The bus had stopped in front of the Nowhere bus shelter.

First things first in the morning, Mari and Hero had taken an early bus to Nowhere. Of course, they ate breakfast first. Mari insisted on going there as fast as possible, but Hero offered a compromise for a quick toast and Life Jam. Good stuff.

They stepped off the bus, and saw a bunch of children, some of them Hero and Mari knew personally.

Aubrey, Kel and Basil. The rest they didn't know because they never met. One of them was a boy of their age with a red hair band and a black sleeveless t-shirt. They noticed he had tattoos on his left arm. Their impression of him considerably grew negative due to it.

Even farther, was a girl of their age, too. Her hair was green and her eyes were naturally brown. Her t-shirt exposed her left forearm. On her right arm clinged a boy with silver hair and black eye color. His left eye was covered with an eyepatch. Aubrey was in front of him.

However, it took them less than two seconds to register that this silver haired boy was, in fact,

Sunny.

The boy that they had been trying to find for a year was now in front of them.

Trying to make sure, Hero called out to him.

"... Sunny…?"

Sunny, who was looking down, suddenly flinched and gasped. His eye was filled with unbridled fear as he slowly looked towards Hero.

Hero was slightly taken aback by this sight.

… Why are you looking at me like that…? Hero thought to himself.

"... Little brother…?"

Mari called out to Sunny, her hands were trembling as they covered her mouth, and her eyes were watering. She had missed Sunny very much. She was also shocked and concerned about Sunny's patched left eye.

"Hero? Mari? W-why are you here?" Kel was surprised.

"Did Grandma tell you…?" Basil spoke. After all, the only person in Faraway who should know they found Sunny was Mrs. Tulip.

Aubrey looked back towards Mari and Hero and quickly turned back. She noticed Sunny's sudden change in expression.

"Sunny? Are you okay…?"

Sunny looked at Aubrey, but he wasn't met with her beautiful brown eyes…

It was red.

Sunny instantly walked back quickly by three steps, letting go of Abbi. He stood there in place, with his eye like a deer's in the headlight.

The others noticed Sunny walking back, especially Hiko. They looked at him, worried at how he was acting; afraid.

"Sunny…?" Kel asked.

"Are you… okay?" Basil asked.

Abbi walked towards Sunny and crouched in front of him. She held him by his shoulders with her two arms.

"What's wrong, Sunny…?" Abbi said with concern.

Seeing something was very wrong with Sunny, Hero and Mari rushed towards Sunny.

"Sunny! What's wrong!?" said Hero.

"H-hey! Don't!" Hiko tried to stop Hero, but his warning was ignored. Hiko seemed to have realized something.

The world slowed down for a second in Sunny's eyes.

Their eyes are red.

The time when Hero got mad at him had burned that night's memory in his mind. It was a very painful and terrifying memory that had made Sunny fear for his life. He didn't want to feel afraid, he didn't want to feel fear, he didn't want to hear his voice, he didn't want to see their red eyes.

Sunny was traumatized.

"... no…"

"No no no no NO! PLEASE, NO!" Sunny shook off Abbi and walked back a good distance from all of them.

Everyone was shocked by what Sunny did. For someone who was quiet and never really emoted his feelings, Sunny had screamed in denial at the top of his lungs. He was trembling, his eyes were already watering. His expression showed that he was beyond afraid.

Everyone froze and stood silent. It felt as if that if someone were to move even a little bit, Sunny would run as quickly as he could.

…

Mari took the first step.

"Sunny… it's okay, I'm not mad at you…" Mari walked towards Sunny slowly. It seemed that Mari thought Sunny was afraid that Mari was still mad at him.

"Sunny… I… I miss you," Mari kept walking slowly towards Sunny.

Sunny noticeably calmed down at the sight of Mari. He had also missed Mari quite a lot. However, Sunny also felt like Mari shouldn't be near him. He felt that he might hurt her again like that day.

Sunny looked down and took a step back.

"Sunny…?" Mari was shocked by what Sunny did.

"... No… stay away…" Sunny didn't want to hurt Mari again. However, Mari took this in another way.

