Hello everyone, Lealius here with a new chapter
In this one, Izumi has an unexpected encounter
With that, please enjoy
Shikimori´s not Just a Cutie and its characters belong to Keigo Maki
Spider-man and its characters belong to Marvel Comics
Cover Image made by KrystalDragonArt
-"Gah!" Izumi yelled as he was send flying backwards, bouncing a few times before stopping "Ugh" he groaned
Shocker began to walk towards him "Either you got less kick than a three-legged mule, or this suit here does more than protect me from my own power" he lifted Izumi´s body "Well" he prepared his gauntlet "Not that you will find out anyway"
Placing it on the young´s hero´s chest
-"N-No" he whispered
The shockwaves were fired right next to his chest
He could feel his skin and insides trembling as the waves made way into his internal organs
Then, a popping sound was heard
Izumi felt strange
He looked down
And what he saw terrified him
He had a big, circular shaped bloody hole on his chest opening in its front body and exiting on his back
He felt cold
He couldn't feel his heartbeat, in fact, he didn't have a heart anymore, as it was nothing more that splattered bits and pieces on the ground
-"And that's how you take care on a bug infection" Shocker said, throwing his body on the pool of his own blood, and walking away
Darkness began to take hold of the young hero
His eyelids were getting heavier by the second
The laughs of Shocker and the other two ruffians becoming less and less audible
His entire life flashed before his eyes
His mom, dad, Shikimori, Kamiya, Inuzuka, Nekozaki, Hachimitsu
All the people he held so close, and yet…. they felt distant now
His eyes finally close as a feeling of nothingness took hold of him
He was dead
-"Bwah!" he woke up with a yell, sitting up and breathing heavily "I…" his hands instinctively move to his chest
No hole, and he could feel his heart beating
He was alive
-"That nightmare again" he could feel his body being drenched in sweat as realization finally sink in "I came close to dying"
It was the day of his date at the amusement park with Shikimori
He got at the entrance first, so now he was waiting for her
Normally, he would be happy about spending a day with his beloved girlfriend
However
-"I really came close to dying" he looked at his hand, and frowned "I was lucky to escape, but next time I might not be so lucky… Next time"
That word echoed on his mind
-"Had I died, mom would have end up alone, not to mention what could happen to Shikimori-san and the others"
He put his hand on his pocket, and rested his back against a nearby pillar
-"Things haven't gotten better with most of the public, they still want me arrested… maybe"
He looked down
-"Maybe I am not needed after all, the city was fine before Spider-man showed up, it will be fine if Spider-man… gives up"
The more he thought about it, the more tempting the idea sounded
-"I mean, I did bring my suit with me under my regular clothes just in case, but… perhaps there´s no case at all"
He shook his head
-"No, I can worry about identity crisis later" he tightened his hand into a fist, his face with a newfound determination "Today it's our first date in a while, and it's going to be special. I've even made a proper plan to make sure she enjoys herself!"
The sparkling happy face of his girlfriend at the end of a perfect date
-"I´ll execute everything perfectly, and no villain is gonna stop that!"
-"Izumi-san" he heard someone calling him
It was Shikimori
-"Did you wait long?"
-"T" he was stunned "Those clothes"
She was wearing a red with stripes long sleeves shirt below a black coat, black pants and boots
-"Ah, I thought it'd be hard to move around in a skirt today… And I wanted clothes that were easy to move around, so I borrowed this coat from my mom, and"
Her words were lost to his ears
Because she looked even more beautiful to him
-"So… So cool"
-"Are you listening to me?"
Having recovered, they entered the amusement park
It felt like they were in an ancient village, little houses, ancient lightstreets, people wearing costumes from different fairy tale creatures
Their first stop was a gift shop
Izumi picked up a pair of frog ears
-"So cute" Shikimori said "But those aren't my kind of thing though"
He pouted cutely "I wanted to see you wearing them though"
-"In that case" she went and pick up a dark cape with a skull, like the one a vampire would wear
-"A skull?" Izumi asked
-"Yeah, but if I fasten up my coat, doesn't it match what I'm wearing?"
-"She´s a prince of the underworld" he thought, amazed by her appearance, giving her a thumbs up "A million points"
-"Yay" she felt happy
Izumi decided to wear the frog ears, but before leaving, something caught his eyes
-"Hey, look" he saw a familiar plastic mask
-"It´s Spider-man" Shikimori said
-"Yeah, they used to sell a lot" the clerk told them
-"Used to?" Izumi asked
-"Yeah, with his recent attack on Fisk-san, people aren't buying it as much as before, even with discount"
-"That's rough" Shikimori said, feeling pity "I hope you can sell them"
-"It is what it is girl"
Meanwhile, Izumi felt flattered that merchandise with his hero persona was being sold, and depressed on the reminder that most people hate him know
-"Win some, lose some"
They left the store, and saw a nearby ice-cream cart advertising a particular product
-"Get your Spider-man ice-cream here!"
