He's there again. Inside that patch black darkness devoid of any light or warmth. He frantically runs, looking for anyone or anything. But there's absolutely nothing.

"Hey! Is anyone there?! Anyone?!" Chrono cries.

"Why did you do this to us?" A voice tells him.

He stops turns behind him, but no ones there.

"Why do you have to be such a burden all the time?" He looks around to look for that voice, but once again, no ones there.

More and more voice joins in and the images of familiar people surrounds him.

"You did this."

"What a joke."

"How can you live with yourself?"

Chrono clenches his head, desperately trying to block out those voices. "Shut up already! Leave me alone!" He screams.

"Leave you alone? After what you did?"

"You don't get that privilege."

"You'll never live it down."

The floor underneath him turns into a pitch gloomy and he starts to sink into it like quicksand.

'No! Not again!'

He frantically attempts to pull himself out, but its no use. All he can do now is wait for the inevitable.

*Slam*

Chrono finds him on the floor, hanging off the side of his bed. There was an aching pain on the top of his head as he the desk.. He looks up at the moment his lamp is tipping over.

*Smack*

Such bad luck.

He groggily stands up, his body still aching in pain from his injuries. He quickly washes his face and changes into some spare clothes Tokimi gave though they were a bit too big as they belonged to his dad when he was younger. He'll have to take care of that soon.

He walks down stairs and enters the dining room to see his mother in the kitchen and his sister Chrona on her phone texting someone.

"Good morning," he tells them.

"Good morning!"

"Good morning…" Chrona responded uninterested. Chrono however ignores it, figuring that it'll be just how it is with her.

He sees her so focused on her phone, smiling at a new text she got.

"So Chrona," he said, "texting you boyfriend?" He could hear his mother laughing in the kitchen while his sister gave him a furious look.

"W-what?! No!" She blushed. "I don't have a boyfriend and that's none of you business!" He laughed at his sister. She eventually calmed down and turned her attention back to her phone.

"How did you sleep last night?" Tokimi asks to Chrono.

His mind drifts to the restless nightmare he had. "I slept well, the bed was comfortable."

"Ah good. I'm glad you sleep comfortably. By the way, you really need to buy some things if you're going to stay here."

He rubs the back of his head. "Yeah, the clothes you gave me is a bit too big."

"Sorry about that," she giggled. "I was going to have Chrona take you to the mall today."

"What?!" Chrona yelled. "No way! I was going out with my friends today!"

"Then take him to meet your friends. They're around his age, and he needs some friends."

"...Tch fine." Chona brooded. She sends a glare to the curly hair boy which he in turn smiles nervously.

After breakfast, the two redhead teens left to go to the mall. The two walk beside each other side by side, neither attempting to converse to each other. Chrono really to want to talk with her since she is his sister (kinda). Chrona however looked as if she didn't really care for his existence.

"So Chrona…" he began, "do you have any… hobbies?"

Her eyes drifted to redhead. "I like playing cardfight."

"Really?"

"What? You sound as if you don't believe me."

No, no… Well you do seem like a wet blanket."

He smiled nervously as Chrona once again glared at him.

'Great Chrono, pish off the person you're trying to get to know.'

He was thinking of ways to calm his sister when she spoke up. "So do you play it?"

"Eh? Play what?"

"Vanguard stupid."

"Oh." The deck in his play pocket suddenly felt heavier. "Yeah I do."

"I see. What clan do you play?"

"Gear Chronicle."

"Oh, that's the same clan I use."

"You use it too?"

"Yeah, for several years now."

'Years?' He thought. It's been released for about a year now. At least in his world. "Huh. It is a fun clan to play."

"Yeah."

They walked in silence for several minutes as Chrono contemplates telling her the truth about him. His mother already knows, why not her?

"Chrona listen, the truth is that I-"

"I already know."

He looked at her in confusion until it clicked. "Wait, so you mean that…"

"Yes, I know you're from another world," she confirmed.

He grew more confused. "How did you even know that?"

"Easy," she answered, "I overheard you and mom."

"Ah." How did he not notice. "So what now?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, the whole 'me from another world.'"

