The Oni

Chapter One

"Ack!"

You lose your balance as you try to put on your shoes, barely caught by your furry fox of a boyfriend.

"You okay?" he asks as he holds you. 

His shirt hangs open, his pants unbuttoned, and you can see the heart-shaped boxers you bought him for a Valentine's Day joke underneath. It brings a smile to your face, and you nod.

"Yeah, just... technical difficulties," you say, and he smirks as he helps you sit upright and continues getting dressed. 

You manage to finally slip the back of the offending article over your heel, and check yourself in the mirror. You glance over at Amai as he fiddles with the last button on his shirt. 

"So, I know you've been talking to him for a while, but how did you even find this guy?"

"Oh, it was an app I found on my phone," he says with an embarrassed grin. "I went onto it not really thinking I'd find anybody to talk to, but I really hit it off with this guy almost immediately," he shakes his head slightly. "I never really thought I'd find anybody from my hometown here, a thousand miles away, but he's really cool! I hope you'll like him," he says, fidgeting. 

You can see his tail swishing back and forth in agitation, and step over to him and smooth the fur on his cheeks.

"If you say he's cool, I believe you. I'm sure I'll like him if he has your stamp of approval," you say with a smile, which he returns reluctantly, eyes avoiding your own. 

You firmly (but gently) grip his ears, a trick you'd learned in the years you've been together to catch his wandering thoughts. As it had in the past, it brought him back out of his head and after a moment he looked into your eyes, his nervousness clear.

"But... what if he doesn't like me?" he says, and you jerk slightly in surprise.

"Sweetheart, he's been talking to you for how long, a month? I can tell you that if he didn't like you, he'd not have been talking to you for so long," you say, planting a kiss on his muzzle. "And besides that: you're amazing beyond belief." 

He smiles warmly and pulls you into his arms, sighing happily. You snuggle close to his chest, feeling his tension ease.

"But I can't help but wonder if he'll like me," you say quietly to yourself. 

Amai scoffs, and you realize that once again his fox ears heard something hadn't wanted him to hear.

"Of course he will; I've told him all about you! He's very excited to meet you," he says. "He was the one who suggested meeting up at your favorite park."

"Really? I'd have thought that was all you," you say in surprise. Amai shakes his head energetically, his ears flapping slightly. "Wow," you whisper, and he nods.

"He's really a great person; I'm hoping for the best," Amai says as he smooches the top of your head. "But we better get ready to go; it's almost time." 

You nod and quickly finish getting dressed. Despite Amai's assurances, however, you were still incredibly nervous.

A short while later, the two of you arrive at the place you were meeting Amai's online friend. You'd asked to see a picture of the guy, but Amai had insisted on it being a surprise.

"Let's see if you can pick him out of a crowd," he'd said mischievously, and you'd groaned at his penchant for impromptu games. It was something of his nature, and you understood it as part of his species, but did it have to be so often? And in such a situation, too?

Hang on, you think to yourself. 

He'd never play a game that you didn't have a good chance of winning. Which means that whoever this guy was, he was unique and pretty easy to recognize. Which means that the percent chance of this being a normal person was... absolutely zero.