Into the Light- New Connections

"Goodnight Mother, Father- I'll make sure to visit you at the end of my first month of school, to tell you all about what has happened to me so far..."

As our main character gets ready for his first day at his school, and whilst he's excited for this new chapter in his life- he can't help but feel worried about two of his closest friends and their home lives. How will he cope with these new changes in his life? What about that girl all his friends are avoiding this year? And what about the unconscious meeting with someone he hasn't seen in a long time?

*WARNING: THIS PART CONTAINS IMPLICATIONS OF CHILD ABUSE IN THE FORM OF POSSIBLE/IMPLIED PHYSICAL AND SEXUAL ABUSE; REFERENCES TO UNDERAGE SEX; MILD USE OF BAD LANGUAGE AND MORE. VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED*.

Chapter 3, Part 4:

Over the next few days, you went to work with your friends at Grizzco and even participated in a good few Turf Wars and Private Battles to earn a good bit of money before school started again.

You mainly worked with Tsuyo and Chrys, due to the fact that they were in the most need of money- hence why you worked with them so often.

Sometimes you'd bump into Ruby or Brianna or even one of your other friends during your shifts, and although you couldn't stop to talk to them much, you always gave them a quick wave or a shouted greeting before carrying on with your shift.

And surprisingly enough, Chandler had recently joined you and the others in going to Grizzco. Whilst he had worked there on the odd occasion, he never really worked there much and so his rank was rather low compared to your rank and Chrys's rank.

Tsuyo's rank was in the middle, often leaning towards the lower side. Although- she had definitely improved her skills a lot since you had become friends with her, and she wasn't as clumsy as she used to be.

Though she could still be a bit clumsy, you reassured that she would improve with time- and that it was normal for her to be a bit clumsy since she was growing and the changes that came with it can cause a person to become more clumsy, and there was also the fact that she had experienced quite a few eye traumas in the past which could also affect her eyesight in some ways.

You remembered how at the start of your stay in Inkopolis- she would tell you how others would often berate and belittle her for being so clumsy, often telling her she was the reason why everyone had lost the match or game they were playing.

She'd often be punished for it too, having a lot of her money taken off of her or even humiliated by having drinks poured on her or being beaten up if the people involved were that angry with her- although that was often with people from her school, and she explained she wasn't popular there already.

You were appalled at how common such a thing was, especially since you knew that everyone isn't going to be immediately good at something overnight, even those who already had a knack for it.

Still, you had helped her as much as you could- getting up early to practice with her in the practice room in Ammo Knights before Deca Tower opened up fully for the day.

And it had paid off, she had become more co-ordinated with her movements and she was more sneaky in terms of coming up behind you and getting you with her weapon. Even though you would always catch her before she could splat you.

She'd always yell at you for catching her, but you just told her be more quiet next time before sending her off again.

You even had her try out some different weapons Sunny had but never really used, you had her try out the Dapple Dualies- which she was rather good at surprisingly. She also tried out the Tri-Slosher, which she had a lot of fun with. Another weapon she tried was the, Splattershot Jr. a weapon she used when she first started out- much like everyone else when they started the Turf War scene.

But the weapon-type she stuck to the most was Blasters, and so you helped her customise her weapon slightly so that it would perform better, whilst she went out and not only improved her gear- but also her level and rank.

There were some trials and a lot of errors to be fixed, but in the end you were happy with the modifications you had made with the weapon- and Tsuyo was equally happy if not even more so at how much better she had gotten.

Currently, you were adjusting some parts of her Luna Blaster according to the needs of it, looking over at a bright-eyed Tsuyo who asked you earnestly. 'Do you think I'm good enough to go into Ranked Mode yet, like- properly?'

You smiled at her and told her patiently. 'Of course- but now now Tsuyo, don't forget that you're still improving so you won't be perfect at it straight away. But if you want, I could call up the others to see if they're free for a game or two and we can get started.'

She didn't seem to like that idea, and pushed her idea forward strongly. 'No way! They're too predictable- you can beat them with your eyes closed for God's sake! No- I know there's some people from our school there today, and I wanna prove to them I've gotten better!'

You knew how stubborn she could get when she was passionate about something or she had set her mind on something, so you decided to give in and let her do as she pleased. 'Alright then, if you insist... But know that if you get into trouble I'll come and get you out of it, ok?'

