Chapter Text
9:00 PM.
Fog, a lot of water on the ground from the recent rain, and one figure waiting under a streetlight. Not a cop, not a villain, just a guy. Late 20s with a camera around his neck.
He looked up when Sakuya landed, “Took you long enough, Spider-Man”
Then he looked at Ryo in the van across the street. He held up his phone “I’ve got photos and videos from the last 3 months”
Sakuya tensed “What do you want?”
“An interview” The guy grinned “Exclusive.. ‘The Boy Behind The Mask.’” He lowered his voice “Or I sell this to the Daily Bugle, And everyone knows Ryo Hirose is Spider-Man’s weakness”
In the van, Ryo’s hand was on the door handle,
“Sakuya, say the word”
Sakuya didn’t look at him, “Get lost,” he said “Or I tell everyone you’re extorting a minor”
The guy laughed, not taking him seriously “Bold” He turned to leave, “You have 24 hours, then I post”
He disappeared into the fog, Sakuya stood there for a long time. Then Ryo was at his side.
“I heard everything”
“I know.”
Ryo took his hand “So what do we do?”
Sakuya squeezed back “We stop hiding, on our terms”
─── 🕷
Thursday 8:00 PM.
On an abandoned warehouse they started a Live Stream. They had 24 hours, they used 22 of them arguing.
“We do it together, on camera ” Ryo said.
“No, if they get your face, they get you” Sakuya argued back.
“Then you wear the mask. And I stay off camera.”
They dealt with that.
Now it was 8 PM, Warehouse on the edge of the docks, it was empty and cold. They set one light and just one camera. And 1.2 million people watching.
Sakuya sat in a chair, full suit, with his mask on, he looked like Spider-Man, not Sakuya. That was the point.
Off camera, in the dark, Ryo sat with the laptop, earbud in, his heart in his throat.
Chat was already feral
𝘞𝘏𝘌𝘙𝘌’𝘚 𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘉𝘖𝘠𝘍𝘙𝘐𝘌𝘕𝘋
𝘐𝘚 𝘏𝘌 𝘙𝘌𝘈𝘓𝘓𝘠 𝘎𝘖𝘕𝘕𝘈 𝘚𝘏𝘖𝘞
𝘛𝘏𝘐𝘚 𝘐𝘚 𝘍𝘈𝘒𝘌
Sakuya’s voice came through modulated, deeper and colder.
“Don’t.” he said.
The chat froze.
“I’m not here for questions about my identity” there was a pause. “I’m here because someone tried to sell photos of a civilian. Of 𝘩𝘪𝘮.” He didn’t say Ryo’s name.
“I’m here to say no.”
──
Minute 3
A reporter from the Bugle was there, live. “Spider-Man, can you confirm you were on the rooftop Tuesday night?”
Sakuya tilted his head “Yes.” he nodded.
“Can you confirm you kissed a civilian?”
The warehouse went dead quiet, even the chat stopped scrolling for a second. Sakuya leaned forward, his elbows on his knees and his hands clasped.
“Yeah,” he said.
Another pause.
“I did”
The chat exploded.
𝘏𝘌 𝘚𝘈𝘐𝘋 𝘐𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘚𝘈𝘐𝘋 𝘐𝘛
𝘏𝘌 𝘚𝘈𝘐𝘋 𝘐𝘛
“Do you have a relationship with that person?” the reporter asked.
Sakuya didn’t answer right away, in his ear, Ryo whispered “You don’t have to”. Sakuya ignored him.
“I do,” he said. “He’s important to me” modulated voice, but it cracked anyway.
“And if anyone comes after him again, they’re coming through me first”
Threat, but it was plain and simple.
The reporter pressed “Are you afraid that being public will put him in danger?”
Sakuya laughed, bitter. “He was already in danger, vecause people were watching. Because people were selling him.”
───
Minute 11
Then it went wrong, the lights flickered and a door in the back slammed.
Sakuya went still, “Do you hear that?” he said.
In his ear, he heard Ryo talking “Yeah, two people, east entrance.”
Two guys stepped out, with masks and guns. “Stream’s over, Spider-Man.”
Chat: 𝘞𝘏𝘈𝘛 𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘍𝘜𝘊𝘒 𝘐𝘚 𝘛𝘏𝘐𝘚 𝘙𝘌𝘈𝘓
Sakuya didn’t move from the chair, “Turn it off,” one of them said.
Sakuya stood slowly, “Last chance, walk out.”
“Or what? You gonna kiss us too?” one of them said, making fun of him.
Sakuya moved. It wasn’t a fight, it was 14 seconds long. A web to the gun, web to the feet, web to the mouth. When it was over, both guys were stuck to a support beam.
