After apologizing profusely, to the point where Satana simply waved her off and kicked her out of her office, Mirajane continued on with her shift. Their clientele were mostly magically-inclined with the occasional otherworldly beings. Only humans with magical backgrounds, or at least magically competent, usually patronized the restaurant between 2PM to 5PM.
When a young, teen-looking male entered the restaurant, Mirajane was perplexed. This establishment didn't cater to young adults. In fact, in the entire time since working here, this would be the first time she's seen a young adult enter this place.
The only patrons who were in the restaurant were the regulars: Old Man Rick who habitually orders the same platter of onion rings, Christie Lang whom Mirajane heard was from the Hong Kong Sanctorum (whatever that means) who comes here at least once a week for their signature steak, and Nindorakeiths-thsurs a.k.a. Keith from a nearby pocket dimension who always orders the same clam chowder with extra clams.
Her coworkers, Mia and Seth, were taking their fifteen minute breaks outside. Seth was probably smoking a cigarette while Mia was taking a nap somewhere.
When the kid entered, all eyes turned to him. A tense silence followed. Once he saw Keith, the boy ran to the door. But since it was a door that must be pulled when inside, he ran face first into the door and fell to the ground.
Mirajane ran to check if the kid was okay.
"I'm fine," the kid replied. Clearly he wasn't. At least not mentally. "I could've sworn that I saw a monster."
When Keith's head appeared beside Mirajane, Billy screamed.
"That's rude," said Mirajane.
Billy was more surprised at Mirajane's words. "Do you not see the tentacles?"
"And? Nindorakeiths-thsurs is an exemplar and valued customer." Billy took a solid second to recognize that no, he wasn't hearing things; this girl actually mentioned a proper noun.
The monster Billy was pertaining to made a sound that came from the monster's stomach.
For point of reference, Keith had the lower body of a human. He had bipedal legs but on the part that should have been a torso, it was a bulb-like thing with eight tentacles falling down from the top. To describe him precisely, think of an incandescent light bulb. That was its (their race were sexless) shape. Also, it had a sheen of slime that indicated health. Shinier the better in their society. Their race was born out of the neighboring dimensions' collection of the concept of [Disgust].
"Huh, whe-where am I?" His distress was obvious.
Up above, the lightbulbs malfunctioned and threw sparks on everyone, surprising everyone.
Christie Lang appeared. "He's magic. Recently discovered himself."
"Wha–" the kid was cornered on the wall. This woman who was clearly cosplaying was not making any sense to him.
Mirajane tried to discern his magic. It had the potential of growing but right now it was unrestrained, like a rabid, undomesticated animal.
When Old Man Rick appeared beside Christie looking concerned as well, Mirajane clapped her hands. "Okay, everyone. That's enough. The kid's in shock."
Christie pulled a vial of purple liquid from her pocket. "Make him drink this, it's a calming potion."
Mirajane nodded, giving him a hand up.
At the behest of Christie, Mirajane diluted the potion into a glass of milk, which the boy drank with fervor. He sat in one of the stools in the bar area, with the nearby patrons a few feet away from him, still curious and concerned.
The effect was instantaneous: the kid immediately became relaxed and composed. He introduced himself as Billy Kaplan, a student from a nearby school a few blocks away.
"What's going on? What is this place?" Mirajane led Billy to the bar area where Mirajane was supposed to do inventory for the next shift.
"You're at our restaurant." Mirajane's eyes was on her pad of paper, "Have you ever wondered about all those weird things happening around you? Things moving without you knowing, unexplained phenomena you have no idea why it's happening around you?"
Billy was silent for a moment before saying, "I hurt someone."
"Without you knowing how they got hurt?"
He nodded.
Mirajane turned to him, "You've awaken your potential. Albeit late but yeah!"
"My potential?"
"For magic!" She told him like it was the simplest thing.
That was another pill to swallow for Billy. "I thought I was a mutant."
Christie heard that, "Nope, you're magic. If you weren't, you wouldn't have been able to find this restaurant, much less short-circuit those lightbulbs."
"Huh?"
