Chapter 23
[38]
Ren woke up in Takemi’s clinic and sat straight up. His head ached, his body felt sluggish, and the room seemed to be spinning.
“Whoa there! Down boy!” Tae Takemi sat in her office chair next to the clinic’s bed and gently pushed Ren back down into the bed.
“How’d I get here? I can’t remember.” Ren held his head to try to help the vertigo.
“You walked in here a half conscious bleeding mess with a spike in your shoulder, said something incomprehensible about a bird, then passed out from blood loss. You’re lucky I didn’t have a patient in here. Anyways, I had to give you sixteen stitches and you’re gonna have a nasty scar. You would’ve healed fast enough to not need them, but you lost so much blood that it looks like you’re healing slowed down. And I couldn’t give you a blood transfusion because your blood has mutated to the point that it’s no longer compatible with an ordinary human’s.”
“Huh, noted.”
“Here, drink some orange juice you need to replenish.” The doctor offered Ren a juice box which he greedily accepted and quickly emptied.
“Ahh. Thank you.”
“Y’know, one of these days I’m going to charge you for all the shit you put me through. I have student loans to pay off you know.”
“I have like 100 yen.”
“Jesus! Ever heard of a part time job!?”
“I already have one.”
“Yeah and look where it lands you every other day.”
The two of them shared a laugh and Ren noticed that he was once again in nothing but boxers.
“Geez Doc, is it standard procedure to strip your patients this often?”
“I had to cut you out of your clothes, or at least what was left of them.” She gestured to a pile of rags discarded in the corner. Ren’s costume, which had already been on its last legs before the fight, was now completely unwearable, not to mention the fact that he lost his mask in the fight.
“Uhh Doc, you wouldn’t happen to have any spare clothes lying around would you?”
“Nope, but I wouldn’t worry about it. It’s only like a 30 second walk to Leblanc. I’m sure you can make it in half that time.”
Ren sat up on the bed. “Please tell me you’re joking.”
“Not at all. Here.” Takemi handed him a ziploc bag with his phone and his webshooters in them as well as the red hightops from the secondhand shop, (These shoes were surprisingly resilient, they truly don’t make them like they used to.) “You’ll be wanting these. Now get out there and take your walk of shame.”
When Ren emerged from the clinic, he was surprised to find that it was dark out. Just how long had he been passed out? His ‘walk of shame’ was more of a desperate sprint to Leblanc. Luckily, no one seemed to be out on the streets at this hour.
Checking his surroundings for spectators beforehand, Ren crawled up the wall to Leblanc and entered through his bedroom window. He tossed his items onto his bed and got dressed in his pajamas before heading down the stairs.
“What the hell!? Kid, when did you get here?” Sojiro asked behind the counter.
“Uhh, whadduya mean? I’ve been here the whole time.”
“Ugh, I must be getting old. Whatever, Futaba’s waiting for me. Mind locking up?” It wasn’t a question as Sojiro was already removing his apron.
“Sure thing Boss. Goodnight.”
“Whatever.” The bell chimed as Sojiro left.
Ren couldn’t believe that his half-assed lie worked, but he wasn’t about to look this gift horse in the mouth. He walked over to lock the door when it swung open to reveal his favorite five-foot detective carrying a paper bag.
“Good, you’re finally home.” The blue haired woman shut the door behind her.
“Uhh nice to see you too Detective.” Ren stood aside as Naoto took a seat at one of the tables. “I don’t suppose you’re here for coffee?”
Naoto ignored the question and slid the bag to Ren. “Open it.”
Ren eyed the detective suspiciously, but opened the bag regardless. “Whoa!” He pulled out the black and red costume. “This is incredible Naoto! Is this seriously for me?”
She nodded, “I can’t take credit for this. It was a boy your age named Yusuke, he was the ward of the man you brought to justice today. It seems as though he wants to make amends for his sensei’s mistakes. And don’t worry, I already checked and made sure there are no hidden cameras or listening devices and it’s not laced with any toxins.”
Ren was brought out of his amazed trance. “Oh um, yes I was just about to ask about that.” Suddenly, he took on a more serious tone. “So...Does this mean I pass? The uh, trial run I mean.”
Naoto sighed and wistfully looked off, “Y’know...I was 15 when I joined Yu on his journey as Spider-Man. I looked up to him a lot, I wished I could be like him more than anything. That being said, he could also be a complete idiot sometimes. You remind me a lot of him.”
“Thank you?”
Naoto chuckled, “He would’ve liked you.” She then looked to Ren, her eyes were softer than he’d ever seen them. “If anyone had to be bitten by that spider, I’m glad it was you. I think it would honor his memory greatly if you continued to carry on his title.”
“Wow, that means a lot Naoto-”
“However. You do realize that by accepting this, you’ll be subjected to pain you can’t imagine and you must be willing to make the ultimate sacrifice.”
Ren’s expression was somber. “I know. I’m willing to make that sacrifice if necessary.” He stared down at the counter. “I can’t explain it, but being Spider-Man...It gives me purpose. It feels like nothing I’ve done up until recently has mattered, and now I can finally be somebody. Does that make sense?”
Naoto simply huffed in response, stood up and made her way to the door. “Just remember kid, keep your secret close, only tell the people you trust with your life.” With that she walked out the door and into the night.
[Bonus]
That night, Ren decided to try on his new costume. The skin-tight black and red suit conformed to his body in a way that was tight yet breathable. It felt almost like a second skin.
“Holy shit! This is sweet!” He struck some poses in the mirror and admired the suit. “A little tight around the ol’ webshooter, but I could get used to-”
“REN!” A female voice called from the bottom of the stairs. It was Futaba and she was running up the stairs. It seemed that in his excitement to try on the new suit he’d forgotten to lock up.
“Hey Ren are you-” Futaba looked over the room, it seemed to be empty. “Huh, maybe he’s at the bathhouse?” She said to herself before going back downstairs.
When the sound of the bell indicated that she left, the tension left Ren’s body. ‘Uhh...What just happened?’ He thought to himself before looking back at the mirror.
“WHAT THE FUCK!?” The image of Ren was missing in the mirror only to slowly reappear bit by bit. “Whoa what?” He glanced down at his hands to see that they were once again visible to the eye.
“Was that the suit? Or was it me?”