City A: Hero Association HQ

"Then it's decided," An official wrapped up. "Mumen Rider will remain the top-ranked C Class hero."

"Understood. I will let him know."

"I simply cannot understand why he has no desire to move up to B Class," Another man remarked.

"Next on our agenda is the 55th Hero Certification Exam," Someone read from their stack of paperwork. "For this exam the total number of candidates is..."

"11, 684," A woman at the front of the meeting room finished. "With the exam being administered at six different venues. That is an increase of more than 22% over the previous exam." Everyone in the room appeared astounded by the quantity.

"We mustn't be happy with the simple increase of participants," An older man warned. "If the quality of the heroes is reduced, the numbers are meaningless."

"Therefore, we ought to be even more critical during evaluations," He continued. "Ah, and I also heard that a certain person of interest is taking the exam this time."

"Yes. It hasn't been confirmed yet but it seems very likely that he will," A man with shaggy hair informed as he inspected said hero's file.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hero Test Site #6

"Candidates! Please form two lines for registration!" Someone shouted to the crowds hanging around the entrance of the enormous, dome-like building.

"Good luck, you guys!" You smiled at Saitama and Genos before you went off to the female's side for registration.

You were separated from them during this process after that. But you got along with the directory of the examiners standing around. You were given a room number and instructed to go there to take your essay exam. After a grueling 2 hours, you were let out of the room. You sighed and stretched your arms to the sky.

After changing in a standard work-out outfit, they told you to head over to the west side of female testing location where you would begin your physical exam.

On the way there, a small, mousy girl bumped into you. She fell back on her butt and you bent down to help her. "Oh sorry about that," You apologized and offered her hand up.

"Oh no, I should've been looking where I was going, sorry," The brown haired said as she stood up with your help. "I'm Hummingbird! What's your name?"

"(y/n)," You answered confused. Did all heroes introduce themselves by their professional names?

"(y/n)," The girl's green eyes widened along with her smile. "Do you know where the physical test is being held?"

"Yeah, and judging by the fact that you were going in the opposite direction, you have no clue?" You questioned jokingly.

"Yeah," She said sheepishly.

"Well I can take you there if you want," You offered. "It'd be nice to have someone to talk to while we're doing this."

"Oh really!?" Hummingbird exclaimed with excitement.

"Sure," You nodded and motioned for her to follow you. "So is this your first time here?"

"Yup, what about you?"

"Same."

"Lateral jumps are over here! Get in line!" An announcer shouted above the bustling noise.

"Looks like that's our queue," You pointed to the females gathering around one section.

They arranged you all into order and had you stand in between a white line. You glanced over to Hummingbird who gave you a thumbs up. "Good luck!" She cheered.

You replied with a small smile and breathed out a sigh. You were troubled by some thoughts that you were having the night before. If you went at the test to the best of your ability, it would show how accurate your power was. But if it was too good, word may get around about that amazing feat. It didn't help that the Association asked for permission for flash photography; that was something you were obligated to give consent to.

You had settled on trying to get an average on all the physical tests. You weren't exactly sure what the 'average' was so you just opted for the bare minimum. Whatever would get you into the Hero Association and would get you paid, you didn't care what rank you got.

"Alright! 30 seconds of side-to-side jumps, ready? Begin!"

You watched as some went at a faster rate than others. There was only a handful that could barely be seen by normal eyes. You felt a little left out as they all tried their best and you had to hold back.

"Next! 1500 meter dash! Go!"

One of the evaluators assigned to you spectated your results with low hopes. After seeing your display before, he wasn't expecting much. He blinked but before his lid had completely closed over his eye, he could've sworn he saw your form blur for a second.

You giggled as the other candidates took off in a sprint along the round circuit. While the others had taken off you had already went around and back. You had seen how the examiners stared in awe when the ribbon they had extended for the race had been snipped right before their eyes. They hadn't been able to see you so no one knew what happened.

The super run was a sudden jump for your body so you were exhausted afterwards. Man, I need to start working out again.

"Hey!" You turned around in surprise and saw one of the examiners marching up to. "What are you doing? Why aren't you running?"

Before you could stop yourself, you said, "I did."

"What? When!?"

You quickly shook your head. "Uh, I mean, sorry I was distracting." Without another word, you took off and managed to catch up close to the middle section of the contestants.

