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As the storm continued outside, Gorou walked back into Itto’s bedroom with a pair of baggy shorts that were tied around his waist tightly with a drawstring, however it was still baggy enough that it had enough wiggle room to slip them off or on if needed. The shirt he wore landed just mid-thigh, helping to keep him from being too exposed. It was nice that Itto was letting him use some of the oni’s old clothes when he was in high school, but given its size, it was fair to say that the oni was still taller than Gorou’s current height. With a towel draped around his neck from the shower, Gorou let out a small sigh as he kicked the door behind him.
“Thanks again for letting me use the shower while my clothes are drying.” Gorou spoke out as he continued to walk towards the little desk by Itto’s bed. “And for letting me borrow some of your old clothes.” Gorou added, sitting down with a little thump as Itto flashed him a grin.
“Hey, no worries my man!” Itto remarked, picking up the remote control for the small tv in his room that he rarely used anymore. “It’s a good thing granny kept them around. Otherwise you would have been stuck practically swimming in a Ms. Hina shirt.” Itto remarked, flipping through the channels with the grainy quality. “You would almost look like a lil’ pup who got caught in their owner’s sweater. Looking all helpless and cute.” Itto teased as he let out a hearty laugh. Gorou’s ears tucked back a bit in embarrassment, knowing that it would have been true if he was more dog-like than just having his ears and tail.
“You don’t need to put it that way.” Gorou mumbled under his breath, figuring that this was just Itto’s way of teasing. It was better than what Gorou used to go through when he was much younger. It didn’t help that people wanted to see Gorou as nothing more than some guy with cute little dog ears and a tail. Just remembering how people would try to grab his ears in an attempt to surprise him always sent a bad shiver down Gorou’s spine. “I’m sure I would have been fine just borrowing a shirt of yours. Doubt that it would have been that baggy on me.” Gorou added with a little huff towards the end.
When Itto landed on the news, the oni placed the remote back down on the table before leaning back on against his bed. “You shouldn’t be offended lil’ dude. Plenty of people would be swimming in my clothes. Heck, I’ve seen Shinobu walking around in some of my old clothes, and you’re pretty much her height.” Not that it made things better, but at least Gorou wouldn’t have to feel weird borrowing another person’s clothes while his was drying. “So is there anything you would like to do while we wait for the storm and your clothes to get dry?” Itto asked, figuring that the storm should be over in the next few hours. “By the time the storm is done, the generator should be almost out of juice. So we’ll be set.” Itto finished flashing Gorou a smile.
“Speaking of Shinobu,” Gorou started to speak as he glanced at where Kuki was sitting before he had left to take a shower. “Where is she?” Gorou asked, glancing back at Itto who seemed to be glancing towards the same location. Shinobu wasn’t offended that Gorou took a quick shower before she went, was she? Gorou just didn’t want the smell of wet dog hair to linger in the room for too long.
“She’s off in the spare bedroom. Probably has her books out to study.” Itto simply remarked as he glanced back at Gorou. “Since it’s on the other side of the house, she won’t be bothered if we make loud noises.” It came in handy when the gang would come over to Itto’s place and get a bit too loud with one of their Genius Invokation TCG tournaments where Itto would always win and become a bit too loud for Shinobu’s liking when she was trying to study.
“How come she doesn’t study at home?” Gorou asked, using some of the towel to finish drying off his hair before tucking his tail towards him to get that dried as well. No matter how hard Gorou tried to make sure that his tail was completely clean and well taken care of, there were some spots that he would tend to miss.
“Blah, her mom is always on Shinobu’s case to try to stick to one job.” Itto scoffed. “Shinobu is her person and is free to do whatever she wants. And from what I know of Shinobu, she loves to learn new things and is always ready to get all kinds of licenses.” Itto continued, seeming to be proud of his right-hand man. “Honestly I say that Shinobu should at least be a teacher or something. Not some bodyguard for a celebrity who doesn’t even know who she is or care about them.” The last remark made Gorou feel a bit guilty since apparently Shinobu was a bodyguard for Ms. Hina and he didn’t know about her.
“Well if she is kept in the shadows, isn’t she doing a good job at protecting them?” Gorou asked, feeling a bit embarrassed that he didn’t even know the people who were supposed to be protecting him. “After all, it means that Shinobu is doing her job of keeping the bad guys away.” There was no way that Itto would believe something like that, would he?
