Chapter 101
[132]
“Well,” Takemi walked out of her office with a clipboard, turning to Ren who was sitting on the bed without his shirt. “I think I can say with certainty that your pheromones don’t affect normal people. Sorry if that comes as a disappointment.”
Ren was relieved, but at the same time, surprised. “Wait so then how come…” He trailed off.
“Hmm?” Takemi raised an eyebrow. “Something you neglected to share?”
Ren hesitated before replying. “Lately, the women in my life have been very...affectionate. I had an ‘encounter’ at work with my boss. To call it flirting would be putting it extremely mild. Nothing happened between us! But it was pretty strange.”
“Oooh. Please elaborate.” Takemi looked interested. When her patient gave her an uncomfortable look, she relented. “Just kidding. Anyway, you think it was your pheromones that caused that interaction?”
“If it wasn’t then I don’t know what it could’ve been.” Ren stated.
“You wanna hear my theory?”
“Please.”
“You’re...kind of a stud Ren.” She gestured to his shirtless body. “You’re kind, you’re cute, you work hard, women tend to find those traits attractive. Not to mention you’re a secret superhero.”
“Y-You think I’m cute?” He looked up at her with a dusting of pink on his cheeks.
“Huh?” Takemi’s own cheeks turned red, a rare sight to see. “W-Well objectively speaking of course. Symmetrical face, long eyelashes and whatnot.” She looked away shyly.
“Thanks.” Ren replied, standing up and putting his shirt on. “F-For everything. I really appreciate it. If you ever need anything, blood or tissue samples or anything, feel free to ask. I’m a little short on cash at the moment-”
“It’s fine.” Takemi assured him. “I...I’m glad to help.” There was a moment of silence between them before Ren finally decided to leave. As he was about to walk out the front door, he stopped when he heard the doctor call out to him. “Hold on. There may be *ahem* something you can do.”
“S-Sure!” He replied, turning back around. “What is it?”
“Just...Just close your eyes.” She ordered, approaching him.
The boy complied, shutting his eyes. Before he could get out the words to ask what was about to happen, he felt the doctor’s mouth collide with his own, her tongue entering his mouth and immediately dominating his own. Accepting the kiss, he pulled the doctor close, causing her to let out a surprised gasp before clinging to him greedily.
When they finally separated to breath, Takemi let out a loud breath. “Wow. You *pant* You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that.”
“I might have some idea.” Ren replied. “I’ve...wanted that for a long time too. But, there’s something you should know. The other girls and I are in a complex situation at the moment. I’m not sure-”
“Hey, it doesn’t need to be anything too serious right now.” Takemi stopped him. “We’re both very busy people after all. But because of that, if you ever need to relieve some stress, I’m sure we could arrange something.” She smiled before walking back to her office.
“Yeah.” Ren replied softly, still breathless. As he opened the door to leave, he heard Tae’s voice call out one more time.
“Oh and Ren?” Her voice said from her office. “If you and the girls ever come to an ‘arrangement’ with your situation, let me know. I don’t mind sharing.” He could practically hear the wink she punctuated her sentence with.
Blushing heavily Ren exited the clinic and headed back to Leblanc. Maybe Futaba had an update on her search by now. As he walked the short distance between the two buildings, the teenage vigilante’s thoughts were a blur of all the sexually charged encounters he’d had in the past year. Back home, girls would never even give him the time of day, granted he was much skinnier and wore those thick glasses back then. But now? It seemed like practically every woman he met wanted to jump his bones.
As he checked his phone, he went into his old photos and found a picture of himself from a year ago. Comparing that to himself now, it was almost like looking at a different person. His hair had grown out a bit more, his shoulders were broader, he filled out his clothes more, he’d even grown slightly taller. It was odd, he didn’t remember the change being this drastic at first, maybe it wasn’t just the spider bite that made him the way he was now. The months of fighting crime in Tokyo had also affected him just as, if not more than the initial bite itself.
As he mused over these thoughts, he finally arrived back at Leblanc where Sojiro had a steaming plate of curry waiting for him and Futaba was typing away on her laptop in one of the booths. He let out a content breath as he looked over the place that’d become his home in the last year. He was over halfway through his time here already, and honestly he had no idea what to do when it was time to leave.
