When I came to, the world was upside down. And dark. And I was completely restrained.

I murmured to myself, "That must be a metaphor or something," as I swiveled my head around, trying to understand my surroundings better. Indeed, this abandoned warehouse looked all too familiar. "Wonderful," I sighed in resignation.

"Welcome back to the land of the living!" called a voice as sweet as honey from the shadows.

Deep breaths, man. Kurusu had escaped this situation unscathed and peacefully, hadn't he? So why couldn't I do the same? I just needed to think my way out of this. However, he had also gotten molested significantly, and because she had caught me while I was asleep, I only had my boxers on. I needed to think quickly and devise a plan to get out of this situation.

Think harder!

"You're more fragile than I had anticipated..." the voice went on, accompanied by something scurrying in the shadows. "It's no wonder why I despise humans so much."

Then, as she stepped into the moonlight, I couldn't help but marvel at the strangeness of what I was seeing. Half-human, half-spider, I thought - an existence that ought to be impossible and horrifying, yet here she was, looking like something out of a superhero comic. Even though I knew what to expect, nothing could have prepared me for this moment. It was both awe-inspiring and a little intimidating.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," she said with a smirk, resting a clawed hand on her cheek. "My name is Rachnera Arachnera."

"Hi there!" I replied, awkwardly swaying back and forth where I was hanging. "My name is Akihiro Bando, but everyone just calls me Aki. It's nice to meet you as well."

If the head tilt was any indication, her confusion was evident.

If I had been unaware that she had no malicious intent, my behavior would've drastically changed. However, as long as I don't act like a jerk or come off as insincere, this should be an easy task.

"Aren't you afraid?" Rachnera asked curiously, her eyes widening with anticipation.

I attempted to shrug, but the silk was too tight to allow it. "I'm quite anxious if I'm being honest. It's a bit disconcerting being upside-down like this. Would you mind lowering me back down?"

"My, you're trying to play it cool, huh?" Rachnera snorted but still grabbed the rope. "It's like kidnapping is a regular occurrence for you."

The silk in her hand snapped, and the floor rushed up to meet me.

Bonk!

Fucking hell, that hurt.

"Not really," I eventually groaned, my head pounding with pain. How had Kurusu managed to shake off all this pain so quickly? I knew that my head was going to have severe bruising. "I've been through many strange and difficult things lately," I said as I struggled to sit up.

"Is that so?" Rachnera asked, her smirk widening as she spoke. "But how long can that casual act last, I wonder?" She raised her top, her eyes full of curiosity and anticipation.

"Look, why did you kidnap me? Is there a purpose behind it besides making a statement by flashing me?" I interrupted, desperately hoping my direct approach would prevent this from becoming an even bigger issue.

Rachnera's six scarlet eyes stared at me with confusion and disbelief. She slowly lowered her arm as she let out a heavy sigh. "How can you be so nonchalant about this?" she questioned, her voice filled with doubt.

"I live with five other liminals, work as a liminal counselor, and have a colleague who causes just as many problems as she solves," I said, shifting my weight uncomfortably on the cold concrete floor. "And to make matters worse, I had to deal with some creepy guy harassing my friends earlier today. That's just the cherry on top, I guess."

"A liminal counselor," Rachnera said with disdain, her eyebrows furrowing as she pondered the unfamiliar term. "What exactly does that entail?"

The metal door trembled and shook, announcing the presence of a third person. In barely a second, Rachnera grabbed me tightly and shot into the air, scaling the rafters. I was awe-struck at her speed, considering her size. But then again, she was part-spider, and spiders were always incredibly fast.

"Hello?" shouted timidly as a flashlight frantically scanned the warehouse. "It looks like I'm all alone here..."

Oh hey, Bike Cop!

"It's spooky in here," he said anxiously, rubbing the back of his neck, "I want to go home now."

As much as I wanted to keep listening to the guy's complaints, I had more urgent matters to attend to, such as avoiding being smothered in a marshmallow inferno.

"I managed to break away from that repulsive individual, and I'm not keen on being recaptured, so why don't you enjoy yourself for a bit," Rachnera murmured to me, "We can continue our conversation afterward."

"Kay," I whispered, desperately trying to catch my breath. "Do you have to hold me this tight? I need some air!"

"And here I thought you'd be up for getting close and personal," she chuckled, "Unless I'm not your type..."

"I'm not gay," I said, trying to keep my voice from becoming dull. "Not that there's anything wrong with that," I quickly added, trying to make my words more reassuring.

"Oh, then you won't mind if I do this?" she teased, shifting-

Shit, do something, anything, to not give her an inch!

I let out a loud, terrified shriek that shocked her momentarily before she quickly clamped a hand over my mouth, silencing me.

"WHAT WAS THAT?!" yelled Bike Cop in panic as he frantically shone his flashlight up the rafters, narrowly missing us.

