Hi, guys! It's Ghosty, ur beloved writer, and I just wanted to say some stuff!

Firstly, ik I've said this before, but thank u to everyone on social media who messaged and checked up on me when I was struggling! I really appreciated it and ur all so lovely! Thank you!

Basically, I just wanted to say that due to autistic burnout, I am refusing to conform to a regular writing schedule. Chapters will no longer be weekly because my mental health is suffering. I'm very sorry about this, but I hope you can all understand.

I hope there will be a chapter every month at least, and sometimes there'll be more! But I cannot do weekly chapters, especially at a level of quality that I am happy posting.

Thank you for understanding and supporting me as I try to heal myself.

I hope u all had a great Pride, even if (like me) u are a lil closeted gay!

Also, before we begin: I've made some playlists for this story and some characters! I'd really appreciate it it you checked them out to listen to as you read!

My Spotify username is @VeganOphanim, so have a look at my playlists!

Have fun and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

--

StardustBibi: long yoga flows forest dancing for u pspspspsps

11:34, Liked by ALLAN and Others,

392 Comments,

ShuuTsukiyama—MoonlitChildOfApoll0: How do you move so fluidly through poses? You move like a wonderful swan, especially in that goddess to...That's fourth position??? Like in ballet?

StardustBibi:idk it just felt natural

ShuuTsukiyama—MoonlitChildOfApoll0:It's very beautiful. My private yoga teacher doesn't even move so beautifully!

StardustBibi:oh u have a teacher???

ShuuTsukiyama—MoonlitChildOfApoll0:Yes! I see her every week.

StardustBibi:do u do yoga only once a week?????? i have to do it everyday lol

ShuuTsukiyama—MoonlitChildOfApoll0: I do it most days.

StardustBibi:whats ur fav kind i like asana yoga especially mandala flows

ShuuTsukiyama—MoonlitChildOfApoll0:Type??

StardustBibi:like, asanas, pranayama, dhyana, that kind of thing . i also like pratyahara

everyonesleastfavtwink:Can u guys pls shut up and take it to the dms bc this is actually so boring.

StardustBibi:shut up this is my comment section

Pasorokin:So pretty, sweetie! But where was Dory during this???

StardustBibi:sleepibg

everyonesleastfavtwink:Bunny how tf did u add a handstand to a nature dance????

MadsPêches: It's the pole skills kicking in lol.

everyonesleastfavtwink:Can't wait till I'm there lol u kno how I feel abt them lmao.

MadsPêches: You'll be there soon tho lol.

ALLAN:Yoga in nature is a pure form of the practice, Bunny.

StardustBibi: ik thats why i always do it like that

ALLAN: When are you next doing pratyahara? I enjoyed practicing it with you last week, you know.

StardustBibi: idk when it feels right ig i have 2 b in the mood u kno tgat

ALLAN:Good. I'll be waiting.

--

Why do you look so good? Why aren't you trapped in your bedroom? Where are your tears? Why aren't you crying yourself to sleep in the daytime?

Lyra cannot help but glare at Bunny.

Why? Why can't you be imperfect for just a few days? What's wrong with you? Are you an alien? What's wrong with you?

Bunny is smiling.

Stop it. Stop smiling. Why are you smiling? What could you possibly be smiling about?

Bunny is completely fine.

Why are you always so happy? Why? Why are you like this? Are you trying to hurt me? Lyra thinks, dipping her nails into her palms.

"Oh, everyone's here!" Bunny is saying, "That's such a lovely surprise," They put papers bags down on the kitchen counter.

"Hey, sweetie," Pasha says, leaning down to kiss Bunny, "How was your hike?"

"It was awesome, Pasha. Right, Dory?"

"No, everything hurts, I feel like I'm dying and I have a sunburn."

"He didn't wear sun-cream."

"Wh--Dory! I packed that cream specifically for you. See? Big letters! FOR ECZEMA. How could you miss it?"

"I know, but Pasha...It's gross, like, really gross, it makes me feel all greasy and ew and I just wanna peel my skin off."

"Well, your skin'll be peeling off anyway, Dory. Just put it on next time, Dory, please."

"Papa," Bunny says, grabbing Pasha's hand.

"Yes, Bunny?"

"I wanna show you something."

