It was a peaceful afternoon within Japan. Looking outside the glass panes of the window, you hummed to yourself in deep thought. Buildings disappeared and repeated from your sight at a quickened pace, and birds flew by almost catching up to the speed of the train. The slow rocking from here and there put an ease at your mind, allowing you to think without worry and lay your head against the window. It was so tranquil that you let your eyes shut to rnjoy the lasting moment....
Until an explosion occurred.
It was so quick that you didn't process anything in your brain but the annoying ringing that didn't hold any intention of ceasing. You released a pained groan, luggishly pulling your body off the ground. The first thing you did was knock your palm against the side of your head to get yourself to focus properly. As the constant beeping your mind finally died down, screams of fright and terror as well as an intercom going off entered your ears.
"Evacuate the city, a Demon threat level is roaming. Evacuate the city, a Demon threat level is roaming."
It was bound to give you a headache, but you were thankfully resistant to those types of things. Slowly gaining sight of the settings around you, you found there to be people running around like ants and yelling notes so high that you probably wouldn't hit.
They scattered all over the place. The skies had been dyed a crimson color instead of the baby blue hue and buildings everywhere were devastated to nothing more than rubble. Whatever just happened, it was disastrouss.
A stark contrast to the serene sight of earlier with you staring out the window happily.
The city simply reeked of the smell of death and destruction all around. While the inhabitants ran in various multiple directions, you caught a glance of a man stuck underneath a bunch of eroded debris, struggling at his hardest to pull his leg out. And looming above him, just threatening to fall and crush the man, was a giant platform of staggering bricks. You could tell by looking at it that one strong enough gust of wind, and it would topple over and he'd meet his demise then and there.
Out of instinct, you dashed over to assist the man. Immediately crouching down and extending your hand, you yelled "Take it!" to which he did without a moments haste. Yet, no matter how hard you pulled, he wouldn't budge an inch. "Tch. Damn..." You cursed under your breath, crawling over to the pile of rocks that trapped him.
One by one, you pulled the smaller chunks of earth off first and then got to the bigger pieces. The action resulted fruitful because the man's leg was lying on the ground dormant in your eyesight. However, the damage done was more than evident, as you found that his ankle was twisted in a way that you were positive no humans leg was supposed to be. Oh how you cringed at the sight.
"It's okay, it's okay. I've got you." It was a slightly difficult feat, pulling the man to his feet, but you managed. Sure there were a few wines, but your reassurance made things a bit less painful for him. "Easy now..." The arm that he had wrapped around your neck as means of support while he limped seemed to have tightened, as you noticed by the slight increase of pressure. "I'll get you somewhere safe. Just bear with m-"
Cutting your solacing words was another ebullition, this time much mightier than the last. It had enough strength alone to lift you and the man up into the air, sent crashing into the glass of a 13-story high office apartment. You, clenching the man tight within your hold to ensure he doesn't get hurt much more than he already is, rolled into a wall and released a wail of pent up anguish. "D-damn that hurts...!" The man fell from your grasp and desperately inhaled for the wind that was so harshly knocked out of his lungs. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Are you alright!?" You dithered. "Yeah, don't worry about it..." He waves his hand dismissively, a pop in his wrist sounding as he hastily clutched it in pain.
"Calm down, calm down!" You kneeled down and grabbed the man by his shoulders, pushing his weak figure against the ivory walls. Pulling your hands down, you tore your shirt by the rims into but a midriff. Thankfully, the fabric you pulled had enough length to wrap around his wrist and ankle three times over, to which you did.
"There." You patched him up. "Nice and tidy." With a final knot, the bow was in place. The tightness of the cloth was firm to the point where if he walked around with them still on it wouldn't shift in the slightest. "Now, you stay here." "Wh-what!?" The man exclaimed inquisitively. "I'll see if I can gather any more survivors! I'll be right back!" Without letting him get another interjection in, you dashed off without another word. Taking an elevator was out of the question because it was too slow and time was indefinitely of the essence here. You ran(practically flew) down the spiral steps to the very bottom floor, emerging from the doors where you found plenty of other people lying around. What a relief it was to find them surviving this crisis currently going on.
"Are you all okay!?" You questioned their wellbeing, earning a few groans of response and others actual coherent 'yes's. Some people who were slumping on their feet was helped to the ground thanks to you. "Where are all the heroes at!? The city is going to be reduced to ashes if they don't show up...!" A lady managed to choke out, coughing right after. "Don't worry, I'm sure they'll show up soon enough!" You assured, gently patting her back and pouring her a small glass of water for her to drink. "I think I saw Lightning Max and Smile Man on their way here... Why haven't they come back with good news!?" An ebony-skinned man asked.