Sakuya turned back to the camera, breathing hard. “Sorry about that” he said, laughing softly.
𝘏𝘖𝘓𝘠 𝘚𝘏𝘐𝘛𝘋𝘐𝘋 𝘏𝘌 𝘑𝘜𝘚𝘛𝘚𝘗𝘐𝘋𝘌𝘙𝘔𝘈𝘕 𝘐𝘚 𝘐𝘕𝘚𝘈𝘕𝘌
He walked to the camera, croched down, lenses inches from the lens. “I told you, he’s mine. And I protect what’s mine.” He reached out and turned the stream off.
─── 🕷
8:19 PM.
Ryo was shaking, Sakuya pulled the mask up to his nose, just for a second.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah” Ryo exhaled “You scared the shit out of me.”
“Good, means it worked”
They got out of there fast, the cops showed up 6 minutes later. And found two tied-up guys and a dead livestream with 2.1 million views.
─── 🕷
11:30 PM.
They at Ryo’s room, they didn't sleep early that night. They watched the clips.
Clips of Sakuya saying “He’s mine.”, clips of the fight, clips of him crouching in front of the camera.
News anchors: “𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳-𝘔𝘢𝘯 𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘴 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘙𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯”
Twitter: “#𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘏𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥𝘸𝘪𝘥𝘦”
Reddit: 40 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘰 “𝘩𝘦” 𝘸𝘢𝘴.
Ryo threw his phone “I hate this” he said.
Sakuya sat next to him, still in half the suit “I know”
“You didn’t have to say that.. ‘He’s mine’”
“Yeah, I did.” Sakuya looked at him “Because it’s true”
Ryo broke, he climbed into Sakuya’s lap and buried his face in the suit. “I thought they were gonna shoot you”
“I didn’t”
“I did.” Ryo said, trying to steady his voice but it broke anyway.
Sakuya held him tight. “We’re okay,” he murmured into Ryo’s hair. “We did it on our terms”
“And you just threatened the entire internet”
“Had to” Sakuya said, giggling.
Ryo laughed into his chest “You’re so stupid.”
They stayed like that until 3 AM, watching the city through the window, watching the world argue about them. And not caring.
─── 🕷
The internet didn’t sleep, and neither did they.
7:00 AM. News
“𝘔𝘈𝘚𝘒𝘌𝘋 𝘝𝘐𝘎𝘐𝘓𝘈𝘕𝘛𝘌 𝘛𝘏𝘙𝘌𝘈𝘛𝘌𝘕𝘚 𝘗𝘜𝘉𝘓𝘐𝘊 𝘖𝘕 𝘓𝘐𝘝𝘌 𝘚𝘛𝘙𝘌𝘈𝘔”
“𝘞𝘏𝘖 𝘐𝘚 𝘚𝘗𝘐𝘋𝘌𝘙-𝘔𝘈𝘕 𝘗𝘙𝘖𝘛𝘌𝘊𝘛𝘐𝘕𝘎?”
“𝘌𝘟𝘗𝘌𝘙𝘛𝘚: 𝘛𝘏𝘐𝘚 𝘐𝘚 𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘔𝘖𝘚𝘛 𝘋𝘈𝘕𝘎𝘌𝘙𝘖𝘜𝘚 𝘚𝘗𝘐𝘋𝘌𝘙-𝘔𝘈𝘕 𝘏𝘈𝘚 𝘌𝘝𝘌𝘙 𝘉𝘌𝘌𝘕 𝘚𝘌𝘌𝘕”
Every channel had the clip, Sakuya, crouched, voice low and steady“𝘏𝘦’𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦.” on loop.
Ryo watched it from the kitchen with a mug of coffee he wasn’t drinking, his mom was at the table, not looking at the TV. Looking at him.
“You okay?” she asked.
“No.” Ryo set the mug down “People are trying to figure out who I am”
She nodded “I know.. I’ve deleted 3 friend requests from reporters”
Knock knock.
Two detectives, again, but this time they weren’t asking about the construction site.
“Mr. Hirose. We need to talk about last night.”
Ryo stood in the doorway, Sakuya behind him, in sweats and Ryo’s hoodie, no suit.
“Can we come in?”
─── 🕷
9:30 AM. Police Station
They didn’t arrest anyone, they just asked questions for 2 hours.
“Did you know the men who attacked you?”
“No.”
“Do you know who Spider-Man is?”
“I don’t.” Ryo lied with a straight face.
“What about the person he mentioned?”
“We don’t know”
Sakuya sat there the whole time, silent, his arms crossed and the ask in his bag. Every time they asked about “the civilian”, he leaned forward.
The detective noticed “You two close?”
