Route
After the Literature Club members finished sharing their poems that afternoon, Monika finally found a chance to talk to Sayori. The Vice President went over to Sayori and then softly whispered,
"Hey Sayori. We need to talk."
The club president curiously tilted her head and asked,
"What's up, Monika? Is something wrong?"
"I'm not quite sure just yet, Sayori, but I can't talk about it here. Come outside with me for a bit."
Monika's tone didn't sit well with Sayori, so she decided to hear her vice president out.
The two girls excused themselves and they headed out of the clubroom together.
The Vice President closed the door behind them then heaved a sigh. Sayori noticed the anxious air hanging about Monika, so she asked with genuine concern,
"What is it, Monika?"
Monika fidgeted around for a bit before she managed to bring her hands down to her sides. She then faced Sayori and started recounting the strange, off-script conversation she had with the Protagonist earlier that afternoon.
Sayori listened intently and took her time as she carefully thought about Monika's story. She furrowed her brow and thoughtfully joined her pointer fingers as she racked her brains,
"Hmm… what if he was just reacting to the new scene that played out a while ago? He reacted differently to things when you edited the script in Act 2, didn't he?"
Monika shook her head and then explained,
"That was only because I rewrote the Protagonist's speech to match the changes that I made, Sayori. The Protagonist didn't react to any of the… glitches that popped up in Act 2. Anything he did was guided by the Player back then. But when I was talking to the Protagonist just now, I felt like I was talking to someone else entirely!"
Sayori lowered her hands and chimed,
"But the Protagonist followed the Chapter 2 script afterwards, didn't he? Though, come to think of it, he didn't seem to trigger anyone's special events today."
Monika joined her hands behind her back and she had suddenly had a fun idea. The Vice President leaned towards Sayori and playfully teased,
"I have a feeling that it might be because you triggered both Natsuki's and Yuri's events at the same time. You were pretty popular today, you know~!"
Sayori's face flushed red when she remembered that. She then raised up her clenched fists and pouted as she reminded,
"You also triggered my event when you tried fixing my blazer too!"
"Ahaha~! I did, didn't I? Sorry about that - I couldn't help it!"
"Jeez~"
The President then shook her clenched fists with urgency and asked,
"In any case, what are we going to do about this off-script thingy?"
Monika put a hand on her hip and suggested,
"I've been thinking about that since a while ago. You're scripted to walk home with the Protagonist after the club meeting today aren't you? Why don't you go through with that for now."
She then raised up her pointer finger and said,
"While you're with him, I'll stay behind and inspect the resources and the game code. The tiniest hiccups can cause the largest problems - and they're usually the hardest ones to find."
Sayori nodded gamely and agreed,
"Okay, let's do that! You know the code better than I do, so I'll leave that stuff to you. I'll walk the Protagonist home and look out for anything suspicious."
"Be careful though, Sayori. You don't know what might happen so it might be good to make a new save file."
"Oh, you're right! That way, we'll have something to come back to."
"I hope we don't have to use it though..."
Sayori joined her hands together and assured,
"Ahehehe, of course!"
The two girls brought out their respective notebooks and they each made a new save file. When they were finished, Sayori faced Monika then earnestly added,
"But I want you to take care of yourself too, Monika. Don't push yourself too hard, okay? You seem to be on edge today, after all."
"D-do I?"
Sayori nodded and then said,
"When you're done checking things out, I want you to go straight home so you can kick back and relax. I know that's what I'm going to do when I get home. Until the Chapter 3 poem game starts, at least!"
A complex expression formed on Monika's face when she heard Sayori's request. The Vice President laughed uncomfortably then coyly mused,
"Ah… about that. You know, I don't exactly have a home to return to in this game."
Sayori's jaw dropped open as she gasped,
"You don't!?"
"Nope! And neither do Yuri and Natsuki. That's why the two of them were scripted to visit the Protagonist's house for the festival prep in Chapter 5."
"Yikes… come to think of it, that's true. But wait! If that's true, then what the heck did you do after I went home yesterday, Monika?"
Monika scratched her face with embarrassment and avoided Sayori's probing eyes as she confessed,
"Ah… ahahaha. Well, I just stayed in school and worked on the new script till the evening. I worked on my poem too here and there. Then when I was done, I un-rendered my sprite and brought it back the next morning!"
Sayori didn't like this answer at all. She clenched her fists with disappointment and chided,
"That won't do, Monika! Weren't we going to restore our daily lives? Normal people don't stay overnight in school and then pop in and out of existence like that!"
"Ahahaha… That's… true…"
Monika wanted to tell Sayori about about the lives of college students during thesis season, but she decided to hold back that thought.
While Monika was thinking of something else to say, Sayori suddenly extended her hand towards Monika and asked,
"Monika. Gimme your phone real quick."
"My phone…?"
