Aoi Ryugoku was not having a good day.
First of all, she had a bone to pick with that so-called 'Hero Hunter' Garou. Apparently, he was targeting the entire Association rather than just heroes, including executives and sponsors. Which meant she'd been forced to drop out of the Super Fight Tournament to babysit some dumb rich idiots.
Secondly, there was this annoying little boy tugging on her arm, saying 'Blue Dragon!' 'Blue Dragon!' 'Blue Dragon!' over and over again, like a broken record. Aoi wanted to throw him and his expensive suit through the restaurant's window, but her boss had told her to behave and be patient. This was a rich child who'd she'd been hired to bodyguard, so Garou didn't attack him. He was supposed to be guarded by an S Class hero, but Goddess had recommended Aoi, and the Hero Association trusted her wisdom. The kid's father was here too, keeping an eye on her. Not like she could do anything in front of him, or in front of all these other people hanging about.
Aoi sighed. She wished her boss could've picked someone else from the Student Council, but they were all watching over Akademi. So here she was.
"Why do wear an eyepatch?" the kid asked her. "Are you a pirate?"
"None of your business." Aoi replied, clenching her collar in a tight fist. It was part of the Student Council attire, which didn't exactly match her brash personality. However, it did do a good job of signifying that she was indeed a member of the Guardians. Her short, electric blue hair, and azure eye, however, were much more fitting of her image, and her hero name, Blue Dragon.
"Are you friends with Goddess?" the kid asked. "Can I meet her?"
"Goddess is busy," Aoi snapped. "Stop asking questions."
"Why?" the kid asked.
Aoi nearly throttled the kid, but then she heard a crash from down the street. Smoke trailed into the air. A fairly large, weird-looking monster was sitting on a car, glaring down at some civilians.
"Hail to the Monster Association, humans!" it roared. People screamed and panicked.
"Hold on," Aoi told the kid and his father. "Gotta deal with this."
She raced out of the restaurant, holding out her fists. The monster sensed her approach and glowered at her.
"Oh ho, the A Class hero Blue Dragon dares to challenge me!" it cackled. "Prepare to-"
"DRAGON FURY!"
Aoi rammed her fist through the monster. It exploded into disgusting goop. The civilians stared at her, gasping.
"Take that, bastard!" Aoi yelled, digging her hands into her pockets.
She continued grumbling under her breath as she made her way back to the restaurant.
"No wonder she's called Blue Dragon…" the civilians muttered, keeping away from her line of vision. "She's so fierce!"
When Aoi got back to the restaurant, to her intrigue, she saw someone… familiar in the distance, slinking around the streets.
"Hmm..." she said, scowling at the figure.
It's her, alright, she thought. Definitely up to something suspicious. Meg would want me to check it out.
She turned back to the kid and his father, relieved she got a chance to escape. "I gotta do something important real quick. I'll be back later. You guys should lay low, just in case."
Aoi followed Ayano as the younger girl crept around. Aoi wasn't sure why Ayano was skunking around so much, but she had a bad feeling about it. That's when Aoi spotted another familiar face.
She groaned. Great, it's that Metal Bat guy. Dammit, why does today suck so much?
The S Class hero in question was hanging around another rich guy, Narinki or something, Aoi couldn't remember, and his kid. It seemed they were going to a sushi restaurant.
Bastard, Aoi thought. Thinks he can steal my idea and babysit a rich guy too, huh?
That's when Aoi realised… Ayano was spying on Metal Bat.
What's she up to? Aoi thought, narrowing her eyes. Is she gonna-
Ayano then, to Aoi's surprise, got out of her hiding spot and casually walked over to Metal Bat, as if she hadn't just been spying on him. Metal Bat gave her an odd look at first, then smiled at her like they were old friends. Ayano gave Narinki's kid a cute smile, then they all headed into the sushi restaurant.
What the Hell... Aoi thought. That girl is definitely up to something.
Aoi was not the only one having a bad day.
No one else was available apparently, so Metal Bat had been asked by the Association to be the bodyguard of a sponsor of the Hero Association named Narinki and his son. It seemed they wanted to go out and try 'peasant food' at Nezumi Sushi. Unfortunately, they didn't seem to know how 'peasant food' worked.
