To feed your friend

"Hey, GJ! How you doing, man? Haven't seen you in a while. Is this your girlfriend?" the neighbor asked, poking his head through the slightly ajar door.

Jiang blinked, thrown off by the sudden shift in the atmosphere. His mind raced with questions about the Yokai's sudden disappearance, but now, he was standing face-to-face with his nosy neighbor. "No, no, she's just a friend," Jiang quickly corrected, glancing at Aylin.

Before he could say more, Aylin stepped closer and grabbed his arm, pressing herself against him slightly. "I don't know what that is, but he is will be my people's savior," she said, her chest brushing against his arm.

The neighbor raised his eyebrows, grinning knowingly. "Ha ha! I'll leave you guys to it then," he said with a wink. "But you should really put some clothes on before opening your door, you know?"

Jiang flushed, realizing he was still standing there half-dressed, wrapped awkwardly in a blanket. "Yeah, thanks," he muttered, quickly pulling the door closed as the neighbor waved and walked off. The moment of normalcy, however odd, had completely disarmed him.

He shook his head and started getting dressed properly. Aylin stood by the door, eyeing him as he pulled on a shirt and jeans. "That was… weird," she said.

"Yeah, welcome to New York," Jiang replied, half-joking as he laced up his boots. "People around here are used to strange stuff, I guess. Alright, let's go check out the first place on the list." He grabbed his jacket and the scrap of paper where he'd jotted down the three locations.

As they walked down the stairs of his building and onto the street, Jiang glanced at Aylin, noticing how she glanced curiously at a food stall. "You hungry?" he asked.

"I guess so," Aylin admitted, her expression hesitant. "I've been eating whatever I could find—trash cans mostly. No one seemed to care, so I figured it was normal."

Jiang stopped in his tracks. "Wait, trash cans? You've been eating out of trash cans?" He shook his head, a little stunned. "No, that's just New York. You should really try to eat actual food. Here, let me turn on my card real quick."

He pulled out his phone and tapped a few buttons, explaining, "I usually disable it so I don't accidentally rack up random charges." But as he opened his banking app, his eyes went wide. There, staring back at him, was a deposit for $25,000.

The phone slipped from his hand, clattering onto the sidewalk.

"Is everything okay?" Aylin asked, noticing the shock on his face.

Jiang quickly picked up the phone, his mind flashing back to the system's earlier reward—the limited time he'd been granted back in human form and the unexpected sum of money. The memory blurred through his mind, and he frowned. "I'm… not sure how that works," he muttered, tucking the phone into his pocket. He grabbed Aylin's wrist gently and smiled. "Let me show you my favorite meal."

They walked down the street until Jiang led her into a small Japanese restaurant. The cozy atmosphere and the warm smells filled the air, and he wasted no time ordering her a fancy bowl of ramen.

"This necessary?" Aylin asked, glancing between him and the menu. "I've got like seventy more hours until whatever this thing is kills me."

"It'll be fine," Jiang replied with a wave of his hand. "We still have plenty of time. The church precinct is five minutes from here. But it won't do any good if you pass out from hunger since you haven't eaten anything decent since you've been here. How long has that been, anyway?"

Aylin thought for a moment, her eyes narrowing in concentration. "I think about a month, but time moves differently between worlds, so I'm not sure how long it's been for me. Where I come from, time moves faster, so when we go back, not too much should have changed."

"Good to know," Jiang said, and then their food arrived. The steaming bowl of ramen sat in front of Aylin, and Jiang eagerly dove into his own meal, slurping the broth and noodles.

For the first time since he'd met her, Aylin's face softened, her eyes widening with delight as she took her first bite. Her hands trembled slightly as she brought the noodles to her mouth, her lips parting in surprise. "This… this is incredible," she whispered, her voice thick with emotion.

Jiang watched as her eyes glistened, tearing up slightly. "You've never had anything like this before?"

Aylin shook her head, taking another bite. "I've never had anything this good. My world… food isn't like this. It's basic, plain. This… this is something else."

They sat in silence for a few moments, the sounds of the bustling restaurant fading into the background as Aylin savored each bite. Jiang leaned back in his chair, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Glad you like it. I figured if you're going to eat something here, it should be something good."

When they finally finished, Aylin leaned back, sighing in contentment. "That was… amazing."

Jiang laughed softly. "Yeah, that hits the spot. A good meal, probably better than you've had in a while. New York definitely isn't fun, but it has its perks." He stood up, motioning for Aylin to follow. "Alright, let's get moving. The precinct is just down the street."

As they stepped out of the restaurant, Jiang glanced around casually, but something caught his eye. Across the street, barely visible in the distance, the Yokai was there—its shadowy form lingering, watching them from afar. His stomach tightened, but he said nothing, only quickening his pace as they made their way toward the precinct.