AN: Round 3 Begins, In which we come to meet our other friends. And answer one burning question. Does Monika still know what's going on? Well, dear readers. We'll have to find out!
Musical Recommendation - Okay Everyone!
Cody sighed, drumming his pen idly against the tabletop, one foot idly kicking the leg of his chair. One thing that people don't think about when they think about time travel, is waiting for important events. You think you're going to go back, you're going to fix things. You're going to make everything alright, and save the world. The problem is, you don't remember. How. Freaking. Boring it is, when you're waiting for an important moment. Class was an absolute drag. How I got through this before..wasn't an issue. The Classroom was empty, and a simple fade-to-black got you through the school day. Not anymore. Since he'd fixed things with the help of the Player, now his school was fully populated. Full of people living their lives. Living their own reality, so to speak. No longer was he the center of the universe...the good thing however, is that rewriting the world to be real had unintended side effects...including fully fleshed out backstory!
The day went by slowly, until lunchtime, where as he left to go to the cafeteria, he was waylaid by one of the other students. An older boy, a Senior, named Kenji Amihara, president of the Kendo Club, and an old friend, Cody, paused, searching his memories. His own name and thinking about his own past told him he himself was a transfer student, who's father was in the United States Navy, his mother, a Japanese woman who was now a traveling researcher of Oceanography. Small wonder she was never home, he reflected, even as he looked up to Kenji, who grinned, clapping him roughly on the shoulder. "Cody! A junior now, huh? You're almost there!" he planted his hands on his hips. "Considered giving the Kendo Club a try? I know you're into your fantasy games and manga, why doncha come be a -real- hero, and learn how to fight with a sword!" He chuckled, rubbing his chin. Kenji had been struck by puberty like a runaway freight train, and even here, halfway through the day, his chin had a bit of stubble on it...it gave him a rough, cool look that had half the female population of Shizuoka High melting when he walked the halls.
"Kenji, I'd love to but...well….I already promised Sayori-" he was cut off rather quickly by the older boy again clapping him on the shoulder with enough force to cause him to stumble a bit, grasping his bag as he shook his head, glancing up at the taller young man who was grinning down at him, ear to ear.
"Oh? You promised Sayori huh?" he rested a hand on his hip, and planted his other hand atop Cody's head, mussing his hair up with a laugh. "Well then, who am I to get in the way of young love." he gave a bassy laugh, shaking his head as he hefted his gym bag and turned to head toward the Gymnasium, waving lightly as Cody sputtered like a poorly tuned engine.
"Y-young love? No, it's not like that!" he waved his hands….blinking..but he had come back because of that...right? No? It was something else...he frowned, all the godlike knowledge he had was swiftly fading. He had felt a rush of shy, boyish embarrassment when his friend teased him about the crush he felt for his childhood friend...shaking it off, he turned, walking to the door of his class, a loud laugh from Kenji outside making him speed up, to the point that he almost ran into a strawberry brunette head of hair as Sayori turned into the classroom, not looking where she was going, her forehead bonking against Cody's, leaving them both stumbling back with matching exclamations of pain.
"Ow!" Sayori rubbed her forehead "Cody? What was with Kenji? He took one look at me and laughed...do I have something on my face?" she blinked, tears at the corner of her eyes from the impact of skull on skull.
"Huh? No..he was...I mean…" Cody trailed off, frowning as he rubbed his forehead with the heel of his palm. "Ugh. You have a hard noggin, Sayori." he looked the girl over quickly, making sure she was okay. "Sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going.." he stepped out of the classroom, bag over his shoulder."So...you..wanted me to come check out your Club, right?" he shook his head, trying to ignore the odd worrisome feeling that he got when thinking about the Literature Club. It was obviously nothing...he was just worried about meeting new people, right?
"Oh right! The Literature Club! You're really going to come?" Sayori's smile lit up her face as she wrapped her arms around Cody's, hugging herself against his bicep in excitement as she peered at him. "Yay! You're going to have so much fun! Come on!" She slid her hand down his arm and grabbed his wrist to pull him along, heading through the halls, with him stammering protests until she stopped him in front of a hallway, grinning at him, she nodded. "Here we go!" she turned, and pushed the door open. "Heeeeeeeyyy everyone!"
Cody had been drug halfway across the school by Sayori when she stopped and headed inside of the classroom...following her in with a much less loud entrance, he paused to take stock of himself, then looked around the room and its other occupants. "Er...Hi." he lamely raised a hand in greeting, as he looked over the...four incredibly cute girls inside.
The first was what magazines would call a bombshell. Tall, beautiful, elegant, with a lovely figure and long, silky looking purple hair, and piercing violet eyes...currently shyly looking toward him over the rim of what looked to be a murder mystery novel. Standing, she politely bowed her head. "H-hello, welcome to the Literature Club...My name is Yuri" she spoke softly, as if afraid to draw attention to herself….her every movement was graceful, like a princess of old. Cody went to speak up to greet her, when a second voice barked out a sardonic laugh.
