Loose Ends

Ryo turned at the sound of a knock on his door. He took his hand off of the grocery page and caught the cardboard box which fell into his hand as a result of his order.

"Enter." He commanded knowing who was on the other side. The door opened and in walked Noel, shuffling her feet shyly as she closed the door behind her.

"You wanted to see me master?" Noel said.

"I did." Ryo replied as he pulled out the chair and positioned it across from himself where he was sitting on his bed. "Please take a seat."

Noel obeyed and sat down opposite him while he rested there for a moment, just staring into her eyes and making her slightly nervous. Then without another word he pushed the box he'd ordered from the grocery system towards her. 

"Open it." He said. "My little gift for you."

She paused for a moment before giving him a thankful smile though she was clearly mystified about what the contents could be. Opening the flaps, she took a peek inside and let out a little gasp as she looked between the box and his face.

"Master Ryo!" She said. "This...this is not necessary!"

"Do you want to be walking around naked everywhere then until you find a suitable piece of clothing?" He raised his brow. "What you're wearing right now belongs to another girl and I had your previous clothing burned. You will have to make do with these. And anyways, it is rude to refuse a gift from anyone, especially your master. So take it."

Noel looked like she was going to say something else but a sharp tilt of Ryo's head shut her up real fast. Right now, this had become an order and as part of her pledge, she had to obey her king. So after a deep breath, she reached into the box and pulled out a cute little yellow dress with white polka dots and a little soft collar. After that came a pair of shiny buckle shoes one would usually find as customary footwear for young girls in the modern era. This was followed up by a long yellow ribbon.

She grabbed these gifts and held it close to her chest before looking up at him, her eyes gleaming with gratitude.

"Thank you Master. I will treasure them."

"Why don't you go on and change into them?" He asked. "Yuni will want her set back soon enough."

Noel nodded and stood up from the chair and began walking away. Ryo assumed she was heading for his door so she could go to her room, but to his surprise and annoyance, she set her new clothes on the end of his bed and pulled the little uniform off of her body with no care for her apparent state. Ryo simply deadpanned before rolling his eyes.

'Kids.'

Noel pulled on the dress and smoothed it down with barely suppressed happiness, before she slipped her small feet into the little buckle shoes. After she was done tightening them, she stared at the ribbon confused and looked at him for help. He beckoned her over and took the ribbon from her hands before making her turn around and face her back to him. After a few seconds of fumbling with her hair, he tied the ribbon into a little bow on top of her head and urged her to turn around face him.

"There we are." He nodded, admiring her finished look. "You most certainly look ready to melt people's hearts. I'm sure you could just blink at someone while clasping your hands and they will acquiesce to your every demand."

"...A-are you saying I'm c-cute Master?" She asked him.

"Hmm...I don't know much about cute." He said as he stood up. "From what I've seen, when people and women in particular refer to something as cute, it's usually something that's tiny, defenceless and helpless. In that respect, yes you are very cute Noel."

Noel's face muscles tensed a bit as she let out wry smile. Though his last words seemed to be all the answer she wanted to hear, she wasn't so sure that he'd said it in a good way about her. In fact she wasn't sure if she was just praised...or if he seemed disappointed. She then furrowed her brows in confusion as she lifted a finger to her chin.

"Where did you buy these things from Master?" She asked. "All the shops are closed at this time, and even if they were open, you couldn't have gone out to get these and come back in such a short time...could you?"

"As a matter of fact I can." He said as he turned to look at her. "There will be much for you to learn about me during your time of service. But enough about that. It is time you get acquainted with my other subordinate."

"The one who can use ice as well?" Noel asked, to which she got a nod in return.

"Her name is Uraume." He said. "Make sure you're polite."

Noel nodded and watched as he pointed a base hand sign for his Dismantle attack and targeted space itself. Noel watched as the air itself seemed to get split before reality peeled apart revealing bright light spilling in through from the crack. Noel grew nervous and instinctively moved towards Ryo and grabbed his legs while hiding behind them.

A moment later, a silhouette appeared in the tear before a white haired woman stepped through and into the room. Her cold face looked around for a moment before fixating on Ryo and the little girl. Her eyes narrowed a little bit, and under her scrutiny, Noel felt as if icicles were pricking at wherever the woman's gaze landed on her body. Uraume stared at her for a few seconds longer as the room became noticeably colder before she looked back up at Ryo.

"Master Ryo." She said. "I have returned...and I have completed every task you asked of me."

"The renovation materials?"

"All accounted for."

"And my house?"

"Spotless." Uraume said. "You could eat off of the toilet seat."

Noel grimaced at that.

"Well I'm not trying that any time soon." Ryo said. "Anyway, we're heading out to the establishment tomorrow...I'm going to set it all up in a day. What about the talismans I ordered you to collect?"

