Hello everyone, Lealius here with a new chapter
In this one, Izumi takes his biggest decision until now
With that, please enjoy
Shikimoris not Just a Cutie and its characters belong to Keigo Maki
Spider-man and its characters belong to Marvel Comics
The following day, Izumi and his mom were working on sorting through his father's stuff, to decide what they will keep or what not
-"We should start with his clothes" his mother said
-"Yeah"
They opened the closet, revealing all the different outfits he had
-"Oh dear" his mother said, extending her hand towards a long-sleeved red shirt "I forgot he kept this"
-"What is it?"
-"He used this the night he proposed to me" she smiled a bit at the memory "He was already a bit chubby back then, but that just made him more adorable"
She sniffed, fighting back the tears
Izumi looked away, guilt on his mind already, despite the comforting words his mother told him yesterday, it didnt ease his mind
-"I know she does not blame me, and dad wouldn't blame me either, but still, I could have done something"
They kept working, despite the tears and memories flooding from time to time, they decided to keep only those that were from special memories, and donate the rest to charity
-"It's what he would have wanted" his mom said as she tried to pick a box from a top shelve, grazing it with her fingers
Izumi felt the vibrations once more
-"Oh?" her mother said as the box began to fall from the shelve
-"I got it" Izumi said, quickly grabbing said box before it could hit her
-"Thanks Yuu" she put the box on the floor "I need to be more careful"
-"No problem, guess we are both used to this sort of thing" Izumi tried to smile to lighten the mood, as best as he could anyway
One thing that could be said about this mother and son duo is that they can be quite clumsy, even though his mother didn't have the same daily misfortunes her son went through
-"It really is just the two of us now" Izumi said, for the first time since all of this happened, with determination on his face "Ill be sure to protect her"
The next days were spent in different ways
His mother started to attend counseling, thankfully, the company his father's company offered assistance for widows
Izumi has been going to the psychologist as well
-"My condolences to you and your mother, Izumi-kun" the doctor said
-"Thank you"
-"How are you holding up? Your mother told me that you were blaming yourself for what happened"
-"I know I shouldn't, but" his eyes began to water "Dad wouldn't have left looking for me if I hadn't left on the first place"
-"Whatever argument you had with your father, I am sure he did not regret looking for you, and I am sure is not your fault, the fault falls on whoever took his life, and your father tried to stop said criminal, you should take solace on his bravery"
-"More brave than I was, I was so afraid of causing others problems because of my powers that I didn't stop thinking about the consequences of my inaction" he shook those thoughts away "Do you think there is something I could have done differently?"
-"There's always something else we could have done differently, but dwelling in the past wont help you, Izumi-kun, it is a painful moment youre going through, but you need to ask yourself "how are you gonna live from now on?", not only for your mother's sake, and to honor your fathers memory, but in a way you can fill yourself fulfilled
-"Fulfilled" he repeated that last word "Is there a way?"
And so, the days went on, each just as hard, but trying their best
A week and so has passed, and it was monday again
-"I dont mind not going to school yet" he said to his mother as they were having breakfast "I don't want you to be alone"
-"Yuu" she grabbed his sons hand "It's ok, you can't fall behind on your studies, plus, I have appointment today, and one of your fathers colleagues has offered herself to accompany me, dont worry, I won't be alone"
He felt his cat rubbing against his leg
-"You think so, too, dont you?" he chuckled at his hairy companion, then looked at his mother "Very well"
-"Breaking news" they heard the anchor on the TV "last night, a couple was assaulted by an armed individual"
The TV showed the footage of the crime, the criminal in question was using a penguin mask
-"Thankfully, there were no casualties, but"
-"Yuu" Motoko said, turning the TV off
-"Yes?"
She looked at her son "If you see something like that happening, you turn around, and you run, ok?"
Izumi nodded "I will"
After finishing his breakfast, he was on his way to the local station, to pick up certain someone
-"Izumi-san" Shikimori said as he approached her
-"Morning, Shikimori-san"
She wrapped him in a hug "How have you been?"
