Chapter Text
Within the first week, Mitsuki had broken her favourite guitar.
She had also torn her wallpaper, broken the bathroom door, ripped an essay due the next day and, her least favourite, shouted at a squirrel that was eating a piece of apple too loudly. Not her finest moment, she will admit. Though, she swears down that the squirrel narrowed its eyes at her and began to chew louder, like it could somehow understand her.
Sometimes, late at night, Mitsuki swears she can hear the sound of a small animal eating outside her bedroom window. By the time she gets to it and looks out, though, there is nothing to be seen.
Her Uncle Joe, after noticing her already dark eye bags were only getting worse, began to send her ‘self-help’ tips he found online. Guilt would rack Mitsuki every time he showed concern, since she knew realistically that listening to whale sounds every night would not help her sleep—not while she could still hear the sound of a fly pacing back and forth across her wall.
Mitsuki had once woken up from where she fell asleep against her desk to cucumber slices on her eyes and a note from her Uncle that read Stay cool! with a little smiley face drawn in the corner with pencil. She’s not exactly sure how to explain to him that a spider bit her without first checking if she could survive early mornings every day.
At one point, Joe had sat her down and asked if she was high , if Mitsuki had started taking drugs and if that was why she was out late and always came back… out of it. As he would put it. Joe believed her, though, when she promised him she would never and said she wouldn’t even know where to obtain any drugs in the first place. That was a slight lie, but what was she supposed to say? I don’t do drugs, but I do know where to find them. One time when I was practising swinging around—oh yeah, I’m Spider-man, by the way—I crashed into a group doing weed. Yeah, luckily, they didn’t care, but they did offer me some...
Yeah, no thank you.
Since she’s been struggling to fall back asleep every morning, Mitsuki has started patrolling. She finds it to be a much better pastime than lying in bed, scrunching the blankets up around her shoulders, and pretending she can’t hear the sound of the baby birds across the road crying for their mother every morning.
Unsurprisingly, there isn’t actually much crime—or anything—happening within the early hours of the morning. Most people, normal people who weren’t bitten by some disease-ridden spider (Mitsuki still isn’t sure what was wrong with the thing), would be in bed. In their warm, comfortable beds. So, most mornings, Mitsuki helps old ladies heading to the post office cross the road and cats who find themselves stuck in trees.
Another perk is that she also gets to eat her breakfast on rooftops, watching the sun rise while listening to music. As much as she complains, it is kind of peaceful.
Mitsuki has started to bring her journal with her to pass the time. Watching the busy traffic below, or observing the birds dancing allows her the time to think of new songs, new lyrics. She’s also taken to doodling in the corners, mostly potential album covers.
Rain falls heavily around her, and she tries to protect her journal from its harsh drops. Mitsuki’s just finished writing the chorus for a new song when her phone alarm alerts her that her shift at the CD store is about to begin.
Since it’s the weekend, her Uncle works in the morning and Mitsuki takes over in the afternoon. Mitsuki actually looks forward to her shifts—they’re normally quiet and she is able to listen to music while sorting CDs and records.
Mitsuki lets out a tired sigh and stretches her arms above her head. Her back cracks in several places and she lets out a pleased hum. Absentmindedly, she hopes the weird spider-powers help counter any possible back issues her poor posture would definitely cause.
Beside her lies the worn bag Mitsuki uses for quick, easy outfit changes. It has a few tears in it, the straps are frayed at the end, and there's faint web residue staining it. She probably should stop throwing it around so carelessly.
Mitsuki grabs the bag and begins to run towards the rooftop’s edge, leaping at the last moment for momentum as she begins to swing from building to building, heading in the direction of the store. A flock of birds is heading towards Mitsuki, and she quickly remembers to pull down her mask ( it gets stuffy, okay? ). Unwanted flashbacks to the time she crashed and spent the next five minutes spitting out bird feathers flood Mitsuki’s mind and causes her to shiver.
Just before she lands behind the store, Mitsuki stops on a nearby building to make sure there are no civilians around who will see Spider-Man randomly land behind some random CD store. She’s not sure how she’d explain that one… Spider-Man likes to shop for records when he’s not busy?
Mitsuki is just about to deem it safe when she notices a figure quickly approaching the front of the store. It’s a young girl with pink hair and something about her is familiar to Mitsuki, though she can’t figure out why. Luckily for Mitsuki, she doesn’t look like the type to hang out in CD shops, at least not one like this, so Mitsuki is fine with waiting for her to walk on by.
The girl approaches one of the store’s windows and leans against it to peek inside. Mitsuki finds it a little endearing how she stands on the tip of her toes to get a better look inside. She’s so distracted observing the girl that Mitsuki doesn’t notice the approaching figure until they quickly walk past the girl—but not before snatching her bag and breaking off in a run with it.
Mitsuki hears the girl shout, Hey! , but the man, of course, doesn’t stop.
