Ｄａｒｌｉｎｇ 浦ゆン

【Ｃｈａｐｔｅｒ ｓｅｖｅｎ （ｐａｒｔ １）】

I awaken to bright sunlight piercing my eyelids. Moaning, I pull the blanket over my head, desperately attempting to block out any noise.

"It's too early for this bullshit," I croak. "Besides, didn't I close the shades while playing games? I don't recall opening—"

Right, I'm not home anymore.

The events of yesterday come rushing back. It's strange how sad I feel. I was never really attached to my universe, but now that I'm gone without the guarantee of ever returning, I've begun to miss it. I sit up, lightly slapping my cheeks. "Now's not the time to mope, y/n! You have more important things to focus on than this silly homesickness. C'mon, get up and seize the goddamn day!" I shout. "You can do it. Get that Nekomaru attitude!" I jump up, pumping my fist. I run to my closet, but before I can open it, the front door is aggressively kicked open.

"YO!"

I scream. "WHAT THE FUCK—oh. It's just you Ibuki."

"Huh? Not even a smile? Boo."

I upturn my lips. "Here. Are you happier?

Ibuki nods, grinning. "Much better! Ibuki loves it."

"I'm glad," I say, turning away. "So, what did you come here for? You must have had a reason as to why you're here."

"Oh, yeah! It's, like, noon, and we were all getting kinda worried that you'd died or something. They sent me to check on you," Ibuki chirps.

"Thank you for telling me, but I'd have preferred if you, you know, didn't break down my door before knocking. I'm still dressed in my cotton nightgown and fuzzy slippers, for Christ's sake. I look like I'm in a white sack."

She gasps. "Whaaaat? I thought that was a fairy dress!"

*"I— sure. I'm not angry, mind you. This is just an honest preference," I state while patting her head. "You're still in my good graces. Somebody will need to fix that door, though. Can't have someone walking in and shanking me in the night, after all."

"Aw, don't worry bunny! Ibuki will protect you," she cheers.

As silly as her words are, I can't help but feel a bit safer. I smile, genuinely this time. "Thank you."

She grabs my hand, aggressively dragging me out of the plain cottage. "C'mon, cmon! Everyone's waiting at the restaurant."

"Wait, I'm still in my—"

Okay, then.

....

It doesn't take long for us to arrive, considering both how fast Ibuki walks and the short distance between our starting point and destination. I gulp, patting down the soft cotton of my nightgown in order to seem somewhat presentable. This is my first breakfast with everyone, after all, and I absolutely cannot make a negative impression. Taking a deep breath, I step inside. Ibuki follows, announcing my arrival quite loudly.

"Heeeyyyy. I've brought back y/n!" she cheers, waving enthusiastically. All around the room, heads immediately turn. From what I can see, nearly everyone is here. I walk in and head for the food, but am interrupted by Impostor.

"Took you long enough," he scoffs, putting down his fork. "We've been waiting for an unreasonably long time. You caused us a great deal of stress, you know."

"Well, it isn't really your place to tell me what's unreasonable. I am sorry that I worried you all, but I was incredibly tired after meeting everyone," I huff. "It's no surprise that I slept in."

"Now is not the time to be defensive," he states. "Just get something to eat and move on with your day. There's some leftover food on the table."

Weren't you the one who started this? Prick.