That caught their attention
-"Want to try it?" Izumi suggested
-"Sure"
They got to the cart
-"2 of the Spider-man ice-cream, please" Izumi said
-"Coming up"
He took out 2 popsicles that had the face of Spider-man on sticks
-"Wow" Shikimori said impressed "It is really well done"
-"Thank you, it is strawberry flavored, with little stripes of dark chocolate to copy the black parts of his suits"
-"I see" she took a lick out of it "It's really good"
-"Yeah" Izumi agreed, then looked at the popsicle "Are my eyes that big though?" he thought that last part
After finishing their sweet treats, they went to their first ride together
Sleeping Beauty
-"The line takes… 90 minutes?!" Shikimori was surprised
-"It's because it only opened just last year. At first some people would wait 180 minutes and not even be able to go in"
-"I see" she took a look at the decorated vines with thorns "Cool… Sleeping beauty… What kind of story was it again?"
-"It's about a princess that sleeps for 100 years because of a deadly curse" he went to touch a nearby vine with thorns "While she slept for 100 years, her castle was covered in thorns. Then a prince ventures to the thorny castle and finds her, and with a kiss,he releases her from her 100—year sleep"
-"I didn't know that at all" Shikimori felt dumbfounded "So that's how the story went"
He let out a chuckle "Yeah, you don't look like you read fairy tales"
-"Rude!"
-"But, you know about "The Singing Bone" but not Sleeping Beauty...? Are there any others you like?"
-"Hmm" she put a hand on her chin "The Ugly Duckling?"
-"Kinda gloomy, huh?" he looked at her with pity
-"I just like stuff that has bitter endings, you know, like horror and suspense!"
He began to pat her head "There, there"
-"Stop patting my head!"
While they kept waiting, Izumi thought of a question
-"Hey, Shikimori-san, do you have a dream?"
-"I do, actually"
-"Really, what is it?"
She looked away, slightly blushing "I once read a shojo manga… a romance story… It made me think love was amazing" she looked up "My dream is to experience it for myself"
-"Love?" Izumi repeated
She looked at him "But that dream´s already come true"
His eyes went wide when he caught on the indirect sentence
She only smiled at him
They got into their cabin for the ride
The dark environment, barely light up by the stars and the moon
They could see the image of the sleeping beauty, resting in her deep sleep, surrounded by the vines with thorns created by the curse
-"This is surprisingly low" Izumi thought "And there´s this aromatic scene, beautiful music, and comfortable shaking" his eyelids began to get heavy "I'm… getting sleepy"
-"It's so pretty, Izumi-san" Shikimori said while amazed by the scenery, she then looked to her boyfriend "Izumi-san?"
He was full asleep
-"Sleeping Beauty was kissed by the prince" the narrator said over the intercoms
She got closer to him
-"And was finally freed" she got her lips closer to his own "From her 100-year sleep"
But before she could seal the deal
-"Thank you for riding" the clerk said to them once they reached the exit
-"Izumi-san, we're here!" she yelled, quickly drifting away
-"Mngh" he woke up
They left the ride
-"I ended up sleeping at the end" he complained "But that was super pretty!"
-"R-Right" she quickly agreed "I still have some of the scent on me"
-"How was it, Shikimori-san? Did you have fun?"
-"Of course!... but, I didn't think we'd have to wait on the lien for so long though"
-"Yeah" he felt slightly ashamed "Then let's look for some that are more vacant next"
-"Nah, I don´t mind lining up at all"
-"Eh?"
She grabbed his hand, and begin to pull him along
-"When I'm with you, even when we're waiting in line… It's still super fun"
He smiled from ear to ear "Me too!"
He caught up to her
They spent the next couple of hours visiting the different rides and stores, and buying a few souvenirs for their families and friends
Eventually, they decided to make a quick stop by the bathrooms, Shikimori leaving first and going towards some vending machines next to a few benches
She took a seat
-"Excuse me" a male voice said
Shikimori looked up, and saw a man with a white cowboy hat and red hair
-"Do you know where the bathrooms are?"
-"Sure, walk down this path, and take left, can´t miss it"
-"Thank you, little miss"
The man walked towards the direction he was instructed, where he bumped into Izumi
-"Oh, I´m sorry sir"
-"No problem kid"
And he was gone
Izumi met up with his girlfriend
-"Ready to continue?"