"Right here." The incarnated sorceress said as she pulled out a small wooden box from her large sleeves. "I must compliment you master, on the power and versatility of these talismans. Though I will also add, their particular purposes are not at all honourable and fair for these pests. As a matter of fact, it is quite petty and devious...which I suppose is what you were aiming for"

"Nobody ever got rich being honest." Ryo said as he sent the box into his Item Box.

"By the way..." Uraume said as she looked down at the little girl who shrunk back even further under her gaze. "Who's the brat?"

"Meet your new little sister Uraume." Ryo grinned as he pushed Noel forwards a little with his hand on her back. "Her name is Noel...and she's a High Class spirit specialising in Ice Magic and Healing. She's pledged her fealty, so be sure to treat her and mentor her well. She'll be another worker in the restaurant."

"You subdued a spirit already?" Uraume's eyebrows rose in her perplexed state. "And here I thought you wanted to stay on the down-low."

"Don't insult me." He grumbled. "Does this girl look like she knows how to fight? She willingly offered herself to me in exchange for protection."

Uraume's gaze changed between him and Noel continuously.

"And High Class spirits just do that?" She asked skeptically.

Ryo's smile disappeared as his eyes narrowed, and his black pupils flashed red momentarily.

"Are you insinuating something?" He asked, his voice dangerously cool, ironically enough.

"No." Uraume said. "But I suppose you want me to be in charge of this girl then. I suppose she doesn't know how to use her powers properly...but we are Curses master. She's something else."

"The principles should remain the same somewhat." He said. "You can teach her a thing or to beyond her current ability to make spears of ice. You've got a thousand winters behind you and more than that, possess the ability to incapacitate several special grades in an instant." He smiled at her again. "I think you're more than qualified for the job. I'm not asking you to teach her how to fight just yet. But clearly heightened emotions causes her to perform accidental magic...and you know how unappreciative I am of 'accidents'. So...train her." He finished while pushing Noel towards the sorceress before making his way through the tear into his world. He paused for a moment and looked back. "Do try to get along."

He entered and the tear closed behind him, leaving the two ice prodigies standing in his room. Noel shuffled her feet and drummed her fingers together, feeling very awkward as Uraume's cold gaze bore into her. Noel took a deep breath before she began.

"So...big sister Uraume-" She was cut off by her own yelp as Uraume stuck a finger in her face, one that had ice frozen over it into a needle sharp point which was hovering mere inches away from Noel's eyeball.

"Don't ever call me that." Uraume said in clear disgust, her eyes glinting dangerously. "The master might have foisted the responsibilities of you over to me out of convenience of our shared affinity...but you and I are not the same. You do not get to address me so intimately. Is that understood?"

"Y-yes." Noel said as she cowered a little.

"Yes what?"

"Huh?"

"I am your superior. Before you learn power, you must acknowledge those who have more of it than you. And the very least of doing that is by adding the right honorifics. So I will ask again, yes 'what'?"

"Yes...maam?"

"Hmph." Uraume said as she lowered the icicle covered finger. "It will do for now. Now come along...if we are to begin your lessons right away, we shall not mar the master's room with our spells."

"But it's bedtime!" Noel complained. "And I feel really tired."

"Good." Uraume said she opened the door and looked back at Noel with a chilling glare. "This will make this all the more fun for me."

---

(Earth)

Ryo touched down out of the tear in space into a familiar living room that was bathed in the light of a setting sun which was coming through from an open sliding door. Outside, cars rushed by in the street as Ryo saw his neighbours coming home from work and tucking themselves in for the night. Using Blue, he gently slid the door closed in case someone peeked in and saw him dressed like some character from a fantasy RPG.

Ryo dusted himself a bit, before becoming a little grim as he locked his eyes onto a closed cabinet at the farthest end of the living room. He took a deep breath as he walked over to it and pulled the doors open to reveal the contents. A small altar lined with candles and incense sticks, above all of which on the topmost shelf was a picture of an old gentleman, with a large amount of fuzzy hair surrounding the sides of his bald head. His nose was crooked and his chin was sharp, but there was a warm smile on the man's face which gave him a natural grandfatherly aura. Ryo half-scoffed, half-smiled at the photograph as he lit the candles and the incense, giving the picture a little bit of warm light.

If only people knew what kind of monster was lurking behind that smile. A cunning devious old devil of a human that did whatever he could and would to get what he wanted. A cultist who was a danger to everyone around him and yet people just could not see his threat. A wolf hiding amongst the sheep. The literal skeletons still inside the basement in a hidden compartment was a testament to that...small skeletons too...small enough to belong to children...

Ryo sighed however, noting that his output of air was a little bit more forlorn than usual. It was so theatrical...the man was willing to send anyone to the abyss in order to find a way to escape death...yet nothing he did could help him achieve this. Nobody could escape death, especially when it was to be the first they ever experience. Though immortal himself, Ryo was convinced that the abyss would take him again as well, though not for a long time yet.

