Chapter 81
[110]
“SIX DAYS AND NO NEWS!?” Sho Minazuki threw the remote against the hideout’s TV, causing the screen to shatter. Rather than reporting the death of Spider-Man, all that appeared were dumb news stories about celebrities and politicians. “I’m sick of this lying low BULLSHIT!” He yelled as he flipped over the couch. “I just got out of one prison only to be thrown into another!”
As his partner continued to wreak havoc around their base, Minato was performing maintenance on his weapons.
“If you did go outside, you’d be arrested on sight.” The assassin pointed out. “You stand out far too much in a crowd and as I’ve pointed out before, you aren’t exactly subtle.”
Sho turned to the other man with an angry expression. “We should be out there! We should be burning this city to the ground until that damn spider shows his face! Instead, we’re down here with our thumbs up our asses, eating shitty takeout for every meal while the clock on our contract is ticking! If the news hasn’t reported Spider-Man’s death after a goddamn week, then it’s clear to me that the bastard’s not dead!”
“There haven’t been any reported sightings of him in a week either. It’s fully possible that he is dead, but to avoid causing panic, the media is keeping quiet.” Minato pointed out while reassembling his sniper rifle. “In a way, I suppose you could say that this is a Schrodinger’s Cat situation.”
“Huh?” Sho was completely lost.
“The point is, unless Spider-Man appears in the next two days, it can’t be proven that we didn’t kill him and therefore we completed our end of the deal. We get paid, and we never have to see each other again. There’s no reason to bring further attention to ourselves, it would only put us at a greater risk of being caught.”
“Yeah?” Sho raised an eyebrow. “If you’re so sure that Spider-Man’s dead, then why are you working on your weapons?” He pointed to the gear that surrounded Minato on the floor.
“Simple. I don’t trust our employer, who’s to say he won’t try to get rid of us the moment the job is complete? If push comes to shove, I won’t be caught off guard. That’s how one should operate in this business, be prepared for anything.”
The other villain merely grumbled in response, walking into the adjacent room. “I’m gonna go take a shower, don’t bother me.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Minato replied, not bothering to look up from his work.
When he checked his watch, he was surprised to find that it was already 5 in the afternoon. Ren was probably home by now. Maybe he could go visit him? Minato pondered to himself, he hadn’t been by the cafe since the night Ren came back looking exhausted.
That night, his nephew had acted differently than normal, but he hadn’t understood why. Maybe it was because of the girl he was with? While he’d said there was nothing between them, Minato was pretty good at reading body language, and how the girl, Futaba, had stood around him wasn’t merely friendly.
‘Did I embarrass him?’ Minato wondered as he sharpened his suit’s claws. ‘I wonder if Ren’s at the age where he’s embarrassed by his family? Surely, having an uncle who went to prison wasn’t something he was proud of.’ As he pondered this line of thought, he remembered why Ren had come to Tokyo in the first place. ‘Accused of a crime he didn’t commit, punished for helping others, and ridiculed by his parents, Ren’s had it rough. Poor kid.’
As he completed his weapon maintenance, he moved on to his armor, still thinking of the last time he’d seen his nephew. For some reason, something about Ren had stood out that night, something seemed different than last time he’d seen him. As he played their conversation over and over in his head, he closed his eyes, picturing the details.
Ren had arrived in the cafe while Minato was in the restroom (embarrassing as it was, coffee went right through him) and he’d brought a girl with him. They spoke with Sojiro about something and as Minato was washing his hands, he definitely heard the word ‘shot’. When he left the restroom and joined the conversation, Ren seemed surprised. Surprised and...nervous.
‘Why was he nervous?’ Minato wondered, picturing Ren’s face. Something else was different, his eyes? No, not his eyes but near them. His eyebrow! His right eyebrow had a scar running down the middle. Ren didn’t have that when he saw him the day before, he was sure of it. But if he was injured, how did it already heal?
‘Ren was cut on his face, the same place that I cut Spider-Man the night before.’ Minato’s stomach dropped as his chest plate fell to the floor. ‘No. Nononono!’ He began to panic. ‘Ren...Ren is Spider-Man!’
Oh god. He’d tried to kill Ren! He’d shot his nephew in the chest and nearly killed him!
