Into the Light- New Connections
'It's- it's you! It's really you! Thank god- you're alive! I was so worried about you.'
As our main character delves into his thoughts on topics such as romance with his friends and deals with having to go somewhere with Agent 4 for something, he can't help but feel a bit confused over it and worried over where he will have to go. Will his friends be able to help him? And will he ever see his old friend again?
I don't believe there are any trigger warnings I need to include in this chapter, however as always- viewer discretion is advised. Please remember to take care of your mental/physical health and wellbeing everyone!
Chapter 3, Part 1:
You were having a sleepover at Connor's house a few days later, after your friends had visited you for the first time- along with Josh and Chandler. You were all having a good time playing games and chatting about anything and everything when Connor brought something up to everyone.
He had just finished painting his nails and whilst waiting on them to dry, he shook his hands and asked out of curiosity. 'Did any of y'all have a crush on someone as a kid?'
You were confused by him bringing such a thing up, but Connor was trying to hold back his laughter as he recalled the silliness and light-hearted nature of his childhood crush. 'As I had a huge crush on this singer- I can't remember their name but they were popular when I was like maybe 4 or so, I only remembered this recently because I think they had a kid recently with some footballer. What about you lot?'
Josh just shrugged his shoulder and took a sip from his drink before remarking indifferently. 'Mine was a weather girl on the Morning Inkopolis News. Nothing special really.' Chandler pulled his legs close to his chest and picked at some dry skin on his feet, avoiding the question by saying awkwardly. 'Mine's too embarrassing, so I'm not gonna bring it up…'
'What about you, Hibiki?' Connor asked, looking at you expectantly- waiting for your answer. You were slightly hesitant in answering, but you told him a slightly sad tone. 'Me- oh, well… In all honesty- I've never had experienced such a thing.'
Everyone seemed surprised by your answer, but Josh brought up a reasonable explanation. 'I mean- he does take anti-depressants and some other medication, and that can cause some things to not happen. So that could be why he's never had one, or maybe he just hasn't fallen in love yet and he just hasn't experienced it yet.'
The others seemed to be happy with that explanation, and you found it to be fairly reasonable- so you had agreed with it. You all didn't feel the need to discuss it any further and you had all left it at that for a while, before Connor decided to bring something up that started the conversation up again.
Connor was lying on his bed with a portion of his upper body and head hanging off of it, when he suddenly rolled over and asked in a curious tone. 'Actually- Hibiki, what's your preference. Boys or Girls? Or are you indifferent to who it is so long as they're nice and that?'
You lay down on your back and looked up at the ceiling, thinking over your answer before trying your best to explain it to him. 'I can't say- I wouldn't really know if I'm honest… The way I see it is that I suppose I'll fall in love with whoever I fall in love with, those things don't matter to me. I'd probably in love with anyone regardless of their gender; or their skin tone; or other things like that. I guess all I want is to have a strong connection with the person first beforehand- I don't know, I don't really understand it- but I'm not going to question it.'
Although you didn't see them, you could hear Chandler mutter under his breath. 'I can kinda relate to that…' You asked him if he had said anything, but he just brushed it off and explained that he was just talking to himself.
As curious as you were, you felt that it would be best to respect his privacy and you had decided to not ask about it.
You had all spent what little time you had left playing games before you all headed to bed, with you and Chandler were going to sleep in one of the guest rooms, with Josh sleeping in the other guest room and Connor in his own room.
You offered Chandler the bed and you were going to sleep on the floor with a spare pillow off of the double bed and a blanket you had borrowed from the cupboard in the hall. You wished Chandler a good night and he did the same, to which you had lied down and tried your best to fall asleep.
You guessed that at some point you had fallen asleep but it was only briefly, a couple of hours at least. You figured out that something had disturbed you from your sleep, either crying or shaky breathing.
And when you rose up stiffly and wiped at your bleary eyes- you remembered that there was one other person in the room with you. Chandler.
You suddenly became rather worried and so you called out to him in a quiet voice so as to not disturb the others. 'Chandler, are you alright? Is something wrong?' You couldn't see him from where you were sitting, so you got up slowly and looked around the room- calling out for him again.
'Chandler? Chandler? Where are you?' You heard the curtain rustle slightly and so you went towards the window and pulled the curtain away slightly to reveal a shaking figure sitting on the alcove. They were shaking heavily and their breath was uneven- as if though they were both trying to catch their breath and if they were losing it at the same time.
You kept your distance from him, and he did not turn to face you when you asked him in a quiet but concerned whisper. 'Chandler- are you alright?' He did not turn his head around to look at you, but he kept on shaking his head as if though he were saying no and he muttered to himself continuously.
