[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/nXsKN8C.png[/img] [i]Sometime during timeskip[/i][/center] Another day, another beating. Arata sighed as he massaged his left shoulder, the phantom pain still lingering even though the wound itself had disappeared. Juliann really didn't know how to hold back, huh? Well, it was valuable combat experience regardless. At this point, he could probably almost track one of her sword swings...even if 'tracking' was essentially just noticing it an instant before it cleaved through his head. He was becoming more and more familiar with the route to Rollanda's clinic, but it was a bit of a shame that the good doctor wasn't capable of restoring food that had been spilled out of his stomach whenever Juliann cleaved through his guts. Still hungering for something to eat, now that his stomach had been freshly emptied, the oni stomped past the dorms, towards the cafeteria. On the way, however, a familiar face was caught, and with an easy smile, the oni shouted, "Heyo, Shino-chan! Found your food yet?" [color=fff79a]"Nyha nyha nyha."[/color] Shino laughed lightly as she moved over the fence she was sitting on. She was lightly crouched as her fury white tail trailed behind her once she moved. [color=fff79a]"If it isn't Arara-han. Shino greets you on very clear evening."[/color] She sat down on one of the poles of the fence and folded one leg over the other. Her eyes twitched about picking up quite a lot of sounds on this wonderful evening. Lots of small animals and other predators were moving about. She even saw a giant moth walk past her at some point. She wondered what the thing all had to eat just to survive. Animals like her would probably be the answer. Just about the right size to swallow in one piece. [color=fff79a]"Shino gets food from lot of humans. Shino let them pat head in return nya. Very poor deal for Shino but Shino has to survive nya."[/color] Shino looked blankly at him as she tilted her head in question. [color=fff79a]"Arara-han is hunting?"[/color] "Eh, a nekomata that doesn't like head pats? Sounds like a win-win from my point of view, at least," Arata replied, cocking an eyebrow at Shino. It didn't sit too well that she was basically selling her body for food from a variety of strangers but he supposed it could be viewed as 'work'. "Yeah, you can say that. Though I finally got some money from work, so it's more like me buying shit instead of hunting shit. Who knew that junk food from the past would be considered a luxury nowadays though...it's just fish on rice..." He thought for a moment, before snapping his fingers. "Oh, right, if you want, I could introduce you to my boss. It's just a food delivery service, but you get free meals if you work four hour shifts." [color=fff79a]"Sometimes humans very violent, you need to handle Shino with care like this nya."[/color] Shino gently rubbed her own two hands over her head and ears, softly brushing over them which made her ears lower as she went over them. Shino was very cautioness about this and only let others pat her when she was ready for it. If they only touched her ears she would be frightend. [color=fff79a]"See? nya"[/color] Shino dropped both her hands onto the fence again and slowly whiped around the fence a little in boredom. [color=fff79a]"Shit..."[/color] Shino pondered by raising a finger to her chin as she tilted her head but didn't talk any further. She didn't have to repeat the swear word a thousand times like human children did. Arata continued about how he had started a job. [color=fff79a]"Hmm? Shino doesn't know why humans use money nya. Money gets food but is difficult to get. Shino saw human with money at food machine but Shino couldn't get money nya. Arara-han has money for Shino if Shino works nya? Shino will work for food and money then."[/color] "Well, more like my boss has food if you work," Arata admitted, "But yeah, I'll talk to him about you next time I see him, and hopefully he still needs more hands." Honestly, he couldn't understand what the big deal was with nekomatas and their ears. All things considered, weren't they just larger, softer ears? Maybe he was just an insensitive brute, but the oni didn't see why it mattered that much. Then again, his own past as a little oni boy was filled with roughhousing with his older brothers, so perhaps he really was just weird. "And those food machines are awful. You're better off going into actual restaurants. Was that what you've been eating the whole time?" Shino gave a brief nod at the oni. [color=fff79a]"Shino needs food so food fine too nya."[/color] Shino's ears instinctively twitched about to pick up as much noises as she could to hear if there was anything like food nearby. Nothing untill now but bugs so she might be better off not wasting that much enemy on them. [color=fff79a]"Food is food, food machine has lot of food that taste very sweet nya. Shino likes sweet food nya."