"You would not have been able to enter nor would you have made everyone jumpy when you manifested your powers," added Mirajane. She didn't tell him how Christie's response was the tamest of them all: Old Man Rick pulled out at old-looking rifle that was similar to the things Bisca used, while Keith's sheen got glassy as tentacles sprang from his original tentacles, ready to grab the kid at any second.
"I'm sorry, I'll pay you back, I promise!"
"Pay what back?" Mirajane turned to the voice and saw their manager Malfala. She was of, in the human language, the demon bird tribe in one of the underworlds of this land. She was humanoid with avian features. Instead of a mouth, she had a beak. Feathers replaced what would have been hair on her head and she wore a skirt because of her bird feet. Her hands could turn to wings but only during stressful situations or, if they're mature enough, at will.
Malfala made the executive decision of hiring Billy as their temporary employee as payment for the busted lightbulbs. So until Mirajane's shift was over, he'd be stuck dishwashing and helping around the restaurant.
Of course Billy was given the option of paying for replacing the light bulb but Billy didn't have his wallet with him, he left it at school. Besides, it was Friday and he was given a weekly allowance because his parents wanted him to learn how to budget and save his money, so even if he did have his wallet, chances are, he would not have the money to pay for it. He also had the idea that his parents set it up this way so that he'd be discouraged to go out on Fridays.
Inside the kitchen, he got introduced to a guy named Ted who served as one of the chefs in the establishment. Ted didn't speak much and only kept to himself. Totally hot too if Billy preferred older men. Luckily he doesn't.
"So, what do you cook often here?" Billy asked, out of curiosity.
The word that came out of Ted's mouth was incomprehensible because no normal vocal cord could ever do that. "I'm sorry?"
"It's an otherworldly dish made from a certain species that's not found here."
That… sounded intense. But also appetizing, "Can I try it sometime?"
"It's deadly to humans."
"Oh." Billy paused. "Deadly if you ingest it?"
Ted nodded.
Mirajane entered the kitchen, "Ted, the Diometers are here, they'll have the usual."
Ted nodded, preparing their food.
Mirajane's eyes met with Billy, "Billy, right? Can you meet me after my shift?"
The kid nodded. "Okay but why?"
"Christie left something for you."
"My king–I mean Mirajane, here's the appetizer." Ted said placing a platter of sliced bread sticks and humus on the passe-plat.
Right before the end of her shift, the shopkeeper's bell chimed, indicating the arrival of new customers.
Mirajane was the one to received them, "Oh, it's you guys." She shook her head, "I mean, welcome. Please come in."
With regards to magical establishments in this world, it's considered to be common courtesy to teleport in an area called 'receiving space' and going through the front door. This is to discourage clumsy and often times rowdy teleports appearing in the middle of the restaurant.
That was why Billy Kaplan was able to enter the restaurant; the wards in place not only discouraged the mundane from entering but also a way for the magical community to teleport without alarming the mundane community in front of the restaurant.
In front of her were the vampires of earlier. "Miss Ayesha, Miss Ynna, and if I'm not mistaken, Mister Dongfang Long and his associates."
Ayesha grinned, "You're correct, Miss Strauss. We'd like one of your private function rooms, preferably one that can accommodate around ten people."
Mirajane likened herself as a good judge of character so even though their aura simply radiated power, Mirajane was of the mindset that there warranted to urgency to equip any of her demons.
"Normally, you'd have to book such a room in advance, but I'll see what I can do." Mirajane nodded.
"If it is money, it's not gonna be a problem," said the male vampire.
Malfala was already in front of her the moment Mirajane excused herself from the group. "What's-who're they?"
"They're the vampires I met earlier. They're asking to rent one of the function rooms." For a small restaurant, spatial magic can do wonders.
"They're the Vampire Council, aren't they?" Malfala asked.
"So is it available?" Mirajane returned with a polite smile.
Malfala exhaled, "Tell them it'll be ready in ten minutes."
Mia and Seth were quick in fixing the function room especially since the vampires requested one of the smaller ones.
Mirajane led them inside once they were done preparing the room.
The male vampire, Dongfang Long, also requested that they be given one of the eastern-inspired rooms. With ornate vases and silk tapestries, it was an entirely different feel to the homey Italian restaurant vibe outside.
