Omi Fushimi/Happy to Serve.

The Wolves' Reunion

Backstage Stories

Part 1Part 2Part 3

Omi	I'll put this in the oven once everyone arrives, so I just have to—
Ryo	Everything's ready on my end, Omi-san!
Omi	Oh, thanks!
Ryo	But man, this place is so fancy! You sure the Wolves can come in here?
	We coulda just gone to a bar like usual.
Omi	No, I need you guys to come here. I need a kitchen I can work in, too.
Ryo	You said the guy who runs the place knows your troupe?
Omi	Yeah. He knew Nachi, too. He told me that Nachi used to come here a lot.
Ryo	Whoa, forreal?!
Omi	Anyway, relax, Ryo. We have the owner's permission, so don't worry.
Ryo	Okay...
Zen	How're things going?
Omi	Oh, hi, Zen-san.
Ryo	Whoa, this rugged dude here is the owner?
Omi	This is Ryo. He's one of the Wolves.
Ryo	Nice to meet ya! If ya need me to do anything, jus' holler!
Zen	Okay, could you sweep the front of the restaurant?
Ryo	'Course!
Omi	(I'm glad Ryo's here to help out.)
Zen	Need help with anything?
Omi	No, I'm fine, thank you. I haven't got much left to do.
Ryo	Omi-san!
Omi	?
Ryo	C'mere, I wanna show you somethin' outside!
Omi	This is... The Wolves' flag.
Ryo	Thought I should mark the place in some way 'coz the Wolves might not realize we're gatherin' in such a fancy place, y'know? So I asked the man if I could put this up. And whaddaya know, he said yes!
Omi	Are you sure, Zen-san?
Zen	Yeah. You guys have the whole place to yourselves, anyway.
Ryo	He's got a big heart!
Omi	Wow, this flag takes me back... I never knew you still had it.
Ryo	Yep, I've been taking real good care of it!
Omi	...Thanks, Ryo.
Ryo	No prob!
Omi	(But man, having this flag up makes it look like a rally or something...)
Ryo	I think the guys should be coming soon. We've got 30 minutes until the party officially starts.
Omi	Okay, let's get the last of the cooking done!

Wolf A	Whoa, I've never been to a restaurant like this!
Wolf B	Same! Oh, man, I wish I dressed better for today.
Wolf C	Apparently Omi-san knows the guy who runs this place?
Wolf A	Damn, forreal? Good on ya, Omi-san.
Wolf B	The food looks so good!
Wolf C	I'm hungry...
Omi	All right, I think that's all of it. Eat up, guys.
Ryo	Speech, Omi-san!
Wolf A	Speech! Speech!
Omi	Who, me? I didn't prepare one, though...
Wolf B	You can do it, ex-leader! You the man!
Omi	All right, then...
	Thanks for coming, everyone. We've got the whole place to ourselves today.
	Thank you for indulging me, Zen-san. I appreciate you letting such a rough and tumble bunch in here.
Zen	No problem.
Omi	I actually had a hand in making the dishes in front of you today. That was why I had you all come here, to be honest; so I could use the kitchen here to cook for you guys.
	I heard from Ryo recently that Nachi told you guys that I could cook.
	I couldn't admit it back then, but... I really like cooking. Especially when I get to see my favorite people eating it.
	Which is why I wanted to make all this for you guys today. I hope you'll enjoy both the food from me and Gentiana.
	I'm sure being the clingy guy he is, Nachi's here with us today as well. So, let's make it a good one, together!
Wolf A	Yeah!
Wolf B	You did all of this for us, Omi-san...? Thank you!
Omi	We've been lucky enough to have the opportunity to go riding together occasionally, and visit Nachi's grave together, but it's never been easy to organize a time that suits everyone all the time. I'm sure Nachi's always getting anxious about when we can all get together next, too.
	So, how about we make our reunions a proper thing every year? We can keep Nachi company, too.
Ryo	Omi-san...
Omi	(Nachi created the Wolves so we could all have a place to belong in... He also wanted to stay with the Wolves forever because of how lonely he was.)
	(I'm the only one who can make sure his dreams never die, as the person that stood by his side as co-leader.)
	Nachi made the Wolves for us; it's a place for all of us. And I want to protect it.
	But of course, things have changed for all of us.
	I know some of you guys now have your own families you need to protect, and some of you also have a lot to deal with at work. We're busier and responsible for more than we were back then.
	The Wolves started as a collection of misfits, and I'm sure there's a lot that we all wished we could do but can't.
	But when you're all feeling down, or having a bad day, or dealing with whatever it is that life throws at you, I hope you will all remember...
	...that the Wolves are always here for you, no matter what.
	If you ever feel lost and lonely, remember that you'll always have a home to come back to— the Wolves.
	The Wolves will never fade away. I'll make sure it's always here for you. Let's all keep riding together, even when we're all old and wrinkly.
	'Coz if not, I'm sure our clingy Nachi will be very sad if there's nowhere left for him to come back to.
	...Sorry, that was longer than I thought.
Ryo	Omi-san...! Uuu-uuuu... The Wolves are forever!
Omi	Thank you for taking care of the Wolves even after I left, Ryo.
Ryo	I've been waitin' for this day my whole life!
Wolf A	Uuuu... Go, Wolves!
Wolf B	I'm with you for life, Omi-san!
Omi	All right, now, eat up before the food gets cold!
Ryo	Aight!
Zen	...Forever, huh.

