Chapter 13 — Thirteenth Punch
They checked the fans entering the venue for dangerous items.
Maintained order throughout the event.
And during lunch and dinner, they stuffed their cheeks full at the staff buffet.
Just like that, Saitama's two-day part-time job came to an end. After changing out of the security uniform, he received his wages for the two days along with a 60,000-yen bonus for apprehending two troublesome fans. In total, he ended up with nearly 110,000 yen.
"With this, I should be able to last until the stipend from Jujutsu High comes in," Saitama thought as he walked along with the pay envelope in hand. "School starts in two days. The stipend should be distributed not long after enrollment."
…
A white car drove steadily along the road. Inside sat a family: the father at the wheel, and the mother in the back holding their child.
The little girl gazed curiously out the window at the passing scenery, when suddenly she spotted a bald man sprinting along the sidewalk.
"Mom," she said, pointing outside, "there's a bald guy running on the sidewalk."
"Where? Let Mommy see," the mother said, looking in the direction her daughter pointed. "…There's nothing there."
"Ah," the girl said disappointedly as she looked again, "the bald guy ran away."
"..."
To save money, Saitama hadn't bought a ticket to travel between Tokyo and Chiba. He simply ran back and forth. The same went for the return trip from Chiba to Tokyo.
"Once I get back, I need to buy some eggs and milk before the supermarket closes."
While running at full speed, Saitama muttered to himself. Suddenly, he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket.
The bald man stopped, pulled out his phone, glanced at it, and answered.
"Hello?"
"Ah, is this Saitama-kun?"
Gojo's cheerful voice came through the phone. "Where are you right now?"
"Chiba."
"Whaaat? Why'd you suddenly run all the way to Chiba?" Gojo's raised voice made his surprise perfectly clear. "Anyway, the last first-year student is arriving in Tokyo today. To welcome her to the Jujutsu High first-year family, everyone's going to the station to meet her. You should come too, Saitama-kun."
"But the supermarket…" Saitama started to refuse, remembering his plan to shop before closing time.
"She'll probably bring some local specialties," Gojo added.
Silence lingered for a moment.
"What should I bring to pick her up?" Saitama asked enthusiastically.
"Hahaha… just bring yourself."
…
An hour later, Saitama stood on the busy streets of Harajuku.
"I got here half an hour early because I was looking forward to the local specialties…" He looked up at the massive electronic billboard on a building displaying the time and sighed.
The streets of Harajuku were filled with young people sporting flashy clothes and hairstyles. Shop employees stood outside advertising their stores, handing out flyers and tissues. Standing among them, the plainly dressed bald man naturally felt out of place.
He stood blankly at the meeting spot for a while when suddenly a voice called out from behind him.
"Are you from Jujutsu High? Here to pick me up?"
It was a clear and lively female voice. Saitama turned around and saw a girl with a short, brown hair wearing a Jujutsu High uniform. She stood with her hands on her hips, scrutinizing him with a critical gaze.
—Nobara Kugisaki carefully looked Saitama up and down.
Bald. Looks to be in his twenties. Under 180 cm tall. Blank expression. Wearing a shirt with Oppai printed on it. Completely out of place in trendy Harajuku. If this were a manga, he'd definitely be one of those background extras drawn with just a few strokes.
Wait. If this guy was the one sent to pick up Kugisaki Nobara…
Her heart skipped a beat.
Then wouldn't that mean he was…
"Ah… yeah," Saitama replied, thinking to himself: This girl must be the last first-year student. What was her name again? Noh…
As he was thinking, Nobara's expression suddenly collapsed into disbelief.
"No way… you… you can't be…!" Nobara suddenly stepped back and frantically tapped on her phone. Then she pointed at the screen and exclaimed, "You're Gojo Satoru, the one who said he'd come pick me up?!"
On her phone screen was her Line chat with Gojo.
After sending a flashy sticker, Gojo had said he'd bring the other students along to Harajuku to meet her. He'd also sent a selfie wearing his blindfold—his facial features obscured—and told her to identify him using the photo.
"No, I—"
Saitama tried to explain, but Nobara wasn't listening.
"You… did you get plastic surgery?" she interrupted, pointing at his bald head in disbelief. "What happened? Or was the photo fake? Are you one of those catfish scammers?"
"..."
"And why are you bald? What's with that octopus head?"
"…Octopus?!" A vein popped on Saitama's head.
"You—"
Before Nobara could continue, her phone vibrated. A new message appeared in the Line chat.
"Huh? Gojo just asked where I am…" Nobara stared at the message, then looked up at Saitama. "But you're not using your phone…"
"That's because I'm not Gojo Satoru!" Saitama snapped. "My name's Saitama! I'm currently a first-year trainee!"
"A student? But you look like you're in your twenties. And you're bald… I thought you were a teacher…"
"Bald is bald! Who says bald people in their twenties can't go to school?! Doesn't Jujutsu High accept students regardless of age?!"
"..."
The misunderstanding was finally cleared up. Realizing Saitama wasn't Gojo, Nobara let out a sigh of relief—but new doubts arose.
This guy had no cursed energy at all. If detected through a sorcerer's usual perception methods, he'd be like a transparent person.