You could tell that she looked really happy that you had agreed on the inside, but she had tried to play it cool by crossing her arms and muttering quietly. 'Alright, just don't embarrass me or anything...'

You set her beloved Luna Blaster down gently and went on to go over your Splat Dualies, but not before you let out a quick reply in a tone of feigned disappointment. 'Aw- shame, I was gonna show them the pictures I have of you in the Metro...'

She quickly grew embarrassed and she scolded you for bringing it up, 'Hibiki!' To which you only laughed and showed your true intentions. 'Oh I was only joking- you know that!'

After you had finished tuning up your individual weapons, you went to the Deca Tower with Tsuyo in search of some of her school-mates to play a match or two with.

You had both made your way to the Ranked Battle Lobby and you were checking into a Lobby when you heard the mutterings of some boys across the rooms.

One of the boys was slightly taller than Tsuyo but a good bit shorter than you, you had seen them wearing the latest sports gear on the way in, and you could already tell that they weren't going to be the nicest person to deal with.

'What the fuck's she doing here?' They muttered, to which one of their similar looking friends pointed at you and made note if your appearance slightly. 'Nevermind that- who's that guy she's with? He looks ripped!'

Whilst it was true that you had gotten stronger since you had arrived in Inkopolis, you personally didn't think you were very strong just yet and needed more time to grow, but the comments they made about Tsuyo left you with a saddened heart when you saw her become slightly disheartened by them- even though she had tried her best to hide it.

'Who cares if he looks strong or not, if he's with her then he's definitely a loser who can't play Clam Blitz to save their live...' They began to laugh over their claims, and one of them chimed in with one of the most obnoxious tones you have ever heard in your life thus far.

'Just Clam Blitz? They probably couldn't even play the rest of the Ranked Modes out there!' You heard the signal that meant you had joined the lobby successfully, and you heard their laughter die down very quickly when they looked at the board and saw your name on it.

They began to whisper to each other in hushed, panicked tones, commenting on both of your Levels and Ranks when they looked up your Battle ID on their phones. 'Holy shit! He's Level 65?! And he's practically S+50 in all of the Ranked Modes!'

They were even more panicked when they looked at Tsuyo's Battle ID, swallowing heavily as they looked at the phone screen in disbelief. 'Look- she's just reached Level 50, and look at their letters- she's S+5, and that's the highest she's ever been!'

When you began to prepare your weapons, Tsuyo had taken out her Luna Blaster and the small group of boys noticed a small symbol on it and commented on it. 'Dumbasses- take a look at her weapon, it's been customised- a professional job too by the looks of the symbol on it.'

They then remarked rather rudely on her economic status, and you could already feel yourself losing patience with them quickly. 'How the hell could she even afford that?! She's broker than the rest of us after the Squidmas Sales...'

They continued to chat amongst themselves for a few minutes, before you went over to them to ask in the most polite but toneless voice you could. 'Gentlemen. Are you not going to join us?'

You smiled at them with a blank face, and they seemed to be rather intimidated by it- giving you a secret thrill when they all scrambled to go to the sign-up counter to join in on the match.

You glanced over at Tsuyo who gave you a smile similar to the one you had just given the group of boys moments prior, it was something you had adopted as a way to give you an advantage over your opponents.

And to your pleasant surprise, it had worked marvellously over the past few weeks- so much so that Tsuyo had adopted it as well when she played with you, using it to signal to you and vice versa.

It had come in handy in many situations in the past, and it was part of the reason why Tsuyo had improved so much in terms of her Turf War and Ranked skills, and you were just as eager as Tsuyo to put her rude, snobby classmates in their place for once.

You had both won that match in the end, and you were both going to move on to another game with different opponents, but the self-appointed 'leader' of the group of boys wasn't happy with the outcome and began to argue with you about it.

'What the hell?! What was that match- she rigged it!' 'You've cheated, you're definitely doping!' He was pointing at your chest and snarling his words, practically spitting in your face with how close he was to you.

You were rather annoyed with the way he was conducting himself, and in cold but firm tone you informed him that he was being childish and immature. 'I understand that you're not happy, but if you're going to act like children- then I suggest you stop wasting my time...'

