Hello everyone, Lealius here with a new chapter
In this one, Izumi meets some new faces
With that, enjoy
Shikimori´s not Just a Cutie and its characters belong to Keigo Maki
Spider-man and its characters belong to Marvel Comics
Cover Image made by KrystalDragonArt
At night, Fisk was at his office, reading some stuff in regards to Shocker´s arrest
-"Can´t believe that freak actually got him" his right hand said
-"I must admit, I am surprised too, but we don't have to worry about him snitching us, plus, he fulfilled his purpose"
-"Yeah, Spider-man hasn´t bother us since"
-"Not only that, I get the feeling he's gonna give up pretty soon"
-"What do you mean?"
-"True, I would have preferred if Montana killed the bug, but look at the comments people are making, some are suggesting that he was behind the sudden appearance of Shocker, added to the hate he was already receiving for his "attack" against us"
-"Wow, they are really gullible"
-"True, but more importantly, Spider-man´s spirit must be really down, and to defeat an enemy, you either destroy the body, or destroy the soul, the fear of failing, added to the constant hate of the people, he won't be able to bare it much longer"
-"I am still worried though, a few comments actually support the freak and his actions"
-"Harmless minority" the crime lord wave his concerns off "Spider-man himself must have realized by now, but, a single person won't make a difference"
The Kingpin turned on a cigar, and smoke it, feeling really good about his strategy bearing positive results
-"Now, I need you to"
It was early in the following morning, Izumi was overlooking the city, a little patrolling before going to school, and a feeling of hopelessness plaguing his mind
-"Most people hate me, even the ones I tried to save"
He remembered that, after his fight against Shocker was done, he tried to rescue some trapped civilians
He lifted some debris, and saw a shaking man against a wall
-"Are you ok?" he asked
-"Y-Yeah" the man had a cut on his forehead "Luckily the debris only trapped me, but I survived"
-"What a relief"
-"Spider-man!" someone yelled
Izumi turned around, and saw a black haired officer aiming at him with a pistol
-"Hands up in the air, now!"
Izumi´s eyes went wide in shock, why was an officer aiming at him?
-"Wait!" he yelled "I was saving this person, he's injured!"
-"I don´t care about your excuses!" the officer said "Hands up, now, or I will shoot!"
-"Don't hurt him!" the rescued man yelled "He really was helping me!"
-"Let the judge decide that!"
-"Just what do you think you´re doing, Natsumi!?" someone angrily yelled
Turning around he saw his captain approaching
-"Captain, sir! I have Spider-man cornered here!"
-"And we have the true culprit right here!" he pointed at Montana, who was handcuffed and under the watch of two officers, one of them holding his damaged suit
-"But Spider-man!"
-"Is gone" the injured man yelled
They all noticed Spider-man was gone
-"Damn it, I almost had him!" the black haired cop cursed under his breath
-"Natsumi, we haven't made any official announcements in regards to Spider-man yet, and I´ve ordered you all to make the safety of the civilians our top priority!"
-"But sir!"
-"No buts! Now, you will fulfill your duty, and take that civilian outside so he can receive medical assistance, am I clear?!"
Spitting at his side, the black haired officer reluctantly agreed "One day"
Izumi was hiding in a nearby tree
-"I can't believe an officer aimed a gun at me"
He felt defeated, even though he won against Shocker
Deciding that enough was enough, he took off his hero suit and put on his regular clothes, and went to look for a local officer so he can be escorted outside
-"Thank goodness that other officer showed up, I mean, I am pretty certain I can dodge a bullet if that were to happen, but"
What will happen if the police actually order for his arrest? Will he have to fight them? Turn himself in?
He didn't like any of those choices
Taking one last look at his surroundings, he noticed a crane lifting up a beam
He felt his vibrations going off
The rope of the crane that was holding the beam broke, and it was gonna fell on a worker
Acting quickly, he jumped off from his spot, and used his web to pull the worker out of danger
Said worker was next to him now
-"Are you ok?" he asked
-"Y-Yeah" the worker was nervous "Thanks Spider-man, so you´re real after all"
Suddenly, his vibrations went off again
Ducking, he avoided a hammer that was thrown at him
-"Huh?" he was confused
-"Get away from her, you freak!" another worker yelled
-"You got it all wrong! I saved her from that beam!"
