MC sat at his desk daydreaming when he thought he heard someone call for him. "Hmm? Did you say something Natsuki?"
"Yeah." Natsuki responded with her hands on her hips. "I was wondering if you wanted to go to the beach later."
Natsuki suddenly blushed as her arms shot to her sides. "I-I mean, Yuri and Monika are coming too." She said as she averted her eyes from MC. "It's not like I'm asking you o-out or anything."
MC chuckled softly. "Sure Natsuki, that sounds lovely."
A big, bright smile graced Natsuki's face. "Really?! That's awesome!" Natsuki proceeded to clear to her throat, and seemingly the excitement from her voice. "Oh! Um... We'll meet you there then. Does seven o'clock sound good?"
MC nodded in the affirmative. "Yes Natsuki it does, I'll see you then.
...
"There he is!" Natsuki shouted as she got up from her beach towel and began waving her arm towards her friend. "HHHHHEEEEEYYYYY MMMMMCCCCC!"
"Sorry I'm late everyone" MC said as he began rubbing the back of his neck. "I got off the bus at the wrong end of the beach."
Natsuki burst out laughing as Yuri brought her hand up to her mouth to stifle a gasp. "Are you okay MC? You weren't walking too long I hope."
"No Yuri, I'm fine. Thanks for asking." MC responded while putting his beach towel down. "I barely saw anyone while I was walking over here though."
"That's the best part about coming to the beach so late." Monika said as she finished stretching. "You get nearly the whole beach to yourself. Plus it's a full moon so we still have plenty of light."
Monika then put her hands behind her back as she leaned forward and adopted a serious expression. "Just don't swim out too far, okay everyone?"
"Okay." Everyone responded.
After her brief lecture, Monika smiled. "Alright, then let's go swimming."
...
Surprisingly enough, Natsuki was quite an adept swimmer. Monika of course was able to do laps around everyone else. But Yuri... well Yuri was good at floating. MC however, mostly just watched from the shore as the three girls had fun in the surf.
After successfully untying Yuri's bikini top, Natsuki got out of the water to sit down next to MC. "Hey... are you okay?" MC didn't respond until Natsuki put her hand on MC and shook him a little.
MC jolted slightly at the contact as he was brought back into the present. "Hmm? Oh Natsuki, I'm sorry I was just distracted."
"What by Yuri?" Natsuki said with an air of great confidence.
"No... I was just thinking about how much Sayori loved the beach."
"Huh!?" Natsuki was startled to hear MC mention Sayori, it had been four months since she had taken her own life and nearly as many months since she heard MC say her name. "O-oh... I... I didn't know that."
"Yeah." MC said with a look of sad longing in his eyes. "She loved to swim, collect seashells, build sandcastles..."
MC trailed off before laughing. "This one time..." He laughed again. "This one time she buried me all the way up to my head and went off to get us both ice cream, but she ended up getting lost for a few hours." MC breathed out a happy sigh. "I got so sunburned that day."
Natsuki didn't know what to say, should she console her friend or let him continue to reminisce. She didn't get a chance to respond as Yuri and Monika ran out of the water.
Yuri was in a full sprint towards Natsuki after finding enough seaweed to cover her now bear chest as Monika tried to keep up with her.
"Oh shit!" Natsuki said as she shot up to her feet and took off running.
"I'm gonna get you for that Natsuki!" Yuri shouted.
"Girls please, this isn't a nude beach!" Monika said with a laugh in an attempt to disarm the situation.
MC stared back at the three girls having fun as he continued to remember his best friend, the love of his life.
"Hey MC! Look at these little crabs dig in the sand!" Sayori said in amazement.
"Wow! Look at those waves. Let's race to the water MC!" Sayori said as she took off in a sprint.
"Hey! No fair!" MC shouted after he took off after a giggling Sayori.
MC looked out towards the vast ocean as his thoughts came back to the present. He looked back at his friends fooling around and chasing one another. As he stood up and took a few steps into the water.
Sayori's voice echoed in his mind. "I like you so much I want to die! That's how I feel!" Remembering those words made MC's chest hurt, feeling unfathomable guilt for not being able to help his dearest friend when she needed him most.
"Sayori..." MC replied as his thoughts took him back to when she laid her heart to bear before him as they stood outside his house. "I love you."
The painful memories only continued as he swam further and further out into the ocean. As the voices of his three friends on the shore grew more and more distant. Until all he could hear was the sound of the waves.
...
"MC! Help!" Natsuki shouted while simultaneously laughing and keeping a seaweed covered Yuri from ripping her bikini top off in retribution. "I need backup!"
As Monika managed to get Yuri off of Natsuki for a moment, Natsuki began walking towards the water. "Hey MC! Can you hear me?"
As her question was answered with nothing but silence she looked out towards the water being illuminated by the moon and felt her heart sink. There was MC, swimming out towards nothing but his own death.
...
MC awoke to the sound of a heart monitor. Turning his head he saw Natsuki asleep with her head on his chest, along with Yuri asleep in a chair next to him.
Before he could say or do anything, the door slid open to reveal Monika with a few cans of coffee. At the sight of MC being awake Monika dropped the cans to the ground and rushed over to him as the other two girls in the room woke up.
Natsuki looked up with dried drool on the side of her face, still groggy from just waking up. "MC?" Natsuki then fully awoke in an instant as she slammed her fist into MC's chest.