In the center of the room was a large circular table with an elevated revolving center.
"I hope it meets your expectations." Mirajane said with a bow before exiting.
"Yeah." Ynna smiled but she appeared to want to say something else. "When's your shift about to end, Ms. Strauss."
"Can I ask why you'd want to know?" While these vampires were nice, Mirajane didn't want to do anything with vampires in general anymore.
"Well," Ynna smiled sheepishly, "we're still not done discussing what we, the Vampire Council, would do with New York."
The brow of Mirajane's boss twitched.
Apparently, this set of vampires had even more clout that the vampires from earlier because at the mere mention of Ayesha, Satana was immediately in the room.
These vampires seemed overly polite though, like while they didn't want to bother anyone with their business. However, the fact that they were powerful (literally and metaphorically speaking) made their actions all the more stressful to the people around them.
"We're really sorry about this, Miss Hellstorm, but it's pretty urgent. We can't leave the underworld of New York leaderless."
"But why'd you make me stay? Why am I here?" Satana asked, as she was now seated in one of the chairs after being urged by these vampires.
"Or me," Mirajane said, seated beside her boss. Bob and Ted, after hearing that the Council was back again wasted no time to be with their king. They were now standing behind her, on each of her sides.
Mirajane thought she'd be off the hook since she wasn't the one who vanquished the previous ruler of New York. She tried to tell them that earlier, but they were still pretty insistent.
"We'll be more than happy to explain, let's just wait for the last guests to arrive."
There was a knock on the door, and Malfala came in and ushered a man with curly blonde hair.
"Danny?" Mirajane tilted her head, "What are you doing here?"
The man in question stared at everyone inside, keeping mental notes of every person before settling on Mirajane, "Mirajane, you're here too?"
Ayesha placed her arms on the table and rested her head on her hands, "We figured since the current incarnation of the Iron Fist resided in New York, it's best if he's here too."
"So we finally meet." Dongfang Long could not contain his aura. It was like the crashing of strong waves. "It's been so long since I've met with any of the Immortal Weapons."
That made Daniel Rand alert. "I don't… how do you–?"
The male vampire let out a loud guffaw, "The [Prince of Orphans] and I used to be drinking buddies." His entourage tried to contain their smirks, well one of them was shaking his head in disapproval, but they all appeared to be happy about that memory.
The easy aura these vampires were trying to create didn't seem to be reciprocated by the other people around.
Mirajane frowned because preferred to be doing something else rather than being in this room.
Satana was trying to keep her cool but Mirajane could tell that she too didn't want to be here.
Danny, gave an odd look at the men behind Mirajane before taking the unoccupied seat beside her. He was alert yet composed. His posture suggested that at any snap moment, he could go into a defensive stance.
The air stirred.
Ayesha and Ynna exchanged a look, "They're here."
A few moments later, the door opened and in came a bald woman in clothes not unlike Christie Lang's Sanctorum uniform. Behind her were two men: a man with dark skin and a bald man with fair skin. They both dressed similarly to the bald woman. All of them wore serious expressions.
Ynna smiled a tight smile, probably the most insincere smile Mirajane's seen today, "Well, since we're all here, we might as well start."
BGM: Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere: It's Time For Debate
watch?v=FdTi-MNUhAE
Food arrived. And it was a whole lot of it. Platters upon platters of fried spring rolls, stacks of meat buns, dumplings both steamed and fried. Seafood in every shape and form, cooked in every way possible. This was not an Asian restaurant, so Mirajane wanted to ask Seth who were cooking this food.
Dongfang Long readied his chopsticks and urged everyone to begin eating. "Well, let's dig in."
While the big round table was able to accommodate all of the key players, their respective entourage like Bob and Ted didn't participate in the meal. Like they were not on equal footing with the people involved.
The bald woman tilted her head, refusing to eat. "Why are we here?"
Ynna finished eating a spring roll before saying, "New York. We've come to discuss what we'd do with it."
The dark skinned man behind the bald woman scrunched his brow, "New York doesn't belong to anyone, much less vampires."
