So… this is not really a "Secret Santa" gift, but it does kind of act for that purpose in a way. Anyways, this short little oneshot is dedicated to Reiriniverse over on Tumblr. Hope you like it, Rei!

It also doesn't really feel like it, but with this oneshot published here, I have published thirty stories for this fandom already…

Disclaimer: I do not own BanG Dream! Girls Band Party, nor do I, in any way, shape or form, intend to pretend that I do.

"We will be away for a few hours. I really wish we could stay with you but we need to go now," the older woman wailed as she embraced her daughter, feeling the unnatural warmth of the younger girl radiate off her face. The woman knew that she was running out of time, already hearing her husband's calls for her from the other room, but could not stop herself from leaning down so she was at eye-level with her eleven-year-old daughter, "There should be enough food in the fridge for both lunch and dinner if we cannot make it, just put it on a plate on in the microwave for four minutes, okay?"

The daughter, already starting to feel dizzy and lightheaded again, could only nod silently. She then remembered crawling back under her blanket and dozing off soon after; the last thing that her brain processed was the sight of her mother closing the door behind her.

Waking up in her bed several hours later caused a handful of questions to swirl around in the young Shirokane Rinko's mind, but one simple event answered all of them for her. With one hand on her forehead to try and still the throbbing headache, she put the thermometer in her mouth and allowed the warmth of her blankets to take her once again.

It wasn't until she heard the thermometer beep in its usual annoying manner that she opened her eyes again.

The sight of the number on the screen was enough to make her grimace, lamenting the fact that she got sick at the worst possible of times. There was a limited-time event going on in one of her favorite computer games and she really wanted the special item from it!

But now…

She let out a sigh, feeling a bit better when she felt some of her annoyance and frustration leave her system with it. It was probably too early for her classmates to be home from school, and she really did not know what she could in the meantime.

That was until a soft rumbling sound filled the otherwise silent, serene room.

"Mama… said something about the fridge and microwave…" Rinko muttered to herself, the thought of food enticing her to get up but at the same time she was contemplating how she would get there. Her dizziness was still very much there and she wasn't sure how well her trembling legs could carry her.

But as another grumble filled the room, Rinko knew that she did not have a lot of choices. It was either try to get the food she knew she needed or starve to death.

Slowly, almost timidly so as she exposed herself from out of her bed, Rinko placed her left foot on the ground followed soon after by her right. Taking a sharp intake of air, Rinko gathered all the strength she had in her body to pull herself to her feet.

The next few moments passed in a haze for Rinko as she shuffled to the living room. When she opened the door to the living room she felt her head spin, her right knee gave out, and Rinko was acutely aware of how close the floor was getting.

Rinko shut her eyes, preparing for the painful fall she knew was only milliseconds away. Only… that pain never reached her body. When Rinko opened her eyes again, ever so hesitantly in case this was just a dream, she realized that she was no longer alone.

'But… Mama and Papa are away all day,' Rinko thought to herself as she felt herself dragged across the room. She shook her head, trying to get the haze out from in front of her eyes when she heard an unfamiliar voice.

"Ah, you are awake."

Rinko felt herself be lowered down until she could feel the couch under her. Rinko then let out a soft sigh, feeling her headache subside slightly before she raised her head to try and see who was with her.

To say that Rinko was surprised was an understatement.

Based on the voice and how she felt her body being dragged to the other side of the room, Rinko had assumed that she was with someone a few years her senior. Instead, the person in front of Rinko was barely any taller than Rinko was, but it was what he was wearing that caught Rinko's interest.

His yellow overalls were adorned with zippers all over, almost making Rinko think that there were faces on the fabric. On top of his overalls, he also wore a dark-blue wizard hat and a dark-blue cape with many different, unknown symbols on it that made Rinko's head spin more than it was already.

Before she could lose consciousness again, Rinko gathered all her remaining strength to find out who the, albeit seemingly friendly, intruder was.

"Who… are you?" Rinko asked as she eyed the funnily-clad… boy? Since the stranger was not much taller than Rinko was, Rinko doubted that he was much older than she was, if at all. Even yet, he managed to drag her to the other side of the room without breaking much of a sweat at all.

Rinko would have remained silent if she did not remember another thing that she probably needed to ask the stranger. Swallowing down her hesitation, Rinko gathered what strength she had left, "And how… did you get… in here?"

"Trust me, you are better off not knowing who I am," the boy said mysteriously, seemingly unwilling to look Rinko in the eyes when he answered her. He then turned around and, in what Rinko could only describe as a timid motion, he raised his hand to motion something to his side, "As for the answer to your second question…"

Rinko did not follow what he was trying to say but eventually understood that she had to turn around. When she saw what the boy in front of her was trying to say, Rinko had to cover her mouth with her hands to stop the sound from leaving her mouth.

The window had shattered inwards, a scattered pile of shards on the floor the only reminder that there used to be glass there at all. Rinko could feel her stomach contract as she imagined what her father would think of her, but before this train of thought could be finished she was interrupted.

