#2: Chapter 1: Wannabe Hero — Memories

What does it take to become a hero?

Power? A sense of justice? The desire to help others?

No.

It takes motivation.

An obsession so overwhelming that some might even call it unnatural.

In that sense, perhaps anyone could become a hero. After all, anyone can find something they believe in.

But what has to happen for someone to be that obsessed?

—-----------------------------

“AHHH! I'M GONNA BE LATE!”

In an upscale apartment overlooking the city, a young woman frantically rushed between her bedroom and bathroom.

Her name was Yui Honda.

At twenty-six years old, Yui was a tall, athletic woman with long black hair and delicate features that contrasted with her strong build. With her striking appearance and impressive physique, she could be called quite a beauty.

Unfortunately, none of that helped her current predicament.

7:50 AM.

“Why didn't my alarm go off?!”

She hurriedly brushed her hair, nearly tripped over a shoe, and grabbed her bag from the couch.

“Okay, phone, wallet, keys… I think that's everything!”

Without another moment of hesitation, Yui threw open her bedroom window and dove outside.

Eleven stories separated her apartment from the street below.

Wind rushed past her face as she plummeted toward the ground. Then, just before reaching the lower floors, her descent slowed.

With a gentle twist of her body, she shot upward and soared between the towering buildings.

“Seven minutes until I’m late. If I push myself, I should be able to make it!”

A smile appeared on her face.

Maybe today wouldn't be so bad after all.

“ROAR!!!!”

Just as the thought crossed her mind, she looked down to see a muscular man standing in the middle of an intersection, surrounded by overturned vehicles and shattered concrete. His enormous arms were raised triumphantly as frightened pedestrians fled in every direction.

“How dare you disrespect the great Titan!”

He grabbed a nearby car and hurled it into the side of a building.

“Work?! Get a job?! Those are things you should be doing for ME!”

Yui slowed.

'Oh, come on. Seriously?'

She glanced at the destruction, then at the time on her phone.

7:53 AM.

'Maybe if I…'

“STOP RIGHT THERE, TITAN!”

A man wearing a brightly colored costume and flowing cape appeared at the end of the street.

“Your reign of terror ends here!”

“WHO DARES CHALLENGE THE GREAT—”

A brilliant flash erupted from the hero's palms.

BOOOOM!

Titan collapsed before he could finish his sentence.

Cheers erupted from the surrounding crowd.

Yui watched in silence, her expression falling ever so slightly.

'I suppose I don't have to worry anymore…'

She let out a long sigh.

At least nobody else would get hurt.

Still, as she watched the hero wave to the grateful crowd, a small, familiar feeling settled in her chest.

'Must be nice.'

With another burst of speed, she continued flying.

As she made her way across the city, a massive skyscraper came into view.

The Hero Commission Headquarters.

Its gleaming exterior reflected the morning sunlight, its upper floors towering above nearly every other building in the area.

It was said that the headquarters had been designed so that heroes could watch over the people from above.

Whether that was true or simply an elaborate publicity statement, Yui couldn't say.

Still, she found herself staring at it.

In contrast, the building she was headed toward stood just two stories tall. Constructed from ordinary brown bricks, it lacked anything remotely impressive in its design.

It looked more like an aging government office than an organization responsible for handling dangerous supernatural crimes.

Above the entrance hung a simple sign.

SENTRIES

Yui landed and hurried inside.

“Yui Honda, reporting for duty!”

Yui stood at attention just inside the entrance.

Behind the reception desk, a large, gruff-looking man slowly turned toward her.

He glanced at the clock.

Then back at Yui.

“You're late.”

Yui blinked.

“Eh?”

“It's eight.”

“But… work starts at eight.”

“And?”

“I got here at eight!”

The man folded his arms.

“If you arrive on time, you're late. If you arrive early, you're still late.”

'What?'

“Work starts when you're needed. And you were needed a week ago!”