Would he just abandon the city to its devices? Act like none of this never happened? Of course not! But then again, what could he do? He was still a minor and couldn’t choose where he lived yet. And what about his parents? What would he say when-
“Hey.” Sojiro snapped him out of his thoughts, looking down at him with crossed arms. “You gonna eat your breakfast or not?”
“Oh.” Ren looked down at his plate. “Yeah, sorry about that. Thanks for the food.” He picked up a spoon and dug in. His thoughts could wait until later, he still had a few months left after all. Might as well enjoy them.
Over at Naoto’s apartment, the detective entered her living room to find the others still passed out from last night. Yukiko was lying on the couch, Chie was in the armchair, and the three guys were asleep on the floor. The only one among them who was awake was Rise, who was sitting at the kitchen counter while drinking a glass of milk.
“Morning.” Naoto greeted quietly, giving Rise a nod.
“Good morning.” She replied back. “Do you need to leave for work soon?”
“No.” Naoto leaned against the counter as she poured herself a cup of coffee. “My boss gave me the day off. He doesn’t want me pulling any more all-nighters for a while, he says it affects my work.”
“Hmm. You never change.” Rise smiled as she took another sip.
“Yeah, I guess not.”
“...”
“...”
“So about our conversation last night.” Rise began but was quickly stopped.
“I can’t tell you his name.” Naoto interrupted. “It isn’t that I don’t trust you, it’s just that it isn’t my secret to tell. Plus, I don’t think you should get involved. You’ve been through enough already as it is Rise. Just leave this to us.”
“I have a right to speak with him Naoto. He’s using my late husband’s identity, I think that gives me at least some right.” Rise argued, making sure not to raise her voice. “There are some things that I need to tell him. About Yu, about being Spider-Man, there are things Yu wanted to say, if he ever found someone like him.”
“There’s nothing you could tell him he doesn’t already know. He’s been doing this for four months now and he’s been through hell. The city, it’s nothing like Inaba. There are gang wars, monsters, psychopaths, no shortage of people who want to see him dead.” Naoto crossed her arms.
“Then at least let me warn him about Shido, if he doesn’t know then he could be in serious danger. Him and his new partner.”
“Right, your theory.” Naoto recalled Rise’s warnings from last night. “I’ve suspected Shido Sciences myself, but what proof do you have? In my months of searching I haven’t been able to uncover anything.”
“You aren’t the only one with detective skills Naoto.” Rise replied. “I haven’t just been sitting at home crying this whole time. I hired some private investigators to look into Shido months ago. Yu had suspected him of having deep ties to the criminal underground before his death, so I’ve been looking into it on his behalf.”
“And?”
Rise’s expression sank. “They both turned up dead. But if anything, that only proves his suspicions. Shido was the only one with enough power and influence to set up the terrorist attack and hide his tracks. He’s also the only one who could’ve gotten Adachi out of the Raft and given him his serum.”
“Rise, while I do believe you that Shido’s hands are dirty, if you don’t have tangible evidence, there’s nothing we can do.” Naoto reminded her. “Not to mention, with Shido’s defense lawyers, he’s practically untouchable, above the law.”
“So what? We’re just supposed to sit on our asses and wait?” She raised her voice slightly, causing the others behind her to stir. Not wanting to wake them, she lowered her volume. “We already lost one hero, I won’t let them take two more.”
“I’ll send them your warning, but only as a precaution. If they try to go up against Shido, they’re sure to be killed.”
“Naoto, the election is weeks away. If we don’t act soon…”
“Shido will be Prime Minister.” Naoto finished for her. “I’ll...I’ll think of something Rise, don’t worry.”
The two took a break from their conversation to enjoy their drinks. The sound of birds chirping just outside sounded through the apartment.
“So…” Naoto began. “Have you told the others yet?”
“About Shido? Of course, they were there last night-” Rise looked confused.
“Not about Shido.” Naoto took a sip from her mug before setting it down. “About your pregnancy.”
Rise’s eyes widened in shock, her mouth gaping. “H-How did you know?”
“I first noticed something last night. I was too tired to really tell what it was at first, but seeing you now, it's obvious. While your belly hasn’t exactly started to show it much, your posture is slightly different than it used to be. The thing that made it most clear was that you’re drinking milk when there was a fresh pot of coffee already prepared. You always drink coffee in the morning.” The detective explained her evidence.