-"Yeah!" the worker yelled, taking his side
-"You probably caused the beam to fall in the first place!"
-"Go back to your nest, freak!" another worker yelled
Izumi decided that arguing was pointless, and quickly got away
Once he was safe, he took off his mask, and looked down to the floor
His frown tightened, not because he was angry, but because he was sad
No matter how much he tries, people were still hating him
He remembered the plea he made at his father's tomb yesterday
-"Maybe this is the sign… I…"
He kept self-loathing for some time, ignoring the alarm from his cell phone
Running as fast as he could, he opened the door of his classroom
-"Sorry I am late!" he said while panting
His classmates and teacher looked at him
-"Glad you could join us, Izumi-kun" the teacher's voice was full of disappointment
-"I am really sorry!" he felt embarrassed "What did I miss?"
The school´s bell sounded
-"The entire 1st and 2nd period"
-"Oh" he gave a full bow "I am really sorry!"
-"Just make sure it does not happen again, ok? Your classmates can fill you in on the assignment"
And the teacher left
Izumi walked to his friends
-"I was wondering where you were" Inuzuka said, both confused and concerned
-"Is everything ok?" Shikimori asked, equally confused and concerned
-"Yeah, I just figured I could do a little side-work before coming here, but it took me longer than I thought it would"
He knew it was bad to lie to them, but that was better than the truth
-"Admirable" Nekozaki added "But be careful, the teacher was not happy"
-"I will, thank you" he decided to change the topic "Anyway, what´s the assignment?"
-"It´s a project for our psychology class" Shikimori said, and handed him a piece of paper
-"Experiment of your choice illustrating the relationship between thought and behavior"
-"We´re supposed to partner up" Hachimitsu said
-"Oh" he looked at Shikimori "Would you like to partner up, Shikimori-san?"
She smiled at him "I would love to, but"
-"We´re doing this alongside the senpais from 3rd year" Inuzuka continued "We will each partner with one"
-"Oh" he was surprised "That doesn't sound bad"
-"It is chosen at random" Nekozaki added "Hope we get someone good"
-"I am more worried about Izumi´s partner" Hachimitsu said
-"Come on, even he can't be unlucky to get a bad partner!" Nekozaki said
-"Yeah" that was the last thing he needed
They went to their senpai´s classroom, next to the door, there was a list with their names, and the names of their partners
They all found theirs
Izumi found his name, and his partner´s name
-"Kyöshinja Kuruoshī" he read
-"Uff" a senpai of them said while putting a hand on Izumis shoulder "Bad luck indeed, buddy"
-"What do you mean?"
-"You're about to enter the Kuruoshi Zone" he made a gesture with his finger, spinning it against the side of his head
The sign of someone being crazy
Izumi gulped, it can't be that bad, right?
He entered the classroom
-"Kyöshinja Kuruoshī?"
He heard someone laughing
He saw a tall, orange haired young woman wearing glasses, and reading a psychology book that had a little Spider-man sticker on it
She stood up upon hearing her name
-"Yuuki Izumi, right?"
-"Um, yeah"
She walked towards him, and began to examining him, looking at him in different places
Shikimori had to be held to not interfere, she could see how uncomfortable her boyfriend was
-"Question, and this is important"
-"Yes?"
She looked at him dead in the eyes
-"Do you like Spider-man?"
That was not what he was expecting
-"Yes" he tried to sound confident
She looked at him for a few seconds, and smiled
-"Good, I can tell you're not lying" she wrapped an arm around him "Kyöshinja Kuruoshī at your service, my dear kouhai, this Spider-man fan duo shall succeed!" she raised a fist to the air
Izumi looked at where his friends and girlfriend were
Shikimori nervously laughed, not sure how to support him in this case, the others clapped their hands together as if they were praying, and bowed to him, wishing their best to him
Izumi gulped once more
Once classes were over, they got some books from the library, and headed to her apartment to work
Izumi suggested they could go to his house, but she insisted, since she hasn't had any visits in a while
-"Come in, make yourself at home"
It was a small apartment, a regular kitchen, laundry room, bathroom, and a small table
-"Hope your parents won't mind"
-"Nah" she waved off her concerns "I live alone, both parents are gone"
-"Oh" he got sad "Sorry about that"
-"Pfff, don´t be, I´ve been fine on my own, plus, who needs them when I have him?"
