1-Good Morning, Please Die!

The shop was quiet. It smelled like old paper and dust.

Rinka sat on the floor mat . She is the shopkeep of a antique store , She took a sip of her hot green tea.

Rinka: (Thinking) "Ah... silence. No noise. No idiots. This is nice."

She picked up a heavy, black book.

SQUEAK.

A sound came from the ceiling.

Rinka did not look up. She knew exactly what it was.

High above, holding onto a wooden beam, was Chi-chan. She looked like a cute  girl with tiger ears, but her face was twisted into an evil grin.

Chi-chan: (Whispering) "Heh heh heh... Rinka is drinking tea. Her guard is down! Today is the day!"

Chi-chan’s tail—a green snake named Hebi-o—looked at her with tired eyes. The snake had a tiny candy cigarette in its mouth.

Hebi-o: "Boss, you are going to fall. Your paws are sweaty."

Chi-chan: "Shut up, tail! Watch this! I call this move... SUPER TIGER METEOR CRASH!!"

Chi-chan let go of the beam and started falling straight down, She aimed her tiger paws right at Rinka’s head.

Chi-chan: "DIE, RINKAAAA—!!"

Rinka did not panic. She did not even spill her tea. She calmly picked up her Iron Paper Fan with her left hand.

SNAP.

She opened the fan. It was made of solid steel.

WHACK!

The sound was loud. Chi-chan’s face hit the metal fan. She stopped falling instantly. She slid down the fan and landed face-first on the floor.

Rinka: "Chi-chan."

Chi-chan: (Muffled voice on the floor) "Ugh..."

Rinka: "It is 7:00 AM. Why are you trying to kill me before breakfast?"

Chi-chan: (Jumps up) "Because I am the Great Beast! I am the Nue! I will not be a pet in this dusty shop forever! Give me the Book of Names! If I burn that book, I can finally leave this city!"

Blood was dripping from Chi-chan's nose, but she tried to look cool.

Rinka: "You can leave anytime. You just have to pay your debt."

Chi-chan: "What debt?!"

Rinka: "Yesterday, you broke a vase with your tail. It cost 50,000 yen. The day before, you ate all the expensive snacks. In total... you owe me 2 million yen."

Chi-chan: "That is a lie! That vase was ugly anyway! Come on, fight me properly! Hebi-o, BITE HER!"

Chi-chan grabbed her snake tail and threw it at Rinka.

Hebi-o: "Wait, leave me out of th—"

Rinka grabbed the snake by the neck. She tied the snake into a knot.

Hebi-o: "Gyaaaah! I can’t breathe!"

Chi-chan: "Hebi-o!! You monster!"

Rinka stood up. She was short, but her shadow looked huge and scary. She walked over to a shelf and picked up a collar. It had a cute pink ribbon on it.

Rinka: "It seems you have too much energy this morning. You need to calm down."

Chi-chan: (Scared) "W-Wait... Rinka-sama? Just kidding! Look, I am a good girl! Meow?"

Rinka: "You are a tiger, not a cat. Sit."

CLICK.

Rinka snapped the collar onto Chi-chan’s neck.

Suddenly, Chi-chan fell flat on the floor. Her arms and legs were spread out. She could not move.

Chi-chan: "HEAVY! IT’S SO HEAVY! My bones are cracking!"

Rinka: "That is the Collar of 100 Rocks. It makes you feel very heavy. Since you are on the floor, you can act as a rug. Do not move until lunch."

Chi-chan: "Curse you, Rinka! When Poko wakes up, she will help me! She is rich! She will buy the shop and fire you!"

Rinka: "Poko is still sleeping. I can hear her snoring from here."

[15 Minutes Later]

The smell of burnt bread filled the room.

Rinka was sitting at the small table, eating breakfast. Chi-chan was still lying on the floor next to the table, unable to get up because of the heavy collar.

Rinka looked down. She held a piece of black, burnt toast.

Rinka: "Here. Eat."

Chi-chan: (Crying) "Feed me."

Rinka put the burnt toast into Chi-chan’s mouth. Chi-chan chewed angrily.

Chi-chan: "It tastes like charcoal. Why is it always burnt?"

Rinka: "The toaster is cursed. A fire spirit lives inside it. It gets angry if we use cheap bread."

Chi-chan: "We live in hell."

Rinka: "It’s not hell. It’s Tokyo. Now, be quiet. The morning news is starting."

Chi-chan: "Just you wait... tomorrow... I will use poison..."

Rinka: "Sure. Good luck."