Chapter Text
It had started as a normal day. Two siblings, the little brother and the big sister, were currently seated together munching on cereal as breakfast. As they ate, the television displayed the news. Sunny - the little brother - would regularly rather watch any other thing but, this time, he was very much engrossed with the news.
The feed displayed a stressed-looking woman with a mic all up in her face, hastily reporting about the latest report of an “anomalous” human. Mari - the older sister - huffed in annoyance. It had been the same thing for literally all week. Some random guy in some random part of the world would suddenly puke fire or lift a car with a single arm or manifest things out of thin air - would it hurt to report a car crash or something for a change?
“Sis” said Sunny, instantly catching his sister’s attention. “Do you think what they’re saying is true?” Ah, yes. Having your brother ask you if magic is real and there being actual proof of it is something every sister is prepared for.
The best she had to offer is a shrug. “I don’t really know… The media makes stuff up sometimes…”
“They do that?” He asked, to which she nodded. The lady continued her report, talking about how these “superpowers” were starting to be classified in categories, and being addressed as “traits”.
“Traits, eh?” Mari commented, idly toying with the cereal with a spoon. Truth is, she wasn’t really happy with the idea of real, actual magic. It was funny. As a kid, she loved fantasy and spells and all that kid stuff; she even had a witch dress she used to wear for halloween (Sunny was a wizard, by the way. Really adorable she must remark).
But now? It sounded scary. Dangerous, even. People with superhero-like powers… that could easily result in someone being harmed. It could result in someone important to her being harmed. She didn’t like it, not even the idea of it, so she chose to turn a blind eye. After all, what she said was true. The TV lies sometimes. And it’s not like anyone in this silly lil’ town would end up developing one of those “traits” - if they’re even real, that is.
Maths. If you asked Sunny Fujioka Suzuki about his opinion of them, he’d likely flip the table and start hissing at you like a cat. He absolutely hated them (and was sure that they hated him, too). Not only were they mind-numbingly boring, but they were also so hard . Math was, by far, his most hated subject.
They just so happened to also be his current class. Sunny buried his head between his arms as the teacher’s words droned around. His only consolation was sharing this class with Basil, but not only had the teacher sat them apart, but he was really into the current lesson for some reason. There was nothing else to do but to wait it out until the awaited ring of the bell.
Sunny closed his eyes, trying to drift off into his dream world if only for five minutes. Strangely though, no matter how much he tried to make himself sleep, he found it impossible. He’s rarely had this happen before, like that time Kel bribed him to drink a whole can of Orange Joe (he had trouble sleeping for a week from the caffeine), but it made no sense to have it happen now . He’s just trying to fast-forward time! Annoyed, he grumbled as he lifted his head to stare at the table.
A small, white doodle-like creature clumsily moved around the table.
Sunny’s eyes widened and he stiffened, snapping him out of the daze he was in. He looked around for a moment to see if anyone noticed, but everyone was just as busy with their work as before. He slumped on the desk again, resting his head on his forearms, and watched the doodle creature dance around. It looked like it was having fun.
“What… are you…?” He mumbled, confused. The thing didn’t even turn to look at him. Maybe it wasn’t even aware he was there. He reached for a pencil, tentatively poking the paper-like being softly with the tip. Despite the little strength put into the push, it fell over, yet quickly incorporated again (despite it’s lack of arms).
The boy kept looking at it waddle around. This was way more entertaining than second-grade equations anyway. It seemed to finally realize he was there, approaching him with curiosity, before trying to climb over him.
Sunny could feel it. Does that mean it’s actually real, and not some dream?
It kept climbing around him, making his way up his shoulders and on his head. It was an odd sensation, like having a hamster or some other small rodent climbing around you, but way lighter. The boy had to stifle some light giggles from the itchiness.
But then it lost it’s balance, falling off of Sunny’s head. He rushed to try to catch it out of muscle memory, but found that as it fell, it suddenly faded away. Just like it had suddenly shown up, it disappeared out of nowhere. “God giveth, and God taketh away”, he mumbled to himself, jokingly.
