Holocho was getting annoyed.
He'd been running around blindly in J City for 15 minutes now and he couldn't find an evacuation shelter anywhere. What made it worse was the fact that he had heard Genos flying overhead, but Holocho had been caught off-guard and had no way of following the surprisingly fast cyborg aside from the sound of his rockets.
His phone wasn't working either. Today of all days, his mobile data had decided to run out, leaving him clueless about where to go.
Somehow, Holocho had also missed all the road signs that pointed the way to the shelter.
He wondered how Saitama was getting on. They had decided to split up in the hopes of at least one of them finding the shelter - Saitama also having no way to find the shelter due to his phone being out of charge. Holocho hoped that the baldy hadn't found his way to the shelter. If he had, the boy's chances of having a decent fight would be dashed.
His thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the sound of Genos's incineration cannons going off in the distance. Holocho immediately perked up. Jumping onto the roof of the tallest building in his proximity, he scanned the city for any trace of Genos's iconic yellow incineration beam. His eyes locked onto a large dome-shaped building. It had two gaping holes in its wall. The lower of the two had smoke rising from it.
He quickly put two and two together. With a grin, he ran and jumped towards the shelter. He felt dumb for not realising that the domed building was the evacuation shelter, he had even run past it several times, but the prospect of a good fight had him pumped up.
The sight of Saitama standing on a rooftop quickly turned his excitement into confusion. He guided his next jump to land him next to the caped baldy.
"Why aren't you not going in?" Holocho asked.
Maintaining his usual semi-bored expression, Saitama replied. "Genos's already started fighting. He doesn't need my help."
Holocho frowned. If Saitama thought that Genos would be fine, that meant that the monster wasn't really a big deal after all. He let out a small sigh. His hopes were dashed after all.
"I'm starting to understand how you feel," Holocho said as he sat down on the edge of the rooftop.
"Huh?"
"Fighting monsters is just so… boring. It always ends so quickly. Every time a new monster shows up I get excited, but it's always a let down."
Saitama sat down beside him. "It's not always about fighting, kid. Being a hero's much more than that."
Holocho tilted his head, but that was all the wisdom Saitama was going to offer. Saitama was a puzzle to Holocho. Sometimes he would be all wise, but at other times... whatever. He couldn't be bothered to think about that. They sat in silence, patiently waiting for Genos to finish up.
The Deep Sea King suddenly burst through the shelter wall into the air. Genos was right behind the monster, jumping up above the writhing king. Without warning, a bright flash of light was emitted from the cyborg's eye.
"Ow! That's bright!" Holocho hissed, blinking hard to get the spots out of his eyes. He heard no response from Saitama. He glanced over at the caped baldy only to see him engrossed in some game on his new 3DS. "Saitama!"
"Yes?" he replied, not looking up from his game.
"Didn't you see that flash?"
"No," Saitama replied. "Did something happen?"
Holocho huffed in annoyance. His interest turned to what Saitama was holding. "When did you get that 3DS? I haven't seen you play on that before."
"I got it from a store here," Saitama replied nonchalantly.
"You stole it?!" Holocho exclaimed. There was no one around anymore - they had all evacuated.
"I left money on the counter. That counts as payment."
Holocho crossed his arms in annoyance. Then he realised that he had brought, for some peculiar reason, his wallet with him. His face brightened. "Be right back!"
The boy quickly found the store Saitama had obtained the device from. Its door had been forced open, but Holocho paid it no mind. Saitama had probably accidentally pushed a little too hard on it. Holocho sometimes did that too; it was hard to restrain his enormous strength at times. He swiftly found the 3DS he was looking for and left money on the counter.
With a leap, he rejoined Saitama at the edge of the rooftop and booted on his console with anticipation and dived right into a game. So engrossed was he, he didn't notice the numerous screams, explosions and crashes that were coming from the arena. Nor did he notice the surges of flame and smoke until the building they were sitting on started collapsing from the force of one of Genos's stray incineration beams.
"Woah!" he shouted as he and a disgruntled Saitama slipped off the rooftop. He cradled his brand new device to his chest, protecting it from the hard pavement below. He landed gently and ran a short distance away to avoid the debris from the crumbling building.