"Sayori, you brought a boy? Way to kill the atmosphere." The second girl was, well. Short for a Junior. She had the physical appearance of a freshman, with short, bobbed, bubblegum pink hair and matching eyes, though her appearance was rather cute, and almost "loli-ish" her stance and attitude was anything but. Arms crossed, hips cocked to one side, she almost looked like if the Yakuza had a Loli branch, she would be an Underboss in it. Cody had a momentary image of her bashing someone's knees in with a pink, sparkled bat and shook his head. "Ugh." Cody blinked at the brusque greeting, and went to bow his head in greeting when she rolled her eyes. "Natsuki. Dont forget it, alright?" Cody smiled weakly, the mental picture of Yakuza Natsuki still fresh in his mind, when he was thankfully saved by the last girl's introduction.
"Ah! You must be Cody. Sayori told us all so much about you. Her childhood friend, right?" Monika. The School Idol. Beautiful, Smart, Athletic. This girl was the model student, and quite literally the most popular girl in school. Girls want to be her, Boys want to be with her. He had several classes with her in his Sophomore year, and seeing her again made his mouth dry out slightly. He'd had a huge crush on her before..but..it seemed to have faded….for the most part. He smiled lightly as she tilted her head, coral brown hair tied back with a beautiful white ribbon, her hands planted on her hips as her lips curled into a smile. "I didn't realize it was the same Cody I knew."
"Er..It's very nice to meet you all, Yuri, Natsuki...and it's good to see you again, Monika." He got that odd feeling under control. Seeing Monika, for some reason put a chill down his spine. "Sayori told me she was looking for people to join the Literature Club...and wanted me to come check it out."
"Yeah! He's going to be our new member!" Sayori chirped, leaving Cody sighing. He hadn't said that, but of course...if she wanted him to...he would. Try as he might to complain or decline, he was stuck now. Stuck..is that what he wanted to say? Four incredibly cute girls, and he's the only boy. Most would consider this a blessing. "And nooow..Natsukiiiiii~" she whined, clasping her hands together as if begging.
"Yeah yeah. I promised if you got us a new member. Hmph. Even if it is some boy." The short, pink haired girl spun on her heel and tromped off to the back of the classroom, where a plastic, covered box lay. "You better not leave now. I'll be super pissed!" she called out
As she did, Cody helped Sayori...who did little but bounce in place out of sheer excitement….push several desks together to make a large table for them all to sit at, looking up as Yuri came back moments later with a tea set. "Mm. Sweets are always better with a good cup of tea." she smiled, placing a cup in front of each spot, even as Natsuki popped the lid off and set a single cupcake in front of each chair….chocolate, fluffy, with a white creamy icing atop them, decorated with more sprinkles and tiny bits of triangle-shaped chocolate to make the cupcake top look like a cute cat, the smell of fresh baked goods filled the room quickly, as Monika took her spot at the 'head' of the table. With Cody sitting between her and Sayori, Natsuki and Yuri taking their seats on the other side.
"So Cody, what brings you to the Literature Club? Hmmm?" Monika began, before taking a bite of her cupcake, and a sip of Yuri's aromatic tea, her lips curling into an enigmatic smile.
With a scoff and a thump of her hand on the table, Natsuki spoke before Cody could even respond. "Sayori probably just let it slip that there would be cupcakes, and he came for the free snacks. He wont even think about coming back tomorrow." Monika, frowning, gave Natsuki a warning look. "Yeah yeah. Alright. Go ahead."
"Well...Sayori didn't actually mention the cupcakes...these are a nice surprise...but..I like to read manga, and comic books. And...well….my phone spends more monthly data on Fanfiction-dot-net than making calls and texts." he smiled sheepishly, the mention of manga actually making Natsuki's glare lessen somewhat, before she rolled her eyes...taking the cupcake, Cody turned it this way and that, inspecting it before taking a bite. The chocolate cake was rich and airy, the frosting thick, sweet and creamy. "Natsuki...these are -amazing-!" he grinned at her.
"Well yeah. I am the greatest." she replied with a confident smirk, sipping her tea with a rather smug look on her face.
"So...what do you all do here in the Literature Club?" Cody spoke up, ignoring the pinkette's smug comments, as he looked at Monika, Sayori, and Yuri. The three girls each adopting a different expression. Monika, looking thoughtful, replied with "Well, I like to write…" before being cut off by Sayori, of all people perking up.
"I like to write poems too! It's very relaxing to get your feelings out on paper sometimes." Sayori, ever the opportunist, has already devoured her cupcake and is sneaking glances toward the remaining half of Cody's with the laser focus of a hunting owl.
"I too, enjoy writing. Though I'm also an avid reader. I spend a lot of time here reading. The peace and quiet relaxes me...though..having friends around…" Yuri trailed off, playing with a thick strand of her hair between her long, delicate fingers, one hand twisting her wrist idly, looking off to one side, as if embarrassed to have spoken up without being directly engaged.
