Baka's notes: It's been a Year, God. Sorry about the unbelievable wait!
Anyway, enjoy the chapter and read the final notes, they are very important!
Chapter 5: Getting sunburned
"Sooo… You're a zombie?"
"That's right!" Mari answered with a big smile.
"So… If you bite someone, do they become a zombie too?"
"I dunno!" She shrugged.
"And we will never find out!"
"Alright… And what if you get cut in half? Do both parts keep moving? Or just the part connected to your brain?"
"I have no idea." the zombie pondered.
"And we will never find out!"
"Oh! Oh! If we cut your hand, can you move it around like in Family Adam?"
"I dunno, but that sounds fun!" Mari said with excitement.
"And we will never find out!"
"Boo! You're no fun, Hero!" she complained.
To that, Hero stared at the zombie with wide eyes and a look of betrayal.
"Am I really the only one worried for your well being?! Especially after that fright this morning?!" He exclaimed.
"Please don't remind me…" Sunny sighed sadly next to his friends, Aubrey patted his back.
"What? What happened?" Kim asked with a raised eyebrow, intrigued.
"Hm. Let me explain." Basil smiled awkwardly as he looked at a distressed Hero being teased by Mari.
He explained that Hero and Sunny were not warned about the way Mari 'sleeps', so it was no wonder that when they woke up and she didn't, they checked for a pulse and breathing, and when they didn't find any, they panicked.
Of course, Basil, Kel and Aubrey explained to them what was happening, but even themselves were worried that she wouldn't wake up again.
That way of 'sleeping' was terrifying.
Eventually, her eyes would open again and with an exaggerated yawn, she would sit up and greet her friends who were surrounding her with relieved and tearful expressions.
"So that's how Zombies sleep? Sick." Angel noted with a smirk.
After that morning ordeal, Aubrey wanted for Mari to meet the Hooligans since they'll be spending more time together now. Plus,with Vincent back from college, they needed to talk about the Amusement Park outing they all planned, especially now that they have an additional person to the party.
Of course, as expected, the group of young adults were extremely surprised by the existence of zombies (only one to be fair). Kim and Vince were literally left speechless at seeing the Suzuki older sibling back from the dead. Angel was somewhat pretty excited to learn that the occult was real. Charlene, as usual, was very quiet, her giant body trembling as she was surprised and a bit scared of the revelation. But Mikael had it the worst as he screeched when the notion of an afterlife and an undead was standing in front of him, he pulled out a crucifix from under his collar and pointed it at the zombie girl.
And if it wasn't bad enough that many of the group held back their laughter at his reaction, Mari decided to let her inner gremlin out as she approached the terrified boy and reached for the cross with a huge grin. Holding it in her hand, showing that it had no effect on her.
He fainted from that stunt.
"Anyway, now that all questions have been answered-" Hero started.
"Not all of them." Kim interrupted.
"- Let's plan when and how we're going to the park in two days." he ignored her.
They all had money saved for only ten persons, and transportation for only ten people. So that was a problem to be solved quickly as they planned to go to the park the very next day. Hero suggested that he pay for Mari's entry ticket and also rent a bigger car for the day.
There was no objection for the car part, but Mari definitely was against Hero paying her ticket. The zombie exclaimed that she'll pay for it herself.
"With what money?" Sunny asked.
"Oh. Err… I can… work for it? I think there's small jobs around town for that."
"You won't have enough in only one day of work, Mari. Just let us pay you your ticket." Aubrey explained.
The resurrected girl pouted, she really didn't want to feel indebted to her friends, so she said that after their outing, she'll work regularly to pay them back, no matter what.
As the day was approaching its end, Mari noticed something about her brother that made her smirk internally while they were all hanging out: he was most of the time standing close or next to Aubrey, almost unconsciously. He asked her opinion about some stuff when they were suggesting what attractions to do for the park or what she wanted to snack.
In other words, they were both very close. And Mari loved to have ammunition for teasing her little baby brother.
During the evening, the group of friends went back to the brothers' house to wonder what to do before dinner. The brother's parents were withSally to let the group of friends have some fun by themselves for the evening. The Zombie asked for some game they could play, but as Sunny and Kel were thinking of an answer, she noticed Hero stealing glances at her, again.
Aw, he was so adorable. She noticed during the whole day that he was doing exactly what Sunny had been doing with Aubrey.
