Read story Reborn into The Promised Neverland//RayxReader// - //Forward//

//Forward//

^Drawing from this morning :)

ANYWAYS I'M BACK IN BUSINESS BTCHES

have fun with this one hehehehehe <3

-----

Boots pounded across the ground as breaths heaved through laboured lungs. Running... running from something, but what? From who?

What was I doing here? These woods weren't familiar– or were they?

I don't remember... I don't remember anything. Who am I, even? How long have I been here?

I had nothing but questions– and every one begged another instead of an answer.

My fingers were rough from the effort of scaling the massive trees, a task I did with the same ease I continued running with now. The same knowledge I seemed to have of these woods, of survival, of these... creatures I kept running into.

How long would this go on? When would I stop running?

My foot snagged on something– a tree root? No, a rope!

My feet were yanked out from under me as the world suddenly spun upside down. My stomach felt as though it dropped to the ground and then ricocheted off of the treetops– it's a miracle I didn't barf.

Ugh. I never liked this part. My brow furrowed. 'This part' of what...?

"You... are not getting any easier to catch."

-----

The thing about the Seven Walls? You never know what you're going to get going in. See, it's pretty hard to control– let alone be aware of– your subconscious mind's contents, from the vaguest of thoughts to the deepest hidden feelings.

"Is that Leuvis in a maid dress?"

Yes, it was.

"Oh, there's another one."

Yes, there was. There were six, actually– Each in a different type of maid dress. Let's move on, though- I'll leave the rest of the trauma-inducing sight to your imagination.

See, the maid Leuvis' weren't the only ...concerning part of the landscape that we encountered upon entering the Seven Walls. I stopped short in surprise as I laid my eyes upon it, and the others did, too.

Though I had been in the Seven Walls many times before, it had never been while one other person's mind was influencing it– let alone seven other trauma-ridden people with their own resulting habits, thoughts and feelings.

In short, there were a number of "concerning" things to be found. For example, Emma's biggest worry was the number of corpses on the ground. When she brought it up in an anxious tone, I cleared my throat and directed my attention elsewhere.

Yep. I don't know a thing about that. No siree...

Zack, on the other hand, was very concerned about the sky. Or rather, the lack thereof– considering that instead of the sky, Goldy Pond arced over us in an upside-down landscape, red-tiled roofs and winding brick roads just out of reach.

Norman's object of interest was the hallway that opened out of the middle of the space. It seemed to lead infinitely into the distance, and demon attendants prowled the length of the familiar hall, accompanied by humans dressed in white lab coats and holding clipboards. The hallway was lit with sickening florescent white lights, and the testing subjects of Lambda could be seen at a distance, stuck behind large glass panels that lined the halls.

There were so many mix-and-matched parts of the dimension that it was impossible to tell who exactly everything had come from. The landscape almost looked like it had been glued together in some kindergartener's collage project, as random parts of our pasts drifted about listlessly, memories spliced together in fragments. One thing was for sure, though: it was a mess.

And so, right off the bat, I realized this was going to be even harder than I thought. "Well,"

Not one second after I sighed, Zack and Yuugo seemed to lose their gravity, falling into the upside-down Goldy Pond- (though it was now right-side up for them). The second they hit the streets, the ground seemed to ripple like fabric at their feet. It folded around them until it disappeared entirely from view.

Hey, at least the sky's back!

Meanwhile, Norman took a step away from the Lambda hallway– only for a door to open in the ground. He fell into it with a yell of surprise.

"Norman!" Emma dove after him without missing a beat. The door snapped shut on both of them before vanishing into thin air.

Oh, well isn't that nice!

At the sight of a Grace Field gate, Hannah grew older before my eyes, and only stopped when she was well into her adulthood. As if in reply, Poppy shrunk until she looked about six, her clothes fading into the Grace Field uniform we all used to wear.

I cleared my throat as I turned my attention back ahead. "This is fine."

