Chapter 20: Last Day Mishap

Megumi grew bags under her eyes, staring straight ahead and she journeyed forth. To her left, Cider was whistling as he leaned his head on the palm of his hands. To her right, Dino trudged along with his hands in his pockets. He averted his gaze from Megumi, looking at all the miscellaneous products in the destroyed market.

Megumi grumbled to herself before sighing silently.

She thought back to what had occurred not even an hour ago.

********

Megumi was playing a game of hide and seek with Cider withing Liang's living room. She peeked around the corner with her newly gloved hand searching and scanning the kitchen then the hall still finding nothing.

"Not here…"

Megumi ponders to herself for a moment. "Now… If I was Cider…. Where would I hide?"

She heard some snickering followed by the clasping of the mouth, all coming from above. Looking up she found Cider outstretching his arms to hold himself on the ceiling.

"There you are!!" Megumi pointed straight at him with vigor.

"Ah dang it!" Cider blurted. He fell back to the ground, sticking the landing as always.

"Ten points to me and zip for you. I think it's high time that I hide this time." Megumi proudly proclaimed.

Cider pumped his arms in complete refusal. "No! One more time! One more time! This time you won't find me for sure!"

"Geez. Could you two be any more annoying?" Dino stated with irritation. Dino sat at the couch staring at the blank Tv screen.

"Well, there's nothing better to do," Megumi retorted.

"It's your fault for never watching Tv while you were alive." Dino said. "And the shows that Kid watched are the dumbest things I've laid my eyes on."

"You're one to talk. You never watched any shows or movies yourself. All of it is just camera footage."

Dino turned his head from the two. "I have my reasons."

"Yeah. I'm sure you do." She dryly said.

Looking back to Cider she found that he was gone. "Ah crap!" She sighed. "Now I have to find him again."

Dino blurted out a mocking laugh, getting under Megumi's skin. She grumbled and then looked up with her arms crossed. "Why'd ci-" Unexpectedly Cider hid back in the same place.

"Seriously..."

"Dang it!" Being found, Cider was forced out of his hiding place again and dropped back down.

"That makes it eleven…" Megumi chirped.

a second later, Liang and K entered the room.

Liang instantly spoke up. "I see that you three are doing well together."

Both Megumi and Dino stared sharply at Liang, all the while Cider tried sneaking away while Megumi was seemingly distracted. This didn't work however as K's bone tentacle pulled him up by the leg and held him upside down.

"Since we have about a day left, how about you and that kid go shopping." K said to Megumi. "I'll provide the funds too if you need it."

K presented a pouch filled with differently colored opals. There was blue, yellow, red and a singular black opal.

"The blue opals are worth two-hundred fifty each. The reds are five hundred. And the yellows are worth a thousand."

"What about this black one?" Megumi asked.

"Those. They are worth a million."

Megumi tensed up from hearing such an absurd number, the number was so shocking she could barely ink out any words from her mouth. "I… I don't think it's… a good idea that I take this…"

"Nonsense. Just store it inside yourself like with those books." K said.

"O-oh yeah. I'll try that now."

Megumi took the bag of money in hand and like with the romance books she was given; they disappeared from her hand.

"I did it!"

But suddenly the opals shot out from her body like a gun shooting everywhere in the living room.

Cider posed himself in time to with holes smoking from right behind himself. Meanwhile Dino and the rest were able to dodge the blast of opals. Although Dino was still surprised by the event.

"What was that….?" Dino questioned.

Liang scratched his cheek unsure what to make of the situation. "Well, that's a first…"

K picked a single opal from the ground and handed it to Megumi who was just as shocked as everyone else.

"Try it again…"

Again, Megumi transferred the opal into her body but like before, it shot out from her body like a gunshot through K and his robe.

"Hmmm...That's very strange.": K said. "I guess for now just hold it like you'd normally do but you should bring along Dino."

"What!?" Megumi and Dino said in unison.

