Family Reunion

 I would have never guessed an alien could look so much like a dad.

"Oh, dear, there you are. Honey, what is going on?"

The man looked tired. He had the same emerald hair like the rest of Arisu's family, chaotic and messy, with pens and papers held by it. He looked at all of us, before his hair did a small, wave-like motion.

"Oh, ARX-U. Did you bring some friends? It's good to see you have some company."

"Yeah, they're my friends!"

Arisu smiled brightly at him.

"And they're from Earth."

"Oh."

Suddenly, he seemed a lot more awake.

"Now that's not possible, right? Are you doing one of your funny little jokes?"

I saw her roll her eyes. I guess even though he seemed nice, he wasn't able to understand her feelings properly.

"Of course it's possible. What did you think I did on Earth? Even NNS-Y found them fun to hang around!"

"It's only because of their bat-"

"Oh please close that mouth of yours," she snapped, "You liked to spend time with them. Don't try to deny it."

"I'm not denying anything, I'm just explaining..."

Her father let out a hearty chuckle.

"Oh, this is wonderful. When was the last time we had so much fun as a family?"

He let out a yawn, blinked, and then nodded.

"You even used the game room! And I almost thought I built it in vain."

"Darling, this is not..."

He went over to his wife, still angry, and gave her a big kiss on the cheek.

"What's wrong, honey?"

"The Earthlings know about our existence!"

She gestured to me and my friends, while we still stood awkwardly next to the screen. Her father waved at us, and I couldn't help but wave back at him. What's going on?, I asked myself.

He seemed to think about the implied things in her sentence, before he shook his head.

"What can we do about it? Destroying a planet of this size, with intelligent life on it..." he slowly mused.

"Hardly intelligent," his wife mumbled.

"... means a lot of paperwork. And honestly, I have enough of that right now."

"Yes, darling, but-"

"And it seems like ARX-U is having fun. Is that so bad?"

He smiled at his daughter, who didn't answer it. Still, she watched her parents closely.

"We were really worried about you, chromebug" he added.

I could see her face getting red.

"Don't call me that! My friends are here," she hissed.

I never knew she could look so embarrassed, beet red and her hair wrapped tightly around her. I had to stifle a laugh. This was horrible, but I could understand how she felt. Thankfully, my parents never had nicknames for me. It seemed like our experiences were similar, even growing up with parents from a completely different planet. The green-haired family got a bit closer together, discussing things in hushed voices. With the glances Arisu's mother shot us I was sure we weren't supposed to listen in. So I tried to start a bit of conversation while they sorted things out.

"So, did we win?"

Erica laughed softly.

"I'm not so sure. A game with only two rounds seems ill-planned."

I shrugged.

"Well, I don't think I could design a better game on the fly."

Maria quickly glanced at the family, still talking in hushed voices.

"How long are we going to stay here, by the way? I don't want my family to worry. I mean, it's not like they can get me, but..."

I nodded at her words. While my own parents were probably assuming that I was out with my friends, watching the stars. That assumption wasn't wrong, but I was a lot closer to the stars now than they probably imagined. My gaze went to the side, and that's where I saw the window.

"Oh, look!"

I ran towards it, looking out into the darkness of space. Beneath us, Earth glowed blue, a beautiful orb full of life. The others pushed against me, as we all tried to catch a glimpse of our home planet.

"Beautiful," Erica whispered.

"I never thought I'd be able to see this."

Maria looked like she was about to cry. Even Pudding's eyes were sparkling as she took in the sight.

"Uwa, this is..."

"I CAN STAY?!"

Arisu's happy squealing instantly took my attention away from the sight, and I turned around. She was jumping up and down, her hair flailing around and ran towards us. The rest of her family didn't have quite the same reaction. While her mother looked mildly annoyed, her father seemed relieved, and Ninsei was as stoic as ever.

"Only for a bit longer," her mother said, as if she had told her a thousand times already, "It's good to gain experience, but it's not forever. Understood?"

"Of course! Thank you, thank you!"

Her mother still didn't look quite convinced.

"And answer when we call, yes?"

Arisu playfully rolled her eyes, and PURIRIN on her shoulder beeped.

"Sure, you don't have to worry about that."

"Promise us," her father urged her.

"Okay, okay, I promise."

Along with her words, she nodded, and her parents seemed satisfied with that.

But then, Ninsei stepped forward, looking right at his parents.

"I also have a small favor to ask."

Surprisingly enough, he looked a bit uncomfortable. Or maybe nervous? I wasn't sure.

"I wish to research the Earthlings' battle simulators more. Father, if you had seen them, they're..."

His mother sighed before he could even finish his argument.

"Well, if that is your wish. I'm sure we can find one of those machines for you to take home."

But he shook his head.

"I need to work with an expert on this. My- these- she," he gestured at Pudding, "She knows a lot about them."

Pudding waved at his parents, who looked at her with confused faces.

"This Earthling can teach you something?"

"Of course! And if I get a bit more time to research them, it would not only be beneficial for my own development, but also for our fleet at large."

"Do you hear that, darling?" his father said with pride in his voice, "He's always so focused on his studies."

He patted him on the shoulder, which his son endured. He coughed, trying to focus their attention back to his request.

"Also, that way I can ensure that ARX-U stays safe."

"Oh! I didn't even think about that."

Now, even his mother seemed convinced. She waved her hands around.

"Well, everything has been discussed, no? ARX-U stays for a bit on this planet, as well as NNS-Y."

She rubbed her temples, as if she had a headache.

"Is that all?"

The siblings nodded.

"Thanks, mom!"

Arisu smiled her usual, big smile and ran to embrace her mother in a big hug. The woman clearly didn't expect that, and stumbled back.

"Ah! Honey!"

At once, he was at his wife's side to catch her. Ninsei looked at his family for a moment before reluctantly joining them, but remained a bit outside the family's chaos. I smiled at my friends. I almost couldn't believe that this resolved without any bloodshed, or planetary destruction.

"Ah! Girls!"

Arisu broke free from her family and ran towards us.

"Let's all go back together, okay?"

"Yes!"

As we laughed, we were engulfed in white light once again. Only this time, I wasn't scared. Instead, it seemed as bright as our future - together.