Chapter 1: Friends Make Garbage, Good Friends Take It Out
We were just kids
With visions and hearts that coincide
Climb aboard our ship
We're going whether or not that you like
Whether or not that you like
"I have to tell you something."
They were the first words he had spoken in years. The three of them looked back at Sunny, partially in shock, partially in anticipation of what 'something' was.
Basil slowly opened his eyes, having finally woken up. As he looked up, Sunny smiled at him for the first time in years. Something, which was behind him, now disappeared. The two didn't need to exchange words for Basil to know that Sunny had finally told them the truth about that night. Relief washed over Basil, with the anxiety he had going away in an instant. He smiled back at Sunny. It would all be okay.
Snowflakes gently made their way to the ground. Kel opened the door, and he ran over to Sunny's old house, only to remember that he didn't live there anymore.
"He was supposed to come visit today..."
A frown came over Kel's face, and he started walking back home. He thought about the last few days he got to spend with Sunny as he made his way back to his own doorstep.
He was lost in thought for a few minutes before Hero opened the door for him.
"What's wrong, buddy?" Hero asked.
"Sunny's not here."
"He's probably just running late, don't worry." Hero smiled. "He'll be here soon enough, and if he's not here by sundown... Hm... I guess I'll go buy a pizza for the two of us. What do you say to that?"
"Can we go get pizza if he gets here by sundown?" Kel asked.
"Of course!" Hero replied, nervously realizing that he screwed himself into spending twenty bucks either way.
Kel smiled. "Awesome! Oh, I just remembered that I was gonna go meet Aubrey and Basil at the park! You wanna join us?"
"Sure thing!" Hero walked out of the house, closing the door behind him. "Say, we aren't running late or anything, are we?"
"Well..."
"Well?"
"I was kinda supposed to be there a half hour ago." Kel responded.
Hero awkwardly chuckled. "That... That sounds like something you'd do."
Kel started laughing with him, and Hero put his arm around Kel's shoulder.
"You crack me up, little buddy." Hero said.
"I crack myself up too!" Kel replied.
As the two walked Mikhael's house, Hero stopped.
"Actually, go without me for now. I left something at home, it'll take just a few minutes to get." Hero scratched the back of his head.
"You promise it's just something at home?" Kel raised an eyebrow.
"Of course!" Hero replied.
"Hm..." Kel stared at Hero, who was still awkwardly smiling. "Alright, I'll see you soon!"
"See you soon, Kel!" Hero said, but Kel was already running to the park before Hero could finish his sentence.
Kel ran across the street, not being careful as to look both ways, and he passed the sign to greet Aubrey, Basil, and Kim.
"Sorry I'm late, guys! You wouldn't believe what happened to me!" Kel started.
"You forgot again?" Kim interrupted.
"Haha, no! Of course I didn't forget! I just had to go get Hero, but then my dog, Hector, ran away from home, so I had to go get him, and-"
"It's alright if you forgot, Kel." Aubrey smiled. "You remembered, right? That's what matters."
"Oh, uh... Yeah! You're right!" Kel smiled, and he sat down with them. "So, what are we doing today?"
Kim shrugged as she nudged Basil. "Whatever flower boy over here had in mind."
"Um... I was thinking that we could go to Fix-It and see if there's anything good there..." Basil replied.
"That's..." Kel started, then he stopped. "Wait, that's it?"
"Can we stop at the Othermart first? I haven't had any candy in two days, and I'm kinda going through withdrawls." Kim asked.
"O-Okay." Basil responded.
"Sounds like a plan then." Aubrey got up. "Come on, let's go."
The three got up, and they made their way to the plaza.
Hero opened the doors of the church, and he stepped inside. It was empty, as per usual. Mass wouldn't be underway until seven that night. He made his way down the aisle, looking at all the empty pews as he did so.
"You're back again." The priest said.
"Yeah." Hero replied, and he smiled.
"You come here every day."
"Funny how that works, isn't it?" Hero scratched the back of his head as he closed his eyes for a few seconds.
"You come here more often than the rest of the parishioners, but you're never here for mass. If it's okay for me to pry, I'd say you're visiting someone, aren't you?" The priest said.