"Hey!" Metal Bat shouted. "Don't put yer plate back on the belt!"
"Why not?" Narinki's son, Waganma, asked.
"They need it to tally yer bill." Metal Bat explained.
"Come now, it's only good manners to return your plate," Narinki said, reaching over to put his plate back on the conveyor belt.
"I said don't put them back!" Metal Bat yelled.
Ayano didn't say anything. She just kept smiling sweetly.
"This is the worst," Metal Bat mumbled, staring at her. "Last time I bodyguard for an executive."
Ayano just smiled sympathetically at him. "You'd think they'd know more about the world, considering how rich they are."
He was about to reply, but he was interrupted by his phone ringing.
"It's my little sis!" he exclaimed. "Hey, Yan-chan, watch these guys for me for a sec."
He ran off to the bathroom to answer the phone call, leaving Ayano alone with Narinki and Waganma.
Waganma stared at her with big eyes. "Are you his girlfriend?"
"No," Ayano replied.
"Is Demon Cyborg your boyfriend?" Waganma asked.
"No." Ayano answered.
"Do you have a boyfriend?" Waganma asked.
"No." Ayano answered.
"Can I be your boyfriend?" he asked.
Narinki chuckled. "Now, now, son. She's too old for you! And plus, we might be annoying her."
Ayano smiled, sweetly. "I don't mind, Mr. Narinki."
Narinki returned the grin. "Well, aren't you a very nice girl. I-"
Suddenly, the wall was shredded open. Two horrifying monsters were standing there: a creature that looked like a large, anthropomorphic flytrap, and a strange creature that looked like a ginormous red centipede. The centipede creature was holding Waganma in some of its arms.
"Papa!" Waganma shouted, flailing around. "Help!"
The centipede creature looked at a sheet of paper in its grip. "That's the Hero Association executive, alright."
"With his kid," Venus Mantrap said. "Perfect."
"Help him!" Narinki yelled at Ayano. "That thing has my son!"
Ayano didn't say anything. Instead, she pulled out a dagger. She raced towards the centipede creature, slicing off some of its arms. She caught Waganma as he fell down. Before her eyes, the venus fly trap creature coiled into a green ball. Metal Bat was standing there, wearing his gakuran and wielding his bat.
"That ain't Garou," he muttered, holding up his bat. "But no one's leavin' until they've paid!"
Ayano helped Waganma stand up.
He blushed. "Wow, you're so pretty…"
Ayano was about to respond, when she heard someone yell, "HEY, AISHI!"
She turned her head, seeing the A Class hero Blue Dragon standing outside the restaurant, arms folded.
"GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE!" Blue Dragon yelled. "RIGHT NOW!"
Waganma trembled, huddled against his father. "That's Blue Dragon! S-She's scary!"
"I'm sorry, but I have to leave now," Ayano told Metal Bat, bowing.
"Sure, go," he said, waving her off. "Don't let that chick give you any trouble, yeah? She's a pain in the ass."
She nodded, before heading outside to face Blue Dragon. The hero in question was giving her a heated glare.
"How can I help you, Blue Dragon-senpai?" Ayano asked, calmly.
"Don't give me that innocent crap," Aoi snapped. "You're up to something."
Ayano smiled sweetly. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Aoi gritted her teeth. This bitch…
"I know you're not what you say you are," Aoi replied, clenching her fists. "You're a killer! You were planning to kill that Metal Bat asshole, weren't you?"
Ayano gasped. "Kill him? I would never do something so horrible! You must be mistaken if you think I'm a murderer!"
"You're pissing me off, you damn liar," Aoi growled. "You're going down!"
She let out a roar and charged towards Ayano. Ayano jumped out of the way, still keeping a confused look on her face.
"I don't understand," she said, whimpering. "Why are you attacking me?"
"You can fool everyone else, but not me!" Aoi yelled. "You're a psycho!"
"Psycho?" Ayano asked, sounding horrified.
"You're not going unpunished any longer!" Aoi roared. "DRAGON FURY!"
Her fists landed in Ayano's stomach, sending the girl flying. She crashed into a building, shattering the windows. Civilians gathered around gasped and covered their mouths, staring at Aoi with horror. Aoi didn't take any notice, and kept her attention on Ayano.
