GUILT (OMORI AU) BLOOD/EMETOPHOBIA WARNING

Chapter 7: A regular picnic

Sunny slowly opened his eyes, realizing he was staring at the ceiling. He was still at Kel's house. He felt weak, and sore. But he looked to his left to see Kel and Hero looking at him, worry in their eyes.

"So.... Kel told me about it.." Hero looked away, sweating.

Sunny wasn't angry. He didn't know why. He slowly sat up, rubbing his head. He looked at Kel, who looked like he had been crying. Kel... was crying? Why?

"What.. happened?" Sunny asked.

"You opened the door to the bathroom and just, passed out right in front of us.." Kel shuddered.

Sunny shifted in the bed a bit, his back leaning up against the bedframe. He looked at the end of the bed. There wasn't anything of interest, but he didn't know what else to do.

"I understand that this is an incredibly strange situation, but you need to get help, Sunny.." Hero frowned.

"I-I cant, nobody would believe me." Sunny mumbled. He gripped onto the blanket on top of his legs.

Hero wasn't sure what to do. He surely couldn't just tell his parents that his friend was turning into a monster... But he was an adult. He had to do something to help him. Sunny was his friend. He was almost like a brother to him. And he hated seeing him suffer. He hated seeing him suffer months ago in the hospital, and he hated seeing him suffer now. Of course, he was confused, he didn't even know that things like this were possible, but he still wanted to help. But he knew that if Sunny kept going throughout the day without telling people how he was feeling, he'd end up lashing out. Kel described what happened the night before, and he really didn't want Sunny to go through that again. He had an idea.

"I know what will cheer you up... We could go on a picnic. The three of us, Aubrey and Basil. I'm sure they'll also understand. We're your friends. This whole beast thing is surrounded around your emotions; we just have to try our best to make you comfortable and feel better."

"They cant know."

"They're going to end up knowing in the end, Sunny. Kel told me you've been all over the place since you got here. And they're certainly going to question um... Should I tell him?"

Hero looked at Kel with a worried look on his face. Kel shrugged.

"Tell me what?" Sunny looked at them.

The brothers looked at each other again, before turning back to Sunny. They tried to think of what to say. But they weren't sure how to word it..

"Well um, you kinda uh.. uhm." Kel stuttered

"You, erm, changed.. a little again." Hero said simply.

Sunny stared at them. He was genuinely confused. Why weren't they telling him what was going on. Was it gross? Was it weird? Questioned fogged his brain as he tried to think about what possibly could have happened. Kel then spoke up.

"Your eyes look like cat eyes but they're red. Uhm yea you have two eyes, again... now. A-And uhh.." Kel got too scared to speak. "You have uh, y'know, um.."

"Fluffy ears." Hero spilled out.

"Yea, uh, fluffy ears.."

Sunny stared at them and started to laugh. Hero and Kel looked at each other, confused, listening to Sunny laugh. They got concerned as he continued to laugh, but Kel forced his hand over Sunny's mouth. That shut him up. His cheeks flushed. What was he doing?

Sunny stood up from the bed. He noticed that his tail had gotten longer too, and was more cat-like. He reached for his ears, patting them. They were right. They were fluffy. And... he hadn't even noticed that his vision was clearer. He put a hand over the eye that was once missing, immediately recognizing the difference.

"It's kinda cute, you look like a weird cat, demon thing." Kel snickered. Sunny narrowed his eyes at him.

Sunny pulled his hood over his head, pulling the strings to cover his face. He literally didn't know what to do anymore. He couldn't go home like this, but he didn't want anyone else to see him. He didn't want anyone to see him. But... he wanted to see the rest of his friends. He looked through the narrow hole of his hood and spoke.

"We.. can have a picnic.."

"Yayyy!! Picnics!!" Kel stood up and raised his arms. Hero rolled his eyes at this childish action with a chuckle.

"There are kids wearing funny accessories now, so if anyone outside of the friend group asks, just say its your style. Also, who knows, it could disappear as you calm down."

"Yeah.. I guess so." Sunny loosened the hood.

"Whelp. I'm going to inform Aubrey and Basil where we will be meeting up at. We can talk to them about this situation once they get there, but please, try to relax. Okay?"

"Okay..."



So it was time to go. Sunny was well hidden, hidden as well as he could've been, and Hero held the basket and picnic blanket. Kel had a separate bag with anything Sunny might need, as well as a frisbee and a basketball. It was a little chilly out, so they all wore jackets. Except for Sunny. He said he wasn't cold. It was strange, because normally he got cold very easy. The boys headed to Faraway park, walking down the sidewalk. Kel stomped in a few puddles, and accidentally splashed Hero's leg. He sighed, telling Kel to calm down and just walk. Kel pouted until they got to the park.

