Marvel Brave: A power-lacking boy aims to be the strongest in a world of heroes. - Awakening in the Back Alley

Cold. That was the first sensation. The rough texture of asphalt against my cheek. A stench like rotting garbage, oil, and exhaust fumes mixed together, stinging my nose. A dull pain, as if someone were swinging a hammer around inside my skull, throbbed in a steady rhythm—thump, thump, thump. "...Ugh... ah..." A voiceless sound leaked from my parched throat. My eyelids felt impossibly heavy. Like someone had glued lead weights to them. When I somehow managed to force my eyes open, my vision filled with a grimy brick wall and, piled at its base, a mountain of black plastic garbage bags. Ah, an alleyway. The thought drifted through my mind, hazy. But why was I sleeping in a place like this? Yesterday... no, what was I doing just before this? Right. School had ended, and I was walking with Sakura— "—?!" The moment that name surfaced in my mind, my heart slammed against my ribs. I bolted upright. Forgetting the pain in my head entirely, I frantically scanned my surroundings. "Sakura!" My voice cracked. She was right beside me. Sakura lay collapsed face-down, her long black hair spilling from her shoulders down her back. Silky hair that reached all the way to her shoulder blades. She usually wore it in a half-up style, but now the hair tie seemed to have gone missing somewhere, leaving it just splayed out. "Hey, Sakura! Are you okay?!" I shook her shoulder. No response. A cold, unpleasant sweat trickled down my back. Desperately, I peered into her face. Her large brown eyes, which normally looked so gentle with their slightly downturned corners, were squeezed tightly shut now. Her long eyelashes caught the light reflecting off a puddle at the edge of the road, looking just a little damp. She's okay. I murmured it in my mind, as if trying to convince myself. Her breathing was ragged, but her complexion wasn't deathly pale. And there were no visible injuries on her body. But no matter how much I shook her, no matter how many times I called her name, Sakura didn't so much as twitch, as if she'd fallen into a deep sleep. What should I do? I fumbled through my pockets. My fingers touched my Japanese high school student ID, a few hundred-yen coins. And a pocket-sized pack of tissues. My phone—was gone. Nowhere to be found. Damn it. I looked up at the surrounding buildings. They were all incredibly tall. Nothing but unfamiliar signs, covered in nothing but alphabet letters. From beyond the alley, toward the main street, all I could hear were car horns, someone shouting angrily, and conversations in a foreign language I couldn't understand. This isn't Japan. The moment I realized that, a sudden terror gripped me. "...How did this happen?" My voice trembled. I was so utterly confused that my mind was a complete mess. I couldn't just leave Sakura like this. I had to find somewhere safer. Chiding my shaking legs into action, I stood up, took Sakura's slender arm, and slowly lifted her onto my back. Her body, at 158 centimeters, should have been light, but right now it felt terribly, impossibly heavy. I stepped out onto the main street. What leaped into my vision was a forest of gray skyscrapers. Walls of glass standing side by side, carving out pieces of the sky. The low, growling roar of car engines. Yellow taxis blaring their horns like maniacs as they sped past. This was New York. A city I'd seen countless times in movies and games. The endless skyline of towering buildings felt far colder than it ever had on a screen, as if declaring it had no intention of welcoming outsiders. I had to ask someone for help. "E-Excuse me!" A man in a suit was about to hurry past, and I steeled myself and called out to him. "Please, help me! My friend...!" The man shot me a suspicious look, rattled something off rapidly, and immediately walked away. I couldn't understand a word he said. That same scenario repeated itself several times. It's no use. They can't understand me. Despair crept up from my feet like freezing water. I'm not a superhero or anything. I'm just a high school student. I can barely speak English, and I have no money. Alone in this enormous city... no, just me and Sakura, who's unconscious— That was when it happened. A thunderous roar, tearing through the air, descended from the sky. I instinctively looked up. Something was flying through the cloudless blue sky, between the valleys of skyscrapers. Red and gold. A metallic mass in the shape of a human. Jets of something—neither quite flame nor light—erupted from its hands and feet as it vanished beyond the buildings at unbelievable speed. That was... "...Iron Man." The moment I said it aloud, my mind went completely blank. So this really isn't the world I know. It's the Marvel world. A place where superhumans and heroes actually exist, where aliens attack every other day and cities get destroyed. We've been thrown into an insanely dangerous world. My legs began to tremble violently. Only the weight of Sakura on my back kept me tethered to reality right now. "...Sakura, I'll definitely protect you." I murmured it quietly, as if telling myself. Putting it into words made me feel like I could muster just a little bit of courage. I started walking. I had no idea where I was