You glared at him with unapproving eyes, your face unchanging as he regained his composure slightly and cockily snarled out. 'Alright then, a rematch. Three against one. You first, then her- then we'll decide who's winning or not.'

You were annoyed at having to go up against him again, since he and his friends were so predictable and boring to go up against, but you decided to humour him and took it as an opportunity for you and Tsuyo to put him in his place even further

Perhaps even to show him that the clumsy girl who was just trying her best to earn money and make new friends back then, had since grown and was now more than capable of taking on bigger opponents than herself- especially at Ranked Modes like Clam Blitz.

You glanced over and Tsyyo and smiled in the same blank fashion as her, and proceeded to walk through the large silver doors behind you, completely ignoring the group of boys behind you to cause chaos in your combined wake.

After your one-on-one with the four boys and having beaten them quickly, you left to go and help Tsuyo get ready for her one-on-one match with them.

You sensed that she seemed more and more nervous as time went on, and so you asked her what was playing on her mind- to which she spewed out in a rapid fire of nervous panic. 'Hibiki- what if I lose? What if they beat me and prove me wrong? What if I was just lucky and the last game was-'

You interrupted her ramble by putting both of your hands on her shoulders and having her look at you whilst you reassured her as best as you could with a 'pep-talk' of sorts.

'Tsuyo. Listen to me. You may not have been the best player at the start, but you've come a long way and you're still improving. You don't start out like those at the top, even those players were still beginners at one point.'

You weren't quite sure where you were going with it, and so you decided to hurry up and finish you talk with her as quickly as you could whilst pointing out some if her strengths.

'My point is- I have watched you play and you're amazing, you don't have the strongest weapon but you good at many other things. You can pick up the slightest of noises, you know when the time is right- when you need to strike you do so!'

You looked up at the digital clock on the wall and you saw that she had 30 seconds left before she had to go out and start the match, so you finished off with as strong as a conclusion as you could. 'Now get out there and show them what you've got, I'll be routing for you all the way!'

Her eyes lit up with joy and her face got all rosy as she gained the courage to go out there and face some of her old tormentors with all that she had.

She gave you a sudden, tight hug and gripped her weapon with a newfound determination, thanking you for her lifted spirits. 'Thanks Hibiki, I'll give them everything I've got!' Before she ran out the glass doors with a pep in her step.

You watched her go off with a fond look on your face, and a soft feeling in your heart- as you watched her play against her opponents with a confidence you had helped to build within her over the last few months, as she had with you back when you first met each-other down in the Metro.

"You can do it Tsuyo- I believe in you! I know that you'll win!"

Although it was a tough match since Tsuyo was at a disadvantage with her weapon not being good for Inking Turf, luck was in your favour and she ended up winning by a landslide result.

Although both you and Tsuyo were happy with the results, with some of the boys coming up to congratulate you on your victory, the supposed 'ringleader' of that group was deeply unhappy and childishly shouted at the two of you in a cracking voice.

'You rotten cheater, I still think you're doping!' You sighed and told him blankly. 'The results don't lie, you know that. Cut your losses and get out of here, you're holding everyone back...'

You could see a group behind you getting impatient since he was blocking the way to the check-in counter, and with tears in his eyes- he threw the prize money at you and stormed off angrily like a child who was just told 'No.', 'Fine, maybe I will. Take your stupid money, I'm getting out of here.'

His friends apologised for his behaviour, and sheepishly apologised to Tsuyo even more- most likely for how they had treated her in the past. 'Looks like he was wrong, sorry about that T.D.- I mean, Tsuyo. Sorry, Tsuyo...'

You and the three remaining boys were surprised by her acceptance of the apology, and even more so when she did something none of you expected. 'It's alright, it's all in the past. You were just some dumb kids trying to fit in with the wrong crowd- I get it. Here, something for your troubles at least, get yourself some lunch with that.'

She gave them a good amount of consolation money from the amount she had earned, to which they thanked her hastily and ran off to catch up with their brooding friend. 'Thanks- see you in school T.D.- Tsuyo!'

She seemed hapoy with herself and when you were going to leave the Deca Tower, you asked her why she gave them money. 'You gave them £30.00? Even after everything they did to you last year?'

