Day 15: Return

'Gura!' Amelia snapped awake to the sound of her phone ringing. She looked around, her eyes welling up with tears as she saw her lover, sleeping soundly. She wiped her tears before grabbing her phone, walking out of the room.

"Amelia Watson," Amelia shuddered as Jack's voice rang through the phone. "Did you travel back in time?"

"I-I'm sorry Jack," Amelia said, her voice shaking. The memories were still fresh in her mind from what happened in the future. The blood, the bullets, the sounds, the screams. "I had no choice… it was…"

"It's okay," Jack sighed. "I'm sorry for getting mad at you. I didn't know something bad happened. I'm going to head to Japan. Stay put, alright? I'll be here to help you this time."

"T-thanks Jack," Amelia said as she heard the line went dead.

"Ame?" Amelia turned around to see Gura rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, her tail swishing from side to side. "Why are you up so early?"

Amelia dashed towards Gura, squeezing her in a bone-crushing hug. "Gura!" Amelia cried, her tears now freely flowing from her face. "I'm so happy you're safe."

"Ame, nothing happened," Gura said, hugging her girlfriend back. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Amelia smiled softly as she buried her head in Gura's shoulder. "I just had a bad dream, that's all."

-

"Wake up," Nux's voice rang throughout Ryan's head. Ryan groaned and turned around in bed.

'Five more minutes,' Ryan groaned in his sleep, snuggling up with his pillow.

"I said WAKE THE FUCK UP!" Nux shouted.

"Ow!" Ryan shot up, rubbing his head, the loud mental shout giving him a headache. "Jeez, I'm up."

"Welcome back to the past," Nux said. "You wouldn't want to be late for work, now would you?"

'I guess not,' Ryan said, standing up.

"Oh yeah, you might find a surprise for you when you get to work," Nux said.

'I don't like the sound of that,' Ryan heaved a sigh.

"Don't worry. It's not that bad," Nux defended.

'You know, your definition and my definition of bad are two different things,' Ryan said as he walked out the door.

-

"It looks like they went back in time," The void's voice rang throughout the eternal darkness as Nux stood there, his hands in his pockets. "I bet that put a wrench in your plans."

"What if I told you we anticipated for that?" Nux said, a smirk rising up his face.

"What?!" The void shouted. "That's impossible!"

Nux lifted his hand, aiming a middle finger in no particular direction. "You're going to have to learn that nothing's impossible with me."

-

Ryan smiled softly as he walked down the alleyway. This was the second time he's traveled back in time and has been the third time since he got shot in the head. For any normal person, that would be a pretty bad track record, but for Ryan, he didn't think it was that bad. Every time he got shot in the head, it would lead to something good happening in the future, such as saving the entire magical community or Edhas showing up in his head. This time, well that was a work in progress.

"Ah, home sweet home," Ryan muttered to himself as he crossed the threshold to see KFP in all its glory. Well, as glorious as a small fast food joint can get. He looked at his clock. 6:00 am.

"Must have overslept again," Ryan thought to himself, looking around. "Tenchou's going to take a couple minutes, so I might as well relax."

Ryan casually leaned on the wall of the restaurant, waiting for Kiara to show up. Low and behold, exactly three minutes later, Kiara walked down the alley, a wide smile on her face. "KIKKERIKIII~!!!" She exclaimed with wide, sparkling eyes as she crossed the threshold. "Sorry I'm late! I'm Takanashi Kiara!"

"Morning," Ryan walked over, offering his hand to shake. "I'm Ryan Shade, but you probably knew that already. Are you going to be my boss here?"

"Yep!" Kiara chirped, her smile not wavering. "Just call me Tenchou while you're here!"

"Whatever you say, Tenchou," Ryan smiled softly. No matter how many times he sees her, he couldn't help but smile at Kiara's massive bundles of energy. If he was being honest, Ryan was a little envious, but he didn't care. As long as he got to see his boss every day, he was happy.