He showed him a book filled with drawings of Spider-man, as well as some news articles she has cut and pasted on the pages
-"You really like Spider-man, huh?" Izumi said, somewhat uncomfortable for some reason
-"Like him? I love him!" she rub her face against her book, making a rather unpleasant moan sound
Izumi looked away, an awkward blush on his face
-"He´s my soulmate, I can't believe people are tarnishing his name, specially when he stopped that actual criminal at the theme park"
-"Yeah" Izumi said "I was there, and I saw him"
She got close to his face, eyes wide "YOU SAW HIM?!"
-"Um, yeah, he saved me" that's what he told the others
-"Damn it! Lucky you!" she pulled back, rather angry "Next time it will be me who meets him!"
-"Um, good luck?" he didn't sound confident, but she didn't care
He then noticed a katana sword hanging on the wall
-"Cool sword" he said, desperate for changing the subject
-"Thanks, I used to practice with it, but had to stop after a while, how cool would it be if I can get Spider-man to sign it"
-"Maybe" he never thought about giving autographs
-"Anyway, enough talking, let's get down to business!"
-"Thank god" he felt relieved
After a couple of hours, he was on his way home, patrolling as he did so
-"At least we got some work done" he thought, feeling rather taken back by his new "fan" "Kuruoshī-senpai sure loves Spider-man, is that why people think she's crazy? That seems rather rude, Nekozaki-san is also a fan, not in the same level of course, but her classmates should not be with like that with her, she lost her parents, and I know how that feels, even if I only lost one" he felt sympathetic towards her "I think she only needs a friend, and I can do that, maybe I can get her to join us"
His train of thoughts were interrupted when he noticed a man standing at the edge of a building, with a energy drink neon sign standing in the middle of said building
-"What the?" he stopped at a nearby wall
While it was a little dark, he could see him holding something next to his head
He was gonna
-"No!"
He went as quickly as he could, and landed next to this person
-"Don´t do it!"
-"There's no point in me continuing" this person, a man, said
-"Yes, there is, but this is not the way of looking for an answer!" he could see that he was holding a pistol against his head
Suddenly, the person came down from the edge, and began to walk to a small cabin on the roof
-"Eh?" Izumi was confused
This person entered the cabin, Izumi could see the lights inside of it being turned on
Hesitantly, he walked towards it
He saw a man on his mid forties, wearing a black jacket above a white shirt, gray pants and black shoes
He had short dark blue haired, spiky on the back, a shaved bear which showed some gray parts, most likely reflecting his age, and dark brown eyes
This person emanated an aura of respect, but also a quiet warm
He showed the young hero an amicable smile "Nice to meet you, Spider-man"
Izumi could not get why, but this person felt… familiar
He showed him a badge
-"Captain of Hino´s Police Department, Meiyo Kamiya, at your service"
Izumi's eyes went wide in surprise
-"The captain of the police?!... Wait, Kamiya?!"
He remembered a conversation he had with Kamiya a few days ago
-"I am more concerned about how this will affect father. Well, ever since Spider-man entered the scene, and this was before the situation with Fisk-san happened, he's been under a lot of stress"
-"So that's what she meant? I mean, a superhero showing up will cause stress sure, but I never expected this"
-"Sorry If I scared you back there" Meiyo continued "I was not gonna jump, and the gun is empty, I am not gonna hurt you, I was waiting for you to show up"
Izumi was confused, and alarmed "Is this a trap?"
-"Don´t worry, no one knows I am here, or that we are meeting, we are safe"
Izumi dropped his defensive stance, for some reason, he felt that he could be at ease
-"So" Meiyo scratched his cheek "Everything good?"
-"Eh?"
-"S-Sorry!" he felt silly "Of course not, should have known, I am not good at small talk"
-"Um, is ok" Izumi felt slightly taken back by how nervous the captain looked "Excuse me, Captain Kamiya, but, what are you doing here?"