“Ooooh yeah! You’re right!” Itto remarked, as if it just dawned on him that Shinobu was really the best at what she did. “Shinobu is a beast when it comes to doing jobs. Always aiming to be the best!” Itto continued, a big grin on his face. It was evident that Itto was always proud of the members of his gang. “Too bad she was busy during the time that Ms. Hina almost got kidnapped.” Hearing Itto say that caused Gorou’s ears to perk up. “But then again, I was able to save Ms. Hina, so it all worked out in the end.” Itto couldn’t help the big grin that landed on his face when he mentioned saving his idol.
“Wait….” Gorou spoke softly when Itto mentioned about Kuki being busy the day that someone tried to kidnap Ms. Hina. “What was she busy with?” Gorou asked, his mind was starting to race with ideas that perhaps it was his manager who had set him up this whole time. Frankly Gorou wouldn’t put it past that conniving fox to make it seem like Ms. Hina was in danger just to get publicity to sell more merchandise for the idol.
“Uh, let’s see…” Itto mumbled as he tried to remember what Kuki had mentioned about the test. “It was a test to get into another program to get a specialized license, as she had put it.” Itto spoke, trying his best to get the exact wording that Kuki had used. Not being in the line of work that both Gorou and Kuki were a part of, Itto had no understanding of what was happening right now.
“I need to talk to Shinobu!” Gorou stammered to speak as he quickly got up, only to have the lights turn out once more. Both of the men were surprised when the lights went out, considering that they were on a generator, the likelihood that the lights would go out now was a bit suspicious. “What just happened?” Gorou asked, hearing Itto getting up with a small grunt.
“Don’t know. It’s a bit odd that the generator seemed to cut out just now, don’t you think?” Itto asked, feeling restless now. “I’m gonna go and check the generator.” Itto added, heading towards the door. “Stay here and wait until I come back.” Itto instructed, not wanting Gorou to get ahead of himself. If anyone should go out in the storm and mess with the generator, it should be the oni.
As Gorou was left alone, there was a feeling of urgency building up. The way that this whole interaction was going, it wasn’t sitting with him. Being left alone in the dark, Gorou sighed as he tapped his fingers against the wooden table, his legs bouncing as the anxiety was creeping in. “I can’t just sit here and do nothing. Not when I need to talk to Shinobu about what she was doing during the kidnapping.” Gorou thought to himself. Knowing how Yae Miko tends to do things in order to gain publicity. Surely Yae didn’t hire Shinobu to kidnap the idol, right? The more Gorou thought about it the faster his leg would bounce. “She would never put her idol in harm's way just to gain attention in the media….right?” Gorou thought to himself once more as the feeling of a rock sinking to the bottom his stomach started to grow. “Yae Miko isn’t that insane….right?!” The thought that Yae Miko could be behind it was sickening, but it wasn’t like Gorou could get straight answers out of the sly fox woman.
“I need answers!” Gorou shouted as he finally stood up from the little table. He wasn’t going to allow Yae Miko to get away with this. It was one thing to play a few little tricks on him, but to risk Ms. Hina’s life for the sake of getting media attention was going too far. Walking towards the door, Gorou opened the door with a small huff before taking a singular step out of the door. There was a voice that seemingly came out of the darkness that sent a shiver down Gorou’s spine.
“I thought the boss told you to stay in the room.” Kuki spoke, leaning against the door. Watching Gorou’s tail seemingly expand from being scared was an interesting sight to see. It almost brought a smile to Shinobu’s face, but it would have been hidden under her face mask
“Oh, Shinobu.” Gorou remarked, patting his chest a bit as he wasn’t expecting anyone to be there. “What a relief.” Gorou’s heart had nearly jumped out of his chest from the way Shinobu snuck up on him. “Listen, I need to ask-” Gorou started to speak before Shinobu held up her hand in front of Gorou to keep the man quiet.
