"So this, or this?" Virto asked Lao, holding up two suits. One was gray with a white blazer, but the other was velvet red with a flower right under its chest pocket. "I want to make a good impression after…last time."

"Red, I like red," Lao said, buttoning up his usual clothing. He always looked like he was going to a Hitman convention under his blue trench coat anyways. A few spoof-ups and he felt ready to go. "Can't we invite Leana?"

"Nah, we aren't far enough into Season three to do stuff with her yet," they said.

"Right right…I never got that seasons thing, now that I have my memory back," he said, digging through his stuff for a bow tie to go with his style. "Oh, what about a dress?"

Virto made an 'ehh' noise, not so sure about that idea. "I don't feel too comfortable going in one if everyone there really is from Earth."

"Oh don't worry about it," Lao said. "I'll go with, and if it gets too much, we can leave right after."

"Yeah, but what if he is there?" Virto questioned. Lao cocked his eyebrow, needing a few seconds before realizing who they meant. "Oh! Him? But didn't you two fuck already? It should be fine."

"Having sex is one thing, but this…I don't know. Maybe I am overreacting." Virto dropped the gray and white blazer, leaving to find a room for the red one. "I'll just go in this, though. It's not worth it yet."

"Hey!" Lao called out before he got out of earshot. "If you do tell him though, and if he's not with it, I got six bullets with his name all engraved on it." He raised his dress shirt, showing his revolver tucked away hidden. He nodded mischievously as Virto looked at the gun, lowering his shirt back over the gun to conceal it. "You hear?"

Violent…but sweet? Virto thought as they looked back at Lao, a small warm smile growing on his face. They did think it was overboard, but it was nice all the same to have some sort of support. "Thanks."

"No problem," Lao said, hiding the gun away. He took a comb out and finished up on his hair while Virto went behind the library shelves. "Now where is Di? Weren't we supposed to go together?"

"She said she'll meet us there, something about keeping up an appearance," Virto called from behind the books.

"More like not wanting to pull up locking arms with her pet. You think she told the rest of her posse yet?"

"I am not her pet!"

"If I come over there and pull on your neck a pink collar's gonna appear," Lao said. "You can't tell me that isn't pet shit."

"It's not! It's…a contract." Virto came back in a fresh red tuxedo, doing a little spin to show off. "How do I look?"

"Like a homeless 5-star butler, cut your hair." Lao stuffed the rest of his stuff into his bag, pulling the drawstring and tossing it over his shoulders. He turned back to Virto, seeing their face turned jaded in a second.

"I'm just playing, you look great!" Lao said before he got harmed. He was half-joking.

"Good, because I really want to make that good impression," Virto said, making a mirror against a bookshelf to double-check their hair.

"What happened last time?"

"Got a deadly cosmic infection in my right hand."

"How do you almost die from a space disease in a restaurant?" Lao said, opening the library door. He waited for them to finish their touches at the door, checking his pocket watch. "Seriously, sometimes I wonder how you survived without me for so long…"

Virto and Lao came up to the restaurant, a large flat that sat alone on top of a hill. They could at least take the motorcycle up to it. Virto looked around from out behind Lao, seeing the view of the moon rising over the quiet grassy knolls. "Now why would they put something out in the middle of nowhere?" Lao said, pulling up to an assortment of vehicles resting in the parking lot. It looked a lot like parking lots from home, with the dirt path turning into dark blue pavement.

"Probably because they wouldn't want to get caught," Virto guessed. They chose a spot right next to the restaurant doors, Lao kicking down the kick stand as they got off the bike. They looked around for Di, but she wasn't there like she had promised.

"Psst," someone in a trench coat went. They leaned against the wall, their face concealed behind a light-blocking fedora. They handed out notebooks and pencils to Virto and Lao, nodding to them and showing them away.

"Di?" Virto asked.

"I said shoo!" they said in a much deeper voice than the two of them expected. "The diamond is in the rough, just know."

"The what?" Lao asked.

