Chương 28: The Burden of the Spotlight

The screen of the Vale News Network flickered to life across thousands of scrolls and public television monitors throughout the kingdom, the glossy, corporate theme music cutting through the quiet morning. Lisa Lavender sat at the anchor desk, her expression a perfect blend of professional poise and lingering astonishment as she adjusted her papers.

"Breaking news from the central commercial district," Lisa announced, her voice echoing clearly over the broadcast.

"Late yesterday afternoon, an attempted high-stakes armed robbery at the Vale International Supermarket was thoroughly thwarted by a single individual. Early reports confirm that the assailant group consisted of ten heavily armed remnants of the late Roman Torchwick's syndicate. However, the criminal cell was decisively neutralized by none other than Beacon Academy's newly appointed Special Campus Security Consultant."

The broadcast instantly cut to a shaky, vertically oriented scroll video taken by a hiding civilian behind a bakery display. The video quality was grainy, but the details were terrifyingly clear. A hail of high-caliber Dust rounds and automatic gunfire lit up the screen, the muzzle flashes illuminating a dozen men in black suits and red-tinted sunglasses screaming in panic.

In the center of the storm stood a bald man in a blindingly yellow jumpsuit, his white cape completely unbothered as heavy lead rounds pancaked against his chest and dropped harmlessly to the floor. The footage captured the exact microsecond the hero delivered a single, effortless open-hand slap to the gang leader, sending the massive man spinning horizontally through the air like a broken projectile until he embedded waist-deep into the concrete wall.

Within three seconds, the screen showed a blur of yellow, followed by the systematic, rhythmic thuds of the remaining nine thugs collapsing into unconscious piles.

"Following the swift resolution of the crisis, the rescued civilians successfully retrieved the assailant cell for the Vale Police Department," Lisa Lavender continued as the camera cut back to her desk, her expression softening into a respectful smile.

"With no civilian casualties and zero structural damage to the surrounding storefronts outside of a single concrete wall, the citizens of the Kingdom of Vale have officially labeled this enigmatic defender as the 'Hero of Vale.' We will provide updates as more information regarding his background is authorized by the academy."

"Reckless! Completely undisciplined, and an absolute logistical nightmare!" Glynda's sharp voice echoed off the stone walls, her chest heaving as she glared at Saitama sitting opposite her. The quiet ticking of the massive overhead clockwork gears inside of Headmistress's office at Beacon Academy did absolutely nothing to soothe the radiating tension.

Glynda Goodwitch stood behind her grand mahogany desk, her knuckles pressed firmly against the polished wood as she leaned forward, her green eyes hyper-focused and blazing with administrative fury behind her oval glasses. Her purple cape swept forward over her shoulder, and the riding crop tucked beneath her arm practically trembled with her rigid restraint.

"Do you have any concept of what data containment means, Mr. Saitama?!" Glynda said angrily.

"General Ironwood specifically mandated that your physical capabilities remain entirely confined within our controlled arena trials! And yet, less than forty-eight hours later, you are captured on civilian scrolls absorbing military-grade ammunition with your bare skin on the public news!" As she scolded him, a sharp, unbidden wave of déjà vu washed over Glynda. Looking at the bald hero slouched in front of her, her mind drifted back to the night she had first met Ruby Rose.

The young girl had also single-handedly engaged Junior's henchmen and the late Roman Torchwick at a local Dust shop, bringing an entire police interrogation room's worth of administrative headaches with her before her unconventional enrollment. Why is it, that whenever someone takes down Torchwick's old remnants in a public storefront, they always end up sitting right in front of my desk? Glynda thought with a weary mental sigh.

Saitama sat slouched in the high-backed leather chair, looking comically small and casual despite wearing his full heroic yellow suit. His face had completely reverted to its standard, blank, oval-eyed look of utter defeat, his red-gloved hands resting limply on his knees.

"I'm really, really sorry, lady," Saitama muttered, his voice a flat, hollow drone as he bowed his bald head forward in a comically submissive posture, a single bead of comical sweat rolling down his scalp.

"The guy just started shooting at me and destroyed my groceries. Didn't think someone was recording the whole thing with a phone though."

"Professor Goodwitch, please, if I may speak," Weiss Schnee stepped forward from the side of the room, standing perfectly straight as her porcelain face filled with earnest defense.

"Saitama did not initiate the conflict. The criminals opened fire on him without provocation. If he had not neutralized them instantly with minimal force, the civilian casualties within that crowded lobby would have been catastrophic. He actually saved the kingdom from a massive public relations disaster."

"Yeah, Weiss is right, Headmistress!" Jaune Arc chimed in, stepping up beside Weiss while adjusting his armor plates, his blue eyes wide with sincerity as he waved his hands defensively.

