The Unlicensed Hero
Mumen Rider stood in the hallway, as he took a call from the Hero Association. "I'm sorry but I can't do the cat search mission. I have an important meeting."
"Mumen Rider you have only a few hours left to complete your weekly quota. If you don't, you'll be demoted."
"I'll see if I can find the cat later. But my meeting can't wait. Good bye."
"Wait, Mumen-"
The hero ended the call. He walked back into the medical ward. It was full of beds, and a single patient age ten years. "I had to take a call," Mumen Rider said. "I'm back now."
Ishiya looked pale. But his cheeks flushed with color when the hero walked into the medical ward. "I can't believe Mumen Rider visits me," he said, in a voice that burst with joy.
Mumen Rider smiled. "Of course! We're friends, Ishiya-san. I heard you were feeling better today."
Mumen Rider heard of Ishiya when his mother approached the hero on the street. She explained her son was ill. At a young age, he had osteoporosis. He was in constant pain. The only joy he got was hearing about the heroes of the Association. Ishiya loved to bike before he got ill, and he idolized Mumen Rider most of all. "It'd mean the world if you could visit him."
So Mumen Rider had visited, and continued to do so each week.
"Yeah, I'm feeling much better," the young boy piped up.
"That's what I like to hear." They chatted for a few minutes, until Ishiya brought up the hero's debut. "I heard right after you became a hero you beat a Mysterious Being that was Demon threat level."
"Actually that was before I became a hero. The news got it wrong."
"So you beat that rock monster even before you became a hero!"
"Kind of," Mumen Rider said. "It was more of a fluke."
"I don't see how. Can you tell me about it?"
Mumen Rider grinned. "It's a pretty dumb story. Are you sure?"
Ishiya looked hopeful as a puppy. "Yeah!"
...
Kaito trained like hell. He biked. He jogged. He did sit ups, pull ups, and pushups. He did jump rope, and could jump 300 times in a row. He also studied intensively for the Hero Association exam. He was at peak condition when he went in to the venue. He poured all his heart and power into passing the exam.
He walked out with a 50. 40 of the score came from the written test. 10 came from the physical test.
...
"Wait," Ishiya interrupted. "You failed the hero exam? (Although it's pretty cool you can do 300 jumps in a row.)"
"Yeah, but I became a hero anyway. Keep listening."
...
Kaito was an optimistic guy, but even he couldn't help but feel a little glum at the score. He biked home absentmindedly. Biking cleared his head. He realized that he could learn from this. He'd train twice as hard. He'd make sure to get full marks on the written exam next time. That meant he needed to get 20 on the physical exam. He wouldn't let this get him down.
As he biked across the bridge, he saw that the traffic had stopped. Then the sirens blared. "Warning. Warning. A Mysterious Being has appeared in the upper district. Evacuate immediately. Evacuate immediately."
That's when he heard the thunderous sounds just a few blocks away. People screamed and ran from it. Drivers leapt out of their cars, and fled for their lives. But somehow Kaito found himself heading towards the sounds. He wove in between vehicles and fleeing citizens. All common sense told him to stay away. He'd just failed to become a hero.
No, that was wrong. Even if the Hero Association didn't accept him, he could still be an unlicensed hero. Mumen Rider. He pedaled harder than ever, and when he turned the corner he saw a scene of despair.
[DEMON DISASTER LEVEL: LAVA GOLEM]
The Mysterious Being was a giant made of rock. In between the chunks of rock lava glowed orange. It was ten feet tall, and its heavy bulk crushed everything beneath it. Cement, cars, and heroes. Already there were a few heroes who'd been defeated. More hung back, nervous to face the threat. A couple ran away.
Kaito snagged one of the retreating heroes. "Why are you running away?" he asked.
"We're only C-class. We need an S-class hero to beat this monster!" The C-class hero tugged from his grasp, and continued to run away.
