Chapter Text
A year... Time surely does go by fast, huh? Perhaps it's what it felt like for Sunny, at least. But he had to admit that it wasn't easy-going either...
He had moved out with his mother to the city, and their lifestyle took a complete turn. It was busy, with more people... He always despised crowds, but then again, he tried to keep going outside. Not only because his therapist recommended him to do so, but because he understood that it would be good for him.
Though, some things remained the same... His mom was usually busy at her new work, but she also tried to spend more time with her son. Despite the wounds and pain in their hearts, they would always be there for each other, no matter what. He finally decided to go back to school, but compared to others of his age, he had missed out on a lot of content during the past years, luckily he still was a good student with a great memory. He also took certain interest in cooking, after discovering that if he put a little love into it, just like his sister Mari used to when she baked him and his friends delicious cookies... Everything would be okay. Perhaps he didn´t mean to become a chef, but it was a newfound hobby that his mother seemed to be happy about.
As for music... It was hard to get back on it, but despite not having his old violin by his side anymore, he thought that Mari would have liked him to go on... In every way. It may have been challenging, brought sad memories, yet he was willing to do it for her. Because Sunny knew, deep down, that Mari loved music more than anything else...
He managed to move on for the most part, he had gone through changes, became a little more expressive when it came to his emotions... But deep down, did miss the old times. But it was hard to get that back, specially after that day at the hospital, when he finally had the courage to tell his friends the truth about Mari's death... He then left the very next day, without even saying goodbye.
...
"I have to tell you something." Said the pale-skinned boy with a tired face. The only visible eye of his seemed to be somewhat red, implying that he had cried and not too long ago. And this clearly made his friends, who were surrounding Basil's stretcher, look at him with concern.
“S-Sunny…” Hero said as she walked towards him. "It´s alright, you can tell us in your room, you must still be tired."
But when the older member of the group offered his hand, the boy didn't respond, his gaze then moving down with regret.
"It's about Mari."
He responded abruptly but quietly, it was then that silence reigned in that hospital room... There was no turning back, it was never now. If he wasn't able to tell them the truth at that moment…he would probably never get the chance to do so again.
"She...She didn't end her own life."
"...What?"
"D-Don't be silly, Sunny... We saw it with our own eyes, remember?"
Kel gave a nervous laugh, which was quickly cut off by another tense silence... And a brief glare from Aubrey.
"You didn't see everything... There's something else you don't know."
Kel, Hero, and Aubrey looked at each other in confusion and fear. Oh, this was going to go very wrong... Sunny knew it perfectly, but he had already assumed that she had to tell them the truth above all else, regardless of whether they wanted to forgive him or not after hearing it.
"It was me. Mari...she died because of me."
"...Sunny, it's okay, you know it wasn't your-"
"YES IT WAS!! DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?!"
This took them by surprise, since they had never seen Sunny in such a state of rage, but... Wait a minute, was he crying?
"I-The day of the recital... I got stressed. After all the hours she and I spent practicing in the piano room, I kept making one mistake after the other, It was never good enough for her...! A few hours before In frustration, I ended up throwing my violin down the stairs, breaking it. And that very mistake ended up causing Mari and I to argue..."
Sunny put his hands on his head as his voice became more and more shaky as those painful words left his mouth.
"I tried to run away, but Mari wouldn't let me leave, and... I-I got frustrated, and- P-Pushed her down the stairs! But I swear I didn't mean to, I never wanted to hurt her..!"
His hands slid slowly over his eyes in a desperate attempt to hold back the tears, as he bawled, while the rest of the crew watched, too stunned to speak but hurt deep down.
"Sunny-"
"I didn't know what to do, I couldn't breathe or think clearly... The only thing I wanted at that moment more than anything was for her to wake up, but n-she didn't! I killed her... And I couldn't believe it I just hoped it was a nightmare that I could wake up from as soon as possible!"
Hero was the one he saw the most devastated, after all, he had blamed himself for not having been able to be with Mari enough, more than anyone else in the world. But... This changed things completely. Before Sunny could say anything else, Sunny raised a hand tremblingly and brought it to his mouth. He felt like he had to vomit.
"I'm so sorry… I can't- I can't hear any more of this."
He said with a cracked voice, just before rushing out of the room with tears in his eyes. However, Sunny just let him go.
"Hero...!"
Kel watched his brother leave with concern, but his attention turned to his friends again as soon as he heard a slam against the wall. And all that he could see then was Aubrey pinning Sunny against the wall, staring at him with pure anger and frustration in her eyes, the tears overflowing over her face.
"How COULD YOU...?! WHY... Why didn´t you tell us before?! YOU AND BASIL KEPT THIS SHIT FROM US FOR FOUR WHOLE YEARS?!"
Sunny however couldn´t even look at her straight in the eye. Neither dared to say a word. As much as he tried... Nothing came from his mouth as much as he tried to let any words out. And this silence unnerved Aubrey.
"...SAY SOMETHING, DAMN IT!!"
And again, another silence followed until it was cut by a slap that echoed across the room.
"AUBREY, STOP IT!"
