Day 15: Culture Shock

The jarring sound of an alarm clock woke Ryan. He sat up, frantically looking around. "A dream?" He asked himself. He then looked over to his phone, grabbing it. It wasn't a phone call from Kiara, like he expected, but it was an alarm. He would have questioned it if the clock didn't say 5:30 am. Kiara would always call him at five in the morning and he would be there no later than 5:15.

"Crap!" He shut off the alarm and shoved the phone in his pocket. He grabbed his hoodie and threw it on himself. He frantically looked around for his wallet, grabbing it and running for the door. He was halfway through the hallway when he forgot his shoes. He cursed to himself before running back and grabbing his shoes, putting it on frantically. Today was already having a great start.

-

"What would you like for breakfast, Anemachi?" Suisei asked her sister. Since Suisei had been spending so much time indoors streaming, Anemachi insisted on having breakfast outdoors. "This was your idea, after all."

"Hmm…" Anemachi rubbed her chin. "I heard there was this great Gyudon place down the street."

As they turned the corner, someone suddenly ran into Suisei, causing both of them to stumble back. The person who ran into her scrambled to his feet, looking around frantically before offering her a hand.

"Sorry, Hoshimachi-san, I would love to stay and chat, but I'm late," The boy said as he started to run off. "Feel free to stop by any time!"

After a few seconds of silence, Anemachi finally spoke up. "Have you two met before? I've never seen him around."

"No," Suisei shook her head, looking at the direction where the boy ran off to. "I don't think I have."

-

As Ryan ran through the alleyway, a wave of nausea hit him, causing him to stumble over. "Damn!" Ryan hissed as he got to his feet. "I haven't felt nausea that bad since my first day!"

Kiara had explained to him that there was a barrier surrounding the KFP that deterred normal people and people with mal intent, and that the nausea he felt was him crossing through the barrier every day. As time went on, Ryan started to feel less and less nausea from crossing the barrier, but for some reason, the nausea hit him with full force.

He sighed, reasoning that he could walk the rest of the way. He dusted his sweats and started walking. It didn't take too long for him to arrive to the KFP. Ryan stopped as soon as he walked out the alley. Something wasn't right. The tungsten plating that was added on for when Coco visited were not there. What worried Ryan more was that the lights were off. The lights were never off. As he walked over to pull the door open, he heard the soft sound of wind brushing his ears.

"KIKKERIKIII~!" Kiara's voice permeated the area. Ryan didn't jump, though. He was far too used to hearing her morning call over the phone. Instead, he smiled, turning to meet his boss.

"Morning, Tenchou," he said. "Sorry I'm late."

"Late? You're early," Kiara tilted her head in confusion. "Nevermind that! Let me unlock the door for you. Your clothes are in the break room."

"I knew that," Ryan muttered under his breath as he followed her into the store. He remembered his dream as he walked in. The place was so full and vibrant. A smile grew on his face as he remembered everyone. Korone and Okayu happily chatting amongst each other with Fubuki watching, a mischievous glint in her eye. Coco, Kanata, and Suisei happily laughing with a huge pot and an unreal amount of pork stew on the table. Shion and Aqua bickering while Choco and Subaru tried to break them up. Botan, Nene, Lamy, and Polka sitting at a table together, exchanging words over sake. Noel and Flare casually flirting while Marine and Matsuri giggled at each other, occasionally shooting the couple looks. Calli, Amelia, Gura, Kiara, and him talking about embarrassing moments as Calli covered her face with embarrassment. He missed that dream. He sighed, shaking his head. That moment will come one day. For now, he needed to change.

-

As Ryan finished changing his uniform, he walked out just in time for Calli to appear in a cloud of black mist. "Morning, Calliope-san," he casually greeted the Shinigami, a cool smile on his face, getting a wine and a wineglass from one of the cupboards below the counter. "The usual, I assume?"

"Y-yeah," Calli looked a bit shocked as Ryan poured her a glass of wine before looking at Kiara. "You got someone to work for you and he already knows about my preferences? I'm impressed, Kusotori."

"No, actually," Kiara looked at Ryan, confused. "How did you know?"

"C'mon, we've met before," Ryan said, leaving the bottle on the counter, knowing Calli would go for more before long. "You alright, Tenchou?"

"Yeah. Well, that doesn't matter. There are more important things to deal with, such as…" Kiara jumped over the counter, tackling Calli in a hug. "Calli!"

"Guh!" Calli grunted as Kiara collided into her. She used her free hand to attempt to push Kiara off her. "Get off, Kusotori!"

"Tenchou, we're on the clock," Ryan sighed. He remembered his first day, when he asked Kiara if he needed to call the cops. He resisted the urge to chuckle. He felt like a completely different person from the person he was back then.

