Snake lady

"Hey, Sobue-kun, I am fine, you can let me go." Sora pushed him a bit.

"You sure? Okay, then walk a straight line." He looked at her, stopping.

"I mean I probably can't do that, I am pretty okay tipsy, I can still understand what's up, you know?" She looked uncertain.

"Sure, but if you fall, I will let you fall then?"

"Lol, I mean, I am falling over stuff constantly when I am not drunk, so..."

"Well, that's the truth. But now it is especially possible. Okay, you seem like you are walking fine. However, I am still walking with you!"

"Sure-sure. Whatever." She waved a hand. The sky was dark, and the air was cool. She felt a shiver going down her spine. At this hour there were not many people on the streets. She thought Sobue would have to return home very late because of her. And even though she felt that it was safer for her to go home with someone, she also felt like there was no need to babysit her every day. She managed to live like this for 28 years and survive.

"Hey, Sora-chan, I wonted to ask you before, you are sure about this new person you have met, do you like him so much?"

She hesitated, "Sobue-kun, you know me well, I am easily infatuated with people, all me previous girlfriends were so nice to me, and I really enjoyed spending time with them, I have never been with a guy before, except in high school, but that could not be considered a relationship..." before she went off track, she stopped, " so I thought this one seemed particularly interesting to give a shot."

Of course, she could not reveal to Sobue that her main goal was to be a shoujo manga protagonist in love with a mysterious yokai...

"I get it, I guess," he said, "Mel seemed disappointed you switched to that side."

"Ha-ha, of course, I can see why! I mean he does not look like a person I would choose to date, based on looks, to be honest. I am not sure, it's something inside that interests me." Her hands flew around, as she spoke, expressively.

"If you say so, just be careful." He smiled at her, reassuringly.

As they crossed another street, she turned to Sobue.

"Hey, my home is just two streets away, and nothing will happen, it's a Monday evening, and these streets are well lit up. So you should just go home here, because the station is not so far away, and it's late."

Sobue hesitated, he wanted to go home because he was tired, but he promised Mel to take care of this living-breathing trouble magnet.

"Sora, I think it's fine if I walk you home. You said yourself it's not far, we can just speed up a bit, and that's all."

"Okay, if you insist."

They walked a bit in silence when Sobue received a text. He stopped, his eyebrows raising in surprise. Sora turned to look at him, concerned,

"Everything all right?"

He was looking at the phone. "My girlfriend...She wants to meet? Now?"

Sora ran towards him, to see the message. "Maybe it's best you go? It's pretty late, and maybe something happened?"

"I am unsure, I promised to..."

"Sobue-kun," she put her hand onto his, speaking reassuringly, "you should go, I am okay. If you go further, the station will be really far away. I will be okay, I promise."

He hesitated, but looked back at his phone, "I am still uncertain..."

She interrupted again, "I am leaving, you should go. I will run home super fast!" She started running. Sobue was left behind, startled for a moment. Then he came to his senses, and turned to the station, yelling so she could hear him while running away, "You better come to work tomorrow, or I will kill you myself!"

"Yes, yes, see you!"

She waved at him, running off. As she said, it was a Monday evening, no one was around at this hour anyway. She will be fine. As she turned the corner, she stopped to catch her breath.

Wow, I got to go to the gym, I gave up way too fast.

She began to walk towards her street when she heard someone falling behind her. Frightened she almost jumped away, looking at the source of the noise. It was a woman, an average-looking one. Sora breathed out with relief. She approached her, asking:

"Miss, are you okay, did you hurt anything?"

"No, I am fine, thank you," her face seemed odd somehow, but people are different, so Sora leaned in to give a woman her hand. The woman looked up, smiling politely. "Thank you, I will take your hand then, I stumbled onto something and fell over, I am so clumsy!" She laughed awkwardly. Sora looked at her, understanding,

"Oh, I am the same, clumsy all the time, so I understand. You know, I was walking yesterday on the street, and randomly fell over, like in a movie. It looked so stupid too. Nobody helped me stand up, while it was on the pedestrian crossing, and the green light was too fast... Anyway," She saw the woman's puzzled face, "Please, tell me if you need help walking?"