As Kel rushed towards them, she slapped the black-haired boy once again, each slap hurting more than the last... But not for Sunny, in fact he barely felt anything at that point. The tallest of the three then grabbed the girl from behind, despite the fact that she resisted while he tried to get her away from Sunny.
"YOU FOOLED US! M-Mari... MARI DIDN´T DESERVE ANY OF THAT..! LET ME GO, KEL!!"
"CALM DOWN! Aubrey, nothing is going to change or be solved by violence! He said that they- he didn´t mean to, we were all just kids!"
After several attempts to wriggle away, Aubrey seemed to calm down... Enraged as she was, the last thing she did was push Kel away from her before running off. So in the end, it was only the two of them left apart from Basil, who was surprisingly rested despite the previous commotion. So Kel looked at Sunny, who was still standing against the wall, miserably.
"Sunny... Please tell me that none of that is true... I know you didn't mean to, but... Man, it's a lot to process."
"...I'm sorry, Kel..."
At that answer, he only sighed. At such a point he could no longer fake a smile. And when Sunny realized that, when he finally dared to look him in the eye... That hurt him greatly, he knew had hurt everyone so much...
"I... No... I just- D-Don´t know what to say."
"Just... G-Give us some time, Sunny... I´m gonna check on Hero and Aubrey."
That was proably the last thing he ever heard from them, but Kel´s pained voice and expression... After all that he had done for him, after what THEY did for him... Sunny never could and never will be able to return the favor, and instead he just ruined them. Their lives, their friendship... He only had torn them apart in every possible way, and it was all his fault.
After a bit of crying on his own, silently... He looked out to Basil´s bed, hoping that he would soon wake up, despite knowing that the blonde hated him the most... Sunny knew that deep down. Soon enough, his eyes opened, tiredly... After he felt something wet drop on one of his cheeks.
"S...Sunny?"
As soon as he heard the voice, he quickly backed up, ah, he was making his face wet with his crocodile tears... So he moved an arm to sub his only eye. But the sight seemed to sadden Basil even more, knowing he was the one who caused that...
"S-Sunny- Are you okay..?! I´m- I am so sorry, I was so scared and- Selfish... I was thinking about not being alone, but you were the one who needed..."
"It´s... It´s fine, Basil. You have gone through so much because of me... It´s only fair."
"N-NO IT ISN´T!! I STABBED YOU IN THE EYE, HOW IS THAT FAIR..!? I... i can´t believe I lost control just like that, I didn´t mean to, I just..."
Before the forming tears on Basil´s eyes could fall, Sunny moved his hands towards his face, a bit hesitantly at first, as if he was sared of hurting him like in those nightmares of his... The very reminder of them made him shiver the slightest bit, but in the end he decided that his friend- No, best friend... Needed him, one last time, so he gently wiped away the tears, causing the other boy to smile fondly. He had missed that smile of his...
"I... Am so sorry." He said with a tired tone, but it had a hint of relief. "You have gone through so much that you never deserved to begin with. I don´t even think I´ll ever be able to thank you enough, for protecting me... I-I know you always meant well, even in the worst times."
"Sunny... It´s- I know you would never... What I mean is, we could start anew, together, all of us! I-I know that it won´t be the same as it was, but-"
"Basil."
The blonde´s hope suddenly dropped, stopping with his rambling and looking up at Sunny with a sheepish look in his eyes.
"...Y-You are still going to move, huh..? I-I forgot, sorry..."
"That and... I doubt that I have nothing left to do here. Neither I belong."
"W...What do you mean? Wait... Sunny, did you tell them..?"
Sunny simply nodded... And managed a little smile.
"I did... What I should have done years ago. For them, for us... For Mari."
"S-Sunny..." Basil smiled with emotion. "Even if we are apart... Let´s try to move on, together, no matter how far we are from each other..!"
And it was then, that for the first time in years, they felt light, happy, relieved... Something, or rather, nothing would hunt them any longer.
...
His eyes opened, suddenly... And moved his hands to rub his eyes tiredly. But somehow... He woke in a place that wasn´t his room.
Sunny stood up slowly, looking around with confusion... Emptiness, is all he could see. But regardless of that he began to walk, taking one step after the other, even though he didn´t know where he was going. Was this a dream of some sorts? It felt... Oddly familiar, either way, and that made him feel kind of uneasy even though he didn´t seem to be stopping anytime soon.
"Meow?"
He stopped in he tracks in all of a sudden, he could have sworn that he heard something, but where did it exactly come from..? The last place he looked at was behind him, though, he jumped at what his eyes saw at first glance.
"M-Mewo, is that you..?"
The kitten replied with a cheerful meow as the boy carefully kneeled down in front of her, and of course, she jumped into his arms without hesitation. Sunny looked to their front, a white, tall door stood there, in the middle of the White Space that surrounded them.
"Huh... I didn´t remember seeying that before."
It ocurred to him to look above, but he found nothing important, just a thread that looked like it had something hanging from it once, but not anymore. And it was then that he remembered everything, making his eye open wide upon the realization. There was no way that-
"Ah... You´re finally here, it took you long enough."
A younger voice said from behind the door, which was currently open. They stared at each other in silence for a bit of time then... The young one looked very similar to him, it was very odd... Well, he looked just like him.
"...What are you doing here, Omori?"