Your breathing was getting shallower and shallower as the seconds dragged on. You could hardly keep your eyes open to the fight happening in front of you.

"Impressive. You're still on your feet despite taking a blow to the head from me," The Sea King's voice rumbled. "Clearly, you're different from the rest of this trash."

"Nah, man, your punch was just weak," Saitama said with an unconcerned expression. The monster's eyebrow raised in anger.

"Hey, someone else is over there."

"Is that a hero?"

"Who is it?"

"That bald head....I think I saw him in the Hero Registry."

"I know him! He's a C Class rookie. Rank 2, I think."

"Only C Class huh?"

"I guess our situation is still as hopeless as before...."

You could hear the murmurs of the crowds of people who had gathered to watch the battle unfold at the mouth of the gaping hole in the shelter. Oh how little they knew....

"But that punch didn't hurt him at all."

"That's your imagination. Didn't you see how many heroes were blown away by that thing's punches?"

Your throat felt tight as you tried to inhale air only for it to get caught. Your lungs were on fire while you coughed up blood that spilled across your cheek and dissolved into the wet ground. "Sai...."

"I am the King of the Deep, Lord of the Seven Seas," the monster's gruff voice spoke. "Everything once came from the sea; as if she were our mother. In other words, as ruler of the mother sea, I am the pinnacle of a pyramid that includes every organism in this world! And those who dare oppose me—"

"Yeah, yeah, you're great, I get it," Saitama sighed, cleaning his ear with a gloved finger. "It's raining so skip all the talk and come at me, would you?"

The Sea King's eyes went wide with rage and he wasted no time in raising his giant fist at Saitama. You saw veins sticking out of his arm as he aimed his punch, but in a split nanosecond, you saw a flicker of red jab into the monster's chest. A huge hole emerged on the spot where the beast's heart used to be.

The momentum of Saitama's punch was enough to blow away the surrounding rain and winds as well as the Sea King's bejeweled crown. It was all so quick and simple you almost didn't believe it was over.

A tired smile spread across your lips as you watched in deadly silence how the giant fell into a puddle of his own blue blood. The crowd behind you erupted into a loud thunderous chorus.

"WHAAAAAT!!!!????"

"HOLY SHIT!!!!"

"AMAZING!!!"

"WHAT JUST—HOW???"

"HE KILLED IT!!!"

"WITH ONE PUNCH! ONLY ONE!!!"

"WE'RE SAVED!!!"

Thanks for saving the day, Saitama... You thought to yourself. Your eyelids felt a lot heavier than before. Your body was shivering cold, and you weren't sure if it was because of your dampened clothes....

You were on the brink of falling asleep when something shook you awake. Your hazy vision fell upon your bald savior. You wanted to say his name but your body was too exhausted to even move a muscle.

Saitama was kneeling on the ground, resting you against his thigh. "H-hey, how are you doing? You don't look so good...." Despite his calm voice, his face was etched with worry.

Your head was swimming so you didn't notice when Genos had gotten up somehow and came up next to you. "Sensei....there's something wrong," Genos said, his tone laced with concern as he looked down at you.

"You're....really cold, (y/n)," Saitama said tensely. His hand tightened around yours but you couldn't feel it.

"Is he really a C Class?" The people continued to jeer. "He's too strong!"

"Or...." Another nasally voice rose above the rest. "Maybe the monster wasn't really that tough?" You strained your ear to hear the person who dared to speak such insults.

"Yeah, but so many heroes were beaten by it though...." A brown haired male defended.

"That just means those heroes are weaklings," The annoying voice babbled.

".....I mean, I suppose the monster did look kinda weak when it fell over just like that...." Someone else muttered.

"After all, a C Class hero took it down with a single punch!" You could almost hear the sneer on the irritating man. "What's that to say about the heroes it beat? They may label themselves 'A Class' or 'S Class', but their titles don't mean anything when it comes down to it," He laughed.

