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Nightfall.
Being mistaken for a villain over and over again, and even earning the illustrious title of "candy-bar plunderer," had worn Saitama down—body and soul. In the end he just wandered into a sparsely populated forest. He hadn't found Hammerhead in town, so maybe he'd turn up out here.
"Hey, hey, hey, baldy, why are you going into the woods? There's nobody out here!"
"Hey, I told you, don't call me baldy!" Saitama replied weakly. He sounded hollow for two reasons. One, he'd almost gotten used to Ethan calling him "baldy." Two, the way people looked at him had cut deeper than he liked to admit.
"Okay, okay, baldy! But let's head back to town. Didn't Hammerhead say he was going to blow up that poop tower? We should just wait there. What if we miss him?"
"Well..." Saitama turned and stared at the skyscraper with its unmistakable golden poop logo.
Boom!
A boulder smashed out of the woods and landed squarely on the golden poop...
Ethan rolled his eyes. He'd worked so hard to trick Saitama into staying where there were more people, just so he could watch the show a little longer.
"There! Hammerhead's over there!" Saitama's expression brightened and he sprinted toward the trees. Ethan sighed and followed. "Still, I think we could just wait by the tower—"
"I don't want to keep getting mocked and treated like a villain! Solve this quickly and clear my name sooner!"
…
They were walking through the trees when a sudden flash of brilliant light lit up the undergrowth. Ethan and Saitama froze. Treasure? A clue?
They exchanged a glance and nodded at the same time. "Let's go!"
They moved fast. A moment later they found the source of the light. It wasn't treasure. It was another shiny bald head, exactly like Saitama's.
"Oh!" Both of them blurted the same interjection, but the tone was different.
Ethan felt a little deflated. Finding Hammerhead so quickly took some of the fun out of it. Saitama, on the other hand, was relieved—after all the scorn he'd taken, here was Hammerhead, the culprit at last.
"Fantastic, we found you!" Saitama said, all smiles.
"Hey, you here to join the Peach Paradise Crew?" Hammerhead asked. "To join, you have to shave your head first. Your buddy's already done a great job."
He pointed at Saitama's bald head and turned to Ethan.
"Actually I kind of like the crew," Ethan said. "Work would be a pain, though. Constant deadlines, having to make art on the side..."
"Art? You're a manga artist?" Hammerhead's eyes lit up.
"Yes, yes, I am. I just finished 'The Knockout Knight'." (A comic inspired by the Unlicensed Knight, with the Knockout King as its core character—mentioned earlier.)
"What? You drew 'The Knockout Knight'? If that's true, I can't let you join the Peach Paradise Crew." Hammerhead's face shifted, then he shook his head and spoke seriously.
"Why not? It's not like I'd actually join—the crew's all bald guys, which puts me off—but still. Being rejected stings. Explain yourself."
"Because... I love 'The Knockout Knight.' I read it every day. I love it so much that when I ran into the Unlicensed Knight before, I didn't kill him. I beat him until he passed out instead. If you join the crew and stop making comics, what will I read?" Hammerhead pulled out a copy of Ethan's comic, a collector's edition no less. He really was a huge fan.
"Oh? Really? I didn't expect to find a fan. Want me to sign it?"
"Yes, yes, please! I'm your biggest fan." Hammerhead produced a pen from somewhere.
"Where did you even get the comic and the pen? I don't see pockets on you..." Ethan asked.
"Little details like that don't matter. It's a story. Plot convenience exists," Hammerhead said breezily.
Ethan was left speechless.
After Ethan signed, Hammerhead somehow tucked the comic and pen away again.
Saitama stood there stunned. When Ethan finished chatting with Hammerhead, he cleared his throat and stepped forward. "Um..."
"You're here to join the Peach Paradise Crew, right?" Hammerhead asked.
"No, not at all."
"That's fine. You're young. You'll feel awkward about not working, but spend a month or two with me and you'll see it's perfectly natural to do nothing. Come, stand behind me. When we get back I'll arm you for battle and make you my right-hand man."
"No, I'm not joining the Peach Paradise Crew."
"Still saying you're not joining? Look at that glossy head. You were born for our crew."
"No, absolutely not!"
"From today on, you're my underling!"
"No way!"
"All right, let's go. Back to plan: destroy that rich jerk's poop tower!"
"You idiot, are you even listening? I said I absolutely refuse to join your crew. I came here to destroy your darn Peach Paradise Crew!"
…
"Are you serious, baldy?"
"Aren't you a baldy too?"
"..."
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