Author's Note: SO SORRY for this episode taking longer than expected! I was away on holiday and had to work a nightshift when I got back, but don't worry: The final episode is finally out! I will release on more update chapter this coming week addressing more things about the series, but for now, enjoy and thank you all for the support!
"Yawn..."
It was early in the morning; sunlight had yet to emerge and the only noises of the peaceful neighbourhood were the awakening birds chirping along to their morning chores.
"Sniff...I guess five more minutes won't hurt anyone..."
Midori rolled back over in her bed. The night before had been raining heavily which resulted in a rather cooling early morning, perfect for being awake but too tired to move, but rather bad for a Monday morning.
-BEEP BEEP BEEP-
"...Sigh...Okay...okay..."
The disgruntled woman threw her bed sheets off of her and onto the floor before slowly getting up. As she got to her feet, she headed straight for her curtains and drew them back, only to be greeted by nothing but moonlight and the dark street outside.
"Sniff...It feels like the weekend only lasted like four minutes..."
Cracking her neck, the woman trudged on into her bathroom and headed straight for the sink and in a few minutes, she was out, her hair wet and her face much less tired than before.
"Yaawwwnnn...sniff...Breakfast."
Midori walked downstairs to her kitchen and fridge. Upon opening it, her face grimaced slightly before turning into an amused smirk.
"Ham sandwich...and coffee..; Damn, Midori: How'd you come up with such exquisite ideas?"
The woman lazily slid out her packet of ham and carefully placed it on top of a slice of white bread.
"Delicious..."
Within a few minutes, Midori had finished her breakfast and was getting ready to leave for work.
"Gone to work already...breakfast...in...the fridge...Love...Mom. There. She should see this when she wakes up..." The woman said to herself as she finished writing a note to her daughter. "Ok. Work."
Midori walked out of her house and onto her driveway where her car was parked. As she opened the car door, she gave one last look to her house and Sayori's bedroom window. Something felt off about it, but a nine o'clock meeting meant that it would have to wait till later.
"You're just imagining things, Midori...focus...focus..."
With that, the woman climbed into her car and headed for work.
...
...
...
"Good morning Mrs. Asoka."
"Ah...Good morning, Takeshi San! Busy day today?"
"Well, yes, kind of...Bunch of meetings going on...I heard one of the directors is coming over after lunch and everybody is...on edge...You may wanna...watch out for yourself, Mrs. Asoka."
"Of course. Thank you, Takeshi San."
"No problem. Have a good day!"
As Midori walked through the metal detector, Takeshi handed her purse over with a wide smile. Midori then headed straight to the lift landing, where many of her colleagues and co-workers were gathers, ready for the eight hours of work in front of them.
"Hey Midori."
"Morning, Midori."
"Good morning Iro, Alex."
"The meeting is at nine, right?"
"Yep. Be punctual."
"You got it, Maam. Oh-my lift is here."
"See you two later..."
Midori's lift eventually arrived. The tired woman stepped inside it, along with a whole lot of other people.
"Twelve, please."
"Err, level...eight, please."
"Level twenty-two, please."
After a handful of entrances and exits, starts and stops, Midori eventually reached her level and exited, still with a smaller number of other people.
"Mrs. Asoka, the documents you asked me to reprint."
"Ah! Thank you very much, Lizzi." Midori smiled sweetly as she took the binder out from her assistant's hands.
"And your meeting with the board is at nine o'clock, just thought I remind you..." Lizzi smiled awkwardly.
"Err...yeah...I erm...I remember..."
"Erm...g-great then! Is-Is there anything else you need?"
"If I do have anything I'll let you know right away."
"Great! Have a good day, Mrs. Asoka."
With that awkward conversation out of the way, Midori entered her office.
"Midori Asoka, Attorney at Law"
After a rather uneventful morning of sorting files and mundane paperwork, it reached nine o'clock and Midori stepped out of her office and headed straight of the meeting room.
"Alright...so as you can see from our recent analytics..."
It was a mere twenty minutes into the meeting and Midori was already close to nodding off. Her superior was probably talking about stats or something, but that point, she didn't even care anymore; her assistant would've jotted it all down anyway.
"...And actually, Midori?"
"H-Huh?"
The woman was snapped back to reality by her boss. All eyes locked on to her.
"Would you like to go over the statistics for your side?"
"A-Ah...Of-of course..."
Midori slowly got up from her chair.
"Right, so as you can see-"
-Yellow C-A-R-D! I seon neomeumyeon chimbeomiya beep!-
"A-Ah..."
No sooner did Midori begin her analysis than her phone started ringing.
"My apologies everyone...let me just take this phone call..."
The woman hurried out of the meeting room in embarrassment.
"Who the hell could be calling me at this hour...?" She said to herself in annoyance as she fumbled to dig her phone out of her skirt pocket. "...Sigh...Hello? This is her speaking...I...what?"
From inside the meeting room, every pair of eyes were staring through the glass window on the front door.
"...Gasp...gasp...wh-wha..."
Fingers trembled and buckled. Sweat started to bead down and tears started to appear.
The phone was starting to shake violently, but not as violent as the knees.
Inside the meeting room, a young woman turned to look at the slightly older man sitting next to her. Both had a rather annoyed face.
The phone dropped to the floor.
"I-I'm so sorry everyone!" Midori gasped in exasperation as she threw herself into the meeting room and grabbed her handbag. "I-I...I need to go!" Without further explanation, she dashed out of the meeting room, but not before picking her phone up from the dirty carpet floor.
Everyone exchanged glances as the door swayed back shut.
The young woman turned back to her colleague.
"What just happened?"
Down in the parking lot, Midori raced towards her car. Of all the days to park the furthest from the lift landing...
"Pant...pant...pant...grr..." Heaving, tired and completely drenched in sweat, the manic woman finally reached her car.
"Start...godDAMNIT START!"
The car started.
"Okay...breathe...breathe..."
The woman pulled down on her clutch and drove out of the lot...
...then out of the car park...
...then down the road...
...then across the highway...
...
"Anon? Anon!"
Natsuki rushed forward to a kneeling Anon and grabbed his hands.
"What's going on? Why's...why are there cops?"
The boy didn't respond. Instead, he continued staring past the girls into the distance at God knows what. From behind the two of them, Natsuki could hear Monika starting to cry. She turned around and looked at Yuri, who was just as confused.
"Grr! If none of you are gonna say anything, I'll find out myself!"
"Natsuki, no!" Monika wailed, but it was too late as Natsuki was already sprinting towards the line of police officers around Sayori's house.
"James! Officer James!" Natsuki called out to the young law enforcer.
"Miss, we're gonna need you to stay back." An older police officer shouted from behind James.
"James! Will someone PLEASE tell me what's going on?!"
As Natsuki continued screaming in the background, Anon stayed kneeling on the ground, his body getting weaker by the second. Eventually, the screams were drowned out by other, louder noises...
...Noises from what happened less than thirty minutes ago.
"Sayori!"
Images flashed before his eyes as the screaming continued.
"SAYORI!"
The street in front of him slowly started to flicker as if someone was controlling its light switch. Yuri and Monika were starting to fade in and out of existence, until...
"Pant...pant...pant..."
Anon ran as fast as his legs could carry him; Sayori's house nearly in sight.
"Come on...come on..."
As soon as he reached her house, he barged down through the front door and leaped up the stairs four steps at a time.
"Sayori! SAYORI!" The boy shouted, hoping to get a response.
He got none.
"Sayori! I'm coming in, okay?" He announced before throwing himself into her room.
"Sayo-"
The boy's heart skipped a beat.
"S-S...h-haah..."
His fingers clenched tighter around the doorknob as his knees began to buckle.
"...hoah...h-h-h...S...Sayo..."
His eyes couldn't believe what they were seeing...
