Day 1: Back Again

Day 001: Back Again

Ryan groaned as the alarm awoke him. He sat up in his T-shirt and boxers. He grabbed his phone, turning off the alarm and checking the date. He smiled. It worked. He turned on his magic with a thought, snapping his fingers. Instantly, he was in a black hoodie and black sweatpants. He turned off his magic before pocketing his phone. "Man, I can't get over how convenient this is."

"Hello?" Nux's voice rang in Ryan's head. "Testing, testing, one two three."

'Nux?' Ryan thought.

"Yeah, it's me," Nux said. "I won't be around as often as Edhas was, but I'll be able to communicate with you using telepathy."

'Sounds good,' Ryan said. 'What are you going to do now?'

"There are a couple of things I need to do before I settle down in this dimension," Nux said. "I'll be able to visit in person tomorrow. Your chicken wings are really good, by the way."

'Alright,' Ryan said. 'Don't fuck things up too badly, okay?'

"No promises," Nux said, chuckling before his voice abruptly cut off.

"Whatever," Ryan muttered to himself. "Let's get to work."

-

Kiara jumped out of bed excitedly. Today was the first day of her new KFP. She was excited to experience the manager life for her own. She's been to Roberu's bar a couple times, and if her KFP was going to be anywhere near as chaotic as that place was, she was going to have a great time. She smiled brightly as she picked up her phone. She already made everyone aware of the reunion she had planned, but she wanted to call a particular person, just to make sure she was showing up.

-

Calli groaned as the phone started to ring. She just finished a long stream after a tiring day at scythe swinging classes. With Grimm no longer around, she had to take on all of his responsibilities. He hated him for leaving her like this, but she hated him mostly for dumping all of his responsibilities to her when he died. She looked at her phone, almost hanging up when the stupid bird's face showed itself. However, something urged her to accept the call.

"What the f-word do you want, Kusotori?" She growled.

"Ah, Calli! You're as lovely as always!" Kiara cheered, not offput by Calli's aggressive tone in the slightest. "I just wanted to remind you that the HoloEN reunion was today!"

"Oh crap! I completely forgot about that!" Calli shot up from her bed.

"Even better, I'm hiring someone new to run the place with me!" Kiara cheered.

"They better not flirt with you, or it's off with their head," Calli growled.

"Calli," Kiara sounded shocked. "Does this mean you love me?!"

"N-no!" Calli's face turned beet red. "I-I'll see you!"

Calli hung up the phone before slamming her face with a pillow. "What am I doing…?"

-

Amelia woke up to her phone buzzing. She looked to her left to see Gura soundly asleep. She sighed as she softly pried Gura from her. "Shark…" Gura mumbled in her sleep.

"How are you so cute?" Amelia muttered to herself as she looked at her phone. Much to her surprise, it was her old boss, Jack Dragonson that was calling her. She sighed as she got out of bed, walking out to the hallway as to not wake up Gura.

"What's up?" Amelia asked as she accepted the call.

"Amelia Watson," Amelia stiffened as Jack spoke. He almost never used her full name. The only time he did was when he was extremely pissed off. "Did you travel back in time?"

"N-no!" Amelia said instantly. "You said to only use it during emergencies, right? There hasn't been a reason for me to use it at all!"

"I believe you," Jack said. Amelia sighed in relief. "But that means someone else has gained the ability to travel through time."

-

Speaking of time travelers, Ryan heaved a sigh as he passed Suisei and Anemachi. No way he would be dumb enough to talk to them at this point and time, where they had no idea who he was. He turned the corner to the alley, walking down. He braced himself for the nausea. Fortunately, he didn't stumble over when it hit. He rubbed the back of his head, walking the rest of the way. He crossed the threshold, revealing the KFP. No tungsten plating, no burning signs, no explosions. Just the KFP as it was originally built. He looked at his phone. 6:03 am. If Ryan remembered correctly, then Kiara should be arriving-.

"KIKERIKIII~!!!" Ryan jumped slightly as Kiara yelled right behind him. He turned around to see Takanashi Kiara. She looked exactly how he remembered her. She wore her orange vest, one of her gadgets attached to it along with her skirt, the other gadget sealed safely in her belt. She wore her beret and her tiny chef's hat on head and her earing swayed as she waved. She looked at Ryan with her amber eyes and intoxicating smile. Ryan couldn't help but smile back.

"Good morning, CEO," Ryan said, bowing respectfully. "May I ask what you're doing here?"

