Chapter Text
Unfortunately, Omori did not get to reflect on Sunny’s predicament for long–feeling the boy’s panic once more. Without hesitation, Omori finds himself once more in control of Sunny’s body. Dark eyes glance around, observing his surroundings. Hm…Sunny was content with Kel–what had forced Omori into his place? They’re still outside the school, he notes, before disdain floods his system as he notices the teenage girl before him.
“Aw man, not fair!” Omori’s eyes flitted, landing on the familiar figure of Kel.
“I’m sorry,” He distinctly hears the sickeningly sweet voice of her, “Dad just doesn’t have enough room for all of us to fit in the car. There’s only room for Hero to tag along, but you’ll still be meeting us there with the others.”
Ah. Their father.
“You never should have been born,” his father croons, nuzzling the sake bottle close to his chest. “The only reason I didn’t do anything about that was Mari. She was so excited, I couldn’t bear to hurt her like that.” Sunny looks down, averting his gaze–the frays of the rug suddenly are so interesting. Wow, they almost look like worms, a colony of dancing worms- “Ah, but I tried to talk your mother out of it. But she just kept insisting on keeping you. What a disappointment,” he continues to slur, “you’re a freak. You never speak, you never want to do anything fun. You could’ve been a baseball player–I would’ve coached that. But no, I had to have a freak of a son who never speaks and drags this whole family to the ground. The neighbors think you’re disabled–”
“Sunny?” Omori blinks, removing himself from the memory. Mari stands before him, a face of concern lacing her features. A small smile tugs at her lips–something Omori doesn’t like. “There you are. Lost you for a second. Come on, we’re going to the restaurant. Sorry Kel couldn’t ride with us.”
Omori glances at the aforementioned boy, taking in his downcast expression. He had two options: first, he could protest and ride along with Kel, or second, he could ride along with Mari. He knows riding with Kel is likely the safer option–allowing Sunny a moment of extended peace. However, Omori isn’t positive there wouldn’t be a negative effect on Sunny later through his family. With reluctance, Omori shoots Kel an, what he hopes was an apologetic look, making his way to the car–once again leaving Mari to chase after him: but not before giving her a cold look of disdain. Had he cared enough for the girl, Omori would have noticed the way her smile slowly dropped from her lips–frozen into place. However, Omori does not spare her a glance, continuing forward towards the source of panic that had launched him from White Space–the car.
Wordlessly, pale fingers grasp the car handle, yanking the door open. “Ah, Sunny!” The mother chirps, shooting the boy a smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes.
“Where’s Mari?” Omori ignores the gruff voice, sliding into the backseat, leaning his head onto the window. Blankly, dark eyes bore out the car window, unfocused gaze not quite honing onto anything in particular. Omori’s thoughts drift, thinking back to Sunny. He can’t help but wonder, does Sunny realize that he himself had launched Omori out of White Space? Mentally, Omori shakes the thought from his head, of course he didn’t know–something tells him that the moment Sunny becomes aware of him, everything will change. A small sense of dread spikes through his veins and down his chest–what if Sunny doesn’t react positively? The thought makes his stomach knot, he’s placed so much effort, love, and care into protecting Sunny–surely he’ll understand, right?
“Sorry we’re late!” Omori blinks, gaze shifting to focus on the reflection behind him. Short, caramel tousled locks poke into the open space of the backseat. “I had to grab Mari’s flowers from the gym.”
“Don’t you worry, Henry, you’re so sweet.” Omori can’t see Hero’s reflection clearly, yet he still knew the older boy was flushed in embarrassment from the mother’s coos of praise. “The backdoor is unlocked, I’m sure Sunny can scoot over if you need.”
“Oh, he’s fine.” Hero comments. Omori watches as the faint reflection of the door behind him opens, Hero’s head poking into the vehicle. “Heya Sunny! Great job tonight!” Omori does not respond.
“I’m sure your parents are waiting for you, Henry.”
“Dad!” Blank eyes watch as her reflection appears. “Hero is riding with us. Mom already said it was okay. Plus, his parents already left. Besides, Sunny is back here too–not that anything would happen without him.”
“I never agreed to this.” Her father grunts.
