Three days had passed since Haruka and Mamoru had picked a random direction to walking in, and still nothing even remotely interesting had happened: they had walked, searched for berries, walked, slept, and walked some more. Haruka had succumb to boredom by now, and often wondered if they weren't just going in circles.

            The pair had just stopped for the night, when it started snowing.  Soft petals of snow fluttered down from the heavens, but instead of enjoying it as she once would have, the snow only succeeded to raise an ire that Haruka had been battling--for Mamoru's sake--all day.

            "Damn it!"  Haruka cried out, her proverbial 'last straw' having finally been drawn.  "What else could go wrong?"

            "Don't jinx it."  Came Mamoru's sullen reply.

            Already disgruntled, Haruka didn't want their quiet exchange of words to spark into an argument, so she picked up a long stick and set to practicing sword forms.  An hour passed, and so caught up in her work was she, that Haruka missed the first three times that Mamoru called her name.

            "HARUKA."  Mamoru hissed, letting his voice get louder.

            "What?"  Haruka snapped, setting down her makeshift sword.

            "Look."

            Haruka looked.  A figure was walking toward them in the snow.  Dropping to a crouch, Haruka remained motionless as the being came close enough to make out features.

            A small, round head sat atop a body that remained long and wiry, except at the belly, where it bulged out, as if tremendously pregnant.  The arms and fingers were very long, and seemed to be a very light gray color.  Short, black hair, almost no nose, no lips, and huge mahogany eyes completed the picture, and nearly black silks brushed the forest floor while the creature swayed forward.

            "Greetings."  Mamoru called, bowing slightly to show respect.

            The figure blinked its bulbous eyes once, and then imitated Mamoru's bow.  "Greetings."  It mimicked.

            "I am Mamoru Chiba, and this is my friend, Haruka Tenou."  Mamoru gestured at Haruka as he said her name, and Haruka bowed slightly.  The creature, in turn, bowed back to Haruka.

            "Greetings, Mamoru Chiba and friend, Haruka Tenou."

            Haruka narrowed her eyes slightly.  Although she was now sure that the creature with which they were speaking with was female, she could not tell if it understood them or simply mimicked.

            "We were wondering," Haruka cut in, wanting to test her theory and find out this creatures was imitating or conversing, "If there is a village nearby where we might buy some necessities?"

            "A village.  Yes."  She returned.

            "Could you tell us where we might find it?"  Mamoru asked; even his immense patience suffering.

            "Come with me."  With that said, she turned on her heel, and started walking slowly through the forest.  Left with no other choice, Haruka and Mamoru followed.

            They walked barely three minutes before they reached a small village.  Haruka frowned, and turned to Mamoru, "This wasn't here a few minutes ago."  She whispered, adding as if in an afterthought, "I went this way looking for sticks."

            Mamoru nodded that he had heard her, but waved her quiet.

            Their guide turned around.  "This is our village." She stated the obvious.

            Haruka glanced about.  There were women everywhere, most resembling the one that had lead them here.  Every single one had a protruding belly, as if pregnant.  There were no men that she could see, and no children.  The houses were made up of what looked like fabric stretched out over huge sticks--like tepees--but they looked somewhat sturdy.

            "Thank you, Lady."  Mamoru bowed again.  "Now, could you please point us in the direction of a store?"

            Bowing, the woman's brow knitted, "Store?"

            "Yes," Haruka jumped in before it could mimic again.  "A building or marketplace where we might purchase necessities such as food and clothing."

            "We make our own clothing."  The woman answered, ignoring their request.  "Would you like to see?"

            "Thank you, but no."  Haruka barely suppressed a sigh.  "We need to be on our way.  We just need to purchase some food, and maybe a map."

            "We have no marketplace."  The woman replied briskly.  "And no maps.  We rarely leave the village."

            Haruka and Mamoru both sighed.

            "But," she continued, as if not noticing the lapse, "You are both welcome to stay with us as long as you would like.  We have plenty of room."

            "We--" Haruka glanced at Mamoru.  "May we have a moment to ourselves?  To discuss your generous offer." At the woman's nod, Haruka and Mamoru walked politely out of earshot.  "Well?"  Haruka asked.

            Mamoru sighed.  "I don't know."

            "Neither do I," Haruka ran a hand through her hair.  "I mean, how weird is this place?  No men, no children, no stores or any kind, how do they survive? They don't exactly look like the hunting type."

            "You're right about that."  Mamoru laughed, but it was strained.  "But do you think that they could harm us, even if they had it in mind?"

            Haruka shook her head.  "Too thin; plus they're pregnant--I think that we'd be safe with them, even if they did decide to harm us."

            "You're right," Mamoru granted slowly, "But what of the men?  They couldn't have gotten themselves pregnant.  Suppose the men are hiding in those weird huts?"

            Haruka shrugged.  "If the men are built anything like the women, then we've got nothing to worry about.  If not..."

            The two stood in silence, contemplating.  Finally, Mamoru sighed.  "Let's just do it.  I mean, what are the chances that something could go wrong?"

