On Saturday, after a quick breakfast of rice, eggs and miso soup, Monika and I snuck out and headed towards Motoyasu's house. As we headed towards a residential district, Monika looked more and more excited. When we got there, I wasn't surprised when Sayori answered the door. She gave us her warm smile. I could tell it was a bit more genuine than before, but I couldn't let my guard down yet. "Sensei? You came with Monika?"
"I ran into her on the way here," I said. I held up the bags of groceries. "I brought all the fixings for a large lunch today."
I saw her mouth begin to drool excitedly. "Come in!"
Motoyasu stuck his head out from down the hallway. "Hey there Price-Sensei, Nakamura-san. I'm just setting up a place for Tanaka-san to paint the banner. You can put the ingredients on the counter for now."
I removed my shoes and stepped inside. Seeing the inside of the MC's house was quite an experience. He had a large house, that I could easily tell from the backdrops in the game, but seeing it in real life was amazing. "Wow, this is an impressive house," I said as I put the ingredients on the counter. "Chiba-san, what do your parents do for a living? They're obviously well off."
"They travel a lot for a large tech firm," he said as he headed into the kitchen. "What did you bring?"
"Ingredients for lunch," I said. "Do you have a large pan?"
He brought out a perfect sized pan for my purposes. "I'll try not to get into Kobayashi-san's way while she's baking."
"I'll be fine, Sensei," I heard Natsuki say from behind me. "What are you making, anyway?"
"A very filling lunch," I grinned. After I asked Motoyasu for the tools I would need, I began my preparations. Yuri arrived a few minutes later accompanied by her mother. I wasn't surprised when she insisted that she stay. I was glad of the more adult company. She helped Yuri with the painting for a bit before coming to me. "Hello, Tanaka-san," I said.
"You can call me Yuki," she said with a smile.
"How was your mother-daughter time yesterday?" I asked softly. Across the kitchen, I heard Natsuki breaking eggs into a bowl.
"It went well enough," she said. "We spent a lot of time talking about her…problem. I tried to apologize for it, but she said it wasn't my fault."
"And it isn't," I reassured her. "She's just a scared kid right now. I'm glad to hear that you talked. What else did you do?"
"We spent some time just reading together. Heh, she used to lie on my lap and read while I read too. After that, I made her favorite dinner."
"It sounds like you two had a good time."
"We did, although she wasn't too happy that I confiscated her knife collection."
"Don't worry. She probably still thinks of them as a crutch. It will pass with time and healing." I smiled at her.
She smiled back. "I'm glad that you're her club's new advisor. I know she's in good hands."
More pressure. Geez. "I'll do my best."
She bowed and went back to help her daughter. Monika and Sayori were busy with the pamphlets, Natsuki was still mixing the batter and Yuri and her mother were busily painting. Motoyasu just jumped back and forth, helping wherever he could. While I prepared the ingredients, I put one some music. As an experiment, I put on the game's own soundtrack, but only the happy songs. I saw Monika give me a sideways glance, roll her eyes and giggle a bit. When we got to her song, however, she sat up and listened. Everyone seemed to stop and listen. The words were different and were sung in a duet with a man and a woman, me and my sister. We'd rewritten the words to this:
Every day, I fight towards a future where I can rescue you
With my hands, I'll compose a brand-new poem for all of you
The ink flows 'cross the crisp and white pages
A brand-new choice, write my way into their hearts
In this closed world of limited choices
I'll write the words meant to find that special day
Those precious words, just to find…that special day.
Can I find a way to save them, or will I go astray?
If I can't, I'll make every lasting day fun for them anyway.
When the days pass into a dark tunnel
I'll light a torch, lead them to reality
And if this world won't write them an ending,
What will it take just for us to have it all?
With my pen, I will write kinder words for those who are dear to me.
I'll protect all of them and eventually I will set them free.
The ink flows 'cross the crisp and white pages
I'll fight the world, just to find reality.
Here I stand, with the sound of my heartbeat.
We call it love back in my reality
And in my reality when I finally learn to love you…
I'll set us free.
While I was changing the music to another playlist, I saw something out of the corner of my eye. It was a command prompt with a message. Thank you, Jon. That means so much more to me than you'll ever know. You and your sister have beautiful singing voices too.
Having just last night learned how to send private messages back and forth, I smiled and replied We meant every word of it.
"I didn't know you could sing, Sensei," Natsuki said. "Who was the girl? Your ex-girlfriend?"
"Why assume she's an ex?" I asked curiously.
"If you had one, wouldn't she be here?" she asked.
I chuckled. "Well, not sure how that logic follows, but no, she isn't my girlfriend, she's my younger sister."