"I'm gonna freaking kill you!" Aoi raged. "On the ground!"
She leaped towards Ayano, who scrambled out of the way at the last second. Ayano coughed up some blood, staring at Aoi through the corner of her eye. Aoi raised her foot, bringing it down towards Ayano's head. Ayano rolled out of the way, fists clenched.
"Stay still, dammit!" Aoi cursed.
Ayano was not ready to face Aoi's boss, Goddess. Not yet, anyway. She needed more time. For now, she'd have to incapacitate Aoi. And perhaps, if it came to it, use the same powers she'd used on Shiromi…
Ayano suddenly stood up, eyes flashing red for a moment. She wiped the blood off her uniform. She stared straight into Aoi's blue eye, almost frightening her fellow Class A hero. They backed into an alleyway.
"What are you up to?" Aoi demanded, holding up her fists. "Back off!"
Ayano lunged towards Aoi, pulling out a chainsaw.
"Where the Hell did you get that from?!" Aoi yelled.
The older hero avoided Ayano's chainsaw, slamming against the wall. Ayano's face became clouded over as she approached Aoi again. Aoi roared a curse word, and punched Ayano in the stomach. Ayano stumbled back, almost dropping her chainsaw.
"I'm not gonna lose to you!" Aoi told her, teeth bared. "You're going down, no matter what!"
Suddenly, the ground rumbled beneath them. It felt like something was moving beneath the Earth.
"The Hell was that?" Aoi asked, scowling and looking around.
Then something burst out of the ground, covering the city in a huge shadow. The entire world seemed to shake as the creature towered above them all. It appeared to be a colossal centipede, similar to the one Ayano had fought back at the sushi restaurant, but many times bigger. Around it was a pile of rubble, which had been buildings just moments ago.
"What in all of Hell…" Aoi mumbled, staring up at it. Alarm sirens went off in the background.
Ayano smirked. Now was her chance.
As quick as a flash, she lunged towards Aoi, slicing her across the chest. Blood spurted out like a fountain.
Aoi screamed out in agony, falling down into a pool of her own blood. Ayano gave her a sadistic smile as she stared down at her.
"Damn... you…" Aoi cursed.
Ayano giggled creepily, holding a knife above Aoi's remaining eye. Just as she was about to take it out, her phone began ringing. Ayano picked it up.
"Hello?" she answered.
"Ayano," it was Genos, as always. "The Martial Arts Tournament will be beginning soon. Are you coming?"
"Yes," Ayano responded. "I will be slightly delayed." She hung up, and turned back to Aoi.
It worked well with Shiromi, she thought. Let's see how it goes with you.
Red strings were the last thing Aoi saw before everything went black.
"We've lost all contact with Metal Bat…"
"What about Blue Dragon? She was supposed to be out there too!"
"Blue Dragon was found in critical condition... we heard the Hero Hunter was in the area, so he must've attacked her."
"Yan-chan was there too, wasn't she?"
"Yan-chan said she had to take an emergency call in another city."
"All these emergency notifications… this is insane. We're getting requests from nearly every city! And that centipede… he's twice as big as he was two years ago."
"Heroes Class A and above have been called for assistance."
"But do we have the numbers to take on all these monsters?"
"Saikou Corp is supplying technology and small armies. And we've heard word from Red Bird. She'll be helping us too."
"Even with Saikou Corp's help, will we be strong enough?"
"Another Akademi Student was reported dead, too… an anonymous tip said the monsters may be targeting Goddess and Saikou Corp."
"We need Goddess' help."
"No, we can survive without her… for just a little longer."
"But how long is a little longer...?"
Ayano managed to arrive at the Super Fight Tournament just in time. Why they decided to have a tournament during a monster invasion, Ayano didn't know, but it wasn't her place to ask. She used her ticket and got inside, making her way to the seating area. It was like a football stadium, with rows of chairs facing a large solid block of stone in the centre. After a bit of searching, Ayano found Genos sitting at the front.
"You are here," Genos said. "You are just in time. It is amazing how you are almost never late."
Ayano just nodded in response. She turned to face the front, when a voice caught her attention.
"Hey, Yan-chan! Over here!"
