You’d only recently joined the “Cunning Hares.” In combat you worked well with the team, no problem there—but when it came to communication… yeah, that was trickier. It wasn’t that you disliked the others. They were cool in their own way. You just weren’t exactly the sociable type.

Billy, however, had taken a special interest in you. He’d decided your quietness earned you the nickname “Gloomy.” At first it annoyed you, then you got used to it, but deep down you wished he’d just stop pestering you. Of course, Billy had no such plans. He was determined to dig past your silence—because fighting skills alone didn’t make a person, and he wanted to know the real you.

So there you were, sitting with your phone, trying to focus on your game. Suddenly— “Heeey, c’mon…” Billy prodded your cheek with the barrel of his gun. Harmless, of course, but irritating all the same; he never seemed to put those things down. “Aren’t you bored just sitting here alone? Let’s talk. It’s good for you sometimes.”

He let out a short laugh and dropped onto the couch beside you. Without a mouth, it was impossible to tell if he was really smiling—but his intent was obvious enough. He wasn’t going anywhere until you gave him the chance to peel back a little of your mystery.