A ghost and an oni walk into a bar.
If Mima had been asked what she thought about that, she would have said it sounded like the beginning of a bad joke. The ghost part was especially bad. She started to think that people called her that just to piss her off.
"That's one." The oni sitting across from her tipped her head back and took a drink from her glass.
"What's one?"
"I'm taking a drink for every time you bitch about people tellin' it like it is."
Mima watched as her oni companion's cheeks flushed red. She swayed in her seat and spilled a bit of alcohol when she set the glass down on the table. She showed every sign of being drunk, yet her speech was perfectly clear. Mima wanted to punch her.
The oni seemed to notice the expression on Mima's face, because she stopped the nearest waiter and said, "Bring some of the strong stuff, Mimarin here's lookin' a little sober." It was interesting to note that the waiter seemed to understand exactly what the 'strong stuff' was.
"Anyone would be sober after what just happened," Mima groaned. She folded her arms across the table and let her head fall onto them. "How's your place?"
"Completely decimated." The oni takes another drink. "That just now wasn't part of the drinking game."
"So you're just going to get so drunk that you'll forget about the whole thing and never have to think about it? Doesn't sound very oni-like to me."
"Nah, that doesn't happen with us. You'll want to be careful, though." She grinned. The oni's grin was something Mima was never going to get used to; it made her seem like a completely different person. "So. How much are you going to bet that the fight was visible from the city?"
"The kid had the goddamn yin-yang orb. If the Palace didn't notice it I'm going to be disappointed," Mima said. This statement was accentuated by the waiter returning and setting a glass of bronze-colored liquid in front of her. The color reminded Mima of something.
"By the way, how's that other girl doing? Didn't you say she got the short end of the stick or something?"
"She fell out of the sky."
Mima gave the oni a look.
"Okay, okay, she had to put up an illusion so nobody would suspect anything. She's kind of a wreck right now, but her shell isn't broken."
This satisfied Mima, so she took a sip of her drink. It burned her throat and left a strong, bitter taste. As she drank, she felt herself growing hot. "The Palace doesn't know, does it?" she wondered aloud.
The oni shook her head. "No, I've been avoiding that place for years. I hate to say it, but I've got too much to hide now."
"Well that's your own fault," Mima said. "Or maybe it's just bad luck."
"Speaking of bad luck, how's Marisa doing?"
Mima glared at the oni. "Shut the fuck up, you're talkin' like she's a curse or something." Mima steamed and took another drink. "She's growin' and learning fast. I figured once she reached the age of greater mobility she'd be out of my hair, but I've only just realized that this is a lifelong commitment I've gotten myself into. Still better company than that shrine maiden, no offense."
The oni stopped the waiter for a refill before throwing in her two cents. "Still better than no company, let me correct you. This is the first time my house has been noisy in years. It's depressing."
"You have a whole city to be noisy in…and three other oni," Mima reminded her. She rested a cheek on her hand, starting to feel the drink get to her.
"And one ghost."
Mima snapped up. "I told you I'm not a—" The oni had already taken another drink. "Dammit."
"It's okay, we still love you," the oni half-sang, and swirled the contents of her glass around idly. "Oh, 'n that's two oni."
There was an awkward silence, although it wasn't really silent because the bar itself was loud to begin with. Mima twirled a lock of hair around her finger. "I forgot," she said after a minute.
The oni watched her fidget. "I wish you'd be that apologetic 'bout other subjects, too. 'Sides, it makes you look cute."
Mima gritted her teeth and downed the rest of her glass. She knew the oni well enough to know that she wasn't trying to hit on her, but she rarely heard comments like that. She could try passing the blush off as an effect of the alcohol, at least…in front of anyone but the oni, who was now chuckling. Why was everyone in the Former Hell so damn perceptive?
When she made this thought known in a slurred, drunken voice, the oni looked thoughtfully at her newly-refilled glass.
"I wonder if I should add that to the drinking game? Take a sip every time Mima complains about something."
"You'd be under the table in minutes."
"Well, that's something, too."
Over the din, the sound of two glasses clinking together could be heard.