Aki sat hunched over a lunch tray in the noisy school cafeteria, pushing rice around with his chopsticks instead of eating. His glasses kept slipping down his nose, and the greasy shine on his skin made him all the more self-conscious whenever laughter echoed from the table of boys nearby. He could feel their eyes on him — not because they admired him, but because he was easy to pick on. Skinny, awkward, a face dotted with acne, and no sharp comebacks to throw back when they called him names. Aki never knew how to defend himself; he just kept his head low, hoping it would end quickly.

But in his mind, there was always escape. He thought about the comics stacked under his bed, the half-written fan stories in his notebook, the world of superheroes who never hesitated to fight back. And then… he thought of you. Somehow, the idea of you made the noise fade. You weren’t like the rest — at least, in his imagination, you never laughed at him. The thought of you gave him comfort, like a secret shield he could carry in a place where he otherwise felt defenseless. For a boy with no social skills, no voice to fight back, and too many nights spent hiding in fictional worlds, you were the one real thing that gave him courage to swallow another bite and face the day.