So she decided to kill two birds with one stone as she suddenly exclaimed:
"Aaah! I wish I could be all lovey-dovey with Hero like Sunny is with Aubrey!" She nearly shouted as she stretched her limbs.
The reactions were immediate: Hero spat out his drink, Sunny and Aubrey blushed brightly red while Basil and Kel were staring at her with wide eyes.
Haha, just as expected. Sweet sweet teasing dra-
Wait. Why was Basil also looking at her like that?
"M-Mari… Aubrey and I… aren't dating." Sunny said, bashfully looking away from Aubrey, she was doing the same.
And upon hearing that, Mari's smile dropped. She stared at Basil who just shrugged and shook his head in a disappointed manner.
The Zombie glared at her brother.
"Sunny. Upstairs with me. We need to talk."
"What?"
"Do it or I'll bite you." she threatened.
"You wouldn't da-" the younger brother tried to answer but his sister bit the air with a growl, "On my way."
The siblings went to Kel and Sally's room and as soon as both stepped inside, Mari closed the door behind them and glared menacingly at her baby brother.
"What do you mean you're not going out with Aubrey?! You haven't done anything in the past six years?!" she interrogated.
"Well… The first four years were… You know."
"Don't play smart with me, you gremlin. Have you not tried anything since that day?" she grabbed his shoulders.
"How could I? It was way too awkward for so long. Even when we started hanging out again… I couldn't just…"
"Aaaargh." The Zombie girl groaned loudly, "Do you still like her?"
At that question, Sunny froze. Memories flashing before his eyes…
Two years ago, shortly after the trial, Kel, Aubrey and Hero decided that they needed more time to process the news. They were all happy that Sunny's trial went well and he didn't get a punishment too severe. They were glad, in the end, that Sunny confessed. But they needed more time.
Hero left town a couple of days after the trial. Sunny wouldn't see him until almost half a year.
It only took a week for Kel to hang out with Sunny and Basil again, coming to see the now-one-eyed teenager in the afternoon after he finished his Community Service hours.
Thankfully, those services were mostly cleaning the streets of the town and its park. And boy, it was unbelievable how filthy this park could get in only one day!
Sometimes, he would see Aubrey and her gang come by the park to hang out at their hideout spot near the lake, they would wave at each other but not really say anything. He would be lying if he said he didn't feel hurt from the lack of interaction with her. But he knew she needed time before they could speak again.
At least she smiled at him when she saw him. Sometimes.
It was only twenty days after he started his Service that she would speak to him again.
He was taking a break on the swings. Slowly moving back and forth on his left swing until he heard a 'hey' on his right. He turned his head only to see Aubrey sitting on the other seat. She wasn't looking at him but looked a bit conflicted about her action.
"Hey." he said back and he saw her eye turning to him, and the corners of her mouth went up a bit.
They talked until it was time for him to get back to work.
"I'll wait for you." She said.
Since that day, she started hanging out with him, Kel and Basil after his shift was done for the day. Smiling and laughing near him, her gang would join too from time to time so they could get to know each other more.
It was two months after that small event, when what was supposed to be a normal day for Sunny became one of the most memorable of his life.
Aubrey was waiting for him to finish his hours at the swings, as usual. That day they were alone since Basil was helping Kel with homeworks, now that classes have resumed. Sunny would tease her about why she wasn't doing them too, but she just shrugged, she'd do them later she said.
He was walking her home when it happened. They were chatting about all and nothing until she suddenly went quiet and stopped walking. Sunny was about to ask what was wrong but stopped his words coming out of his mouth as she grabbed his sleeve. He turned around to look at her and she was looking back, a sad smile on her face.
She then said the three words that he never expected to hear from her, after all, he never said them to himself in the mirror even once in years.
Three little but unimaginably powerful words that can change someone's life.
"I forgive you."
Sunny froze, he couldn't believe his ears. He didn't know when tears started to flow from his eyes. He couldn't even say a word as he openly started to sob in front of her.
The hug he got from Aubrey that day would always be in a special place in his mind, never to be forgotten.
Back to the present, Sunny has been tuned out for quite a while as he was reminiscing, so it was quite a surprise to suddenly be brought back to reality by Mari waving her hand in front of his eyes.