going. But the crowded main street felt dangerous. If they figured out we were clueless foreigners, there was no telling what might happen to us. So I chose the back streets. Every single wall was covered in graffiti scrawled from spray cans. Unreadable letters, screaming faces, skull marks. All of it was ominous, and it communicated one thing very clearly: we weren't welcome. As I walked, I desperately tried to recall what had happened just a few hours ago. I was pretty sure we were on our way home from school. Sakura and I were walking and chatting like we always did. Then, a sudden, overwhelming drowsiness hit me—and the next thing I knew, I was lying in that alley. Why did this happen? Who did it, and for what purpose? "...Ow." Lost in thought, I kicked an empty can at my feet. The hollow, metallic clatter echoed through the alley. Hunger and exhaustion were pushing my body to its limits. My school uniform jacket offered no protection whatsoever. Sakura's breathing seemed faster than before, and my anxiety spiked. I have to do something. Quickly. But how? I don't know. I have nothing. Up ahead, I began to see scattered figures of people. A businessman in a suit, a woman walking a large dog, a runner with earbuds in. None of them so much as glanced our way. As someone passed by, I heard them say, "Stay safe." I guess that meant "be careful." "...Stay safe, huh. There's no way to be careful here." I have a habit of forcing myself to smile when things get tough. I was probably making a pretty awful face right now. Just then, I looked up at the sky. Far, far away, in the gap between the buildings, I spotted a pale blue light shining. Seeing it, my heart leaped again. This time, much harder than before. At the very top of a colossal building, that cold light. Shining brighter than any neon sign around it, brighter than any star. "The Stark Tower arc reactor..." Footage I'd seen countless times in my favorite movies. Rising above Park Avenue, Tony Stark's home base, Stark Industries—the headquarters of the mega-corporation representing America. Annual revenue of 48 billion dollars, 120,000 employees. The smartest person in this world and the most incredible technology were both in that building. If... if I could just get there. "There might be something." A baseless confidence born from being a Marvel fan spurred me into action. "...Alright." I readjusted Sakura on my back. My legs already felt like wooden poles. My arms were trembling too. Only the beating of Sakura's heart against my back, proof that she was alive, desperately kept my own spirit tethered. "I'll definitely save you." I said it to no one in particular. As I started walking again, I noticed the scenery around me had changed slightly. This area... was it called Midtown? An entire wall of a building had been turned into a giant screen, playing an advertisement for Stark Industries. The catchphrase about changing the future with clean energy, and the blue light of the arc reactor, were displayed across the whole screen. "...Amazing." I couldn't help but stop and stare, mesmerized. Then, I overheard a conversation between two businessmen walking beside me. "...Did you hear? Apparently they went all out in Harlem again last night. Half a building collapsed." "Again? If insurance stops covering it, no one's gonna be able to live in this city anymore." Sighing, they hurried off, paper cups of what looked like Starbucks coffee in hand. A chill ran down my spine. Half a building collapsed in a superhuman battle? And they talked about it with the same energy as "it rained last night." For ordinary people, death was an everyday neighbor. In this world, powerless humans like me were nothing more than beings who were only alive because they'd been lucky so far. I was reminded just how utterly powerless I was. What if those aliens, the Chitauri, attacked right now? What if Loki appeared? There was nothing, absolutely nothing I could do. Forget protecting Sakura—I'd be dead myself in a second. I'm scared. I'm so scared I want to hide somewhere right this instant. But I couldn't stop walking. Why? Because Sakura was on my back. To me, she's... what is she? A childhood friend, someone like family, the most important person to me—someone I always want by my side. She's kind, has a strong core, and yet she shows me her vulnerable side. There's no way I could abandon a Sakura like that. It's not like some superpower is going to awaken in me, like in a drama or anime. It's not like I have an arc reactor embedded in my chest. The only thing I have is a small scar at the edge of my right eyebrow from a fall when I was a kid. I truly have no power at all. So, at the very least. "I've got no choice but to figure something out with my head and my feet." Not caring that my bangs were plastered to my forehead with sweat, I fixed my eyes on the light of Stark Tower and started walking. One step, then another. Like swimming through a dark, unfamiliar ocean at night, relying on a single lighthouse. The city of New York looked down on us again today—cold, indifferent.

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Episode 1

Name: Marvel Brave: A power-lacking boy aims to be the strongest in a world of heroes.
Author: Novelia

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