"Di's inside the restaurant," Virto said, shaking their head in disappointment. "So much for meeting us outside."

They went inside and looked around, seeing many of the same people as before in the restaurant. Lao took it all in, admiring how packed the family-style restaurant looked. Window booths with padded pink or red leather, wooden tables, outfit with an assortment of food, seasoning, and condiments. Multiple fans spun above, with more space for the air conditioning to run through. He caught Marilyn hanging out at one of the tables, his eyes going wide as she watched her chomp through a stretchy piece of meat. "W-what's my commander doing here?"

"She might have also been teleported," Virto suggested. "Only one way to find out, interview her."

"Right, the plan," Lao said, psyching himself up to go over to Marilyn. The three of them agreed that they would talk to every patron at the restaurant. Virto had a theory that like Di, everyone in this food place was also teleported human beings that assimilated as different people into this world of magic, monsters, and mounds. All we had to do was ask, they thought.

Although, Lao himself had never considered that the people he was around were also teleported.

He stole a free seat and put it in beside her, making sure to hit it against the tile floor to attract her attention. "Oh, my favorite cadet," she said with her mouth full. "I was wondering where you went, you found out about this restaurant as well?"

"Not exactly," Lao said. "I actually wanted to ask you a few questions."

"Go right ahead. I'm sure after your hiatus, you must have some needs that need "answering" no?~" She batted his eyes at him, but it was difficult for her to look seductive to him with bits of meat around her lips. "Not at all," Lao said with a straight face. "I actually wanted to know, where did you come from?"

"My origin?" Marilyn said. "Oh, of course! You want to hear tales of the commander before she began her strides in the New Order. Come, come." She used her tails to pull Lao closer to her, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. "Now, I started out like any kitsune offshoot, drinking and playing with the local men at the playground…"

"Wrong origin," Lao said. "I mean, did you ever…go through a portal?" Marilyn's head darted towards his, her lips going tight as she chewed hard on her food. "Did you say portal? What portal are you speaking of? Do you also know about the portals?"

"I'm guessing you have," Lao said seeing the sudden interest in her face. Guessing he had a home run already, he panned around for Virto. They were busy with another person, a black-haired fella that wore formal clothes and a black vest. His wings were folded and squeezed between his back and the chair, and his eyes were a perfect gray, a calm expression befalling his face while he ate his lobster tail. Virto was staring down at their pad, writing endlessly while asking questions.

"So, you said your name was…"

"Night."

"Night the Snake?"

"Dragon. I am a dragon."

"Age?"

"I am not giving up that information."

"Sex?"

"Wanna find out?"

"..." Virto's head didn't turn, but their eyes looked up at Night, their pen pausing at one of the lines. Night grinned with satisfaction and took another bite, patting his lap with his free hand. "I always have room for one more in my harem~"

"Already part of one, it's a portal harem where you get eaten by a pink portal and sucked into a new world. Heard of it?" Virto responded with some sass.

"I don't know about any harem, but I have gone through a portal," Night responded.

"Wanna spill the beans about it?"

"Only if you give me a little service first," Night said. "Answering all these questions has left me a tad…limp, if you know what I mean.~"

"I'm married, sir."

"Oh, well then why didn't you start with that? I could have saved the trouble of asking." Night scooted a bit away from the table, giving himself room to lean back and cross his legs on the chair. He looked up at the fan above him, scratching his chin in thinking. "Now then, I recall coming home from my shift, when instead of walking through my house, I saw a purple portal in my doorway."

"Did you try to go away from it?" Virto asked.

"Of course…not! It was a calling. I didn't have anything better to do on Earth anyways."

"Would you go back if the opportunity arose?" Night scoffed at the question, as if the mere thought of giving up his life here was an offense in itself. "Definitely not. I can fly here, I have power, and I have some…extensive persuasion ability~"

"I do wish I wouldn't need to worry about a heat, though," he said, taking a small bottle of cologne out from his pocket and spraying himself. "Did you know monsters and their resulting s/o's experience a sort of heat at various times? For me, it's during summer, it's a horrid thing to deal with."