“Y-YES, SIR!”

Yui straightened instinctively.

'What kind of logic is that?!'

The man grunted.

“Follow me. The squad's already in the meeting room.”

“Yes, sir!”

Yui hurried after him.

The interior of the building was considerably busier than its plain exterior suggested.

People moved between desks carrying thick folders, phones rang almost constantly, and stacks of paperwork covered seemingly every available surface.

A half-empty pot of coffee sat beside a machine that looked as though it had been working overtime for the past decade.

'Wow. Everyone looks busy.'

She passed a man arguing with someone over the phone and a woman frantically searching through a mountain of documents.

'I guess this is what detective work looks like.'

“Do you remember your job?” the chief asked without looking back.

“Yes, sir. It was quite unique.”

“Well, it’s one only you can do as a former hero talent.”

'Former…'

“Yes, I believe my job is to act as a bodyguard?”

The chief stopped walking.

He stared at her.

“I suppose that's one way of looking at it.”

“...Was that wrong?”

Instead of answering, he opened the meeting room door.

“Get inside.”

Five people were seated around a large conference table.

Two women occupied the seats near the front.

The first was tall and composed, with blonde hair tied neatly into a ponytail. She wore a simple suit and was already studying the documents spread across the table.

Beside her sat a shorter woman with bright orange hair cut into a pixie style. Several piercings decorated her ears, giving her a somewhat rebellious appearance.

The two men sitting across from them seemed considerably more relaxed.

One wore a white dress shirt and tie, his short brown hair neatly trimmed into a crew cut. The other had longer brown hair tied into a thin rat tail and wore a tight jacket with gloves.

They were talking quietly to each other when Yui entered.

And finally, at the far end of the table…

'Is that guy sleeping?'

“Settle down!”

The chief's voice silenced the room.

“Before we begin, this is Yui Honda. She's the new recruit I mentioned last meeting.”

A few of the detectives acknowledged her with polite nods.

“Nice to meet everyone! I look forward to working with you!”

“Now then…”

The chief turned toward the back of the room.

“Krei!”

“...Hm?”

The disheveled man slowly raised his head.

“From today onward, Honda will be working with you. You're responsible for staying with her at all times. Understood?”

For a moment, there was silence.

Then—

“YESSSSS!”

Krei suddenly shot upright.

His chair scraped loudly against the floor as he threw both arms into the air.

“FINALLY!”

Yui flinched.

'What?!'

The man who had looked half-dead only moments earlier now seemed positively delighted.

The other detectives, however, looked considerably less enthusiastic.

“Take your seat, Honda,” the chief ordered.

“R-right!”

Yui approached the only empty chair.

Naturally, it was beside Krei.

She sat down cautiously.

“Um… My name's Yui Honda. I look forward to working with you.”

Krei turned toward her.

For a moment, he simply stared.

Then his lips curled into a smile.

“Not for long.”

“...Huh?”

“QUIET BACK THERE!”

Yui quickly faced forward.

'What is wrong with this guy?!'

The chief cleared his throat and turned toward the board behind him.

Pinned across it were several photographs, documents, and handwritten notes.

“Now, let's review our current investigation.”

He pointed toward a row of photographs.

“Twelve victims have been discovered over the past several weeks. All twelve had previously committed criminal offenses, ranging from theft to violent assault.”

Yui looked at the photographs.

Many of the victims had died in quite violent ways.

Gunshots, poisoning, hanging.

“Each death was initially classified as a suicide. However, all twelve victims had criminal records, and the deaths occurred within a suspiciously short period. We suspect someone may be targeting former criminals.”

He paused.

“So far, no suspects have been identified.”

Yui raised her hand.

“Um, sir?”

“What?”

“Shouldn’t we alert a hero about this?”

The room fell quiet.

The chief stared at her.

“And what exactly would a hero do, Honda?”

“Well, they could help investigate, or—”

“Heroes fight villains. We find them.”