And yet… just what was that? It’s not like he hasn’t dealt with little hallucinations before (don’t worry, he’s been seeing a doctor about that), but if there’s one thing he knows for sure, it's that you usually don’t feel them. But he absolutely felt it moving and climbing around on top of him.
His mind came back to what he’s been seeing on the news all week: those so-called traits. Maybe it has to do with that. Is there a trait about “living paper doodles moving and dancing around”? He tried to “summon” another one - that’s how it works, right? - but nothing happened. He shut his eyes and puffed his cheeks, putting all his concentration into it, but it yielded the same result. It may have just been a one time thing.
Bummed, he forced himself to return to his math work, thinking of discussing what just happened with Basil later at lunch. For now, he had to find out what X was.
“So, you’re saying that you were able to bring a paper drawing to… real life?”
Sunny narrowed his eyes at Basil from the other side of the table. Those two, plus Kel and Aubrey - their two other friends - were sitting around one of the lunch tables. The blonde quickly turned to fix his mistake.
“I-I’m not saying I don’t believe you! It just… sounds hard to believe, you know?” He said nervously, waving his hands around.
“I believe him.” Said Kel, taking a bite out of his sandwich and shrugging. “Have you seen those magic guys on the news? I’ve seen crazier stuff than what Sunny’s sayin’!”
“And I know Sunny wouldn’t lie! That’s not like him.” Aubrey added, looking at her friend. “It’d be awesome if you could replicate it, though…”
Sunny’s attention turned to his lunch - it was simple, just a plate of noodles - and took a bite out of it as he mumbled something out. “I tried…”
Kel smiled at the black-haired kid. “Hey, lighten up! I think it’s cool that my friend might be magical! Right, guys?” Aubrey and Basil nodded in agreement.
The boy smiled. “Thanks…” He said, as he burrowed his head between his arms again and closed his eyes. “‘m gonna take a nap…”
Aubrey gasped and lightly shook Sunny. “Wait, Sunny! Look!” The boy grumbled and opened his eyes once more, just to find similar paper-like creatures waddling around the lunch table. Kel had to move his sandwich away from one that was trying to take a nibble out of it.
Basil’s brow furrowed. “So they show up when you try to sleep?” He said, while petting one absentmindedly. Sunny limited himself to answer with a shrug. The total of four creatures crashed into each other and faded away.
“Woah… does that mean that there’s a dream trait?!” Kel exclaimed excitedly, propping himself up with his arms. Aubrey had to shush him, telling him to keep it down and looking around to see if anyone was staring at them. The brunette ignored her, and motioned Sunny to try thinking of something in specific.
The “dreamer” closed his eyes again and rested his head on his arms, trying to think of something. He furrowed his brow in concentration, thinking of something he likes. Hmm… maybe an ice cream. An ice cream sounds nice and yummy.
He opened his eyes to not find an ice cream. Instead, there was a sprout mole from Sprout Mole Eater sitting completely still with a face of confusion. His friends mirrored it’s face. “What's this?” Asked Basil, intrigued.
Kel gasped in shock. “Basil Flower, how dare you not know the titular sprout mole from Sprout Mole Eater?!!” Basil awkwardly muttered something about that not being his last name, but Sunny didn’t pay much attention to it. His focus was directed towards the mole creature.
That’s not what he had meant to “summon”... yet there it was. He figured he should’ve expected to not be able to control his “trait” immediately, but it was still kinda bumming. The ice cream sounded so nice, too…!
“Hey, Sunny?” Aubrey said, taking him out of his grief for the cold treat. “Are you gonna tell Mari about this? I bet she’d be so excited if you did!” She exclaimed, not being able to contain the excitement herself.
Sunny thought about it for a moment. He’s been picking up upon his sister’s aversion to all that’s magic-related, so he wasn’t so sure about it. But then again, Mari is his sister - the closest person in his life - and she has already let him know before that he can tell her anything. Couldn’t hurt to try. He nodded in response to Aubrey’s question.
Aubrey beamed, holding her fists up to her chest excitedly. “Great! I bet Mari is gonna be so happy when she finds out!”
Mari was not happy.
