#will sprout

『I read that article with Asch’s interview in it, and he said there’s nothing he’s afraid of, not now and not ever….』

『I thought maybe like I am now, I won’t be able to become a hero… I just wanted to ask you about it, Papa』

Jay: How should I put this… There’s so much I want to say…

I think I’ve told you this before, but you know that Papa has things he’s afraid of too, right?

Benji: 『You mean puppies? I know that, but… But you’re a superhero, Papa, so you don’t count…』

Jay: Wh-what does that mean…?

Well okay. The heart of the matter is: even if you’re afraid of something, you can still become a hero

Benji: 『Really!?』

Jay: I won’t say anything about Asch, to preserve his dignity…

But everyone’s got things they’re afraid of or struggle with. Heroes are no exception

I think heroes like Asch who can say they don’t are rare. You really don’t need to worry

Benji: 『...Okay. Asch is a special, super strong hero, isn’t he』

『I wish I could be like that, but… Just as long as it doesn’t mean I can’t be a hero, that’s okay』

Jay: Exactly. You have absolutely nothing to worry about

And besides, you’re still only 10 years old. By the time you become a hero, maybe you’ll be able to overcome that fear?

You have plenty of time. There’s no need to push yourself, just look at the long term and work hard to overcome it, and you’ll be fine

Benji: 『Okay, you’re right…. Alright! I’m going to try my best!』

Jay: That’s my boy, Benji. Papa will keep supporting you, too ♪

*****

[Lounge]

Jay: He seemed so serious, I was wondering what kind of worries he was going to confide to me…

For an adult, that might seem like a trifling matter, but it really can feel like a huge problem that can sway the course of your whole life

Fufu, I guess even I had a period like that. It’s all a part of growing up… ♪

???: Then, I’ll open mine first

Jay: Oup, is someone else here? ——

Will: 『Are you a little more settled in as a rookie yet? I hope you’ve absorbed lots of good things from Brad-san and Oscar-san』

『And, it would be kind of nice if there weren’t quite so many things you struggle with…』

Faith: Aha, that sure sounds like you. The perfect model for what to write

Ren: ….Jay?

Jay: Ah…. Whoops, sorry. I happened to overhear you and got curious…

Will: I’m sorry too. You were on a call, right? Did we interrupt you?

Jay: No no, I’d already hung up. More importantly… Is this perhaps a meetup of Group B from the Rookie’s Camp?

Will: Yes, exactly! During the camp, we wrote letters to ourselves one year in the future, and they’ve just been delivered

Faith: Perfect timing. Could you tell Billy that the spirit of cooperation is important too?

Ren: If we were allowed to abstain, I wouldn’t be here either

Jay: Ahaha…. He absolutely refused to let me or Gray see it either

Faith: Well, that’s fine though, isn’t it? He’s probably going to try to dig into what we wrote later, but I’m definitely not going to tell him

Will: Now now…

Faith: Anyway, getting back on track… Have you managed to overcome the things you struggled with?

Will: I-I’m not so sure… I do remember feeling down about a lot back then, though

Ren: Doesn’t that mean you’ve overcome it, then? Or at least that you’ve stopped worrying about it?

Will: Do you think so? Maybe that means that I’ve grown?

Jay: Hm, this is rather enlightening. It looks like you really don’t have anything to worry about, Benji

Faith: So, who’s going next?

Ren: I’ll go. I didn’t write anything worth dragging this out over anyway

『Don’t forget your goal』 …. That’s all

Faith: The number of characters may not be significant, but the contents sure are

Will: Well, it’s not hard to imagine Ren writing something like that back then…

Ren: I wonder what I would write now

Faith & Will: ……

Ren: …..It’s your turn next

Faith: Yeah yeah… 『To myself, one year from now』

『What kind of hero are you becoming? Have you found your answer yet?』

『Whether you have or not, don’t forget to have some fun. If you become too serious, you’ll turn into a whole different person』

Aha, that’s good. Made me remember something important

Will: It’s true, I haven’t really seen you fooling around and going out much lately?

Ren: …Have you found the answer you were looking for?

Faith: Who knows? This meeting isn’t the place to answer that ♪ 

Jay: Everyone’s really grown…

Faith: What, Jay? You look kind of… overcome

Jay: How could I not be? Letters written one year ago, opened one year later…

The contents go without saying, but seeing everyone coming together and opening them so calmly together really makes my heart swell

Faith: Aha. Then, why don’t you try writing one too?

Jay: Th-that’s not really what I meant, but…

Jay: …No, wait just a second?

*****

[Cafe]

Benji: A letter to my future self?

Jay: Exactly. A letter writing out your current feelings, addressed to the you of the future who may have become a hero

It’ll be fun to imagine who you might become while you’re writing it, and I think it’d be good to write something that’ll encourage you some day when you open it 

Benji: Really…. I wonder if I won’t be afraid of heights anymore by the time I become a hero?

Jay: Right right, that’s exactly the kind of thing to picture while you’re writing to your future self

Benji: Got it, then I’ll write 『You definitely overcame it, right』! And I’ll work hard to make sure it comes true by the time I read the letter ♪

Jay: Oo, now that’s the spirit. I think that’s a great idea

Alright, Papa will take this chance to write to future Benji too

Benji: Huh? No way, Papa has to write to future Papa

Jay: Eh…

Benji: What do you want to be like by the time I become a hero, Papa? Do you think we’ll get to fight together?