"Now, let me get the door for you," Kiara took a chain of keys from her belt, successfully picking out an orange key she unlocked the door, opening it for Ryan. "Your clothes will be in the break room. Everything's set up, so I suggest you hurry up. We have work to do."

"Alright," Ryan smirked as he shoved his hands in his pockets. "Let's do this."

-

"C'mon Ame!" Gura said as she ran out of the door. "You're lagging again!"

"Sorry Gura," Amelia forced a smile as she walked along a little faster. "Sorry about that."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Gura waddled back to her girlfriend, looking at her with concerned eyes. "You've been like this all day."

"Gura, the day just started," Amelia said, smiling a bit more as Gura pouted at her. "I'm fine, though. I'm just a little out of it."

"Wah!" Amelia looked up to see Ina walking over to them, her hand high as she waved to the couple.

"Ina!" Gura cried, running over to her friend, tackling her in a hug. "It's been so long since I've seen you last!"

"Morning Ina," Amelia smiled. "How have you been?"

"I've been Ame-zing, thank you for asking," Ina said, chuckling at her own joke. "What about you?"

"I've been fine," Amelia said. She knew it was a lie, but she didn't want anyone to know about her trip through time. She didn't know if she was ready to talk about it.

"Humu-humu," Ina nodded, a satisfied smile on her face. "Now, shall we get going?"

"Yeah," Amelia sighed, looking up at the sky. "Let's."

-

Ryan walked out of the break room to see Calli already there, Kiara midair as she dived over the counter. As he closed the door, he got to see Kiara ram into Calli in full force. "Guh!" Calli grunted, stumbling back, Kiara nuzzling her cheek. She put her hands on Kiara's shoulders and pushed to no avail. "Get the f-word off, Kusotori!"

"Am I interrupting something?" Ryan asked, catching the couple's attention. "If you two are being intimate, I can go back to the break room."

"I-i-i-intimate?!" Calli exclaimed, her face turning beet red. "We are not being intimate! Kusotori here is just being clingy!"

"Aw Calli, you know you love me~," Kiara said, making a kissy-face as she tried to push herself closer to Calli.

"Tenchou, as much as I know you want to make out with your girlfriend, aren't we on the clock?" Ryan rubbed the back of his neck, one eye closed as he looked around awkwardly.

"Ah, you're completely right!" Kiara took several steps away from Calli and walked back to her side of the counter. "Thanks for catching that!"

"Thanks for the save," Calli walked up to Ryan, offering her hand to shake. "My name is Calliope Mori, but you can call me Calli, since you saved my ass back there."

"It's no problem. The name's Ryan. Ryan Shade," As Ryan shook Calli's hand, the reaper stiffened slightly. Ryan pretended not to notice as he let go of Calli's hand.

"Something about you seems… off," Calli said. "It's as if you've experienced death more than once."

"Honestly, if you would ask me, I don't know," Ryan shook his head. "My memory has been a bit hazy. I can't remember anything before last year."

"That's a shame," Calli said. "By the way, you've been pretty tolerant of my scythe over here. Most people would freak out."

"Well since Kiara was nuzzling you like that and you didn't chop her into bits, I assumed that you wouldn't be that hostile," Ryan said. "It's not my place to judge my boss's choice in women."

"W-we are not dating!" Calli stepped back, her face flushing once more.

"You two are totally dating," Ryan said, chuckling slightly. Before Calli opened her mouth to retort, the doors opened again.

-

A few minutes ago, Amelia, Gura, and Ina found themselves at the base of the alleyway. "Are you sure this is the place?" Ina asked. "I wouldn't want you to al-lead me to the wrong place, Ame."

"I remember Kiara talking about how she wanted the only entrance to be an alleyway so YAGOO could set up a barrier," Amelia explained, resisting the urge to wince as the sounds of glass breaking started to consume her psyche.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go?!" Gura grabbed Amelia and Ina's hand with both of hers and ran off. After a couple minutes of being dragged around, they crossed the threshold.

"Live on for me, Watson," Gura's voice rang in Amelia's head as tears started to form in her eyes.

