Day 4: Imps

Day 004: Imps

Shade heaved a sigh as he walked down the hallway.

"Shade?" Shade turned around when he heard Sabrina's voice. She was poking her head out of her room, her mask off.

"What's up, Sabby?" Shade turned around, tilting his head at his subordinate.

"Can I go see Edhas yet?" Sabrina asked. "I really miss him."

"For the last time, Sabrina," Shade pinched the bridge of his nose. "We can't interact with Edhas yet. He's still-,"

Shade was cut off when his phone started to ring. Shade took out his phone. "Who is it?" Sabrina asked.

"It's YAGOO," Shade said, scowling as he answered the phone. "Hey YAGOO. What's up?"

"Roboco stopped by Ryan's place of work today," YAGOO started. "She claimed that Ryan's personality didn't match the files. There's a chance Edhas may have resurfaced already."

"That's early," Shade noted. "I'll come to Japan to check things out. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Alright," YAGOO said before hanging up the phone.

"Good news Sabrina," Shade said as his expression darkened. "We'll get to see Edhas soon."

-

"Brianna!" Ollie shouted as she barreled through the door, waving a piece of paper wildly. "Check this out!"

"For the last time, Ollie," Brianna sighed, pausing the TV. She was currently watching Futakuchi Mana's workout regimens. "Please knock before opening the door."

"But it's important~," Ollie whined, shoving the paper in Brianna's face. Brianna read the paper.

"What's so important about a KFP?" Brianna asked, moving her head so she could face Ollie. "What even is that? It wasn't around when I was alive."

"One of my senpais established a fast food chain!" Ollie exclaimed. "She's so hot~."

"Ollie, remember how you died," Brianna noted.

"No, like physically," Ollie gave Brianna a blank stare. "She's a phoenix."

"Nice save there," Brianna said with a monotone voice. "So, what's your point?"

"Do you want to go on a date~?" Ollie asked, squirming as she winked at Brianna. "It would be a great place~."

"Ollie no," Brianna glared.

"Ollie yes," Ollie wiggled her eyebrows.

"Maybe tomorrow," Brianna grumbled.

"Yay!" Ollie tackled her friend in a hug.

"W-wait!" Brianna yelped as Ollie barreled into her. She tried to keep her balance, but failed, causing the two to topple over.

-

'Hey Nux,' Ryan said as he sealed an envelope with a purple seal with the number '5' engraved in it. 'You're in league with Grimm, right?'

"Yeah, why do you ask?" Nux asked back almost immediately.

'I need to get this to a phoenix named Hino,' Ryan replied, tapping the sealed letter on his desk. 'Can you get this to Grimm?'

"Sure thing, pal," Nux said as he appeared behind Ryan with a white and blue flame. Ryan turned to see Nux replaced his blue hoodie with a red jacket and hade the word "MEME" tattooed on his fingers.

"Nice outfit," Ryan said, handing Nux the letter.

"I guess you can say I got drip," Nux smirked as he took the letter.

"Please don't ever say that again," Ryan grumbled.

"Whatever you say," Nux pocketed the letter. "See ya!"

Ryan heaved a sigh as Nux left. As soon as Ryan could tell that Nux had completely left his room, a small smile crept up his lips.

-

Mana sighed as she turned off her computer. "Why do so many people want me to step on them?" She muttered to herself standing up. She appreciated all the support she had been getting, though. Heating was quite expensive in the ninth circle of hell, after all.

"What should I do now?" Mana rubbed her chin.

"Feed…" The mouth in the back of her head demanded. Like all Futakuchis, her hair would contort into a mouth that would demand for food constantly, causing a torturous backlash if not fed. "I demand food…"

"Yeah, yeah," Mana sighed. "What to eat…"

She turned to the right of her desk to see an orange pamphlet hanging on the wall. "Fried chicken sounds nice," Mana bit her thumb, causing it to bleed a little. She walked over to the pamphlet and smeared the blood onto the pentagram on the bottom right corner of the pamphlet. With a flash of red light, she was gone.

-

"Morning Tenchou," Ryan heaved a sigh as he opened the door. "I have a feeling that a couple of strays are going to be popping in today."

"Well, considering what happened last time you brought in a stray, I think I would be fine with that," Kiara smiled. "How did you sleep, my little egg?"

"Eh," Ryan shrugged. "I was never the best at sleeping anyways."

"That's not healthy!" Kiara gasped as Ryan made his way into the break room. "You need to sleep more!"

"Yeah, yeah," Ryan waved his hand dismissively. "I'll try my best."

"That's all I ask," Kiara smiled genuinely at Ryan as he closed the door.

-

Ryan opened the door to the break room as the same time the entrance opened, revealing a woman with a black French maid outfit with a white collar and red ribbons. Her long, black hair flowed down her back, red streaks blending into her hair on her bangs. She wore a spider lily on the left side of her head and her crimson eyes shone in the light.

"Excuse me, but is this KFP?" The woman asked as she walked over to the counter.

