Himori and I have ten months before we are officially inducted into UA. Fortunately for us, we don't need to take the exams due to our extracurricular activities being discovered by Nezu. He truly is an intelligent guy. Though I am a bit afraid of this war that is coming. Venom has showed me memories of countless wars that he was involved in. In the end it's not about who's right, it's about who's left.
War comes at a cost. Question is if we are able to pay it when the time comes? I can only hope that me and my future classmates will be ready to fight when the moment arrives. Dear god this is depressing.
Well to take my mind off of things, I've decided to go outside on this beautiful day and hang out with Himori. My girlfriend. Wow, it's a bit weird saying that and yet it feels right at the same time. Crazy how things change. We decided to meet up at a park nearby. It's a pretty good park. A lot of open space and trees. Good place for a stroll.
We decided to meet up at the park entrance. Himori lives closer to the park so she will be there before I do. My heart is beating pretty fast. I don't know if I'm excited or utterly nervous.
"Nervous is where I put my money on" Venom said telepathically
"Didn't know you were a gambler" I responded
"When you live as long as I have, sometimes you have to play with the deck that was given to you. I did it in my old world when I was with my respectives hosts. Like all gamblers, I won and I lost my fair share. Maybe more than most" Venom said with a bit of sadness. His sadness is making me sad.
"You talking about your symbiote offspring?" I ask
"Somewhat. Granted I should've helped them become more moral but I wasn't any better in the beginning. Took me a long time to be heroic but I have taken a lot of lives before I did. I failed my progeny and a lot of other people in the past. I'm tired of making mistakes. I just want to be good" Venom said with confidence and conviction.
"Don't worry my friend. I'll make sure you become the best version you can be" I reassure my partner.
"I appreciate that Shiro." Venom said gratefully to me
"Anytime. Though I hope to God, that I never meet Carnage or Grendel. From what you showed me of them, they are pure evil" I said with a hint of fear.
Venom showing me the different symbiote he's encounter and/or sired in the past was really enlightening and really terrifying at the same time.
"Carnage was my fault. I should've trained him and guided him to a better host. Instead I didn't care and bonded with a high functioning sociopath. He's one of my greatest regrets. Grendel, on the other hand, is a different monster altogether and while it's likely we would see other symbiote in this world, I agree that you should never face against Grendel." Venom warned as he recalled his encounter with the symbiote.
I shiver a bit at the mention of the name. Venom's memory of the symbiote still gives me goosebumps. Something tells me that I'll most likely meet someone just as monstrous in the future.
"You're here" Venom said as I notice that I just arrived at the entrance of the park.
I didn't even notice given that I was conversating telepathically with my partner. What I do notice though is that Himori isn't here yet. It's surprising.
"Heeeeyyyyy" a familiar voice calls out to me.
I then turn around and see Himori in a cute red and black dress along with a fedora with the same color scheme. She even showed off some red shoes. Her entire look showed off her amazing figure and it was really, really hot. I am so stunned by her look that I can feel my face heating up. She was soon in front me before I even realized it.
"Hi Shiro. It's a beautiful day isn't it?" She asked with a smile on her face.
"It's not the only thing that's beautiful" I blurted out without thinking and I instantly covered my mouth as a response. I also blush heavily.
Himori seemed to have smiled and blushed too.
"Thank you. I'm glad you think so" she said as she kisses my cheek.
Dear god I can feel myself coming to the brink of a mental and hormonal breakdown. Fortunately, my dad taught me some techniques to keep myself calm in certain situations. After a few seconds, I was able to be calm. Or rather as close as I can be.
"S-So. Shall we take a stroll?" I ask her.
"Absolutely" She said as she grabbed hold of my hand as we begin to do just that. I blushed a bit more because of that.
We walk through the open fields of grass and feeling the cool breeze hit us gently in the face. Both of us holding each other's hands as a true couple. I think both of us are a bit awkward of the situation but it feels right despite that. All we could do is smile and enjoy it.