-"It's been… hard, but we are trying our best" he hugged her back "I am sorry I didn't replied to your calls or messages on time"
She broke the hug "Don't be sorry, I totally understand"
-"Thank you" he had a small smile "Let's go"
And so, they headed to school, catching up on the time they had missed
Once they arrived at school, their friends were waiting at the gate
-"Micchon, Izumi!" Nekozaki yelled at them
-"Morning guys" Izumi greeted them
The trio went to hug their friend
-"I am glad you're back, Izumi!" Nekozaki said, fighting back the tears, as they broke the hug
-"A delight to be sure" Hachimitsu added
-"Are you sure youre ok?" Inuzuka asked
-"Y-Yeah, sort of" he grabbed his neck in discomfort "It is still hard, but we'll manage"
-"Just remember that we are here if you need us" Shikimori said with a small smile, the others following suit
-"Yeah, its…" for the first time in a while, he had a smile that went ear to ear "I am glad to see you all"
The day at school went like usual, luckily, they all had notes prepared for when Izumi returned
And now, it was time for an announcement
-"As you guys know" a male student said "the sports day is around the corner, and, since there are no volunteers, we'll be deciding the mixed gender relay runners through a lottery"
-"Sports day" Izumi thought, shutting his eyes and with a sad expression "Since I wont be of much help, it would be best If I don't have any important roles"
Whether a fracture, a broken shoelace, or getting caught up by the wind, something always happened to him during these type of events
But surely this time will be different
-"Ill pick first" Izumi said, putting his hand inside the box with the papers, after scrambling for a few seconds, he took his paper out, and read it "Relay runner" he wiped the tears "I kind of expected this"
He then heard some deep breaths
-"I don't want the relay, I don't want the relay" Hachimitsu said, despite her smile, she had a somber aura hanging from her, she also understood Izumis lack of faith in this
Putting her hand inside, she took out a paper "Please god" and it said relay runner
-"The first female runner is Hachimitstu"
-"Waaaah" she cried, grabbing Izumi as some sort of comforting item, arms sort of melting due to her misfortune
-"Lets do our best together" the purple haired tried to cheer her up
Until
-"Izumi-san" Shikimori said "I also got chosen"
-"Really?" he was surprised
Well, she more like traded the paper with the other female student that was chosen, but he didn't need to know that
-"Ok, we need one more male"
-"I'll do it" Inuzuka said, raising his hand
-"Really, Inuzuka-kun?" Izumi asked
-"Yeah, I mean" he smiled at his friend "It seems itll be fun to do the relay with you guys"
Izumi felt touched
-"Then I'll also do it" Nekozaki volunteered
With that, the relay team was decided
-"The relay seems like itll be fun" Shikimori said, looking at her boyfriend "Right, Izumi-san"
However
-"You're so reliable, Inuzuka-kun" the spider bitten male felt confident by his friends assurance
-"Let's work hard" Inuzuka felt confident
Shikimori puffed her cheeks in jealousy
-"You shouldve posed where he could see" Nekozaki teased her
-"I wasn't posing"
The gang was sitting together around a desk, strategizing
-"Before we go any further" Hachimitsu said "Theres something I would like to say"
-"What?" Inuzuka asked
-"Ill probably hold you back"
-"That was unexpected!" Nekozaki yelled
-"Sorry" Izumi felt embarrassed "Ill try my best but Ill also"
-"Dont worry man" Inuzuka waved his concerns "It's not like youre slow, you just tripped a lot"
Hachimitsu looked at the purple haired, a feeling of betrayal on her face "Traitor!" she had tears on her eyes as she grabbed him by the shoulders
-"I-Its ok" he was nervous "I'll definitely trip"
-"How is that comforting?!" Inuzuka asked
-"You don't need to worry that much" Shikimori added
-"Cause we're here" she and Inuzuka said at the same time
The pink haired looked at him, feeling outraged "What?! Excuse me?!"
-"Why are you mad at me?!" Inuzuka was taken back
-"Ah, you guys are so loud" Nekozaki added, she then smiled confidently "But if its the five of us, well definitely make the best memories"
The others nodded in agreement
-"Yeah" Izumi said, for some reason, he was at peace "Despite everything, I think this years sports day will be the one most fun yet"
-"Youre all so optimistic" Hachimitsu said with her face oh the desk, doing her best to follow their example
Once classes were over, Izumi volunteered to help at the library, his psychologist recommended him to do different activities to keep his mind busy, plus, it was a good chance to check on someone he was on friendly terms with
-"Oh" she was surprised to see him "Hello, Izumi-kun"
-"Hi, Kamiya-san" he replied politely "I am sorry I'm late"
-"Dont worry about it, I heard you returned to school today"
-"Yeah, it was about time, I think"
-"Once more, my condolences" she looked away, somewhat in discomfort "Shikimori told me where the funeral was being held, but I wasn't quite sure if I should have gone"
-"What do you mean?" he was confused
-"Well, I know we are not precisely that close, we just see each other when working here, so I was worried that I might be overstepping some boundaries"
-"Kamiya-san" he felt touched, and smiled at her "Dont worry, the fact that you were there means a lot to me, you are as much as a friend to me as the others"
Her eyes went wide upon hearing that "Really? I… I am glad to hear that" she felt silly "Sorry, I should be trying to support you, not the other way around"
-"It's ok, having you all with me is support enough Shikimori-san feels the same way, she told me when you two alongside Nekozaki-san hung up at the mall, and the basketball match you had, she said it was a fun time"
-"I… I am glad to hear that" she thought of the pink haired
-"Anyway, enough talk, we have work to do"
-"Youre right, first thing first"
As they worked, Kamiya remembered the advice that Shikimori gave her at the school festival
-"Thank you, Shikimori"
The rest of the week went on, between classes, and appointments, it was sunday already
They were at school in order to practice for the sports day
-"Alright then" Nekozaki said, a bright smile on her face "We'll be practicing for the mixed gender relay!"