"He didn't even draw a weapon or cause an explosion. He just... slapped the main guy away before anyone could get hurt. The whole store was cheering for him. He really did a good thing out there, even if it ended up on the morning news." From the corner of the office, Yang Xiao Long let out a loud, chest-heaving laugh, leaning her hip heavily against a stone pillar while adjusting her robotic arm.

"Oh come on, Professor, you've gotta admit it was hilarious! Did you see the look on the leader's face right before he became a permanent fixture in the soup aisle? That guy's red glasses are probably still spinning!" Glynda turned a slow, icy glare toward Yang, causing the blonde brawler to quickly raise her hands in a mock gesture of surrender, though a wide, mischievous grin remained on her face.

The Headmistress closed her eyes, letting out a long, slow sigh as she massaged her temples, her sharp posture relaxing just a fraction as she reigned in her authority.

"Miss Xiao Long, this is not a laughing matter," Glynda said, her voice dropping into a calmer, albeit deeply serious register as she looked back down at Saitama.

"I am well aware that you prevented a tragedy, Mr. Saitama. I am not suggesting you should let crimes occur in your presence. However, your complete lack of situational awareness regarding your own public profile is dangerous. Salem's eyes are everywhere, and standing out this aggressively makes you a massive target for political and military complications." Saitama raised his head, his oval eyes blinking lazily.

"So... am I fired? Because if I am, I really need to know if I still get to keep that discount pass. And my dorm."

"No, you are not fired," Glynda snapped, her left eyebrow twitching violently as she pointed her riding crop directly at his face.

"But from this moment onward, the security protocols are being strictly altered. You are officially barred from wandering the commercial districts of Vale completely alone. Whenever you leave this campus for basic errands, you will be accompanied by designated student escorts or faculty members to ensure you maintain a professional, low-profile demeanor. Am I making myself entirely clear?"

Saitama's shoulders slumped so low his white cape pooled onto the floor, his face twisting into a dark, comically depressed scowl.

"Man... this is totally bogus. I'm a grown man. Why do I need babysitters just to buy some tofu?"

"Class dismissed," Glynda commanded standardly, turning her back to look out the massive glass window toward the courtyard.

"Do not make me repeat this conversation, Mr. Saitama."

A few minutes later, the heavy wooden doors of the tower clicked shut, and Saitama walked down the marble hallway alongside Jaune, Weiss, and Yang. The invincible hero looked entirely defeated, his feet dragging loudly against the polished stone as he kept his red-gloved hands shoved deep into his pockets.

"This is officially the worst day ever of my life in this world," Saitama groaned, his voice dripping with pure, unadulterated self-pity.

"First, those guys ruin my premium marbled beef and blast my discount cabbage into total mush. Then, that crop lady yells at me for forty minutes and tells me I can't even go to the store by myself anymore. All those things were eighty percent off sales! Do you know how rare an eighty percent off meat sale is? It's a mathematical miracle, and it's gone forever!" Jaune suddenly stopped walking, his blue eyes lighting up with a sharp spark of recollection as he clapped his hands together.

"Oh! Wait a minute, Saitama! I almost completely forgot!" Stolen story; please report. Jaune reached behind his back, lifting a massive, heavily packed brown paper grocery bag that had been resting near the entryway lockers. The handles crinkled loudly in the quiet hallway as Jaune extended it forward with a warm, triumphant smile.

"The manager of the Vale International Supermarket ran after us right after you bolted out of the store," Jaune explained, his voice bright with satisfaction.

"Since you left so fast to avoid the police questioning, they couldn't give it to you directly. The manager replaced every single item that got ruined by the gunfire. He gave you the highest grade marbled beef, three pristine heads of fresh cabbage, extra firm tofu, and he didn't even charge a single Lien for it. He said it was the store's ultimate token of gratitude for saving their lives. Here you go." Saitama's face transformed in a fraction of a second.

The blank, dot-like pupils instantly expanded into massive, glittering, detailed circles of pure joy, and a wide, dopey grin stretched across his face. He snatched the heavy paper bag from Jaune's hands, clutching the fresh cabbage heads to his chest as if they were ancient relics.

"Are you serious?!" Saitama shouted, his voice field with burning, heroic passion as tears of comical relief welled up in his eyes.

"Free meat?! The high-grade stuff?! And the cabbage doesn't even have those soggy outer leaves! Jaune, you are officially the greatest kid in this entire school! Education truly is a beautiful thing!" Weiss crossed her arms tightly, a small, genuine smile tugging at the corners of her lips despite her best efforts to look aristocratic and unimpressed.

