Day 15: Blossoms

Ryan was surprised when Sakura blossoms danced in the wind throughout the city as soon as he exited his apartment complex. Edhas, do you know what's going on?

"I'm detecting small traces of magic, from the blossoms," Edhas informed. "My guess is either a Sakura spirit or a mage causing this. They don't look harmful at all, so I'm edging towards a spirit."

'So, it's not that much of a problem?' Ryan asked, not taking a step from the building. It wouldn't hurt for him to be cautious.

"No, it seems the magic was only used to summon the blossoms, not to use them for any other reason," Edhas said. "Unless I'm missing something big, which I don't do, then it's completely safe."

'I don't exactly trust you completely, but I have to get to work,' Ryan grumbled, finally setting off for work.

"Yeah, you should-, Hey!"

-

"Morning, Tenchou," Ryan sighed, walking into the restaurant as if yesterday's… event never took place. To be fair, Ryan spent the better part of the day before trying to forget said event, but to no avail.

"Hi, Ryan!" Kiara said. "Good news! Miko's coming and she's bringing a friend!"

"Not that I'm not excited to see Sakura-san again," Ryan remembered the brief encounter with her at the shrine and her banter with Kiara and Moona, "but why is that good news as opposed to anyone else showing up?"

"I invited her to come yesterday, but she said she couldn't make it (Read: FAQ)," Kiara cheered. "The search for a new girlfriend continues!"

"Great," Ryan said, sighing profusely. "Just when I thought it was over."

"Oh, it can't be that bad!" Kiara chirped, a cheery smile on her face. "Unfortunately, I can't afford for you to have another day off, so you have to work today."

"You know, I'd rather work than be subject to you dragging more and more girls into this against their will," Ryan said as he used magic to change into his uniform.

"Oh, you!" Kiara slapped Ryan's back as he walked around the counter. "Don't worry about silly things like that! This is fun, isn't it?"

"I won't deny that, but-,"

"Then why are you complaining?"

"Because-," Ryan started, but stopped when he realized that anything he could have said would just fly over the fire bird's head. "You know what? Whatever."

"Nyahello~," Miko's voice rang throughout the room as she entered the joint, followed by a wolf girl with blue and pink hair. "The Elite Miko has arrived!"

"Hello! My name is Silvervale!" The wolf girl jumped up, waving enthusiastically to match Miko's excitement, which she was doing surprising well. Suddenly, a large, floofy tail rolled out from under her skirt. "Ah, my tail!"

"Don't worry about it!" Kiara chirped. "Just take a seat!"

"Thank you!" Silvervale bounced over to the counter, taking a seat with Miko. "It takes a lot of time to roll up my tail and shove it up my a- skirt."

"You know, I doubt that I want to know," Ryan said. "My name is Ryan Shade. It's nice to meet you, Silvervale-san."

"Oh, I know you!" Silvervale pointed at Ryan. "I've seen you on Mousey's streams! She really simps over you."

"Oh, now she's plastering my face on livestreams?" Ryan grumbled. "She almost killed me the last time she came here."

"That sounds like her alright," Silvervale nodded contently, her tail swishing back and forth. "Why are you working at a KFP? You're practically a celebrity. I heard your merchandise is selling a lot."

"I mean, I am getting paid for that," Ryan said, sighing. "I honestly just wanted to live a modest life and help out my friends. I never intended to become a celebrity. I'm happy enough with where I am in life."

"Ryan…" Kiara looked at Ryan with sparkling eyes.

"Tenchou, time and place," Ryan said, causing Kiara to snap from her stupor.

"Right!" Kiara chirped, turning to Silvervale and Miko. "What would you two like?"

"FAQ," Miko said casually, causing Kiara and Silvervale to laugh.

"Am I missing an inside joke or something?" Ryan asked.

"Kind of," Kiara said. "What about you, Silvervale-san?"

"I'll have a cream pie," Silvervale said.

