Ah, another idea made its way into my mind and refused to leave. I.. I think the rating may be changed to M in future chapters. (It's Demon!Kuroha. He's bound to cause some trouble ;) )

Why did he even follow the instructions, again?

Oh, right. He was bored. Shintaro, the mighty genius, was bored, and so, he decided to just search the web for interesting things to do and somehow stumbled upon ritual instructions, then deciding that he might as well try it because he was bored out of his mind.

Then again, who could blame him?

He was sure that the ritual wouldn't work, after all.

Really, the ritual was quite simple. Just grab some homemade ingredients and write a few words on a piece of paper, then sprinkle the ingredients on the paper before moving away from the now dirty paper. Then, that was where he had to cut his finger and allow a small drip of blood to fall near the paper. Cliché, wasn't it? That was what Shintaro thought, too.

When he had finished reading the instructions, he rolled his eyes. As if this would work. He should have quit then, he should have continued to find activities to do, he should have just took the ritual as a grain of salt, and that should have been the last time he read the instructions, but something inside Shintaro, whether it be stupidity or boredom, made him do it.

Performing the ritual, though, it did give Shintaro the thrill that he yearned for. He would never admit it, but he had a small hope that maybe the ritual was indeed real, and that he was about to get dragged into the abyss or something like that. Or, maybe he would summon a mythical creature. Or, maybe he would have to clean up his room as fast as he could before Momo or his mother barged in. There were lots of 'maybe's, but Shintaro was sure that the last option had a higher chance of happening.

Watching the drop of blood fall seemed like an eternity. Shintaro didn't know what he was anticipating, and he knew that he would look (and feel) like an idiot after this whole ritual bullshit was over.

drip

Standing back, Shintaro glanced nonchalantly at the paper in front of him. Knew it. What was I expecting anyway..? He immediately thought.

That was when the snakes started to appear.

Long scaled black snakes slithered upwards as they appeared from the paper. Twisting around each other, sharp hisses filled the air. "Wh-What the.." An astonished gasp escaped from Shintaro's lips as he took a step back.

The ritual worked. It.. I don't..

He couldn't do anything. The snakes formed what seemed to be a human-like shape. Shintaro took a deep breath as he felt his heart beat against his chest furiously. Features formed on the figure and seconds later, there was nothing left of the snakes.

"It's been quite a long time since I've been summoned." The figure stretched, a smirk on his face. The NEET blinked. Is.. Is that a demon..?

"You look like you've seen a ghost." A small snicker was heard. "Ah, how rude of me," The male began, inching towards Shintaro, his forked tail circling around Shintaro's wrist. "I should introduce myself, after all. You can call me Kuroha. How about you, hm?" Instinctively jerking his wrist away from the demon's tail, Shintaro's eyes narrowed. "…Shintaro." He replied. "Shintaro.. What a fitting name."

"Back to business. So, Shintaro, what did you summon me for? You want someone dead?" Kuroha questioned, arching an eyebrow. Shintaro bit his lip as he carefully considered his next answer.

"I.. I was just bored. I didn't even expect this ritual to work at all." Kuroha chuckled. "Oh, you were simply bored? You and I have something in common, then." Shintaro tensed.

What was this demon's goal?

"Say, Shin, why not do something to get rid of the boredom? Perhaps, make a deal with me? I'm sure that we could.. Help each other." The demon purred, its lips curled into a menacing smile. That certainly didn't help to persuade Shintaro. "Why should I make a deal with you?" Shintaro shot back. He was getting irritated. This demon was obviously playing with him. "Why? Quite simple, really. Both of us are bored, and maybe, we could help relieve each other's boredom. Besides, it's just a small deal." "What's this.. deal, then?"

Another chuckle. "10 days. I get to stay in this realm, with you, for 10 days. Like I said, a small deal." Small deal my ass.

"What information are you hiding..?" An amused expression made its way onto Kuroha's face. "I am hiding no such extra info, Shin. That's the deal." What was up with this demon? They had only met for a few minutes, and already, he's calling him by a nickname.

"…If.. If I make this deal, promise me that you won't harm Momo or my mother." Shintaro mumbled. He was reluctant to show interest, but the deal sounded interesting, and he supposed that having a demon as a 'buddy' was something not everyone experienced. Plus, it could, like what the demon said, make his life more interesting. But he knew that the most important thing that he should do, is to take precautions. There was no doubt that demons were tricky, especially this Kuroha.

"Mhm, sure." The demon replied. "Anything else?" Shintaro thought, hard. Other than his mother and Momo, there was nothing else. It wasn't like he planned to go out, anyway. Then, another thing popped up in his mind. "No killing me."

Kuroha laughed. "Ah, most mortals forget about that, and I end up causing their deaths by accident. Will make sure that my actions won't cause your death, Shin." That's it. Shintaro couldn't think of anything else.

"I take it that there are only these two.. rules. Well then. So, Shintaro, is it a deal, then?" Kuroha was getting excited.

Breathing in deeply, Shintaro glanced at the floor. Should he..? He weighed the pros and cons. If he accepted the deal, there was no telling what would happen during the course of the ten days, but if he rejected the deal, then his life would be filled with the 'colour' that was boredom once again. Wasn't searching for something to do how Shintaro found the ritual instructions, anyway?

"What's your answer, Shin?"

Shintaro raised his head to look at Kuroha. Gulping, he wasn't sure if his decision was going to be right or wrong. Opening his mouth, Shintaro spoke, his voice wavering,

"Deal."