Tokusatsu Academy: From Apprentice to God - Heroic Tales

Merkana observed Sirius, who had just arrived, with a critical expression. She approached him with a concerned look, analyzing every part of his body in a comical manner—moving side to side, poking his sore body, lifting his arms and legs as if examining a strange artifact.

"Well, well, looks like you've gotten yourself into trouble again, Sirius. Let me check for any damage." - Merkana said.

Sirius chuckled awkwardly as the Mercurian examined his clothes and exposed skin. Her expression shifted to a mix of surprise and worry when she found several severe burns on his arms and torso.

"For the love of the Journeys, Renovas! How did you get so roasted?!" - Merkana exclaimed.

Sirius scratched the back of his neck, trying to appear nonchalant.

"Oh, you know how it is, Merkana… just those little yellow guys and a lightning strike or two." - He replied disinterestedly.

Merkana huffed, clearly irritated by Sirius's reckless attitude.

"You really don't change, do you?" - She said.

Sirius swallowed nervously, sensing the gravity of the situation.

"I know, Kana… Maybe I was a little impulsive." - He admitted.

Merkana sighed, her worry blending with frustration.

"'Impulsive' is an understatement, Sirius. You need to understand that this is a job where you're almost certain to die at some point!"

"Again with this? Are you really going there?" - Sirius asked, his face showing a monotone expression.

"Going where? Being realistic? Yes, I am!" - Merkana replied.

"We both know very well you're not going to change my mind." - Sirius said with a sly smile.

"You should! You really should, because your decision is absolutely idiotic!" - Merkana snapped.

"Tch, this isn't over yet. Let's just ignore this stupid topic for now... for now! Got it?" - Sirius said, sounding exasperated. - "I want to be a hero, and I will be, period. I'm the inert one in the duo, and who is being the coward here is you."

At that exact moment, the Mercurian felt something strange, something her species had always revered and cherished.

(Was that... the Journeys?) - She wondered silently.

"Haaaah… whatever," Merkana muttered aloud, still pondering the feeling and wondering if...?

Suddenly, she was struck with a sharp pain, forcing her to her knees as she clutched her stomach.

When she looked, she noticed warm blood trickling down. The recent battle had been tough, leaving a deep wound she couldn't regenerate.

"Kana! What happened?!" - Sirius asked.

Merkana merely groaned in pain, a bit irritated by the question.

(Isn't the hole in my stomach obvious?!)- She thought angrily, before replying. - "That man… Carrot? Beetroot? Cat? What was he again? Whatever! He caused this wound, and I can't hypnotize or accelerate my cells anymore."

"In short, you don't have precise control..." - Sirius placed his hand under his chin, pensive. Then, an idea popped into his mind, and he smacked his left fist into his right palm. - "I've got it! Try boosting your metabolism."

"Metabolism, as in...?" - The Mercurian asked, looking confused and comical.

"Your body's chemical reactions, Kana..." - Renovas looked at her with mild judgment.

While Merkana tended to Sirius's burns and the supposed hybrid taught her what metabolism was, Hirofumi and Vavá continued their argument in the establishment. Vavá was furious about the damage caused during the battle, while Hirofumi tried to stay calm, though his smile wavered slightly.

"Look at what you did, kid! Destroying my establishment! This is a bar, not a wrestling ring! YOU'RE NOT ANDERSON SILVA!" - Vavá shouted.

(Who the hell is Anderson Silva?) - Hirofumi wondered as he tried to maintain his composure.

"Sorry for the inconvenience, sir. But you have to admit, it was quite a battle… I think." - Hirofumi said, detached from the situation.

"Battle? More like a war! You think just because you're a wannabe hero you can go around destroying everything?" - Vavá snapped.

Before Hirofumi could respond, Vavá noticed Merkana, who had already done what Sirius told her and was heading toward a shelf.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" - The older man yelled.

"Grabbing a cereal bar, duh." - She said, taking the bar and tossing the wrapper on the floor.

She did this to recover her energy and didn't want to ask her friend to do something for her.

"You have to pay for that!" - Vavá said, comically indignant.

"I saved your butt, old man. That's your payment!" - The girl shouted back just as comically.

Neither noticed Sirius picking up the wrapper and throwing it in the trash.

(Planet saved again!) - Sirius thought as he struck a heroic pose.