“I should’ve known you would be able to tell.” Rise looked down at her belly. “No, the others don’t know yet. If they did, they would’ve never let me come back to Tokyo with how dangerous it is now. I...found out shortly after going back to Inaba. The only others who know are Dojima and Nanako.”
“If I recall, the two of you tried a few years back didn’t you? The doctors said that Yu couldn’t…” She trailed off, not wanting to dig up more painful memories.
“Yeah.” Rise nodded. “I was surprised too. I guess, life finds a way right?” She let out a forced laugh before frowning. “I don’t know what I’m going to do. I’m not ready to do this alone.”
“You aren’t alone.” The detective sat next to her friend, putting her arm around her shoulder. “You have so many people supporting you. Chie, Yukiko, Yosuke-”
“Do I have you?” Rise turned to her friend, tears building in her eyes.
Naoto’s eyes widened in surprise. “O-Of course.” Rise surprised her again by pulling the other woman into a tight hug.
“I don’t want to fight anymore. I-I know there’s always been a divide between us. Even before Yu...Look, I know you had feelings for him too. You think I stole him from you-”
“I don’t think that!” Naoto replied, a bit too loud, causing the others to stir once more. “Yu chose you. He loved you more than anything in the world, Rise. I don’t think you stole him at all.” She returned the hug as she poured out her emotions, tears beginning to form in her own eyes. “You have me too. Of course you do.”
Rise sniffed before wiping her eyes and pulling out of the hug. “Thanks, I-I’m glad.”
It was then that the others began to wake up behind them, yawning as they stretched. Seeing this the two women wiped their eyes once more before Naoto stood up and walked over to the fridge.
“Oh man.” Yosuke whined. “Why did we have to get stuck with the floor? There isn’t even one futon in this place?”
“Stop complaining Yosuke.” Chie said, throwing a pillow at his head. “You should be glad we didn’t make you sleep outside.”
“I’m hungry. Is there anything to eat?” Teddie asked as he got up, his blonde hair a mess.
“Don’t be rude! You’re in someone else’s house!” Kanji reprimanded the shorter man.
“I’m already working on it.” Naoto called out, grabbing some eggs and bacon from the fridge. “Give me a few minutes.”
“Thank you so much!” Yukiko smiled before moving her gaze downward. “Um, Naoto?”
“Yeah?” The detective replied without turning around.
“That’s quite a large shirt you’re wearing. Is it yours?” She asked with a curious look.
Looking down, Naoto saw the shirt in question. A large white t-shirt with ‘I Heart Tokyo’ written on the front of it.
Ren’s shirt.
“Fuck.”
[Bonus]
“You’re sure you found the guy Futaba?” Ryuji asked as he sipped his soda.
“Would I have brought you here if I wasn’t?” Futaba replied coyly.
The rest of the team sat around Leblanc, huddled around Futaba in a booth as they all stared at her laptop. It was 10pm and they all should’ve been home right now, but a late night group message from the young girl brought them all here to see what she’d found.
“Besides, are you really surprised? This is me we’re talking about. Tracking this guy down in 24 hours was child’s play.” She lied. In reality, it had been an extremely taxing task that required her full attention. She was exhausted but her effort had paid off.
On the screen, a blurry video of a figure walking down a street played in black and white.
“This is it?” Ann asked. “I mean, what are we looking at?”
“You don’t see it?” Futaba turned to her shocked. “Here,” She rewound the video to the beginning. “Look, in the first four frames. Do you see it?” She pressed her index finger against the screen.
Taking a closer look at the video, Ren was able to see what she was pointing out. There appeared to be a small black mass that quickly sank into the figure’s back as he walked past the corner of the street.
“Are you sure it isn’t just a shadow?” Ren asked. “Or maybe something with the camera? This thing isn’t exactly 1080p.”
“Positive.” Futaba replied. “See, his shadow is over here.” She pointed to a grey spot behind the figure. “Besides, I tracked sightings of the creature through online chatter and they end close to here. I’m sure that this is him.”
“Well that’s great and all, but who are we looking for exactly?” Ryuji asked. “Can’t exactly put out an APB on a blurry man. Is it even a man?”
“Ugh, just keep watching.” Futaba scrolled to the end of the video when the figure got near the camera. When she reached the end she zoomed in the video and enhanced the picture.
“Who’s that?” Makoto squinted to get a good look.
Futaba smiled before gesturing at the screen.
“Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you: Ace reporter, Goro Akechi”