Spiderman From the Ashes : Volume One

Chapter Thirteen - The Elephant in the Room

Yesterday, as the school was closing for the night, Arisu hurriedly packed up her work and stepped out into the cool evening air. A gentle breeze caressed her face, comforting her after the stressful setbacks she had faced in the past week.

As she walked, it seemed that summer had flown by in a blur and fall had suddenly arrived. The trees shed their leaves like bullets falling to the ground, creating a colorful carpet underfoot.

Arisu paused at a bench and took out her lighter, igniting it with practiced ease. She took a deep drag from her cigarette, feeling the familiar burn in her throat. It had been a while since she last smoked, perhaps since she received his diagnosis. But tonight, she allowed herself this moment of indulgence before discarding the butt and continuing on to her apartment.

Upon entering her home, she noticed scarlet webs scattered throughout the living room. Her dodging practice must have gotten out of hand again, resulting in an accidental breakage of the building's power generator. She remembers the manager's bitterness when she was fined.

Heading to the fridge for a drink, Arisu tugged on the handle only to be met with resistance from a web sticking to it. With more force than intended, she yanked until it finally gave way with a loud snap.

"Arisu! What's going on?" a concerned female voice called out from another room, causing Arisu to stumble over her words in panic.

"I'll explain later... just working out." she called back with an unconvincing tone.

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Vicky stepped into Arisu's house, taking in the chaos that surrounded her. Thick, red webs hung over the walls, she was suprised by this. "You mean you did all this?" Vicky asked incredulously."Yeah... I did," Arisu admitted. "I wanted to challenge myself and see if I could get used to it, and I did." She grabbed a beer from the fridge and popped off the lid. "Everything is still a bit new to me, but I can do anything with these new skills."

"Even bad things?" Vicky asked

"No." Arisu's face turned serious. "I don't want to go back to my shitty gig. If it wasn't for my aunt, I'd probably be in jail by now. Now I only use my skills for..." She trailed off, her voice filled with shame.

"It's okay, It's just the two of us here." Vicky encouraged her to continue.

"For my boy, Haru." Arisu finally confessed, her eyes clouding with emotion.

"The boy in the picture?" Vicky asked softly

Arisu nodded sadly. "Yes, him... He had a brain tumor and I couldn't afford the treatment or surgery. That's when I started working with a gang who promised to pay me back."

Vicky leaned forward in her chair, her frown deepening as she studied the white-haired woman sitting across from her. Arisu avoided her gaze, unable to express the emotions stirring inside her. With a sigh, Vicky reached out and placed a hand on Arisu's arm, hoping to offer some comfort. "You have so much potential, more than what you're doing now," she encouraged.
But Arisu's reply was blunt and cold, her eyes fixed on the fridge as she closed its door. "I can't do that. I have a child to take care of."

Vicky shook her head, determined not to let her friend back down. "I'm your friend. Friends don't abandon each other."

Arisu hesitated, then turned to throw an empty beer can into the trash. "It would be nice." she admitted "But I need time to think about it." Her voice was calm but uncertain.