the battles we fight | sbi

Chapter 3 - Rain isn't Good, Everybody Loves Tubbo, and Wilbur is a Musical Boi

i want techno to be my brother

that's all

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"Do you mind if I ask you a question?" Ranboo looked over at Techno, who was definitely being less aggressive than before. He was just as attentive, but he seemed more protective than suspicious of Ranboo.

"Sure," Techno shrugged, keeping his eyes forward. He was still unsure about Ranboo, at least on a surface level. On a deeper level, he was surprised by how much he wanted to protect the boy. Techno had only been around him for an hour or so, if you put aside the time he spent outside the room he slept in.

Don't get comfortable, Techno reminded himself, You still don't know him. So what if he seems like a lost child? That doesn't really mean anything. Despite this, he had to fight back a small smile when Ranboo moved closer to him after being startled by a noise.

"Where did you learn to fight so well?" Ranboo tilted his head, "I mean, you beat those guards without much effort. At least, that's what it seemed like."

"Well, I've always had good agility and senses," Techno replied, "And I've spent a lot of time training. It's one of the things I get really focused on. Sometimes to a fault."

Why am I telling him this? Techno shook his head, I don't trust him. I shouldn't be saying things like that.

"Oh," Ranboo thought about it for a moment, "I don't think I could ever be that good, or even close to it."

"I'm sure you could if you tried," Techno took a sudden turn, heading off the path, "The clearing is into the forest this way. Stay close to me, it's easy to get lost." Ranboo nodded and did as Techno had said, staying directly behind him.

"It's just past here," Techno gestured forward, not even having to think about where they were. He knew the area very well.

I guess that's one plus side to having major hyperfocus episodes, Techno almost laughed out loud, If you put aside the barely eating, not sleeping, and inability to even think about anything else... they're almost worth it.

Ranboo felt some familiarity around the area. It wasn't within reach, buried somewhere deep underneath piles of shattered memories. He felt like the line between reality and the broken images in his head was blurring. He would see something out of the corner of his eye, but when he looked it was gone. There would be a whisper behind him, not fully audible and definitely not understandable, but again, there would be nothing. It put him on edge and dug into his head like a drill. He almost fell over once at a rush of pain that shot from his temples through each of his limbs. Techno had been there, ready to catch him.

"Are you sure this is going to help?" Techno sounded concerned, and it showed on his face too. Not much, but it was there, "It doesn't seem like anything good is happening right now."

"No, I'm not," Ranboo admitted, "But I'm not sure of anything and we're already here so..."

"Fine, but I don't particularly like this," Techno sighed, composing his tone and expression, "Here we are." He stepped aside to let Ranboo walk in.

"This is definitely it..." Ranboo looked around. Everything was the same as it had been in his memory. Another streak of pain ran through him, making the edges of his vision go slightly purple. Instead of the comforting memory of before, a new one appeared.

"ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ|| ᔑ∷ᒷ ᓵ𝙹ᒲ╎リ⊣," It was the same voice, but they sounded panicked, "∷⚍リ. ↸𝙹リ'ℸ ̣ ꖎ𝙹𝙹ꖌ ʖᔑᓵꖌ. ╎ ∴ᔑリℸ ̣ ||𝙹⚍ ℸ ̣ 𝙹 ⊣ᒷℸ ̣ ᓭ𝙹ᒲᒷ∴⍑ᒷ∷ᒷ ᓭᔑ⎓ᒷ ᔑリ↸ ⍑╎↸↸ᒷリ. ↸𝙹リ'ℸ ̣ ℸ ̣ ∷|| ᔑリ↸ ⎓╎リ↸ ᒲᒷ, ||𝙹⚍ ᓵ𝙹⚍ꖎ↸ ⊣ᒷℸ ̣ ⍑⚍∷ℸ ̣." Then there were other voices. They sounded human, but Ranboo couldn't understand them either. All he could tell was that they were loud and aggressive. He didn't have a concept of his real physical being anymore, but he did in the memory. And he ran. As far and fast as he could. The sky turned dark. Or was that real? Ranboo couldn't tell if his eyes were open or not. Pain scattered across the left side of him like droplets. They left purple marks, running along(and into) his skin. It was raining, but he still didn't know if it was real or not. He was on the ground, curled up in himself. Nothing made sense. His surroundings felt distant, but the pain didn't. The water hitting and burning his skin didn't feel far away.