"-with no sign of capturing the suspects in the near future. What do you make of this, Bill?"

"Now, you see, John, this is just another sign that the police force needs to see a drastic overhaul. This is the third time now that this gang has struck, and every time the cops are just too slow to capture them! What are we paying them for, then?"

More than a few shoppers had stopped or slowed down to watch the news, before moving on to continue their own lives, often discussing what they saw with those around them. Others didn't even bother discussing it, simply choosing to either absorb the information or disregard it entirely. It had nothing to do with them, after all.

One man in particular had been watching on his way out of the building, only to shake his head as he walked out the door, bags of groceries in hand. He had been watching the news for most of his life, and yet they hadn't changed at all during that time.

His car was nothing special, a simple four door sedan. It wasn't fancy, but he kept it clean, and it kept running, and that's all he needed. Even then, it's not like he needed any of the extra seats. He lived alone, and didn't have any friends in the area who didn't have cars of their own.

While most of his social isolation was by choice, he still felt the occasional pang of loneliness. In fact, as of late, they've gotten worse and worse.

All because of that damn game he tried out on a whim.

And the girl from said game who broke it just to spend time with him.

It was just a free game he downloaded off Steam because of all the buzz he heard about it. Why did it have to hit him so deeply? Why couldn't he get any of it out of his head?

Why couldn't any of them be real?

The man shook off the thoughts just as he pulled into his driveway, the sun just starting to set. That line of thinking wouldn't change anything, and would only make him feel worse.

His house was a step up from his car, but it still wasn't excessive. It wasn't even that big, but for a single person it was more than enough. Also, it was isolated from almost anyone else, which was fine by him. The closest neighbor was at least a couple blocks away, and he never had to deal with them.

However, as he got out of the car with his groceries, he noticed something was wrong.

Namely, even though he always kept his curtains pulled over the windows, he could tell that one of the lights was on, and he knew for a fact that he turned all of them off before he left that day.

Considering that there wasn't anyone else who had a key to his house, he immediately assumed the worst. He quickly walked back to his car, dropping the groceries back down in the passenger seat while he popped open the glove box. It didn't take him long at all to find what he was looking for.

Making sure that his handgun was properly loaded and chambered, he dropped into a lowered stance and crept to the front door. It was still shut and locked, so whoever was in his house, they got in either from the back, or through a window.

Keeping his gun raised and ready, he quickly yet quietly unlocked the door, before repocketing his keys. Steeling himself, he quickly twisted the doorknob and shoved the door inside, taking aim at the same time.

There wasn't anyone in the immediate entryway of his house, but he could see that the kitchen was the source of light he saw through the window. Wasting no time, he walked inside, scanning every potential hiding place on his way there.

Unexpectedly, the kitchen was completely empty. If anyone had been looking through his cupboards and fridge, he couldn't tell at a glance.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps coming from down the hall. He immediately whirled towards the source, simultaneously taking note of what the steps sounded like. They had shoes, but they didn't sound like common tennis shoes. Not only that, but whoever it was, they weren't being very light on their feet.

It was like they wanted to gain his attention.

He performed a quick check and repositioning to ensure that no one could get him from behind, and kept his gaze towards the hallway, slowly edging closer all the while. It sounded like they were just around the corner, now. His finger slowly drifted closer to the trigger.

Judging by the speed of the steps, they'd round the corner in three, two…

In an instant, he whirled around the corner, gun drawn and ready, but he held his fire in favor of barking out a quick order. "Hands up!"

He didn't expect a girlish scream in response, nor did he expect whoever it was to be a slight bit shorter than him; just enough that he had to bring his gun down a bit to make sure he could see their face.

It was a girl, just as the scream suggested. Her hands were in the air, as he ordered, so he quickly started going over her features in his head.

Long brown hair, with a large white bow tying parts of it together. Wearing a grey jacket with a brown vest peeking from underneath, and also a dark blue skirt. Just above the vest was a red bow, and just above that he could see her bright, emerald green eyes, which held a look of utter terror and confusion.

