Chapter Text
Being the winner of BFDIA has left Book feeling more confident than she had ever been. She made friends, celebrated gleefully, and relished in the sweet, sweet feeling of victory she worked so hard to obtain. Naturally, things have been going smoothly for her, especially since she’d adjusted to a chaotic yet wonderful life with her fellow Freesmarters in Yoyle City.
But there was still something weighing on her mind. Something she had to address.
Weaving through the countless colorful buildings illuminated by the sunset, Book ran as fast as she could, her mind entirely focussed on one thing.
Or rather, one person.
Once she reached the edge of Yoyle City, she looked around, her eyes instantly locking on a certain metallic-gray figure standing out in the purple grass. The exact object she was looking for. She dashed towards them with barely any hesitation.
“Leafy?!”
The girl flinched at the sudden yell from behind her. She turned around in a panic, but upon the realization that it was merely Book, she instantly relaxed.
“I told you to get away from here!” Book scolded. “Someone could find out you’re still alive!”
Leafy shrugged. “I doubt they will. I’m used to hiding.”
“You need to take this seriously, Leafy! Your life is at risk!”
“I know.”
“You CAN’T BE RECOVERED if you die!!”
“Yep.”
Book groaned into her hands. This is gonna be harder than I thought.
“Look,” Book began, pacing back and forth, “the reason I saved you in the first place was to give you a chance at a life somewhere else, where, well… no one hates your guts and wants you dead. Yoyle City is the exact opposite. Everyone travelled over here after BFDIA ended, and they could very easily discover you, so you need to run.”
Leafy’s only response was an unimpressed glare. Book sighed.
“Please.”
“No.”
“LEAFY!”
“I’ll be fine, relax.” Leafy rolled her eyes and leaned back against a yoyleberry bush.
Book furrowed her brows, heavily unimpressed by how apathetic Leafy felt about the situation at hand. She wanted to continue trying to persuade her to escape, but from what she could tell, that wasn’t happening. Reluctantly, she sighed.
But then, she got an idea.
She turned away from Leafy, hands behind her back.
“If you really want to stay, so be it…”
Snatch!
In a sudden twist, she wrapped an arm around Leafy with a cheery smile.
“But I’m gonna stick around to protect you!” she announced.
A brief silence filled the air. Leafy’s expression soured.
“You’re what.”
“Yep!” Book let go of her, facing her again. “You’re sticking with me from now on! I’ll hide you from the others so you can be here AND stay alive!”
“…Is running away still an optio—”
Leafy was cut off by Book grasping her wrist. “Nope!”
She groaned in an obnoxious manner as Book began dragging her away against her will.
The two wandered around together for a while, searching the surprisingly empty city for somewhere to stay. With the day coming to an end, most of them had gone to rest, leaving a majority of the streets for Book and her fugitive accomplice to explore.
With pep in her step and an overly excited demeanor, Book pulled the ever-so-agitated Leafy along with her as she skipped across the pavement of the sidewalk. Leafy, though protestant, didn’t bother to struggle, as she knew it would be pointless to try and break free from Book’s grasp.
“Isn’t this great, Leafy?” Book asked, beaming.
“Not really,” Leafy muttered in a dry tone.
Book scoffed. “Oh, c’mon! Just take in the beautiful sunlight—”
“It’s nightfall.”
“…The beautiful moonlight!”
“The moon isn’t out.”
“…Uh, the beautiful… atmosphere?”
“Just, stop, this is sad.”
Book pouted. “Jeez, rude much…” She slacked her shoulders as she carried on.
It was growing darker out, with only a few barely functioning street lamps flickering just enough light to be able to see. The long-lost Yoyle City was, as one would expect, not looked after during its time in abandonment, and the minute details like that made it quite obvious to the new inhabitants. Even as she adjusted to this new lifestyle, Book wasn’t necessarily fond of living in a city like this.
“Do you have any ideas on where you can stay?” Book asked, looking around with caution. Leafy only shrugged in reply, causing Book to frown.
“Leafy, please just go with this.” She stopped and gave her a look of concern. “I gotta make sure you’re safe here.”
“I don’t want your help,” Leafy responded bluntly.
Book let go of her and crossed her arms. “Why not?”
“Because I don’t need it.”
“But there’s so many of them and only one of you! Even if you’re super good at staying undercover, you’re bound to get caught eventually!”
“You’re underestimating me. I’m fine on my own. I’ve been fine on my own. Having you around is probably gonna make me more likely to get caught anyway. I just want to be able to survive by myself. Independently.”
Book’s expression softened slightly upon hearing Leafy’s protest. What even happened to her super energetic and friendly side I met during BFDIA 19–
Her thoughts were cut off by approaching voices.
The two looked towards the source of the sound to see two familiar figures.
“There’s gotta be at least SOME great dirt cake around here!”
“I highly doubt it, but okay.”
Book instantly raised her guard, turning back to look at Leafy… to see the poor girl trembling. At first, she was rather off-put, considering how stubborn Leafy was about solo survival just seconds ago, but her current visible panic made her realize she had to act fast.
Without taking a second to think, she grabbed Leafy while she was frozen in fear, lifted her with a single hand and tucked her within her pages, concealing her as much as she could in the brief chance she had to act.
With Leafy secured, all she had left to do was hide. She whipped around rapidly, looking for somewhere, anywhere to lay low until the coast was clear—
“Book?”