So why was someone like him admitted to Jujutsu High? It was so strange that it was no wonder she'd mistaken him.
Thinking this, Nobara stole a glance at Saitama's shirt and coughed awkwardly.
"I see. Well, sorry about that. But you showed up too early," she said, taking a deep breath and puffing out her chest like a proud, thorny rose. "Let me introduce myself. I'm Nobara Kugisaki, also a first-year at Tokyo Jujutsu High. And I'm on a completely different level from the others."
"Oh."
Saitama nodded. Looking at his simplistic, sketch-like face, Nobara suddenly sighed.
"I can't believe someone like this is my classmate…"
She glanced around before her eyes landed on a row of unattended coin lockers in a shaded corner of the street. She pointed at them.
"I just got here not long ago myself. After meeting everyone, I plan to look around a bit—this is my first time in Tokyo, after all. Anyway, I'll store my bag there first."
"Oh…"
Saitama's gaze fell on Nobara's pink backpack, and Gojo's words suddenly resurfaced in his mind.
He'd said Nobara would probably bring local specialties. Since her hands were empty, that probably meant they were in her bag…
"I'll go with you!" Saitama suddenly declared in a firm, serious tone.
"..."
Nobara rolled her eyes. She led the suddenly serious—but quickly sketch-faced again—Saitama toward the coin lockers. Taking a few coins from her wallet, she fed them into the slot.
Clink.
A key card dropped out.
"Locker 105," Nobara muttered, glancing at the card as she walked. "105… 105… Ah, found it."
With a soft beep, the locker unlocked. Nobara slipped her backpack off her shoulder and moved to place it inside.
"Um…" Saitama spoke up.
"What?" Nobara paused and turned back.
"The local specialties…" Saitama stared at her small backpack. After hesitating, he said, "Never mind."
"..." Nobara thought to herself that this guy was really weird.
Ignoring Saitama's slightly disappointed expression, she was about to put the bag inside when she suddenly felt a dense, sinister cursed energy emanating from within the locker.
Almost instinctively, the orange-haired girl jumped back two steps, putting distance between herself and locker 105.
It was clearly daytime, yet the inside of the locker was pitch black, as if no light could reach it. Nobara stared intently and soon saw a deformed little hand emerging from the darkness.
A curse resembling a lizard crawled out, its head covered in seven or eight dull yellow eyes. Along its body grew a centipede-like row of grotesque arms resembling those of human infants—the hand she had seen was one of them.
The creature's eyes darted erratically as it scuttled up to the top of the locker. Then all at once, they locked onto Nobara.
Just arrived in Tokyo, and already running into a curse in a locker…
"This must be a curse born from the resentment of people who lost belongings in these lockers. Judging by the aura, it's Grade 3… no, semi-Grade 2! …But no problem!" Nobara flicked her arm, and a hammer and nails slid from her sleeve into her grasp. Cursed energy surged around her weapon. "I, Nobara Kugisaki, will take care of this thi—"
Bang!
Before she could finish, Saitama expressionlessly threw a punch. The lizard-like curse was blasted high into the air and instantly shattered into pieces, vanishing completely.
"…ng."
Still holding her hammer, Nobara stood frozen, staring at Saitama's unchanged expression.
What… was that?
Why did he defeat a curse with one punch?
This bald guy… is that strong?
Without any cursed energy?!
…
"Hey!"
From across the walkway, Gojo waved enthusiastically at Nobara and Saitama as he approached.
Behind him were Yuji Itadori and Megumi Fushiguro—one already carrying crepes and a pair of ridiculous party glasses, the other looking thoroughly annoyed to be associated with him.
"You got here early, Nobara," Gojo said casually. "Saitama came early too."
"Yeah," Nobara replied from where she sat on a roadside railing.
"Hm?" Gojo stroked his chin and leaned in close, studying her face. "If I'm not mistaken, Nobara seems a little down?"
"…It's nothing." Nobara turned her head away. "Even though this is our first meeting, let me say this upfront—you'd better make me stronger."
Gojo studied her for a moment, then straightened up and glanced sideways at Saitama.
Having roughly guessed what had happened, he felt like laughing.
"Of course," he said cheerfully. "Nurturing cute students is a teacher's duty, after all!"
At that moment, Saitama spoke up.
"So now that we've picked up the new student, can I go home? The supermarket I usually go to might still have eggs and milk left."
"Oh sure, go ahead," Gojo said generously.
Saitama turned and left. But just then, Gojo cheerfully added to the others:
"To celebrate Nobara's arrival—and since both Nobara and Yuji are from out of town—we're going sightseeing in Tokyo next. And then we'll have a big meal!"
Nobara immediately jumped down from the railing. "Sushi!"
Yuji dashed forward. "Then I want yakiniku!"
"…Teacher's treating. You can eat wherever you want—no budget limit!" Gojo declared boldly.
Amid Nobara's sudden excitement and Yuji's constant enthusiasm, Gojo noticed Saitama—who had taken only two steps—quietly stop walking.
"It'd be nice if Saitama joined us too," Gojo added casually. "Food tastes better when everyone eats together."
Sure enough, Saitama turned around and came back eagerly.
"Really? Then I'll join you."