A/n: Syra (ABOVE) is my new Code Vein character. Her codename is Equinox, but I'll be using her name. Hope you all enjoy! Love you all!!!

~✨Celestial✨~

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Sitting at the bar, (Y/n) tapped the tip of her pen against the counter. Crossing her legs, she shook her foot unnervingly. She mumbled to herself, her (e/c) eyes focused on the blank paper in front of her. Moving the pen from the counter to her head, she tapped it against her temple with an irked expression.

After a minute ticks by, (Y/n) tosses the pen down and groans in defeat. "Damn writer's block..." She placed her head on the counter and banged it slightly. "Why now?"

Hearing someone sit down beside her, she lifted her head and saw Louis. "Oh, you're back early."

Louis glanced at the setting sun for a few seconds before looking back at his friend. "We've been gone since noon, (Y/n)."

The girl blinked owlishly. "Huh?" She spotted the setting sun and gasped. "I've been sitting here for hours?!"

"It appears so," Louis smiled in amusement. "This is where you were when we left a few hours ago."

(Y/n) hung her head. "And I haven't even written a single word yet..."

The crimson-eyed boy placed his elbow on the counter, cupping his chin with his palm. "Are you working on your next book?"

"Yes," she mumbled. "But it's not going so well."

"Your last book was published while we were in college. What urged you to write a sequel?"

"I had planned on making a sequel before I finished my first book. Then, everything came tumbling down when the Great Collapse occurred. You and I became revenants and lost our memories. But thanks to Syra, we were able to regain our memories. And now, I wanna continue doing what I love and do best-writing. If only I had a copy of my first book, I might be able to figure out a good starting point."

Louis perked up. "I may be able to help you, (Y/n)." He left the bar and disappeared for a few minutes. When he returned, he had something with him. He placed it on the counter as he returned to his seat. "Will this suffice?"

(Y/n) glances down at the object and gasped in shock. "M-My book..." She looked up, her eyes locking with his. "You still have a copy?"

The boy nodded. "Yes. It was the only possession I had with me when I first awoke as a revenant. The cover is worn and some pages are missing, but I still enjoy reading it from time to time."

"You kept the book even though you had no idea why you had it?"

"Of course," he replied. "I would never get rid of a book, no matter its condition or where it came from."

(Y/n) couldn't help but laugh. "You still are a bookworm, aren't you?"

"I may have revived as a revenant, but my love for literary works hasn't changed in the slightest."

The (h/c)-haired girl took the book and carefully flipped through the pages. She could see the creases in the spine and where the corners of pages had been folded down to act as a bookmark. "Exactly how many times have you read this, Louis?"

"To be honest, I'm not sure," he confessed. "It is a fascinating read and I must confess, I am interested in what you'll do for the sequel."

"You might be waiting a while, Louis. I'm not even sure if I'll be able to finish the second book."

"Why's that?"

"Besides suffering from writer's block at the moment, I lack the supplies. I don't have enough paper, my pen is running on fumes, and I have no way of typing up the final product. I mean, I don't necessarily have to type it up, but it would be nicer to read it typed than in my awful handwriting."

"Actually, I think I might have something that'll help you with that." Louis stood up and was promptly followed by (Y/n). She eagerly followed him to the basement, wondering what surprise he had in store. Standing at the base of the stone stairwell, she watched the boy scrounge through their supplies.

Once Louis located what he'd been searching for, he turned around and showed her. "Would this help?"

(Y/n) couldn't believe her eyes. It was a typewriter. She reached out to touch it and her fingers trailed across the keys. "How...?"

"I found it a while back. It was before we found you. I figured it was useless, but I couldn't bring myself to throw it away and decided to store it here."

She smiled at him. "I'm glad you decided to keep it. This really will help me. But there's one thing I have to check." She took the typewriter from Louis and placed it on top of a nearby crate. Examining it, she noticed there was an ink ribbon inside. "And it has ink! There's not much left, though."

"I wasn't able to locate any spare ink ribbons," Louis said.

(Y/n) tested a few of the keys as she asked, "Could I make a request, Louis?"

The crimson-eyed boy placed a hand on his hip. "What is it, (Y/n)?"

"Tomorrow, could we search for some more ink ribbons? I know the chances are slim, but I really want to complete this book for you."

Louis blinked in surprise. "For me?"

"Yes! You're the one who supported me the entire way while I wrote my first book. So...could we, please?" She clasped her hands together and begged more. "I know I can't wield a weapon like you and the others, but I want to go with you."

"(Y/n), I'm not so sure about this," Louis sighed.

"Please!"

Myriads of thoughts crossed his mind as he tried to determine whether to accept her request or turn it down. Unlike other revenants, (Y/n) wasn't versed in the art of combat and he doubted he could protect both of them. He figured he could ask Syra or Yakumo to help and decided to accept her request. There was no way he'd turn away a chance to make her happy. "All right. We'll head out tomorrow morning."

(Y/n) jumped with joy and wrapped her arms around Louis. "Thank you so much, Louis!"

The boy was stunned by her sudden embrace, but he gladly reciprocated by winding his arms around her waist. "Don't thank me yet. We still have to find some ink ribbons."

"I know a shop that used to sell ink ribbons. Hopefully, it's still intact." She pulled away from Louis and grabbed the typewriter. Before leaving the basement, she placed a kiss on his cheek and thanked him again.