In front of him, Yuri knelt down in front of Monika to hold her up, but there was nothing she could do to prevent the girl from crumbling further onto the ground in tears.
"What? What are you talking about?!" Natsuki screeched.
"Natsuki-please. I'm so sorry...I know she's your friend but you really can't go in there!"
"You're lying! YOU'RE LYING!"
Then, in a sudden turn of events, Anon stood up and dashed towards her, a spark of hope glimmering in his eyes.
"Sayori! Sayori, hold on! I'm gonna get you down!"
The dangling pair of legs started to twitch, as if they were trying to fight back.
"HOLD ON SAYORI!"
The boy frantically searched around the room for anything sharp at all, his eyes eventually landing on a pair of scissors.
"Okay...okay..."
Anon climbed onto a swivel chair and began furiously sawing away at the rope.
"Sayori...Sayori, I almost got you, okay? Just hang on! Just...hang...on..."
As the boy continued grinding away, he could feel every muscle in his body rioting against him; every fibre, every tendon fighting him, but he wasn't going to stop.
"Just..."
His arms were starting to give way.
"...a..."
The rope was starting to unwind into thinner strands.
"...little..."
The legs were now trashing about.
"...LONGER!"
Silence.
Then, as if everything happened at once, the boy fell to the floor with a thud.
"Gah!" Anon cried as he felt a searing pain shoot up his back. "Ack! Argh..."
The pain was throbbing and the boy almost couldn't get up, until he suddenly remembered who was lying on top of him.
"Sayori..."
With one last burst of energy, the boy pushed his friend off of him and slowly got up.
"Sayori?"
Anon looked at the pair of lifeless eyes staring back at him.
"S-Sayori? Nonono...Sayori! Sayori, you're okay dummy! You're fine! Sayori? Sayori stay with me! Stay with me girl, stay with me! SAYORI!"
...
"Yo yesterday was so lit!"
"I know, right?! Dude there was the dance and everything? They're so hot!"
"Eww man; they're like...flatter than my own ass! The symphonic band is where it's at!"
"Ergh...boys..."
Tuesday morning was a morning like no other. Every student; the minute they stepped into the school foyer, just started talking about the festival to the closest person next to them. It didn't matter if they were a classmate, a stranger, an ex-girlfriend, whatever; everyone was just as excited to share their adventures.
"Did you try the fried squid?" A girl asked her friend as they walked up the steps leading to the foyer.
"No, why?"
"Seriously girl?! You didn't try it?!"
"Hey, what do you mean? I was buried to my neck in Takoyaki!"
Up on the second floor, some students were already taking down their banners, ready to stuff them back in their respective storerooms where they would sit and wait for another 365 days. The symphonic band and the guitar ensemble had long since cleared out their performance areas of instruments, and the teachers were back to their serious moods.
...and there was another group discussing a rather more interesting topic...
"Hey, you heard about what happened with the Literature Club?" A freshman said to his friend as they walked through the parade square.
"Yep. I heard it from some guy though, so don't take it word for word, but apparently a member killed herself right before the festival began."
"What?! You heard it wrong; she didn't die!" A third student interrupted.
"No she definitely died." A fourth joined in.
"Welp, either way, I know one club that I definitely won't be joining, haha!"
"That we can agree on."
Being a high school, it didn't take long for word about that fateful morning to spread around the compound like wildfire. The teachers were the first to know, then the student leaders and then the eavesdroppers, until pretty much every student knew about what had happened. It soon became more discussed than the festival itself.
"Isn't that Monika's club?"
"I think it is! What the hell was she thinking inviting that psycho to join!"
"I actually went to the classroom where their supposed poetry recital was held!" On freshman stated, drawing all the attention onto her.
"Really? What was it like?"
"Well...There wasn't anyone inside; just a tray of cupcakes and a binder which had some messed up shit inside it! Do you guys wanna see? I took some pictures!"
A chorus of "Me!"s erupted throughout the small circle that had gathered.
"Look at this one: Get out of my head, get out of my head? Pretty demonic shit if you ask me."
"Ew-I can't read this shit any longer...let's go, Tiff..." A sophomore said as her group of friends departed.
"Hey this one's actually not too bad though...Minusing the crazy language and dark theme, it's actually decent!" A girl pointed out.
"Ha! Look at this one! What kind of stupid poem is this-it doesn't even rhyme! Nat-Natsuki Tamura? How the hell did Monika let her in?"
"Ah...Monika..." Another boy said as he joined in the conversation. "That girl is all looks and no brains; she just accepts any old idiot because she just wants her club to explode and even that wasn't able to make her club popular!"
"Oh my God, really?"
"Yep. She's just a slutty bimbo who seduces the teachers to get good grades." The boy continued smugly as everyone around him burst into laughter.
"Haha!"
"HEY!"
A booming voice came from behind the remaining freshmen and sophomores, causing them to jump out of their skin. "WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!"
The boy turned around to see a girl with hot red hair march up to him, her face burning with anger and another girl behind her rolling her eyes.
"I'm sorry; who are you?" The boy half asked and half scoffed.
"You don't need to know that. What you do need to know it some respect! How dare you say such stupid shit like that? Are you in a foundation class or are you just that brain-dead?"
The boy raised his right eyebrow as many others started to gather. A few of his friends were beckoning him to leave the tense situation, but instead, he stood his ground.
"Oh...I understand now...You're her friend! And by friend, I mean lackey who agrees with everything she says. Gee are you part of that mentally unsound club too?"
As the every increasing circle of students burst into another fit of laughter and "oh's", Fumi suddenly lunged forward and grabbed the boy's collar. "Listen here you little SHIT. You have no right talk about my friend like that, you hear me? I'm not part of her club; never was and I could honestly give fewer shits about the members, but you are treading in dangerous waters here, pal." After finishing her warning, Fumi shoved the boy back a few inches before storming off with Kisami.
"Err...whatever loser. Don't forget to have Monika change your diapers!"
"HAHAHAHA!"
"Jesus fucking Christ; the NERVE of those cretins to say such putrid things! I need to text her about this shit!" Fumi fumed as she and Kisami headed for first period.
"Well, I don't want to step on your moment, but you said the same things about Monika's friends. You're lucky she didn't disown you after that." Kisami shrugged. "And also, I don't think she's...in the mood to be texted..."
"WHAT?! She wouldn't disown me...She'd better not, especially what I did for her-"
"-WE did for her."
"Bitch, please; all you did was ate your goddamn sandwich and went along with everything! You didn't even put in an effort to-you know what, we don't need this conversation right now. Let's...let's just get to class before MY mood gets any worse..."
"I...I hope she's okay..." Kisami muttered.
"Woah. That's a first."
"First what?"
"Well, you know...The first sign of emotion you ever shown." Fumi stated flatly.
"What are you talking about; I'm worried for her! Are you not?" Kisami narrowed her eyes.
"I-I am! I just...I don't know...That...that didn't seem like a you thing to say...Look; I don't even know what's going anymore, okay? So forgive me."
"Whatever." Kisami shrugged. "You wanna visit her after school?"
"Duh! Is that even a question?! Come on, let's ACTUALLY get to class now..."
...
"Wait...You're kidding!"
"Nope. Straight up. And you're seriously telling me you haven't heard literally everyone talking about it?"
"N-No-I...Wait, seriously?"
"Why is that so hard to believe?"
"I mean, she's always so happy and...I don't know, man. This is just...completely new to me; I have NO idea ANY of this happened!"
"Well, to be fair to you, you spent most of the festival at the basketball court trying to get a girlfriend."
"Hey-Sh-shut up man! Fucking bitch..."
Kei slapped his knee with laughter as Goro's face flushed red, but both boys, along with the rest of the class, immediately quietened down when they saw who had just walked in.
"Oh shit..." Kei whispered as Yuri and Natsuki rushed in, their eyes sunken and heavy and looking extremely tired. "Erm...Do you want to ask them or do you want me to ask them?"