Hannah did not like that. "Fine!?" she yelled. "Look at me! I'm ancient!"

"Oh, please," I sighed, "you're not even middle-aged."

A now 80-year-old Hannah shot me a dirty look.

"...My bad."

Ray tsked in annoyance. "I knew this was a bad idea."

"Yeah," I hummed, "it's occurring to me now that whoever can't make it to Day and Night may end up stuck here forever."

"WHAT?!" Hannah exclaimed, reverting to her usual self in her angry outburst. She grabbed me by the cuff of the shirt.

I threw up my hands in defence. "It's not likely! As long as someone makes the promise... And look! Your teeth and hair are back."

Small Poppy tugged at Hannah's clothes. "We know what we signed up for!" she said with an encouraging smile. "So let's focus on getting out of here ourselves. We already know how in theory, so we should be able to figure it out!" As she turned to me, her baby face broke into a proud, self-confident sort of grin. "N' the others are all plenty smart too," she said, "So don't you worry, and get over there asap!"

"Poppy..." I murmured, "it's... really hard to receive a lecture from you when you hardly come up to my thigh."

She kicked me in the shin. "Screw off! Get goin'!"

I snickered, giving a goofy little salute. "I'll be getting a head start, then. Don't regret it later!"

Turning on my heels, I moved my attention away. I took in a breath as my eyes fluttered closed.

Focus.

-----

"You know, I thought the whole 'subconcious-self-manifesting-as-deepest-darkest-nightmares' was a uniquely Y/N thing, but it appears it's more universal than previously thought."

Yuugo looked down at the young adult at his side, leaning against the cream-coloured brick wall. "You know, Zack, I think that is the most words I've ever heard you string together in a single sentence at once."

The boy shrugged. "Don't get used to it," he said. "This place is just... weird. I know it's gone in the real world– Goldy Pond has been blown to hell, we made sure of that. But to see it again, so real... Not to mention with perfect copies of those monsters lurking about..."

"Yeah," Yuugo griped. "This is a hell I never wanted to relive." He glanced down to the younger boy at his side– who was now, quite literally, younger. He looked about 14, the once-scar on his nose now fresh and dripping blood, his coal black eyes wild and scared.

Yuugo, on the other hand, had retained his age– Though he certainly would've appreciated a few less grey streaks in his hair, and a little less ache in his bones. He was getting too old for this 'adventuring' crap. But who was he kidding– his struggle was probably the combined result of a few too many drinks on that tropical island vacation, rather than age alone.

"I should have..." Zack's quiet voice drifted into Yuugo's rueful contemplation, his words spoken in a quiet exhale, almost imperceptible. Yuugo's brows quirked as he glanced to the boy.

"Pardon?"

Zack's knuckles tightened around his gun of choice, though logic said there was no physical reason to be on edge. "Stronger," he said. "We could have been."

Leaning against the wall, Yuugo ran a hand through his hair. Then, ducking his head, he suddenly dissolved into snickers.

"Hah! You kids?" he barked. "So what if you were stronger? The hell d'ya think it would've even done?" He shook his head as his chuckles died down into a sigh. "Listen, kid, as an old friend once told me; 'Today is the day we'll start winning.'"

Zack blinked. "That was Y/N," he said. "Back in Goldy Pond... she was like 10 at the time."

Yuugo glanced to the sky, his lips pursing. "Is that so...? Huh. I must be going senile." Against the will of his aching, old-man bones, he pushed himself to his feet. "Then, as a pretentious brat once told me; Today is the day we'll start winning. So let's take this one step at a time, like we did at that big battle way back when. Keep our eyes on the future. Sound good?"

Zack's nose scrunched as he wiped more blood from the bridge of his nose. "You mean we're gonna beat Leuvis again?"

"Well I'm sure as hell not!" Yuugo said. "You do whatever you gotta do, but I, for one, am going to find another way out of here. You coming?"