Of course something like this would happen. Why didn’t she see it coming? The moment she starts outwardly expressing her not-fear of magic, it turns out her brother - the most important person in her life (sorry Hero) - is magical!
“How long have you known?” She asked, holding a hand up to her forehead as her brother held his hands together and twiddled his fingers in front of her. An instance of the doodlelings - he had named them that - was resting on his head. “That you can make those… things, I mean.”
“...Just today…” Sunny awkwardly mumbled out, looking away. Mari sighed. “I… I thought you’d like it…”
Mari felt a tug in her heartstrings at his words. She immediately felt guilty for her reaction of repulsion, dropping the worry - if only for a moment - in favor of comforting her brother. “O-Oh, don’t worry, Sunshine!” She smiled at him warmly. “I do like it! You just… caught me off guard, that’s all.” Not a lie! Completely, at least.
The girl was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of one of his rare smiles. Mari took it as her cue to open her arms up for a hug, which he accepted. She rubbed his back soothingly until she noticed him faintly snoozing. He had somehow fallen asleep standing .
Chuckling to herself, she went to set him down on the couch. As soon as that happened, multiple doodlelings started spawning from thin air all around him. Her eyes widened and she rushed to shoo them away. They disappeared behind furniture and under the couch.
She looked at her brother, worry evident in her features. This wasn’t good.
“So what you’re saying is you’re... magicphobic?” Hero’s chuckle came from the other side of the line. “I didn’t really take you for the kind, Mari!”
Mari pinched the bridge of her nose. “Haha. Very funny, Hero.”
“Okay, okay… but for real, I don’t think it’s that bad!”
“How is it not bad? Don’t tell me you haven’t seen what people with traits can do.”
“So you’re worried about him doing something bad? Y’know he couldn’t even hurt a fly!”
“It’s not him I’m worried about… it’s the others.” She looked at her brother longingly from the hallway. The multiple doodlelings appearing, running around and disappearing didn’t go unnoticed by her. “...What if they try to harm him for it? Or take him away and lock him up for the rest of his life? …I don’t think I’d be able to bear the guilt…”
Hero knew he had to stop her before she started spiraling. “Hey, hey. Mar, don’t worry. If anyone tries to do anything to him… We’ll be there to stop it, okay?”
He heard a sniffle from the other side of the phone and his heartbeat fastened, but ultimately a giggle came from her side of the line. “Oh, Henry… Always wanting to live up to your nickname, eh?”
Hero chuckled awkwardly. “Hehe… Yeah, I guess.” A few moments of silence passed before he spoke up again. “Say, I think you need to distract yourself for a bit. Do you wanna go out and… grab some ice creams or something?”
Mari hummed teasingly. “Oh my, Hero. Asking me out like that when I’m feeling down? How bold of you.” Despite the distance, she could picture his blushing face all the way from her home.
“Well, uh- I mean! It’s not, y’know, a date-! I-I’m just saying as friends, you-”
“Relax, Hero! I’m just teasing you. I’ll meet you at your doorstep.” She responded, concluding the call. She quickly went to the door, walking through it and leaving the house to her brother.
Sunny sat up, the remaining doodlelings rapidly vanishing. Looks like his sister wasn’t aware he had overheard most of the call. Well, first of all, ew. (No need to be all lovey-dovey over the phone, sis…)
Secondly, he brought his palms up to his face, looking at them in angst. He felt awful for making his sister worry about him like that, even if he didn’t mean it. She just wanted her family to be safe…
He shook his head, trying to not think about it, and sat up to check for cartoons on the television. It might be better to hold back on the magic stuff for now, if only for his sister’s sake. It’s the least he could do.
Sunny grit his teeth and pulled on his clothes so as to not do it on his hair. Stupid, stupid, stupid. It’s all this goddamn recital was. It’s all he was. His hands were bleeding. His soul was bleeding.
His sister hated him. He was sure of it. How couldn’t she, with the way she yelled at him every time he got a note wrong? Or how she glared at him the moment his posture relaxed, if only for an instant?
He should’ve never accepted that gift on Christmas Eve.
