"Just as the water reflects the stars and the moon, the body reflects the mind and soul."
When I'd finally regained consciousness, I found myself unable to move my limbs, as if bound by a tight rope.
"I see you're awake." A familiar voice beckoned, "Don't move too much now, you're tied up by my silk; if you squirm too much you might get hurt."
Dreadfully opening my eyes, I stared my capturer in the eyes.
"What's with the mean stare? That's not nice you know." She teased
Analyzing the rest of my surroundings, I realized that I was now being held captive in the wooden shed. And not only that, but I wasn't the only one being held here; beside me was a girl that hand her hands and feet restrained along with her mouth covered.
"Why do you have me here?"
"The better question would be, why did you come here? Chasing after this girl, maybe?"
"I have no idea who she is."
"Likely story. Then tell me why you came here, and maybe I'll let you live."
Subtly scanning the room, I managed to locate my sword in the corner. Now the only problem would be getting my hands loose.
Suddenly she teleported over to me, yelling in my face "Silence won't help you!". This time she spoke in a much coarser voice, a high contrast to the gentle tone she'd been using up to now.
Choosing not to talk, I continued trying to bide my time until I came up with a way out of this situation.
"Still nothing, huh? Then it makes sense I just go ahead and kill you."
Recluding to the dark ceiling, she started hanging from what appeared to be more of her string. She then revealed three silk needles nested between her fingers, before darting them towards me; aimed for my head, neck and chest.
Without any time left to spare, I finally managed to free my hands from her silk, ducking and rolling out of the way of the projectiles. In the same burst, I dashed for my sword, unsheathing it and taking a battle-ready stance.
"You fool!" She cackled, taking notice of my left thumb, "You dislocated the finger on your non-dominant hand in order to free yourself of my silken wire and still retain enough dexterity to wield your sword. You're clever boy, I like it."
It wasn't the best option, but in the moment, it seemed like a good idea. Though now I was left with a dislocated and swollen thumb. The sheer amount of pain was staggering considering that it was just my finger. Nonetheless, I couldn't let my guard down for a second around this woman; she's already shown that she isn't any normal swordsman.
"How do you plan on fighting me with one hand? Surely you don't think you'll stand a chance with such a disability."
"I'll take my chances." I groaned
"You'll just end up right where you started."
Pulling out more needles, she fired them towards me, each being barely visible due to the lack of light in the room. Still, I was able to deflect every single one.
"This time won't be like before; you caught me off-guard. This time I'll actually put up a fight."
The shed echoed with her laughter. I watched as she uncovered a long bladed whip, flailing it in the air.
"Meet Jorogumo, my Darling."
Keeping my guard up, I tried my best to zone out the pain inflicted by my other hand and focus all my efforts on her. We both stared each other down, waiting for the other person to make a move. When I finally saw an opening, I wasted no time in dashing in. Moving as quick as possible, I pounced into the air towards her and attempted to strike.
"You're going down!" I declared
"Don't be so naïve!"
Simply lashing her whip in the air, she was able to control its long structure as if it was an extra limb. The whip wrapped itself around my sword, impeding my attack. Via the command of another lash, I was slammed onto the ground, having my blade tossed aside.
"It was foolish of you to even think you stood a chance." She scoffed, slowly descending from the ceiling.
By this time it was very difficult to breathe, and I could feel something blocking the air from entering my throat. I faintly brought my hand up to my mouth upon getting the urge to cough; and to my surprise, when I looked at my palm it was all covered in blood. Now my enemy had been standing over me, pitifully looking down on me She picked me up by the collar, lifting my helpless body up to her face.
"It's always the clever ones that get themselves killed." She murmured
"Heh, you sure you're the winner in this one?" I chuckled, barely being audible enough for her to hear
"What's that, brat?"
She tightened her grip on my neck, feeling threatened by my words. Clenching my fist, I spattered my blood across her eyes. After a hallowing scream, she threw me into a wall before falling to her knees. Despite it being dark, I could see the imprint of a spider tattoo on back of her neck, having the number 6 inscribed in the center of it.
