I yawned and stretched, fiercely closing my eyes. As I opened them, I looked around my room. It was a small but welcoming. My bed was next to the wooden wardrobe and next to it was the door. A simple mirror was on the wardrobe's sliding door and a small desk sat on the opposite wall to my bed. A computer was on the desk and my mouse was hanging off the white wooden surface. In the wall between my bed and my desk was a fairly large window from where sunlight seeped from, between the royal blue curtains.
"Kasumi-chan!" Naoki shouted from the kitchen. I smiled smelling the scent of pancakes and coffee. I stood up and put on some warm socks.
"Give me a minute!" I yelled back and slowly made my way towards the kitchen, dragging my feet along the way and using the hall's wall as support. I observed some fading drawings on the walls and giggled to myself. Naoki and I had painted those many years ago and earned a long lecture.
My name is Kasumi Kaminari. My parents passed away when I was only four because of an incident involving a Kaijin, a mysterious being. At the time of the accident I was staying over my cousin's home, in B-city. Because of it my guard was passed to my uncles and I moved from C-city to live with them and my cousin, Naoki Matsuoka.
After Naoki graduated from High-School, he took the super hero entrance exam and passed it. He is now known as the License-less Rider and is the first ranked C-class hero, bringing pride to the family. Due to his work as a hero, he got his own apartment, close to my former school. That's why I moved in with him and started living with him since then. He was 18 and I was 10 back then.
Now I'm 17 and in my last High-School semester. I study at a nearby High-School and am an honored student, having received many school science prizes. This may sound like a nice and cozy life but it's not quite it. I admit, living with my cousin, who respects my choices and makes divine food, is unbelievably good.
The thing is: I am definitely not normal. I noticed it when I was about 14 years old. Of course I didn't tell anybody to not freak them out. But in reality I mostly didn't tell no one because I myself was scared. Scared of these powers.
Apparently I can create and control electricity. But that's not where it stops. With this I can also make magnetic fields and turn even thin air into a magnet. As far as I tried, I can also create a powerful lightning that seems to come out of nowhere. Believe me, the poor tree I used to test this ability was nothing but ashes after one single electrical discharge.
This sounds awesome but it doesn't look much like it after you cause blackouts in your neighborhood a couple of times. Naoki never seemed to notice it, thankfully. I guess he is too busy with his hero work.
"Morning!" I chirped happily once I reached the small kitchen. I sat on the table where Naoki placed a plate with two pancakes topped with maple syrup and a mug filled with coffee and milk. I nodded silently thanking him and took a sip of my coffee. The kitchen was simple and practical. A microwave next to a stove with an oven and a small fridge close to the dining table, where I was sitting.
"Slept well?" Naoki asked taking a sit in front of me and starting to eat his pancakes. I placed my hand on my chin, deep in thought. 'Yesterday I didn't have classes and managed to catch up on my favorite series…' I wondered happily 'Oh! But tomorrow I have classes again…' I frowned at the thought. Naoki seemed to notice this and chuckled, making a piece of pancake go flying and land on my nose.
"Ew." I groaned and cleaned my nose with a napkin "Was that really necessary, Naoki?" I complained and took a bite of my pancake. It was delicious and made my mouth water.
"I told you a million times already, Kasumi. Don't call me Naoki. Call me License-less Rider." Naoki sighed and put a little more of maple syrup on his second pancake.
"Alright, alright." I put my hands up in a surrender manner. Then I grinned mischievously "LLR." I added and stuck my tongue out at him. I noticed him blushing in embarrassment and laughed heartedly.
"D-Don't call me that!" LLR pouted like a little child and stood up from his chair. He placed his empty plate in the sink. "I'll be going now. Don't forget to pay mom and dad a visit later." He said while putting his goggles and green helmet.
"Yes, sir!" I sang mockingly with my mouth full of pancake, making it sound even weirder. I chewed the food and swallowed it. "Be careful and help all those people out there needing you." I said smiling genuinely.
"You know me." LLR replied and opened the door, about to leave. "See you later." He said while taking the bicycle carefully placed next to the door and closing and locking the door.
I finished my breakfast and washed the dishes. Then I went back to my room to get changed. When I got there, I looked to my figure in the mirror. I have bright blue eyes, a shade that was almost gray. My long wavy dark blue hair was in a high ponytail and still reached my lower back. 'I need to cut these…' I noted to myself as I fidgeted my long bangs that framed my face.