Jay: I-I really don’t know about that?

But… Right. What will I be like when you become a hero? It might be fun to sit down and think about that

Alright, Papa will write to his future self too～!

Benji: Yayyy, let’s write together～ ♪

Jay: Yeah…. ♪ (♡ˊ͈ ꒳ ˋ͈)

*****

Steel Angel

[Brad and Oscar’s Room]

Brad: …

Brad: …Hm.

Brad: (These are the documents for tomorrow’s meeting, and these need to be submitted the day after…)

Brad: (Maybe I should get some coffee before getting started.)

[South Sector Living Room]

Brad: (Akira and Will aren’t back yet? They must be getting some extra training in.)

Brad: (Well, that’s fine by me. Today, I feel like working out here for a change.)

♡♥♡

Brad: (To ensure the safety of the [Rookie League], perhaps the mentors should be stationed like this…)

Brad: (I’ll work out the details with the research department in our next meeting.)

Brad: (...That should take care of all the paperwork for now.)

Brad: (Perhaps I should rest my eyes for a bit.)

Brad: (It should be fine if I take a short break here…)

♡♥♡

[Door Slam]

Akira: Heheh~ ♪ I killed it in the training room today!

Will: We got a good session in. I’ll make sure to keep working harder too.

Akira: I could do this all day! Next time I’ll make sure to set a new record on the machine—

Akira: Huh?

Will: Akira? What’s wrong?

Akira: This is freaky… Come check it out.

Brad: Zzz…

Will: Isn’t he just… sleeping? Although, this isn't exactly something you see everyday.

Akira: Hehe, Imma take a picture ♪

Will: Don’t you dare wake him up.

Akira: I won't! I won't! Umm… Is this the right button?

[Shutter Sound]

Will: Maybe he tired out from work and fell asleep.

Akira: Knowin’ Brad, it’ll do him some good.

Akira: Hey, didn’t that pic of Faith sleeping go viral some time ago? I bet Brad could take the Internet too—

Will: Don’t even think about it.

Akira: I know I know, I was just sayin’.

Akira: Oh, but I can send this to Oscar though, right? He’s been worried lately since Brad seems busier than ever.

Akira: I bet seein’ how peacefully Brad’s sleeping right now would put him at ease.

[Screen Tapping]

Akira: Err, I think you press here and here, a—nd… Sent!

Akira: Oscar’s gonna be thrilled to see this—

Will: A- Akira, that’s not DMs! You just uploaded that picture for all of Helichan to see…! Delete it now!!

Akira: Crap! How do I do this… Umm, err…

Will: Give it!

Akira: …!

Will: W- We’re too late…! I can delete it, but it’s already blown up on the web…!

Brad: …Akira? Will? When did you get back?

Akira & Will: …!

Brad: What’s wrong? Did something happen—

[Door Slam]

Oscar: Brad-sama! Why is that picture…!

Brad: What picture?

Will: I- I can explain…

♡♥♡

Brad: I see. So my face is all over the web now…

Akira: It’s my bad! I swear it was an accident!!

Oscar: After hearing the story, it seems like Akira only wanted to reassure me. I’m certain he meant no harm—

Brad: And I agree with that.

Will: The post has even more views than before now…

Will: “He looks SO cute and innocent in his sleep.” 

“I can’t look directly at him! He has the face of an angel!” 

“I’d like to thank the universe for Brad-sama’s existence.”

Brad: You don’t have to read the comments out loud…

Will: O- Oh sorry… They just keep going too…

Brad: Why is this even happening? It’s only my face.

Will: Faith’s picture also blew up a while back, but in this case, I think people are just interested in seeing the gap from your regular self…

Brad: Is that so?

Will: “Face of an Angel” is even trending now…!

Akira: I’m really sorry! I mean it!!

Brad: It’s fine. This isn’t a big deal, and I’m sure everything will settle down soon.

♡♥♡

—A few days later.

[Red South]

Brad: (It’s been a while since I’ve done a patrol. I wonder how the civilians are doing—)

Keith: Yo, Brad.

Brad: Keith. What are you doing in Red South? Are you done with your patrol?

Keith: I wrapped that up ages ago. And if you wanna know what I’m doing here, there’s a new bar I’m checking out.

Keith: Anyways, I saw that pic of yours. Ain’t it causin’ even more of a stir than Faith’s?

Brad: …It’s hardly a concern.

Keith: “Face of an Angel” was it? Heh…

Brad: And?

Keith: C’mo~n, aren'tcha a little embarrassed? Even the streets seem rowdier than usual.

Brad: Everything’s fine… And even if I am getting more attention than usual, I’ll handle it.

Keith: Huuh…

Young Woman A: Ee———k!!!! It’s really Brad-sama!!

Keith: …!

Young Woman A: Brad-sama———!! I’m always on your side!!!!

Brad: Thank you for your passionate support.

Young Woman B: You really did look as beautiful as an angel in that viral photo!!

Young Woman C: It’s gonna be my phone background for life!!

Young Woman D: I’m putting it on a T-Shirt and passing it down to my kids!!!

Brad: Thank you. It’s a little embarrassing to receive such praise, but I’ll do my best to uphold everyone’s expectations.

Brad: Just like an angel.

Young Woman A: H- His smile is so angelic…!!! I can’t!!!

Young Woman B: His very existence is healing my heart…!!!

Brad: Thank you everyone, I’ll be relying on your support.

[Walking Away]

Keith: …

Brad: …What.