"You bastard! I'll kill you!" She cried
Though she was finally vulnerable, I wasn't exactly in a position to strike her; I didn't even have the strength to move at that point.
"You won't get out of here alive you wretch."
Before I even noticed, she started releasing a thick purple gas from her body. And nine times out of ten purple gas is toxic, so there's no way I was staying around any longer.
The adrenaline kicked in, giving me the energy to lunge for my sword and bolt for the exit. As I went to step foot outside, I heard the desperate moans of the girl that had been tied up inside here with me. I took a glance back at her face, seeing only fear in her eyes.
"Damnit. I can't leave her here." My conscience was weighing heavy on me, but there wasn't any time to contemplate anything. Without a second thought, I covered my nose and dove straight in. I threw the girl over my shoulder and secured her with my injured hand.
"Better hold your breath." I advised
With all my energy, I sprinted out of the shed. Doing my best to put distance between us and that woman.
Though after not very long, I realized we were being chased; I could sense multiple entities following us at high speeds. They all shared a similar spiritual presence with the woman I'd just fought, but none of them were anywhere near as powerful as she is.
Overtime they started closing the distance between us, and as expected, I wasn't able to keep up anymore. At a certain point my legs gave out, and I collapsed onto the ground, ending up dropping the girl as well.
I panicked and got up to my feet, blade ready in hand. The unknown entities now had us surrounded, circling around us in the trees at high speeds. One suddenly jumped out at me, screeching as I batted it away with my sword.
"Spiders?" I questioned aloud, watching as the moonlight shun on the body of my attacker. It seemed to be a large, mutated spider, possessing predator-like fangs and claws.
Soon the others would leap out of the shadows, all bombarding me with their sharp appendages. Though they had the advantage of numbers, I was able to take each of them out one at a time, eventually overpowering them.
"This must be her doing." I observed, glaring at the cluster of dead spiders.
Looking back at the girl, she seemed reasonably frightened by all that had taken place.
"C'mon, let's get going." I said to her, hoisting her over my shoulder once again, "It's best we get some more distance between us and that woman for now"
Withstanding all my injuries, I was able to traverse several dozens of meters before finally having to stop.
I rested the girl down by a tree and managed to put together a makeshift campfire. I removed the gag that they'd kept in her mouth to prevent her from talking, and attempted to cut the rope binding her limbs, though as expected, they didn't budge at all. It was then that I remembered what the psycho had said earlier.
"Unbreakable silk is still silk right?" I pondered, wondering if I could just burn it off instead
I put a bit of the silk over the campfire, hoping it would just melt; but as it turns out, it's also non-flammable as well. But non-flammable doesn't mean heat resistant.
Carefully heating the edge of my sword over the fire, I was able to sear the silk wire apart. Finally freeing her of her bondage.
"There. That should be more comfortable for you."
Without even muttering a word, she timidly rubbed her wrists, trying to ease their swelling.
"I mean at least a 'Thank You' would've been nice."
I decided it would be best to just give her some space, considering the stuff she's experienced tonight, and only God knows what she's been through before I saw her.
"You have a name?" I requested, figuring I could at least know that. She remained silent, only closely watching my movements. "No? Alright then."
Resting at the base of a tree on the opposite side of the campfire, I nonchalantly stared up at the moon.
"My name's Tetsuhiko. Though these days I go by Yamato."
"Tetsu..hiko.." She muttered
"Yep. My mom thought it was a good name, so she gave it to me at birth. Just don't go around spreading it please. Yamato is fine."
When I looked back at her, I realized she was fixated on my left hand.
"Oh this? It's fine, don't worry about it." Trying to seem cool, I firmly grabbed my finger and tried relocating it. I didn't expect it to be more painful than the dislocation itself, so I ended up screaming like some baby.
Amused by my pain, she quietly giggled.
"Oh, that's funny to you eh?" I churned, rolling my eyes in embarrassment, "You should try getting some rest. We have a lot to talk about tomorrow."
To think that this day would end with me sleeping at a campfire with some unknown girl after battling a mysterious assassin and a bunch of spiders. What has my life come to?