Zack looked down to his gun, then up to the scruffy, salt-and-pepper-haired man he had long since accepted as family. He closed his eyes for a moment.

Then he set his gun down on the brick road, and he wiped the last of the blood from his face. He pulled his headband off of his head. "Yeah. That guy is double-dead, anyway."

It was time to move forward.

-----

When your siblings pull ahead of you, there's always a certain pride to be held in the fact. But there's always a sort of self-resentment, too.

Poppy had seen dozens of children get adopted before her. She had seen her siblings get better scores on the tests than she did. But she could handle that– in fact, it didn't bother her much at all.

This had been a different story.

She could've sworn Y/N was dead. That night, when she woke up to get a glass of water. When she broke the rules to poke her head in the infirmary.

Her sister had laid there with a sort of peace on her sickly pale face. She had been too still. As still as the fake body that lay before her now.

The fear; That same fear as always... "They're getting ahead of me again."

Y/N had been better the next morning– It was like a miracle. None of the others even got the chance for a miracle.

Poppy had worked hard. She wanted to be an older sister to rely on. She knew she had her shortcomings– She couldn't do everything; she couldn't do a lot of things her younger siblings could do. The things Y/N could do.

Maybe she'd moved forward a little too quickly after Grace Field, in an attempt to forget all of those children that had gone ahead of her. The ones that never lived to see these miracles. Maybe that's why the body that lay before her now, in the old Grace Field infirmary, it wasn't Y/N's anymore.

It was her own.

Some part of her had died that day, along with her siblings. To hell if she was going to see her family members go ahead again.

-----

They were all going to die, and she had known that for years. She learned when she had gone to the tunnel that night, to wish a close friend goodbye. That was all she had wanted– just one more minute of time. Not to realize there was no future for any of them. No hope.

No time.

That was why she hated her.

The way she smiled the slight dimple on her left cheek that would flash as she did. She hated the way she would laugh at her own jokes, and the way the tip of her tongue would protrude from her lips when she was focusing.

Hannah hated her, because every time she looked at her, she wouldn't mind looking again. They didn't have the time. They didn't have a future. But looking at Y/N had made Hannah wish that they did.

Maybe that was why she stayed alive in that hellhole. If only for those fleeting moments that she felt like time wasn't running out; for those moments with her family. (Though she'd never admit it).

It would turn out that they did have a future. Hannah lived another year, and another– time hadn't stopped. But it did for Y/N; at least they all thought it did.

Hannah had been ready to die half of her life ago. Y/N had taken that away from her. It didn't matter if she had moved on; if she had gotten better, for the most part.

It was time for payback.

-----

"Norman, you've just got to focus," said Emma softly. They were crouched in the corridor of the bustling lab, ducked behind glass windows as demon attendants prowled the halls. "I know you're good at that."

Though her hands cupped his cheeks and he was looking right at her, his eyes still seemed far away. He looked like that scared little boy all over again– a scared little boy who'd been gone for years.

But at least he wasn't smiling. That was the only bittersweet silver lining.

Emma had grown tired of seeing smiles like that. Smiles like the one Norman had worn before he was shipped out. The one Ray had as he bid goodbye, fully prepared to kill himself.

Maybe it was hypocritical. Emma was well aware that she tended to smile at the worst times, when no one else seemed able. But at least she knew that sometimes you've got to cry. Sometimes you've got to be that little kid. Emma's family was notoriously bad at that, (though she loved them to death).

"It's harder than I thought," Norman said wistfully, gesturing to their Lambda surroundings. "A lot of this... I thought I was over it a long time ago."

Emma's lips thinned into a smile "I think we as a family have a habit of moving on before we're ready."

Norman let out a sardonic chuckle. "You think it has something to do with suddenly discovering our whole life was a lie?"

"It's easier to forget than to grieve," she chimed.