She looked over her shoulder, seeing Raibaru coming towards her. Raibaru was dressed in casual clothes, but had a martial arts headband wrapped around her head.
"A friend of yours?" Genos asked her.
"I didn't expect to see you here, Yan-chan," Raibaru said, grinning at Ayano. She turned to Genos. "And… this is the Class S hero Demon Cyborg, right?"
"Who might you be?" Genos asked her.
"Genos, this is Raibaru Fumetsu, Bang's former top disciple," Ayano introduced.
"I see," Genos said, facing Raibaru. "You are not participating in the event?"
Raibaru shook her head, sitting beside Ayano. "I don't do martial arts anymore. The only reason I came was to support Budo. I heard Blue Dragon was supposed to be competing as well, but she had to drop out due to a monster attack."
Ayano didn't say anything. She realised after using the strings, she… wasn't as tired as she had been the first time using them. Her body was finally adapting. Slowly, but surely. Soon enough, she would be able to do much more with her strings.
A guy sitting nearby turned to face Raibaru. "Hey, you're the Indestructible Rival right? I remember you! You used to win every Super Fight tournament!"
"That nickname is so embarrassing," Raibaru blushed. "Just call me Raibaru."
Indestructible Rival… Ayano thought.
They were interrupted by a man's voice over a microphone. "Ladies and gentlemen, we have kept you waiting long enough! The competitors for the Super Fight 22 are now entering the arena!"
The man introduced each and every contestant: Lightning Max (a Class A hero), Ring-Ring (the sole female fighter), Benpats (a fighter from a place Ayano had never heard of), another man named Boltane, and many others. Ayano realised how many of these people could potentially be threats. She decided to take mental notes.
"Next up, from the Fist of Flowing Water Crushing Rock, is Budo Masuta!" the announcer yelled. "A young man with much potential, following in the footsteps of the Indestructible Rival!"
"I wish people would stop calling me that," Raibaru muttered, giving Budo an applause. Budo grinned and waved at the audience.
Next up was 'Charanko', who was in fact Saitama with a wig.
Raibaru spluttered as she saw 'Charanko'. "C-Charanko?! He's supposed to be in hospital! What's he doing here?!"
Genos began to clap politely, so Ayano joined in.
"I visited him yesterday in hospital, there's no way he could've recovered so quickly," Raibaru continued. "Is… someone impersonating him? Who would do such a thing?!"
After 'Charanko' was Bakuzan, a large, beefy man that looked like a werewolf, and then a very popular fighter, Suiryu. Raibaru stared at him for a while.
"I remember him," she said, expression darkening. "He was very strong. He almost came close to beating me a few times."
She scowled. And then there was that Wolfman guy, who was just Garou under a pseudonym… just like this supposed Charanko was. Not that she had been there for the fight, but…
"Let the Super Fight 22 begin!" the announcer yelled.
"Ma'am?"
A fairly tall woman glanced over at a man in a suit. She took a sip from her wine glass.
"What is it, honey?" she asked, sweetly smiling at him.
"Your application to Akademi…" he cleared his throat. "Was accepted."
The woman's face lit up. "Excellent. I've been waiting to get into that school for a looooong time "
"I think they accepted her due to all the monsters running around," a man muttered to his friend in the background. "I mean, Goddess isn't around, and plus, one of the Student Council members there was taken out by the Hero Hunter Garou."
The woman stood up, adjusting her suit. She glanced out of the window of her balcony.
"I can't wait to see all the little schoolboys there " she giggled.
A/N: Welp, kind of a shame we didn't see much of Metal Bat this chapter. XD Bad news, we won't be seeing him for quite a while (not including a maybe extra chapter). But good news! He will play an important role much later in the story. He's my favourite One Punch Man character, so… I'm not gonna let him off the hook that easily. (You probably know if you've read Siblings lol.) However, I don't want to play favourites with the characters. I want to give them all a bit of the spotlight. Since there's so many, it's gonna be tricky, but I'll try my best. XD Also, in case you're wondering, yes, Aoi and MB have met before, but they don't have some kind of deep history. In fact, Aoi dislikes most of the S Class heroes lol. (She definitely respects Bang tho, because martial arts.) Thanks for reading as always!