"Ow! Natsuki what are you doi-?"
"NO!" Natsuki shouted as she pointed a finger right in MC's face. "You don't get to ask me that."
MC looked around the room towards Yuri and Monika. "What? I'm fine, I just swam out a bit too far last night."
"For Christ's sake MC, you nearly drowned last night." Monika responded.
"Natsuki swam half a kilometer dragging you out of the water." Yuri commented in order to add to Monika's previous point.
"Look..." MC responded, seemingly to everyone in the room, as he got out of bed and peeled off the medical wires on his arm. "I'm fine, and as a thank you to Natsuki I'll bake you a cake."
Natsuki just stared at MC with a concerned expression.
"Okay fine." MC said as he threw his hands up. "Two cakes and a dozen cupcakes."
Natsuki shook her head as tears formed in the sides of her eyes. "We all know what you tried to do last night."
MC began walking towards the doorway of his hospital room. "Oh that was nothing Natsuki. I was just full of self-pity."
Before either Yuri or Monika could interject in the conversation, Natsuki shouted. "BULLSHIT!" Natsuki now had tears flowing freely down her face. "You and I both remember what we were talking about before you did what you did.
MC sighed before leaving the room. "I was upset, I'm fine now and I'm going home."
...
"Thank you, have a lovely day." MC said to the receptionist as he finished discharging himself from the hospital. But as soon as he walked out of the hospital's main entrance, Natsuki caught up to him.
"So you're going home?"
"That's the plan." MC responded without turning around.
Finally catching up to him, Natsuki stated her concerns. "I don't believe you. On that beach you, wanted to die." As MC tried to open a door to a taxi, Natsuki stood in front of the handle to prevent him from leaving. "And I don't think any damn thing has changed, has it?"
MC stood there for a moment and processed what Natsuki had just said, before finally just saying, "No."
Feeling like she had just been punched in the gut, Natsuki laid out her concerns while trying not to cry again. "So if you get in this car, I'm never gonna see you again." Breathing in slightly to prevent herself from hyperventilating, she continued. "I pity the poor bastard that finds you. Come on! MC, talk to me!"
"I could talk to you... I could talk to any person in the entire world until I'm blue in the face, and she'd still be gone." MC said. "She'd still be dead, and I'd still be here. Stuck! Abandoned!"
Natsuki put her hands on MC's shoulders to try and calm him down. "She was the love of your life."
As he attempted to shake her arms off of him MC answered Natsuki's question. "Yeah, she was. And now she's gone."
Natsuki simply held onto MC tighter. "Then that makes you a lucky man."
As he stopped trying to get Natsuki off of him, MC was visibly confused by what he had just heard. "How do you figure that?"
Natsuki looked deeply into MC's eyes. "Millions of people live out their entire lives without ever knowing what that feels like. They go to their graves still wondering. But not you. You won the lottery."
"And now I've lost the ticket."
"But you had it!" Natsuki took one hand off his shoulder to cradle MC's cheek. "True love, and it's yours to keep. That makes you the luckiest person I know." Natsuki looked down for a moment with sadness in her eyes. "Luckiest person standing here, anyway."
MC felt like he needed to address Natsuki's concerns somehow, but he eventually just pushed by her to get into the taxi. "I've got to go."
As the car drove away, Natsuki felt her tears begin to roll down her face again. As all she could do was watch as the distance between her and the man she loved grew further and further.
...
After driving for about fifteen minutes, MC noticed the very same beach he was at last night out of the corner of his eye. At the sight of it he could feel a deep and profound sadness well up inside of him.
Asking the cabdriver to let him out and after handing him his payment, MC stumbled out of the car towards to beach entrance.
Finally making it back to the edge of the water, MC sat down heavily and finally let his tears flow freely.
As he held himself in an attempt to stop himself from crying, he felt a hand gently lay itself on top of his.
Turning to his side, he saw his dearest friend, the love of his life, and the person that he had failed. "Sayori..."
Taking his hand in hers and placing it on her knee, Sayori looked deeply into MC's eyes. "I'll always be waiting for you." As the wind gently blew her pure white dress and bright red bow around she looked back out towards the ocean. "There's no rush, no rush at all."
MC sobbed openly as he stared at his love. "I've been a fool, Sayori."
"Yes." Sayori simply responded with a smile that was brighter than the sun.
"I'm sorry."
"I know." Sayori's smile shrinked a little. "I know."
As Sayori rubbed MC's hand he looked out towards the water for a moment before turning back to Sayori. But just as suddenly as she had appeared, she was gone. And MC was left alone on the beach, as he let his tears flow once again.
...
Natsuki sat alone in the club room, staring intently at her phone background. It was a selfie she took of her and MC when they were baking cupcakes at his home. She let out a sigh as she was looking at the picture while she was waiting for Yuri and Monika to eventually show up.
Hearing the door slide open Natsuki put her phone back in her pocket before huffing out a quick. "You're late you know." To whoever had just walked in.
"I know." She heard the voice respond as she spun around towards the classroom door. "And I'm sorry."
"MC..." Natsuki got up out of her chair and walked over to him.
MC shifted slightly before responding. "I thought about what you said."
Natsuki nodded. "And?"
MC looked down towards Natsuki. "Sayori wouldn't want it."
"No." Natsuki shook her head. "No, she wouldn't."
Natsuki hopped up to MC and wrapped him in as big of a hug as her petite frame could manage.
