Day 2: Changes

Ryan sighed as he sat in his bed, focusing on his magical energy. He couldn't sleep at all, spending all night planning and trying to raise his magical storage. The "gift" that Edhas gave him turned out to be quite useful. On top of a bunch of useful things like weapon creation and blacksmithing, Edhas also was an expert at magic, gifting Ryan countless techniques to help him with his magic.

"Hey Ryan," Nux's voice rang inside Ryan's head. "You awake?"

'I'm here,' Ryan said. 'What's up?'

"A few things came up," Nux said. "I want to take care of a few things before I stop by the KFP. Plus, you need to get reacquainted with all of your friends, right?"

'That's fine,' Ryan said. 'It's not my job to butt into your business anyways.'

"Alright," Nux said. "I'll check in to see how things are going tomorrow, kay?"

'Alright,' Ryan stood up, stretching. He turned his head when he heard a knock on the door. He tilted his head before tensing. 'I don't remember anyone knocking on the door in the morning.'

Ryan inched towards the door, having the switch to his magic ready at a moment's notice. He was aware that a MILF soldier was going to come later that day, but he didn't remember someone coming in the morning. In fact, Ryan didn't remember anyone coming to visit him in the morning. He almost sighed when he realized his door didn't have a peephole. He really needed to change that. He opened the door. "Can I help you?"

"Yeah, are you Ryan Shade?" The man before him was about his height, his dirty blond hair in a mess. He wore a light brown T-shirt, the shade of brown akin to the color of sand on a desert and cargo shorts, topping the outfit off with brown sneakers. The thing Ryan focused on though was the man's eyes. His crimson eyes bore into Ryan. Ryan vaguely remembered seeing this person at Kiara's wedding. Edhas referred to him as the 'legendary sand bird'. Ryan didn't know who he was, but if Edhas knew him, chances were that he was an ally.

"Yeah, what do you-," Ryan was cut off when he was slammed to the wall, the sand bird's right arm being replaced by a torrent of sand that pinned Ryan.

"What are your motives?!" The sand bird demanded, a fiery look in his eyes. "What do you want with Kiara?"

"Isn't it rude to kabedon someone before introducing yourself?" Ryan asked, keeping a calm expression. He knew he could easily break out if he needed, but he only wanted to reveal his magic if he absolutely needed to. "That's quite forward of you."

"Don't get the wrong idea," The sand bird replied with a sneer. "I'm just looking out for my friend."

"Jeez, you're no fun," Ryan rolled his eyes. So that's what it felt like to be on the other side of that. "Truth is, we're on the same side. I've only known Kiara for a day, but she seems like a nice person."

"I see," The sand bird's arm slowly returned to normal, releasing Ryan. "Just call me David."

"So, David," Ryan rubbed the back of his head. "You seem to be quite protective."

"I know…" David looked down, guilt flashing through his eyes. "It was a while ago, but I proposed to Kiara…"

"You proposed?" Ryan's eyes slightly widened in shock. He was so used to Kiara being with Calli that he forgot that other people were capable of feeling feelings for his manager.

"Yeah, but it seems that she already has someone else in her heart," David looked up at Ryan, genuine sadness in his eyes. "I haven't been able to face her since. The best I can do is protect her from the shadows, taking out any threat that would dare get close to her."

"Well that just sounds fucking dumb," Ryan said. He had an incessant urge to bonk David over the head and Ryan decided not to fight that urge.

"Ow!" David rubbed his head in the area where Ryan bonked him. "What was that for?"

"That was for being dumb," Ryan rubbed his fist. "Why haven't you talked to her yet?"

"She wouldn't want to talk to me after I proposed like that," David said, the sadness creeping back in his eyes. Ryan heaved a sigh and bonked him over the head again.

"How do you know that?" Ryan asked as David rubbed his head in pain.

"Because she…" David trailed off as he tried to find an answer. "I don't know."

"Well, let's go talk to her, then," Ryan said, grabbing David's shirt, dragging him along as he headed out. "I don't want to be late for work so don't make me regret this decision."