"Ame?" Gura poked her girlfriend's cheek, snapping the detective out of her stupor. "Are you alright?"

"I… I'm fine," Amelia shook her head. "I just need a minute… to think…"

"If you insist," Gura said. "Just know you can talk to me whenever you need to, alright?"

"Thanks, Gura," Amelia smiled sadly as she put a hand on her head. "Now go on. I'll be there in a sec."

"Whatever you say," Gura said before turning around, walking to the restaurant with Ina.

-

"Morning!" Gura exclaimed as she walked through the doors, taking a seat next to Calli.

"Hi Gura! Hi Ina!" Kiara cheered as the lavender-haired eldritch vessel walked into the room behind Gura. "Where's Ame?"

"She'll be with us In-a minute," Ina said, chuckling at her own joke. Kiara and Gura laughed excitedly at Ina's pun while Calli just heaved a sigh. Ryan smiled softly as a plan formulated in his head.

"Yeah, Watson's been out of it today," Gura said. "I don't know what's up."

"Ame Watson?" Ryan tilted his head. "Are you guys talking about Amelia Watson?"

"You know her?" Gura asked.

"Yeah, we met a couple weeks ago," Ryan said. "Maybe I could try talking to her."

"I mean I guess," Gura said. "If you know her, then you might as well give it a shot."

"I'll let you go, but just this once!" Kiara said. "Friends are more important than work, after all."

"Thanks," Ryan smiled as he walked around the counter. "I'll be back in a bit."

-

Amelia shook violently as she sat down at the end of the alley, leaning on a wall. Memories flashed through her head as the events of the day before hit her like a flaming semitruck falling on her face. She didn't know why but looking at the KFP triggered a bunch of memories that she would rather not remember. The MILF attack was a massacre, killing off mostly everyone. Amelia remembered everyone who died. She let out a shaky breath in attempt to steady herself, but it was to no avail.

"Morning," Amelia stiffened as she heard a voice from beside her. She turned her head to see none other than Ryan sitting next to her. She admitted Ryan was a nice guy, and she considered him a friend, but she didn't know him all too well. Furthermore, she didn't remember him walking out of the restaurant at any time during his first day. Ryan buried his hands in his pockets and Amelia swore she felt a small bit of magic, but she chalked it off the her imagining things. Ryan then pulled out a pipe from his pocket and offered it to Amelia. "Want it?"

"I'll pass," Amelia said, exhaling shakily. "I don't actually smoke."

"Fair enough," Ryan put the pipe back in his pocket, heaving a large sigh. "Yesterday was pretty shitty, huh?"

"Y-you remember…?" Amelia looked at him with wide eyes. Barely anyone should be able to sense when someone goes back in time, much less keep their memories.

"Yeah," Ryan said, chuckling dryly. "Well, I don't remember too much, considering I was shot in the head and all."

"I see," Amelia said, looking down. "I'm sorry…"

"What are you sorry for?" Ryan turned to Amelia, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You didn't do anything wrong. It's not like you could've anticipated someone breaking the barrier or whatever."

"I know… I just…" Amelia sighed. "I don't know."

"Why don't you walk me through what happened?" Ryan said. "I want to know."

"I-I don't know if I can," Amelia said. "I don't think I'm ready."

"Alright," Ryan said. "That's okay. You can tell me when you're ready."

"I'm not sure if that time will ever come, to be honest," Amelia chuckled dryly.

"Well, look at the bright side," Ryan said. "We're in the past. We can fix everything."

"You're right," Amelia said, her eyes flaring with determination. "I'll be sure to try my best."

"By the way, you said you were thinking of getting married to Gura," Ryan said, looking at the wall.

"I-I never said that!" Amelia's face turned beet red as she hit Ryan over the head.

"That's besides the point," Ryan said, digging into his pocket. He took out a small, blue box and gave it to Amelia. "Here. Thanks for being my friend, Ame."

