Ranma 1/2 used without permission
Spiderman used without permission
C&C is, as always, welcome and appreciated
Thanks go to Gary Kleppe, Arthur Edwards, and Brian Payne for their assistance.
==================================
Hikaru Gosunkugi, The Amazing Spiderman Issue Two: Along Came a Spiderman...
==================================
Hikaru Gosunkugi awoke to the sound of a disgustingly happy bluebird
outside his window. Prying open one eye, he cast a baleful glare at the
chirping animal, wishing that it would shut up and let him sleep.
After a few moments the bird seemed to get the hint, flying off to
who knew where to do what birds do all day. The disturbance gone, Gosunkugi
settled back down for another forty winks or so. He barely got past three
when the alarm clock beside his bed announced that it was time to rise and
shine.
"Aw, crap," he croaked, his throat dry and scratchy. Stretching the
muscles in his back, Gosunkugi reluctantly rose from beneath the sheets.
After a good stretch, he made his way out of the impossibly neat room and
into the hall beyond.
Closing the bathroom door, Gosunkugi took a good look at himself in
the mirror. The reflection that stared back at him was the same as the one
yesterday. And the day before that. And the day before that. A pale, thin
face with large owl-eyes ringed with dark circles. Hardly the most
attractive of men, he noticed.
He stuck the toothbrush in his mouth and contemplated the events of
the previous day as he scrubbed his teeth. Part of him insisted that it was
only a stupid dream, brought on by too many mangas and voodoo texts.
Gosunkugi was tempted to believe that. After all, what normal person could
possibly stick to walls the way he did?
But it wasn' t a dream. He DID leap ten meters with no effort. He
DID cling to that wall like a spider. And he DID bend that steel pipe into a
pretzel. Spitting the paste into the sink, he looked at his reflection once
again. The face was still the same, but was beginning to change a little.
His reflection didn't quite resemble the boy whose father worried that he
was gay. The boy whom everyone either rejected or ignored. Something was
definitely happening to Hikaru Gosunkugi, and it scared the hell out of him.
========================================
The early morning sun glared down on the surface below, causing the
people going about their daily lives to squint in order to see. Gosunkugi
stepped out of the door to the apartment complex he and his parents called
home. It wasn't a bad part of town, home to mainly salarymen like his father
who chose the locale due to its close proximity to Tokyo proper.
The trip to Furinkan wasn't strenuous, thirty minutes by foot and he
was there. He never used the train; he usually never had the money. Even
when he did, the train wouldn't put him close enough to the school to be
convenient.
There weren't many people on the streets at eight a.m. The workaday
types hopped the subways around five a.m., and the rest wouldn't come out in
force until ten or so. As Gosunkugi looked around, he noticed that he had a
good deal of space to himself.
He recalled again what he did the day before, and decide to give it
another shot. Casting another glance about, he ducked into a nearby alley.
Backing to one side of the narrow space, Gosunkugi looked up the length of
the opposite wall.
The wall seemed to stretch to the sky, dwarfing the small-fry who
wanted to scale it. Gosunkugi took deep breaths in an effort to calm his
jumpy nerves. What if he couldn't do it again? What if that amazing agility
was only a twenty-four hour fluke? He could likely end up with a smashed
face when he jumped at the wall. Swallowing past the lump in his throat, he
made a leap of faith.
And quite a leap it was. Gosunkugi easily landed halfway up the
wall, adhereing to its surface as snugly as the day before. He paused for a
moment, a smile spreading across his lips for the first time in what felt
like years. Still smiling, Gosunkugi made his way up the wall with no
effort. Standing on the roof, he looked out over the horizon. It was high
time he took his new powers for a spin.
With a running start, Gosunkugi leapt off the far edge of the
building. He sailed through the air, tucking himself into a ball. Three
somersaults later, he landed on the roof of the next building with balletic
grace. Without even slowing, he continued to the edge of the current roof.
This is incredible! Gosunkugi mentally shouted as he leapt again in
a swan dive. He flew in a perfect ballistic arc, grabbing the ledge of the
next roof with his hands. His momentum carried him forward as he performed a
handspring off of the ledge. After two more somersaults, he sailed off the
far edge and into space.
