When Tatsumaki came back to her senses, Shinji had already dismissed the Ten Tails.
The massive beast vanished so suddenly that Tatsumaki almost thought she was hallucinating.
"Where did that monster go? How did it disappear?" Tatsumaki asked, spinning her head like a Beyblade.
"Who knows?" Shinji replied, clearly not planning to tell her the truth.
After all, the Ten Tails currently had another identity as the "King" of the Monster Association. If Tatsumaki or the Hero Association found out about his connection to it, it could lead to all kinds of unnecessary trouble.
"Mr. Sitch called us to the Hero Association headquarters for an S-Class meeting. You're coming too, of course. I'll head there first."
Before Tatsumaki could react, Shinji's figure disappeared, avoiding further questioning.
"Wait!" she called, but before she could finish, he was gone without a trace, leaving her alone.
Her face froze for a moment before twisting into irritation. "What the…! Ignoring me like that, what an infuriating guy…!"
Still, Tatsumaki knew getting angry here wouldn't help. Faint green light enveloped her body, and she took off toward the Hero Association headquarters.
During her brief period of unconsciousness, her stamina had recovered somewhat, enough to maintain normal flight without issue.
As she soared through the air, she kept replaying the scene from earlier in her mind. She was still troubled by the link between Shinji and that massive beast.
Right now, she had two theories.
One, Shinji defeated the giant after she blacked out, and what she saw when she woke up was just an illusion.
Two, Shinji actually knew the beast, which was why it didn't attack him, and he somehow made it vanish through some unknown means.
Either way, it was hard for her to believe.
Could that strange-eyed man really have such overwhelming ability?
Or perhaps there was a third possibility, that the beast had been exhausted after its fight with her, and so it chose not to finish them off.
What bothered her most, though, was that today she had faced an opponent who forced her to go all out, one strong enough to push her into real danger.
Yet instead of feeling fear, she was… excited.
That beast definitely wasn't dead. Once she fully recovered, she intended to fight it again until she was satisfied.
But then an unpleasant thought crossed her mind. Right before she blacked out, it seemed that infuriating man had saved her… and in that position…
Her cheeks flushed slightly, but her expression remained full of annoyance, like a snorty little brat.
"That guy, just leaving me behind and running off on his own…" she grumbled.
In truth, Tatsumaki was one of the Hero Association's most dependable aces, often handling the toughest monsters herself. She also paid attention to association matters, for example, during the S-Class meeting in the conference room, when Saitama, still just a B-Class hero, attended, she recognized him instantly. Aside from Genos and Bang, most S-Class heroes wouldn't have known him.
She had also seen Shinji's speed firsthand through records and footage of the Deep Sea King incident.
So knowing full well how fast he was, she couldn't help but be annoyed that he left her behind instead of bringing her along.
…
Before long, Tatsumaki reached the Hero Association headquarters in City A.
Shinji had already arrived and ran into Genos and the others in the entrance hall.
Bang, Saitama, and Genos had come together.
"Oh, Shinji, you got here before us," Bang greeted him.
"This S-Class emergency summons seemed important, so I hurried over," Shinji replied with a nod.
Not long after, they were joined by a middle-aged man in a cape, carrying a long sword.
The man who looked strikingly similar to Yasuo from LOL was none other than the S-Class Rank 4 hero, Atomic Samurai.
"Oh!"
Atomic Samurai also noticed Bang and the others behind him and immediately turned to greet them. "Silver Fang, so you came too. And also… the newcomer Kamui, the cyborg Genos, and the bald guy Saitama?"
Since they were all S-Class heroes, Atomic Samurai could recognize them easily.
However, the way he addressed Saitama clearly made the latter a bit unhappy.
"…Hey, old man, nice to meet you."
Still, out of courtesy, Saitama greeted him normally.
"I'm Atomic Samurai."
Atomic Samurai returned the greeting without issue. After all, the man before him was S-Class Saitama, not B-Class Saitama. If it were the latter, his attitude would have been different.
He then added, correcting Saitama's choice of words, "But I'm not at the age where you should be calling me old man. I'm only 37."
"But isn't 37 already old?" Saitama asked, looking genuinely puzzled… and somewhat smug.
After that, Shinji and Genos also exchanged quick introductions with Atomic Samurai.
"I've heard about your feats. You've only been in the Hero Association a short time, yet you've already climbed to S-Class Rank 5. My Rank 4 spot might be in danger."
With a thin bamboo toothpick in his mouth, Atomic Samurai gave a confident smile. "But surpassing me won't be that easy."
Hearing the old man's smug lines, Genos stayed silent, watching the situation without interrupting.
Just as Shinji was about to speak, a voice suddenly came from behind him, interrupting the moment.
"Shinji! Why are you running so fast?"
That voice could only belong to Tatsumaki. Shinji turned around to see that Tatsumaki had caught up.
Since she hadn't been injured during her fight with the Ten-Tails and had already recovered some stamina, she didn't look like someone who had just gone through a fierce battle.
The fact that she called Shinji by name right after arriving surprised Atomic Samurai.
He hadn't expected them to know each other, considering his impression of Tatsumaki was that she was proud and difficult to approach.
Of course, Atomic Samurai himself was also somewhat arrogant, so he had never really interacted with her.
Knowing her troublesome personality, Atomic Samurai silently turned and left without a word.
"Where's this kid from? Did she get lost?"
Seeing the petite Tatsumaki, who was shorter than most upper-grade elementary school kids, Saitama couldn't help but ask.
"She's the S-Class Rank 2 hero, Tornado of Terror," Genos explained.
"Oi bald turd, get out of the way. I'm here for Shinji," Tatsumaki said, clearly annoyed at being mistaken for a child.
"What a rude little kid," Saitama muttered. Since he thought she was just a child, being called baldy didn't really bother him. With a resigned look, he said, "Forget it. Bang and I will leave. Shinji, you can take this little girl to find her mom."
With that, Saitama and Bang walked off.
Shinji had no intention of staying either. Turning to Genos, he said, "Let's go too."
He knew Tatsumaki was only here to ask about the Ten-Tails, but he had no desire to answer.
"Alright," Genos replied with a slight nod.
The two of them quickly followed after the others.
"Ignoring me again? Wait up!" Tatsumaki shouted angrily, chasing after them.