I stare at the unconscious man lying in the dirt as I make my way to the oni girl. Taking the seat beside her, I ask, "So... do you know him?"

She pats me on the back a couple times, winding me just a little bit. The girl laughs before answering, "Yeah, that's one of my disciples. I gotta knock him out whenever he transforms, so he's kinda a pain in my ass if I'm being honest." With a grin, she continues, "I'm Willamina by the way."

I hesitantly extend my hand to her as I say, "Ah, nice to meet you. I'm Zenon." Please don't crush my hand please don't crush my hand.

Willamina shakes my hand with a firm grip and turns it over when she sees my symbol on the back of it. She laughs amicably, "Did you just learn about the shapes?"

It almost stings more because she sounds nice. I attempt to break free of her grip but her hold doesn't budge at all so I just sigh. Scratching the back of my head with my free hand, I reply, "I guess so. I feel I should have more shapes but I don't."

She nods, "Takes more than just building muscle to gain triangles ya know." Willamina pauses for a bit then a glint appears in her eye as she leans closer to me, "Hey if you can house us for a bit, then maybe I can teach you a thing or two!"

Not really sure I want a teacher that knocks out her disciples... I think I can wait a couple more years, "No it’s okay, I’m good.”

She smiles, finally letting go of my hand, "Good choice kid." Did - did she not hear what I said? Willamina then stands up and grabs her disciple, slinging him over her shoulder, "Okay, where to?" I guess she’s not gonna take no for an answer... Faking a smile, I lead her back to my farm.

We walk past my fields as I open the door to my small cabin, consisting of a bed, kitchen, and living room. I open my closet and tug on my futons for a second before looking back at my two guests. I paid a lot for these... Instead, I grab some old, dirty blankets and plop them down beside the couch, “Make yourself at home. Need me to run you a hot bath as well, master?”

"Mina's fine, don't care much for formalities. I’ll take that bath though. Thanks!" Does she not understand sarcasm? Ugh I can’t risk upsetting her. This ogre. A part of me dies inside as I crank the heater on and fill the bath. My precious hot water...

Laying down on the sofa like she owns the place, Willamina asks, "How long you been living by yourself?"

"About 5 years now I think? Settled in when I was around 13. My parents were nomadic and I just got tired of moving around I guess."

"I can respect that. Mind grabbing me a glass of water?" I pour a glass of tap water and hand it to her subserviently. Wait fuck what am I doing. She thanks me and immediately splashes it onto the beastkin's face.

The man jolts awake and swings his arms around until he sees Willamina. He scans his surroundings and makes eye contact with me, “Is this our new host?” He tries to stifle a laugh but starts cackling for some reason and wipes a tear from his eye.

She gives him a chop on the head before answering, "Yeah, we'll be in this kid's care for a while. His name’s Zenon, play nice."

He wraps his arm around me and flashes me a smug grin, “Name’s Hao, thanks for taking us in.”

All I can do is nervously laugh. Did I just take in a couple of criminals?

Honestly, the next couple days aren't as bad as I was expecting. Hao helped with the farmwork while Willamina taught me some basic stances. Something’s fishy about the help, but I’ll accept it for now.

"Lesson 1: Run.” She looks serious, “Until you get stronger, survival’s your number one priority kid.” I don’t even waste a second and start running like my life depends on it. Willamina gives an approving nod before catching me and tossing me to the ground.

This continues a couple more times before I'm down for good. Willamina gives me a smile, "You're getting the hang of it. Maybe in a week you’ll make me break a sweat." She then walks off into the forest muttering something about adding more protein to my diet.

Hao, who has been watching the whole time, picks me up. There’s a nasty look on his face when he says, “How bout some supplementary training?” Please no.

He starts wailing on me, almost like he’s overjoyed to have someone lower than him on the pecking order. I’m crawling by the time I get back to the cabin.

Willamina and Hao are both at the dinner table eating their fill of some boar meat. With her mouth full, Willamina calls me over, “Eat up Zenon, trainings useless if not paired with meat!” I take a seat at the table and she hands me the head of the animal.

I cringe at first, but I’m so hungry that I scarf it down without complaint. Hao just stares at me incredulously, the confusion on his face morphing to disgust, “You’re sick.” I shrug and add some more meat to my plate.

I haven’t eaten dinner with others in so long that I actually start enjoying their company for a bit. After our meal, we split the chores: Willamina cleaned the table, Hao took out the trash, and I was on dish duty. 

The beastkin was first to fall asleep, a grin plastered on his face. He looked very content with his hands laid over his tummy. Willamina, on the other hand, was cocooned in her blanket on the couch. 

I knew she was still awake since I couldn't hear any of her loud snoring. Unable to sleep myself, I ask, “So, when do you guy’s plan on leaving?”

There's a long wait before I get my answer, “Once you get a couple shapes added to your symbol, that was the deal after all.”

I was stunned, "But that could take years!"

The oni yawns, "That's all on you... Goodnight Zenon."

Someone. Anyone. Send help.