บท 4: The Nailgun

Throughout the years, the image of a hardware shop has drastically changed ever since the world entered the Hero Age. Before, power tools would be so expensive that only the middle class and higher could purchase them. Because as fitting as their names are, they are power tools, used for heavy-duty repairs or work.

But recently, with superheroes having the capabilities rivaling that of power tools, they became a bit... behind the times. Why buy a power tool when a superhero next door could just cut your trees for you? Why buy a power tool when you can bend metals at will? The majority of the populace had grown thinking of the same mindset, deeming the power tools useless.

Even though hardware shops have an abundance of them, they couldn't sell them at all. Desperate times call for desperate measures— and that's why hardware shop owners decided to sell power tools at their original price. A few people started buying them but they're still not as famous as before. Then again, the hardware shop owners must've been contented seeing that the power tools are finally selling out.

At a certain hardware shop near the United Superheroes Academy, a burly man wearing a brown overall and a greased t-shirt stood behind the counter, with his beefy arms on top of it. His eyes darted around the shop and one customer caught his attention. A young kid, carrying a sling-on bag and wearing a USA uniform, was busily scanning through the shelves over at the power tools section. One glance and the man knew something is definitely up with the kid. "Why would a normal kid be looking at power tools minutes before the school bell rings?" He asked himself but he couldn't think of a possible reason.

Curious, he walked up to the kid, the heavyweight man he is.

Meanwhile, Satoshi sensed the man casually approaching him. With a cheery smile, he waved towards him. "Sir, are you the owner of this place?"

"Yes young man, that's me. The name's Ivan. What are you doing here? Five minutes and the bell's going to ring, you know." Ivan continued.

"Oh! That's because I've been standing over here for a while now and I can't seem to choose a power tool." He continued, trying not to panic and reveal himself in front of the owner. He knew that buying a power tool is equivalent to buying a weapon so he didn't want to look suspicious. "My dad's looking for something that shoots out sharp objects. He needs it for the roof or something."

Ivan lit up for a split second before returning back to his usual calculating expression. "Oh, you meant a nailgun?"

'Wow, I can't believe such a thing exists.' Satoshi thought to himself as he nodded.

"Sorry kid, but we don't have one here. The last one we had was dropped by a customer. He got so angry when I asked him to pay for it. And then he stormed out of the place after doing so, didn't even bother getting the item he paid for. Right now, it's sitting at the storage."

"Great! I'll get that one please." Satoshi continued.

"Are you sure about that? It's broken, you know?" Ivan concernedly asked, imagining the teenager in front of him getting a beating from his dad after buying a useless power tool. "You might get in trouble."

"Don't sweat out the small details, sir. My dad's a technician so he can fix minor chinks on a tool. I've been looking for that kind of tool ever since this morning. Glad I found one."

Satoshi lied as naturally as he breathed.

After heaving a sigh, Ivan headed to the storage and handed Satoshi a nailgun. "Look, kid. This thing's basically paid for so you don't have to pay me anything. Go to your dad and tell him I gave it to you for free. That way you won't get in trouble. And also, you got two minutes before the school bell goes off. Hurry along."

"Sweet!" Holding the nailgun as if it were some prized possession or a relic heirloom, Satoshi stormed out of the hardware shop and got to the USA a second before the school bell rang.

Although Satoshi was known for not having any superpowers, some students still believed that he was just hiding his real strength. After all, he passed the entrance exam to USA and he wasn't dropped by the school. There's also the possibility that the school just didn't want to get to his parents' bad side but that's beside the point. Right now, the students are thinking the same thing— that they shouldn't unnecessarily get into Satoshi's bad side until they've gauged his true strength.

Just like any other student, Satoshi was also used to the entrance tests that pitted students against each other. That's why he didn't waste any time getting to the waiting room reserved specifically for him. Any students that met him on the way didn't bother to say hello because, well, they were utterly nervous. One wrong move and they know that they'll be kicked out of the school. The United Superheroes Academy is a school that gave rise to prominent superheroes today, and they won't hesitate to kick out those who could possibly tarnish the name of the academy.

Even though the school had a 60% acceptance rate, just 2% of those would get to the academy. In simpler terms, even if someone were to pass the entrance exam, the first day of school— which would test everyone's proficiency and combat ability— is the actual 'entrance exam'. If one were to perform in an unsatisfactory manner, they have a greater chance of being expelled.

That's how cruel the educational system is in the Hero Age.

Pacing back and forth in the waiting room, Satoshi impatiently tried to reactivate his superpowers. He knew that he could transform or evolve inanimate objects into better things just by imagining how they should be... but until right now, he still had no idea how to trigger it. It was like breathing, he knows he could do it but if he were to focus hard enough, then he'll be taking over the power instead of letting the power work through him, making the process fail miserably.

The nailgun just casually sat in front of him, broken as ever. He was confident that his power worked on a working computer... but what if the equipment was broken? Right now the nailgun is not in a workable state and before his turn comes, he needs to fix it and imbue in it his superpowers.

"Doesn't matter, right now all I have to do is try. If it doesn't work, then I can just rely on my System— I mean, that retro computer I have which I sent back home."

Once again, he tried to think back to the time when he managed to turn his retro computer into a System. First, he put the desire at the forefront of his mind, wishing for a weapon that would activate as soon as he thought about it. And then he believed that his superpowers would be able to fix the broken nailgun. "Superheroes say having a superpower is like having a sixth finger that you've always have... but it's not true. It's like having a whole new world opened to you... or maybe it's just because I took too long to realize what it is. So I was at fault here?"

And quite miraculously, the blue flames enveloped his hands once again, settling on the nailgun and burning it.

"SATOSHI VERSUS HIROSHI!"

It took Satoshi a split second before he got back to his senses. His name was just called to the stadium and he had to get there even though he wasn't prepared yet. There are plenty of chances for him ditching the test itself but he knew that would just leave a bad taste in his parents' mouth.

"Whatever, let's just do this."

Once the blue flame that seemed to consume the nailgun was over, four rectangular pieces of metal were all that's left, each of which had eight nails in them. After examining it for the second time, Satoshi realized that they were actual nailguns— the only difference was that they looked more portable than ever.

"And how do I use this in my fight? I said I needed a weapon, but how do I exactly use this?" Satoshi scratched his head in slight annoyance. "In any case, let's just get through with this. I should probably be able to win the first round, right?"

But then, just as he was walking to the center of the coliseum, he remembered the announcement a moment ago. "What on— you mean I'll be fighting Hiroshi? That Hiroshi? Ah man, you gotta be kidding me!"

Somehow, his purposeful gait suddenly turned shaky and every cell in his body warned him of the danger in front of him. His mind was forcing him to go back, to just forfeit the match. But no matter how much he wanted to do so, he knew he couldn't do it. He just couldn't walk away even though he was pitted against one of the strongest highschoolers in all of Japan.

After all, his pride is on the line... and most of all, he didn't want to disappoint his parents who had always supported him and cheered for him every single year.

Just when he was about to lose all hope, he felt something click in his mind, like a missing puzzle piece that had always been there, just put at a wrong angle. And somehow, he gained a minuscule amount of confidence— just enough that enabled him to walk to the Stadium without collapsing.

"Let's get this over with." He said, clenching his shaky fists.