Day 8: Reunion

Lamy sighed as she hugged Botan, a frown on her face. "It's that time of year again, huh?"

"Yeah," Botan put a hand on Lamy's head as she looked up into the starry night. "I really miss Aloe."

"I miss her too," Lamy said, snuggling herself closer to the lion. "It's been so long since HoloFive has really been together."

"It just doesn't feel the same," Botan looked down.

"Let's just hope she's in a better place now," Lamy replied, closing her eyes.

-

"So, the reunion is tomorrow," Polka sat on her bed, looking down at her hands.

"Yup," Nene walked over to sit down next to Polka. They were on a date with Ina earlier, but Ina had gone home early because Nene and Polka wanted to have a bit of time for themselves. "The reunion should really be a happy time… but…"

"I know," Polka looked up, her eyes fixating on the door. "I just… I can't believe it's been so long already."

"Yeah," Nene pulled Polka into a hug. "Just promise you won't leave me too."

"I won't," Polka smiled as she wrapped her arms around the alien. "I love you, Nene."

"I love you too."

-

"Hey Nux," Ryan said out loud as he sat on his bed. "Can you come here for a moment?"

"What's up?" Nux's voice permeated the room as he stepped out of a white and blue flame. "I was hanging out with Storm and Aloe. Aloe's actually pretty nice, ya know?"

"Yeah," Ryan looked up at Nux, a sad smile on his face. "Can you do me a favor?"

"What do you need?" Nux asked. "It depends on the favor."

"Today, all of Aloe's friends are going to be at the KFP," Ryan said, looking back down at his hands. "It would make them really happy if Aloe were able to stop by."

"I'll see what I can do," Nux said. "The poor girl deserves to see her friends again."

"Thanks, Nux," Ryan's smile grew as he looked up at the pale man. "You're not so bad."

"Of course not," Nux said as his white and blue flames started to cover his body. "I can only be the best."

"The best, huh?" Ryan looked up at the ceiling as Nux's flames completely diminished. "Sounds tiring."

As Ryan closed his eyes, the phone began to ring.

-

Ryan knew exactly what kind of sake to get for Gen 5's reunion. Fortunately, it costed exactly 400,000 yen, which is what Kiara had given Ryan to spend on the sake on top of his pay. "You know, it's times like this where I really miss the RSFC," Ryan muttered to himself. Sure, being a celebrity was annoying, but at least he got paid a decent amount, and by decent amount, he was probably one of the richest people on earth with all the sales his merchandise got.

"Drinking isn't that good for you," Ryan looked up from the bottle to see none other than Tokino Sora looking at him.

"It's not for me," Ryan chuckled. "As much as I could go for a cup right now, I already have ninety-nine problems and alcoholism isn't one of them."

"That's good," Sora nodded with a satisfied expression on her face.

"So, what's a famous idol like Tokino Sora doing in a liquor store?" Ryan asked, tilting his head as a small smirk creeped up his face.

"Dang! I've been found out!" Sora looked around to make sure no one would rush over to her.

"Don't worry," Ryan waved his hand dismissively. "I'm not going to be a bother like that. It's annoying if you ask me."

"Thank you," Sora heaved a sigh of relief. "What's your name?"

"My name is Ryan Shade," Ryan smiled. "Nice to meet you."

"Ryan Shade…" Sora put a finger on her chin as she looked up. "I think I've heard the name before."

"Probably not," Ryan shrugged. "Well, I have to head off to work. It was nice meeting you, Sora."

"Nice meeting you too," Sora gave Ryan a smile as she gave him a peace sign.

-100 hp! Critical Hit! Ryan resisted the urge to wince as he walked off to pay for his sake. "Man, I really need to look into something to remedy that."

-

"Welcome back, Nux," Storm said as Nux stepped out of the white and blue flames that he always conjured. "Where did you go?"

"You really don't know?" Nux asked. Storm responded with a shake of his head. "Man, the kid has been getting really good at magic, then."

"Who are you talking about?" Storm asked. "I don't think you've mentioned him before."