"Wait, doesn't Liang have to watch him!?"

Liang shrugged. "Eh. A couple of hours out of my sight won't do any harm. Besides, you'll be watching him for me."

Megumi frowned at this. "I don't want to be his babysitter."

"Funny. You seem to like to babysit that kid a lot, besides it's more like I'm babysitting you." Dino retorted.

"Hey! Cider's my friend! F-R-I-E-N-D!"

"Like I care."

"That's enough!" K yelled.

Shortly after Cider was released.

K continued. "Just gather the opals and go shopping together… All three of you."

"And why do I have to go?" Dino questioned. "Can't one of you two go instead?"

"Wish I could~. But we both have somewhere to be. For now. Let's just say that it's a very important meeting." Liang raised his finger to his mouth. "So, for now go out and enjoy yourselves."

********

Megumi looked back to the bag in Dino's hand as they traveled the bustling streets of people and demons shopping.

Just moments before, not only did some demons steal from her twice. But when she allowed Cider to hold their funds, he almost used all the money at once trying to get a toy from a scammer.

Thanks to those incidents Dino is now in charge of holding the money, being a little more tough looking. Although annoyed, he took responsibility for it.

"You never should've given him that money." Dino suddenly said, as if reading her mind.

"I know…" She said defeatedly. "My luck's never been good when it comes to money. I alway's been broke"

"What do you mean?" Dino asked.

"W-well. how do I say this... There were times in my life where I should have had money but for some reason, I've had extremely bad luck. L-like When I was just a kid I found a dollar bill in the streets. But for some reason, after I picked it up… It... Inexplicably burst into fire."

Dino gave an awkward glance. "Yeah right. How does something like that even happen?"

"I don't know. At the time I thought it was a prank played by some bullies… another time I found a hundred dollars only for a bird to snatch it from my hand."

"Huh!" Cider was surprised and in disbelief. "That's a lot of money!"

"I'm calling bullshit." Dino said.

"But it did happen!"

Megumi stopped rubbing the back of her head meekly. "In any case, because of that I never really handled my own kind of money, each time someone else had to pay for me since my luck was so bad."

Megumi glanced back at her gloved hand. "It was another reason everyone saw me as cursed too…"

"Well, I still don't believe it." Dino handed the pouch of Opals back to Megumi. "Here those last few times were just a coincidence. I wage a million opals that nothing will happened. So just hold on to it when we're shopping in that store there."

Dino pointed to a clothing shop showing a variety of different clothes.

"O-Okay… If you're sure…"

As if by magic, Megumi's seemingly natural bad luck took effect. A demon-like bird instantly snatched the pouch from her hand. shocking everyone.

"What the fuck?" Dino blurted.

"Hey, give that back!" Cider yelled. He dashed into action chasing after the weird demon bird. He smashed through stands and broke windows trying to claw at the bird with his inhuman outstretched hands.

Megumi realizing the chaos that was occurring chased after Cider with Dino tagging along still shocked by the sudden chaos that was unfolding.

The chaotic scene continued until Cider slingshot himself into a merchant's stand and defeated the bird.

"Haha! I got it! I got it!" Cider cheered.

"What the hell…" A woman's voice said.

Looking back, Cider found Kailey standing there, her brows twitching at the absurd scene before her.

Suddenly Cider was bonked hard on the head by Dino.

"OW!!!"

"Damn kid! What were you thinking?" Dino spouted.

"Hey. Aren't you that guy that attacked the other night."

Dino glanced at Kailey. A woman he used to track Cider down to the hidden reaper's hideout.

"Oh. You're that girl that was following me that other night, right?"

"Firstly, you're the one who was stalking me first."

"WAR!!" Suddenly Cider punched Dino in the face starting a wrestling match. Kailey's brows twitched again and decided to step back from them, turning around she brought out her own pouch of opals. only to find Megumi stopping right in front of her.