"Dude, are you crazy?!" Goro snapped, clearly agitated.
"What, man? Jesus; I was just trying to get some closure." Kei snapped back.
"So what; you'd seriously think they would just straight up tell you their club mate killed herself?" Goro hissed, hoping the two girls hadn't heard them.
"No, but I WILL tell you that it's none of your damn business!"
They heard them.
"Ah-S-Sorry...jeez..." Goro held up his left hand apologetically, but Kei was still eager to find out more.
"Why not? Why is it none of our business? She's our classmate; we have the right to know."
"No you don't!" Natsuki spat. "And if you don't shut up right now, I'm going to put your face through your table!"
"N-Natsuki! P-Please don't do that..." Yuri pleaded nervously.
"No-No Yuri! I should do that!" Natsuki squeaked again, but all it got out of Kei was a bemused chortle.
"Heh heh-Look how flustered she's getting! So is Sayori alright?"
The second after Kei asked that question, everything seemed to snap inside Natsuki's head. Goro and Yuri instinctively backed away to their seats, while everyone else started to get ready for the upcoming supernova.
As Natsuki slowly approached a defiant Kei, everyone held their breaths. Yuri buried her face under her air, while Goro nervously tugged on his collar.
"Stop. Saying. Her name." Natsuki seethed, her voice dripping with acid.
"Oh-so I was right then! Sayori did kill hers-"
-POW-
"-argh! What the-" Kei looked up in shock, clutching his right cheek, while Natsuki took a step back, clenching her fists tightly.
"Dude. Not cool, man." Goro said as he hurried over to assist his friend. "That was really fucked up."
"Whatever man-get OFF ME!" Kei growled as he elbowed his friend away. "What did you just do to me, little girl?"
"I did exactly what you thought I did. And there's more where that came from if you don't shut your vile mouth."
"N-Natsuki! M-Maybe we should calm down!" Yuri cried, but Natsuki was only getting angrier and angrier.
"Yeah-Yuri's right." Goro tried to jump in again. "We should all just calm down and-"
"Dude-just shut your cunt mouth, will you?!" Kei roared, making Goro give up. "You stupid bitch...I'm gonna teach you a lesson!"
Natsuki cracked her neck and took a deep breath, but before Kei could come any closer, Mrs. Chen ex-machina-ed her way in, grinding the whole scene to a halt. Yuri and Goro returned to their seats, while Kei returned his hands to his sides as Natsuki stared him down.
Everyone else stared at Mrs. Chen uncomfortably while waiting for her to say something.
"What is going on?" Mrs. Chen asked calmly, but everyone else knew she was anything but.
"Mrs. Chen, we were just messing around..." Kei mumbled.
"Is that so? Is that really what you're doing? Natsuki? What about you?"
"I'm sorry Mrs. Chen." Natsuki mumbled as well, her feet shuffling beneath her.
Mrs. Chen took another long pause.
"I will not tolerate violence in my class and honestly, Kei, I'm not surprised you would act so immaturely, but Natsuki!"
Natsuki fidgeted slightly, her face turning redder.
"I'm extremely disappointed in you! Why would you want to attack one of your classmates?"
"M-Mrs. Chen!" Yuri suddenly spoke up. "K-Kei was saying horrible things about Sayori and Natsuki was simply defending her!"
"Y-Yeah!" Goro stood up as well, earning a look of surprise from Natsuki and Yuri, along with a long of complete shock followed by scorn from Kei. "He said some pretty messed up things..."
"I don't care what he said. I will deal with whatever he said later, but right now, all I care about is that my students are fighting! I didn't teach you to be gangsters! Both of you should be ashamed of yourselves! Kei. Do you need to see the nurse?"
"No..."
"Then both of you go to the principal's office right now!"
Without another word, Natsuki and Kei shuffled out of the class, Mrs. Chen following them to the door.
"And if I get word from other teachers that the two of you were brawling in the corridors, I swear I will expel you both!" Mrs. Chen screamed after them, standing by the doorway until they were out of her sight.
While waiting for everything to hopefully settle down, Yuri nervously walked over to the empty seat next to Goro.
"E-Erm...G-Goro?" Yuri hesitantly muttered.
"Hm? Oh...Err...hi, Yuri..." The boy muttered back, equally as awkward.
The two students sat uncomfortably at their desk for a few seconds before Yuri finally opened her mouth to speak.
"I err...J-Just want to thank you for standing up for Natsuki back there..." The timid girl said, nervously fiddling with her hair.
"Ah..." Goro awkwardly brushed his, completely unsure about how to respond. "I err...No it's nothing...I just...He just...Erm..."
"Oh I...I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable...I-I'll go back now..." Yuri whimpered; her face flushing.
"N-No...You're not...I just...don't really know how to respond...But yeah, it's no problem at all. What he said really...really didn't sit well with me..."
"Yeah, me neither..."
Another round of awkward silence, but this...it felt a little better. Not good, but better.
"Okay, everybody listen up." Mrs. Chen boomed as she returned to the front of the class, ending the awkward silence. Everyone else turned to face her, looking as defeated as you could get before first period. "I will not tolerate this kind of behaviour in my class-no-the school. I don't care who started it, I don't care who said what or who was being rude; this is not the way to solve conflict. I better not see anyone else getting involved in violence, do you understand?"
"Yyyyeeeessss..." The class droned.
"DO YOU UNDERSTAND?
"YYYYEEEESSSS..."
"Good. Now, besides the two of them, is anyone...else...not here?"
"Actually, yeah Mrs. Chen; Mio and...S-Sayori...are not here..." a girl hesitantly replied.
"I will get to that later; I just need to know who isn't here, so Mio isn't here?"
"Yep."
"Does anyone know where she is?"
...
"Did anyone join the club at least?"
"Ahaha...not exactly..."
"That's terrible! I'm so sorry, Monika!"
"Well...I can't say that I expected anything else...N-Not that I'm blaming you! I just...I knew the festival would be a disaster...I didn't know what I was thinking: Trying to rush all of you guys like that...I guess my hopes to grow the club and make a name for it superseded my common sense..."
"But you're right, Monika; It was my fault...I-I probably scared them all way, didn't I? Ehehe..."
"N-No Sayori! D-Don't say that!"
Monika placed her palm gently on Sayori's shoulder and gave it a rub.
"But...it's true isn't it...That's what they're all saying right now, aren't they? That our club is cursed?" Sayori said despondently.
"Who cares what they say? Sayori, it doesn't matter alright? And I'm not mad...I promise...I don't care that our club didn't get new members! What matters is that you're okay..." Monika said reassuringly, but Sayori was still looking quite down.
"I don't think being in here classifies as me being okay..."
"Sayori." Monika gently placed Sayori's palm in between both of hers. "I'm here for you, you know that, right? The entire club is! We all care for you so very much! We all love you! I love you!"
Monika looked like she was ready to burst into tears, but she remained as composed as she should. "...Sniff...I love you..."
Sayori was looking pretty much the same.
"Sniff...I-I love you too Monika...sniff...M-Maybe you're right...M-Maybe I do need help..."
Monika smiled warmly. "I promise you...We'll find the best of the best. You'll get through this Sayori...and until then...we'll be right here by your side..."
Sayori smiled back. Something in her head told her that the battle wouldn't be easy, but seeing Monika's warm fireplace of a smile seemed to give her the extra assurance that she needed. For the first time in a very long time, she felt that she could actually beat this whole thing.
"I...I trust you Monika..." Sayori said weakly, but for once, Monika felt relieved and overjoyed.
"Come here, my dear..." Monika whispered as she wrapped her arms tightly around Sayori.
"Ack-Monika! That's like the twentieth time you've did that!" Sayori choked as Monika squeezed even tighter.