"Next! Weightlifting!"

You picked one of the 90 pound weights and raised it over your head with both hands.

"Next, shot put!"

You laughed to yourself as you imagined pummeling one of the metal balls threw the entire facility, passing the city limits. But you didn't. You casually threw it at a distance of 25 feet.

"Next, vertical jumping!"

Again, another effortless leap of 30 inches.

"Whack-a-mole!"

You had more fun with this one because it was an actual game. But that didn't stop your competitive nature from wanting to take over. Nonetheless, you withdrew it.

"Punching machine!"

You smiled as you approached this test. It made you think of Saitama and how he would've totally obliterated the contraption. You went for average and got a pretty menial score.

After you did all the exams required of you, you met back up with Hummingbird. But she surprised you with her outcome.

"They want me to retake one of the tests," She said. "They want to make sure that the machine actually worked and recorded my score correctly."

"Oh, so you're going to be held back?" You concluded.

"Yeah, but don't worry I'll catch back up with you!" Hummingbird assured.

"Alright, good luck," You gave her beam. You tried to retrace your steps to find where the female locker rooms were but you only managed to get lost.

All the hallways looked the same so you didn't know where you were at all. You found one door that looked similar to the locker rooms you had seen before and jiggled the door knob to see if it would open. Surprisingly, it did. You felt a little relief enter you at the realization that you had found your way back.

You walked inside and went down to one of the lockers you were assigned and tried the combination. But it didn't work. You frowned and entered it again, but you got the same result.

Behind you, you heard the door open and some strangely deep voice come in.

You stayed close to the wall of lockers and snuck a look around. To your horror, you saw a large group of men wandering inside.

I went into the men's locker room!? You screamed at yourself.

You slowly backed up to try and find another exit but instead your back ran into something hard. You felt a pair of hands wrap around your arms and nearly shrieked, but the person anticipated it and covered your mouth.

You felt them pulling you back and you struggled against them but they were pretty strong. You were about to throw all care to the wind and beat this guy up, however they had pushed you up against one of the wall of lockers. You now got a view of your 'attacker'.

"Saitama?" You whispered once he had taken his hand away from your mouth.

"What are you doing here!?" He scolded, his hands on either side of your head.

"I...I kinda got lost," You shrugged shyly.

The bald man sighed and shook his head. "Have you noticed you get into trouble easily?"

"Yeah..." You glanced down at the floor but before you could wallow your eyes went wide.

"S-s-saitama?"

"Hm?"

"Why are you half naked?"

Saitama looked down at himself. "Oh, I was taking the exams. You, um, need to change too huh?"

You wrapped your arms around yourself, noticing that you were only in sports bra and some spandex. But you weren't nearly as bad as Saitama and his speedo.

"(y/n)?"

You and Saitama both looked in alarm. The fear dissipated when you two that it was just Genos.

"You scared the crap out of me," You muttered under your breath.

"What are you doing here?" The cyborg questioned.

"Nevermind that, how were you guys in the tests?" You distracted. You needed to keep the conversation going or else they were going to notice how hot your face was getting.

If you thought Saitama was bad, Genos was even worse. The speedo he wore blended with his mechanical body and made it seem like he was literally wearing nothing. You cast quick glances between the two males, not being able to handle how intensely attractive they were.

"I'm just glad we're done with all this," Saitama sighed. "Now we have to wait for our results."

"Are you okay, (y/n)?" Genos asked. Aw crap he knows.

"Uh yeah, totally. Um, but I need to get out of here without being seen or else they'll think I'm cheating or something," You answered, flustered.

"We can create a distraction," Genos offered.

"Okay, how?"

"Get her out, I'll think of something," Saitama ushered you two away. You saw him walk straight into a crowded and area and start talking really loudly. "Man, these tests are too easy!! What is the Association thinking!?"

"He might get in trouble for that," You mumbled to Genos. He quickly snuck you out of the locker room and out into the hall.

"We'll be right out," Genos assured before going back inside.

You exhaled and let yourself sink to the ground. "Alright..."

A few minutes later, they joined you outside.

"Thanks again, Saitama. Sorry for the inconvenience," You apologized.

He waved you off. "Nah, it's cool. Though I'm pretty sure they just think I'm a weirdo. But anyway, how did you do?"