“Yeah” Sakuya said, flat.
They were let go with a warning, “Stay out of it, let us handle it.”
Outside, Ryo whispered “They don’t believe us.”
“They don’t have to,” Sakuya said “They just have to not have proof.”
─── 🕷
2:14 PM. School
It was a circus, news vans outside.
Phones in every face.
“Are you the guy??”
“Is Spider-Man your boyfriend??”
“Did you plan the interview??”
Ryo kept his head down, Sakuya walked half a step in front of him.
Ian grabbed Ryo’s arm in the hallway. “Are you okay? The comments are insane. People are doxxing-”
“Don’t.” Ryo cut her off “Don’t say my name online.”
She paled. “Oh”
Sion was leaning against a locker. “Bro, the internet thinks you’re dating Spider-Man.”
Ryo stared at him. Sion grinned “I told them they’re wrong, you’re obviously dating the guy who fixes his suit” Ryo almost laughed, almost.
Last period, the principal pulled them both out
“We’re increasing security, and I’m asking you, for your safety, to stay home for a few days.”
Sakuya nodded “We will”
They didn’t.
─── 🕷
6:00 PM.
Online it got worse. Someone posted a yearbook photo, not Ryo. A random kid with similar hair. Caption: 𝘛𝘏𝘐𝘚 𝘐𝘚 𝘚𝘗𝘐𝘋𝘌𝘙𝘔𝘈𝘕’𝘚 𝘉𝘍
That kid got death threats.
Then someone posted Ryo’s old robotics club photo, blurred. But people zoomed in. “𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘢 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮.”
Ryo saw it and shut his laptop “I’m making it worse by existing,” he said.
Sakuya grabbed his face. “No.. they’re making it worse, not you.” he kissed Ryo’s forehead. Hard “We’re not hiding, but we’re not giving them anything either.”
─── 🕷
11:47 PM.
Ryo’s Rooftop, They couldn’t stay inside, too many eyes and too many cameras. So they went up, the city lights below, the wind was cold.
Sakuya was in the suit, mask on. Ryo was in one of his hoodies. Sitting on the edge, their legs dangling. For an hour, neither talked.
Then Ryo said it “I regret the interview”
Sakuya went still. “What?”
“I regret that you had to say that. ‘He’s mine’. Like you have to claim me to keep me safe.”
Sakuya shifted, turned to face him. “I didn’t say it to claim you,” he said. Quiet. “I said it because it’s true... and because I was scared”
He pulled his mask up, just to his mouth. “I was scared if I didn’t say something, they’d take you from me”
Ryo looked at him “No one’s taking me”
“You don’t know that.”
“I do” Ryo took his gloved hand. “Because you’re an idiot who catches me every time I fall”
Sakuya laughed, shaky. “That was a terrible line”
“Shut up.” Ryo leaned in and kissed him.
When they pulled back, Sakuya’s comm crackled. Ryo’s phone buzzed at the same time.
An Unknown number. Text: 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘯? 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘴. 𝘐’𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨.
Sakuya read it over Ryo’s shoulder, his whole body went rigid. “New number,” Ryo said. Sakuya stood while he pulled his mask all the way down. “Come on, we’re not doing this on a roof.” he held out his hand.
Ryo took it “Where are we going?”
“To build something,” Sakuya said “So the next time someone tries to watch us, we see them first.”
Below them, a camera flash went off from a building across the street. Sakuya didn’t flinch, he just squeezed Ryo’s hand tighter and jumped.
─── 🕷
Saturday
The text wouldn’t leave them alone.
You think you won? The internet never forgets. I’m still watching.
Sakuya read it 4 times, Ryo screenshot it, sent it to himself, then deleted it from his phone.
“Not on a roof,” Sakuya said. “Not on the street. We do this from the van”
Ryo was already grabbing his laptop. “I’m in” he said, smiling.
─── 🕷
1:34 AM.
Ryo’s “van” was really his mom’s old delivery van, covered in robotics stickers and now, a mess of monitors. Sakuya sat in the passenger seat, watching the city. Ryo in the back, surrounded by screens.
“Okay,” Ryo said “Number’s a burner.. VoIP, bounced through 3 countries.” He typed fast, “But they sent the text at 11:47. And the photo flash was at 11:46, from across the street.”
Sakuya turned “You got the building?”
“Yeah. 4th, an abandoned office.” Ryo pulled up the feed, security cam from a store across the street.
11:46:03, a figure on the roof, wearing a long coat, a camera with a big lens. They lifted it, flash. Then they looked down, right at where Sakuya and Ryo were sitting.
“Zoom,” Sakuya said.
Ryo zoomed, hhe figure’s face was covered, with a beanie and a mask. But on their wrist there was a tattoo, three dots in a triangle.
