Half an hour later, Judai found himself inside a FastFoodRedYellow joint. He sat at one of the few available tables, looking down at a tray containing an extra-large plastic cup filled with an orange flavor soda called OrangeSoda, a large portion of fries, and a monstrous burger called The Consumer Ender which occupied more than half of the tray and was as tall as the large cup.

For a regular human, this meal would be a death sentence if consumed in its entirety, but for a darkspawn such as Judai, it was more of a chore, something he would soon address with Outsider. Outsider sat across from Judai, focusing on the people walking on the other side of the mirror instead of the disguised teenage bugman. He relaxed on his seat, taking small bites of an energy bar without care. Judai couldn't help but feel slightly bothered by it, especially now when he saw them with such casual clothes. "What is the meaning of this?"

Turning to address Judai, Outsider tilted his head in confusion. "Hmm? What? You said anything was fine, right?"

Judai stared at Outsider in disbelief for a few awkward seconds before looking down at the massive burger. "I suppose I did." With his answer given, Outsider returned his attention to the outside.

Grabbing the burger, Judai lowered his face mask and took the biggest bite he could without compromising his human disguise. Ignoring how much harm consuming the entirety of this burger would cause if he were human, Judai found the burger serviceable, better than what he ate with Henry. The taste of the meat, cheddar cheese, and other additions to the burger distracted Judai enough from how much time it would take to finish this and how he gained nothing from consuming it.

As he alternated between munching on the massive burger, eating some fries, and sipping from his soda, Judai noticed that Outsider's gaze coincidentally was in the general direction of Judai's reflection in the mirror. Seriously... why do you subject me to such distractions? It's almost as if you want me to lose our target!

After giving it some thought, Judai's eyes widened in realization. Wait... would this actually be part of the training he said we would do? Is he training me to see if I can remain focused on the target without getting distracted?

The more Judai thought about it, the more it made sense. Although Judai could control and watch a very sizable army of insects in the middle of battle, it was still a drop in the bucket compared to when he was allowed to sit down and concentrate, where he was able to control millions of insects and watch over the eyes of billions of them.

Paying attention to his surroundings, Judai noticed how noisy the place was. The constant hum of people talking, laughing, and placing orders, the sizzle from the grills and fryers, the clanging of pots and pans, and the calling out of orders from the staff were all happening behind the counter. Background music was loud, upbeat, and catchy. The beeping of cash registers and the printers dispensing receipts were prominent. Finally, Outsider munched through his energy bar as if purposely to make Judai hear the crunching noise it made.

There was also the smell of not just his food but also the underlying scent of cleaning agents from supplies, the smell of others ordering, and some eating nearby. Judai thought basic hygiene was common sense among humans, but alas, it seems to be something only a few make sure to take care of. I guess, if anything, they make you look better in comparison. Judai thought about Outsider, who had a fragrance similar to a lotus flower, soft and subtly sweet, but not overpowering. It was one of the few smells that helped Judai focus.

All those factors created an atmosphere that made concentration challenging for Judai, who had to maintain his mental grip over a fair number of insects. Judai was thankful he had closed his eyes to eliminate visual distractions and didn't have to watch for more than one target or if his current target decided to move away from the one bug he was watching them with. Judai supposed it was a clever, safe way for Outsider to train him without risking losing sight of the target.

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This energy bar is not half-bad... maybe I should buy a bunch and send it to Death. Life thought as he munched the energy bar little by little, remembering how Death consumed a lot of energy bars and nature's brand of coffee to get work done. Due to her and everyone who worked under her always needing to stay at the office almost 24/7, Life always made sure to buy a lifetime supply (By human standards) of the stuff for her.

Although Life would like to say he had done so without selfish intentions, it would be a lie, as he knew deep down that it was more of an excuse to spend time with her and temporarily kill his longing after what could amount to centuries without seeing one another.

...I could buy some for Science too. I did just pull him into my schemes without him deserving it. Life considered which other people besides Death he should buy things for whenever he had the time.

As Life was about to decide which flavor of energy bar Science would want, he remembered his encounter with Yvy thanks to a billboard he saw outside for a game called Ultra Mecha Conflict 38.

Oh yeah, I should probably look up what year it is. Life thought as he pulled out his phone with his free hand and used the search engine officially named SeachEngineBlueRedYellowGreen or SEBRYG as most people call it.

I swear, the naming conventions of this world become wackier by the day! Life thought in slight bafflement.

Life soon raised a confused eyebrow at his cellphone screen when he laid eyes on the date displayed on it: 21/4/20XX

Ok...that only gives me more questions than answers! Life thought before deciding to just roll with it and focus on finishing his energy bar.

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While Judai kept watch of the darkspawn he had encountered, his mind wandered to when they met in a past life. The contrast between how she looked then compared to now had been hard to miss, especially since back then they weren't in their human disguise as they currently were.

Her tan skin, well-maintained long hair reaching her waist, the good condition of her casual clothes, lively eyes, table manners as she sat on the metal chair and held the cup of tea with elegance, and her peaceful expression after sipping from the said cup. If her magical energy hadn't been the same, Judai wouldn't even consider them to be the same darkspawn.

When laying eyes on her, Judai remembered how she had been with him during his time captured by the Yoshino from his past life. Judai's messed-up memory made him remember anything during and past his capture by Yoshino a fool's errand.

Judai never really found out her name or even if she had one. In fact, he was ninety-nine percent sure he didn't even give her his name either, not that he had a name he recognized as his at the time.

But, for some reason, she still found it within her to save Judai. Judai thought it was her since he sure wasn't in any condition to save himself, and she was the only one he remembered who could have done it.

Judai frowned a bit at the memory of how in his past life she died smiling at him before slowly disintegrating from lack of magic to sustain herself. Not something he expected from not only a darkspawn but a stray one.

Again, that's what Judai assumed. Considering how messy his memory of the events during and after his imprisonment by past life Yoshino was, he wouldn't be surprised if there were others he'd probably only remember when he laid eyes on them. Inconvenient, but manageable. Judai thought.

Returning his attention to her, Judai soon argued that since she was needed for his revenge, he could afford to pay her back the favor of potentially saving him in his previous life. Of course, I still need to see how well she does in a fight and if our respective styles are compatible with each oth-.

Judai's thought process was interrupted when his teeth bit into nothing. Confused, he soon realized that during his time lost in thoughts, he had finished not just the soda and the fries, but also the entire cholesterol monster of a burger. Oh, I guess it's over.

"Hmm? You're done already?" Asked Outsider as he most likely heard the sound of Judai's teeth biting down at nothing.

Judai shrugged. "I guess? Can we go now?"

Outsider rolled his eyes for a reason that evaded Judai. "I suppose we could... how's the target, are they still drinking tea?"

Judai shook his head as he observed how she paid the bill for the tea before getting up from her seat and leaving, Judai making sure to use his insects to follow her from a distance. "No, they are now walking, to where? I'm not sure."

"I see..." Outsider trailed off as he got up from his seat. "Keep watch and continue to update me on their every relevant movement while I do my part of the plan."

Judai only needed to give a small nod of acknowledgment for Outsider to leave him alone as he observed his target walking into an alleyway with a group of what Judai guessed were delinquents following her inside.

If Judai hadn't been distracted by watching his target and the environment around him, he would have noticed the slight, almost insignificant increase in bugs he could now control.