Louis' eyes widen in shock. He blinked owlishly, staring at (Y/n)'s back as she left the basement. Slowly, he raised his hand and placed it over where she kissed him. A faint smile manifested on his face while his heart raced within his chest. While he was baffled at her sudden affection, he couldn't deny how much he enjoyed the small gesture. Deciding not to linger in the basement any longer, Louis left.

The next morning, (Y/n) accompanied Louis and Syra to the ruined streets. She gave them directions to the store while remaining behind them. While the two fought against the Lost, she felt how useless she was and couldn't stop the guilt from surfacing. Pushing the feeling aside, she focused on their destination.

Halfway to their destination, Syra asked about (Y/n)'s first book. The (e/c)-eyed revenant saw how jittery Louis became and knew he was itching to be the one to share the details. A giggle slipped from her lips, giving him the chance to answer Syra's questions.

When Louis answered each question without needing to think of the answer, (Y/n) was more than impressed. She was speechless at how many details he recalled from her book. Once he finished answering Syra's questions, (Y/n) spoke up. "Wow, Louis. You really do know every detail."

"I have read it many times," he smiled. "Each time more enjoyable than the last."

"You'll eventually grow bored of it," she stated.

"I don't think I ever will."

"Now you're just saying that."

"I only speak the truth."

The girl glanced at him from the corner of her eye before dashing forward once she caught a glimpse of a familiar sign. Louis and Syra chase after her as she ran down the street. Fortunately, there weren't any Lost nearby.

(Y/n) located the shop and saw it was still in one piece. She entered through what remained of the front door while Louis and Syra stood guard outside and immediately searched the remnants of the shop. Items were scattered across the floor and what remained of the shelves. It was barer than she'd thought it'd be. Alongside the remaining items were the corpses of the Lost. She stepped over them as she searched for ink ribbons.

Once locating a few ink ribbons, (Y/n) grabbed and placed them in her pocket. Due to her excitement, she failed to notice the one Lost that was sleeping among the corpses. It stood up, gripping its sword tightly. It charged at the girl and plunged its blade through her chest.

(Y/n) felt the immense pain of the blade as it tore through her flesh. A strangled gasped fell from her lips, her eyes falling down to her chest to stare at the sword that now pierced her body. She watched her blood drip from the blade and fall to the ground, creating a small puddle by her feet.

The Lost yanked the sword out of (Y/n)'s body with a demonic chuckle. She fell to the floor, eyes glued to the door. The last thing she saw before her body evaporated into ash was Louis and Syra's horrified expressions.

When (Y/n) regained consciousness, she saw Yakumo gazing down at her. He wore a puzzled expression. "Where'd you come from, (Y/n)?"

The girl flew up, checking her pocket. Feeling the ink ribbons were still safely tucked inside, she leapt to her feet. She didn't even bother to answer his question as she stormed off to her room. There, she pulled out the ink ribbons and tested one to make sure they'd fit the typewriter's model. When it did, she smiled from ear to ear. She was excited to begin using the typewriter.

Looking away from the typewriter, (Y/n) glances in the mirror and remembered how she was stabbed. If the blade had pierced any further to the left, she'd be dead. Her smile vanished, images of Louis' and Syra's horrified expressions popping into her mind. She wondered if her friends thought she was dead. She wanted to rendezvous with them, but she had no way of getting to them due to her lack of combat skills. Deciding to wait for their return, she wandered out of her room and over to the couches. She sat down beside Yakumo, who lowered the magazine he was reading. "You gonna tell me what happened?"

"Well, I got my ink ribbons and wound up being stabbed in the back by one of the Lost." (Y/n) placed a hand over her chest. "That hurt like hell..."

"At least you're still alive," Yakumo said. "Louis would lose his mind if you were gone."

All of a sudden, the church doors opened. The hinges creaked, the small sound echoing throughout the church. Yakumo and (Y/n) looked up to see Louis and Syra. They both watched them drag their bodies into the church with devastated expressions.

(Y/n) knew exactly why they wore such expressions and yelled at them, "Hey! You're back!" She flew to her feet and quickly made her way over to them. "Glad you're both safe."

Louis and Syra stared at her with wide eyes. They nearly dropped their weapons due to shock, but they were able to secure their grip around them.

Louis reaches out slowly, his fingers brushing against her cheek. "You're..." The words became lodged in his throat.

Noticing this, (Y/n) explained what happened. "I'm fine, Louis. I did get lucky, though. If that blade had pierced my chest a little further to the left..." She shook her head. "But that's not important. I'm alive and perfectly fine. I did test out the ink ribbons and-"

All of a sudden, Louis dropped his sword and pulled (Y/n) into a tight embrace. He held her close, burying his face into her (h/c) locks. He inhaled her scent before sighing in relief. "I thought I'd lost you..."

"Sorry for worrying you, Louis," she whispered, winding her arms around his torso. "I wasn't being careful."

"No, don't apologize," Louis hugged her tighter. "I should've gone inside with you. I'm sorry, (Y/n)."

The (e/c)-eyed girl pulled away slightly in order to look up at him. She offered him a kind, gentle smile. "If this keeps up, we'll be playing the blame game for hours. Let's not dwell on what could've happened. Like you said, always look forward, not back. Besides, that brush with death cured my writer's block! You're gonna love the sequel! I'm gonna start writing the first chapter right away!" She pulled away from Louis and stormed off, disappearing out of sight.

Louis watched (Y/n) vanish with a faint smile. He placed a hand on his hip. "She really does bounce back quick."

"It's a good trait to have," Syra said. "Let's just hope she doesn't overwork herself."

Louis leant down and picked up his weapon. "I'll make sure she doesn't."