Zero Hero ||MHA||

3. Life Preservers

"Everyone, get out of the water! I repeat, get out of the water!"

Parents immediately grabbed their young children, and couples entangled their arms together. A few swimmers around me began to voice their confusion. Some of the younger kids outright ignored the lifeguard's orders and continued splashing around. Whether it was an actual emergency or not, it'd make things easier if I got out.

"Himawari, the lifeguard said we gotta get out," I announced turning around. Instead of seeing a little girl there, I was met with a pink arm floatie.

I was supposed to be babysitting my neighbor's kid. They needed a sitter for the weekend since they had to go out of town for a funeral. Not wanting to bring their kid, they asked if I can watch her. It was honestly a terrible choice. I'm the worst candidate. First of all, I'm a walking magnet that attracts trouble wherever I go and secondly, I have zero experience with babysitting. But, I didn't really have the choice to say no.

Their daughter Himawari seemed really bummed that her parents abandoned her, so I thought taking her to the beach would cheer her up. Both my parents were busy with work, so they couldn't make it. It was just me and her...and the potential villain here at the beach.

More people were retreating to the sand. The ocean water was emptying out, and I still couldn't find her. I hurriedly waded through the water, trying to spot any sign of a little 5-year-old wearing a polka-dotted sunhat. It was difficult. I tried calling her name, but my voice got drowned by the wave of other voices. A few minutes passed by with no luck.

This is bad. What if she got lost? What if she got kidnapped? What if she drowned? I swore she was right next to me. I turn my back for one second and bam! She's gone. I should've never brought her here in the first place! What the heck was I thinking?

"Crap..." I muttered. "Where'd Himawari go?"

As I continued on with my search, I overheard two boys my age talking about the current situation. "The stronger heroes should be coming anytime soon," the taller one with a shaved head mumbled, surveying the crowd.

"Are you sure you saw an actual villain?" his companion asked.

"Yes! I saw his face and everything while I was underwater. He looked like an octopus. One of the tentacles almost touched me! We're no match against a big villain like that. It's best if we wait for backup."

"Are you sure it wasn't just a plain 'ole octopus?"

"I swear it was a villain!"

Is that why we were pulled out of the water? Because there was a villain in it? This situation is getting worse by the second. I really needed to find Himawari...

That's when I heard a bubbling sound in front of me. It was pretty loud, because even the nearby boys stopped and looked.

"Dude, did you just fart?" the blond one teased with a smug look.

"I did not!" his friend retorted.

"I totally get it. You must be freaked out over the whole villain thing."

"I'm telling you, I saw it! You don't believe me, don't you?"

The two of them soon got into a squabble about whether or not the villain was real. The blond dude was having fun teasing his friend who was desperately trying to drag themselves out of the water. About a minute in, the blond boy's body stiffened.

"Why's your leg feel so weird?" he asked with a disgusted look.

"What do you mean? I didn't touch you."

"Then who touched me?" he said, folding his arms. "The octopus villain?"

A huge purple octopus man came soaring out of the water. He had the torso of a human but the legs of an octopus. A wave crashed down on me and the boys pushing us in opposite directions. Immediately making its appearance, the people on the beach took notice and began to panic.