Before we get started I'm changing a couple of things due to a plot hole I recently found in the story of Doki Doki Literature club.
So, I'm changing Natsuki just a touch, she will be almost exactly the same as in the game.
Since little is said about Sayori's parents I'm going to make a very vague theme about them.
I DO NOT OWN THE GAME, I'm only writing a nonprofit story based around the game. The game is owned by Team Salvato so go check them out if you have not played the game or seen gameplay of it.
SPOILERS AHEAD SPOILERS AHEAD... You have been warned
I exit the wooden door as Sayori follows after me quickly. The morning sun casts our long shadows against the side of the house. The setting perfect for an early morning walk. Sayori giggles as she runs ahead of me, but stops, allotting me time to catch up. I continue at my normal pace and as soon as I pass he she takes the same pace as I, eventually leveling until we're walking side by side.
Sayori has been waking up early for the last month and a half. Something was definitely off the first week. She confessed to me that she had depression and then later in the day confessed her love to me. After that I spent every night in her room with her just to make sure she didn't... well... Kill herself if I'm to be honest. I knew the effects of depression on a young mind. Since then she has gotten so much happier, as if the companionship was the only thing she wished for.
"You look so funny when you're spacing off you know Ehehe~" Sayori whilst blushing a light blush. She looks intently into my eyes as I snap back to reality. She's also gotten really comfortable with me, blowing our previous status of best friends out of the water, as if a smaller boat compared to this one.
"I didn't miss anything important, did I?" I inquire as I cast my gaze to her dark blue eyes.
"N-no not really! It's just... it was nothing really!" Sayori says quickly. I drop the topic immediately, there isn't a point to arguing it. She'll probably tell me at lunch when she asks to borrow money again. Not that it's her fault she's broke or anything. Her parents are never home anyway... I wish I could show them how special their daughter was.
I stare up at the orange morning sky, and not for the first time did I realize how early we walk to school.
Suddenly Sayori trips on a spot in the sidewalk that juts out more than the rest of it. Falling into me and knocking me over I cushion her fall, at the expense of my own injury. I laugh about the incident and help her gather her stuff before tending to my own.
"You should be more careful" I scold in a joking manner. Sayori looks at me apologetically but doesn't say anything.
"Is something wrong Sayori? You seem... Disentangled from the world" I ask concerned for her safety. She gives me an awkward stare. And, not for the first time since we've gotten together, I felt concerned for her sake.
"D-do you remember Monica?" The name clicks in my head but I can't remember what it's attached to. I shrug and shake my head
"I don't think so, who is she?" I reply, curiosity obviously lacing in my voice.
"She was the previous president of the literature club." She responds in an unnatural calm.
"That's not possible, the literature club was started by Yuri though. At least that's what you and the rest of the literature club told me" Sayori stares blankly at me with a sad smile.
"I guess that's a no then" She says before picking her stuff up. I promptly get up after her and pick my own stuff as well. We continue walking. Monica... Why does that sound so familiar? I continue to think about it, and the more I think about it the closer the answer seems.
"Okay allow me to ask this, if Monica did exist, why does it affect your emotion today?" I inquire softly, trying my best to sound like I'm not mocking. I don't want her to get the wrong Idea and think I'm making fun of her.
"Well... you remember the first night you stayed with me?" She asks sadly.
"Yeah I do, I remember feeling something off about you and... and suddenly bursting into your room when you wouldn't answer. I had to remove the noose from your neck, your hands were bloody and your eyes devoid of light. You hadn't moved for a solid 5 minutes. I sobbed and blamed myself thinking I had lost you for good- "My voice suddenly stops working as my throat begins to close and tears form in my eyes.
"But then I came back" Sayori finishes. "Well... I should drop it, if you haven't figured it out by now you never will" Sayori says before hugging me. I think about what she says but can't speak because of the tears.
I hug her back and wipe the tears from my eyes. 'Dammit I'm weak. I'm supposed to be the one helping her, not the other way around. She was depressed, not me.'
I release from the hug and take her hand into mine as we continue walking to the school.
"Listen Sayori... I'm not leaving your side. You need me so here I will stay. I just... I want you to know that just in case you have any doubts you know..." I trail off as we continue walking. I turn my head to her just in time to catch her smiling and looking at me sideways. Somewhere between there and the school I check her side to make sure the tears didn't stain, and wipe my own face down with a cloth
Once we reach the school, due to its regulations on school grounds, we release hands and head to our class together. It's not like we have to, the rules are pretty slack since none of the teachers seem to care about anything. Since we share a class we both decided that at the beginning of the year we would sit next to each other, now that we are as we are I'm glad we made such a decision. I place my stuff at my seat and turn back to Sayori, who still seemed distraught by this mornings events.
"So, we're 45 minutes early, where do you want to go? What do you want to do? who do you want to see?" I inquire, observing the carefree Sayori. Giving her multiple options so she doesn't seem bound to simple answers. Sayori seems to consider these questions carefully.
"Well... it's been a long time since we did anything for the literature club. The last time we did anything was when you came. So why don't we go do something for Yuri and Natsuki! Like a surprise gift or something!" She suggested eagerly, body gaining energy. Certainly an improvement from only moments ago.
"Sure, that sounds like fun!" I reply, taking Sayori's arm and leading her up the stairs to the club room. She opens the club doors quietly and takes a peek around before sliding it the rest of the way open. Natsuki could be snoring from the closet, sound asleep.