"Hey, enough of that. They risked their lives for us," A different man scolded.

"Risked their lives? Anyone can do that," The male retorted. "However, a 'hero' has to beat monsters. It all ended well this time, so whatever. But it's annoying when heroes who are really just average Joes show up and try to save you. If they're real heroes, they should get it right the first time."

"Shut your fat mouth, you little prick!" Someone yelled in the crowd.

"Why are you getting mad at me for? The Hero Association gets their funds from our donations, right? We're paying them to protect us, they'd better do it, no?"

Your anger flared and your veins flooded with enough energy to get up and punch this guy in the face. Even Genos's one working golden eye changed into a lethal red hue.

"The fact of the matter is that bald guy pretty much took care of it all by himself."

"I said, cut it out!"

You grit your teeth and growled under your breath as you struggled to sit up. If someone wasn't going to shut this fucker up, you were going to do it yourself, even if you died in the process.

"Anyone can come up with a way to buy a little time. In the end, the other 'heroes' didn't do anything heroic."

"We were all saved! Just leave it at that!"

You were a few inches from completely getting up when Saitama burst into laughter. You glanced over at him in confused shock as he passed you over to Genos's lap and stood, still cackling loudly.

"AHAHAHA!!! Boy, am I lucky or what!?" Saitama grinned in disbelief. "The other heroes wore the monster down, so killing it was child's play! Good thing I was late. Now I'll get all the credit even though I didn't do shit!"

Saitama suddenly turned to the crowds with a furrowed glare. "And you! Spread the word! I'm the one who finished the monster off! I'll beat the shit out of anyone who says otherwise!!" The bald hero raised a fist for emphasis.

The crowds filled with murmurs and questioning looks.

"What's he mean?"

"So the monster was already weak?"

"Huh....?"

"Hang on....that's Saitama!"

"Saitama?"

"He's the hero from City Z that cheated his way up the ranks."

"Cheated?"

"And another thing, get down here and take care of these heroes. If they die on me, how am I gonna cash in on their work?" Saitama said, pointing to the people.

"Sai...." You croaked weakly. You were losing consciousness and fast. Genos was right, something was definitely wrong with you.

"He is a cheat!" Someone shouted.

"Man, that's no fair!"

"This guy...."

"Compared to him, the other heroes seem a lot more heroic...."

"Where would we be now if the other heroes hadn't fought? Our gratitude goes to the real heroes."

"Saitama...." You choked on the clot of blood forming in your throat. You guessed you probably had some internal bleeding somewhere.

Genos turned you over so you could cough out the red liquid. It splattered on pavement as you tiredly rested your cheek on the cyborg's thigh. "Sensei..." Genos's voice warned the hero while he cupped your face. You looked up at him and smiled as the light of the sun completely masked him into a silhouette.

"That should take care of it. How is she doing?" Saitama asked, turning his attention back to you. His dull expression drastically changed when saw you. "Hey, (y/n), look at me. Can you hear me?" He knelt down to and pushed your bangs out of your face, but your eyes were still drooping. Each blink was longer than the last.

You didn't respond to his question though. You were still smiling up at both of their distraught expressions.

"Saitama- Sensei, take her to a hospital. I'll deal with the people here," Genos said, noting your faint heartbeat. He couldn't lose you; neither of them could. And if they kept waiting around, hoping that your powers would kick in, they weren't sure you were going to live long enough for that to happen.

But you were happy. If this was how you would die, you were okay with that. You had made these incredible friends, you got to do some good for once, and you lived more in these past months than you had in all your life. You were genuinely happy in that moment.

In a last effort to reassure them, you reached up to both of them and pulled them toward your forehead. You smiled softly and mouthed to words that made them freeze.

Thank you

The silence was shattered when your motionless arms fell to your sides.

OHHHHHHHHHH SHIIIIIIIIIIIT

Sorry for the day-late update guys, I couldn't finish it in time. But here it is! :D

Next Update: Sept. 17, 2016