-

"KIKKERIKIII~!!!" Kiara called through the phone as Ryan walked down the street, dragging David along with him.

"Jeez, Ryan!" David exclaimed. "You can let go of me now!"

"Who's that?" Kiara asked. "I heard a voice."

"I hope you don't mind me bringing a plus one," Ryan said. "Found a stray bird and I don't know what to do with him."

"What did you just call me?!" David shouted, but Ryan just ignored his comment.

"Birds?" Kiara asked. "I love birds! Go on ahead!"

"Thanks, Tenchou," Ryan said. "I'm already on my way."

"Alright! I'll be in by the time you get there," Kiara said.

"You don't know that," Ryan muttered.

"I already opened up."

"Oh," Ryan said. He should have known. "I'll see you then."

"How did you know I was a bird?" David asked as Ryan hung up. "Better yet, you barely reacted when I pinned you with my magic. Are you really human?"

"I guess I picked up some stuff with Tenchou," Ryan shrugged. "Plus, if I'm going to have to deal with the people like the ones I did yesterday, I need to have an open mind."

"Whatever," David said. Ryan let go of his shirt and grabbed his ear. "Ow! What the hell are you, an old woman?!"

-

"Morning, Tenchou," Ryan said as he opened the door, dragging David inside with him. "I brought you a delivery."

"Hey, Ryan! Who's this little bird you've-," Kiara skipped out of the back room but stopped in her tracks when she saw who Ryan was dragging. "David?!"

"Hey Kiara…" David rubbed the back of his head, looking down.

"Look up," Ryan slapped David's back, causing his head to shoot up as he flinched from the hit. "You screwed up, so now you have to deal with it."

"You're not my dad," David grumbled.

"It's been so long since I've seen you!" Kiara cheered, her smile widening. "Where have you been all this time?!"

"I…" David looked down for a second before looking Kiara in the eyes. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" Kiara put a finger on her chin. "What's there for you to be sorry about?"

"I'm sorry for running away like I did," David said, his voice shaking. "After you rejected me like that… I thought that I ruined our friendship. So, I just ran away. I hope you can forgive me."

"Oh, David," Kiara walked over, pulling David into a hug, a comforting smile on her face. "You never stopped being my friend. I'll always be here for you."

"Thanks, Kiara…" David smiled softly, returning the hug.

-

"So, how did you two meet?" Ryan had decided to go get changed while the two had their heart-to-heart. He had just exited the break room when Kiara asked the question.

"Oh, David knocked on my door this morning before pinning me to a wall," Ryan said casually, as if he were mentioning something that happened on a daily occurrence. "It was quite an experience."

"I didn't know you swung that way, David~," Kiara winked at her old friend.

"I-it's not like that!" David turned red, looking away. "He was just being suspicious."

"Well, he's special, that's for sure," Kiara said.

"Yeah," Ryan sighed. He remembered when everyone was talking about how he was special at first. He remembered being agitated as to why no one would tell him, but now that he knew why he was special, he felt that it was better that he wasn't told at that point and time. "I guess I am."

-

"Wow, you look like shit," Nux said as he stepped through the endless void. He stood before Grimm who was sitting down by a sign, two doors a few feet away from him on either side. His hair was ruffled and messy, his robes were all torn and ragged, and his scythe was split in half.

"What do you want, Nux?" Grimm growled, looking up to him with wild, feral eyes. "You never cared to visit me after I died."

"You know, you never denied my point," Nux said, frowning. As much as he enjoyed cracking jokes, he couldn't help but pity his friend. He had no idea what being the Ruler of the Phoenix Dimension meant or what he was capable of doing, so he spent his time wallowing in defeat. Only when Kiara died in the war when Grimm realized he was capable of turning his existence around, doing good on his powers.

"That's because I agree with you," Grimm said. "I look like shit. What do you expect me to do about it?"

"Did it ever hit you that having your existence bound here would have benefits?" Nux asked. "You're not powerless, Grimm. All you need to do is take it."

"I never thought I'd hear that from you," Grimm sighed, standing up. "Thanks, Nux. I needed that."

