Disclaimer: I do not own anything! Everything belongs to their respective owners!
Hey everybody! Hope you all are doing good! We're back with the second chapter of Venomous Spirit!
Before we begin though, I have a brief message concerning my previous author's note that I had up previously upon initially uploading this chapter. I realized that listing off the names of those three FanFiction users (who I will now keep anonymous to protect their privacy) was completely uncalled for and I sincerely apologize for that. Secondly, I just want to say to everyone out there that if there is a story out there that you don't like, please don't say anything rude about the writers or their stories. Everyone is entitled to their own likes and dislikes, and if there is a story that you don't like, then that's fine. However, if you are going to offer criticism, please be civil and respectful about it. Everyone has their own style of writing and some are still beginners while others have their own creative visions, so if their story doesn't suit your tastes, either ignore it and find one that does or at least offer constructive criticism that respectfully and politely points out how it could be better and don't outright attack their creative decisions.
That's all I have to say and thank you guys if you listened. Now then, let's get into the chapter!
Venomous Spirit
-Chapter 2: Spirit-
The moment that Shido managed to regain consciousness, his vision was momentarily obscured by a light being shined down onto his face. Then, he realized that a woman whom he didn't recognize was holding his eyelids open with her fingers while shining light onto his eyes with looked to be a penlight. The sight caused Shido to let out a brief shout of surprise, causing the woman to lower the penlight.
"Hmm... You're awake now?" the woman spoke with an indifferent and spaced-out tone.
It seemed that she had been checking the movement of Shido's eyes while he had been unconscious, as her face was unusually close. He could smell a faint fragrance coming from the woman, most likely the smell of shampoo.
"Wha- Wait, who are you?!" Shido exclaimed.
The woman, still in an absent-minded state, raised her body up before drearily sweeping her bangs to the side. As a certain amount of distance was put between them, Shido was able to get a full view of the woman.
She looked to be around 20 years of age, had long, unkempt pale blue hair tied in a right-side ponytail, and pale blue eyes that appeared to have dark circles underneath that made it seem like she hadn't had any decent sleep for quite a while. She was dressed in a brown military-style suit over a white undershirt with a black tie, a black skirt with brown leggings, and black shoes. However, he also noticed that she had a small blue teddy bear tucked into the breast pocket of her suit.
"...I'm the Head Analyst here, Reine Murasame." the woman replied. "Unfortunately, our Medical Officer is away. But don't worry. Although I don't have a license, I can at least handle some simple nursing."
'Is that supposed to be reassuring?' Shido thought to himself. Despite her words, he still couldn't help but feel somewhat worried since this woman, Reine, obviously seemed less healthy herself than Shido. In fact, since earlier, as if drawing a small circle in the air with her head, her body had been swaying unsteadily. After raising himself up in a sitting position, he was reminded of what Reine had just said.
"Here? Where is here?" he asked after taking in his surroundings. He had been asleep on a simple pipe bed surrounded by a white curtain that acted as a divider. It was a space that reminded him of a school infirmary. However, the ceiling was slightly out of place, as some plain pipes and wiring were visible.
"...Ah, this is the medical office of Fraxinus," Reine responded in a groggy voice. "You were unconscious, so we brought you here."
Shido blinked a few times. "I was unconscious...? Ah!" He then recalled how he had been dragged into the battle between Origami and the mysterious girl and had been knocked out in the process. "Um, can I ask a few questions? Too many things happened that I don't quite understand and..."
However, Reine didn't respond and instead slightly turned away from the boy. Shido opened his mouth to call out for her to wait before she spoke, "...Follow me. There's someone I want to introduce you to. I know you have a lot of questions, but I'm bad at explaining. If you want any specifics, you should ask that person."
As she said that, she opened the curtains to reveal a slightly larger space with around six similar pipe beds lined up, and in the back of the room sat some unfamiliar medical tools. Reine turned towards what was apparently the entrance of the room and wobbled towards it. Shido was about to get up off the bed to follow after her before he decided to quickly check in with his other occupant.
'Hey, Venom. You awake, buddy?'
{Mgh... That you kid?} the Symbiote's voice asked groggily through the teen's head.
'No, it's Tony Stark. Of course, it's me!' Shido responded with annoyance. 'What the heck were you doing, taking a nap?'
{As a matter of fact, I was. That is until some jackass decided to go and ruin it.} Venom snarked back before his voice became serious. {But judging by your current surroundings, I'm gonna guess you got yourself caught up in a sticky situation?}
'Well, not quite sticky, but weird would probably be the proper term.' Shido answered. 'I still don't know a lot myself just yet, but apparently, we're in a place called Fraxinus and this lady named Reine is saying that-'
{Whoa, whoa, time out.} Venom jumped in. {What's this Fraxina-what-now you're talking about?}
Shido lightly rolled his eyes at the alien's question, but before he could clarify, he heard a loud bang come from near the door that led out of the room. Quickly looking up, he saw that Reine was leaning on the wall and holding the side of her head while lightly moaning. It seemed like she had stumbled and had hit her head against the wall.
Shido's eyes widened and he finally got up off of the bed. "A-Are you alright?!"
"...Aah, sorry. Recently I haven't been getting enough sleep," Reine answered with another moan.
"How long has it been since you slept?" he asked. After thinking it over for a bit, the woman held up three fingers. "Three days? Then of course you'd be sleepy."