She just looked at you with a contented smile, and gave her reasoning for it. 'Consolation Prize. That and I didn't give them £40.00 since one of them was being a prick.' You decided to not go into the subject any further, and moved onto another topic at hand. '

I see- shall we get lunch before heading off to Grizzco?' She liked the idea, but she insisted on doing something when you were going to pay. 'Sure- but we're splitting the bill this time. You paid it all last time.'

You didn't mind paying for the bill in its entirety, or even spending money on her at all- but you knew that it would make her happy if she was able to pay her half of the money, so you relented and let her pay for her half of the meal, knowing that she would most likely re-earn the money when you went to work at Grizzco.

From the 16th of August after, the days passed by quickly and after you had helped the others catch up with some of their summer homework or simply go over it with them, you hadn't noticed how fast the time gone until Tsuyo had pointed it out.

'It's the last day of summer...' She lamented, rolling over from her stomach to her back, putting her head over the edge if the bed and hanging off of it slightly.

You were busy showing Chandler how to fold and iron clothes that were finished drying, after you had taught him how to use a washing machine for a new load of laundry.

You looked over at the calendar on your desk briefly, and were surprised to see that she was right- before you sighted and went in about how you had nothing to do since you had already done all your chores for the day for the most part, and you couldn't do the other chores such as showering or preparing your lunch until later.

Tsuyo began to list off all of the chores you had done with the chores she had done, counting the ones she had done herself with her fingers. 'Oh wow, you have your uniform; your bag; your skincare; your makeup-'

She was cut off by a confused Chandler who butted in with a surprised, 'Wait, you wear make-up?' You sheepishly rubbed at the back of your neck as you explained why you wore make-up, pointing to the lower part of your eye as you did so.

'Yes- I wear it on my eyes mostly, she knows since she's seen me without it. She taught me how to cover it up since she does it herself.' He was even more surprised at the fact that Tsuyo wore makeup, since she was good at making it look as if though it was her natural skin.

Although she boasted about her make-up skills in terms of covering up her skin, you and Chandler were concerned over the other things she could cover up with her makeup. 'Yep, probably why my skin is so bad but- I wear it. I can cover up practically anything and everything, and no one would know!'

Chandler muttered something under his breath to Tsuyo in a slightly concerned voice, and all you could make out was. 'You covered them with clothing and that too y'know- I remember you used your fringe to hide a black eye a good few times...'

As he was finishing up with his ironing practice, and you were going to move on to another task- organising your desk and getting everything ready in case you had homework tomorrow, you commented on something you had never really brought up before until now.

'I just realised something, I have never seen your eyes once in the entire time that I've known you Chandler. Please don't take that badly, the thought just occurred to me is all...'

He seemed uncomfortable with the fact that you brought up his eyes, and he made up a quick excuse to leave the room, 'Uh- I'm just gonna go to the toilet real quick, I'll be right back.' before he turned the iron upright and headed out of the room promptly.

You sensed an immediate change in the rooms energy, and you asked Tsuyo in a hushed voice. 'Did- did Chandler seem odd to you there or was it just me?'

A frown was already formed on her face, and she asked you in a soft, quiet tone. 'He didn't tell you, did he?' You didn't know anything about the situation, and so in a very soft tone- she began to explain the situation to you.

'His eyes, he's sensitive about them because of his mother- it's a sore spot for him. It's even sorer for him to talk about his mum... You see- she disappeared a few years ago, and no one knows what happened to her.'

You were shocked at that fact, and asked her if they ever looked into it- she explained that whilst they had certainly tried, but nothing happened due to his father's status as a CEO of a large and powerful company.

'They tried- but nothing came of it. Apparently there was this big argument that happened and she left, never to come back. They even tried to find evidence of murder because his dad was that suspicious, but they couldn't do much about it because of his wealth and power.'

Your stomach began to sink and a feeling of deep discomfort and dread began to set in as she went on about her character and the type of person she was.

'I don't know about you, but if that were my mother- I don't think she'd leave me with a man like my father, and especially not a man like Chandler's father. Not if she could prevent it. No, no way. She'd do everything she could to take me with her, even if it meant leaving everything and becoming a new person.'

You sighed deeply and wiped your hands down your face, resting them at your mouth briefly before lowering them to ask her in a strong whisper. 'What do you think happened to her?'

