spot

Spot.

Spot, I'm here to return your comic.

Hmm, the door's not locked... Is he... out?

I'll put it back where it belongs!

Ugh...

O-Oh no! Did I knock the bookshelf over?!

I gotta pick it back up...

Okay!

But all the comics are on the floor now... I don't know which one to put where... Is Spot gonna get mad?

Maybe I'll just put all the ones with the same titles in a pile together and wait till he's back.

Huh? How come this one doesn't have a title?

Popukar finds a leather bound book that stands out from the pile of comics. There is nothing but dust on its plain cover. No title, no art, not even a single word.

Which pile should I put this in?

Popukar flips open the book. The pages have slightly yellowed. There are comics inside, but they are all clearly hand-drawn rather than printed.

Although they aren't very professional, they aren't careless doodles, either.

My knee... My leg...

Bornu, can't you talk to your old man and get us an officer with better things to do than make us 'train' by crawling on the ground for an hour? As if that's fun?

I tried. No dice.

This Bornu guy looks kinda like Spot!

I think I remember, Spot's real name is... Something... Bor...?

Bukar Bornu! Yep!

Oh, the line pokes out of the frame here...

At ease—Attention!

Look at the sorry shape you're in! Slacking off. Can't even stand straight! Our brothers on the front lines are spilling blood and sweat every day. What about you?

You've even got a man reading comics—

—Brigadier General Bornu!

At ease.

Who's reading comics?

Sir! It's Bukar Bornu!

Popukar turns the page, a wide shot covers the whole thing.

Bornu the soldier's hidden comics were all piled in the middle of the barracks.

The person who drew the comics in the book very carefully drew their covers, titles, and issue numbers. The strokes are all very heavy, so much that the pages are almost torn.

The people around him are crudely drawn in only a few strokes, to the point that they seem almost unreal.

Brigade, kneel!

Not you, Bornu.

You are going to read every single word in these comic books. When you finish, that's when they can stand.

Brigadier General Bornu, sir. The books are mine. I should be the one to kneel...

You'd best get started, or they will be kneeling until dawn.

Even these books with their dreamed-up stories know that a man has to take responsibility for the mess he makes.

You can't even do that, and you still read those superhero stories? You want to be a hero? <i>You?</i>

By the time the young man is finished reading his books aloud, it has already been two hours.

Although some of the other soldiers sympathized with him at first, after two hours of kneeling, their eyes were filled with nothing but scorn.

Is it really so bad to read comics?

No, Bornu's daddy—Spot's daddy's got it all wrong!

After that, the entire brigade was sent to the front lines.

Most believed the reason behind this decision was Bornu angering his father, and this made his situation all the worse.

In the end, Bornu chose to desert.

He was caught by the patrolmen before he could even leave the encampment. But, coincidentally, an enemy attack came at the exact same time.

The enemy's onslaught was swift and brutal. Before long, the already demoralized brigade was defeated.

There's nobody here. Let's split up and run.

Why the face? You gonna tell me you just remembered you've got a dad who's a general?

I hate him. He humiliated me, belittled me, and said I could never be a hero.

Then what are you waiting for?

I don't want everything to go his way.

What, you've got a fever? Got a concussion from all the explosions?

If I run, I'll be branded as a deserter forever. He'll never let me live it down, I'll spend the rest of my days in shame!

Yeah, and? You seriously want to be a hero? Save your own ass first!

I know I'm no hero.

But if I die, the miserable old man is going to regret what he said. Even if he doesn't, at least he won't have anything else to complain about. And if I survive this, I'll throw back in his face everything he's ever said to humiliate me!

If you wanna run, then run. This is my problem. Family business.

The young man knows that he doesn't have what it takes to fight this enemy. All he can do is gather the scattered remnants of his brigade.

Soon, the band of remnants grows into a squad of several dozen men.

Of course, the enemy has eyes on them, but the young man persists.

When they see the shield in his hand, more and more men start to gather at his side.

By the time they evacuate to the nearest allied encampment, there are two hundred men following him.

Bornu, come forward!

In recognition of your contribution to the last battle, you are hereby awarded the Hero's Medal, Class II!

Now, read out your citation!

The young man takes the citation from his superior, a heavy medal on his chest.

He suppresses his surging emotions and sweeps his eyes across the crowd below, only to find his father missing.

With equal parts regret and relief, he begins to read the citation.

This medal is hereby awarded on the order of...

Brigadier General Bornu.

Bornu...?!

*sniff* *sniff*...

I knew it! I knew Spot and his daddy were going to make up!

Popukar rubs her eyes and flips to the next page to find it blank.

That's it?

Popukar, what are you reading?

Eeep!

Sorry, Spot. I didn't mean to knock the bookshelf over...

Eh, I know you didn't.

Wait, that thing you're reading...

I love this comic!

You drew it yourself, didn't you? I never knew you were so talented, Spot!

I didn—

'I didn't draw that, and that main character isn't me.'

For some reason, Spot can't bring himself to finish the sentence.

Popukar, it's almost bedtime. Go find Orchid.

Yep! We have training tomorrow, and Orchid is throwing us a party afterwards!

Oh, I forgot about that.

Spot, are you mad...?

Of course not. I don't even get mad at Midnight.

Now off you go.

Spot picks up the book and hesitates for a moment before turning around to sort through the pile of comics on the floor.

He knows his comics like the back of his hand, and just looking at the art on the back cover is enough to tell which issue of which series from which creator a book is. This will take no time to clean up.

After he puts everything back in place, Spot takes a look at the leather book again.

No, I need to tell Popukar not to let anyone know what she just saw.

Hero? I've gave up on that a long time ago.

But...