Three Hours Later
"You let your place get this bad?!" Mio scolded, cleaning the mess and airing out the room.
"Sorry, Mio-chan… Without Reiji-sama, I had no motivation…" Ayame mumbled.
"Yoi! Yoi!" Poyo-yo bounced, revitalized after a bath Mio forced them into.
"You didn't leave once and ran out of food? How are you alive?" Mio asked.
"Oni can go without eating. Compared to being chased by humans back then, this is nothing…" Ayame said.
"Still, shutting yourself in like that? If I hadn't come, what then? Reiji would worry!"
"Sorry…" Ayame hugged the box tighter, Poyo-yo hopping on her head to console her. Is that comforting?
"What's that box? Looks like Gunpla," Mio said.
"Yeah, it's MG Sengoku Astray Gundam. I bought it to build with Reiji-sama, but he left for the EN branch that day…" Ayame showed the dented box.
Sengoku Astray Gundam from Gundam Build Fighters: a samurai-themed Astray with dual katanas, shoulder sleeves doubling as sub-arms, and an oni-faced backpack that served as a shield.
"I was so sad we couldn't build it together…" Tears welled up as she hugged the box. Poyo-yo patted her head.
(She's in bad shape. If this keeps up, she'll spiral into depression. Damn YAGOO for sending Reiji away! No, focus on Ayame… Here's the plan!)
"Ayame!" Mio said.
"W-What, Mio-chan?"
"Let's build that Gunpla together!"
"Huh?!"
Ayame blinked, confused. Why build with Mio what she'd planned for Reiji? "Reiji said Gunpla's great for a mood boost. You're down, so let's build and cheer up!"
"B-But…"
"If we make something awesome, Reiji will praise you when he's back! 'Great job, Ayame!'"
"R-Really? Okay, I'll do it! I'll make something amazing for Reiji-sama!" Ayame's eyes lit up.
So easy, Mio thought. "Let's go!"
"Go where?" Ayame asked.
"Just change and come on!"
"W-Wait, what?"
Confused, Ayame was dragged off by Mio.
Destination: Reiji's House
"We're here!" Mio announced.
"Mio-chan, this is… Reiji-sama's place, right?" Ayame asked.
Yep, Mio brought her to my house. Why, with the owner gone? "It's fine, let's go in!" Mio unlocked the door.
"How do you have a key?! Reiji-sama changed the locks!" Ayame gasped.
"Reiji gave spares to me and a couple others for emergencies. He said we could use his tools and games to de-stress."
Before leaving, I'd entrusted keys to Mio, Flare, and Botan. They'd been coming here to cope. Reiji's place had all the tools needed for Gunpla.
"Let's build. Ever done an MG, Ayame?" Mio asked.
"Nope. Always HG or Musha Gundams. This is my first MG."
"Same here… I've done HG and RG. Reiji said MG's like a big RG, so we should be fine, right?"
Both realized they were MG newbies. Master Grade (1/100 scale) kits boasted detailed internal frames, intricate molding, and more parts than HG or even RG.
"Let's make Reiji proud!" Mio said.
"Yeah!♪" Ayame cheered.
Their first MG build began. Poyo-yo bounced on my bed, playing.
Next Day, 6 AM
"Finally… done," Mio groaned.
"It's morning…" Ayame yawned.
The MG's countless parts and gate cleanup took all night. They marveled at Sora and AZKi, who'd built RGs in hours. "Let's sleep for now," Mio said.
"Sleepy…" Ayame agreed.
They crashed on my bed, first phase complete.
Noon, After Waking
"Alright, let's finish this!♪" Mio said.
"Yeah…♪" Ayame mumbled, still groggy from low blood pressure.
They resumed. "What's next? I found two Astray katanas in the junk parts," Mio said.
"Hmm… Got it!" Ayame grabbed a design knife and started carving scratches into the Sengoku Astray's body.
"Whoa, Ayame, what're you doing?!" Mio yelped.
"It's too plain. Since it's a warrior motif, battle scars add character. Look, this slash looks like a katana cut!"
She'd carved a gash from the left shoulder to the chest, mimicking battle damage. Damage processing used tools like design knives or pin vises to create realistic wounds, enhanced with paint.
"That's… intense for a knife cut," Mio said.
"Heh, carving's my thing!♪ Let's keep going!" Ayame slashed more parts.
For painting, she grabbed small paint bottles and a brush instead of markers. "What's that?" Mio asked.
"Reiji-sama's paint bottles. He said brushes work better for damage effects than airbrushes."
Ayame applied black iron paint to the scratches, adding depth and realism. "Let's keep painting!♪"
Mio was left in the dust, watching Ayame work.