“I know, but it’s not exactly the right time to ask.” Kuki remarked, glancing over her shoulder. “I’ll give you my phone number. It’ll be easier to communicate this way.” She continued, pulling out a ripped piece of paper from her jacket. “There are just some things I don’t want the boss to overhear.” Mostly due to the fact that Itto tends to jump to the wrong conclusion, it was easier to simply not inform the oni of what happens in the idol world. “Anyways, I have to get going. My mom is worried about me being out in the storm. I don’t live too far from here, so I’ll be alright. Just make sure the boss doesn’t do anything stupid.” Kuki knew that if there was someone other than herself who could make the oni behave, it would be Gorou.
“Oh, um…alright.” Gorou replied, not sure what he was expecting. But if I could prove himself reliable enough to Shinobu to be entrusted to keep Itto safe, perhaps he could get some answers from Shinobu. Answers that wouldn’t involve playing some sort of chess match for their own pleasure like Yae Miko. Looking down at the sheet of paper, it was hard for Gorou to make out the number, so Gorou held onto the piece of paper before glancing up to see that he was alone in the hallway. “Seems like she really is like a ninja.” Gorou muttered to himself, turning to go back into the room only to walk into someone else.
“Hey lil dude.” Itto remarked with a big smile on his face. “Thought I told ya to stay in the room.” Itto continued, placing a hand on top of Gorou’s head, ruffling his hair a bit more. “Did you have to use the bathroom or something?” Itto asked, giving Gorou a bit of an excuse as to why he was seemingly roaming the halls.
“Oh, I was just checking to see if you needed some help or something.” Gorou lied, feeling his head involuntarily shake from how rough Itto was being. “But since the lights aren’t on, how can you even see?” Gorou asked, knowing it was somewhat hard for him to see with what limited night vision he had. “Are you able to see in the dark or something?” Gorou asked, trying his best to redirect the question.
“Hell yeah we do!” Itto chimed in happily, opening the door as he guided Gorou back inside. “It’s a survival skill that has been passed down to all oni’s. After all, for a while oni’s were only able to get our prey at night since we didn’t want to deal with humans always harassing us.” It always seemed to stem from avoiding people that oni’s got a bad reputation. “Plus it was a way to keep kids in bed when it got too late. We make the best boogie man.” Gorou couldn’t help but feel guilty as his own parents would do the same thing to him when Gorou was just a little pup.
“You better stay inside tonight, or you’ll become an oni snack.” As his parents would say. The way that people tend to fear oni’s instead of taking the chance to understand them was something that Gorou never really understood. Sure there was evil oni’s out there who would have loved to snack on Gorou’s bones, but Itto was completely different from what Gorou expected.
“Anyways, turns out the fuel was very low and we can’t get anymore until the storm passes.” Itto remarked, closing the door behind him as he watched Gorou stumble a bit towards the little table. “So how about we play some games with a little twist?” Itto suggested, making his way around the room easily towards a side table. Pulling out a few things, Itto took some candles to line around the small table. Lighting them to provide enough light for the two of them to see, Itto pulled out a set of cards that looked like they were close to ten years old. “We’ll play old maid where the loser has to take a shot of sake and either tell the truth or do a dare.” The game sounded harmless enough, so why not?
“Old maid?” Gorou asked in surprise, never expecting to play something like that with the rules including drinking. “I think the last time I ever played Old Maid was when I was in middle or high school.” Gorou remarked, a soft smile landing on his face at the thought. It wasn’t like Gorou was the best at it, but he was somewhat decent. However, with the inclusion of alcohol, that was a new twist on it. During his school days Gorou and his friends would often bet some pieces of candy or something.
“Alright! Can’t wait to see how this goes.” Itto gleamed, seemingly excited, which was almost a concern for Gorou with how excited the oni seemed to be. “Me and the boys would often play this when the storms would get really bad. Of course back then we would use snacks and a bit of money. But it never got too crazy. So it’ll be interesting to see how you’ll fair since I haven’t been defeated.” The confidence in Itto’s voice made Gorou feel uneasy. He’ll have to be on guard if he wants to win against the confident oni.
After eight rounds, Gorou and Itto seemed to have been able to win one each. The dares were harmless enough from having them try to each do a one hand stand up which almost up ended with Gorou kicking a hole in the wall as he failed to keep upright, to confessing to small things like first kisses or the farthest they had gotten with someone, to making each other spit out the sake with making the other laugh. When the ninth round was starting, Gorou was starting to feel the effects of the booze. His body was starting to feel warm and Gorou’s body was swaying a bit. Itto on the other hand didn’t seem to be bothered as much as he remained a bit more calm while dealing the cards.