-"Well, I am just gonna say it. It's in regards to Fisk-san, and what happened at the amusement park"
Izumi was alarmed once more "Are you?"
-"I need your side of things" he said
That question shocked Izumi, mouth slightly hanging below his mask "Huh?"
-"Your version of the events, I need it, please"
The young hero was not expecting that "You want my story?"
-"I´d be a bad cop if I don´t take your testimony. You don't have to if you don't want to, of course"
The smile the officer gave him told Izumi that he was welcome to talk, and so, he did
-"Well"
He told the officer the truth about his attack on Kingpin, that he was set up by the business man, that he´s a criminal boss, and that, for him at least, Shocker was sent after him, and that the attack at the park was a way to lure the hero out
-"And that's all"
The officer had a hand on his chin as he listened to Izumi´s story, occasionally interrupting for a question
And a scowl that kept growing as the young hero continued
-"Of course he does that" he sounded rather annoyed "Damn you, Fisk!"
-"W-Wait!" Izumi said "You believe me?"
-"Well, you don't appear to be lying, you´ve been saving people all this time. For you to suddenly go rogue, it does not make sense, that's why I wanted to meet you" He took a breath in, and let it out "I need your help in taking Fisk down"
Off all the requests that there were, that was an unexpected one
-"You need my help? But I thought the police wanted me arrested"
-"We have yet to make an official announcement. I´ve been holding on that as much as possible, waiting to meet you. Plus, you confronted Fisk, and survived, I need that"
-"But… Why are you on my side?"
-"Well, I´ll admit, I was hesitant of you at first. You are a hero true, but you're also taking law in your hands, and my job is to represent law as it should"
-"I know I am taking justice in my hands, but… At the same time, I" he thought of his late father, and the first time he saved someone "I can't sit by and do nothing, I know that my obligation is to help those who need it, that's why I became Spider-man, to bring hope, to bring peace, but" he looked down "With the way people have being mad at me, I"
-"Wonder if I should quit?" the captain finished for him
Izumi looked at him, surprised that he knew what he was about to say "How did you?"
He let out a tired sigh "Spider-man, I am an police captain, and trust me, when something goes wrong, we are the first to blame"
-"I´m sorry to hear that" he felt sad, yet relieved, that he knew how he was feeling "How do you?"
-"Continue despite everything? Well, it ain't easy, but, rather than focus on the negative comments, I focus on the positive ones, that I am making the difference"
-"Positive ones?"
-"Believe it or not, there are people, few though, that are on your side"
That was news to him "Had I really been focusing so much on the negative?"
-"Plus, having your loved ones helps"
He thought of Shikimori, Kamiya, Nekozaki, Hachimitsu, Inuzuka, and his mom
All his loved ones that supported him, that supported Spider-man
-"I mean" Meiyo took out his phone, and showed it to Izumi "Just reminding that I have them gives me strength"
He saw a photo of him, with Kamiya, and a woman with long brown hair and blue eyes, same color of eyes as Kamiya, and in a wheelchair
All smiling together next to each other
-"So he really is Kamiya-san´s father"
-"My daughter used to be a lonely person, apple doesn't fall far from the tree in that sense, I am surprised I got my wife" he chuckled "But now, she's always talking about these three new friends she has, one of them that she works with at the school´s library, and I am happy for her"
-"Those must be Shikimori-san and Nekozaki-san, and I´m glad she likes working with me and thinks of me as a friend" the young hero smiled beneath his mask "Why are you telling me this, though?"
-"Well, when you told me your story, and how you feel, I couldn't help but be reminded of myself, so I want to help you. Don´t worry, you don't have to tell me anything about your personal life. Plus, I know what is like to be a target of Fisk"
-"What do you mean?"
He looked at the wall, remembering the painful memory "One year ago, I was close to revealing his crimes, but somehow, he caught wind of me, and rather than go after me, he went after my wife, and… well, you saw the photo"
His eyes went wide once he made the connection "He put her on that wheelchair?!"
