Everyday Life with Monster Tenants (Monster Musume no Iru Nichijou fanfic)

Chapter 2: That's no monster girl...

Tatsuki woke up the following morning and roamed the huge 'apartment building.' He'd lived in dorms and apartments before, but this was too lavished and expensively decorated to fall under such a mundane category. There were four floors with three gigantic rooms on each level, each seemed to have been designed for a different extra species type. All the floors had a large restroom, but the first floor held all the baths. Each bath was huge to fit large or many extra species, the exception being a smaller one in the corner. They had each label for cold-blooded, warm-blooded, and those who couldn't stand large volumes of water. Along the opposite wall were shower heads and mirrors at different heights along with normal bathroom supplies.

"What have I gotten myself into..." He mumbled to himself as he slid the door shut and headed for the kitchen. It was a little more his size, except for the cupboards and fridge which were built to fit an exorbitant amount of food. Was he expected to cook for the tenants? Not that he was a bad chef, but he was used to scraping something together for himself, not a group of extra species. The refrigerator was stocked for a few people, so he decided he'd try making some eggs. The pans were hung above the counter giving it a professional appearance, but putting them just out of 5'5" Tatsuki's reach. He gritted his teeth in frustration when he spotted a step ladder resting against one of the shelves. A small sticky note placed on it read 'Just in case you need it~ Saketo ♡' Tatsuki blushed and crumpled the note before shoving it in his pajama pants. Saketo's handwriting was lavished and Tatsuki found the heart unnecessary. Though he didn't want to, he found the ladder very helpful in obtaining everything he needed to make himself breakfast. He'd just finished cleaning up and was sitting down to eat when a knock came from the door.

"Hopefully that's just Saketo..." he mumbled to himself as he headed over. It would be very unprofessional of him to greet a new tenant in his pajamas. Right before he could reach the door handle, it flew open. A tall lizard man glared down at him and flicked his forked tongue. He had to be 6 feet tall, at least, with red scales decorating his face, buff arms, legs, and tail. His long dark hair hung around his red pointy ears and was tied to hang over his right shoulder, resting on his chest.

"Tssssk, a puny landlord indeed, but the eggs will make up for that." He brushed past Tatsuki and started eating his breakfast.

"Th-thank you for staying here. I hope you enjoy the eggs." Tatsuki tried to stay polite despite the fact he hadn't eaten since lunch the day before. The extra species made a grunting noise, his mouth still full.

"That's Ame," Saketo stepped inside with a slightly apologetic look carrying Ame's luggage. "He's a dr-" Ame looked up suddenly and glared Saketo down. "A drag, at times," he finished, frowning slightly before turning back to Tatsuki. "But he'll calm down once he gets used to you." He slung one bag over his shoulder and lugged the rest of Ame's stuff behind him. "You'll be on the fourth floor on the side with the most sun. I'll put a name tag on your door."

"Can I help you with that?" Tatsuki hurried up to Saketo, not wanting to be left alone with his new irritated tenant.

"I got it, but thanks," Saketo gave him a dazzling smile before heading up the steps. Tatsuki slowly turned to Ame, who had quickly finished the eggs and seemed to be sniffing around more.

"Can I get you anything else?" He asked nervously. Ame licked his lips and looked him up and down.

"Just point me to the ingredients you used, I can make it myself. You used too much salt and I prefer mine a bit runny. Then you can turn up the heater, put some clothes on, and introduce yourself to me properly." He glanced around and easily took a pan off the rack Tatsuki had been unable to reach.

"Of course!" He showed him everything he used before heading off to get dressed. He quickly put on some jeans and a white button up, leaving the top two buttons undone for a relaxed appearance. "Hmmm..." He glanced around for the thermostat, but it wasn't in his room. Tatsuki wandered down the hall and managed to find it near the kitchen. He was grateful he didn't have to search for it. Having Ame further question his qualification wasn't on his list of thing he wanted. It was a bit cool in the house so he turned it up five degrees and found Ame sitting at the table enjoying his eggs.

"You're back," he noted before showing another fork full of slightly dripping yolk in his mouth.

"I'm sorry for greeting you as I did earlier." Tatsuki bowed before continuing, "My name is Tatsuki Lobo Hayakawa. I will do my best to be a good host to you." Ame seemed to nod in approval.

"Pleasure, but that is an interesting middle name you have..."

"My mother gave it to me," Tatsuki smiled, "you may call my Suki, if you like."

"Alright, Sssuki," Ame's tongue flicked out and licked his plate. "There's some eggs still on the stove, if you want them. I'm going to check out my room."

"R-right! Thank you!" Tatsuki bowed again, surprised by his sudden kindness, as Ame rose and left. He wasn't used to eggs being so uncooked, but felt it would be insulting to tamper with Ame's cooking, so he tried some. Since the pan was still hot, the eggs were warm and creamy letting the flavor spread across his tongue. He gripped the counter top and closed his eyes so he could focus on enjoying the taste. He was grateful the Ame had eaten his eggs, there was no way they could have been as good as these.

"You alright?" Saketo's voice caught Tatsuki by surprise and he barely managed to swallow the eggs without choking.

"Y-yeah, just trying some of Ame's eggs." He turned around to face him, his cheeks slightly red. "They're really good."

"Glad to hear it," Ame appeared appeared few feet behind Saketo. The heater had been on for a bit and the place was already feeling cozy. "I'll be fine here, Saketo. There's no reason for you to stay." Saketo seemed a little disappointed, but nodded.

"Alright, but I'll be around if you need me." He paused as he headed to the front door and turned to Tatsuki. "I will contact you if there are any other extra species that want to live here. You can also call me if this lizard gives you any trouble." He said teasingly as he offered Tatsuki his card again.

"Suki and I will be fine, but thanksss." Ame snatched the card before Tatsuki could even reach for it which caught Saketo off guard.

"You get to call him by a nickname already?" Saketo pursed his lips, shoved on his aviator shades, and marched out without another word.

"What the heck was that about?" Tatsuki wondered aloud as Ame examined the business card.

"Don't worry about it," Ame flicked his tongue before using a small magnet to hang the card from the fridge. "I know it's a bit early, but I had a long flight, so I'd like to take a nap. Would you mind drawing a bath for me while I unpack some clothes? I hate climbing into bed dirty."

"Of course!" Tatsuki started to head for the baths when Ame stopped him.

"You're more than welcome to join me, if you like." He gave a kind, almost cocky, smile before ascending the stairs to get a change of clothes, his long scaly tail dragging behind him. Tatsuki blushed, Saketo was right about this being kind of like Monster Musume no Iru Nichijou, he was just wrong about the sex of the extra species it would be happening with.

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Another chapter done! Once again, the base for the art of Ame Draco was done by cherrycupcakepixels (you can check them out on Deviantart) and the art was done by me (KittyFox/Dri G.)

Hope you enjoyed this chapter and look forward to the next one!