"Ok, go on then," Pasha pats Bunny's head, before she wanders off. He looks up, before saying, "Oh, Miss Imakita! There you are!" He is smiling at a very tall and severe-looking woman. Lyra stares at her, gawking slightly and wondering if she's the only ugly person in this city.

"Oh, Pavel," Says the tall woman, "I didn't realise we were having some sort of get-together."

Pasha nods, "Yeah, it sorta just happened, which is fun, right? Thanks for bringing Dory and Bunny home. Did you go hiking with them?"

"No, Pavel, I found them shopping in Ginza, not hiking, can you believe it?"

"No," Dory says, "We obviously went shopping after the hike, and you're one to talk."

"Yeah!" Bunny says, reappearing, "Miss Imakita took us to the lingerie store; look!"

"Us?" Maddie asks, "Dory, I had no idea that was your thing."

"I like a corset every now and then, Maddie."

"Papa," Bunny is saying, "Look, look, look! Look at my things, aren't they pretty? Look!" Bunny is presenting bits of pink and white lace that Lyra would've thought too small and sheer to consider clothing.

"Oh, they're beautiful, Bunny," Pasha says, "Look at all these pretty flowers."

"And look!" Bunny is vibrating with excitement, "These panties have tiny bears on them. Tiny bears! Baby bears! Mini-tiny-baby bears!

"Wow. That is just so cool, Bunny," Pasha smiles at Bunny, warmer than he smiled to Lyra and Tsukiyama, "But did you have a nice hike?"

"Yeah, dad, it was awesome! We were walking for like hours, and then Dory was tired, because he's pretty weak—"

"Hey, fuck you, dude."

"I was just joking."

"She's not wrong though, you are quite weak."

"Um??? Zuki, when did anyone ask you anything? Ever?"

"Dory! There was no need for that," Pasha says, "Carry on, Bunny."

"Ok, so like, Dory was lying in the shade with the dogs, which is like, super boring, so I was like, I need to find something to do. And like, I felt like, super connected to just like, the Universe, and Earth, so I did like, three hours of yoga, and then I danced in the forest for ages."

"Please tell me you had clothes on."

"Why would I have clothes on if I was dancing in nature?" Bunny shakes her head, "Anyway! Then I fell in a lake and cut my leg, which wasn't fun, and then I scraped my elbow trying to get out of the lake, which also wasn't fun! So then I swam in the lake for a bit, even though I'd been swimming already this morning, and that was fun."

"And where was Dory during all this?"

"He got lost."

"I did not. Bunny ran off and skinny-dipped in a lake whilst I ran around for hours trying to find them."

"Is that why you look like you've been crying?"

"Shut up, Zuki."

"He does look like he's been crying," Maddie says.

"Woah. Why am I being bullied? Pasha, help—"

"No one's bullying you, Dory, but have you been crying? What happened?"

"Nothing! I'm fine, God."

"Dad," Bunny says, "I need to finish speaking."

"Of course, Bunny. Go on."

"We went to the grocery store, and look at this fruit!"

"Oh, that's...interesting. What is it?"

"It's called a mangosteen, and it looks awesome. Ryusei was all like, 'I got this for you Bunny," and he kept on saying that, and I was like, 'Cool, but what does it taste like?' and then he wouldn't answer, so he just kept kissing me."

"What?" Tsukiyama says, staring at Bunny, "Who was kissing you?"

"Their boyfriend," Dory says, smirking,

"Boyfriend? Bunny has a boyfriend?"

Of course she has a boyfriend, Lyra thinks, feeling herself sink.

"No, I do not—"

"He works at the grocery store, you know, the guy that's always stocking the fruit and veg aisles?"

"No, I don't know, Doryo."

"He's a nice guy actually," Maddie says, "Not bad-looking. He has a face...and fully-formed hands."

"And a working penis," Bunny adds, chewing on a lock of her golden hair as they gaze with empty eyes.

"It works now?"

"Yeah, but he's not my boyfriend, and I really don't like it when you say he is," Bunny looks as though they're about to cry.

"Doryo," Tsukiyama gasps, "How could you upset Little Bunny like that?"

"Wha—I didn't mean to! I literally just—"

"Ok, that's enough of this conversation, I think," Pasha says, "Dory, why don't you go and take Miss Imakita and Maddie to see the kittens? And Bunny can take over the cooking."

"Yay!" Bunny says, "It's a curry, right?" Maddie nods, letting Bunny take over.

