The Next Morning
A scene of Kouta slowly opening his eyes and rubbing them gently, waking up underneath the first few rays of light in the morning. He immediately recalled the events of last night. The shaking of his bedroom. The blinding flash of white. The appearance of Sackboy and their conversation. He turned to look around his bedroom, but there was no sign of Sackboy whatsoever.
"Hmph, I knew it wasn't real."
Kouta shrugged it off as a hallucination or a dream, and nothing more. There's absolutely no way Sackboy was real.
He tidied up his thrown-out clothes, put on a new outfit and made himself ready for the day. There were more lectures to attend on campus, after all. He picked up his backpack, which was slightly unzipped from the bottom. He made sure to fasten it all the way down and left for university.
At the University
"Kouta, I'm terribly sorry about yesterday. I shouldn't have said that."
A scene of Kai apologisng to Kouta as they met up on campus. Kouta had already forgiven Kai at this point, but he's grateful he made the effort to console him yet again. Maybe he shouldn't have been so harsh.
"It's okay, we're cool again." Kouta smiled, resulting in a sigh of relief from Kai. He was just glad to have his old buddy back in his good books.
"So uhm… About us playing LittleBigPlanet. It's really been a long time since I've played that game. Perhaps a bit too long, in fact. I don't know, maybe it's because I was much more enthusiastic as a kid and wanted to collect every single Prize Bubble in the game as soon as possible, or ace every level in the process. Sure enough, that's what happened. I've clocked all three games… but that was years ago. Until now, I didn't feel the need to chase achievements, and I don't possess the creativity you and the others had."
"That's true. You were always the Play Tester when it came to creating levels on the Moon. You were quite scary back then, always managing to ace them too. And we thought we could come up with the best traps and hazards to use!"
"Aha, those really got my blood pumping!" Kai and Kouta chuckled, and just like old times they were truly enjoying each other's company.
"You know what, screw it. Let's have a few games at your place when this day's over!" Kai suggested. Kouta couldn't have been a happier friend.
A Few Moments Later
A scene of Kouta making his way to his first lecture of the day. As he sat down and zipped open his backpack to reach for his laptop, he noticed something strange moving in one of the side pockets. He cautiously pulled the pocket open to get a better look, and wouldn't you know it, a yawning Sackboy stretched his arms from being curled into a ball for goodness knows how long. Kouta shrieked in disbelief, almost drawing the attention of the lecture room's attendants. The events of last night were no hallucination.
"Sackboy, what are you doing here?" Kouta asked in what sounded like a mix of a whisper and a high-pitch scream. Sackboy rubbed his eyes.
"Well, you said good night, so I decided to sleep after you did. And your backpack looked pretty comfy! Plus, I knew you'd eventually be needing it for going somewhere." Sackboy snickered.
"Yes, but why tag along to my university?!"
"Huh? What's a university?"
"Oh goodness gracious!"
A few students glanced at Kouta with a confused expression, wondering who the hell he was talking to. Fortunately, Sackboy was not in their vision of sight. Kouta smiled nervously at the suspecting students and gently closed the bag.
"Hey waaaait!"
Kouta attempted to focus on the lecture, but it was pretty much impossible at this point. Sackboy was undoubtedly right there, in his backpack. It wasn't a figment of his imagination. His brow sweated a little, unsure of how to handle the situation. Whatever was going on, he could not just carry Sackboy around and pretend nothing happened. He'd surely become curious of this world and unintentionally expose himself to other people, and that would not go well at all. Kouta thought hard.
"I can't show Sackboy to anyone. Anyone, except… for Kai and Charlotte. Yeah. Those are the two most likely to understand and help… What the heck am I saying, nobody would understand this situation!"
Kouta slammed the desk with the bottom of his fist, attracting the attention of the students surrounding him. He realised instantly and apologised timidly, receiving a handful of worried looks.
"These people already think I'm crazy. I need to… I mean we, need to make our way home as soon as possible."
A Few More Moments Later
A scene of Kouta sitting in a bathroom stall on campus with Sackboy on his lap. This was the only way he could think of conversing with him privately, as anywhere else would pose a chance of Sackboy being exposed to an outsider.
"So, a university is like the Popit Academy, but for humans, right? So fascinating!" Sackboy said, after sitting in one of Kouta's lectures.
"Huh, I guess so if you put it that way… Wait, are you even listening?! I can't let anyone else see you, or else things could go wrong! The only ones I would trust in this situation would be Kai and Charlotte, so we've got to get in touch with them again."
"Woah, are you bringing the old crew back together again? This is perfect, Kouta! With the three of you working together once more, Craftworld will be saved!"
"You… weren't kidding about Craftworld being in danger, huh?" Kouta said. Realising this was no longer a joke, he decided to trust in his judgement and believe Sackboy this time.
"How could I, you're my administrator. My first ever companion. You've helped me save Craftworld many a times by now. There's no kidding about something like this." Kouta smiled at those words. He really was considered a companion in Sackboy's beady eyes. Kouta stood up and carried Sackboy in the palm of his hand.
"Alright then. We've got a planet that needs saving. You can count on me!" Kouta exclaimed proudly, making Sackboy beam with excitement.
"Shut up, tree-hugger!" a voice from another bathroom stall yelled. Kouta covered his mouth. It was better to conceal his excitement for the time being, before they were figured out by the wrong people.