-"Even if we call it practicing" Hahcimitsu said, a somber miasma on her face "We won't get fast in one day. What are we gonna do?"
-"What we can do is practicing the batton" Inuzuka suggested
-"For now" Nekozaki fist bumped "Lets do what we can! Since its the 5 of us, I want to win!"
They all felt touched by her enthusiasm
They began to practice, the first one was Nekozaki, who after running her potion, she passed the baton to Hachimitsu
-"Her reach is too short" Inuzuka pointed out
-"Just do your best!" Nekozaki cheered
The small one kept on running, panting heavily, until she reached Izumi "Im leaving it to you"
izumi grabbed the baton, and began to run, until "Ah!" he tripped with a pebble, and fell face down on the ground
-"Izumi-san!" Shikimori yelled concerned
-"As I thought" Hachimitsu thought, but
Izumi quickly stood up, picking up the baton, and kept on running
This impressed the blonde one
After a while, they stopped to rest
-"Im sorry" both Izumi and Hachimitsu said, covered in dirt
-"I think itll be fine as long as the baton gets passed!" Nekozaki said
-"And the order should be fine like this" Shikimori said
-"Even if were behind, Shikimori and I will make it work somehow" Inuzuka said
For the purple haired and blondie, they were shining like angels
-"Alright!" Izumi said "Let's practice some more"
-"Sorry" Inuzuka said "We have to go practice for a different event"
After dusting themselves off, Inuzuka, Shikimori, and Nekozaki left
-"Hachimitsu-san" Izumi said
-"What?"
-"What?"
-"If it's alright with you, would you like to practice more?"
She let out a sigh "Alright"
And they kept practicing, until they could no more, the night sky already taking place
-"Hachimitsu-san" he said to the girl resting on the ground "Thank you for practicing with me, did you overwork yourself?"
-"Im at my limit now"
-"Uh" he felt bad "Im sorry"
-"It wasn't all for you, it was for me too" she revealed her jersey below her shirt
-"But it seemed like you didn't want to practice"
-"True, I didn't want to do this in the first place because I thought I wouldn't gain anything from it, but" she had a small smile "This time, because it makes you guys happy, even being tired, is for myself"
Izumis eyes shine "I get what you mean!"
-"Youre overflowing with spirit… Im jealous"
-"Huh?" he was confused
-"Despite what you went through, you are here, trying to cheer others up and doing your best, not everybody can do that"
-"I mean" he felt uncomfortable "It's not like I am over that, it barely has been two weeks, I just want to be there for you all, like you always are"
-"I know, and nobody is rushing you, I am just saying that"
-"Eh?"
-"We found your kindness and spirit admirable"
-"Hachimitsu-san" he felt touched, until he sneezed
-"You should wear your jersey too"
Their friends came back
-"Good job" Shikimori said as she patted them both
Izumi felt a blush on his face
Once they left school they were ready to take their separate ways
-"Bye bye, Hachimitsu-san" Izumi said, holding a stick as support
-"Yeah" she was trembling as she held her own stick
Izumi and Shikimori began to walk away
-"Izumi" the blonde called him
-"Huh?" he turned
-"Lets do our best then"
Both him and Shikimori smiled
-"Yeah!"
And they began to walk towards the station
-"Are you sure youll be alright on your way home alone?" Shikimori asked concerned
-"Yeah, I won't feel fine if you accompany me, only for you to return to the station alone"
-"You are always so thoughtful" she smiled at him, and then looked down "I wish I could do more for you"
-"Shikimori-san" he held her hand "It is thanks to you that I am not giving up, when I think about you and the others, I find strength"
-"Izumi-san" she was blushing
-"That's why I promise that I'll do what I can for you all, so that you can be as happy as possible"
She was stunned by his determination, but yet, she grabbed both of his hands "That's one amazing quality of you, Izumi-san, I appreciate that a lot"
-"No problem" he smiled at her
-"How is your mother?"