Amelia opened the box to see a beautiful rose gold ring with a diamond-shaped tanzanite in the middle, its deep blue radiating in the light. "What's this…?" Amelia asked, closing the box and looking at Ryan.

"Why don't you go put a ring on that baby shark of yours?" Ryan said. "You never know what you have until it's gone, right?"

"I guess you're right," Amelia sighed, standing up. "Thanks, Ryan."

"No problem," Ryan smiled. "Now let's go. Be careful not to spill the beans, though."

-

Ryan opened the doors to the KFP, Amelia following not far behind. "Ame!" Gura ran over, tackling her soon-to-be fiancée in a hug. "I really missed you."

"I know you did, my little apex predator," Amelia smiled down at the little shark.

"Thanks for talking to her," Gura then turned to Ryan. "What did you do?"

"I just gave her something to cheer her up," Ryan winked at the shark.

"Ame~," Gura whined. "We talked about ground pounding other people's moms."

"Who said it was her number?" Amelia asked, a smug smirk on her face.

"It isn't?" Gura perked up.

"I'll tell you tonight," Amelia said.

"Fine," Gura puffed out her cheeks in a pout.

"Anyways, I still haven't gotten your names," Ryan said, turning his attention to Ina and Gura.

"Oh, I'm Gawr Gura!" Gura introduced herself. "Nice to meet'cha!"

"Ninomae Ina'nis," Ina said. "It's Nino-mae pleasure."

"Name's Ryan Shade," Ryan chuckled at Ina's bad pun. "Now, let's get to work."

-

"Hey Ryan!" Kiara shouted over. Ryan walked out of the break room in his casual clothing, the orange light of the setting sun hitting his body through the windows as he walked out.

"What's up, Tenchou?" Ryan asked. Kiara walked over, handing him a stack of familiar pamphlets.

"I don't know when I had these made, but since they're here, I might as well give some of them to you to give out," Kiara said.

"Oh really," Ryan tilted his head, taking the pamphlets. "Thanks, Tenchou."

"No, thank you," Kiara smiled at Ryan, patting his shoulder. "You did surprisingly well for your first day. You didn't even complain once!"

"I guess I'm just good at my job," Ryan chuckled. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"I'll see you tomorrow!" Kiara smiled as Ryan walked out the door. When he entered the alleyway, he instantly transferred the pamphlets to his magic storage, stopping in his tracks.

"It's not polite to follow someone without their knowledge," Ryan said, turning around to confront Jack.

"I was wondering if you went back in time with Amelia, but I guess this confirms it," Jack said. "Though it's suspicious. How do the both of you have a clock at the same time?"

"Use your head, old man," Ryan scoffed. "Maybe you should take a break from all the alcohol."

"My alcohol consumption is at a healthy level, thank you very much," Jack lied as naturally as he breathed. "I'm taking it you're from another time, then."

"Bingo," Ryan said. "It's not like I can hide that from you, anyways. Before you ask, I'm not Edhas. I'm back here to save him."

"I see," Jack rubbed his chin. "Well, that's all the info I need, since you'll probably be telling us more as time goes on."

"Yeah, I guess that's how things like this go," Ryan chuckled to himself. "I'll see you around, Jack."

"Ditto, Ryan," Jack said as a green flame consumed him. When the flames settled down, he was gone.

-

Reina yawned as she woke up. "That was a nice nap," she said to herself as she walked out of her room. "Now, what should I eat?"

She looked at her fridge, her eyes narrowing as she saw something she didn't recognize attached to her fridge. "KFP…?" She wondered. "I don't remember getting a pamphlet like that. Whatever. I might stop by one day. It seems interesting."

-

Meanwhile, in an unknown location, a four-legged creature with a blue shirt walked up to a female version of the creature that seemed to be standing up. "Sup, I'm Bob."

"Yes, that you are," the girl said. Instead of the blue shirt, she wore a black jacket on top of a grey hoodie and a cap. As she felt a wave of magic pass through her, she looked up towards the sky. "Huh, things might be getting interesting soon. I might as well see what's going on."