedding day, showing more of her true nature. One could say she stopped holding back.

Saitama narrowed his eyes, his plain face becoming sharp and dignified. “I saw you get abducted by an invisible spaceship last time. Did they do weird experiments on you?”

Asahi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Saitama jumped to a wild conclusion about his teleport skill in their last meeting.

“I beat their ass up. Those losers then sent this meteor to kill me again. I also smashed that to pieces. Who knows what they’ll do next.”

He played along Saitama’s story, even adding further depth to the ‘alien civilization.’

“I’ll take care of them,” Saitama replied and grabbed Asahi’s shoulder with a forced, eye-twitching smile. “We need to settle our business.”

Yet, he couldn’t deter Saitama from fighting him today. The bored hero was hell-bent on having a thrilling fight.

“Uh, I have little left in the tank after that.” He shrugged. “If you want a fight that could push you to your limits, meet me once I recover… in about a week or two.”

Saitama loosened his grip, and his face returned to a dull, almost bored expression. “Yeah right… it wouldn’t be fun like that. How did you know I wanted to fight you?”

“Because I can feel your hunger for an exciting battle.”

Saitama’s brows sharpened in a frown. “Did you also follow that workout routine?”

Asahi shook his head. “I’m an alien.”

As they were discussing a future fight, the trio of Genos, Saitama, and Isamu approached, each showing different reactions to Asahi’s show of strength.

Bang looked at him in surprise, sweat dripping down his cheeks. “You smashed it and even stopped the damage from pieces. I still can’t believe it.”

Isamu simply shrugged. “Disaster-level dragons aren’t anything for Onii-san.”

Genos, who was used to Saitama showing absurd feats, looked calm and collected. “Teacher, you came to help the heroes?”

Saitama stared at Genos. “I heard the ramblings about the meteor. The trip wasn’t a waste.” He looked at Asahi with a smile. “I’m not betting on my luck to stumble into you. Give me your number.”

Asahi’s face twitched. “I don’t carry phones.”

“Ok.”

“Teacher, is he also your disciple?”

“Nope.” Saitama flicked Genos’s forehead with a smile. “I’m hungry. Let’s go eat Udon. I also have to grab some groceries from that sale.”

Saitama turned around and broke into a slow jog, his cape fluttering in the breeze behind him. His mind was already preoccupied with thoughts of the grocery sale that’d have happened if the meteor didn’t scare everyone away.

‘The stores should open soon.’

His steps sped up as he thought about being the first in the queue.

Genos ran after Saitama. “Teacher, wait! I’m also coming!”

Bang scrutinized Genos’s back. “He has to be someone powerful to become Genos’s teacher. How well do you know him?”

Asahi smiled. “Saitama will surprise you.”

His words made Bang reevaluate the seemingly ordinary hero in a yellow jumpsuit.

Isamu nudged Asahi with the robotic arms coming out of his backpack. “I need to share something important with you.”

“Is that why you were here in City-Z?”

“I came to find you then this meteor news dropped on us. Haha, I didn’t do much to solve the crisis.”

“Thank Fubuki for her sacrifice. Without her I wouldn’t have bothered with it.”

“That bully B-Class…” Isamu whispered before looking up at him with a smile. “I’ll thank Fubuki Onee-chan later.”

“Let’s go inside. Bang, I’ll see you later.”

“Goodbye, old—cough, Silver Fang.”

Bang also coughed, unwilling to blame Child Emperor over his slight misstep. “I’ll go back to my dojo. You both can drop by if you feel like learning something new.”

He sneakily tried to bring new talent into his dojo. Someone with Asahi’s talents would surely reach even new heights under his teaching.

Asahi shook his head. He had learned enough with one old man being his teacher and father-in-law. He wasn’t ready for another one. “Maybe on the weekend.”

Garou, the Hero Hunter, would soon show up to keep Bang busy. Bang’s old disciple would turn his life upside in the process of reaching his goal — becoming the incarnation of evil.

…

Soon, Asahi was sitting alone in a room with Isamu. He had already called Sekingar to claim the points for Meteor Disaster in his name.

“So, what’s that important thing?”

Isamu showed a solemn expression. “It’s about the HA… Heroes Association. I wasn’t going to dig deeper into this… but Sweet Mask’s high position in the Association made me reconsider HA as a whole.”

Sweet Mask’s unhinged behavior left Isamu in doubt about the higher-ups who put him in such an extravagant position. Sweet Mask used to be this silent monster killer, but now he was just another idol with too much authority in his hands. Isamu didn’t think Sweet Mask was competent to hold his current position.

Asahi squinted. “You’re losing faith in the Association.”

“Look what happened here today. Out of all the S-Class Heroes, only a few showed up. The city would be done for if you didn’t show those mysterious powers. Shelters wouldn’t have protected people from the crazy shockwaves. Isn’t it… justified to lose faith?”

Asahi’s instincts prodded him. There was something more, something Isamu wasn’t revealing. “You aren’t basing it on just that. What else did you discover?”

Isamu winked in surprise. “You caught me.” He gripped the straps of his backpack. Four metallic arms whisked out of his backpack, carrying a bulky laptop. “I found questionable transactions between wealthy families and the Association, and logs about an auction held for… monsters.”

“What? They are selling monsters?”

Even he was unaware of the Hero Association using monsters to procure wealth.

“Those fools are using monsters for wealth instead of disposing of them. Greedy runts. Like nearly half of the higher echelon is involved in this… monster trafficking business.”

Asahi lifted a corner of his lips in an amused smirk as he stroked his chin. “You have the perfect ammunition to bring the Association’s credibility and reputation into the dirt. You can easily bring them down. Are you willing to do it?”

Isamu shook his head vigorously. “I don’t want that to happen! They are corrupted trash but they are still in charge of the heroes who protect civilians. I have to begrudgingly stay quiet because of their position in our society.”