"You mean why haven't they came back at all." A teenager rebutted. "It's possible that they may have just died by the hands of-" The lady besides him plucked his lips. "I told you about that word! We don't say that in these situations." She scolded, wagging a finger. "Jeez, my bad...." He huffed, crossing his arms.
'Two heroes were sent out already? And they haven't come back for a while? Just where are they?'
This was a bad twist of events indeed. You decided to take charge of the current dilemma, at least to keep the chaos down a notch. "Anyone who isn't lethally injured, please help those who are! And someone, please go help the man on the 7th floor! He's very hurt and needs medical attention asap!"
"Hey, who are you to give out orders?" A gruff man asked, standing in front of you. His rough way of speaking hadn't phased you in the slightest, nor did his towering height. Intimidation was one of the last things on your mind at the moment, you didn't have time to take shit from anyone. Especially when lives at stake were involved. "Someone who's trying to keep casualties to a minimum until more help arrives." You answered, unwavered at all. He was taken aback by your sharp-witted response. You guessed that he hadn't expected you to so much as let a squeak out, considering his build. "Now please, move out of my way." With that said, you brushed past him to attend to a young boy who seemed to have a shard of glass lodged into his kneecap. His cries and whimpers didn't seem to die down in the slightest. "Calm down young man, calm down." You whispered soothing words to him, kneeling down to hold his hand. "What's your name?"
"M-Maikaro..." He sniffed. "Well, Mai, can I call you that?" A nod came. "-my name is [Name]. Hold my hand, and feel free to squeeze as tight as you want. What I'm about to do may hurt for a split-second, so bear with me." A few moments after saying, you placed a free hand and pulled the glass out in but seconds. "There we go. It didn't hurt now, did it?" His crying came to a leisure halt, the boy opening his eyes at the realization that the pain had faded like it wasn't there in the first place. "W-wow...! That didn't hurt at all, Miss [Name]!" He awed as you swiftly wrapped a discarded table cloth around his kneecap. "I'm glad it didn't. Means you're a big boy capable of being strong." You booped his nose, a smile evident on your face. "I am? Yay!" Mai cheered as you set him down to stare at a discarded brochure. "There should be a cafeteria on the 4th floor. If you can move, get some food for everyone hurt. I'll be back to get more survivors." You turned towards the group of adults who were either hurt or not hurt. They stared at you like you were cynical. Nobody so much as moved. "Uh..." It sent a wave of sudden uncertaintanity down your spine.
'Of course they wouldn't listen... You're not a hero....' You inwardly sighed to yourself. 'Keeping a crowd under control would be so much easier if they knew they could trust me.... I'm a fool thinking that I could just have them listen to me so easily...'
"Understood, ma'am!" A major of the uninjured replied. "H-huh?" A light feeling emitted from your chest. "I work here, so I'll guide you all to the cafeteria!" A business woman announced, standing up. "Follow me!" The group who answered you quickly followed after her. "O, oh...." A kept breath was released from your lips as you smiled at the sight of them complying. Their actions caused a load of weight to lift itself from your shoulders.
'Now then...' You turned heel and dashed out of the building, into the swirling chaos that was ensuing. Running around, you found survivors, some injured and others not. You instructed them to head towards the building that was not collapsed, which was the current safehouse for them. "My baby! You... You need to save my baby!" A lady choked on the toxic fumes in the air. "Where is she, ma'am?" You asked as she tumbled into your comforting arms.
"I-I don't know...!" Tears fell from her eyes. Whether it was because of how strong the smell of the air or because it was natural for humans to do so in such situations, you couldn't tell apart. But one thing was for certain: "Then rest assured, I'll find her." You let a man help walk her the way to the corporation tower.
After scavenging the area a bit more thoroughly, you saw nobody in sight. You figured that they all evacuated the city to a more safer place. If so, what a a relief. Eyes darting around, you saw nothing besides the mass destruction. "Doesn't seem like anyone's around..." You noted aloud. "Alright then. Time to rendezvous with the survivors-" A sudden rupture in the ground cut your words short, causing your eyes to scan the area after it shortly subsided. Nothing was wrong, thankfully.
'Wait...' Your eyes widened at the sight of what was a building leaning forwards— Forwards, to say, in your current direction. Matter of fact, it seemed to be getting closer. 'Ohhh shit.' You began to run forwards, hoping to escape its shadow that was quickly getting darker, indicating that you were about seconds from getting crashed. 'NONONONONONONONONO!' You tripped over a slightly uprooted manhole. Damnit, why did you have to be so clumsy? Turning around, you saw that the building was just centimeters from hitting you in the face.