Naobito looked at him, finding him... strange.

But soon after, he decided to ignore everything that had just happened and answer Vavá's question.

"Well, I prefer to see this as a learning opportunity. After all, how will you become the greatest hero of all time without facing a few obstacles?" - Hirofumi said.

Vavá frowned, clearly unconvinced by Hirofumi's words. He grabbed a bottle of whiskey and downed it in one go as if it were nothing, surprising Hirofumi.

"Obstacles?! My ass, obstacles! Did you see what happened to my st—store!?" - Vavá continued as if that act had been perfectly normal.

"Yes, I'm terribly sorry about that. But don't worry, I'll help clean it up myself." - Hirofumi said, trying to remain calm but with a nervous twitch in his eye and clenched fists.

Vavá's eyes widened, surprised by the unexpected offer of help.

"You? A Japanese guy, helping clean up my store?"

Hirofumi nodded with a confident smile, not realizing the xenophobic undertone of the comment. Ironically, the store was a place that also sold Japanese food.

"Of course! It's the least I can do after causing all this trouble."

Vavá was speechless for a moment before finally relenting.

"Well, in that case, I guess I can forgive you... But don't do it again! Especially with that… closed-off look of yours!"

Hirofumi chuckled nervously, scratching his head with his right hand as he agreed.

"Understood, sir. I promise my... companion and I will be more careful next time."

Meanwhile, Merkana continued tending to Sirius's burns, worried about what the future held for her stubborn friend.

Speaking of Sirius, he had been watching Hirofumi for some time since the latter's declaration upon arriving in this reality. Even now, he was trying to recall where he had heard that name before. He couldn't remember when or where, not that anyone could blame him — he had been fighting for his life just moments earlier and still needed to sort out his memories properly.

Then, it clicked, and an expression of shock crossed his face with the speed of a cheetah's sprint. At that moment, he realized exactly who was standing before him.

"Y-y-yo-you…" - Sirius stammered, pointing frantically at Naobito as if he'd seen a ghost, his eyes as wide as an owl's.

Hirofumi, hearing this, felt a chill run down his spine. He knew exactly what was coming next, and it was almost always… unpleasant.

"YOU'RE THE GUY FROM THE MINT CEREAL!!" - Sirius yelled at the top of his lungs, holding a cereal box that no one knew where he had gotten from.

…

…

…

Everyone fell silent, including Naobito himself. Okay, that was definitely unexpected.

The Japanese man's mind raced to recall if he had ever been part of any cereal commercial or sponsorship, but nothing came to mind.

Until a muffled sound emerged in the establishment... and grew louder and louder like a balloon being inflated. What was this sound? Laughter, which soon turned into roaring laughter.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" - Merkana laughed loudly, as she hadn't in a long time.

Sirius always managed to surprise her every day. The reason? Simple… he had mistaken Naobito for a woman.

And Hirofumi realized this... slipping into a bubble of depression and then comically collapsing to the ground.

"I look like a girl, I look like a girl, I look like a girl!" - His world seemed to shatter into a thousand pieces.

"I love your cereal, man! I eat it every morning!" - Sirius said as he ran toward Naobito with stars in his eyes.

"I DIDN'T MAKE ANY MINT CEREAL!!" - Hirofumi's depression turned into rage as he started shaking Renovas.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, IDIOT?! If you don't want to talk to a fan, JUST SAY IT!" - Sirius yelled back, shaking him in return, his admiration turning to fury, now feeling deeply offended.

In the background, the Mercurian was on the floor with tears in her eyes from laughing so much at this series of ridiculous events. Even Vavá couldn't help but let out a few chuckles.

"ARE YOU STUPID?!" - Hirofumi yelled at Sirius.

"YOU ARE!" - Sirius replied, tripping Hirofumi, who fell on his backside.

"NO! YOU ARE!!" - Hirofumi countered, recovering and applying a suplex to the boy with the gem.

Shortly after, Sirius lunged forward, poking Hirofumi's eyes with his fingers before jumping on top of him.

"WHO YOU CALLING WHAT, BRAT? YOU'RE THE ONE WHO'LL GET SOME CATIRIPAPOS!!" - Sirius shouted, slapping Hirofumi's face repeatedly.

[CA/N: Am I the only one seeing this turn into a kids' fight?]