“Dear-” Omori wishes he could ignore this conversation–but they’re so loud. “Fine, boy,” Omori feels a prickling sensation cascade down Sunny’s body as the hairs of his arms involuntarily stand up. Interesting. This has never happened before, Omori notes. He’s vaguely aware of the garbled words move and middle. Yet, Omori stays put. Such an involuntary action is concerning–is Sunny somehow aware of this interaction? He hopes not. Omori has decided to never let his Sunny near this man again. He finds himself getting lost in thought as he attempts to plot. Sunny will be safe. Omori is unsure how much time has passed before he feels her presence. He recoils, feeling how her shoulder touches his as she laughs. He continues to tune out the laughter and chatter to the best of his ability. Fortunately, their voices aren’t as loud as previously.
Omori lifts his hand to his chin, watching the hues of the moonlit scenery shift as they blur by. The hair on his neck stands up–she’s looking at him. Blankly, his gaze shifts back to the reflection behind him–confirming she is indeed staring. Upon meeting her stare, he feels his own harden–the intense feeling of hatred overwhelming his senses. He ignores her gasp of shock. She knew how their father treated Sunny, yet she did nothing for the sake of her perfection. She always heard the yelling, the shatters of glass, yet did nothing. Omori was willing to bet she even had seen the multiple bruises that would litter the boy’s body. Unfortunately, while he had ignored the gasp–the father did not.
“Sunny.” The gruff voice of their father calls. He knows Mari expected for her brother to snap out of whatever daze he was in by her stare. However, he did not. “Sunny.” The man tries again: Mari nudges him. Omori still doesn’t respond, shifting further from the unwanted touch–nearly pressed against the door at this point. “For goodness sake boy, listen to me!” The bellowing cry had both Hero and Mari jump, clasped hands tightening–yet Omori remained still. He simply removes his head from his palm, looking over nonchalantly. Omori doesn’t say anything, simply staring blankly at the father.
“Now, dear..” The mother tries to soothe, a perfectly manicured hand resting upon his shoulder.
“Listen here, boy.” His tone is bordering venomous, ignoring their mother. Omori simply raises an eyebrow, almost challengingly. Omori knew nothing would happen with an outsider sitting within the car, there was an image to be upheld after all. “You get your head out of those clouds. You better hope those scholarship people liked how Mari played, you hear me? You screwed up. I knew I shouldn’t have let you play.”
“Dad!” Mari cries, eyes wide. Omori knew she was embarrassed, embarrassed he would do this in front of her boyfriend. He knew she did not care about the venomous words towards him–if anything, she agreed.
“We’ll talk about it later.” He backs down, fixing Omori with a stern look through the mirror.
Omori simply sighs, returning to his position at the window. He ignores the soft pleading, I’m sorry from her. It appears things were going to become complicated from this point on. As difficult as it may appear, Omori feels nothing akin to fear–rather, he feels anxious.
…
…
No…anxious isn’t quite the correct term. He felt…restless.
Here, Omori sat within the dark car in the middle of summer, soft hues of streetlamps washing his pale features aglow. Yet, two weeks ago, Omori had yet to exist. Summoned into existence, the weight of protection weighed heavily upon his shoulders–but he didn’t mind. Not yet. However, due to his inexperience, Omori feels restless. Just what can he do to keep them away from Sunny? What actions does he need to take to ensure the right course of action? All of these questions swam around in his consciousness until the car comes to a halt.
Mindlessly, Omori follows everyone inside. Light, rough drafts formulate within his mind. A warm hand reaches out, grabbing the boy by the shoulder. Blinking, Omori quickly files away these plans within a hidden corner of Sunny’s mind. Dark eyes shift, meeting warm brown ones. Kel stood before him, a crooked smile tugging at his lips. Something flickered behind those brown eyes, something Omori saw within Sunny’s own eyes. Just as quickly as it came, it vanished. Omori did not react. Nothing good would come from asking with so many prying ears around. But, somehow, he knew the truth before he could question the boy. Pain. It wasn’t difficult to guess, after all, Omori had seen Sunny’s memories. Instead, he forced his lips to form a small smile. If Kel wishes to brush it off, he’ll help him.
Seeing the smile reciprocated, Kel’s eyes light up. That warm calloused hand moves from his shoulder to grasp his hand. “Sunny, come on. Let’s sit together!”
And so Omori finds himself tugged into a seat, squished between Kel and Aubrey. He throws a curious glance towards Kel. According to Sunny’s memories, everyone expected him to be by Mari’s side. Instead, Hero and Mari sit across from him, Basil at her side. Fitting.