"...Maybe around thirty years?" Reine spoke again.
{What?} Venom asked in disbelief.
Shido's eyes nearly bugged out of his head. "The units are too different!"
He had been prepared for an answer of around three weeks, but the one he got was completely unexpected. And it obviously exceeded the age that she appeared to be at.
"...Well, it's true that I can't remember the last time I slept," Reine said. "I have something like extreme insomnia."
{It's definitely extreme alright.} Venom commented.
Reine blinked with realization. "...Oh. Ah, excuse me, it's time for my medicine."
She then searched her pockets and pulled out a case of tablets. She opened the case and began pouring the medicine into her mouth as if she were drinking them.
{What the hell?!} Venom exclaimed with comical shock. {She's guzzling that shit down like it's candy or something!}
Shido's eyes widened. "H-Hey!"
Without hesitation, Reine crunched up the tablets in her mouth before gulping them down and turned to look at Shido. "...What is it? You're noisy."
"How much did you eat?! And what medicine even was that!?"
"...They were all sleeping pills."
"You could die from eating that much! That's not a good joke!"
"...But they're not really effective anyway."
"What kind of body do you have!?"
"...Well, it's sweet and delicious, so it's good."
"Isn't that Ramune instead!?"
{Guess it might as well be candy. To her at least.}
After his bout of shouting, Shido exhaled a deep breath while Reine returned the now empty medicine case to her pocket and started walking with dangerous steps before opening the door of the medical office.
"...Anyway, this way. Follow me," she said while walking out the door. Shido hurriedly put on his shoes, which had been placed on the floor beside his bed, and ran out of the room after the woman. However, as soon as he stepped out the door, his eyes widened in astonishment.
Outside the room was a construction much like a narrow corridor. The pale-colored mechanical-styled walls and floors for some reason made Shido feel like he was inside the innards of a spaceship or the passageways of a submarine from some kind of Si-Fi movie.
"...What kind of place is this?" he asked himself with disbelief as he slowly started to move his feet.
{Your guess is as good as mine, kid.} Venom replied, sounding slightly unsure and wary.
Shido followed a couple of feet behind Reine as the two made their way down the long corridor, the latter still staggering with unsteady steps. After about five minutes of walking and awkward silence between the two, Reine stopped in front of a door with a small electrical panel on the side at the end of the hallway.
"...It's here," Reine said before the electrical panel made a light beep and the door smoothly slid open. "...Please come in."
When she and Shido stepped inside, the boy took a moment to take in the scenery on the other side of the door. To summarize, it was a place that resembled the command center of a ship. In front of the door that Shido passed through, the floor was spread out in a half oval shape, and positioned in its center was a chair that seemed to be the captain's seat. Furthermore, following the gently sloped stairs on its two sides lead to a lower level, where he could see the crew members operating complex-looking consoles. It was dim as a whole, and the monitors scattered here and there gave off a light that unpleasantly asserted their presence.
"...I brought him," Reine spoke while her head swayed dizzily.
"Good work." A man standing beside the captain's seat said while giving a slight bow.
Shido noticed that he had long wavy blond hair and a face that didn't seem to be Japanese. Perhaps he was of American or European ancestry? Much like Reine, he was dressed in a military-style suit, only his was white with black outlines and blue covering some parts. He also wore a black shirt underneath and a white-silver tie with a black belt around his waist.
"Hello. I am the Vice Commander here, Kyohei Kannazuki. Nice to meet you, Shido Itsuka." The man greeted with a friendly smile.
Shido scratched his cheek slightly before giving a small bow. "Th-Thank you."
{Well, at least he seems normal compared to the sleepless addict} Shido's partner 'complimented.'
'Hush,' Shido shushed mentally.
Kannazuki then turned towards the captain's seat, which had its back facing them. "Commander, Analysis Officer Murasame has returned."
At that moment, the chair began to slowly rotate around until its occupant came into view. Seated within the chair was a young girl wearing a crimson military coat over a white uniform like a cape as well as a black tie with red sidelines, a red skirt with white cloth-like material sticking out, and a pair of long, black boots that reached halfway up her thighs. Her long, light coral-colored hair was also tied on both sides with two large black ribbons.
"Glad you could make it, bro!" the girl smirked while twirling a lollipop in her fingers. "Like the idiot said, welcome to Ratatoskr."
Her appearance caused Shido's eyes to widen with complete bewilderment. "...Kotori?"
Sure enough, the girl seated comfortably in the captain's seat was, without mistake, his beloved little sister, Kotori Itsuka.
{...Okay, what the hell is going on?} Venom asked the million yen question.
JGSDF - Tengu Base
"...Shido Itsuka," Origami muttered in a faint voice as an image of said boy's face flashed in her mind.
Without a doubt, he was the boy from that time. There was no way that her memories could be wrong. It was quite a shame, but they had only met that one time, so it really couldn't be helped that he couldn't remember her. Since entering high school, she had watched him from afar and had tried to come up with various ways to get closer to him, only she could never muster up the nerve to do so. However, there was a more pressing issue at hand as well.
"Why was he at such a place?"
She couldn't understand why he had come out after the Spacequake alert sounded. But also, he had definitely seen it.
Origami, in her special equipment - and the Spirit.
"Master Sergeant Tobiichi, the preparations are complete!"
