Marvel Brave: A power-lacking boy aims to be the strongest in a world of heroes. - The Price of Resolve

Haruto stood frozen, staring up at the ridiculously tall building. Stark Tower. A giant of glass and steel, towering over Park Avenue. The pale blue light of the Arc Reactor was being swallowed into the gray Manhattan sky. A view he'd seen countless times in movies and games now just looked down on him, cold and indifferent. (*I'm going in there.*) He clenched his right hand into a fist. His fingertips trembled, and not just from the cold. One week. That was the time limit Black Widow had given him, and three days had already passed. Sakura was waiting in their tiny apartment. Trusting that Haruto would come back safely. "...Let's do this." Whipping his trembling legs into motion, Haruto headed for the main entrance. The polished glass doors mercilessly reflected his wrinkled, worn-out clothes. The small scar at the edge of his right eyebrow—from a fall when he was a kid—stood out clearly. Just an ordinary Asian high school kid with no powers at all. The automatic doors slid open without a sound. The moment he stepped inside, the air in the lobby changed. "Halt." A low, intimidating voice echoed. A large man in a black uniform stood blocking Haruto's path. A baton at his hip. An intercom on his chest. His skin was dark, his neck looked as thick as Haruto's thigh. He was at least a full head taller. "This isn't a tourist attraction. What's your business?" Haruto's breath caught. English. He understood that much in his head. But the words came too fast, barely reaching his brain. "Uh, um, I'm... Ms. Pepper Potts..." "What was that? Speak English." The furrow between the guard's brows deepened. "I said, Pepper Potts! CEO! I want to see her!" Haruto desperately strung together the English words he knew. But only irritation showed on the guard's face. "Oh, is that so. You want to see Ms. Potts. And who are you? Appointment? ID?" Haruto fumbled through his pockets. But all that came out was his Japanese student ID and a few hundred-yen coins. "This is all I..." "...Japanese? You've gotta be kidding me." The guard plucked the student ID from Haruto's hand and examined it with a look like he was staring at trash. "Don't just walk in from anywhere. This isn't a place for vagrants like you." A shove to the chest. Haruto stumbled, catching himself on the polished marble floor. His student ID slipped from his grasp, spinning in circles. "Get out. Right now. Or I'm calling security." Haruto picked up his fallen student ID. Frustration burned hot behind his eyes. He lacked everything. Power. Words, status, credibility. Everything. Employees in suits came and went through the lobby. They glanced at Haruto for a split second, then immediately averted their eyes. As if looking at something that didn't exist. This was a different world. He couldn't even stand at the entrance. Haruto rose on trembling legs and slowly stepped back out through the automatic doors. The cold wind of New York slapped against his sweaty cheeks. (*This isn't the end. No way.*) Haruto fixed his gaze on the front of Stark Tower. Breaking past that guard from the front was impossible. But there had to be another way. I'm not giving up. I'll get inside this place, no matter what, to protect Sakura. Haruto sat on a bench a short distance from Stark Tower. From there, he had a clear view of the service entrance leading to the back of the building. For three days now, Haruto had come here every morning. The time the guards changed shifts, the comings and goings of the cleaning staff, the delivery truck schedules. He jotted everything down in a small notebook. Six in the morning, the cleaning staff entered through the back. Eight o'clock, two large delivery trucks. The logo was from a Staten Island shipping company. One in the afternoon, a truck from a different vendor delivered employee lunches. Haruto's observations were meticulous. How could he slip past those security eyes? He spent his time thinking of nothing else. But today marked the third day. Only four days left until the one-week deadline. Dusk approached, and the shadows of the buildings stretched long. Just as Haruto rose from the bench, a voice came from behind him. "Haruto." He turned to find Sakura standing there. Her black hair, which usually fell to her shoulder blades, was tied back in a single ponytail today. Her large brown eyes looked a little glossy—and he knew it wasn't just his imagination. "Sakura, what are you doing here?" "I got worried, so I came." Sakura sat down beside him. Her slender fingers unconsciously twirled the ends of her hair. A habit of hers when she was anxious. "Haruto, I've been thinking. It's not right for us to keep going like this, with you doing all the struggling alone." Sakura's voice was gentle, but it had a core of steel. "I passed by a café, and they were hiring waitresses. I'm going to work there. That way, we can save up a little money, and you won't have to push yourself so hard alone, right?" "No." Haruto answered instantly. "Why not?" "Because it's dangerous. This world is far, far more dangerous than you think. There's nowhere I can just leave you alone." "But I can also—" "And besides, Sakura, you're way more of a scaredy-cat than me, and way too kind. In this city, that'll just hold you back." At his words, Sakura's shoulders flinched. She looked down. "...Right. Of course. Because I'm weak. That's why you're always fighting alone, isn't it, Haruto?" "No, that's not what I—" "Yes, it is!" Sakura lifted her head. Tears were spilling from her large eyes. "I want to be useful to you too, Haruto! I'm sick of just being protected all the time! I can't stand it... just watching you get hurt...!" Her voice trembled. This was her true feeling, the one she'd kept locked in her heart all this time. Haruto was speechless. It was the first time Sakura had ever hurled her emotions at him so fiercely. "I know you've decided to protect me, Haruto... but I want to protect you