-"It is harder, she's being going to her counseling group, but I can tell that this is gonna take a while"
-"I figured as much, I promised to visit soon"
-"Thank you, I am sure she will appreciate that, she wants to retake cooking classes with you one day"
-"I want that too, do let me know if there's anything else I can help with"
He gave her a nod
After saying goodbye to her at the station, he was walking home
-"Thank goodness i brought my jacket too" he said as he was wearing his jacket with a hoodie, on top of his school jersey "Also, Shikimori-sans birthday is coming up, I better prepare something good"
His train of thoughts was broken by a sudden scream
-"Someone help!"
-"Huh?"
Following the direction of that voice, Izumi saw that around a corner, a woman with red hair with her back against a wall, illuminated by the streetlight, with two individuals standing in front of her
One had a crowbar, the other a pistol
-"They are assaulting her?!" he thought, he was hidden behind the corner, it seems they have yet two notice him
-"Dont yell, you idiot!" the one with the crowbar said
-"Yeah, just give us your purse, and well leave" the one with the pistol said
-"Y-You cant, it has my savings, I need them"
-"What you'll need is a funeral if you don't comply" the first criminal said
As he watched the scene unfold, Izumi gulped nervously "What can I do? Mom told me to run away from situations like this, but what if the police does not arrive on time? this could turn into a situation like"
He remembered his father
He was told that he struggled against the criminal that took his life so that said criminal wouldn't hurt others
-"But dad was strong, I"
He remembered something important
He had his powers
-"I haven't used them since the accident, and I have never used them against another person"
He heard a metallic click
-"Won't cooperate then" the second criminal had his hand on the trigger
-"Theyre gonna kill her!"
The memory of his father, of him not stopping a crime once more
He tightened his hand into a fist
-"I can't let that happen again!"
Putting his hoodie on, he approached them
-"S-Stop!" he yelled, voice cracking a bit
-"Huh?" they all looked at the direction of the voice
All they could see was some dark blue pants and shoes, they could not see his face
-"Who are you?" the first thug asked
-"L-Leave her alone!"
-"Oh really?" the second thug looked at Izumi "Feeling like a hero, hotshot? Leave before you regret it"
-"I-I wont"
-"In that case" he aimed his pistol at him "Go to hell"
But before the trigger was pulled, they heard a twhip sound, and then, the barrel of the gun was caught by some strand of web
-"What the?!" the criminal was confused
Pulling from the web, Izumi took the gun away from the criminal, landing now next to his feet
-"H-How?" the thug was at a loss for words "Who are you?"
-"Who cares?" the one with the crowbar said, approaching Izumi "If we can't shoot him, let's just beat him to a pulp"
Izumi felt the vibrations on his head
It was as things moved slowly for him, he could see the criminal swinging his crowbar at him with a left attack, ready to hit the young one on the head
And with a swift movement, almost instantaneously, Izumi dodged, the crowbar hitting the air
-"Why, you?" the criminal kept taking swings at Izumi, who kept dodging
-"This is not only the vibrations, I feel more agile" those were his thoughts as he dodged the attacks
-"Yikes, you are useless!" the other thug joined the fight, throwing punch at him
Which was stopped by Izumis hand, not feeling anything close to pain
-"Y-You" they were both terrified
-"I am sorry for doing this" Izumi said, with a newfound confidence, delivering a punch in the thugs stomach
-"Gah!" the criminal could feel the pain and the air leaving his body as he felt down on his knees
-"Agh!" the other criminal began to ran away, feeling terrified
Until he felt something on his ankles
Another web rope shoot by Izumi
Pulling from it, Izumi made the coward criminal trip and land on his face
-"Ugh" he was also in pain
Letting go of the web, the adrenaline began to lower as he realized the state of things
The first thigh was still on his knees, holding his stomach and not making any attempts to move, while the other was face down on the ground, also groaning in pain
-"I…I stopped them" Izumi was filled with a strange feeling
-"You" the woman barely said, still processing what went through
Until they heard the polices sirens
Not wasting any time, Izumi ran away
-"Wait!" she called him, but no answer
Izumi kept on running, confused by the events that had just transpired it,
The sound of the sirens growing quieter the further away he was from the scene
The following morning, he woke up, tired from his practice with his friends, as well as the events that happened last night
-"I… I seriously did all of that"
He could still not believe it as he walked downstairs, his mother already on the table
-"Morning, Yuu"
-"Morning"
-"This just came in"
They turned their attention to the news
-"Last night, a local resident was assaulted by two criminals, only for a miracle to happen, we are now with the victim of this assault"
The TV showed a red haired woman
Izumis eyes went wide "Thats!"