'Oh sh—'
———
"Daddy?" A young girl with [color] locks tied into dual pigtails piped up, her big orbs gleaming with the utmost curiosity. She waddled over to a lonesome table with various tools and blueprints scattered about. Sitting at it was a man with silver hair kept up with a mere bobby pin, sweat trickling down his forehead.
"Yes, sweet pea?" He chuckled as his beautiful daughter sat next to him and laid her head on the wooden table. "It's been a while now. When's mommy coming back?"
"Mommy?"
"Mhm. When is her vacation over?"
"Well, darling, " He sat you on his left leg, ruffling your hair to earn a "hey! Picture day is tomorrow, stop!" from you, "she'll be back soon, that much I can say."
"You said that last time!"
"Well, 3rd time's the charm." His hand raised to pat her head. "Just get to sleep, you've got a new day of school."
——
It was such a blessing that your durability could match that of pure metal. You had to crawl from underneath the rubble that had fallen over your body, that annoying ring sounding in your ears again. Before long you found yourself outside in the midst of an almost destroyed street. Flames were sprouting, and every building was reduced to nothing more than chunks of rock. It was almost impossible for you to recognize where you were at the time, so you could only pray that you hadn't been strayed off the path that led back to the campgrounds for survivors.
"What the hell was that?" You said aloud, thinking back to the images that popped into your mind during your blackout. "A memory of some sort?" Navigating some more, you found a lonesome girl— Standing and weeping her eyes out. She could be heard for miles, which was how you found your way to her. ."Hey... Hey!" You dashed to her side, kneeling down to hold her hands as some sort of comfort. "Calm down, help has arrived." But she didn't stop. If anything, she was only louder. "W-we can help you find your mommy and daddy. Everything will be okay." No matter what you said, the young girl just wouldn't keep quiet. Children such as these were usually a pain in situations like this because they always had to attract some sort of unwanted attention.
*stomp*
... Like that.
Before you knew it, a purple hand was extended towards you and the girl, until its size grew ten times and was bulging with veins, the nails turning sharp as glass. You engulfed the girl in a tight embrace, hoping to reduce any damage that would whatsoever be dealt on her. Closing your eyes, you hoped that something, anything, would save you both from this inevitable fate bound to meet you—
And like an answer to your prayers, something— or rather someone— swooped down.
You felt yourself in midair for a second until being sat down on the quaking ground. "Huh...?" You looked up to see a man whose face was shadowed by his long crimson cape.
"Who are you?" The purple monster who previously tried to crush you asked, surprised by this sudden appearance of your savior. Now that you noticed it, he looked kind of like this character from an anime you used to watch.
Your savior flashed a cunning grin, swiftly turning so that his back was facing you. "I'm just..." He crossed his arms against his chest. "A hero for fun."
•
•
•
"What kind of half-assed backstory is that!?" He slammed his hand against his chest and began his typical villain speech™. "I exist because of humankind's constant pollution of the environment! I am Vaccine Man! The earth is a single living organism, and you humans are the disease-causing germs killing it!" Vaccine Man's face mutated to reveal his endless array of teeth. "The will of the earth gave birth to me... So that I may destroy humanity and their insidious civilization!" His body grew, menacingly towering over the hero.
"But you, you do this for fun!? That's the reason you dare oppose me, the earth apostle!? Then indeed, I must completely wipe humanity's existence!" His kneecaps popped with spikes and the color in his eyes lost its whites. Tusks grew from his jaws. Truly, this Vaccine Man was out for the kill.
Much as your savior was.
"GAAAAAAAAH!!!!" Came the pained cries of Vaccine Man as he was defeated with nothing more than a single punch, a giant hole carved where the blow impacted. Guts and other internal organs were sent flying into the sky, eventually coming back to shower the area red.
'Well, that was anti-climatic.' You mused in disappointment, a pout evident on your face. But then again, you couldn't complain. This guy straight up saved your life. "Hey, uhm, " You spoke to give your sincerest of thanks to the hero until he clenched his fists and screamed out. "GOD DAMMIT!!!" Was something wrong? Did he injure himself delivering the first and final blow?
"I FINISHED IT IN ONE PUNCH AGAIN!"
A large drop of sweat rolled down your forehead. "Excuse me, " You cleared your throat, pulling his attention from his hand and to you. "Thank you, for saving us..."
The hero stared at you for a few moments, silent before speaking his next words: "[Name]?"
Now it was your turn to stay quiet. ".... Do I know you?"