First Encounter

"BRAINY!" Naomi shouts as she makes her way towards the center of the stage. "What on Earth was that all about?" Without giving Brainy a chance to respond, she brings her fist up and gives the tiny humanoid a smack on the head.

"Ow! I was just being honest!" Brainy exclaims, clutching her head with both hands. "And you have to stop doing that, Naomi! it messes up my brain prop" Their playful banter is met with my uncontrollable laughter. They're fighting just like two siblings!

"What's so funny, fossil brain?" Her question only serves to fuel my laughter as I try to compose myself.

"Nothing, nothing!" I reply, still chuckling. "It's just that you're trying too hard to insult me, and I can't help but wonder why. But I'm not offended; I find it entertaining, actually!"

"Hmph! That's because I know your type." The small humanoid crosses her arms over her chest and narrows her eyes. "You can't live like a commoner, so you're going to use this opportunity to get rich fast. After all... your guy is loaded." Brainy lets out a tired sigh.

"I hate to disappoint you, Brainy. But I'm not a gold digger." I reply with a smirk, copying her posture.

"Oh right, my bad! You're an HP-digger!" Brainy rolls her eyes. Naomi looks ready to smack her again, but I manage to hold her back just in time.

"Brainy, please listen to me." I try to reason with her, but she's refusing to even look my way. "I didn't exactly sign up for this dating show voluntarily. And the idea of a blind date, especially in a public setting like this, is quite scary for me." I sigh while I look at the heart-shaped monitors around me.

"But the least I can do is thank Issei personally for his generosity." I reply proudly before I turn around and face both humanoids. "And maybe I can return those Humanity Points while I'm at it." I nod back.

"While I do enjoy an easy life and luxury, that doesn't mean that I would take advantage of a stranger's generosity! I have my own pride." I chuckle. "And I am determined to prove that I can stand on my own two feet!"

The tiny humanoid then looks at me for a moment as if she were contemplating my statement. "Well, I suppose you're not totally hopeless then." She says with a smirk, folding her arms across her chest and turning away again.

Naomi smiles as she stares at us. Then, without warning, she embraces me. "You're such a sweetheart, Airi! Do you know that?" She squeezes me tight and whispers, "And we're all here to support you. Trust me, Brainy has a big mouth, but she has no ill intentions." She then releases me and takes a few steps back.

"Now let's continue filming this interview, shall we? And no insults this time!" Naomi gives Brainy a stern look, her eyes narrowing a bit.

'Alright, alright." The small humanoid responds with an eye roll.

Naomi gets off the stage as both Brainy and I return to the big, red couch. A wave of relief washes over me. I'm glad we were able to get over our differences for now.

"Lights! Camera! Audience-"

But as we're about to start filming again, a sudden loud noise echoes from upstairs, interrupting our schedule once again.

"What the heck was that?" I ask, glancing at Brainy and Naomi. But neither of them seemed to be concerned.

"Oh, don't worry about it!" Naomi says casually. "That's just the TELE-PORT. It's probably the other contestants arriving."

"Other contestants?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, the Draxionex brothers," Naomi shouts as she runs upstairs towards the basement's door.

"Oh, great, just what we needed! The Draxionex brothers!" Brainy said with a hint of sarcasm, rolling her eyes.

"Do you know them?"

"Yes, sadly." Brainy sighs. "They're both famous galaxyball players. They had their brains frozen too. And now they're back.

"Galaxyball, what's that?" I ask, amused.

"It's basically football, but it's played in space," Brainy replied with a sigh as she flew closer to me.

"You don't seem excited, Brainy," I teased her, watching as Naomi began to make her way down the basement's stairs. But when I turned back to look at the newcomers, I couldn't believe my eyes.

Those two were...

ALIENS?

[WARNING! WARNING]

[Stress levels are high.]

[WARNING! WARNING]

Their skin had a vibrant shade of green to it. And it seemed almost luminescent under the dim lights of the basement. Their heads are large and elongated, with a pair of eyes that seem to bulge outwards, giving them a distinct and somewhat comical appearance.

They had to be aliens!

I noticed that their bodies were surprisingly slim, almost human-like, as they were walking on two legs. The attire was even more unexpected. The aliens were both wearing football jerseys that looked custom-made for their unique body shape. The one on the left had a big number 5 on his back, while the other one had the number 9.

Both aliens are now walking towards me. My legs refuse to move, so I just stand there, frozen in place. From the corner of my eye, I can see Naomi holding in a laugh.

"Yo!" One of them broke the silence with a casual greeting. "Nice to meet you! My name is Tom." The sound was a near-perfect replication of a man's voice. It also had this faint metallic undertone to it.

I feel shocked but also intrigued. And despite being paralyzed by this unexpected encounter, I managed to lift my own hand in an attempt to reciprocate the greeting.

"H-Hello!" My n-name is A-Airi."

The second alien, noticing my interaction with his brother, decided to join in the exchange. "Hi!" he replied with a cheery tone."My name is Sam," he said, offering a friendly wave of his own.

How come they both have English names? And they can speak Japanese also? My first-ever encounter with aliens was getting more confusing by the second.