Omi	I'll be fine from here, Ryo. Thanks for helping me tidy up. Great work.
Ryo	You too, Omi-san! See ya!
Zen	Got everything with you?
Omi	Thanks for everything today, Zen-san.
Zen	I should be the one thanking you, since I'm the one getting money out of this.
	It's great that you've got such a nice group of friends outside of the Company. Treasure them.
Omi	I will.
Omi	I'm home.
Izumi	Oh, welcome back!
Omi	Is this for tomorrow?
Izumi	Yeah. I'm getting it ready now so I can let it sit for the night. It'll taste even better tomorrow!
Omi	I'll help.
Izumi	But you were cooking all day, right? Aren't you tired?
Omi	I think this'll help me wind down a little.
Izumi	You're always raring to go in the kitchen, haha.
Omi	Yep! And I'm not going to stop any time soon.
Izumi	Haha, I'm so glad we have you cooking for us.
Izumi	You know, I'm glad we all take turns getting groceries and cooking. Having everyone get their own food probably wouldn't have been a bad set up, but I like the way we do things now.
	I feel like getting everyone to eat at the same table let us get to know each other faster.
Omi	Yeah, and we get to talk to each other more this way.
Izumi	Yeah! There's a lot of people here, so there's no shortage of conversations to be had. And thanks for volunteering to help out with the cooking, too.
Omi	I just figured that since I did the cooking at home, I could do it here, too. And I'm glad I did.
	It gave me an extra opportunity to get to know and care for everyone here.
	Cooking for everyone and having them eat my food is one of the most important ways I spend my time here.
	And when I realized that, I started to feel really bad for never cooking for the Wolves.
	They're very important to me, too, after all...
Izumi	Oh, so that's why you went out today, right?
Omi	Yeah, and they really liked it. I'm glad I did it.
Izumi	But like Sakyo-san said, don't push yourself too hard, okay? You've got a lot more on your plate, now that you've graduated.
	Just as how you like to cheer everyone up with your food, I'd like to be able to do the same for you when you're tired.
Omi	Director... Thank you.
	It's a little embarrassing to hear that being back said to me, haha. I know I'm the one who said it first, but still.
Izumi	Hehe, you're only getting curry from me, though!
Omi	That's fine.
	Eating dinner with everyone at the dorm can get me through anything, no matter how bad a day I have at work, or how sad I feel.
Izumi	Let's both keep serving up meals that make everyone feel loved and supported!
Omi	Of course.

madolche[1]