"You'll find out soon enough," Nux chucked. "By the way, can I borrow Aloe for a day? Her friends are meeting up and it would be nice if she could see them again."

"The void won't be happy if you do it," Storm said, his tone going deeper.

"I'll deal with the void," Nux said. "I have a few tricks up my sleeve."

"If that's the case, then I could look the other way," Storm said.

"Thanks Storm," Nux said. "You know, you're a lot nicer than you let off."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Storm huffed as he turned his head away from Nux.

"Some things never change," Nux said with a small chuckle as he turned around and walked off.

-

"I brought it," Ryan said as he opened the doors. Kiara was staring off into space, her head facing the break room door. Ryan sighed as he walked around the counter, softly placing his hand on Kiara's head, taking extra care not to knock either of her hats off of her head.

"Eep!" Kiara jumped, her eyes fixating on Ryan. "You startled me!"

"That's what you get for staring off into space during work," Ryan said, handing Kiara the bottle of sake. "Here's the sake."

"Thanks," Kiara smiled as she looked down at the bottle, cradling it gently. "This was her favorite sake."

"I'm glad I chose well, then," Ryan smiled softly. "I wonder who this person is to have so much of your respect."

"You'll find out," Kiara looked up at Ryan. "It's just not my story to tell."

"POL!" As if on cue, Polka burst through the doors, a huge smile on her face. "Hello!"

"SUPER NENECHI HAS ARRIVED!" Nene leaped over Polka, landing in a pose.

'Just as energetic as always,' Ryan thought to himself as a smile creeped up on his face. "Good morning. My name is Ryan Shade."

"I'm Omaru Polka! The phoe- I mean… Fennec girl!" Polka had to correct herself when Kiara gave her a glare.

"If you want to know my titles… then I am…" Nene started going off on a tangent that Ryan didn't want or care to hear, "Nene! What do you think?"

"It was great…" Ryan said in a monotone voice.

"Really?! Thank you!" If Nene detected the dripping sarcasm coming from Ryan's voice, she didn't indicate that she did.

"Wow, it's already so loud~," Lamy said as she walked in, holding Botan's hand.

"Hello!" Botan smiled brightly as the hand holding Lamy's swayed back and forth.

-100 hp! Critical Hit! Ryan smiled at the couple as they walked over to the counter, taking a seat next to Nene and Polka.

"My name is Ryan Shade," Ryan introduced himself again with a patient smile. "What are yours?"

"My name is Yukihana Lamy!" Lamy introduced herself with a cheery voice and a slight slur.

"I'm Shishiro Botan, Lamy's girlfriend," Botan introduced herself before giving Ryan a menacing glare. "Don't touch her."

"I won't, I won't," Ryan held his hands up in surrender. "You don't need to worry about that."

"So, do you have it?" Botan then turned to Kiara.

"Of course," Kiara said, placing the sake down on the counter. She squatted down, digging her way into one of the many cabinets under the counter before pulling out six sake cups and picture of Mano Aloe, who was giving the camera a smug smirk.

"If I may ask, who is this?" Ryan asked, looking at the picture. He's seen Aloe a couple times before, but he can't help but feel a twang of sadness when considering her fate. He wondered what happened to Aloe in the future timeline, considering she was probably the first person Storm saw when he was taken over.

"Her name was Mano Aloe," Lamy snapped Ryan from his stupor. "And she was a hero…"

-

"Hey Aloe!" Nux bounded over to the succubus, who was cooking bento boxes. She had prepared a bento box for every member of HoloFive, a tradition she did every year on the day of her death.

"What's up, Nux?" Aloe turned to look at Nux as she grabbed the boxes.

"Let's go on a field trip together!" Nux said, grabbing onto Aloe's arm.

"Wha-!" Before Aloe could finish, the two were gone in a flash of light.

-

Aloe and Nux appeared a few feet away from the KFP. "What the hell was that?!" Aloe shouted as Nux let go of her arm.

"It's a field trip," Nux answered honestly before pointing to the building. "Look."