She in-turn sighed and shook her head, shrugging her shoulders as she gave you her thoughts on the situation. 'I don't know Hibiki, I couldn't tell you- there's so many possibilities. But something definitely happened to her, that's for sure- there's no way she'd leave him, no. That's not the kind of woman she was, and I met her many times...'

You both unanimously decided to not talk about the situation any further, and you both began to go back to what you were doing beforehand just in time for Chandler to come back.

He announced his presence casually, then turned to you and inquired about something. 'I'm back, oh yeah- didn't you say that you had something for us Hibiki?'

You saw this as an opportunity to change the energy in the room properly, and you went out of the room briefly to fetch a large box- coming back into the room to open it up in front of them.

When you opened up the box, you took out two lunch boxes and water-bottles- handing them matching sets of cutlery before exclaiming. 'Ta-da! I sent away for this ages ago, but it only came here today. I hope you like them...'

The two of them looked at their gifts in awe and happiness, with Chandler breaking the silence as he thanked you for the gifts with a genuine smile on his face. 'I was wondering why you asked me about colours a while back, now this makes sense. They look fresh as all hell, thanks Hibiki.'

Your face got slightly flushed, and you rubbed at the back of your head sheepishly before muttering a rather quiet explanation. 'Well there was a sale on and I thought I might as well...'

After looking at her gift for a few minutes, Tsuyo exclaimed in happiness, 'Yo- this is sick. Look at it!' 'I'm really happy with mine, thank you Hibiki.' before coming over to you to give you a big hug as a sign of her thanks.

Chandler decided to join in on the hug too, giving you a pat or two on your upper back before pulling away, with Tsuyo remaining for a few more seconds before pulling away as well.

You were rather embarrassed with the amount of affection you had just received, so much so that you talked quickly but quietly. 'It's no problem at all really, I'm just glad that they're the right ones and that you like them...'

You then switched the topic to lunch, and asked them if they were ready to have lunch yet. They said that they were, and you all left your room to go into the kitchen, putting aprons on; getting the ingredients and necessary items out from either the fridge or the cupboards; and washing your hands before you all went about preparing lunch for everyone in the house.

When you were cooking lunch with everyone, you noticed that Chandler was using the meat tenderiser rather forcefully, and when you asked him what he was doing- he responded with a confused. 'I'm trying to help you cook, what else does it look like?'

You just sighed and offered to show him how to use the tool properly. 'It looks like you're murdering that chicken breast, and it's already dead... Here, let me show you.'

After you showed him how to do it, he just let put a quiet, 'Oh...' You reassured him that it was ok, and that he would improve with time- asking Tsuyo how the rice was coming on. 'It's fine, the curry smells good- can you check to see if the oil is hot enough yet?'

She asked politely, to which you tested the oil with a wooden chopstick and saw that it wasn't ready yet- to which you decided to help Chandler prepare the chicken before it would be cooked.

Once all of the food was cooked, you called Sunny and Maru who brought Aka with him to lunch. You all sat down together to eat lunch and you all enjoyed yourselves- chatting away and enjoying the meal you had prepared with the help of two of your closest friends.

After lunch, the three of you went back to your room to talk about what after-school clubs you were interested in taking. Tsuyo was particularly interested in the Writing Club and Art Club, as well as the Literacy Club- with a mild interest in Track Club.

Whilst Chandler was more so interested in either the Swimming or Music Club- but was concerned about not being able to join them due to his past behaviour and grades.

You reassured him that since he had all his homework done with you and the others help, that it would be a good sign for the teachers that he was interested in improving his ways.

Another issue that was worrying him outside of his difficulty with schoolwork, he was worried about losing his temper during class and lashing out at others- particularly teachers.

Although you knew that it was likely he was lashing out because of his home life, with Tsuyo backing that up with what she had told you previously.

But you decided to not bring this up, and you suggested that he could go and see a therapist to help him deal with his anger issues- or that you and Tsuyo would help him find some healthy coping mechanisms to deal with it.

