Disclaimer: Bottom-tier Character Tomozaki and MARVEL are copyrighted works owned by their respective authors.

Chapter 1 - Say what you want, but even superheroes can be depressed

It feels like I've been losing track of the passing days ever since I started crime-fighting as Spider-Man. People have often said that vigilantes like me are driven by a sense of self-gratification, but that's not entirely true. I've never felt the need to be the best of the best, nor have I ever praised myself every time I stopped a crime. Needless to say, I have seen enough bad things that a kid in my age wouldn't even dare to imagine; but regardless of what everyone else had to say, this city is still far from safe.

I've always believed that life is either a lesson in failure or the source of my worst memories. My resentment towards the society is undeniable, but there's another reason I choose to become Spider-Man. In school, I'm simply known as Tomozaki Fumiya, the loneliest boy that one could ever think of. My academics, appearance and social skills are way below average, but my spider powers have compensated for all that. Well, at least for my physical abilities anyway.

If there's ever one thing I've learned about crime-fighting, it's the fact that criminals are always ruthless. A good fighting skill is a must for this job, but the least I can do is throwing punches, and that's exactly what I've done just 10 minutes ago when I witnessed two masked burglars trying to intimidate a convenience store manager for money. It was night-time which is good enough to conceal my movements. I proceeded just like usual by jumping off from the rooftop, landed myself on the ground, fired my webbings at the two men and then hauled them out of the store with my strength.

What happened next was too fast for anyone to recount due to my superhuman reflexes and I didn't think the burglars had any idea what hit them, but one of the burglars tried to retaliate by swinging a kick at my face. I responded by dodging it with a backward somersault, followed by another webbing fired at his foot. Then I flung my arm upwards, causing him to trip onto the ground. The fight continued with the other burglar trying to ambush me with this knife, but I quickly ducked my head down to avoid the attack. Then I grabbed his knife-wielding arm and uppercut him in the chest with my leg. Just like a ragdoll, the burglar dropped his limping body to the ground.

No words were being exchanged throughout this whole fight whatsoever, but that's a good thing because having some guy cussing swear words at me is the last thing I ever need for this dreadful night.

As I turned my attention to the ransacked convenience store, I realised that the store manager is still there. It's sad to say that she's probably more traumatized by my appearance than the burglars, considering how she cowers herself into the corner when she sees me.

But I wouldn't blame her. It's my first year in crime-fighting so it would make sense if I'm not known to some people. Then the police arrived as I disappeared into the darkness, and that concludes another day in my crime-fighting life.

Words soon spread among the school about the burglary attempt on the convenience store. Naturally, the opinions are divided just like any other controversial topics brought up by my classmates. Some praised Spider-Man for saving the victim of the crime while others feel suspicious about him. The atmosphere is rather tense which is something I wouldn't want to get involved in. Well, I wouldn't deny that I've done a bad job on this one, but at least the store manager is safe, and that the police have apprehended the two burglars.

"Oh well, time to buy lunch." I said to myself as I stood up from the chair and walked to the door. But just then, a voice called my name. The voice of a girl.

"Hey Tomozaki-kun!"

Hinami Aoi, the most perfect existence of our school, suddenly said my name out loud for no reason. What could she possibly want from someone like me?

"Oh um, hi there Hinami-san." I replied with a small smile.

"I don't see you speaking up very often in class, but have you heard what happened at the convenience store just around the corner of our school? It's really scary something like that would happen in our area!" Hinami spoke with a slight frown on her face.

So that store is actually just behind the school? I guess I was too busy fighting the two burglars to notice it.

"Yeah, I've heard about it, it's really bad. But… I think there was a man who saved the store manager, wasn't it?"

"Now that you've mentioned it, the police did say that the victim spoke about a man dressed in a red and blue costume… But if you have to ask me, I think he's more terrifying than the burglars themselves with all these webs coming out his arms! I guess the world really is full of surprises!"

Just as I expected. Spider-Man is despised even by the most popular girl in school.

"Hinami-san…" I begin as I try to find the right words, "I know that whoever this man is, he might seem like a monster to everyone. But sometimes, I think… people fear what they don't understand."