Aloe turned her head, her eyes tearing as she saw her friends and what looked like a picture of her. She then whirled around, throwing the boxes aside as she looked at Nux with furious eyes. "Why are you showing me this?!" Aloe demanded. "Are you doing this to make me suffer?!"

"You shouldn't throw the boxes," Nux opened his palm and the five bento boxes floated over to it, stacking themselves neatly on his hand. "I'm sure your friends won't be able to eat it if it's all over the floor."

"What…?" Aloe took a step back, shock filling her eyes as she realized what Nux was saying. "Are you saying I can…?"

"You don't have a lot of time," Nux said, handing Aloe the boxes. "Storm and I will try to extend that time for as long as we can, but we can't promise too much."

"Thank you, Nux," Aloe said, smiling softly. "Thank you so much."

"Go get 'em, kid," Nux said as Aloe turned around and walked towards the KFP.

-

"Though I think it's time for us to leave," Botan heaved a sigh. "We still have one more place to go."

"Yeah," Nene looked down at her empty cup of sake. "We always visit Aloe's grave after a reunion."

"Who's grave are you visiting?" Everyone turned as a familiar voice pierced everyone's ears. When they rested their eyes on the door, the figure of Mano Aloe revealed herself holding five bento boxes, each colored specifically for a member of HoloFive.

"ALOE!" Lamy, Botan, Polka, and Nene all ran up from their seat, tackling Aloe in a hug.

"Guys!" Aloe desperately tried to balance the bento boxes with one hand. "You're going to make me drop the food!"

"I got it," Ryan sighed as he walked over, letting Aloe hand him the bento boxes.

"Thanks," Aloe smiled at Ryan.

"No problem," Ryan chuckled. "Don't you have a reunion to get to?"

-

"So, I told Kiara I loved her, and Calli appeared out of nowhere!" Nene laughed along with her friends as she downed another cup of sake.

"You know, I think it's time for the cheers," Botan said. Kiara gestured for Ryan not to pour a cup for him or Kiara. He nodded and poured the five girls another cup of sake.

"Sisters?" Aloe smiled as the five raised their cups.

"Sisters," all five of them bumped cups and downed their respective alcohol.

At that moment, dark mist started to leak from Aloe's body. "What's going on?" Polka asked. "Are you alright?"

"It looks like my short time here is coming to an end," Aloe gave the group a sad smile. "I'm just happy that I could see all of you again."

"Same here, but I'm going to muss you," Nene said as she pulled Aloe into a hug.

"Be sure to stay safe, wherever you end up," Botan said as she wrapped her arms around the two.

"Always remember to smile, alright?" Polka said as she joined the hug.

"And know this," Lamy smiled as she joined the other four, "we'll always be here for you."

"Thank you. All of you," Aloe smiled as her body dissolved into black mist.

-

"Hey Ryan," Kiara called over as Ryan exited the break room with his normal clothing.

"What's up, Tenchou?" Ryan asked, closing the door behind him.

"You knew Aloe was going to visit," Kiara narrowed her eyes. "Don't bother lying. I think I know you well enough to tell when you are."

"As expected of my manager," Ryan heaved a sigh. "Let's just say I called in a favor."

"Thank you," Kiara's suspicious expression faded instantly as a smile washed over her face. "I don't really know everything about you, but I know that whatever you're doing, you're doing it for us."

"You know, I should really be the one thanking you," Ryan said as he walked towards the exit. As he opened the door, he stopped, turning his head to Kiara. "You were the one who saved me."

-

"You really think you can meddle in my domain?!" The void roared at Nux, who was just covering his ears, a wicked smile on his face.

"It seems you're losing control there, buddy," Nux cackled. "Both figuratively and literally."

"I will get you for this," The void growled. "Mark my words. You and your friends will not prevail."

"Yeah, yeah, you sound like every toxic asshole I've dealt with on Twitter," Nux waved his hand dismissively. "Now fuck off. We don't want you here."

As the presence of the entity vanished, Nux chuckled softly. "Man, things are really going better than I expected."