I Wish To Feast!

"This is the third time this week, and twenty-seventh time this month, Aoki-san! Tanaka-san might be lenient when it comes to your tardiness, but I'm in charge today, and I won't let it slide! I hope you're prepared to take on Anna-san's workload, because she's starting maternity leave today."
My manager, a woman in her late thirties named Sara-san, pointed her finger in my face.

I could feel my cheeks heating up as my fellow co-workers stared at me. I bowed my head, my voice coming in small trembles.
"I understand! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

"And you reek of cat! Don't tell me, you adopted a kitten? A klutzy airhead like you is going to kill it in a week!"
Sara-san huffed, crossing her arms as I took my seat at my desk.

Here, in this boring office, I was forced to serve as a cog in a machine. I was an insurance broker, yet my own insurance was hardly taken into account. The office gossip was that I was a twenty-three-year-old virgin with a strange hobby, which was true, but it hurt to hear nonetheless. I served my duty as a light-hearted, social butterfly with a knack for making customers giddy when they heard my sweet voice. A pawn with a cheerful tone that makes the company millions. So why is it that I can barely afford rent in a single room apartment?

I was used to skipping my lunch to make up for the hours I lost in the morning, so I stayed put at my desk while multitasking two people's jobs, the rumbling of my stomach echoing in my cubicle. The phone rang, and I answered.

"This is Tanaka Brokers; my name is Aoki. How may I assist you today?"
My saleswoman voice slipped through again.

"Aoki-san, I'm with Tokyo Construction. It seems I'm having problems with-"
Another voice entered my mind.
"Nya. Mamimi, where do you keep the bread and jam? I crave more!"

Now being overwhelmed by two voices, my head was spinning as I tried to talk to my client. Kissuragi's timing regarding long-distance telepathy was almost comedic.

"Ah, can you please repeat yourself?"
I spoke into the phone.

"Sure. My employees are having-"
"Mamimi?! Meow! I'm hungry!"

"Would you keep it down already?!"
I shouted into the phone, instead of in my mind.

"Excuse me?!"
The man on the other line began to holler.

"N-no! Not you, sir, it's my cat! I mean, it's my roommate!"
My voice began to tremble. I was starting to sound like I had lost my mind.

"A cat?! What are you even talking about?! My employees didn't receive their-"
"Mamimi?! Why are you ignoring me?! Meow! Meow!"

"Kissuragi-sama! Please refrain from bothering me at work!"
I screamed at her via telepathy.

"Nya?! I demand bread and jam! The sweet strawberry flavor left a lasting impact on my taste buds!"

"Hello? Aoki-san? Aoki-san?!"
The man on the phone grew impatient.

"Aoki-san, can you please hurry up and reply to the email I forwarded to you already?"
My manager, Sara-san, interrupted from outside my cubicle.

"Aoki-san?!"
"Mamimi?!"
"Aoki-san?!"

"Would you all shut the hell up?!"
I shouted as loud as I could muster, both aloud and inside my head.

The room grew silent. Tokyo Construction hung up the phone, and Sara-san had her mouth agape in disbelief. Kissuragi-sama meowed softly.

I stood up from my desk, gently pushing past the frozen Sara-san while muttering,
"I need some air."

Sara-san grabbed my wrist, preventing me from continuing forward.
"You need air? Oh, I'll give you plenty of air. Pack up your things, Aoki-san; you're fired."

Upon hearing the words, "You're fired," most normal people would feel an obligation to bitch and moan about how much they want to keep their job. I, on the other hand, felt a duty to give Sara-san a piece of my mind. I had sucked up to her, practically licking her toes and bending over backward just to keep this sad excuse for a job. I had been ridiculed, taunted, and given impossible deadlines, all for a paycheck that could hardly be considered enough to live on.

"You wicked hag!"
I turned around, yanking my wrist free from her grasp.
"Go ahead and fire me! Find some other suck-up to do every department's work for you! I'm done being your pawn! You think you're all that because you're in management?! I've seen better managers than you at a convenience store! Oh, and I know it was you spreading those rumors about my hobbies! Why does it matter that I practice witchcraft?! Maybe I should cast a spell of infertility on you, given that you've been unable to conceive with your ugly husband for the past five years!"

Absolute silence.

The conversation between Sara-san and me turned into an all out brawl; though in this case, it was verbal. The entire office crowded around us, listening and gasping at my harsh words. While I did feel a tiny speck of guilt for calling out her husband, I quickly suppressed it when I remembered what she had said behind my back about being an otaku virgin.

"Holy crap..."
A voice muttered from behind me.

"Aoki-san is ridiculing Sara-san..."
Another voice chimed in.

"I always knew she was a witch... Now I can see she's a bitch, too."
One final comment.

Without so much as looking at her, I bumped my shoulder against Sara-san's, grabbed my few belongings from my desk, and stormed out of the office, never to return.

* * *

"Nya-ha-ha! Meow-ha-ha! Oh, that's quite the violent outburst, Mamimi! Nya-ha-ha!"
Kissuragi could hardly contain her laughter, clutching her stomach as she howled in delight at the story I had just told her.

"Shut up already, will you? I seriously just got fired and called out my manager."
I grumbled, holding my head in my palms from a combination of stress and embarrassment.

Kissuragi wiped tears of laughter from her adorable yellow eyes, swishing her tail as she got closer.
"Still, I'm kind of proud of you. I think standing up for yourself is admirable."

"Usually, calling someone out on their inability to conceive isn't considered standing up for yourself. Though, I don't regret the other stuff I said."
A small smile tugged at the corners of my lips.

"Nya, indeed. Now, where is your bread and jam? I wish to feast!"
Kissuragi plopped herself down on my bed, eagerly awaiting her much needed snack.

"Bread and jam... Ah... Ah!"
My eyes widened, and I quickly rushed over to my cellphone to check my remaining bank balance. My final check had already been deposited into my account, and the amount was nothing short of pathetic.
"No way! This is all I have to live on until I find a new job?! But... Osaka!"

"Nya, what's the matter, Mamimi? What about Osaka?"
Kissuragi tilted her head, unaware of how crucial it was for me to have a job in these modern times.

"Without money, we won't be able to go to Osaka. I'm seriously going to need a lucky miracle in order to find another job fast!"
I hung my head low, watching as Kissuragi perched curiously by my side.

"Meow? A lucky miracle? That's no problem. Let's go visit my elder sister."
Kissuragi casually licked her palm to groom herself.

"Your... big sister?"
Suddenly, the pieces came together. Kissuragi is a Nekomata, which means she's related to other various feline yokai, such as Bakeneko and Maneki-Neko. Everyone knows that Maneki-Neko brings good luck and prosperity.
"Kissuragi-sama, are you referring to Maneki-Neko?! The yokai?!"

"Nya, indeed. Though, she too, has a name. Let us depart to the demon realm together, Mamimi."
Kissuragi leapt off my bed, waving her hands in some absurd gesture as a portal opened beneath her. Bright, fiery sparks emitted from the portal's growing surface, and Kissuragi took my hand in hers.

"What's your sister's name?"

"Nya. She is known as Fukuragi."
Kissuragi jumped into the portal, dragging me along with her.

Nothing shocked me anymore at this point, as we were falling from hundreds of feet in the air into a dreadful, gloomy realm teeming with demons. Having been exposed to real magic and yokai for a whole day, I could only gaze upon the fallen realm with wonder and awe. When we landed on the surface, an ambush was inevitable.