"W-what do you mean…?" Mari was shocked by what Sunny said. Did he not love her anymore? Was he angry at her for something?

"... No!" Hero walked quickly and grabbed Sunny's hand. Sunny was startled and struggled to let go.

"HEY! STOP THAT!" Hiko screamed again at Hero, but Hero ignored him again. Hiko then started to run towards Hero.

"Sunny… I'm sorry! I was wrong! You're not! No one's mad at you, I'm not mad at you! So, please come home, Sunny!"

So, please come home, Sunny.

Sunny did want to go back home, but…

If he came back home, he would be surrounded by the red eyes he feared so much, especially when some of the eyes live with him. Not only that, the very person who was the origin of his fear was holding his hand and was in front of him. The thought and situation was too stressful for Sunny to handle, so…

He broke.

"...noooOOOOOOOOOOO!" Sunny screamed as he wildly struggled from Hero's grip for the last time. Sunny was crying uncontrollably. He swung his other hand towards Hero.

"Ack!" Sunny scratched Hero by the left cheek. The shock from Sunny's sudden scream had weakened Hero's grip, but the scratch had made Hero his grip even more weaker. Sunny let go of his grip, and then…

Sunny ran, ran, and ran.

Sunny ran as far and quickly as his feet could take him. He didn't care where his feet would take him, only that he needed to run as far away as possible.

"Huff… huff…"

He panted and hiccuped. He gasped for air and cried.

Finally, he slowed down. He found himself in a dead end of the many alleyways of Nowhere. Sunny slumped down, but he wasn't feeling relieved at all. He looked at his hands. They were trembling. Sunny tried to hold his hands together to stop them from trembling. He couldn't. He tried to calm down, to calm his breathing down. He couldn't. He tried to stop the tears from coming out. He couldn't.

He reflexively searched his pocket for Hiko's cigarettes, but they weren't there because Hiko took them. The amount of fear and stress Sunny was in was enough for him to smoke two boxes of cigarettes.

Sunny finally gave up on composing himself. He curled himself up on the asphalt and bawled his eyes out while screaming his heart out. He saw the very eyes he wanted to run away from. He was afraid. He didn't want to feel afraid. At one point, Sunny's voice had disappeared as it had reached its limit.

He cried there, alone.

…

Steps were heard in the distance. They were getting louder.

Sunny was then brought into a warm embrace. He was still crying as he looked up, wondering who hugged him.

"... Mari?" No voice came out of Sunny's mouth, however, so it looked like he mouthed the name 'Mari' instead.

It was Abbi. Abbi had followed him throughout the entire time so that she could calm him down.

Abbi stroked his hair and held him tight, "It's okay, little sunshine... Abbi's here… Abbi's here…"

Sunny had noticeably calmed down into quiet sobs. He looked so fragile to Abbi. Her heart broke seeing him like this.

"It's okay… Everything will be okay, little sunshine," Abbi held him tighter as her eyes watered, swayed by his emotions.

Sunny ran, ran, and ran.

"S-Sunny!? Wait-" Hero tried to chase Sunny.

"STOP! Listen to me!" Hiko shouted at all of them, stopping them in their tracks, "... you five," he pointed at Kel, Basil, Aubrey, Mari, and Hero, "listen to me."

"I… don't think all of you should meet Sunny right now. Especially you, what's your name?" Hiko pointed at Hero.

"... Henry, but everyone calls me Hero…"

"And you…?"

"... Mari… I'm-"

"Sunny's big sister," Mari was surprised that Hiko knew that Mari was Sunny's big sister. He felt something familiar between her and what Sunny drew.

"How did you-"

"Let's just say he told me before. Now, follow me, I need to show you something," Hiko turned back and walked. The entire group followed. The bus had already left after a long time.

Hiko opened his apartment door and switched the light switch on. Sunny's old friends went in while the Hooligans waited in front.

Hiko took the chair, sat on it, and began rummaging through a folder he took out from a bag.

Hero and Mari looked around the apartment.

A messy table with a stove, makeup, and clothes. Sleeping mattresses. And… a wall pinned with drawings.