"So" Himori begins to conversation "I heard that the principal of UA paid your house a visit"
"Wasn't aware that word spread around about that" I said
"It's a bit hard not to notice one of the key figures of the greatest hero school in the world coming around in the neighborhood" Himori countered.
"Fair point." I said
"So what did he want to talk about?" She asks.
"How about you look inside my head and find out" I offered. We then stop our walk as she begins to look at me.
"You sure?" She asks a bit worriedly.
"Yes of course. I trust you." I said to her as I take both of her hands to squeeze gently.
Himori then closed her eyes and I could feel her presence in my head. It's gentle and soft. An ever constant feeling whenever we contacted each other during our patrol. It always felt peaceful for some reason. I let her enter my memories and help her search through them. After a few minutes, she finished looking into my mind and she had a smile on her face.
"Oh my god. YOU GOT INTO UA" Himori basically screamed with excitement that caused a few people in the park to look at our direction. I begin to calm her down.
"Yes, yes I did. But I'm sure you notice that you are also accepted to UA too" I said to her with a smile.
"Yeah I know. I'm so excited because we get to be together in the same school" Himori said happily as we continue to walk
"Yeah me too. And since we don't have to take those entrance exams, all we have to do is just walk inside the school opening day. It's that simple" I said.
"Wouldn't that cause an uproar with the students that did go through the examinations?" Himori asked.
"Maybe. But principal Nezu assured me that it isn't uncommon for surprise admittance from time to time. So we shouldn't have many issues." I respond to which Himori nods her head in acceptance.
"Ok. But I'm not sure how people will react to you being Venom or Spider Man. People are scared of Venom and people like Spider Man. Some have concluded that they are one and the same while others think they are two separate people wearing the same suit. Revealing ourselves to our future classmates and the staff might make things weird." Himori reasoned.
"Indeed. You are probably right. But I knew that one day I was going to be found out eventually. At least in UA I will be protected by the best heroes in the business. I know that Nezu will make sure of that." I said
"You're probably right. I just hope that his belief of a upcoming war is wrong. But at the same time, I can feel that something is going to happen. I just don't know when." Himori said worriedly.
"That's why we need to prepare both ourselves and our classmates for when things start taking a turn. While we've only dealt with mostly non-superpowered bad guys, it's only a matter of time before we face someone who can really do some damage. Only we have the experience to teach them how to survive." I said.
"Yeah you're right. Guess we'll have to do our best to help." Himori agreed
"And as long as we are together, I'm have no doubt that we will give it our best" I said with a smile. Himori smiles back
"Well since we have a few months before we attend our classes. Let's enjoy the vacation before killing ourselves with homework" Himori said.
"Sounds like a plan." I agreed "So...is there anything else you want to do today besides basking in the beautiful stroll we are having?"
"Ummm...well I was thinking of a place that some friends of mine liked going to. Never went because of what we were doing but since we are a couple now, I wonder if you would be interested in coming with me?" Himori asks.
"Absolutely. What is this place?" I ask her.
"You'll see" Himori said as she dragged me away to take me to this place she spoke of.
30 minutes later
Took a bit of time to get to wherever we were going. We were going near the center of the city. Still have no idea why. Himori wouldn't speak a word about it but she maintained a smile on her face despite it. I'm kind of nervous now.
Soon enough, we stop in front of a place called "Matsudo's Karaoke Bar". I can feel my blood freeze
"A K-Karaoke Bar?" I ask her nervously.
"Yeah. I've always wanted to come here and sing with someone. And I have a feeling that you have a good voice in you even though you don't want to admit it" Himori said with a smirk that was very mischievous. That's when I realized it.
"Wait wait wait wait. How did you see that? I was certain that I buried that deep in my head" I ask her with shock and dismay.
"Not deep enough to hide from your partner tho" Himori answered and I was pissed that Venom told her my secret.
"VENOOOOOMMMMM!!!" I mentally screamed
"What!? She asked and I did" Venom replies nonchalantly.
