I cannot believe that idiot did that! The scientist said that it is the only spider they managed to combine with the rest of the other spiders! Who knows what could have happened if it had managed to escape!"
Nijika spoke as the two of them had just exited the train, and they were walking home. Nijika realizes something as she turns to Sekinin.
"Sekinin-kun! Do you want to visit Starry today? Seika and Mom would be happy to see you there again."
This got Sekinin thinking, Starry, a live house that her sister owned with the help of her mother. The last time he went there was last week. He and Nijika met up here to see a band perform live as they enjoyed the band's music. He nodded as it would be nice to visit the livehouse and see Seika.
The two head on towards their location, unaware of a spider lurking on Sekinin as it went from his uniform to his bag. As if waiting for the right time to do something.
The two soon reached Starry, as it was located underneath a home, with a stone staircase that led down underground, and there was a sign of blue and red that said "STARRY." You can even hear the sound of music playing which means there is a band playing right now.
"The entrance looks the same as ever. I wonder how many bands are playing today."
Sekinin comments as he and Nijika walk down the staircase to the door, and the two enter inside. The sound of music becomes louder and clearer as they both enter, and they see a crowd of people cheering for a band. It ended as everyone cheered, people clapped, and whistled to the band.
Sekinin and Nijika both clap for the band even though they had only heard the end of the song. Then, suddenly, the two were hugged behind by a woman, a taller version of Nijika. Senatsu Ijichi, the mother of Nijika and Seika. Like Nijika, she has a ponytail, a good hairstyle from the old one. Sekinin didn't like it when she had her ponytail on her shoulder. She even wore casual clothing of white and black.
Sekinin didn't comment on it because he didn't want to upset her at the time. But now he doesn't have to worry about it; right now, he just smiles at her embrace.
Sekinin knew she was here to visit Seika and just happened to see them both.
"Nijika-chan! Sekinin-kun! Welcome back, how was the field trip? Do you both want apple juice?"
Nijika's mother welcomes the two with her usual warm hugs wherever she sees either Nijika or Sekinin or both together. Nijika hugged her mom as Sekinin just waited before being embraced again by Nijika-Mama.
"Sekinin-kun, how's your aunt and uncle been doing?"
"Ijichi-san, you just saw Aunt May and Uncle Ben yesterday."
"But I didn't see you with them, you were at Usagi-chan's home yesterday."
"And there was a good reason too."
The reason is that Usagi needed help with her homework and begged him to help. It didn't help that her grades were bad. If she were not to turn in her homework before the field trip, then she wouldn't be joining everyone else.
In a way, she was late this morning, missed the field trip, didn't turn in her homework, and would receive a scolding from her mother again, should it be known that she was late again and didn't turn in her homework. But he assumes Nijika already messaged Usagi about the essay.
"Mom, is Seika-neesan here?"
"She is here, sweetie. She just went to get something from upstairs. She didn't say what it was but it was maybe something for the livehouse."
Sekinin put his bag behind the beverage counter as a young woman approached him she grabbed him with her arm as she trapped him. She spoke nicely and pleasantly.
"Sekinin-kun, haven't seen you in a while. How have you been?"
Sekinin smiles as he looks at the pale-skinned young woman with hime cut long black hair and green eyes. She is dressed in a goth style, with a black choker, a gray dress with a long black coat over it, and piercings.
She is PA-san, Starry's system engineer, she makes sure the equipment here is working and not having problems. She is also Seika's friend.
"Hey, PA-san. Been doing great, just got back with Nijika from Ozukōpu Industries, and we have to write a two-page essay by next Monday."
She laughs as she playfully puts her knuckle on Sekinin's head and ruffles it up.
"Then it is pointless to even try as you'll complete it like your other homework. You are the smartest boy of Shimokitazawa Middle School, the smartest 11-year-old. And it's like what? The third week of the semester?"
"Yep, and just a week left until golden week, a nice time to relax from all the homework. Until three months before exams. Yeah, thanks PA-san."
