Chapter Text
Sunao is uncertain if he is currently in a dream. However, dream or not, Tobi was going to kill him. Sunao was certain of it. He had a simple thing to do and it seems he's failing quite badly.
When Sunao woke up today after only having two hours of sleep, he never expected the first thing he would see was a text from Tobi. He was asking Sunao to babysit Ryuuko for the day because he has work. He initially wanted to refuse; Sunao's motivation to not do anything for the day was very high. However, he could not bring himself to deny such request. It was the least he could do after all the things Tobi has done for him. In fact, he feels like he could never repay Tobi with what he with what little he could give.
He sent a reply to Tobi confirming that he will take care of Ryuuko for the day. Before going to Tobi's apartment, he grabbed some essential items to keep Ryuuko occupied, ate a quick breakfast (well, breakfast for his standards), and told Mahiru where he was going out (he was still on his bed, lucky him). By the time Sunao arrived at the apartment, Tobi was already gone. It was a shame; Simply being with Tobi always made his day brighter. He shouldn't sulk much though, Tobi will be back later.
Right now, he has a responsibility of taking care of Ryuuko. Despite the… peculiar mindset the girl has, Sunao found babysitting Ryuuko rather simple. With the art supplies and game console he brought, Sunao was able to keep Ryuuko entertained for the day. He really wanted to take a nap at some point, however his fear of Ryuuko doing something bad while he was sleeping prevented him from doing so.
Time passed by quite quickly and it was now around the evening. Tobi was still not back yet and Ryuuko was starting to get hungry. She already went through the stash of food available in the apartment and she refuses to eat any of Sunao's pathetic cooking. There was no indication of Tobi returning yet, so the only solution Sunao can think of was going to the convenience store to get some food.
He wanted to go out on his own at first, but Ryuuko insisted that she come with. So Sunao sent Tobi a text saying that they'll be out for a bit so he doesn't freak out when he returns to an empty apartment. There was no problem with the walk to the convenience store. However, before they entered the store, Sunao could tell that Ryuuko was distracted or fascinated by something. He can't tell if his eyesight is bad or if the girl is hallucinating something because he did not see anything where Ryuuko was looking at. He dismissed this at first. He was here to buy enough food to sate the appetite of the girl (with something for Tobi too).
When both of them got out of the store, that was when Ryuuko got out of Sunao's hold and disappeared into an alley right beside the convenience store. She was yelling about 'catching' something, then he heard some splashing sound. Sunao followed after Ryuuko in a panic. When he turned into the alley, all he saw was a huge puddle on the ground and a dead end.
Did he seriously lose her? There's nowhere else for her to go. Even though his eyesight is poor, he was quite certain that Ryuuko went into this alley.
"Ryuuko!" Sunao called out as he walked into the alley. When Sunao tried to take a step into the puddle, his foot did not find solid ground. Instead, his foot went through and sank into the ground. Unable to stop the momentum, Sunao tripped into to puddle and disappeared into it.
He found himself falling quite fast. It was very dark, but he was able to make out bubbles floating around him and some apartment buildings in disrepair whizz past. Sunao closed his eyes in fear, hoping that this will be over soon. After a few moments, he felt his body and face land on solid ground.
"Ow… yuck." Sunao pushed himself up and wiped the water out of his face. Great. Fantastic. He fell down face first into a puddle and his clothes were now wet. He looked down on the ground to see if he dropped anything.
Nothing. That's good.
However, there was something else on the ground. There were two small creature with rotund, almost spherical, black bodies with an orange face and large round eyes. Sunao would describe them as having come out of a cartoon. One of them was holding a packet of chips while the other was holding a smooth stick with green glowing rings around it. They looked afraid, but not at Sunao. Instead, they were looking at something behind him.
"Bad. Naughty," he heard Ryuuko say from behind him. He turned around and it was indeed her. She was kneeling down, holding a packet of chocolate above her while she waggled a finger at another rotund creature in front of her. "Stealing is bad!" she chided the creature as it tried to jump up and take back chocolate.
"Ryuuko!" Sunao called out. The girl looked at him. "Why did you suddenly run off?"
"I saw these guys stealing and I know stealing is bad." She pointed to the creature near her. It was looking at Sunao and it was shaking his head. "So I went to try and stop it."
"Still, we need to get back before Tobi gets home." Sunao offered his hand out.
"Ok." Ryuuko dropped the chocolate and grabbed Sunao's hand. The creature jumped up to take the chocolate before running off with the other two deeper in the alley. Strange… Sunao swore the alley wasn't this long.
"Don't run off, okay?" Ryuuko hummed in affirmation. Together, the pair went out of the alley. Only seconds after, they were back in the alley again.
"Ryuuko…" Sunao began, his voice cracking a bit. "Do you remember how you got here?"
"Yeah, I jumped into the puddle here." She pointed her finger to the puddle beneath their feet,
"Yes… that's what I thought too…" He puts some pressure on his left foot, hoping that this will make them go back. Alas, it was all for nothing. The both of them were still in the alley
Sunao looked over his shoulder. His eyes were indeed not tricking him. He did not see the familiar road that sat outside the convenience store. Instead, he saw a street with more strange creatures of all shapes and sizes walking past. From what he can see, the building look worn out with the paint being faded and the dirt and graffiti not being cleaned. He can also see a sign containing strange symbols hanging from what looks like a store.
He can feel his lips quiver. His mind was starting to think of all the bad things that can happen. However, there was one thought that keeps reappearing in his mind: Tobi will actually kill him.