"Ah! I'm sorry!" Kiara walked around the counter, stopping besides Ryan.

"Honestly, I expected you to call the cops or something," Calli said to Ryan. "That's what most people would do if some woman with a scythe appeared out of nowhere."

"Well, I can't do that to my boss's girlfriend, now can I?" Ryan winked at Calli.

"W-where did you get that idea?!" Calli recoiled in shock, her face beet red. "We are not dating!"

"Calli~," Kiara pouted, faking a hurt expression as she made her two index fingers touch. "Why must you hurt me like so?"

"Shut up!" Calli gripped her scythe and swung it at her. Ryan tackled her, moving her out of the way, but a bit of his uniform was scratched.

"Sorry about that, Tenchou," Ryan stood up instantly and looked at Calli. "I would appreciate it if there wasn't any fighting at this establishment."

"F-fine," Ryan must have looked at least a little intimidating because Calli just huffed and sat down.

"That was appreciated, but you didn't have to do that," Kiara said, standing up. "You could've gotten hurt."

"Wouldn't have been the first time," Ryan muttered to himself.

"Anyways, when are the others coming?" Calli asked, sipping her wine.

"Right about…" Kiara paused as the doors flew open. "Now."

"Sup!" Gura flew through the doors. "C'mon, Ame! You can't just stand there and mope!"

"I'll just stay here…" Amelia's voice could be heard from outside. "Give me a few minutes…"

"Don't worry," Ina said as she followed Gura in. "She'll be with us In-a minute."

Kiara, Gura, and Ina laughed at her bad joke while Calli just rolled her eyes. "I'll talk to her," Ryan sighed as he went around. Before any of them could protest, he was outside. He looked around to see Amelia sitting by the alleyway. Her hair was messy, and her eyes were red and puffy, huge bags weighing them down. Ryan sighed and sat next to Amelia.

"What's up, Amelia?" Ryan asked. "You're not usually like this."

Amelia looked up at him, a combination of shock and hope through her eyes. "You're here too?"

"What do you mean? I'm sitting right here," Ryan said.

"No, I mean like…" Amelia shook her head. "You have your memory?"

"We both know I have a memory problem," Ryan grumbled, referring to his amnesia.

"Well, you could've fooled me," Amelia sighed, wiping her eyes. "I travelled two weeks into the past, your first day, and here you are. You shouldn't even know me."

"You what?" Ryan asked, shocked.

"What else could I do!" Amelia shouted, causing Ryan to recoil slightly. "You were dead! So many people were dead! You got shot in the head! Then they came and raided the place, guns blazing! Everyone who wasn't immortal or bulletproof died instantly… I was lucky to have reached my clock in time… If not…"

Ryan could only look at Amelia as she dissolved into tears. He sighed. He could have his existential crisis later. He wrapped his arms around Amelia in an attempt to comfort her. "It's okay. I'm alive now. We'll get through this."

-

Sabrina's eyes flew open. She knew something was wrong. She jumped out of bed and dashed into the living room. She saw Shade sitting on the couch, his good eye shining in the candlelight as he sat, supporting his head with his knuckles while his elbows rested on his legs. "What happened?" Sabrina asked.

"Time has been altered," Shade replied, causing Sabrina to gasp.

"If that's the case…" Sabrina's voice faltered. "There's only one person that is capable of doing that…"

"Something must have gone terribly wrong in Japan," Shade said.

"Edhas…" Sabrina whispered, looking down. What could have possibly happened for Amelia to turn back time to such an extent? Usually, she would only turn back time a few seconds or minutes, causing space to distort around them as the future changed, but if they can only sense the flow of the time stream being disrupted, then she must have travelled back at least a week.

"Godslayer," Shade looked up to meet Sabrina's eyes. "Go to Japan and see what's happening. I'm afraid that this test must be postponed."

-

In Britain, a guy in his chair snapped awake, subsequently falling over, his hand hitting a shot glass full of alcohol, causing it to spill. "Damn it!" He exclaimed, reaching for the desk to pull himself up.

"So, she used it, huh?" He asked himself as he stood up. "I guess I have to go to Japan to see what's going on, now. I better get some of Haato-chan's cooking, though."

-

"Are you feeling a bit better?" Ryan asked as Amelia pulled away.

"A bit," Amelia said, wiping her eyes.

"What happened?" Ryan asked.

"Well, after you tackled Kiara, a bullet shattered a window and hit you in the head. You died instantly," Ryan shuddered as Amelia talked about his death. "Then, a whole team of MILF soldiers ran in, guns blazing. I don't think they intended on taking any prisoners. One by one, everyone died… Kiara and I were safe because we were under the counter, but I could hear their screams. All of them. When I heard Gura, I couldn't take it anymore. I went back in time. Even if we couldn't stop it from happening, I couldn't live in a world without her…"

"It sounds like you love Gura-san very much," Ryan said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I do," Amelia sighed and looked at the KFP in the distance. "Damn, I was going to propose to her too."

