Racing Minds

Synopsis: Ryotarou tries to go about his day but his personalities have other ideas.

The sun creaked over the sky with a blinding yellow light. As it rose, the light reflected through a window and shone right onto Ryotarou's bed. Ryotarou winced, trying to avoid the light. After a few seconds of refusing, he yawned and stood up on his bed. Luckily, it was Saturday, so there were no classes for today.

He put on some slippers and sloppily walked over to his window. He pulled away the blinds, allowing the sunlight to engulf his room. The yellow light reflected off his brown coffee table and desk. The light also luminated his small white couch, which effectively lit up the room slightly more.

Ryotarou covered his eyes to let his eyes adjust to the light, but eventually stopped squinting. He went over to one of his drawers and grabbed a fresh pair of underwear. He went inside the bathroom and washed up for the day. Coming out, he quickly dried his hair with a towel and put on some clothes.

He grabbed a pair of black training pants and a white shirt. He put on a grey track jacket and a pair of white sneakers. Ryotarou went over to his door and walked out to his dorm hallways. He quietly got on to the elevator on the other end of the hall and rode it down to the ground floor.

When he arrived, he found that some of his classmates have already got up and are relaxing in the common areas. Sakura was dozing a little bit more on Akira's shoulder, to which he happily patted her head. Fumiko had just arrived from her early morning jog, to which she was resting now with an energy drink.

"Oh, good morning, Ryotarou." Fumiko greeted with a smile.

"Hey." Ryotarou replied, in his usual soft-spoken voice.

"Where you off to this early?" She asked.

"My sister asked if I could help out at the café today." Ryotarou explained. "So… I'm going there."

After that small exchange, Ryotarou proceeded out of the door of the dorm, leaving his three friends behind in the lounge. He continued on, out of his school campus and eventually making his way towards his towards his home.

He walked on for a bit, eventually reaching the café, Milk Dipper. Saying that name always gave Ryotarou a pleasant feeling. He breathed in, smiled, and then walked over to the door.

Opening the door, a small bell rang. He found that the café hasn't changed much, but looking a lot less cramped. All of the chairs are sat up on the tables and are waiting to be put back down on the floor. The wooden floor

He rubbed his hands and began to work. He put down all of the chairs one by one, placing them gently on the ground with an audible clack. He continued this until he heard one of the doors from the back of the room open.

"My, my, you work fast." Complimented a feminine voice.

Ryotarou knew that voice. It was his older sister, Airi. She had been living alone since Ryotarou had moved out, but she was able to handle the café business on her own. After setting down the last chair, Ryotarou turned around to face her.

"Hey, sis." He greeted.

But before he could say anything else, he inhaled sharply. Then, his hair turned into the color purple, with his eyes also changing into said color. Then, this different Ryotarou spun around and pulled out a punk hat from thin air. He spun it onto his head and smiled widely.

"Big sis!" Ryotarou cried in a more childish voice. "I missed you!"

Airi shook her head. Ryotarou's personality always had the ability to spring out whenever they feel like. This one, Ryuta, was the most rambunctious one out of the bunch.

"Yes, yes Ryuta, I know." Airi sighed. "I missed you too, but can I have Ryotarou back, please?"

"Why?" Ryuta whined. "We only just got back!"

"Customers will be coming soon, and… you're not exactly the most welcoming type." Airi admitted.

Ryuta paused for a second. He wouldn't admit it, but she was right.

"Okay…" He sighed. "But I'll be back."

Ryuta then retreated it back into Ryotarou's mind, allowing him to return. Ryotarou stumbled a bit, but regained his footing.

"Ryuta… I told him to stop doing that…" He complained.

"You can't help it." Airi assured. "Ryuta is that type of child."

Ryotarou rubbed the back of his neck, and went back to work.

The day in the café went as a normal. Customers came in at a steady pace, so Ryotarou and Airi weren't overborn with too much work. Occasionally, one of Ryotarou's personality would come out to work their magic on the customers.

For example, when a group of girls came for a drink or two, Ryotarou's blue persona, Urako, would work his charm on them. He would use all sorts of poetry and suave language to gain their admiration. He even got their phone numbers. Also, his green persona, Odebu, made an appearance. He would break up any arguments among the customers. And if any small children came around. He shared candy with them.