She laughed as she didn't seem at all guilty. She is a high school dropout, she failed so many classes, and was always late. Sekinin was actually shocked when he heard from Seika as he wondered how she managed to work at Starry.
Still, at least she is doing okay.
"So anything new with you? Anything exciting I should know?"
"Not really, and honestly I just want to enjoy my weekend."
PA-san let go of Sekinin as she handed him a juice box of apple juice. Sekinin thanked her as both of them sat down next to a table that seemed to be the only one in the livehouse in the performance area.
"It's good to enjoy weekends, especially if you don't have a job right now. Just wait for 4 more years until you're allowed to work at a part-time job."
"I rather enjoy the free time that I have before then. But what about you PA-san? Anything new with you?"
"Nope, nothing. Just the same as me ever since you first met me."
Sekinin could still remember it was like yesterday, one day while Sekinin and Nijika were at Starry to see a band play, PA-san walked in with a flyer that said "Help Wanted - Need a System Engineer!" And after being interviewed by Ijichi-san, Seika was busy getting supplies so she couldn't do the interview at the time. PA-san got the job and she has been working at Starry up to even today.
Which was a year ago.
"I remember that you were so focused on fixing a problem with the equipment that you didn't notice I was there until you bumped into me."
"Hah, I even said what a kid like you was doing here until Seika-sama told me you were Nijika-chan's best friend and her little otōto-san. Her mother even regarded you as her son even though you still live with your aunt and uncle."
The two chatter like old friends even if they have only known each other for a year. Suddenly a hand was on Sekinin's head, his hair was ruffled to the point Sekinin knew who it was.
"Seika-oneesan!"
Sekinin smiles as he turns to hug the sister of Nijika, Seika Ijichi, a woman who also has blond hair like her little sister and mother, but unlike her mother, Seika also has a floating ahoge. She wears a black wide-neck shirt revealing red shoulder straps, as well as a tight black choker around her neck.
She has orange eyes. And right now she was looking strict, but Sekinin knew better.
"Hmph! Mom insisted that I greet you like this. I could have just said hello and ended it like that!"
"Seika-san, still acts like a tsundere in front of your little brother."
PA-san said, which got a tick mark on Seika's head.
"It's okay, PA-san, I'm already used to it, plus it's kinda cute seeing her like that."
He was soon knocked in the head by the woman he called cute, which he already expected. He saw her annoyed expression, before it turned to a caring look.
"How's school been doing for you? Still have excellent grades? You haven't been picked on by those idiots that Nijika told me about? How are Ben-san and May-san? Need any help?"
She would talk like that whenever her mother or Nijika weren't around, a tsundere indeed.
"No, I'm alright, I've been doing great! But if I do need any help I can just call you."
Seika smiled before turning to PA-san as the two of them went back to doing their jobs. Sekinin looked on as he was glad that Seika was still doing well as a 24-year-old; she had changed over the years, but she was still the same in Sekinin's eyes.
In the past, he and Seika weren't very close but that didn't mean the two didn't bond over certain things. While Seika didn't like her little sister or him from time to time and since she was a teenager at the time, that didn't mean she was also mean to his parents or his aunt and uncle.
In fact, Seika respected them; she always knew that the Parkers always helped people and never expected much in return. They even helped her when the band she was in needed to make a quota, something she was struggling with until she got help from them. She was grateful for their help.
Like her parents, the Parkers also support her being in a band, but they notice she is distancing herself from her own family. It got to the point where Sekinin's parents suggested that they go talk to her.
Once they knew the location of Seika's friend Rina, with whom Seika was living during the time, the two went to her place and talked to Seika. Seika herself was surprised that Richard and Mary Parker were here to talk to her. About the situation between her and her family.
And because she didn't want to be mean to the neighbors she had known for years, she decided to hear them out as the three of them went to a cafe. After some talking as well as a few words from Richard Parker, Seika decided to go home and talk with her family with the Parkers.
