Chapter Text
"I WAS BORN FROM THE DESPAIR OF MY PEERS. THEY WHO WERE INJUSTLY CRUSHED BY THE SOLES OF HUMAN SHOES. I AM MECHA-SPIDER!"
Genos' hearing systems didn't pick up the noise at first. He kept walking, unaware.
"WITH MY ARMORED BODY, I WILL AVENGE THEM ALL AND STOMP ON EVERY HUMAN THAT DARES TO CROSS MY PATH!"
When it did register, it was a second too late.
The monster flung itself at the cyborg before the latter could react. It's teeth sank viciously into an opening near Genos' shoulder, tearing holes in the tubing it chomped on.
Genos stopped walking down the empty street. He transferred his shopping bag to his left hand before slapping his right against his upper arm.
The cyborg crushed the five centimeters wide metallic arachnid between his fingers, sighing in annoyance.
He held his hand in front of him, opening it, palm facing upwards, and glanced at the broken bits of metal resting in it.
The size of the monster would explain why he hadn't heard it. It's voice had simply been too high on the decibel scale to be taken into account before his systems recalibrated accordingly.
Genos stared at the monster intently, as if glaring at the dead spider could make it regret its actions. He felt something start trickling down some of his internal components.
Did it have to aim for the cooling systems? He'd have to fix this as soon as he got back or the fluid might end up dripping on sensei's floor. At least it was a good thing he was waterproof.
He flicked the small corpse away without a second thought, resuming his walk through the deserted streets of City Z
"Did you find everything?"
Genos closed the door behind him with his free hand as he stepped inside the appartment he shared with Saitama
His sensei's voice was coming from the living room. Genos presumed the man was lying on the couch, reading the same manga he'd picked up moments before the cyborg had left; about an hour and a half ago.
"Yes, sensei." Genos checked his internal clock. It was getting late. He discarded his shoes on a mat next to the door. "There were vegetables on sale today. I could add the leftover meat and make stir-fry. Would that be alright?"
"Sounds great. Want me to deal with the shopping while you start that?"
"No need sensei, I can manage," Genos assured him instantly.
"Oh, ok then."
It wasn't like Genos could start anything right now anyway; he had that minor repair to take care of first.
He still took a few minutes to empty the plastic bag he held and store everything away. It wouldn't do to let any produce go bad, even if the possibility of it was highly unlikely due to the fact that he would've cooked them right after. Still, it was a possibility.
Genos closed the fridge's door, his job done.
He started heading towards his equipment, but he'd only taken a step out of the kitchen before remembering something important.
Damn... He didn't have anything to make the repair. He'd used the last of the components he'd need about a week ago, after an actual fight.
He cursed at himself for the incompetence he'd shown today. That thing probably hadn't even counted as a monster. He shouldn't have been damaged.
"You say something?"
Genos snapped back to attention. "No sensei! I was just thinking outloud!"
"I'm only in the other room. You don't have to shout like that."
"Sorry sensei!"
"Well don't keep at it!" Saitama sounded mildly annoyed.
Genos figured he should probably shut up now and do something about his damaged cooling system already.
Although it'd be a bit of a bother now, since he didn't have anything remotely professional to fix it with.
No matter, he knew there had to be a roll of sticky tape somewhere, or something of the kind at least.
The cyborg started rummaging through various drawers in the kitchen -the B-Class hero was obviously making do with what little storage space he had; there were a lot of random things in there.
Genos minimized the noise he was making as much as he could; not wanting to draw attention to his actions. He didn't really want Saitama to ask questions about his injury if he could avoid it.
He let out a sigh of relief upon finding what he'd been looking for. It almost immediately turned into a frown. The tape was...
Neon green? And sparkly? ...Really? Must have been a freebee then.
And would you look at that, the label said it even glowed in the dark. Marvelous.
Genos stared at the obnoxious colour, wondering wether it could do permanent harm to his eyesight. Oh well, it couldn't be helped.
He set the tape aside on the counter, closing the drawer it had been in. He opened another, taking an old rag from inside it.
Genos dried away the cooling fluid that had started dripping down the tubing between his shoulder and elbow, before applying a strip of tape on the damaged part.
It hadn't been the easiest task. He couldn't use his left hand and some of the fluid had strayed a bit too far from the small opening -even removing the metal panel that covered his arm hadn't helped much- for him to reach properly with the cloth.
When he'd done the best he could, he waited for about a minute before dabbing at the spot, making sure nothing seemed to be leaking.
It wasn't ideal, but it would hold until he could visit Doctor Kuseno. His next routine checkup was only a day away, so he imagined it would be fine.
Genos replaced the tape exactly where he'd found it; in the smallest drawer, next to an old rusty keychain, a few dust bunnies -Genos added cleaning the kitchen thoroughly to his to do list- and there was also a pair of... were those wire cutters?
He then moved the roll of tape again, a millimeter and a quarter to the right this time, nodding to himself as the placement looked a lot more accurate than it had been.
He could only hope the spot of colour near his shoulder wasn't too visible, or even someone as unobservant as his sensei would notice. Maybe he could think up an excuse to explain this...