Pasha looks to Lyra and Tsukiyama, "Did you two wanna have dinner with us?"

Lyra feels sick.

Food. In front of all these people? Is he making fun of me? He wants to laugh at me. He wants them all to laugh at me. Oh, oh, ohhh...I can hear it now, everything they'll think. Oh, God.

"That's such a kind offer," Tsukiyama says.

Oh, I'll bet Tsukiyama would love to watch me eat. He'd definitely go straight to Bunny to laugh about how fucking hideous I am.

"But I'm eating with my father later tonight," Tsukiyama says, "Thank you anyway."

"That's okay. Lyra, what about you?"

"Um..." Lyra blushes, looking to the floor, "Ok."

What the fuck is wrong with you? Why did you say that? Why would you say that? It's like you want them to make fun of you. You fucking idiot.

Pasha nods and smiles his warm smile, "Great. You're not allergic to anything, right?"

"Uh, no."

"Good. Excuse me for two seconds. Bunny; don't burn anything."

"I've never burned anything in my life, ever."

"That's not true and you know it. I'll be right back."

Bunny shakes her head, "How would I burn the kitchen down with a curry," She looks up at Lyra and Tsukiyama, "Wait, why are you guys here again?"

"Why, to check on you, of course," Tsukiyama replies, smiling, "Or at least, that's why I'm here. Lyra just came for tea, I think."

Lyra bites her lip, looking up at the ceiling.

"You came to check on me? Awww! That's so sweet, thank you. I'm fine though."

"You are?"

"Yeah. I mean, I cried earlier, but that was because Dory was crying. Anyway. What about you? Are you okay? Do you need checking on, Mr Tsukiyama?"

"Me? No, I'm perfectly fine, Little Bunny."

"That makes me so happy to hear! What about you, Lyra?"

"Huh? I'm, uh, okay."

"Yay! I'm so glad!" Bunny giggles. They talk nonstop as they cook; mainly about their house plants and kittens—which are apparently, 'like, super cute!'.

When Bunny is finished cooking, Bunny seats themselves between Dory and Tsukiyama (who is still here, despite not eating with everyone else). Lyra has purposefully placed herself away from Tsukiyama and Bunny. She gets the feeling Pasha and the tall woman are less likely to laugh at her.

Lyra plays with her food, pushing it around and trying to appear as though she has eaten more than she has; the only issue being that she is hungrier than she'd like to believe, (and that Bunny happens to make a surprisingly good chickpea curry). Pasha smiles at her and makes idle conversation, pretending to be interested in her.

The tall woman smiles at Lyra too, before eventually saying: "I'm so terribly sorry for not introducing myself; so rude of me. I'm Miss Imakita."

"Um. It's fine. I'm Lyra," Lyra blushes, as the woman's eyes rest on Lyra's neck.

"What a pretty name," She narrows her eyes, "Isn't it, Pavel?"

Pasha nods, "Yeah. Is it Swedish or something?"

Lyra shrugs; how does she say she doesn't know? That the countries she grew up in were often anonymous? That she was only ever allowed to speak English or old Irish?

"You don't know?"

Lyra shakes her head, "I guess not."

"...Ok," Pasha pauses, furrowing his brow in slight confusion.

"So. You're a friend of my Bunny then?" Miss Imakita asks.

"Uh, not really—"

"Well, I do hope you'll be a good friend to her, unlike some others at the table," She says, lowering her voice, eyes resting on Tsukiyama and Bunny, "Bunny, why aren't you eating?"

Bunny looks up, "I feel sick and dad said I can eat later. What were you saying?" Bunny looks back to Tsukiyama, who is getting very close to Bunny.

Lyra focuses on Bunny and Tsukiyama as she tries to eat, her presence already forgotten by Imakita and Pasha.

"Did you see, Little Bunny? I brought you the most beautiful flowers."

"I did see! Thank you so much, I love them. They made me very happy. I love flowers, and yours are so so beautiful, Mr Tsukiyama!" Bunny giggles, acting as though they have never seen a flower before, "And I love roses, especially pink ones!"

"They're from my rose garden, Bunny, picked just for you."

"Wow! You must be a really good flower-rose-gardener, Tsukiyama, because they really are just like, so beautiful! I'll keep them forever!"

"Forever? Is that so?"

