Shadow Slave : A Date

Encounter

A groan escaping him, Sunny pushed himself off the bed and made his way to the shower.

One would think that plumbing would've been an issue in the Dream Realm, but with Sunny's past experience in that matter, he had purposefully chosen a spot most near the Bastion Lake in hopes of making that effort easier. And it had. Since the day he had set up his shop, the Marvelous Mimic was always supplied with a fresh source of abomination-infested water.

'Well, Echos are still abominations, after all.'

And so they were. The lake might have been rid of Nightmare Creatures, but the Valor Echos still patrolled its depths in their mission of protecting the real Bastion. And they were every bit as horrendous as their original counterparts.

His second manifestation, meanwhile, had left his weaving on stand-by to go open up the Café... Just because he had a date today didn't mean he would pass up on earning extra credits. That would've been idiotic!

Sunny opened the door, filling his lungs with the cool morning air and stepped onto the porch, feeling the warmth of the rising sun on his face.

'Ah... Beats the outskirts air, for sure.'

It never did get old. He looked around, seeing merchants and civilians alike getting ready for their daily endeavors. He waved at their familiar faces, a smile of his own tugging at his lips. Over time, he had gotten to know many of these people. They shared Sunny's same dream of peace, so they got along just fine.

He engaged in meaningless chit-chat for a while, talking about this and that, enjoying the pleasantry of doing nothing. That was, until one particular face caught his gaze.

A light smirk on his lips, he greeted her with wave to his held up hand:

"You're late."

"Ah, come now!" Aiko responded, her light steps carrying the distance until she stood right in front of him. "You had me work until late dusk yesterday! I barely slept! Don't you see the dark circles under my eyes?!"

Sunny frowned and narrowed his eyes to take a closer look at Aiko's face. A weird blush tinged her cheeks when he did, but he dismissed that as the dawn's shading. "Hmm... Indeed, you're right. Definitely sleep deprived. Though, what I also see is a deduction in your paycheck. Can't be slacking now, can we? Money doesn't wait."

He smiled, then looked away. The first customer was on their way.

Leaving Aiko to mumble something to herself in a still voice, he turned to make his way inside.

This was bound to be a good day.

—————

"Hurry it!" Aiko said, still in the same grumpy mood since this morning. "You're taking too long. The customers are waiting!"

Gritting his teeth, Sunny summoned another pair of shadow-arms. His consciousness took up another burden as this was now his 5th. He looked more like a defiled monstrosity surrounded by countless dark tentacles than he did a hard-working person. "These things take time!"

"It's too slow!" Aiko continued. "Can't you summon another one of you?"

"This is my other one of me!" he responded, a twitch working his brow. "My real me is busy getting ready."

Aiko frowned, opened her mouth, lingered for a while, then shut it anew. Finally, having settled on her words, she asked in a strangely curious voice:

"Getting ready? Ready for what?"

But just as she the question was spoken, a bell rang from the front door, announcing the arrival of yet another customer. And suddenly, the café foyer became deathly silent. Sunny smirked, taking in that otherworldly presence.

"Getting ready for her," he said, pride lingering in his words.

Aiko's eyes widened, already guessing at who the new arrival was.

"No way," she quietly muttered to herself.

But before she could act on her duties to welcome the new customer, stepping down the stairs adjacent from the counter, it was the real Sunny's words that rang across the silence:

"Ah, Lady Changing Star," he said, looking up and down at her shaped figure with a smile. „What a coincidence. It seems we coordinated our timing perfectly — I was just about to step out myself."

Of course, this was anything but a coincidence. In fact, they had planned this little public display in advance.

That was because the Brilliant Emporium was always full with gossiping divas. What better opportunity would they have to spread word of their fake relationship than with a bit of theatrics?

Sunny had been worried about the customers asking questions, but it seemed that Nephis' words rang true. Everyone, indeed, was too aghast to even think to utter a single word.

Sunny bowed slightly, "It's a pleasure to see you again. You look particularly ravishing today."

So she did. Wearing a summer dress patterned with imprints of exquisite butterflies and flowery petals, of shades varying from pearl to olive, her beauty would pry a reaction from even a blind person.

Ironically enough, it seemed that it was his beauty that was prying a reaction out of Nephis.

Most people would never have caught it, but Sunny could tell that Nephis was truly awestruck — there was a little slack to her jaw, a breath held in her lungs.

And he couldn't blame her. She had a very good reason for such. Sunny had put a lot of effort into his appearance today, after all.

Clad in a black three-piece suit of the early Modern Era, less the blazer, and a pair of moccasins made out of the matt skin of a Great abomination, he looked every bit like a prince of a Great Clan.

But it was the details that spoke him humble and cordial:

A simple tie of the same color, tight around his neck. A pocket square, the shade of Nephis' hair, neatly held in his vest pocket.

Sunny was very proud of himself to say the least. He had gone all out... And how could he not? Fake or otherwise, he was going on a date with the Changing Star. Anything else wouldn't have sufficed.

Sunny ravished in the attention of Nephis' gaze for a moment. A long moment. Then, realizing that the silence over them had been going on for too long, he cleared his throat.

Her eyes widened just a smidge.

„Yes, thank you," Nephis coughed out in a startle. „It's nice to see you again, too. You yourself look as handsome as Adonis."

Sunny frowned.

'Huh?' he couldn't help but blink. 'Adonis who? Is she seeing someone else? She better not! ...That would put a stain on our fake relationship!'