My body wasn't bad at all. I was considered attractive by my friends. My curvy and slim figure made many commercials managers try to hire me as a model. And my pale porcelain-like skin which used to be reason of mocking is now admired. Although my breasts were C cup, I knew they probably would reach a respectable D cup size in a few years, maybe.
I sighed eyeing my pajamas. They were really comfortable. My cat themed cotton shirt was adorable, also. But I couldn't walk on the streets like that. Nor visit uncle and auntie. I changed into a plain white T-shirt that complemented my hair and eyes nicely and dark jeans. I nodded to myself, satisfied with my outfit and left the house, wearing black sneakers on my way out.
Uncle and auntie were expecting me at lunch time. Now was about 9 am, meaning I still had about three or four hours. I walked around the city and breathed in the cool morning air that was already warming and giving space to a hot summer sunny day. Even though I didn't enjoy the heat that much, the feeling of a dim dun on my skin was calming and relaxing.
Passing by some already open shops, I noticed a TV turned on in a small café broadcasting a nasty accident caused by a Kaijin in Z-city. I grimaced. Wherever there was a Kaijin, there was destruction, death and chaos.
'But there are heroes out there to fight them. Including Naoki.' I thought with a small smile on my lips. I then looked at the TV again and noticed a small yellow dot seemingly flying towards the huge turtle-like Kaijin. I narrowed my eyes trying to figure the yellow dot out.
"The Kaijin was defeated!" the lady in the TV announced excitedly, surprising me. 'What was that dot…' I furrowed my eyebrows, the issue bugging me. "Seems like an A-class hero, Tanktop Vegetarian, defeated the mysterious creature by himself!" the lady continued and a muscular guy in a purple was shown on the screen giving a speech on the event.
Outraged, I unconsciously let out a disapproval gruff. 'That yellow dot obviously was the one to finish the Kaijin! Why is this purple walking protein supplement receiving all the credit!' I grimaced and felt more irritated by the second.
I stormed out of the café, which I hadn't noticed I had entered while watching the news, and texted LLR 'Can't visit uncle and auntie today. Pls tell them.' While racing to the closest train station.
Arriving there, I felt my cellphone vibrate so I took and read on the screen 'R u alright? Do u want me to go back home?' was the reply LLR gave me. I huffed in slight annoyance and texted back 'I'm OK. Just going to Z-city to check something out. I'll be home at night. Don't wait 4 me.' Then sent it.
After I bought the train passage to Z-city, I sat and waited for the right train. My cellphone rang this time and I answered the call.
"Hello?" I asked as I hadn't bothered to check who was calling.
"Kasumi-chan?" LLR replied on the call. I lightly sighed.
"Did you receive my message, LLR?" I internally laughed at the nickname.
"Yeah. Why are you going there? Should I go with you? Is anything wrong?" Naoki spluttered out and I cut him.
"One question at a time, please." I interrupted while shifting my position on the uncomfortable seat at the platform. "And I'm alright, thanks." I quickly added.
"Are you sure?" LLR asked worriedly. Honestly, it was nice having someone who really cared for you but sometimes it was simply annoying.
"As sure as one can be." I smartly replied and grinned. "Did you tell uncle?" I questioned before he could say something.
After a few seconds of silence, LLR replied "I just dropped by and told mom. She was worried, you know." Naoki then chuckled "I thought you had gone over 'that phase'." and then laughed loudly.
I felt my face gently heating up "Anyways," I said, trying to change the subject. "What was that pause for?" I asked, curious.
Suddenly, I heard a loud crash sound on the other side of the line and my eyes widened 'Please tell me Naoki is fine.' I prayed. Thankfully, I heard LLR faintly reply in the call "Sorry, gotta go." and end the call.
I sighed, relieved and saw a train approaching. A female voice said in loudspeakers in the platform that that train was headed for H-city then Z-city. I got up from my seat and checked my pockets for my wallet and my cellphone. They were there.
After entering the train, it took a few minutes for it to depart and half an hour to reach H-city. I've never been to Z-city or H-city so I was impressed with H-city. The place seemed much cleaner than B-city or C-city, although I didn't remember much from C-city apart from the places I used to visit often like the playground close to my old home. Or so I think.
Stately skyscrapers grazed the clouds and reflected the now blinding sunlight. The busy streets radiated life and hurry, in a mix of colors from the train window. I leaned back against the soft train seat.
