Day 11: Back from the Dead

Day 11: Back from the Dead

"Oh, it's you again," Ryan grumbled as Froot walked up to him.

"Ryan Shade," Froot stopped in front of him. Ryan was fixated on her fang. Do humans have fangs like that? He's seen them a couple times, but never with a human. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm walking to work," Ryan sighed. "Look, you don't have to be so defensive. What are you doing here?"

"I was told to go to the magical KFP to meet my… contract," Froot shuffled nervously, not wanting to talk about the nature of her summoning contract.

"Eh, that's where I work," Ryan rubbed the back of his head. "Do you want to walk with me?"

"You work there?" Froot asked.

'I thought someone with an aura like that would be an aspiring warlord or something,' Froot pondered. Ryan's aura was like a strong gate with a monster behind it. Ryan's aura was strong, no doubt, but she could sense the monster behind it. Whenever she pried under the veil behind Ryan's aura, she saw the beast behind it. It was something that Froot had never seen before, even in the eldritch horror known as Nyatasha Nyanners.

"Well, how else am I supposed to earn money?" Ryan chuckled. "It's not like I'm going to take the world or something."

"Fine, whatever," Froot sighs.

"Do you need me to lead the way?" Ryan offered. Froot didn't know how he was still so patient with her considering she threatened his life the first time she met him, but she might as well make good on his kindness.

"Fine," Froot says as she follows Ryan down an alleyway.

-

"Froot!" Hearing Aloe's voice certainly surprised Froot when she walked in. The succubus-in-training tackled the lich in a hug faster than she could react.

"Aloe?!" Froot exclaimed in disbelief. She was dead, right? Mousey said that she saw her, but that couldn't be right. No matter how many souls she pumped into a ritual, her old friend wouldn't come back to life. "Is that really you?"

"Yep!" Aloe pulled away, her hands on Froot's shoulders and smiled brightly, looking the lich girl up and down. "You've gotten so strong! I'm so proud of you!"

"Wait," Froot pushed away Aloe's hands, looking confused. "Where were you all this time? I thought you were dead."

"Ah, it's a long story," Aloe rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly, adjusting her headphones. "I'm technically dead, but my soul was claimed by another force before my soul could transfer to the afterlife. A friend called in a favor so I can see you again. I already saw Mousey, but I really wanted to see you as well."

"Who is this friend of yours?" Froot asked. "I want to thank them."

"Right here," Froot turned when Ryan raised his hand casually, his eyes glowing purple. The dark aura permeated from his being, but it was heavily restrained, though if Froot was to try to identify this person from magic power alone, she would have guessed that this person was a different person from Ryan altogether.

"Ryan?" Froot jumped back, her muscles tense. He may be suppressing his magic power, but if he decided to go all out, they would probably have a fight on their hands.

"Name's Edhas," The man said. "I'm currently borrowing Ryan's body right now, since you asked who called in the favor."

"Are you the thing I keep feeling under Ryan's aura?" Froot asked, still tense.

"Yeah," Edhas said. "I'm kind of like an alternate personality or something. For some reason, our magic is split up, but that's whatever. I'm not planning on doing something evil, though. Ryan would kick the shit out of me."

"Alright," Froot started to relax.

"What did I miss?" Kiara walked out of the break room, pulling Calli along with her. Kiara was all bright and cheery, but Calli was blushing profusely, sweat pouring down her face.

Froot shuddered as the purple glint in Edhas's eyes faded, returning to normal, but the murderous aura increased tenfold. "Tenchou…" Ryan growled, causing Kiara to stiffen.

"Y-yes, my little egg…?" Kiara stepped back. "What do you need…?"

"What did I tell you about ground pounding in the break room…?" Ryan cracked his knuckles, causing the manager to stiffen.

"Is this normal?" Froot turned to Aloe as Kiara ran, Ryan sprinting after her.

"Yep," Aloe and Calli said at the same time.

-

'You know, it's polite to ask before stealing one's body,' Ryan grumbled as he made his way back to the counter.

"Hey, she asked," Edhas defended. To be fair, she did.

'Whatever,' Ryan grumbled, looking to a beaten and bloodied Kiara behind him.

"Get over it," Ryan said coldly. "That's what you get for ground pounding in the break room."

"Yes, Ryan," Kiara whimpered, looking like a wounded puppy.

