Day 19: Acerola Juice

Day 19: Acerola Juice

"KIKKERIKIII~" Kiara exclaimed through the phone. Ryan cracked his neck and looked at his phone. 1:23 am. That was an odd time to be calling.

"What's up, Tenchou?" Ryan asked. He tried to think back to the first time around to remember if she called at this time, but he was probably dead asleep, so he didn't have an exact answer.

"Can you come to the KFP?" Kiara asked. "I got a reservation for 1:30 and I was hoping you would join me."

"Who the hell reserves a fast-food joint at this time of night?" Ryan asked. "Also, since when did we do reservations?"

"You'll find out," If Ryan was there in person, he was one hundred percent sure that Kiara would have offered the employee a wink.

"Alright, I'll be there in five," Ryan said, playfully rolling his eyes as he hung up the phone. He wanted to complain about being called at the most random time, but he had nothing better to do. Plus, he had to learn the hard way that you don't know what you really have until it's gone. He hoped not to be shot in the head again. That was an excessive way to learn a lesson.

-

"Konkapu~!" Ryan jumped slightly when a girl's voice came out from behind him in the middle of nowhere in a pitch-black alley.

"You shouldn't scare people like that," Ryan turned around, his hands in his pockets and staring into the eternal abyss, trying his best to look intimidating and casual at the same time.

"Oh! Sorry! I didn't intend to scare you!" A girl wearing a short skirt and a bat pin on her hair skipped into view. "What brings you here at this time of night? Are you a vampire as well?"

"I feel like that's either the most creative insult to my terrible sleep schedule or I'm just looking too deep into this," Ryan rubbed the back of his head. "I'm just a normal human. Well, normal is up for debate, but I assure you, I am human."

"Huh? I thought humans weren't allowed here," The girl put a finger to her chin and titled her head.

"I have no idea how YAGOO's barrier was made," Ryan remembered the off comment Calli made before he got shot. "All I know is that I'm heading to work."

"Ah, so you're working at Kiara-chan's KFP?" The girl asked. "Huh, last I checked the files, you shouldn't know this much."

"Knowing a name is too much?" Ryan asked. "You know what? You're making me ask too many questions. If you're not going to kill me, I'm just going to head off to work."

"Oh! We're heading to the same place!" The girl's smile grew. "Want to walk with me?"

"Why not?" Ryan sighed. "There is only one way there, I guess."

-

"Ryan! Mel-senpai!" Kiara waved the two over as they walked in. "You two have met before?"

"Nope," Ryan shrugged. "Well, I'm going to get changed."

"I'll have some Acerola juice!" The girl, who Ryan now knew as Mel walked over to the counter and plopped down.

Ryan heard another voice as he closed the door to get changed. When he opened the door again, he saw another girl sitting next to Mel. What caught Ryan's eye was the floating rings with hair attached to them. He resisted the urge to shrug at his own thoughts. Must be some magical accessory. After all, it did look stylish.

"Alonaaa~," The girl spoke right as Ryan started to ponder whether or not to blow his next paycheck on whatever that girl was wearing. "My name is Aki Rosenthal. People call me Akirose."

"Ryan Shade, people tend to call me a disappointment," Ryan said. "Nice to meet you, Akirose-san."

"You're not a disappointment," Kiara smiled at him. "Most of the time."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Ryan sighed, before lowering his voice. "Says the one who failed to get Calliope-san's milk twenty-seven times."

"How do you even know about that?!" Kiara exclaimed. "And it was twice!"

"No, it was twenty-seven," Aki deadpanned, causing Mel, Aki, and Ryan to laugh while Kiara glared at her.

"What would like to eat?" Ryan asked.

"Nothing, for now. I got this," Ryan looked away out of respect (read: not wanting to get bonked) when Aki shoved her hand between her thighs. When he looked again, a tub of KFP chicken was on the counter.

"What just happened?" Ryan asked.

"You don't want to know," Kiara shuddered.

"That's implying that you've seen," Mel said. Everyone turned to Aki, who just smiled suggestively and winked.

"I'm telling Calliope-san," Ryan said without a second thought.

"That was last year!" Kiara protested.

"Kiara-chan, you've known Calli-chan for thousands of years," Aki reminded her.

"Oh," Kiara's shoulders slumped. "I'm screwed, aren't I?"

Ryan nudged her. "Depending on what happens, the way you'll end up being screwed can change."

"You're right!" Kiara's eyes shot up. "Thanks, Ryan! I'll be right back!"

A few moments of awkward silence passed after Kiara dashed off before the three started laughing. "She's dead, isn't she?" Ryan asked, half-joking.

"Yep," Mel smiled at Ryan as if his statement were completely serious.

"GET BACK HERE KUSOTORI!" Ryan dived just in time to miss a blade of darkness as the doors opened.

"No fighting in the establishment!" Ryan shouted as he hit the floor.

"Fighting is perfectly fine!" Kiara shouted as she flew over the counter before lowering her voice so only Ryan could hear. "I think it was assault that you were thinking of."

"I would protest, but I've met Natsuhiro-san," Ryan sighed. When he noticed that Calli hadn't come to murder her girlfriend yet, he peeked up.

"RYAN! GET HER FOR ME!" Calli was tied to a rope with both Mel and Aki pulling her back..

"Where the hell did you get the rope?" Ryan asked.

"Don't ask," Mel sighed.

"Feel free to ask all you like," Aki smirked slyly.