"Unbelievable. The man splits a mountain-sized Grimm with his bare hands and faces down an army, yet his entire emotional stability hinges entirely on the preservation of raw produce. You are a complete enigma, Saitama."

"Hey, that's just our cue-ball for you, Weiss-cream!" Yang chuckled, slinging a casual arm over Jaune's shoulder while giving Saitama a playful wink.

"Give the guy a break, he's got his priorities straight. Meat always comes first. Right, teach?"

"Absolutely," Saitama said, nodding vigorously as he carefully adjusted the bag in his arms.

"If you don't respect the ingredients, the ingredients won't respect you." As the four of them stepped out through the main archway into the grand courtyard of Beacon Academy, the peaceful atmosphere vanished instantly. The afternoon breeze carried the crisp scent of the cliffs, but the center of the flagstones was entirely packed with a dense crowd of wide-eyed first-year students.

"There he is! The Hero of Vale!" Marcus yelled, his voice cracking with excitement as he pointed a finger toward the archway. The tall first-year immediately sprinted forward, his heavy combat boots slamming against the cobblestones as he led the charge.

"Master Saitama!" Toby postured, practically vibrating with energy as he slid to a halt right in front of Saitama, his hands waving frantically.

"We all know about the hundred push-ups, sit-ups, and the ten-kilometer run! But there has to be a secret phase to the routine! Are you doing the squats backward? Are you running in high-gravity dust fields?! Please, give us the actual execution form that lets you slap a guy through a retaining wall!"

"Get out of the way, Toby!" Chloe pushed her way through the crowd, her twin dust-daggers bouncing at her waist as her eyes sparkled like dinner plates.

"Master Saitama, sir! We tried doing your routine for a week and all we got were sore hamstrings! What's the breathing technique? Do you hold your breath during the push-ups to trigger a sudden evolutionary cell expansion?! Tell us how to break the physical baseline without an active Aura!" Within seconds, dozens of first-year students completely surrounded Saitama in a tight, suffocating circle, bombarding him with a continuous tempest of overlapping praise, theories, and invasive questions.

Standing a few yards away near the stone balustrade, the rest of the Beacon students watched the spectacle unfold. Ruby Rose stood alongside them, her silver eyes expanding with glee as she clutched Crescent Rose's shaft. Beside her, Blake Belladonna leaned against the stone railing, her signature black ribbon still sitting perfectly atop her head. Pyrrha Nikos stood in a perfect, graceful stance, her green eyes filled with a deep, respectful curiosity.

Nora Valkyrie was practically jumping, her massive hammer Magnhild resting over her shoulder, while Lie Ren stood calmly beside her, gently rubbing his temples. Team CFVY was there too, resting against the security railing. Coco Adel adjusted her beret, tilting her dark sunglasses down with a stylish, amused smirk, while Velvet Scarlatina clutched her camera tightly, her long rabbit ears drooping slightly in awe.

Yatsuhashi Daichi stood tall behind them, his massive greatsword strapped to his back, as Fox Alistair crossed his arms with a knowing smile.

"Wow, look at him go!" Yang shouted over the noise, crossing her arms as she nudged Coco with her elbow.

"Our resident security guy is officially becoming more famous day by day. Pretty soon, the headmistress is gonna have to hire a security team just to protect her security consultant from his own fans!"

"No kidding," Coco replied, letting out a dry, smooth laugh as she leaned her hip against the rail.

"If the guy keeps pulling off stunts like that supermarket job, he's going to start outshining the professional Huntsmen groups on the billboards. I kind of dig the yellow suit, honestly. It's bold. Terrible for stealth operations, but great for branding."

"It's not just about branding, Coco!" Ruby chirped, her boots literally leaving the ground as she looked over at Blake and Pyrrha.

"Did you guys see how he just stood there in the footage? He didn't even shift his feet! It's like the concept of force doesn't even exist to him!"

"Well, that same invincible hero was also being scolded by the Headmistress earlier," Yang added.

"You know, it kinda reminds me back before you got enrolled to Beacon, Rubes." Looking at Saitama being smothered by the crowd, a warm, nostalgic smile touched her lips.

"You're right, Yang. This is exactly like how I got into Beacon," Ruby remembers how overwhelming it had been when everyone stared at her as the young girl who skipped two grades after the Dust shop incident. It felt uniquely comforting for Ruby to see the strongest man in the world look just as helpless against academic gossips as she had.

"Well, except, he didn't get cookies from Headmaster Ozpin! Blake, don't you think his public debut is like absolute destiny?!"

"It's definitely loud," Blake murmured softly, her cat ears twitching again under her ribbon as she watched Saitama's completely unbothered, yet increasingly annoyed posture.

"The first-years are treating his training regime like a magical text, but honestly, I think he just wants to go cook his meat."

