Day 23: Idols

"Morning, Tenchou," Ryan grumbled. His room was in absolute shambles and he was bone tired after countless hours of experimenting with his magic. The only thing he succeeded in doing was finding out what kind of spells did what, other than absolutely trashing his room.

"KIKKERIKIII~!!!" Kiara exclaimed. "You alright?"

"Yeah," Ryan rubbed the back of his head. "This magic thing is kind of rough."

"I understand how it is," Kiara said. "Do you want the day off?"

"It's okay," Ryan smiled. "It means a lot that you care for my well-being, but I shouldn't take advantage of that."

"You su-," Kiara cut herself off. "What did you say?! Next time you assume that I care about you, we'll be spending the day in the usual room!"

"Uhh…" Ryan didn't know what the "usual room" was, but something told him he didn't want to know. "Whatever you say, Tenchou."

"Thought so!" Kiara gave a smug scoff before hanging up the phone.

-

"Morning," Ryan opened the doors and walked into the restaurant.

"You've gotten a lot better in controlling your magic," Kiara noted, munching on a chicken leg.

"Well, the last thing I need is Calli of all people freaking out," Ryan said.

"Fair enough," Kiara smiled.

"Hey, check this out," Ryan closed his eyes and focused his magical energy around his body. When he opened his eyes, he was in his KFP uniform. "Pretty neat, huh?"

"Great job!" Kiara clapped. Ryan could tell she wasn't all too impressed, but he appreciated the effort, nonetheless.

"Are we safe?!" Ryan turned around to see two familiar figures barrel through the door. He stepped aside just in time for famous idols Tokino Sora and AZKi to pass by him.

"Ah! Sora-senpai! AZKi-senpai!" Kiara chirped. Her eyes shone with admiration, but Ryan could tell Kiara was trying to keep her cool.

"Ah, you were the ones who sang at Ame and Gura-san's wedding," Ryan walked behind the counter, offering a polite smile. One thing he learned from Amelia was that famous people could just be normal. He knew he wouldn't like to be treated like a god amongst men. "You did very well."

"Thank you," Sora offered Ryan a kind smile as she sat down, panting.

"What happened?" Kiara asked, offering the two exhausted idols a glass of water.

"We've had a paparazzi on our tails all day," AZKi replied.

"We just wanted a day off and relax, but I felt their presence as soon as I left my house," Sora added, taking a large gulp of the water. "Thank you for that, Kiara-chan."

"That sounds rough," Ryan said, offering an understanding smile, though he didn't understand what that life was a single bit.

"Oh, I remember you!" AZKi said after giving Ryan a second look. "You were that one guy at Ame-chan and Same-chan's wedding who was there for the ceremony and vanished afterwards."

"Something came up," Ryan grumbled, not too fond of the events that partook that day. Even though he got some really cool magic powers, finding the guy who basically killed all of his friends the first time around and not being able to do anything to him was very infuriating. "My name's Ryan Shade. It's nice to meet you."

"Ah, you probably already know this, but my name is AZKi," AZKi offered her hand, which Ryan shook.

"My name is Tokino Sora," Sora smiled as she offered her hand for Ryan to shake as well.

"So, what would you like to order, AZKi-san, Tokino-san?" Ryan asked.

"I'll just have an order of Fried Birb Wings," Sora said.

"I'll have some Phoenix Fire Chicken Legs," AZKi replied.

"Coming right up," Ryan smiled softly as he went to the back. First time around, Kiara forced him to interact with people (AN: Yuck) and he wanted to make things a bit more equal this time around. Not that he was against making friends, but he didn't feel like he was contributing enough to the restaurant. He didn't want Kiara to pay him for tolerating her, even though that by itself is enough to warrant a six-figure salary.

"So, how have things been?" Ryan heard Kiara asked.

"It's been alright," Sora replied. "But ever since my recent boost in numbers, I've seemed to have attracted more of the… interesting type."

"Ah, I see," Kiara said. "If you need any help, feel free to ask."

"As much as I want to blast them all away with magic, we all know that would turn out," Sora groaned. Ryan opened the arid container that was known as the Phoenix Fire Hot Sauce. He resisted the urge to gag as he added a couple drops to the friend chicken. He then washed his hands with three extra pumps of soap to get the spice off his hands (AN: Remember to wash your hands, kids) before going to fry the wings.

"For some reason, my numbers shot up as well right after Sora-chan's," AZKi added. "I've been getting way too many creepy messages on Tweeter since then."