"Fine, I guess," You shrugged. "How about you two?"

"Both the written and fitness tests were ridiculously simple," Genos scoffed.

"Is that really all there is to becoming a hero?" Saitama bragged. "Hey, is there a point in you taking the fitness tests?"

Genos frowned. "Huh?"

"I mean, can't you just give them the data on your specs?" Saitama explained, but then brushed the thought off. "Well, whatever, forget I said anything."

"Do you guys think you'll pass?" You questioned.

"A score over 70 is passing, and the test was so easy that I'm sure we'll all get perfect scores," Genos said confidently. "That only leaves the fitness test which for us shouldn't have posed a problem."

You chuckled nervously. "Haha, right..."

One Hour Later

You screamed with excitement as you jumped up and down. "I got an 100 on the written portion!"

"I scored that as well," Genos smiled at your enthusiasm.

"Seriously?" Saitama stared at both of you in awe.

Genos's eyebrows furrowed as he inspected his paper further. "It says I'm a certified S Class hero."

"Aw, I got C Class," You grumbled with a pout.

"I'm sure these rankings mean little," Genos said, trying to make you feel better.

You shrugged and tried to get back to your cheery mood. "But anyway, what did you get, Saitama?"

The bald man opened his envelope just enough to see the top half of the paper. The large print showed the curved end of a letter. "Hey, maybe you got S Class too! The rankings might be to separate the male and female heroes," You theorized.

"By the way, what did they ask you at the interview?" Genos inquired.

"Interview?" You and Saitama frowned.

"Maybe they didn't see the need to put you two through the interview," Genos said thoughtfully.

"I guess not," You spoke softly.

You and Genos noticed that Saitama had wandered a little ways from you guys and looked up at him. "Sensei?"

The bald man turned around with a grim expression on his face. "So....I passed...with 71 points, making me a C Class hero."

Genos's eyes suddenly glowed bright gold as they zoomed in on the paper Saitama held out to you guys. "I see...we mistakenly thought the top half of the C was part of an S."

"Stop analyzing it!" Saitama yelled.

"It must be a mistake," Genos cast an angry side glance. "I will talk with the person in charge."

"No way! You'll just embarrass me!"

There a sudden beep and the intercom on the ceiling came on. "Genos-sama, (y/n)-sama, Saitama-sama, Jole-sama, there will be a seminar for successful candidates at 4:00 PM. Please come to lecture hall #3."

Jole? You questioned to yourself. Must be another participant.

"Alright let's go," Saitama said, getting into more light-hearted mood. "All that really matters is we passed. Let's finish up and blow this joint."

Lecture Hall #3

You guys found the room and you were surprised to see Hummingbird already there. She gave you a smile as you sat down in between Saitama and Genos.

"So, Jole?" You asked with a smirk.

She looked away shyly. "Oh, well that's my actual name. I always use my hero name instead."

A dark haired man behind the podium cleared his throat to gain your attention. "First off, congratulations on passing."

Saitama chewed a piece of gum rather loudly which got him a sharp look from the man. "Two of you only made it on a fluke, so unless you want your luck to go to waste, I better see you giving it your all."

"But don't get cocky!" He warned with an accusatory finger. "From now on, keep your hero status in mind and act modestly! After all, your faces will be displayed on the Hero Association website."

Saitama then blew a bubble with his gum that nearly hid his entire face. A vein formed on the man's forehead. "Are you listening? Your clueless mug will be all over the country!"

"So if you don't want to humiliate yourself...." The man suddenly leapt onto the podium with a battle cry. He then did a series of defensive and offensive hand movements that you had to admit looked fun to learn. "Aspire to be a hero like me!"

Saitama's bubble lost its elasticity and popped, covering his whole face. You jumped because of the noise and looked over alarmed. "Saitama!"

"Sensei!" Genos tried handing him a napkin but Saitama was too busy trying to tug the gum off his skin.

"As an A Class hero, I have some influence over the Association," The man seethed. "I'll make sure those who behave irresponsibly lose points and get demoted! Don't you forget that!"

"Right, right, we won't," You said with a yawn.

Saitama had managed to get most of the gum off his face with yours and Genos's help. But now he was picking at a piece and was lost in thought. 'What should I have for dinner?'

After all the pep talk that you mostly zoned out, you were all released. You exchanged phone numbers with Jole to stay in touch and gave her a curt goodbye.

