“I know this isn’t exactly what I promised,” Itto tilted his head back against the wall in defeat, causing a dull thud to echo through the cramped space.

“Ow!” He grimaced at the impact, gingerly turning to catch a glimpse of his companion’s profile through the twilight, “Guess it’s just my luck, huh?”

What was supposed to be a fun day out has turned into…well, this. He’d even gone through the effort of planning everything out too!

They’d barely made it through the first point in his carefully crafted itinerary, before a few of the village locals had taken it upon themselves to frighten the ‘dangerous oni’ off their land. It’s like he’s the villain in a children’s tale and they’re the mighty heroes sworn to vanquish him.

He…didn’t like this game very much.

The evening was supposed to consist of searching for shiny new onikabuto buddies, not being cramped in a wooden shed together.

“Hey, I’m really sorry about all of this.” Even if he won’t voice it outright, it’s obvious what the young boy wanted to say instead:

’This is so-so-so embarrassing, did they have to throw beans today? Gah! This sucks.’

“Next lunch’ll be on me,” He declared in a hushed whisper, trying to avoid jostling his friend, as he lifted his arm and crossed his heart with an index finger, “Oni’s promise!”