Megumi finally caught up with the two, breathing in and out heavily. "Finally." She wheezed.

She looked up and found Kailey with her same droopy eyes, and expressionless demeanor. She looked at her for a good ten seconds before she could finally register her identity.

"W-what the- What are you doing here!" Magnum pointed surprised to simply see Kailey again.

"That should be my question. I'm surprised that you're still alive after what happened the night of that demon invasion…"

Megumi quickly straightened herself up. And held her hand out in a friendly face and gesture. "I-it's nice to see you again Kailey."

Megumi quickly double checked her hand, assuring herself that her glove was still on. She quickly calmed down and waited expectantly.

However, to her surprise Kailey threw a black opal just behind the destroyed stand and left, walking past Megumi without another word.

Megumi quickly glanced back at Kailey as Dino and Cider seemed to be brawling again, over a merchant who was still in a daze. "That was rude…" She then looked back at the black opal on the ground making her wonder.

Suddenly, a sonic wave came from below, ceasing the wrestling match Cider and Dino were having. They were both sent flying through the air and into the debris of the other destroyed stands. This also freed the otherwise captive merchant who was now traumatized.

An echoed voice then entered Megumi's head. "Sorry about Kailey. She's not really a people's person. So she can be a bit anti-social at times."

"Where's that voice coming from?"

Megumi felt a hand on her shoulder. She quickly turned, finding Chime standing right behind her. She waved to Megumi cheerfully. "That would be me." She echoed.

"Hey, I think I remember you…" Megumi pondered for a bit before a light bulb lit up. "Oh yeah, weren't you with some other guy that attacked Cider on our first day here?"

"Hahaha… You have a very good memory. That's good, I was sure you would've forgotten me after a couple of weeks." Chimes gave an amused and cheerful look. And despite her mask, Megumi could imagine the smile that she would have.

Not long after Cider and Dino erupted from the debris ready to wrestle again. This put the traumatized merchant in a panic as he screamed like a girl. "Noooo!!! Not again!!"

The fight started again.

Megumi could only look on in disbelief at the two… "We were supposed to be shopping…and now this..." Megumi thought with some irritation.

"A-anyways, don't take it too personally. God knows she needs more friends. Anyways I do hope she doesn't cause too much trouble when you're all traveling to Arc."

Megumi glanced back at Chime. "She's going to Arc too?"

"Yeah. And as much as I'd like to attend her with the travel, I have some stuff to finish here in Gondola, reaper Corp business so I can't talk much about it."

They both looked back to the two who were fighting and now pulling at each other's hairs. Not long after another sonic wave erupted from the ground sending them flying again.

"You should probably calm your friends down now before they fight again." Chime noted.

"R-right…"

With the whole scene now put at peace, Chime departed after Kailey, leaving a newly bruised Cider and Dino with Megumi.

Trying to keep her composure, Megumi looked back awkwardly at the two boys. "Y-you guys know how to fight, don't you. Honestly, I'm surprised at how childish you are Dino."

Dino looked away indignantly, scoffing at her remark. "That damn brat started it."

"Very childish." Megumi remarked.

Cider could only hold back his laughter after hearing Megumi's statement.

"Anyways we should get back to shopping."

Megumi moved to grab the pouch of money, only for it to inexplicably burst into fire. Both Dino and Cider could only look on in shock by the event as the pouch and opals were burned to nothing.

"HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE!!" Megumi screamed.

Megumi fell to her knees in defeat. "I only picked it up and it turned into fire...."

Dino patted Megumi and the back of the shoulder, just as stunned by the event. "I think I believe you now." Dino said.

"I really am cursed, aren't I…"

"Yeah… Probably." Cider said.

That day they returned empty handed. Unable to buy anything and leaving K to repay for the damages Cider had cost.

Liang now overlooked Megumi who sat at the table with food, still depressed by the outcome of their shopping trip.

"So, opals can burn, huh?" Liang still couldn't wrap his head around the explanation.