"It's heating up in there, huh," he thought. Beside him, Saitama sat on a nearby bench and continued his game. Instead of joining him, Holocho decided to see what all the fuss was about. Maybe he could help Genos.
He jogged up to a massive hole in the shelter wall and peered inside. The fight was still going on at full intensity. Genos seemed to be dominating, attacking the monster with a blitz of strikes. However, his punches and kicks didn't have any real effect on the Deep Sea King - each blow Genos landed sank deep into the monster's flesh, but the wounds quickly regenerated, leaving no visible mark on the monster's skin.
Genos, on the other hand, was visibly tiring. His body had taken on a fiery red hue, which Holocho recognised as the result of Genos pushing his power core to the limit, but the increased power and speed weren't doing the cyborg any good. Instead, Holocho could tell that each successive blow Genos was landing was gradually getting weaker and weaker. The Deep Sea King also appeared to notice this.
"What's wrong? Getting tired are you?" the monster taunted as he was being pummelled. "I can barely feel your feeble punches!"
Genos's amber eyes brightened in intensity. Ducking under the Deep Sea King's counterattack, he drove a fiery punch into the monster's gut. The monster was sent flying, writhing in pain, bursting through the shelter wall once again, narrowly missing Holocho's head. Genos quickly pressed his advantage, following up with a series of incineration blasts preceding a barrage of punches, burying the monster into the ground.
The Deep Sea King merely laughed. "You fool! You've exposed me to my natural element! Water!"
With a single move, the monster leapt to its feet, shaking off its attacker. As Genos flew through the air in an uncontrolled tumble, the Deep Sea King grabbed his leg and slammed him back into the ground creating a deep crater in the road. The monster tore Genos from the crater and repeatedly slammed the helpless cyborg into the road. Parts flew from the cyborg as he slowly broke apart under the strain. His red hue was gone.
Holocho winced as he watched the Deep Sea King toss Genos around like a rag doll. He was not the only one watching - the fleeing refugees had returned, gathering at the mouth of the hole Genos's incineration blast had torn open.
"He's gonna die isn't he?" a man said, his voice rising in panic. "He's gonna die! Then we're gonna die!"
"Don't say that!" another cut in. "There's gotta be another hero here somewhere. It's not over yet."
"Oh my god we're gonna die!" the man screamed, ignoring him.
Holocho huffed in annoyance. He stood from his position beside the hole the refugees were peering through. He'd better intervene before Genos was dismantled or the crowd started panicking. He stored his 3DS safely inside a trouser pocket.
His actions drew the attention of the monster. It threw Genos over its shoulder as it turned to face him. "I suppose you are my next victim."
The crowd of refugees silenced at the sight of Holocho striding confidently towards the Deep Sea King. Speculative murmurs broke out amongst the crowd.
"Who's he meant to be?"
"Isn't he that new A class hero?"
"He's got no chance!"
Holocho stopped a short distance away from the monster and crossed his arms.
"What are you doing?" the monster rumbled. "Are you not going to attack?"
The monster's face pulled into a distorted grin. "The longer you wait, the stronger I'll get!"
The Deep Sea King was visibly growing. The heavy downpour of rain was moisturising and rejuvenating the ocean monster.
Still, Holocho stood with his arms crossed.
The monster snarled. "If you're not going to, I will!"
The Deep Sea King rushed forward in a burst of speed, launching a single powerful punch at the much smaller boy. It missed.
The monster frowned. Maybe it was imagining things. He punched again, missing once again. Growling in anger, the monster unleashed a blur of punches, each and every one of them missing. Somehow, the boy had dodged them all without moving a single step.
The Deep Sea King was infuriated. "How dare you mock me! Stop dodging!"
Holocho suddenly stopped moving and held up his hand. The monster's fist rammed into Holocho's unmoving palm. He could feel the Deep Sea King's hand snap and break, the result of when the monster's fist finally impacted something that wouldn't shatter and break before it.
Holocho smirked.
For several seconds, the Deep Sea King simply looked at his fist in shock.
"Aaarrgghh!" the monster screamed, clutching its broken hand with its uninjured counterpart.