At the mechanic's voice, she jolted her downcast expression upright. She then immediately focused on a command in her head. The command traveled down the wiring suit wrapped around Origami's body, passing through the thrusters on her back, and activated the embedded Realizer. Wrapped in the equipment whose form didn't seem suited for flying, Origami's body was lightly floating in the air.
In the hanger situated on one of the corners of the base, following the mechanic's instructions, Origami landed in her personal dock as if sitting down, returned the weapons to their designated places, and finally, exhaling a deep breath, shut off all of the Realizers. At the same time, the weight of the equipment and the accumulated stress that she hadn't felt even a fragment of moments ago bore down on her body all at once.
The sound of a machine started behind her, and the thrusters that she carried on her back were disconnected. However, it would be around another three minutes before Origami could move from that spot.
This happened every time after using a CR-Unit. Returning from a superhuman to a normal person, the body would feel abnormally heavy.
Combat Realizer Unit. Generally called CR-Unit.
It was the name of the tactical equipment that utilized the miraculous technology, the Realizer, that the humans had obtained after the large Spacequake thirty years ago. It took the results calculated by computers by computers, and by distorting the laws of physics, manifested them in the real world.
In short, although there were some restrictions, it was a technology that turned imaginations into reality. It had been called a system that produces so-called 'magic' through scientific means.
At the same time, it was the only way for humans to fight against the Spirits.
While exhaling a long breath, Origami glanced slightly upwards and recalled the battle earlier that day. Spirits, a calamity that would inevitably destroy the world, and an abnormality that not even a group of superhumans like Origami could even hope to scratch. Appearing out of nowhere and spreading destruction on a whim, they were monsters on a level akin to natural disasters.
In the end, even today's battle ended with the Spirit being lost, though it was more like the Spirit decided to bring down the curtains. Lost didn't mean that the Spirit had died. All it meant was that the Spirit had escaped through another dimension.
Though there were records in books where it seemed that the actions of the AST drove away Spirits, Origami as well as all of the other members involved directly in the battle knew. The Spirits felt absolutely no threat from them, and when the Spirits became lost, that was purely because of the Spirits' whims.
"Origami!" a voice called from inside the hanger, breaking Origami's thoughts.
Silently, she turned to face the source of the voice, but her head still felt extremely heavy after having her CR-Unit deactivated and felt a wave of vertigo wash over her before she nearly fell forward, only to be stopped when a pair of arms grabbed her to prevent her from falling to the ground. The one who had caught her was a woman in her mid-20s with long black hair tied in a ponytail and black eyes who was dressed in the same wiring suit as Origami.
Captain Ryoko Kusakabe, the commanding officer of the AST unit that Origami belonged to.
"You did great driving off that Spirit by yourself," Ryoko assured the younger girl. "...I gave a strict lecture to Tomonara and Kagaya. What were they thinking, retreating and leaving you to drive off the Spirit by yourself?"
Once she felt her head start to clear up and the sense of heaviness gradually deteriorate, Origami gently pulled away from her captain and replied, "I didn't drive it away."
Ryoko merely shrugged. "Well, I've gotta report it like that to the top. If we don't some results, the budget's gonna drop."
"..." Origami responded with silence as her gaze dropped to the ground with a frown, which Ryoko was quick to notice.
"C'mon, don't make that face. I'm praising you here. You're making a great effort with the ace's seat still empty, and if you weren't there, there probably would have been some serious casualties." She then exhaled a long breath before sharpening her gaze and grabbing Origami by the head and turned it so that she was looking into her eyes. "But listen here, you went overboard out there. Do you really wanna die that badly?"
While the white-haired teen responded with silence, Ryoko continued without lifting her sharp gaze.
"Do you really understand what kind of opponent you're fighting? That's a monster for god's sake. A hurricane with intelligence. Do you understand? Within your abilities, suppress the damage to the minimum. Within your abilities, make it lost as early as possible. That's our job. Don't pointlessly expose yourself to danger."
"That's wrong." Origami replied while looking her captain straight in the eyes. "To defeat the Spirits, that is the duty of the AST."
Ryoko frowned at the girl's statement. As the captain of the AST, she was supposed to have understood the name of the Anti-Spirit Team much more than Origami. Because she did understand it. The most that they could manage was to suppress the damage caused by the Spirits, and that was that.
"I will defeat the Spirits," Origami repeated once again in a firm tone.
"..." the dark-haired woman sighed as she removed her hand from the younger girl's head. "...I wasn't planning on hearing what you personally think. Think what you want, but if you go against another command while on the battlefield, you'll be removed from the team."
"I understand." Origami answered briefly and, with her body now fully adjusted, walked away.
Fraxinus:
"This thing is a monster called a 'Spirit'. It was lost not long ago. That means it disappeared. And these are the AST, the JGSDF's Anti-Spirit Team. You got yourself in a pretty sticky situation. If we hadn't recovered you when we did, you probably would have died two or three times by now. Anyway, onto the next thing-"
"Wait! Will you shut up for a second?" Shido raised his voice, interrupting Kotori's rapid explanation. He was having trouble processing everything that was happening at once.
The red-haired Ichika sibling gave a disapproving frown. "Don't be rude. The commander is taking the time to explain everything to you personally. You should be on your knees bowing in gratitude. If you want, I certainly wouldn't mind letting you lick my boots while you're down there."
Shido was left absolutely befuddled by the stream of abuse that flowed from his sister's mouth. It was completely not like the Kotori he knew at all, almost as if she was a completely different person.
