"No, Lucy... no..."
Jonathan woke up in a cold sweat while holding his hand up into the sky. His breathing had become ragged, and the scenes of the dreams in his mind replayed a couple of times even though he was already awake.
The sunlight peered through the wooden decks on top of him, which partially covered him from the heat. The sand seeped between his toes as he stood up, and he felt like getting another hour of sleep but he knew he had to be on time for the important event.
"Lucy...' Jonathan heaved a sigh.
From a distance, the sound of the waves hitting the shore invaded his ears, making him remember painful memories of the past. He shook his head before slinging his backpack on his shoulders. He had been sleeping under this wooden deck bridge for a couple of days now. The uncomfortable feeling of sand against his back, he had gotten used to it.
As the sun completely peered from the horizon, Jonathan made his way into the city. Fortunately, he came from another dimension, and there was no proof that he was the one who killed the girl. That's why no one is currently hunting him down, except for two people— Satoshi and Yun Zhe.
Then again, he knew that they wouldn't be a problem since he was stronger than them. Satoshi was formidable, sure, but he could handle him just fine.
"I've already avenged them... and yet I still feel this way. Is this how she felt back then?" Jonathan forced a laugh from his mouth as he tried to forget the girl he killed. And yet, the memory of him killing her replayed in his mind, coupled with the traumatic memory he had in the past.
"I guess this is payback for what I've done. But even if I could go back in time, I won't change anything... what she did was unforgivable. No excuse could justify what she did... that's why she had to die." Jonathan had undergone a feeling of hatred, guilt, and justification in under a minute, but that didn't remove the sick feeling he had in his stomach.
Groowl~
While walking through the city, a couple of stalls caught Jonathan's attention, and he wanted to buy food for himself. However, he didn't have any money. He clutched onto his stomach, plastered a grin on his face, and continued walking.
There was the option of stealing. And for him, stealing ought to be easy since he could open dimensional portals just like Emma and Satoshi. But at the moment, he didn't feel like doing a crime. After all, he still felt a tad bit guilty after murdering someone despite her not being so innocent.
He curled his back, thinking that his complaining stomach would be heard by the crowd. Feeling a little bit embarrassed, he drooped his head and increased his walking pace as he made his way to the United Superheroes Academy.
"Oi, kid, are you all right?" A stocky man in his late thirties suddenly grabbed Jonathan by the shoulder, causing him to flinch.
Without thinking twice, he immediately unleashed a punch right at the man. That's when he realized that the man behind him was actually a regular human. 'Oh shoot, there was no way he'd survive this punch.' Jonathan said to himself as he tried to pull out his punches.
But it was too late, he had unleashed his full power before he knew it, and the momentum of the punch traveled straight into the man's stomach.
Jonathan could already imagine the man's stomach exploding, with his innards and blood splashing all over the place as his body became a fountain of red. He could already see himself getting escorted into a superhero prison and serving his life sentence, all the while eating jail food every day. Then again, it wasn't too bad. At least he got to eat every day instead of staying underneath a deck for days while hoping he could get his next meal the next day.
All those thoughts occurred in Jonathan's mind in less than a split second. Once he got back to reality, his punch was already a millimeter away from the man's stomach.
Swish~!
Suddenly, a strong gust of wind hit him straight in the face. And the man blocked his attack with an open palm. With a grunt, the man caught Jonathan's arm. He felt his arm twisting due to Jonathan's forceful punch, but he held his ground.
"Sheesh, you scared the hell out of me kid. Don't you go punching anyone like that, all right? If it had been another person, they'd have died." The man scratched his head as he let go of Jonathan's fist. He then started shaking his hand as if he was dancing a traditional dance.
"I-I-I'm sorry!" Jonathan called out as his stomach growled a second time. "It was reflex... I'm sorry." He repeated, averting his gaze from the man before he bowed his head in sincere apology. More than anything, he was just glad that the man was able to catch his punch and live.
'Wait... he was able to catch my punch and live?! A normal human could do that?!' Jonathan's eyes widened as his gaze shifted back to the man. He couldn't believe that such a regular-looking man could do that. Even with a superpower, he should've suffered decent damage.
"I'm Ivan Ivanov. What's your name?" The man said, extending his right hand for a handshake— this was the hand he used to catch Jonathan's punch. (See chapter 4)
"Jonathan Ainsworth," Jonathan muttered, shakily shaking the man's hand.
"That was a pretty unique introduction, don't you think?" Ivan lightly said, reenacting the punch before putting his hand once again on Jonathan's shoulder. "By the way, I couldn't help but notice... your stomach's been grumbling non-stop. That's no good, you know."
Embarrassed, Jonathan clutched his stomach, silently telling it to shut up so he won't get embarrassed further.
Ivan then stopped and took a closer look at Jonathan. This made Jonathan feel a little awkward even though he was aware that Ivan didn't mean any harm.
"Kid... you're not from around here, are you?" Ivan suspiciously asked.
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