Sakuya went cold “I know that”
“What?”
“That tattoo. I’ve seen it before. On the guys from the armored truck.”
Ryo stopped typing “The blackmailers hired someone new”
“Or it’s the same people,” Sakuya said.
They received a new text from the same number with a picture attached. It was them, from 30 seconds ago inside the van.
Ryo dropped the laptop. “They’re here” he whispered .
─── 🕷
2:03 AM.
Sakuya was out before Ryo could blink, web shot to the roof of the building across the street.
Ryo watched on the drone cam he launched, the figure was running, the coat flaring, and the camera bouncing.
Sakuya chased, rooftop to rooftop, no talking, no quips. Just silence and the sound of webbing.
Ryo in his ear said,“Left. Fire escape, they’re going down.”
Sakuya cut them off at the alley, he landed in front of them.
“Take off the mask,” Sakuya said, voice low.
The figure laughed “You’re not gonna unmask me, Spider-Man. You have too much to lose” they lifted the camera.
Sakuya webbed it out of their hand and mashed it to the ground. “Who are you working for?” he asked.
“Nobody... I work for views” the figure took a step back.“And you two are worth a lot.”
Sakuya moved, he grabbed them by the coat and slammed them into the wall. “Don’t text him again”
“Or what?”
Sakuya leaned in, his mask inches from the masked figure. “Or I find out who’s paying you, and then I visit them” he threatened.
The figure went still, “You’re bluffing”
“Try me.” Sakuya let go, the figure scrambled and ran. Sakuya didn’t chase.
Because Ryo was in his ear, his voice shaking “Sakuya.. there’s 3 more coming to the van”
Ryo wasn’t a fighter, but he wasn’t useless. He locked the doors killed the lights. Pulled out the taser he built for “science projects”
The first guy yanked the door handle, the second guy went for the window, the third guy had a crowbar. Ryo hit the button.
Every window flashed, blinding LED strobes he installed last month, then the speakers: 140db airhorn. All 3 of them doubled over, Ryo opened the side door and tased the closest one.
By the time Sakuya dropped through the roof of the van, all 3 were down, Zip-tied with Ryo’s cable ties.
Sakuya stared at him “Since when do you have an airhorn?” he asked in disbelief.
“Since people started trying to kidnap us,” Ryo said, breathing hard “Check their phones”
Sakuya did, there was a group chat. Name was "The Watchers " and Sakuya smiled at that. The last message read "Get the footage. 50k if you get his face" It was sent by [email protected]
The same email from before, Sakuya locked the phone. “It’s not over” he said.
─── 🕷
4:52 AM.
They were back home, they didn’t go to the cops. The cops couldn’t do anything with burner phones and masked guys.
Instead, Ryo did something worse, he posted. Not a face, not a name, it was just a clip from the drone, of the tattoo, of the 3 dots. With a caption that said " If you know who this is, talk. If you’re looking for us, we’re looking back ."
It got 800k views in 20 minutes. Sakuya watched Ryo hit post“You just declared war on the internet.”
“Yeah,” Ryo said, tired “But now they know we’re not hiding”
Sakuya pulled him into his lap, right there in the chair. “You’re terrifying” he said, smiling at him tenderly.
“You love it”
“I do.”
They sat like that until sunrise, watching comments roll in, watching the Watchers scatter. No more texts came, for now.
─── 🕷
They didn’t sleep, because seeping meant missing something. Ryo had the tattoo on every screen in the van, three black dots that formed a triangle. Sakuya kept staring at it like it would bite him.
“Where have I seen it?” Sakuya muttered “Not just the truck guys” he said, trying to remember.
Ryo pulled up old news articles, police reports. “Here” he pointed.
6 months ago, Jewelry store heist, suspect photo, it was blurry, but the wrist was exposed. Same tattoo. 4 months ago, dock worker arrested for weapons smuggling, booking photo and the same tattoo. 2 weeks ago, The armored truck, and the same tattoo.
Sakuya sat back. “It’s not a gang, It’s a brand”
“A brand for what?” Ryo zoomed in “Mercs? Collectors?”
Sakuya’s comm buzzed, but it was not Ryo, it was a private channel, one he hadn’t used in a while. He answered “What?”
Voice on the other end, it sounded old and tired
“You’re looking at the wrong thing, kid.”
Sakuya went rigid “Who is this?”
“Someone who doesn’t want you dead yet. The triangle isn’t who they work for.. It’s who they’re hunting.”
Ryo stared, “Who was that?”
“An informant... from before.” Sakuya pulled his mask off and rubbed his face. “He’s right, we’ve been asking who’s watching us. We should be asking who they’re watching.”
