Life with an Oni

UPDATING OVERTIME

Post 1:
>lines of sunlight pierce through the blinds waking me from my sleep
>I sit up from my mattress with a several cracks going up my spine
>the room I'm in is filled with cardboard boxes in every inch of the room while some boxes towering over me
>I slip through a small entryway to leave the room and head towards the kitchen
>"It'll be in the mid-30s all week long, so don't forget to grab a light jacket..."
>I walk down the hallway and glance to my left to confront the source of the noise
>the television lights illuminate into my dad's sleeping face as countless bottles of alcohol lay on the table in front of him
>his arm tightly grasps an old photo of my mom as he snores loudly
>I walk up to the table and pick up one of the bottles, which read:
"Bloodrice Sake"
>the stench makes me want to puke...
>my thoughts were interrupted by a grumble from within my stomach
>turning my head, I see that the microwave reads 9:32 AM
>"Oh, I'm late?"
>I grab a granola bar from a nearby box and grab my backpack that's on top of the kitchen counter
>"I'm headed out now!" I call out as I open the front door
>he twists on the coach and mumurs, "K-karen" before I close the door behind me
>I head down several flights of stairs before reaching the sidewalk
>I turn around and view the building in front of me
>the paint on the apartment is beginning to fade and the wood itself was splintering out in various locations
>the surrounding buildings seem to have the same amount of wear as well
>"So this is my new home now, huh?"
>I spit on the ground and begin walking to school

>I finally arrive at the school's green gates to find that the building itself is a lot bigger than the one I used to go to
>maybe there's a larger mamono population here?
>many students, both human and mamono, walk in and out of the front doors in a rush
>I must've missed first period... whatever, might as well head in
>walking through the doors, I notice how much wider the hallways are; it almost made me feel tiny
>I shuffle through my backpack and pull out my schedule
>since I missed English, I guess I have to go to Pre Calc
>once I found the room, I took a deep breath, then slipped in the room
>most of the students were talking amongst each other, and I could see one empty seat, which is probably mine, so I slip in the spot with ease
>as soon as a plant my butt in the seat, a guy and a nekomimi sitting beside him turn around, almost in sync
>"You shouldn't sit there, bro. You should try to find another spot to sit since a demon sits there," the guy states bluntly
>I lean up slightly and look around to see that most of the empty seats are next to other students, but it's possible that those seats are already taken
>"The seat right next to the one you're in is free though, nya," the nekomimi points
>ha ha, does it even matter?
>I slide my tush over to the seat one over to the left
>"Alright thanks. My name is Anon by the way. Nice to meet both of you..." I say as my eyes draw towards the door
>although I feel my hand being shaken by my nearby neighbors, my eyes watch as the red figure enters the room and walks closer
>"Oh her?" the nekomimi laughs, "That's Mai. She'll be sitting next to you."
>Mai's eyes pierces into mine, sending a chill down my spine
>as she approaches, I notice the 2 horns that protude from the top of her head, the dark brown hair that extends towards her neck but was uncombed and wild, and lastly her sharp ears that could possibly slice paper
>I could feel my legs trembling for some odd reason; I'm no stranger to mamono, but something about her tells me to get up and run
>before sitting down, she looks me up and down with a fierce glaze
>"You're Anon, right..?"