Natsuki didn't say anything, until Monika chimed in. "I know Natsuki likes to write as well...just the other day I found this…" she pulled a crumpled paper from her bag, which the pinkette snatched out of her hands.
"No you didn't!" She cried, stuffing it deep into her own bag, cheeks darkening as she looked down, trying not to look completely embarrassed, and failing.
"I bet you write very well, Natsuki, you seem really passionate." Cody spoke up, to the surprise of everyone, least of all himself, as the girls nodded in agreement, before Monika clapped her hands and stood.
"Well then! We have our first assignment as a club! Tonight, everyone will go home and write a poem, then we can share them at the club tomorrow!" she smiled brightly, one hand held aloft, finger extended. The girls all seemed to agree, smiling and nodding, or...giving Monika an exasperated roll of the eyes, before nodding, in Natsuki's place. "If all five of us-..."
"I..didn't say I was actually joining." Cody spoke up, as every eye in the room turned to face him, looks of worry on Sayori and Monika's face...disappointment filled Yuri's stare, and a glare of frustrated annoyance on Natsuki's face...as he leaned back in his chair, biting his bottom lip. "...But if...you all will have me, I think I'd love to join." immediately Sayori squealed and threw her arms around Cody's neck, hugging him tightly, as Monika gave a small smile, Yuri blushed, but nodded, and Natsuki gave a confident smirk. The group all looking up as Monika stood at the end of the table.
"Well then. As the President of the Literature Club, it is my distinct pleasure to welcome you to the club, Cody!" She clapped lightly, Yuri and Natsuki joining in, Sayori still trying to throttle the boy with her hug. "We will adjourn, on that note, and reconvene tomorrow, if there are no objections? I have to get Cody officially registered as a member of the club with the school...if you don't mind staying after for a moment?"
Yuri cleaned up her tea set, smiling shyly as she bowed her head, gathering her things and leaving. Natsuki punching Cody hard on the arm as she walked out, grinning cheekily, and Sayori smiling "I'll wait for you at the bench by the gate, Cody!" she smiled and gave his arm an affectionate pat before scampering off, leaving him alone with Monika, who once the door clicked shut, turned to face him directly, her warm, friendly smile immediately dropping, emerald eyes locked on Cody, staring through him.
"What. Did. You. DO!?" she spoke slowly, each word punctuated by a sharp pause. Cody taking a step back as she snapped her fingers several times. "This isn't right. None of this is right. Nobody is following the script. Did you install a mod? Is that it? Is this another of your idiotic fantasies? Why am I having trouble remembering things. Why?" she stomped her foot, tears filling her eyes as she grasped Cody's shoulders. "Tell me! Tell me why you're doing this to me again! I dont want you to play with my heart anymore!" Her emerald eyes narrowing in anger as she seemed to be trying to force something to happen, but nothing does.
Cody gently reaching up to grasp her hands and lift them off his shoulders, before gently raising a closed hand and knocking gently on her forehead, as if knocking on a door. A jolt running through her body as she stumbled back into a desk, hand coming to rest on it as her hand came to her head "..My….you...what...how did you...oh my god...this is...this...this plan is...insane...how did you...of course. You got the idea from that bloody british time traveler show….and you actually quoted him. "You've been doing this all of your lives." she laughed, softly at first, but swiftly growing more watery and sniffly. "You...this..this is...this is everything..this actually...is the only way this could have ever...you came back. To save us all. Our whole world...it's...real now."
"Yeah." Cody spoke. "And your memories of...the Club of the past..will begin to fail. You're going to probably have a -splitting- migraine tonight, since I gave you temporary knowledge of everything that happened...my memories are almost gone of it as well. We wont have to remember the awful things that happened. We can move on, we're free." he smiled and patted her arm gently. "No more Just Monika, right?" he gave her a wry grin...and her reply was decidedly nonverbal. As she threw her arms around him and began to sob into his chest openly. Unsure at first of how to react, he gently patted her shoulders at first before simply wrapping his arms around her, holding her and letting her cry until her shoulders stop trembling. "Feel better?"
She sniffled softly. "I..suppose...I..it's still a little hard to believe...but.." She froze a moment, emerald eyes seeming to lose focus as she bit her lip. "I'm already having a hard time remembering the past...what I did...how can you forgive me…"
Cody smiled. "Because the Literature Club should be a place of happiness." he too felt those last vestiges of memory slipping away...he knew, by this time tomorrow, he would not remember a thing...so he had to make sure the things he needed to have forethought for, were written down tonight. "No more death. No more pain. I can save them all, without those stupid powers."
Monika stared at him a moment, before sighing softly. "I...hope so.." she froze a moment. "I..hope. I feel..you..you've given me hope." she whispered, clasping her hands together in front of her chest. "I..I'll see you tomorrow, Cody. At the club." she whispered, before turning and walking straight out the door without another word.