Zero Hero || MHA ||

3. Life Preservers

"Everyone, get out of the water! I repeat, get out of the water!" the lifeguard hollered anxiously through her red and white megaphone.

I watched as everyone in the water, with parents immediately grabbing their children and couples entangling their arms together, scamper out speedily. A few swimmers around me began to voice their confusion. Some of the younger kids outright ignored her orders and continued splashing around. Whether it was an actual emergency or not, it'll 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 one of her pink arm floaties that were sitting on the ripples.

I was supposed to be babysitting. My neighbor's down the street needed a sitter for the weekend since they had to go out of town for a funeral. They didn't want to take their kid, so they asked me if I can watch her. They had to pick the worst candidate for watching her, did they? First of all, I'm a walking magnet that attracts trouble wherever I go, and secondly, I have zero experience with babysitting. However, I didn't really have the choice to say no.

The neighbor's kid, Himawari, seemed really bummed out 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 maybe my unluck.

More people were retreating back on the sand. The ocean water was emptying out, and I still couldn't find her. I hurriedly waded through the water trying to find any sign of a little 5-year-old wearing a polka-dotted sunhat. It was difficult. I tried calling her name, but my voice just got drowned out 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.

"Crap..." I muttered, beginning to panic. "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, as he surveyed 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," he replied.

"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 need 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 turned around.

"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 spotting 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 stiffens.