too, you know." Wiping her tears with the back of her hand, Sakura put on her bravest face. Haruto gently took her hand. It was a delicate, warm hand. "...Okay. I'm sorry, Sakura. I was wrong." "Huh?" "I didn't consider your feelings. I just decided everything based on my own assumptions. You're not weak. You're the strongest person I know." He squeezed her hand back, tightly. "But please, wait on the job. First, I'll open this door. Once I do, we'll figure everything out together. What you want to do, our future... So just trust me and wait a little longer. Please." Sakura stared at Haruto's face for a long moment, then finally gave a single, small nod. "...Okay. I understand. But you have to promise. We're going to survive this, together." Her voice still trembled a little, but a strong light now lived in her eyes. The next morning, six AM. Haruto was behind Stark Tower. He wore work gloves and a gray jumpsuit, similar to the cleaning staff's, bought at a nearby hardware store. Three days of observation had taught him something. The six AM cleaning crew were contract workers hired in bulk by an agency, and the faces changed constantly. Just before the delivery trucks arrived, there was a brief moment when security at the service entrance thinned out. Now. Blending in with a group of delivery workers carrying large cardboard boxes, Haruto dashed into the service entrance. —*Beep.* In an instant, a grating electronic sound blared. "What the—?!" A small camera mounted in the corner of the ceiling glowed an eerie red. "Unregistered biological entity detected. Alerting security. Please remain where you are." A synthetic voice with a fluent British accent echoed, cold and mechanical. In a flash, the service entrance shutter slammed shut. "You've gotta be kidding...!" The AI, J.A.R.V.I.S. The gatekeeper of Stark Tower, master of all biometric authentication. There were sensors even here? The sound of multiple footsteps clattered closer. "Freeze! Hands behind your head!" Two guards grabbed his arms and forced Haruto to the floor. The cold feel of the marble stabbed into his cheek. "Wait! I just want to see Ms. Pepper Potts!" "Shut up! That's what every trespasser like you says!" One of the guards pressed Haruto's head against the floor. A dull thud. The old scar above his right eyebrow throbbed with heat. "Please! Just five minutes, just hear me out! There's someone I have to protect, no matter what!" Haruto screamed desperately, in Japanese. It wasn't English. So it might not get through. But he couldn't stop himself from shouting. "Shut your mouth!" The guard drove his knee into Haruto's stomach. His breath stopped. His body folded in half. "Get this guy outside. Hand him over to the police." Haruto's arm was twisted hard again. Tears welled up from the pain. (*Is this... where it ends?*) That's when it happened. "—Hold it right there." A dignified woman's voice rang through the corridor. The guards' movements stopped dead. Lifting his head, Haruto saw a blonde woman in a tight skirt suit standing there. Mid-thirties, maybe. The sharp eyes behind her glasses coldly surveyed the scene. "M-Ms. Karen..." "What is all this commotion?" "Th-this guy, he trespassed through the back... blended in with the delivery workers." "I see. And this boy was shouting something in Japanese, wasn't he?" The secretary studied Haruto's face intently. "...That scar by your eye isn't from just now. You're still young, but you have the face of someone who's been through hardship." "Please! Let me see Ms. Pepper Potts! Just five minutes is all I need!" Still sprawled on the floor, Haruto yelled to her. The secretary folded her arms and thought for a moment. "...You. For three days, you've been observing this building from the bench in front of the main entrance. And today, you chose the back entrance to match the cleaning staff's shift." Haruto was stunned. She knew everything. "That stubbornness of yours—is it just stupidity, or is it the real thing? ...I'll give you five minutes. I'll squeeze you into Pepper's schedule. But if you bore her, it won't end well for you. Be prepared for that." The guards hurriedly released Haruto. "A-are you sure about this, Ms. Karen?!" "Do you have an objection to my instructions?" The guards fell silent under her icy glare. "Can you stand? Follow me." Haruto forced his aching body upright. It wasn't a dream. Something had just shifted, even if only a little. Pepper Potts's office was impossibly quiet. Beyond the floor-to-ceiling glass walls, the city of New York sprawled out. The room held a heavy wooden desk and a white leather sofa. Nothing superfluous. Pepper Potts sat behind the desk. CEO of Stark Industries. Her blonde hair was tied back, and she wore a simple white pantsuit. She was the very image of a polished female business leader. But her eyes were not those of an ordinary businessperson. They held the light of resolve, possessed only by those who had survived countless brushes with death. "So you're the one who absolutely had to see me. I hear you broke through security and even got Karen to move personally." Pepper's voice was calm and pleasant. "Yes." "So, who are you? Name, identity, affiliation. And what business do you have with Stark Industries?" "I'm... Haruto. I have no identity, no affiliation, nothing. No connections, no power, no money. I can't even speak English well, like just now." Haruto spoke honestly. He couldn't put on airs. In front of this person, any attempt would be seen through in an instant. "And?" Pepper's lips softened just a little. She had likely met hundreds of young people putting up a brave front. "But there's someone I have to protect. Her name is Sakura. She's my childhood friend, like family to me... the most important person in the world. We were thrown into this world without understanding anything, and we have

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Episode 3

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

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