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Basil irritated Omori. That bright smile, those rosy cheeks, his messy mint blue hair, the sweet flower scent that made his head hurt. Basil’s existence made him itch, the knife in his pocket searing through his shorts into his skin.
If Omori had it his way, Basil wouldn’t exist in this world. But this world cannot exist without Basil. The moment he leaves, everything falls apart. So Omori deals with him, with little to say.
He just doesn’t understand.
What could Sunny love about someone who ruins everything? Who couldn’t stop talking about the most dull-witted things? Who cares about photographs? They’ll all fade away anyways. Who cares about plants too? He was just a plain boring ol’ tulip, as Basil said. And spiders? So what if they help in the garden? They’ll eat you right up afterwards. Best to smush them to pieces.
No. Omori doesn’t understand how Sunny loves Basil, he doubts he ever will.
----*----
They were separated.
The entire team was exploring the Lost Forest when Omori had seen two smaller shadows, running off deeper into the forest with hands intertwined. He’d let curiosity get the better of him, because now he was wandering the black and white forest.
With Basil.
The boy followed after him, crying about “stranger danger!” and mass disappearances of children wandering off into forests. Now here they are, walking side by side with the light above them slowly growing dimmer.
“ We should head back, it's getting darker the deeper we go. Mari must be worried about us. You know how she gets.” Basil says with a worried frown, the shimmer of moonlight seeping through the branches.
Omori says nothing. He pushes the part of him that agrees away. Basil must be stupid to think he’d be turning back when he’s already come this far.
“...Okay, I’ll follow you. I’m sure you know the area like the back of your hand!” Basil chirps, a confident smile replacing his frown.
Omori says nothing. He doesn’t know the area like the back of his hand but Basil doesn’t need to know that.
“Just the other day, me and Kel were talking about building a tire swing near my house. Right over the lake so we can jump right into it! Wouldn’t that be cool, Omori? It’s getting hotter outside too, I can make us some lemonade!”
So much for silence.
“We should head to Pyrefly Forest later! I really wanna collect some spiders for my garden, I’ve been having too many pests eating up my mint.”
Omori says nothing.
“I’m really hungry…I hope Mari saved us some fruit. Speaking of fruit, watermelon is the best fruit, don’t you think Omori?”
Omori says nothing.
“...Hey Omori, its getting darker. I’m getting scared.”
Omori says nothing, flexing his grip on the knife.
“I really wish I brought a flashlight. Maybe it wouldn't be so dark-”
Basil stops, gasping.
Omori freezes, whipping around to find Basil sitting on his knees. He crouched down to the budding flowers by a tree. His eyes sparkled with delight, cooing excitedly. “I didn’t know they came in this color!”
Omori looks at them, they were bulbous and plain. Black tulips.
“How pretty! I need to take some back!” Basil is pulling out a pair of shears, snapping a few tiny flowers in hopes for some seeds. “They’ll look beautiful next to my white tulips, don’t you think Omori? I know how much you love them!”
Omori says nothing, turning away.
“...” Basil says nothing after that, a tiny frown now on his face.
Omori looked up to the branches again, he could hardly see the moon now. Unease grows in his belly, the tree branches swaying in the unfeeling wind making him queasy. He didn’t want to be here anymore, he wanted to go back now. He had already lost trail of the two familiar figures, there was no point now.
Turning around without another word, Basil trails behind him. They walked, the trees above them growing taller and deeper. There was silence. Not a sound out of Basil, no call for concern or annoying questions. It made Omori wary. Silent Basil meant thinking Basil. Thinking Basil meant - No, everything was okay. Except it wasn’t, he could barely hear him breathing behind him. It was like he was all alone.
He didn’t want to turn around, he was too afraid. He needed to say something to Basil before Basil said anything to him. He stopped. It was too dark. The light above him was completely gone, not a ray of moonlight seeping through the branches. Just a black void.
Basil immediately bumps right into him with a “oof!”. Omori feels his breath right below his neck, the sweet smell of flowers hitting his nose. “Is something wrong Omori?”
Omori stares ahead, knife by his side. He hated the dark. He couldn’t see where he was going, couldn’t see what was hiding behind those trees, hanging-
“Are you okay? Wait, you don’t like the dark right?” Omori feels Basil get closer.
Omori wishes Basil could sound condescending. He sounds worried, like a mother hen ready to protect him. He hates it. He didn’t need protecting from Basil. He was suppose to be the one protecting him, not the other way around. This isn’t how things are supposed to be. He was the protector, the knight in shining armor, especially for someone as helpless as Basil.
“Sunny? Are you okay?” A soft voice calls out.
The scrape on his knee burned, blood staining his shorts.
A tiny gasp, footsteps pounding on the grass, frantic and worried blue eyes. “Your bleeding! Are you bleeding anywhere else? It’s okay, I’m here!”
Tiny hands help him up and an arm wraps around his shoulders. “Let’s go tell Mari, she can help you!”
“Omori!”
Omori snapped out of that distant memory that brought him unfamiliar warmth
Basil was in front of him now, concern all over his face. “You’ve been off all day Omori…” He looks away, playing with his fingers the way Basil used to do when he was anxious. “Did something happen? Was it something I said?”
The inky darkness above melted down, swallowing up the floor below him. He could no longer see Basil, not even his own feet. An endless pitch darkness and then a bright red rope. It swung on the tree in front of him, swiftly moving back and forth.
He shakes, backing up slowly. Basil watches him, icy blue eyes glowing. The knife slips from his hands, landing into the void below him without a sound.
He sees glowing white eyes behind silhouettes of trees, judging him with disgust. He could hear muffled yelling. Mari’s voice. She sounded frustrated and angry. Omori can’t remember why, it scared him.
Omori crouched down, squeezing his eyes tightly and covering his ears. He needed to go back to White Space. It was too dark, too bright, too loud, too quiet!
And then he felt arms around him.
He stopped shaking, eyes shooting open. Mari!? Except it was Basil. Basil holding him.
“It’s okay, I’m here…”
“It’s okay! I’m here!”
“ You don’t have to be scared, I’ll be here no matter what.” Basil only held him tighter, hands gently running through dark locks. He was smiling but not his usual care-free smiles. It was full of sadness. “No matter what happens, I’ll be there no matter what. Even if you push me away.”
Omori remembers a distant memory. A memory that brought him exuberance, something he could never let go. Running through the backyard, bellows of laughter filling the summer air. A rough fall, sharp pain on his knees. Basil instantly there, holding onto him. Basil had always been there for him.
Instead of pushing him away, he let himself fall deeper into Basil’s arms. He let the soft sweet scent of flowers wash over him, a distant humming far away, laughter as Basil chased him through the backyard while Mari watched them with amusement in her eyes.
The feeling of joy. The feeling of safety. The feeling of it never wanting it to end.
He closes his eyes, wrapping his small arms around Basil. The trees around them grew lighter, tiny buds of flowers growing on the trees and blooming into little light bulbs. A path was shone, the darkness vanishing instantly.
They stayed there for a few moments, before Basil helped them both up. He smiled softly at Omori, taking his hand in his. “If you ever get scared, just hold my hand. I’ll make all the bad monsters go away.”
A flash of jump rope sears through Omori’s brain and then it’s gone. It’s okay, everything is going to be okay. Omori nods, squeezing his hand back. They walk side by side, following the lit gravel path. Basil never let go, giving Omori small glances every so often. He’s smiling, talking about how cute and fuzzy bumble bees were.
Omori couldn’t understand what Sunny loved about Basil. But now, maybe he could.
Sunny loves Basil. Maybe Omori does too. And he was okay with that.