─── 🕷
2:30 PM.
They were now at the City Archives, they weren’t supposed to be here. But Ryo hacked the door in 50 seconds.
“Illegal,” Sakuya whispered.
“Hero work,” Ryo whispered back.
They pulled every file with the triangle tattoo, they found 12 cases, and all of them had one thing in common. The victims, not the criminals.
The victims.
Every single one was a witness, or a whistleblower, or someone who saw something they shouldn’t have.
Ryo’s hands started shaking “They’re not hiring mercs, they’re erasing people.”
Sakuya picked up a file, the last page, with a red stamp.CASE CLOSED. WITNESS DECEASED.
Date was 3 days after the armored truck,
“That was the driver,” Sakuya said quietly. “The one we saved him from”
Ryo looked up “We didn’t save him from robbery.. we interrupted an execution.”
The room went silent, they looked at each other.
─── 🕷
8:00 PM.
One name kept showing up but not in the files, in the margins, handwritten.
M. VOSS
No address and n photo. Just initials and a note: “handles clean up”
Until 11:14 PM, a ping. From the drone Ryo left on the roof of 4th. Motion from one person entering the building. Ryo pulled the feed, again, a long coat and a beanie. The figure stopped and looked at the camera, it held up a piece of paper to the lens.
Three dots, triangle. Under it, written "YOU’RE NEXT" Then they walked away.
Sakuya was already moving “We’re going" he said, without hesitating a bit.
“Wait” Ryo grabbed his arm.“If they’re erasing witnesses, why warn us?”
Sakuya’s jaw ticked, “Because we’re not witnesses.. we’re a problem.”
─── 🕷
3:40 AM.
It wasn’t a trap, ut was worse, i was empty. Except for one table, one laptop on top of it with one file open.
Ryo’s name.
Ryo’s address.
Ryo’s mom’s work schedule.
Photos from when he was 12.
And at the bottom: STATUS: OBSERVE. DO NOT ENGAGE.
Sakuya picked up the laptop, and smashed it. “Why observe?” he asked the empty room “Why not just-”
Ryo cut him off “Because they want to see what you do when someone threatens me” he looked at Sakuya. “The interview, the chase.. all of it. They were testing you.”
Sakuya turned fast “Testing me for what?”, Ryo pointed at the wall.
Tacked up, fozens of photos. Spider-Man, for about 4 months, saving people, stopping crimes and in the corner of 7 of them. Ryo, blurred in the background. Before they even talked. Ryo had been there, at 3 different robberies, at 1 car crash, at the pier last winter, and it every single one of them, Spider-Man had saved him.
“I’ve been following you,” Ryo whispered “I- I noticed that Spider-Man saved me.. maybe two times it's a coincidence.. but it kept happening. I've been uploading your videos, your rescues and I.. made a blog about you” he laughed, broken. “That’s why I was on that roof.. I heard you were in the area, I wanted to see if 'Spider-Man' would save me again..”
Sakuya stared at him, then at the wall “Shit ” he whispered.
“Yeah,” Ryo met his eyes. “Even before I knew that you were Spider-Man, I was curious on why would the city's hero save me every time.. I became your biggest fan, and now I’m your biggest liability” his eyes started to water.
Sakuya crossed the room in 2 steps, and he rabbed Ryo’s face. “You’re not a liability”
“But I am,” Ryo said, “To them, to you.. if they take me, they control you”
Sakuya kissed him, hard and desperate “Then they’ll have to go through me” he pulled back, then looked at the wall of photos. At the file with Ryo’s name, at the triangle.
“They think I’m predictable,” Sakuya said “They think I’ll do anything to protect you.” he smiled, but it was not nice. “Good, let them think that”
─── 🕷
6:00 AM
They were now at Ryo's garage, the suit was laid out on the table, torn, burned and scuffed. Sakuya watched Ryo work like it was surgery.
“Stop looking at me like that,” Ryo said, soldering. “I know what I’m doing”
“You’re 17 and running on 3 hours of sleep” Sakuya said, always pointing out Ryo's age, as if he wasn't seventeen too.
“And you’re bleeding through the bandage” Ryo didn’t look up “Sit down.”
Sakuya sat.
Ryo didn’t just repair it, he rebuilt it, with new upgrades. At 7:43 PM Ryo held it up, “Try it.”
Sakuya put it on, and it fit different, tighter, safer. He tapped the new patch on the chest, Ryo’s initials, tiny and barely noticeable under the spider. Sakuya touched it “You put yourself on me”
“Yeah” Ryo whispered, “So if they come for you, they go through me too”
Sakuya pulled him in a tight hug “Thank you”
Ryo nodded into his shoulder "Now go catch the person who made that file"
─── 🕷
“M. Voss” wasn’t a person, it was a code. And Ryo found it at 11:20 PM. Buried in the metadata of the file from the warehouse.