And so it went on for a full ten minutes, both shouting "No, YOU are!" while slapping each other.

At some point, it got so ridiculous that it wasn't even funny anymore. Merkana just stood there, blank-faced, reconsidering her life choices. Snapping out of her daze, she walked over and gave both of them a good smack on the head.

"Enough! I can't take it anymore!" - She yelled comically, her features turning shark-like with frustration.

[N/A: Welp... now it's officially a shounen.]

"Ouch... Sorry, Kana." - Sirius muttered, looking at the ground — not regretful for what he did, but embarrassed at being scolded.

"Kana? Like sugarcane?" - Naobito asked.

(Kana as my stick in your butt!) - Sirius thought, deciding not to say it aloud out of respect for the Mercurian.

[CA/N: Yeah, we didn't know how to translate the nickname or the joke, sorryyyy!]

"More like a smack on your face if you don't explain why you're here, Blowfly." - She said seriously, suspecting it might be another Academy issue.

"Sokayo. Why do women always have to be so angry?" - Naobito muttered under his breath. - "Anyway, I'm here to annoy you… but now I have a personal goal to prove that I'M NOT the cereal lady." - He then glared at Sirius, his gaze sharp enough to kill.

"Oh no… I'm terrified." - Sirius replied with obvious sarcasm, pausing slightly between the words to make it crystal clear.

Hirofumi grinned wildly.

"You should be." - He said, striking a dramatic emo pose. Everyone else stared at him, dumbfounded.

Sirius couldn't help but look at Hirofumi as if he were a madman in an asylum. Even the most clueless person would've caught the sarcasm, but apparently not this airhead.

"That was sarcasm!" - Sirius yelled, nearly exploding again.

"Yes, yes… orgasm." - Hirofumi replied, crossing his arms with the same grin.

Everyone raised at least one eyebrow, staring at him as if they were peering into the deepest abyss. Thankfully, the abyss didn't stare back.

A sudden explosion echoed from afar, and a shadow leaped onto their floor in a wave of power.

Looking ahead, they saw the mole monster, now with a hole in the spot Hirofumi had previously struck.

"You bastard… No matter! I'll kill you with my bare hands and then—"

"Who are you?" - Naobito asked sincerely, as if the Kaijin were so irrelevant he'd already forgotten him.

The monster froze, unable to process the question.

"What are you talking about?! I'm your nemesis! The fact that I survived that attack proves I'll be the supreme ruler of this world while you kneel at my fe—"

"Get lost, man. I'd remember if I used any force beyond a normal punch." - Naobito replied with the blankest expression. In a few words, he utterly shattered the mole-man's ego.

"N-no way. I literally have the greatest endurance! I'm a phoenix, reborn from the ashes!" - The monster pointed accusingly at Hirofumi, outraged.

"Endurance you got through a cowardly act... Not much different from an average weekly villain, y'know? Especially the growing ones." - The Mercurian remarked simply.

"Grr… I…! I, uh… I have super strength!" - He said, desperately trying to salvage his shattered ego.

"That's common knowledge. Everyone has that." - Sirius said nonchalantly, inspecting his nails.

"I'm the lord of fire!! No flame can match my greatness!" - The monster exclaimed, his tone desperate, hoping for at least one point of awe.

"Let me guess... It was through a pact, wasn't it?" - Vavá asked, casually cleaning the establishment without even glancing at the Kaijin.

"Yes! The mightiest of elements, the sacred flames of Surtr heard my prayers and—"

"A homeless guy did that last week" - Vavá interrupted.

"W-what?!" - Mole-man stammered.

"Yeah. Some jerks set him on fire because he was cold, and he made a pact with the flames to survive. Then he burned them." - Vavá said plainly.

"W-why would Surtr, the great father of Ragnarok, listen to a homeless guy?!" - Mole-man demanded a response.

"Because it wasn't him. Anyone can make a pact nowadays; it doesn't even need to be with an entity" - Vavá replied.

"Really?!" - Sirius asked, surprised.

"Except idiots." - Vavá clarified.

"..." Sirius didn't know how to respond.

"M-maybe… but… I'm a phoenix!" Mole-man insisted.

"So was the homeless guy. And unlike you, he got rich." - Vavá added.

"..." - Mole-man was left speechless again, his depression and inner abyss drawing closer.