"I know...I know...I just...I never want to let you go again..." Monika whispered gently into Sayori's ear.
"And that's like the fortieth time you've said THAT."
"Ahaha...I-I'm a bit of a sap aren't I?" Monika laughed, wiping tears from her eyes after releasing herself from the hug.
"Ehehe..." Sayori joined the laughter and for a brief moment, the two girls sat relaxed, staring blissfully out a random window.
All of a sudden, the door swung open.
"Anon! You're back!" Sayori squealed with glee.
"Ah Anon! You're back from the-"
"Yo Sayori..." Anon greeted, brushing past Monika. "How you doing, you doing okay?"
"Ehehe...You don't have to keep asking me that, dummy; I'm fine!" Sayori grinned widely.
"I know, I know...I just...I just need to know, alright? Here; I bought your favourite." Anon smiled, holding up an aromatic bag that smelled of-
"Cinnamon buns! Yay, you're the best, Anon!" Sayori cheered, immediately digging into the plastic bag, while Anon could barely hold in his chuckle.
"Ahaha!" Monika laughed, but immediately stopped after noticing that Anon didn't join in.
"Hehe...It's good to see you, you know, so lively again...though you shouldn't call me that, Sayori...I'm not the best..." Anon awkwardly brushed off Sayori's compliment, only for her to fire back.
"What are you talking about? You ARE the best!" Sayori exclaimed in confusion.
"Hah...no, but really...this is all my fault and I don't think I could ever apologise enough..." Anon hung his head low.
"You don't have to, silly!" Sayori laughed, clearly amused at Anon's slump. "You saved me! Hello? Or was it a magical wizard? Or was it John Cena? Or was it magical John Cena?"
"Sayori, please...I don't want to remember what happened..." Anon said gravely, shuddering as his mind went back to the previous day.
"O-Oh...I'm sorry..." Sayori apologised.
"Nonono, it's not your fault..." Anon quickly held his palm up upon realising Sayori was feeling down again. "Please don't blame yourself, Sayori; it's my fault for-"
"I'm not, silly...And you really need to stop beating yourself up over this! Monika, tell him!" Sayori demanded. Monika, who was still looking uncomfortable, looked like she wanted to say something, but Anon once again cut her off.
"It's fine, Sayori. That won't be necessary."
Monika immediately shrunk back into her corner by the ward door.
"Anyway, what do you want to do now? You wanna watch some anime? I downloaded some on my phone if you would like."
"Nah...right now, I just want to rest. I haven't had that for a very long time; proper, that is." Sayori admitted, stretching her arms.
"Well, I'm definitely staying with you...You-you don't mind that, right?"
"Are you kidding, of course not you goof!" Sayori beamed and Anon immediately went over to her side. "Monika? You can stay here too if you want!"
"A-Ah...c-certainly..." Monika stuttered, still slightly unsure. "What do you have in mind?"
"Ehh...nothing much, I guess...I suppose I don't mind just having you two here while I talk about random things." Sayori suggested.
"Random things it is then!" Anon smiled. However, before any of them could get started, the ward door swung open. Upon seeing who it was, Monika and Anon immediately grew quiet.
"S-Sayori?!"
"Mio? You're here!"
"SAYORI!" Mio immediately rushed over to Sayori's side and gave her a big hug. "YOU'RE OKAY...You're okay...sniff..."
"Uwoah...oh please don't cry Mio...I'm alive, see?" Sayori could barely contain her laughter over the snivelling girl.
"Ohmygod...ohmygod...sniff...Sayori, I am so, SO sorry...I'm so sorry! Sniff...I've been a TERRIBLE friend..." Mio apologised profusely while still melting down in front of the others.
"It's okay Mio, really. It's not your fault." Sayori reassured her crumbling friend.
"Erm, maybe we should-yeah..." Anon got up and left the two friends to themselves as Monika followed suit.
"How are you holding up?" Monika asked as the two of them left Sayori's ward. To her continued dismay, Anon didn't mutter a single reply and took out his phone.
Feeling slightly agitated, Monika decided enough was enough and walked right up to the despondent boy.
"Anon? Anon."
"I'm fine." Anon replied coldly, his eyes staying fixated on his phone screen.
"I-fooh..." Monika let out a distressed sigh. "Look-the entire of today and yesterday, you have not said a single word to me! Are you really feeling okay? If there's anything you want to talk about, I'm always here for-"
"I said I'm fine, okay?!" The boy snapped, startling the club president. Now completely annoyed and frustrated, Monika raised her voice.
"I'm just trying to look out for you! What's your problem?!"
"I already said there's no problem, okay?!" Anon roared, causing some of the hospital staff and visitors to turn and look. "...Sigh...I'm going to the toilet, If Mio's done you can go in without me..."
With that, the boy departed for the male's washroom, leaving Monika in a stunned and disappointed silence.
"Are they gone? Okay. Look; Sayori...I really want to apologise for the things I said last week...I-I didn't know you were dealing with...your own problems...a-and I was being so selfish and I'm sorry..." Mio cried.
"It's really okay Mio...I-I should have at least said something or given you a heads up...so I'm sorry too..." Sayori comforted her friend.
"H-Huh? Y-You're not mad at me?" Mio looked up in disbelief, her eyes glistening with tears.
"No silly! Why would I be mad at you? You're my best friend! We both...we both can learn from this experience and become better friends! Don't you agree?"
Mio thought about it for a few seconds before hesitantly nodding her head. "Y-You're right Sayori...I agree..."
The two girls wrapped their arms around each other again.
"So err...How's she doing?" Sayori asked.
Mio looked slightly confused before realising who Sayori was talking about. Her face fell for a brief moment, but then turned back to normal after seeing who she was talking to.
"Oh...She's...she's alive..." The girl replied wistfully.
"That's...that's awesome, Mio. When I get better, I promise you; I will go with you to visit her." Sayori smiled.
"That's...That would be nice...Thank you, Sayori." Mio responded gratefully.
...
"IT'S ON ONE OF THE GROUND FLOOR CLASSES. I'M TOO LAZY TO CHECK WHICH ONE."
"It's okay. I can manage."
School passed by relatively okay for Yuri. No one she passed by mocked her or teased her, much to her surprise, and thanks to Kei being in detention, there was one less person for her to worry about
However, someone else of equal importance that was in detention was Natsuki, who Yuri decided to go with to the hospital after school to visit Sayori. That would mean potentially running into Kei again.
"Dear me, I hope that won't happen...although there's a very high chance that it might...Though I may be able to get in from behind without him seeing..." Yuri strategized in her head as she approached the sophomore's block. Since the sophomores now have after school activities, there might be a chance the empty classrooms would be used for detention.
As Yuri passed by one classroom, she peeped inside to see Natsuki and a few other students seated at random desks, doing their best not to die of boredom, and a teacher who looked even worse than the students.
"Aha! The very first one!" Yuri said to herself in satisfaction.
"Hey Miss Big Tits!" a voice came from her right. The girl spun around in fear to see Hitoshi walk up to her with a sly smirk on his face.
"A-Ah..."
Not sure how to react, a mortified Yuri quickly placed her hands up to her chest and started sweating profusely. "I-I...I...I have to think of something! I...Oh this is impossible! I can't think of anything witty to say! I wish I had...had..."
All of a sudden, Yuri looked back at Hitoshi, her eyes now glaring with fury and confidence.
"Oh I see! You're teasing me in hopes of making me react in a way that would make you laugh! You think I will fumble over my words and become a stammering mess which in turn would fuel your pathetic and sad mind because no girls want you! You want to see me get embarrassed and blush to stimulate your lousy micro-penis. Please, leave before you embarrass yourself even more."
Hitoshi opened his mouth, but all the words dried up before they could even leave.
"Wha...wha...I..."
"Oh Yuri! You're here!"
Before the boy could say anything, Natsuki danced out of the detention classroom with glee.
