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

Ch 9: Repaired

"What, did you think that training was going to be that easy?" Aoi giggled, remembering when she first completed her tedious training.

"Isn't this... going too far though?" I looked at the giant gourd that sat in front of me. I could probably fit in there, maybe live in there too. It already took me forever to break the first smaller gourd, and this was what, eight times bigger?

"Good luck!" Sumi cheered at the sidelines, her twin tails bouncing on her shoulders happily.

"Okay, here I go!" I took a deep breath.

'One, two, three, blow!' I thought in my head.

I blew as hard as I could.

...

...

...

"Saki, nothing is happening, y'know..." Rui sighed as he munched on some dango.

"I'm trying, I'm trying," I wiped the sweat off my forehead.

"Oh, I've got it! Miss Kanao uses a special breathing technique that makes her super strong! Maybe you can try that!" Kiyo suggested, thinking back to the times where she saw Kanao train.

"Breathing techniques?" I wondered.

"That is right! Breathing patterns and techniques increase the user's lung capacity and amount of oxygen in the blood. The increase of oxygen allows them to enhance their physical and mental abilities, too! And not to mention, clots wounds from serious injuries and slows down circulation of poison in the bloodstream! Useful, right?" Aoi lectured.

"You totally memorised that, didn't you?" Naho taunted, a mischievous smile on her face.

"N-No I didn't! Everyone knows this!" She shouted in embarrassment, a light pink dusting her cheeks. "Anyway, let's get to the basics!"

"Try focusing on your breathing. Relax, and try again. But this time, focus on every little breath that you take in, and make the most out of it," she instructed.

I nodded.

'Okay, I got this,' I told myself, taking in deep breaths at a continuous pace.

'Breathe in... breathe out...'

"When you're ready!" Kaho cheered.

I blew as hard as I could. My face was turning a light shade of pink and I was almost running out of air. But suddenly, crack, and the gourd broke.

"Woah!" Aoi gasped. Even Kanao's eyes widened a little.

"..what?" I looked around and everyone was staring at me.

"You're a natural at this! This was your second try! Do you know how amazing that is?" Sumi's eyes sparkled with a mixture of joy and amazement.

I mustered a tired smile and bowed to show my thanks.

"Okay, good work today, you may go rest now," Aoi smiled.

I bowed to everyone and met up with Rui.

"I did it Rui! Did you see? Did you see?" I grinned in excitement.

Rui's POV

"Did you see? Did you see?" She jumped up excitedly, her radiant smile gleaming and her lightly pink-dusted cheeks showed on her face while her hair bounced up and down.

'She's... beautiful...' I thought to myself.

"Y-Yeah, I saw. Um, good job," I replied, my heart feeling like it was going to burst.

Saki's POV

"Hey, Rui? I saw you eating some dango earlier. You can eat that kind of stuff? Since y'know, you're a demon and all," I wondered.

"Yeah, Miss Shinobu said that I could eat whatever I wanted, as I wasn't allergic to anything when I was a human. She ran some tests on me, too. That's why I can get my energy from food, and I won't sleep as long as other demons," he mentioned.

"You still have the craving for food? I would've thought that you wouldn't eat anymore, since you don't really have to," I took a tiny piece of his hair and braided it.

"Well, I just really like food," he smiled a little.

"Same old you, huh? Also, you should smile more, you know that? Like this," I lifted up his face and drew the sides of his cheeks upwards.

"Don't tease me... my smile isn't pretty anyways," he smacked my arm away like an angry kitten.

"That's a lie, show me," I stated.

He hesitantly smiled an awkward smile, but to me, it was the cutest thing in the world.

He giggled softly and we found ourselves tangled in each other's arms once again, both of us not wanting to be the first one to let go, in fear of losing each other.