"Call me Tenchou while you're here," Kiara said. "You must be Ryan Shade, right? You're going to be working under me here!"

"Now that's a surprise," Ryan said, even though he didn't look surprised. "I didn't expect the CEO herself to come down and be my manager."

"Well, this KFP is going to be a bit special," Kiara winked at Ryan. Ryan was all too familiar with this wink and the glint in her eyes. This was Kiara's sadistic side. She was preparing to make Ryan endure hellish conditions and introduce him to all of her friends (plus her future wife) without warning him about important things like the giant scythe and the eldritch tentacles. Ryan's smile grew. He was ready for anything Kiara had to throw at him.

"I'll be sure to do my best, then," Ryan said confidently. "I won't let you down."

-

Ryan stretched as he finished changing into his KFP uniform. Of course, he was all too used to the white dress shirt, orange vest, blue jeans, brown shoes, and golden name tag (though he missed the AND EDHAS that was on his old one), but usually, he would just change into his uniform with magic, and doing it the old fashioned way made Ryan feel something akin to nostalgia, remembering the days he worked at KFP before he gained his magic. He opened the door to see that Kiara's to-be wife, Calliope Mori standing in the middle of the room, holding her gigantic scythe.

Ryan tensed as he saw the woman, if only to show that he made a reaction to the weapon. He looked at the tall woman as if he was trying to get a gauge on her. Calli wore a black crown and a shawl that flowed down her back with her pink hair. She wore a black dress covered by a tattered cloak that really put together the whole 'death' look she was going for. Of course, the most defining feature of hers was her gigantic… weapon. The scythe was easily two meters long, the blade exceeding one meter long.

"Tenchou," Ryan looked over to his manager, who looked like she was ready to dive at the reaper. She stopped her actions to give Ryan a confused look. "Are weapons allowed in here?"

"If it's Calli, it's completely fine," Kiara said. "Now, if you excuse me."

"Oh shit," Calli muttered, her eyes widening as Kiara flew over the counter, tackling Calli into a hug.

"Calli!" Kiara cheered, nuzzling the Shinigami affectionately. "It's been so long since I've seen you!"

"Guh!" Calli grunted as she tried to push the phoenix off. "Get the f-word off, Kusotori!"

"But Calli~," Kiara looked up at Calli, giving her a kissy face. "I want your attention."

Calli shot Ryan a pleading look, as if he was able to do something about it, but Ryan just offered a shrug. "You two look kind of cute together," Ryan offered Calli a playful smirk. "Maybe you should get married."

"G-get what?!" Calli took several steps back, detaching herself from Kiara in the process. "No way in hell would I get married to this stupid bird!"

"Awh, why not~?" Kiara bent over, giving Calli a seductive look. "It'll be fun~."

"I officially hate you," Calli glared at Ryan as the doors flew open.

"OOCHA!" Gura shouted as she kicked the door open. Gura looked as she always did with her short, white hair, her ocean blue eyes, and her oversized shark hoodie, her shark tail swishing out of her hoodie. "What's up, chum-,"

Gura cut herself off when she saw the scene laid out before her. She instantly took a phone out of her pocket and snapped a picture of Kiara leading seductively towards Calli. "Finally!" She exclaimed, jumping up, raising the phone in the air as celebration. "Evidence!"

"Gura!" Calli dashed for the apex predator. "Give me that f-wording phone!"

"You'll have to catch me first!" Gura shouted, leading Calli into a chase around the KFP.

"Oh, there's a new kid," Ryan tuned his head when he heard a familiar voice. Amelia was smirking at him with that annoying look she had down to a T. She wore her standard outfit, that being a white dress shirt with a red tie, a brown skirt, and a trench coat that was easily three sizes too big. She topped off the outfit with a detective's cap that poorly hid her messy hair. "Would you mind giving me your mom's phone number?"

"Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I don't have a mom," Ryan said, remembering Edhas's words.

"A shame," Amelia's voice snapped Ryan out of his stupor as she expertly weaved her way through the chaos, taking a seat at the counter. "You seem to be taking this quite well."

"I am?" Ryan asked, genuinely bewildered for about half a second before realizing that this kind of stuff usually doesn't happen at a KFP. "I actually find this kind of entertaining. Assuming I don't get beheaded or something, I might actually have fun working here."

"Now that's an odd sight," Amelia rubber her chin, giving Ryan an intense stare. "A human not minding the presence of magical creatures."