"Hmm, nothing. If mom completely believes it then it should be true. We'll keep doing what we left home to do. What comes next, happens."

Chrono stared at her. She still seems as uninterested as ever, and for some reason it kinda pissed him off. Not really the cute little sister he had in mind.

Some time has past until the two had arrived at the mall. It's the same one Chrono had went to multiple times before and looked the same it's always been, minus a few different ads and stores. They quietly waited outside for Chrona's friends, sitting on the bench in front and watching as people walk by. The topic of Chrono's past has not come up again.

Chrona's friends were late and Chrona's was constantly looking on her phone for updates. She finally had enough and got up from her seat.

"Ugh, they're taking too long. I'm gonna and look for them, you stay here." She ran off annoyed and disappeared into the crowd.

Chrono was now left by his lonesome. He was pretty bored at this point and he didn't have a phone to at least entertain him. He looked around to see if there was something interesting until his eyes landing on a poster taped to the light pole next to him. It was a poster for the bakery he used to buy croquettes from. He smiled fondly remembering the day him and Tokoha fought over those damn things while Kumi was trying to calm the both of us down. They later became incredible friends to him. They were such sweet, fun loving people that always had his back and tried to be there for him. How Tokoha would always send him messages and gifts while she was in Paris, or how Kumi would check on him everyday during high school to keep him from being lonely. They were truly irreplaceable friends that he was so lucky to have.

But they're gone now.

He attempted not to remember that day everything went down the drain, not to remember their final moments as he was physically repulsed of the memory. He eventually calmed down, putting his head back as he tried to relax on the bench.

"E-excuse me," a female voice called out.

The voice pulled Chrono out of his thoughts. He turns to the girl when his stomach dropped.

"You by any chance with Chrona?"

Tokoha was standing beside him, her head tilting the side and her smile beaming while Kumi's face curiously popped up from behind her. Chrono quickly straightened up, clearing his throat before speaking.

"Yeah, I'm with her," he replied, "she got tired of waiting and went off looking for you two."

"Oh really? Even when I told her I was about to arrive." Her eyes dart around, looking for the curly haired girl. Failing to see her, Tokoha's eyes once again land on Chrono. "Oh I tell you, my name is Tokoha and the girl behind me is my friend Kumi," she pointed at her.

"Hello!~" Kumi waves, cheerfully greeting him as the boy waves back.

It was off putting to the swirly hair boy seeing these two, how they looked back at him. Their eyes had no familiarity to them, as if staring at a complete stranger, as if the years before never actually happened.

He awkwardly smiles at the two. "I'm Chrono, I'm staying with Chrona's family right now."

"Hm, not surprising," Tokoha said as she looks up to his swirl.

"Are related to her in some way?" Kumi asks.

Chrono panicked as he realized that he didn't think this ahead. He never thought he'd meet them this like this. "Oh um kinda…" The two girls looked at him weirdly. "Its a complicated family… thing."

Tokoha looked unsatisfied. "Complicated how?"

"Um, VERY complicated?"

Tokoha looked as if she was about to ask again until Chrona appeared out of the crowd.

"Hey! There you are!" she yells.

Chrono sighs in relief. 'Oh thank god.'

She runs up to the group out of breath. "What took you two so long?!" Chrona scolded the girls.

"We're so sorry Chrona-chan! We lost track of time!" Kumi apologized.

She glares at the two girls, but just sighs. "Forget it, we've got work to do."

Kumi raises her hand in the air. "That's right! Chrono-kun's makeover!" she said gleefully.

Chono's eyes widen. "Eh?"

Tokoha looks over him. "Well you do look like a hobo."

"Hobo?!"

Chrona smirks. "Well let's get going, we've got a lot of work ahead of us."

"Yay!~" Kumi cheers as she follows her.

Chrono stays behind defeatedly as he looks at the two run off into the mall. Tokoha seeing this laughs and pats him on the back. "Don't worry so much, it'll be fun."

"It'Ll bE fUN," he repeats condescendingly as he followed the girls.