"You're done! Let's go!" Yuri smiled, completely ignoring the frothing boy.
"Who was that back there?" Natsuki asked as they left the sophomore's block and headed for the foyer.
"Oh, no one important." Yuri smirked.
Natsuki raised an eyebrow. "What did he do? Do you need me to punch him for you?"
"I already did." Yuri grinned, causing Natsuki to start laughing.
"Hahaha! Atta girl!"
The two girls eventually left the school compound and headed for the bus stop.
"Which bus do we have to take again?" Natsuki asked while looking at the panel for bus timings.
"I think it's that single-decker one there...Come one; let's get on it."
"Right behind you, miss."
After scanning their bus passes, Natsuki and Yuri headed to the back of the bus where there were a few seats still available.
"And how long did you say the ride would be?" Natsuki asked while climbing into her seat.
"About half an hour, so you better get comfortable." Yuri responded while taking out a book to read.
"Way ahead of you!" Natsuki grinned, taking out her manga. Luckily for the two girls, they were at the front of the line and were able to occupy the last remaining seats. The students behind them weren't as lucky and just as Natsuki was about to get into her reading zone, an annoyed cry came from the middle of the bus.
"Ugh! I told you we should have taken a cab!"
"Relax, Fumi...Experience the life of a commoner once in a while, yeah?"
Natsuki and Yuri exchanged worried glances.
"I hope they don't spot us..." Yuri said anxiously.
"Me too...Oh well; so long as we keep our heads buried, they shouldn't be able to spot us with so many people on board." Natsuki noted.
"Umm...I don't think that's how it works..." Yuri stated, pointing to her hair and then to Natsuki's.
"Hm, you're right...Ah forget it! If they come at us, then we'll just beat the shit out of them!" Natsuki scoffed and returned to her manga, while Yuri continued staring at the two girls from the corner of her eye. She tried her best to focus on her novel, but at this point, she might as well not have a book in her hand at all.
...
...
...
As time passed, Yuri grew more and more anxious as commuters started to alight from the bus. For some reason, Fumi and Kisami didn't. It was almost as if they were following them.
"N-Natsuki?" Yuri tapped her friend who was fast asleep.
"Mm-hmm? Sniff? What? Are we there yet?" Natsuki smacked her lips as she awoke from her slumber.
"N-Not exactly...b-but I'm getting kind of worried..." Yuri said as her eyes darted back and forth. "Th-they're not getting off...Th-they're gonna see us sooner or later..."
"Really? Wow it's almost like they're following us to the hospital or something." Natsuki joked.
"Natsuki! Uuhh..." Yuri cried worriedly while twirling a strand of her hair with her index finger. Sensing that she had made Yuri panic, Natsuki became immediately subdued.
"Hey, hey, hey...It's alright Yuri; I'm here! If they ever pick on you, I'll be right there, got it? I'm not leaving your sight until we reach the hospital."
Yuri looked at Natsuki gratefully. "Th-thanks Natsuki..."
"No problemo! And, wait...Why can't you just use what you said on that boy on Fumi?"
"W-Well...I-I didn't know that boy personally...b-but I don't think Monika would be very happy with me castigating her friends..."
"Casti-what?!"
"Castigate. You know; criticize harshly?"
"You could just say "roasting", you know? No need for-you know what, never mind." Natsuki rolled her eyes.
Eventually, Yuri's worst fears came through when the bus reached the hospital and Fumi and Kisami got right off.
"Hey." Natsuki grabbed Yuri's hand and squeezed it tightly. "Relax. We'll just go behind them, okay?"
Yuri took a deep breath and held her hand to her chest.
"O-Okay..." The girl gasped weakly.
"Right. Let's go then."
As the two girls entered the hospital, the quickly lost Fumi and Kisami in the ocean of visitors and staff, but it didn't take long to return to Sayori's ward as they had been there the previous day.
"Alright. We're here. Just one more corridor." Natsuki stated.
To Yuri's dismay, the second they turned the corridor, they could see Fumi and Kisami standing outside Sayori's ward with Monika in between the both of them.
"M-Maybe we should come back later..." Yuri said nervously.
"Come on, Yuri! We can do this, alright? It's a hospital; they wouldn't dare do anything to rash." Natsuki pleaded.
"That includes you, Natsuki." Yuri reminded, but it was too late as Natsuki was already dragging her over to the door.
"Hey Monika! We're here!" Natsuki greeted.
All three girls had completely different reactions upon seeing the pair. Monika smiled instinctively, only for it to be replaced with slight unease. Fumi scowled immediately, while Kisami returned her attention to Monika.
"What are you two doing here?" Fumi asked in annoyance.
"We're here to see our friend. You got a problem with that?" Natsuki fired back.
"Girls, please. Let's not do this here." Monika begged, causing Natsuki and Fumi to stand down. "Thank you...You wouldn't want to...upset Sayori now, would you?"
"No..." Natsuki agreed begrudgingly. "...And speaking of which...How is she?"
"She's doing very well, but you should probably see for yourselves." Monika said, stepping aside to allow Natsuki and Yuri to enter.
"O-Okay..." Natsuki responded nervously before brushing past Fumi into the ward. "Excuse us." She said coldly, to which Fumi merely rolled her eyes.
Once inside, the two girls were greeted by a very tired looking Anon and a fast asleep Mio, as well as a jovial Sayori.
"Natsuki! Yuri! You guys are here!" Sayori squealed gleefully before jumping out of her bed and rushing to her friends.
"Aha-Okay, Sayori, okay..." Natsuki gasped for air as Sayori's wrapped her arms around her tightly. "Jeez. How are you doing; you feeling okay?"
"I'm feeling great!" Sayori beamed. "How about the two of you? How was school without me?"
Yuri looked at Natsuki anxiously.
"I got detention." Natsuki sighed.
"Wha?!" Sayori's eyes grew wide in bewilderment. "How?"
"Kei was...making fun of the whole...situation and I clocked him in the jaw."
"I-I tried to defend her, I swear!" Yuri protested.
"I know you did; no one's blaming you!" Natsuki scoffed. "Anyway, yeah. And Yuri here roasted a boy she never met before after he harassed her!"
"Really? Wow Yuri! I'm proud of you!" Sayori gave her friend a warm smile, which Yuri reciprocated by blushing profusely.
"It-It's nothing Sayori...A-Are you feeling better?"
"I am! Thank you, Yuri!" Sayori hugged Yuri once more.
"A-Are you sure? What-what did the doctors do?"
"Yuri-I'm fine! Anon said he's gonna help me find the best therapist she can find, so you have nothing to worry about, okay?"
"Th-that's very good, Sayori. A-And thank you Anon for doing this for her."
"Ah-No need to thank me...Most of it is from Mrs. Asoka anyway..; I'm just...tagging along..." Anon brushed his hair awkwardly.
"W-Would you like some tea, Sayori? I brought some tea leaves along with me if you're up for it." Yuri offered.
"Aww, of course! There's a hot water dispenser down the hall to the left." Sayori directed. After Yuri left, Anon turned his attention to Natsuki, who had been surprisingly reserved the whole time that she had been here. The whole six minutes.
"Hey." Anon greeted as he approached the subdued girl. Natsuki looked up at him and her face immediately turned red.
"H-Hey..." The girl muttered, her eyes going off to the side.
"How are you holding up?" Anon asked gently, sensing the tension that had already filled the ward.
"F-Fine...I guess..." Natsuki mumbled.
"Ah...Great..." Anon let out a small smile, his heartbeat already starting to pick up. "S-So...A-About what happened on Sunday..."
"Are you serious? Here?!" Natsuki snapped. "In front of-"
"It's okay, you guys!"
Anon and Natsuki looked at Sayori in disbelief.
"Really! It's okay! I'm super happy for you guys!" Sayori smiled warmly, causing both of them to blush.