"As much as I would love to ask, but I feel like someone," Ryan glared at a random direction, where he was fifty percent sure that Suisei was hiding, "would disapprove."

"Am I safe?" Kiara peeked her head out. When she saw Calli tied up, she dove over the counter. "An opportunity!"

"Nope!" Ryan grabbed Kiara's collar and pulled her back. "We are on the clock, Tenchou. Understand?"

"Yes Ryan," Kiara looked down, as if she were a child being scolded for stealing a candy bar. In many ways, Ryan felt like he was scolding a child.

"Thanks for that," Calli sighed as Aki and Mel untied her.

"You're only safe until I clock out," Ryan said. "I do not take sides."

"You're going to die a painful death, you know that?" Calli glared at Ryan, her crimson eyes glowing for dramatic effect.

"Been there, done that," Ryan waved her off before turning to Aki. "You're paying for your chicken, right?"

"Well, I made it myself, so no," Aki gave Ryan a kind smile while Calli looked at Ryan, confused at his… odd dismissal.

"For the sake of my sanity, I'll just agree with you," Ryan shook his head.

Kiara stood up as the three took their seats. "So, did you hear about the stunt Ame pulled yesterday?" Kiara asked.

"It's nice that she's supporting us, though," Mel said.

"From what I know, Ame started a weapons branch," Ryan said. "Out of curiosity, why would you all need weapons?"

"Every idol agency needs guns, right?" Kiara asked.

"For the last time, Tenchou," Ryan said. "I refuse to believe you're an idol."

"This is the first time we've talked about this, though," Kiara looked genuinely hurt.

"Really?" Ryan turned to Kiara. "I thought we've been over this before."

"We haven't," Kiara replied. Ryan resisted the urge to facepalm at himself. Everything was blending together at this point.

"Huh, must be the nausea," Ryan muttered to himself as he leaned on the counter. "Mel-san, aren't you a vampire? Why didn't you order blood or something like that?"

"Ah! I don't really like hurting things, so I just drink Acerola juice instead," Mel replied, a bright smile on her face.

"That's… oddly wholesome," Ryan said. "Didn't expect that from a vampire."

"I'm special," Mel's smile only widened.

-100 hp! Critical hit! Ryan had leaned to stand still when his heart took critical hits after meeting Ojou.

"Are you okay?" Kiara asked, noticing the sweat beading on Ryan's forehead.

"Fine," Ryan said, straining himself. Suddenly, an alarm went off. Ryan had to look away again when Aki crammed her hand in between her thighs again. When he turned his head again, she was holding a phone.

"Ah! Our collab stream is in 10 minutes!" Aki gasped.

"Crap! We need to go!" Mel and Aki stood up. As they opened the door, Mel turned into a bat while Aki's hair receded into her rings as they grew in size. When Aki jumped, she landed on the rings and floated off.

"I'm not going to ask," Ryan sighed.

-

"Damn Watson Construction not giving us better weapons," A shadowy man slammed his closed fist on the desk in front of him. "We're outgunned."

"Don't worry," A shady man on the other side of the table smirked. "China has recently developed a new branch of weapons thanks to a certain… Unicorn."

"A unicorn, you say?" The shady man asked. "That is… quite interesting."

-

A woman snapped awake to the sound of shattering metal. She fell on her hands and knees, silver blood dripping onto the floor.

"C'mon! We have to get out of here!" A familiar voice was heard as she was supported up.

"Yo…" the woman started as she took a step, being supported by an unknown figure.

"Shhh, it's okay," the voice shushed her. "All of us are in hiding. We're here to bust you out."

"Shit! She's escaping! Call for backup!" A man shouted.

"Crap!" The voice cursed. Sounds of gunfire, a beam being shot, and an explosion was heard before the woman drifted back into unconsciousness.

-

"So, what do you think?" Aloe said, watching Ryan walking home on a TV while sitting on a couch.

"I think I will have to enter the physical plane tomorrow," Storm replied, standing behind the couch.

"Are you going to give him that?" Aloe turned to look at Storm.

"There is a high chance that I will," Storm replied.

"If you will, can you give him this?" Aloe opened her palm, and a glowing ball of light formed, floating slightly above her palm.

"Do you think this is a good idea?" Storm reached his hand over, closing it on the ball of light. "You know what will happen if things go wrong."

"I want to do anything I can to help," Aloe replied. "Plus, if things go wrong, time will just reverse again, right?"

"I'm not in charge of that," Storm said, moving his hand back inside his cloak. "But I don't think things will go wrong this time."

-

Ryan sighed as he closed the door. Since he had met Sabrina the day before, he didn't really feel a reason to call her anymore. He plopped on the bed, noting that the tugging feeling on the back of his head preventing him from falling asleep.

"Goodnight, Hoshimachi-san. Yo-chan," He said before closing his eyes, snuggling with the blankets.

-

"Yo-chan?" Suisei asked as she peered into his window.

"How did he know I was there?" With a gust of wind, Sabrina revealed herself, her mask on.

"I guess he's just gotten used to us stalking him," Suisei replied. "Speaking of which, why are you following him?"

"I just want to make sure my friend is staying safe," Sabrina replied before turning to Suisei. "Why are you following him?"

"Well, I didn't know if he was a threatening existence or not, but if you trust him, I don't see why that would be the case," Suisei sighed.

"I don't know about that," Sabrina shuddered. "We need to keep him safe, or else."

Suisei nodded, and with a flash of light, both of them were gone.