Project: VOSS - Mobile Observation & Suppression Squad.
Sakuya swore, “VOSS.. mobile.. that’s why the tattoo, they move.”
Ryo traced the IP from the last text, it bounced 5 times and ended at one place. Pier 9. Storage Unit 17B.
They went, Sakuya on the roof, his new suit gleaming. Ryo in the van3 blocks away, screens everywhere. “Talk to me,” Ryo said in his ear.
“I’m here,” Sakuya said “Door’s locked.. no windows.” He cut the lock and slipped in.
Inside: not a person, but a server. 6 monitors and a chair. On the monitors: feeds, 12 different locations and in all of them: people, all of them had seen something. All of them had a triangle stamped on their file.
Sakuya ripped the camera out of the wall, and before he could even turn around the server was gone, tehe chair was gone, but on the floor, carved into the concrete 3 DOTS, and under it "WE SEE YOU SEEING US"
Sakuya took a photo and sent it to Ryo. Ryo called immediately “What does it mean?”
“It means they know we’re looking,” Sakuya said “And they want us to keep looking.”
Then Ryo said “So let’s give them something to watch”
─── 🕷
4:12 AM.
Back in the van, Ryo pulled up a map.12 feeds, 12 witnesses.
“We can’t save all of them,” Ryo said “But we can make them think we’re trying to”
Sakuya looked at him, “Bait”
“Yeah,” Ryo met his eyes “We go public again, say we’re protecting witnesses and we see who shows up.”
Sakuya pulled his mask down, “You’re scary when you’re angry” he smiled under the mask.
He webbed to the ceiling of the van, “First stop: the girl from the jewelry store, 6 months ago.. he’s still alive” he whispered.
Ryo started the van “Then let’s go save her.. before VOSS does.”
As they pulled out, another text came to Ryo’s phone. New number "Good. You’re learning. -V" .Ryo showed Sakuya. The latter didn't say anything.
──── 🕷
“Okay... they’re not random.” He tapped the screen “Look.”
The 12:
1. Mira ***** 24 → Jewelry store heist. Saw the getaway driver.
2. Derek ****, 38 → Dock worker. Saw weapons in a shipping container.
3. Aya *****, 17 → Car crash. Saw who caused it.
4. Luis **********, 52 → Janitor. Heard a meeting in a bank after hours.
5. Priya ***, 29 → Nurse. Treated a “triangle” guy. Saw the tattoo.
6. Jonah *******, 22 → College kid. Filmed a drug drop.
7. Elena *****, 41 → Accountant. Saw money moving.
8. Tari ******, 33 → Security guard. Saw faces.
9. Nina ********, 19 → Barista. Overheard a name: “Voss.”
10. Ben ****, 45 → Cop. Filed a report, then it disappeared.
11. Samira ********, 27 → Reporter. Story got killed.
12. The Armored Truck Driver → Deceased. 3 days after Spiderman saved him.
“They all saw something about VOSS.” Sakuya said. “And 1 of them is already dead,” Ryo said quietly.
Sakuya went out the van 2 blocks away, “Ryo, you stay here”
“No.” Ryo was already grabbing the new comms earpiece, “You’re not doing this alone.”
Sakuya paused, then nodded and tapped his ear “You got me?”
“Loud and clear.. your heart rate is 72m You’re good” Ryo’s voice was shaky.
Sakuya went in, Mira’s door was opened, he slipped inside, it was empty, the table knocked over. On the wall, there were three dots carved.
Sakuya said, “Ryo. She’s gone”
Ryo’s voice: “I know.. I’m seeing movement 3 blocks east, there's a black van with no plates”
“VOSS has her” Sakuya whispered.
They got to the van too late. By 9:40 PM they’d checked 4 more, 3 gone, 1 dead, 8 left.
Ryo slammed his laptop “We’re losing”
“No,” Sakuya grabbed his face “We’re counting, now we know how fast they move.. 6 hours per target.”
Ryo looked at him, eyes red “What if we’re next on the list?”
Sakuya kissed his forehead “Then they’ll have to catch us first”
─── 🕷
Ryo didn’t stop. If VOSS was moving every 6 hours, they had 6 hours to find V.
“V signed the text, V runs the serve, V carves the dots.” Ryo was typing with both hands “V is arrogant.. arrogant people leave patterns”
He cross-referenced everything, every “VOSS” file, every triangle case, every text. At 1:37 AM he found it, a name in the metadata of the first email.
Victor Voss.