Post 2:
>"Y-yeah. That's me"
>her gray eyes pierces into mine as she sits down at her desk
>suddenly a huge, toothy grin spreads across her face with a hand extended towards mine
>"I'm Mai. I guess we'll be partners from now on! Hehehe"
>partners..?
>"Ah!" I yelp quietly as her hand squeezes mine with an intense grip causing the bones in my hand to pop, "n-nice to meet you too?"
>her smile quickly dissolves as she looks at me questioningly
>"Hmm, did you happen to come in late? I could've swore there was supposed to be a new kid in my last class. Maybe it was you..?"
>urgh
>"Yeah, I woke up late since my I finished moving in yesterday," I explain while avoiding eye contact.
>"Oh, I see. From now on, make sure to come in on time, okay?" she says while applying one stinging slap on my back
>jeez, she's getting awfully familiar with me
>"Ha ha, looks like she's taken a liking to you, huh?" the guy in front of me laughs
>the nekomimi giggles then whispers in his ear causing him to give me a thumbs up
>what's that all about?
>finally, a bald, old man walks through the door and takes out a folder worth of paper up in the front
>"Alright class. Settle down now. I'll be handing back your tests from last time. See me after class if you got lower than a 60"
>the whole class is filled with displeased moans as the teacher begins to hand back test results
>"Oh Anon! Drop by here after school, and I'll help get you caught up with everything you need to do. For today, just take notes," the teacher explains as those around him grunt at their score
>eventually, he hands a sheet to Mai
>she squints at her paper with a frown
>"68? Uhh, my mom's gonna kill me!" Mai sighs while putting her head in her hands
>"It's better than you usually do, nya?" the nekomimi smugly replies showing a bold 93 on her paper.
>"Heh, easy for you to say," Mai says resting her head on her chin

>after all the tests were passed out, the teacher tells us to turn to page 124 in the textbook as he begins writing on the whiteboard
>I reach down into my bag to find that it's only filled with a couple of notebooks and folders
>pulling out my notebook and pencil, I pretend to be productive, but a hand creeps up on my shoulder
>"Hmm? Don't have a book, Anon? I'll let you look off of mine. Here, let me scoot closer to you."
>S C R E E C H
>my heart drops in my stomach and everyone in the room flinches as Mai scoots her desk closer to mine
>I look down to see that the tiled floor next to her chair was deeply scratched, but many other marks were in the same area
>the teacher pauses and looks back, but continues writing on the board as if nothing happened
>although Mai is red, her face became the ultimate tomato
>"S-sorry everyone," she apologizes while dropping her head in shame
>the whole class sighs in relief
>the hair on my arms stood up at attention as she moved her book closer for me to see it
>ah, if I get on her bad side, I'm fucked

>finally, the bell rings and ends the lesson
>the guy and his nekomimi "girlfriend" said their goodbyes and took off together
>I take a look at my schedule to see that it's finally lunch time
>stepping away from my desk, I feel a tug on the back of my shirt
>I turn around to see the oni ruffling her hair, and it's then when I notice that she's at eye level with me while standing
>"Say... Anon."
>uh oh
>"Meet me out by the front gates in 3 minutes. I have something to show you. You better be there or else!"

Post 3:
>Mai dashes out of the room in a blink while I blankly stare at the door until the realization hits me
>"Meet her at the front gates..?" I whisper to myself, "Did I do something wrong?"
>my mind flashes through everything that happened in class, but nothing substantial that happened would cause her to to be mad at me, right?
>I shudder at the skid marks on the floor that she made earlier
>hmm... looks like I'll be waiting outside then

>I lean against the somewhat rusted green gates as I watch students pass by in anticipation
>a group of harpies pass by me while chirping amongst themselves
>"Woah, did you all notice that? Mai combed her hair I wonder who the poor bastard is," one of them says as they all fly off somewhere
>gulp
>a familiar red figure finally exits the front doors and looks around until our eyes finally meet
>I look up at her hair to see that the matted mess of brown hair from before is now straightened out
>her eyes dart around as she tucks her hair behind her ear and approaches me slowly
>why would she go out of her way to-
>"Alright! You're coming with me, Anon! And don't think you'll be running away either!" she says grabbing my hand tightly and pulling me off of school grounds
>everyone around us seemed to be laughing amongst each other as they watched me get dragged away

