Monster
by Autumn Win-Dow
(AoGA House Cup. Words: 524)
She could hear his footsteps against the grass. Unlike yesterday, when he walked across the lawn in his leather shoes, his footsteps sounded much heavier. His now clawed and padded feet squashed the grass as he stepped forward.
Mikan didn't dare look back at him. All she could bring herself to do was listen to his approaching footsteps, which gradually became louder and louder. She made a great effort in keeping her calm, as she breathed in and out of her mouth, and her fingers started to grip the table cloth in front of her, as a possible precaution. She wasn't able to bear looking at what her husband had turned into.
However, she could see his reflection on the spoon in front of her. Her eyes were glued to the image – his red eyes were nowhere to be seen, nor was his smooth human skin and his muscled arms. They were now replaced with the glaring pitch black eyes of a monstrous bear, ready for the ultimate kill. His once smooth skin was replaced with rough strands of black fur, covering his whole body, and his slim arms and legs had now turned into strong, stumpy feet with the power to trample and kill a normal human.
Mikan cringed back at the sight of his menacing claws – sharp enough to slice a person apart with one swing of a leg. Her jaw was set, her lips were pressed together to restrain the sound which was trying to escape, and her stomach was starting to tense and hurt from the self-restraint she placed on her body.
The beast – which was a creature much taller than her – prowled around the lawn as Mikan tightly gripped the edge of the table, still not daring to turn and look him in the eye.
Natsume – now a grizzly monster – looked like he was about to kill an army.
All of a sudden, his head swiftly turned towards her. She froze in her already minimal movements. Mikan felt her whole body tremble at the sight of the beast as he angrily approached, with her in his direct line of view.
From the sudden movement, she could no longer hold it in anymore.
When Mikan finally turned on her heel to face the monster, she burst out in a fit of unstoppable laughter – as she grasped her sore stomach and bent her head. She fell to the ground and rolled on her back at the sight of her husband.
"O-Oh my god, N-Natsume…!" She sputtered as she continued to guffaw with no further restraint. "Y-You look so funny!"
The furious grown she heard from the bear's throat only made her laugh even harder, to the extent which she grabbed a fistful of grass in her hand.
"Shut up, Polka." Natsume growled from within the mascot costume, annoyed by her explosive reaction. "I'm only doing this because of our daughter's damn birthday party. So stop laughing."
Never before had Mikan seen her husband in an animal costume, but when she finally did, she knew it was worth getting him angry.
A/N: ...I doubt that tricked you.
Because of my fondness for surprise endings, I tried to write a comedic one. Probably failed, though. :P