Isamu gritted his teeth and tightened his fists into balls. He wanted to do something about the Association, yet he was helpless.

Asahi cracked a smile, and his eyes sparkled with excitement. “What if there is another organization ready to protect everyone from monsters?”

Isamu furrowed his brows, surprise evident in his expression. “You are implying that it exists. You or someone in your circle wants to create it.”

“Correct. We’ll build a better version of HA without corruption.”

Isamu gazed intently at Asahi, emphasizing his seriousness. “I want to see this organization before deciding.”

Despite his trust in Asahi, he was skeptical about the organization. He just couldn’t leave the Association without a proper look at the organization said to rival the Association.

Asahi gave Isamu a confident nod. “Sure. I'll let you know when I make this project public.”

“How soon?”

“Just a few more days.”

He had to get Loki and Astraea’s Familia acquainted with this world then wait for the right opportunity — the invasion of the Deep Sea King and his army.

(Alise and Riveria will earn them the title of ‘The Cosplayers.’)

‘Can’t wait to tease Mom with her new title.’

(Umu.)

Isamu extended his hand towards him. “Onii-san, I sincerely hope you succeed. I don’t want to waste my time bringing more donations to this messed up organization.”

“How do you know I won’t do the same?”

Isamu flashed a toothy grin. “Because I trust Onii-san.”

Asahi accepted his small hand with a warm smile. “Fine, little guy. Don’t be overwhelmed by the heroes on my side.”

He said goodbye to Isamu, then took his smartphone out of his pocket and pressed the auto-dial key for Fubuki.

“Who is this?”

“Take a guess, Fubuki-chan.”

“It’s you. I take it you got rid of the meteor?”

“Yup. Where is my reward?”

“…I’ll do it tomorrow. Are you sure you want it?”

She couldn’t get over the fact that he didn’t make an utterly perverted request

“I want nothing else.”

“You maid loving freak!”

“You sound lonely. Where are you? I’ll come over and comfort you with hugs.”

“…”

“Tell me.”

“At my sister’s apartment. She will destroy you if you harass me in front of her.”

He raised his brow at her challenging tone. “You think I won’t? Stay there. I’m flying over.”

“Don’t–”

He hung up before she could plead for him to stop. Slipping his phone in his pocket, he activated stealth and jumped out of the window.

“Let’s go meet my future wife.”

***

Fubuki’s hand trembled as she lowered the phone. Worried, she began pacing around the room, her heart beating like a train pounding down the tracks. Her overworking mind found a new hope.

‘Does he know where Onee-chan lives?’

Tatsumaki’s address was kept private. There was a chance Asahi wouldn’t find his way here.

“I might be safe—”

“Hey, Fubuki.”

“How are you so fast?!”

He chuckled. “Let’s meet your sister.”

Fubuki rushed to the bedroom door and covered it. “I am not letting you disturb her sleep.”

“That’s why she ignored your calls.” He raised his brow and pointed at the clock. “Twelve isn’t a healthy time to be sleeping.”

“She doesn’t follow common sense around here.”

“The same goes for you too, Ms. I-will-crush-all-newbies.”

Fubuki’s face went red. “I did it to maintain my hero rank. I was not the only one, a majority of heroes have made it a tradition to do the newbie crushing.”

“The Association can’t be saved.” He sighed. “Fubuki, let me see Tatsumaki.”

“No.”

Fubuki refused to budge an inch from her position. She knew about her sister’s tendency to bully her friends. Having seen Asahi’s strength with her own eyes, she would let him fight Tatsumaki.

Asahi placed his hands on her cheeks. “I won’t fight your sister — that’s my promise.”

Fubuki grabbed his wrists and pushed his hands away from her. “Never trust the Devil.”

“Tell me of one time I went against my words?”

Fubuki raised her brows, thinking about every one of their interactions.

He smirked, eyes twinkling with mischief. “You can sit here all day and still won’t remember it, cause I never broke my promise with you.”

“Why are you so eager to meet her? Tell me your real motive.”

“She is my senior S-Class Hero. That’s plenty of reason to say hi to her.”

“Do it when she isn’t sleeping!”

Asahi raised his hand and lightly slapped the door behind her. Leaning into her personal zone, he showed his most serious expression. “Don’t test my patience.”

He stopped being polite with her.

Fubuki averted her gaze as she realized their current position — it was awfully similar to scenes from a romance movie. She ducked under his hand and made way for him. “Go ahead. I won’t stop you.”

He smiled. “Why do I always have to be forceful with this stubborn minx?”

(Maybe she likes men who don’t bend under her cold gaze.)

Fubuki couldn’t help but blush. “You are a brute.”

“Maybe.” He opened the door, and crept into the room, trying not to make a sound. He glanced over at Tatsumaki’s sleeping form on the bed. She was lying on her back in a peaceful repose, her face illuminated by the soft glow of sunlight coming through the window and looking as angelic as ever.

“Geez, how can someone be afraid of her?”

Fubuki sighed heavily and averted her gaze. Tatsumaki wore a gentle smile that felt miles away from the tyrannical figure Fubuki had in her mind. There was no way she’d be scared if Tatsumaki spoke to her like this. However, the reality was far from her fantasies; there was almost a condescending note in Tatsumaki’s voice when she addressed her little sister as though she was talking down to a child.

Fubuki gritted her teeth and grabbed Asahi’s wrist. “You met her. Let’s leave—”

“Fubuki…” Tatsumaki whispered, rubbing her eyes with her knuckle. Yawning and stretching, she squinted at Fubuki. “Fubuki… what are you doing here?”

She took in the sight of the second person standing in her bedroom. Her lips parted, and a single question escaped them: “Who are you?”