"Yes, it is," Kiara rubbed her chin. "My name is Takanashi Kiara. Who are you? I don't recall giving you directions here."

"My name is Futakuchi Mana," Mana opened her palm, and an orange pamphlet summoned itself in crimson flames. "I received a promotional pamphlet for this place."

"Pamphlet? I don't remember sending out anything like that," Kiara noted as she took the paper. Ryan walked over to read the paper, his expression souring as he read it.

"God damnit Nux," Ryan pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head.

"Who's Nux?" Kiara narrowed her eyes as she looked at Ryan. "Is there something you aren't telling me?"

"Nux is…" Ryan looked upwards, trying to find a word that stretched the truth, but wasn't exactly a lie. "Kind of like the monster under my bed or something like that. He started tormenting me not too long ago, so I'm not surprised that no one knows of him."

"I see," Kiara nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer. "Me and this Nux person are going to have words later on."

"Don't worry, I'm sure he'll pop up in here someday," Ryan said, completely confident that something like that would happen. He then directed his attention back to his customer. "What would you like today, Mana?"

"I heard you guys sell fried chicken?" Mana put a finger on her chin.

"Yes, we do, but we also sell a lot of other things, from aged wine to slow-roasted human souls," Kiara said.

"We sell cooked souls?" Ryan asked, turning his head towards Kiara.

"You have your secrets, I have mine," Kiara smirked at Ryan, offering him a wink.

"I won't even ask," Ryan grumbled to himself.

"I'll just have some chicken wings," Mana said. "Please don't add any spices."

"One Birb Mild Wings, coming right up," Ryan said, finding his way into the back room. He always felt like he didn't do enough during his first few weeks of work, considering the fact the he got paid way more than any other 9-5 fast food worker he's heard of.

'Nux, I thought you wouldn't screw up anything,' Ryan grumbled, establishing a telepathic link with the entity of the void.

"Well I said no promises," Nux said with an overly smug tone as Ryan put several chicken wings in the deep fryer. "C'mon! Let me have a little fun!"

'Fine. It's not like I can do anything about it at this point,' Ryan sighed as he placed the chicken wings in a standard KFP tub before walking out of the back room.

"Ironmouse is actually a very energetic person," Mana said, her finger resting on the word 'Ironmouse' on the pamphlet. "She tries to get with everyone, though. She constantly hugs and kisses people, sometimes against their will."

"Sounds a lot like you, Tenchou," Ryan said as he placed the chicken wings in front of Mana. "Calli certainly deserves a break."

"I am her break!" Kiara pouted. Mana grabbed a chicken wing and held it behind her shoulder. Parts of her hair started to levitate towards the food, grabbing it as the hair constricted around the wing. It then receded back into the back of Mana's head, where the sound of bones crunching could be heard.

"What was that?" Ryan asked, more curious than scared.

"I'm a Futakuchi-onna," Mana explained. "We have a mouth in the back of our heads which basically eat all of our food."

"I see," Ryan said, when he did in fact, not see. "I'll be sure to do some googling later tonight."

"If I may ask, how should I pay for this?" Mana asked. "I don't have any human currency on me, though I do have a couple souls lying around."

"I'll take those!" Kiara chirped. "That'll cost two souls."

"That's not too bad," Mana said as two silver coins appeared in her hand. She dropped them into Kiara's hand before standing up with the tub of chicken in her hands. "I guess I will take my leave now. Thank you for the food."

"No problem!" Kiara cheered as Mana vanished in a torrent of crimson flames.

"Those are souls?" Ryan asked as he looked at the silver coins. On one side, there was a 1 on it, and the other side, there was something that looked like a flame, but the bottom was circular.

"Like most human currencies are backed with silver and gold, currency in the underworld are backed by the souls of the damned," Kiara explained. "People who have either given up their souls or did something really bad aren't allowed to pass on to life after death. Their souls go to Lucifer and the government in the underworld, where they distribute the currency."

"That sounds… quite efficient," Ryan nodded his head. "Aren't demons supposed to eat souls or something though?"

"Well, you can also buy souls from the government or soul brokers," Kiara said. "Kind of like how money is backed by gold, but you can still buy gold."

"Ah," Ryan said. "I never expected today to be so educational."

"Well, you learn something every day!" Kiara chirped.

-

"Hino, for your insubordination, you are sentenced to death," King Peafowl VII said as the phoenix knelt before him. Hino sighed. Since she was a phoenix and came back to life every time she died, she was sentenced to death for a lot of 'crimes', one of which included defying orders to 'discipline' her men with magic. At first, she tried to argue, but at this point, she just gave up entirely.

"Father!" Reine shouted. "This is unacceptable! She just didn't want to hurt anyone!"

"Silence!" Peafowl roared. "You have no say in this after abandoning your country!"

"You…" Reine seethed, her hand grasping on her magical rapier, Hiraitamon.

"Now, off with her head!" Peafowl demanded.

