Day 3: Cats and Dogs

"KIKKERIRIII~" Ryan resisted the urge to groan. The first time Kiara called him at five in the morning it was nice, endearing even. He missed human interaction. Kiara was human, right? Regardless, if this continued, Ryan really needed to work on his sleep schedule.

"Morning, Tenchou," Ryan tried to keep the kindest voice he could early in the morning, which was a frustrated grumble.

"I'm going to be busy, so I'm opening up at 8, so you can sleep in!" Kiara chirped, ignoring Ryan's frustrated tone.

"So, you called me at five in the morning to tell me I can sleep in," Ryan deadpanned.

"Yep!" Ryan facefaulted onto the bed as the line went dead. This was going to be a good day.

-

Ryan walked down the street, an irritated look on his face. He wasn't able to get a wink of sleep in those few hours. As soon as Kiara hung up, Ryan remembered the interaction he had the night before. He looked at his phone, the screen showing a contact name. "Sabrina Godson" it said.

As Ryan considered calling the number, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see a girl with long, purple twin tails and a black cap. He had enough reason to be wary of yet another purple haired girl, considering the last one almost killed him, but he decided it would be rude to ignore her. "Did you need something, miss?"

"Uh…" the girl looked down before holding out a wallet. "Y-you dropped this!"

Ryan looked at the wallet before realizing it actually was his. His irritated expression softened. "Thank you," he smiled at the girl. "Most people would have stolen it. You're really nice, you know that?"

"No way I'm nice!" The girl pouted cutely, puffing out her cheeks. "I'm a-"

She stopped herself, causing Ryan to look at her. "I'm a prankster! Bye!" She shouted, running off. Ryan stood therefore a second, processing the whole event before checking his wallet. It was entirely possible that she could have stolen money. He counted the cash before realizing that he had about 2000 yen more than he brought along with him that day.

'No way I'm nice she says,' He chuckled to himself before walking off to work.

-

Towa stomped off back to her apartment complex. That kid had the audacity to call her nice when she pranked him! She grumbled profanities, or the closest she would ever get to profanities as she opened the door. No way would she actually swear She needed to blow off some steam. She gently closed the door before walking over to her computer. No need to wake up the neighbors, even if she's angry. As she turned it on, her phone started to ring. She looked at the phone before instantly accepting the call.

"Watame-san?" She asked, putting the phone to her ear.

"Towa-sama!" Watame said cheerily through the phone. "Did you hear? Kiara-chan opened a place where we all can come hang out."

"Really?" Towa asked. It's been a couple months since the two girls have met up in person. Off collabs were hard considering the fact that magical beings were actively being hunted by the government. A discreet way to meet up and hang out would be really nice.

"Luna-chan and I are going tomorrow," Watame continued. "Do you want to join us?"

"Sure!" Towa chirped. "I'll see you then."

When Watame cut the line, she smiled. She wasn't that mad anymore. I'm feeling gracious, the demon logged into her computer. Maybe a surprise stream? Yes, her fans would like that.

-

"TOWA-SAMA!" Ryan had to cover his ears as he entered the restaurant. Of course, Kiara was at it again. She was sitting on the counter, hunched over her phone, seemingly watching something.

"Hey, Tenchou," Ryan walked over, intending to take a look at what she was screaming over. "What's that?"

"Towa-sama graced us with a surprise karaoke," Kiara swooned, causing Ryan to facepalm. "Come on! Let's watch!" She grabbed Ryan's arm as he approached and pulled him over to her. He took one look at the phone and realized who it was.

"Eh, it's her?!" Ryan jumped a little in shock. Surely, she looked identical to the girl he met earlier, but now she looked like an anime girl.

"You met Towa-sama?" Kiara looked up from her phone as Towa's voice rang throughout the room.

"She picked up my wallet earlier today and gave it back to me with 2000 extra yen," Ryan explained.

"She probably pickpocketed you and put the money in," Kiara replied, her smile growing soft. "She thinks doing that kind of stuff counts as pranks."

"Huh," Ryan rubbed his chin, deep in thought. "She sounds like a really nice person."

"She was so nice she got kicked out of hell," Kiara informed.

As Ryan was going to open his mouth, but the doors slammed open. "Yubi yubi!" A brown hair dog girl ran in, a huge smile on her face. As a certified weeb, Ryan had a soft spot for cat girls and dog girls, so naturally, his heart melted. It took everything for Ryan not to run over and give her a couple pats.

"Oh, Korone-senpai!" Kiara waved over the dog girl. "Towa-sama is doing a karaoke stream. Come watch with us!"

"Tenchou, we're supposed to be working," Ryan reminded her. "You should probably put away your phone."

"No! Towa-sama is more important than work!" Kiara protested, puffing her cheeks in annoyance.

"Moring, Kiara-san," Ryan was too focused on scolding his manager to notice the purple haired cat girl walking in the restaurant.

"Morning, Okayu-senpai!" Kiara smiled widely as the two girls took their seats.

A dog girl and a cat girl? At that point, Ryan's professionalism snapped. The cuteness was too much for him to bear. "Hello, my name is Ryan Shade," he introduced himself. "I'm sorry if this may seem weird, but can I give you two some pats?"

Unfortunately, Ryan didn't see the look of shock and horror on Kiara's face as Korone opened her mouth. As Korone started to speak, Okayu was the one to cut in, a devilish smirk on her face. "Of course you can!" she said, her smile turning brighter. "I'm sure Koro-san is really craving pets right now."

"Yubi yubi!" Korone flashed an irresistible smile.

"T-that means pets," Okayu said.

'Well, if she says so,' Ryan moved his hand to Korone's head, ignoring all reason. By reason, he means Kiara screaming at him in the background. As soon as he placed his hand on Korone's head, a bright blue light enveloped the room, causing Ryan to avert his eyes with his hands.