"Sounds rough buddy," Virto said. They closed their book and got up, adjusting their glasses. "Thank you for your answers, I shall let you finish your crab now."

"Wait, are you sure you are in a relationship? I wasn't, erm, lying about that heat thing…" The dragonoid blushed, clearing his throat to draw attention away from the rosy tint on his face. "I can repay you handsomely, if that is the issue."

"I am sure you could," Virto said with a bit of disconcertment. They bowed and left the table, looking for someone else to interview. They really wanted to search around for Vargas, but a certain Inari was missing from the conversation. It disappointed them, but they knew they still had a restaurant full of patrons to go through.

After an hour or so of these interviews, Virto and Lao met in the bathroom, comparing the notes that they took in pads. "So everyone you went to said they came through the portal?" Virto asked. Lao nodded. "What about you?" he asked back.

"100% portal rate. I'm starting to think this place is a hub for everyone to meet."

"What are we speaking of?" Came Di's voice from the bathroom.

"Girl, what are you doing in the men's restroom?" Lao asked.

"I am above your mortal traditions," Di said, unlocking the door and stepping out with a pose of grandeur. She had a piece of toilet paper stuck to her foot, which was burned off when she realized. "Also, it is better than asking you two to come into the women's restroom. I asked my network, and they also have all come through the portal. Virto, just how many tests did you run?"

"Only a few, I swear," Virto said. "It is possible each test spawned a group of portals instead of just the one in my basement. The only question is how big each group was…" Lao nodded and got out of the huddle. He went to the door, rinsing his hands before opening the handle.

"Lao, what are you doing?" Virto asked, raising his hands in confusion.

"I have an idea, just wait here," Lao said. A minute after he hurried out, there was a sudden clamor outside that died back down after a moment. Lao came back, holding the hand of the Wererabbit running the restaurant in tow. She looked different from before, with heterochromatic gray and red eyes with black hair. She still wore the same uniform, and still had a cloth resting over her shoulder while she polished a class. "You three know about the purple portal?" She asked. "This guy just asked if everyone came through a portal."

"Lao!" Virto and Di yelled.

"What?" Lao said. "It was just easier to ask everyone at once."

"You can call me Miss M," the Wererabbit said as she shook Virto and Di's hand. "And you two are the reason we are all stuck here, right?"

"I would say I am more of a victim and am just working to resolve the mystery," Di clarified. She pushed Virto forward under the rabbit's gaze.

"Oh?" Miss M said. "Wait a second, this is the one that I chased into the bathroom!" She closed the door behind her, trapping Virto and the other two inside. "You got away before I could catch you. I didn't think you would come back, but now…" She raised the clean glass, Virto covering their eyes with their hands. They felt her place the glass in their hand, opening one of their eyes back to check.

"I can give you a drink!" She said, taking a jug of pop out of seemingly nowhere. "I really have to thank you for whatever you did, who needs college when I can just hop around here?"

"Oh…thank you?" Virto took a sip of the drink, but tasted nothing wrong with it. "So you're not going to do anything?"

"Why would I? If you didn't notice, we all look pretty cool here," She said. "Vampires, Dragons, weird beings like whatever Di is-"

"Excuse me?"

"It's like DnD but for real, a lot cooler than what I had planned for sure. Anyways, enjoy the food!" She opened the door and hopped away, leaving Virto to try the rest of the drink.

"Well, that resolves that," Lao said. "What will we do with the portal now?"

"We make it work both ways I suppose, but I don't think we will have to worry about anyone crossing through that shouldn't be," Di said, catching Virto spitting out the drink onto the bathroom floor. "Ugh, there was hair in it!" Virto said, taking a stray bunny hair off their tongue.

"That usually means you're an official restaurant member," Di said. "Maybe she will tell you two her name now!"

"Maybe we will get that later," Lao interjected. "I haven't eaten all day and I caught someone eating some Italian food earlier. So if you excuse me…" He scooted around the two of them and left, going to see what food they had available.

