Benny stood in front of the mirror, running his hands through his messy hair. He didn't recognize himself anymore, not entirely. The reflection staring back at him was still the same person, sure. But the fire that had once burned in him seemed dimmer. It wasn't just the absence of Akio, the haunting image of his friend frozen in ice, that made him feel this way—it was the fear. The fear of losing. The fear of not being good enough. The fear of falling behind everyone else, and everyone else—his classmates, his friends—had moved forward.
That was the thing about this hero life. It was relentless. You either kept up or you were left behind.
After Akio was frozen in that icy prison, Benny had promised himself to get stronger. He hadn't been as confident as he was now. It had taken time, months of reflection, countless hours of training, and then... that shift. Benny couldn't quite pinpoint when it had happened, but one day, something had clicked. He realized that his fear was his biggest obstacle. He wasn't weak. He was holding himself back. And that day, he stopped holding back.
But he had no one left to share it with. The other flag-bearers had moved on too. They were all busy becoming stronger—some might say they were almost obsessed with it. Benny hadn't heard from any of them in months. They'd gone from being the inseparable group of the country's most promising students to distant names in the headlines. But that was how the world worked. Heroes weren't supposed to stay together. They were supposed to rise above each other, to outshine and fight for the top spot.
And Benny was doing it. He had to admit it to himself now: He was doing it. D-tier monsters had become C-tier monsters, and he was holding his ground. He didn't flinch when the opponents were stronger, more dangerous. He didn't hesitate anymore. He was ready for the next step, ready for what came after C-tier.
As Benny prepared to leave for the training grounds, the thought of Akio flashed in his mind. He thought about his friend often, even if he didn't speak about it to anyone else. He thought about how his face had looked when they last saw each other. Akio, desperate but hopeful, still carrying the weight of his responsibilities even though he had no idea what was coming. Benny had promised that he would become stronger, that he would make it for Akio. But as time went on, he couldn't help but wonder if Akio's fate was tied to him too. Would he ever be able to live up to the expectation? Could he be the hero Akio believed he could be?
Benny shoved those thoughts aside as he left his room, locking the door behind him. It was time to stop being introspective. He was done with it.
When Benny arrived at the training grounds, he wasn't expecting what he saw. There, across the yard, standing in the middle of a circle of shattered training dummies and broken equipment, was one of the other flag-bearers.
It was Frank.
Benny stared for a moment, disbelief mixing with a flicker of recognition. Frank was different. He wasn't the same arrogant jerk who had teased them all when they were younger. Gone was the cocky smirk, replaced with a calm expression as he manipulated the steel that covered his body like armor. It looked almost like Frank was... focused. Calm. The aura around him was stronger than Benny remembered.
As Benny took a step closer, Frank caught sight of him. His eyes flickered with surprise, then recognition, before the faintest of smiles appeared on his face.
"Benny," Frank greeted, his voice low and gravelly. "You're here."
"Yeah..." Benny wasn't sure what to say. He hadn't expected Frank to still be here. Then again, maybe he should've. They were all flag-bearers, after all, the strongest of their generation. "How have you been?"
"Busy," Frank responded. "Real busy."
They stood there for a moment, neither of them knowing quite what to say. They hadn't exactly kept in touch since the old days. There was no real animosity between them, but there was always an unspoken tension, a division that they both felt in different ways.
Benny studied Frank for a moment, watching him adjust the steel that clung to his form like second skin. It was clear now that Frank was no longer just the "behemoth bully" of their past. He had grown into something more. Something far more dangerous. Benny could see it in the way Frank carried himself—how his every move was purposeful, how he no longer seemed to waste his strength on others.
"You've changed," Benny said finally, breaking the silence.
Frank's smile deepened. "Yeah, well... life changes you, doesn't it? It's not about what you were. It's about what you're gonna be."
Benny didn't know how to respond to that. He had spent so much time wondering if the others had changed for the better or if they'd left the better parts of themselves behind. Frank, for all his flaws, had always been loyal in his own way, even if it was hard to see at times.
"How about you?" Frank asked. "You seem different too. Getting stronger, huh?"
Benny's gaze fell to the ground briefly. "Yeah, I guess I am." He wasn't sure if that was enough of an answer. He didn't know if he wanted to be part of their group again, not now that everything felt so distant.
"Good," Frank said, his voice more serious now. "I know we didn't always get along, but we were all part of something big. You know that, right?"
Benny nodded. "I know."
There was a long silence between them as Frank seemed to ponder something. Finally, he broke it with a single sentence.
"I'm not going to forget about Akio," he said quietly.
Benny looked up, startled. "What?"
"I know the others have moved on. We all have. But I haven't forgotten about him," Frank continued, his eyes narrowing slightly as if daring Benny to disagree. "He's a part of this. Part of us. And if we're going to be the top heroes, we need to remember that."
Benny swallowed, his throat tight. He didn't expect Frank of all people to say something like that. "Yeah, well, I haven't forgotten either. But it's hard, man. It's hard knowing we didn't do anything to save him. He's still frozen out there, and we're all moving on like it never happened."
Frank didn't answer immediately. He just looked at Benny, his gaze unflinching.
"I know. But we can't change what happened. We can only keep moving forward." He gave a small sigh. "And you've been doing that. Don't let the past hold you back."
Benny stood there for a moment, the weight of Frank's words hanging in the air. Maybe he had been holding on to the past for too long, focusing too much on what they'd lost. Maybe it was time to stop thinking about what could've been and start thinking about what could still be.
"You're right," Benny said softly. "I've been holding myself back."
Frank clapped him on the shoulder. "Good. Now let's see what you can do."
As they stood there, Benny realized something. No matter how far they'd come, no matter how much they'd changed, Akio would always be a part of them. He was their reminder that they couldn't forget their past, no matter how much the world wanted them to. And maybe, just maybe, it was time to stop being scared of moving forward, and instead use everything they'd learned to make Akio proud.
With that thought, Benny turned away, his eyes already fixed on the training ground ahead. It was time to get stronger, because in the end, they had to be the ones who saved the world. They owed that much to Akio. And to themselves.