-"She was shot, she survived, but she will never walk again" he tightened his hands "Worse, the bastard came to me, and he openly admitted it, said he would do much worst, and go after her and my daughter if I try anything again" he punched the wall "I felt so stupid, I begged my wife to forgive me, and she just hugged me and said it was not my fault, but… Damn it all"
Izumi looked away, not sure what to do "I'm sorry"
He looked at him "My point is, that I want to stop him, before he hurts anyone else, and I can't do it alone" he extended a hand to the hero "Will you help me, Spider-man? To stop him?"
Izumi looked at the hand
The officer was smiling at him
Izumi looked at his own hand
Was he right? Was he so focused on the negative aspects?
Was this the actual sign he needed?
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He took the hand, and shook it "Let´s do this together, Captain Kamiya"
The captain let out a relieved sigh "Thank goodness, I was afraid you were gonna say no" he let go of the hand "Now, as I said, there´s no official announcement for you yet, but I doubt I'll be able to stop that for much longer,.I´ll try to lessen it as much as possible"
-"I appreciate that, and I promise to protect your family too" he fist bumped "We will stop Kingpin and his minions!"
-"We better, that bastard´s attack at the theme park forced me to skip my daughter´s birthday dinner"
Izumi was surprised to hear that "Better congratulate Kamiya-san next time I see her"
Having finish their talk, Izumi went home
The following day, at lunch, the gang was eating together, until
-"Something the matter, Nekozaki?" Shikimori asked concerned
The usually cheerful girl was poking her food, with a rather worried expression on her face
-"Nekozaki-san?" Izumi asked
-"Huh?" she was brought back "Oh, sorry, just"
-"What is it?" Inuzuka asked
-"Well, I haven´t told you guys this, but, these last couple of nights, my parents have been arguing a lot"
-"Oh no" Shikimori said
-"Dad's been acting strange lately, and whenever mom tries to ask why, he just ignores her, and then they start yelling at each other, it's… it's horrible… Plus" she closed her eyes "I noticed some papers on one of mom's folders… I fear they are gonna divorce"
The news shocked her friends
-"I mean, nothing is official, but I… I can't help but"
-"It won't get to that" Shikimori said
-"I wish for that, Micchon, but whenever I try to interfere, they don't listen to me, I am their daughter, part of the family, yet my opinion does not count?!" she felt outraged
-"Nekozaki-san" Izumi said
She wiped a tear "Sorry guys, I am not hungry anymore" she took her tray and left, leaving her concern friends behind
-"Poor girl" Inuzuka said "No one deserves that"
-"Is there something we can do?" Shikimori asked
-"I mean, if the parents won't listen to their daughter, why would they listen to us?" Hachimitsu said, feeling rather bitter about it "I hate this, but I can't think of any way to help"
They all kept eating on silence
During classes, Izumi thought of her friend´s dilemma
-"I wish I could help Nekozaki-san, but how? All I can think of is listening to her, but I want to cheer her up too"
He then remembered the conversation he had with Captain Kamiya last night, or rather, the state he was in
And that's when he thought of an idea
A risky one, but necessary to help her friend
It was nighttime, Nekozaki was looking through her room, which is on the second floor, overlooking her yard, her head resting on a hand above the rail, and a bottle of yogurt on her free hand
She was alone, dad was out, who knows where, while her mom was with a friend, no doubt to look for some comfort
-"I really blew it off" she thought of her friends "I just walked away, not bothering to listen to them, I am an idiot"
She was so focussed on her thoughts that she failed to noticed something, or rather, someone, land to the wall next to her window
She took a sip from her yogurt
-"Good evening" someone said
She looked at her side, and her eyes went wide, spitting her drink in the process
-"I…I…" she was stuttering "How?"
Of all the things Nekozaki could have ever expected
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Izumi, or rather, Spider-man, next to her window, was not one of them
And that´s the end of that, so, Izumi has a crazy fan, her name are japanese words for someone who is crazy
And he gets an new ally, Meiyo is a japanese word for honour
Next time, Izumi helps a friends, realizing that Spider-man can help in more ways than one
So, what do you guys think? Leave any reviews or comments, or send a PM, and I will gladly answer
Until next time
Peace