"You were?!" Ryan exclaimed.

"Yeah," Amelia chuckled. "Well, I guess I'll have to wait."

"Why wait?" Ryan asked. "Just get the ring and do it now."

"But-," Amelia started, but sighed, knowing that Ryan was right. "I'll do it later. After all, we're in the middle of a reunion. I can't run off to go buy the ring now."

"That sounds good," Ryan smiled. He then took his phone out and gave it to Amelia. "You should put in your number. We're probably going to have to make plans to prevent this whole mess from happening. I don't know what I could do to help, but I'll try my best."

"You can help me by giving me your mom's phone number," Amelia joked, chucking weakly as she entered her phone number.

"Never in a million years," Ryan laughed, standing up and offering Amelia a hand. "Let's go back. No more of this sad shit. Let's go and smile with everyone."

"Yeah," Amelia smiled, grasping his hand.

-

"Woah! How did you get her to do that?!" Gura exclaimed as the two of them walked in. "I could barely get her out of bed!"

"I just gave her my mom's number," Ryan said, causing everyone in the room to laugh.

"Ame!" Gura whined. "We talked about this!"

"Aw, Gura," Amelia gave Gura her signature gremlin laugh. "I'll make it up to you, I promise."

"You better!" Gura pouted.

"Also, Tenchou," Ryan winked at his boss. "I think Amelia would prefer tea rather than salt."

"How did you know?!" Kiara whined. "That was going to be so funny!"

"My magic clock told me," Amelia answered, causing her, Ryan, and Gura to laugh.

"Are you going to tell her?" Ryan asked Amelia.

"I will when I do the thing tonight," Amelia replied.

"That's fine with me," Ryan said.

"Since when did you two become such good friends?" Gura narrowed her eyes.

"Relax, Gura-san," Ryan chuckled. "I'm not going to go after your girl or anything."

"Good," Gura nodded before going back to her fish.

"Like fire and water, I swear," Ryan muttered to himself as he walked behind the counter.

"Hey, Gura, there was somewhere I needed to go to," Amelia said.

"Can I come?" Gura asked.

"Nope!" Amelia popped the 'p' in nope. "It's a secret!"

"Ame!" Gura whined, her tail swishing back and forth.

"Speaking of which, I have to go to work," Calli grumbled. "I'll see you around, Kusotori, Ryan."

Ryan waved as she disappeared in black mist. "Hey, Ina, I need a second opinion, can you help me out?" Amelia asked.

"Sure!" Ina stood up, smiling. "My commissions could wait."

Gura's face slumped as Amelia and Ina walked out. Ryan walked over to Gura and placed a hand on her head. "Don't worry about her," Ryan offered Gura a kind smile. "Amelia would probably kill me if I told you this, but she's preparing a surprise for you."

"Really?!" Ryan's heart melted at Gura's excited expression.

"Of course," Ryan said. "Don't you have a stream to get to?"

"Oh, you're right!" Gura seemed to be too happy to notice that she never told him about her streaming career. "I'll see you around, Ryan!"

As Gura ran out, Kiara looked at Ryan, a mischievous smile on her face. "What did Ame tell you she was going to do?"

Ryan shrugged, knowing that this wouldn't affect anything. Kiara liked to make fun of Amelia, but she wouldn't be as bad as to leak the news. "She's proposing."

"She is?!" Kiara practically jumped for joy. "I can't wait to go to the wedding!"

Ryan smiled at this. No matter what place or time he was in, his Tenchou would always be his best friend.

-

Ryan plopped on his bed, looking at his phone. Should he call Sabrina? Well, no use to break the cycle now. He dialed up her number, which he's long since memorized. When he pressed the call button, something that ne never expected to happen happened.

"Hello?" Sabrina's voice came over from the other side of the phone. "Ryan? Are you okay?"

"Sabrina?" Ryan said, shock filling his voice. "I'm okay, but what about you? We haven't talked in over a year."

"Good," Sabrina said, completely ignoring his question. "Stay put. I'm heading to Japan now. I'll see you there."

Ryan was about to talk, but the phone went dead. "What the hell?"

-

"It looks like someone went back in time," Aloe said, eating one of her bento boxes, hearing Storm's footsteps. "Do you have Anya?"

"I do not," Storm answered, causing Aloe to turn around in shock.

"Does that mean..?"

"Yes," Storm smiled behind his hood. "Time has rewritten itself. Nothing will be the same."

-KFP Arc end-