"By that do you mean-," Kiara licked her lips, but Ryan smacked her on the back of the head before she could say anything else.

"She means the dessert, Tenchou," Ryan said. "Get your head out of the gutter."

"Finally!" Silvervale exclaimed. "Someone who gets it! Every time I tell people my favorite dessert is cream pie, they always… why can't it be called something else?"

"Beats me," Ryan sighed.

"I'll go make it!" Kiara volunteered.

"Fine," Ryan said. "Just don't put anything weird in it."

"No promises~," Kiara winked before walking off.

"You seem like a decent enough person," Silvervale said, catching Ryan's attention. "You remind me of someone I met long ago."

"Huh, I tend to get that sometimes," Ryan said.

'Edhas you got anything?' Ryan asked. Usually, Edhas was tied to things like this, like with the whole Peafowl situation (refer to chapter 2).

"For once, I don't exactly know," Edhas said. "If Shade was here, he could tell us."

'Well, he isn't,' Ryan said.

"Hm, you remind me of the wolves I knew back home," Silvervale said. "Your magical aura is strong, but I sense a much fearsome beast that lurks underneath."

"What's with everyone being able to detect my presence?" Edhas groaned. "That shit is supposed to be secret."

'I mean, I don't really care about that,' Ryan said.

"What the fuck am I saying? I don't talk like that!" Silvervale sighed to herself. "Your existence is interesting, though."

"I'm flattered," Ryan said. He turned to Miko to ask her thoughts on the matter, but she was swaying back and forth humming to herself.

"She's quite cute," Edhas said. "Maybe you should ask her out."

'FAQ,' Ryan said.

"I'm back!" Kiara said, bringing out a slice of cream pie and a bowl of taiyaki. "One cream pie for Silvervale-san and one plate of taiyaki for Miko-senpai!"

"Thank you!" Miko said in broken Elite English as she dug into the fish cake.

"Looks… moist," Silvervale poked the pie with her fork before taking a bite. "Just how I like it!"

"I'm happy that I can meet your standards, Silvervale-san," Kiara smiled sweetly at the wolf girl.

"So, we're looking for a girlfriend for Ryan-," By the time Ryan clasped his hand over his boss's mouth, it was too late.

"Fuck," Ryan said. "Don't listen to her."

"You know, I think know the perfect person," Silvervale rubbed her chin. "Do you know someone named Nyatasha Nyann-,"

"Yes!" Ryan and Kiara butt in at the same time. Ryan flushed, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "She… kind of destroyed our toilets the other day."

"I see," Silvervale said, nodding thoughtfully. "There goes that prank idea."

Ryan was going to say something but figured that trying to get him to hook up with Nyanners would probably be a top-tier prank. Unfortunately, he had already met the eldritch horror and had no interest in sparking any kind of romantic relationship with her.

"Thank you for the food!" Miko said, handing the empty plate to Ryan.

"The cream pie was really good!" Silvervale said, offering her plate to Ryan as well.

"No problem," Ryan said.

"Hey! I was the one who made them!" Kiara pouted.

"Yeah, but you're trying to hook me up," Ryan said.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Kiara snapped.

"Everything," Ryan said, causing everyone to laugh.

-

"Ryan," Ryan jumped when he heard Silvervale's voice from behind him. He had just clocked out and exited the alleyway when he heard Silvervale's voice from behind him. He turned around to see the wolf girl, special headphones covering her wolf ears and her tail tucked in her skirt.

"What do you need, SIlvervale-san?" Ryan asked, a welcoming smile growing on his face. No need to act hostile.

"I can tell you attract a lot of trouble," Silvervale said. "Zen and Hime's aura are on you."

"Huh, I didn't know aura lingered like that," Ryan said. "They challenged me to a fight the other day. I needed the help of my other half to beat them."

"You won?" Silverdale asked, looking visibly shocked. "I've never heard of someone beating them."

