I wake up back in the body where I'm known as Kyohi. Sunny sits in the treehouse with me, cuddling Bun-bun. Bewo still sat on his head still, but she was sleeping. It took a bit for Sunny to notice me waken.
"Oh, welcome back Kyohi."
"Hello Sunshine, how are you?"
"I'm doing well."
He seems a bit worried.
"Sunshine? Is everything alright?"
"Mari is missing. We've looked all over for her."
I immediately get up.
"Don't worry Sunny! Detective Kyohi is on the case! "
I grab his hand and pull him to his feet.
"Come on, Sunny! We got no time to lose!"
Sunny and I walk around the garden. We look at our friends, Hero is having a Mental breakdown. I pat him on the head.
"We'll find her, I promise!"
Sunny and I travel through the broad forest, searching for any clues of where she might be. We had to fight a few sprout moles and bunnies. I begged Sunny not to hurt the bunnies, he agreed and we ran away. The last place we checked was back at Sunny's house. The writhing black substance is gone. The broken violin still lies on the floor. Sunny picks it up and puts it into an extra box he had.
"I'll fix it later."
Sunny looks around. He seems to be finding something.
"What are you looking for?"
"I noticed that you have a weapon and I thought it was a good idea if I have one too."
I pull out my mace.
"You mean this thing? I just grabbed it in case."
"Hm. Aha! Found it!"
Sunny pulls a box out of underneath his bed. He pulls a dagger out of the box.
"A dagger?"
"Yeah, I got it a long time ago, it was easy to use and it was better than having a sword."
I laugh, "You're such a nerd Sunny!" I pick on him.
He smiles a tiny bit, almost as if he took it as a compliment. He grabs a holder for the dagger and slips it in. he puts the holder in his pocket. I put my mace away. Sunny takes my hand.
"Hopefully we can find her soon," he says.
I pat him on the head as I hug him. Sunny calms down as he embraces me back. His breathing slows for a bit as his anxiety stops.
"Thanks, Kyohi."
"Anytime sunshine."
I wished that the hug would last forever. His skin was soft, with no bumps or cracks. The only part that felt dented was around his neck. I look closer at his neck, The pattern was familiar. The incident with real-life Sunny flashed before my eyes. I let go of him and fell to my knees.
"Kyohi!? Are you alright?!?"
"...the... the tree... rope...your neck...I," My words wouldn't come out.
"Kyohi? What tree? What rope? What about my neck?" he asks frantically.
I didn't answer, my body shook.
"Kyohi, I'm gonna get help!"
I reached out to Sunny.
"Please... Don't leave again. I don't wanna be alone."
Sunny ran back to me and helped me calm down. I feel his neck, it has the pattern of the rope that Sunny used.
"Kyohi, I'm okay."
"Headspace Sunny. Please, tell me you didn't commit..."
"No. I would never."
I give him a huge hug. I clean myself off and clear my eyes.
"We should continue finding Mari," I say.
"We can stay here for a bit if you want. I'm sure Mari's okay."
Sunny pulls out a scarf. He ties it around his neck.
"Is this better? Mari gave me this a while ago."
The scarf was black, it was soft.
"Yeah, sorry for all the trouble."
"You're never a trouble. I know things have been rough lately."
We arrive back at the garden area. Hero has calmed down.
"Did you find her?" Kel asks.
"Not yet," Sunny informs.
"What's up with the scarf Sunny?"
"Oh, this?"
He looks over at me, I'm staring at the ground in shame.
"I just got a bit cold, that's all,"
I look up at him. He winks at me.
" do you guys have any suggestions on where to go next?" I ask
"What about the other world?" Kel suggests
"The other world?" Sunny asks.
"Yeah! It's to the right of the treehouse." Kel answers.
"Wait. Isn't Sunny afraid of heights? That's a pretty long ladder." Basil asks.
Sunny looks scared.
"Don't worry sunshine, I'll be right behind you to catch you if you fall."
"Isn't the place covered in bridges because it blew up once? Kyohi is afraid of bridges and falling." Hero asks.
Chills shiver down my spine. Sunny puts his hand on my shoulder.
"You know that I'll be here to help you."
"Thanks, Sunny. I think we should get going."
"Good luck." Hero says.
We walk to the ladder, leading to the other world. Sunny looks nervously at the ground.
"I got you Sunny! It can't be too long."
Sunny hesitates for a moment, but he remembers that I have his back.
*sunny is no longer afraid of heights.*
He takes a deep breath before climbing. I follow only a short time after. The climb goes on for about 5 minutes.
Sunny is the first to stand in the other world. I finally get on the planet. My legs gave out and I lie down. Sunny proceeds to lie down with me.
"Gah, my legs hurt."
"Mine do too but I just try to ignore it."
"We should rest for a bit."
"Agreed."
Sunny and I lie there, and he seems to move closer to me. He gently places his head on my shoulder and takes my hand. He traces the small scars on my hand gently with a finger. He seems spaced out.
