How had it come to this?

Why did these robbers have to break into this bank of all places and why did he have to be there when it happened?

Kotetsu was alone in a huge city and just wanted to go home. But maybe he was going to be shot the next second, like in this action movie he had seen in secret once. The thought scared him but at the same time he felt a big fury inside himself arise. These robbers were bad people. It would be another story if they bothered only him, he was used to being bullied by now, but there were women and children crying around him. No use for him to cry as well in all of this mess.

Still, he wished he just could go home. Even his mother's scolding would be better than this situation he was in right now. Surely she would believe him that he was not at fault this time, would she? He hadn't hurt anybody this time after all!

All he had tried to do was withdrawing some of his savings from his bank book, so he could pay for a train ticket back home. But the nice lady at the counter had told him that it was impossible to withdraw money without having his bank book at hand. But he had nothing at hand literally, save for a strip of chewing gum in his pants pocket. Not knowing what to do, he had lingered a moment too long at the Bank of Sternbild and then these robbers had stormed the room and had taken all of the people in there hostage, him included.

All of this would not have happened to him if his classmates hadn't played this prank on him and shoved him into the train to Sternbild while he had tried to hide from them. He had run away from them all day long since leaving school. They had spit pellets of paper at his face and laughed behind his back and called him names at school, even if they were best friends the day before. But the day before he hadn't broken the arm of one of his classmates by playing dodgeball. He had thrown the ball at the boy without recognizing that his powers had turned on and the boy's arm had snapped with a horrible sound.

He hated those powers. They popped up in the weirdest situations and he ended up breaking countless things and getting scolded for it.

But it wasn't his fault! He didn't switch those powers on at will! He didn't want to hurt people and he didn't want to break things!

Not even his mother believed him, he was sure of that. She had to bow infront of dozens of people lately, apologizing for her son to them. And when she turned to look at him, she just made a sorrowful face. Kotetsu was sure she hated him by now. Who would want a kid like him, if all he could do was to break things because of this stupid power of his? Nobody! Surely nobody would ever accept him again in his life!

Maybe it would serve him just right to be shot by one of these burglars who fired their ammunition in the air to get a hearing from the scared audience and yelled "Nobody move!" at them.

He hated those men. Why did they have to scare all of these people so much? Didn't they see that they were frightened enough already?

Assholes!

Looking around he saw a mother clutching her son to her chest. Her hands wer tied, just like everybody else's, but she still tried to somehow protect him. Kotetsu wondered whether his mother would bother doing that for him as well, if she were here. But his mother was miles and miles away, in Oriental Town. Surely, she hadn't even recognized that he was missing. Who would miss a kid that brought you so much trouble after all. She was probably happy not to have to bow to anybody at the moment. Maybe Kotetsu should just stay here and try to live by himself, if he got out of here alive.

Suddenly, the windows broke and an old man in a red-blue suit with a cape entered the scene, telling the burglars to stop when landing on the floor. Weirdly enough, the robbers seemed to be intimidated by his appearance, even though the old man was completely unarmed. An older man next to him cried "It's Mr. Legend!" and seemed overjoyed to see him, like the rest of the audience who strangely cheered up. Who was this guy?

One of the burglars panicked and shot his whole load at the man in the cape, but the bullets bounced off his shining body.

He was shining!

With a blue light!

This was just like Kotetsu's own power!

Was he the same as him? Now he even knocked the burglars out, just by screaming!

But while Kotetsu admired the strange old man, one of the burglars grabbed him rudely by the collar of his jacket, yanked him up and took him hostage.

"Don't you care what happens to this kid?" the man yelled, all while holding a gun at Kotetsu's temple. The weird old man surely didn't care! He didn't move after al! Nobody cared at all! Fighting against the tears welling up in his eyes, he tried to free himself to run away, not recognizing that his powers had switched on and he had sent the burglar flying against the next counter.

Oh no, he had done it again! The man didn't move! What if he had killed somebody this time?

Kotetsu slumped to the ground where he stood and drew up his knees.

The weird old man in the colourful suit mumbled "You're a..." before reaching out a hand to him.

You're a what? A murderer? Kotetsu flinched at the hand pointed towards him and told the old man not to touch him, since he was not supposed to touch anyone when he was shining like this. His mother had caned that into his head just the night before. And Kotetsu didn't want to hurt him, too.

