As Aoto walked with the box of spiders, casually making his way to the exit, something caught his eye. He glanced over at Maite, who had been following him, and froze.

There, perched on top of her head, was a much larger spider. Its glossy black body was bigger than any of the others he had collected, and it had the telltale red hourglass marking. The way it sat still, legs splayed out, it was clear that this was the mother of the other death spiders.

For a second, Aoto felt a pang of concern, but then the absurdity of the situation hit him, and he couldn't help but smile. Of course it's on Maite's head, he thought to himself. Because why wouldn't it be?

"Uh, Maite," Aoto said slowly, trying to keep his voice calm. "Don't freak out, but..."

Maite, still oblivious, raised an eyebrow at him. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Before Aoto could finish, Maite glanced up, her eyes catching sight of the large spider as it shifted ever so slightly. For a split second, there was a tense silence as the two locked eyes—the Warrior Class girl and the death spider mother.

And then Maite did what any normal person in her situation would do.

She screamed.

Well, she tried to scream, but it came out more like a strangled squeak before her eyes rolled back, and she fainted on the spot. The last thing she saw was the spider giving her what she swore was a smug look as it tilted its head in her direction.

Maite collapsed to the floor, and as soon as she went down, it was like a domino effect. The students around her—both Warrior Class and others who had been nearby—caught sight of the massive spider on her head and immediately lost their composure. One by one, they fainted in sheer terror, dropping like flies.

Even Rika, usually the toughest of the group, took one look at the enormous arachnid and wobbled before fainting dramatically onto the gym floor. "I... I can't with this..." she muttered weakly before blacking out.

Aoto, standing there in the middle of the chaos, blinked and then shrugged. To him, this was honestly just another Tuesday.

With a calm sigh, he stepped forward, reached down, and gently scooped the mother spider off of Maite's head. The spider crawled into his hands, much larger than the others he had collected, but just as docile in his presence.

"Hey there, big girl," Aoto cooed softly, baby-talking the spider as if it were nothing more than a harmless pet. "You looking for your babies? Don't worry, I've got them all in here."

He gestured toward the box of smaller spiders, and the mother seemed to settle into his hands, as if understanding that her brood was safe.

Aoto smiled, carrying the large spider with ease. "You're not so bad, are you?" he muttered, continuing to talk to the spider like it was an old friend. He carefully placed her in the box with the others, making sure the lid was secure but with enough airholes for them all to breathe.

As he turned to head for the exit again, he glanced around and realized that nearly everyone within a 10-foot radius had fainted. Students lay sprawled across the floor, their faces pale and their bodies completely limp. Some of them had fainted at the sight of the spider, while others had likely fainted just from the overwhelming tension.

Aoto sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Great... Now I have to explain this, too."

As he began walking toward the exit with the box, he passed by several groups of students who had started to gather at the edges of the scene. Most of them were still conscious, but the sight of Aoto casually carrying the mother spider—and the fact that he was talking to it like it was a pet—made their faces drain of color.

"Oh my god... Is that the mother spider?" one student whispered, clearly horrified.

"He's... He's holding it like it's nothing," another murmured, their voice filled with awe.

"Did you see Maite? She fainted the moment she saw it," someone else added. "And she's one of the strongest girls in the school!"

Aoto caught snippets of the conversations, and despite the situation, he couldn't help but chuckle to himself. To these students, what he was doing probably looked like some kind of insane act of bravery. But to him, it was just... spiders. Nothing special.

Man, people really need to chill with the spider fear, he thought as he continued toward the door, still cradling the box in his arms. They're not so bad once you get used to them.

As he reached the door, he gave one last glance at the gym, where students were still slowly coming to their senses, groaning and looking around in confusion. Maite and Rika, though still unconscious, were likely going to have a lot to say when they woke up.

But for now, Aoto just shook his head and pushed open the door, stepping outside into the fresh air. The large spider in the box shifted slightly, but Aoto gave it a reassuring pat on the lid.

"Alright, let's get you guys outside where you belong," he muttered, heading toward the edge of the school grounds to release the spiders.

As he walked, he could still hear whispers following him, students murmuring in awe and disbelief.

"That guy's a legend."

"He's not scared of anything."

"I heard he's immune to their venom... That's so badass."

Aoto couldn't help but smile to himself. Sure, life on Planet Comoros was chaotic and strange, but maybe, just maybe, he was starting to get the hang of it.

At least now I know what I'm doing next Tuesday, he thought with a smirk, already mentally preparing for the next wave of madness.

The next day, Aoto is entering the elevator in his apartment building. As the elevator doors were about to close when a hand stopped it. Huh, oh late arrival.

The hand belong to a 6ft tall girl who has white hair, heavy makeup, dark skin, indigo eyes, long sharp fingernails, a curvy body and wearing his school's female uniform.

Aoto can tell that this girl is a Islandar Class. "I caught you attempting to escape from me, my mate."

Aoto was confused, "Wait. Your mate?"

"Yes Aoto. You're my mate."

The human male blinked, "But I don't even know you."

"Don't you remember me when I visited Earth when we were 3? It's me. Mako Loco."

The gears in Aoto's head started turning. "Little Mako?"