Ayesha laughed, but gone was her polite veneer. "You and I both know that's a lie. Even in the mundane community, there's one who rules them all."
"That Fisk guy, right?" Ynna turned to Ayesha
"Just as the mundane community has its unofficial ruler, so does the magical community." Ayesha said, picking up a fried dumpling.
"Of course, you could be that unofficial leader." Ynna looked at the bald woman. "But as it is, I know for a fact that you are busy with… being the Sorceress Supreme."
Danny turned to the bald woman, shocked, "You're the Sorceress Supreme?! You're the Ancient One?"
Leaning towards Danny, Mirajane whispered, "What's that?"
"You don't know?" Danny looked at her like she grew an extra head. "The Sorceress Supreme is the title given to the best practitioner of magic. In exchange for unlimited power and resources, they serve as the dimension's protector. At least that's what they taught me at Kun-Lun."
"Question," Danny said as he played with his chopsticks, "What are you doing in New York? Aren't you supposed to be in Kamar-Taj teaching recruits?"
The bald man with fair skin answered, "We teleported. We've been summoned by the Vampire Council."
"Wait, vampires?" Danny turned to Mirajane, who pointed at the three people eating in front of them.
"Truly?" Danny asked.
Mirajane nodded.
"I thought they were just really strong people." Danny leaned into his seat, "You learn something new every day, I guess."
"As much as it amuses me that the current Iron Fist is so clueless, I think we should get back at the situation at hand." Satana flipped her red hair back. "I'd rather not be here, so let's finish this quickly."
Dongfang Long paused eating and looked at the others, "You sure none of you are going to eat?"
Mirajane, the Ancient One, Satana and Danny shook their heads. "Well, more food for me, I guess."
Ayesha sighed, "Okay, we really do apologize for taking your time, but I'll keep it simple then." She placed her chopsticks down, "You are all aware that a vampire in the name of Camilla alias the Glutton controlled the magical side of the city, correct?"
All heads nodded. Except Danny, who turned to Mirajane. The platinum blonde silently gave a look that told him that she'll explain later.
"Deplorable woman, I tell you." Ynna added.
"Well, a couple of days ago, Miss Strauss had the most unfortunate run-in with the vampire and had been instrumental in vanquishing her."
"I didn't actually–" Mirajane started but Ayesha raised a hand.
"Yes, Miss Strauss, we are aware. In fact," She snapped a finger a magic hologram appeared in the center of the table, "it has come to our attention that it was this guy, alias Blade, who has dealt the final blow."
Ynna took a sip from her herbal tea, "That doesn't change the fact that you have been instrumental in her defeat. Dealing the finishing blow is not the deciding factor in the rules of conquest. You don't give credit to the person who placed the painting in a frame; you give the credit to the guy who painted it."
"Despite that, I'd still decline taking that woman's seat." Mirajane was adamant about this.
"What's so bad about becoming New York's underworld ruler, if you mind me asking?"
"I don't want it because it's a burden I don't have the time, resources and effort to worry about."
Ayesha giggled, "You're very upfront, Miss Strauss."
"It's who I am."
Ynna grinned, "We didn't say it's a bad thing. A personality like yours, I'm pretty sure you have a goal you want to achieve."
Ayesha's smile turned feral when Mirajane didn't answer, "What if we told you that we have the power to give you all of Camilla's earthly possessions should you decide to take this mantle."
Ynna continued, "All her money, all her resources, all of her estate, even her businesses will be yours. If there's one thing Camilla is, being incompetent is not one of them. She has grown all of her considerable wealth and authority organically. She was shrewd, business-savvy and only wanted the best for herself, therefore only employing the best in any endeavor. She was weak by herself, yes, but that did not stop her from getting the best tools and people in any of her projects. With the Council's power, we can give you all that was hers."
"And if I still don't want it?" Despite what she said, Mirajane was tempted. Once she has access to that many resources, she could be one step closer to get home. Besides, getting her own place to stay was also one of her goals. But she doesn't want the responsibility of worrying over a city.
"Then you leave all of the people under her employ jobless." That was their ultimatum. Either she accepts their demands or leave all of those people jobless.
"You can't do that. That's–" Danny crossed his arms in defiance.