The train was divided in short rows and because it was nearly empty, I got a row for myself. Every now and then someone would pass through me to go to the toilet or to get a cup of water.
After the stop at H-city, the train left again towards Z-city, my destination, I remarked absently in my head. The landscape changed drastically. The high buildings were replaced by and arid and deserted never ending view. The only sign that there were humans there was the train and its rails.
During 20 minutes or so that was the only thing seen through the window, until some spaced houses popped up here and there in the middle of the lifeless lowland. Gradually the number of houses was increasing and before one would expect, small buildings were everywhere and a fence separated the outskirts from the center of the city.
'Why did I decide to come here in the first place…?' I questioned myself. "Oh!" I said aloud. 'That's right, the yellow dot on the TV.' I remembered. 'Is this enough reason to ditch a visit to uncle and auntie…?' I thought feeling slightly guilty then shook my head 'No regretting now. You already came this far!' I cheered myself up.
When the train stopped at the train station I saw it was going to another city, probably M-city. I felt slightly hungry and my belly grumbled as if in protest. I checked my watch and saw it was about 3pm. 'This took much more than I thought it did!' I exclaimed inside my head.
"I should probably eat something before looking for that yellow dot…" I said to myself pushing the yellow dot to the back of my mind and searching for somewhere to eat. Soon enough I found a small restaurant.
The place only had one costumer and some plastic tables were stacked at one corner. I entered the place and a young woman wearing an orange uniform came to take my order. The waitress handed me the menu and I leafed through it until a figure of a small noodle bowl drew my attention. I ordered the dish along with iced lychee white tea. While I waited for her to come back, I distractedly watched out the window.
Bored out of my mind, I looked down and made both my index fingers face each other. Focusing, I make a spark of electricity jolt from one finger and be absorbed by the other. I repeated the process a few times changing from which finger the spark left until the waitress came back. To my surprise, the noodle bowl was way bigger than it seemed in the picture and I wondered what I would do with the rest after I finished it.
The waitress finished pouring the tea into my cup and excused herself. I ate about half of the noodle bowl and only stopped because I felt satisfied. I asked for the bill and the waitress brought it. I payed for the food and before I could leave, the woman brought the rest of my noodles packed in a Styrofoam packaging. I thanked her and finally left the restaurant.
I looked down at my watching, carrying the noodles with my other hand and noticed it was 4 and a half pm already. 'I probably won't be able to come back home today… but I have classes tomorrow!' I thought starting to become desperate. Giving up on getting home in time, I decided to finish my own quest I came here for.
I walked around the calm streets asking passerby if they knew a hero that wore a yellow uniform and was formidably strong. Most of them answered 'no' before I could even finish my question and hurried away. I kept asking until one toddler in a swinger decided to give a decent answer for a change.
"Sorry, mis, but I don't know any strong heroes using yellow clothes… but my brother told me about this bald guy who uses a yellow jumpsuit and takes credit for true heroes' doings" The child replied, straightening his green T-shirt with a stylized dinosaur drawing on it.
'That's probably not the yellow dot… but that's my only clue so far so I might check it out' I decided. "Thank you very much" I smiled "now I really think you should go back home because your brother might be worried, OK?" I said as kindly as possible. The toddler nodded eagerly and left running, only stopping a few meters away to wave at me in a hurried goodbye.
Conscious of the new information, I changed my approach. Now I was asking salespeople if they have seen a bald person wearing a yellow jumpsuit. I soon gathered enough information and even an address in a launderette. Apparently there was someone that wasn't a registered hero around in a yellow jumpsuit. 'I really don't think it's that yellow dot but I'll just check this person so I can rest assured and come back home as soon as possible.' I thought while humming a song and walking towards the bald guy's apartment, according to an old lady that was washing her clothes at the launderette.
After turning a few corners, I came to a halt in front of an apartment block in front of a viaduct. If my sources were right, this is the place the bald man lived in. I glanced at my clock and saw it was already 6pm and I also noticed that the sun already set and the sky was darkening. 'I should finish this quickly' I mused.
It was common sense that Kaijin and robbery activities were more intense at night, so I avoided staying out late as much as possible. I checked my phone and saw three lost calls from LLR. Deciding to check them later, I entered the building and luckily found out that there were very few occupied apartments because of the high levels of Kaijin activities in the area, which left me with a couple of apartments to check.