As he sat on the floor, the shock of the realization left him speechless. The apartment was silent save for the occasional crackle and muffled voices from the busted television. It was only then, while sitting in shock, did Minato notice something else.
Wasn’t Sho taking a shower? So why didn’t he hear any water running? Minato stood up, grabbing his rifle and slowly approaching the room Sho had entered.
Knocking gently on the door, he called out to his partner. “Sho?”
“Did I ever tell you about this story my mom read to me as a kid?” The man in question said from the other side. He was surprisingly calm, given his earlier outburst.
“Huh? What are you talking about?” Minato said, confused and still alarmed.
“A scorpion approaches a frog and asks for a lift across the river. The frog says ‘No! You’ll just sting me!’” Sho let out a menacing chuckle that gave Minato a bad feeling. “So the scorpion says, ‘No I won’t. We’d both drown!’ So the frog agrees and lets the scorpion ride his back.”
“Sho, what the hell-” Before he could finish, the door was torn off its hinges and sent flying into the wall, along with Minato.
Sho’s mechanical tail retracted back into the doorway it emerged from, and Sho himself stepped out of the room in his battle suit. Spotting Minato lying on the ground, he approached his now former partner and picked him up by his shirt collar. The assassin was barely conscious, with blood pouring from his forehead.
“When the frog and the scorpion are halfway across the river, the scorpion stings the frog.” Sho gave a menacing grin as Minato’s eyes struggled to remain open. “The frog says, ‘Why would you do this? Now we’ll both die!’”
As his vision began to go black, all he could see was the sickening X-shaped scar on Sho’s forehead. Just before he faded out, he heard the end of the story.
“The scorpion replies, ‘I can’t help it,’” He tossed Minato’s unconscious form into the corner and lumbered toward the door. Putting on his helmet, he smiled.
“It’s in my nature.”
[111]
“Hey, intern!” The director yelled through a megaphone. “Get that microphone out of the shot! You’re ruining the take!”
“S-Sorry!” Ren apologized, quickly lifting the microphone higher.
“C’mon people, last scene of the day! Let’s try to wrap it up on a good note.” The director sent a glare towards Ren. “ACTION!”
When they finally finished the scene, Ren sat on a bench and took a swig from his water bottle. Who knew that the modelling industry could be so cutthroat?
“Sorry that took so long.” Ann apologized as she approached the bench Ren was sitting on. “Going through hair and makeup after a shoot takes longer than you’d think.”
The two of them were currently in the city square of Shibuya, where Ann was starring in a commercial for a new perfume. Ren had been invited by her as a guest, but when he’d arrived on set, he was mistaken for an intern and told to help out the sound crew.
“It’s fine, but I’m pretty sure your director hates me. Hey, did you know that interns aren’t allowed to use craft services? Seriously, I had to get this water from a vending machine across the street.” He held up his bottle before offering it to Ann.
Thirsty after her hard work, Ann accepted the water. “I’m really sorry about the mix-up, one of our guys didn’t show up today so they needed the extra help.”
“Well, I hope that wasn’t the only reason you invited me out here.” He joked.
Ann didn’t seem to take it as a joke though,instead panicking at the thought that Ren believed she’d use him.
“N-No! Of course that wasn’t why I invited you out here!” She waved her hands frantically.
Ren laughed at her response. “I’m joking, I was happy to help out, I don’t mind the work.” Suddenly checking his phone, he saw the time and stood up. “Speaking of work, I’ve got to get to my job.”
Ann raised an eyebrow, confused. “Right now? Is there a crime happening or-”
“No, not that one. My actual job.” He clarified while stretching. “At the Velvet Room?”
“Oh right, Morgana’s family’s club! I kinda forgot you worked there.” Ann replied, embarrassed.
“Yeah, I’ve been busy lately. Luckily Margaret didn’t seem to mind, but she wants me there tonight. We have a guest singer tonight and that tends to draw a crowd, so it’s all hands on deck tonight.” He turned to Ann and waved goodbye. “Thanks for bringing me today, it was cool to finally see you model in person.”
As he began to walk away, he was stopped when Ann grabbed his hand. “Wait!” She said, before turning her head, hiding her red cheeks. “I feel bad, I wanted to have a fun day with you, but we didn’t even get to talk to each other. Do you think...maybe I could come with?”