Ryan suddenly remembered that back in this time, magical creatures were heavily discriminated against. He heaved a sigh. He never really understood the bigotry, even when he was just a normal human. I mean, what sane person sees a cat girl and decides to head pat her with bullets instead of using their hands like a normal person? "You know, I never got the whole bigotry thing," Ryan ran his fingers through his hair. "To be honest, this is probably the most interaction I've had with a living being in about a year and from what I've seen from the news, I don't think I want to associate with humans anymore at this point."

"That's pretty valid," Amelia said, resting her elbow on the counter as she let her head rest on the palm of her hand. "I thought there would be more people like you out there. Unfortunately, there isn't."

"Wah!" Everyone's attention was diverted to the store entrance when an adorable cry split through the room. Ina stood at the entrance, her arms wide and tentacles out. "I hath arrived!"

"Oh," Amelia smiled. "What's up, Ina? You enjoy your date?"

"Ina had a date?" Kiara immediately stopped bothering Calli and zoomed over to Ina, putting an elbow on her shoulder. "Do tell."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Ina's face flushed as she gently pushed Kiara away with one of her tentacles before sitting down by the counter, directing her attention to Ryan. "Hello! My name is Ninomae Ina'nis! You can call me Ina. What's yours?"

'-100 hp! Critical hit!' Ina was always pure and cute, but something about her 'wah' combined with her adorable smile only succeeded in multiplying her cuteness, despite the giant tentacles. "My name is Ryan Shade," Ryan said, giving Ina a small smile. "It's nice to meet you, Ina."

"Name's Amelia Watson," Amelia introduced herself with a smug smile. "Forgot to introduce myself there. Sorry 'bout that."

"No worries," Ryan said before looking at the other three. Calli was now chasing Kiara while Gura was recording, laughing her ass off.

"Ahem," Ryan cleared his throat loudly, causing the three to stop their antics. "Tenchou, we're on the clock. Can you at least try to act like a store manager?"

"Fine," Kiara's shoulders slumped as she walked around the counter, joining Ryan.

"Now, what are your names, since I'm learning them all now," Ryan said, looking towards Calli and Gura.

"My name is Calliope Mori," Calli introduced herself. "My friends call me Calli. You're not one of them."

"I guess I deserve that," Ryan shrugged as he turned to Gura. "What about you?"

"A," Gura opened her mouth, pausing a bit before continuing. "Same-desu! My name is Gawr Gura!"

"Nice to meet you, Gura," Ryan said as a confident smile crept up his face, as if he's done all of this before. "Now, what would you like to order?"

-

"Thank you for making it to Biggest Anime Flexes part 69," Nux said into the microphone as he sat in front of his computer. He was recording the 69th episode of his most popular series, Biggest Anime Flexes. As a Flexsexual, Nux was a master of all things flexing and couldn't help but share his flex knowledge with the world. "Now, without further ado, let's get into the meat and pot-,"

Nux was cut off when he heard a large 'pop' come from behind him. He pressed the space bar on his computer, pausing the recording before turning around to see… himself…? "Ah shit."

"Sorry pal," the other Nux cracked his knuckles before summoning his machete. "But the world's only big enough for one of us."

-

"You did a lot better than I expected," Kiara said as Ryan walked out of the break room, back in his normal clothes.

"Thanks, Tenchou," Ryan said, stretching his arms. "You put me through quite the workout, though. Can't say I appreciate it, but a job's a job."

"You better get some rest," Kiara said, a sadistic smile on her face. "We still have more training to go through. I'm going to have to call you in extra early tomorrow."

"Fine," Ryan heaved a sigh. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Kiara waved as Ryan turned to the door and walked out. He only made it a few meters into the alley until he heard footsteps behind him. He stopped dead in his tracks, not caring to look back. "Who are you? I don't remember you coming into the KFP."

"So, you're the one who turned back time, huh?" Ryan turned around at the sound of Jack's voice. He looked up at the tall, muscular man. "Mind explaining yourself?"

"Event 0," Ryan said simply. Ryan didn't miss the tensing of Jack's muscles as he spoke. "We can't prevent it without 5."

"Are you implying that you're not 5?" Jack asked, his visible eye narrowing.

"I'm not," Ryan shook his head. "It's a long story I would rather not get into."

"Alright," Jack turned around. "I'll believe you."

"If you would refrain from telling anyone, that would be great," Ryan said. "I would like to keep the first two weeks as similar to the original as possible."

"I'll respect your wishes," Jack said before vanishing in a burst of green flames. Ryan looked up to the sky and sighed.

"I guess this is my second chance. Huh, Edhas?"