"I guess I've changed, huh?" Nux said. "Now get your ass busy. Your students miss you."

-

"I think I'm going to go now," David said. "I think I want to move to Japan. I need to get my things sorted."

"That's great!" Kiara exclaimed. "I hope to be seeing you here more often."

"That's a promise," David smiled before a whirlwind of sand dusted up, covering him completely. When the sand dispersed, he was gone.

"So, why didn't you accept his marriage proposal?" Ryan asked. He knew the answer, but Kiara isn't supposed to know that. "He seems like a nice enough guy."

"Well," Kiara smiled fondly, looking down at the small pile of sand on the floor. "I'm already in love with someone else."

"I see," Ryan scowled.at the same pile of sand Kiara was looking at. "I'm going to have to clean this up, aren't I?"

"Yep!"

-

Suisei sighed as she walked down the alleyway. She wanted to stop by the KFP after hours to see Kiara and talk to her about Ryan. He seemed like an interesting fellow from what she's observed. Furthermore, YAGOO wouldn't tell her anything more about him other than the fact that 'he was special'. She was surprised when she saw the exact same man, she was thinking about walking down the other way. She tensed slightly as she passed him. The way he walked… he seemed to be far too careful to be a normal KFP worker. He walked like a trained fighter. It was as if he was ready for a fight any given second. She rubbed her chin as she continued walking. She needed to get more info.

-

Ryan had immediately tensed when he saw Suisei, as he still had bad memories with her stalking him. At first, she was stalking him for information on him, but after the war, she took up a business of taking pictures for the RSFC (Ryan Shade Fan Club). She was frighteningly good at her job. Even though he knew where she was, he never knew when she was taking pictures.

As he walked home, the creeping feeling of being watched started to grow on him. Since he didn't have his magic on, he didn't have the ability to sense magic on as well, so he had to rely on his intuition. "I know you're following me," he said. "It's rude to stalk someone without introducing yourself first."

"I think that beats the point of stalking," Suisei said as she appeared behind Ryan with a gust of wind. "Now tell me. Who are you?"

"I'm just a KFP worker," Ryan said. "I'm just a little special, that's all."

A tick appeared on Suisei's forehead. That was the exact thing YAGOO told her. "Don't think I won't get more info on you."

"I know you will," Ryan said. "Feel free to follow me as much as you like, but if you're going to stalk me, you might as well just spend the night. I have a few spare blankets in my apartment."

"I appreciate the offer," Suisei said. "My name is Hoshimachi Suisei."

"It's a pleasure, Suisei," Ryan chuckled as Suisei vanished. "This is going to be interesting."

-

As Ryan walked back to his apartment, he saw the MILF soldier at his door, knocking. "I'm sorry," he said, catching the soldier's attention. "I was out late. Do you need me?"

"Oh, are you the resident living in this apartment?" The MILF soldier asked. Ryan nodded. "I have reason to believe that you're in contact with supernatural creatures. Is that true?"

Ryan heaved a sigh, an answer formulating in his head. "I'm a normal, law-abiding citizen. We both know interacting with supernatural creatures are illegal."

"I see," the MILF soldier nodded. "Thank you for your honesty."

"No problem," Ryan said as the MILF soldier walked away. He heaved a sigh. "Just one thing after the other, isn't it?"

-

Jerry walked out of the apartment complex, heaving a sigh. He really didn't like interrogating people like that. He was told to tell everyone he visited that they had reason to believe they were in contact with supernatural creatures. Yeah, MILF had a reason. The reason was that they were all paranoid fucks. It was honestly grating on him.

"So, I see you're messing with my partner in crime," Jerry whirled around to see a pale man with a flaming machete. "You shouldn't have done that."

"W-wait!" Jerry took a step back, pointing his pistol at the man. "I'll shoot!"

"Whatever," The man said, swinging his machete. "I don't have time to play with you."

"Eh?" Was the last thing that came out of Jerry as his head fell to the floor. The pale man sighed as he walked up to the corpse.

"Now, what should I do with you?"