He thanked the two of you shyly for it, and you told him that it was no problem. Although, you couldn't help the pang of sadness that echoed in your heart when you saw his reactions to bring treated with patience; kindness and understanding- that he wasn't treated as a nuisance or a bother or a 'problem child'

In fact, it almost broke your heart with how he was just brushed off as being someone who had a bad temper or a 'problem child', even though to you and people like Maru it was obvious that he was a troubled young man that was going through some issues at home- issues that you didn't know the severity or type of, but issues that were affecting him nonetheless.

Much like Tsuyo, you just wanted them to get out of their difficult home lives and be in an environment where they would be safe and happy- and surrounded by people that truly loved and cared about them.

Chandler was still wearing the dark fake tan and his hair was still dyed a bright yellow colour, as well as the sporty clothes he was forced to wear by his father for some odd reason.

You could tell that he wanted to change his appearance and improve his confidence like Tsuyo had done, especially with his glasses and hair.

And you were more than happy to help him in any way you could, in fact- you were more than happy to help the two of them in any way you possibly could.

As if you were going to repent for the acts you were forced to commit down in the Metro, you were going to start with the two people in your life that needed it the most.

"I know that she gets plenty of food in the care packages, enough for a week. But she seems to be rationing it, or maybe sharing it with someone- she lives with her father so that's probably what it is. Still though, I can't help but worry about her..."

"Same for you too Chandler- maybe I should teach him how to make things like fruit salad and spaghetti bolognese first, before I have him making things like curry and chicken katsu... At least he knows how to use a washing machine and do laundry now!"

You looked over at the time and saw that it was close to four o'clock, you knew that they would need to get home soon so they they would be able to get ready for school in time.

But before you sent them off, you were going to prepare their lunches for them alongside yours- in order to make use of the lunch boxes you had got for them alongside yours.

You used the leftovers from lunch and included some salad and fruit as well, filling up their water bottles- giving Tsuyo her care package prepared for her by Maru with some extras that you had put in yourself, before sending them on their way with a warm goodbye. 'Bye, see you tomorrow. Don't come into school late!'

They both wished you farewell as well, leaving you behind with a light heart but a heavy mind filled with concern, as you went to prepare dinner for tonight and breakfast for tomorrow.

After all that was done, you went to have a shower and put a face mask on that Sunny had made for you in order to address some of your skins needs. Whilst you waited for it to dry, you decided to talk to your friends for a bit about the incoming school year and anything else you wanted to.

Connor: Oh I was a spoiled brat last year, seriously. It was BAD. Thankfully- after I got into trouble at school one too many times, my mom put her foot down and put a stop to it. Good thing too honestly, if she hadn't then I would probably be on the same path as Katrina...

Josh: My old man threatened to send me to military school and that was it for me, he just told me that if I didn't get my act together I'd be sent to live with my grandad and go to the military school near him. Harsh, but it worked.'

Leah: My mom was getting worried about me and it got to a point where I heard her crying down the phone to another family member about it, like she didn't know what to do anymore. Then I realised how much my behaviour was affecting my mom and since I didn't want to ruin my relationship with her, I decided to stop being friends with the very person that caused me to change myself just so I could fit in with her.

Brianna: Like Connor said, I too would probably be down the same path Katrina's on if I didn't change my behaviour and that. I mean there was a lot of fallout after, but I'm a lot happier being more like this if I'm honest.

You: Are you all looking forward to going back to school?

Maki: Yep! I get to be in the same class with the others once my Inklish is good enough :3

Josh: You have been getting better tho, just don't work yourself too hard ok?

Maki: I won't :)

Ruby: You too Hibiki

You: I can't make any promises, but I'll try.

Chrys: I'm looking forward to seeing who the next student council president is gonna be, but I'm not looking forward to a certain person...

Tsuyo: Ah yes, she who shall not be named. Lovely...

Tsuyo: Honestly forgot about her for a while...

Chrys: Well, if worse comes to worse we can have a Turf War to sort it out.

You: Oh yes, I completely forgot that was a thing here if I'm honest...

Chandler: Hibiki- that's how we met, properly at least.

You: Well yes, and I won in the end. Remember?

Chandler: ...

Chandler: We never had that rematch did we?

You: No, no we haven't.

Tsuyo: We need to though, it was quite fun and I've improved a lot since then. So I'm determined to actually join in and win this time! :)

You: Well you can do that another day, you all need to go to bed. It's getting late.

Maki: I haven't even had dinner yet- oops...