Looking around, Hero checked for anyone else around. There was only a small group of people having a barbeque, an elderly woman and her dog, and a few toddlers playing in the sand. They then turned to the shrubs and trees, going through their secret passage to find their old hangout spot. Turns out, Aubrey had gotten there before anyone else, and was digging her bat into the mud. When she saw them, she smiled a little.

"Hey guys. Hey Sunny..." She had to look up at him now.

"Since when did you get to be tall?"

"I-I'm not that tall."

"Anyone taller than me is tall. Also what's with the contacts? Leftovers from Halloween?" Aubrey laughed.

Hero, Kel and Sunny all laughed nervously with her, before hearing rustling from behind them. Aubrey raised her bat slightly, then saw a small figure walk out. It was just Basil, holding his camera and a small present. He smiled as soon as he saw them, brushing some hair behind his ear as he adjusted his flower clip. He was wearing a purple one today.

"Hi!" Basil beamed, and also took a moment to stare at Sunny.

Sunny shuffled on his feet a bit. He felt so awkward and out of place..

"You got taller, that's cool!" Basil giggled, hugging Sunny tightly.

Sunny relaxed a little, and looked at Basil. He was so small.... He couldn't believe that they were the same height at one point. It made him a little anxious, but he maintained the hug. Basil still had cold, bony fingers, with scars and scratches from years of gardening. Sunny couldn't help but feel a bit bad as Basil pulled away, adjusting a band aid on one of his fingers. He then looked scared.

"Sunny are you wearing red contacts? And wait a minute..." Basil squinted. "Did you get a false eye?"

Hero and Kel literally had no idea what to do. They stood there awkwardly. Everyone stood in silence. Aubrey and Basil waited for a reply from Sunny. But he never responded.

"Well, lets go sit down under the tree, then we can talk. Okay?" Hero finally said.

The others nodded as they followed him. Basil stayed close to Sunny. He.. really liked Sunny. But he knew that Sunny didn't feel the same way. He had gotten better at respecting people's boundaries since Sunny moved away with the help of his therapist. Hero placed the quilt on a dry patch of grass. Though it had rained yesterday morning, there was still a bit of mud and water leftover. He had to be careful with the quilt, as it was Mari's. He placed everything down, as did Kel. Once everyone sat down, Hero clasped his hands together.

"Okay. So, yes. Sunny does look different, but.. there's a reason why." Hero looked at Sunny, checking if he was okay about talking about.... it. Sunny nodded slightly.

"It may sound farfetched, but since Wednesday, Sunny has been experiencing strange encounters with a beast he sees in his reflection sometimes. And the beast has been, um, changing him. So, the eyes, the sudden spike in height, and the other things... are because of this monster. So uh, yea."

Aubrey and Basil stared at Hero with blank expressions. Aubrey then laughed wildly, a single tear in her eye. She couldn't stop laughing, but managed to say something.

"That's so stupid!! Halloween was a month ago, stop fooling around!" Aubrey cackled.

Kel and Hero stared at her, sternly. Basil looked down at his lap, where his camera was. Sunny sighed, gently biting his lip. Basil saw one of his fangs as he did so. He felt like he knew what was going on.. Aubrey eventually stopped laughing, wiping another tear from her eye. She let out a sigh, a smug smile plastered on her face. But when she saw Kel and Hero's look, she got confused.

"What? Why are you guys being so stupid? Just admit that its a silly inside joke or something and move on. I'm hungry." Aubrey reached for the picnic basket, and Hero put his hand on top of hers.

"This is serious. Please. Both of you." Hero looked at Basil. "Listen."

Hero pulled his hand away and Aubrey went back to where she was sitting, her cheeks turning red in embarrassment. Basil simply nodded his head, unsure of what to do or say. He felt awkward being there amongst the silence. But surprisingly, Sunny was the one to break it.

"It.. Is true. This isn't just a joke... or a costume." Sunny said softly, looking at his friends.

He didn't expect them to believe him right away, or at all, but he wanted them to understand that what he was going through was difficult. He slowly removed his hood and stared at Basil and Aubrey. And... Aubrey started to laugh again. Sunny groaned, watching as Basil pursed his lips, looking away, saying nothing else. Hero and Kel started to argue with one another, Kel saying that Hero shouldn't have said anything. Hero replied by saying that Kel was the one who brought it up in the first place.

"Please stop.." Sunny whispered, hoping that they would hear him. But it was getting too loud.

