Chapter 0
PROLOGUE: An Ordinary Day
ONE'S APARTMENT – MORNING
The sun filtered through the dirty curtains, drawing stripes on the futon where One was still sleeping. His mouth was open. A trickle of drool ran down his cheek.
Kotobe was already up, dressed, his hair combed – well, sort of. He was looking at his phone, eyebrows furrowed.
"One. Wake up."
One didn't move.
"ONE."
Nothing.
Kotobe approached, tapped his cheek.
Smack.
One grabbed his hand, squeezed it, then put it back down on the futon. He turned over to the other side.
"…I give up."
He went to the kitchen. The kitchen was empty. No bowl. No chopsticks. Just an opened pack of noodles and a bottle of water.
"We have nothing left to eat."
One opened one eye.
"…Ah."
"'Ah,' that's it?"
"We go out."
Kotobe sighed. "We go out."
————
IN THE STREET – ONE HOUR LATER
They walked side by side, One with his hands in his pockets, Kotobe holding the shopping list.
"Noodles. Rice. Eggs. Salt. Soy sauce."
"Mmh."
"Were you listening?"
"Mmh."
"What are you going to buy?"
"Noodles."
"And what else?"
"…Eggs?"
Kotobe looked at him. "You listened to half of it."
One thought about it.
"Half is good."
Kotobe sighed.
———
ALERT – NEAR THE SUPERMARKET
BEEP BEEP BEEP.
Kotobe's phone vibrated. An alert. A demon reported near the supermarket.
"Shit."
One turned his head.
"Are we going?"
"You do the shopping. I'll handle it."
Kotobe ran off.
One watched him walk away.
"…But I don't have the list."
He shrugged and walked into the supermarket.
———
ON THE SCENE – IN FRONT OF THE SUPERMARKET
Kotobe arrived out of breath. The demon – a little four-legged thing, not very dangerous – was already getting beaten up by another hero.
A Class B hero. Tall, muscular, handsome. A dazzling smile. Teeth too white.
He crushed the demon with a kick. BOOM.
Then he turned to Kotobe.
"So, showing up after the battle, are we?"
Kotobe caught his breath.
"I was two minutes away."
The hero sneered.
"Two minutes is two minutes too late. Look at you. You're late, you're ugly, you look tired. Are you really a hero?"
Kotobe gritted his teeth.
"My name is Kotobe. And I'm a Class B hero."
The hero raised an eyebrow.
"Class B? You?"
He approached, looked him up and down.
"You must have bought your ticket, right? Because with that face of yours, it's not your skills that got you there."
People started gathering. Phones were recording.
Kotobe felt shame rising to his cheeks.
"I suggest you…"
The hero raised his fist.
"What? You gonna complain?"
BAM.
A stone arm caught his fist.
Nagato. He was there, standing, impassive. Behind him, a black car. And in the car, Pinky, arms crossed, an arrogant smile on her lips.
"You bothering my friend, stranger?"
The hero stepped back, surprised.
"Who the hell are you?"
Pinky got out of the car, approached.
"I'm Pinky. Daughter of Pink Buster. The legendary Class S heroine."
The hero went pale.
"And this is Kotobe. Finalist of the tournament. The one who beat Dante. The one who survived Viper."
She planted herself in front of him.
"So, you're going to apologize, or my dear friend Nagato here is going to take great pleasure in wiping the floor with you."
The hero lowered his head.
"I… I'm sorry."
He ran off, tail between his legs.
The people applauded.
Pinky turned to Kotobe.
"You're too nice, you know."
Kotobe smiled, tired.
"Thanks."
Nagato opened the door.
"Want me to take you back to the apartment?"
Kotobe shook his head.
"No thanks. I'm going where I need to go."
Nagato nodded.
"Whatever you want."
Pinky got into the car.
"See you later, Kotobe!"
The car drove off.
Kotobe stayed on the sidewalk for a while, then he left.
———
THE VACANT LOT
This was it. The place where he used to play with Kanata. The weeds had grown. The car wrecks were still there.
Two kids were playing in the middle. One of them was imitating Captain Man.
"A hero must be indestructible!"
The other, smaller, raised his arms and shouted.
"Justice Punch!"
They were laughing.
Kotobe watched them for a long moment.
They're like us.
He sat down on a tire, pulled a sandwich from his pocket, and ate in silence.
———
ELSEWHERE – SACRED MOUNTAIN
The mountain was steep. Lee-Hann Jr's – Master Karate's – hands were bleeding. His knees trembled. His lungs burned.
But he kept going.
He had searched everywhere. Weeks. Months. He had asked monks, shepherds, madmen. No one knew the way.
But he had finally found it.
The cave was there. Dark. Damp. A heavy, almost palpable aura emanated from it.
Lee-Hann approached, heart pounding.
Inside, a silhouette sat cross-legged, eyes closed.
Master Ku.
Lee-Hann bowed.
"Master. I came to…"
Ku opened his eyes.
"Go away."
Lee-Hann looked up.
"What?"
"I said go away. I no longer take students."
Lee-Hann clenched his fists.
"I won't leave."
Ku stood up. His sword followed the movement, as if attached to his hand.
"Then you will die."
———
TO BE CONTINUED…
Chapter 1: The Weight of the World – Tomorrow.