“So Itto, can I ask you something?” Gorou asked, picking up his cards as Itto let out a quizzical hum. “Why Ms. Hina out of all the idols out there? What makes her so special in your heart that makes you idolize her the most?” Gorou asked, his fingers seemingly digging into the cards a bit. “It just can’t be her music that makes you go out of your way to want to see her all the time.” Gorou didn’t know where he was going with this question, but he genuinely thought that there was more to Itto’s obsession than what the oni was telling him.
Itto paused to think about it, figuring that there was some reason that he didn’t think of yet that made him be drawn towards the idol. “She feels familiar to me in a way that I can’t explain.” Itto spoke as he switched some of his cards around. “When I see Ms. Hina, I feel like perhaps we were supposed to be more than just an idol and their fan. Maybe, in a previous life we were lovers or something.” Itto continued, placing a pair down before picking up a few more cards. “I just want a chance to simply caress her face while looking into her eyes.” Itto continued, the booze seeming to bring out the truth in him. “I feel like when I gaze into her eyes, I feel warm and fuzzy, like I am being hugged by a warm towel that just came out of the dryer.” Even if it was put into a silly expression, Gorou could understand where Itto was coming from.
“Do you think that you fell in love with her?” Gorou asked, feeling a soft blush cross his cheeks, making them feel even hotter than they already were. “Because what you seem to be describing to me, sounds a lot like love.” No one had ever really told Ms. Hina that they loved her in such a way. Sure there was love in the sense that they idolized the female singer. But what Itto was describing was true love. As if they were soulmates. If that was the case, then did that mean that Itto loved Gorou the same way.
“Love?” Itto softly spoke, almost sounding like he was in disbelief that he would be able to fall in love so easily. Love was something that oni’s never really got. At least not with humans. “I don’t know if I could really say that.” Itto admitted, bringing up a hand to scratch the back of his head. “Oni’s don’t get the chance to fall in love. Especially not with someone like Ms. Hina…” The very thought that a popular idol and an oni falling in love, it was nonsense. Ms. Hina would lose followers if people ever found out.
“Why not?” Gorou asked. He was interested in learning why someone like Itto couldn’t fall in love with Ms. Hina. After all, everyone deserves to be able to fall in love despite their origins. “I’m sure Ms. Hina would like to have someone like you by her side…” Gorou remarked, putting down a few pairs as the redness on his face started to grow even more.
“Because no one could love an oni. We’re just not meant to be around humans.” Itto spoke, only to hear a loud bang from across the table. Glancing up to see Gorou hanging his head down, the oni didn’t know what to say next. To see such a reaction from the Gorou was unexpected. “Are you okay, lil dude?” Itto asked, his voice sounding concerned since he had never seen Gorou upset.
“No I’m not okay…” Gorou softly spoke, the cards spewed in front of him as one of the candles had gone out. “You’re acting like being an oni means that you don’t deserve the same rights as everyone else. And I won’t stand for that.” Gorou spoke out, his hands still in fists as he looked at Itto with an annoyed glare. “I swear that you’ll have an amazing time with Ms. Hina! And you’ll be able to gently touch her face and be able to look deep into her eyes so you know how it feels to truly know you’re in love with the person who saved you!” Gorou continued, struggling to stand up to show his determination.
Itto gazed up at Gorou with a surprised gaze, unsure why Gorou seemed to be determined to give Itto that sort of experience, but getting to see this side of Gorou made it all worth it. “Even if Ms. Hina turns out to be the exact opposite of what I expect her to be like, as long as I can call you my friend, this whole experience has been worth it.” Itto remarked, standing up to help the swaying Gorou. “Come on, I’ll let you borrow my bed for the night. You look like you need it.” Itto added, picking Gorou up. Being careful to avoid knocking over the candles, Itto placed Gorou on the bed despite his wiggling. It wouldn’t be long before Gorou seemed to find the right position to lay in that allowed him to fall asleep, allowing for Itto to clean up the table and put the cards away. Laying down next to the bed, Itto glanced up at the calendar to see that he only had five more days until his date with Ms. Hina. As long as Itto could continue his friendship with Gorou after all of this, it was well worth it.