Day 18: Hellish Alcoholics

Day 18: Hellish Alcoholics

Ryan sighed as he got out of bed, looking around. He noticed that there was a large cardboard box by the door to his bathroom. It was about his height and about a foot and a half wide. 'What the hell is that?'

"Don't worry about that," Edhas said. "Just something I ordered from reporter."

'How the hell were you able to do that?' Ryan asked.

"Magic," Edhas said, as if it were the most obvious answer in the world. "It's for emergencies."

'You're being too paranoid,' Ryan thought to himself, shaking his head. 'Well, an insurance policy couldn't hurt, I guess.'

"Damn straight," Edhas said. "Now get to work. I have a good feeling about today."

'You know, things never go well whenever you say that.'

"I know."

-

"Morning Tenchou," Ryan said as he opened the door to his work. Kiara shot up with an orange box and a video game controller shaped like a fried chicken. "Did you finally manage to make a console? The controller is a bit bulky."

"Yep!" Kiara's eyes shone with pride as she looked at her very own gaming console. "I like the controller this way. It's not like I'm going to sell this or anything. This is my baby."

"Well, how are you going to get games on it?" Ryan asked as he walked over behind the counter to stand next to his manager. "If you're not going to sell it, why would game companies want to put their games on it?"

"KFP has a video game branch, you know," Kiara said, putting the console in one of the many compartments under the counter. "I'll just make them make games for it."

"Whatever," Ryan shrugged. He didn't know how Kiara managed to make a gaming console, considering the fact that her last two attempts turned out to be a pile of ash and a bunch of scrap metal, but he decided to roll with it. He's seen weirder things in his day. "Where's your wife? I haven't seen her in a while."

"You called?" Calli's voice suddenly appeared as she stepped through a cloud of dark mist, scythe in hand. She sighed, taking a seat. "Grimm officially named me as Death a couple days ago, so I've been really busy. This has only been my second break since the wedding."

"That doesn't sound fun," Ryan shot the reaper a pitying glance.

"It's fine," Calli waved her hand dismissively. "I'm a workaholic anyways. I'll take some wine, please."

"I order a few extra bottles, just for you~," Kiara cooed, patting her wife on the head before grabbing a bottle of champagne and a wine glass from underneath the counter. Calli looked like she wanted to protest to Kiara's head pats but was too tired to do so. "You've been working so hard. You deserve a break."

"I guess so," Calli gave Kiara a worn smile before taking a sip from her glass. "How have things been here? Hopefully not as busy."

"Well, the past few days have been interesting," Ryan said, shoving his hands in his pockets. "You know, being a celebrity really sucks."

"Welcome to my world," Calli chuckled slightly at Ryan's displeasure. "At least people like you."

"There are a lot of people that like you too," Ryan said. "I mean, being a Shinigami doesn't help anything, but your music is very popular."

"Fair enough," Calli said, pouring herself another glass.

"You drink this stuff way too fast," Kiara gave Calli an unreadable expression.

"It takes a lot more than a few glasses to get me drunk," Calli said, shrugging.

"That's not the problem," Kiara pouted. Before Calli could open her mouth to reply, the doors opened. Ryan looked up to see a woman with curved horns and purple hair. Her amethyst eyes glinted in the light as her lavender dress flowed from side to side as she walked towards the counter, taking a seat two seats away from Calli.

"Is this the Magical KFP I've been hearing so much about?" The woman asked as she leaned in, putting her elbows on the counter as she held her hand up with her hands, a suggestive smile on her face.

"Yes, how so many people keep finding out about it is beyond me," Ryan said. "My name is Ryan Shade."

"Ah yes, I've heard many things about you," The woman leaned forward a couple inches, her eyes sparking with interest. "I heard that Senchou-chan was trying to hook you up."

"Please don't remind me," Ryan shot Kiara a glare, who shuffled uncomfortably. "Yes, Kiara and Houshou-san tried to hook me up. It didn't go so well, though."

"Interesting," The woman giggled a bit. "My name is Saionji Mary. I've recently had bad luck with men, so when I heard the news, I decided to take a look."

"Oh, you're Mary-san!" Kiara exclaimed.

"Do you know her?" Ryan gave Kiara a confused look.

"I heard about you from Flare-senpai and Noel-senpai," Kiara replied, giving Mary a big smile. "It's nice to finally meet you in person."

"They've told me some things about you two," A soft smile grew on Mary's face as she tilted her head to the side. "The pleasure's all mine."

"Hey, maybe this whole dating thing might now be a lost cause, after all," Edhas quipped. "She seems nice enough."

'Not the time, Edhas,' Ryan grumbled in his head. "First thing's first, what would you like to order?"

"I'll have some beer," Mary said. "A lot of beer."

'Of course, there was something,' Ryan said to himself.

"There's nothing wrong with an alcoholic," Edhas pointed out. "They're usually fun to party with… usually."

'Don't drink and drive, kids,' Ryan thought to himself before turning to Kiara. "I actually don't know where the beer is. Do we even have beer?"

"Oh, we have a ton," Kiara said, walking over to the back room. "I'll be right back with your order, Mary-san."