{What the hell?! Who does this little brat suddenly think she is?!} Venom shouted in the boy's head, sounding quite insulted and infuriated.
"What? Really, I can?!" Kannazuki exclaimed in a voice filled with glee, only to be violently elbowed in the solar plexus by Kotori. However, despite the pain, the Vice-Commander's expression was filled with bliss as he collapsed to the ground. "Oh, yeah. Thank you for that, Commander."
Shido and Venom both blinked at the sight of the blonde.
{...Uh, I take back what I said about this guy being normal. He's a freaking masochist!} Venom said, completely appalled by the sudden change in personality.
Although he was slightly disturbed by the man's strange antics, Shido continued to stare at Kotori, still unable to make sense of his little sister's dramatic personality shift.
"And uh, you are Kotori, right?"
"Of course. Have you forgotten what my face looks like, Shido? I knew your memory was bad, but not Alzheimer's bad. Well, I guess we'll have to admit you to a nursing home pretty soon."
Again, Shido had no idea what to make of Kotori's rude insults and sudden change in demeanor and was left completely speechless while he could hear Venom practically snarling through his mind.
{This rotten little brat...! Just when I thought she couldn't be any more infuriating!} Venom growled, clearly unhappy with the young girl's abusive insults.
Ignoring the rising aggression in the Symbiote's voice, Shido glanced around the command room. "So, what's going on anyway? Where are we?"
"Quit freaking out. I'll explain the specifics to you later, but first. You need to remember the three things I'm about to say." Kotori then pointed her lollipop towards the front of the room, which showed an image of the purple-haired girl from before standing at the center of the large crater in the middle of the street. "One, that girl is a 'Spirit'. She doesn't belong in this world, and simply appearing on our planet causes everything around her to blow up whether she wants to or not."
Shido stared at the image of the girl on screen before realization dawned on him. "Blow up? You mean... the Spacequakes?"
Kotori nodded. "That's right. Spirits just like that girl down there are the ones responsible for making them happen."
The boy's eyes widened and lightly gasped as he recalled the scale of the damage caused to the city when the girl first appeared before him. 'How could one girl do all that? Venom, do you know anything about these Spirits?'
{No, this is the first I've ever heard of these "Spirits". Although, if they can cause that much damage just by showing up, then it sounds like they're quite dangerous.}
"Ready for two?" Kotori asked with a light smirk, getting Shido's attention as the image on the screen changed to show Origami and her group when they attacked the Spirit. "Like I said before, these are the JGSDF's Anti-Spirit Team. When a Spirit appears, the AST fly to their location and take care of it. Meaning, they drive them off or kill them."
"What? Kill them!?" Shido exclaimed before he recalled what the Spirit had said when they first met.
"So it's true. You came here to kill me, didn't you?"
Was that why she was hostile to him? Did she think that he was a part of Origami's group, who had come to dispose of her? And if that was the case, then just how long had she been hunted by the AST?
"And now for three," Kotori said, once again getting Shido's attention. "There is another way to deal with these Spirits without having to rely on the AST. This is the reason you're here and where your help will be most needed."
Shido was now more stumped than ever with all the information being thrown at him, especially with what Kotori just said.
"Me? How would I help?" Shido asked.
"We'll have to make you start training tomorrow," Kotori answered, causing Shido to blink.
"Wait, training? What-?"
"I'll leave the rest of the details up to the person in charge of your development."
"Hey, hold on-"
"In the meantime, just go back to school like normal and-"
"WOULD YOU SHUT UP FOR FIVE MINUTES!" Shido finally exploded, causing Kotori to slightly jump with wide eyes while everyone else in the room turned to look at him with surprise. Even Reine's sleepy expression became a bit more alert at the sheer volume of the boy's voice.
Shido was practically heaving from his outburst. He couldn't recall the last time he had yelled so loudly, and he also couldn't believe that such a yell was being directed at his younger sister of all people. However, due to a combination of said sister's ruthless insults, the way she was acting so casual with all these topics that he was having trouble grasping in such a short amount of time, and how she was suddenly expecting him to take part in something that wasn't being explained to him, the amount of frustration bubbling to the surface was becoming too much for him to contain.
{Damn... Wasn't expecting that.} Venom commented, but Shido ignored him and continued to keep his glare focused on Kotori.
"I don't know what the hell your deal is or why you're suddenly acting like this, but I am REALLY losing my patience right now," Shido spoke in a tone that conveyed every bit of frustration that he still had bottled inside while holding up his fingers. "First, I came close to dying during that fight between Origami and that 'Spirit' while trying to look for you, then you show up in this...wherever this place and start acting all rotten with me for no reason, and now you're suddenly expecting me to train for something that you won't even explain!? Just how stupid and gullible do you think I am that I would just easily go along with something like that!? If you want my help with whatever it is you want, then someone better start giving me some answers!"
Kotori remained silent as Shido finished his anger-fueled claim and stared at her brother with clear astonishment. She had never seen her brother lose his cool like this before. She always assumed him to be just a gullible goofball who would never raise his voice at anyone, let alone her. Then again, Kotori had started to notice that Shido had started to change around two years after the great Tengu Fire that occurred five years ago. While he was still the same kind and generous older brother that she had always known, he was no longer as dupable or submissive as he used to be. A part of her had been curious as to what could have sparked this change, but in the end, she had decided not to pay it any mind.