Holocho moved back into his arrogant stance, arms folded across his chest, watching the giant monster writhe in pain.
The Deep Sea King's composure slowly recovered, its hand healing quickly.
"You are clearly a much stronger foe," the monster said while nursing its hand. "Perhaps you will match me in battle."
The monster loomed over the boy, claws exposed, mouth wide open, revealing a snake-like tongue. "But you've made me angry, so die!"
The Deep Sea King charged at the hero. But in a blink of an eye, the king's head separated itself from its body.
"What?" the bodiless Deep Sea King asked. The king's eyes attempted to look down at its body, but instead of the green tower of muscle, there was empty space. "Where's my body?"
"You're still alive?" Holocho said as he tried to shake off the monster's green blood from his shoe.
"Of course I'm still alive! What sort of king wouldn't be able to live without a body!?" came the angry retort.
Holocho walked over to the bodiless monster and loomed over it, imitating the monster's actions when it had a body. He leaned over the head, raising his hands in a claw-like fashion.
"How does it feel to be the shorty now, huh?"
"Stop taunting me!" the monster yelled. It opened its mouth wide, attempting to utilise its snake-tongue. Holocho grabbed it before it could bite him.
"Gross!"
He quickly stamped down on the monster's head, severing the tongue. He quickly dropped the tongue in disgust.
The Deep Sea King hissed in pain. It glared hatefully up at Holocho. "You'll pay for your mockery, boy! Once I recover, I'll tear you apart!"
The boy rinsed his hands in the rainwater. "And how are you meant to do that? You're a head!"
He glanced down at the head's neck. It was no longer a bloody stump, a body was quickly reforming. "Oh! You can still regenerate!"
The Deep Sea King grinned devilishly. "That's right, boy! Once my body is fully formed, I'll turn you into a bloody paste!"
Holocho opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by the sound of whirring in front of him. He looked up to see Genos charging up his only undamaged incineration cannon.
He was in a bad state. His body was bent and misshapen. Sparks flashed across exposed areas of circuitry, the armour covering it being smashed or ripped off. His eyes flickered unevenly, the amber glow sometimes flickering red or off completely.
"Please move out the way." he said, his voice steady and cold.
"Sure!" Holocho said, shrugging. He stepped to one side.
"No! Wait!" the monster suddenly pleaded. "I promise I won't tear-"
A large beam of fire engulfed the head. When it faded away, there was no trace of the head left.
Genos sank to his knees, the blast having used up much of his remaining energy. His power core was incredibly damaged - it was only producing energy at 3% capacity. In front of him, a roar of cheers rang out from the refugees. The monster had finally died, and with that the mortal danger had gone.
Down the street, a man wearing orange body armour and a green helmet stood holding a bicycle. He smiled. "Well, I guess I'm not needed now." He turned and rode back down the street.
Saitama looked up from his game, taking in the sight of the jubilant crowd and the still-smoking Genos.
"Huh. They've finished."
He stood and patted himself and put away his 3DS.
A single nasally voice shocked the crowd into silence. "Maybe the monster wasn't that strong after all."
The refugees turned to look in confusion and anger at the man who spoke. He was a short, pudgy man. A weasely smile was written across his face.
"What do you mean? It took out so many heroes!" another said.
"Maybe those heroes were just wimps," the weasely man said.
"But… uh… that monster did look weak just now, but-"
"That class A hero decapitated it with a single kick! Those other heroes must really suck! They call themselves class S and class A, but that newbie killed it almost effortlessly!"
"Hey! What's your problem! Those guys risked their lives for us!" a man said in protest.
The weasely man spread his arms, smirking. "Anyone can risk their life! But you can't be a hero without beating monsters! A lot of heroes were seriously injured this time! Can we really rely on them next time?"
Holocho jumped into the conversation. He stood on the lip of the hole in the wall, glaring down at the weasel. "Just because they didn't beat the monster, that doesn't mean that they aren't heroes!"
He gestured at the body of the Deep Sea King. "That monster there was really tough! It even took out two S class heroes! You can't expect every hero that turns up to beat it!"
