Day 17: Humanity

Day 17: Humanity

"I'm not sure I can go to work tomorrow," Ryan tried his best to hide his inner turmoil as he looked at the pile of ash.

"Are you alright?" Kiara put a hand on his shoulder. Even though she's only known him for a couple days, she knew two things. He cared enough for his boss to take a scythe for her, despite the fact she was immortal (she didn't know if Ryan knew that or not, but considering he knew about her relationship, she assumed that he did), and that said scythe didn't even faze him, so seeing him with such a conflicted expression on is face worried her slightly.

"Your first is always your hardest," Calli said, giving Ryan an uncertain look.

"Yeah, I guess," Ryan sighed. "I just… need a bit of time by myself."

"We should go," Calli put a hand on Kiara's shoulder.

"I'll see you soon, then," Kiara felt the need to comfort her newest employee for some reason, but Calli was right. With a puff of black mist, the two vanished.

"Fuck…" Ryan leaned on the closest wall before sliding down, curling up in a ball.

-

A ding on Ryan's phone woke him. He groaned, not getting much sleep. He saw Amelia's Instapound username and unlocked his phone.

YourMomsGremlin69: Kiara filled me in on what happened last night. You alright?

KFPisnotacult: I don't really know, tbh. This whole thing has been messing me up

YourMomsGremlin69: I pulled some strings and a counselor friend of mine is willing to see you

KFPisnotacult: I killed someone though. I'm not sure I should be telling some rando that

YourMomsGremlin69: Don't worry about it. All us magic folk have a little blood on our hands. I'll send you the time and location

KFPisnotacult: I'm not sure I like what you're implying, buddy

YourMomsGremlin69: By the way your appointment's in 10 min <3

KFPisnotacult: Whatever

Ryan sighed. He didn't know if he should be talking about his recent murder case, but what he did know was that he wanted to let it out. He knew from first experience that bottling things up wasn't healthy, so maybe a clinician would help. He looked at the address that Amelia had sent him. "Time to go, I guess."

-

"Thanks for the session, Roboco-senpai," Amelia smiled at the high-spec robot. "I know this isn't your specialty, but I wasn't sure who else to ask."

"Don't worry about it!" Roboco's high-spec bunny ears twitched as she smiled brightly. "I'm a high-spec robot! I can do anything I put my mind to."

"Do you think you'll be able to handle Ryan?" Amelia asked, causing Roboco to stiffen.

"When you brought it up last night, I consulted YAGOO's archives and A-Chan," Roboco said, artificial sweat beading her forehead. "Such a broken individual, yet so powerful…"

"Powerful..?" Amelia asked, eyebrow raised intrigued.

"Since you're close with him, I believe you should have this information, but the files said that he should not know this until deemed ready under any circumstances, understand?" Roboco's expression turned serious. Amelia nodded, understanding the severity of the situation from Roboco's expression, as she rarely puts on such a face. Even when she's serious, she has a smile on her face, but when that smile goes away, then something is definitely up. "Here's what I found…"

-

When Ryan entered the room, he was surprised to see Amelia there. He immediately tensed when he saw her unsettled expression. He then saw the girl with the brown bunny ears, her expression deadly serious. "Morning, Ame," he said to catch their expression.

"Oh! Morning Ryan!" Amelia's smile instantly returned when she registered his existence. "This is Roboco-senpai."

"Nice to meet you, Ryan," a soft smile crossed the girl's face. "My name is Roboco. I am a high-spec robot at your service."

"Is this the one you wanted me to meet?" Ryan asked, more out of confusion than anything else. He may understand why someone would be unsettled with having a therapy session with a robot, but Ryan honestly didn't care, honestly. If she didn't process emotions or have memory, great. If YAGOO, Brianna, Suisei, or whatever figure who knew more than they let on was directly linked to her, then they get to know that he's willing to kill and put his own sanity on the line for the magical community, therefore gaining their trust, and if she did operate like a feeling, breathing human, then he wouldn't have to know that.

"Yeah, I just had a session with her," Amelia smiled at Roboco. "It really helped me out."

"I assure you, even if I am not a human, I will do my best to listen and support you in any way I can," Roboco said.

"Also," Amelia smiled. "Before I go, I wanted to tell you I mailed a package for you. I suggest you not open it unless something goes horribly wrong."

"What is it?" Ryan asked as Amelia opened the door.

"Call it some extra precautions," Amelia winked. "Merry Christmas, Ryan."

"Merry Christmas, I guess," Ryan grumbled as Amelia closed the door.

"Please, Ryan, take a seat," Roboco gestured to one of the comfy chairs in the room, which Ryan sat down in. "Amelia briefed me on the situation."

"Normally, I would be mad, but in this case, it makes it a lot easier for me," Ryan said. "Did she tell you about the clock situation?"

"I already knew about her time travel," Roboco replied. "Your demeanor and interactions with Amelia made me infer that you somehow joined her from the future."

"I guess they don't call you high-spec for nothing," Ryan muttered, sighing. "Yeah, you're right."

"You flatter me," Roboco gave Ryan a heartwarming smile. Ryan cursed whoever made her. Why did they have to make their robot so cute? "So, I have been told you committed murder?"