"Gee...Sayori, it's not like that, okay?" Anon protested. "We just...Sigh...fine, you win, Sayori."
"Ehehe!" The bubbly girl giggled upon seeing her childhood friend so flustered and at a loss for words, while Natsuki simply grew redder.
"What do you mean "You win", dummy? There is clearly NOTHING going on between us!" Natsuki huffed.
"Natsuki." Anon raised an eyebrow.
"...Ugh! Now BOTH of you are making me feel weird! Just-! Never mind!" Natsuki folded her arms resignedly.
"Aww! You two are so cute!" Sayori squealed.
"I JUST SAID NOT TO MAKE IT WEIRD!" Natsuki screamed.
"I-I'm back guys. " Yuri said as she re-entered the ward holding her hot water flask. "Did I miss anything?"
Anon looked at Sayori, who looked as Natsuki, who looked at Anon and they all returned their gazes to Yuri before bursting into laughter.
...
It was a long bus ride back to the neighbourhood, but Anon eventually returned home just as the sun went down.
The boy walked down the empty and quiet street, his only company being the rustling leaves and dancing shadows.
"Ah...home sweet home..." Anon said as his street eventually came into view and then finally his house. "I'm home Mom!" Anon called out as he opened his front door gently. Lisa came hurrying out of the kitchen to greet her son, but instead of that, the mother and son stared wordlessly at each other. Lisa looked sadly at her son. The boy's face said it all: His eye bags were heavy and his hair was messy. He tried to muster a smile, but all he could manage was a minor lip lift. Then, without saying another word, Lisa slowly wrapped her arms around him tightly, letting him lean on her shoulder.
"Sniff...I'm...so tired, Mom..." The boy wept, staining his mother's sleeve.
"It's okay by darling...Just let it all out. Mommy's here...Mommy's here..." Anon continued crying down onto Lisa's shoulder.
"I-I was so scared Mom...I thought I was gonna lose her...I...I cannot lose her...I can't...I can't..."
"We all were...we all were...But we are not gonna lose her, I promise...Mommy promises that, okay? Nothing is going to happen to her...She's strong."
"Sh-She's strong..." The boy choked in between his sobs.
"And she's feisty."
"Hah...Sh-sh...sniff...she's feisty..."
"And she's going to get through this."
"She's...She's going to get through this...she will...she will..."
"There you go...You wanna go and wash up? Mommy bought steak.
Anon looked up at his mother, his eyes glistening with tears under the dim Hall lights.
"Sniff...Thanks Mom...You're the best..."
The mother and son pulled in for another hug before the boy walked up the stairs to the bathroom. Lisa watched his slow and subtle movements as he disappeared up the stairs. Never before had she seen her son this...broken...but something told her there was nowhere to go but up.
"...Sigh..." The tired mother let out an even more tired sigh. "...How I wish we were back in simpler times..."
The woman shook her head and walked back into the kitchen, leaving the living room in a peaceful and rather tranquil silence.
1 Week Later
"How are you feeling, my bun?"
"Ehehe! Kinda excited...but also kinda nervous..."
"Oh, don't be silly Sayori! Dr. Jotaro's the best therapist in the city! We won't find someone more qualified than him!"
"But what if he doesn't like me?"
"Nonsense! Of course he will like you! If he doesn't, I'm gonna kick his butt and get him fired!"
"Uwah! Don't do that Mom!"
"Ehehe! I'm kidding, I'm kidding...Come on, we're gonna be late!"
One week has passed since the festival and a well and rested Sayori is finally going to her first appointment with her new therapist. From what she had gathered from Midori and Anon, this Henry Jotaro is a famous therapist and paediatrician and most of his patients have left more than wonderful reviews about him. He was featured in The Japan Times twice and was given some prize she could barely remember the name of.
"Come on Sayori; have a little more faith in your childhood friend, will ya?" Anon asked. "We spent all day looking up this guy!"
"Ehehe...Sorry for doubting you, Anon..." Sayori placed the tips of her index fingers together. "Well, if you two are so confident in his abilities, then I'm sure I have nothing to worry about!"
"That's better." Anon smiled as they approached the clinic. "Welp, here we are."
Anon gently pushed open the glass door, holding open for the two women. Sayori immediately danced over to the couch filled waiting area where a large bowl of sweets , candy and snacks was waiting, while Midori went over to the reception desk. Anon, not wanting to be a nuisance, walked over to his friend who was happily tearing apart a box of one of her favourite snacks.
"Pocky...You know, the president of the company that manufactured those sweets was kidnapped, right?" Anon said, sitting down on a couch next to Sayori.
"Uwoah! Really?" Sayori exclaimed in bewilderment.
"Yep. Apparently, it was orchestrated by this group called The Monster With 21 Faces. After the guy escaped, they also sent a letter to the company saying they had laced a bunch of its products with poison and threatened to put those products in stores."
Sayori looked at her pocky stick in fear.
"Haha! That was so long ago though, so you're fine."
"Really? Yay!" Sayori giggled before taking another bite down on her pocky stick. "Still though; Monster With 21 Faces? That sounds really spooky."
"You think that's the scariest part? The scariest part was this video of security footage in some store; they caught a man with a baseball cap shelving some chocolate...but they couldn't catch him despite how obvious and easy to spot he was."
Sayori looked at her stick again. "N-Now you're really starting to freak me out, you meanie!"
"Haha! Relax, Sayori; He's probably an old man by now; he's not gonna poison anyone!"
"But you didn't have to say it!"
"What are you two talking about?" Midori asked as she walked over.
"Anon's being a meanie!"
"I wasn't! I was just telling her some trivia about the pocky sticks she's eating!"
"Yeah: Scary trivia!"
"Okay, okay you two...I'm sure Anon wasn't intending to spook you...I myself was spooked by this story when I first heard it." Midori admitted. "I was so scared of going to school that I had to ask Haru to pick me up every day."
"Really? You made Dad do all that over some story?"
"It was a big deal back when I was in Middle School. Everyone was on edge and my Mom wouldn't let me stay out past six." Midori recollected. "She threw away all Glico products and swapped to fruit jelly."
Sayori looked up all of a sudden, as if something had just snapped together in her brain.
"Is that why we have no pocky sticks in our house?!"
"Yep. My phobia was that strong. I'm just allowing you to eat this one because I trust this clinic. It is a CLINIC, after all..."
"Sayori Asoka?" A young woman called out from down the hall, causing all three heads to turn. "Dr. Jotaro is ready to see you."
"Ah-I guess I'll wait out here." Anon stated.
"That'd be much appreciated, thank you Anon." Midori smiled before following her daughter into the office all the way down the hall.
After knocking on the door, Midori and Sayori entered the office to see a sweet looking man, looking about in his fifties, sitting at his desk, diligently writing something down on a notepad.
"Ah! You must be Sayori! Welcome! Take a seat!" The man greeted warmly, causing all the butterflies in the girl's stomach to fly off. "I'm Doctor Henry Jotaro, but you can just call me Doctor Henry! How's that sound? You okay with calling me that? Or would you rather call me Henry Doctor?"
"Ehehehe!" Sayori giggled in amusement before shaking the man's hand enthusiastically.
"Doctor Henry is fine!"
"Very well! And you must be Mrs. Asoka." The man shifted his attention to Midori, who was also stifling a laugh.
"A pleasure to meet you, Doctor Henry." Midori smiled, shaking the man's hand as well.
"Now that the pleasantries are settled, I would like us to get to know more about each other first. Tell me more about yourself, Sayori."
Sayori looked at Midori, who gave her a reassuring nod. The girl turned back to the good doctor and smiled.
"Well...I'm Sayori Asoka, I'm currently a junior high schooler...My hobbies are watching anime and Netflix as well as hanging out with my best friend Anon...and sleeping of course, plus eating lots of cookies and cinnamon buns..."
