Something isn't right with this guy.
That was the main thought in Rachnera's head as the police rolled in. She recognized the suited woman walking towards them as the head coordinator for the Cultural Exchange in this region of Japan. She noticed the ghost of a smirk on her lips at the sight of the underdressed 'liminal counselor.'
Rachnera did not like him; it was not that he had been unkind or anything of the sort, but she could not shake the feeling that he was concealing something for some reason.
Most people would understandably panic if they found themselves suddenly captured by an arachne. She had even made a deliberate effort to appear more menacing to witness the sweet terror cross his face. However, he treated the event as an awkward meeting, like he had just bumped into her on the street. No one of sound mind would react in such a way to such a situation.
Then he interrupted her as she was about to tease him as if he had anticipated it. He always seemed to know what to say and when to say it, almost as if every word was tailor-made for her, as if he deeply understood her.
Her claws dug into her folded arms, ignoring the coordinator's feeble apologies and Aki's ramblings.
That's what angered Rachnera beyond measure. He acted as if he knew her and even gave the impression that he did. How on earth did he know that she didn't intend to harm him or was going to mock him? And why wasn't he astonished when that lone police officer appeared?
Then, with the perfect combination of words, he dared to offer her a place in his home, making her feel secure enough to trust him. It was then that the realization dawned on her.
It was as if he had experienced it all before as if he was reciting from a pre-determined script.
She couldn't help but burst out laughing at how absurd the idea was.
The amusement quickly dissipated as she grasped the unsettling reality of being an open book to someone she had never met before.
Her crimson eyes followed Aki as he strode away to meet a redheaded woman with stitches on her face. Whoever this man was, she couldn't ignore him. He seemed to know more about her than she wanted him to, and his confidence in her made her uneasy. She decided to accept his offer only to learn the truth. She would do whatever it took to uncover what exactly he knew, whether it was by gaining his trust or some other means.
He never explicitly lied to her. Even regarding his status as a liminal, Smith's comments confirmed this. Yet, he seemed to be deceiving her in some way.
If there was one thing Rachnera loathed more than humans, it was phonies.
To be continued!