"Spoken so casually," Ryan sighed. "Yeah, I guess that's what happened."

"Can you describe you felt while committing the act?" Roboco asked. Ryan shrugged. Normal therapy stuff.

"Well, I felt angry, for one," Ryan started. "What happened… last time around was bottled up inside me. I was mad at the MILF for doing what they did. When I saw a MILF soldier… I just… snapped."

"I see," Roboco's smile faded, giving a more concerned look. "What did you feel after the action?"

"Well, I felt… bad," Ryan had to ponder on the question for a few seconds, but eventually found the answer. "I mean, that man had a family, didn't he? I took a life. I know that he might have eventually taken mine, but still. I feel bad."

"I understand," Roboco's soft smile returned as she reached over, putting a hand on his shoulder, looking Ryan in the eye. "It seems that you are still a good person, despite your actions."

"Good person?" Ryan chuckled a little bit. "How could me murdering someone be the act of a good person?"

"Why did you kill that man?" Roboco asked, being surprisingly direct.

"Isn't that obvious? I did it to keep my…" Ryan paused as the point Roboco was trying to make started to form in his head.

"And you still feel bad, correct?" Roboco asked.

"Yeah," Ryan looked down, thoughts swirling in his head.

"Life is full of tough decisions," Roboco said, keeping her tone as comforting as possible. "You did what you did for your friends. The world isn't exactly a friendly place. You did what you had to do to keep your happiness alive."

"I guess you're right," Ryan shrugged. "Doesn't make me feel better about it, though."

"I understand," Roboco replied. "Taking a life has never been easy, and I would never tell you to just bounce back. Getting through this won't happen overnight. People like me and Amelia can help you, but this is a journey you must take yourself."

"I see," Ryan closed his eyes. "Thank you, Roboco-san for helping me find the direction I needed to take."

Roboco then surprised Ryan by pulling Ryan into a hug, his head slightly above her chest. Ryan's ear pressed on her hoodie, the sound of a heartbeat slightly taking him aback. "People have told me that listening to the sound of one's heartbeat helps them calm down."

Ryan was about to protest but stopped. She was right. The sound of her heart beating was calming. He closed his eyes. "Well, those people were really onto something."

-

Amelia sat on her chair, thinking about the information Roboco had told her. Ryan was that person? She wanted to ask how it was possible but refrained. She was a time travelling, shark marrying, mom pounding menace, so she didn't really have much room to complain. She sighed. Maybe she'll call Gura. Yeah. That sounded like a good idea. "What did I get myself into?"

-

Ryan sighed as he walked out of the building. What was he going to do next? Maybe he'd stop by the KFP. Spending time with Kiara never did him any harm. As he walked, a tugging sensation started to form in the back of his head. Almost as if he was being watched. He sighed, not unused to the feeling, but remembered something Kiara mentioned off hand the first time around. He made three right turns, ending up in abandoned alley. When he confirmed that the feeling didn't go away, he stopped.

"Hoshimachi-san," Ryan said casually, not turning around. "If you wanted to talk, you could have just asked."

"How did you know it was me?" With a gust of wind, Suisei appeared behind him.

"Just a gut feeling," Ryan turned to meet her. He wasn't lying per say, he just conveniently left out the part where this has happened before. "What did you want to ask?"

"What's your affiliation?" Suisei asked. "Are you with MILF? Are you with another agency? How did you know my name? How did you meet Amelia?"

"One question at a time," Ryan sighed. "Look, it may not look like it, but I'm really just a fast-food worker. I live to make ends meet. Ame's my friend. Us meeting is… a long story. She'd probably have my head if I told you, though. Look, I just spilled my guts to a robot. Maybe ask her?"

"You could have been lying to Roboco-san," Suisei said, her eyes narrowing.

"If I lied the whole time, what would be the point of the therapy meeting?" Ryan asked. That caused Suisei to pause.

"You have a point…" Suisei admitted. "That doesn't clear you from anything, though."

"Look, how about this," Ryan held his hands up in surrender. "You can keep stalking me or whatever. It's not like I'm not used to it anyways. Just don't kill me, please. I already took one day off. Tenchou wouldn't be happy if I took another."

"Why would she-," Suisei was about to comment on how Kiara would be mad about Ryan taking another day off despite him being hypothetically dead but stopped when she considered the treatment of her previous employees. "You have a point. I'll leave you for now."

"You know, I wouldn't be opposed to the idea of being friends," Ryan said. He wanted to build the connections he had the first time through. He missed all of them, despite meeting most of the people once or twice.

"Friends?" Suisei chuckled. "You're an interesting fellow, Ryan. I'll give you that. We'll meet again."

As Suisei vanished with the wind, Ryan chucked. "That we will."

-

Ryan sighed as he got to his house. He turned on his phone and sighed. He really wasn't in the mood for talking, so he decided to send Sabrina a text. He started typing on his phone.

"Hey, Sabrina. I went to therapy today. It really helped me out. I mean, the person didn't really give me any groundbreaking advice, but I was just kind of lost. I think I really needed someone to tell me where I was for me to remember. I'm feeling a lot better now. I guess I'll see you soon. Goodnight."

Ryan put his phone on the nightstand as he sent the message. As he closed his eyes and fell asleep, the phone dinged.