"You say that you like watching Anime...tell me more about it; what Anime do you watch?" Doctor Jotaro asked, intrigued.
"Oh, I love LOTS of Anime! One Piece, Dragon Ball Z, and my personal favourite, Violet Evergarden."
"Ah...Violet Evergarden...Good choice!" Doctor Jotaro gave Sayori a thumbs up, causing both her and Midori to giggle. "Let me ask you something, Sayori; Do you know who Hayao Miyazaki is?"
"Eh? Who's that?" Sayori asked, visibly confused.
"Huh? You don't know who that is? He's one of the greatest filmmakers of all time! What are you doing?" Doctor Jotaro asked jokingly, turning to Midori.
"Ehehe...My dear Sayori wasn't born yet when Spirited Away came out! You're gonna have to forgive me, doctor!"
"Ah, then I must say, you're missing out! I want you, after today's session, to Google Spirited Away and sit down with your mother and watch it. Can you do that for me, Sayori?"
"Well, I'm excused from school for about a month, so I guess I can do that! Can Anon join us too?" Sayori turned to her mother expectantly.
"Of course he can! Just, when he's free, of course."
"I here you bringing up this...Anon...a lot. You say he is your best friend?"
"That's right!" Sayori nodded her head vigorously.
"Tell me more about him. When did you two meet?"
"..."
Sayori's face fell for a split second, but was immediately replaced with one of gratitude and gratefulness.
"I met him when I was...five, I think? Back when we were in kindergarten...We used to play in the park every day after it ended...We had so many adventures..." Sayori's voice started to shake as memories flashed in her head; the echoing sounds of children's laughter.
The bright sun shining down on them as they frolicked in the grass.
The wacky costumes they would don for each adventure...
"...Sniff..." Sayori started to tear up. "...sniff...One day we were pirates...the other we would be soldiers or spies trying to thwart the enemy's plans...H-He would always pretend to save me from some non-existent threat...and I would be so grateful for me hero...sniff...He is my hero...He has been there for me ever since...A-and...sniff...my life would be meaningless without him...sniff...My knight in shining armour...m-my saviour from all those evil and mean...sniff...hooh-I am so sorry, ehehe!"
"No, no...It's okay...keep going..."
"...Sniff...A-And...I-If I'm being honest...Th-The worst moments of my life were when I came home every day from Elementary School onwards, hoping to see his goofy smile and messy black hair waiting on my doorstep with a foam sword or a toy gun, eagerly waiting for our next adventure...o-only to be greeted by dull grey bricks and a wooden door...Th-There were times in my life where I needed my hero...B-But he never showed up...I don't blame him; He found new friends and schoolwork kept all of us busy...b-but...sniff...I missed him so much! S-Sniff...I-I m-m-missed him...sniff...A-And I want to be with him forever!"
As Sayori finished her rant, she looked around the room. Midori was trying her best to hold back her tears, while Doctor Jotaro was looking intently at her, completely captivated and drawn into her story.
"Where is Anon now?"
"Ehehe!" Sayori laughed in the midst of all her tears streaming down her puffy cheeks. "H-He's right outside in the waiting room!"
Doctor Jotaro could barely contain his wide smile.
"Hahaha...Would you like him to come in?"
Sayori looked at the doctor with a newfound hope.
"Y-Yes please..."
...
Yuri sat alone in her bedroom, her eyes super glued onto the pages of Another. While she was initially sceptical as always, she was pleasantly surprised after reading through the first few pages and finding out how much depth Manga truly had and after the first chapter, she was ready to take back everything she said about the genre.
The deaths were still hard to swallow, even for her, though. Usually her novels left her to visualize just how gory and grotesque the deaths and violent murders were, but with Manga, you're kinda given it right on the spot.
"M-My goodness..." Yuri exclaimed. "A-An excavator too?! How many deaths can this series come up with?"
All of a sudden, a squeaky voice came from behind her.
"Woah! I didn't know you read that sort of stuff!"
"A-AH!" Yuri recoiled in shock, nearly falling out of her chair.
"AHAHA! I'm so sorry big sis!" Yuki could barely control her laughter. "Guess I should have knocked, huh?"
"Y-Yes! Th-That would be very much appreciated next time!" Yuri huffed in annoyance, seeing that she had lost the page that she was on. "A-And...I didn't go out and buy this book...It-It was sort of a challenge me and Natsuki came up with to see if we were open enough to accept each other's preferred genre...She's reading a novel I bought for her as we speak!"
"And?"
"I got to say, I-I'm really surprised at how much this series has gotten me absorbed! Natsuki too! She said she's usually bored by novels by the acknowledgements page, but with the book I bought her, she says she's already at the final few chapters! I-I actually have a lot of catching up to do!" Yuri noted.
"Oh-then, sorry for distracting you I guess..." Yuki pouted.
"N-No! It's fine! You can stay..." Yuri brushed her hair shyly.
"Aww, I can?! Thanks big sis!" Yuki grinned before bouncing into her elder sister's room and onto her bed. "May I see what you're reading anyway?"
"Sure!" Yuri smiled sweetly before handing the manga over to her little sister.
"Another...Hold on; is this horror?" Yuki groaned.
"E-Erm! Is-Is that a problem?" Yuri quickly grew nervous upon seeing her sister's grossed out face.
"N-Not really...It's just...Ergh..; I could never stomach this shit."
"Language, Yuki!"
"Sorry, not sorry! Let's see..." Yuki began flipping through the pages, inspecting each panel and each dialogue box. "OH MY GOD!"
"Wh-What happened?! What did you see?!" Yuri flew into a panic and snatched the manga out of her sister's hands. However, one look at the page made Yuri roll her eyes. "Of all the deaths you had to land on, it was the umbrella one...Honestly, the shock factor decreases after this one...It's like they wanted to draw you in from the get go, then take the time to develop the story...You know, like every good series ever?"
"I know, I know...I watch a lot of American TV, just so you know, but still! Belch!"
"Please don't vomit in my room..." Yuri sighed.
"I won't! Anyway, I guess if I'm gonna hang out here, I better find something else to occupy myself with."
"You could start by giving my favourite novel a try." Yuri suggested.
"You mean the book with the eye?"
"Y-Yes, Yuki...What other favourite novel do I have?"
"Sigh...I guess I have to finally do this...Alright, I'm ready. Hand it over." The spunky girl demanded, to which Yuri happily complied and dug the book out of her schoolbag. All of a sudden, the timid girl froze.
"Erm, Yuri? You wanna pass the book over to me?" Yuki raised an eyebrow after seeing her sister freeze in place.
Yuri didn't respond. Her eyes were fixated on the cover, as if she was staring directly into the eye that was drawn onto it
"Yuri?"
As Yuri continued to stare at the eye, she slowly started to remember when she used to read this book...
...with Dean...
Yuri felt her heart shatter once again. Even though she wanted nothing to do with him, it still hurt that the only reason he was even interested in her in the first place was a stupid dare.
"Yuuuurrriiiii..."
Soon, she could visualize herself sitting next to Dean on her bed, completely absorbed in the book, feeding each other-
"YURI!"
"KYA!"
This time, Yuri leaped out of her chair and onto her bed, the book flying out of her hands. Thankfully, Yuki somehow managed to catch it without a fold or crease forming.
"O-Oh my goodness!" Yuri panted, placing her hand on her chest. Her heart was beating harder than drums at a Twenty One Pilots concert. "Jesus Christ, you scared the living hell out of me!"
"Well SOOOOOrry! You were the one who was hypnotised by that book! How do I know you're not possessed?! Say something only the real Yuri would say!"
"M-My book? Y-You caught it!" Yuri's panicked face faded into one of gratitude. "Thank you Yuki! You saved it!"
"Ah-well...You know...Soccer isn't the only sport I'm good at..."
