Hello, my readers! As summer vacations draw to a close nd school is (probably) about to start, i will update my posting agenda:now, instead of a chapter every week, i will upload a cgapter every two weeks, starting from this one. This should also give me more time to write the new chapters (nowadays my progress is slow and i feel like i'm losing motivation...but don't worry! I WILL finish this story no matter what!).
With that out of the way, let's go to the response!
To Exodus12345:yeah, now that you mention it, your reasoning make sense, but at the time of writing this chapter i imagined things going this way:Deep Sea King knocks out Puri, then after a while the S class hero recovers and hurries to find Deep Sea King. It's not perfect, but at the time of writing that scene it made enough sense for me to put it here.
Anyway, let's get to the chapter!
A city, the biggest town of the continent and the one with the best life expectancy.
Housing many industrial complexes, it is the city where many people come to search for good jobs and a better life.
It has also many inns and spectacular theme parks for those who want to take a day off and relax.
Three days passed from the Deep Sea King's arrival and our fluffy-headed hero, Shinko, was walking in the streets of A city, looking to get some souvenirs to give his mom and his little sister when he would visit them.
He still didn't think of a date and he didn't exactly know what he should buy, but with all the craziness happening these days, it was to be expected.
But why was Shinko in A city to begin with?
Earlier this day, as Shinko finished training with Bang (Charanko was sick so he didn't show up), then his master got a call from the Hero Association, urging all S class heroes to move to its headquarters for an extremely important announcement.
Bang also brought Shinko with him and told him that he could explore the city, while he was attending the meeting. Afterwards, they would meet up at the inn with Atomic Samurai and his disciples to explain the situation.
Meanwhile Shinko finally found the perfect gift shop but, upon entering, he realized that he didn't bring his wallet!
So Shinko left the store with a sour mood, but soon stopped when he heard a quiet sobbing.
No one else was reacting to it, but he remembered that his hearing was on a whole other level.
So he turned to an alleyway and found a sobbing little girl:her height suggested that she was a six year old, with a orange dress, brown hair and green eyes.
So Shinko got closer to her and the girl looked up with big teary eyes.
"Who are you?" she asked Shinko between sobs.
"I'm Shinko and i'm here to help you" he said happily, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder to calm her down, adding "Don't worry, i'm a hero"
The girl's mouth was agape with awe and then she exclaimed happily "Fluffy boy!" as her eyes sparkled a little.
Shinko flinched at his hero name being said aloud, but at least it was child friendly enough to make her smile.
Shinko lifted the girl up, put her behind his neck in a sitting position and said "Now, what do you say about finding your parents?"
At that question her mood reverses a little, hunching a little as her eyes fell "Ok..." the girl said as she used Shinko's hair like a pillow.
"So...can you tell me what happened?" Shinko said slowly to the girl as they walked through the busy streets.
Shinko didn't know where she lived and the little girl wasn't talking too much so, if worst was to come, he would ask around about her.
The girl remained silent and Shinko looked up sadly and thought 'Maybe that wasn't right thing to ask first...let's try with something more simple for her'
With that, he looked up and asked her "If you don't want to tell me, that's fine, but can i know what's your name?"
The little girl raised her head from his hair and said "My name is Monica" but then continued "and dad was really angry with mom, so i left"
Shinko flinched yet again, cursing himself in his mind to have asked about a heavy topic to a little girl, who definitely thought that the conflict between her parents was her fault.
So, in an attempt to raise her spirits, Shinko took Monica off his neck and hugged her. That was the first thing that came to his mind, plus he didn't have much experience with children (aside from his little sister). While they were talking, they also came in some of the less trafficked roads, so no one took notice of them.
However, after a minute or so, Shinko aked the little girl "Is it all right now, Monica?"
The little girl raised her head and nodded, although there were still some tears on her face.
The two resumed their search, but after a mid hour or so, they came across a sturdy looking orange house and her head fell yet again on his fluffy hair.
"Is...that your house?" Shinko asked slowly and he felt her nod in his hair.
"Can we go in the park for a little bit?" Monica asked, or better yet, pleaded Shinko.
"I don't know, your parents must be worried sick, besides..." Shinko started, trying to order his thoughts, and then continued "...you have to fight your fears to advance in life, and this situation is no different" Shinko said softly as he looked up Monica.
She remained silent for a minute, but then nodded. As she nodded, everything went dark.
X X X
Up in the sky, a huge alien ship was looming above A city.
It was dark purple in colour and had the shape of an 'U'.
Suddenly, its lower side roared as a myriad of building-sized bullets erupted and impacted on the surface, obliterating everything on it.