And yet he knew it wasn’t the violin’s fault. It wasn’t it’s fault, or Mari’s or her piano’s. It was his . He was the one who couldn’t get that specific damned note right . He was the one who kept catching himself, selfishly daydreaming of playing with his friends again instead of being locked up at home, playing that same stupid song that had been drilled into his head all day long.
Selfish. Stupid. So, so stupid. You can’t even play a single damn song without breaking down like a baby. That’s what you are. That's what I am. A coward. A selfish, stupid coward. If you knew you couldn’t do it, why did you agree to play in the first place?
Now you are going to disappoint her. You are going to disappoint everyone , and everyone is going to hate you. She invited you to play with her, a smile on her face. She wanted you to be up on the stage with her. She wanted to so selflessly share if only a bit of her glory with you. And this is how you repay her? By being an absolute embarrassment ?
You could only wish to be as half as good as her. But you know that’s never going to happen, don’t you? All you do is ruin everything for everyone. You can’t even get a single note right! No wonder your sister hates you, you’re just a burden!
You should save her the trouble and just k̸̨̧̛̟͙̱̯̠̟̙̜̫̺̪̥̙̟͖͓̻͍̝̭̼̭̩̫̹͕̲̣̪̳͈̾͑̉̈́͋͊̒̇͒̓͐̀̐̑̓̀͆̈́̃̈́̏̚̕͘̕͜͠ͅį̵͓̙̅͂̅̔̀̎̍̅̇͑͑̉͑̚̕̕l̴̢̨̡̰̪̭̤̪̹̹̤͎̤̼̣̩͈̭̮̉̌̊̌̾̏̐́̊̑͑̈́͆̄l̴̨̰̤̜̄͆̽̓̐̔͛̋̀̌͝͝ ̶̢̨̛̟̬̦̺̞̰̝̺̞̯͍̦̩̼̳͔̘̤̼̩͇͍͔̦̺̞̰̏̾̓͂̋͗̃͑́͌̋̂̌̈͊̎̀̃͗͛̓̀͒̑̓̿̆̕̚͘͘̚͘͜͜͝͝͝y̸̨̨̢̡̛̫̦̣͇̖͕̗̰̱̥̗̩͕̘̱̣̝͍͓͎̮̳̘̱͓̦̳̦̰̻̤͚̿̀͒́͋̾̿̓̆́͋̎̋͑͆̏̀͑̂̎͆̾̎̀͆̎̎́̒̌̆̆͌̿̍͜͜͝͝͝͝ͅͅo̷͚̺̤̦̦̞̬͎͉͈̝̐̈́̊̈́́̾͂̐́͊͋̄̓͑̈́̄̏͆̑͐͌̎̈̄͘͝ů̶̢̨̧̧̡̨̯͙͕͇̞̣͍͚͓͔͈̘̬̭͈͕̖͚̥̭̬̮̤̓́͛̃̿̌̉̃̋̔̓̌͊̓̿̋̌̃̂́͑̂̆͆͛̀̓̿̓͛̉̀̽̇̈͘͜͝͝͝ͅr̷̨̧̨̧͎̥̗̟̼̬̜̩̠̞̞̳̼͇̤̰͍̜̤̩͓͇̬̟̘̜͉̖͔̺̫̲̄̍̇̓̄͑̔̇̽̈̿͗̉̀͑̈́̎́̓̕͝͝͝͠ͅs̵̢̨̡̙̞̮͉̞̲̤̗̰̪̤̘̯̙͙͙̠̑͋̍͂̀̈͋̏̽̆͐̎̉͋̀͐̕̕̚̕͜͝ḙ̶̡̧̧̧̡̛̘͉̫͚̙̘͔̮͈̠͔̮̲̬͖͇͉̪͍̜̥̺̰̰͉̼̱̗̜̠͉̪͙̙̺̀̒̿̈́͊͑̑̄̈́̀̿̅͒̐̊̓̔̀̒̄̊́͑̂́̔̎̿̐̈͌̐͒̚̕͜͜͝͝ḻ̶̢̛̤̗̥̤͕͓͙͔̜̜̪̻͖̭̺̹͖̼̝͈̫̩̻͚̖̃̀̿̋̄́̅̂̌̄̀̍͂̅̈́̈́͆̀́̆̄̄̈́͜͜ͅf̶͎͖̗͙̪͎̺͓̞̹̏̈́̈́̉̊̐̅̎͒͛̄̃͑̓̈́͂̌́͘͠͝ ̵͙̤̱̮͔̭͔̻͓̱̖̭̾̂̎̒̏̓̌̇͗̔̈́̓̽͜ņ̴̧̡̨̗̙̯̝̰͉̱̘̞̪̟͕̣͈̳͓͔͖̗̜̻̜͓̞̬̗͓̹͎̗̻̬͈̞̐̉̍̈́̈́̔̃̇̀̓̋̍͗͋̏͌̅̂̍͋̑̎̾͋͊͗͛̐̂͘͘̕̚͝͠͠ͅͅơ̷̢̨̘̙̤̖̝̰͉͕̠͕̖̦̞̗͍̓͂͒̒̾̋̌̋͆̑̄͒̄͑̀̍͌̉̅̒̄̃̀̍̿͘͜ͅͅͅw̶̡̡̢̤͙͚̺̯̭̺̟̠̦̮̻̻̥͓̝͎̰͍̪̙͍̳̣̜̜͇̏͛͊̿̔̌̋͜ͅ.̴̧̧̡̡̛͕͎̤̪̰͖̣̜̞̱͎̭̥͖̫̘̥̬̳͖̯̦̝̩͍̱̮͎̒̆̈́̒́̾͐́͐
Sunny held his head between his hands. If he squished enough, he might just be able to crack it right open. He pulled on his hair in frustration, trying to resist the urge to burst out crying unsuccessfully. He held his hands over his mouth so as not to let Mari hear him. She might just yell at him again about getting upset over nothing. His calloused hands and bleeding heart meant nothing. He meant nothing.