Meanwhile, Shido continued to glare at Kotori as he crossed his arms and began to tap his foot with impatience. "Well? I'm still waiting."
Slightly startled by the boy's voice, Kotori cleared her throat and regained her composure. "F-Fine then. If you're so insistent, then I guess I'll tell you."
Feeling somewhat satisfied to finally get some answers, Shido gestured to the room they were in. "First of all, where exactly are we? What is this place? Your phone's locator showed me you were at the diner!"
"You don't say? So that's what you were doing out there. I guess that does make sense." Kotori replied nonchalantly. "Although, technically, we're above the diner."
Shido blinked with confusion. "Huh?"
The younger Itsuka sibling turned to Reine. "Disable the filter."
At that moment, the room itself seemed to disappear as Shido looked around to find that he, Kotori, and Reine were standing high in the air, causing him to lightly gasp with shock as he could see the city far below his feet.
"We're currently fifteen thousand meters above Tengu City," Kotori stated. "You're on board an airship called Fraxinus."
Shido's eyes widened. "Wait, you mean Fraxinus...is a ship!?"
{Wow, didn't think humans had the technology to build a ship of this caliber.} Venom commented once again. {Still probably not as high-tech as the Kree or Skrulls, though.}
'Really? You don't say. Then again, it seems like the outer space dudes always have the next level stuff.' Shido replied.
{Yeah, pretty much.} Venom agreed almost nonchalantly.
As the scenery vanished and the room returned to normal, Kotori turned to Shido. "As for what we'll be having you train for, I'm afraid no one's asking for your opinion on the matter. Your only option is 'yes.'"
{...Okay, you know what? This brat is seriously asking for it!} Venom growled, Shido immediately agreeing with him but made sure his partner wouldn't do anything stupid.
"Excuse me!?" Shido exclaimed as his anger came back in full force. "You seriously expect me to help and get involved with this Spirit business for some vague reason like that!? Forget it! I'm not taking any part in this!"
The crew of the Fraxinus looked in shock at the blue-haired boy, even Reine's eyes were wide with shock at the utter refusal the teen had proclaimed since she and everyone else were expecting the boy would help. Kotori was stunned at her brother's turndown, but her temper returned instantly.
"As I said, you have no choice!" Kotori snapped back. "If you refuse to cooperate, then-"
"Then what? You'll have me killed or something?" the boy interrupted, causing her eyes to widen as Shido furiously stomped closer to the little brat, his angry face almost touching hers. "Isn't that what usually happens to people who refuse to take part in something and then get disposed of for knowing too much?"
"I- I..." Kotori was completely at a loss for words by this point, having not expected her brother to make such a claim.
Shido, Venom included, finally had enough of the ridiculousness they experienced today. For the former, it was as if the trust and loving bond between the older brother and younger sister had been snapped with just the slightest tug, like the sister he knew never existed.
He scoffed. "I don't care what else you have to say. You've kept this whole thing a secret from me for God knows how long and just expect me to take it all in stride?! Yeah, no! Sorry, but that's not happening. Especially with the fact that I thought I knew my sister, only to find out she's actually an agent for a secret society or whatever and has been lying to me my whole life!" Kotori could only gape in shock from that claim and couldn't respond, but Shido wasn't done.
"And when I showed concern during the Spacequake and risking my life to look for you, I ended up finding out that the sister that I thought I knew is acting like a boss of a business and doesn't give a damn about me or my own feelings on the matter! Are you really my sister or was that a lie too?!"
Kotori was further stunned by that harsh accusation and could not reply, no matter how much she wanted to. It felt like her brother had literally stabbed her in the heart.
No longer willing to put up with what more she had to say, Shido turned around and marched towards the door that he and Reine had entered prior, turning his head to Kotori briefly. "I'm going home. Just try to stop me."
Kotori reached her hand out towards him. "W-Wait, big bro!"
However, she was completely ignored as the door proceeded to close behind the boy as he left the room. Kannazuki, who had recovered earlier, and the crew just stared at the door with shock, having not expected the utter refusal or claim. Kotori remained standing there in a stupefied state before releasing a sigh of resignation and turned to Reine, who still looked baffled and, for some reason, had a trace of sorrow on her face.
"Please escort him back home."
The sleepy-faced woman looked at her with slight surprise. "...You're not going to try to stop him?"
The redhead only gave a heavy sigh. "Honestly, after everything he just said, I don't think I could force him to cooperate even if I wanted to. I thought I could make him accept, but I didn't expect him to put up that much of a resistance." Kotori gave her lollipop a few licks before frowning.
While she did have reasons for not telling Shido what she did behind the scenes, she knew Shido was right about one thing: she had lied to him. Regardless of her good intentions, she did lie to Shido, and that hurt because she loved Shido more than anything and that brought a few tears to her eyes. For now, however, there was another issue that would probably never get resolved.
"And just when I thought we finally had a chance to save them..."
Later that evening:
As the sun began to set on Tengu City, Shido laid back on his bed with his legs hanging over the edge and his eyes staring up at the ceiling. After everything that had occurred to him over the past few hours alone, he felt too mentally exhausted to do anything productive for the rest of the day.