-"Sure"
Their next destination was the game alley
-"Come try, come try!" a clerk said
-"I wonder what that is about?" Shikimori pointed at the stand
-"Simple rules, all you have to do is shoot at Spider-man faces using the water gun, the higher your score, the better the prize!"
They saw some people shooting at the masked hero´s face
Izumi gulped, a blue aura beginning to emanate "Now I´m a target practice!?"
-"Well, it looks fun enough" Shikimori added, trying to make the best out of it "Want to try it?"
-"How about later? I don't feel with good aim today"
-"Oh, sure"
-"Yay!" a child yelled as he earned a big prize "Take that, stinky bug!"
-"Stinky bug? Well, better than freak, I guess"
He put on a happy front
They kept walking, now passing in front of the castle, the sun beginning to set on the horizon
-"What should we do now?" Shikimori asked "We still have some time before the dinner reservation"
-"Well, we could"
Suddenly, he felt the vibrations on his head, and he panicked "Huh? Here?! How?!"
-"What´s wrong?" Shikimori was confused
Then, one of the towers of the castle began to crack, and it fell off
Thanks to his vibrations, he could see it fall before hand
Unfortunately, Shikimori failed to realized that it was falling, and that it was gonna fall on her
-"SHIKIMORI-SAN!" Izumi yelled as he pushed her out of harm's way
The pink haired landed on her butt
A cloud of dust was formed
-"Izumi-san?" she looked at her surroundings
More structures were falling, and the people were running in all directions, in fear for their lives
She then noticed the following castle towers falling where she was
Where he was
-"IZUMI-SAN!" she got closer to the debris "IZUMI-SAN! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!"
There was no answer
-"No…" the worst case scenario began to sink in for her "It can´t be"
On the other side of the fallen towers
Izumi was catching his breath
Thanks to his enhanced reflexes, he was able to save Shikimori, as well as dodging the upcoming towers
-"What's going on?" he looked around
More houses and stores were falling apart
-"An earthquake?"
-"Come here, freak bug!"
He heard a male voice, despite the panic
He looked at the direction, and saw Shocker standing atop a nearby store
-"Shocker!? What is he doing here?!"
-"IZUMI-SAN!" he heard Shikimori´s desperate scream "CAN YOU HEAR ME? PLEASE, SAY SOMETHING!"
He was about to answer her, but then he realized something
-"If I tell her I am here, it won´t matter whether I am safe or not, she will not leave until she sees with her own eyes that I´m safe, and now" he looked at Shocker, who was still causing destruction "I have to stop him"
Despite the guilt he felt for making her think he was hurt, he ran away to get ready
-"IZUMI-SAN!" Shikimori tried to lift the debris, but it was to heavy for her
-"No sign of the bug" Shocker said as he walked across the destruction he cause "Guess he doesn't care"
He then noticed Shikimori, and walked towards her "Maybe I need to add a death body for him to show up"
Shikimori turned around, and saw the criminal aiming his gauntlet at her
-"W-Who are you?... You did this?"
-"Nothing personal, lady, just business, blame Spider-man for your fate"
But before he could fire, he felt something attaching to his back
-"Huh?"
Suddenly, he was yanked with great force, and was sent flying towards a nearby game stand, crashing it as he impacted
It was Spider-man, Izumi, who did this
He went towards Shikimori
-"Are you ok?"
She barely gave a nod, struggling to process this
Out of nowhere, he pulled her up, and began to head towards the exit
-"Wait!" she yelled "My boyfriend, Izumi-san"
He ignored her begs, he wanted to assure her he was fine, but he couldn´t
Eventually, they got to the exit, where those who escaped gathered, being tended by the police
He put Shikimori down
-"Keep her safe!" he yelled as he ran back
-"Wait! I need to look for" she tried to get inside again, but was held by a police officer
-"Miss, no, it's dangerous!"
-"But" she thought of her boyfriend, and whether he was alive or…
She got down on her knees, tears beginning to form
-"Captain!" a police officer called over his radio "We are securing the civilians, we´ve also confirmed the presence of Spider-man, as well as an unidentified figure!"
-"Focus on securing the area, make sure no one enters, and treat any injured people, we can worry about Spider-man later"
-"But sir"
-"I said later!" the captain called, and then took another looked at the destruction "I don´t know what you are Spider-man, but you better prove yourself now"
Izumi headed back to where he threw Shocker at
Only to be received by a flying cart towards him
He dodged
-"Didn't they teach you it's bad manners to send someone flying without their consent? You did a little number on my suit" Shocker yelled, and fired another shock wave at him, who dodge "Good thing at least my plan worked and it lured you here"
-"So that's why?" he looked around
The destroyed attractions, the debris, and god only knows if they are people trapped below
The screams of people running away, the cries of children as they were separated from their parents
He tightened his fists "You did all of this… JUST TO LURE ME OUT?!"