"I'm sorry, commander," Jared, the executioner hung his head now. He really hated doing this, but as this was his only source of income, he had no choice.

"It's okay," Hino forced a smile out. "Just make sure your kids are alright, okay?"

"I will," Jared nodded as he swung his giant axe, beheading the fire bird.

-

Hino expected to awake in the normal endless void with the two doors and the raggedy man, but was surprised to see a lush field, the sun shining down. If she looked in the distance, she could see more of the black, endless void, but it was significantly different to what she was used to.

"It's nice to see you again, Hino," Hino turned at the voice of the man she had seen so many times. Her eyes widened slightly as the raggedy, pitiful man she new was now no more. In his place was a tall, lean man with his hair neatly combed back. His cloak was orange as his broken scythe was now a majestic weapon with a golden hilt and a blade of concentrated plasma. "Do you like what I've done with the place?"

"O-Old Man Grimm…!" Hino exclaimed in shock. "What happened to you?! What happened here?!"

"Let's just say an old friend stopped by to give me a helping hand," Grimm said, a satisfied smile creeping up his lips. "Enough of that, though. How are you?"

"Can I go to another dimension now?" Hino whined. "I'm sick of this one! The king is so mean! Since this place isn't fucked up anymore, you can move me to another dimension, right? Hey! Put me in the one that Reine went to! I'm sure that'll be fun!"

"I would love to, but unfortunately, I need a favor from you," Grimm replied. Hino tilted her head. Grimm never asked for favors. Whenever she died, they just exchanged pleasantries before Grimm would send her on her way.

"What kind of favor do you need?" Hino asked, tilting her head.

"I don't know what kind of people you've been associating with, but it seems you have some friends in some pretty high places," Grimm heaved a sigh as he dug his hand into his cloak, pulling out a letter. "Please give this to King Peafowl VII."

"I don't know what you mean. My only two friends are Ahiru and Reine," Hino said, taking the letter. "But it's the least I can do for you after making sure I made it back to my friends in one piece."

"Thank you," Grimm said as a fiery portal opened behind Hino. "Now, get going. I'm sure you won't want to miss this."

-

Reine watched as a fire burst from Hino's body as she rose back from the dead. Unlike her normal, gray expression though, Hino was smiling brightly as she held a letter with a purple seal which somehow wasn't getting burnt by the flames that surrounded Hino's hand.

"What is that?" Peafowl asked, glaring at the letter that Hino held.

"It's a letter for you, your highness," Hino said, kneeling. "May I approach?"

"Yes, you may," Peafowl said. Hino walked up the steps and handed the king the letter before stepping back down to stand next to Reine.

"What was that?" Reine asked her friend.

"I don't know," Hino answered honestly. "Old Man Grimm just told me to give it to the king."

Reine then looked at Peafowl, whose face was getting paler and paler by the second.

"Hino, Reine," Peafowl said, his voice shaking. "I don't know when you did it, but you got into contact with the Fifth Mask… He wants you to go back to his dimension with Ahiru and Hane…"

"The Fifth Mask?" Reine asked, her head tilting. "Isn't he dead?"

"Yes," the conversation was interrupted when a blue and white flame appeared in the middle of the room, a pale man stepping out. "He left that for me to pass onto you when he died. I'm here to take the kiddies back to his dimension, if you don't mind."

"O-of course…!" Peafowl managed. "Get the other two this instant! They shall be leaving today!"

-

"Thanks for taking us back," Reine said as she stepped out of the portal with Hino, Hane, Ahiru, and the now named Nux.

"Don't mention it," Nux said. "I was just doing someone a favor."

"Is it true that the Fifth Mask was the one who bailed us?" Hino asked.

"Yeah, but I heard he hates being called that," Nux heaved a sigh, rubbing the back of his head.

"Where can I find him?" Reine asked. "I want to thank him personally."

"You were the one who said he was dead," Nux pointed out.

"If he was dead, then he would have bailed us earlier, when he was alive," Reine noted. "If he died before we were born, then there was no way he would have known us."

"You got me there," Nux ran his fingers through his hair. "Look, he doesn't want to be found at the moment, okay? When he does, he'll make himself present. I promise."

"Okay," Reine nodded. "I wonder where he is right now."

-

Ryan sighed as he was sitting on his desk, writing down incomprehensible scribbles. He originally wanted to try creating his own spells based off the knowledge that Edhas gave him, but it had been reduced to just unintelligible chicken scratch. He felt the tingling on the back of his head he usually felt when someone was following him and sighed, opening the sliding glass door to his balcony.

"Suisei, do you prefer peppermint tea or Earl Grey?" He asked loudly. With a gust of wind, Suisei appeared next to him.

"I'm surprised you were able to notice that I was here," Suisei said.

"I'm used to being stalked," Ryan grumbled, running his hand through his hair as an agitated expression washed over his face. "Please don't remind me. Wasn't my best moment."

"If you insist," Suisei said. "Now, may I come in?"