[/color] Shino gave another brief nod and tilted her head again as to why Arata asked her. Restaurants were very expensive so it was hard to get in when you didn't even have money to spend food on. "Sweet food? What a childish taste." Then again, after yesterday's hellfire laceration of his tongue, sweet food might not actually be too bad. He had money for food, after all, and he didn't particularly need anything else when it came to daily essentials. "Well then, wanna go to a proper desserts shop? Haven't found any of those 'traditional Japanese sweets' shops yet, but there was this 'frozen yogurt' place that I stumbled upon recently." Of course, he had no idea what yogurt was, nor why it was frozen, but eh, culinary adventures and life-threatening battles was what made an oni's heart beat. [color=fff79a]"What do you think Shino is nya? Don't tall people like sweet taste nya? Only coffee and mandarin? Shino feels sorry for you Arara-han"[/color] Shino gave a slight sad look and lightly patted the shoulder of Arata from her seat for feeling sorry for him. [color=fff79a]"Shino hopes she doesn't grow up then, if Shino is only able to live of mandarin Shino's world will collapse like sand mountain nya."[/color] Arata came up with a great idea for a little adventure for sweets but Shino hadn't heard from yoghurt yet. [color=fff79a]"Is yokurt something like mandarin? Shino doesn't like sour or too bitter food you know nya. Where is this desert shop you are talking about? And is it not closed at dark nya?"[/color] Shino pushed herself of the fence and landed next to Arata with a light tud. Her tail slowly moved around as she stretched her back. She looked back up at Arata almost needing to bend her neck 90 degrees and made a soft curious sound for what he was about to say to her. Arata laughed at Shino's overdone pity and ignorance. Definitely not a youkai who only chose to maintain a childish form then.[b] "It's not that late at night. Just follow me, Shino-chan,"[/b] he replied, walking off to the small city, [b]"And I haven't eaten it yet, but it smelled sweet, so hey, adventure time!"[/b] Arata had started leading the way and Shino almost immediatly followed the taller oni. She had difficulties keeping up with the pace of the oni since in every step he took she had to take two. Luckily she had a lot of stamina and wasn't such a lazy house kitten like the rest of them. Just as that was being said Shino had caught onto something. A firefly was flying astray and had taken the attention of Shino. Once it went past her nose her auto following system seemed to break down and followed another path. That of the bug. Shino simply walked behind the bug and sometimes tried catching it with her hands. She had been completely hypnotized by the thing and had completely forgotten about Arata. As soon as she catched the bug she shook her head a little. She patiently looked around her and had completely lost track of what she was doing again. Shino tilted her head out of confusion and opened her hand again letting the bug fly away again. Partway through, Arata noticed that the two quick steps that echoed his own had disappeared, fading away into something a little more irregular. Turning around and whistling to catch her attention, the oni said, [b]"You know, if you're bored of walking, I can just carry you."[/b] Probably would prevent her from getting separated whenever she sees anything shining dot in the night as well. Shino definitly heard Arata's loud whistle with the giant ears of her and reactivily turned his way. She realised that she had been following Arata up till now and probably lost track halfway. Her attention spam wasn't all to great and especially when she didn't have to pay any attention it would cause disaster. [color=fff79a]"Shino can walk herself, Shino never follows other people so Shino thinks it is hard and something new to Shino nya."[/color] Just as she said that the same firefly flew past her, she pawed at it but immediatly shook her head again and looked away from Arata. [color=fff79a]"Arara-han didn't see that."[/color] Shino continued walking again with or without Arata knowing he would catch up anyway. [b]"I can res-"[/b] Arata snorted, stifling his laughter as Shino swatted at the firefly that she had relinquished moments before. He could respect her outlaw ways, never following others and striving onwards, seeking her own path, but at the same time... [b]"See what? All I see is you going right, when you should be going left."[/b] With that quip, he strolled onwards, this time walking beside the nekomata. It's good that she rebelled against the idea of being a follower, at least, even if it was a little more difficult to guide her from the side. Eventually, after a few more detours, the odd pair made it to Menchies, a colorful, bright little spot that featured self-serve ice cream and a variety of extra condiments, from skittles to canned fruits to chocolate syrup. With the lack of customers and the moon shining high in the night sky, it was fairly obvious that the store was closing soon, but, well, the cashier couldn't exactly turn away paying customers even if said customers arrived five minutes before his shift was done, could he? Pushing open the glass door, Arata flourished needlessly, and said, [b]"Here we go, Shino-chan. Don't eat too much though. I need to eat too."