            Haruka nodded.  "You're right.  This may be our last chance at a warm bed and a home cooked meal."

            That decided, the two walked back to their guide, who had been waiting patiently.  "Will you be staying?" she asked.

            Haruka frowned slightly.  The woman had seemed so final when she said 'staying'.

            "Yes," Mamoru answered, not suffering any of his companion's paranoia.  "But only for a day or so.  We must be on our way as quickly as possible."

            "Come, then."  The woman started down the hill into the village.

            As they neared, the other women advanced, making comments in whispers to each other, and smiling continuously.  Their guide led them to one of the huts, and showed them inside.

            There were no chairs, tables, or shelves.  There were also no blankets, no food, and no other rooms, or, for that matter, a floor.  It was just a tent over the ground, and not a very large one, at that.  The room itself was probably ten feet by twelve.

            Haruka frowned.  "This is where you guys live?" she asked dubiously.

            Mamoru shot her a Look.  "Thank you for your hospitality."  He bowed.

            Imitating his bow, the woman then blinked her huge eyes once.  "Sleep well."  She said, and then was gone.

            "Sleep well?"  Haruka asked.  Although it had grown dark out, she wasn't tired in the very least.  "How? I'm starving."

            "She said that we could stay," Mamoru reminded, "She never mentioned anything about feeding us.  Besides, they don't seem to have too much food around here."

            Haruka sighed.  "You're right."  Glancing around, she hunkered down on the soft grassy floor.  "I'm going to sleep; if we're going to be on our way tomorrow, we might as well get an early rise."

            Mamoru nodded.  "I'm going out for a short walk, okay?"

            "Fine."  Haruka returned, lying down on her back and using her arms to support her head.  "See if you can't find any berries, while you're at it."

            "I'll try."  Mamoru answered, peeling back the flap and exiting.

            Mamoru had been walking in the forest for about fifteen minutes when he noticed the women all drifting down the road, as if in a trance.  Shadows leaped and played tricks, making them appear to have more than just two arms and two legs.

            "Hmmmm." Mamoru murmured. Gliding like a cat, he moved soundlessly through the forest, silently following the women.

            Although he was new to these parts, it didn't take Mamoru long to realize that when they stopped, it was directly in front of the tent in which Haruka was sleeping. Walking in a straight line, some entered the tent.

            "What are they up to?" Mamoru asked himself.

            Haruka was wakened from her sleep by the sound of footsteps entering her tent. Thinking at first that it was Mamoru, her brow knit when the first footfalls were followed by several more.

            Keeping her breathing heavy, as if asleep, Haruka cracked open an eye, making sure that it wasn't open enough for anyone to notice.  Haruka's eyes snapped open when one of the women bent down, straddling her. Before she could move, the woman opened her mouth, revealing a row of sharp teeth, and two large fangs.

            Now Haruka couldn't believe that she hadn't noticed it earlier--these women were spiders. It was so obvious now.  There were no children because spiders matured quickly, and no men because the female spiders would bite off their heads after mating.

            Haruka tensed to spring up, then realized, too late, that the tent in which she was sleeping in, was really a web. Bound and weaponless, Haruka struggled, and then, as the fangs drew nearer, let out a scream.

            "Mamooooruuuuuuu!" she howled, her voice emerging higher than she had thought possible.

            "That is right," one of the spiders mused, "There were two, were there not?"

            "There were." Answered the one straddling Haruka.

            "Where do you suppose he went to?"

            Her question was answered with the screams of the other spiders who were still outside.  Haruka struggled harder, not wanting to leave Mamoru with all the work. As he came into view, she saw that Mamoru was hacking through the spiders with the carving knife, which he had tied to a large stick.  He was bulling through them sword-style, but still more attacked, relentlessly trampling their fellow spiders.

            Finally reaching the tent, Mamoru sprang in, just to be met by three pairs of razor sharp fangs.  Eight legs were chopped off, leaving their owner to writhe on the ground, bleeding to death.  The second spider lunged, and Mamoru let it skewer itself on his blade.

            The last spider was still straddling Haruka, and it reopened its mouth, saliva dripping onto Haruka's face.  She hissed, and crouched lower.  Then she spoke in a gravely voice.  "If you raise that weapon to me, boy, your friend will die."

            Mamoru froze, but his face showed no emotion, save determination.

            The spider's mouth opened wider, in an arachnidic smile.  "That's right," its voice had turned triumphant, and the spider cackled.

            Suddenly, Mamoru's sword whipped forward, and the spider's head flew off of it's body, in mid-cackle. Mamoru continued his sweep, cutting Haruka free.  Then he fell to his knees, holding his shoulder.

            "Mamoru," Haruka approached cautiously.  "Are you alright?"

            "I..." Mamoru grunted, "Ripped open...my wound ...again."

            Haruka winced in sympathy.  "C'mon, let's get outta here.  Then we can take care of your shoulder."

            Mamoru nodded, and the two walked away from the genocidal massacre.