Birds of a Feather | Soul of Yokai AU

Welcome to the Yokai World!

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

When I woke up, I immediately heard the annoying buzzes of my alarm clock. My hand slammed onto the beeping clock, both to shut it up and to vent out my frustration. I'm not much of an early bird and I can get angry with anything or anyone that disturbs my sleep.

I wiped away the sand from my eyes and did a stretch to get rid of the stiffness in my body. I soon got off my bed and soon headed to my bathroom to start my day. I did the usual routine, brushed my teeth, ate breakfast, made the bed then the final step of getting changed.

I looked into my wardrobe and saw the selection of clothing inside the enclosed space. Since it was work, I decided to not choose anything too colourful, just a simple black sundress. I soon decided to put on a butterfly jade necklace that my mother gave to me for one of my birthdays. I honestly liked it and butterflies are one of my favourite animals. And how am I supposed to deny not wearing something sentimental?

I looked at myself in the mirror to ensure I was looking fine. I gazed upon my navy blue hair that was tied up in a fishtail braid. Apparently, my parents named me Nami with the wave kanji because of how my hair was blue like the ocean. Ocean, wave, get it? I'm not sure if it exactly fits though. My hair doesn't look much like the ocean in my opinion. The sea looks much brighter and more aquamarine than my hair. My sister has more vibrant hair than me. It's a pretty sort of blue, like the type you would use to colour the sky in a picture. We do both have the same brown eyes, though. It's a light brown, borderline beige colour. It's sort of the same colour as wood.

I soon stopped looking at myself and put on some ballerina flats, grabbed my purse and walked outside to go to my work.

My job isn't that far to walk to. You don't need to use a bicycle or bus to get on time, at least from where I live. Which is neat, I get to have a nice morning walk every time I go to work and see the beautiful scenery.

Eventually, I arrived at my workplace, a hair salon. I tied my apron around myself. I soon see a coworker come next to me.

"Hi, Nami!" My coworker greeted me.

"Hello there. How are you?" I greeted her back.

"I'm good!" My coworker grinned, "My family is celebrating my cousin's promotion!"

"Oh, cool." I smiled back.

I soon picked up my appointment sheet and scanned the list of names I had.

"How about you?" My coworker asked.

"I don't really have anything interesting going on." I replied.

"Ah, I see." My coworker said.

"I'd love to chat but I gotta get working." I stated.

"Fair point." My coworker waved.

Soon, I went back to my everyday routine as a hairdresser. Trimming, cutting, dyeing people's hair was repetitive sometimes but I often made small talk with the customers. Whether it be about the weather, their family, current events or what have you. On rare occasions, someone would come in very upset or angry and give me a story about how their boyfriend broke up with them or how their friend betrayed them. And admittedly, I like it. I sorta get to be their friend for a while without ever having to fully be it.

And besides, I like working with hair. When I lived with my parents, I used to do up my sister's hair all the time. But now it's short because she never really liked brushing her hair and I'm not there to do it anymore.

As time passed by, the work day was ending and I had to go home. I waved my coworkers goodbye then left the salon. When I looked up at the sky, I saw that the sky had turned dark and the moon was out. I soon started walking home, but however as I was walking, I soon heard a man's voice behind me.