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“Yasuke.”
A familiar sound. It was Izuru. For some reason Izuru called Yasuke exclusively by first name. This bothered Yasuke. Yasuke looked up from his manga.
“What is it, brat?”
“I found a bug.”
Yasuke stared at Izuru, with discontent.
“Bugs are everywhere. You must see a lot.”
“This one is mine.”
Izuru shows Yasuke a pink jumping spider on his hand. Yasuke jumped up and backed away.
“Keep that thing away from me!” Yasuke shouts.
“It is not a thing. It is an Artabrus erythrocephalus. A pink one. He is mine now.”
“WHY!?”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s a goddamn spider, Izuru!”
Izuru looks at the tiny spider in his hand. It waves. Izuru waves back.
“He says he likes you.”
“NO HE DOES NOT!”
“He is dancing. He does in fact like you. I know this. I know everything. I’m going to go catch him some flies.”
Yasuke watched as Izuru left the room to go catch flies for his pet. This behavior was odd. Especially for Izuru. Izuru never showed interest in anything. This spider was an anomaly. Yasuke now had an interest in why Izuru was interested. So he decided to keep an eye out.
A few hours later, Yasuke saw Izuru and Ryoko watching the spider, who was in a makeshift terrarium Izuru made.
Ryoko chirped, “You could name him Pinky!”
Izuru shook his head no.
“How about Bug Eyes?!”
Izuru shakes his head no again.
“You could name him…. Matsuda!”
Izuru shook his head so much faster.
Ryoko giggled, “No Matsuda is in the room with us now!”
Izuru nodded.
Yasuke could tell Izuru wasn’t in a talking mood, and therefore likely couldn’t get any information out of him. Feeling safer now that the spider was enclosed in a space, Yasuke walked up and looked at it. It was still creepy. Transparent, pink, eight bulging red eyes, eight hairy legs.
“Matsuda! Isn’t Izuru’s new pet the cutest!?”
“Definitely not. Keep that thing away from my office, got it?”
Izuru nodded as he stared at the spider.
Yasuke still doesn’t get it.
A few days go by with Yasuke still not getting a grasp on Izuru’s obsession with this spider. Though it mostly kept Izuru from bothering him, so Yasuke figured it was fine. Perhaps Izuru was more humane than Yasuke thought, having a desire for companionship. Though Izuru often carries the thing wherever he goes; It was more akin to a child and their plushie.
Yasuke eventually decided to confront Izuru.
“Dipshit.”
Izuru looked at Yasuke.
“What is with the spider? You never like anything.”
Izuru looks at the spider. “Like?”
“Yes, obviously you like it, I mean you carry it around the house with you!”
“He has tiny legs and cannot follow me.”
“Yes, but he could stay in your room. Yeah?”
“Jumping Spiders are social creatures. He would get lonely.”
“Izuru you’re an idiot.”
“Besides, Otonashi likes him, too. So if he stayed in my room, she couldn’t see him.”
Yasuke groans and walks away.
A few more days pass. Yasuke noticed the spider is fast. When it jumps his eyes cannot catch it. It moves faster than the human eye. Perhaps Izuru’s interest lies there. Something fast. Quick. That perhaps he has a hard time predicting or keeping track of. Or maybe comradery in the fact that they're both fast. Too fast to catch. Though if either was the case, Izuru never made it obvious. He never did.
And why this specific spider out of the many here? That thought made Yasuke shudder, but still. Izuru had plenty of options but he chose that one. Why? Yasuke tried to make sense of it to no avail at all.
The next day, Izuru sits on the floor in Yasuke’s office. Without the spider.
“No friend today?”
“He is molting. A spider cannot be a friend. They do not properly communicate with humans.”
“Wow. No shit, dumbass.”
“Spiders are still while they finish their molting. So he isn’t moving.”
“Okay.”
“I got bored.”
“Obviously.”
“Do you think spiders’ brains would interest you?”
“No. They are small and only hold vital information. Not emotions, memory, or personality.”
“My spider remembers me…”
“That is instinct. He knows you are safe. Any caretaker would be safe to a small creature.”
“... I know.”
The way Izuru said that seemed off. Yasuke chose to ignore it.
“Are you worried about him? Is that why you’re moping?”
“No. I am simply bored. Nothing else to it.”
“Okay then.”
The two sat in an uncomfortable silence, until Ryoko came in for Yasuke’s attention as well. Izuru remained in his corner silently, as Yasuke bickered with Ryoko. Izuru wondered how similar they really were to spiders. On a metaphorical level. Shedding their skin, leaving a hard shell of who they were and becoming someone new. Izuru was like an empty shell after all. And Ryoko was not the person he was looking for. Not at all. Perhaps Yasuke was afraid of spiders because he’d never molted before. This train of thought was boring. Useless. But Izuru thought it nonetheless.
Eventually the three head to the kitchen for lunch. Izuru remains silent then, too. Nothing unusual about lunch. It’s the same as always. It is likely best that way, a thought they all likely share.
Yasuke put away the dishes to wash later. They weren’t piling up yet. It would be fine. He saw Izuru head to his room, so Yasuke followed.
In the room, Izuru was sitting by the terrarium. The spider had finished its molting. That was great. It was apparent, Izuru really liked his pet. Izuru never gave anything this much thought. Yasuke supposed he could get over his fear if Izuru would feel better with a pet spider.
Yasuke walked closer as Izuru held the spider in his hands. Yeah. This would be fine.
Izuru slammed his hands shut. A tiny, sickening crunch barely rang out. Izuru opened his hands and looked at what was left. Then he went to the bathroom and the sink could be heard.
Yasuke remembered why he regretted making that monster.