>after a couple of minutes of silent walking, I finally work myself up into breaking the silence
>"So, uh, where are you taking me?"
>she turns her head and gives me a warm smile, but her grip on my hand slightly got tighter
>I guess it's a surprise..? Either way, I have no idea where we're going since I haven't gotten a chance to get used to this town yet
>we ended up walking past some tattered apartments that all surrounded a small park near the center of all the buildings
>as we go down the sidewalk, bits of garbage blow across the street in response to the bursts of wind
>this place is nothing like the surban area that I used to live in, but I guess I'll get used to it eventually
>now that I think about it, I'm in a really bad situation, huh?
>I'm all alone with a demon that I only met today in some city I'm that I'm unfamiliar with
>"Okay, we're really close now!" Mai says as she leads me down an alleyway between two brick buildings
>uh oh, this is pretty suspicious
>"I, uh, probably shouldn't be here. Besides, we've got to get back to school right? L-lets head back?" I nervously spat
>"Ha ha, what are you talking about Anon? We're almost there, I promise," she instantly snaps back at me while pulling on my arm harder, practically dragging me
>she finally stops at a black door that she opens, revealing a a dimly lit staircase that goes towards an underground passage that's hard to make out
>"Here it is, Anon. Lets head on down," she grins at me while continuing to pull me as we descend further underground and my vision is significantly reduced
>Wait... what? What is this?
>Ah! Am I going to be rap-

Post 4:
>sniff sniff
>I get a whiff of something really delicious and I hear a faint melody from the darkness
>we reach the bottom of the stairs, and Mai opens a door leading to a dimly lit room that had a bunch of tables
>I look over to right to see what appeared to be a mech girl behind a counter with a wide array of alcohol on a shelf behind her
>in the back of the room was an older man playing a grand piano with a couple of listeners watching from their seats
>it's like I entered a different world
>an elbow launches into my side as Mai suddenly breaks out into laughter
>"Surprised, right? This place has some really good food."
>an oni girl came out of one of the back rooms wearing an apron over her professional black attire
>she was also wearing a bandana but with a fuzzy ponytail poking out of the back
>"Oh Mai! Took you a while getting here. Oh, who do we have here?" the oni greets us with the stench of cigarettes as I notice that she's taller than Mai and me
>"It's a new guy from class. We just so happened to next to each other so-"
>"You brought him here to try to seduce him?" she cuts Mai off with a smug smile then stares at me, "Hm~ Well we have your food ready in the back. I'll go bring it out in a second."
>"S-shut it, will you?!" Mai pulls me in front of her and pushes me towards the booths in the corner
>we sit down and look at each other embarassingly, and then it hit me
>"Wait, you already ordered? When did you do that?"
>"What? You think it would take me 3 minutes to comb my hair? Of course I planned this all out, duh~" she says trying to hold back her laughter
>"Oh, I see," I sigh feeling like a moron
>"It's usually a lot more crowded at night, but it's nice to stop here for lunch every once and a while."
>ha ha, I don't even know what I was worried about
>"By the way, that was my older sister. She can hook us up with some good deals... oh, what a coincidence"
>her sister comes out with an unseeable, savory smelling tray of steaming food that makes me drool
>she places a dish of chicken fried rice in front of me and a bowl of pork ramen in front of Mai with an appetizer of fried gyoza on a plate between us
>"Enjoy you twerps. It's on the house," she says walking away after without saying anything else.
>"THANK YOU!" Mai stands up and shouts causing the pianist to hit a dissonant chord as everyone in the restaraunt glanced at us briefly
>Mai plops back down and splits her chopsticks and begins to slurp the noodles
>she stops and looks at me questioningly
>"Eat up, Anon! Or do you not like fried rice? Sorry I kept this a secret from you, but I wanted to surprise you. I didn't know what you liked, so I just ordered fried rice. We can switch if you want,"
>"No, this is alright... Thanks for doing this for me," I respond scooping up the rice with my spoon
>I place a good bit of rice, a chunk of chicken, and mini corn into my mouth, which exploded my taste buds in savory sensations
>I begin to scoop up my food like a mad dog that's been starving for years to be interupted by a giggle
>"Good right? No need to rush, Anon. I can take you back here anytime you'd like~" she grins warmly at me
>I put my spoon down briefly and wipe my mouth with a napkin in embarassment
>"I have to ask you something though"
>"Hm?"
>"Why are you going out of your way for someone like me? We only just met today, so why?"
>she scratches her head then crosses her arms with her eyes closed as if she was thinking really hard, but that stopped after a couple of seconds
>"I don't know. I just had a feeling, ya know?"
>ah, my heart
>"W-well... thank you, Mai"
>"Hehe, no problem, Anon"