"What would you two like to have?" Ryan asked the lich and the succubus, who were chatting casually. Calli had long since left. A lich and an undead succubus didn't make the best company for the incarnation of death itself.

"Do you have that bento box recipe that Storm gave you a while back?" Aloe asked, which Ryan nodded. "I'll have one of those, please."

"I'll have one too!" Froot raised her hand, smiling cutely. "Can I have some tea as well?"

-100 critical hit! Ryan forced a smile, nodding before heading to the back. He got the notebook from the break room before heading to the back.

"Who knew the lich could be that cute?" Edhas asked. "You should hook up with her."

'Absolutely not,' Ryan said.

"How can a dolt like you be blessed with such cute girls?" Edhas sighed. "Man, I totally wish the roles were reversed right now."

'I refuse to let you flirt with my friends,' Ryan said as he wrapped seaweed around little balls of rice. 'They're too pure for you.'

"Says you," Edhas grumbled as Ryan grabbed a bento box to organize the food.

'Do you know the meaning of an emotional connection?' Ryan asked as he closed the bento box and got started on the next one.

"I mean, yeah, but look at them," Edhas flashed images of all the people Ryan had met since he got hired at KFP. "Their personalities are just as cute as their appearances."

'Sure, but you're not convincing me,' Ryan said as he finished the second bento box. He walked out, a smile on his face as he placed the two boxes in front of his customers. As Aloe liked to do, he color-coded his bento boxes. He gave Froot a minty-green bento box, the color matching her green hair and Aloe a dark pink bento box, almost purple.

"Enjoy your meals," Ryan offered a sweet smile as he placed his arms in front of him in a polite expression.

"Wow, you did surprisingly well on this," Aloe said as she opened the box. "Almost as good as I would have made them."

"I'm honored by your words," Ryan said. He's heard Kiara talk about Aloe's cooking enough to know that she's a top-grade chief.

"Wow!" Froot stuffed an onigiri into her mouth, her eyes sparkling. "This is so good!"

"I'm glad you're satisfied by my cooking," Ryan said, smiling.

"Hey, where's mine?!" Kiara pouted.

"I'll make you one after work," Ryan promised. He noticed Kiara was fully healed. He shrugged it off. He felt bad kicking the crap out of his boss, but she needed to learn that there was a time and place for everything, and the break room wasn't the time to be ground pounding her wife, especially while she was on the clock. "For now, you're on the clock."

"Fine," Kiara pouted. "I'll allow it, just this once."

"Whatever you say, Tenchou," Ryan said, smiling softly.

-

"I guess the void is calling me back" Aloe sighed. "I got lucky, but I don't know when I'll be back."

"I'm just happy that I got to see you again," Froot said. "Well worth the fifty souls I used for the summoning ritual."

"You know, since you technically summoned Grimm with those souls, you basically wasted them," Aloe said. "I would have been here either way."

"What?!" Froot exclaimed, but by the time she registered what happened, Aloe was gone, blown away in a black mist.

"I mean, you summoned death itself to send a message," Ryan said. "That must check out for something."

"That man was death?!" Froot exclaimed.

"Well, he was death," Ryan said. "At least, I think. He's doing other things now, I guess."

"I…" Froot grabbed her forehead. "I think I need a minute."

"Feel free to come back whenever you feel," Ryan smiled softly. Froot nodded, forcing a smile before walking out in a daze.

"Now, where's my bento box?" Kiara asked, pouting at her employee.

"Coming right up, Tenchou…" Ryan mumbled, sighing as he made his way to the back.

-

"Ah, that was fun," Aloe said as she appeared back into the void.

"Aloe," Storm said, his mask on. "How are the things back on earth?"

"A bunch of stronger beings are congregating around the KFP," Aloe replied. "I don't know if people are attracted to Ryan, or if they're attracted to the KFP."

"I see," Storm rubbed his chin. "Just like the void predicted."

"The void predicted this?" Aloe asked.

"Yep," with a torrent of black flames, Grimm appeared. "A lot of changes are coming."

"That is true," Storm said. "Though we are in a time of peace, there is a lot of room for excitement."

-

"You sure about this, Zen?" A cybernetic dragon and a red dragon flew over the ocean. "I know Mousey and Froot are there, but the place can't be that good."

"Does it matter?" The red dragon, Zen replied. "Someone strong will be there. Maybe this could finally be the challenge we've been looking for, Hime."