That's what someone would say if they saw the scene, but the Author knew that something remained, other that the Hero Association HQ.
X X X
Monica remembered the big bullets that were falling and her screams dwarfed by everyone else's.
But not Fluffy boy, who remained serious and calm and Monica couldn't fathom how he could remain calm in this situation.
So she closed her eyes and trembled like a kitten, gripping her favourite hero's hair.
For some time it was all still, silent around Monica. She also couldn't feel Fluffy boy's hair anymore and got scared.
Now she opened her eyes and it was all dark, did she...die?
Monica shook her head and realized she was being held in a warm hug.
And then she saw that the one holding her was Shinko himself, his shirt long gone, but his shorts still there.
She was currently on his crossed legs and with her cheek on his abdominals.
She probably would never get away from him, since his body radiated such warmth.
As they looked around the was only rubble...and not a single soul in sight.
"W-what happened?" Monica asked fearfully. "Someone attacked the city" replied Shinko with a serious expression.
"Will...we be fine?" she asked fearfully.
"Yes. I promise you" Shinko said as he looked her in her eyes.
"Fluffy boy?" Monica asked again.
"Yes?" Shinko said.
"I'm scared, can i hug you a little more?" Monica pleaded.
"Sure" Shinko complied.
For a moment they stood her as they hugged each other, Monica sobbing quietly with her face on Shinko's stomach, its warmth progressively calming her down.
Despite the little scared girl near him, a big chunk of Shinko's mind was fixated on the ship upwards:there was no doubt about their hostility, so he just had to beat whoever was leading them and making sure none of them reached what was left of the city.
But then some noise attracted his attention and Shinko went his feet, Monica still hugging him.
There he saw Iaian, who looked at the ship with rage, while an alien was approaching him from behind.
It was huge and muscular, with dark-brown skin and a lot of eyeless(?) heads.
So Shinko punched in the alien's direction, obliterating his heads and his upper body.
X X X
Iaian was looking at the ship with a scowl as everything around him was in ruins. He would make them pay for this destruction, no doubt about that.
Just then, he felt immense killing intent coming from behind him, which was followed by a blast, causing that intent to disappear.
Iaian looked behind him to see a large brown puddle, currently melting.
"But who could do this?" Iaian muttered, but his concentration snapped by someone calling him.
He greeted Shinko, who was holding a little girl.
"Hey Iaian, can you take care of her for me? I'm going to handle them" Shinko said as he motioned to the looming ship.
Iaian nodded and took the girl, while Shinko runned to the side, preparing to take off.
"Will Fluffy Boy be fine?" Monica asked him.
"I'm sure he will" Iaian said as Shinko jumped to the ship, piercing its durable metal.
X X X
As Saitama was coming to the ship from the Hero Association's HQ, Shinko's jump was enough to propel him through the ship.
Eventually he broke through the pavement of a corridor and landed there.
As Shinko looked around he started to explore the alien ship.
The corridors, unlike those of the antlion nest, weren't narrow at all, but there were so many paths that confused Shinko.
It was only a matter of time before he got lost.
"Great, if this ship is as big as it looks then i'll take a full day to explore! Who know what the crew might do in the meantime..." Shinko said aloud as he walked. He also found it rather weird that he didn't find any member of the crew.
But then Shinko heard footsteps from behind and ahead of him and found himself surrounded by hordes of monster-looking aliens.
"So he's the other intruder!" one of the ones on the front said "About time, the other one's really slippery" one in the back added "Who cares?! ATTACK!" the biggest one ordered and all of them charged Shinko...
...who simply punched a few times with both hands, killing the group in front of him instantly, while also damaging the floor and ceiling.
He turned to the other group behind him and saw that they run away after witnessing their comrades' fall.
Shinko, however, was not really interested in them. Instead, seeing the damages caused by his attacks gave Shinko an idea "If i can't find the way normally, i'll simply make my own way!" he said confidently.
X X X
Meanwhile, in a large control room, a huge dark blue octopus-like alien was typing on the panels frantically.
"Geryuganshoop! One of the intruders killed Melgazard and is approaching the control room as we speak!" of the other aliens said.
"And the other one?" Geryuganshoop asked impatient.
"He just started breaking the surroundings, by his path, we think he might be approaching the jail!" another said.
Geryuganshoop sighed in relief, since there was only a prisoner there, and that one was nothing special fighting-wise.
This meant he had enough time to deal with the intruders one at a time.
X X X
Shinko proceeded at a good pace, destroying the walls and the eventual enemies in his way.
