Chapter Text
Don’t worry. Everything will be ok. Sunny recalls hearing those words every day as if they were just uttered to him the day before. Will they? Will they really be ok? He thought to himself. There’s no way they’ll forgive you. The amount of suffering they all felt the past 4 years was all your fault. Once they know the truth just the sight of you will make them want to vomit.
But even so… Sunny knew he had to tell them the truth, he knew they had to know what really happened that night. It’s ok if they hate me. I don’t deserve forgiveness. He thought as he slowly stumbled down the hospital hallway towards Basil’s room. If I don’t tell them now, I don’t know how I can ever live on.
As he stumbled around the corner he could feel the presence of Something right behind him. Trying to make him second guess. Trying to make him give up. Trying to keep the truth as far away as it could possibly be. But Sunny ignored it as he finally made it to Basil’s door. As he reached for the doorknob he hesitated. He thought one last time about that night and how his actions hurt himself and everyone he held dear…
— —
“Sunny? Sunny? Sunny!” A voice jolted a younger Sunny back to his senses. That’s right. Maybe he had just been dreaming. Maybe he just had a very bad nightmare and Mari had just left the room for a second to grab a snack or use the restroom. She’d be back right?
She’d come right back to the piano room and continue to practice for the recital. The recital. That was supposed to be tonight. But if that was the case then way was he still at home? Why was he sitting alone at Mari’s piano? Why did his parents sound so concerned? Sunny turned his head to see his father staring at him with a puzzled look.
“What’s going on kiddo? It looks like you got the life sucked out of you or something.” Sunny couldn’t help but stare blankly at him.
“Where’s your sister? You two have to get ready for the recital tonight. You should hurry up before you’re late. Your friends are gonna be ready pretty soon as well. You don’t want to keep them waiting do you?”
More staring. “Sunny?” Said his father.
“i-i… i don’t know.” Replied Sunny. Sunny’s voice sounded tired and strained. He didn’t talk much but his weak voice surprised even him.
Sunny’s mother rushed into the room suddenly. “Mari’s not in her room. Where could she have gone? Basil said he hadn’t seen her at all today.”
Sunny’s dad gave her a puzzled look. “Strange. She wouldn’t go anywhere without telling us. I’ll go check the backyard. Maybe she’s in the treehouse.” Sunny’s dad left the room, leaving Sunny and his mother alone in the Piano room.
Sunny’s mom gave him a concerned look and asked “Sunny? What’s wrong sweetie? Are you sick?”
Sunny didn’t have the chance to answer before a loud scream arose from the direction of the backyard. His dad found Mari. Sunny’s mother ran out of the room to investigate the source of the scream but Sunny didn’t dare follow. He knew exactly what would be waiting for him if he did. Instead he turned back to look at Mari’s piano. Studying the word inscribed on the front. Omori.
The funeral was a blur. He could remember that there were a lot of people. A lot more than he could’ve ever imagined. They were all sobbing and crying. Including his friends. Sunny tried to forget the fact that he was the ones that made them cry. He was the source of everyone's heartaches and pain. It was all his fault. He made everyone suffer. He dragged Basil into all of this. He killed Mari. The pain of this realization became more than Sunny was ever willing to bear. He couldn’t face them all knowing what he had done. His friends shouldn’t have to hang out with him anymore. They shouldn’t have to be around a murderer. They were better off without him. They all were.
He recalled the incident that took place a week and a half after Mari’s death. He had refused to go to school at all that week, insisting that he didn’t feel very well so his parents let him sleep all week. One thing woke him up late at night. One night while he was sleeping (or trying to sleep that his) he awoke to the sound of a pounding noise coming from his backyard. Wack! Wack! Wack! Wack!
Curious Sunny climbed out of bed and cautiously walked down the stairs, trying his best not to hyperventilate in the process. He opened the sliding glass door that led to the backyard. The wacking noise got louder as he stumbled towards the tree where they put Mari. Why was he doing this? Did he really want to be reminded of that night? Despite this thought he figured it was too late to turn back now.
He continued to walk through the trees until he finally saw it. A silhouette that looked awfully similar to his father’s pounding at the tree. Although they had taken the rope off along with Mari’s body, he felt like he could still see the noose, wiggling on the tree with every slam of the axe. And beyond that, Something stared into his soul as if to say This is because of you. The fear caused Sunny to gasp for air in an attempt to calm himself down. The axe continued to slam against the tree. In between the sound of the axe hitting the tree he heard it: His father’s voice sharp as a dagger cutting into his heart.
“Stay away... You are not my son...” Something began to move towards him in the darkness. Sunny’s mind went blank and he began to sprint back towards the house. This was a bad idea. Why did he go out? He looked back and saw something fading off into the distance. As he ran he swore he heard his father mutter one last thing. “Why… Why won’t you fall?”
The next day as Sunny lay in bed he could hear his parents arguing. He didn’t dare leave his room this time out of fear that Something would once again be waiting for him. He could make out a few sentences between them “...bruises all over her body… couldn’t be a suicide... had to have something to do with it!”
“...you call my son a murderer...never do such a thing!” Sunny stopped listening. Did his dad know it was all his fault? Doesn’t matter. Even if they didn’t, he knew for a fact that it was indeed his fault, and he would never forget that he ruined everyone he loved because of it.
Eventually the yelling ceased and he could hear heavy footsteps up the stairs. His dad knew something. Was he coming up to punish Sunny harshly? The footsteps eventually hit the top of the stairs and went past his room. A few moments later the footsteps went back down the stairs followed by the sound of the front door opening and closing. Sunny never saw his father again after that.
— —
If his dad reacted that bad that week, he didn’t want to know just how bad it would be when his friends finally learned the truth. Hero loved Mari. Aubrey loved Mari. Basil loved Mari. Kel loved Mari. And it was because of him that she was ripped from their lives. They would never forgive him. But even so, they deserved to know the truth. Sunny finally summoned the last bit of courage he had left in him and pushed open the door. As he expected, his friends were all together huddled over Basil, who was sound asleep in his bed, Something around him as heavy as ever.
They all turned to see him standing and the end of the room staring at them. Kel was the first to speak. “Woah Sunny you’re awake! A-Are you sure you should be moving like that?”
Kel. He was a simple and easy going guy and if it wasn’t for him, Sunny wouldn’t be in this position in the first place. Although he sometimes lacked maturity at times, he deserved to know the truth.
Hero looked at him with a face of concern and said “Careful, Sunny… You shouldn’t be walking yet… your wound might reopen...”
Hero… Hero’s concern for Sunny was just like him. Despite how tormented he clearly was, Hero always put others before himself and was one of the kindest people he had ever met. He and Mari really did deserve each other. Sunny had no idea if Hero would ever forgive him but even so, he deserved to know the truth as well.
As if right on cue with Hero’s warning, Sunny felt a dizzying sensation rush through his body and his legs gave out. Sunny dropped to his knees and his friends rushed to his aid.
Aubrey had a look of extreme concern as they reached him “Sunny! Sunny! Are you okay? Say something…” Aubrey. Oh Aubrey. As troubled as she was, she still had that fiery personality that she had as a kid.
She was always pretty emotional but it was one of her most defining traits because she was willing to stand up for whatever she believed in. She looked up to Mari so much and seeing how her home life was not too long ago made Sunny feel even worse for abandoning her and all his other friends. She also deserved to know the truth.
Sunny looked up at his friend’s kind and concerned faces, knowing exactly what he had to do. As he struggled to get the words out, he thought to himself This is it. The moment that has been so long overdue. Please, stay with me Mari. Give me the strength to do this. “....................i………… i have to tell you something.”