Sunny's drawings of his life with the people he met here.

A drawing of Sunny and Hiko squatting as they wait for their instant noodles to get ready. A drawing of Hiko and Abbi hugging Sunny in their sleep. A drawing of the violinists and him fooling around with the Ling Ling workout. A drawing of Angela teaching Sunny. A drawing of Abbi and Hiko playing a duet. And…

A drawing of Sunny holding hands with Hiko and Abbi.

The memories Sunny made here made Mari relieved that Sunny had been living well. However, it had also hurt her due to the fact that she had missed a year of Sunny's life, and quite possibly been replaced of her position as Sunny's big sister.

"... Found it," Hiko took out a piece of paper and showed it to them, "Does this seem familiar?"

It was two black blots that were flat on the bottom side. One was wider with four bulges with different shapes. The other one was thinner with two bulges. Both of them had red pupils. The wider one had four pairs of eyes, while the thinner one only had two pairs.

The five of them were confused at first, but then they started to feel some familiarity towards the picture.

A shape like a basil plant…

A shape like a bow…

A shape like an unkempt hair…

A shape like rounded hair…

"Me and Sunny usually play this drawing game where we take turns to ask questions and then we answer them. The reason why I did this is so I can get to know Sunny more and help him. After all, there's definitely a reason why Sunny ran away. But, if he still doesn't want to go back home after the both of us tried to help him, we'll respect his decision."

The entire group stayed silent. Hiko inhaled a breath of air and began again.

"The question for this drawing was 'what are you scared of?' I wasn't sure at first, but after seeing you four, I'm now sure of it."

"It's… us isn't it?" said Aubrey.

"... Yes. And I presume this other one is…"

"Our parents…" Mari said. She recognized the silhouette.

All of them stayed silent. They all knew what Sunny drew; it was them during that night. They were regretting their decisions more than ever. It was even worse for Hero, who started all this. He slumped onto his knees as he slid down his hands on his face from fully covering his face to only covering his mouth.

"... This is my fault. I… no…" Hero was in a state of shock and regret.

"... And you just made him relapse his fears just now. He was already starting to get better with Aubrey but, because of you, all of that was reversed. Could you imagine just how afraid Sunny was when you grabbed him?"

Hero just stayed silent and said nothing.

"... Um…" Mari wanted to ask Hiko something.

"It's Hiko."

"Hiko, it's about Sunny… why is he wearing an eyepatch…?"

Hiko stayed silent, then started talking again.

"You… need to sit down for this one."

Mari's heart sank a little as she prepared herself for the answer.

…

…

Mari covered her face as she sobbed.

"... No… Sunny…" The story of how Sunny lost his eye and escaped death thanks to Hiko miraculously having the same blood type as Sunny had broken her, "If only I hadn't gotten in his way…"

"Now, let me ask you something, Mari was it?" Hiko asked.

Mari nodded.

"... Why did he throw the violin?" After all, Basil had told Hiko what happened.

"I… don't know… that time during the day of our recital, I was so… mad at that time, because he had thrown the violin we worked so hard to get for him."

Mari was still sobbing and took a few moments to wipe her tears. Hiko stayed silent, waiting for her to continue.

"I don't know why Sunny threw the violin. But, I know that Sunny's a good kid. He wouldn't do something like that just because he … hates us…" That last part, Mari doubted herself.

"... What is this about a recital?" Apparently, Basil didn't say anything about the recital when he explained what happened during that day. Basil had only touched on what happened and after that.

"Oh, so… we're about to have this duet recital that night. We had been practicing it for three months, with Sunny just starting to play violin seriously at that time-"

Hiko swore in surprise, "... three months…?" He put his hands on the side of his head, "I don't know if you know this but… your brother's beyond Ling Ling at this point."

"... Ling Ling?"

"It means prodigy or something, Mari," Aubrey explained to Mari.

"Wait… what do you mean, prodigy? Sunny always messes up every time we practice… and I mean, big mistakes."

"What if I told you that your little brother mastered Der Erlkonig in a year?"