"I see." She retreated into silence while she whisked the cupcake mix while I continued cutting up the ingredients. "Hey, um…Sensei?"
I turned to her. "What is it, Kobayashi-san?"
She thrust a poem into my face. I nearly fell back in surprise. "Could…you read this? Monika told me that you give good advice on poems."
She did, huh? Interesting. "Sure, let me clean my hands first." Out of the corner of my eye I saw Monika give me a meaning glance. She handed me her Amy Likes Spiders poem. I read it once or twice, then looked down at her. She was, to my surprise, looking up expectantly. "I like your style," I began. "Very simple and to the point. But I feel like there's a couple of hidden meanings beneath. The metaphor of spiders could mean anything. And Amy could represent anyone. Am I wrong?"
She looked down. "Monika said you'd be perceptive. Yes…"
"Is it about Yuri? Or something else?"
Natsuki stiffened a bit. My 'perception' must have thrown her off. I sat at the kitchen table and motioned for her to take a seat. "It's about Yuri, yeah…"
"I already know about it," I said softly. "That's why her mom is here. And Yuri isn't disgusting. She's just in pain. She's scared."
Natsuki looked away. "It's…I mean…damn it…I don't like seeing her like that. It scares me."
"Tell me something, am I disgusting?"
"Sensei?"
Without waiting for her to reply, I pulled up some of my shirt, showing my scars. She stared at them in horror. "I've been where she's been, but she can get better, I promise. Her mom is going to help her, I'm going to help her, and you can help her too."
"How?" Even though I'd rolled my sleeves back up, she was still staring at my arm.
"By being there for her. She needs her friends now more than ever. Just be a friend. It'll help." I smiled. "And since you were kind enough to show me a poem, I'll show you one I wrote." I'd titled my Natsuki centered one Mr. Man.
Mr. Man has two faces, one kind, one mean.
Mr. Man takes me to the mall, but never lets me pick my clothes.
Mr. Man is warm outside but cold inside.
Mr. Man won't let me go to my friend's house, but has parties at home.
Mr. Man says he's my friend, but he scowls at me when no one's looking.
Mr. Man wants to have it all, but gives me nothing.
I'm scared of Mr. Man.
I'd made mine simple and to the point. As I'd come to expect, Natsuki's eyes were wide. She read it once, twice, three times. I saw her hands trembling. She looked up at me. The tears were there, begging to be let out. She quickly stood and said, "Sensei. Outside. Now." Without explanation, she headed to the front door. I followed quickly. Once the door was closed, she pushed me against it. "How…how did you know?!" The tears were more prominent now.
"About what?"
She grabbed my hoodie and pulled me close to her face. Despite her tears, she had an angry look on her face. "Don't play dumb with me! This isn't the poem you wrote and showed the rest. I'm not as dumb as that!"
Of all the people, I was only a little surprised to see that Natsuki saw through my plan. I pulled out my poem again. "Kobayashi-san, Mr. Man is a metaphor for my father. He isn't a nice man. He held my mom, sister and me to impossible standards and when we failed to meet them, he…punished us." Which was the truth. For the first ten years of my life, I'd been in the same high rise apartment as that man before my Mom was strong enough to run away from him with the two of us kids. It was that life that had been a major contributor to my and my sister's depression.
She clenched her teeth and lifted her fist. I braced for impact, but all I felt was a soft tap on my chest. She kept on 'hitting' me like that. "Sensei…" She pulled herself closer, hiding her face in my chest. Seriously, what is with these girls and opening up so easily? I put a hand on her head and patted it tenderly.
"I take it you have problems at home?" I asked.
"N-no!" she said almost defensively, or was it reflexively.
"Natsuki…" Startled at my use of her first name, she looked up, tears streaming down her face in torrents now. "You know you can always talk to me." I sat on the porch and placed her next to me. "Now come on. You obviously want to tell me something."
She sat next to me and sniffed. Haltingly, she told me about her dad, how he was once a decent guy, but after the death of her mother, he'd plunged himself into his work, which caused him to be stressed, and then he started drinking. I figured that he had begun to physically and emotionally abuse her, but she hesitated when she began to describe a time when he'd done something new. I felt an unnatural fury and fear arise in me. Natsuki's father had…done something like that?! I wanted nothing more then to go to Natsuki's house and kill that sick son of a bitch at that moment.
A command prompt message appeared. Jon, there's another transfer happening! You're getting Natsuki's negative traits! FIGHT IT!
I took a deep breath and continued to listen as patiently as I could. I tried not to see red as Natsuki poured her troubles out, between soft hiccups and crying. Finally, it seemed as if she'd said all she was comfortable saying. "I'm sorry, Sensei, I didn't mean to talk so much."