Josh: Maki Roll- why have you not had dinner yet?

Maki: Well... I was busy getting ready for school all day, and I was cleaning my room; working out and helping Mum in the Café. Dinner's heating up now so...'

You: Good, and remember to eat your vegetables this time- all of them.

Maki: Even the peas?

You: Yes dear, even the peas. And don't stay up too late watching your shows either, you'll have school to focus on now.

Chandler: What are you, her dad?

Connor: I mean, he's basically the dad of the group- or older brother of the group, so...

Ruby: I would say I'm the mom friend, but I'm honestly more of a cool aunt- the mom role goes to Tsuyo since she can be a mom friend when she wants to be.

Josh: Maki is the little sister of the group and you can all fight me on that.

Leah: ?

Leah: No one's fighting you anyway, we all know that that is her role. She practically is the poster child for the younger sibling of the friendship group.

Josh: Ok, fair point.

You: Is everyone ready for school tomorrow? Uniforms all ready? Lunches and bags packed? Alarms all set?

Connor: Yep, I'm making sure to set multiple alarms so that I don't sleep in. That and I have enough time to do my make-up...

Tsuyo: Same- sometimes I sleep in on accident and I have to run to school...

Josh: Bruh, I swear on God that you should sign up for the Track Team since when you need to run. You can RUN!

Tsuyo: Lmao, I was thinking about it- but it was more so I could not be a fat bitch.

Connor: big fat MOOD!

You: Tsuyo please, we've talked about this...

Ruby: Why did I imagine you sounding so devastated there? Like you genuinely sounded so sad there.

Tsuyo: I mean...

Tsuyo: That was his point?

You: Well, I need to go and wash this face mask off and ill head to bed early tonight, so I'll see you all tomorrow. Goodnight everyone.

Maki: Goodnight! :3 3

Chandler: Night

Tsuyo: Goodnight Hibiki, I hope you sleep well. :)

When you had returned to your room to start checking over everything, you noticed something on your desk that you hadn't seen earlier and when you picked it up- you saw that it was a small note with writing on it that read.

'Hey, I got something for you- check the first drawer of your desk. Chandler got you something as well, we hope you like them! :)'

"A gift? What could they have gotten me? As I have everything I need and I don't recall mentioning something that caught my interest recently..."

You opened up the aforementioned desk drawer, and you let out a quiet, 'Oh my...' when you saw what was inside it.

You took out the small, but rather cute and colourful squid phone charms and held them delicately in your hand, muttering to yourself quietly. 'A phone charm, two actually- why is one black though? Chandler's colour is- Oh- it's based off of his natural ink colour, that makes more sense now...'

"I'll put them on now, so that I don't forget about them later."

You went out into the hall to attach the oh one charms to your phone, setting it back into the box gently once you were finished attaching the charms to your phone.

"It looks as if though I have nothing else to attend to, so I'll check over everything one last time; use the bathroom; and then I'll head off to bed."

You were actually about to check over everything one last time properly, but you were interrupted by Rei who asked you reluctantly. 'Hey- can we talk for a minute?'

You were in a mild mood, and so you asked him what he needed from you and he began by awkwardly saying. 'I know we haven't exactly gotten along too well over the past few months, and we haven't seen exactly eye to eye over everything...'

You just sighed and asked him plainly. 'Is this about the lube incident? As I've told you already that I was just looking to see if Ammo Knights had the W640 lubricant in stock, my Dualies won't perform as well if I don't take care of them...'

He laughed and explained that whilst that wasn't what he wanted to talk to you about it, he gave you his honest thoughts about that incident. 'You honestly gave me a heart attack when you asked me why "lube" wouldn't come up for you, whenever you looked it up...'

You then reinforced to him the fact that you weren't interested in anyone- preferring to focus on your studies, and continuing to ramble on until you made mention of your medication.

'And no- I'm not interested in anyone, I've never experienced that type of thing before and I'm not interested in it, my studies are more important to me right now than anything else. I suppose I'm not like everyone else my age in that respect, I don't even feel those things- my medication prevents me from doing so.'

He stopped you there, and began to ask you about your medication politely. 'Actually, that's one of the things I wanted to talk to you about. How are you finding your medication, it's not bothering you or anything is it?'

