Day 10: Shocking

Meimei Roro let out an evil grin as she turned off her computer. The humans she's interacted with during her streams and on Twitter have all been very nice. Little do they know; she's slowly seeping their souls through their computer. Roro rubbed her chin as she remembered some people saying that they would gladly offer her soul up to her, but since she can't speak English, she just chalked it up to a mistranslation. (AN: Roro-chan if you're reading this, I would offer you my soul, but Reina has it right now, so you'll have to take it up with her.)

"What should I do now?" Roro asked herself, standing up to stretch. "I haven't been to the human world yet. Maybe I should stop by."

She paced around her room, deep in thought. "How will I get to the human world, though?" She turned around to see a particular orange pamphlet pinned to the wall. "I know! I'll stop by KFP."

-

"Morning Jam," Yuni rolled over on her bed to look at the small alicorn that was laying beside her. Even though his eyes were closed, Yuni knew he was awake. "What do you want to do today?"

Jam twitched slightly, turning his head towards Yuni. "You had bread a couple of hours ago," Yuni said. Jam replied with a shake of his head.

"Don't think I didn't notice that all the bread was gone when I woke up earlier," Yuni scolded, her eyes narrowing at the fluffy familiar. Jam just tilted his head in response.

"You have every idea what I'm talking about," Yuni said as she stood up. Jam hovered in the air, his tiny wings moving slowly as he mostly used his magic to stay afloat.

"Maybe we should go to that place where Ryan recommended us," Yuni said. "Just don't destroy anything okay?"

Jam snorted.

"I guess I couldn't expect much more than that," Yuni heaved a sigh.

-

"Morning cutie," Ryan opened his eyes to see Lily floating by his bedside, a small smile on her face.

"Please don't call me that," Ryan shuddered, remembering the large number of girls that have tried to kill each other and/or him to get his attention. "It brings up bad memories."

"I see," Lily giggled softly, covering her mouth with her hand.

"So, what are you doing here?" Ryan asked, sitting up.

"I told you this before, you're interesting," Lily replied. "In my many years of eating dreams, I've never met someone like you."

"I'm flattered," Ryan sighed as he got out of bed, looking at his phone. "If you don't mind, I need to head to work."

"Speaking of your work, I may stop by with a friend soon," Lily said. "I guess I'll go now."

"Nice talking to you again, Lily," Ryan smiled.

"You're an interesting one, being so nice to someone who tried to steal your hopes and aspirations from you," Lily noted, tilting her head slightly.

"No harm, no fowl," Ryan waved his hand dismissively. "You seem nice enough. It's not like you're after my life or something."

"I see," Lily said. "I guess being friends won't be so bad."

"I guess it won't," Ryan chuckled as Lily faded away with a small, yellow glow.

-

"Morning Tenchou," Ryan stretched as he entered the restaurant. "How's everything with you?"

"Things have been good," Kiara said as she walked over from the break room. "I really like that we're getting a lot more business. I might start asking people to tell their friends."

"Nux gave me a few of those pamphlets if you want to hand them out," Ryan offered.

"Sure!" Kiara chirped.

"I'll get them to you later," Ryan said, remembering that he can't just summon them with magic or Kiara would get suspicious. "I left them back at my apartment."

"Alright," Kiara said. "That's okay. You have work to do, after all."

"I guess you're right," Ryan said as he made his way to the break room to get changed.

-

Ryan could feel the static in the air as he exited the break room. The hair on the back of his neck stood up as Ryan walked over to Kiara's side. "What's with the static?"

"I don't know," Kiara rubbed her thumb and index finger together. "Someone might be causing this."

Both Ryan and Kiara's attention were diverted when they heard the sound of doors opening, revealing a familiar horned girl and her familiar.

"Morning Yuni," Ryan said, a small smile growing on his face.

"When you gave me the pamphlet, I didn't expect to see you behind the counter," Yuni said as she walked over to the counter, taking a seat at one of the stools.

"So cute!" Kiara looked like she was going to tackle Jam into a hug, but Ryan managed to grab her collar before that could happen.

"Tenchou, please don't tackle customers when at work," Ryan said, trying to hide the fearful expression on his face. If she somehow pissed Jam off, the chances of KFP being blown asunder would be a bit too high for Ryan's liking. "Just because you can tackle Calli in a hug whenever you want doesn't mean it's okay for you to hug strangers without their consent."

"Fine," Kiara pouted as Ryan let go of her collar. "You two know each other?"

"Yuni was getting mugged so I scared the thugs off," Ryan said simply. "Nothing too special."

"I'm not sure 'scared them off' is the proper term to describe what happened," Yuni said, Jam affirming Yuni's words with a slight nod.

"Bah, technicalities," Ryan waved his hand dismissively. "What would you like to eat?"

Jam snorted softly, wriggling in the air. "Jam wants bread," Yuni said bluntly.

"Would you like it toasted?" Ryan asked.

"Just bread," Yuni said. "A lot of bread."

"I'll go get it!" Kiara volunteered. "I'll be right back."

"Alright," Ryan waved his manager off as she skipped over the back room, humming Hinotori to herself.

"Good morning!" A girl opened the door excitedly, speaking in broken English.

'-999 hp! Super Effective!' It was a miracle that Ryan didn't pass out right then and there. The girl had dark purple hair tied in twin tails, pink and blue streaks along her bangs and two black, sharp horns. She wore a black hoodie with white, horned skulls sewn into the hoodie along with black wings that sprouted from her back. The hoodie went down to her upper legs, but Ryan still prayed to Matsuri that she was wearing something underneath. Who was he kidding? If it were up to Matsuri, she wouldn't be wearing anything. The thing that piqued Ryan's interest were the yellow roller skates. Roller skates were something Ryan was aware of but have never actually seen in public. The girl skated slowly over to a stool, taking a seat next to Yuni.

