As soon as the two groups locked eyes, the entire evening seemed to light up, buzzing with excitement and energy. It felt like all the lost pieces of a puzzle had finally been found and snapped together.
Temoshí's eyes immediately welled up with tears as he spotted his friends. He shivered, overcome with emotion. "Ralphie! Chiaki! Everyone!" he cried, launching himself into the air like an overenthusiastic child, arms spread wide and a smile that stretched from ear to ear.
Without missing a beat, Ralphie swung down from his chair, arms spread like a flamboyant butterfly, his eyes turning into heart-shaped stars. "Kyora-swan!" he chirped, flapping his arms as if trying to fly, intent on leaping into her arms. But just as quickly, Temoshí lunged in front of her with his own arms outstretched, and suddenly, Ralphie found himself wrapped in a big bear hug from his captain instead.
"Ha?!" Ralphie blinked as his heart-shaped eyes vanished. He bumped the top of Temoshí's head with a thud. "I wasn't aiming at you!"
Temoshí just grinned, rubbing the top of his head where Ralphie had bonked him. "I don't care! I'm just happy to see you! My lips are practically melting from excitement! Finally, I get to eat some real food again!"
Kyora darted past the two, and of course, Ralphie's eyes followed her like a lovesick puppy. She rushed straight for Chiaki, excitement radiating off her as she grabbed her hands and jumped up and down. "Chiaki! It's been forever! Your hair's gotten so long! Ugh, I'm so happy to see you!" Kyora squealed, practically strangling Chiaki in a tight hug.
"Guess the gang's back together," Shanya grinned, walking over to Temoshí with a smug look. "Good to see ya, Burnsy. Thought I might have to settle down here alone before we'd make it to Armagh Jungle."
Temoshí pressed his palm to his hip, smirking. "Honestly, I forgot you were even here. You were probably secretly planning to join the crew, huh?"
Shanya gave him a playful tug on the ear, pulling him closer. "Nope, not even a little. Barely know ya, kid!" She laughed, giving him a shoulder bump that made him flinch. "Ain't my type!"
Kou stood off to the side, arms crossed, eyes averted like a sulking teenager. "No worries, it's not like I wanted a hug," he muttered, trying to sound nonchalant. "Not mad. Not mad at all." Of course, his grumpy act didn't last long because just as Tarot sprinted toward him, he let out a yelp. "Gah! Heavy gorilla!" Tarot leaped onto him, hanging from his body like a monkey on a jungle gym, and Kou collapsed to the floor under the weight. "Help! Someone! This is a crime against humanity!"
Chiaki, meanwhile, stepped forward to greet Temoshí, her warm smile calming the chaos around them. "Hey, Chiaki!" he said with a cheeky grin, looking her up and down. "You look like a totally different person with your hair grown out!"
Chiaki gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her smile never fading. "Thanks. A bit of a change," she said softly, her eyes sparkling. In that moment, the two shared a long, heartfelt hug.
"I missed you," Chiaki whispered.
Then, out of nowhere, Ralphie came sliding in like a madman on his knees, straight toward them. "Chiaki-rose!" he shouted, his voice dripping with over-the-top drama as he fell to the floor dramatically, clutching his chest like a lovesick fool. "How could you, my sweet and radiant Chiaki-rose? How could you leave me to wither in the cruel, desolate land of my loneliness, never once giving me the affection I crave? For days, nay, weeks, I have languished in a pit of longing and despair, my soul yearning for the touch of your delicate arms to pull me from the abyss of my isolation!" He fluttered his eyelashes, adding an extra layer of romantic torment as he slowly rolled onto his back, hands dramatically splayed out as though he were overcome with unrequited love.
Chiaki blinked, confused, as she pulled away from Temoshí to let Ralphie have his moment.
She rubbed her cheek, sweat beading on her forehead as she tried to process Ralphie's level of passion. "But we saw each other every day..." she said, still unsure what was going through Ralphie's head.
Ralphie let out an exaggerated gasp, swooning like a character from a romance novel. "Ah, but Chiaki-rose, how could I have known peace when your arms never once enveloped me in the warm embrace I so rightfully deserve? Do you not hear the songs of my heart that sing only your name? It is a melody that haunts me in the deepest of my dreams, a symphony of adoration for you, my dearest Chiaki-rose! Every moment without your hug has been a torturous eternity, and now, I stand here, a man broken by love's cruel hand, yearning for the one thing that could make me whole again—your sweet embrace!" He struck a pose, his face a portrait of heartache, eyes wide with faux-passionate intensity.
