Isaki/Story
The Puzzled Weakling Hero
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"Heh Heh, do you still think you can stop me wounded like that?"
"Evil is about to rule the world. Give up, weakling."
"Hmph."
"Oh? Still resisting, even now?"
"Well, since you put it that way... let me 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.
This was his favorite hero show, where the protagonist never gave up. No matter how many times the villains knocked them down they always came back 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 be.
"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 you were supposed to "pluck up" courage.
Where did it come from? What did it even look like?
Just walking down the street on an ordinary day, he might tremble at the flap of a passing bird. Taking a rest in the shade, he'd shiver when a fruit suddenly dropped from above.
...
Things like that happened all the time.
Isaki's five older siblings had already found their footing in fields they loved. As the youngest, he had the privilege of being a late bloomer, and the grown-ups were ,understanding of his timid nature. He could do nothing, hide at home, and just 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 TV heroes keep him company through life?
Was that really... enough?
As the familiar ending theme of his hero show began to play, the quiet certainty in Isaki's heart suddenly shifted into a question.
Was it because the lyrics went, "No weakling stays that way for long. Even a bug can still grow strong. With heart held high and spirit true, the hero's path is open to you"?
Isaki wasn't quite sure.
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The Weakling Hero and His Friend
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BOOM—
Thunder and lightning raged outside.
"Weakling Isaki" buried himself beneath the heavy blanket, trying to block out the world and steady his trembling body.
BOOM—Another violent thunderclap shook the entire room, Isaki's "safe haven", to its core.
The things on his shelves and hooks clattered down, falling onto his shaking body.
Mmph—Could this be... the end of the world?!
Isaki could only let out a frightened whimper.
Suddenly, everything fell silent.
Maybe... the world didn't end after all?
Realizing this, Isaki found a tine spark of courage he rarely felt, and peeked his head out from under the blanket.
That's when he saw a kabuto beetle standing before him, head held high.The enormous moon filled the entire window, making the beetle look just like a hero's dramatic entrance scene from a TV show.
Did it... protect me?
"Hello...?"
It was a strange, wondrous moment. Isaki was surprised to find himself greeting someone else first, for the very first time. Where did this courage come from?
The kabuto beetle took a step forward. Isaki had never been this close to a "stranger" before, and his body was ready to start trembling... but he tried his best, quietly clenching his fists, and managed to stop himself from shaking.
Then the kabuto beetle took another step.
Now they were inches apart.
Isaki took a deep breath.Then, with all the courage he could gather, he reached out a small hesitant finger.The tip of his finger brushed against the beetle's horn.
In that moment, feeling the kabuto beetle's quiet reply, Isaki smiled.
"Nice to meet you... friend!"
"Th-This... this is my new friend, Daikabutomaru! C-Can I keep it?"
The grown-ups were genuinely glad to see Isaki making a new friend, and even more, to see him starting to change. But as every TV show teaches us, that's exactly when a little trouble tends to show up.
"That kabuto beetle... isn't that the fighter beetle owned by the 'legendary' beetle trainer in the neighborhood?"
"Shouldn't we check with its owner first?"
For timid Isaki, dealing with stranger was yet another challenge. But with Daikabutomaru by his side, he felt a type of courage he had never known before.
Clutching the note with the trainers address, he ran straight to the beetle trainer's house and rang the doorbell without a second thought.It was something the old "Weakling Isaki" would have never dared to do.
The "legendary" beetle trainer opened the doorand gave Isaki and Daikabutomaru a flat look.
"If you want it, keep it. I can't shelter too many 'weaklings' around here anyway..."
"...Huh?"
Isaki froze.
Of course. to a trainer like him, only the strongest bugs that kept on winning mattered. He didn't need "weaklings," and he had never cared the Daikabutomaru had gone missing in the first place.
"Mmmrrghhh..."
Finding his voice, Isaki let out a growl deeper than anything he'd ever made before.
"You! Listen up!"
"Daikabutomaru is not a weakling, and I'll train it to become the strongest fighting beetle! And beat you!"
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