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Hah? Isn't that just one of those silly rumors that the students like to gossip about?

[Says the "silly" rumor in question...]

And, wait... what about you, shouldn't you be worried about getting eaten yourself if something like that was actually real?

I'm pretty confident in my self-defense ability. And, anyway - if there was a demon here, they'd totally be my type.

[Might as well just go out and say it, since it doesn't look like Tsuchigomori believes in this at all.]

[Okay, that gets a sputter that is not acting on his part.]

Wh--what? You must be joking...

[Yeah, that's a pretty typical reaction.]

Nope! I'm only here to flirt shamelessly with whatever kind of monster runs this place.

... Why?

[Sorry, Tsuchi.exe has stopped running for a moment.]

Of all the reasons--I mean, you don't even know what this alleged monster looks like, right? And what about the "eating you" part? That seems like a pretty important part that would keep people from thinking of flirting with some monster, real or not.

I don't! It'll be a surprise. Maybe they'll have fangs, or wings, or extra limbs, or claws... Oooh, and supernatural powers, those are always fun to play with.

[She is ruining her coworker's impression of her and she doesn't even care anymore.]

What's life without a little risk?

And what makes you think that this "monster" would even want any attention like that?

[Tsuchi is no longer really keeping up with the ditzy human act anymore--his tone is not quite as high-pitched as before, but not completely slipping into the deeper register of his actual voice just yet. His ears are still round, his teeth still normal, everything about him still human for now as he takes a step towards her, as if merely curious. His red eyes are still hidden behind the glasses thanks to the way he tilts his head here as he regards her.]

It might just decide to kill and eat you right on the spot, you know? Are you really prepared for something like that?

[...huh. Evangeline's observant enough to pick up on a change in mannerism, subtle but there.]

I mean, it wouldn't be the first time I've met a monster like that. I am confident in surviving.

Besides, I can take rejection as well as anybody. If they're not interested, I'll apologize and leave them alone, simple as that.

[She's thirsty, but she's not interested in pressuring anybody, monster or human.]

Oh, how respectful of you.

[There's a sarcastic sort of twinge to his words now.]

Not that respect will do you much good if they're the type to try to kill you just for even being here in their domain. And not only that, for having the audacity to walk in uninvited, just to flirt of all things. [Ha... ha ha...!] Normal people are not typically this stupid...

[As he speaks, his voice drops lower, his ears and teeth sharpen. His lanky form suddenly becomes taller, looming over her, but not because he simply stood up straighter. It's because his spidery hands have slowly emerged from under his labcoat, pressing down against the floor to give him the leverage to rise above her, two of them slamming down against either side of her from where she's sitting at the desk. He doesn't touch her, there's enough space between them that she can slip past and run, but nonetheless, she's gotten the Rumor of the 4pm Bookstacks's attention now as he stares at her with bright red eyes that she can now see properly from their proximity.

He hasn't pulled this particular act in a while, using fear to try to scare people off once it becomes apparent that they're too stubborn to budge in the face of another human finding them here. It can be funny sometimes, but actually terrifying children seriously isn't his cup of tea these days... intimidating adults, on the other hand, he's pretty sure Honorable Number Seven will give him a pass on...

His lips curl upward slightly into a mockery of a smile now.]

Tell me, what's to stop this monster you're looking for from killing you solely just to keep you from letting anyone else find them?

[Evangeline's eyes do go wide, and he can imagine for maybe half a second that he's intimidated her - but then a huge smile breaks over her face, and her eyes sparkle. There's not a hint of fear even as he slams down his hands.]

Well hello, handsome. You should've told me you were this hot sooner, I could have asked you out ages ago.

[Just totally ignoring the threat? Yep.]

[And now his expression drops from that toothy smile to a frown, eyebrow raised in sheer disbelief.]

Seriously? Did you even hear anything I said just now?

You're not going to kill me because it would make the students sad.

[Just bluntly calling him out here.]

[That gets a pause, long enough to allow her to believe she's got him there, before he grins again.]

Really now.

[He leans back a bit, as one of his hands leaves the desk to instead grab a random book off a shelf nearby.]

Well, you do know how the rumor about me goes, don't you? I am the one who controls this space, and everything in it. That includes the books that dictate a person's past, and their fated future. A keeper of records... and one could say that memories are a type of record.

