The true meaning of a hero

In an abandoned part of Tokyo, filled with broken houses and cracked roads, one could see a teenager cowering behind a dumpster. To a normal person, there did not seem to be anything chasing the boy. In fact, it looked like the boy was just running away for no reason at all.

Unfortunately, the boy saw something completely different. A monster was currently slowly approaching his present location.

"Come on Rei, wh-where are you. Save me", he was internally shouting as he was trying his best to hide from the monster.

"Why... why am I such a coward. Couldn't I be more brave. Why can't I be more like Rei? Why did I have to leave him like that?

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8 years earlier

"Waaaaah, why did you do that Gido-kun", cried a little boy with blonde hair, this was an 8 year old Kanami. He was currently being bullied by a chubby boy with a fat build and his lackeys.

"Your own dad left you, why should we be friends with someone whose own father decided to leave", the boys laughed.

"Gido-kun, I'll ... I'll tell the teacher if you keep being mean",spoke a scared Kanami.

The fat boy, Gido, immediately picked up Kanami again and punched him. "My dad is the director of the school, why would he care about you. I'm the richest kid here, no one can do anything".

As if the Heavens answered him, Gido's entire face was smashed into the ground as soon as those words came out of his mouth. Immediately, another little boy came between Gido and Kanami.

"Hey fatso, what was that about being the richest kid here?", Gido immediately looked up to see a pair of glaring green eyes.

"Tachibana!", roared Gido, who was spitting out some gravel that had entered his mouth. "Your own family doesn't even care about you! They even gave you a different name."

Without a second of delay, Rei suddenly appeared right in front of Gido before bashing his hose with a headbutt.

"Waaaaaah! Curse you Tachibana, I'll have my dad expel you!", yelled the bleeding Gido.

"Do it, see what happens", replied Rei with a malicious smile, that managed to spook Gido.

After the gang of bullies ran away, Rei quickly turned to the sobbing Kanami and began to dressing his wounds.

"Why are you doing this to me, you know my own father didn't care about me", replied Kanami. Rei simply looked at him before replying.

"Why do I care?"

"Huh? What?"

Suddenly, Rei stood up in front of the cowering Kanami. The setting sun, shined bright on Rei illuminating his bright smile.

"Tell me Kanami-san... If the heroes run and hide, who will stay and fight?"

Kanami could only stare as Rei began to talk, not even daring to interrupt Rei's speech.

"So what if your dad left you? So what if those friends of yours bully you? The moment you bow your head and run, will be the moment you lose. Raise your head up and live... Protect those you care about, and die of your own accord. Die proudly, for you only live once in this life. So now tell me, Kanami-san... will you run and hide or will you stay and fight", with that Rei reached his hand out to Kanami, still illuminated by the setting sun.

"I want to live... I want to stay and fight!", Kanami cried, grabbing Rei's outstretched.

"Good...", that simple response was enough for Kanami, no other words needed to be spoken.

What Kanami saw that day was not an average elementary schooler, not some otaku, but a true hero. A hero that had saved him from despair.

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As Kanami reminisced about the past, he stared at himself from a puddle of water. Tear marks lined down his cheeks, and his hair was a mess. He looked like some scared puppy.

What was he doing now?

"I'm sorry... Rei-san", Kanami chuckled to himself, 'The moment you bow your head and run, will be the moment you lose.'

As that quote echoed throughout his mind, Kanami thought back to when he had stopped following that line.

Was it when Rei was caught reading that hentai manga?

Was it when Nagumo, the most popular kid, started to talk to him?

In the end it did not matter because he had betrayed Rei either way. He had betrayed his hero, and now he was waiting, expecting someone to save him just like that time.

Kanami quickly got up and walked out of his hiding place. There was no point in waiting around and expecting someone to save him, he had to do it now. Even if he died, at least he died fighting. That was something to get behind.

Kanami was staring at the fast approaching creature. No matter how many times he had seen it, it was absolutely terrifying. However, Kanami had already solidified his resolve and refused to back away. He was a coward for too long.

As he stared at the monster raging towards him and his inevitable death, Kanami suddenly felt his body rejuvenate and a mysterious energy coursing from his stomach. He felt his body get stronger as he continued to remain calm.

'Is this what he calls the power of friendship?', thought Kanami as he examined his body in order to look for the source of this new power. 'Maybe.. with this I can beat that thing?'

The monster had stopped running to him, this time it was a little apprehensive trying to examine the boy as if it was able to sense the mysterious changes that the boy underwent. Kanami knew that this was his only chance, the feeling of power was quickly dissipating so he had to attack the monster right now.

Using all his strength, Kanami ran as fast as could towards the monster with his arms bent backwards in the shape of a fist, ready to punch it with all his might.

Reacting to the charging boy, the monster elongated its right head in an attempt to bite the boy.

Perhaps it was due to the adrenaline rush or because of the mysterious power that was overflowing within him, but Kanami saw the attack coming in slow motion. His quickly reacted by lunging to the left, quickly dodging the raging mouth. The monster was too slow to react to Kanami's new hyper aware state.

With all his power, Kanami punched the middle head resulting in a large hole forming where the fist had landed. As soon as he landed the punch, the initial adrenaline rush finally wore off leaving him whimpering at his damaged hand.

The monster quickly regenerated the hole, leaving Kanami's efforts futile. Before he could even react, the monster bunted him to the nearby building.

Instinctively, Kanami used the energy to fortify his defenses. He had no idea how he had done such a thing, perhaps humans are capable of mysterious things when they are desperate enough. If he had not listened to his instincts, Kanami would have died that day, but instead he was left with only a few broken bones and an aching body.

Unfortunately, the monster was slowly approaching him with its mouths open, exposing its sharp canines. Kanami could barely move due to the earlier attack; he had no other choice, but to resign himself to his fate.

As the monster slowly approached him, Kanami simply closed his eyes, 'At least I tried to fight back', thought Kanami. The setting sun illuminated Kanami's face as he stared at the inevitable end. Holding up two fingers, as if to signal goodbye, Kanami could only mutter, "So long... everybody".

And so ended the tale of Kanami the coward, who in his final moments discovered the true meaning of being a hero.

....

....

At least that was what Kanami had thought in his head when he was staring at the monster slowly approaching him, instead fate had different plans for him.

Interrupting Kanami's fantasies about his death, was a loud exclamation and a sudden figure descending on the monster and ramming a metal pole through the monster's head.

"Hey Kanami... sorry it took so long", replied the muscular, dark-haired teenager.

"I-I- I don't wanna die!", Kanami started crying after realizing who it was, his brave facade completely falling off. He immediately left of the wall and started hugging Rei's legs, leaving snot and tear on his pants.

"Alright, alright... no worries man, I am here so never fear... or was it the other way around", Rei spoke, attempting to comfort Kanami. "Anyway, why don't you sit back and let me deal with this thing."

Rei quickly peeled off the crying Kanami, and stepped in front ready to face the monster, which was currently attempting to remove the pole that was embedded into its head.

Kanami stared at Rei's tall and imposing back, bringing forth memories of the past and of his recent attempt at bravery. He realized that he still had a lot to learn of the world, but he could not let Rei fight by himself. Kanami wished to change himself for the better, to be like Rei.

'I have to change', thought Kanami as he stepped up next to Rei and got into battle position ready to face the monster.