The first one I checked smelled like cigarettes so I decided to check it last. In the second one a couple attended the doorbell and I took the chance and asked them where the bald man lived. Their expressions immediately darkened and they told me he lived on the apartment above them before shutting the door loudly.
I raised my eyebrows at their kind of rude behavior and headed towards said apartment. I knocked on the door as the doorbell apparently didn't work. To my surprise, a young man with dark blond spiky hair and rather tall answered the door. He had robotic arms. 'A cyborg' I noticed. I immediately tensed up and apologized.
"I truly sorry for disturbing you, I thought someone else lived here." I said while bowing slightly and was about to walk away when the young man reached out for my shoulder and stopped me dead in my tracks. I unconsciously held my breath. I have heard that cyborgs didn't have the same sense of what's right or wrong as 'normal' people.
"Wait." The young man said stoically and turned around and shouted into the apartment. "Sensei! I think there's someone here to see you!" The young man yelled emotionlessly. I gulped in anticipation. 'Could this bald man really be some evil person stealing other people's credit? Or could him be misunderstood and actually be the yellow dot?' I anxiously racked my mind then took a deep breath 'Kasumi, calm down. Stop obsessing over this yellow dot you saw in a TV' I reasoned.
While I was deep in thought, I didn't notice the young cyborg retreated into the apartment and now an expressionless bald man was staring at me, seemingly looking at the wall behind me and thinking about something else. I shook my head to clear my thoughts and presented myself. This had to be the bald man that toddler was talking about.
"It's a pleasure to meet you! I am Kasumi." I smiled politely and extended my hand for a handshake. The man stared at my hand for a few seconds before asking.
"Do I know you?" He tilted his head in an almost bored confusion. I internally deadpanned but kept my composure outside.
"Actually, I'm from B-city. I was wondering if you happened to defeat a Kaijin today." I spilled those words before thinking. Now that I recalled what I said, I thought I sounded like a crazy lunatic. Not that I wasn't.
The bald man cleaned his ear with his pinkie while confirming "That turtle?" he asked now checking his pinkie. I held in the urge to laugh at him and simply nodded, not trusting my voice to say anything. "Oh. I killed it." He said nonchalantly, like defeating a huge turtle was nothing. My eyes widened. Suddenly all my doubts were gone and I was completely sure that the man standing in front of me was the yellow dot.
I bowed profusely and thanked him "I'm truly grateful that you defeat Kaijins. And thank you for defeating that turtle Kaijin today!" my voice increasing by the end.
From inside the apartment, I heard that young cyborg from earlier yell "See, sensei? Someone finally recognized your work." and I could practically hear the smile.
The bald man then spoke up "Hey, raise your head. There's no need for these formal things. I'm Saitama, by the way." Saitama offered his hand, mimicking my gesture earlier and I gladly took his offer. I smiled and to my exhilaration, he smiled back. A tiny, sincere smile. "Would you like to come in for some tea?" Saitama offered.
Then suddenly something hit me. 'All those people think Saitama is a fake hero! That's when he's the one whose credit is being stolen!' I thought horrified. Ignoring his kind offer, I couldn't help but ask "Don't you feel bothered that nobody seems to recognize your work?" I grimaced slightly at the thought.
Saitama wondered with his expressionless face once again before replying simply "Well, it's always been like that so it doesn't really bother me." He said then waited for me to say something. I opened my mouth to reply that I couldn't take his offer because I had classes but I was interrupted by my cellphone ringing.
"Sorry, I really have to take this. See you around, Saitama! And your lover, also!" I said turning around and rushing outside of the bricked building to take the call.
"Hel-" I said before Naoki yelled at me.
"Where are you?!" He asked in an overprotective tone.
"I'm at Z-city, why?" I asked confused.
"Do you know what time is it?" LLR now asked slightly angered, as I could tell from his voice.
"Uh…" I smiled sheepishly, although he couldn't see it.
"It's almost 9pm! If you get the train right now, which I doubt, you would only arrive home around 1 and a half am!" LLR huffed irritated.
"It's already that late?!" I asked alarmed.
"Stay there. I'll fetch you." LLR said fatherly and hang up the call. I sighed, foreseeing a long scolding and looked up at the stars. Because of the light and air pollution in B-city, you couldn't really see the stars. Incredibly, though, you could see them here. 'I guess it's because there aren't many people here.' I wondered.