[He holds the book up for her to see, but out of reach. It's not her book specifically, but it's a necessary prop for the bluff he's about to make with how he's testing her here...]

And when there are no records of you left, then you may as well have not existed. And people tend to not remember things that have stopped existing, you see. In other words... what's to stop me from killing you, and making sure that no one even remembers that you were here?

[Evangeline has no supernatural senses. She can't tell when a ghost is passing if it hasn't revealed itself to her. She would never in a thousand years have guessed that Tsuchigomori was the keeper of the 4 o'clock bookstacks.

What she does have is a finely honed sense for when someone, or something, is actually hostile towards her. It's a necessary sense for the work she used to do, before that job collapsed and she was able to escape it.]

Well, why don't you go ahead then?

[Tsuchigomori doesn't actually want to kill her. That's what she's betting on.]

[There's a long, long pause as he stares her down. The hand he still has on the desk lifts and hovers in front of her, dangerously close to her throat as if preparing to lash out and choke her... but he still doesn't touch her, at all.

He simply regards her... and then, his hand withdraws as he sighs.]

Nah. That's way more work than I actually want to do about it.

[He steps away, finally giving back her personal space as the book he had picked goes back on the shelf where it belongs. One of his other hands pulls out his pipe so that he can smoke though, because he is a little stressed about this situation all the same.]

I was serious about not wanting to be found, however. My existence as a rumor is supposed to be a secret to only a select few... well. Unless this too, is fated...

[He reaches a hand out towards the bookshelf, and this time the book he grabs is in fact Eva's as he carefully flips it open--he doesn't look at the past written in there, he skips several pages forward until...]

... Ah. Here it is. Interesting...

[Whatever it is he's seeing written there, he doesn't share with her as he proceeds to snap it closed for now.]

Lucky you. It seems today's not your destined day to die.

Good to know!

[She wasn't seriously concerned, but now that that's established, it's back to grinning.]

Is it my destined day to smooch a handsome spider, or is that kind of info not in there?

[That earns her a flat look as he turns his head towards her.]

We literally just met. Are you really thinking about something like that right now?

Absolutely!

[No shame whatsoever.]

I'll take you out to dinner first if that would help.

Oh? And what if I said that my preferred meal involves dining on humans? Or perhaps something else that wouldn't suit your tastes?

[He is a spider creature, after all. He could snatch one of the butterflies out of the air and eat it to prove a point, but he waits to see what she says to that first.]

Hmmm.

[She does, briefly, look consternated at this suggestion, but-]

There's no place local that serves human that I've noticed? You can order it online but it's super expensive, especially considering how much shipping is from the City, and I probably get paid about the same amount as you do, I can't afford that.

[The little things that come from being originally from an extremely isolated area where cannibalism was both accepted and extremely expensive if you didn't get it, well, fresh.]

... I was joking.

[Jesus, he did not think she would actually take him seriously. Then again, given what little he has heard about "The City" that is occasionally whispered in hushed tones among other supernaturals... maybe he should have expected that.

Honestly, the fact that she is even from there probably should have tipped him off much sooner about what her attitude would be upon meeting him. Regardless--]

I'm not going to actually eat human meat here, geez. Lost my taste for that sort of thing years ago.

[The City sure is a place she could tell him stories about, if he asked.]

Oh! Great. How about sushi then?

[Much more reasonably located and affordable!]

Sushi is... acceptable.

[There's a pause though, as he kind of just stares at her now, like as if he's actually regarding her more closely now in consideration of something.]

You do realize that I can't actually walk around outside looking like this, right?

[He would have to go back to being human Tsuchi size and appearance when leaving the school. This "date" she wants might end up being rather boring for her in that regard...]

Well, yeah, you'd get all kinds of harassed. But I'll know. And if it goes really well, I can invite you back to my place and shutter the windows?

[Which is as safe as she can offer.]

[That gets a blink, and then... a sudden burst of laughter.]

I'll give you this, you're pretty confident for a human! Can't say I remember the last time I spoke to one that was this determined for company with yours truly...

[It's still definitely awkward, sure, but if he can get some entertainment out of this... then maybe it wouldn't be too bad to give this a shot...]

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