-next morning-
Lincoln slowly woke up, and the first thing he saw was Haiku, sleeping peacefully using his chest as a pillow. The boy yawned, which woke up the goth girl, who also yawned as she stretched.
"Good morning, my strong wolf."
"Good morning. Did you sleep well, my little spider?"
"Spider, is that what you're calling me now?"
"I can keep calling you a vampire, if you want."
"No, I like spider more. But why did you come up with that nickname?"
"Well, because of your tattoo. Speaking of which, what meaning does it have?"
"It's Queen Arachne, Ruler of the Spider Kingdom. It's a symbol of improvement and protection for women. Lady Beldam introduced me to her world when I told her about my situation. I wear her tattoo in honor of her glory. She's like your 'totem'."
"How wonderful."
Lincoln was fascinated by that and wanted to know more. But an intermittent voice made them look at each other's stomachs, signaling it was time for breakfast.
"Do you want to come to my house for breakfast?" Lincoln asked.
"I'd like to."
After getting dressed, Lincoln and Haiku headed to his grandparents' house.
When they arrived, Myrtle opened the door, excited to see Lincoln and shocked to see Haiku.
"Son! Where have you been? We've been waiting for you all night. You don't know how worried I was." Myrtle stopped when she saw the goth with her grandson. "Ahh!" Myrtle's excited scream startled both teens.
"Albert, heaven. Lincoln brought his girlfriend."
Upon hearing that, Haiku and Lincoln turned red in embarrassment.
"Grandma, she's not... well, yes, but no. I mean..."
Myrtle found it adorable how flustered Lincoln was. "You don't have to explain now. Come in and sit down for breakfast. By the way, dear, what's your name?"
"My name is Haiku."
"What a unique name! I love it."
'This is going to be a long morning,' Lincoln thought, recalling his sisters' similar reactions when he was younger.
The morning went relatively well, aside from Myrtle's questions to Haiku about weddings and children, which made both teens uncomfortable. Haiku seemed to get along well with the grandparents, despite this.
After breakfast, Haiku thanked Lincoln's grandparents, and Lincoln later accompanied her home.
On the way to Haiku's house, Lincoln apologized.
"I'm sorry if Grandma's questions made you uncomfortable. She tends to exaggerate sometimes. I think that's why she gets along so well with my sisters."
"Don't worry. She's cute."
"I know. That's what I like about you."
"What do you like about me?"
"You're one of the few people who can handle the embarrassment of talking to someone like my grandmother. That makes you a strong woman. And... I think that's a very attractive quality."
Lincoln blushed, as did Haiku, who was flattered by the boy's words. At this point, Haiku clung to Lincoln's arm again. Passers-by looked at them affectionately, despite the couple's extravagant appearance. However, among the people, there was someone who did not look very happy.
-At Haiku's house-
"Well, here's my house. Thanks for joining me. And I thank your grandmother again for breakfast."
"You're welcome. Come back when you want. I promise I'll tell Grandma to control her questions."
"I'd love to come back. See you, my handsome wolf." Haiku took Lincoln by the cheeks and kissed him deeply, then entered her house.
Lincoln froze in surprise. Even though he slept with Haiku and supposedly made their relationship official, he was still somewhat shy when receiving a surprise kiss.
When he woke up from the surprise, he began his journey back to his home, walking with a smile on his face and thinking. Maybe this harem thing isn't so bad. Maybe I should stop thinking about how to divide my time between them and just enjoy the moment. No, I still have to think about what I should do if two of them want to be with me at the same time. Good heavens. I haven't had an organizational problem like this since Sadie Hawkins' Party and Dance.
Lincoln was lost in thought, walking down a path next to a grassy slope that descended to a canal that ran under a bridge.
Sometimes, he liked to take the long way home so he could have some time alone with his thoughts. Suddenly, someone tackled him, causing him to lose his balance, and he ended up rolling down the hill next to the unknown person.
He left Lincoln on the ground. Suddenly, the person who pushed him got up on him and started hitting him in the face, shouting insults at him.
"Damn you, son of a bitch! Bastard! Die! Die! Die!"
Lincoln covered himself with his arms. He then grabbed the boy by the wrists and finally broke away from him by hitting him on the nose with his head.
The boy put his hands on his nose, which was bleeding.
Lincoln stood to look at his attacker.
It was a boy about Luna's age. Long hair. He was wearing a black jacket with a hood covering his head. Red pants torn at the knees and black shoes.
Lincoln didn't know this boy, so he kept asking questions.
"Who the hell are you? And why did you attack me?"
The boy didn't answer. He just took a metal pipe that was on the ground and attacked Lincoln again.
The former albino had no choice and had to use his fighting skills to disarm the boy. He holds the pipe with his right hand and hits his chest with his left palm, leaving it lying on the ground.
Lincoln watched as the boy stood with his hand on his chest.
"Now, will you answer my questions?"
The boy looked at Lincoln with an expression of hatred. Then he put his hand into his shirt pocket and took out a gun. Before he could escape, the boy had already pulled the trigger.
Lincoln fell silent with his back to the ground. A stream of blood flowed from under his hair.
The boy walked towards Lincoln, stopping next to him.