I slowly made my way towards the train station, feeling the cool night breeze caress my cheeks, sending shivers down my spine. I was careful not to get lost in the dark and empty streets. When I was about one block away from the train station, something suddenly hit my side and I was sent flying towards a wall. My back hit the hard concrete and I coughed up blood before slowly and painfully sliding down the wall. I looked at my attacker and saw the dark form of a huge wolf covered by quills with red glowing eyes.
Gasping, I tried to get up and run but felt a sharp pain in my leg, making me fall back. Now the adrenaline was kicking in and the pain was slowly subsiding, making my head clearer. "Looks like I have no other choice…" I mumbled and focused.
I felt my power at the back of my mind, like becoming conscious of breathing. Reaching to it, I pictured a powerful discharge of energy piercing through the Kaijin. When I opened my eyes, I saw a lightning going from the closest electricity post and piercing the wolf.
The Kaijin let out a deafening howl of sheer pain and soon crumbled to the side, a huge hole seen on his side. Slightly relieved, I let out my breath I didn't know I was holding. Now the pain was coming back and my vision was blurring.
Before completely losing consciousness, the last thing I saw was a figure wearing yellow clothes accompanied by a metallic glimpse standing between me and approaching wolf Kaijins.
The darkness consumed me for who knows how long until I felt warmth and shifted uncomfortably. "She regained consciousness!" an unknown voice spoke up. My eyelids fluttered for a moment until I managed to open them. They were sticky and for aa moment I thought I wouldn't be able to open them again.
"Kasumi? K-Kasumi-chan?" a voice I recognized immediately as Naoki's said worriedly and slightly relieved to my right. I felt my eyes adjusting to the bright room and saw myself on a bed covered by white sheets. The room I was in had white plain walls and a window with blinds. Some sort of monitor was to my left beeping regularly at a slow pace. Naoki was sitting on a stool and was holding my right hand firmly with both of his hands. He had his hero uniform on, covering his hazel hair with his helmet.
"H-hey LLR." I laughed quietly but the movement awakened a sharp pain in my left side. Slowly moving the white sheets covering my upper body, I peeked at my injuries. My torso was covered in bandages. One was even slightly stained with blood. "Ops." I muttered, not knowing how to react.
"I-Idiot!" LLR shouted while drying some tears with the sleeve of his leather suit. Some tears were escaping from his goggles. "You-you m-ma-made me so-so wor-worried!" He sobbed. I tried to comfort him by patting his back and making soft "Shhh" sounds.
"I'm fine, see?" I smiled while putting both of my arms up, when he calmed down a little bit. That wasn't exactly the brightest idea as I had to hiss to cover my pain, but it was worth it since Naoki stopped crying. He was much calmer now and in conditions to clear my doubts. "So…" I started, not sure where to begin "What day is today?" I asked with a sheepish dry laugh.
"You were unconscious for two whole days. So today is Tuesday." LLR answered grimaced.
"Hm… What about school?" I asked. Since I was the class representative, being absent was nearly unforgivable.
"Don't you worry. I took care of it." LLR answered and I raised a questioning eyebrow.
"Are you sure?" I asked, doubting.
"Well, your friend, Miho, recorded all of your classes and I already called the headmaster and handed him your medical leave." LLR replied shrugging his shoulders slightly.
"Oh. Thank you very much, Naoki." I smiled genuinely and felt a tear slip down my cheek, grateful I had someone to rely on.
"D-Don't cry!" LLR exclaimed and blushed. I laughed at his reaction.
"Anyways. Where am I?" I asked.
"We're at B-city's central hospital. Seems like someone brought you here shortly after you collapsed close to Z-city's train station." I opened my mouth in understanding and we kept talking.
After a week I was discharged and resumed my routine. Sure, catching up on classes was hard but not impossible. Every now and then I had to go back to the doctor to make a check-up and change some of my bandages. During the whole process, I would wonder if Saitama had saved me that day.
~~/~~
Author's note:
-Hello! First of all, I am NOT giving up on Breaking the Icy Lake. It's just that a lot have been happening lately and I wanted to try this out.
-Merry Christmas? I guess. And sorry for disappearing. Hope you like this.
-I'm not really taking this fanfic seriously so I guess I'll update it every now and then. Whenever I feel like doing so, at least. I also is poorly written (sorry *grins apologetically*).
-Kasumi's powers were inspired from Mikoto from To Aru Kagaku no Railgun. Great anime, btw.
-The story takes place a little before Saitama took the hero exam.
-Thank you very much for reading this and see you!