After the morning rush of customers was over, Ryotarou was taking a break. Airi was wiping her hand in the sink behind the counter, and was impressed.

"Well, Ryotarou." She said. "I gotta say, you haven't lost your touch."

Ryotarou was about to say something, but then his eyes and hair turned into a shade of white. Ryotarou, now his white persona Sieg, twirled a bit before answering Airi's question.

"But of course, dear sister." He proclaimed in a very elaborate and Shakespearean way. "Our very presence draws our customers in."

Airi just shook her head. With the initial breakfast-lunch rush over, she can now handle the rest of the day alone. She said so accordingly.

"Thank you for helping me today, Sieg." She said. "I can handle the rest of the day alone. You can go."

Sieg turned back and bowed down. Then, raising his hand into the air, he gracefully stepped out of the café. Airi then went back to her work, while leaving her brother to go about his business.

Ryotarou, having regained his body from Sieg, quietly walked down the street. He sighed as he kept on walking with his hands in his pockets.

"And I thought I could finally get a day for myself…" He muttered to himself. "You guys really want to see the world, don't you?"

His mind signaled a state of agreement, but still he felt that his day was robbed of him. Ryotarou continued on before he heard a glass bottle shatter. He turned to see where the sound came from. He saw that some older looking thugs were picking on the same school girls that had talked with Urako before.

Ryotarou didn't want to get involved, but someone in his mind forced him over to see what was up. He hid behind some wooden boxes and got in close. He stood very still. The thugs seemed to be ganging up on the girls. Ryotarou also noted that one of the thugs had taken the girl's phones, so the girls were on their own.

"Hey there, little misses." The leaner looking one said. "You busy?"

"We can certainly kill some time with you." Another one said, touching the girls. "You could provide the… entertainment.

The girls all winced and backed away, but the thugs just slowly crept up closer.

"Don't worry…" The thug leader said menacingly. "We won't hurt you… much."

Truth be told, he was scared. Ryotarou knew these girls thanks to Urako, and knew abandoning them would be the wrong thing to do, but he also didn't want to get beaten up.

'What should I do…?' He thought to himself.

He would get his answer very quickly. He sharply inhaled, his eyes and hair turning to a shade of red this time. This new Ryotarou cracked his knuckles and his neck.

"You sit back, Ryotarou." He said in a much more vivid voice. "I got this."

The three boys were now on top of the girls. They slowly approached them with their hands out, each finger twiddling like worms. The girls buckled and braced for the worst. But that moment of tension was interrupted when one of the girl's phones began to ring. The thugs scoffed and tried to ignore it but the ringtone was getting more annoying.

"Oh, give me that!" The leader growled.

He swiped the phone from one of the other thugs and checked who was calling. It seemed like an unknown number, but the thug couldn't be so sure. He picked it up, but made sure to put it on speaker towards the girls.

"Speak." The thug said quietly.

The girls, scared and confused at the same time, plucked up the courage they had and spoke quietly.

"H-hello?" They asked.

"Tell those bozos holding the phone to look behind them." The voice on the other line requested.

The thugs did so, only for the two of them to get a clean right hook punch to their faces. The leader was stunned, which allowed him to be thrown over the attacker's shoulder. After getting his bits together, he rubbed the dirt off his face and shot his head up.

"Who the hell are you?" He demanded.

The figure, was Ryotarou, but in a very different state of mind. His hair was not only red, but it was also spiky. When he opened his eyes, they were also in similar color of red, and he had devilish smile to go along with it. He didn't say anything other than making a pose. This was Ryotarou's most prominent red persona, Momon.

"Ore… sanjou!" He announced. (That's "I have arrived" in Japanese)

The girls were taken back by this sudden appearance from Ryotarou. They tried to figure out who it was, but to no avail, they couldn't see.

"Is that Urako?" One of them asked.

"No, I think that's one of that kid's other personalities." The other corrected.

Momon smirked, and cracked his knuckles. He quickly turned to the girls.

"You ladies get on out of here." He said. "I'll teach these assholes a lesson."