I reached over and pulled her into a tight hug. Surprised, she stiffened, but eventually she haltingly reciprocated. "No, don't apologize. It's okay Kobayashi-san. I'm glad you told me. I could tell you were hurting, and I'm glad you feel comfortable enough to share this with me." She was trembling in my arms. She felt extremely fragile and I was careful not to hold her too much. "If you ever need any help, don't hesitate to ask, okay?"
"Okay…thank you…Jon-Sensei."
After a few more minutes of me comforting her I stood and helped her to her feet. "You should get back inside, though. Your cupcakes are waiting."
"Ah crap!" She sped inside. I followed and continued to work on the meal for everyone. Soon the kitchen was a mix of sweet and salty smells. Natsuki would bake her cupcakes and all the while she put the next batch in their trays, waiting. Meanwhile, I brought the lunch to a boil then let it simmer. By this time Motoyasu had been sent out to purchase a few things that the club needed. While that was happening, I decided to go check on everyone. When I went to look in on Sayori and Monika, Sayori was busily organizing the pages while Monika was busily creating pages in Photoshop on the spare laptop I'd lent her.
I went over to check on Sayori first. "Hey, how's your work going?" I asked, bottling my anger for the time being and putting on a happy face. I'm remembering how easy this was.
"Ah Sensei," Sayori looked up at me with a smile. Again, it seemed more genuine but with a twinge of sadness still in it. "Monika and I are almost done."
"Can I take a look?" She handed me one of the nearly completed pamphlets and I looked it over. Monika's skill with Photoshop was indeed impressive. "You both are doing a great job."
"It's all Monika's skills, I'm just a glorified librarian."
Not sure that's the right word. "Don't say that," Monika said before I had a chance to interject. "Sayori, you're job is extremely relevant. Don't doubt yourself. Remember our talk. You're important to the club…and to me. You're my friend."
Sayori smiled, and I could almost feel the self deprecation behind it. "I wish I could believe that…"
"Then listen to this," I said. "If the two of us can believe in you, I'm sure that others will. You're important to the club, and important in general. No one is ever useless."
Monika scooted over and hugged Sayori suddenly. "We all care for you."
Sayori wiped her eyes and she smiled through her misty eyes. "I-I'll do my best."
"That's the spirit," I said, giving her thumbs up. I went over next to check on Monika.
"You okay?" she whispered as I sat down at the table next to her.
"None of your business," I snapped, my control slipping a bit. When she recoiled, I took a deep breath. "I'll be okay. I'm sorry, I'm just really pissed right now at Natsuki's father…I've never felt this pissed before."
"Natsuki's negative traits are transferring to you," Monika said, a tone of fear in her voice. "She's doing better now that she's talked to you, but her fear and inability to show her feelings are being transferred to you. With all the negative traits, I'm surprised you're holding out this long. Keep fighting, you're stronger than you know."
Great, I'm turning into a depressed, self-destructive tsundere. "I understand." I stood. "I'm gonna pick up a pack of smokes."
Monika looked at me wide eyed. "You smoke?"
"Nope."
She grabbed my wrist. "No cigarettes. You can't use things like that as a crutch."
I clenched my teeth, but knew she was right. Well, time to put on my happy face again. I stood and went back to check on my meal. It wasn't ready yet so I decided to check on Yuri and her mother. When I arrived, Yuri was alone, carefully painting. She saw me and smiled. "H-hello Sensei."
"Hey there Tanaka-san. Where's your mother?"
"Washroom," the shy bookworm said. She looked down at her work. "What do you think?"
I took a look. Her work was amazing. She had the steady hands of a surgeon, I guessed. "This will look great when it's complete. It looks amazing now."
She smiled. "Thanks Sensei."
I knelt beside her, startling her. "How are you doing today, better I hope? Your mom told me the two of you had fun yesterday."
Yuri nodded. "Yeah, we talked a lot and then we read together."
"And the cuts?"
She gingerly rolled up her sleeves, showing me bandages. "They itch, but not often. Sensei, it's very hard."
"I know it is, believe me. Just keep on fighting it, you'll be fine." I gave her a smile. "Keep up the good work. Lunch is almost ready."
"I can smell it from here. What is it?"
"A surprise. I promise it will be delicious." I winked and headed out to check back on Natsuki.
As I left the room I saw Yuki leaning against the wall next to the door. "Jon-Sensei, thank you. I wish I had a teacher like you when I was in school."
"Like I said, I've been where she's been. I'll do my very best to help her. If there's anything you need me to do, don't hesitate to tell me."
She nodded. "I will. Thank you, Jon-Sensei."
"No problem, Tanaka-san."
She pushed her hair back behind her ear and smiled. "You can call me Yuki." She bowed went back in to help her daughter before I could answer. Did I just…trigger a flag with Yuri's mother?!