Post 5:
>we eat in silence with an occassional glance at each other until Mai speaks up
>"So tell me, Anon, what made you move to this city? You must've had some people you've known for a while, right? Must be rough"
>"Yeah, a good 3 years went down the drain. Oh well, I guess these things happen"
>"Oh! So that means you're a senior too, right?" Mai asks as she perks up immediately
>"Yeah, I lived pretty far from here so keeping contact will be a hassle since I may never see any of them again. It might not be worth getting to know anyone now either since I only have a year left anyways."
>"Hey, don't think like that! I'm sure things will work themselves out. Besides, you have me~! Ha ha"
>I scratch my nose and look away as I can feel my face getting warm
>"Well, the real reason for coming down here was because my dad had to switch jobs. I guess our old house was too much to handle on his own"
>"On his own..? What about your mom?"
>my chest tightens and my stomach oozes in discomfort
>"You see... my mom isn't around anymore"
>"What do you mean?" Mai looks at me questioningly
>"My mom... she died in a car accident last summer"
>Mai covers her mouth with her hand and freezes up
>"Oh! I didn't mean to... I'm sorry. I didn't know"
>wait, why am I even telling her this stuff in the first place?
>seems like I've been opening up with her so much even though I've only met her today
>"No no. It's alright. I'm still coming to terms with it myself"
>Mai stares into the table with a look of dread on her face
>"That was insensitive of me. I'm so sorry, Anon," she says as she trembles slightly
>I lean over the table and place a hand on her shoulder causing her to jump up and look at me
>"If it makes you feel any better, you're the first person that I've told this to since I've been here"
>"Really?" she suddenly leans towards me with her face getting a little too close to mine
>"Y-yeah. Really. Besides, I'm not that sensitive. I wouldn't get mad over something like this."
>she plops back down into her seat with a warm smile
>"Well... if you need me, I'm here for you, Anon"

>our plate/bowl was finally clear of food, Mai had a mischevious grin spreading across her face
>"Anon, do you have your schedule with you? Let me see it~" she teasingly says as she begins to reach towards my backpack under the table
>"Yeah, I do. Just wait a sec..." I reach into the bag and take out the folded paper and hand it to her
>her curious face shifted into one with a tinge of disappointment
>"Ah... we don't really have many class together. We only have these first two, then the rest are seperate," she lets out an exasperated sigh
>her sister comes out from the employee section and begins to clear our table, swiftly nudging Mai with her elbow
>"Isn't it about time for you two to start heading out?"
>"Oh... I guess so," Mai mutters under her breath, "and we were having a good time too"
>she sighs and gets up from her seat to head towards the door we entered from
>I proceed after her, but a hand taps on my shoulder
>"Anon, right? My sister seems to have taken a liking to you, huh?"
>I look back at Mai's sister in confusion
>"I, uh, guess so? Today's my first day, but she's doing so much for me. I don't get it."
>"Why she chose you is her deal, but don't worry. You see, my sister may be pushy, but she means well. She won't hurt you or anything. She's trying her best for you, so make sure you treat her well, alright?"
>we say our goodbyes as I finally ascend the dark stairway and exit the restaurant to find Mai leaning up against the brick wall next to the entrance
>"You ready to go, Anon?"