"Oh, you are a kind child, aren't you?"

"Huh?" Sora seemed confused, "I think I am the same age, as you, miss."

The woman, now fully standing up, sized her up, squinting. "I think you are not quite as old as I am. Also, it seems, you will look prettier when you are my age, because of your power."

"What?" Sora sensed something amiss taking a step back.

"Yes, my girl, you seem to be very delicious, aren't you? I think I can eat you up in one gulp."

"What?!" Sora lost it, her mind swirling again, she wanted to run away, only to find herself frozen in place. She thought Not again, and when I am all alone too. Or is it better Sobue is not here? I am not sure, would she eat him too then?

"You see, pretty face, somebody was kind enough to let me know about a tasty young woman like you to leave nearby. I recently had an injury," her voice full of self-pity, skin turning dark green, scales appearing on it.

Sora's eyes rounded like two moons out of sheer shock. It looked like she was in one of those fantasy novels. When the main characters would lose their shit out of sight like this, she would always think that they were stupid to react that way. Only now did she realize that seeing something like this IRL was truly terrifying, especially when it was an enemy, who wanted to eat you. Sora was frozen solid though, unable to move she mumbled something to herself.

"What? I could not hear you, sweety pie." The woman transformed in front of Sora's eyes into a big green half-snake, who looked scary, but very beautiful, to be honest. With the deep, captivating voice; her black, green-ish long hair was in two sleek ponytails, that were very long; and an oval face. She wore sexy, leather clothes with red embroidery, matching her red lips. She also had golden hoops in her ears. Overall, seductress, Sora thought and cleared her throat.

"Listen, beautiful snake woman," Sora was certain flattery wouldn't hurt, "I am not sure what consuming me would give you, as I am super weak now, and I do not possess the power to its full potential, to be honest. Also, I drank today, and my power diminishes if I consume alcohol. So I would suggest, you come back next time, and I will give it to you."

"What? Do you think I am stupid, or… are you truly not at your full potential?" Snake paused, circling Sora, making her close her eyes in fright. Snake seemed to be contemplating something, which meant Sora should push more.

"You see, miss em...snake," Sora forced herself to open her eyes, and look more confident, "I am being honest. All you see now is only a part of my power, that I can expand on, but due to alcohol, and due to lack of training on my part, the power is not yet worthy of consumption!" Sora was pushing it all, trying her tipsy self to not lose the momentum. The threat seemed way too real.

Sneak let her be, loosening her grip, and turned into a dark-green, now full woman. She folded her hands still observing Sora's aura carefully. It seemed she saw something that would confirm Sora's words, thinking whether she should indeed wait.

"Well, child, you might be telling the truth. I can see that the power has only the smallest potential now, around you. However, I was injured, and I need some replenishment to nurture my soul! What will I be without it?"

"But listen," Sora was determined to win this, "if you eat me now, and if you take this small amount of power, it might not be enough. A-and if you play the long game, you might just get much more in the end!"

Snake frowned looking seriously at Sora. "Are you seriously not going to run away and hide?"

"I mean I think you know that I live nearby, so you can check whenever you feel like it, to see if my power got better so that you can consume me. What is it to you?"

Snake sighed, "Maybe you are right, I am not that much interested in something that might not even give me enough strength to restore myself..." She paused, "Human, I shall agree to this, however, I am giving you one month to improve your power so that I will be able to consume it. And do not try running away, I will find you, and eat you immediately!"

"S-sure, miss... I will improve it. And there is nowhere for me to run away, anyway."

"Sure, pretty face. I will be watching you though!"

"Of course, you should!" Sora bowed several times, taking several steps back, feeling relief finally.

Snake glanced at her arrogantly, then turned away, and left.

Sora looked at where the snake was just a moment before, then turned around, and took off with all her might, an idea sliding in her head that it was like a quest from a video game now - max out the stats before the timer ran off, or be killed by a mini-boss?

She was seriously debating whether she should call Adachi now, or tomorrow, when (or if?) they see each other after work. He definitely was able to tame the mini-snake-boss-lady. There was no way to power up the power since they had no idea what it was, and how to power it up anyway. Only in front of her flat did Sora realize how lucky she had just been with her persuasion skill.