Mari's return

Blood

Once Mari reached the street across the park, she saw Sunny and Kel getting yelled at by a girl with pink hair and a spiked bat. A group of teenagers with scooters stood menacingly behind her while surrounding a young boy who was crawled up in a ball.

“The two of you against me! How’s that sound? Come at me!” the girl barked at the two boys, waving her bat in their direction. She watched as Kel readied a basketball, and Sunny fished for something in his pocket.

‘Are they going to fight? I can’t let some delinquent hurt my brother!’

Mari tried to cross the street but was met by a flurry of rushing cars passing through the street. She could try warping, but it might scare some of the other guests at the park. Once the traffic ended, she could see the girl clutching her arm while Sunny held a now bloody knife.

‘Why does Sunny have a knife? Did he just cut that girl?’

The girl and her friends quickly fled the scene. The injured girl leads them on her bike while the rest followed their scooters. Mari felt the urge to help the girl, but first, she had to make sure that her friends were okay. Rushing to the other side of the park, she met with Sunny and the now beaten-up Kel.

“Are you two okay?! That girl didn’t hurt you guys too bad did she?”

“Hey, Mari! Don’t worry I took most of the blows. Good thing Sunny had a knife with him or- Wait why do you have a knife?!”

The two of them turned to the pale boy, a gentle blush grew on his face.

‘Was he embarrassed about it? How cute!’

Realizing that she was staring, Mari cleared her throat to regain her composure. “Sunny give me that! You could have gotten hurt or in trouble with this thing you know!”

As Sunny held the knife to her she noticed his hands were now shaking. Why wouldn’t he be scared? The last time she scolded him like this he had killed her, even if he had forgotten.

Taking a deep breath, Mari calmed down. “But, Kel’s right it’s good that you were ready to protect him. I can teach you some hand-to-hand combat later too if you want!”

Sunny nodded at the suggestion as he steadily handed his knife to his sister.

Pocketing the knife, Mari turned to see a blonde-haired boy with a flower pin in his hair getting off of the ground. Watching him dust the dirt off his clothes, Mari made quick eye contact with him. Looking into his tired blue eyes, Mari soon realized just who the boy was.

“Is that? Basil, is that you?” Mari asked the injured boy.

The boy stared back at Mari. His eyes widening as his whole body stiffened at the sight of Mari and her mask.

‘He looks just like how Sunny did earlier. But that was because I fell from the sky, why would Basil be so afraid of me?’

“Basil?” she asked again in an attempt to help him come back to his senses.

“Oh, um... Hello... Yes... I’m Basil... But who are you?” the flower boy inquired as he couldn’t see past Mari’s mask. “I think I heard Kel call you Mari, but... no… never mind…  you can’t be the same person...”

“Actually, Basil this is-” as Kel was about to reveal her identity, Mari put a hand on his shoulder.

“Let’s go somewhere a little bit more private first.” She knew that Basil wouldn’t react as exaggeratedly as Kel, but she didn’t want to make a scene if he fainted.

“Um… In that case how about my house? I need to head home anyways...”

“Sounds like a plan!” exclaimed Kel as he gave a thumbs up. “Oh, and Sunny’s here too!”

Sunny stepped to the side as he had been behind his older sister the whole time.

“Oh… Hey, Sunny. It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Haha...” said Basil as he forced a smile onto his face.

The pale boy waved in response. Mari noticed as Basil appeared even more nervous than before, a cold sweat ran down the side of his face. As his eyes grew, the bags under his eyes were more apparent than before.

“Alright, let’s go then.”