He tapped the photographs on the board.

“Twelve people are dead, and we don’t even know who we’re looking for. Until we identify a suspect, there’s nothing for a hero to fight.”

“I understand, but—”

“You were hired as a bodyguard. Until you demonstrate that you're useful beyond that role, stay in your place.”

'What the heck?!'

Yui abruptly stood.

“With all due respect, sir, I—”

“I don’t care what you think of heroes! Right now, they couldn’t be more useless.”

Stunned, Yui sat back down, choosing to keep her job rather than argue with her superior.

“Good. Now, any new leads?”

The orange-haired woman raised her hand.

“Detective Clara reporting. We found something unusual regarding victim number seven.”

She flipped open a folder.

“The victim reportedly died from injuries sustained after falling from a five-story building. However, forensics reported the victim died over-”

“We'll be leaving now.”

Krei raised his hand.

Everyone turned toward him.

Yui blinked.

'What?'

The chief barely reacted.

“Yeah, yeah. Go ahead.”

“Wait!”

Yui looked between them.

“We're leaving? But didn't we just start?”

Krei was already pushing his chair back.

“Come on.”

“But shouldn't we hear the rest of the briefing?”

“Forget it, Honda,” the chief said. “Just stay with Krei.”

“B-but—!”

Krei waved enthusiastically as he approached the door.

“Bye-bye, fools!”

The other detectives watched him leave.

'I really hate that guy.'

For once, everyone in the room seemed to share the same thought.

Yui hurried after him.

'Seriously, what kind of workplace is this?'

“Um, excuse me!”

Krei continued walking.

“Mr. Krei? I really think we should go back and—”

“What's your problem?”

Yui stopped.

“...Sorry?”

Krei turned around.

The carefree smile he had worn during the meeting was gone.

“Flight and superhuman strength.”

He looked her up and down.

“Having one ability is rare enough. Having two? Almost unheard of.”

Yui stared at him.

'How does he know that?'

“So tell me, Honda.”

His voice was calm.

“Why are you here?”

“W-what do you mean?”

“Answer.”

“Y-You know how it is, I just really want to help people, and when I heard about—”

“Don’t lie.”

“...”

“What are you talking about?”

“Yui Honda. Twenty-six years old. Born into a wealthy family. Only child, both parents alive and well. Attended the prestigious Fordman Hero Academy, and born with not one, but two extraordinary abilities.”

He raised two fingers.

“Flight and superhuman strength. Most people would consider themselves blessed to have even one.”

Yui frowned.

“So? What's your point?”

Krei shook his head.

“What a waste.”

“...Excuse me?”

“Tell me, Honda. Why aren't you a hero?”

Yui's expression darkened.

“That's…”

“You wanted to become one, didn't you?”

“Of course I did!”

Her answer came immediately.

“And yet you failed.”

“...”

“It's unfortunate.”

“Had you suffered more, you could have been quite a hero. What a disappointment.”

“...What?”

Krei looked at her with an almost pitying expression.

“Your entire life, you've been surrounded by comfort. Loving parents, a wealthy household, extraordinary talent. You were given practically everything a person could ask for.”

“And what's wrong with that?!”

“Everything!”

His answer was immediate.

Yui clenched her fists.

“Think about it. What makes someone devote their entire existence to a single purpose? What makes someone continue struggling long after any reasonable person would've given up?”

He paused.

“Desire.”

“Desire?”

“The desire to obtain something they lack. The desire to reclaim something they've lost. The desire to never experience the same suffering again.”

Krei began counting on his fingers.

“Money. Recognition. Power. Revenge. Justice.”

He lowered his hand.

“Different desires, different motivations. But at their core, they're all driven by the same thing.”

“...And what's that?”

“An obsession.”

“An insane obsession to do whatever it takes to gain what they do not have.”

“Can someone who’s had everything from the start truly claim to have that kind of obsession?”