Part of Kaito was angry. How could a hero run from danger? The other part wanted to run right alongside them. But he found himself cycling towards the monster. The closer he got, the more he realized he was completely out of his league.
"I am Lava Golem! I was spawned from the depths of an exploding volcano! I will burn and boil all in my path!" It stomped a few times to demonstrate it.
Kaito zipped towards him. As he neared the Mysterious Being, he unclipped his helmet—even though it was a safety hazard—and flung it with all his might at the monster.
"Take this! Helmet of Justice!"
By complete luck, the lightweight helmet struck Lava Golem right in its molten eye. The monster howled with pain and blundered, crushing one car underfoot like it was a tin can. Kaito came to a halt, and put the kickstand of his bike down. By then, Lava Golem had blinked the trivial pain away.
"Who are you human?" it roared.
"I'm Mumen Rider!" Kaito said challengingly. "I just failed the Hero exam with a score of 50, but I'm here to fight you!"
"What kind of dumb introduction is that?"
"An honest one," Kaito declared. "Prepare yourself monster. Tackle of Justice!" He launched himself at the towering monster.
Lava Golem lifted its foot, and casually stomped Kaito into the ground. Pain burst through the biker's body. The monster continued to stomp him. As Kaito's vision grew dark, he sensed a few heroes running past him towards the monster. One of them was the C-class hero who had fled just seconds before.
"We can't run when this weakling fights!" he shouted.
Kaito lulled into blessed unconsciousness that was free of tormenting, bone bending pain. He hadn't been beaten this bad, even when he fought bullies at school. He didn't know how long he was out. But when he opened his eyes, he heard the monster laughing.
"Pathetic! Weak! You so called heroes are nothing but ants."
How did a monster that lived in a volcano know about ants? No, that didn't matter. He needed to fight it. But Kaito couldn't move. He couldn't do anything. He gritted his teeth in frustration, as the monster walked towards him.
But Lava Golem didn't notice Kaito's body on the ground. Its foot caught against Kaito's side.
Lava Golem tripped on Kaito.
It stumbled.
It fell over the edge of the bridge.
It hit the water with a splash, and in an explosion of steam it died.
...
"You killed Lava Golem by tripping it?" Ishiya wriggled with laughter.
"Its weakness was water," Mumen Rider said. "So you see, it's a dumb story. I didn't really beat it. It was an accident."
"But you became a hero."
"I got some undeserved publicity for my stunt," Mumen Rider said. "The Hero Association didn't want to be upstaged by an unlicensed hero. So they asked me to join."
"That's so cool!"
"Really? I thought you'd think it was dumb."
"No, I mean it's cool you're an ordinary guy. But you do so many heroic things. I see you fighting dangerous bad guys all the time."
"Yeah I do," Mumen Rider said. "It's to help people like you, Ishiya-san."
"So your real name is Kaito?"
"That's right."
"Is it okay if I call you big bro Kaito?" Ishiya asked nervously.
"Of course you can," the cyclist said. He unclipped his helmet. "Here I'd like you to have this." He fastened the helmet around Ishiya's head.
It was loose on him, and it looked odd with his hospital gown. But Ishiya looked as if a crown had been placed on his head. "You're really giving this to me, big bro?"
"I have others. I even have a spare one with me. That helmet you're wearing is special though. It's the one I wore when I fought the Deep Sea King."
"That was awesome! You and all the other heroes were so cool. I'm sorry that baldy took all the credit."
"Actually I'm going to tell you a secret," Mumen Rider said, and leaned close. "The hero Saitama is the real deal. He's a great guy. He saved my life."
"Oh." Ishiya looked nonplussed. "Okay. I guess if I see him I won't call him a baldy."
"That's a good idea," Mumen Rider said with a chuckle.
They talked for another hour, and Mumen Rider got to know a bit more about his friend. They exchanged a fist bump before he left. On his way home, the cyclist for justice came across the missing cat. He returned it to its owner, and completed his weekly quota.