Imagining a wall, Omori faces the boy to his left, focusing on the animated storytelling that left his lips. Vaguely, he wonders if he should drag Sunny back out, yet a selfish part of him didn’t wish to. It’s not safe yet, that man is still around, he tells himself. Deep down, Omori knows this is a lie–yet, he wishes to be a little selfish.
“Yo, yo Sunny.” Omori focuses his attention back on Kel. Kel had two green beans up his nose–when did this development happen…? Omori simply chooses not to ask, amused–nodding to show he was listening. “I bet you I can burp my abcs. Do you dare me?”
“Ew, Kel.” Aubrey pipes up, leaning over from Omori’s right. “You’re so gross.”
Kel ignores her, sticking his tongue out instead. Aubrey scoffs yet mimics him. A smile tugs at Omori’s lips–full of amusement and contentedness.
“Kelsey!” Suddenly, that smile shifts and falls from his face. Warily, Omori glances forward towards Hero.
“What?” Kel replies, unbothered. Hero grimaces as specs of spaghetti the trio had been forced to share flings from within his mouth.
“Chew first before you talk. And take the green beans out of your nose!”
Kel fixes him with an unamused look, chewing and swallowing. Hero’s shoulders relax, before tensing once more as if anticipating what was to come. Kel takes a deep breath through his mouth and blows the beans out of his nose. The beans land on his, Sunny, and Aubrey’s plate. Kel peels in laughter while Hero groans, shoulders sagging. Mari grimaces slightly, grossed out. Omori feels her spares a glance at him, yet he ignores it, shoulders shaking as huffs of quiet laughter shakes him. Even Aubrey, the one he had expected to be most grossed out about this action, had laughed but not before uttering gross.
The night continues and Omori feels warmth bubbling within his chest. Sunny was lucky to have Kel and Aubrey around. However, every night must end. As time stretched further into the evening, boisterous laughter from the kids slowly lulls to hushed exchanges–the only loud voices could be heard from the adults at the end of their table.
“Children,” Mari’s mother leans over, “Sorry, Hero, would you be willing to drive the kids back to our place? You’re more than welcome to spend the night tonight.” She winks and lowers her voice as she moves closer, “I won’t tell Mr. Grouchy, just no funny business, okay?” Omori pretends to not hear that. Disgusting.
“Mom!” She cries as Hero flushes bright red. Kel snickers at his brother’s expression, quickly turning to laughs that eventually choke him. Omori quickly pats his back, amused by Kel’s antics. Hero clears his throat, taking the keys.
“Sure, I’ll make sure everyone gets there safely. But, uh, you don’t have to worry about anything.”
“Oh, I know. You’re just fun to tease.”
Mari sighs then asks a question Omori was also curious about himself. “Mom, where are you guys going?”
“To the bar, of course.” Mari rolls her eyes. Omori knew why, this was a celebration for her, not the adults. “We’re going to drop Basil and Aubrey home first, say bye to them.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Omori notes how Aubrey deflates. Try as he might, he can only chalk it up to the inability to spend the night as well. With that thought in mind, he gives her a small poke. Once her eyes met his, he offered a small smile.
“Thank you.” He whispers. A small smile tugs at her lips, vaguely, he wonders if she understood. Something in her eyes told him that yes, she did understand. Sunny wasn’t one to open up to others, but that’s okay. His friends were there for him…well…some were.
With a nod, he rises.
Another car ride later, Omori feels Kel tug him up the stairs and into Sunny’s room. With a shout, Kel warns Hero to leave them alone–something about not wanting to be contaminated with his and Mari’s cooties. Omori watches with curiosity. Halfmindedly, he wonders if she will try to ruin the lighthearted atmosphere. Soft piano notes dance through the air as if answering his question. No, at least, not tonight.
“Sunny.” Omori turns, seeing Kel sprawled out on top of the boy’s bed. A prick of selfishness tugs at his heart. He could leave Sunny to be in peace in headspace…but the boy was safe now. Kel had ensured no one would bother them for the night, besides, with Hero here, nothing could happen. However, Omori quickly shoved such feelings away. He was simply here to help Sunny, not vanquish him. With slight reluctance, he forces Sunny out of headspace.
Now, he needed to plan.