Move, you spoke, hands pressed firmly against mine.

Nise woke up abruptly, violently jerking his body forward as he sat upright. Face covered in sweat. He pushed aside the covers, stumbling out of the bed. The boy stood up, but just as he gained his balance, his knees, weak and trembling, gave way. He crumpled to the floor, his arms pushing his upper body up as he hurled.

"What the hell…"

His head spun as the acrid scent of vomit pierced his nostrils. With all his might, he got up. Dashing out of the door and down the stairs. He ran down the road, his legs shaky, like they could crumble under his weight at any time.

Write a perfect future, just you, just me, in the absence of time.

He tripped, throwing his hands forward to protect his body. Nise tumbled across the gravel road, his skin burned as his arms and legs were littered with cuts and abrasions. Bleeding still, he got up and resumed his frantic dash towards his destination. His body screamed in protest as it was suddenly propelled into a flurry of traumatic events, but he pushed forward.

"Please, let me make it in time!"

Nise threw the door wide open, entering the house of his dearest friend. He had to stop it before it happened. His eyes darted back and forth, finally resting on a kitchen knife on the kitchen tabletop. Grabbing it and sprinting up the stairs, he threw the door open.

With a pen. Code our eventual destiny. Alter our unchangeable path.

The girl, dangling from a noose, clawing at it with bloodied nails. Nise's mind was racing, panic overcame him. Hurriedly he grabbed a nearby chair, grabbing her waist and pushing her up so he could place the chair under her. The pink-haired girl gasped for air as Nise grasped the knife tightly, sawing at the rope that connected her to the ceiling. Successfully breaking her free, Nise clasped the girl as she fell limp in his arms.

"Sayori…"

"N-nise… You saved me…"

Our route. My route. Achieved despite the bloodbath.

"Why did you save me!"

Sayori shrieked as she cupped her ears with her bloodied hands. Nise backed away in shock as she continued to scream incessantly.

"Get her out of my head! Get out of my head! The whispering! Make it stop!"

Sayori's eyes wildly searched the room before reaching forward towards an object glinting in the gentle rays of sunlight streaming in through the window. Grabbing the knife and pointing the blade towards her, poised to bring it down onto her chest.

"Sayori! What are you doing!"

Nise lunged forwards, grabbed the knife and attempting to wrest the weapon from her hands.

"Let go! I need it to stop! I need everything to stop!"

Nise pulled the sharp end of the knife away from Sayori. As she tugged back, weak from the oxygen loss, Nise won control of the knife and-

shluk

Pointing the knife away from the girl, he aimed it unknowingly at himself instead. As the girl let go of the knife, the force in which Nise tugged caused the momentum of the sharp blade to pierce his lower abdomen. All this happened within the span of a few seconds.

Deafening silence ensued, Nise felt like he was punched in the gut. His eyes widened as he looked down. It was momentary that he could feel nothing but a tingling sense of numbness coursing through his mind and his whole body. A warm feeling washed over him as a hot sticky sanguine-red liquid spread across his shirt in messy undistinguished directions.

The blood slowly flowing out from Nise's wound added gravity to the circumstance, as the reality of the situation sunk in.

"N-nise… No…"

thump

"AHHHHH!"

Nise's body slumped onto the floor and a scream escaped his lips as sharp searing pain assaulted his lower body. A chill ran across his skin, the mixture of heat and coldness, coupled with the violent smell of iron, induced in him an urge to throw up.

"What have I done… Nise… No… This is all my fault…"

Nise could feel his consciousness fading as his vision grew dimmer and Sayori's voice grew softer. Until a voice caused him to hold on for a bit longer.

"It's your fault, isn't it?"

Nise recognised that voice all too well, but why was she here?

"Monika… I should've followed what you told me to do sooner… I should've just ended it all sooner… Now Nise is going to die! All because of me!"

"Nise can still be saved, I've called an ambulance already, he'll be alright. But you, well, you're beyond saving aren't you?"

Nise cried out to Sayori, but no sound was able to come out. With all his strength he tried to yell, yell out that he wanted Sayori to live, that it was not her fault. And also in surprise, he could not understand why Monika was doing this. How could someone so innocent and perfect say such atrocious things?!

Nise could not hold on any longer, his strength to stay awake was diminishing by the second.

The last thing he heard was the sound of a knife piercing skin.

"Whole or broken, your unrequited love is all I require."

Nise woke up abruptly, violently jerking his body forward as he sat upright. He was back in his bed, not in a hospital bed, but on his own bed. Looking down, there was no pain, no wound at his abdomen. It happened again, the vivid memories were unmistakably real. Ceaseless screams filled the room as it dawned on him that he was not able to save Sayori.

"I will save you… I will do whatever it takes…"

A pair of emerald green eyes peered into the room from the doorway. A soft smile formed on her lips.

"This route forever taken, until you fulfill my desire."

[A/N: Hey guys, TheTranquilTantivy here. This was a short story I did as part of an application form for a Doki Doki Literature Club... Literature club... Basically. So yeah! If you like what you read, any more literary works I do in the club will be posted here as well. So look forward to that! Anyway, TheTranquilTantivy, signing out.]