"Whatever you say," Blue electricity crackled from the cybernetic dragon's eyes as they continued their flight through the sea.

-

Miko was sweeping the floors of her shine, humming to herself. She looked up when the Sakura leaves flowed in the wind, revealing a wolf girl with headphones and blue and pink hair.

"Ah, this place reminds me of my tree back home," The wolf girl said, smiling softly.

"Who are you?" Miko asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" The wolf girl bowed slightly before looking up, a warm smile on her face. "My name is Silvervale!"

-

Sabrina was tapping away on her phone. "Damnit!" She threw her phone at the wall, shooting a fireball at it. As it was reduced to a heaping pile of junk, she sighed, shaking her head. "Stupid rhythm games."

At that moment, the doors flew open. "The world has changed since I was sealed," Sabrina heard a voice. Sabrina turned to see a girl with pink hair and cat ears. The girl turned her attention to her. "I sense Mousey's presence on you. Where is she?"

"Who are you?" Sabrina said, tensing up. The aura of this person was no joke. "You should knock next time, though."

"Doorknobs have always fascinated me," The girl rubbed her chin. "Say, do you have any toilets?"

"Answer my questions, then I'll answer yours," Sabrina let loose her aura, causing the girl to flinch.

"Fine," the girl relaxed, a classic cat-girl smile washing over her face. "My name is Nyatasha Nyanners."

-

"Ah, finished!" Reporter said, looking at his brand-new android, tossing a screwdriver. He adjusted his mask, looking proudly at his new creation. "The ultimate magical android! It's capable of changing its appearance and using any spell in my magical library!"

The machine started to power up, its appearances shaping. Reporter jumped back as the body shifted into that of a girl, a blue messy pigtail with purple and pink streaks forming itself. The figure then formed itself a white crop top and black short shorts.

"What the hell?!" Reporter exclaimed. "I didn't turn it on!"

The android opened its eyes, revealing beautiful, blue eyes. "Sorry for hacking into your android! My name is Projekt Melody!" The android exclaimed, giving Reporter a 'V' sign. "Wow, this body is really cool! The stuff I can do with this!"

"Uh, would you mind giving my android back?" Reporter rubbed the back of his neck. "I worked really hard on it."

"Nope!" Melody closed her eyes. "Oh, everyone's heading to Japan!" I'll head there too!"

The android's feet were replaced by rocket boosters and Melody rocketed off, crashing through the ceiling. "Well, sorry Ryan," Reporter looked up at the hole in the ceiling, sighing and shaking his head, brushing his fingers through his hair as small chunks of rubble clattered onto the floor. "I guess she's your problem now."

-

"I miss my old world, Jam," Yuni said. She's stroked the small alicorn's fur as she laid on her bed, staring at the ceiling. "Making friends has been hard."

"What about that one boy?" Jam spoke in her mind. "He seemed nice enough. I could detect something else, though. Something… powerful."

"Something you consider powerful?" Yuni asked, looking at her familiar. "Just how strong do you think he is?"

"Get me some bread and you'll find out," Jam said, closing its eyes again.

"Jam-," Yuni was about to stop the familiar, but it was too late. He was already fast asleep. "I guess the bread thief must rise again."

-

Things have been kind of hectic these past few days, Ryan said, flopping on the bed. We had demons, goddesses, and your own sensei? Things have been eventful.

"Things are only going to get more exciting from here," Edhas said matter-of-factly.

Why do you think so? Ryan asked.

"I just have a feeling," Edhas said, excitement oozing from his tone. "A storm is brewing, and we'll be in the center of it."

-

Omake: Professional Help Part 2

"Ah, Senchou!" Kiara chirped as the pirate captain walked in. It's been a good half-hour since Ryan had left, and Kiara was preparing something special for her employee.

"Ohayo, Kiara-chan!" Marine sat at the counter as Kiara placed a notebook on the counter. Marine picked up the notebook and started to flip through it. "You're pretty good at this."

"What can I say?" Kiara asked. "This is for the good of my employee."

"I'm sure he would have something to say about that if he was here," Marine said, closing the notebook.

"He'll come around eventually," Kiara smiled. "So, what do you think?"

"Give him a couple more days," Marine said. "We still need to prepare everything."

"That's alright," Kiara said. "Thank you, Senchou. You're a lifesaver."

"No problem, Kiara-chan," Marine smiled at her kouhai. "He did save our asses back in China. I guess we owe him this much."