You decided that it would be best if you got him a glass of water and something to cover himself with so that he wouldn't get cold. Slowly and calmly, you grabbed the blanket that you had slept with moments prior and put it gently on him in a way that wouldn't disturb him or cause the blanket to fall off.
You then brought him over the glass of water he got for himself before he went to bed, and put it next to him so that he could drink it when he had calmed down a bit. You were cautious of the fact that he may not want any physical contact or touch right now, and so you did your best to try and comfort him with these limitations in mind.
'Chandler- can you hear me? It's alright, you aren't going to be harmed- no one's going to hurt you. You're going to be ok- I hope this is helping a bit! At least I hope it is…'
You continued to say reassuring things to him and over time it seemed to help- his shaking reduced and his breathing was more normal, he wasn't muttering as much and he even had some of his water. You saw this as a good sign and you decided to ask him if he wanted to head back to bed.
Wordlessly and with his head down, he got up and went over to the bed- dropping the blanket and getting under the covers facing away from you. You brought the glass of water over to the nightstand again and with his permission- you fixed the covers on him so that they were covering him more comfortably.
When you were satisfied, you told him in a gentle voice- 'If you need me for anything then just let me know, ok?' and went over by the window to sit on the alcove, giving him space.
Or at least, that's what you planned on doing until he grabbed your wrist and held onto it- muttering a quiet, 'Don't leave me alone- please…' Although he had calmed down, he still sounded terrified- so much so that it broke your heart slightly.
'Alright then, if that's what you want- then I'll just sit over here if you don't mind.' You grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around you, sitting on the floor beside the bed. He seemed to be happy with this and you heard the covers moving- to which you saw most of his face covered with to duvet and closed eyes.
The same feeling of warmth you had felt many times before with Tsuyo had bloomed into your chest when you saw how at peace and relaxed he was, a sharp contrast to how he was an hour or two ago. You were greatly relieved at the fact that he had calmed down, so much so that you ended up falling asleep sitting against the side of the bed with your back to him.
On the first day of August, you were asked by Maru to follow him for something in relation to his Agent work. And when you found out what he was going out for, you had a hard time believing him. 'You can't be serious! There's no way there was another Test Subject after me- I caused Kamabo Co. to go bust! It can't be possible- it can't!'
You were both wearing your Agent Gear, with you wearing your special mask that covered your face completely. You always had your voice changer on when you spoke to him when you went out with him and the other Agents, so it made certain emotions slightly more prominent at times- which was an issue you planned on fixing another time.
Maru just sighed and explained to that you weren't going into the Metro properly, but rather near the entrance he used to get in and out of it when you were still in the Metro. He also explained why he wanted you to come along. 'I know what you're thinking, but the Cap'n went back down there again a little while ago and ran into a girl down there- and well, I think you need to see for yourself…'
A sudden realisation hit you with full force, and you realised what this had meant. 'It's her! It's her, isn't it?! Why didn't you say so in the first place?! I would've happily went with you if it meant that I got to see her again.' You yelled out of relief and excitement, although it was the early afternoon- not many people went out on a Sunday and so the Square was rather quiet, but you were sure that Maru was going to tell you off for being so loud.
You apologised for being loud and so you politely asked him, 'It's right over there isn't it?' as you pointed over in the direction of the entrance he told you about. 'Yeah, it is. Why-' You weren't sure why, but out of impulse- you ran off and made for the fence blocking the entrance off to the public and jumped over it, running down the stairs with a rather angry Maru yelling behind you. '8- GODDAMNIT 8 DON'T RUN OFF!'
You didn't listen to his shouts, in fact you had blocked them out- you ran and ran down the stairs until you came across an old door that you practically burst open when you ran into it. You were met with the very confused, surprised and concerned faces of Agents 2 and 3, and Cap'n Cuttlefish, with a rather short girl around your age hiding behind the Cap'n out of fear at the sudden intrusion.
With the adrenaline wearing off, you caught your breath and you caught the attention of the girl hiding behind Cap'n Cuttlefish who had since realised who you were. As she peered out from behind the Cap'n, her light maroon eyes lit up and sparkled out of curiosity, when you took off your mask to reveal your face to her.
When you saw her face properly, when she had finally stood out from behind him like a timid deer looking out of the clearing to see if any threats were gone- you began to talk in a tone of pure happiness and mild disbelief at the person you didn't even know was still alive or dead. 'It's- it's you! It's really you! Thank god- you're alive! I was so worried about you.'
She had ran over to you for a hug and you were more than happy to give her a big hug back, the type of hug that caused you to lift her up a bit and swing her around, before putting her on the ground again. You had both started crying and you were both reluctant to let each other go again, out of fear of not seeing each other again.
Eventually, you had let each other go and in the gentlest voice possible, you told her- 'It's good to see you again my friend, come with me- I have a lot of things to show you…'
Chapter 3, Part 1, End.