Miira no Kaikata

Look at the time...

It's rough having work after club stuff.

Listen, you can follow me all you want,

but I don't have anything to give you.

#04 You Can't Play Tag by Yourself, and It's Fun to Play With Others

An oni child.

When he grows up...

I told you not to follow me.

I have no interest in your kind.

Go to Kashiwagi's place if you're cold.

The house with the red roof.

Understand?

The people who live there are kind, even to oni.

Ask the gentleman there, and he'll give you something to eat.

Go there.

Got it?

Good boy.

Thank goodness.

I'll apologize to Kashiwagi later.

I'm home.

You're late!

Do you know what time it is?

Welcome home.

I had work today.

Were you waiting for me again?

N-Not really.

It's not like I was worried about you or anything.

Fine, fine.

It's cold. Go to the living room.

You, too, Onii-chan.

You'd better go take a bath and warm up.

Yeah.

What's wrong, Onii-chan?

He beat me home.

I told you to go to Kashiwagi's place.

Why are you here?

You can keep staring, but I'm not letting you in.

Go elsewhere.

Onii-chan, can you teach me something?

I need help with my homework.

What do you need help with?

Math.

It's easy once you learn the formula.

Try it.

Okay.

Only for tonight, got it?

Here.

Tissues.

What do child oni eat?

Do they eat the same things as humans?

Beans... might not be a good idea.

Come on, no one said you could use my bed.

I don't mind you getting in bed, but not immediately.

You need to take a bath first.

You're all dirty.

I've never seen an oni as dumb as you.

You nearly got yourself burned.

Hey, I'll squish you if you sleep too close. Stay away.

Oh, well.

It's just one night.

Don't come back.

It's lunch time, Mii-kun.

Sora-chan.

Motegi-san.

You can have this.

I baked you cookies in return for the stuffed toy you made me.

Wow, thanks.

Is it a snowman?

Nope.

It's a mummy.

Sorry.

Later.

Tazuki, let's go get lunch.

Y-Yeah.

Hey, want to see that crazy photo I was talking about?

I don't really care, but...

Don't you want to see it?

Here, I'll show you.

Ta-da.

I saw this weird creature in my back yard.

Huh... You're good at Photoshopping.

No, it's real!

Oh, come on.

Huh, an oni child followed you home?

Yeah.

I told him to go to your place, but he followed me home.

It's such a nuisance.

Why would you just go ahead and introduce me to him?

He must have been kicked out at the last Setsubun festival.

Why don't you let him stay?

Don't be crazy. Are you serious?

Why are you so against it?

Do you hate oni?

And I hate that derpy face.

Really?

That derpy face lets him get away with anything.

He's been giving me nothing but a headache.

Oh. So he does love him.

Okay, you should just keep him.

Dude, you interpreted what I just said in a really positive light, didn't you?

I let him loose in the yard this morning.

He should be gone by now.

I see.

Oh, yeah, want some cookies?

Motegi-san baked them for me.

Snowmen?

Mii-kun.

Wow.

Time to eat.

One more night, and that's it. All right?

Who said you could eat that?

Later.

Onii-chan, have you seen my snacks?

They've been vanishing lately.

An oni child?!

Sorry, he helped himself to it.

Well, all right.

Hey, Onii-chan?

Yeah?

That oni child's been here for a while now.

Aren't you going to give him a name?

You're keeping him, aren't you?

It'd be cruel not to.

Wait, is this...

So you decided to keep him, huh?

No, he's just made himself a home at my place.

Is he always at home?

He's out during the day, but he comes back at night.

He totally thinks it's his home now.

It's not funny.

You should bring him over sometime.

He can play with Mii-kun.

Hey, Mii-kun, you have to stay inside.

Stop, I'm trying to study.

Damn it, you have such a derpy face.

It's been a week since he came here.

The Setsubun festival was two weeks ago.

He must have been kicked out at the last Setsubun festival.

That's what Kashiwagi said...

But would he really get that dirty in a week?

And all the scars on his body...

Nothing but bad memories come to mind.

It was in preschool that I first learned of their existence.

Kashiwagi was always by himself, so I said hi.

And there was something at his feet.

The more I hung out with Kashiwagi, the more I learned about that creature.

At first, I'd only encountered them when I was with Kashiwagi.

They spread by word-of-mouth.

Word-of-mouth?

You know how those kids stay hidden from humans?

They share information about the humans that they know,

and they show up to just those humans when they need help.

That's what Dad told me.

That must be why I started seeing those creatures more often,

even when I wasn't around Kashiwagi.

A dragon.

It's hurt.

I have to tend its wounds.

Come to think of it now,

I should have known more about those creatures' circumstances.

Listen, I haven't approved of you living here.