"The least I can do is this," the boy muttered, waving his left hand up in a slow, wide arc. Curious to see what was happening, Rinko watched his hand and noticed a faint glow around it. Nothing happened, however, and the boy had already lowered his hand, "That should do it."

Rinko wanted to ask him what he had done when her eyes landed on the window the boy had seemingly used as his entrance. A soft gasp was the only reaction coming from Rinko who was unable to suppress her surprise seeing the sight in front of her.

The shards of glass that had littered the floor before had magically flown back in the window and melted together. The new glass was so perfect that Rinko would almost start thinking that it had never shattered in the first place.

"H-How…?" Rinko breathed out as she turned back to the mysterious boy. After his display of power, Rinko was starting to see him in a completely different light. It was almost magical how he managed to fix the window like that, but… that could not be true, could it?

"I need to go, but I cannot leave you in your weakened state like that," the boy said, his voice laced with begrudging acceptance. Rinko tried to look up in defiance but only succeeded in proving his point, the dizziness from earlier washing over and overwhelming her. It was thus with great embarrassment that Rinko had to lower herself into a lying position.

"Can you… get me the food… in a plastic… container… in the fridge… please?" Rinko breathed out, feeling her lungs burning up as she was barely able to voice her request. She did not want to rely on the boy, but Rinko knew that she was in no condition to take care of herself.

Rinko could feel the boy stare at her or a few moments, remaining unmoving and silent as his gaze was fixed on Rinko. Right when the sick girl was about to say that she was uncomfortable, the cape-wearing boy turned around and walked away.

Rinko was now lying on the couch in relative silence, allowing her lightheaded mind to process everything that she had just experienced. She would have stayed thinking like that endlessly, too, if the strange boy did not choose that moment to walk up to Rinko with a bowl of steaming soup in it.

"Thank you," Rinko smiled as she looked up at the friendly boy. He did not say anything in return, but Rinko did not need him to; her stomach was growling again so she dove for the food. It was… as good as she could expect from her mother's cooking, but it was still food. Rinko made a mental note to tell her mother someday to not add extra celeries in her meals.

She was so engrossed in her food that she barely noticed the boy standing up.

"Do you… need to go already?" Rinko asked, unable to contain the sadness from seeping into her voice. Rinko was never able to boast of having a ton of friends, always finding herself sitting in the corner of the room and hoping that nobody would notice her. With the boy's kind aura that he radiated since she had met him ten minutes ago, Rinko found herself strangely enamored by him.

She wanted to know more about him, who he was and why he was here. The last thing she wanted was for him to leave and for that lonely feeling to drown her yet again.

Rinko could almost hear her heart shatter when she saw him shake his head.

"I'm sorry, but I can't afford to stay here any longer. I came here for one purpose and I need to complete it; being around me will only put you at risk," the boy explained whilst closing his cape. Once he felt ready to head out, he turned to look at Rinko once more and offered what Rinko could only describe as a small smile, "Perhaps we will meet again, but for your sake, I really hope we do not."

Rinko went to open her mouth in protest, wanting to reassure him that he was not some curse that would harm those around him. But, almost as if sensing Rinko's desire to try and stop him, the boy raised a glowing, gloved hand in front of Rinko's face.

With her eyelids growing heavy and her body swaying dangerously from right to left, Rinko could feel her consciousness fade away. The last thing she saw before falling into the abyss of darkness was his face as he muttered the last few words of goodbye.

When Rinko awoke later that day in her bed there was one thing she noticed right away. The fever that had been plaguing her for a couple of days now had subsided, making room for a surge of foreign energy to fuel her body.

Right as Rinko wanted to jump around in joy, she realized something else.

Throwing her blanket off herself and rushing to her bedroom door, Rinko threw it open to find… nothing. She was all alone, no sign at all that there had been someone else in the room only hours ago.

'Was it… all just a dream?' Rinko couldn't help but think to herself as she started to doubt her memories. She wanted to curl up in her bed but then thought of the one thing that could prove that she hadn't been dreaming.

It only took Rinko a few seconds to reach the fridge now that the world was no longer spinning uncontrollably for her. Minutes came and went while Rinko was merely standing in front of her fridge, unsure of whether or not she wanted to do this.

"Now!" Rinko cried out, shutting her eyes and throwing the fridge door open. Unfortunately for her, she had misjudged the amount of power she put into her arms so the door swung all the way open before bouncing back and hitting Rinko right in the face.

Gently rubbing the red spot on her forehead while silently being grateful that nobody was around to see her in that state, Rinko peered through the tears in her eyes to look in the fridge.

The smile that grew on her lips when she saw that the container of food her mother had left her was not there anymore was almost painful to keep up.

She wasn't dreaming. He was there.

And, perhaps one day, Rinko could meet him again.

And that is all. Merry Christmas to those who celebrate, happy holidays for those who don't, and… this may or may not be the last time you see a chapter from me this decade.

…