Within an instant, Mitsuki jumps down from where she was perched on the edge of the building and races after the thief. She catches up easily and shoots out a web, tangling the man’s legs together and causing him to fall face-first against the pavement. She laughs quietly under the mask at the Oof! sound the man makes before retrieving the stolen bag and calling the police. (“Uhh, yeah I caught this thief. He’s not getting away, you could say he’s a little…tied up. Yes, it is he, what gave it away? I’m on kind of a tight schedule so I don’t think I’ll be able to wait for your arrival. Goodbye, officer!”)
The hairs on the back of Mitsuki’s neck rise at the same time she hears footsteps approaching. She spins around and comes face-to-face with the girl who jumps at Mitsuki’s quick movement.
“Oh! It’s just you. Sorry; I’m, ah, kind of jumpy , you could say.”
The girl offers Mitsuki an apologetic smile. She has a light blush dusting her cheeks and she’s fidgeting, twirling her hair. She can’t seem to keep her eyes on Mitsuki’s mask for long enough. Mitsuki doesn’t blame her for seeming nervous. She too would be on edge if she had her stuff stolen and then saved by a random person in spandex. Especially when said random person in spandex is consistently called a menace by the news and is wanted by the police…
When the girl does meet Mitsuki’s eyes through the mask, Mitsuki realises they’re bright and full of colour. The girl’s hair flows down and over her shoulders and Mitsuki wonders if it’s as soft as it looks.
“Do… Do I have something in my hair?”
Her voice is quiet and gentle. Mitsuki thinks she could listen to it all day, but then she shakes her head – you don’t know this girl.
The girl tilts her head when she’s met with nothing but silence, and Mitsuki realises she was asked a question. Which means she should give a response… not just stare at the, albeit really pretty, girl in front of her.
The question registers and Mitsuki feels her own face begin to warm under her mask when she realises she was caught staring. Desperate to not look like a creep, Mitsuki blurts out the first excuse that comes to mind.
“Oh, uh, yeah, you have… a leaf in your hair.” Wow, clever excuse. Real thought out. Ten out of ten.
Mitsuki reaches her hand out and pretends to pluck a leaf out of pink hair. Despite the fabric of the suit separating Mitsuki’s fingers from the girl’s hair, the vigilante still takes her time and tucks a strand of hair behind the girl’s ear.
The girl in question looks up at Mitsuki through her eyelashes, and Mitsuki swallows. She hopes the mask hides the bob of her throat.
“Well, there it is! Leaf all gone, yep!” Her voice sounds strangled to her own ears.
Heat consumes Mitsuki’s face, and she wishes she could rip her mask off to catch her breath; luckily, she’s saved by the sound of approaching sirens.
“That’s my cue to leave… I’ll see you around!”
For a second, Mitsuki swears the girl looks almost disappointed. Whatever emotion Mitsuki saw, though, is quickly replaced by a small smile as the girl shyly waves goodbye.
—
Mitsuki returns to a nearby building and waits thirty minutes for the girl to leave the store. The second Mitsuki is sure she’s gone, she sneaks in through the back door and races to her room to change.
She knows her uncle won’t be mad at her for being late; once he opened the store two hours late just so he could finish the show he was watching. Nonetheless, Mitsuki still feels guilty for letting him down, even a little.
As she approaches the desk, Joe hears her footsteps and looks up from where he’s reading some magazine.
“Hey, kiddo, where’ve you been?”
“I’m really sorry, Uncle; I lost track of time and ran here as fast as I could.”
“Eh, don’t worry about it, I’m just glad you’re okay.” He pauses for a moment, seemingly thinking his next words before he speaks. “There was some attempted robbery or something outside the store earlier; some guy tried to steal this poor girl’s bag.”
“Oh?” Mitsuki hopes he doesn’t hear the nervous waver in her voice. She begins to sort through records to hide her shaking hands.
“Yeah, yeah. Some girl about your age. She came in here not that long ago saying how some guy tried to snatch her bag.”
Mitsuki hums, not trusting her voice, not to give away her nerves.
“She said that Spider guy saved her. Said he just appeared and chased the guy down.”
“Well,” Mitsuki can hear her heartbeat in her ears, “she’s lucky he was close by, wasn’t she?”
A pause, a few seconds of silence that drag on forever.
“Yeah, she was.”
Mitsuki can feel his eyes on her as she picks up a record from the donation box, examines it for scratches, and then places it in the to keep pile.
“That one has a crack in it, Mitsuki?”
So, maybe she’s a little distracted from her distraction.
“Right, yeah, sorry. I’m just a little tired.”
Would it be too obvious if she faked a yawn? It would, wouldn’t it?
“Mitsuki, look at me.”
With a quiet inhale, Mitsuki turns and faces her uncle. She really hopes he hasn’t developed any mind-reading skills. Sadly, she can’t pretend superpowers no longer exist.
Joe studies her for what feels like hours. His eyebrows are furrowed, and his eyes drag over her face—looking for something. Mitsuki hopes, whatever it is, that he doesn’t find it.
He must find something though, as he sighs and returns to reading his magazine. Mitsuki returns to her sorting. She knows she’ll have to redo it later, but it’s something to keep her hands busy.