Ryo froze “Victor Voss, Internal Affairs, fired 3 years ago for ‘excessive evidence tampering’”
Sakuya pulled up his photo, a man on his late 40s. And on his wrist, three dots, a triangle.
“He didn’t disband VOSS,” Sakuya said “He privatized it”
Ryo pulled up more “He’s been contracting out. Erase witnesses for anyone who pays.”
A New text from the same number "You’re close. Stop, and the other 8 live. Keep going, and I’ll start with the one you like most."
Attached: a photo. It was Ryo, taken when he was in class, probably from some weeks ago.
2:14 AM.
Ryo typed from his own phone. To: [email protected]
'You want me? Come get me. Tonight. Pier 9. Alone. -R '
3 seconds later 'See you soon.'
Sakuya looked at the message, then at Ryo “Last chance to back out” he offered. Ryo took his hand and laced their fingers. “I’m not backing out of you”
Outside, the city was quiet, too quiet. Somewhere, Victor Voss was getting in a car,
and Spider-Man was getting ready.
─── 🕷
Ryo’s hands weren’t shaking, his breathing was stable, and he was determined. He sat, no armor, no weapon, it was just him, his phone, and a mic in his ear.
Sakuya was somewhere above in the rafters, silent. Heart rate on Ryo’s screen: 88. Steady, for now.
“Talk to me,” Ryo whispered.
“Got eyes on 4 entrances,” Sakuya said, low. “No movement yet.. you okay?”
“Yeah” Ryo lied “Just cold.”
2:59 AM.
The sound of tires, one car, and then the door shut. He heard footsteps, slow and confident.
Victor Voss walked in, late 40s, trench coat, no gun out, the triangle tattoo on his wrist, on his face, a smile like he had already won.
“Well,” Voss said “The boyfriend”
Ryo didn’t stand “You’re late.” he said, then gulped.
“I was watching” Voss circled him “You’re brave.. stupid, but brave. That’s why he likes you”
In Ryo’s ear: Sakuya breathing. “Don’t,” Ryo mouthed to the ceiling.
Voss stopped in front of him “Where is he?”
“Who?”
Voss leaned down. “I’ve been doing this for long enough. I know when Spider-Man is in the room.”
Ryo met his eyes “Then you know he’s not here to talk”
The lights went out, Sakuya dropped. With no warning, just web to Voss’s wrist. Voss went down, rolled on the floor and came up with a knife.
“Should’ve stayed out of it, kid.”
Sakuya didn’t answer, he fought like he was protecting something breakable. He yanked his web, dodge and hit. Voss was good, ex-cop good, but he wasn’t fighting one guy.
He was fighting a guy with Ryo in his ear. “Left. Knife”.... “Behind you, two more” he whispered. “Voss has backup in the van..”
The other 2 VOSS guys came in, Sakuya took them both in 12 seconds. Voss was on his knees by 3:08, webbed to the floor and bleeding from the lip.
“You don’t get it,” Voss spat “This isn’t about you, It’s business. People pay me to make problems disappear”
Sakuya crouched, his mask inches from his face. “You made my boyfriend a problem”
Voss laughed. “He’s not the only one, there are 8 more. And I’ve got guys moving on them right now”
Ryo’s voice in the comm, “ He's lying.. I’m tracking their phones. They’re still at the base”
Sakuya stood and webbed Voss’s mouth shut.
They didn’t go to the cops, cops were on Voss’s payroll.They went to the base.
Ryo drove, Sakuya in the passenger seat, cleaning blood off the suit. “Heart rate?”
“94,” Ryo said, “You?”
“Fine”
The base was a warehouse in Queens, unmarked with no windows, and 8 people inside.
Sakuya looked at Ryo “Stay in the van”
Ryo shook his head “No, I’m coming.”
“You’re not a fighter.”
“I’m not staying behind again”
Sakuya stared at him, then nodded. “Fine... but you stay behind me. And the second I say run, you run.”
4:12 AM.
They went in, but it wasn’t a fight, it was an extraction. Sakuya webbed, disarmed, and tied up 6 VOSS operatives. Ryo unlocked doors, guided the 8 witnesses out, and called ambulances.
Mira was there. Shaking, Jonah, Nina,all of them. Ryo knelt next to Mira “You’re safe. We’re getting you out.” She grabbed his hand. “You’re Spider-Man’s…?” “Yeah,” Ryo said.
By 5:30 AM, every witness was in a police car,
with real cops, not Voss’s. Ryo had sent the files to the FBI, local police, and 3 news outlets, with Victor Voss’s confession recorded.
At 5:47 AM, Voss was in cuffs, sitting on the curb. Sakuya stood over him, with his mask off just for a second.