"Sunny? Are you okay?"
He remains in a spaced-out state.
"Go away. Not now, I just got to talk to her, alone. No, shut up, she wouldn't leave me." He whispers.
"Sunny? Are you there?" I wave my hands in front of him.
He wakes up from his state.
"Huh? Kyohi? What's the matter?"
"You were whispering something? Are you okay?"
"Yeah, just forget about it. I'm fine."
I look closer at him. He seems a bit scared. He stands up, brushes the dirt off his clothes, and starts to walk away. I quickly get up and rush to his side. The place was covered in bridges. It gave me a chill down my spine. I notice that Sunny stopped walking.
"Kyohi?"
"Hm? What's up?"
"Would you leave me for dead if it meant you could escape?"
"At first, yes, but I would come back to help you. I would never leave you completely for dead."
He smiles through tears.
"Thank you Kyohi. I really needed that."
I grab him and hold him close. His tears fall onto my shirt, but I don't care. He clears his eyes and lets go of me.
"We should get going," he says.
I hold his hand as we cross the bridge.
"I got you Kyohi. We're almost there."
I am shaking in my boots as we cross the bridge. When we reach stable land, I took a deep breath.
*Kyohi is no longer afraid of bridges.*
"See, you did it."
"Heh, thanks, Sunny."
Sunny and I look around the areas, completing any quests we can right now. We come across a star-shaped house. Someone stands in front of it. We try to approach but he stops us.
"HALT! You are now standing in front of the home of Captain Soursoul! Captain of the space cadets!"
"Hello, uhh is there anything you need help with?" I ask.
Sunny doesn't say a word.
"Why yes there is! Our captain hasn't been very happy lately. You see, Capt. has always been a big fan of this one band. She's gone to every single concert. However, they sold out before she was able to go and rumor has it, they were planning on singing a song for her."
"I'm sure we can help!" I reply while accepting the task.
I noticed that Sunny hasn't been himself after the 'leave me for dead' incident.
"Sunshine, why don't you rest with the others and I'll handle this."
"...alright."
*Sunny has left the party.*
"... and I forgot that I hate being alone."
Bewo runs up to me.
"Hey Bewo, you okay?"
Bewo meows.
*Bewo has Joined the party*
"Aweee are you gonna keep me company?"
Bewo jumps into my arms. Together, I and Bewo defeat anything that comes our way. I make sure to check on Bewo regularly. Sunny would kill me if Bewo was killed.
We find some tickets in the nearby junkyard however two creatures stop us. One looks like Bewo, the other looks like Mari. Mari was a shadow, just barely seen in the light.
"Do you think you can handle this for him, Mewo?"
The cat, presumably named Mewo, meows in agreement.
The shadow disappears.
We initiate a battle with Mewo. I had run out of healing items and Bewo was low on health. I covered Bewo and protected him with my life. I tried my hardest to fight back, I was halfway there, but I had barely any health left. There were no shops in the other world where I could have gotten items, and I was out of clams. Suddenly I get healed by something. I look behind me to find Sunny and Hero, Hero must have healed me.
"Bewo? Are you okay?" I ask her.
Bewo meows, assuring me that she's fine.
"I knew something was wrong," Sunny says.
Bewo runs up to them. My body was weak, I could barely stand up. Hero let me grab onto him to help me stand while Sunny finished Mewo off.
"I'm sorry guys, I thought we could beat them." I apologize.
"I'm just glad you're alright." Hero says.
"I should have stayed with you," Sunny says.
Sunny looks at the ground.
"I know how tough they can be. They just won't leave us alone."
We almost walk away however I try to go back and retrieve the tickets.
"Kyohi no! You're too weak!" Hero shouts.
I fall onto my face. He was right.
"...Ow."
Bewo retrieves the tickets for me.
"Mew?" Bewo says.
"Thanks, Bewo."
I take the tickets and put them in my pocket. I attempt to stand up, my legs wobble but I manage to keep steady. Hero and Sunny help walk me back to the picnic blanket. Sunny sits next to me and holds my hand as Hero treats my wounds.
"What happened? Why is she so hurt?" Kel asks.
"Let's just say that she wasn't ready to take a boss out on her own. Especially because they were about the same level as a final boss. She did well with what she could do." Hero explains.
"Does it still hurt? Do you need anything?" Sunny asks.
I shake my head. Basil offers me some juice, and I politely accept. I decided to lie down after Hero's done. I feel Sunny take the tickets from my pocket and leave.
"Where's he going?" I ask.
"He's just giving the tickets to Soursoul," Basil informs.
"Oh."
He comes back not long after. When he sits down near me I see him reach out his hand and look at the others. They all nod with a smirk. Sunny proceeds to pet my hair. I reposition myself and lay my head on his leg. He continues messing with it. The calming scene around me slowly makes me fall asleep.