He doesn’t know why. Maybe it was his selfishness. But he found himself standing over the staircase, holding his violin - that wretched instrument of cyanide - in his hands (when had he picked it up?) and before he knew it, he had already thrown it down the whole flight of stairs, shattering into a million pieces against the hard, cold wooden floor. An enormous crash shook the house, and then it fell into silence.
A soul called out. “What was that, Sunny?” And his blood ran cold.
In the mere blink of an eye, Mari was already marching up the steps. From her gaze alone - her piercing stare - he could tell just how much she hated him.
She was screaming, but he couldn’t hear. All noise had been replaced by the ringing of his own ears, growing louder and louder anD LOUDER AND LOUDER AND STOP IT I'M SORRY PLEASE STOP I’M SO SORRY STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT ST
He pushed her. The screams died in their throats.
And she fell down every single step, hitting the floor with a sickening crack .
…Or so he thought. He braced for the sound of an impact that never came. All that was left was the deathly silence of the house. He had to will himself to open his eyes, forcing himself to see what laid at the bottom of the stairs.
Something- no, someone had caught his sister, setting her unconscious body gently besides the remnants of that wretched musical instrument. It looked at him for an instant, then vanished.
Sunny trudged tentatively down the steps, kneeling before his sister. “M-Mari…?”
Mari opened her eyes, sitting up with a gasp. The moment she woke up, Sunny practically lunged into her arms, breaking down into a sobbing mess and blubbering out an intelligible concoction of apologies. She looked at the violin shards, then at her crying brother, and the dam broke. She clung onto her brother, breaking down into tears herself and repeating apology after apology. It was like a curse that had hung over the air the past few months was suddenly dispelled and only now was her mind becoming clear again.
“M-Mari, sis” Sunny mumbled. “T-There was… someone. They saved you!”
Mari’s eyes widened, the relief of being alive vanishing. Had someone broken into the house without them noticing?
“That’d be me.”
Both of them turned to look at the source of the sound, being met by a humanoid being that could only be described as otherworldly. His skin was paper white and he wore what looked like her brother’s old pajamas. But to Mari, the most terrifying part was that he looked just like her brother. It was a carbon copy of him, but dreamlike. The older sister instinctively got between her brother and it, staring it down.