“Why?” Sakuya asked.
Voss looked up “Because someone has to clean up the mess heroes make.”
Sakuya pulled his mask back on “Heroes don’t make messes, people like you do.” he said, and then walked away.
─── 🕷
6:30 AM.
They didn’t talk for 20 minutes, just drove. Then Ryo reached over, took Sakuya’s hand and talked, “We did it.”
“Yeah” Sakuya squeezed back “We did.”
Ryo leaned his head on Sakuya’s shoulder when he stopped the car, “I’m so tired”
“I know.”
“Are we okay?”
Sakuya kissed his hair “We’re better than okay, we’re free”
His phone buzzed, Ian: YOU’RE ON THE NEWS. AGAIN.
Principal: Take the week off. Both of you.
Mom: Come home. I made pancakes.
Sakuya laughed, real and tired, “Pancakes sound good”
“Yeah,” Ryo said “Pancakes sound perfect”
He fell asleep like that, hand in Sakuya’s, while the city woke up behind them. For the first time in weeks, no one was watching.
─── 🕷
They slept until 10:30, when they arrived home, both in Ryo’s bed, both still in yesterday’s clothes, both with their hands tangled like if they let go something bad would happen.
Ryo woke up first, Sakuya was drooling on his hoodie, the mask on the nightstand and the suit in a pile on the floor.
For 5 minutes Ryo just watched him. Sakuya cracked one eye open “You staring?”
“Maybe.” Ryo poked his cheek “Morning, idiot”
“Morning” Sakuya pulled him closer “Did you sleep good?”
“Yeah, and my mom made pancakes”
11:30 AM.
Ryo’s mom didn’t ask questions, she just slid two plates across the counter with xtra syrup and extra fruit, and sat down with her own coffee.
“You two look like hell,” she said.
“Thanks,” Sakuya said, mouth full.
“Are you safe?”
“Yeah,” Ryo answered for both of them “We’re safe.”
She nodded. “Good, then you can do dishes”
They did, together. Sakuya washing and Ryo drying, bumping shoulders and not letting go.
No news on, no phones out, just the sound of water and the city far away.
2:00 PM. At Ryo’s room.
“You said you’d teach me,” Sakuya said, flopped on the bed.
Ryo pulled out his laptop “I did”
“Code?”
“mhm”
For 3 hours Ryo tried to teach Spider-Man Python, and ut went badly.
“Why is there a dot here?”
“Because it needs one” Ryo answered.
“This is why you're smarter than me”
Ryo threw a pillow at him “You literally swing between buildings for fun”
Then it was Sakuya’s turn, rhey went to the roof. “I said I'd teach you,” Sakuya said.
Ryo stared at the edge, “I’m scared”
“I know” Sakuya held out his hand “I’ve got you.”
First jump, 3 feet and Ryo screamed. Second jum, 10 feet and Ryo laughed. Third jump: Sakuya let him hold the web-shooter they had built for weeks.
Ryo missed and fell 2 feet, Sakuya caught him before he even finished yelling.
“Gotcha”
“I hate you” Ryo was grinning, “Teach me again.”
By sunset Ryo could do a 15-foot swing, badly. But he did it. Sakuya filmed the last one, not for the internet, just for him. “Evidence,” he said “That you’re braver than me”
8:00 PM.
The doorbell rang.
Ian, Sion and a box of pizza “We’re not leaving,” Ian said. They stayed for 4 hours, no questions about Spider-Man, no questions about the interview. Just dumb stories.
Ian trying to teach Sakuya TikTok dances, Sion challenging Ryo to Mario Kart. Sakuya losing on purpose so Ryo would win.
At 11:00 they left, “Text us,” Ian said. “Even if it’s 3 AM and you’re just bored” . “We will,” Ryo said.
11:47 PM.
They were at the roof again, everyone was gone, the city was quiet.
Sakuya and Ryo sat on the ledge, their legs dangling, the new suit folded next to them.
Ryo leaned into Sakuya’s shoulder “Do you think it’s really over?”
“I think VOSS is over,” Sakuya said “I think people like Voss will always exist.”
He turned, bumped their foreheads together. “But I think we can handle it, together ”
Ryo nodded “Together”, he took Sakuya’s hand and kissed the knuckles softly. “Thank you, for today. For not fighting, for just... being here”
Sakuya smiled, small and real “Thank you for teaching me code, I still don’t get the dot thing”
“You will” Ryo laughed “...Eventually”
They sat there until the stars came out, no patrol, no danger, just two boys on a roof, kissing and smiling.
─── ᯓ 🕸 ᡣ𐭩 . 𝜗𝜚 🕷 ⊹‧₊