1. The Morning After Fame
The next day, Raon woke up to the sound of a toaster exploding.
Again.
Smoke filled her small apartment as her phone buzzed non-stop.
She glanced at it.
1,243 unread notifications.
> "Congratulations! You're trending as #1 Hero on HeroNet!"
"BREAKING: Is One Kick Girl even human?"
"Fan theory: She's an AI bootleg created by a shoe company."
"Kick me please."
Raon groaned, kicking the smoke detector to shut it off.
> "Shion, what the hell did you do?"
Across the room, Shion sat cross-legged on the floor, surrounded by screens and floating holograms.
She hadn't slept. Her tablet emitted faint blue light — like a mini-sun fueled by caffeine and resentment.
> "I optimized your media footprint, created your official hero page, and registered your trademark in six jurisdictions," Shion said flatly.
"I also sold your old socks on HeroBay. The auction closes in an hour."
Raon blinked.
> "...You sold my socks?"
"Limited-edition battle memorabilia. The bids are currently at 43,000 credits."
Raon stared into the distance.
> "So this is how heroes make money…"
---
2. Bureau of Hero Affairs — Registration Day
Shion dragged Raon to the Bureau tower.
It was huge — a gleaming fortress of bureaucracy, guarded by drones that looked like angry staplers.
Inside, hundreds of heroes stood in line, arguing about rank upgrades and costume taxes.
Raon yawned.
> "Can we just go home?"
"No. You're currently classified as an unregistered public hazard," Shion replied.
"That's a cool title though."
"It's not."
They reached the counter. A bored clerk greeted them without looking up.
> "Name?"
"Raon."
"Hero alias?"
"One Kick Girl."
"Power description?"
"...I kick things once."
"And then?"
"They stop existing."
The clerk paused.
> "...Are you being funny?"
"No, but I can be."
After several forms, blood tests, and a mandatory "pose check," Raon was officially registered as a Rank C Hero.
She frowned.
> "Wait. C? I one-kicked a giant crab through a building yesterday."
"Yes, and you also caused fifty million credits in property damage," Shion said, scanning the fine print.
"Your kick radius exceeds the Bureau's acceptable limit for 'urban-friendly heroes.'"
Raon folded her arms.
> "So I'm too good to rank higher?"
"Yes."
---
3. The Hero Café
After surviving registration, the two stopped by the Hero Café — a lounge for active heroes.
Posters of the top-ranking elites decorated the walls: Baron Silence, Discordia Beatmare, Maestro Dome, and other absurd names that sounded like rejected EDM artists.
Raon and Shion sat quietly, sipping bubble tea.
At the next table, a group of young heroes whispered.
> "That's her… the One Kick Girl."
"No way, she looks so normal."
"Her kicks vaporized a monster class Delta-9."
"She's not even wearing armor. Just… track pants."
Raon blinked.
> "...Are they talking about me?"
"Statistically, yes," Shion replied.
"I told you to wear sunglasses."
---
4. The Arrival of Maestro Dome
The café doors burst open.
A booming voice echoed, accompanied by music that somehow played from nowhere.
> "Make way! The world's sound savior has arrived!"
A tall man in a metallic dome-shaped helmet strutted in.
His armor pulsed to the beat of invisible bass. Each step dropped subwoofer tremors through the café floor.
> "Maestro Dome," someone whispered. "Rank A. Sonic Resonance Hero."
He pointed dramatically at Raon.
> "So you're the rookie who thinks one kick can outshine the symphony of justice?"
Raon blinked.
> "...What?"
"Do not 'what' me, girl of the singular leg motion! You disrupted the city's equilibrium with your barbaric blunt-force ballet!"
Shion's tablet beeped softly.
> "His ego levels are rising. Estimated nonsense output: 96%."
Raon sighed.
> "Look, dude. I'm just trying to finish my drink."
Maestro Dome struck a pose, speakers humming.
> "Then let us duel — melody versus muscle! Kick against crescendo!"
Everyone in the café ducked for cover.
---
5. The Battle Nobody Wanted
Raon stood up slowly.
> "You really wanna do this here?"
"Yes! Let the rhythm of battle echo across Metrosonic!"
Shion raised her hand.
> "Wait. According to Bureau rules, public hero-versus-hero combat requires a—"
Too late.
Maestro Dome unleashed a soundwave blast. Tables shattered. Cups flew.
Raon's hair fluttered slightly.
> "Wow," she said. "That tickled."
Then she kicked once.
BOOM.
The floor cracked. Dome's armor imploded like a soda can in slow motion.
He crashed through three walls, then the ceiling, then reappeared as a blinking dot in the sky.
The café fell silent.
Raon dusted off her pants and sat back down.
> "Can I get a refill?"
Shion adjusted her glasses.
> "You just one-kicked a Rank A hero."
"He asked for it."
"I'm aware. I'm uploading the footage. You're trending again."
Raon groaned.
> "Great. More notifications."
---
6. The Bureau Reacts
Elsewhere in the Hero Bureau tower, alarms blared.
A panicked officer shouted,
> "Unregistered combat detected at Hero Café!"
Another yelled,
"It's One Kick Girl again! She just sent Maestro Dome into orbit!"
The Bureau Chief buried his face in his hands.
> "Every time she kicks, we lose insurance sponsors."
From the shadows, a masked figure smirked.
> "Let her rise. The stronger she becomes, the more chaos she brings. And when the city trembles—"
The Chief cut him off.
"—we'll have to pay for it. Now shut up, I'm doing paperwork."
---
7. Epilogue — "Brand Expansion"
Later that night, Raon and Shion walked home under the neon glow.
> "So… what's next?" Raon asked.
"I just got us a sponsorship," Shion replied proudly.
"For what?"
"Sneakers."
Raon stared.
> "...You mean they actually made a shoe that can survive my kick?"
"Not yet. But they're paying us to find out."
Raon smirked.
> "Cool. As long as it comes with ramen coupons."
Shion sighed.
> "You're impossible."
Raon stretched, cracking her neck.
> "Nah. Just bored."
Lightning flickered across the distant skyline.
Somewhere, a villain laughed in an underground studio filled with malfunctioning speakers.
> "One Kick Girl… next time, you'll face Discordia Beatmare!"
Raon sneezed again.
> "...Weird. Someone's talking about me again."
---
[End of Chapter 2 — "The Manager and the Menace"]