You three were now walking home as the sun began to set. You guys shared some banter but it didn't evolve into a conversation until Saitama began talking.

"Man, what a boring seminar!" He complained.

"It started off good up until his bragging came in," You said.

"In any case, the world will now recognize us as heroes," Genos thought positively. "Now you can operate with your head held high."

"And now....I am officially your pupil."

Saitama plastered a tight smile on his face as Genos looked to him proudly. "Please continue to guide me as my mentor."

"Yeah..." Saitama trailed off. 'Oh no, I shouldn't have promised that! Especially to him!'

Genos bowed before going off in another direction. "Alright, goodnight, (y/n), Sensei."

"Yeah, see ya," Saitama waved unenthusiastically. You elbowed him to be nicer. "Goodnight, Genos," You smiled warmly.

Once the cyborg was out of earshot, you gave Saitama a scolding look. "You couldn't have at least tried to mask your shock?"

"I'm sorry! It just threw me off."

"'Register with me and I'll make you my disciple!' I believe those were your exact words."

"Aw, shut up!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hero Association: Office

"Those newcomers today, did they really pass? Their attitudes were horrible!" Your instructor from early grunted with disdain. "I'm A Class, rank 38, and they had no idea who I was! The amateurs! They'll be dirt-napping in no time."

"No," An official said as he stared out the window. "Genos passed both the physical and written exams with perfect scores. We haven't seen such a feat in two years. He's a phenomenal rookie who jumped straight to S Class."

"(y/n), while she got a perfect score on her written exam, she lacked the strength in her physical one. One of the evaluators even claims that she may have a secret power that she is not showing us. Footage shows that this claim may be true due to her suspicious behavior."

"The other girl, Jole, wasn't as much of a surprise in her results. She has incredible speed and an average intelligence."

"The other one, Saitama, is the one who astounded everyone. He had terrible scores on the essay, but scored a perfect 50 on the physical. Overall, he just barely scraped by, however.... in practically every fitness activity, he broke the Hero Association's test records by inconceivable margins."

"It's as if...a god resides in his body," The official spoke ominously. He regarded the dark haired man for the first time since his speech and found him staring incredulously. "Snek, Genos has already surpassed your rank. It's only a matter of time before Saitama and (y/n) do as well."

Snek eyes widened at the assumption. 'Those jackasses!?'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What you thinkin' 'bout?" You asked Saitama who appeared deep in thought.

"If we get to the top of C Class, we get promoted to B Class. Then above that is A Class, and even more above that is S Class," Saitama pondered aloud. "But I don't understand, if you got a perfect score on your exams, then why are you C Class?"

You began to sweat nervously. "W-what are you saying?"

"Shouldn't you be and S Class like Genos? I mean, I've seen you fight and you're great if not better than he is," Saitama said.

"No, I....I didn't exercise my full power," You explained meekly. "So they lowered my rank."

"Why not?"

"Because...." You weren't looking at him, but you could feel his eyes on you. "Because I needed to. I can't explain it but it's just better that word doesn't get out of my abilities."

Saitama nodded, though he was still confused. "Okay, I don't understand it, but I get it."

Out of nowhere, Snek jumped out of the grass from the path side. He flipped in mid air and landed with his hands up to strike. "The newcomer seminar is over!" He shouted. "In this business, there's a thing called rookie crushing. A lot of us heroes hate to be outranked, so we crush newbies early on."

"But we're at a lower Class than you," You said skeptically.

"For now," Snek sneered. "But I won't wait to see what you two become!"

You inhaled deeply and steeped forward. "Alright, I don't care if he knows about my strength. No one will believe him anyway after they've seen my physical score."

"So you are stronger than you appear!" Snek laughed. "You're at a disadvantage for telling me that! Take this!" He twisted his hand and shot it forward as the image of a viper enveloped his arm.

Without batting an eye, you snatched his wrist and rammed your elbow in his chest. After that, you shoved it up into his jaw and gave him a good back hand across his cheek that sent him flying across the sidewalk.

You dusted yourself off and turned back to Saitama as Snek twitched in pain. "So, you want to get going?"

Saitama stared at you in amazement. "Yeah."

Just out of curiosity, what character in the series would you like the reader to spend more time with?

Next Update: April 30, 2016