Norman shook his light-haired head. "You can say that again." He glanced up at the glass pane behind them. The hallway was empty. Taking a deep breath, he let his posture relax. "So... what'd you and Ray do the first time? To get out of here..."

Emma's eyes crinkled as she took Norman's hands into her own. "We have some bad memories... Sad, scary, regretful... But we have a lot of happy ones, too. So... you just close your eyes... and think about one of the happy ones. From when we were kids. Then you become that child..."

They closed their eyes together, heads ducked forward. It took a few moments but they began shrinking, faces softening with youth. "Now..." Emmas' four-year-old voice said, "Just use it to move forward."

"We always keep moving forward somehow," Norman echoed.

Emma nodded. "It's almost over."

"Ha!" Norman giggled. "Terrible as it is, I'll almost miss these little misadventures."

"AHH! Norman!" Emma's eyes snapped open. "Don't jinx it! I can't wait to get back home to everybody– We don't need to be looped into to another multi-year-long 'misadventure!'"

"I know, I know! I said almost!" Norman shot back. "For the record, I cannot wait until I'm back home in my very own air-conditioned room, with my very own king-sized bed, with my very own satin sheets and all."

"You know, Norman, sometimes I feel like you forget that we were raised to live moderate, frugal lives."

"Exactly! I'm making up for all that time lost."

Emma laughed a pleasant, joyful laugh. "Whatever you say. Now, you ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be."

-----

The room was eerily quiet, as it had been for so many years.

The empty table was scattered with garbage– Old empty cans, scraps of leftover rations and the dirty utensils used to eat them. The once clean walls were speckled and yellowed with age, and one of the lights flickered dully as the others remained off.

It was a sad sight. One that would rather not be remembered.

"What a mess!" A voice cut through the silence. A hand reached into the room to flick on the light switch. It belonged to a girl, who's blue eyes trailed over the sight of the decrepit room with a disappointed face. She tucked a strand of her silky, long blonde hair behind her ear.

"We'll have to clean first!" said a young boy. His dirty-blonde hair was ruffled and his dark eyes sparkled.

"Alright!" A swath of children, 17 in total, were soon swarming the room. They cleaned with a passion, until at last, the room was clean.

It sparkled the way it had so many years ago, when they had first discovered the shelter. The children settled at the table, where each place was decorated with a teacup and a saucer. In the middle of the table rested a cookie tin. The blonde-haired girl leaned over and pulled the tin lid off.

"Life in this small underground space can make you feel depressed sometimes," she said. "At the end of the day, everyone deserves to feel a bit luxurious... Let's all share this delicious little snack!"

As the kids dug into the cookie tin, Yuugo was afraid to breathe.

He wasn't sure how he got here; when he got separated from Zack. And he knew the scene was not real. But he did not dare disturb it. It was a cross between a memory and a dream– a blend between something that had happened before, and something that should have.

There was a place for him at the table.

It was empty.

Yuugo did not take a seat.

He watched them chatter for longer than he'd care to admit. He let himself bask in the warmth of his family from so long ago. He let himself see them, once more... But now was not the time. He had a family that was still alive. A family that still needed him.

Yuugo turned to the door.

"You're leaving?" asked Dina softly. "You haven't touched a thing."

He did not dare turn around now. If he did, Yuugo knew would never work up the nerve to leave. Not when here was Dina– Dina the way she should be; a beautiful woman his age, with golden hair like straw streaked with grey, and bright blue eyes that he remembered every time he saw a crystal-clear blue sky.

Dina; the girl with a warm smile that felt like home.

The Dina he still loved, alive and well.

But she was long gone.

"Take your time coming home," Dina said.

This time, Yuugo managed to turn around. She was smiling at him, the way he knew she would be.

Dina...

Home.

Yuugo managed a smile. It was one weary with age. Weary, but wise. Hopeful. "Sorry," he said. "It appears I've more than one home now... and I need to do whatever I can to preserve the one that's still here."