"It's ok Venom. It's not your fault and you were right, he would be angry about his secret" Himori said outloud.
"STOP LISTENING TO OUR CONVERSATION" I yelled and Himori just laughed.
"You're cute when your angry" Himori said and all I could do was blush.
"I-I wanted that to be a secret. It's really embarrassing" I said to her nervously.
"Oh come on. It's nothing to be embarrassed about. Let's go inside and we can get a private room where only you and I will be the ones singing to each other. Your secret will be safe with me" Himori said with a wink.
Knowing full well that there is no chance I could change her mind. I nod my head in acceptance as she drags me inside. It's a pretty spacious place filled with people of all ages. One section is more of a restaurant setting with a nice looking bar in the center. In the upper and lower levels, there are twenty private rooms altogether for the purpose of the singing Karaoke. Himori takes me to the second floor and into one of the available rooms.
The room is big enough to fit maybe seve or eight people. Has a medium size table in the center and a giant plasma television screen with speakers and microphones. There is also a tablet that looks to be connected to the tv and could be used to pick the music we want.
"So what kind of song do you want to sing?" Himori asked as she went to the tablet
"Ideally none but I'm certain you won't take no for an answer." I said with a sigh "You go song first and I'll go right after."
"Ok" she said as she searches which song to sing to.
On the big screen, I see that she picked the song "Without me" by Halsey. It's a relatively new song and it's pretty catchy.
"Interesting song choice" I said.
"I know right. It's my favorite song" Himori said with a smile as she grabs the microphone and readies herself to sing. I am curious on her voice.
"Found you when your heart was broke
I filled your cup until it overflowed
Took it so far to keep you close (keep you close)
I was afraid to leave you on your own
I said I'd catch you if you fall (fall)
And if they laugh, then fuck 'em all (all)
And then I got you off your knees
Put you right back on your feet
Just so you could take advantage of me
Tell me, how's it feel sittin' up there?
Feeling so high, but too far away to hold me
You know I'm the one who put you up there
Name in the sky, does it ever get lonely?
Thinking you could live without me
Thinking you could live without me
Baby, I'm the one who put you up there
I don't know why (yeah, I don't know why)
Thinking you could live without me
Live without me
Baby, I'm the one who put you up there
I don't know why (I don't know why, yeah, yeah)
Gave love 'bout a hundred tries (hundred tries)
Just running from the demons in your mind
Then I took yours and made 'em mine (mine)
I didn't notice 'cause my love was blind
Said I'd catch you if you fall (fall)
And if they laugh, then fuck 'em all (all)
And then I got you off your knees
Put you right back on your feet
Just so you could take advantage of me
Tell me, how's it feel sittin' up there?
Feeling so high but too far away to hold me
You know I'm the one who put you up there
Name in the sky, does it ever get lonely?
Thinking you could live without me
Thinking you could live without me
Baby, I'm the one who put you up there
I don't know why (yeah, I don't know why)
Thinking you could live without me
Live without me
Baby, I'm the one who put you up there
I don't know why, yeah
You don't have to say just what you did (what you did)
I already know (I know)
I had to go and find out from them (oh-woah)
So tell me, how's it feel? (oh-woah)
Tell me, how's it feel sittin' up there?
Feeling so high, but too far away to hold me
You know I'm the one who put you up there
Name in the sky, does it ever get lonely?
Thinking you could live without me
Thinking you could live without me
Baby, I'm the one who put you up there
I don't know why (yeah, I don't know why)" and the song ended
Throughout the entire performance, I was just enamored by Himori's voice. She sounded almost exactly as the singer herself. Her voice didn't crack and she was able to hit every note to perfection. It was truly incredible. I could tell that she gave it her all to sing this song. The only thing I could do was clap in amazement.
Himori then looks at me with a shy smile and her face very red.