"Wait… that Der Erlkonig…?" Mari was surprised.

"Of course it wasn't perfect, but really, his mistakes didn't destroy the piece. What piece were you playing?"

"Uh… Weiss Guertena's Duet…?"

It was a musical piece that was made by a great artist known for his paintings. Although he made it, it was never known if he ever played it. It was said that he created this piece with the wish of playing with his daughter that never existed; a painting of a girl he made. Essentially, it was a love letter to his fictional daughter. The musical score was found 30 years after Gueterna passed away.

"Strange… that piece should be simpler than Der Erlkonig. So why…?"

Hiko stared at Mari and frowned.

"Mari, how did you two practice?"

"I… We just… played."

"And?"

"... Sunny would take private lessons…"

"That's not what I'm talking about."

"H-huh?"

"You said Sunny would make mistakes."

Hiko stood up and walked towards Mari. Hiko stood a head and a neck taller than Mari. The view from Mari was actually very terrifying, as Hiko was glaring at her intimidatingly.

"... What do you do when he makes mistakes?"

Mari looked at him in the eye. She trembled by the sheer intimidation Hiko was exuding. It wasn't just her affected by what Hiko did. The other three younger children were intimidated by Hiko.

"I…" Remembering back, Mari wasn't very good towards her little brother. She would angrily tell him to start again when he made a mistake. If Mari was very tilted, she would berate Sunny and his incompetence in a way that hurts. There was no such thing as constructive criticism; only anger and knives in the form of words.

"I… would get angry at him… tell him to get better…" Mari trembled, no longer looking at Hiko in the eye, "and... insult him."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

The room fell silent. Basil, Kel, and Aubrey looked at Mari in shock.

"You did what…?" Aubrey asked her.

Mari stood silent.

"You're joking right…? You're our big sister, right…? There's no way you would do that to your own brother… right…?" Aubrey looked at her, trying to believe that Mari wouldn't do such things. But…

"No… it's… true…"

"Mari…?" The picture of Mari as a perfect big sister had shattered into pieces in Aubrey's mind. No, for all of them. Hero knew to some extent, because Mari vented to Hero about how Sunny was not improving and that she believed that he would. However, he didn't know it was this bad.

All of them fell silent, when Hiko spoke.

"... I knew it. Mari, I understand that you would be frustrated and angry, but what you did to Sunny was bad. It was probably… the reason why he threw the violin. I hope you realized this, but your little brother is someone that would bottle up his emotions and not assert his will unless he really wants to. Besides that, now I know that Sunny isn't the type to strive well under pressure."

Mari stood there silently, looking down at the ground. She was deeply regretting all that she did to Sunny. She was berating herself for not understanding her own little brother. No, she knew what happened to Sunny when he was 5 years old and forgot about what that did to her own little brother.

Hiko put both of his hands on Mari strongly, shocking her. She looked at Hiko as he spoke,

"Mari. Listen carefully. You have to understand your little brother. You have to notice the cues when he is frustrated, sad, angry, or whatever. You're his sibling, his only family. If you're unable to see the cues…"

"... You might lose him for real," Hiko's eyes looked really sad when he said that last part.

Hiko let go of her shoulders, walked backwards and sat on the chair.

"... I'm not letting Sunny go with you, yet."

They all looked at him for that remark.

"All of you are free to come here, except you Hero."

Hero nodded, not trying to argue. He knew the reason why, and for Sunny's sake he was willing to not meet him.

"Until all of you have a well prepared plan for Sunny's recovery and that he wants to go home, I will allow it. But for now, Sunny is staying with me and Abbi. Like how you two consider Sunny your little brother…" Hiko looked at Hero and Mari.

"... I and Abbi also consider Sunny as our little brother, and we will support and protect him."

The other four stood silent while Hiko took out a cigarette but didn't light it up. He was planning to light it up after he went out. After all, the ventilation in their apartment is ridiculously bad.

"Oh, and one more thing."

"No. Adults."

Hiko looked at them with a scary look on his face. Everyone shivered in fear looking at his face, his eyes had a red tint on it.

"Your plan must not involve any adults."