"So," Ryan shuddered as he turned to Mary. "Tell me about yourself."

"Saionji-san, I'm not sure if I'm the kind of guy you want to associate with," Ryan held his hands up, speaking honestly. "I honestly can't judge what kind of person you are after only knowing you for a couple of minutes, but I'm not exactly normal."

"Call me Mary," Mary sighed, rubbing her temples. "At least you're better than the last few guys I've dated. Most of them won't even treat me with respect. I guess bar-hopping isn't the best idea when you're trying to look for marriage, though."

"That's fair," Ryan rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. Though he was okay with listening to her problems, he couldn't help but feel awkward. Ryan was completely inept when it came to romance, people not even showing any kind of interest of him until just recently. He still didn't know how to handle all of it properly and it really just stressed him out. "I'm really sorry about that, though. Things must have been tough, huh?"

"Thanks," Mary gave Ryan a soft smile. "You don't seem too bad, though."

"My other half would like to disagree with you," Ryan heaved a sigh.

"Other half?" Mary tilted her head. "You're taken?"

"I wish it were that simple," Ryan rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I'm kind of sharing this body with an alternate version of myself, you see. If you get roped with one of us, you get both of us."

"That must be… interesting," Mary said. "Depending on your other half, I might not mind all too much."

"Really," Ryan looked slightly shocked. "He's been trying to hook me up with someone for the past couple weeks or so, so I'm sure you're making him really happy."

"Damn straight," Edhas said. "I'm so proud of you, Ryan."

'Shut up, I'm not even sure about this,' Ryan shot back. 'I don't think I'm even ready for a relationship. I already have enough trouble projecting my feelings to people like Tenchou and Ame. I don't think entering a relationship would be a healthy idea.'

"That seems fair," Edhas sighed in defeat. "I won't make you do anything you don't want to, I guess. Sure as shit not fun anymore."

'Who are you and what have you done with Edhas?' Ryan resisted the urge to physically chuckle. 'It feel like it was just yesterday when you were kicking the crap out of me and threatening to destroy the world?'

"Don't tempt me," Edhas growled.

"Ryan?" Mary's voice snapped Ryan back into reality. "Are you okay? You seem to be spacing out."

"Sorry, I was just conversing with Edhas," Ryan said. "To be honest, I'm not sure if I'm-."

"Ara, what's this?" A familiarly seductive voice cut in as the doors open. Ryan focused his attention to the door to realize that Choco was standing at the entrance to the joint. "Mary-chan trying to steal Ryan from me?"

"Hold on, I never to agreed-," Ryan stopped when Mary turned to stand, staring the demon nurse down, a smug smile on her face. He sighed. It wasn't like they were going to listen to him.

"So, what if I am?" Mary asked, crossing her arms. "What are you going to do about it?"

"Perhaps I have to educate you a bit," Choco said, her magic power rising.

"I don't think it's a good idea to fight-,"

"Here's your beer!" Kiara cheered as she ran out of the back room, a large glass pitcher of beer in her hand. She then saw the scene unfold before her. As Mary started to power up, a purple aura started to surround her while Choco's aura was pink. "Hold on! Let me get another beer!"

As Kiara dashed back into the room, Ryan groaned, connecting his palm with his face. "Why isn't anyone on my side today?"

-

"Here's your food," Aloe offered Storm a bento box. Storm took the box with an appreciative smile on his face.

"Thank you, Aloe," Storm said, opening it. "I don't know how long I would have lasted without you."

"Thank you," Aloe said, the concern not leaving her eyes. "So, what's going to happen to you when it takes over?"

"My conscious will cease to be," Storm looked down, not wanting to look Aloe in the eye as she gasped. "My body will merely become a vessel of its will. I suspect it will go after Ryan and Edhas."

"I see," Aloe sat down with Storm. "What are you going to do now?"

"I've seen enough death in my time," Storm chuckled weakly, looking at his hands. "Maybe I'll just spend these last days in peace."

"Then I'll stay here with you," Aloe said, a weak smile on her face. She was still processing all of this, but she knew Storm. He had accepted the fate of becoming a puppet long ago and she knew it was weighing down on him, but despite that, he decided to go against the void's orders to save Aloe, and now she is able to see her friends from time to time, which was a chance she never would have gotten if she died normally. She knew that Storm still cared and she knew that she cared about him. She placed a hand on Storm's, causing him to look up at her. Aloe gave Storm a weak smile. "Till the end."

"Thank you, Aloe," Storm said as Aloe pulled him into a hug. "Thank you."

-

Ryan sighed with relief as he entered his apartment. His apartment was his safe haven where he was safe from fabricated love triangles, crazy immortal managers, and anything else that threatened his peaceful life. "Oh please, as if your life is anything close to peaceful," Edhas quipped.

'C'mon, Edhas, let me dream,' Ryan chuckled.

"You know, this isn't so bad after all," Edhas noted. "I thought this boring life would be torture, but I'm actually enjoying myself."

'I'm glad you are,' Ryan said, a small smile on his face as he plopped down on his bed. 'Let's just hope it stays that way.'