Sirius chimed in. "Also, dude… your design sucks. Seriously, drill wings and a phoenix face? What the hell is that?"

"..." - Mole-man couldn't respond.

Merkana smirked. "Not to mention he clearly didn't know what he was doing. Seriously, I doubt he even understands space, yet his drills somehow hit their target fundamentally. Power like that in incompetent hands is utterly useless."

The mole-man was sinking deeper into despair, on the verge of giving up.

"And to top it off… he probably doesn't even have a name." - Naobito said with a mocking smile.

"..." - The mole-man was silent. The abyss stared into his soul and proposed marriage.

With his ego shattered and pride in tatters, the mole-man was about to surrender. But as if to rub salt in the wound, the three young adults — nearly or actually in their twenties (no one gave me the script) — lined up, jumped in the air, and struck a pose with arms wide open and one leg bent forward.

Then, the final blow.

"You're irrelevant!" - They said cutely, smiling brightly.

The abyss ate its dinner, and depression groomed its cat. In a sudden outburst, the Kaijin made an unexpected request.

"I quit! Bald guy, are you hiring?!" - He asked as he reverted to his normal form—or what should have been normal, as he now appeared severely underweight.

He didn't seem to care and awaited Vavá's response.

"Sure, but just so you know, because of the property damage, you won't get paid for the first few weeks." - Vavá replied, still not bothering to look at him.

"Anything's better than seeing these three again! And you—I never want to meet any of you again!" - The mole-man declared as he helped Vavá clean up.

"Okay." - They replied, mentally wondering. - (Who even is this guy?)

"Back to the main topic... Are you going to accept or not return to the Academy?" - Hirofumi asks Merkana, already expecting a negative response. He loved his job of visiting her and getting on her nerves.

"Ha, good luck, after the laxative stor—" - Sirius is punched to the ground, and Merkana quickly responds:

"I accept, but I have my demands." - The Mercurian says without much certainty, inspecting her nails. - (Damn, one of them broke... I'll have to go to the manicurist. Will the Boss let me take the day off tomorrow?)

"What?" - Hirofumi freezes for a moment, thinking this moment would take at least a few more months — or never happen. He begins looking around as his breathing becomes erratic. - (A-am I dreaming? That's the only explanation...)

"I agree with the Cereal... WHAT?!" - Sirius quickly gets up, shocked and sporting a bump on his forehead.

Hirofumi sits on a nearby chair, sweating and pale, becoming UNRECOGNIZABLE. Sirius looks at him and immediately realizes who he is.

"AH! Wait! The hot cereal woman is Hirofumi Naobito?!" - He says, finally recognizing him as one of the Academy's hero graduates, specifically the most famous one.

Naobito, upon hearing this, is stunned.

"Wait... You KNEW it was a woman?!" - He says, standing up and grabbing Sirius by the neck.

Before he could choke the boy, he gets a kick in the ribs from the Mercurian, forcing him to kneel in pain.

"Don't. Touch. Him." - She says darkly, her face deadly serious as she stares into Hirofumi's soul.

"Yes, ma'am!" - He says, even saluting.

Curiously, Sirius collapses to the ground unconscious after that, which leaves Merkana extremely worried.

"Renovas!" - She says, carefully helping him up.

"I'm fine..." - He says as he regains consciousness, then looks at Hirofumi. - "Did you know that fainting only lasts seconds to a few minutes in real life?"

"Wait, what?" - Hirofumi asks, confused.

"He does this, it's kind of annoying." - Merkana says matter-of-factly.

"I like spreading knowledge! Fiction damages that when it treats fainting as if someone's just asleep or something similar!" - Yells the supposed hybrid, indignant.

As if to interrupt the tranquility and peace, an explosion in the middle of the mall reverberates through the area, hot air and light expanding before vanishing into dust and debris.

In less than five seconds, Naobito is already sprinting toward the scene at full speed.

"Damn it! Sirius, stay here!" - Merkana tried to follow the Japanese man but was stopped by a phrase from the youngest.

"No, I'm going too!" - He says, and before Merkana can do anything, he disappears from her sight.

"Renovas!! Damn it, kid, get back here!" - She shouts as she starts running after the two.

.-- .... --- / .. ... / - .... .- - / --. ..- -.-- ..--..

To be continued…

(A little smaller than the others, but you'll get chapter 4 soon.)