“You want to come with me to my job? I know I work at a nightclub, but it’s not glamorous. I wash dishes and mop floors.”
“That’s okay. I just...want to hang out with you some more.” She laughed nervously.
“Alright, if you say so.” Ren replied and led the girl down to the subway, still holding her hand.
The two of them got on the train together and rode towards Ogikubo. Since it was late in the afternoon, the subway wasn’t particularly crowded and the two teenagers managed to find open seats next to each other.
‘What am I supposed to say!?’ Ann thought nervously as she sat next to Ren.
Her initial reason for inviting him out today was to ask if he would go to the dance with her, but she hadn’t pictured the day going like this! In her plan, she would bring him to her modelling job and he’d see her at her most beautiful and realize how much of a catch she was. After that, they’d go out to eat and when it got dark out, they’d take a walk in the park and if he didn’t ask her out at that point, she’d do it herself.
But that plan didn’t take into account Ren’s actual job needing him! What the hell was she supposed to do now? As she thought up a new plan, she noticed Ren staring at her from the corner of her eye.
“W-What is it?” She asked, her cheeks flushed once more.
“Your forehead. Didn’t you have a scar there?” Ren asked curiously.
“Oh.” She was half relieved and half disappointed. “It’s just makeup. They do it before every shoot. My makeup artist cried when she saw the scar from the fight with Mishima, she asked me ‘Who could ruin such a beautiful face?’ It was pretty embarrassing.”
“Well, I still think you’re beautiful. Scars and all. I mean, who am I to judge?” He said pointing to his cut eyebrow.
‘God I love this boy.’ Ann thought, staring at Ren’s genuine smile.
They arrived in Ogikubo a few minutes later, and arrived at the Velvet Room not long after that. When they walked up to the entrance, they were greeted by a small girl with platinum hair in a blue dress.
“You’re late Amamiya.” She said with her arms crossed.
“Sorry Lavenza. I promise that I’ll work extra hard tonight.” Ren replied quickly.
The way Ren spoke to her, it wasn’t like he was speaking to a child, more like he was addressing his manager.
“And who is this?” Lavenza turned her gaze to Ann, examining her up and down. The girl’s expression was sour, as if Ann had offended her in some way.
“This is Ann Takamaki. She’s a friend of mine from school. Is it okay if she comes in tonight?”
Lavenza’s scowl deepened as she turned back to Ren. “Absolutely not. We are a high class establishment. We don’t just let any riff raff through our doors just because they know someone. You’re lucky we even let you mop the floors.”
“Please Lavenza? I promise, she’s very classy and kind. She won’t be a bother to anyone.”
“I said no! And that’s fina-”
“Is that Ren Amamiya I see?” Another woman who looked similar to Lavenza popped her head out.
“Elizabeth!” Ren greeted the strange woman happily.
“And is this young lady your date? Come in, come in!” Elizabeth ushered the pair of them into the club, ignoring Lavenza’s protests.
An hour later, Ann found herself seated in a booth at the back of the club, listening to a jazz band play up on stage. This place was incredibly fancy, even by Ann’s standards, and she came from a fairly wealthy family.
“Having a good time?” Ren asked as he approached her booth, an empty drink tray tucked beneath his arm. In the dimmed lights of the club, she hadn’t even seen him approach.
“It’s great! I can’t believe you work at a place like this.” She said before realizing what that could imply. “I didn’t mean-I meant...This place is great, but you’re also great! So I’m not surprised that you work here since you’re both so...great.”
Ren laughed at that. “It’s fine. I know what you meant.” He looked down at her empty cup. “Can I refresh your drink?”
“Yes please.”
As he took her cup away, Ren caught a glance at a nearby TV playing the news. It was muted, so he had to read the subtitles, but it was the video on screen that caught his attention.
On the television, the news was reporting on an attack in Shinjuku. A bus was being held ransom by a man in a mechanical suit. Ann recognized him from the news report the other night. It was the Scorpion and he was calling for Spider-Man.
This was bad, really bad. If Ren was here then-
Ann turned to where the boy had been standing moments ago, only to find his discarded apron on the floor. “Oh Ren…” She said worriedly, turning back to the news.
“Please come back safe.”