You admitted to him something that you never told anyone outside of some of your closest friends before, and you brought up your gratitude for the medication helping you feel a lot better.

'No, I was reluctant to keep on taking it at first since it didn't work straight away, but when it kicked in I'm more than happy to keep on taking them. I wouldn't know what to do without them if I'm honest...'

He then asked you which medication you were thinking of stopping, to which you brought up the first thing that came to mind. 'I don't need to take all those supplements anymore, at least I don't believe I do- just one multi-vitamin would be enough for me...'

He then went on to tell you about the information the doctors had shared with him about your recent check-up.

'Actually, the doctor called me earlier today and he said that he was happy for you to stop taking your vitamins completely, but you can take a multi-vitamin if you want. The doctors are also happy with your other medication, but they were thinking of lowering it, since you also mentioned wanting to come off of those at some point.'

You thought about it for a moment or two, then going to tell him what you were planning to do. 'Well, I'm happy enough to continue taking my current amount. But I think I would like to try reducing it in the future, maybe October or so?'

He said that that was fine, and that he would inform the doctor about it at some point tomorrow.

You then asked him if wanted to talk to you about anything else. To which he awkwardly began to ask you. 'Oh- Yes, uh... This is awkward but are you aware of people your age, y'know...'

You just sighed and explained to him, 'Yes, Tsuyo told me about it. Don't worry, I'm not planning on doing that kind of stuff any time soon- I don't see the appeal of it anyway. I find it a bit disgusting anyway...'

He seemed to be surprised at your knowledge of what he was trying to ask you, with you continuing to reassure him of your un-interest in it. 'That and doing such a thing at my age is bad, I'd rather wait until I was old enough or even until I was getting married to even think about such a thing. I have more important things to worry about than- that...'

He let out a massive sigh of relief, patting on his chest a few times where his heart would be as told you in great relief. 'Oh thank God... That's a relief- at least I don't have to worry about that sort of stuff anymore, well I still will but not as much as I have been. My mom will stop being on my case about it too...'

You laughed a bit, before you expressed your gratitude for him not being on your case about things you weren't even interested in anymore.

To which he laughed and apologised for his previous behaviour, then going on to say. 'Uh, yeah. That's all I wanna talk to you about, for now at least. Uh- goodnight and good luck with tomorrow, I'm sure you'll make us proud. Love you.'

He then left you alone immediately after, leaving in a hurry of sorts. You let out a confused, 'Uhm- You too? Goodnight.', in response- moving on to start going over everything one last time; then going to the bathroom to brush your teeth before heading off to bed.

You went into your room and went over everything one last time- ensuring that you had multiple alarms set; moving on to say your nightly prayer; then getting settled into bed and looking at a photo of you; your mother and father- as well as one with your new family that sat on your night-stand.

You then glanced over at printed-out photos of you and your friends adventures or days out that were on your wall, then rolling over onto your back to look at the ceiling and the soft, battery-powered, fairy lights above your bed- a gift from Tsuyo that would save you from turning on the lamp that rested on your night-stand.

You felt a happy, contented feeling in your heart, and as you went to turn your lights off and get comfortable in your bed in order to go to sleep, you reflected briefly on the day before you closed your eyes and fell asleep.

"I'm glad that they liked their gifts, and I'm really happy with the phone charms that they got for me- I think they look lovely and I'll make sure to thank them for it tomorrow. I'm looking forward to going to school again, it'll be nice to learn more about the world and Inkling culture."

"Hmm- I'd hope that they would be proud of me for making so much process since I've come here... Oh, and at least I'm going to be on somewhat better terms with Rei from now on, hopefully that goes well."

"Goodnight Mother, Father- I'll make sure to visit you at the end of my first month of school, to tell you all about what has happened to me so far..."

As you began to dream, you found yourself back at a familiar location where many months ago- you saw the sun for the first time; where you were surrounded by the beautiful smell of the sea and introduced to refreshing winds that moved your hair and filled your lungs with genuine fresh air.

It was also where you saw her standing there again, looking out over the sea and the waves- the city in the distance and the sun in its permanent state of rising. She acknowledged your presence by beckoning you to come stand beside her, by saying to you in her ghostly voice. 'Hello Hibiki, it's nice to see you again.'

Chapter 3, Part 4, End.