Soccer...
Yuri shook herself out of another painful memory.
"Hooh...W-Well...D-Do you want to read it?"
"I mean, I kinda have to now...You know what, sure! Let's read together, big sis!"
"Y-Yeah!"
And with that, the two sisters returned to their individual books as the silence of the late evening swallowed them into a world of fantasy and fiction.
Well, not before the thousandth text from Natsuki, that is.
"HOLY CRAP I'VE NEVER BEEN SO ENGROSSED IN MY ENTIRE LIFE!"
Natsuki furiously texted with one hand, her novel in the other.
"Natsuki? Are you really eating and reading AND texting at the same time?!" Shinzo asked while slurping on his udon.
"Yes, Dad. It's called skill." Natsuki smirked, causing her father to let out a soft chuckle.
"Heh...Well, don't blame me if your food gets cold before you eat it...I'm not heating it up for you young lady!"
"Ugh! Fine, Dad! –SLURP– SHEE?!"
"Heh heh heh...Okay, okay...your old man is proud..." Shinzo chuckled once more before returning to his dinner.
"I know, Natsuki...You told me that a million times in the past one hour!"
"YEAH, BUT YOU CAN'T BLAME ME! THE BOOK IS SOOOOOOOO GOOD! :OOOO"
Natsuki set her phone and book down to take another bite of her udon.
"Hey Dad? Do you mind handing me some of the karaage?"
"Sure; take as much as you want." Shinzo responded, picking a rather large piece of chicken from the plate with a beach pattern printed onto it, with simply the cutest smiling sun ever.
"Thanks Dad!" Natsuki smiled before returning to her phone.
"ANYWAY, TTYL I'M EATING THIS BITCH!"
And then she returned to her book.
Meanwhile, Yuri could barely contain her laughter upon seeing Natsuki's undying loyalty to Convenience Store Woman.
"Uhuhu! She's REALLY engrossed!" The girl giggled.
"Oh she is? Well, then I probably won't get any homework done if that's the case."
"When Mom asks, it's your fault." Yuri joked.
"Excuse me?! It's totally yours!"
"No it isn't!"
"Yes it is!"
"Nu-uh!"
"Yu-uh!"
"Uhuhuhu!"
"HAHAHA!"
...
Monika sat on the ashy grey concrete.
"...Sigh..."
The girl brought her knees up to her chin and rested it on them. The cold evening wind was flowing through her hair, but she didn't shiver.
She actually didn't really feel anything at all; she simply stared up into the peaceful night sky. The school was eerily quiet at this time and Monika was able to sneak past a few security guards and the cleaning ladies and snuck herself all the way to the roof.
"..."
As she listened on, she could hear the distant rumbling of cars traversing the streets; presumably on their way home from overtime or maybe off for a late dinner; A few dogs barking and cats meowing, but other than that, peace and quiet. It was a perfect spot for Monika, especially after a week like that.
-BZZT-
Suddenly, Monika felt her phone vibrate in her pants pocket.
"Monika? Where are you now? Do not stay out too late, okay?"
Monika felt her stomach knot up, but kept the tears in control. Instead, she stood up, grabbed her bag from the floor and headed for the of access door.
Taking away the brick seating at the base of the door frame, she quietly tiptoed back into the stairwell and carefully closed and locked the door behind her. Eventually, she exited the stairwell and made her way for the side gate, but as she passed by a large notice board on her way out, something made her stop in her tracks.
"Eh?"
Monika crept closer to a particular notice stuck onto the peeling cork with a red pin.
THE LITERATURE CLUB
Monika let out a sad sigh as she scanned over the club regimes and timings.
"Every day…After school to…five…" the girl muttered despondently, after remembering how she had pretty much disappeared every day after school following the festival. God even knows what lies in the clubroom anymore, considering no one had stepped in there ever since.
But maybe…
"N-No…It's getting late…I should…I should…" Monika bit her lip, choking back the dam of tears ready to burst and flood her cheeks. She looked down at the list of club members, which she had gotten everyone to write their names on.
-Yuri Katagiri
-NATSUKI
Monika smiled, thinking back on how close the two had gotten despite having such clashing personalities.
-sayori! XOXOXO
"Ahaha!" Monika giggled, a few tears leaking out. Struggling to keep it together, Monika looked at the final name on the list.
-Anon
"…"
Monika thought back to the day at the hospital, where he had pretty much given her a sub-zero shoulder. She had never seen him raise his voice; even back when they shared sophomore classes, even when his friends pissed him off, he would always shrug it off or fake laugh, not this time. Monika didn't know why, but the few seconds after her snapped at her, she felt…scared? Maybe she didn't know how to react then, but it definitely caught her off guard.
"Focus, Monika…focus…sniff…" The girl told herself while wiping away tears. "...Sniff…You need to get back before the trunchbull sends you to the chokey…Eh? What the...?"
Monika's eyes were drawn to the line below Anon's name. After the festival, it probably wouldn't surprise anyone if the number of members in the Literature Club stayed the same or even decreased, but right there below Anon's name was another, written in deep green ink.
-Tiffany Maxwell
"Tiffany…Maxwell? Who the hell is…wait a minute…" Monika thought to herself for a few seconds, her brain slowly processing what all of this meant.
"..!"
Monika's eyes lit up all of a sudden. She gave them a good rub and stared back at the notice. Sure enough, the name was still there in green ink.
Tiffany Maxwell. And if this Tiffany's name was on the list of members, that could only mean one thing.
"H-Holy crap…I-I did it…I actually did it..!"
Monika looked back at the top of the notice, her eyes watering again. But this time, instead of despair, they were filled to the brim with determination and hope.
The girl dug around in the bag and pulled out a large pink marker, something she always kept on her for moments like this one.
She brought the marker tip in between the words "THE" and "LITERATURE" and drew a large pink arrow pointing outwards and on top of that arrow, she held said tip. She cracked her brain as hard as it could go, thinking for the perfect letters to go there, when all of a sudden, it hit her.
Smiling to herself, she pressed the tip of the marker onto the paper…
…and began writing away…
…
End of Chapter Fifteen
"Granny? I'm home…"
Mio slowly stepped into the shoddy apartment. Boxes stacked as high as the ceiling littered most of the common area, while the rooms themselves were filled to the brim with plastic bags, paper bags, cloth bags and every other kind of bag imaginable.
"Granny? It's me, Mio…Your granddaughter?"
"Mio…" A weak voice came from one of the rooms that were only ninety percent filled with shit.
"I'm here, granny, I'm here!" Mio hurried over to the room where the voice came from. A feeble woman, looking close to her nineties, laid in her bed with stacks of boxes towering over her. The only part of her bed not filled with junk had a large metal bowl in it. "I'm here granny, what do you need? You need some water?"
"Mio…" The frail woman responded.
"Yeah granny, it's me! Mio!" Mio held her grandmother's hand, only for it to be violently shook away.
"M-M-Mio! Th-There's a strange girl in our house! Mio! Get rid of her!"
"G-Granny?" Mio backed away in fear.
"G-Get rid of her…G-GET RID OF HER!"
"QUIET, YOU OLD HAG!" Another voice thundered from outside, making Mio jump. The old woman barely flinched. As Mio turned to the doorway, an even older and feebler looking man limped past. "I'm trying to watch TELEVISION. Now will you PLEASE KEEP YOUR PUTRID HOLE YOU CALL A MOUTH SHUT?! AND YOU!" The old man turned to Mio. "Stop being useless and get your grandfather a NEWSPAPER!"
"Y-Yes, granddad…" Mio stuttered, her voice already starting to shake.
"Why can't I just die already..?" The old man grumbled before walking back. As Mio stared at the now empty doorway and back to her grandmother, she felt tears streaking down her face.
"Mio…" The old woman gasped. "Mio…"
...
End of Season One