Something occurred to him that made his gun waver ever so slightly. She looked just like…

No. That was impossible.

"Who are you?" he barked out, taking a single step back to give her space but keeping his gun leveled at her chest.

He could see the start of tears growing at the corners of her eyes. "I- It's me, Nathan! It's Monika!"

He froze. She knew his name, but he was more focused on what she claimed her name was.

There was no way…

"H- How did you get here?" he demanded, his voice catching slightly. Part of him wanted to fully accept what she was saying, but the rest of him was far too cautious to do so just yet.

Tears were rolling down her face now, but she answered anyway. "I'm… not really sure, but I managed to get over to your world! I woke up in front of your computer!"

He so badly wanted to believe her, but he still couldn't bring himself to do so. Not without something only she would know.

"The first time I played the game," he started, his voice softening but his aim not moving, "before… before Sayori…" Just saying the name out loud felt odd to him, but he kept going. "Before that happened, who was I trying to romance?"

He had never told anyone about the game, since he didn't have any friends who would be into that sort of thing. So if this really was Monika, then she'd clearly know that he started by going for…

"You… went for Sayori," she said, her hands lowering slightly, albeit still above her head. "And then, the second time, you didn't seem to care if you impressed Yuri or Natsuki more."

Nathan felt his breathing quicken slightly, as his aim slowly shook more and more.

She was right.

She was telling the truth.

She was real.

And she was here.

Slowly, Nathan lowered the gun, as his own vision started to blur slightly from tears. Monika's arms lowered, as well, and as soon as the weapon was aimed right at the floor, he felt his grip loosen completely, letting it clatter to the floor between them.

His hands now empty, Nathan lunged forward and grabbed Monika into a hug, causing her to let out a yelp before she returned the hug, the both of them quietly crying into each other's shoulders.

"I… I didn't think I'd ever see you," Nathan eventually choked out, his grip remaining tight.

"I didn't either," Monika admitted. "But now that I'm here…" She let out a small sob, smiling widely through the tears. "I love you, Nathan."

He didn't hesitate at all. "I love you too, Monika."

The two of them remained in their embrace for a while longer, before eventually Monika made the move to separate themselves slightly, enough to bring them face to face. "I'm… sorry about scaring you. Now that I think about it, I suppose it did look a bit suspect, ehehe…"

'I was so close to killing you'

Nathan felt the thought enter his head, but quickly buried it. "Don't worry about it. We're together now, that's all that matters."

Suddenly, he snapped his head back towards the front door, still ajar from his entry. "Shit, almost forgot about the groceries."

Reluctantly, the two of them let each other go, and he made his way to the door, stopping briefly to backtrack and retrieve the fallen pistol.

As he left, Monika felt her gaze being drawn to the weapon that was threatening her life only moments ago. She was no stranger to guns as an idea, but she didn't know that Nathan owned one. Although, to be fair, she never asked.

A moment later, he returned, the gun now replaced with far more benign bags of groceries. "I take it you tried to find something to eat in the kitchen?" he asked.

Monika gave a sheepish laugh. "Yeah, but I couldn't really find anything…"

"Well, let's fix that." Nathan walked back into the kitchen, Monika following closely behind as he set the bags down on the counter, not even bothering to put them away yet. "Also, sorry in advance, but I don't really have that much vegetarian food here."

"Aww, you remembered!" Monika leaned over as she looked at the gathered food items. "And it's not that big a deal. I did kinda surprise you here, after all."

Nathan chuckled. "Well, the only things I got without meat in them is some macaroni and some packs of ramen," he listed off, taking the items out of the bag as he listed them off. "That sound good for tonight?"

Monika gave a small smirk. "Not much of a cook?"

"I mean, it's been working so far."

"I'm just teasing you, Nathan," she said, giggling, before she trailed off into a sigh. "Honestly… this still doesn't feel completely real to me, you know?"

"I understand. I keep having to remind myself I'm not dreaming, too."

"The more you talk, the more I remember why I fell in love with you," Monika said, hugging him from behind.

"Then I should probably shut up, before I ruin it."

"Hey!"

