Persona O | Omori x Persona

Chapter 3: Step into the Dream

I was looking forward to finishing this for a while now, especially with what is happening in this chapter. To note, I'm not too used to writing fight scenes, so I tried-

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Sunny opens his eyes to see he is back in the Dream World. He sat up and looked through his surroundings, still at the playground like the last time he remembered. He then checks around to make sure there are no Shadows nearby. He hasn't spotted any of them roaming here, however, Yu is nowhere to be seen. Sunny assumes he could be somewhere else, but there is a thought that he is not in the Dream World. Still, he would have to find him just in case.

Sunny stands up and exits the playground, heading to the direction sign. He thinks he can look through the Vast Forest first since there is a possibility that Yu might be there. Sunny did end up in the middle of it when he first came to the Dream World. He goes to his right and looks around the area, the trees spotting about and creating a path. The wind blows softly causing them to rustle, with many leaves flying in the air. At first sight, Yu is nowhere around, so he proceeds onward to continue his search.

"Narukami!" Sunny called out, "Where are you?"

There is no response, much to his expectations, unfortunately. But Sunny kept on going, following the path before him. Then, he heard a voice muttering from somewhere through the trees. He holds his breath and follows the source, walking around the trees and peeking around. Sunny spots Yu sitting on the ground curled up into a ball, visibly shaking.

"Narukami?" Sunny called again.

"No... no, please," Yu muttered desperately, "Please, don't leave me here... Don't leave me alone..."

Sunny gasped quietly, confused about what he is on about. Before he can figure out what is going on, a hand sprouts out of the ground behind Yu. It was about to grab him and Sunny immediately jumps out of his hideout, grabbing Yu by his arm and dragging him out of the dim area of the forest. Sunny fell to the ground with Yu close beside him, looking up to see the hand retracting back in. He sighed in relief, thinking he might have saved Yu from getting taken by the Shadows. Sunny then checks on Yu, who is visibly stressed. His eyes are screwed shut as he is breathing shallowly.

Sunny sat up and crawled close to Yu, lifting his hand to brush his hair. It felt soft and silky to the touch. Yu leans onto Sunny's hand, humming quietly. From what had happened earlier, Sunny thought that Yu might be experiencing something he feared. Judging from the way he was behaving, it seems to be the case. He remembered the methods of calming someone down whenever they were in this state, especially when Mari has to be the one who does this when she was alive.

Sunny shifts himself close and lifts Yu's head to place him on his lap. He continues to pet his hair and surveys the area in case any Shadows come by. For the passing time, Sunny has Yu close to him while observing the forest for any signs of life anywhere. Thankfully, Yu is able to relax in a few minutes and open his eyes. He looks up to see Sunny above him, looking at the distance.

"Suzuki...?" Yu muttered.

"Hm?" Sunny looked down at him, "Oh, you're awake. How are you feeling now?"

"I'm fine," Yu sat up, "Are we in your dream?"

"Yeah, we're here," he replied, "Seems like my idea worked."

"Seems so."

"So... you might be confused as to where we are," Sunny began, "I can explain about it."

"Sure, go ahead."

"Okay, so this place is what I called Headspace or the Dream World in other terms. This is basically where I go when I sleep."

"I see," Yu mused, "This place is rather peculiar. It looks real, but it isn't at the same time."