Problem Girl
It was supposed to be a peaceful night in Viletown. The fires from the earlier attack had finally been reduced to embers and the sky was almost cleared of the smoke from the explosion at the chemical plant. But, like most good things in Viletown, the quiet couldn't last forever.
"Do you ever SHUT UP?!" a screech tore through the night air, driving any citizens who were still awake to hide under their covers. Deep within Oppressor Plutonium's heavily guarded mansion lair, the little banshee that had broken the silence sneered and crossed her arms across her chest. Her opponent, a red-eyed girl with long, messy auburn hair ground her teeth and glanced away, crossing her arms in a way that mimicked her sister's pose.
Berserk's lip twitched, "D-Do you ever quit being stupid?" she mumbled back, cheeks heating up when both of her sisters laughed at her weak retort.
"Oh, wow, no, Berserk, I never thought of not being stupid. Wow, that was so good and smart! Wow, if only I had thought of that!" Brat ranted, pacing back and forth in front of her.
Berserk lowered her head and crossed her arms tighter; her cheeks were getting warmer. Brute was snickering.
"Man, Brute, can you believe it? I should quit being stupid! I should be more like Berserk, shouldn't I? Tell me, Berserk, was the smart thing you did today dropping that barrel we were stealing so it spilled everywhere, or was it when Brute got shot because you got nervous around your STUPID UGLY BOYFRIEND?!" she shrieked again, the force of her voice making the mansion shake.
"I just...I think...it wasn't my f...I didn't mean to drop it! Brute hit me!" Berserk insisted, thrusting her mitt at the third sister.
That...proved to be a mistake, she realized, swallowing a lump in her throat. Brute sat up from the game she was playing, throwing it down hard enough to crack the screen.
She narrowed her eyes, slowly climbing to her feet, "What did you just say to me, you whiney little pipsqueak? You got a problem with me hitting you? Cause if you ever use that stupid fire breath around my favorite outfit again, I'll hit you twice as hard!" she hissed, shoving her mitt into Berserk's chest, hard enough to nearly knock her off her feet.
She caught herself and ground her teeth a little harder, "Whatever, I'm...I'm sorry or something, but don't hit me when we're fighting Jomo!" Berserk insisted. In response, Brute shoved her again, this time knocking her on her backside.
"I'll hit you when I want to, pipsqueak. You got a problem with that?"
"Yeah, Berserk, who do you think you are? Do you wanna be the leader? Oh, Brute! Should we make Berserk the leader? Can you imagine?" Brat snickered, "I bet we end up in jail in a week! No, no! A day! One day, and we'll all be in jail forever cause Berserk screwed everything up!"
"Yeah right," Brute laughed, going back to her game. She sighed heavily, seeing the broken screen and waved it at Berserk, "Look what you made me do! It's ruined!"
Berserk climbed to her feet and swallowed again, putting her head down and heading toward the door, "Wh-whatever, I...I'm sorry, or something,"
"Aw, are you gonna cry again, Berserk? Did Brute hurt your feeeelings?" Brat taunted.
Berserk quickly rubbed her eyes and shook her head, "N-no, I'm not a stupid crybaby! I'm just...I just don't want to look at you...you jerks!" she muttered, finally storming out of the room. Over her shoulder, she could hear Brat laughing again. She growled and turned to slam the door. With a defeated sigh, she shoved it, closing it with only a soft smack.
She stomped around the halls, messing up her already horribly tangled hair and growling under her breath. She could feel smoke on her breath, but, worse, she could feel wetness in her eyes. If they saw her crying, they'd never let her live it down. With a tiny scream, she shot out of the nearest window and out into the city.
They were going to laugh at her. They'd call her a crybaby and a pipsqueak and a stupid loser. Berserk ground her teeth and clenched her eyes shut. With an angry cry, she belched a massive wall of fire at the nearest thing she could find. The building lit up like a Christmas tree, but it wasn't enough. Drawing in ragged, hissing breaths, she slammed her fist through the wall. Then blew another stream of fire across the ground.
"I hate them! I hate them! I hate them!" She growled, hitting whatever was closest. With another scream and another bark of flames into the air, she finally calmed down, panting and staring at the destruction around her.
"Oh my! That's no good," A voice called out. Berserk's eyes widened and her cheeks heated up. Like a blur, or a small tornado, the newcomer put out the flames still raging around her. She frowned and stood up straight, crossing her arms and looking away.
"Ah! There we are, now just this here…" with surprising gentleness for a creature of near unlimited power, the newcomer put the wall she'd knocked down back together. And, with a little hum, he pressed his hand against it and healed it with some weird magic. He dusted his hands off and turned to her, a bright, cheerful smile on his face.