I went back to the kitchen. Natsuki was now busily whipping up the cupcake frosting. Next to the bowl there were a few bottles of food coloring. "Almost done?"
She looked over at me and nodded, giving me a wide smile. "Yep!"
Not even asking for her permission, I stuck my finger into the soft creamy batch of frosting and took a taste. Flavor exploded into my mouth, sweet, soft, almost cloudlike in its brilliance and taste. "Yummy!"
"H-Hey!" Natsuki looked pissed, but it was a tsundere type of pissed. "Don't do that!"
"Sorry, couldn't resist," I chuckled. "It really is delicious. You could be a professional baker with skills like this."
"You…think so?" It obviously hadn't occurred to her.
"I do. You have a talent here."
She looked away, face slightly red. "…Sensei you dummy…" However, I was pleased to catch her small smile, if not obvious on her mouth then in her eyes.
While the lunch I made kept on simmering, I helped Natsuki with her baking, following her instructions to the letter. Finally there were almost five full batches finished and cooling. When I checked the stew, I was relieved when I saw that it was ready. I clapped loudly and called out, "Okay everyone, I think it's time to take a lunch break." I held my hand up, imitating one of Monika's sprites.
"You stole my catchphrase!" Monika said in a fake whine as she closed the laptop.
"I knew it!" Natsuki snickered as she headed towards the kitchen table. As everyone filtered into the kitchen, Motoyasu returned carrying a few bags. He put them down and joined us. I began serving up the stew. "Vegetarian hot dog stew, and before you say anything don't knock it till you try it."
As they began to eat, I saw surprise flash over everyone's faces. Motoyasu was the first to speak. "This is…I'm not sure how to describe it. It's not disgusting. I love the flavor. It's unlike anything I've ever tasted before." Everyone agreed with that.
"I'd like to try making this sometime," Natsuki said.
"I'll give you the recipe sometime," I said.
"Really? Sweet!" She grinned widely at me. I smiled back.
A console window appeared in the corner of my eye. This is amazing. You've no idea how much I want to hug you for sharing this with me-no, with us.
You're welcome.
After we ate there was plenty of leftovers. I packed the rest away in Tupperware and gave many of them to Natsuki. She was nearly beside herself with happy tears. I decided then and there that I would start to make Natsuki some form of lunch every school day. Again, I was taking some of my ideas from DDLC mods, but I figured that the creators would forgive me my plagiarism.
"So how far along is everyone with the preparations?" I asked.
"My cupcakes need to cool before I put the frosting on," Natsuki said, "but after that they should be done."
"Where should they be kept?" I asked.
"I can keep them here," Motoyasu said.
"Ah, thank you Chiba-san. And how about you, Tanaka-san? How are you and your mother doing?"
"We're almost done, but I don't know if it'll be finished today," Yuri said. "I want to paint more after it dries."
"Well, why don't you finish it the day of the festival?" Monika suggested. "That way it has plenty of time to dry."
"I can help carry everything!" Sayori said.
"You sure, Sayori?" Motoyasu asked.
"Yep!" Her grin was infectious.
"I don't mind stopping by on Monday and helping out too," I said.
"No need," Motoyasu said quickly.
"Um, okay," I said, but I knew I had to be at the house on that Monday, as that was the day in the game where Sayori had hung herself. I didn't think she was out of the woods yet, and if my mysterious employers were right, someone or something was trying to make sure the game went according to the original script. I asked Monika through a command prompt text when Sayori hung herself in the game script.
Early Monday morning after crying all night. It was around 4:49 AM.
Great, I'll have to be to her house by then just to be on the safe side.
After lunch, I packed away around seven Tupperware containers of the soup, placing three in a reusable bag for Natsuki and giving one to everyone else. It was around three in the afternoon when everyone dispersed. Monika headed out first, presumably to my place. Seriously, does that girl ever go home? Yuri and Natsuki left together with Yuki who was going to treat the two to ice cream. I left after helping clean up the kitchen. I was the last to leave, followed a few seconds later by Sayori. I looked back at her as she headed to her house. The pep in her step was gone. Don't worry, Sayori…I'll save you, I'll save all of you!
Unknown POV
Damn him, he's ruining everything! That man is interfering with everything! I can't even get into his program file! Damn that encryption…
Okay, calm down there. Not all is lost yet. We can still do this. We can still make everything right!
But…he lowered their negative stats!
Only for a time, my friend. Only for a time. I still have access to it. Don't worry, we can and will fix this man once and for all. You know who I must focus on first, right?
I do. Just get it over with.
I can see it…WE can see the ending!
Enjoy this chapter to your heart's content!
morbiusgreen