"His durability is truly extraordinary," Pyrrha added, her voice dropping into a gentle, highly analytical cadence as she locked her gaze on Saitama.

"I have studied combat metrics for years, and traditional theory dictates that every action must have an equal kinetic rebound. Yet, when those bullets hit him, the energy simply... vanishes against his form. It is an honor to watch his growth, though I can see he is struggling with the attention."

"Oh, I want to hit him with Magnhild again!" Nora screamed, spinning her giant hammer with a wild, manic energy that made the surrounding students step back.

"If all those bullets couldn't move him, maybe I just need to use a hundred times more electricity! Saitama! Look over here! Can we go get pancakes after you're done with your fan club?!"

"Nora, please, let's keep our distance," Ren sighed softly, placing a steady, calming hand on her shoulder while keeping his posture cautious.

"He is currently holding a very fragile paper bag of fresh produce, and I do not think he would appreciate an accidental discharge of lightning near his dinner."

"Yeah, leave the man to his fans," Yatsuhashi rumbled from the back, his deep voice carrying a rare tone of amusement.

"Though I don't think his patience is going to last much longer."

"Look at his face," Velvet whispered, pointing her camera toward the center of the circle, her rabbit ears twitching upward.

"He looks like he's in actual physical pain from all the compliments." Back in the center of the dense crowd, Saitama was rapidly reaching his absolute limit. The first-years were practically pressing their scrolls into his face, their loud voices blurring into a continuous, piercing headache that rattled his brain far more than any of Team CRDL's mace strikes.

"Master Saitama! Just one picture!" One of the First Years pleaded, holding up his scroll.

"Master Saitama, sir! Tell us how many sets of squats it takes to become immune to heavy sniper rounds!" Other first year student yelled. Saitama's blank, oval eyes began to twitch violently. The vein on his forehead throbbed with a sudden, comical caricature of intense irritation, and his grip tightened around his paper bag of groceries.

"Alright, alright! Cut it out already!" Saitama squeaked, his voice cracking with pure, dramatic annoyance as he looked at the sea of enthusiastic teenagers.

"I told you not to call me "Mister" or "Sir", and now you're calling me "Master"? Seriously, I don't have a hidden gravity field! I'm just a normal guy who does normal exercises! Go back to your classes or go practice your sword waving things! Leave me alone!" But the first-years simply cheered louder, completely misinterpreting his irritation as the stern, unyielding countenance of a legendary protector.

"Uh-oh..." Saitama muttered, his face falling into an expression of absolute, comical terror as he realized they weren't going to let him pass. Without warning, Saitama leaned forward, his red boots squeaking sharply against the stones.

In a sudden, explosive burst of speed that left a tiny gust of wind and a flurry of loose rose petals in his wake, he comically broke through the perimeter of the circle, sprinting across the courtyard with his white cape flying horizontally behind him like a banner, his grocery bag clutched securely in his arms.

"Wait! Master Saitama! Don't leave yet!" Toby yelled, completely unfazed as he turned and bolted right after him.

"Get back here, please! We have more questions!" Marcus and Chloe screamed in unison, leading the entire mob of dozens of screaming first-year students as they gave chase, their boots stomping rhythmically across the flagstones in a massive, chaotic vanguard.

From the balustrade, Team RWBY, Team JNPR, and Team CFVY watched the invincible "Hero of Vale" sprinting for his absolute life from a pack of enthusiastic teenagers, his face twisted into a wide, open-mouthed scream of pure, comically desperate panic as he turned the corner past the library.

"Well," Yang chuckled, leaning back on her hands as the dust settled in the courtyard.

"He's definitely fast. Let's see if he can outrun them before his beef gets warm." Coco shifted her weight, checking her scroll before adjusting the heavy strap of her minigun bag over her shoulder.

"Alright, team, look sharp. Airship leaves for the long-term deployment in twenty minutes," She looked out toward the empty corner where the dust from the running first-years was still settling, a genuinely amused grin breaking across her face.

"But honestly? I'm incredibly glad I got to see this absolute circus before our departure. Watching him pull a runner from a bunch of freshmen is the best send-off scenery I could've asked for."

"Stay safe out there, Coco," Ruby said, turning around with a warm, supportive smile as she waved to Team CFVY.

"We'll hold down the fort here at Beacon!"

"Don't worry about us, Little Red," Coco waved back as Yatsuhashi, Fox, and Velvet gathered their belongings, ready to head toward the landing pads.

"Just make sure the cue-ball doesn't accidentally level the library while we're gone."

"Thanks everyone! You all take care too!" Velvetsaid happily, with Fox and Yatsuhashi smiled and nodded to Team RWBY and JNPR.