Is It Okay To Have Dinner With The Spider

【六】ICOHECS

Rain was pouring heavily down in the little city of Japan and the thunder was booming across the sky, announcing the lightning's arrival. People stayed in their homes, setting up their kotatsu and cozying up to fire. Reina had none of those to go to, instead, her spider legs carried her around the small lanes behind the houses. Shivering in the cold, despite her thick jacket, she folded her arms beneath her chest, trying to warm herself up with her little body heat.

Just as she was about to dart down another alley, Reina heard a scream and tensed. "Please stop! I'm sorry. I'm sorry!" The voice was pinched with pain, and desperation. The kid couldn't have been over ten years old.

Reina's slight fingers rolled up into fists and grinded her teeth. Why? Why had the kid said the exact same words she had? She moved another step away, but something held her back.

When she'd been in that spot, no one had come to her rescue. Even if they'd heard her, no one cared. But now... she knew that it was too hard to ignore. The kid could die, because of her ignorance.

"Stop! Please! I'm sorry!" She turned around and ran towards the source of the voice. There was a choir of howling laughter before she found the kid. The boy was curled up into a ball on the wet floor, high schoolers stood over him

"You want to run to your mummy? Huh? Well, that's too bad! I told you, didn't I? Respect us. Did you?" He rushed forward for another kick. The boy cried out in pain as he absorbed the impact of the kick. "No, you didn't. That's why we've got to teach you a lesson."

"Stop."

Everyone froze. They may not have known who the voice belonged to, but the voice itself turned their hearts to ice. It sounded so dangerous that they couldn't help but turn around, looking for the source. The four high school boys' eyes grew wide, shaking with fright when they saw the spider legs, the blue eyes, the hint of web on her fingers. Lightning flashed.

"I-I," but he didn't get enough time to finish. Reina came into light and retracted her legs. She wouldn't need her legs for a bunch of high schoolers who didn't know how to pick their fights. Reina ran forward and swiftly knocked them down with one hit. Two of them bashed themselves into a wall and slid down, their head coated with blood. The other two doubled over, gasping for breath. But Reina didn't give them the chance to catch their breath. She dove forward and smashed both their heads into her bony, stone knees. Blood spilled on her legs and she let the boys drop in front of her. Reina sprouted her spider legs once again and stabbed them in the chest, for good measure.

A whimper came from the corner, where the young boy had been. "You're the Spider," he blurted out in a breathy voice. "You kill people."

Reina turned towards the boy and lifted her to her feet, "You got that damn right."

His eyes turned watery. "Are you going to kill me? Please don't! My mum will get really sad and all my siblings will get upset too. And I'm going to the skate park with my friends tomorrow for the very first time! Please don't kill me."

Reina was quiet, watching his small face and big eyes. He had black hair which shone in the darkness. "We can't have your family after me, am I right? Go now, then. And don't go angering more guys like them, in the future. It won't always turn out this nice."

"Thank you, Spider!" His smile widened to his ears and his face turned pink with happiness. But suddenly, his joyful face turned to one of concern as he looked at one of Reina's eyes. "What happened there? To your right eye, I mean. Mum said you took it out yourself."

Her right eye was closed and had a scar over it, most people thought of it as her signature characteristic. "I did. It was a pretty messy DIY job," Reina replied in dry humour.

The boy's jaw dropped, his face aghast. "Why would you do that?!"

Reina closed her eyes and chuckled. "Sometimes, you do what you have to. In this case, I had no other choice."

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Reina watched the boy walk away. Assured that he knew the way home, she spun around and ambled away. But something was stopping her. Reina felt her legs gave way and then suddenly her whole body was trembling. She stared at her hands. They couldn't stop shaking and even her vision was blurred.

What's happening to me?

The girl was on the ground, her knees were slightly bleeding from the fall and she couldn't move. Her body wasn't in her control anymore, she could feel her muscles spasming, as if they were possessed. She forced her hands to the ground, trying to steady herself, but her vision went black before she could do anything.

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The next morning was a Saturday and the shopping centers and streets were cramped with people as usual. You could barely walk five meters without getting congested with people around you. Tetsuki, sadly, had to suffer. His kitchen was running low of food due to the four high school boys always crashing at his house for dinner. He knew that they would come over again tonight. Chika had demanded a hot pot and Tetsuki couldn't help but comply. He felt like a hot pot as well. Tetsuki subconsciously wondered if the Spider would turn up again. He'd cook extra anyway.

Squeezing through the entrance to the supermarket, he spotted what seemed like a dark haired girl in a familiar murky green jacket that dropped down to her elbow, like always. Her short dress that he'd seen not so long ago, reached the middle of her upper thighs. Could it be?

Steadily, he moved against the crowd, careful not to disrupt the flow so that no attention would be drawn towards him. Just as he opened his mouth to speak when he reached her, she turned around. Her electrifying blue eye sharpened as she saw him and grew wide.

"S-" But before he could say a word, she'd grown a mini spider leg from the palm of her hand. The spider leg swiftly pushed him, turning Tetsuki away. As he tried to open his mouth to reject - wanting to talk to her - Tetsuki saw her pleading eyes. He clamped his mouth shut and swiveled his head away before he walked away in dejection.

Tetsuki shoved his hands in his pocket. He'd made the wrong move; he knew that now. She would probably never come to his house ever again. Her face flashed in his mind. But there was something off about her just then. Something was wrong. She'd seemed so afraid, so pleading.

Was that even the Spider?

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CHOICES