Hinami immediately falls silent by my words. Her face begins to form an expression of both contemplation and slight confusion, but luckily it doesn't take long before she conjures with another response.

"But I think it's okay to be afraid," Hinami speaks slowly as if she's lecturing me, "fear is just a natural instinct for humans to defend themselves against the unknowns, rather than an excuse to defy what this man has done."

Okay, this is great. I don't have any good comebacks for this one. Hinami sure is smart when it comes to arguments.

"You've… changed." Hinami continued.

"Wh- why is that?" I stuttered.

"I mean, you've never cared about anything other than Atafami so it's quite rare to see you suddenly standing up to someone you barely know."

"Well, he did save the victim so it would be wrong if we don't give him some credits."

Hinami didn't say anything after that, but I can tell that she's intrigued by my new outlook as if she has seen through my mask. For a brief second, I thought she has found out that I'm Spider-Man.

"… anyway, it's great that you have shared your opinions Tomozaki-kun," Hinami spoke after a brief silence, "I think you would find a lot in common with Mimimi, she's literally fangirling over that guy!"

Well, it's certainly nice to have an admirer, although I'm pondering if it's my spider powers that she's interested in or the fact that my spider suit has a unique design.

"Oh, that reminds me!" Hinami exclaimed, "I'm supposed to talk to Mimimi about the club activities this afternoon! So… I guess I'll see you around then, Tomozaki-kun!"

As I watch Hinami departs with the blue-haired girl known as Mimimi, I couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment. I guess the part about vigilantes possessing self-gratification is somewhat true.

Today is the weekend. Normally I would have stay home and play Atafami but things are starting to change ever since I made crime-fighting as a part of my life. It was only days after the convenience store incident when a new rumour begins to circulate on the Internet. Apparently, the Yakuza is trying to regain dominance over Japan after a governmental operation was initiated to wipe them out several years ago.

I know Internet rumours are often unreliable, but I do have to say that this could pose a problem for me since my presence as Spider-Man has alerted the criminal world more or less, plus my parents have had some trouble with the Yakuza in the past.

But that's one of the reasons I choose to become Spider-Man.

After some careful thinking, I decided to give another try at some web-swinging while the sky is still dark. Perhaps I might be able to find something outside that would raise my interest.

"Oh hey onii-chan, where are you going at this hour?" My sister asks me in her usual dead tone as I walk to the door with my spider suit being worn underneath my jacket.

"Oh um…" I hesitated, trying to come up with an excuse, "I'm going outside to… jogging!"

"Jogging?" My sister raises an eyebrow. Damn it, I knew I should have come up with something more believable. "I didn't know you can jog. I thought you just play your… what is it called? Atafami all day?"

"I don't play video games anymore."

This response right here, is perhaps the turning point of our relationship. It's enough to turn the whole atmosphere upside down as my sister changes from being suspicious to being shocked. It's almost like she has just met the young me 10 years ago.

"Wow, um… that's good on you, onii-chan!" My sister replied enthusiastically with a smile that I've never seen before in this family, "I mean, you've finally gotten rid of your video game addiction! Isn't it great that you can finally get some real exercises?"

"Right, that's what I'm about to do." I replied hastily as I walk out of my house. I didn't glance back at my sister when I closes the door behind me, but I know that she's grinning. I suppose that's how siblings work.

I know I've said before that

This is a list of MARVEL characters that I've decided to place in this Fanfic. Please note that this list is incomplete and might change in the future:

Tomozaki Fumiya – Spider-Man
Hinami Aoi - Iron Goblin
Nanami Minami - Black Cat
Nakamura Shuuji - Agent Venom
Hattori Akira - Falcon
Kikuchi Fuuka - Angel (X-Men)
Narita Tsugumi - Scarlet Witch
Izumi Yuzu - Lady Thor
Natsubayashi Hanabi - Iron Fist
Konno Erika - Captain Marvel
Kawamura Sensei - Taskmaster
Gouda Sayaka - White Tiger
Ashigaru - Shang Chi
Ashiya Rumi - Ronin
Hikigaya Hachiman - Moon Knight