The two of them continued to laugh and joke at each other's expense through the rest of the cooking, as well as through all of their dinner.

It was still hard to believe, but they were together now. For real. Not separated by a screen at all, just two people in love who were truly meeting for the first time.

And if they had anything to say about it, they would never be separated again.

After the incredibly simple meal, the two of them curled up on the couch together, Nathan trying to find something to watch amidst the almost endless stream of garbage on TV. He kept an eye on Monika, trying to gauge her reactions to certain programs, but her expression only seem to change between distaste and outright disgust.

Eventually, he flipped over to a news channel, which made him pause just long enough to see what they were currently talking about.

"-with many people around the country taking part in public protests. Despite this, the police are remaining firm on their stance, and refuse to levy any sort of punishment on the officer."

"And why should they?" another person asked, clearly meant to be the opposite side of a debate. "Even if they were in high school, even if they were under eighteen, they still had a weapon on them, and were very clearly acting as a threat. Not only that, but we have several eyewitness reports saying that the officer attempted to talk them down several times before shooting. If you ask me, he was following procedure perfectly."

While the other people at the desk started to argue the point back and forth, Nathan felt Monika fidget slightly next to him. "Something on your mind?"

She sighed. "I can't help but feel a little sad whenever I see things that remind me how messed up the world can really be."

Nathan shrugged. "The world is a cruel place, and a lot of times good people have to do bad things." He put on a cheesy grin. "But with you here now, it's at least a little bit better."

"Oh, stop it, you!" Monika shoved him playfully, blushing slightly. "You know, being all romantic isn't going to work forever."

"You're probably right. But until then…" Nathan trailed off, instead opting to finish the statement with a small kiss on her cheek. When her only response was to stiffen while blushing harder, his smile widened. "Seems like it works fine right now."

"S- Shut up!" Monika said, starting to giggle before it turned into a full blown laugh. Nathan joined her, the two tightening their embrace as they fell into hysterics over the other's antics.

Once the laughter died down, Nathan let out a yawn. "Well, it's been a long day for me. I'm gonna turn in for the night."

"I'll probably be right behind you," Monika said, letting Nathan untangle himself from her.

"Feel free to use the bathroom and stuff if you need to," he said, stretching. "After all, this is your place now, too."

Monika felt her heart flutter uncontrollably at the statement, and she couldn't keep a dumb grin off her face. Nathan was affected in much the same way, even though he was the one who said it.

"I love you so much," Monika said, tilting her head while giving a wide smile.

"I probably love you more," Nathan shot back, starting to make his way towards his bedroom.

"I doubt it!"

"Try me!"

The two laughed again, before they fully broke sight of one another. Nathan didn't take long at all to get ready for bed, since it was a simple matter of taking off his jeans and shirt before throwing them into the floor next to the bed. They'd have to be picked up at some point, but that was a problem for tomorrow.

Collapsing onto the bed, Nathan quickly got into a comfortable position under the covers, although it was proving harder to drift to sleep than he thought.

At some point, he heard Monika walking around in the hall, before he heard a door shut, followed by the telltale sound of a shower starting up. As mundane as it was, the simple knowledge that there was now someone else living here with him- someone who he loved so much, no less- was enough to make him put on a wide smile.

At some point, he managed to nod off, but was soon awoken by the feeling of the bed shaking slightly, as a figure wormed its way under the covers before squeezing up to his front.

Even though the room was pitch black by this point, he didn't need to see at all to know who it was.

Although… it didn't feel like she was wearing her uniform anymore.

In fact, it didn't feel like she was wearing anything at all anymore.

He heard Monika softly giggle just as the realization hit. "I didn't really have any clothes other than my uniform, so-"

Nathan cut her off with a quick peck on the lips, causing her to let out an adorable squeak. "We'll go shopping for you tomorrow."

It took a bit for Monika to answer. "I… I would love that." She noticed that she was already starting to lose him, though, and she let out another small giggle. "Goodnight, Nathan."

"Night, Monika."

And so, the two of them drifted off into what would hopefully be the first of many blissful slumbers with one another.