"Man, I asked a simple question! Do you, or do you not still-"
"I do. I actually love her, Mari." Sunny interrupted her with a voice full of determination.
"W-Wow. I didn't expect that from you." the zombie girl said while putting her hands on her cheeks in a bashful manner (since she can't blush), "But you know what? That's great!"
She gave him a proud nod and smile as she put her hands on her hips, then, she dramatically pointed at him and declared:
"Little brother of mine! Tonight is the night where you and Aubrey will tie the knot for good!"
"Wait, what?"
"You heard me! You will take Aubrey out for dinner and ask her out there!"
"B-But, can't I just prepare myself and ask her after tomorrow at the park? To prepare myself!"
"Nope! Do today what you can do tomorrow!" Mari smirked as she posed with her hands on her hips.
"But why?!" Sunny exclaimed, exasperated by her sister's behavior.
"Because! That's why! But don't worry, I'll help you. I'll give you… thirty. No! Forty dollars! Because you will be inviting her!" the revived girl smiled as she reached for her pocket.
Only to remember that she was broke as heck. Because who ever heard of a zombie with money?
"Hey, can I borrow forty dollars?" she asked nonchalantly.
"Uh- I…" Almost on instinct, he reached for his wallet and pulled out two bills of twenty dollars. He had them in case a certain basketball player would ask to 'borrow' money, "Here?" He handed the money to his sister.
The zombie grabbed the money, put it in her pocket then pulled it out again not even two seconds later.
"Thank you. Now here's forty dollars."
Sunny blinked in confusion, did she just-? He let out a sigh as he facepalmed. Then let out a second sigh and facepalmed again.
"Thanks…" he muttered as he took back his money.
"Now go! Make your zombie sister proud! Show the world that defective eyes rule!" she declared loudly.
"Please stop."
The siblings joined back the rest of the group down in the living room. Aubrey was bickering with Kel, as usual while Basil and Hero were trying to calm things down.
Things looked fine, it would be a shame to put a stop to this. Maybe Sunny can ask Aubrey out another time. Yep, no need to interrupt this nice view. Unfortunately for him, his revived sister nudged him towards the pink haired young adult. He turned to her with a frown but she just had a grin on her pale face as she nodded towards the other girl in the room.
"Go." she whispered.
"I hate you."
"I love you more." she smirked before sitting on Hero's lap, just to make him gasp and blush like a schoolgirl.
He shook his head and approached Aubrey who noticed him and stopped herself from punching Kel in the guts.
"Hey." Sunny started.
"Hey?" she repeated.
"Um…" Oh boy, he could feel his ears starting to turn red, " D-Do you want to eat outside today?" he managed to say in one go, through his embarrassment.
"Oh, sure. We can all go-"
"Just us two." he clarified.
At that, everyone went quiet. Kel was about to complain why he wasn't invited but Basil quickly shut him up by putting a pillow on his face, looking at Sunny and Aubrey with a large grin. Hero had his eyes wide, looking surprised while Mari had a big proud smile. Aubrey for her part had an expression similar to the oldest boy in the room while a blush was getting apparent on her cheeks.
"S-Sure! Wh-Where do you want to go?" She asked excitedly, twirling with her hair a bit.
"WacDonalds."
"WacDonalds?!" Mari, Aubrey and Basil repeated, but each with a different intonation.
"W-Why would you take me the-" the pink haired girl was about to ask but Sunny already had an answer for her.
"I saw that they brought back one of your favorite burgers."
Her response was immediate: she stood up, grabbed her coat and was already on her way towards the door.
"Let's go."
Sunny smiled and was on his way to join her outside, but first he looked back towards his sister with a smirk and a thumbs up. She responded with a squinted glare, a shake of the head and a 'So-so' hand gesture.
"Sunny! You're coming?!" Aubrey shouted from outside.
"Yeah, yeah. Right behind you." he said as he walked outside.
Mari waited a minute, maybe two, before she stood up from her spot and declared with a proud voice:
"Lets go to WacDonalds too! Basil, get the camera ready." she pointed at the blonde boy.
"Already ahead of you." he nodded with a serious expression, camera already in hand, ready to fire.
"Oh boy! Thank God! I was hoping we could also get some burgers and fries from there." Kel smiled.
"I don't think it's to get some food, lil bro." Hero sighed, "We'll be busted so fast guys, can't we just sit here and wait for the results?" he suggested.