When the light faded, Ryan opened his eyes and gasped. All ten of his fingers were gone. "WHAT THE HELL?!" He screamed before realizing something exceedingly weird. "Wait, I don't feel any pain."

"Your yubis are mine!" Korone chirped while opening her hands. All of Ryan's fingers were there, a blue light covering the part where they cut off. "Don't worry, I'll give them back to you later."

Ryan looked at Kiara, as if expecting an explanation. "I guess I'll prepare their meals, then," she sighed. "You can't really cook without your fingers."

He then turned to Okayu, who was obviously trying to ignore him. "Wow, Koro-san," she looked at the dog, who was now playing with Ryan's fingers. "You really got that space-time magic under control."

"Yup!" Korone smiled at her companion. "I had to practice a lot!"

Ryan shuddered for some reason. The dog girl was adorable, but the stealing of fingers was… kind of morbid. "Excuse me," he said, clearing his throat to get the attention of the two girls. "May I take your order?"

"Yubis!" Korone chirped, holding out a handful of Ryan's fingers, causing him to shudder. Shoving Ryan's own severed fingers in front of him while taking her order to eat only succeeded in unnerving Ryan more.

"I'll have some fish," Okayu said. "Koro-san, it's rude to shove things in people's faces."

"Oh!" Korone lowered her head, as if shoving the fingers in Ryan's face was more of a crime than stealing them in the first place. "I'm sorry!"

"Uh…" Ryan looked at Kiara, who shot him a glare before walking off to prepare the food. He looked back at Korone. "It's okay..?"

"Yay!" Korone threw both of her hands in the air in celebration, Ryan's fingers still in her hands.

Ryan looked at Okayu. "Is this normal?"

Okayu nodded. "Koro-san is… really eccentric," she looked fondly at the dog girl.

"I see," Ryan said, looking at his fingerless hands.

"Most people look at dog girls and cat girls with disgust," Ryan looked up to see Okayu looking at him, as if she was trying to read him. "We're faring better than other magical creatures, but still."

Ryan sighed, knowing what she was implying. He really did hate how divided the magical and non-magical community. "I don't know if there's something about being productive during the coming out, but I didn't really don't mind all of you," Ryan was actually a NEET when magical communities tried to integrate themselves, and for some reason, he is the only person he knows that doesn't really mind them. "As long as I they don't set me on fire with their minds or wring me for blood or something, I'm fine with them."

"I see," Okayu nodded. "Kiara-san really picked a special one."

"What's all with this special stuff?" Ryan threw his hands up in exasperation. "Tenchou refuses to tell me anything about it and Usada-san told me the same thing yesterday!"

"You are special," Korone said in broken English as s pointed at Ryan with his own finger.

"You'll find out eventually," Okayu said as Kiara came back with a plate of sashimi and some roasted human fingers.

"Where the heck did you get the fingers?" Ryan asked her as she set the plates down.

"Magic," Kiara replied, as if it answered everything

"Whatever," Ryan grumbled when something popped in his head. "Hey, Tenchou. The MILF stopped by yesterday."

"Oh, them?" Kiara looked at him, concerned, before smiling, a dangerous glint in her eyes. "Don't worry about it. I'll take care of it."

"Okay…" Ryan said, shuffling uncomfortably.

"Thank you for the food!" Okayu smiled. Ryan's eyes widened in shock as he realized both Korone and Okayu already cleaned their plates.

"Thank you for coming!" Kiara chirped as they left.

"This is the third time someone has left without pay," Ryan sighed.

"Don't worry, you'll still get paid," Kiara said as she walked towards the break room.

"That's not the problem," Ryan rubbed the back of his head when he realized his fingers were returned. "Do you guys think all humans are that shallow?"

-

Jerry was walking home from a KFP with some fried chicken in his hands. Being a member of MILF's elite forces was very taxing and he was ready for a day off. He sighed as he turned the door handle to his apartment and opened the door. When a tall, pink haired woman with a scythe revealed herself to be inside Jerry's apartment, Jerry pulled out the pistol he always kept on him and fire.

"Guh," the woman deadpanned as the bullet passed right through her stomach, leaving a black mist in her wake.

"Who the hell are you?!" Jerry shouted, unloading his clip in distress.

"You know, I'm doing you a favor," the girl sighed, spinning her scythe. Jerry watched in intrigue as it went through his furniture, leaving all of it uncut. "The stupid bird would do something way worse to you for threatening her employees."

Jerry opened his mouth to say something but was cut off when a blade of darkness came from her scythe, the blade flying straight through his neck.

The woman sighed as Jerry's head fell to the floor. "You owe me for this, Kusotori."

-

Ryan sighed as he laid on his bed. He loved working at KFP, but he missed the sense of normalcy. He looked at the contact on his phone. Should he call her? He sighed. "Well, might as well. Live today like a killer sheep will carve your heart out tomorrow. He pressed the button. After a few seconds, the call went to voicemail.

"Hey, Sabrina," he said to the phone, sighing. "It's been a year since I left, huh? I just wanted to call in to see how you've been. I got a job, you know. It's been really interesting. I know you don't mind these magical beings and all. You were nice to a freak like me. They're really kind to me. My boss seems to be human, but I don't really know. All the customers haven't been human, though. They're all really weird, but they've been good to me. Even the girl who stole my fingers," Ryan chuckled a little bit at that. "Apparently she worked really hard to make the spell painless. They treated me better than any human has. Other than you, of course. Anyways, I know we didn't leave on the right terms, but I miss you. Anyways, please call me back if you can. Or, if you want to, I guess. Bye, Sabrina."

He hung up the phone before putting his arm over his eyes. He took a deep, shaky breath as a tear ran down his cheek. "God, what do I do?"