Editing Isaki/Story

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{{Neighbor Stories
|s1_title = The Puzzled Weakling Hero
|s1_text  = {{Neighbor Stories/Image|Isaki The Puzzled Weakling Hero Image 01|left}} <!--

-->"Heh, Heh... Wounded like that, and you still think you can stop me?"
"Evil is about to rule the world. Give up, you weakling."
"...Hmph."
"Oh? Still resisting, even now?"

"If you insist... then I'll show you how a weakling becomes a hero!"

----

Isaki's eyes were glued to the TV screen, the ever-shifting light casting a pale glow across his face.
It was his favorite hero show, where the protagonists never gave up. No matter how many times the villains knocked them down, they always rose again and won in the end.
Isaki admired those heroes deeply, perhaps because that kind of "hero" was something someone like him, known to everyone as "Weakling Isaki," could never become.

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"Pluck up the courage and give it a try." That was what the grown-ups always told Isaki.
But the thing was... little Isaki had no idea how anyone was supposed to "pluck up" courage.

Walking down the street, he might flinch at a bird suddenly fluttering past. Sitting in the shade, he'd startle when a fruit dropped from above.
...
Things like that happened all the time.

Isaki's five older siblings had already found their place in the things they loved. As the youngest, he was allowed to be a late bloomer, and the grown-ups were patient with his timid nature. He could do nothing, stay tucked away at home, and simply wait each day for his favorite hero show to come on.
Would it really matter if "Weakling Isaki" lived an unremarkable, aimless life? After all, wasn't it enough to have the heroes on TV to keep him company?

----

{{Neighbor Stories/Image|Isaki The Puzzled Weakling Hero Image 02|center}}

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<i>Is this... really enough?</i>
The moment the familiar ending theme of the hero show began to play, the certainty in Isaki's heart suddenly shifted into a question.

Was it because the lyrics just happened to sing, "No weakling stays that way for long. Even a lowly bug can grow strong. With a heart that defies and a spirit so true, the hero's path is calling to you"?
Isaki wasn't quite sure.

|s2_title = The Weakling Hero and His Friend
|s2_text  = {{Neighbor Stories/Image|Isaki The Weakling Hero and His Friend Image 01|left}}<!--

-->BOOM—
Thunder and lightning raged outside.

"Weakling Isaki" buried himself beneath the heavy blanket, trying to shut out the world and steady his trembling body.
BOOM — another violent thunderclap shook the room, his safe haven, to its core.
The items on his shelves and hooks rattled loose, tumbling down onto his shaking body.

----

<i>Mmph... Could this be... the end of the world?!</i>
Isaki could only let out a frightened whimper.

Then, all at once, everything fell silent. <i>Maybe... the world didn't end after all?</i>
Realizing this, Isaki found a tiny spark of courage he rarely felt, and he slowly peeked out from beneath the blanket.

That's when he saw it.
A kabuto beetle stood before him, head held high. The enormous moon filled the window behind it, casting the beetle in a silhouette that looked just like a hero's dramatic entrance from a TV show.

<i>Did it... protect me?</i>

----

"Hello...?"
It was a strange, wondrous moment. For the first time in his life, Isaki found himself greeting someone else first. Where had that courage come from?

The kabuto beetle took a step forward.
Isaki had never been this close to a "stranger" before. His body was ready to tremble, but he tried his best. Quietly clenching his fists, he managed to steady himself.
Then the beetle took another step. Now they were only inches apart.
Isaki gathered every bit of courage he had and slowly reached out with a small, hesitant finger. In that instant, his fingertip met the beetle's horn.

Feeling its quiet intent, Isaki smiled.
"Nice to meet you... friend!"

----

{{Neighbor Stories/Image|Isaki The Weakling Hero and His Friend Image 02|center}}

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"Th-This... this is my new friend, Daikabutomaru! C-Can I keep it?"

The grown-ups were, of course, delighted to see Isaki make a new friend, and even more so to see him beginning to change. But, as every TV show goes, that's exactly when a bit of trouble is bound to show up.
"That kabuto beetle... isn't it the one raised by that 'legendary' beetle trainer in the neighborhood?"
"Shouldn't we check with its owner first?"