[/b] When Arata began laughing a red blush appeared on her face. She was being made fun off, she couldn't react to something like this and with a red face like this it was better not to react to it anyway. She made a small hmpf sound and turned her face the other way like she was mad... just a little. [color=fff79a]"Shino goes the way she wants nya. Shino can handle on her own."[/color] Arata began walking on the side of her so she wouldn't get lost so easily and Arata could react to it if it were to happen. They arrived at the store rather quickly like no time had passed by. They opened the glass doors as a bell ringed above their heads just like the one on her tail letting the seller know there were customers. Shino stopped and looked up at the bell for a moment. She had been surprised by the thing but continued onwards towards the counter. She watched the seller patiently and stared at him with an agape mouth like she had never seen such a creature before. Shino averted her gaze towards the icecream and looked over the names. The ice looked all the same but diffrent colors so that would mean diffrent flavours she blindly quessed. Shino had to decide which flavours she wanted. Shino took a blind quess and took something that looked sweet. She asked the seller if she could get Lemon and he happily got it for her in a cup with a small spoon. He asked if she wanted whipped cream on top and she quietly nodded. Shino took the icecream from the man and waited for Arata before she started eating. Taking a cup for himself and using his nose as a guide, Arata sniffed around until he finally found a machine that held the aroma he was hungry for. Though the scribblings above it didn't hold any meaning to him, there were also pictures of juicy plums, tantalizing enough that he pulled down the lever and filled his whole cup up with the pinkish dessert. After that, it was simply a matter of adding a scoop of every available condiment, and voila, dinner was served. His wallet was emptied as well, but the oni could be satisfied with that. Sitting down on one of the aluminum chairs near the windows, Arata appreciated the fact that Shino waited for him to get settled down before eating, and said, [b]"Welp, haven't done this in some time, but...itadakimasu~"[/b] It wasn't a contest, but after the first scoop, he was eating with wild abandon and calculated ferocity regardless. Ice cream was delicious, and brain freeze was but another challenge to take on. Arata sat down on the opposite side of her with his own night snack in front of him. He soon began eating and Shino figured she should do so herself. She used the spoon to scoop up the whipped cream but soon found out it was not as handy as she might have thinked it would be. She placed the spoon with whipped cream into her mouth and immediately swallowed it. The sensation was so good it made her make a few small sounds of delight. Shino dropped the spoon onto the table and instead picked up the cup and licked the whipped cream off the ice cream. It soon grew colder and she figured that the ice cream was about the same idea as a cookie. Shino readied her teeth and bit into the ice cream with her sharp canines. Her eyes widened as she pulled her head back and let the cup drop neatly onto the table. She couldn't talk with half a mouth full but the ice cream was to cold to swallow. She moved the ice cream from one side to the other of her mouth and covered both her cheeks with her hands. It hurted, a whole bunch. Tears welled up in her eyes as the ice cream slowly melted away in her mouth. As soon as she could swallow she did. A saddened look was displayed on her face. Her tongue hurted from the cold. She didn't realise she would be eating something so cold. [color=fff79a]"Arara-whan, I down't wike wice weam so muwch."[/color] Her tongue was partly sticking out as she talked to heat it up a little again. Shino bended over lightly and blew some of her breath on the ice cream so it would melt faster. Then maybe she was able to eat it. She looked like a small child playing with her breath in the snow. In record time, Arata finished his own cup, going out of his way to lick any sprinkles that still remained inside it up. The headache that pulsed on his forehead was a mighty, brutal one, as if he was having a hangover after a night of drinking and partying, but that pain too, must have been part of the experience of eating ice cream. Of course, now that he knew of it, it looked fairly obvious that Shino didn't enjoy the sweet pain quite as much. Offering her a napkin, he suggested, [b]"Maybe you eat it a little bit at a time? Don't think this is something you eat all at once...though I did that anyways...so...uh..."[/b] He crossed his arms, deciding to switch the topic. [b]"Well, you're a student here now? Or what?"