“Never mind,” Zipper muttered to herself. “Popular, already.”

Zipper’s interest waned. What drew her to the girl was how she opted to be alone in an otherwise social setting. Either the choice was deliberate or it wasn’t. While it’d be interesting if it had been a choice, the more likely scenario was that she was shy. Yet, despite her analysis, it turned out she was simply waiting for friends to arrive. Either that or they were a lesbian magnet.

Wait, Jun was lesbian, right? Stalking her to the beach to protect her, while heroic, definitely gave off some ‘I’m in love with you vibes.’ Zipper would know after her brief stint with Kioko. And, admittedly, had been avoiding Jun since.

She was not her type.

Even if she was, Zipper didn’t want to come out yet. She only recently discovered her affinity for tall, goth women and was parsing through that as best she could — by throwing herself into her work and avoiding the thought.

Sniff, sniff.

Something smells good.

---

It didn’t matter how many bodies he ran through, Zipper had lost her hat. Unlike the rest of the creatures, mowed down one by one by the machine — two hellish wheels drenched in blood, desperately grabbing onto granules of sand to grip on to — the thief had what they wanted. Like actual octopuses, this creature was smarter than the rest of its comrades. If this were a war against humanity, then while the others focused on violence, this one sought to destroy everything they loved and claim it for their own. The malice was palpable.

The cephalopod dug itself underground, safe from Howie’s wheels. Using the corpses as cover, they lost track of where it was, leaving Zipper with the unrelenting, bitter taste of defeat in her mouth. She looked away from the fish guts and spoke just loud enough to be heard over the roaring engine.

“Let’s just leave…” Despite what Howie said, he tried his best. And regardless of how well-intentioned he was, Zipper couldn’t see him as anything but a knock-off. Didn’t help she couldn’t keep it to herself either. “Last thing I need is people seeing me with you…”

---

Jun’s chains wrapped around her. Bound by fear, she kept her eyes closed, only to shoot them open when she felt a familiar texture in her hands. Face to face with the octopus, she gulped before being dragged away. The creature tried to strike, but with Jun letting go of the rock, it lost all balance as it fell backward, the rock landing atop it.

Zipper didn’t look back. Even when the visceral splat reverberated through her ears, only dulled by the sound of their feet pounding on the sand.

Keep running. Keep running. Keep running.

She repeated the mantra until they were safe. Far from the beach, concrete underneath the soles of their shoes, she put the hat back on — sand and all.

“Thanks,” Zipper said. “You’ll make it far as a hero.” Zipper shouldn’t have said this but it came out anyway. She didn’t even realize how bad it sounded. “You’re good at following orders.”

---

“No!” Zipper was defiant. If she got off the rock now, then everything was lost. This tug-of-war was the opening she needed — the only useful thing Jun could have done while she was here. If this were a one-on-one then she would have lost the hat for sure, but with her target directly below her. “Screw the rock, catch me!”

Zipper jumped off the rock.

The wind ran through her hair, and her chest started pounding. There wasn’t an athletic bone in her body, but she wasn’t leaving without that hat. She didn’t have the strength to fight the monster, the speed to outrun it, nor the creativity to outthink it. But what Zipper did have was her unwavering persistence.

Desperately grabbing out, her finger grazes the hat.

Then the next.

Then, her whole hand.

The octopus throws a tantrum, letting go of the rock and trying to grab Zipper before Jun can. It’s all on the hero student to step up or see one of their classmates fall victim to a stupid blob of flesh.

Zipper shut her eyes.

---

“You’re right.” Zipper saw the opportunity and seized it. Kioko was offering her a chance at redemption, a chance to get back to the heart of the matter. All Zipper had to do was focus on why she followed Kioko as she mourned her family and then pry about what really happened in the incident — and whether or not she deserved a sentence.

As the thoughts settled, she realized how awful the situation was. No matter how she framed it, she was trapped. And before she could think of a way out, her mouth started speaking on her mind’s behalf. Unfortunately for the mind, neither of which was polished nor graceful.

“I saw you on the news years ago and I didn’t realize it at the time, but I thought you were really pretty, but never gave it much and then I end up seeing you all these years later and I’m like ‘oh, that’s Kioko! I want to talk to her.’ for reasons that probably aren’t great and by the time I realized it I was already following you because I think you’re the most attractive person I’ve ever seen and up to this point I thought I wasn’t into love or romance and no I don’t love you you’re right but I think I could and I never felt that way about someone before so it’s really hitting me all at once and I didn’t mean to bring this up while you were grieving your dead famil—”

Well, now she understood how heroes felt normally. To think, a tiny little crush and she folded like a beach chair.

“I think I should go.”

---

Zipper followed.

It’s difficult to determine whether or not she was actually hidden — the sound of her heart beating deafened the world around her. Her thoughts were riddled with the potential futures these two would share with one another. All of which impossible, which made it all the more difficult to push them out of her mind. Zipper had never wanted anything more.

Pull yourself together. She grounded herself. You’re here for a reason. Don’t fuck this up by being cringe.

How the hell do you introduce yourself at a time like this? Zipper realized the gravitas of the situation. The smart thing to do was to back away and find her another day. It was inappropriate to bring up business while someone mourned the dead. Even more unprofessional to stalk them to the memorial site.

“Kioko Kushiki.” Zipper’s body spoke in defiance. It cared not for her qualms — appropriate, inappropriate, none of that mattered! Zipper came here for a reason. And goddammit nothing was going to stop her. “I love you.”

Zipper stopped in her tracks.

Face red as sin.

Fuck.

---

Nevermind.

They were a monster.

A different kind of monster, but the same kind of unhinged frivolity that threatened the very fabric of heroism. The only solace in meeting him was that her life had been saved and the confirmation that someone like this wasn’t a hero. Not only that, but they’d never be a hero, either. There were some with the same mindset but ambitious for money or status. Those were the few, rarer breeds that she might denote worse than this woman in front of her.

Sand blasts her in the face, she falls to the ground. And becomes a target for another one of these sea creatures who have no interest in anything other than a free, easy meal. Zipper’s not too afraid, she can make a run for it, but that’s when she notices…

Her hat.

The sand that blasted her also blasted her hat away.

“Wait, I need that…” She looks up at the giant grab claw aiming to slam down on her again and grits her teeth. “Am I going to die here? Like this?”

She grabs her jacket and pockets the zipper. If this hyena really isn’t going to help, then she only has one chance to make it out of here. Once chance to get that hat of hers…

---