Chapter: What It Means to Be a Hero
Night had fallen quietly over the headquarters.
The city lights blinked in the distance like tired stars. Inside the training hall, no one was training. No one was talking loudly. The mood was different tonight—calm, almost thoughtful.
Ayu stood near the large window, looking outside.
The team sat behind him on the floor.
Shadow with his knees drawn up.
Kaito lying on his back staring at the ceiling.
Miko sitting properly, hands on her lap.
Milosevic against the wall, listening.
Yoi cleaning one of his guns absentmindedly.
No one asked for this meeting.
Ayu just said, "Sit. I want to talk."
And they listened.
After a long silence, Ayu spoke.
"Tell me… why do you want to be heroes?"
Kaito answered first. "To beat bad guys."
Miko said softly, "To help people."
Yoi shrugged. "Because I don't want to be on the wrong side."
Shadow didn't answer.
Milosevic said, "Because the system needs people like us."
Ayu nodded slowly.
"All of you are wrong."
They looked at him.
Not offended. Just confused.
Ayu turned to face them.
"You don't become a hero to defeat villains."
He walked toward them.
"You don't become a hero to help people."
He stopped in the center.
"You don't become a hero to be on the right side."
Silence filled the hall.
"Those are results, not reasons."
Shadow's eyes narrowed slightly.
Ayu continued.
"A hero is someone who accepts responsibility for things that are not his fault."
No one moved.
"If a building collapses, it is not your fault. If people fight, it is not your fault. If the world is unfair, it is not your fault."
He looked at his hands.
"But a hero says, 'I will handle it anyway.'"
Miko's expression changed.
"That is why most people cannot be heroes," Ayu said quietly. "Because they want justice. They want appreciation. They want meaning."
He shook his head.
"A hero doesn't get any of that."
Kaito slowly sat up.
"You will be blamed when things go wrong. You will be questioned when you make hard choices. You will be hated by the people you save if the outcome isn't perfect."
Yoi stopped cleaning his gun.
Ayu's voice became softer.
"And still… you will show up the next day."
He walked toward the window again.
"I used to think heroes were people who protect others."
He looked outside at the city.
"Now I know… heroes are people who protect the world from itself."
Milosevic spoke. "What do you mean?"
Ayu replied without turning.
"People panic. Governments make selfish choices. Villains act on hatred. Crowds act on fear."
He glanced back at them.
"A hero stands in the middle of all that chaos and stays calm."
Shadow finally spoke. "And if the world turns against the hero?"
Ayu smiled faintly.
"Then the hero accepts that too."
They didn't understand that line yet.
But they felt its weight.
Ayu's voice lowered.
"You must never fight because you hate villains."
He looked at Yoi.
"You must never save people because you want to feel good."
He looked at Miko.
"You must never be a hero because you want to prove something."
He looked at Kaito.
"You must never think you're smarter than everyone."
He looked at Milosevic.
Then he looked at Shadow.
"You must be ready to carry things no one asked you to carry."
The room was completely silent.
Ayu finished quietly.
"Justice is not about being right."
He turned back to the window.
"It is about being responsible."
No one spoke after that.
Because for the first time…
They understood why Ayu was different from them.
They wanted to be heroes.
Ayu had already accepted the burden of being one.