“Quite a way to greet someone who just saved your life, eh Mari?”
It knew her name. “Who… What are you?”
The creature - the boy? - smiled, extending a hand out that wasn’t taken. “I’m Omori. I’m Sunny’s Alter Ego, and if it wasn’t for me, you’d be dead. You’re welcome.” Now he was just trying to rub it in.
“...Alter Ego…?” Sunny mumbled, peeking over his sister’s shoulder.
The monochromatic kid looked annoyed. “For a pair of trait users, you sure know nothing about magic, do you?”
Mari’s eyes widened at the implication. “What do you mean ‘pair of trait users’?” She asked. She felt like she already knew the answer, but she was dreading it.
Omori deadpanned. “Traits are genetic. If one member of the family has a trait, every member does. TL;DR: You have a trait too. Woohoo!” He exclaimed mockingly, seemingly aware of her distaste for magic.
He didn’t bother to give her time to protest before continuing. “So. Alter Egos! We’re, uh, manifestations of the will of the wizard. A piece of their soul, literally. We appear in moments of high distress to assist the host.” He plopped down in front of the sibling duo. “In this case, your almost-death from falling down the stairs. Sunny’s love for you stopped your death, or something corny like that.”
Mari felt even worse for being so harsh on her brother. Despite everything, his love for her saved her from dying, in a way. She mentally promised to never let her perfectionism control her ever again. Then, her mind came back to Omori’s passing remark. “...I don’t have a trait. I would know.”
“Tell me, sister. Do you know the difference between inexistence and suppression?” He asked tentatively.
“Uh…”
“Let me ask you another question. Do you ever find yourself humming songs that don’t exist?”
That much was true. Whenever she wasn’t busy with something, she often found herself falling back into singing old lullabies made by herself in the moment for comfort. She remembers always feeling better after singing to herself, if only for a moment. She slowly nodded at Omori.
“Those melodies are your ‘doodlelings’. Just like Sunny expels excess magic with creatures, you expel it with music. Dreamer and Music traits respectively, unless I’m wrong. Which I’m not.” He concluded, winking. This guy was starting to get on her nerves.
“But Mari hates magic… right, sis?” Sunny asked, turning to look at her.
Omori gasped indignantly. “You’re magicphobic?! How dare you?!” Mari facepalmed. Not this guy too.
It didn’t take long for Omori to suddenly announce his departure, before simply vanishing into nothingness, just like the doodlelings do. However, Sunny could feel the monochromatic being residing inside him. A part of his soul, as he said.
Mari decided she wanted to try something. She hummed out a tune with intention and watched as multiple floating notes, seemingly made of refracted light, popped into existence for a moment, before shattering. The girl sighed. There was no denying it, there was at least a bit of magic in her. After all that happened today, she couldn’t bring herself to panic over it.
A few phone calls later and the recital had been canceled. Sunny felt awful over it, but Mari insisted in reassuring him that it was fine and that she was not going to be forcing him to play with her anymore. They couldn’t play with a broken violin either way, but she didn’t feel the need to bring that up.
Basil showed up at some point, an opportunity that Mari took to call everyone over and break them the news (while conveniently leaving out the whole staircase incident). They were understandably disappointed, much to Sunny’s dismay, but they didn’t suddenly start hating him like he had thought they would. After sharing the rest of the evening with the whole group together and everyone having to eventually go home, the siblings got ready to go to sleep.
Sunny hopped into bed and closed his eyes, letting sleep overtake him.
Dark. Cold. Red. Pain.
You found yourself in the middle of a hurricane of havoc. You didn’t know why, but you had the feeling that something terrible had just happened. You tried to walk amongst the whirlwind of colors and emotions, but you were unsuccessful. You fell on your knees. Everything hurts.
Amidst the chaos, something… or someone, stood. It slowly lifted it’s head, turning to look at you with it’s white eyes. They pierced through your soul, drilling terror all the way down every single bone of your body. It can speak. So it chose to.
“You shouldn’t have done that, Dreamer.”