"So now you remember me." Mako smirked.

"I never made a promise like that. I remember saying that I hoped to see you again in the future."

"And now you see me."

Aoto slowly blinks, "Mako what's 2+2?"

Mako with her hands on her hips answers, "Pickles."

Aoto facepalms remembering that Mako has the IQ level of goldfish. In other words, she's not smart. She's a complete dumbass.

He then noticed Mako getting closer. He immediately got uncomfortable as she starts licking his cheek. "What are you fucking doing?!"

Mako smiles at what she did, "Claiming what's mine."

"Mako, it's nice to see you again after all these years. But I think you might be mistaken. We were kids when we last met, and I don't think we made any promises about being mates."

Mako pouts, "But I've been waiting for you all this time! I knew we were meant to be together."

Aoto felt his head spin as he processed the sudden turn of events. He had barely stepped into the elevator for what he thought would be a normal day, and now here he was, face-to-face with Mako Loco, an Islander Class girl who apparently believed they were destined to be mates.

As Mako pressed herself closer, her indigo eyes gleaming with excitement, Aoto tried to edge away without making things worse. Her sharp fingernails gently grazed his arm, her smile wide and playful, but there was a certain intensity in her gaze that made him feel uneasy.

"Mako, listen," Aoto began, his voice calm but firm. "It's been a long time since we were kids. I'm really glad to see you again, but I think you might be misunderstanding something. We didn't make any promises about being, uh... mates."

Mako blinked, clearly not following. "But... you said you'd see me in the future! And here we are, in the future. That means we're supposed to be together!" she insisted, as if the logic was foolproof.

Aoto suppressed a groan. How am I supposed to explain this to her? he thought. She wasn't just persistent—she was completely convinced of her version of reality, and to make things worse, her closeness was making him incredibly uncomfortable. The licking didn't help, either.

"Mako, when I said that, I didn't mean it like—" Aoto tried to explain, but before he could finish, Mako leaned in again, her tongue darting out to lick his cheek once more, sending a chill down his spine.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Aoto exclaimed, stepping back and almost bumping into the elevator wall.

Mako giggled, a mischievous glint in her eye. "I told you, Aoto. I'm claiming what's mine."

Aoto rubbed his face, feeling the warmth of her saliva on his cheek, his patience wearing thin. Why is it always like this? Why do things like this keep happening to me?

"Mako," he said, his tone firmer now, "you can't just decide that I'm yours. We're not kids anymore, and this is... well, this is a bit much."

Mako pouted, crossing her arms as she stared at him. "But I've been waiting for so long. I even came all the way to your school just to see you! You don't like me anymore?"

Aoto sighed, trying to find a way to let her down gently without hurting her feelings. Despite her overwhelming persistence, there was something oddly endearing about Mako's innocence—or maybe it was just her sheer determination. Either way, he didn't want to crush her spirit.

"It's not that, Mako. It's just that things are a bit... more complicated now," Aoto said, running a hand through his hair. "We were kids when we last saw each other, and a lot has changed since then. We've both grown up, and you can't just claim someone as your mate because of something we said when we were three."

Mako blinked, tilting her head as if processing his words. "But... you're still my Aoto. And I'm still your Mako." Her voice softened, her smile a little more genuine. "That hasn't changed."

Aoto was about to respond when he realized something that was probably key to all this confusion. He gave Mako a serious look. "Mako, what's 2+2?"

Mako blinked again, her eyes momentarily blank as she tilted her head further to the side, deep in thought. After a long pause, she smiled brightly. "Pickles!"

Aoto facepalmed, the realization settling in even more clearly than before. Yep. She's definitely still got the IQ of a goldfish. Mako was as beautiful as she was... well, completely clueless.

He sighed deeply, trying to come up with a solution that wouldn't end with him being licked again—or worse, Mako following him around and telling everyone they were mates.

"Mako," Aoto said gently, "it's great to see you again, really. But I think we need to take things slow. We can catch up and talk about everything, but... let's not rush into this whole 'mate' thing, okay?"

Mako looked confused for a moment, but her face soon lit up with a smile. "Oh! You want to take it slow! That's okay, Aoto. I'll wait as long as you want. After all, we're meant to be together, right?"

Aoto groaned inwardly, realizing that while he may have dodged a bullet for now, this was far from over. Mako wasn't going to give up easily. But for the time being, at least, he had bought himself some breathing room.

"Yeah, sure, we'll take it slow," he muttered, trying not to sound too exasperated.

The elevator dinged, signaling that they had reached the ground floor. Aoto was more than ready to escape, but as the doors opened, Mako followed him out without hesitation, clearly not planning on leaving his side anytime soon.

As they stepped out into the lobby, Aoto could feel the eyes of other students and residents watching them, their expressions ranging from confusion to amusement. And as much as Aoto wanted to just disappear, he knew that he had to deal with this one way or another.

Great, he thought, casting a sidelong glance at the overly affectionate Islander Class girl beside him. This is gonna be a long day...

And just as Aoto was about to start walking, Mako leaned in again, her face inches from his, her smile wide and playful. "So, what do you want to do today, my mate?"

Aoto stared ahead, trying to keep his cool, but internally he was screaming. Why me?