-"Such is the way of war, pal"
He fired another beam, no success
-"Now I am certain that you work for Kingpin"
-"And I told you that´s on a need to know basis, and you don't need to know"
-"Then why are you after me? What could I have done to you?"
-"Oh, it ain't personal pal, but right now you´re my obligation, my responsibility, and I do plan fulfill it"
-"Responsibility?!" he felt outraged "How does this qualify as being responsible?!"
-"Hey, at least I own to the fact that I am causing this disaster, but you´re just as guilty"
-"Huh?" that got him quiet
-"You´re the one who got their nose in other people's business, and look around you now" he waved his hands at their battlefield "All of this because of your selfish desire"
Izumi felt a shiver down his spine
-"No, I am not being selfish, I´m here to help people"
He started to remember the last couple of days
The same people he saved, now wanted him arrested
The same people that were having fun at this park
Were victims of his fight
-"I… I am guilty too?"
He stood there, reality of his actions sinking in
-"Predictable" Shocker thought as he fired another blast
The young hero was caught on it, and it sent him flying away against a nearby tree
-"Ugh" he was in pain "Self doubt for later, I have to stop him, but how? Last time I tried to get closer, he activated more waves, If I could just get rid of that suit somehow"
He then saw his opponent walking towards him
He also saw a couple of nearby water containers
-"Might as well throw something"
He threw a web line, attaching itself to the container, and threw it at Shocker
The villain´s eyes went wide in panic
He dodged the projectile, but the water still spilled over the floor, he took a few steps back
-"That's… odd"
He picked up another water container, and threw it once more
-"Don´t you know other tricks than throwing water?!" the criminal yelled
-"He doesn't like water, or rather, he can't afford to get water on his suit"
Looking around, he notice the entranced for the gondolas area
He knew what to do
-"Time to get squashed, bug"
He fired another beam
Izumi dodged it
Using the nearby debris, he used his web to throw it as projectiles to the criminal, who destroyed it with his own weapons
This created a cloud of dust, which Izumi used to camouflage his retreat
-"It ain't polite to throw garbage at a man, and expect him to pick it up"
The villain began to look for the masked hero, eventually making it to the entrance of the gondola area
-"Where are you, bug?"
He heard something being thrown at him
Turning around, he saw a gondola flying at him
But it was too late, the gondola hit him
The suit did absorbed some damage, but he was still send flying into the gondola area, next to the rails separating him from the water canal
-"You little"
Blinded by his rage, he failed to noticed the hero yanking him with a web line
-"What the?"
Izumi then began to spin, accumulating momentum, then, he let go of the web
The result was Shocker being sent flying over the rail, and into the water
He stood up, soaked completely
His gauntlets began to emanate electricity
-"Damn it, they´re gonna explode"
He took them, and his suit, off, and threw them far away
The devices exploded
Now Montana was standing there on his underwear
He felt another web attaching to himself, and being yanked back to land once more
He was met by Izumi
-"Um" the criminal was nervous, he knew that
-"It´s over" Izumi said
Eventually, once they realized the coast was clear, the police made it into the park, to look for anyone who was trapped, and
-"I found someone!" an officer yelled
They all made it to the gondolas area, where they saw Montana wrapped in webs, and hanging from a nearby lightpost, the remaining of his suit on the floor
-"I think we found our guilty party" the captain said once he saw Montana capture "Any signs of Spider-man, it's clear he stopped him at least"
-"No sir, we´ve lost him"
-"No matter" for some reason, the captain was not angry "We got this guy here, I have a feeling that´s he was behind this"
-"But Spider-man was also spotted here, sir"
-"And from the looks of it, he stopped the guilty, so let´s be thankful, ok?"
-"Yes sir"
At the entrance of the park, ambulances and their staff were tending the wounded, while Montana was escorted into a police´s car
Shikimori was walking around, a feeling of dread on her mind
-"Shikimori-san!" someone yelled
She looked at the source of the voice, and her eyes went wide once she saw him
Izumi was there, with a bit of dirt on his face, but otherwise fine
-"IZUMI-SAN!" she ran towards him, with tears falling, wrapping him in a big hug "THANK THE HEAVENS YOU´RE SAFE!"
He hugged her back "I am glad to see you´re ok too"
-"I saw that tower falling, and you weren't answering, and the Spider-man took me outside, and you didn't answer, and I feared that…. that you were"
He looked away, feeling ashamed "I´m sorry that you went through that"
-"Don´t be" she broke the hug "You´re safe, and that's all that matters, how did you escape though?"
