Snake. In Japan it's a money charm as much as a menace.

What a Japanese person actually thinks
More auspicious than sinister. The Western Eden associations are largely absent; a Japanese reader is closer to 'lucky' than to 'evil'. 蛇 is also a zodiac sign.

Meaning

Literally: insect radical + it
Actually: A snake. Associated with Benzaiten and with wealth — a shed snakeskin in your wallet is a standard good-luck charm.

Scores

Naturalness●●●●●

Correct word.

Coolness●●●●●

Reasonable density. 蛇足 ('snake legs' — a pointless addition) is a well-known idiom that colours the character slightly.

Watch out

low蛇 also appears in 蛇の道は蛇 and 蛇足 — mostly neutral, but it's a character that turns up in a lot of idioms.

On skin

蛇

Orientation: either

Brush.