[/b] Shino carefully took the napkin but wondered for what he gave it to her. She titled her head as her eyes told that she didn't get it why he gave it to her. Her face was full of leftover whipped cream but she clearly hadn't discovered that yet. Shino still wiped the whipped cream off of her face by pure luck. Arata had already finished his ice cream, didn't he have the same problem. Shino only became more confused, someone couldn't just eat this thing without dying. Shino pouted a little but did as he told her too. She took the spoon again and took a small bit of the ice cream stuffing it in her mouth. The feeling kept the same but it wasn't as brutal now. Shino still didn't like it however and patiently waited for it to melt. [color=fff79a]"Shino will serve a master soon and help master with lot's of various tasks and gets paid with huge food nya."[/color] She widened her arms to show Arata how big the food was gonna be and returned to blowing at the ice cream. Once it was molten a little she would put her lips at the edge of the cup and drink it a little. The taste was the same but it didn't hurt any more now. She managed to smile a little as she continued drinking. [b]"Oh?"[/b] Arata grinned teasingly. [b]"I thought you didn't follow other people? Wouldn't serving a master mean that you did just that, Shino-chan?"[/b] Shino froze, this hadn't be considered. She hadn't realised that it would mean to be following someone. Shino was quiet, very quiet and didn't even try to look at him. She knew he had won from her, this fight at least. Shino punched her hand onto his face and looked away from him with both her hand between her lap. She looked rather pissed off at the moment. [color=fff79a]"Shut up nya..."[/color] Ah, did he go too far? Looked like the aloof nekomata didn't have as thick of a skin as he thought. He rubbed the back of his neck, her quick blow barely noticed, before the oni said, [b]"Ahaha...sorry about that, Shino-chan. I suppose I shouldn't jump to conclusions. Were you looking for a relationship similar to that of a samurai and his shogun, not that of a master and his servant? "[/b] Shino didn't have to be so mad at him, he treated her ice cream and only made the wrong comment on what she had said earlier. She looked up a little more as he apologised and regretted it a little that she had punched him in the face and got made at him in the first place. Her emotions went back to her usual self again as she shook her head. [color=fff79a]"N-no, Arara-han doesn't need to be sorry. Shino act immature nya. Shino doesn't like to follow other people around but still needs to learn many things from other people nya."[/color] Arata was right, she wanted something like a teacher student thing where she could learn from the very best to enhance her own skills. [b]"Well, looks like we both have things to get better at, eh?" [/b]The oni scratched his chin, temporarily falling into silence. After a bit, he spoke up once more, crumpling the paper cup into a small ball. [b]"...Do you have anyone in mind? As a master and all that?"[/b] [color=fff79a]"School said that they would find a master for Shino but Shino didn't hear anything yet nya. Shino also didn't meet many humans yet."[/color] Shino stood up and walked over towards one of the trashbins were she trew the paper cup in. She then proceeded to wait for Arata to do the same so they could walk out at the same time through the glass door again. Shino stretched herself once more outside standing on the top of her toes with her hand stretched up into the air and then looked back at the oni. [color=fff79a]"Does Arara-han need a master too nya?"[/color] As Shino began to head to the door, Arata tossed his own paper-cup-ball-thing into the trash. Perhaps with a little too much strength, when the plastic trash can almost toppled over as a result. Heading out alongside the nekomata, the oni breathed in the cold air, stretching his arms above his head. A comforting crick could be heard from his spine, and the night air tasted a little better, now that he wasn't quite as hungry. The ice cream didn't fill him up as much as he had expected it to, but at the same time, he was feeling rather energetic too. Looked like he wouldn't be needing much sleep tonight. Turning to face Shino, he cocked his head upwards in thought. [b]"Hm...well, I don't know how that whole contracting thing works, but I did find a really cool human as a sparring partner. She's a teacher at the school, which is weird, cause she's not much of a traditional mage at all...but hm, she's way stronger than me, so she probably wouldn't take either of us for a familiar, huh?" "You know if there's any way to advertise yourself as a familiar, Shino-chan?"[/b] [color=fff79a]"Shino doesn't know how if it's possible to do that nya. Shino thinks she is already being advertized by the school but maybe people don't need much familiars."[/color] Shino looked down at the ground for a moment but looked back up at Arata again with her ussual lazy look on her face. Shino angled her head at him. [color=fff79a]"Hey, hey Arara-han, what do we do now. I never been to the city at night nya. Is there food machines here too just like school nya? Shino didn't eat dinner yet and yokurt wasn't enough for Shino. Or, or bugs, are there bugs here? Shino can eat bugs nya."