Author's note: Hey readers, I'm soooooooooooo sorry for not updating this. Time has not been on my side. I hope you're all staying safe with the quarantine and corona. I'll try to push out more updates as well. Thanks for sticking with my stories.

The sounds of my chickens woke me up with their loud clicking outside the home. I stood up with a crackle of my back bones and yawned. I looked inside my dusty old closet and pulled out a navy blue buttoned down uniform. If I was heading out into the city, I wanted to look better than wearing a pair of dusty worn out overalls and mud covered boots.

I walked around to the other room in the basement and saw Nadia curled up with a blanket over herself. She reminded me of an ice cream swirl. My cheeks reddened as I smiled and opened the door to head to the market.

I hoped in my decade old pick up truck. It's battery was half dead and the motor was covered with old, but the ol' girl still started up like normal. It was one of my most prized possessions. I hoped inside the vehicle, inserted the key into the ignition, and waited as the engine purred to life. Soon the entire vehicle was up and running. I put my foot on the gas pedal and began to ride down the dirt road. On my seat was a small statue of a cowboy that my mother had given me. She was still around but far far away in another place. Too far for me to visit as I liked.

I rode for around 15 minutes and turned the radio to different stations. From weather, drama, and commercials; a plethora of audio played on each station. I looked out at the houses outside and watched with curiosity as another message began to play.

"Monster Girls? In this country?" The announcer spoke in an enraged voice with a bitter tint on his tongue.

"No way! They'll take our crops and our jobs!" The man's idiotic babbling continue and I turned the radio dial to the left while also clicking the next station. I wasn't going to be bothered in listening to that foolishness.

A year ago, I may have had that same sentiment, but living with Nadia these past few months had changed me for the better. She had made me a more open minded individual and I was proud to have met her. After 30 minutes or so of driving down the road, I got to the local farmers market and set up shop. It took a while bringing in all of the vegetables and milk, but I eventually got most of what I wanted out of the trailer.

Lastly, there was a crate of mason jars filled with pickled plums just too heavy for me to lift. I squatted down and tried to lift with all the strength that my legs would give me to no avail. It was too heavy for my old body to lift.

"Do you need a hand?" I heard a gruff voice say and turned around towards the sound. I found myself looking at the chest of a woman or rather a monster. I looked up and saw that she was a good head taller than me with a gray horn on her head. Her skin was a shade of coral pink and her eyes were a cool shade of mauve. Her appearance was something out of a fairy tail. Her arms were massive compared to my old human ones. I saw her muscles flex and bulge as she looked into my eyes with curiosity.

"Yes mam, I would appreciate it! If you don't mind." I replied with kindness. I moved out of her way and saw her lift the crate with ease. She only had to use one hand to lift it out of the truck and set it down.

"I can help you finish getting everything together. We oni's are a strong race. I'm azure by the way" She said casually as the market was getting ready to open. I wasn't one to deny any assistance. Getting this together would have been a pain by myself as I originally planned. I nodded and put everything together while she pulled out the Jars, Fruits, and Vegetables into crates. She scanned each of the items to make sure they were all in proper condition and placed them in an appealing arrangement. More than I thought to do so myself. Soon enough, we got the stand in pristine condition and I put the small cowboy statue near me for good luck.

Eventually, the customers started coming in and sales were going a lot better than I had anticipated. Some tried to haggle with me, their voices raised to try to intimidate me. I've had my fair share of arguments and fights in the past, but kept my inner peace. One stared me dead in the eye and was about to pull an even bigger stunt but the appearance of the massive oni behind me stopped him in his tracks. She gave him a cold hard stare that dared him to try anything funny and she'd crush his skull like a grape.

It lasted around 8 hours until the afternoon rolled around. Clouds appearing in the sky gave the excuse for some to start to exit. The other sellers began to pack up their stuff as well with a few of them handing the oni some of their jars of fruit as well. I guess she was a staple around here, but I've never seen her before in all my years of coming.

I thanked her for her services in helping me out and offered her a bag of potatoes that I had picked a few days before. She looked surprised as she reached for the potatoes, smiled, and we said our goodbyes. She even had the kindness to help me pack anything that wasn't left over. I tipped my hat to her and drove back home on the open dirt road while letting the cold winds blow at my face. As I unlocked the door, I saw nadia come rushing out the door in a panicked state.

"Farmer!" She cried out and embraced me in a hug. I was shocked that she came running towards me. I was only gone for half of the day. I patted her head with a smile on my face.

"I'm home Nadia. I hope it wasn't too lonely while I was away." I said as I looked at her. She looked up at me with tears almost forming.

"Oh farmer, It was absolutely terrible. I can't handle the silence of being in a house by myself. The pigs as well. They kept bullying me!" She exclaimed as she began to sob a little with a flustered expression. I gestured to her to get back inside the house and get ready for bed. She agreed and got ready to go down into her room.

With a sigh, I got into my night clothes and felt utter bliss as I got inside my bed. It was a feeling unlike no other. It was no more than 5 minutes until I was off into dream land. It was a peaceful, relaxing, and much needed sleep until I was awoken by the sudden sound of Nadia screaming.

"Farmer! Come quick! They have...a giant outside!" I rushed quickly into the kitchen. Nadia wasn't one to tell lies or fibs so it had me worried. I got to the front with my pistol at my side; when a familiar horn welcomed my view.

"Yo." Azure said as she was drenched in sweat from the hot sun outside. In her hand was my cowboy statue that my mother had given me all those years ago, "You forgot something."