Yuusha Ni Minna «TRUSTED»

In anime and literature, the word Yuusha (Hero) is synonymous with hope. We are taught that the Hero is the victor, the light, the inevitable dawn that breaks the night. But if you look closer—past the shining armor and the victory parades—the existence of a "Yuusha" is perhaps one of the most tragic concepts in storytelling.

Theo looked down at his sword. The light was fading from its blade. “I don’t… I don’t understand. The prophecy said ‘the yuusha and his companions.’ You were my companions.” yuusha ni minna

Theo stood alone in the dust and silence. For the first time in three years, he felt the weight of his own name. Theo. Not Yuusha. Not Hero. A boy from a farming village who had been handed a sword and a prophecy and told that everyone else was just scenery. In anime and literature, the word Yuusha (Hero)

And it was true. Across the shattered dais, the yuusha —the Hero—stood motionless, his blessed sword still raised to a sky that no longer needed saving. His name was Theo. And for the past three years, he had carried them: through the Molten Marshes, the Forest of Whispers, the frozen vaults of the North. He had taken the killing blow from the Demon Lord’s scythe for Elara, the cleric. He had split his last ration of bread with Finn, the boy they’d found half-dead in a goblin den. He had done everything a hero should do. Theo looked down at his sword

Finn coughed—a wet, ugly sound. The poison was spreading. “Don’t blame him,” he whispered. “He was the yuusha. He had to carry the weight. Maybe if you carry that much, you forget there are other people holding it with you.”