For timid Isaki, dealing with strangers was another challenge altogether. But with Daikabutomaru by his side, he seemed to have found a kind of courage he had never known before.
Following the address the grown-ups had given him, he pattered all the way to the beetle trainer's house and, without a second thought, rang the doorbell. The old "Weakling Isaki" would never have had the courage to do that.

The "legendary" beetle trainer opened the door and gave Isaki and Daikabutomaru a flat look.
"If you want it, then keep it. I can't take in too many weaklings anyway..."
"...Huh?"
Isaki froze.
Of course. To a trainer like him, only the strongest beetles that kept winning mattered. He didn't need weaklings, and he had never cared that Daikabutomaru had gone missing in the first place.

"Mmmrrghhh..."
The sound that forced its way out of Isaki's throat was deeper than anything he had ever made before.
"You. Listen up!"
"Daikabutomaru is not a weakling! I'll train it to become the strongest fighting beetle... and defeat you!"

|s3_title = The Weakling Hero and the Challenge 
|s3_text  = 
"Weakling." That was what people called those who were too afraid to face challenges, too afraid to change.
That was who Isaki used to be: a "weakling" who hid away in his room, content to do nothing but watch his favorite hero shows, never taking a single step toward anything different.

----
{{Neighbor Stories/Image|Isaki The Weakling Hero and the Challenge Image 01|left}}
"Come on, Daikabutomaru! Time for strength training!"
"Next up, endurance!"
"Watch closely and dodge my mattock swing! You can do it, Daikabutomaru!"
"I'm running faster now, so you've got to fly even faster!"

Training alongside Daikabutomaru, Isaki was changing. He was taking on the very things he once feared, pushing himself further each time. And more often than not, he surpassed what the grown-ups thought he could do.

As Daikabutomaru fought to overcome its weaknesses, Isaki was doing the same.

----

"No weakling stays that way for long. Even a lowly bug can grow strong. With a heart that defies and a spirit so true, the hero's path is calling to you."
After their intense training, Isaki, still catching his breath, murmured the line to Daikabutomaru resting atop his head.

"It's... my favorite line." Isaki lifted his gaze to the endless blue sky.

"I didn't really understand it before. But now I — no, we, we've actually made it, Daikabutomaru."
"Come on. Let's go challenge the world!"

----

{{Neighbor Stories/Image|Isaki The Weakling Hero and the Challenge Image 02|center}}

|s4_title = Weakling Hero, Move Out!
|s4_text  = 
"Beetle battle... begin!"

"Go! Daikabutomaru!"
There was no need to fear. No need to panic. No need to run.
Not even for a single moment did the thought of "what if we lose" cross Isaki's mind.
<i>We're going to win. No doubt.</i>

"And the winner of the beetle battle is..."
"Isaki and Daikabutomaru!"

----

{{Neighbor Stories/Image|Isaki Weakling Hero, Move Out! Image 01|center}}

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"Congratulations. You won."
Isaki froze for a moment. The "legendary" beetle trainer, despite losing the match, was actually reaching out to him with a friendly hand.

"But... didn't you look down on Daikabutomaru for being a 'weakling'?"
"Haha, not at all. Every bug is a cherished comrade to me. But beetle battles carry a real risk of injury, and that risk is even greater for 'weaklings.' That's something I never want to see... So when I judge one to be too fragile, I usually let it return to the wild."

"But this time... I was wrong."
The beetle trainer, who had always seemed stern and rigid, suddenly broke into a smile. He crouched down and placed a hand on Isaki's head, gently ruffling his hair.
"You and Daikabutomaru are both remarkable. You're heroes."

----

Isaki had never imagined that one day, he would hear words like that.
"So? What do you say? Ready to take the next step... and win the real beetle championship?"

Something lit up in his eyes. It could only be called hope. He fell silent for a moment, then gave a firm, determined nod.
"Yes! I can do it! Deeeefinitely!"

----

{{Neighbor Stories/Image|Isaki Weakling Hero, Move Out! Image 02|center}}
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