The weasel laughed. "I'm not saying that, kid. What I'm trying to get you all to realise is that this 'Hero Association' is a waste of money! We pay them so much, but almost all the heroes they send out fail! Is it worth it? They should be doing a better job! Are they throwing our money down the drain? Are they even using all our money?"
Holocho hopped down from the hole and walked right up to the weasely man.
"You go out there and try fighting monsters. It's really, really hard to fight and it takes real guts to put your life on the line like that. That's why there are heroes. People who are brave enough to risk it all to protect others. And only heroes are capable enough to face them. If you say the Hero Association should do a better job, well, they can't! Heroes are limited by their abilities! It's like saying… uh…"
Holocho waved his arm in the air as he tried to think of an example.
The weasel took this as an opportunity to interject. "If heroes are weak, then what's the point of them being heroes? As you said, heroes are limited by their ability. If they are weak, they can't protect us, which makes them worthless!"
Holocho fumed. This man wouldn't stop bad mouthing heroes, even after they gave their all to protect him. His sheer ungratefulness made him wonder what was wrong with this man to make him behave in such a snobbish way.
A burly man grabbed the detractor's shirt, lifting him up. "What's your problem!? Those heroes were seriously injured to protect you! Be grateful!"
The plump man started sweating furiously. "I can't be to blame for their weakness!"
He pointed at the heavily damaged Genos. "It's embarrassing when weaklings like him go in and almost get killed! I wish they'd just stop!"
"Oi! Stop it! We're alive! Isn't that enough?" someone person shouted.
"Yeah! Those other heroes didn't do much, but it's wrong to pick on them! As Brutal Tempest said, not every hero is strong enough, but that doesn't mean you can insult them like that!"
The crowd started shouting in support of the heroes, drowning out the detractor's objections. They started to get violent, pushing and shoving the pudgy man, much to his fright. Before things escalated out of hand, the crowd was silenced by a sharp crack. Holocho had fired off a wave punch, the sonic booms quieting the riled-up crowd.
"Stop that! As much as you all want to punish that guy, it's still wrong to pick on someone like that! We're all humans here!"
The burly man let go of the weasel's shirt. Dropping to the floor with a thud, the detractor stood and smiled his weasely smile. "See? The kid gets it-"
Another sharp crack broke the man's sentence in half. Holocho fixed him with the most steely glare he could muster. "This doesn't mean I support you. I just don't want you to be killed."
He leaped away onto the street outside. For a few moments, the refugees stood around, unsure as to what to do. They then realised that they had places to be, people to meet, and slowly started dissipating through the various exits, but not before giving the detractor distasteful glares.
Genos and Saitama sat nearby under a bus shelter. They had moved there, seeking shelter from the rain, after seeing that Holocho still had some business with the crowd of refugees. Genos stood as Holocho approached.
"Holocho, I must commend you for how you handled the situation. That man was a twisted, unappreciative worm. Well done for putting him in his place."
Holocho scratched the back of his head. "Well, I don't think I really convinced him that he was wrong… I was just really angry and blurted out the first thing I thought of!"
Saitama stood and packed his little console away. "What happened?" he asked innocently. He looked at the weather. "Crap, it's still raining."
"Master, Holocho had an argument with a man who refused to appreciate the efforts of the numerous fallen heroes. He put him in his place."
"Good." Saitama said sternly, turning back to face Holocho.
The boy grinned. "Hi five!"
Saitama's expression quickly turned into confusion. "What?"
"Just put your hand up!"
"Okay…"
"Genos, get down!" Holocho said cheerfully. The cyborg dived into a prone position, just in time to avoid a powerful shockwave released by Holocho forcefully punching Saitama's hand.
"Why…?" Saitama asked, before trailing off. Above him, the rain clouds were blown away by the power of Holocho's punch. A clear blue sky presented itself, the sun's welcoming rays embracing them with warmth and cheer.
"Huh. Not bad."
Genos took in a deep breath. That boy changed moods in a blink of an eye. He was lucky he hadn't been shattered, like the bust shelter they'd been standing under.
A/N: I hope you all had a good Christmas and New Year. (That 3DS bit wasn't product placement btw!)
Reviews:
rmarcano321: Merry belated Christmas! I have a few new monsters in store, yes.
Zero: Good to see you're enjoying reading…