"My name is Meimei Roro!" The girl introduced herself, continuing to use broken English.

"My name is Fuwako Yuni and this is Jam," Yuni introduced herself and her familiar.

"My name is Ryan Shade," Ryan said, unable to resist the temptation to smile at the little demon girl. She was just too cute. "What would you like to eat?"

"Do you have delicious human soul?" Roro tilted her head.

"How would you like it cooked?" Ryan asked.

"Cooked?" Roro tilted her head in a confused expression.

"My boss learned how to cook souls not too long ago," Ryan said. "Would you like yours cooked?"

"Sure!" Roro chirped.

"Please hold on for a moment," Ryan walked over to the back room, poking his head through.

"Hey Tenchou, can you get some roasted souls as well?" Ryan called over.

"Alright!" Kiara called back, followed by the sound of crashing and screaming.

Ryan walked back over to where Yuni and Roro was. "She'll be here with your food in a moment."

-

"I don't know how much bread you wanted, so I just got a lot!" Kiara walked out, carrying around twenty loaves of bread, three golden-brown souls floating behind her.

"That's perfect," Yuni nodded as Kiara placed the loaves in front of her. Jam floated softly floated down, landing on the counter. With a slight nod of Jam's head, an entire load of bread vanished.

"Woah," Roro looked with stars in her eyes as the three souls drifted over to the plate Kiara placed in front of Roro. "Thank you for the food!"

"I never got to ask, but where did you even get those souls?" Ryan turned to Kiara.

"Let's just say you don't want to go to the Usual Room," Kiara winked.

"I'll… keep that in mind," Ryan shuddered. There were very few things Ryan didn't want to know: what happens when someone calls Rushia flat, what Nux does on his "free time", and what goes on in the Usual Room.

"Thank you for the food!" Yuni smiled, catching Ryan's attention. Jam was laying on his back, his little legs sticking out where the bread once was.

"How did you two manage to finish all of that so quickly?" Ryan asked, slightly shocked at the familiar's gluttony.

"Don't ask," Yuni shook her head. "I don't know where it goes either."

"Fair enough," Ryan said.

"Anyways, I better get going," Yuni stood up. "I actually have a stream to get to."

"You stream too?" Kiara tilted her head.

"Yeah," Yuni nodded. "It's the only way I can get myself out there."

"A lot of magical creatures seem to be livestreaming," Ryan noted, thinking about Botan, Amelia, and Gura.

"Recent technology makes it possible to turn yourself into a 2D avatar online," Kiara explained. "The only way people will accept us is if they think we're anime girls."

"That sounds like a good idea," Roro rubbed her chin as she chewed on the last soul. "Maybe I can get souls that way."

"I won't encourage it, but I guess there's nothing I can do about it," Ryan heaved a sigh.

"Maybe I'll try that now," Roro said. "Thank you for the food."

"No problem!" Kiara said. "I hope to see you again soon."

Purple static started to surround Roro, and with a flash of light, she was gone, a purple volt of electricity flying out of the restaurant.

"Can't say I've seen that before," Yuni said. "I'll see you around."

-

Ryan heaved a sigh as he walked down the alley. He looked up at the sky, heaving a sigh. "What even is the point of this?" He asked himself. Suddenly, his senses screamed for him to move. He turned on his magic, whirling around to see a small beam of light firing at him at an alarming speed. He coated his hand with magic, backhanding the laser. The laser flew to the side, creating a hole in the alley.

"Wow, you're better than I expected," A slim man wearing a purple suit walked towards Ryan, clapping slowly. His hair was purple and ruffled and he had a horn on his head, small wings sprouting from his back.

"Who are you?" Ryan asked. The man looked like Yuni, but he seemed… off. His smile was a lot smugger and he could detect the faintest hint of hostility in his eyes bore into Ryan.

"It's me, Jam," The man said simply. "You don't recognize me?"

"The last time I saw you, you were a tiny little plushie with a black hole for a stomach," Ryan said, scowling deeply. "So, what do you want?"

"You know, something told me you were a stronger than you originally let on," Jam said. "I need to make sure you're not a threat to Yuni."

"Man, why do people keep on thinking I'm a threat?" Ryan sighed, running his hand through his hair. "I'm just trying to make a living."

"I could sense the negative energy radiating off of you," Jam pointed out, the smirk slowly fading from his face. "It's honestly suffocating. I'm surprised you haven't gone insane or given up on life yet."

"Who said I haven't gone crazy?" Ryan chuckled dryly, forcing a smile. "I surely haven't."

"You're a good kid, Ryan Shade," Jam heaved a sigh, turning around. "Just don't lose your way."

With a wave of his hand, he was gone. Ryan sighed again. "I guess I haven't been hiding things too well."

-

"I think I've had enough action for one day," Ryan said as he opened the door to the apartment complex. He climbed up to the third floor, walking down the hall until he was at the third room to the end. "Ah, home. How I've missed you so."

When Ryan opened the door, he was surprised to see Suisei and Lily waiting for him. They both turned as the door opened, shadows over their eyes and the smile someone would give when they wanted to kill someone without looking psychotic.

"Ryan?" Both of them said at the same time, pointing at each other. "May I ask who this is?"

"Ah shit," Ryan groaned, his shoulders slumping. "I can't catch a break."