Bonus Scene:

"Why so down?" Di asked, midway through eating her plate of stardust. She watched Virto stir their pasta, growing increasingly concerned the more they sighed down to the food.

"Vargas didn't even show up…" Virto said, dropping the fork onto their plate. "He's the only reason I even wanted to come here."

"I thought we were here on business…"

"That was just an excuse," Virto said, looking around one last time for any inkling of Yokai. They wondered if they had made sure to tell him that they were leaving to get back home. They could only imagine what he must be feeling right now, probably staring out of his window thinking Virto had abandoned him…it struck their heart.

"I see," Di said. "I will be right back."

"Take your time," Virto said. Much to their chagrin, there was still no sighting. "You will probably be back before he gets here."

We will see about that, Di thought as she left. Virto felt shitty, starting to wonder what other things they had forgotten. They adjusted the suit riding up their skin and closed their eyes, their thoughts fading as they fell asleep at the table…

They woke up to the sensation of something tickling their nose. They turned their head at first, but the tickling somehow came around to attack them from the other side. Their eyes opened, seeing Vargas stare down at them with a shy smile. "Hi."

Virto smiled back, their droopy eyes welcoming the sight. "Hi."

"May I?" Vargas asked. They nodded, scooting aside to give the Inari some room to sit. "You could have at least written, you know."

"I know…." Virto said. "I regretted forgetting the moment I realized it."

"I thought I had driven you away," Vargas said, giving them a hug from above. "That you wouldn't want a needy spirit like me."

"You were kicking yourself in the shins weren't you?"

"Every single day."

"Same!" they yelled, realizing how loud they were. "Oh, sorry."

The night carried on, with the two consolidating after what felt like seasons apart. In reality, it was a week, maybe a week and a half.

"Say Vargas," Virto started, getting their head out of their lover's lap. "I need to talk to you about something…" Vargas' ears stood alert, ready to hear whatever problem they had. "Yes?"

"I believe that we shouldn't be keeping secrets or things from each other, and I wanted to clear the air before we do anything else." Vargas grabbed Virto's hand, cupping it gently within his own. "If there is anything you need, I will be right there for you. No matter what, till you die."

Virto's heart fluttered when they heard that. It made it easier for them to start talking at least. "I'm glad to hear it. You see…L-lao what are you doing!?"

"Lao?" Vargas said. He turned his head, seeing a dressed-up figure aiming a revolver at his head. "Is this the 'Lao' causing you problems?"

"No, it's only my incredibly dense friend. Man, what the fuck?"

"Is this person bothering you?" Lao said. "Just give me the word Virto, we don't need this asshole." Lao looked him up and down with a disgusted look on his face.

"Virto, what is going on?" Vargas said. "Am…I being robbed?"

"No, he's just being stupid. Lao, leave!"

"Fine," Lao said, lowering his weapon and spinning it around his finger. "Just know, I got my eye on hi-"

BANG!

The entire restaurant turned to the noise, seeing smoke rising up from where Lao's foot was. Lao's face was clenched hard, using a Herculean effort not to fall and scream in pain. Virto's eyes went bugged with shock. "Oh my god…." they said with horror.

"Are you alright mister?" Vargas said. "My mother taught me how to use healing mana on people. If you lay down I can-"

"I'm fine!" Lao said, his words rushed out. "I am…fine."

"No the fuck you aren't!" Virto yelled.

"Hey, we have a medical box in the corner here," The Wererabbit went. She had watched the whole thing from her counter in the front.

"No no, I just need….to go to the bathroom." Lao limped off as if there was no hole in his foot, slowly opening and closing the bathroom door behind him. A blood-curdling screen came from behind the door, sending shivers down everyone whose ears were reached.

"Your friend is…very interesting," Vargas commented back at the table.

"He is sometimes…" Virto agreed, seeing the bullet buried within the restaurant floor. It spun and spun, until finally slowing down with a sizzle in its burrow. "He is definitely not okay though."