Momon quickly looked around for something. He found what he was looking for nearby. He grabbed a short but sturdy metal pipe, which was about as tall as an umbrella. He swung it around for a bit before resting it on his shoulder. He clicked his head, and the girls took it as their signal to run. The thugs saw their playthings run away from them. They turned their attention onto Ryotarou.

"You… you…!" The leader sneered. "I will kill you!"

"I'd like to see you try." Momon taunted, making a hand gesture to come at him.

The thugs all raised their fists and yelled as they ran at Momon. He just let the metal pipe drop to the ground and let the party begin.

The first thug swung a fist, missing him completely. Momon just turned around, and after landing a quick whack to the face, he kicked him into a stack of garbage bags. The first thug recovered and this time, went for a kick. Ryotarou took the kick, and began to spin around. Then he let go, letting the thug flail helplessly into a side of the building.

The second thug had also grabbed a metal pipe, and began to swing madly at Momon. As they just random and aimless swings, Momon was able to dodge them effortlessly. When the thug came for downward slam, he just caught it, and just pulled the pipe away from him. Momon then bat him on the head twice, knocking him out.

The leader then came in swinging, landing a clean hit on Momon's face. Momon stumbled back a bit, but still stood on his two feet. He quickly wiped a bit of his lip, and only found a small smear of blood. Momon smirked, and just tossed the two pipes aside. He cracked his neck and charged the leader at great speed. The leader was tackled into another wall. Momon then kneed him in the stomach, and then threw him over his shoulder. The leader's back landed on the hard ground with a loud thud, knocking him out.

Momon panted, wiping away the small blood spot on his lip. Then, after tying up the three to each other with some zip-ties, he discreetly left. But before he went back, he swung by the pharmacy and grabbed a box of band-aids.

By the time he had returned to his dorm, the sun was already beginning to set. Ryotarou, having got his body back, entered the building and went into the student lounge. There, he found Kasumi and Hiromu enjoying a little small dinner together.

"Damn, Ryotarou!" Hiromu commented, getting up from his seat. "What happened to you?"

Ryotarou then only just realized that his face, clothes, and hair were covered with dirt, soot, and dust. He quickly dusted himself off.

"Nothing major." He assured. "Just a little scuffle with some people. But Momon took care of them."

"I'll say." Hiromu answered. "That one always enjoyed a good fight."

"Even still, let's have a look at that nasty gash on your lip." Kasumi requested, getting up from her seat. "I assume that bag has some band-aids?"

In no time, Kasumi had done what she said she would do. Ryotarou's lip gash was now sealed up thanks to the band-aid.

"There we go!" She smiled. "Good as new!"

Ryotarou rubbed his finger on the band-aid, feeling its fuzzy texture. He was satisfied.

"Kasumi, you really do have sturdy hands." He complimented.

"Aw, thanks." Kasumi smiled.

She got up and left for the elevators, but before Ryotarou could go after her, Hiromu stopped him. Ryotarou was confused until Hiromu gave him a letter.

"It's for you." He explained. "From two girls. They also said 'thank you'."

Ryotarou, although at first puzzled, realized what Hiromu was on about. After reaching the safety of his room, he cut open the envelope and read the letter in his face.

Ryotarou.

Thanks for helping us today. I know we've never really met, since Urako was the one who introduced us to you. Vice versa included. But from what he told us, he was right, you are a good guy.

Imagine our surprise when you came to our rescue. I mean, it wasn't you, but it was you, AH IT'S SO CONFUSING!

Nonetheless, thanks for the rescue. I hope we get to meet again. And since you got our number through Urako, you know how to call us!

From, Tsukasa and Umika

'Well, would you look at that?' Urako's voice echoed through in Ryotarou's mind. 'My charms have come through!"

'We wouldn't even have to get involved if you hadn't used those charms of yours at all!' Momon's voice burst in.

'Guys, guys!' Odebu's voice interrupted. 'At least Ryotarou's okay, right?'

Ryotarou just sighed as he prepared to go to sleep. His personalities are what made him into who he is, even if they are falsely mistaken for him at times. He's happy to have them. He wouldn't be anywhere without them.

"Wait, by the way, what happened to Kin-Chan today?" He asked.

But as soon as he said that, he heard a loud, but faint snoring within in his mind. That gave him his answer. He just sighed and shook his head as he just popped open his book to read for the rest of the night.