The first thing they agreed upon was for Chrono to get a haircut. Though he knew that he needed one, he still doesn't feel comfortable to actually get, especially if it's his curl. Sitting down in the salon chair made him incredibly uncomfortable and nervous. The barber seemed nice, but once she started hacking away, he wanted nothing more but to jump off the building. Once she started cutting shorting than what he asked, he gave up all hope.

'This is okay," he repeated over and over again in his mind. Once it was over, he walked outside to show off his new hair.

"Yay, don't look like a hippie anymore," Chrona mocked him.

"Well, it feels breezy," Chrono commented on his much shorter hair.

Kumi looked at him as cheery as always. "I think it looks good on you, what about you Tokoha? What do you think?"

"Oh yeah, it looks good," she answered dismissively.

He hummed as he was still on the fence on the style of his hair, but decided to just accept. It's not like he can change it.

"Well I think it's about time to go shopping," Chrono change topic, "I'm just about ready to get out of these clothes."

"Great cause I'm getting embarrassed just by standing next to you," Chrona sneered.

"I… won't blame you," he agreed as he looked over his baggy clothes.

They went to look through the stores, looking at all the selections until they found one that they liked. He would have been okay with pretty simple clothes, but to his protest, the girls decided otherwise.

Chrona had gone off to the other side of the store leaving the other three to their own devices. The group were looking the same sections. Two girls were making small talk between each other as he stayed silent listening to them, trying to stay out of conversation. Tokoha though was constantly looking over to the unsuspecting curly hair boy, until she was fed up with the silence from the boy.

"Hey, Chrono?"

"Hm?"

"You don't remember me do you?"

He looked at her with a curious look. "Should I?"

"I was one of that found you when you got injured."

"So you saw him before?" Kumi asks as Tokoha nodded in response.

An image of her flashes in his mind. "Right, I forgot. I think I remember seeing you Thanks, you really helped me out back there."

"No problem, I'm glad to see you out and about," she smiled. "But is it okay for you to be standing? You looked pretty beat up the last time I saw you."

"Oh it's fine, the doc said so."

"I see, that's good, I guess." She silently looked through the clothes before continuing. "How did you even get those injuries like that?"

"Yeah the right," Kumi said. "How did you hurt so much? You have so many bandages you look like a mummy."

"Oh." He panicked. "I fell?"

"You fell."

"Yes."

"In the middle of a park."

"Yes."

"With no high buildings or trees around."

"Yes… It was a pretty bad trip."

The two girls looked at him suspiciously while Chrona looked on from afar in the corner of her eye. Chrono sweating from the stress of the situation.

'What a weird boy,' they thought.

"Oh look, this shirt looks nice," he hastily tries to change the topic. The two girls just give up knowing they won't get anything out of him.

"Fine,"Tokoha sighed. "How about we go on and try some of these."

"Sure." He goes to the changing room to quickly change. When he comes out, he is wearing beige pants and a red shirt with a black jacket with white lining, the sleeves folded to be short. Combined with his bandages, his new haircut, and scary glare, he looked like a delinquent.

"Going for the bad boy look I see," Chrona surmised.

"Hm, it kinda fits him, though it really makes him look like a delinquent," Kumi chimed. Tokoha simply nodded.

"Bad boy? I just liked these clothes…" Chrono responded.

"Its fine," Tokoha consoled him, "come on, let's grab some more."

Chrono nods. "Yeah, sure. Just nothing too ridiculous."

"No promises."

Soon after, Tokoha eye caught something and she runs up to it. She picks up a white hat with pink floral design from the stand and tries it on.

She turns to the group. "So how do I look?"

"Yah! It looks great!" Kumi exclaims.

Chrono perks up. "Y- It looks cute." He notices his sister staring at him. "What?"

"Nothing," she responds. "Let's just grab some clothes and go, I'm really hungry."

"Oh, okay." He watches his sister go off to pick pick clothing for him, still acting seemingly uninterested about everything.

'Geez what's with her?'

After buying a stock of clothes (some that were a very questionable choice which Chrono had no power over), the group had gone off to the food court and ordered lunch. Tokoha and Kumi quickly finished their food before the other two and left to play on the claw machines. The curly hair siblings watched from afar as the two excitedly attempted to win the Wingal stuffed toy.