"What? Oh, no, I just like taking a stroll every now and then here!" Hero chuckled.
"Are you sure? If you have a loved one here, it's okay to say so. I'm simply curious." The priest said.
A loved one. Hearing that caused Hero to frown. It seemed as if the priest could see right through him. He looked away from the priest.
"I'm quite sure... Don't worry, I'll only be a few minutes. It just helps me to calm down."
"If you say so."
Hero exited through the back of the church, and he walked over to Mari's grave. He kneeled down and put his hand on the tombstone.
"Hey, Mari. It's me again. I just wanted to let you know that I'm doing okay. Um... Sunny's coming today! I can't wait to hang out with him again." Hero smiled as he looked down at the flowers in front of her tombstone. "I'm gonna have to go buy you some more today, these are already starting to wilt. I'm not really the best with flowers, but thankfully, Basil's always eager to help me find the right kind. He's still not sure why I get these in specific, but... Well, either he does and he just isn't telling me, or he doesn't really visit here too much. I can see why he wouldn't. It's not that he doesn't like you! If anything, he really does! It's just... You know... Painful memories."
Hero looked back to make sure that the priest wasn't watching him.
"You know... I wish I told you how I felt... Well, how I feel, I guess. Sure, it would've made everything all the more painful, but... It wouldn't be the same if I poured my heart out now. I know you're listening, but I wish I would've told you face to face." He began to tear up, and he wiped his eyes. "I'm just happy to know that you didn't leave me. And... Um... I'll still be waiting for you. In fact, I'll become a world-famous chef, and I'll do it all for you!"
He laughed as he said that. He figured it probably wouldn't come true, but he'd give it his best shot. He laughed a bit more after a minute, though it was more of pain than anything.
"I'll make sure that Aubrey and Kel get along, don't worry. As for Sunny... I'll give him a great big hug for you when he gets here, alright? Alright..." He got up, and he smiled. "Thank you for always being here to listen to me... Well, I guess you can't exactly leave, huh? Sorry for keeping you, I'll be on my way. Thank you, Mari."
Hero walked back into the church. The priest didn't say anything to him this time, and he watched Hero leave. He would miss the boy when winter break would end.
"Come on, Kim! You can't just steal from Candace, even if she is a jerk!" Kel shouted.
"Would you keep your voice down?" Kim asked. "Jeez, Kel, don't rat me out like that!"
Basil backed away from the both of them.
"I don't want to go to jail, you know?"
"Then don't steal!"
Aubrey stepped between the two, trying to take a page out of Hero's book. "Guys, stop it. Kim, I'll talk to you about this later. Kel, drop it."
"But..."
Aubrey grabbed him by the ear. "I said drop it."
"Okay! Okay! You're the boss!" Kel squealed in pain.
"Kim, you're sharing some of that candy with the rest of us."
"But..."
"It's only fair, is it not?" Aubrey asked.
"Alright..." Kim started handing out pieces of candy to the three of them. "You okay with the honey candy, nerd?"
Basil slowly nodded.
"Don't call him a nerd!" Kel started, and Aubrey grabbed him by the ear again. "Okay! Okay! I'm sorry!"
Kim smirked, and she put a piece of candy in her mouth.
"So... Um... We're going to Fix-It next, right?" Basil asked.
"Yeah!" Kel responded.
The four walked out of the Othermart, and they walked into Fix-It. Kim and Kel began to wander around aimlessly as they fought over the candy.
"If you don't mind... Can we go check out the paint section?" Basil asked.
"Paint? I thought you would've wanted to go to the garden." Aubrey replied.
"Well... I'll go later, I just need your help with something first."
"You need me? Um... Okay, well... What about them?" Aubrey pointed at Kim and Kel, who were bickering about which one would get the last chocolate bar.
Basil chuckled nervously. "No... Um... I just need your help..."
Aubrey nodded. "Alright. Lead the way."
Basil took her to the paint section. "Which color do you like the most?"
Aubrey blinked. "Why are you asking me this?"
"I just... Um..." Basil stammered.
"Well...?" She asked after a minute.
"Things..."
"'Things' isn't enough to go off of, you know?" Aubrey said.
