For Amaya's sake, Kenji didn't mention a single thing about the girl's real identity to Shota or Satomi. When Satomi was home the other day, he mentioned hanging out with a new friend, but that was all. It was hard keeping the whole ordeal a secret, but Kenji would never go against Amaya's wishes.
So, when Shota invited him and a couple friends from school out for dinner, Kenji decided to try and keep Amaya out of his mind. That would be difficult, given that his thoughts always circled back to her and the demon problem, but he aimed to keep his focus on having a good time.
Kenji arrived at the ramen-ya a few minutes late, and by the time he got to the group's designated group, he found Shota and two of his classmates: Daichi and Chiyo.
Naturally, Shota waved him over, and without hesitation, Kenji slid into the booth across from Daichi.
"Fashionably late?" Chiyo teased from across the table. "I'm not surprised."
Kenji managed a laugh.
"Sorry about that. I was on a phone call with my sister."
"Satomi-san? Has she started teaching yet?" Daichi asked as he flipped through the menu. "I would like her to be my teacher."
"I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that." Kenji gave a wry laugh and shook his head. "She has a conference this weekend and then she'll interview at a school in another prefecture...which means she'll likely be moving out soon."
Daichi leaned his head back and groaned.
"Ugh, does that mean we won't see her as often?"
"We can always throw a little party for her," Chiyo suggested. "To both congratulate her on the start of her career and to wish her luck. Maybe we can even see her new apartment if that's where—"
The group collectively turned their heads to the door after the chime of a bell distracted Chiyo...and for good reason.
A silver-haired woman with biker attire and aviator style sunglasses stepped inside the ramen-ya, catching the attention of every customer and employee. She strode up to the front counter, her long hair swaying along with her hips as she walked. Kenji's eyes followed her before he gulped and turned back to his classmates.
"That caught me off guard."
Shota scratched his chin.
"She's wearing...rather interesting attire." He shrugged and picked up a menu. "Anyway, are we all getting the usual?"
Chiyo turned back around, but Daichi still had his eyes on the woman at the counter. He continued to stare until Chiyo pinched his arm.
"Ow! You didn't have to do that." Shaking his head, Daichi rubbed his arm while Chiyo gathered the menus and started to stack them.
Kenji sighed after handing the girl his menu and leaned forward to rest his chin on the palm of his hand.
"I already know what I'm ordering." He raised his head, having seen the silver-haired woman turn around out of the corner of his eye. Oddly enough, she approached the group of students with a slight scowl plastered on her nearly flawless face.
"Excuse me—" The woman stopped to clear her throat and place her hands on her hips. "Have any of you seen anything...out of the ordinary? I'm not in law enforcement, if that's what you were wondering."
Shota hitched an eyebrow.
"If you're not a cop, then what do you mean? Are you an investigator?"
"You could say that," the woman responded as she shifted her weight. "However, I'm not referring to criminal activity. What I'm asking is if any of you have had experiences with the...paranormal. Or supernatural, whatever you prefer to call it."
The other students shook their heads, appearing to be confused and even a little worried, while Kenji began to panic internally. Immediately, his thoughts went back to the Onibaba. Was she a sort of demon hunter like Amaya?
Yet, Kenji didn't utter a word.
"I'm sorry, ma'am, but we haven't seen anything," Chiyo spoke up. "But if we do...um...we'll let you know?"
The woman's gaze drifted over to Kenji, her shaded eyes falling on him for a moment, before she finally sighed and gave a nod to Chiyo.
"Very well. I appreciate it."
Then the woman turned and swiftly left the restaurant, seemingly miffed.
The group sat in stilled silence until Daichi eventually lifted up the menus in a futile attempt to change the mood.
"So...shall we order?"
═════════•°•✖•°•═════════
Kenji climbed the stairs up to Amaya's apartment in pitch black darkness. In all honesty, he was surprised that Amaya attended a private girls' school when she lived in the more rundown part of the Kanagawa Prefecture. While he was thinking about it, he didn't have any idea how Amaya made her income...sure, she had the rental job, but she was a student as well. How was she balancing it all and still making enough money to stay in an apartment and attend a top academy?
After knocking on the door, Amaya opened it from the other side, still wearing her school uniform from earlier. The only changes were that she no longer wore her blazer, and her tie was undone and her sleeves rolled up to her elbows. Her hair was loose and wavy, too, but still in better shape than when she fought the Onibaba.
"Was I supposed to bring flowers?" Kenji joked as he took his shoes off and stepped inside, receiving a harsh glare from the girl. She sighed heavily and returned to the kitchenette connected to the living area.
"I'm almost done making tea. There should be some baked goods on the counter, too, in case you're hungry. Anzu-san made them this morning."
Kenji took his coat off and folded it over his arm, tilting his head while he did so.
"Anzu-san?"
