The Spider's Web (Rui Ayaki x Reader/OC)

Ch 10: Gluttony

Thud. Crack.

"Eek! What was that?" I jumped closer to Rui.

"Saki... it's probably just a branch..." he sighed.

"Yeah... a branch..." I looked around.

You might be wondering why I was so tense. Or why I'm such a scaredy-cat. Well, Shinobu assigned us to a mission that Kiyo, Sumi and Naho described as "extremely dangerous". I'm not sure if they were trying to scare me but if so, it definitely worked.

The mission was held at a village close to where our original home resided. However, the only possible way to get there was to go through an intimidatingly dense forest. Not to mention, the weather was frighteningly gloomy that day.

"Are you sure that we're going the right direction?" I clutched my haori worriedly, pulling it over my chest as the winds decided that they would torment me today.

"Yes, I'm sure, Saki. I can find a way out easily if we get lost anyways, so don't worry." he sighed once more, grasping my hands and rubbing them gently in his to warm them up.

We walked in silence once more. There seemed to be something on Rui's mind, but I didn't pry into the matter.

"Well..." he started.

"If you're really that afraid..." he continued, becoming redder by the second.

"Hm?" I ushered him to continue.

"Then," he glimpsed at me but quickly turned away, shakily holding out his petite hand.

"Then, you can hold my hand," he said, stretching out his hand further for me to grasp with my own.

"You know," I grasped his hand. "I've never seen you make the first move before," I said, all my fear completely washed away with the warmth of his touch.

He shifted uncomfortably, his hand holding mine tighter. "L-Let's go," he whispered as I felt a strange warmth swelling inside of me.

As we continued walking, I finally saw a glimpse of a village that was brightly decorated with warm lights.

I looked at Rui excitedly, pulling him along with me as I ran towards it. However, something was off. As we walked down the path that was surrounded by homes and food stalls, we quickly realised that there was no one there. It looked like there was a festival taking place.

"What's all this empty plates and bowls doing here?" Rui said, examining the ramen bowls that were presented neatly on the ramen stall's table.

"Where is everybody?" I whispered to myself, knocking on multiple houses' doors, and getting no reply.

As we walked further and further, passing by more stalls, it became an obvious pattern. All the food stalls had an abundance of food being served, but why was no one there?

Grumble.

"Was that... you?" I asked.

"I thought it was you," he responded, giving me a confused look.

"Alright, whatever then. You hungry?" I asked, seeing him give me puppy eyes in response, seemingly eyeing something close to him.

"Okay, okay, I know there's a bunch of food in front of us right now, but it's probably not safe to eat. Let's find a spot and take a little break. It's been a long day." I took out a homemade bento box, sat down on a nearby rock and unwrapped the cloth that was comfortably cradling the container.

Turning around, I dug out the rest of the utensils needed to eat out of my bag and set them on the rock.

Rui's POV