She would have thanked Sekinin's parents for giving her a reason to return to her family, but she would never get the chance, ever.
A car accident happened, and Richard and Mary Parker lost their lives to save Seika from being hurt by the impact of a speeding car. Seika couldn't believe what had happened and saw the unmoving bodies of the two people who saved her life. When she attended their funeral, all she could hear was Sekinin crying for his parents.
The very parents who helped her, the parents who wouldn't see their son ever again. She tried to act like everything was still the same, that the very people who gave up their lives to save her were still alive.
Then one day, she received a phone call from her mother, as she informed Seika that Sekinin had run away and that everyone was searching for him. Seika helped with the search as she found him being hugged by someone she knew as she heard him calling out to his parents, wanting them to comfort him with their kind words.
It made Seika realize that they are truly gone and how hurt Sekinin was. She then remembered the last few words she heard from Richard Parker. "You have a responsibility, Seika. It is important to focus on the very thing you wish to achieve, but you also have to be responsible for your family. You have a gift of a guitarist, and that gift will make your family happy, including us."
She realized that she truly wasn't responsible, not the way they thought. She neglected her own family, made her sister cry, and, in her mind, took away Sekinin's parents because of her irresponsibility in seeing the importance of family.
She thought that if she valued her family more and spent more time with them, then Richard and Mary Parker would still be alive.
So to ensure that their words weren't in vain, she became the big sister of Sekinin and reconnected with her family. She also helps Benjamin and May Parker, along with her family, to help with their grief. Mainly Seika as she believes that she is to blame for what happened.
Even though she has some flaws, she became the person Richard and Mary Parker believe she would be, responsible. And with her mother's help, she opens Starry and has her band play for Sekinin and his aunt and uncle a song that represents family.
Her song inspired Nijika, who now understands why her sister likes to be in a band, seeing her so excited to sing in her own live house. It made Nijika want to be in a band like hers. And at the end of the song, Sekinin realized why she told him why she opened up Starry, so that her songs and someday, if he wanted to sing a song, would reach the stars where his parents are.
And ever since then, he has always viewed Seika as his big sister, a sister who is always there for her little siblings. A sister who acts like a jerk, from Nijika's perspective, but Sekinin knows she is a kind and supportive sister who watches over them.
"Sekinin-kun! Let's go to Neesan's home to do our essays."
Nijika grabbed his arm as she pulled him as the two of them left the live house and immediately went to Seika's home. It looked like a regular home, until Nijika commented that Seika still had plushies in her room.
The two sat on the couch as Nijika put her notebook and a few sheets of paper on the table, and she took out pencils.
"Okay! The faster we do this the quicker we finish!"
Sekinin just smiled as the two of them began to write their essays.
It took a few hours, with a few spelling checks and making sure they both got the correct information, but they managed to finish the essay as Nijika dropped her pencil to the ground and she let out a huge sigh of relief.
"Finally we're done! Now we can enjoy our weekend!"
She looked at the time on her flip phone, and it was now evening. She thought for a moment before turning to Sekinin.
"Sekinin-kun, do you mind if we play games here? I kinda want to finish that Super Mario multiplayer game that Seika has here."
"Sure I don't mind, but please try not to lose a lot more lives than last time. Or purposely make me lose lives."
"Hey! It's not my fault that I'm still learning the controls!"
Sekinin just shrugs as he messages Seika if she is okay if they use her game console, as she replies yes, but to make sure to be careful with the controllers.
So, the remaining day, the two play games as they both talk about what they would do with Usagi for the weekend. And when it was dinner, Senatsu made them curry, which they ate along with Seika, whom her mother informed her that she too had to eat, and so she did.
PA-san also got to eat as Senatsu made too much curry for everyone to finish. And PA-san didn't mind as she happily ate the curry.
Later, it was now 10 PM as they both got a message from Seika, telling them that Uncle Ben was here to pick them up. They put back the console and controllers as they both got ready.
"Ah! I left my bag at Starry, Nijika, do you mind telling Uncle Ben to wait for me?"