"The woman who lives next door," Amaya replied as she poured two cups of hot tea. "I check up on her before I go to school and after I get home. When I have free time, which is rare, we spend time together. I enjoy talking to her, really. She has an incredible memory."
Nodding, Kenji placed his coat on the back of the sofa and walked over to the kitchen, opening cabinets to look for anything Amaya may need for the tea. He wanted to at least try to be helpful, even if he had a gut feeling that she hated him.
"I assume that's because of your job?"
"The sugar is to your left. And the milk is in the fridge behind you." Amaya looked up. "And...yeah. I have to take on as many bookings as I can manage. Thankfully, I have a lot of good reviews, so I don't have to worry about not having any job opportunities. Though, it can be stressful when I need to work so often in order to pay for my schooling."
Kenji grabbed the milk and sugar and handed them to Amaya.
"Do you work to pay rent, too?"
"No," Amaya shook her head. "Anzu-san pays rent for her apartment and my own. She was a family friend of ours, and while she couldn't take over the cafe, she was able to offer me a place to live. Now, I run her errands and check up on her in exchange for a roof over my head."
"Sounds like you're a busy girl," Kenji mused. "I can't imagine tuition for a private academy being very affordable."
"It isn't." Amaya shook her head before stirring her tea and taking a sip. "Before my parents died and my sister went missing, I'd earned a scholarship thanks to my academic talents. My parents had planned on paying the rest of my tuition that wasn't covered by the scholarship on their own, but that clearly didn't happen. Of course, I got a good chunk of their savings, so I was able to buy my uniform, supplies, and groceries for a while. I didn't have to pay anything tuition-wise at first out of my own pocket, but a year and a half ago I was notified that I needed a lump sum of money to finish out my schooling. As of right now, I'm three payments away from graduation. If I don't make those payments…"
"You won't be able to finish out the year," he finished.
Amaya nodded.
"Right. Plus, it'd be difficult to transfer to another school when I'm so close to graduating. And, I'd need to finish out my current courses in order to get those credits."
"Do you plan on getting into a big university or something?" Kenji raised an eyebrow as he took a tentative drink from his cup of tea, finding it a little bitter. "I don't see a reason in attending Sakarasou otherwise."
Amaya placed her cup down and shook her head.
"Not really. I mean...that was originally my plan. I wanted to get a high-end education, attend a high-end college, and get a high-end job. My goal was to get ahead in life. But…" Her face fell. "With the current situation, I won't be able to do that. There's no way I can pull together enough money to attend another top school. Hell, I'm struggling just to pay for Sakurasou. Besides, even if I somehow had the money to go to college, I can't leave Anzu-san after all she's done for me. And most importantly...I can't give up on finding my sister. There's too much on the line."
She folded her arms tightly, as if to reassure herself, and leaned against the back of the counter. Her eyes were listless and aimed at the floor.
"I'm stuck. Fate decided that I will forever be in this vicious cycle of slaying demons while hoping my sister will turn up someday."
Kenji frowned. His own home situation wasn't ideal, but at the very least, he had his family alive and the freedom to do whatever he desired with his future. Just hearing the hopelessness in Amaya's voice filled him with melancholy.
"That's not a life worth living," he murmured quietly. "Trapped in the same routine of not knowing what's going to happen? While having no one to be there for you?"
Amaya took a long swig of her tea.
"C'est la vie."
Kenji shook his head fiercely.
"No. That sounds miserable! If there's something we can do about it, we should do it." He rolled up his sleeves. "What did you invite me over for? To stand around and mope? No! We're going to teleport all the way to Tokyo if we have to, dammit!"
The boy balled his fists and clenched his teeth, startling Amaya.
"Come on! Let's—"
A tremendous -bang- from the apartment roof startled the two of them. Slowly, Kenji turned to face Amaya, who seemed to be thinking the same thing.
Another demon.
Without warning, Amaya took off across the kitchen and ducked down behind the sofa. Seconds later, she stood back up; this time with a sheathed katana in her hand.
"Kenji!" she yelled suddenly, her face fixed in determination and panic at once. "Can you—"
The front door to the apartment flew off its hinges within a split second. Kenji immediately flinched, expecting a horrific monster, but he instead found a beautiful shrine maiden standing in the doorway.
Amaya froze, seemingly just as confused. Yet, she kept a tight grip on the katana.
The woman stood still, her slitted eyes matching her thin smile as she twirled the parasol that leaned against her shoulder. Kenji couldn't help but admire the intricate flower designs on her traditional kimono.
Finally, Kenji swallowed his fears and spoke.
"Hello, Miss. Is there anything we can—"
All at once, the woman's eyes opened— her eight eyes, to be exact, opening up to form black ovals on her forehead and cheeks. Her smile turned upward and a loud crackle echoed throughout the apartment. The woman writhed for a moment before long tendrils burst out of her back and sides.
Amaya released a loud gasp and dropped the katana, causing it to fall to the floor in a loud clamor.
"Jorōgumo!"