He could feel that overwhelming emotion wave over him again. But it felt more intense than before. He bit down on his lip to the point that it started bleeding. His pupils narrowed and his irises glowed softly. Nobody noticed. There was too much going on. Sunny was fed up. He just wanted to have fun with his friends. He just wanted things to be normal. He winced as he felt that sharp pain in his chest. He held the beast back, holding onto the quilt underneath him. But the laughing haunted him. The arguing irritated him. He hated the noise. He wanted the noise to stop. He wanted to get rid of the noise. He.. didn't want any more noise. He...

"JUST LISTEN TO ME!!!" Sunny roared, the wind blowing violently.

Napkins flew around the hideout, and the picnic basket tipped over. Even some of the grass in the ground had been pulled from the dirt. Sunny panted, glaring at his friends. Aubrey's headband flew off of her head, and her hair was messy. Basil's clip barely stayed on his hair, and it dangled in the wind as it slowed. Hero and Kel looked at Sunny, then Basil and Aubrey. Basil looked like he was about to cry. Aubrey just had her eyes widened as she stared at Sunny, looking into his piercing eyes. He looked down on his friends, his expression softening slightly. He glanced up to see that his head poked a bit through the tree's leaves. He sighed, rubbing his face with his paws. Nobody spoke for the next five minutes. Instead, they just watched Sunny shrink back down. Sunny dug through the bag that Kel packed, pulling out another oversized hoodie (how many of these things was he going to keep ruining?) and pulling on a new pair of sweatpants. He then turned back to Aubrey and Basil, sighing.

"Does this prove it?"

Basil and Aubrey nodded aggressively. Basil shakily secured his hair clip and Aubrey got up to look for her headband, brushing her hair with her hands as she did so. Hero sighed and Kel had his arms crossed. Sunny had a bitter look on his face. He wiped the edge of his lip, which had been bleeding. For some reason, seeing the sight of blood made him....

Hungry...

No. He couldn't think about that. He had to have some common sense. Some sense of humanity. Was he even human anymore? He had no clue. Sunny tried to gather his thoughts, staring down at the small blood stain on the white and blue checkered quilt.

Sorry... Mari..

Aubrey came back with her headband in her hands. It was covered in mud. She didn't feel like cleaning it right now so she placed it on the grass and sat next to Basil, who looked as if someone was murdered right in front of him. (Well...) Aubrey looked at Sunny, a sigh escaping her lips.

"I... believe you now.." Aubrey played with a strand of her hair as she spoke, looking at Basil. He was still in shock. She nudged him with her elbow, and he snapped his head up, blinking.

"Uhm- uh"

Basil shook his head and rubbed his blue eyes. The color looked less vibrant than usual. He fumbled to find the right words to say, looking at each of his friends, his eyebrows furrowed and his lips trembling.

"I believe Sunny.. Because.. I'm going through the same thing....."

The whole hideout became quiet. It was as if all of the sounds in the world went silent. Nobody heard the rustling of the trees as the wind blew their branches. Nobody heard the croaking of frogs in the lake, or the songs of birds in their nests. All they could hear were their breaths. Soft, erratic, and quiet. Sunny looked at Basil in shock, frowning as he tried to think of what to say...

"But, you don't look like Sunny does... you aren't lying, are you?" Kel spoke up raising a brow in curiosity.

"No no no I'm not! Trust me." Basil put his hands in front of his body as he tried to reassure them he was telling the truth. But he didn't know how he wanted to get the point across. Or rather... He was scared to do so.

Basil inhaled softly, relaxing himself, and tilting his head down slightly. To his friend's surprise, the grass surrounding Basil grew, and flowers started to bloom around him. Flowers that weren't even capable of growing at this time of the year appeared. Basil also began to change. His body slowly increased in size, and instead of his clothing ripping, it seemed to disappear completely, seemingly becoming a part of his body. Blonde fur covered his body as it contorted and continued to change, his hands turning into large wolf-like paws, and his back legs appearing to be that of a rabbit. Large floppy ears sprouted from his head, bending over his face. He had three eyes, all of which were still shut. His mouth opened slightly, revealing a complete set of sharp teeth. Once he was done, he slowly opened his eyes, which were a bright cyan. He stepped back a little to look at his friend. Gosh, he hadn't done this in a while..

Sunny stared up at Basil in awe, and complete shock. The beast wasn't wrong.. there were others like him too. Maybe Basil could help him? He seemed to have better control of his beast than he did, maybe he had some hope that he could get rid of it. Basil then smiled slightly, chuckling a bit to ease his stress. Lifting his front paws and standing on his hind legs, he stretched his arms out.

"Tada.. heheh.."