"Thank you for the praise" she said as she handed the mic and the tablet to me "Your turn"
I was very reluctant but I could tell that Himori might force me to with her powers. So now I look at the tablet and browse through the songs to see which one I should do. Took me a bit since I'm really embarrassed to do this in the first place. But if I am going going to sing, I might as well pick a song that I like and express my feelings. Soon enough I chose "Can't hell falling in love with you" by Elvis Presley.
As the song begins, I take the mic and sing:
"Wise men say only fools rush in
But I can't help falling in love with you
Shall I stay? Would it be a sin?
If I can't help falling in love with you
Like a river flows
Surely to the sea
Darling, so it goes
Some things are meant to be
Take my hand, take my whole life, too
For I can't help falling in love with you
Like a river flows
Surely to the sea
Darling, so it goes
Some things are meant to be
Take my hand, take my whole life, too
For I can't help falling in love with you
For I can't help falling in love with you" and the song ends.
I then took a deep breath to calm myself down. I did a decent enough impression of the King himself when singing this song. One of my favorites. I hope that I sang it well. Though I am a bit terrified to turn to look at Himori in fear that she may laugh and think it was terrible.
I mean was it terrible? She's pretty quiet right now? Oh man did I shock her because it sounded bad? God why did I do this? This is too much. With great reluctance, I turn around to face any criticisms she may have.
That's when I became scared. Himori had her hands around her mouth and she looked to be crying with her face really red. I got worried and went towards her.
"Hey hey. Are you ok? Is something wrong?" I ask her
"Great. You made her cry. Nice work" Venom said sarcastically
"Shut up Venom" I yelled at him as I focus on Himori
"Are you alright Himori?" I asked again as I go to touch her.
Then the unexpected happened. Himori grabbed me by the collar and aggressively pressed her lips against mine. I was so shocked by this whole thing that I had no idea what to do. So I just went with the flow as we kissed each other. For several minutes we just caressed each other's lips and I was in cloud nine. God I love this girl. Then Himori stopped kissing me and looked at me.
"I love you too Shiro" She said with a smile on her face. I smiled also and I didn't care if she read my mind as we continued to kiss.
Don't know how long we were kept going but it felt like a lifetime. Unfortunately, we had to stop because Himori wanted to continue singing. I obliged her of course.
"We should sing a duet next" Himori suggested as she browsed through the tablet. I'll admit that I was not really into this in the beginning but now I'm surprisingly having a good time.
"Oh how about this song?" Himori said as she showed me the tablet and I saw that the song she wanted to do was Love Lies by Khalid and Normani
"Ok" I said as we set it up and got ourselves ready to sing
"[Me]
Sorry if it's hard to catch my vibe, mmm
I need a lover to trust, tell me you're on my side
Are you down for the ride?
It's not easy for someone to catch my eye
But I've been waitin' for you for my whole damn life
For my whole lifetime
Don't be afraid to tell me if you ain't with it (you ain't with it)
I see you're focused, yeah you're so independent (independent)
It's hard for me to open up, I'll admit it (I'll admit it)
You've got some shit to say and I'm here to listen
[Me Himori]
So baby, tell me where your love lies
Waste the day and spend the night
Underneath the sunrise
Show me where your love lies
[Himori]
I've been so into your mystery
Is it because of our history?
Are you into me?
When it feels so good, but it's bad for you
Can't say I don't want it 'cause I know I do
Come on over, I need your company
Cravin' that synergy
Don't be afraid to tell me if you ain't with it (you ain't with it)
I see you're focused, yeah, you're so independent (independent)
It's hard for me to open up, I'll admit it (I'll admit it)
You've got some shit to say and I'm here to listen
[Me Himori]
So baby, tell me where your love lies
Waste the day and spend the night
Underneath the sunrise
Show me where your love lies
Tell me where your love lies
Waste the day and spend the night
Underneath the sunrise
Show me where your love lies
If you're down, don't hide it
Feelin' me, you don't gotta deny it
Baby you gon' make me overnight it
Tell me, are you down?