After storming out of the bridge of the Fraxinus following his argument with Kotori, Shido was transported back to the Itsuka Residence, with Reine's assistance, where he immediately went to his room and collapsed onto his bed to quietly clear his mind and sort through everything that had happened to him that day. First, he encountered a girl called a Spirit that just so happened to be the source for the Spacequakes. Second, he learned that his classmate, Origami Tobiichi was a part of a military group that deals with said Spirits. And third, he discovered that Kotori was actually the leader of another group that also dealt with Spirits in a manner that he didn't know as of yet.
Speaking of his little sister, she had yet to return home since he last saw her and was most likely still on that airship. After recalling the harsh words that he said to her, he started to wonder if maybe he had gone too far, only to quickly disregard the feeling. As far as he was concerned, he had a justifiable reason for being upset with her, especially after recalling her incredibly rude behavior when he tried to get answers from her.
"Jeez..." Shido groaned out. "So much stuff happened today..."
{Tell me about it.} Venom replied. {Speaking of which, what do you plan to do about the brat and that white-haired chick from your class? You realize that you saw each other; you know her secret.}
"Don't worry, I'll figure out something with Origami tomorrow at school." the boy assured before his frown became heavier. "As for Kotori... I'm not so sure what to do with her."
{Understandable. I mean, you both live in the same house, after all. It's probably gonna start being pretty awkward between the two of you.}
"Yeah, probably." Shido sighed.
{Well, all that aside, there's something else that we need to talk about. It concerns "that".} Venom said with a more serious tone, which caught Shido's attention.
"What is it?"
{Do you remember anything after you lost consciousness during that chick fight in the street?}
He scratched his chin in thought as he thought back to when he was knocked unconscious. "Well, I remember hearing a weird voice before I woke up on that ship. It was saying something about never being wrong again and to wait a while longer, whatever that's supposed to mean."
Venom hummed. {Hmm... Well, while you were on that ship, I noticed something strange inside your head.}
"Strange? Like what?" Shido asked.
{It'll probably be easier if you saw it for yourself.}
Now, this was not the first time something like this happened. Back when Shido and Venom first became partners, Venom had taught Shido how to enter his own mind thanks to the connection he and the Symbiote shared, a mental link. Thus, they could talk to each other before Shido could get used to talking telepathically whenever he was out in public without embarrassing himself. Feeling curious about what Venom wanted to show him that was so important, Shido shrugged before he closed his eyes and began to concentrate as hard as possible until everything turned white. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself standing on a dark obsidian floor marked by a vast night sky with numerous stars lighting up the area and reflecting off said floor, which appeared to stretch out in all directions as far the eye could see.
"Shido." a familiar deep and oily voice spoke from behind him.
The boy turned around to see Venom standing in front of him in his humanoid form, the form that he took when Shido relinquished control to the Symbiote. Even though Venom easily towered over the teen by a good couple of feet, Shido didn't show any signs of fear or distress, as he had become accustomed to his appearance by this point.
"So, what did you want to show me, Venom?" he asked.
"Right. Follow me." Venom replied as he gestured for Shido to follow him, which he did.
After several minutes of silently walking across the vast starry expanse that seemed to go on for eternity, they finally reached their destination. The two stopped as they stood in front of a bright, towering wall of bluish-white flames that lit up the area like a sun and stretched across the darkened landscape for what looked like forever. And despite being made of fire, it actually appeared much more solid than one would expect.
Sometime after Shido and Venom met and became partners, the Symbiote had made a few interesting discoveries about his new host. One was that Shido appeared to have some memories from his past that were missing, a sort of mental lapse that appeared whenever Venom viewed his partner's memories, and the second was this strange "firewall" within the boy's mind. It didn't take long for Venom to suspect that the two phenomenons were somehow connected, and he and Shido agreed that the former would find some way to take it down. However, during the three years that the two had been together, Venom found the firewall surprisingly solid and durable despite taking the appearance of fire, and no matter how long he tried, he was never able to break through. Thankfully, Venom didn't suffer any injuries during this endeavor since the wall seems to be made of flames, which was one of his weaknesses, mainly the intense heat. Therefore, realizing he wasn't making headway, Venom decided instead to simply observe the firewall instead to look out for any sudden changes or irregularities, even though he found it quite tedious and boring.
"So, what was it that you found?" Shido asked as he continued to stare at the firewall.
"While that sleepy chick was taking you to talk with your bratty sister, I decided to do a quick check-up on you to see if anything was damaged when you lost consciousness. But when I was searching your mind, I found something new with this firewall." Venom explained.
Shido's eyes lit up with intrigue. "What did you find?"
Venom took a few steps closer to the firewall, with his host following close beside him, before pointing one of his sharp fingers towards the wall. "That."
Slightly confused, Shido turned to the spot where the Symbiote was pointing and squinted his eyes to get a better look when he saw what he was referring to. In the side of the wall was a very faint, yet visible crack that was probably around exactly a foot in length, one that he knew had never been there before.
"That wasn't there before," Shido spoke with surprise.
"I figured as much." Venom replied. "When you told me about that weird voice you heard, it made me think that it must have had something to do with this. And whatever's on the other side must have something to do with your missing memories."
Shido frowned as he recalled the words that the strange voice had said.
"Finally. We meet again."
"I'm so glad. But just wait. Just a little while longer."
"I won't ever let you go again. I won't ever be wrong again."
What the hell were those words supposed to mean? Who exactly did that voice belong to? And what did that voice have to do with his missing memories?
Shido sighed as he began scratching the back of his head. "Aw man, none of this makes any sense. I've got so many questions, yet so few answers."
