The massacre in Hell’s Kitchen—an incident that could have gone down in New York’s criminal history—was quietly suppressed under the strong intervention of George Stacy.
According to the official statement, it had merely been an accident caused by a leak of old chemicals at an abandoned factory.
Aside from a few trashy tabloids running headlines about a “gang shootout with heavy casualties” for several days to attract attention, the incident failed to cause much of a stir among ordinary New Yorkers.
For a city accustomed to noise and crime, as long as trouble didn’t happen on your own doorstep, everything could be dismissed as part of the background noise of everyday life.
Inside a classroom at Midtown Science High School, the sunlight was warm and bright.
Harry Osborn practically came sprinting through the door as the bell rang.
His face was practically glowing with excitement, and he was clutching several beautifully designed cards in his hand.
“Guys! Guess what I got!”
He dropped into the empty seat beside Peter and slapped the cards onto the desk.
Peter had been buried in a thick introduction to quantum physics.
The sudden noise startled him into looking up.
Gwen Stacy, sitting in front of them, also turned around curiously to see what Harry was holding.
“Oh my God!”
The moment Gwen saw the lettering on the cards and the distinctive silhouette of the girl with her wing-like hairstyle, her eyes lit up.
“Harry! Are these tickets to Uta’s concert?!”
“Bingo!”
Harry snapped his fingers and raised his eyebrows proudly.
“Next Friday at seven. Madison Square Garden.”
“I got four tickets. The four of us. What do you say?”
“That’s amazing!”
Gwen practically jumped out of her seat.
She clasped her hands together, her face glowing with the excitement of a fan who had just gotten tickets to see her idol.
“I thought the tickets had sold out ages ago! Even my dad couldn’t get any when he tried to buy them for me.”
“How did you manage it?”
“Osborn Group is one of the sponsors for this tour, remember? There are always a few… internal channels.”
Harry spoke casually, clearly enjoying the admiring looks from his friends.
Peter blinked.
He looked at the excited Gwen, then at the smug Harry.
His mind was completely blank.
“Uta?”
Peter finally tore his attention away from his textbook and looked at Harry in confusion.
“Who’s that? Is she a new artificial intelligence assistant released by Mr. Tony Stark?”
Silence descended over the classroom for two seconds.
Harry and Gwen exchanged a glance.
They saw the exact same emotion in each other’s eyes.
Pity for a primitive life-form.
“Peter Parker…”
Gwen held her forehead, caught somewhere between laughter and exasperation.
“Do you live in a cave?”
“She is the hottest singer in the entire world right now! She went from debuting to becoming a global sensation in less than three months!”
“Really?”
Peter desperately searched his mental database for the name.
Nothing.
“Has she ever appeared on the cover of Scientific American?”
“Pfft—”
Harry finally burst out laughing.
“Peter, is there room in your brain for anything besides formulas and numbers?”
“The only chart you probably care about is the periodic table.”
“Hey!”
Gwen couldn’t be bothered to argue with Peter.
She immediately pulled out her phone, opened a music app’s charts, and shoved the screen right in front of him.
“See for yourself.”
The phone displayed the latest Billboard chart in the United States.
#1 — “New Genesis” — Uta
#2 — “I’m Invincible” — Uta
#3 — “Backlight” — Uta
··········
Seven of the songs in the Top Ten carried the same name.
And “New Genesis” had occupied the number-one spot for an entire month.
“See?”
Gwen waved the phone in front of him.
“No… she should probably be called the world’s singing diva.”
“Her songs practically dominate every platform. And you seriously haven’t heard of her?”
Peter leaned closer to look at the screen.
It showed a girl with striking red-and-white hair wearing enormous headphones.
She looked to be around their age.
Peter genuinely knew almost nothing about this kind of thing.
To him, melodies like these simply couldn’t compete with the elegance of a well-designed physics equation.
“Oh.”
His response was utterly dry.
“‘Oh’?”
Harry dramatically clutched his chest.
“You really are a boring science nerd.”
“Go to the concert. Experience the atmosphere. That’s what being young is all about!”
“Understand? Youth!”
“I’m not really interested in that sort of thing.”
Peter scratched his head.
“You guys go. Don’t waste a ticket on me.”
“Hey, I never said the fourth ticket was for you.”
Harry raised an eyebrow and gave Peter a meaningful look.
“Just because you don’t like it doesn’t mean Misaka won’t.”
Peter froze for a moment.
Harry continued.
“You’re a pretty terrible older brother, you know.”
“Misaka’s been in New York for almost a month, right?”
“Have you seen her do anything for fun?”
“She goes to school, comes home, and does her homework every day.”
“She’s sixteen. She’s at the age when she’s supposed to have fun and goof around.”