"So, what did you have in mind Sayori?" I ask in a whisper. Sitting down at the table, Sayori sitting across from me.
"Well... I didn't think that far ahead..." Sayori admits embarrassedly pressing her fingertips together and blushing. She looked really apologetic so I had to be the one to come up with something, in order to spare her the embarrassment.
"How about we write them personal notes?" I suggest, "We could tell them how much they mean to us and stuff, or we could write a story including them all. Or maybe a poem about the club in general?"
Sayori's eyes light up when I suggest this. "Notes sound like a great idea!" Sayori gets up and she rushes off to the closet. I whisper right after she races by.
"Don't wake the dragon, she might bite you." I laugh quietly to myself. 'I'll write Natsuki first, not that it matters much.' Sayori comes back with 3 pieces of paper for each of us.
"One for revision I suppose heh" I joke as I start on the first one. Sayori looks at me funny and confused look, but she starts writing her first note as well. After almost 30 minutes of silence we finish the notes, stuff them in our club members cubby holes and go downstairs for our first class. Even fifteen minutes early the class was pretty barren.
After a while I take out my spare notebook and begin writing. After joining the club I've adopted an absolute love for literature. It took me a while to warm up to it, due to me not being involved with it much in the past. Once I did it was a perfect match for me after the 3rd week I was writing day in and day out. Sayori has help a lot over the weeks of joining the club. She's grown proud of my expanding writing ability.
I decided to write something new today, something interesting. But what could I write? Fluidly moving my pencil on the page, I wrote whatever came to mind. Melody, River, Mountain, village, Song, Travel, Valley. Looking at my now scrawled words I try to think of something that can connect these thoughts. I see movement out of the corner of my eye. Quickly turning my head it's Sayori peeking at what I'm writing.
"Trying to get a sneak peek I see, well I caught ya. No showings until poem sharing" I tease.
"Uwa! I just want to see!" Sayori cries out. "It's not like you didn't watch me write mine you know. I saw you peeking last night!" She adds hastily trying to make a good enough point. She then takes the notebook from me and begins reading the list. I try to take it back from her, but it's too late, she already saw there was no poem.
"You haven't started? This is the 4th time that you forgot." Sayori says deflating with disappointment. She takes another look at the list before looking back at me.
"Yeah I know that... Can I have that back? I had something in my mind when I wrote those words, but I don't remember it, so I kind of need the paper. I promise you it will be one of my better poems!" Sayori smirks as an idea flashes across her mind.
"On one condition~" She taunts, holding the paper out of my reach behind her. "You have to write your poems at the same time I do! Every time from now on!"
Are these the only terms? This has no downside. I nod in agreement and she hands the paper back to me. I look around and realize that people have appeared since I got in. Half of them were watching Sayori and I's exchange. I lightly blush embarrassedly and continue to write on the paper I just received back. Time must have passed because the next time I look up from my paper class has already started and everybody seems to be working on something, aside from Sayori that is. I take a sideways look at her, she stares at me spacing off.
"Psst, Sayori" I whisper in a barely audible voice so only Sayori can hear. Sayori seems to jolt before replying, as if saying her name sent a chill through her.
"I finished the poem, could you proofread it for me" I request, allowing her to win our previously argument. As soon as I hand off the piece of paper she eagerly grabs it from my hands. She uses her pencil and lightly marks every now and again on the paper, writing side notes in the column on the other side of the red line. She hands it back with a happy smile.
Upon checking the paper, I see she fixed a few grammar mistakes and wrote an encouraging note in the column. I take a new sheet of paper and rewrite the poem, adding or subtracting an occasional work to make it fit better. I put the original in a binder from my bag. After a while longer the bell rings for lunch. Sayori and I move our desks so that way they and we are facing each other.
Considering Sayori doesn't cook and her parents don't ever come home I make our lunch boxes, so we have the exact same lunches. Nobody seems to question it as they're either too busy worrying about social matters or they just genuinely don't care about us. Quite frankly I don't blame them for not worrying about me, but Sayori SHOULD be popular. She certainly has the potential if she wanted, to ditch me and join a better friend circle.
Since we don't have anything new to talk about we both just sit and eat in silence. Lunch break is an hour and a half long, but Sayori and I finish in half the time. I never did understand the extended eating time.
"So, what do you think about the chicken? I tried to make it extra crispy in the rice. I also tried making the sauce thicker." Sayori takes a minute to chew and swallow the bite she had just put in her mouth.
"I think that the sauce is too thick, it makes my mouth feel all dry and stuff. The chicken was good though!" She says before sipping on her water, lidding her empty lunch box and setting it in her bag.
"I guess that's fair, I won't simmer it for as long" I reply, setting my lunch box in her bag as well.
"Anyway, we've got 30 minutes, is there anything you want to do? We have time for pretty much anything." I inquire tiredly, yawning shortly afterwards. Considering I watched Sayori write her poem last night until 2 in the morning it's only natural that I would be tired. Sayori spots this however, and all thoughts of doing anything else are dispelled. It certainly seems like she's magic sometimes.
"No, you're going to take a nap." Sayori says with a cutting finality. She turns her desk and I turn mine, each back to their original position. Soon after I rest my head on my arms to ensure I don't leave a mark by resting it on the desk. Sayori scoots closer to me and caresses my head, soothing it after the initial surprise a little afterwards she leans against me, her warmth seemingly seeping through her and into me. Slowly as the heat seeps into me, the world begins to fade...