If you're down, don't hide it (yeah)
Feelin' me, you don't gotta deny it (yeah)
Baby you gon' make me overnight it
Tell me, are you down? (Tell me)
Tell me where your love lies (tell me where your love lies)
Waste the day and spend the night (waste the day, spend the night)
Underneath the sunrise (underneath the sunrise)
Show me where your love lies (tell me where your love lies)
Tell me where your love lies (show me where your love lies)
Waste the day and spend the night (yeah, yeah)
Underneath the sunrise (ooh)
Show me where your love lies" and thus the song ended.
After it did we just started to laugh just because. I was really enjoying myself and it was obvious that Himori was too. This moment is definitely something worth remembering. Something that will be worth fighting for when the war comes. But I'm not going to think about it now, right now I'm going to spend as much time with my girlfriend as possible so that we can enjoy the time we have.
And so for the rest of the day, we sang to our hearts content. Or rather to the point when we lost our voices. Afterthat, we went home and gave each other good night kisses before we separated. I'm so lucky to have her. Good thing we have ten months before going to UA, which means we have plenty of time to get ourselves ready for what comes next.
Now here I am in my room sitting on my bed and thinking.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Venom asks
"Don't you already know what I'm thinking?" I ask in return
"True but sometimes it good to speak your thoughts aloud" Venom said
"It probably redundant doing so with you" I said. This made Venom chuckle
"Maybe so but it wouldn't hurt to try right?" Venom asks
"Probably not" I answered "It's just I'm still a bit worried about this entire situation. If you would have told me a few years ago that I would be bonded to an alien from another universe and had to prepare for a upcoming war. I would have thought that to be really silly. But now, I'm uncertain if we will succeed."
"I understand that feeling. Better than anyone. But having that doubt will make you second guess everything you do and that's not a good thing. A leader will be needed and Nezu made the implication that it would be you." Venom said
"I don't think I'm ready for that responsibility" I responded. Venom then chuckles
"Parker used to say that "With Great Power comes Great Responsibility". It means that if you have the power, you are responsible to make the right choice. Even if it isn't the popular option. Took me awhile to understand that. And when I bonded with him, even he felt uncertain if he was ready. But he kept doing the responsible thing because it's what he needed to do. Even if he was terrified of it. Parker was a man of many flaws but he was a hero. A hero that I respect. Shame that I couldn't tell him that" Venom explained to me.
"But I'm not him" I said
"No, you're not. But the life we live is filled with danger. We might lose things along the way. But we must always face whatever obstacles that come our way with conviction. Otherwise we are doomed to fail" Venom said
"But how will I know that I'm ready? Ready for what's coming?" I ask
"You won't. It's a leap of faith, Shiro. In the end, that's all it is. A leap of faith" Venom said
I didn't say anything for the rest of the night as I pondered what Venom said. Maybe he has a point
Ten Months Later
Time went by quickly as Himori and I spent time together. We hung out, we trained and we did our nightly patrols. Trying to find any information on the one who wants to end quirks. Still no luck. Whoever this person is has been laying low. Something tells me that one of these days we will be meeting them.
But right now, it's time to focus on the fact that Himori and I are heading into UA to view the entrance exam. Nezu sent us the locations of the viewing room that the faculty and staff will be located to see the performance of upcoming students and judge who will enter and who doesn't.
And so here I am. Standing in front of UAbefore any one else as requested by Nezu with Himori at my side. Admiring the place that has produced so many heroes that we know and idolize today. Even as I stand here, I am nervous. But I calm myself repeating what Venom said to me all those months ago
"A leap of faith" I whispered to myself as I look at Himori to which she looked at me.
We both held each other's hands as we walked inside the school to view who we might know to be taking this exam. Let's see if we can make Nezu proud.
To Be Continued...
Hey guys. Sorry it took a while to update this chapter. Life has been keepin my busy and it didn't help that my mom died a few weeks ago so the energy to keep writing just faded a bit. But I'll keep trying to update my stories as best as I can.
All in all, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Let me know what you think in the review section. This is me, signing out.