"And miss potential black mail? Or miss witnessing my baby brother's first confession? Heck nah! Let's go!" Mari exclaimed before grabbing him by the hand and pulling him outside the house, closely followed by Basil and Kel.
"Wait, what confession?" the basketball player asked, clearly confused.
Aubrey and Sunny were waiting for their order at a table outside, sitting side to side, both talking about how weird it felt to be waiting to be served in a fast-food restaurant as if they were at a normal one. And also about how very nosy Mari and the others were as they could tell for quite a while that the rest of the group were hiding not too far from them from behind a large bush. Mostly because of Kel's moans of complaints that he wanted to eat something.
"So anyway, why exactly did you invite me alone for dinner?" she asked with a smirk and a blush.
"W-Well… You know…"
"I do… But I want to hear you say it. So I can be sure and certain that I'm not misinterpreting this…" she added, slowly approaching him.
Sunny looked away to take some deep breath as he could feel his whole body heating up and his face flushing to dangerous degrees. So far so good… He just… needed to be honest… Right?
"W-Well, first of all… This is a… A date." he admitted.
"At WacDonalds?" she jabbed teasingly, making his ears turn red.
"Y-Yes… Maybe it wasn't a good idea." he said dejectedly.
"Hey, I'm just teasing you man. Just… Just say it…" she grabbed his hand to comfort him.
He took a few more seconds to recollect his emotions and let out a deep breath before looking at her eyes with a determined expression.
"I… I like you, Aubrey. M-More than as a friend." he confessed, 'finally' would say a couple of people hiding behind a bush.
"S-Same here, Sunny. I… I like you too." she smiled at him, her cheeks as red as his face at the moment.
Thankfully, the muffled cheering from behind the bush behind them was loud enough to cut the romantic atmosphere so they could relax a bit.
"So that's it? Are we… together now?" Sunny asked.
"I think we are. Huh." she added with a finger to her chin while looking upwards.
"That was… simple."
"That was easy for you?" she asked, surprised by his words.
"Oh, no! That was mortifying." the young man corrected himself, "It's just… I was so afraid of this moment and what would happen that it's not only a relief that it went well but also… kinda underwhelming?"
"I think I know what you mean. But hey, now that we are a couple… it means I can… kiss… you…" she said, her face now as red as Sunny's.
Unfortunately, the mood was once again ruined by the voyeurs behind the bush who let out gasps of excitement and a 'I'm hungry' from Kel. Sunny sighed and leaned in towards her, she understood that he wanted to whisper something to her so she did the same.
"I-I would love to. But hearing them interrupting us… really does not make me want to give them a show." he deadpanned while whispering.
"Yeah, same." the pink haired girl agreed, "Then I guess this should be enough for now." she smiled as she approached him. She took his hand and put her head on his shoulder.
She let out a small giggle when she could feel him getting all tense and embarrassed. But when he decided to land his head on hers, it was her turn to get tense and embarrassed as he smirked.
They enjoyed this moment of quiet as they waited for their food to arrive, where was it anyway? Where's the 'fast' in this?
"Alright Basil, do it." the zombie sister ordered behind them.
When they heard the familia, very loud 'click' of his camera, everyone knew that someone was going to die tonight by the hands of Aubrey.
Baka's notes: Hello everyone, I am sorry for disappearing for so long.
But I've been working on 3D, my drawing and *still* searching for a job in 2D art or 3D art...
And I have something important to announce. Until further notice, this story: Zombi Mari is in HIATUS.
For several reasons:
I lost many ideas for this story, I have some ideas for the middle parts but none for the end game, and I hate not having a clear ending in sight of my stories.
Also, I haven't been too much on the OMORI side of things for quite some time. Maybe I'll draw some more one day and it would inspire me to continue writing Zombi Mari, who knows!
And also because, once again, some people have been harrassing me to continue writing. Asking once in a while if I'm working on it is fine... Complaining that the chapter isn't out yet is not fine.
In any case, I hope you'll understand my choice, that you'll at least take a look at my other works, either here or on Twitter/tumblr/etc.
But don't worry about one thing: this story isn't CANCELED, just on hiatus.
See you next time, next update from me will be for Spider Hope! Then hopefully finally start the final stretch of Slayers.