“Have you been looking at those articles I’ve been sending you? To help with your sleep?”
Mitsuki lets out a quiet, relieved sigh at the change of topic.
“Yeah, Uncle,” she feels bad for lying . ”They sometimes help.”
The rest of Mitsuki’s shift goes by quickly: re-sorting her earlier failed attempt, reorganising shelves, and pricing new merchandise. When she crawls under her covers, she hopes to never see another number again.
After lying down for hours, staring up at her ceiling watching a spider build its web, Mitsuki finally finds sleep and dreams.
Music is coming from somewhere, the lyrics are familiar, though indistinguishable.
Mitsuki looks around, the room is empty. She knows there should be people here, her classmates, but she isn’t sure where they’ve disappeared to.
A strange mix of peace and loneliness crashes over her. She’s never minded being on her own; she much prefers it over pretending to be someone she’s not. But she would be lying if she said she didn’t wish she had at least someone close to her.
The room she’s in is large and grand. Pillars tower over her in every corner, and every door before her is locked, beside one, where the doors are wide open and inviting. For some reason, she feels like the room is waiting for her.
Mitsuki heads towards the room, and as she steps inside, a feeling of familiarity passes through her.
The walls are lined with different insects. Butterflies, moths, beetles, bees and spiders. Mitsuki walks towards the spiders and begins to read a plaque. The writing is moving, dancing over the stone. She still knows what it says.
Spiders, it would have read, have eight limbs. Fangs which, for some, release venom into the creature’s prey and also spinnerets that produce silk. Most detect their prey through sensing vibrations.
Typically, they are solitary creatures.
Mitsuki looks up at the shelves where multiple glass cases sit. Though, all the cases are empty except one. She knows this is wrong; she knows it was the other way around. That this case before her was empty.
There’s a relatively small spider on display. It’s black, with a bright green spot in the middle. Mitsuki looks down and notices a small stone slab in front of the case. It simply states: species unknown.
Mitsuki faintly recalls the word poison running through her mind, and she feels her heart begin to race. Adrenaline pumps through her veins as she feels eight small legs crawl up her neck.
She looks up quickly, her blood runs cold. The case is empty.
When it really happened, she never felt it until the bite. It was quick, a small prick of something sharp breaking her skin. Mitsuki’s consciousness tries to replay it. The piercing of small fangs, the rush of venom as it mixes into her bloodstream.
In her dream, anything is possible, and Mitsuki believes she can feel her DNA break down and rearrange itself. Can feel it merge with the spider’s.
Mitsuki raises her hand, as her atoms break apart and rejoin, and she brings it down against the back of her neck.
For a few seconds, all she can hear is the sound of her panting breaths. When she realises she’s awake, Mitsuki tears the covers off of her and runs to the bathroom. She quickly flicks the light on and stares at her reflection. Still her. She cranes her neck, twists her back and inspects the small red mark in the middle of her neck. It looks just as it has for the past four months.
She slumps against the cool bathroom tiles and lays there until the sun rises.
—
Sadly, being bitten by a spider and gaining super abilities doesn’t mean you can stop going to school.
Mitsuki walks into class, attempting to squeeze past her classmates and make it to her desk—alive, and without being trampled, if possible. She didn’t want to lose her headphones while being pushed around in the crowd of students which means Mitsuki hears the voice as clear as day.
Her head snaps to the side, and her breath catches in her throat. Sitting beside her is the girl from yesterday. Of course , of course. She must’ve recognised her from school.
What was her name again? Something with an E, was it…? No, it was an A. Mitsuki’s sure of it. She thinks they’ve spoken once, in passing, possibly just a simple interaction of Mitsuki handing her a worksheet.
“He could be a total creep, Aya. Bet all that power goes straight to his head.”
“He was such a gentleman, Chizuru. I’m telling you, it was love at first sight.”
Mitsuki feels her heart stop. They’re not… they can’t be, right?
“What gentleman represents spiders ?” The girl beside Aya laughs; she has short cut blonde hair, and Mitsuki thinks she’s seen her around in class.
“I’m sure he has his reasons… though spiders do give me the creeps. It’s not a sign, though, right? ”
The third girl tucks her long, black hair behind her ear as she speaks, “I think it’s whatever you make of it. He sounds like a nice guy to me.”
“I hope I see him again,” Aya sighs and stretches out across the desk. Mitsuki turns her head quickly and stares out the window, hoping nobody notices her quickened breathing.
So, the pretty girl who Mitsuki embarrassed herself in front of is actually her classmate. That’s fine . Mitsuki is used to people believing she’s a guy. She is, after all, Spider- Man . To tell the truth, she doesn’t actually mind the confusion.
But, someone falling in love with that version of her? They only met once, Mitsuki’s mind supplies. What are the chances they’d bump into each other again? This will all pass quickly.
Without much thought, Mitsuki scratches the back of her neck. She tries to focus on the lesson happening in front of her and not the words in love and gentleman now bouncing around in her head.