"Phew," Rachnera exclaimed as she quickly maneuvered us to safety. "That was a close call! I didn't realize you had it in you to scream like that!"

"Mmf," I grunted.

Below us, Bike Cop finally gave in to the fear plaguing him and fled the warehouse, desperately babbling about the strange noises and thick spiderwebs he had encountered. I fervently hoped he would call for help as soon as possible.

"With that pesky interruption out of the way," Rachnera said, lifting me to meet her gaze. "Now, where were we? Oh yes, I believe I asked you a question earlier..."

"Oh, right," I said, trying to sound confident. "I provide support to liminals who are struggling to adjust to living with their host families. I'm still relatively new to this, though I have had one successful session with a mandragora."

"It seems you undertook this task for financial gain rather than out of any professional commitment. You don't seem to have the qualifications of a trained therapist."

"No to the former, and you're correct on the latter," I told her, squirming a little in my seat as I tried to get more comfortable. Unfortunately, it seemed like a hopeless effort. "I'm just trying to do my best to help them out. I've had to give my host a hand a few times now with-"

She spun me around, causing me to yelp in surprise as she scrutinized me, searching for any signs of the non-human. "Are you liminal?" she asked. "I don't see anything unusual about you."

"I'm technically liminal," I clarified, feeling relieved that she had stopped treating me like a rag doll, "I'm a dimensional traveler, so I suppose that counts as well."

Rachnera gave me a skeptical look. "Now, that must be one of the most unconvincing lies I've ever heard."

"It's not a lie," I replied firmly, my body tense as I hung from her threads. "I can't prove it, but I'm telling the truth. I've answered all your questions, so it's only fair that you answer mine. Why did you kidnap me?" I held her gaze, my eyes meeting her red ones.

"It seems like you're struggling with this whole 'being kidnapped' situation," she sighed in exasperation.

"I may not be that bad at it since you managed to catch me," I deadpanned, attempting another shrug that proved futile. "If you had any intention of hurting me, you would've done it already-"

Snap!

I let out a startled cry as the ground quickly approached me. In the nick of time, my downward momentum suddenly stopped, leaving me suspended in the air. With a quick snap, the Silk binding me broke, and I fell to the ground in surprise.

"To answer your query with my own," Rachnera said as she slowly descended from the rafters, "Would you be the 'Gaijin, white knight, self-righteous douchebag' which prevented Kisegi from entering a home full of liminals?"

After considering protesting those adjectives, I ultimately chose to forgo them since they weren't wholly incorrect. With that in mind, I gave a slight nod in agreement.

"I suppose I just wanted to see if that wasn't all an act," the arachne continued, as she started to walk toward me but then stopped abruptly. "Humans often put up a pretense, masking their true feelings by pretending to accept those different from them as if that'll make things easier," she sneered. "But it only ever makes things worse in the end."

I furrowed my brow, studying her. "You had a difficult time with your host family, didn't you?"

Rachnera shrugged with a hint of resignation, her expression seeming forced. "It doesn't matter to me; all they did was affirm my opinion."

Bright lights flooded the warehouse, causing me to squint and see stars. Rachnera and I sprinted to the wall, halting at opposite sides of a window. She gave me a suspicious, reproachful gaze, likely suspecting I had summoned aid at some point. In reply, I patted my body and boxers and gave her an astonished look, hopefully conveying that there was no way I could've contacted anyone.

"THIS... CULTURA... COORDIN... SMITH...!"

Nice to know the Cultural Exchange skimps the budget regarding hostage situations.

"You are responsible for the heinous crime of violence against a human male!" Smith's voice boomed, "Surrender yourself now, or we will take drastic measures!"

"Hey, Rachnera," I whispered, "Why don't you come and live with us?"

"Excuse me?!"

"You heard me."

Rachnera looked dumbfounded, eyes widening in disbelief. "But I...I kidnapped you."

"Who cares? You had your reasons," I said, not paying attention as I glanced out the window. "You didn't do anything to hurt me, so it's no big deal."

"Why are you...?"

"If we can spin this into just you needing a human escort while going outside, this won't be that big of an issue."

"That is... a ridiculously flimsy story."

"HEY, SPIDER-BITCH!" Oh, hey, that was Zombina. "GET YOUR ARHTROPOD ASS OUT HERE BEFORE I DRAG IT OUT FOR YA!"

Aw, she did care.

"So, what do you think?" I asked Rachnera with a friendly smile, trying to conceal my nervousness.

She stared at me for what felt like an eternity, and for a brief, terrifying moment, I feared MON would have to come in guns blazing after all. That fear dissipated, however, when a tiny smile formed on her pale face.

As she began to giggle, her laughter quickly grew louder and louder until it filled the room. I could already predict her answer, so I felt an immense sense of relief and began to laugh with her. I no longer cared how strange the situation seemed; all I wanted to do was laugh.

Welcome to the family, Rachnee.

To be continued!