-"So, tell us again, what happened?" the anchor said
-"I was on my way home when these two criminals assaulted me, they were ready to shoot me, until this strange figure showed up?"
-"Strange figure?"
-"Yeah, it was dark, so I couldnt really get a good look at whoever that person was, I could tell it was a man though, his voice was male, he said stop and leave her alone"
-"And then what happened?"
-"One of the criminals tried to shoot him, but I don't know what he did. He had a strange rope, and used it to disarm him, then the two of them tried to attack him, and from what I could see, they couldn't, then one criminal dropped to the ground. like he was hit, and the other tried to ran away, only to be stopped by that rope once more"
-"We have received footage from a security camera, let us see"
The footage showed Izumis back, as best as it could given that it was dark, as he was dodging the attacks of his opponents, him punching one, and then using his web to stop the other
Izumi gulped "Thank goodness it only shows my back, and it is dark so they cant get a good image of me"
-"Is there anything else you would like to add?"
-"Well, as I said, I couldn't see his face, so who knows who that was, but" she had a relief smile at the camera "Thank you, whoever you are, I was able to return to my family because of your help, wherever you are, you are a hero"
Izumi felt something within him
-"Police are starting an investigation as to who this mysterious figure could be, in the meantime"
-"Crazy how something like that happens" his mother said, struggling to understand
-"Y-Yeah" Izumi said "It is"
As he was walking to school, Izumi kept thinking about last nights events
-"I… I saved that person… I used my powers to save her" he looked at his hand "I did what I couldt for dad, she returned to her loved ones, all because I made the difference"
He looked at his surroundings, the different people walking around, with their daily lives
It never dawned on him just how each persons live could be easily ended by criminals
Until last night
-"I may not had been able to help dad, but…" he tightened his hand "I can help them, I can help Hino to be safe again"
With his powers
-"I will do it!"
But he couldn't go around on his regular clothes, it might have been dark last night, but next time he might not be so lucky
-"I need a disguise, like a costume, but how will it look?"
He then remembered his powers, how it was like he was a spider now
And an idea pop up into his mind
Once he was done with classes for the day, he went straight home and into his room
He was on his desk, pencil on hand doing drafts on his notebook
He wasn't one with fantastic drawing skills, but even he could made a draft
-"If I have spider powers, the symbol must be spider"
He went with one that was red, with is legs curbing to the sides on to the back of said costume, forming stripes along his body
For the material, after some research online, he found stretchy Scuba, as it was form-fitting and figure hugging, thick, lively textile is that it's soft and cool to touch
-"Thank goodness one of Dads friends is owner of a textile shop, plus, I should be able to use it beneath my schools uniform" he told him it was for the school, and even though it was bad to lie, he made sure to pay for it
For the suits colors, he went with a combination of red and black, useful if he had to bend in at night
Thanks to all of his accidents, as well as helping in preparations for the schools activities, he was quite dominant on the needle and sewing machine
It took him two days, and some stabbing on his fingers but little by little, he had the body of it
He tested it, the material felt nice on his skin, like it was hugging him, and emphasizing his figure
Using some left over material, he made a mask with two holes, for which he used the yellow lenses of his snowboarding goggles to filled them
Alas, his suit was done, wearing it as he stood in front of the mirror
The red bright spider symbol on his chest that was neatly swed to it, the red stripes that made perfect combination with the black parts of his suit
-"I can be the one that protects people, I can be one that saves them when they need it"
He knew why these powers were given to him, so that he can use it for the sake of others
-"I can be a hero"
He was on a nearby buildings rooftop, overlooking his city
All he needed was a name
-"I am… Spider-man!"
And thats the end of that, we get Izumi and his mom struggling with the death of their loved one, and this si a topic i look foward to writting more in the future
Izumi and his friends, and Izumi stopping a crime, and taking the mantle of Spider-ma, what sort of adventures he will run into?
As for the suit, if you check the profile image for this story, that suit is Spiderman Unlimiteds suit, the tv show, i changed the blue to black and removed the cape, just in case I did not describe it properly
Next chapter, Izumi makes his debut
As usual, thank you all for reading, leave any comments or send a PM, and I will gladly answer
Unitl next time
Peace