Eternity:Code

Ringo had brought Aloe to a coffee shop. He wasn't a fan of coffee, but did enjoy the scent of it. While she went to the front counter, ordering whatever she wanted, Ringo went to his phone, searching for the group Shiva. However, that didn't give him much to go on or learn any new information.

The best he had gotten was multiple threads online going on about Shiva, but he wrote many of them off as conspiracy theories. Still, a large majority said similar things about the group.

"Still not a big fan of coffee, huh?"

Ringo looked up from his phone to see Aloe pulling out her chair, a cup of coffee in one hand and a small bag of pastries held between her fingers.

"Are... are you upset?" Aloe asked.

"What? Why would I be?"

"W-well... the expression on your face... I can't tell if you're upset or something else."

Ringo didn't say anything, and neither did Aloe. It was quiet for a little while before Ringo decided to change the subject with a question.

"So you want to explain those Shiva agents? Why are you trying to avoid them? What did you do?"

"About that..." Aloe looked away, "I don't think this is the right time to say anything. In fact, I don't think any time will be a good time. Actually, now that I think about it, it would probably be best if we went our separate ways and didn't see each other anymore."

Ringo looked at Aloe with a quiet expression, then what she was saying finally hit him, "What?! Didn't you just say earlier you would tell me what I wanted to know? And what about you coming to me at the convention? You even pulled me out of there."

"I know. I now realize that all may have been a mistake on my part. I acted without thinking and took you away from your place."

Dejected, Ringo sat back in his chair. The look on Aloe's face clearly told him she had no intention of letting up, no room for any compromise with him. Pulling him away from everything and what he had been doing, only to then send him away a few hours later.

With nothing else to say, Ringo looked back to his phone, seeing several messages from Neon and Mai, "They're definitely pissed." Ringo thought.

"Are you upset?" Aloe asked.

Ringo didn't respond as he was more focused on the messages the two were sending.

"Maybe I should just go right now and deal with the yelling. It's my fault, I have to take responsibility."

With a sigh, Ringo got up from his seat. Aloe watched him, seeing him give her a momentary glance before he started for the exit.

Though there was no doubt in Ringo's mind that now he did remember her from somewhere, only he couldn't place her. It was like memories were missing, but only vague moments stayed. It did bother him, but with Aloe having no intention of explaining, Ringo had nothing to go on.

"Wait, Ringo."

As he had gone outside, Ringo stopped upon hearing Aloe's voice. Looking back, he saw her running after him.

"What is it?" Ringo asked.

Just as she was about to speak, Aloe stopped as she noticed a black car parked across the street. Looking around, she noticed two others further down.

"We... we need to go. We can't stay here any longer." Aloe said as she grabbed Ringo's hand. As they turned towards Ringo's motorcycle, the two stopped as they were confronted by two men in suits. Before Ringo could process what was happening, four more men showed up.