"That's terrible," Kiara said as Ryan came out of the back with two tubs of chicken in hand. "One order Phoenix Fire Chicken Legs for you, and one order of Fried Birb Wings for you," Ryan said.

"Thank you, Ryan," Sora offered him a smile Ryan smiled back as he moved so he sat next to Kiara.

"So, other than changing your clothes, what else can you do with your magic now?" Kiara asked.

"I can destroy my room, apparently," Ryan said. "I still can't control it that well."

"You're still getting the hang of your magic?" Sora asked. "Nothing against you, but most beings with magic have control over the fundamentals by the time they're ten."

"Well, I only unlocked my magic a couple days ago," Ryan said.

"Really? I was told you raided a MILF stronghold with Amelia a while back," Sora said. "Did you do that without magic?"

"Not my best moment," Ryan said, rubbing his shoulder where his circular scar was. "But my boss was in trouble. What else was I supposed to do? Sleep it off?"

"That's very respectable, especially for a human," AZKi nodded with approval.

"I never really got to thank you for that," Kiara moved to give Ryan a peck on the cheek, but Ryan dodged.

"Behind you, Tenchou," Ryan said. Kiara turned around, her face paling as soon as she saw who was behind her.

"Kusotori…" Calli's face boiled with rage.

"I can explain…" Kiara looked around. "After I go to the bathroom…"

Kiara instantly bolted. "Get back here, Kusotori!"

"Oh, you want to see me in the bathroom~?"

"S-shut up!" Ryan could hear the sound of things crashing down in the distance.

"Of course, I'm going to be the one to clean up this mess later," Ryan grumbled to himself, causing Sora and AKZi to laugh. Yeah, this life wasn't too bad.

-

"Do you know where Yogiri went?" Artia asked. Artia, Rosalyn, Spade Echo, and Doris were in a run-down basement in China. They were among some of the last, if not the last magical beings in China, as MILF decided to completely genocide them all. They've been hiding out in this basement for about a month, having to constantly find hiding places for the past two years since the extermination order was carried out two years ago.

"She went out to save Civia, but I can't track her anymore," Rosalyn said, looking through a book that was glowing faintly. "She's either dead or outside of the country."

"Let's pray that it is the latter," Doris said. "What do we do now?"

"Echo, are you able to send out a beacon?" Artia asked.

"I am, but I'm not sure if anyone will be able to pick up on a magical beacon," Spade Echo replied. "I can't do any other type of beacon for… obvious reasons."

"That's fine," Rosalyn closed her book. "We're running out of options. Send the beacon."

-

Shade walked through a heaping pile of ash that was once a MILF stronghold, not unlike the one Ryan raided a few days prior. He looked up into the sky. "They need help," he said to himself. "Maybe it is finally time for us to mobilize."

-

"Are you sure you don't want anyone to know?" Roberu asked.

"Yes," Yogiri replied. "For all we know, the UN thinks we're dead. The more people who think that the better."

Suddenly, the door slammed open, causing Yogiri to gasp and activate an invisibility spell. "Don't worry, Yogiri," the figure who opened the door revealed himself to be YAGOO. "I received a magical beacon from Spade Echo. I'm afraid that we need to get all hands on deck."

-

"It seems that they have finally called for help," Storm looked off into the endless void.

"What do you think will happen?" Aloe asked, watching one of Botan's livestreams through a TV.

"Sup, old man," Reporter appeared into the void. "It looks like shit's hitting the fan, huh?"

"Yes," Storm turned to Reporter and Aloe. "The final battle approaches. We very well have to take action. Prepare yourselves."

-

Ryan sighed as he concentrated his magic, changing his clothes back to his standard hoodie and sweats. As he walked down the alley, an invisible force hit the back of his head like a freight train. Help. Help us. Please help. We need help. Please, Ryan fell to his knees, his mind being overwhelmed with pleas for help.

I can't… pass out… not again… Ryan forced himself up as the pleas slowly started to subside. That was it. That was the final straw. He needed answers. What was that bombardment of cries for help? He wiped a tear from his eye. The tear was caused partially because of the pain, but another part was because he could feel the desperation from the voices. He wanted to help, against his better judgement. He knew someone who most likely had the answer, but he didn't like that person. No matter, he will show himself to Ryan eventually. For now, he needed to work on his magic. He had a bad feeling, and he could never be too prepared for whatever will happen next.