He walked into the kitchen and for the back door so he could step into the garden. Sure enough, just as he wanted, there were construction supplies piled up in his garden under tarp which was dropped off during the two weeks he'd sent Uraume out. After looking around for a moment to check if he was alone, he gestured with a finger and his shadow spilled out from underneath his feet, swallowing up all the crates, boxes and packages whole before it receded back into the shape of his body. Ryo made his way to go back in when at the end of the street he saw a policeman walking down the pavement and up to his gate.

The policeman locked eyes with him and Ryo saw the suspicion in the older man's face as he saw Ryo's attire. Especially with the little weapons hanging in the belt. The officer quickened his pace a little as he made a very obvious beeline for the spirit, who felt himself growing steadily more annoyed.

A little known fact about Ryo...he hated police.

....

The officer suddenly fell forwards, his face splatting onto the paving tiles with a heavy thud as blood began to pool suddenly from a hole that had just appeared in his forehead which pierced both his skull and his brain. The blood travelled through the grooves and began to seep into a drain nearby. making Ryo huff as he turned his back on the scene.

Living with someone like his adoptive grandfather had made him quite paranoid of police, especially about the possibility that they uncovered some of the old man's misdoings. Ryo did not want to be roped into the mess and the less opportunities and pathways he opened up to people snooping in, even as small as this, then the better it would be for him and the longer he could keep his identity in this world.

With that little pest dealt with, Ryo walked back inside the house and headed for the bathroom where a shower was calling his name. He had somewhere else to be.

---

Ryo placed some flowers into a vase beside a slightly weathered tombstone and stood up again as he stared at the writing on it. He stayed there for a few seconds before speaking.

"Hey old man." He began, his eyes roaming over the stone plate which sealed the grave. "Don't know if you can hear me...I bet it's real toasty down there for you. Unfortunately, communing with the dead is not an ability of mine, even if I myself am a spiritual being."

He paused for a moment as he thought more about what he wanted to say.

"I haven't visited here since the day I put you in there. I only did it for appearance you know. Thought that by getting my hands a little dirty with your grave soil, I'd garner some sympathy points from your little club...enough for them to drop their guards so they weren't ready when I butchered them. I made good on my promise...though I'm sure you knew I was going to. It's funny. You always did have so much faith in me."

He paused for a moment as a chilly breeze passed over him. It had no power enough to affect him or even make him flinch but the small superstitious part of him told him that it was some kind of answer. Ryo sighed.

"In my past life, they took us when we were young. First thing they did was open up our skulls and operate on our ventromedial prefrontal cortexes...so we didn't have the ability to judge right from wrong. All that was left would be ghosts of emotions...and I did really well to block out the whispers."

Ryo bit his lip.

"It looks like that it is not the same for me here. I found my target, my anchor that I briefly mentioned to you old man. Loathed as I am to admit it, I feel more...how do I put it...whole." Ryo looked down at his hand. "No matter how much blood I spill to keep that humanity away, I find myself...bored. Bored enough that I've decided to open a restaurant in another world. And you'd definitely be elated at this piece of news...I think I have an admirer. She disguises her attraction through jest and quirky behaviour...but I'm no fool. Trouble is, I'm not pushing her away as much as I should be doing or like I've always done. For some reason, now that all I really ever wanted is coming to me, I feel more alive...and more accepting of humanity."

The bushes and trees rustled a little.

"And even more than that...I've started dreaming about you lately. A gross pervy old man like you appearing in my dreams...good enough cause for concern. But...what I guess I'm trying to say is...I think I miss you. I think for once in my life...I actually want you back, to help me sort out my head in some small way. I know I could have saved you back then...a small job involving a reversed curse and you would have been perfectly normal. Or a quick application of Idle Transfiguration. I probably would have gone with that because you'd have definitely felt it. But either way...I feel as if I should have kept you alive. But regardless, I need you out of the way so I could begin my journey. I realise now that I did form an attachment to you after all...a weak link. A link that should be cut off."

Ryo took a small stopwatch out of his pocket and clicked the button on it, watching the numbers go down with small beeps.

"I can't let weakness hold me back...I served to cover the ones of many a people once. Now it is time I got rid of my own. I won't be able to see you again after this...no hard feelings okay. But the job needs to be done...otherwise your ghost will haunt me forever." Ryo set the clock down on the tomb. "Goodbye Grandpa. Hope the afterlife is treating you well enough that you don't care about your grave here."

Ryo phased out of there as the ominous beeping became faster and more shrill. A moment later, the grounds of the cemetery just seemed to explode upwards, dislodging and destroying hundreds of other graves, and showering the neighbourhood houses with dirt and rubble, and pretty much mummified remains...all beneath a mushroom cloud of fire.

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