Coming out of his roll, he landed on a nearby wall, hands and feet
clinging easily to the surface. Looking around, Gosunkugi realized that he
had covered more than half the distance between his parent's apartment and
Furinkan.
"Five minutes?!" he exclaimed once he had checked his watch.
Ordinarily, getting as far as he did would take fifteen minutes at least.
Gosunkugi turned around, crouching on the side of the tall building. Looking
to his left, he saw more buildings across the wide street far below.
Curious, he leapt into space.
Gosunkugi had severely mis-judged the distance and his own thrust.
He started to scream as he began shedding altitude at an alarming rate,
plummeting to the pavement four stories below. His panicked screams grabbed
the attention of the people on the ground, causing them to look up and point
at the young man whom they thought to be commiting suicide.
His heart caught in his throat when his rapid descent abruptly
changed course to the left. Stunned, he looked up to find a long cord in his
left hand. The cord was an off-white color, and felt like silk in his hand.
Unconsciously, Gosunkugi pulled his legs perpendicular to his torso,
forming his body into an "L" shape. The wind tore at his face and clothes as
he swung on the line he held, dipping toward the pavement before arcing back
up and toward the building the cord had anchored itself to.
What, he thought, the HELL just happened? Where had that... thing
come from? Hands shaking, Gosunkugi undid the clasps on the right sleeve of
his uniform jacket. After rolling the sleeve up, he repeated the procedure
with the shirt beneath.
"NOOOOO!" he screamed as he saw the strange thing on his forearm. On
the underside was a dark growth, protruding form the surface of the skin. On
examining the area, he found a small hole in one end of the area. Curious,
he reached his arm out and pictured what happened to save him from a fate as
road pizza.
Another long cord fired from the growth, stretching across the gap
between the buildings on each side of the street. Gosunkugi grabbed the
cord, testing its strength. If he didn't know better, he could swear it was
spider's webbing. Only strong enough to support a human.
A quick check revealed another growth on his left arm, identical to
the one on his right. As he remained adhered to the vertical surface, he
considered seeing a doctor about those tumors, perhaps tell him about the
spider bite, and the effects it had on him.
The sound of a window opening above his head jerked him out of his
reverie. Without bothering to look up, he released his grip on the wall.
Gosunkugi swung across the gap, closing fast on the other building. Before
he hit, he fired another long web from his left arm, attaching it to another
fartehr down the way. Releasing the right web, he began to swing toward the
next building.
After a rough start, Gosunkugi began to get the hang of swinging
through the concrete canyons of Tokyo. As the wind ripped at him, a strange
feeling of power and freedom swelled up inside. Never in his entire
seventeen years had he ever felt so alive.
====================================
Gosunkugi walked toward the entrance of Furinkan High, a spring in
his step that had been absent nearly every other time he had taken this
walk. Whatever worries he had about the two things on his arms had
disappeared once he got the hang of swinging through the city. The
spinarettes he had developed only served to make him even more agile than
before. They didn't hurt or itch, so he really didn't see the need to worry.
What he did need to worry about, though, was someone recognizing him
were he to try it again. He was fortunate that nobody got a good look at his
face this time, but he had a feeling luck like that wouldn't hold for very long.
As he entered the building, his thoughts turned to Akane Tendo. He
almost lost himself in a pink haze as her lovely face filled his vision. The
deep brown eyes that a man could drown in, perfect lips parted in speech..
"Gosunkugi," came her voice, soft as silk. "Gosunkugi." His brain
nearly exploded at the sound of her voice.
"GOSUNKUGI!" He nearly leapt out of his skin when the shout pierced
hs fantasy. The pink haze surrounding Akane vanished, replaced with the
interior of Furinkan High. Her blissful smile was replaced with a puzzled
frown as she looked at him. "What in the world are you doing?"
His senses returned enough to alert him that he was only a scant
meter away from Akane. His brain threatened to go back on vacation at the
thought of being so near her.
"Uh...that is... I mean... uh...." he stuttered as he struggled to
keep his head out of the clouds.
"What a weirdo," Akane said as she brushed past him. Gosunkugi
nearly lost his balance as the joy welled up inside him again.
"She... TOUCHED me...." he muttered, lost in his own perfect world.
He made his way absently to his first class, pure bliss written all over his
face.
=====================================
The courtyard of Furinkan High was filled with students enjoying the
sunshine and their lunch. Hikaru Gosunkugi was out there, for once, enjoying
the sun as well.