"Well... It's a surprise!"
She sighed. "Fine. Hm... I guess I'll take purple."
"Purple? Alright!" Basil took a purple swatch, and he ran over to the register.
"I don't get him..." Aubrey shook her head.
After fifteen minutes, the four walked out of the Fix-It to see Hero waiting for them by the Othermart.
"Oh, hey, Hero! You get that thing you were looking for?" Kel asked.
"Huh? Oh, yeah!"
"Cool, what'd you get?" Kel smiled as he ran over to his brother.
"Oh, um... Just my wallet, you know? Kinda need that if you want to go out somewhere."
"And if we want pizza." Kel grinned.
Hero sighed. "Yes. And if we want pizza."
"I'm so down for a pizza." Kim said as she ate the last chocolate bar.
"I hope Gino's has a vegetarian option for Basil." Kel said.
"Oh, I don't need anything like that..." Basil responded. "Just something healthy."
"They do have a salad there." Aubrey said. "Should be healthy enough."
"Oh, um... That works!" Basil smiled.
"Sounds good!" Hero said. "Well, should we go back to my house for the time being? It'd be best to wait for Sunny there."
Aubrey perked up. Basil and Kim smiled.
"Sure thing. Can't wait to see that nerd again." Kim replied.
"Don't call Sunny a nerd!" Kel shouted.
"Here we go again..." Aubrey sighed as she yanked Kel away by the ear.
"That's... One way to do it." Hero chuckled.
"Yeah, it sure is." Kim responded.
The five walked back to Kel and Hero's house, then they went inside.
"I don't think I've ever actually been in here before." Kim said.
"That's because you've never been invited." Kel replied. "You know what, that came out a lot meaner than I meant it to."
Kim shrugged. "You've never been in my house, so we can call it even."
"Well..." Aubrey and Hero started.
"... What?" Kim tilted her head, confused.
"It's nothing!" Hero replied as he watched Kel jump onto the couch.
Aubrey looked around as Kim went over to the bookcases.
"Make yourselves at home!" Hero smiled.
"It's like our home away from home." Aubrey said. "Actually, I guess some of us don't exactly feel like we're at home when we're at our own homes."
Basil frowned. "Sorry, Aubrey..."
"It's alright, I'll live." She responded, and she walked into the dining room.
Hero followed her inside. "You really want to see Sunny, don't you?"
Aubrey nodded. "Of course."
"Kel went over to Sunny's old house earlier. Just like a repeat of Summer..." Hero said.
Aubrey nodded again. "Sorry again about all of that."
"Hey, we're all on good terms now. That's what matters." Hero smiled. "I missed being with all you guys. And it's all because Sunny finally came out of his house."
"Yeah... You're right." Aubrey smiled, still staring out the window.
Soon enough, a bright light came through the window as a car pulled up to the house. Everyone quickly hurried out of the house to see Sunny step out of the car. They all had a big group hug, although Kim only reluctantly joined in after a few seconds. The group was back once again.
Afterword-
The chapter's over, so if you don't care about this part, you can just go to the next chapter (At least if it's out, anyways). It's been a long time since I've written anything here, though I pretty much purged everything. I used to write 5,000 word chapters, but with life being so busy, 2.5K words is what I feel best with writing tonight.
If you're reading this, thank you for getting to this point. I don't know when I'll put out the next chapter, but this is the most inspired I've been to write in a long time, and it's the only time I've actually written a chapter to completion in years. Ultimately, while I am happy with the result, it still feels a bit stiff to me, and that's something I hope to work on.
Omori is such a wonderful game, and getting the true ending was such a moving experience. I'm replaying it to do the Hikkikomori route next, then I'll probably do everything I can with a guide to 100% the true ending. As much as I'd like to gush about the game and all, I do have to get to sleep soon, and I'd like to publish the chapter today. Again, thank you all for reading this, and I hope to write a story that's good, entertaining, and most of all, true to the characters, as the cast is one of my favorites out of every game I've ever played- In fact, the whole game is one of my favorite games ever. If I can do justice to it, then I'll be happy with the result.
I hope I make a story that those of you in the fanbase can love.