"Look like they're having fun," Chrona said while taking bites out of her hotdog.

Chrono swallowed the bite of his. "Yep."

"So did you know them, in that other world?"

"... I did. We were friends for a while," he forced out. It was so painful to say that. He looked over to this world version of Kumi and Tokoha, noting how they're both so similar to the ones he knew. Hell, they're wearing the same clothes. "How did you know?"

"Just a gut feeling I guess." She looked down at her hotdog. "What happened? It sounds like you aren't friends with them anymore."

Guilt washes over him. "Something happened and…" Chrono stared gloomily at the two girls. "...And I don't know if they'll ever forgive me."

"Oh." It was clear by now that this was a very painful topic for him. She decided to change topic. "Do want something else to eat?"

"Hm?" He was confused. "No, I'm good with just this. Plus I don't want to keep spending more of your money than I already have."

"You should, I heard from mom that you were malnourished. Maybe get something small. I'm kinda worried…"

'Worried?' He thought. She didn't even seem interested in anything, much less him. That's when he noticed he uncomfortable she really seemed. She really is attempting to socialize with him, but it seems like she's having a hard time doing so.

Suddenly it hits him. He gets flashbacks of when he was in middle school, how antisocial he was.

'She was exactly like me.'

He suddenly feels sympathy for her and knows how difficult it is to talk to new people.

"...Fine, I'll go order some fries. I'll get one for you too."

"Thanks…" She pauses to gather some courage for what she's about to say. "I don't know what you're going through or what's going on , but I'll be there for you however you can." Chrona nervously, but sincerely smiles.

Chrono is taken aback a bit, but smiles as well. "Thank you, I've got you back too. We are brother and sister after all."

'Brother…' It was so weird to hear it from someone who just appeared out of nowhere that barely even know. His words seem so sincere and honest, she could never deny them.

The two siblings smile at each other, a brand new friendship forming between the two. The moment was ruined though as Tokoha and Kumi cheered, running towards the siblings while Kumi lifted her stuffed Wingal in the air.

"We did it! It's so cute!" Kumi cheered. She brought it to his face while he awkwardly smiled.

"Oh it's so cute, good for you," he flatly said.

"Hehe, I know right," Kumi chimed.

"So what should we do know?" Tokoha asks, grabbing Chrono's attention.

"I don't know about you, but I'm gonna get some fries."

"No no, other than food."

"Oh," he thinks for a bit, "I'm not sure really, I'm good with whatever." Chrona looks hesitant. She wants to ask something of him, bit is too embarrassed. Chrono notices her struggling with something so he had to ask. "Chrona, what's wrong?"

"Nono, nothing's wrong! I'm-" she panics. "...I just thought I could cardfight against you, is all…" The other two girls gasped.

"You never told us you played vanguard!" Kumi exclaimed.

Chron isn't much surprised, she is a cardfight after all. Of course she'll want to play against him. He's not so sure of his abilities now, being so long of Gyze being inside his body, but she looks so determined so he can't back down now.

"Fine I'll take you on." Chrona looked more serious than ever. The group finds a cardfighting table inside the mall's card store far away from the rest of the people playing. They plot their decks down as Chrona looked determinedly at her opponent. Chrono on the other hand looks uncomfortable. This will be his first match against someone where he isn't being controlled. Tokoha looks on to him, curious to see what this new guy can do.

"So are you ready?" Chrona asks.

He looks to his deck, a pit forming in his stomach. He can't back down now.

"As ready as I'll ever be."

Tokimi is entering inside her house after she had failed what she had wanted to accomplish today. She wanted to apply Chrono to a school, but she can't since needed paper for him, "birth certificates, IDs, vaccine history, all that jazz. Turns out trying to produce is much harder than she thought having that he has no history in this world. Maybe Kogami can help her? She doubts though that he'll even believe her.

She opens the door and hears rustling. She looks down to find big envelope and goes to examine it. The folder is blank with no note or anything onto. She opens to see what's inside. Well she was until she felt a presence behind her. She turns to see Kogami and her husband Rive with a serious look.

"I've heard what happened, we need to talk."