"On the contrary, Mister Rand," Ayesha began. "We can. Once a vampire in the Council loses their seat, all of their possessions become the Council's possessions. The seat is given to the person who vanquished the previous owner but the spoils are returned to the Council. We're being very graceful in that we'd rather someone else take all of their possessions. Usually, we merely liquidate all of their assets and split it evenly among the members but seeing as Camilla build an empire all by herself, complete with people with jobs and families, you'd understand that we feel a little put-off with liquidating her enterprises."
"What does the ruler of underground New York even do?" Mirajane asked.
Ynna and Ayesha exchanged a look. Mirajane has taken the bait.
"That's what the Sanctum Sanctorum's here for." Ynna faced the Ancient One.
The Ancient One kept silent but only for a moment. "The vampire, while prone to kidnapping males and enthralling them, kept demons and supernatural forces from encroaching in the city."
Ayesha grinned, "I reckon that is one of the reasons why you people were very tolerant of her. She was doing your job for you."
The dark skinned one's magic flared. "Be silent!"
The Ancient One raised a hand which made him stand down. She turned to the vampire, "You are aware of all the responsibilities associated with being the Sorceress Supreme, aren't you, Miss Ayesha? Or rather, ▂▂▃▃▄▄▅?"
Mirajane had ask her demons what the Ancient One did, only to be met with replies telling her that the Ancient One invoked the vampire's true name. Since only vampires (and now the Sorceress Supreme) can use and benefit from such a language, the human brain's not able to develop and, therefore, does not have the capacity to comprehend it. The [Demon Tongue], Mirajane has an affinity with, but the language of Vampires, it's an entirely different topic.
Ayesha's face grew dim. "Yes, I am aware."
"The Sorceress Supreme always handles the most severe immediate threat to the dimension." The Ancient One stressed. The dark skinned man beside him laughed at the Ancient One's implication – because that meant that Camilla wasn't even that much of a threat.
Ayesha smile was filled with disdain before it faded as she faced Mirajane, "As the Sorceress Supreme says, the ruler of underground New York kept the city safe from impinging supernatural forces. Actually, Camilla didn't have to do such things; she was just greedy and wanted the city all for herself."
"Should you decide to take this burden, the city of New York will become your responsibility because that's the status quo Camilla's establised. Should you not, all of the people in her enterprise loses their jobs."
"Either way, I'm screwed." Mirajane let out a frustrated sigh.
"I accept."
Ynna, Ayesha and Dongfang Long nodded. "So let it be known that you, Mirajane Strauss, as recognized by the True Vampire Council, will now become the ruler of New York."
Their eyes glowed as they spoke: golden for Dongfang Long, azure for Ayesha, and pink sapphire for Ynna.
Mirajane panicked for a second because the magic was being attached to her, but her demons told her to relax. It was merely a geas that announced that New York was your jurisdiction. Like a crown of a king.
When the vampires finished, all supernatural beings knew within the vicinity that there was a new ruler in town.
"Here," Mirajane handed a wooden amulet with a weird design to Billy.
"What's this?"
"Christie said it's an amulet that suppresses magic. This was often used by magical parents to keep their babies from manifesting their powers."
"Who's Christie again?" Honestly, today was a whirlwind of happenings, Billy has trouble keeping up. Between magic and beings that should only exist in H.P. Lovecraft, Billy was getting to his saturation point.
"The girl who gave you the calming potion."
"Oh," came his lame reply. "Will this work for me?"
"I hope so."
Oh, so no shonen protagonist route for me. No montage of training for magic. That's just… nice. That's nice. It's nice. Very nice.
"So I just have to wear it?" Billy asked.
"That's what Christie told me," Mirajane answered.
"Cool! And thank you so much for everything," Billy said wearing the necklace. "Nothing happened, though."
"Isn't it because it suppresses magic?" Mirajane asked.
"Oh, yeah. But I was expecting…" He was at a loss of words.
"Something more?"
He nodded. "I mean, this is magic."
"Magic that you've only seen from TV shows and read in literature." Mirajane quipped.
"Okay, I get your point." Billy sheepishly conceded.