"Yeah! You have a rose garden? That's awesome! We only have a regular garden, but we have a pond, which is cool, because there's a turtle in it and everything! And we have loads of lavender and tulips! I love tulips!"

"Tulips? What colour?"

"Pink! Why?"

"Well, because tulips have so many meanings, for all their many colours."

"Oooooooo! Tell me more, please. What do pink tulips mean?"

"Well, pink tulips would signify care and happiness. Which is rather fitting for someone such as yourself."

"Yeah! I like hyacinths too, what about them? Oo, oo! And I like lotuses, but I obviously know what they mean, and I like cactuses. Cacti. Cactus flowers!"

"Oh, now pink hyacinths and cactus flowers," He takes Bunny's hand, gazing into their wide eyes, "Well, I've heard they represent warmth, endurance, but also," He lowers his voice, edging closer to them, "Ardent love and lust."

Bunny gives tiny nods in response, "Really? That's pretty fitting too, I guess," Bunny giggles, gripping his hand in return.

Lyra shuffles uncomfortably. She watches as the two of them whisper and giggle to one another about things that don't feel as though they should they kept secret.

Lyra seems to be the only one at the table who notices. Lyra wonders how the two of them can be so confident, how they can sit there and act like that, how they can hold hands for so long; seriously, how long has he been holding her hand?

Lyra would rather eat than watch it, so she does, despite the disgust inside of her, but not even eating is enough to distract her from what Bunny and Tsukiyama are doing.

What is Bunny thinking? Is she thinking about doing other stuff with him? What is HE thinking? Ew. I don't wanna think about it. I don't. I really don't.

Then why am I thinking about it? Why can't I stop? Oh, oh, what is wrong with me? What is wrong with them? Seriously, it's like they're in their own little world! Hello? There are other people here. Stop it! Stop touching her. Stop touching him. Just stop touching each other! Stop thinking about each other. Urgh! It's like they can't even see the rest of us!

"Lyra?"

Lyra looks up, a shiver trembling down her spine. Bunny is looking at her, still gripping Tsukiyama's hand.

"Uh, yeah?" Lyra blushes and tucks her hair behind her ear.

"I totally needed to ask you something, and I kept forgetting! But I remember it now!"

"Uh, yeah?" Lyra nods. Tsukiyama is glaring at Lyra, as if it's her fault Bunny decided to ask her something.

"I like, just need to know if you've thought about our research project yet?"

"Oh, uh..."

"Because like, my professor needs to know," Bunny smiles, "Obviously like, no rush, but like...you know."

"...Yeah," Lyra hadn't thought about the project; a part of her still thought Bunny and Maddie had been joking.

"Oh, and like, because I'm on the swim team, my professor said she's willing to give me extra time, and Maddie works a lot more nights than me, so she gets a bit of extra time. I imagine you might get some time too. Like, otherwise that's just not fair, and that's what happened the last time."

Last time, Lyra thinks, Last time.

"Um...Yeah," Lyra says, though now she is thinking about the last project Bunny was involved in, "Sure, uh, I'd like to do it, um, with you."

Bunny smiles, "Yay! I'm so excited; it's gonna be so much fun!"

Fun, Lyra thinks, Did you tell Kazuo it would be fun? Did you say that about the last time?

Bunny is already looking away, "Papa, can I take Tsukiyama out into the garden, please?"

"Hm? Of course, just don't forget your shoes this time."

"Ok! C'mon, Tsukiyama, it's this way!"

Lyra sinks back into her chair, her mind filled only with thoughts of the projects.

What have I done? What have I done? What's going to happen to me? Will I end up like Kazuo and the others? Oh, what have I done? Why did I say yes? Why did I say yes?

Oh, you fool.You fucking idiot, Lyra. Why did you say that? You know what happened the Last Time. Everyone does. Bunny's the only one left, and she got sent to that mental hospital or something before she came back.

Oh, no, no, no. I'm gonna end up like the others. No, no, no. What have I done? What's going to happen to me?

How could I say yes? How could I be so stupid? Do I hate myself that much?

Oh, and there's no way of backing out now. God knows what would happen then. Something worse. I'm stuck now.

I'm stuck.

How long will it be? Until I end up like the Last Time? Months? A year?

It doesn't matter. The results will be the same.

Only this time, no one will care when I go missing.

--

Thank you for reading! Comments are appreciated!

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