Hours Later, 10:30 PM
"Done!♪" Ayame cheered.
"Really? Just topcoat left, right?" Mio asked.
"Nope, weathering first," Ayame said.
"Weath… ering?"
"Dirtying it up. The scratches are great, but the rest is too clean, looks off."
The Astray's pristine parts clashed with the scars. Ayame used Tamiya's Weathering Master (like makeup powder) and a 100-yen eyeshadow brush to apply sand-colored grime to the feet, mimicking dirt.
"How do you know this stuff?" Mio asked.
"Reiji-sama taught me. You didn't learn?"
"…Nope," Mio admitted, a pang of jealousy hitting. She'd started building with Reiji first, yet Ayame knew techniques she didn't.
Unbeknownst to Mio, Reiji hadn't taught her weathering because she preferred clean Gunpla. Ayame and Botan, who liked gritty looks, naturally learned it (Botan's Ground-Type Dynames got weathered post-Episode 5).
(I like clean Gunpla, but I wanted to try this too… Should've asked Reiji more…)
"What's wrong, Mio-chan?"
"Nothing! Let's finish. I can help with this."
"Let's do it!♪"
They tackled the final weathering.
"Sengoku Astray Gundam: Damage Processed Ver." stood complete, four katanas poised. No major mods, but slashes and weathering gave it a battle-hardened aura. Ayame added two junk-part katanas to the sub-arms for a four-sword style. Her favorite touch? A scar on the oni backpack's right horn, matching her own.
"It doesn't even look like plastic," Mio marveled.
"It was tough, but I'm proud. Reiji-sama will be shocked!♪" Ayame beamed.
They shared their joy, eager to show me.
Click.
"Someone's here?" a voice called.
"Eh…?" they gasped.
The door opened, and there I was—Reiji, back early. "Mio, Ayame? Building Gunpla?"
"Rei-san?! Why? You're still in EN!" Mio stammered.
"Got a call from YAGOO a week in. Emergency, so I rushed back after quarantine."
"Yoi! Yoi!♪" Poyo-yo leapt from my bed to my head, bouncing happily.
I set my bags down, washing my hands. "That Sengoku Astray on the table? You two made it? The damage work's badass… What's wrong?"
"Ugh… Rei-san (Reiji-sama)!" They burst into tears, tackling me.
"Whoa! What's going on?!" I caught them as they sobbed.
"Sorry! You asked me to hold everyone together, but I couldn't…!" Mio cried.
"It was so hard without you, Reiji-sama!" Ayame wailed.
"Sounds like it was rough. You did great, both of you." I patted their heads, calming them as they unloaded their pent-up stress.
One Week Later
"How does my absence make everything collapse?! No streams for a month?!" I barked.
"Sorry…" the Holomems mumbled.
I'd heard the full story from Mio and Ayame, then spent days lecturing everyone and fixing the mess. Three days ago, we finally got back on track. They'd barely streamed, sparking "Hololive's bankrupt?" headlines. Clearing that up was a pain, especially with comments like "Sasaki's gone?" everywhere.
"There's a live event next month! Lesson-goers, move! Streamers, prep!"
"Yes, sir!" they scrambled.
"Good work, Reiji-san," Shiranui Flare, the tanned half-elf, said, holding my spare key.
"Rei-nii, good job~" Botan added.
"Thanks, you two," I said.
"We didn't do much… Just supported Noe-chan and Marine," Flare said shyly.
"I was too busy to help much, especially Lamy…" Botan admitted.
They returned the keys. Seeing Fubuki and Lamy's creepy smiles had freaked me out—almost got jumped. Apparently, only Mio, Flare, and Botan streamed consistently. What were the others doing?
"Thanks to you, recovery was easier. Appreciate it."
"T-Thanks…" Flare blushed, heading to lessons.
"Let's hang again, Rei-nii!♪" Botan said, off to stream.
Then Mio and Ayame approached. "Rei-san, sorry for that embarrassing scene…" Mio said.
"Don't worry. You held everyone together in that chaos. Great job."
"Rei-san…!" Mio teared up, hugging me.
Ayame tugged my shirt, holding a Gunpla box. "Reiji-sama, can we build this together next?"
Musha Gundam Mk-II. "Sure, on our next break." I ruffled her hair.
"Thanks!♪ C'mon, Mio-chan, let's hit lessons!" Ayame dragged Mio off.
"W-Wait! Bye, Rei-san!" Mio called.
What a handful…
Thus ended the infamous "Holomem Collapse Incident," a legend in Hololive lore.