"You and me both, kid." Venom agreed. "So, what do you wanna do about it?"
The boy thought it over for a few seconds before shrugging while shaking his head. "Well, at least we know we're finally making progress after all this time. Let's just leave it for now and deal with it later."
Venom nodded in agreement. "Sounds good to me."
Shido then closed his eyes for another few seconds and opened them again, once again finding himself in his room. Sitting up from his bed with a groan, the boy got up and began to stretch before looking out the window to see that the sun was still setting.
"Well, since I don't have school for the rest of the day and no homework, I wonder what I should do now." He muttered.
{I can probably come up with a few ideas.} Venom spoke with a knowing tone.
Shido blinked in confusion. "Whatdya mean?"
Venom snickered. {The way I see it, we can do whatever we want. Get what I mean?}
Shido took a moment to register the Symbiote's words until a smirk formed on his face. "Oh, I think I know what you mean."
He then turned his attention back towards his bedroom window and to the city below. Might as well blow off some steam after such an eventful day.
Night had finally fallen on Tengu City, with the moon and stars shining brilliantly in the darkened sky and the only sources of light in the city being those of the street lamps lined up along the sidewalks as well as only a few buildings. The city was unusually quiet at this hour, with barely any people in sight.
Due to the extensive damage caused by the Spacequake (as well as the battle between the Spirit and the AST) earlier that day, a city-wide curfew was put in place while the damage was being assessed in order to keep the citizens safe. As such, the people of Tengu City remained in their homes while squads of police cruisers patrolled the streets in order to keep watch for those who would try to take advantage of the lack of people walking the streets.
But of course, even in a city like this, there are always opportunists lurking in the shadows.
In one of the more rural areas of the city, under the cover of the night, three suspicious men clad in dark-colored clothing and ski masks stood in front of a local jewelry store, with one of the men kneeling in front of the door as he picked the lock while the other two stood watch to keep an eye out for any patrol cars, with one of the lookouts wielding a metal baseball bat while the other held a tire iron.
"Hey, you almost done there yet?" the robber with the tire iron asked impatiently.
"Almost got it. Just another minute." the lockpicking robber said back.
The robber with the baseball bat turned to his fellow lookout. "Man, can't believe how dead it is out here. I hear that Spacequake earlier today really messed up part of the city. Well, lucky us, right?"
"Heh, yeah, no kidding." the other lookout chuckled. "It makes our job a hell of a lot easier. Don't need any snoopers out here giving us away."
The bat-wielding robber gave a quick glance out at the street to check for anyone around before turning back to his friend. "By the way, have you heard?"
"Heard what?" the other robber asked with confusion.
"Lately there's been rumors that there's a monster that comes out at night and attacks people who commit crimes."
His buddy looked at him as if he were crazy before letting out a scoff. "A monster? Yeah, right. You sure that ain't just all crazy talk?"
"No, it's real! A buddy of mine said he actually saw it." the other robber protested. "He and some other guys were looting a guy in an alleyway downtown when it suddenly showed up and bit one of the guy's heads off and broke another dude's arm."
"You serious?" his friend asked with surprise.
"Yeah! He said it was huge and looked like it was made of some kind of black sludge, and that it had huge, sharp teeth and big white eyes."
The other robber shivered a bit before trying to laugh it off. "Y-Yeah right. That's gotta be some kind of prank or rumor to scare people who come out at night."
"I'm telling you, there's no way my buddy could make something like that up!" he protested.
CLICK
"Got it!" the lock-picking robber cheered before turning to his friends. "If you two are done sharing campfire stories, then come on! Besides, it's just a rumor."
However, inwardly, he couldn't help but wonder if what he just heard was true since Spacequakes themselves were an anomaly.
While the robber with the tire iron turned to walk up to the door to join him, the bat-wielding robber turned and again protested, "I'm telling you, it's-GAH!"
Suddenly, the robber was cut off when something struck him with incredible force and sent him flying into the side of a parked car, creating an indentation in the side of the vehicle. The other two robbers turned with looks of shock to see their friend groaning in pain as he collapsed to the ground, unable to get back up.
"Wha- Who's there?!" the robber with the tire iron yelled as he brandished his weapon while the other pulled out a handgun from his back pocket and aimed it around.
As they looked around to try and spot whatever had attacked their friend, the tire iron-wielding robber felt something grab him by the back of his shirt and lift him into the air, causing him to let out a yell of surprise and panic until he was launched into the air and landed on the hood of a large van, knocking him unconscious.
With both of his buddies knocked out, the last remaining robber was beginning to freak out as he looked around frantically while randomly firing his gun at anything he thought he saw moving.
"Who's there?! WHO'S THERE?! SHOW YOURSELF!"
At that moment, he heard something land on the ground behind him a loud thud, which was then followed by a deep, guttural snarl that made his spine shiver and his skin crawl. Slowly, he turned around and looked up to see a tall, muscular creature just like the one his friend described standing over him while flashing his rows of sharp teeth with a toothy grin.
With a cry of fear, the robber raised his gun to shoot at it, but the creature swiftly grabbed the gun in his large hands and easily crushed it into pieces before grabbing the robber by the throat with his other hand and lifting him up off the ground.
"Eyes, lungs, pancreas." Venom listed off with a gleeful grin. "So many snacks, so little time."