"I don't mind."
Sekinin thanked her as he quickly went back to Starry as he saw Seika waiting outside the door with his bag. She handed his bag with a serious look.
"You forgot this. It was a good thing it was behind the beverage counter to make sure you don't forget it again."
"Thanks, oneesan"
She didn't say anything, but instead hugged him.
"Make sure you all return home safe. I'll see you tomorrow morning. It's been a while since I last ate either at my parents or at your aunt and uncle's home."
"This week it is at my place."
Seika nodded as she watched Sekinin walk away. Once he was out of her sight, she went back inside to finish up her shift. Sekinin put on his bag as he didn't notice a spider had gotten out of his bag and onto his right hand.
And with no hesitation, the spider bit his hand. Causing Sekinin to hiss in pain as he smacked the spot where he was bitten as he saw on his left hand a now dead spider.
"Again?"
It wasn't the first time he was bitten by a spider, and since it was a common spider, he figured that he would treat it at home. But the effects will come, especially on his right hand.
So for now, he just has to hide the bite from Nijika, her mother, and from Uncle Ben to not worry them. He quickly went to the same spot where his uncle always parked his car whenever he came by to pick them up.
Sekinin smiled as he saw his uncle give him a smile. A middle-aged man with grey hair and brown eyes, along with a brown jacket and white pants.
"There you are Sekinin. Ready to head home?"
"Yes, Uncle Ben."
Sekinin quickly got in the car as Uncle Ben drove them home. Halfway through the ride he could feel the pain going through his hand. He had to bite his lip to not let it slip that he had been bitten by a spider.
He watched as his uncle was speaking with Nijika's mother about something they had heard about, something… About…
He felt the burning effect starting, as well as a sudden headache. At least that is what he felt. It felt so strange to Sekinin it was like… It was to tell him to… Stop the car!
"STOP THE CAR!"
Uncle Ben hits the brakes immediately and is shaken by his nephew shouting, and just as the car completely stops, a truck passes by at a dangerous speed.
"Whoa! That was a close one! What a crazy driver, going that fast, it could have killed someone or us. Sekinin, are you okay? You sounded so panicked."
Uncle Ben asked him as Sekinin immediately made a lie, saying that he saw the truck's light and thought it was a speeding car. Uncle Ben didn't think much of it as he continued driving. Considering the truck was so close to hitting the car and would have if his nephew hadn't shouted.
Nijika and her mother felt a bit shaken, but recovered quickly. Then, suddenly, no one spoke throughout the rest of the drive as the speeding truck reminded them of the incident.
Once they finally reached the streets of their homes, Senatsu thanked Uncle Ben for the ride home as she and Nijika went inside their home while he and Sekinin went into the home next to them.
The Ijichis and the Parkers are next-door neighbors.
Uncle Ben opened the front door as he and Sekinin went inside. The two were greeted by a middle-aged woman with grey hair, blue eyes, and a red dress. She is Aunt May, the wife of Uncle Ben.
"Honey! Sekinin! Welcome back!"
She hugged Sekinin as she kissed Uncle Ben she noticed something wrong with her nephew.
"Sekinin, are you okay?"
She asked in concern and worry, but Sekinin gave his aunt a reassuring smile.
"I'm fine, Aunt May, just feeling so sleepy. Thanks for driving us home, Uncle Ben. Good night!"
He made sure to act sleepy instead of hiding the pain that was still happening. It managed to fool his aunt and uncle as they both said their goodnights as Sekinin quickly went to the bathroom.
He quickly treated the spider bite by splashing himself with cold water to cool off the burning. Even with ointment and pain relievers, the pain was still there and was getting worse.
Sekinin didn't know how, but he was able to manage to enter the room with his vision becoming so blurry that he nearly tripped.
He was able to take off his school uniform but completely lost the will to keep standing as he collapsed on his bed, tightly holding on to his blanket as he went unconscious.
The last thing he recalls was that he felt his body was changing, like it was… Growing, or more… Strange.