"Miss Berserk! Why are you out so late? You know, it's wise for girls your age to get to bed early to...Miss Berserk, are you crying?" The creature, the monstrous, wandering hero Akio, knelt down beside her, trying to get a closer look. She rubbed her eyes, and hiccuped, stomping away from him.
"I'm fine, n-nerd! G-get away from me," she insisted. She moaned and lowered her head when she heard him fall into step behind her. Now he was never going to go away.
Akio cleared his throat, "My apologies, Miss Berserk, but I cannot abandon you at a time like this! Out here alone, this late at night, and crying! I would be the worst hero if I turned my back on you now," He gently touched her shoulder, bringing her awkward retreat to a stop.
Berserk whipped around, floating up to his eye level, "You're already the worst hero! You're a s-stupid n-nerd who tr-tries to help ev-veryone because he's a stupid idiot!" she blushed again and looked away, rubbing her eyes angrily as fresh tears rolled down her cheeks. "Don't you have a c-cat in a tree to save s-somewhere?"
Akio perked up, holding up a finger and asking for a moment. He tapped his chin, then beamed, hitting his palm with his fist, "Ah! That's no good, Miss Berserk. You can't trick me today. I've already checked the trees nearby. Every cat is in its place!"
Berserk sighed, sitting down on a big piece of rubble, leftover from a statue they'd destroyed that day. She rested her chin in her mitts, "Whatever, I don't care...just leave me alone…" She sighed again when he sat down beside her, resting his hands on his knees.
"That is quite alright, I shall just stay with you until you decide to go home. I would hate to leave you out here all alone," Akio explained. He cleared his throat and wrapped his arms around his knees, "Although, I believe it helps to cleanse your soul by talking about the things troubling you."
Berserk swallowed, glaring at him, "Wh-why d-do you care, n-nerd? N...no one else does…" she muttered, her voice giving out near the end.
Akio smiled softly, "I believe you've answered your own question, Miss Berserk,"
Whatever it was about this big stupid loser, it was getting to her, Berserk thought with another sniffle. She wrapped her arms around her knees, unconsciously mirroring him.
"I can't do anything right," she muttered.
"That's untrue!" Akio exclaimed, "Why, just yesterday, the punch you threw at Fluffy Bumpkin was spot-on! Your form was flawless, Miss Berserk. And, though I do not condone your destruction of public property, just now, the flames in your Fire Breath were exceptionally hot and powerful! You have quite a gift!"
"I couldn't even break down a building right," Berserk whined, "I can't carry a barrel, I can't even…" she clenched her eyes shut, "I can't even beat a b-big s-stupid d-dumb idiot n-nerd like y-you!"
"Oh my….um, did Miss Brat and Miss Brute give you trouble about the barrel? I am so very sorry for distracting you! I only meant to stop you from succeeding, I never meant to humiliate you...Miss Berserk,"
She gasped when he wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tight.
"Please accept my deepest apologies...I understand now, the blame for your sadness rests with me. I've found that closeness, such as this, is beneficial to healing such emotional wounds. Please, allow me to make up for my folly," he insisted.
Berserk swallowed and started to pull away. But...this was weird. No one had done this to her before. What was he trying to do? It wasn't a choke hold, or a grapple or any kind of attack. It was just...she rested her head against his chest. It was just warm.
It was...nice
Her lips began to quiver. She sniffled and clenched her eyes shut. She hit him once, to let him know she wasn't happy, then she buried herself in his arms and cried.
The two stayed like that for some time. As she cried, he held her and petted her hair, mumbling under his breath that she could stand to brush it from time to time. A watery smile finally found its way to her lips.
"Miss Berserk?"
"Huh?" she asked, suddenly broken out of her dreamy daze.
Akio tilted her head back, the intensity in his warm stare piercing through her, stirring up weird, not at all uncomfortable feelings. Her stomach felt like it was trying to fly away.
"What is it?" she asked, her voice a crackling whisper.
"Did you remember to brush your teeth?" he asked, concern etched into his voice.
Berserk groaned and hit him again, before burying herself in his embrace. Akio resumed holding her, petting her hair. Still...he leaned down, "Miss Berserk, be honest, did you brush your teeth after your meal?"
Berserk sighed, "Yes, Akio...I did,"
He smiled, "Good...that's good,"
Berserk's scowl faded, slowly replaced by a smile. Nervous at first, she slid closer to him. Her heart skipped a beat when he allowed her into his lap and continued to hold her. No one would notice she was gone...what was a few more minutes?