He could now safely say that this metal was far tougher than the ones on earth. It was still helpless in the face of Shinko's strenght, though.
Anyway, Shinko punched a sturdy-looking wall and fell into a chasm, but he didn't fall down because he landed on a bridge. However that position could make Shinko see many bridges converging in what would be one of the most confusing labyrinths ever.
Shinko gulped at the mere sight of it because, even with his strength, it would take some time to get through THAT.
So landed hard on the bridge below him, resulting in its destruction.
Shinko fell even deeper, but this was all part of his convoluted plan in which he would circumnavigate the labyrinth and find the boss of these aliens.
After that, Shinko landed not-so-hard on the floor in what looked like a huge jail.
It was very dark in there, but not a trouble for Shinko.
As he walked, he made sure to check every cell in order to see if someone was trapped (or someone was planning an ambush).
But then he heard someone call him from one of the farthest cells.
Shinko went there and, through the small fissure, he could see the captive:an octopus-like creature with a face which looked like a bone mask with two big holes (its 'eyes' apparently) and mouthless, its skin was iridescent as the colors on it were swirling (now Shinko could see green and yellow as the predominant ones, along with small patches of blue).
"Oh finally! I thought i would never escape!" the captive said with an old-sounding voice.
"Now, excuse me if i'm asking now of all times, but who exactly are you?" Shinko asked.
"How rude of me to not present myself! I am Hulkaber, a researcher of the cosmos, tasked by the Galobian empire to discover all the universe's oddities...until Boros came. He is the leader of the Dark Matter Thieves, not to mention a power-hungry maniac who destroys planets just to have a good battle. He did so with mine too and now i'm the only remaining individual of my species" Hulkaber explained through his bars.
Shinko was shocked by this fact, now he truly had to do something quickly. That bastard needed to be taken down.
"Don't worry Hulkaber, i'll defeat this 'Boros', but first i want to free you" Shinko said with determination exuding from his body.
"I'm afraid both of these tasks are impossible:it is said that no one could manage to hurt Boros and this cell, like all the ship, is made of Permanium, the strongest metal in the known universe!" Hulkaber said with despair in his eyes.
"Then i'll have to prove you wrong on both of these facts, but first i need you to stand back" Shinko said.
Hulkaber was skeptical, but did as he was told.
Immediately something made a small crack in the wall, just below the fissure, but then two hands were put in it and pushed in opposite directions.
The metal screeched as it was crippled effortlessly and Hulkaber could fully see Shinko, since his kind could see very well in the dark.
The alien was astonished by this boy and decided to scan his energy. He immediately regretted it as he was engulfed in an extremely powerful aura, even greater than Boros'.
"No limit at all..." Hulkaber muttered in an extremely low voice, but Shinko still picked up, although not quite precisely.
"What did you say?" Shinko asked with curiosity.
"Nothing, i just scanned your energy and...there's no limit to it...how?" Hulkaber said slowly.
Shinko sighed "So it's true that i have no limits...but that's not important right now. Where can i find Boros?" he then asked.
"He is in the throne room, a bit far from here, so i'll simply give you the coordinates through your mind" Hulkaber explained to Shinko.
The fluffy boy raised an eyebrow at that and wanted to ask a question, but he was stopped by two tentacles that Hulkaber placed on his forehead.
Immediately he was flooded with the information Hulkaber wanted to give him:it was a convoluted maze, but Shinko figured out that he could get to the room by simply destroying everything ahead of him.
"Thanks Hulkaber! Now i can end this forever!" Shinko said as he prepared to run, but Hulkaber stopped him.
"Wait a minute, i wanted to ask you something! For the time being and if you're okay with that...could i live in your house? I promise i won't cause any trouble!" Hulkaber pleaded since he didn't want to be homeless in an unknown world where everyone might as well be hostile to him.
"Sure!" Shinko said and Hulkaber touched the boy's forehead yet again and saw the needed information.
"Thank you! I'll be on my way now!" Hulkaber said he went in the opposite direction, but then stopped and said "Good luck!" while waving a tentacle.
"Good luck to you too!" Shinko said as well and he took off.
The serious scowl had returned on his face and Shinko was more determined than ever.
And that was the chapter! After this one there will be the end of the first part of the story and another prequel chapter.
Anyways, unlike the next chapter, this one was modified only once because it was overshadowed by the next one (which had not only the Boros battle, but also character development related stuff). When i returned to this chapter, my first thought was 'How in hell did i think this was ok?' and hurried myself in fixing it (especially the first part, which was atrocious just by looking at it).
Still, see you in two weeks (when i hopefully made more progress).