[/color] [b]"Maybe they just don't know how amazing we'll be as familiars,"[/b] Arata shot back confidently. Arching an eyebrow at how Shino also wasn't exactly full, the oni made a prayer, checked his wallet once more, and began heading in another direction. [b]"I'm practically broke now, but there's this 'cup noodle' thing that's pretty cheap. Should be a food m- ah, there!"[/b] Across the street, a dusty vending machine sat by an antique pay phone. Arata selected a few coins, slotted them in, and pressed a random button. Within, he could smell the steam and the dehydrated powders as unseen machinations prepared a lonely, artificial meal. [b]"You know of the Magus Games? It's a tournament and all, but you need a team. So if you want...how about we pair up, kill a bunch of other familiars, show off our superiority, and get all those masters begging to make us their familiars?"[/b] Of course, Arata was more interested in the carnage and all, but seeing how he was the older youkai here, he should be a good role model and help Shino out. After all, she was pitiful enough that she ate bugs. When she was a nekomata. Who should have moved on to eating mice and rats by now. Shino gave a small nod at the older youkai as her stomache violently growled. In fact she hadn't eaten properly for a few days now. It was always a tiny snack or a bit of bread that she got from the street. [color=fff79a]"Shino will surprise them and they'll want Shino for sure."[/color] Shino smiled a little and looked a little more confident then before, although her kuudere expresion never faded. Arata was talking about a food machine close by that would make and heat their dinner. Ideal woman to be married with. Arata pressed a few buttons but it went too fast for Shino to keep track off. Then a hot cup of insta noodle appeared on the spot. Shino was amazed by the technology that excisted in this world. She never imagined something like this would be at random on the streets. Shino grabbed the hot cup of noodles with both hands and carefully moved it over to a small little platform she could put it on. She carefully removed the lid and started blowing to cool it down. She wasn't too fond of hot food either. Arata continued with his conversation as she kept blowing and ocasionally talking to him. [color=fff79a]"Shino can join Arara-han's team nya? Shino would be glad to help Arara-han. Shino wants more food though in trade for helping Arara-han."[/color] Shino took the cup and noticed it wasn't as hot anymore. With both hands she drank the noodles in one go. It was good food to fill the stomache but eating it every day would be bad. [color=fff79a]"Shino almost full now. But Shino knows nya."[/color] She turned her head over towards a nearby group of pidgeons. She had been chasing these damn things from the start that she could go around and hunt things on the island but never managed to fully aquire one. She would always barely scratch it. But with her hunger for more food she knew that this was the time. Without saying anything else to Arata her foccus lied on the group of pidgeons only. She carefully snook up to them and striked when she couldn't get any closer. With both her hands she tackled the thing down and her sharp fangs immediatly went for the neck of the beast. The bird immediatly stopped moving as blood dripped out of the wound Shino made. With a blunt look she walked back to Arata with the bird hanging by one of his wings to her mouth as she mumbled to him. [color=fff79a]"Shino caught something for Arata to give in return nya."[/color] There was a bit of blood on her face and mixed into her white bangs. Her shirt managed to stay clean. She placed the bird onto both her hands and raised it towards Arata's face. Arata laughed at the nekomata's cheeky assumption. How cute, that she thought she'd be helping him, and not the other way around, but then again, that sort of confidence in her abilities was what he liked to see out of young kiddos. Accepting her pigeon with a bow, the oni graciously placed his hands together and said, "Itadakimasu." With that, he tore the pigeon in half with his hands, its internal organs and congealed blood splattering on the ground. Placing one half into his mouth and swallowing it whole, the oni savoured the taste of warm, wet flesh, before offering the other half to Shino. "Let this be our covenant of blood then, Shino-chan! And let us show these arrogant mages the true strength of the children of Izanami-no-mikoto!" Shino was abosultly sure that his must have been the strongest youkai she had ever met. She hadn't see anyone that could rip a pigeon in half just as simple as that. She herself had to pull the wing off with help of her feet. He gave her half the bird, Shino graciously took it from him and simply started by pulling out the feathers and pealed out the left over organs with her finger nails. Arata called out some ritual kind of thing and Shino followed by saying the same thing but a tad diffrent. [color=fff79a]"Izananani no nikoto!"[/color] She raised the bird into the air and moved it back over to her mouth again. She took the first bite and had to pull with her teeth and a lot of force for the flesh to come loose. She chewed it well and gulped down with a pleased look on her face. She made a friend today.