Temoshí just stared at him. "I feel absolutely revolted," Temoshí groaned, dramatically placing a hand on his forehead as though the very air around him had turned foul. "Like I've just been forced to drink a cup of spoiled milk mixed with old socks and regret." He exaggerated a shiver, as if the sheer horror of the situation was physically affecting him. "My very soul has been tainted by this unspeakable injustice." Ralphie responded, then flopped onto the nearest chair, clutching his chest as though he might faint from the unbearable weight of his melodramatic surprise.
Kyora muttered under her breath, "Drama queen..."
"Wait... hold up a minute!" Ralphie suddenly snapped back to reality, eyes wide as he scanned the room with exaggerated intensity. "Something's wrong here. Something vital is missing!" He threw his hands up dramatically, looking as if the world was crumbling around him. "Where's Yumiko-chan, the dazzling princess of my heart? And where's Aurora, my darling, my sweet celestial muse?! I'm drowning in a sea of utter despair!" He spun around in circles, the air around him glittering with a storm of pink hearts that seemed to materialize from thin air. "My poor heart is about to launch out of my chest, soar across the sky like a tragic meteor, and crash into the abyss of eternal longing!" He clutched his chest, staggering like he was about to faint. "I swear, if I don't see them soon, I'll be reduced to a pile of romantic mush!"
Shanya raised an eyebrow, grinning as she chuckled. "At least he's in a good mood today." Just as she spoke, Ralphie slid toward her like a sneaky ninja, his heart practically thumping out of his chest. "Did I just hear you say you're inviting me to your room tonight, Shanya-sweetheart?" he purred, flashing an overly confident grin. "Fear not, my darling! I'm totally ready to make our wildest romantic dreams come true! We'll be like two majestic lovebirds, gliding gracefully through the clouds—higher and higher, until we reach the glittering stars of pure passion and eternal devotion! It's meant to be, you know!" He struck a pose, as if he'd just confessed a love that could bring about world peace.
Suddenly, Stitch descended from the tower, and Ralphie, without missing a beat, charged toward her like a man on a mission. He pulled out an absurd bouquet of flowers, as if he'd conjured them from thin air, leaving Shanya behind, utterly baffled.
As Ralphie approached Stitch, he stopped just in front of her, holding the flowers out with a dramatic flair. "Ah, Stitch! You're like a divine goddess sent straight from the heavens above to bless us mere mortals with your presence!" he declared, his voice oozing with exaggerated sincerity. "Your beauty shines brighter than the rarest diamond, and your elegance rivals the grace of a thousand swans—even the ones that can't swim." He offered the flowers, grinning ear-to-ear, as though he had just performed the most romantic gesture known to mankind. "Please, accept these humble tokens of my undying admiration... and maybe consider making me the luckiest man alive?"
Stitch, visibly shaken by Ralphie's outpouring of affection, silently shuffled away to her stool, leaving him standing there like a man whose heart had just been shattered into a million glittering pieces. The flowers he had so proudly presented disintegrated into ash in his hands, and he collapsed to the ground, the weight of his unrequited love dragging him into an existential crisis.
"Once again... forsaken by the hands of fate," he lamented dramatically, his voice low and full of despair. "A man such as I—destined to be alone, like a lone cactus in the middle of a scorching, unforgiving desert, watching his dreams wither into dust..." His words drifted into the air like the sound of a weeping violin.
But just as Ralphie's tragic soliloquy reached its peak, Kyora appeared like a lightning bolt, seizing him by the collar of his suit. "Alright, love poet, enough of that," she said, dragging him behind her with the grace of a person towing an overenthusiastic suitcase. "Time to hydrate before you turn into a puddle of dramatic tears!"
Ralphie continued to mutter about his heartbreak, but his voice grew muffled as Kyora pulled him along like an awkward, flailing luggage cart. "Oh, cruel fate! Why must I suffer so?!" he whined, now sounding more like a malfunctioning air conditioning unit.
To be continued...