"I took them by surprise," Ryan said. "I couldn't have won if it weren't for my other half."

"Ah, so the thing hidden behind your aura," Silvervale nodded inquisitively. "Anyways, it seems a lot of magical creatures are coming to this area."

"I guess," Ryan said. "What does this have to do with me though?"

"Not all of them have the best intentions," Silvervale replied. "I can't be too certain, but as a spirit of nature, it is my responsibility to make sure mother nature remains safe."

"I won't do anything bad," Ryan said, raising his hands in surrender. "I never intended to do anything bad."

"No, it's not that," Silvervale said, waving her hand dismissively. "It's just… if anything bad happens, are you able to help out? Having someone like you on our side would be nice."

"Sure, I live here too, but if I'm on your side, who's on the other side?" Ryan asked.

"No one for now, but there is a real chance that things may rise up in the future," Silvervale said.

"Fair enough," Ryan said. "I'll help if I need to."

"Thank you," Silvervale bowed deeply. "We shall meet again."

"I guess we shall," Ryan said as Silvervale vanished in a gust of wind and Sakura petals.

-

"I'm finally here!" Melody said as she landed on Japanese soil. She closed her eyes and activated her sensors, letting her memories integrate with the scanners as to scan out her friends. "Man, this body is really neat!"

She was surprised when she saw that all of her friends were in one city. "I guess I'll go see Mousey first," she said, letting her legs morph to rocket boosters as she flew off.

-

"Melody!" Ironmouse squealed as the android landed in front of the RSFC main building. Ironmouse tackled her friend in a hug. "How did you get a physical body?"

"Ah, I saw that someone was developing some magical android and decided to take it over," Melody replied.

"What's going-," A brown-haired girl stepped out of the building and froze when she saw Melody. "Please don't tell me that you hijacked Reporter's magical android."

"Was that his name?" Melody put her finger to her chin and tilted her head.

"Well, nothing you can do about it now," The girl shook her head. "Anyways, my name is Sabrina Godson, chairman of the RSFC."

"She's been giving me a place to stay for the past couple weeks!" Ironmouse said.

"Since you're… borrowing my friend's android, I might as well let you in as well," Sabrina said. "I'll contact him and get the charger for you."

"Really?!" Melody exclaimed. "Thank you, Sabrina! You're the best!"

"Oh, you totally need to meet Ryan Shade!" Ironmouse said.

"Oh, I saw him on your stream!" Melody said. "You've met him before."

"Yeah! He's really nice!"

"You're probably going to have to wait a few days before you can meet him though," Sabrina said.

"Why?" Ironmouse tilted her head at the Masked Mage.

"Ryan has… an event to go to tomorrow," Sabrina smirked, envisioning Ryan's reaction to the phone call.

-

"Hello?" Ryan said, putting the phone to his ear. He didn't know who wanted to call him at one in the morning, but his obligation as an adult forced him to pick up the phone.

"YUBI YUBI!" Korone exclaimed through the phone. "Hi Ryan!"

"What's up, Korone-san?" Ryan asked. "It's the middle of the night."

"The wedding is tomorrow!" Korone exclaimed. "Don't be late!"

"WHAT?!" Ryan exclaimed, jumping up from his bed. "I don't even have a suit prepared! Oh fuck, oh shit!"

"That's your problem!" Ryan heard Okayu's voice in the distance.

"If you're late, I'll take your yubis!" Korone said before hanging up the phone.

"Are you kidding me?" Ryan groaned as he walked over to his closet.

"You know, that should be you," Edhas said.

'You sound like a mother who is a bit too excited for grandkids,' Ryan grumbled.

"I just want you to have a happy partner in life," Edhas said innocently as Ryan sighed, settling for the suit he wore for Kiara and Calli's wedding.

'I can't catch a break,' Ryan grumbled as he flopped on his bed. Right now, what he needed most was a nap.