Monika wasn't quite sure what Sayori wanted to do with her phone, but the club president kept her hand up. There was no way that she could say no to Sayori when she was that determined, so Monika conceded,
"Fine. Here."
Sayori took Monika's phone and started typing something up. Moments later, Sayori handed Monika her phone back and smiled,
"I added my number to your contacts! That way, we can quickly contact each other if anything goes wrong."
"Ah, that makes sense."
"Also, I added my home address as well~! I just had this idea, you see. Why don't you come over to my place after I walk the Protagonist home? You can stay overnight there until we can render your house. We can work on Yuri's and Natsuki's homes too while we're at it!"
"A-at your place? Is that really alright?"
"Ehehe, of course! We haven't really bonded outside of the Literature Club in any of the routes. I figured now would be a good time to start~! Plus, we'll be able to tackle this issue of ours with clear minds if we're both well rested!"
"Sayori…"
The club president then joined her pointer fingers together again and asked,
"You have to help me make dinner, though! All I can cook is breakfast stuff, ahehe~"
Monika put her hands on her hips and smiled back at Sayori,
"Alright then, Miss Sunshine. I'll take you up on your offer~!"
Sayori's eyes brightened up as she gasped,
"You will? Sweet! You're the best, Moni~!"
"Moni?"
"Ahehe~"
Before Sayori could say anything else, the school bell rang and marked the end of club activities for the day. The club president then chuckled and called,
"Come on now, Monika! Let's get this show on the road!"
Monika nodded and the two of them went back into the clubroom.
Sayori and Monika dismissed the club for the day and the two watched as Yuri and Natsuki made their way out of the clubroom as usual.
Yuri and Natsuki were going to go out of the school and then un-render their sprites as they were programmed to do at the end of the day. The Vice President was familiar with the process after all. However, that was the first time that Monika ever thought about that mechanical routine as something sad.
Moments later, Sayori went over to the Protagonist and began the scripted scene that she had with him.
Storywise, Sayori and the Protagonist were going to walk home together for the first time in a long while. In practice, however, it was a simple scene transition to the road home. It wasn't anything that Sayori couldn't handle.
Still, as Sayori and the Protagonist made their way out of the clubroom, the club president flashed Monika a smile then waved goodbye.
Monika waved back and the sprites of Sayori and the Protagonist disappeared together.
Now that she was alone in the clubroom, Monika began her investigation.
The vice president dutifully patrolled the school and entered every rendered room with her notebook in hand. At every room, Monika flipped through the pages of her notebook and checked the resources listed there - from the background art to the music to the conversations that were scripted to happen in the rooms.
Half an hour would pass like that, but Monika couldn't find anything out of place. There were no telltale signs of any of the Act 2 stuff in the current build of the game. The traceback text file didn't have anything new either.
It made Monika wonder. What if the Protagonist broke script because of something outside of the game? What if it was something that was beyond even Monika's control?
As Monika was pondering, her cellphone buzzed.
It was a text from Sayori.
"Hey Moni! Just dropped the Protagonist off at his home. Nothing weird happened! You can come on over now :-)"
Monika smiled and sent her reply,
"Good to hear! I'm heading there now."
With that, the Vice President pocketed her phone and she traced her way back to the clubroom to get her things. Going around aimlessly wasn't going to get her investigation anywhere, Monika thought. A good night's sleep and a nice dinner might help her clear the air too.
Thinking about that, Monika found herself walking down the halls with a brisk and happy pace.
That was the first time that Monika looked forward to anything aside from Literature Club meetings - or chances to speak with the Player. She was also amused by how close she and Sayori had gotten ever since the President convinced her to come back and join the club again.
It made Monika wonder if she was the one on the Sayori route.
Monika chuckled and thought out loud,
"That probably wouldn't be so bad~! Ahaha, what am I thinking?"
Monika then reached the clubroom and was about to grab her things and go when she noticed something strange. The clubroom closet door was slightly open - even though Monika was sure that she closed it only a while ago.
There wasn't supposed to be anyone else left at the school either after club activities.
Monika's heart started to race, but she took a deep breath and pulled herself together.
She then brought out her notebook and kept it on the page where she wrote her save file. Monika held her notebook close to her chest as she called out,
"Is anyone there?"
Suddenly, Monika heard a gasp followed by a shuffle of feet coming from inside the closet.
There was somebody inside!
Monika gripped her notebook tightly and she burst into the clubroom closet to confront the person. The Vice President looked inside and was surprised by what she saw.
There in the darkness of the closet, Monika found a person - a girl - with her back pressed against the storage racks. The girl's hands were trembling and her face was pale from fright.
On top of that, she was holding onto the second volume of Parfait Girls in her shaky hands.
Monika blinked twice in disbelief and then asked
"... Natsuki?"
To Be Continued