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

Chapter 7: And then there were four...

The walk from the gym to the lab Ame worked at was silent. Suki followed Ame while he checked in and informed his co-workers of his new location that would allow him to work more and longer hours on their project. They all thanked Suki for his help, even though he didn't think he was contributing at all aside from keeping a place Ame could live at. After turning down a few offers to join them for lunch, they both decided to find Miki and head home. They looked around the gym, but upon inquiring one of the other trainers, found that she had already headed home. Suki sighed while Ame gave him a sympathetic look. 

"I'm sure she'll forgive you. You can't have offended her that badly with an offhand comment like that." Ame tried to comfort him as they waited for the bus, but Suki's anxiety was making him feel sick. As soon as they arrived home he rushed up the street to find Miki lurking outside. 

"Miki! I'm so sor-" Suki rushed up to her, but she quickly slapped a hand over his mouth.

"Shhhhh, they'll hear you!!" She hissed slowly releasing her grip on his jaw.

"I didn't mean to offend you...Who's they??" Tatsuki whispered in confusion.

"When did you offend me?" Miki matched his confusion with her own as Ame joined them.

"When I asked about your abilities, I was just curious..."

"Ugh, no you didn't...I mean I...See the thing is, I," she stiffened and suddenly took off around the corner, heading to the backyard.

"Hang on, Mi-"

"Sukiiiii!" Saketo appeared at the front door looking about as agitated as Mikito, "Why didn't you answer any of my calls?"

"Calls?" Tatsuki pulled out his phone and discovered he had seven missed calls, all from Saketo. "Oh...I had it on silent. Sorry," he cowered embarrassed at his incompetence.

"Don't apologize to me," Sake gestured for them to head inside. Ame and Suki followed him to find two strangers sitting in the living room. "These are your new home stays, Catrin and Hiyaki." Saketo gestured in turn to a female Minotaur and a centaur lady. The bovine liminial had chocolate skin and eyes and short black hair pulled into tiny ponytails with tan horned poking out above her fuzzy cow ears. She had white markings on her cheeks, ears, and tail and had an overall small appearance for a Minotaur, but her cold stare made him shift his eyes away from her. The centaur was pale with fiery red hair and freckles scattered over her face and a grey body and ears. She had a much kinder appearance, but the main thing that they had in common was how large their breasts were. Suki couldn't even think of a cup size to label them with and he noticed Ame was blushing behind him. 

"S-sorry I couldn't be here for your arrival." He bowed to them, "my name is Tatsuki, I hope you enjoy your stay here. This is my first time meeting a Minotaur and centaur." Catrin huffed a little before standing up and heading down the hall. Hiyaki however stood and straightened her pleated skirt over her horse half and walked over to shake his hand. 

"Please to meet you, you'll have to forgive my friend. We've had it a bit rough when it comes to hosts, so she'll be stand offish for a while." She pursed her lips in the direction Catrin wandered off. "Also, she's a Holstaurus."

"Ah, sorry about that...I'll give you your space then. I've already figured out my morning schedule for getting Ame and Miki to work. Do you and Catrin work nearby as well?" Despite Hiyaki's busty appearance, Suki found it easy to hold eye contact with her. Mostly because having Saketo so close was a bit distracting, but also because boobs weren't really his thing. As if sensing this, Hiyaki seemed to relax. 

"We're both dairy breeds, so we'll be working from here." These words took a moment to process in his brain.

"Oh...Oh!" At this point his face had turned red as he was not sure how to respond to this information. Luckily, he was able to find his verbal footing before the silence stretched too long. "Well that makes my mornings pretty easy then. I can travel with Ame and Miki to their jobs, maybe get some shopping done if necessary, spend the day here doing any paperwork or handling any deliveries you might need assistance with, and pick them up from work in the evening." He smiled as everything seem to settle into place and Hiyaki gave him a confident grin.

"Yes, I think this place will do nicely." She turned to Ame, "Pleasure to meet a dragonewt, you seemed to have handled leaving your troop better than most."

"How did you know?" Ame blinked in shock as the centaur approached to shake his hand as well.

"I've been paying great attention to the news both public and forums online. I've read about the trouble some liminals have integrating into Japanese society, but also those who are being deprived of it." Hiyaki held his hands between both of hers making him involuntarily blush. "The scales on your tail are subtly different from those on your hands and feet and I've only heard of dragonewt societies mutilating those who wish to leave. If you ever need someone to console in, I am here for you." 

"You're very kind," Ame's skin almost matched his scales, but he managed to keep his voice cool. "I extend the same offer to you and your friend, if needed." They were both blushing now making Tatsuki unsure of where to look. Saketo quickly cleared his throat and the moment ended.

"I should go check on Catrin. Thank you again, Ame," Hiyaki turned to leave, but paused to ask one more question. "Where is this 'Miki' you mentioned earlier?"

"Oh, she's about," Suki quickly answered. "I think she was checking out the backyard." She nodded politely and informed them she looked forward to meeting her before taking her leave. Magically, Miki chose this moment to reappear. 

"So, what's for dinner?" She seemed calm, but her eyes were trained on the direction their two new house mates left in.

"It's only one o'clock..." Saketo noted, checking his phone. "Are you alright?" 

"Pffsshhh, me? Of course, I'm always fine!" Miki forced a laugh making the others exchange looks of concern. "Well, I'm kinda tired, I'm gonna go hit the sack for a bit." Charging upstairs, she called down, "Let me know when the food's ready!" They heard her door shut behind them and the house became silent.

"Well, that was weird," Ame scratched his chin, stating the obvious.

"I'm sure she has her reasons, but you might want to try and talk to her about it. I'd hate to have to move anyone around again..." He straightened his suit and faced Tatsuki. "I'm sorry again for springing these two on you, but it was kind of a short notice thing and I'm confident you'll be able to handle them better than the others. I'll buy you all dinner some time to make up for it." His smile alone could have made Suki forgive him in a second, but a free dinner sounded good, too. 

"I'd love to have dinner with you...and use it as a chance to get to know everyone better, especially since we'll all be living together." He noticed Ame give him a weird look out of the corner of his eye, but managed to keep his focus on Saketo. It was almost impossible to look away from him.

"It's a date! Uh, on the calendar...we'll figure out the exact date later, I mean." Saketo blushed and quickly headed for the door. "I'll talk to you both later, bye!" 

"Cringe," Ame joked as he headed to the fridge. "I'm gonna whip up a few salads and some turkey sandwiches for lunch, you go talk to Miki." 

"You're gonna leave all the awkward stuff to me, aren't you..." Suki mumbled, but he headed to the stairs anyway. He found his way to her room on the fourth floor, across from Ame's, and knocked softly on it. "Mikichi? It's me, do you mind if I come in?" The silence stretched on a few moments before he heard a soft reply and entered. The room was plain and empty with a few personal trinkets strewed about the room. Some weights and a yoga mat in one corner and small beanbag chair in another. Miki was lying on her bed with her eyes trained on the ceiling. "Is...is everything okay?"

"Come have a seat, Tatsuki. There are some things I should probably tell you."