Author: Sage Darkwoods Series: Heroes Genre: Comedy/Drama Rating: G Summary: Hiro Nakamura is not like other Japanese men. Hiro reads comic books. Disclaimer: The characters presented in this story are property of Tim Kring, Dennis Hammer, Allan Arkush, David Semel, and NBC Universal Television Studio. No copyright infringement is intended, and no profit is being made.
In Japan, every man, woman, and child reads manga. There are manga about magical girls who transform and have cute otherworldly animal sidekicks. There are manga about sports stars who excel in their chosen sport. There are manga about ninjas and pirates, on quests for honour, gold, or sometimes both. There are manga about high school romances, with emotions spinning from deliriously happy to painfully depressing, in as long as it takes an actual teenager to do so. There are manga about housewives, businessmen, political figures, samurai, dragons, giant battle robots, and every possible (and impossible) situation one can imagine. There are also manga filled with hentai, but we won't trouble ourselves with that here. Manga is read on the train, in the subway, on lunch breaks, waiting for the bus, on the plane, on the Shinkansen going across the islands.
Hiro Nakamura doesn't read manga. He reads American comic books.
"Hey, Hiro-san," Ando Masahashi said, poking the cover of his Spider-Man comic with the eraser end of his pencil. "Don't let our boss catch you with that out."
Hiro sighed, and laid down the comic precariously on top of the pile of paperwork he should have been doing instead. "I'm just taking a break."
"And you already know that you're on the boss's short list." Ando turned to lean against the side of Hiro's cubicle, and crossed his arms across his chest. "Besides, why are you reading American comic books? There's so many other things you can read besides that."
"Because, Ando-san, I like these better than manga," he said slowly, as though trying to explain himself to a small child. "They're different. The colours are so vibrant! They have the neatest costumes! And they always catch the bad guy! And --"
"And you sound like an otaku," Ando sniffed. "Seriously, Hiro, there are manga here that have superheroes. Lots, even. Take your pick!" He spread his hands wide. "You can read about any kind of magical girl you want! And, they have cute costumes, too." Ando's eyes glazed over momentarily. Hiro wondered if he was thinking about very short pleated skirts.
"I'm not interested in manga," Hiro repeated. "Especially not the kind you like to read." Hiro fixed him with a look behind his round glasses. "I know about the stack of hentai you keep in the bottom drawer of your desk."
"At least I'm not staring at muscular men in tight spandex," Ando retorted. "Hey, you're not... are you?"
Hiro blinked owlishly at him through the thick round lenses. "I'm not...?"
Ando waved a hand in front of his face and smiled slightly. "Never mind. I will not trouble you further. Except... one thing." He leaned on the desk and dropped his voice slightly. "Why do you read these American comic books in front of everybody? I mean, everyone else reads manga. Why do you want to stand out with these books?" He gestured to the cover of the Spider-Man book. Spidey was slinging across New York, decked in his red and blue uniform. The Hobgoblin was behind him, hurling pumpkin bombs and leaving a trail of orange smoke in his wake.
Hiro crinkled his brow in thought. "Because I really don't fit in, Ando," he replied. "In high school, I was in B class. I was never good at sports, and I never really joined any clubs or extracurriculars. I got this job after a few people left for other office jobs, and they're higher-paid salarymen than I am. Probably than I ever will be." He sighed. "Haven't you ever wanted to have something that nobody else had? Haven't you wanted to be special?"
Ando laughed, short and sharp. "I'd like to be paid an extra ten thousand yen an hour to stand around and talk. But it's not going to happen." He twirled the pencil between his fingers. "Remember, Nakamura-san, this is Japan. We all work together here. Those who don't help make the fabric flow smoothly--"
"Get ironed," Hiro finished. "I remember. Nakanishi-sensei used to tell us that, to keep us in a straight line with the bows in kyudo practice."
"That was the same day you nearly hit his car with an arrow," Ando chided, offering a smile.
Hiro smiled back. He had a two-hour detention after school every day for a week. Nakanishi-sensei went easy on him. Ando gave him a rough pat on the shoulder and walked back toward his cubicle. Hiro turned toward the looming paperwork, with his Spider-Man comic perched on top, like a dragon guarding gold. 'Only this is far form gold,' he thought miserably, as he closed the comic and put it in his bottom drawer. Unlike Ando's hentai-filled drawer, his was filled with the creations of Stan Lee and Bob Kane and Alan Moore. He sighed again.
'I really don't fit in,' he thought to himself. Looking at the stack of comics, he wondered what it would be like to be a superhero, with abilities beyond that of normal humans. He smiled a wistful smile, then ruefully turned back to the pile of work. After all, even Peter Parker had a day job.