Dina's smile got brighter, if that was possible. She looked very proud."Okay," she said. "See you later."

Yuugo nodded, pushing open the door. "Goodbye," he said.

And he let go.

-----

My eyes opened to an overcast blue sky; sun glittering behind the cotton clouds. I knew immediately where I was; I'd been there a thousand times before.

I sat up on the night sky that stretched below me, calling out a tentative, "X...?" I knew something was wrong when it remained unanswered. I tried again a few times, but the dimension remained quiet. Something was wrong... Or worse– it was fake.

"Damn."

I wasn't done with the Seven Walls yet, after all. I really thought that maybe it would be easier this time around...

With a huff, I laid back down across the never-ending night.

Obviously the sheer will to get to this dimension was real, but the other parts? Maybe this would be the time I finally wouldn't manage.

Hell, maybe someone had already made it to Day and Night. Maybe the promise was already being made, the reward already given... Maybe it was already too late.

"Damn this..." I folded my arms over my face. "Why doesn't this ever get easier?"

Something in the atmosphere suddenly shifted. "...Huh. This is... Odd." At the sound of the voice, I peeked out from under my arms– and there was Ray.

Of course it's Ray, I griped. He was bound to show up eventually. It wouldn't be a trip to the Seven Walls, otherwise.

I sat up with a sigh, resting my arms over my chest. "What are you doing here?"

Ray pulled a face. "Why would I know?"

"I dunno," I shrugged. I watched his puzzled gaze drift over the landscape through narrowed eyes. "...Are you real?"

Ray's eyebrows rose. "What kind of question is that?"

I squinted at him once more. Then, relenting, I shook my head."...Never mind." I leaned back, resting my hands behind me. "You're too predictable. I can't tell."

With a roll of his eyes, Ray took a seat. "What is this place?" he asked.

I reclined back onto the ground, folding my arms behind my head. "Fake Day And Night," I said. Ray nodded a few times, arriving at the same logical conclusion.

He looked to the sky as he rested his hands in his lap. "So..." he eventually said, "Do you see me often, in the Seven Walls?"

"...You could say that."

With a hum, Ray propped his chin on his fist, bangs swaying with the tilt of his head. "Why?"

"Why do you think?"

In his silence, I turned my attention to the sky. As I watched the picture-perfect clouds drift quietly overhead, my mind fell back to the others– where they were, and where I should be. All while I was stuck here...

Of all the things I hated, feeling "stuck" or out of it was right up there with, like Legravalima, and... I don't know; puppy killers?

I let out a sound of frustration, startling Ray. "I'm sick of this," I proclaimed.

"...Right," Ray said, rubbing his neck. "...Then what do we do? Whatever we've been doing obviously isn't working."

"Then let's try something new." I swung forward to sit cross-legged and leaned toward him, holding out my hands. "Here." He glanced at me quizzically before setting his hands in mine.

"Let's go the opposite direction," I said. "What's something you're looking forward to?"

As he thought, Ray's thumb traced absently across the largest scar on my hand– the one stretching across my palm; a reminder of my frequent trips to the Seven Walls. "Going home with you," he said, his eyes meeting mine. "I want to show you around."

I smiled. "Yeah? What's it like?"

"It's a big house," said Ray. "Almost everyone still lives there..." He continued with a chuckle, "See, it's paid for by Norman's company, but it's in Mom's– Isabella's name, because of legal complications..."

I recalled our brief, shared interactions wistfully. "Isabella..." I said, "I'm excited to spend some actual time with her– Nervous, too, of course." God knows her violet eyes are equal parts intimidating as they are pretty. I think if she ever expresses disappointment in me I'll burst into tears on the spot.

"She'll like you," Ray offered. "I mean, she likes you already."

I flashed a grin. "I'm glad." My gaze trailed from his eyes down to our hands again. Mine were rougher than his; with palms and knuckles marked with various calluses and scars. His thumb continued stroking that spot on my palm– I'm pretty sure he wasn't even aware of it.