“Shouldn’t you take her out and let her relax?”
Gwen nodded repeatedly.
“Harry’s right, Peter.”
“Misaka may look cool and composed, but I think she probably wants more friends too. She should have opportunities to participate in group activities.”
“A concert would be a great chance.”
“Most girls like this sort of thing.”
Peter fell silent.
He thought about Misaka during the time she’d been living with them.
She had adapted to the Parker household at an astonishing speed.
She helped Aunt May prepare dinner.
She discussed the news with Uncle Ben.
She even listened expressionlessly whenever Peter told her about the amusing things that happened at school.
She seemed to be adapting well.
And yet Peter always felt there was an inescapable distance around her.
She never volunteered anything about her past.
She never asked for anything.
She was like a little cat that had accidentally wandered into a human household.
Although she had accepted the warmth and food offered here, she remained constantly alert, always ready to bare her claws.
She had no friends.
No hobbies.
The only thing she occasionally did was stare absentmindedly at a little frog charm that she herself had carved out of wood.
Her entire world seemed to consist of this small Parker family home.
Harry’s words were like a pebble tossed into Peter’s heart.
Yeah.
Maybe he really had been neglecting his responsibilities as her “older brother.”
He had only thought about making sure nobody bullied her at school.
He’d forgotten that she needed happiness too.
She deserved the carefree days that should belong to a sixteen-year-old girl.
“You’re right.”
Peter raised his head, his expression considerably more serious.
“I should ask what she thinks.”
“That’s the spirit.”
“Mission accomplished, Parker.”
“Make sure you bring your little sister to the concert.”
Peter held the smooth ticket between his fingers.
Printed across it was Uta’s confident, flamboyant smile.
Suddenly, he felt that taking Misaka out to experience another side of this world might actually be a good idea.
At the very least, maybe it could put a few more expressions on that usually indifferent face of hers—the expressions one would expect from a sixteen-year-old girl.
Dinner at the Parker household was always accompanied by old songs playing on the radio and the comforting aroma of food.
Tonight, Aunt May had made spaghetti with Italian meat sauce.
The rich aroma of tomatoes and basil filled the entire dining room.
“Misaka, try this. I added some extra Parmesan cheese today.”
Aunt May used a serving spoon to add another generous helping of sauce to Misaka’s plate, piling the spaghetti into a small mountain.
“Thank you, Aunt May. That’s already plenty.”
Misaka stared at her plate helplessly.
Yet warmth filled her heart.
Uncle Ben was watching a rebroadcast of the evening news.
On television, the anchor was delivering a formal report about a chemical leak at an abandoned factory.
He shook his head.
“This city always seems to have somewhere causing trouble.”
Peter absentmindedly twirled the spaghetti on his plate.
The faint scraping of his fork against the dish filled the silence.
Every so often, he glanced at Misaka sitting across from him.
He looked as though he wanted to say something but couldn’t quite bring himself to start.
The concert ticket Harry had practically forced into his hands was now in his pants pocket.
It felt like a heated brand against his leg.
Misaka had noticed his strange behavior long ago.
Ever since they returned home, the guy had been acting distracted.
His eyes wandered constantly, like a hamster carrying around a secret and having no idea how to bring it up.
She wiped the corner of her mouth with a napkin.
She decided to take the initiative rather than let him stare at her until she became uncomfortable.
“Is there something you want to say?”
Peter was startled by the direct question.
His fork slipped from his fingers and clattered onto the plate.
“Huh? No, nothing’s wrong.”
He hurriedly picked up the fork, avoiding her eyes.
“Your face is practically wrinkled into a walnut.”
Misaka raised an eyebrow.
“Come on. What trouble did you get into at school this time?”
“I didn’t!”
Peter immediately protested, his voice jumping an entire octave.
But the moment Aunt May and Uncle Ben looked over at him, he wilted.
He took a deep breath as though making up his mind about something.
Then he pulled the beautifully designed ticket from his pocket and carefully slid it toward the center of the dining table.
“This…”
He scratched his head, his cheeks turning red.
“There’s a concert next Friday night.”
“Harry got some tickets and asked us…”
He hesitated.
“Asked if you’d like to go with us.”
Misaka’s eyes fell on the ticket.
It featured a cartoon girl with red-and-white hair wearing enormous headphones.
Beside her was the stylized logo “Uta”, along with the words:
“New Genesis World Tour.”
A concert?
Images immediately flashed through Misaka’s mind.
A sea of people.
Screaming fans.
A deafening mixture of cheers and music.
She had always kept her distance from places like that.
Back in Academy City, she’d rather spend an entire afternoon playing video games at an arcade or reading free manga at a bookstore.
She certainly wouldn’t willingly attend some idol’s handshake event or concert.