The Symbiote then extended his long tongue and traced it along the side of the robber's face, causing him to let out a disgusted groan. Venom opened his toothy maw to prepare to bite his head clean off when he heard the sounds of sirens wailing in the distance. He turned to look down the road and spotted the familiar red and blue glow of police lights towards them fast.
"Well, well. Lucky devil, aren't we?" Venom grinned as he released his hold on the robber.
He then turned and jumped up onto one of the buildings before leaping away, leaving the frightened robber paralyzed with fear as the cop cars arrived onto the scene.
{You really didn't have to go that far, you know.} Shido's voice spoke from within Venom's mind with an unamused tone.
"What can I say, I like to watch them squirm before I eat them." Venom merely replied with a chuckle as he zoomed across the rooftops.
Even though the Symbiote couldn't see it, Shido was rolling his eyes at his response. {Seriously, you can be such a sadist sometimes...}
"I'll take that as a compliment."
Venom jumped from the roof of another building before silently landing atop the roof of the Itsuka Residence, then quietly crawled through the open window of Shido's bedroom. Landing on the floor with a silent thump, the Symbiote's body began to recede away and allowed Shido to take his place.
"Well, whatever. That's enough for tonight." Shido said. "School starts again tomorrow and I don't want to be late on the second day."
{Fine, fine. Whatever you say.}
With that, Shido got out of his school uniform and changed into his sleepwear before he decided to go down to the kitchen to get a drink of water. As he made his way down the stairs, however, he noticed that the light was on in the dining area, and when he peeked through the doorway, he saw Kotori sitting at the kitchen table eating the dinner that he had prepared for her that morning.
As he silently observed the girl, he noticed that she was once again dressed in her school uniform and she was also wearing her white hair ribbons. She looked as bright and bubbly as she had been that morning, but he also noticed that there was a somewhat downcast look in her eyes as she stared at her food.
Seeing her like this made Shido realize something that he hadn't thought of at the time when he yelled at her on the ship. Even though she had been lying and keeping her involvement with that strange group of people a secret from him for who knows how long, he had been keeping the fact that he had an alien Symbiote living inside of him and had been sneaking out at night to stop criminals for past three years.
'God, I'm such a hypocrite.' Shido inwardly laughed pathetically.
Just as Shido had been lying in order to keep her from worrying about him and not wanting to frighten her with his new occupant, he was sure that she also had her own reasons for keeping her involvement with Spirits a secret as well. Speaking of Spirits, he couldn't help but also think back to the purple-haired girl and remembered the sad look he saw in her eyes when she was fighting off the AST. He found it hard to believe that someone like her was a monster and that there had to be more to it that he didn't know yet. Seeing the saddened face on that purple-haired Spirit made Shido couldn't help but make out a resemblance to Kotori's melancholic look to that Spirit's.
{What are you gonna do?} Venom asked as he sensed the internal conflict that his host was having.
After a quiet sigh, Shido lightly shook his head. "Even though she was pretty rude in the way she asked for our help, I think there has to be a reason why Kotori is involved with Spirits. And I can't help but feel that maybe there has to be more to that girl than what I saw when I met her."
That and he remembered people that he had helped during his and Venom's crusade against criminals, rescuing victims of unfortunate circumstances, picturing their hopeless expressions on their faces before they were filled with astonishment and gratitude upon seeing him saving their lives. That's just what he is: someone who helps people, and now, he wasn't alone in this endeavor, he had Venom.
{Well, whatever choice you decide to make, just know that I'll be there for you when things get nasty.}
Shido couldn't help but give a soft smile. "Thanks, Venom."
After taking a deep breath and bracing himself, Shido walked into the room and made his way towards Kotori, who seemed to quickly mask her downcast look upon noticing him and smiled cheerfully.
"Welcome home, big bro!" she greeted happily. "I saved you some dinner. Sit down and let's eat!"
Rather than answer her, Shido instead continued walking with a serious expression before stopping right next to the twin-tailed girl, who looked up at him with confusion. "What's wrong, bro?"
"I'll do it," he answered, causing Kotori to tilt her head. "I'll help you with the Spirits."
The girl's face seemed to light up with realization before a smirk etched its way onto her lips. She then removed her white ribbons from her hair before replacing them with the black ones that he saw her wear on the ship.
Once she had finished swapping them, Kotori looked up at Shido, her smirk never leaving her face. "Glad to see you come around, Shido. I was actually kinda worried there for a bit."
"Don't take this the wrong way. I'm not doing it for you." Shido said, his eyes remaining serious and resolute. "I'm only doing this to help the Spirits. Nothing more, nothing less."
For a split second, he almost could have sworn he saw a brief flash of sadness in her eyes before she shrugged her shoulders. "That's fine by me. We'll begin your Spirit training tomorrow. I'll contact you when it's time."
Shido only nodded in response, and thus his training had begun.
'Well, hopefully this "training" or whatever it is will be a piece of cake...'
And cut! Man, this took a while to get out there, but I'm glad to have it finally finished! Thank you all so much for waiting patiently for this one! After this, I plan to spend some time working on rewriting my current chapters of Persona Kagura: The Fallen Messiah, and then after that, I plan to spend some time focusing on my full rewrite of Godzilla: Rulers of Earth Land, so please be sure to keep an eye out for those.
Anyway, thank you all so much for reading and I'll see you all next time.
This is Godzilla Boy, signing off!
Next Time: The Nameless Girl