It was almost alarming, how right my hands felt intertwined with his; How easy it would be for me to just... stay here, with him. My pulse fluttered at the thought, and I closed my eyes in a silent realization.

I can't move forward like this, can I?

I pursed my lips. Then, swallowing hastily, I finally looked up. "Hey, Ray?"

He acknowledged with a hum, his mind somewhere else. Still looking down, I couldn't see his irises through his dark lashes and hair.

Heat prickled at my neck as I looked at him. Was I really doing this now? Of all times, of all places? But hardly twenty-four hours ago, I was still in a coma. If there's anything I've learned since then, it's that every moment counts. And... now that I know...

I took in another breath, pulling my hands back into myself. I clasped them together so tightly my knuckles went white. "Ray," I said, hardly able to keep the tremble out of my voice.

"I'm in love with you."

I felt my face flush, all the way from the base of my neck to my ears. I couldn't bear to look up. This is it, I thought, closing my eyes again. Please let the Seven Walls swallow me whole. Or better yet, let this Ray be a fake one.

Yeah... I rethought, Unfortunately, considering X's scheming... That seems unlikely.

"I know." The sound of Ray's voice made my internal panic jolt to a stop. "I mean, you love Emma and... And Norman, and Poppy..."

I shook my head urgently. "Of course I do! But it's... different."

He looked confused. "Different how...?"

"What?" My jaw all but dropped. "Ray! You were in the human world for like two years and you're telling me you're still this sheltered–" I saw the corners of his mouth twitch into a poorly hidden smirk. My mouth clamped shut.

He's fucking with me. Of course. I hit his arm (none too gently), and his smirk spread into a full smile. I'm sure I was beet red by this point. "You are such an asshole!"

"Ha!" he taunted. "Tell me something I don't know."

"Unbelievable," I scoffed and rolled my eyes. That's his response? How very... Ray of him. Oh, but don't get me wrong– I wasn't about to let him get away with it scot-free.

I hummed with a knowing smile. "Something you don't know?" Without waiting for him to respond, I reached toward him. With my right hand, I gently tucked his bangs behind his ear. "You have very pretty eyes," I murmured slowly.

I felt his skin go hot beneath my fingertips, as his frazzled expression reminded me of a windows system shutdown. It made me laugh– now, at least, I wasn't the only one wishing the ground would swallow me whole.

In a sudden flash, we were beyond the Seven Walls. Before us rotated a 10 ri hypercube, a black hole nestled inside. Still stifling laughter, I reached forward and touched it.

-----

If Y/N brushed my hair out of my face and told me I had pretty eyes I think it'd be over for me. K.O.

Anyways,,, I hope this one was at least somewhat worth the wait. Hopefully it won't be a five-month wait before the next one comes out. On the bright side, though, this one has been posted within a week of Ray's birthday, so... there's that ;)

Oh right, I was gonna put in a bunch of the art I haven't posted here yet. (There's... a lot.)

Enjoy the minimal context!

1. Supposed-to-be-emo-but-they're-grunge gfs for Anakin, my love <33

THEY'RE SO 💕💕AAAA

2. I watched Cinderella w my little sisters.

Crappy comic?

3. Duo doodles from pinterest ref

AND NOW

4. Okay this one needs more than minimal context

I realized while writing the rewrite that I could design WHATEVER I WANTED for Ray and y/n's fits (because of the variety of the fits at Goldy Pond)

Anyways so I was really excited, so I thought that maybe other ppl might be excited to try their own hand! N E WAYS here's the templates I made if you're interested:

AND here are my own two final designs!

If you do end up designing one, keep in mind that they don't have to necessarily be practical or have their choice weapons included! You can send them to me at my email thefricksidontgive@ gmail.com or on my discord annabanana#6913

Now for another crappy comic because it was literally 6:00 am and I couldn't sleep.