His confidence had been slowly building as the day wore on and on
endlessly. Once his mind returned to normal operating temperature, he began
to wonder if his newfound abilities were not just a gift, but a sign from
the Kami that his time had come. That he could finally ask Akane out, and
get Ranma out of the picture.
He had considered taking Ranma on right then and there, but common
sense had taken over, reminding him that it was a bad idea. He didn't yet
know enough about his powers to risk losing to Ranma and humiliating himself
in front of Akane...again.
Once that thought set in, even more invaded to rain on his parade.
Even if he DID beat Ranma, and Akane DID go out with him once, how would he
pay for their date? With his charm? He had very little money to speak of,
and when you got ganged up on every day at lunch for what little you
carried, saving up became quite a chore.
A strange tingling sensation grew at the base of his skull, causing
Gosunkugi to go rigid. He had absolutely no idea what the feeling was, or
where it came from, but his every sense went on high alert. He could almost
feel danger in the air. Something was happening; a threat was nearby that
was aimed at him.
He looked about, trying to get a glimpse of anything amiss. Seeing
everything to be normal, he almost relaxed until he saw them. Keiichi, Gan,
and Morita strode side by side through the other students. The tingling
sensation grew in intensity when he saw them, and Gosunkugi knew who they
were after.
Gosunkugi almost prepared to fight; he knew he could take them. But
he couldn't risk anyone finding out about his new powers. He wasn't ready
yet. He also wasn't about to let those three neanderthals get the better of
him again.
Gosunkugi began to run into the sparse trees at the edge of the
courtyard. The sounds of thudding footsteps behind him gave warning of their
pursuit, and sent Gosunkugi running even faster.
Coming to a clear spot near the pool, he turned his head to get a
bead on the three chasing him. They were no longer behind him, but that
would soon change. Looking about, he saw that he had no place to hide until
he gazed upward.
Not wasting a second, Gosunkugi clambered up the surface of
Furinkan's back wall. Remaining between the windows, he reached the rooftop
in little over a second. As he turned to look out over the back courtyard,
he caught sight of the three goons chasing him. He watched as they ran
directly beneath him, not even thinking to look up.
Gosunkugi fumed as they disappeared around a bend. Every day those
three terrorized him and several others. Every day they beat the snot out of
someone, whether they surrendered their money and dignity or not. Those who
managed to escape once got it twice as bad the next day. Gosunkugi, himself,
had been hospitalized by them once, as a lesson to others they oppressed.
Gosunkugi swore to himself that this would be the LAST day they hurt
anyone. They would make a nice test of his powers. A very nice test...
======================================
Night descended on Nerima Ward, as it had for millenia beyond
counting. As streetlamps flickered to life, and windows began to glow in the
buildings, one light alone shone in the apartment occupied by the Gosunkugi
family.
Hikaru Gosunkugi stood over the old silk-screen press his mother had
bought him for his tenth birthday. Before he began to experiment with voodoo
and magic, his main love was art. He still doodled from time to time, though
he had set it aside to pursue Akane Tendo.
His mother had bought him the silk-screen press when she saw the
designs he had painted on some of her napkins. She had thought to get him to
put some of his art on shirts for the family, and perhaps to sell once in a
while. Of course, this was before she had more or less given up on him along
with his father.
On his way home, he had stopped by a novelty clothing shop. It had
taken him a few minutes, but he found what he was looking for. He had
managed to bring just enough yen to cover the cost of the full body stocking
and full head mask. The clerk took one look at him, and didn't ask any
questions, probably figuring him for one of those Goth weirdos.
Once he arrived home, finding it empty as usual, he pulled out the
silk-screen press and some of his paints. Pulling a design from his old art
portfolios, he began to make his costume. The mask was first, being the
smallest. The body stocking took considerably longer, and used up a good
deal of his paints. It was finally ready, however, just as soon as it dried.
An hour later, he donned the form-fitting costume. It didn't exactly
flatter his musculature, since he had none to speak of. However, it would
have to do. Turning off the lights, he crawled out of the window to his
bedroom. Gosunkugi fired a web into the darkness beyond. When he felt it
connect, he released his grip on the wall and swung out into the night.
============================
Hope you all enjoy this!
Jed