-"I felt being pushed backwards, next thing I know, I saw Spider-man, he used that web or whatever it is to take me out of harm's way, he told me to hide while he… well, stopped the villain"
-"Spider-man saved you?!" she could not believe that, because she still remembers the words Shocker told her
-"Nothing personal, lady, just business, blame Spider-man for your fate"
She looked down "Was Spider-man behind this somehow?"
-"Shikimori-san?" Izumi asked
-"It's nothing" she let out a sigh of relief "I´m happy to see you, that's all"
-"Me too"
Once they were given permission, they began to walk towards the station
-"Well, this date took quite a turn" Izumi said
-"You said it"
-"...I´m sorry" he said
-"Huh?" she couldn't get it "Why are you apologizing? What happened was not your fault"
-"I know, I guess I just say that on reflex"
And not because, at least to him, it was his fault
-"I…" she began to shiver "I thought I lost you"
-"Shikimori-san"
No one said a word
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Until he planted a kiss on her cheek
-"Huh?!" she was blushing fiercely
-"I'm sorry!" he knew that was unexpected "I just wanted to bring you some comfort, and… I wanted to do that" he was blushing too "I love you, Shikimori-san"
-"Izumi-san" she could not believe it, despite what just happened, he was trapped inside the park while she was safe, and yet all he wanted was for her to be safe
-"I love you too, Izumi-san"
Having brought comfort to each other, they parted ways at the station
Izumi opened the door of his house, and entered "I'm back"
He was met by another hug
-"Yuu" her mother was in tears "I… I am so glad that you´re back"
He hugged her back
-"I saw the news, and feared the worst, you´re not hurt? broken bones? injuries? blood? Is Mi-chan ok?"
-"No mom, I am fine, so is Shikimori-san, Spider-man saved me and told me to hide while he took care of things"
-"Really?" she let out a relieved sigh "Thank the heavens he exists then"
-"Y-Yeah" he didn't felt confident by saying that
Mother and son kept their hug, the fear of death breaking them apart
It plagued Izumi until he fell asleep
The following day, news of the battle at the theme park made it to the school
And of course, to their friends
-"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Nekozaki cried as she rubbed her cheek against Shikimori, who was wrapped in the former´s arms "I THOUGHT I LOST YOU MICCHON!"
-"I am fine, Nekozaki" the pink haired reassured her
-"That was quite the scare though" Kamiya said, for the first time, joining the group, lonely and shy as she is, she wanted to be certain that her friends were safe "You´re not injured, right?"
-"Nope, we are not" Shikimori said
-"Yeah, Spider-man showed up and stopped the villain" Izumi said
-"Crazy though" Inuzuka added "To think another strange figure showed up and did what he did to the park"
-"They call him Shocker, according to the news" Hachimitsu added "Apparently, based on the information the police gathered, he seems to be some sort of mercenary from the USA"
-"Mercenary?!" Izumi thought "So he was hired to stop me?!"
-"What matters is that he was stopped" Kamiya said
-"I swear, he better does not try to escape, because If I run into him, he´ll wish he never set foot on this country" Nekozaki added
To this, the others chuckled
Except Izumi
The school day was over
Izumi rejected the invitation to hang out, he had something he and his mother had to do
That was a lie, he had something to do… Alone
-"Hi, dad" he said at his father´s gravestone "Been a while, right?"
No answer
-"I´ve been good… No… that's a lie, I haven´t"
The public hated him, him making enemies with a crime lord and a mercenary, the innocent caught up on the crossfire
-"All my fault" he said to no one "I stopped Shocker, yes, but… All those people who were at the park, either injured or killed, and… Shikimori-san was also caught as well… and you as well"
He was successful this time, partially, but the thing is that people were talking whether he was responsible on the strange appearance of Shocker or not
-"I´ve been trying, dad" the tears began to fall "I´ve been trying so hard, but… Nothing seems to be enough…" he got down on his knees "Dad… I'm scared… I don't know what to do… Do I give up, or do I continue?"
No answer
-"I NEED A SIGNAL ON WHAT TO DO, DAD!"
He kept crying, venting out the fears and he's been having over the last couple of days
Will he ever get that signal?
And that´s the end of that, quite the date, Izumi won, but he feels more lost than ever, will he get that signal?
And surely him being Spider-man won´t but his relationship with Shikimori in problems, right?
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Anyway, next chapter, Izumi meets a new face
So, what do you think? Leave any reviews or comments, or send a PM, and I will gladly answer
Until next time
Peace