But the suit-guy just asked "And why is that?" while smiling at him. Maybe he had never hurt somebody by accident before. So Kotetsu told him that he'll hurt people if he touched him, shining like he did.

"You've got it wrong.", the cape-man said to Kotetsu's surprise and he added with a smile still plastered on his face with his hand balled into a fist:

"Your power is meant to save people."

Saving... people?

Not hurting them?

Could Kotetsu really believe that?

Saving people by using his power?

Like the old man had done it?

As if to prove him right, nothing bad happend when the boy allowed the man in the red-blue suit to help him up. The light even vanished.

Kotetsu couldn't believe his ears when the man told him, that he had saved him, which would make him a hero, too.

A hero! So this guy was a hero and Kotetsu was a hero, too, now? Really?

Kotetsu couldn't stop smiling and shared a thumb-up bro fist with the man in the suit.

No, his name was Mr. Legend, right?

Mr. Legend - Kotetsu's personal hero!

SNAP!

Kotetsu saw stars. The flash of the camera was just too bright. He didn't really understand why he had to stand there being photographed, but since Mr. Legend had asked him to take a picture with him, Kotetsu set up his best grin while getting his hair ruffled by the hero. The article would be headlined: "Heroic boy helps Mr. Legend stop robbery" and everyone at Sternbild could read it the next day.

The next day...

As soon as the interview was done (Kotetsu had mostly just stammered, so Mr. Legend had to describe the situation in his stead), it dawned to the young boy that he still had to get home but was still peniless. He sighed heavily. Maybe he could bring home some good news now, but how to get there?

Mr. Legend, who was just about to head out, heard his young friend and turned around again.

"What is it, boy? You don't look very happy."

"It's nothing, I just have no money to get on the train back home. They won't let me withdraw any of my savings, so I'm stuck here it seems."

"You didn't bring any money with you when you got here?"

Kotetsu showed a tensed up smile and looked away.

"I didn't plan to get here, my classmates shoved me on the train and it was a train headed straight to Sternbild with no halt in between." Mr. Legend seemed puzzled and Kotetsu realized he probably shouldn't bother a hero with things like this.

"Sorry to keep you from your work, Mr. Legend. I'll find another way home. Maybe I can walk there. I just don't know the direction. Could you please tell me which way it is to Oriental Town?"

"Oriental Town is quite far away, boy, so I'll see you home personally."

"What?"

"It's the least I can do, you saved me after all." He smiled his trusting smile again, but Kotetsu protestet.

"No! I mean, you have work to do, right? There are people to be saved, aren't there? I cannot bother you with this!"

"Boy", he kneeled down and took Kotetsu's hand between his own, "how old are you?"

Kotetsu didn't get what Mr. Legend's point was, but he answered him honestly. "I'm ten years old, Sir."

"Right, you are a kid and I am an adult. Isn't it the job of an adult to look out for a kid?"

"But you don't have to do this. You aren't my dad or something like this."

"No, but your parents aren't here at the moment. I will either call your parents so they can come for you, or I'll escort you home."

Calling at home? But that would mean his mother would have to take the trip to Sternbild just to pick him up. Surely, she would bow infront of Mr. Legend and tell him what a miserable child Kotetsu was at home. No, no, no, no!
"I'll take your offer, Mr. Legend."

"Hm, maybe I should inform you that usually, kids would go crazy if Mr. Legend offered to escort them home."

"Eh?" Kotetsu's confusion only deeped the furrow between his eyebrows.

Mr. Legend put his forefingers to either side of Kotetsu's corner of the mouth and pushed them up.

"I miss a smile on your face, boy. Come on, I won't bite you."

The old man offered him a hand and Kotetsu tried for a smile as he grabbed it and let Mr. Legend lead him out of the bank.

The ride back to Oriental Town seemed way shorter to Kotetsu than his trip to Sternbild City. Not to mention this time he didn't have to be afraid to be caught by the ticket inspector while riding a train with no money.

His mother ran out of the house when she recognized that a car had stopped infront of her house, before they even got the chance to walk to the door. She stormed over to Kotetsu and hugged him while showering him with questions of "Where have you been? I was so worried!" while crying. She only stopped when Mr. Legend stepped infront of her and explained what had happened. She looked like she couldn't quite believe him, but thanked him to have brought her son home nevertheless.

Kotetsu waved as the car of his new hero took off in the direction of Sternbild again. Maybe one day he would return to this city and do the same job as him.