WARNING - Triggers and subjective imagery featured. You will find an asterisk between parenthesis before and after said depictions. Reader discretion is advised, and the author suggests that asterisked portions are of the M rating. Nah...What should I care for? You have played the game before, have ya?

This chapter will be a long one if you have not seen the jump in text (Seriously, very, very long. I'm impressed with myself). While I hope it wasn't cruel to people and their ideas concerning the plot's pacing, I also encourage those readers to understand we're only - at most - halfway through TRTT. We've got a long way to go after this chapter, which is why I also divided our story into Acts as well.

Tip: In a previous chapter, I placed some Base64 code. To figure out what it says, just copy all of the text, search online for a "Base 64 Decoder," and paste it after you click on a trustworthy link.

Happy reading, folks!

Act 1 Finale - Chapter 6: People Never Crumple in a Day.

The clubroom was settled, the shenanigans with vending machines and random anxiety attacks were taken care of, and Sayori returned with Makoto from whatever noble mission they went on. Needless to say, their time was more than productive and yielded fruitful results. Sayori brought back a bruised forehead and a half-empty bottle of apple juice, and her partner in crime took care of the poster and coloring utensils Monika (somewhat) requested.

There was nothing more to do with everyone in one place, so we simply began sharing poems.

Alas, I've seated myself next to the weary leader of our club before the paper trading time began. Her eyes scanned through the words I've conjured up in the wee hours of the early morning. My fingers rapped back and forth on the wood in a wavy rhythm. I was nervous to hear her reaction, considering I wrote my poem with Sayori so early in the morn. Looking back during my free time between classes and study hall, I wasn't into starting from scratch. The premise felt right, and the tone was soothing to me.

She put a hand over my notebook and whisked it over to me, brushing my arm with her fingertips in her follow-through. "Sounds to me," she gracefully considered, "like you've figured out your audience the second time around, Naomi."

"How do you reckon?" I queried, "I was quite tired when I put my pen on the page, and everything just flowed without a second thought."

"Exactly. Your free verse isn't as cluttered as the first poem was, and you were able to establish a premise without jumping from topic to topic. If I had any say, you're almost as illustrative as Yuri this time around."

I shook my head in disdain, "Impossible, Monika. You know good and well Yuri is levels ahead of me. Her work yesterday was magnificently picturesque, unlike my own."

"I never said you were better than Yuri," she said, "but you gave me something to feel. Unlike yesterday, you are more pronounced."

"Pronounced?"

"Mhm!" She promptly pulled out her composition notebook and held her fingernail against one of the paperclips she used as a bookmark. "Music runs the same way, ya know. You've got your staccatos and dynamics, highs and lows, fasts and slows. And when you sing, you create something meaningful that vibrates or sinks into whatever you're singing to... Ah, here ya go!"

The poem she handed over to me did seem unmusical in any way, shape, or form. With one look at the text and its abstract phrasings, a giggle burst forth from my stomach. "Hahahaha, you've got to be kidding me!"

"No, I'm not. Read it aloud!" She pouted and crossed her arms.

I did a double-take on the page and saw all her words were confidently posted, except a small scribbling in the bottom left corner. "All of it?"

"No, silly. Just the last line. Bold and proud." She made me want to bang my head on the desk with her sarcasm. It would have made a good laugh.

I should have told her I was too tired for jokes today, but the skeptic in me came forward instead, "That's quite unnecessary if you ask me."

Makoto turned from Sayori and interrupted my conversation, eyeballing me from across the room. "But she did ask you. What's the holdup?"

"What're you taking her side for?!" I called back, slightly annoyed. How did he hear us from all the way over here?

He shrugged, "I don't know... She's the one with superior intellect. Maybe you should actually listen to her for once?"

"As if I haven't before!"

"You think I have all day to listen to your incessant backtalk? Gosh, that's all you've ever done, Naomi."

Once again, guess who became the center of attention. Yuri and Natsuki turned toward the front of the classroom where a concerned Monika and yours truly sat. Yuri looked pretty worried about how her hands combed through her hair, yet the baker tilted her head curiously.

But I couldn't help myself. Makoto's only caused problems with his whiney attitude, and he churns out on me when I just don't want to read aloud someone else's work. That's all but fair.

"Look," I seethed through my teeth in a trying attempt to keep a level head. This conversation shouldn't even be happening, "I don't care what you think I did or didn't do. If you've got such a problem, take it up with me when we share poems. Right now, you're in front of Sayori and probably should-"

"I did!" He rose his unsteady voice with a glare.

Yuri put up her hand like a poor child in Junior High, "A-a-actually Makoto-"

"Can it for now, Yuri, please!" he flicked his head at her rather quickly, and she squeaked with fright.

Monika placed a steady arm on my shaking bicep and reached for her journal with the other. "Hey Naomi, I just wanna check something real quick." My attention was revoked from Makoto by way of pretty eyes. This was supposed to be about her, not myself... how dare I get in her way.

I handed her book back to her with a huff. "Don't worry, I know what you're talking about. I should've just said 'load me' from the start."

Everything instantly blackened around me.

(*)

Did... did I just go blind?

I used my fists to rub my eyes. Maybe I wasn't completely awake. No, it was too dark outside for me to need an awakening, yet I couldn't find the will to sleep. Caught in a limbo between tiredness and confusion, my surroundings came to me.

A cute and little plastic Sayori hung above my nightstand with a feigned unconscious expression. Her arms wobbled aimlessly and her body swayed... by... th neck.

...

Lightning struck with a deafening roar; I yelped at the dead coral-haired corpse and fell off the other side of my bed, crashing on the floor. It was only the beginning of my pains, but I didn't know until a sharp object thrust itself into my wrist from under the bed.

"Aaaaagh!" I cried out and instinctively grasped my arm pinned onto the floorboard. A stainless steel knife was the weapon causing blood to spurt from my veins. The culprit slithered from underneath the bed, revealing eyes under the influence of mania, hysteria, something that shoved the fear of death down my throat like a gag.

"Finally, my sweet and naive Naomi..." The girl's dirty, crusty purple locks tickled my burning arm, and I considered how much I could talk to whatever being in Heaven would hear me, "You'll be mine to play with until I've had my fill! AHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHA!"

My voice warbled in agony as I reached for the knife, but the sound of breaking glass caught me by surprise. A beaten and gouged Natsuki rolled around the bedside and wrapped her arms around my waist.

"Wh-why?" The bruised and battered corpse cried into my back with tears of red and black, rendering me unable to move.

I felt the pain and wetness all around me. Sayori's body danced like a puppet on strings as it hovered above my field of view. Despair rained down on me like a typhoon, drowning my wails into whispers.

But someone else latched around me a ribbon of white; a red pen was the hilt of her lasso. Monika gave all she had to pull me up from where I lay trapped, but her vocal strains were muffled, static, glitched, you couldn't say.

"N-N-N-a-a-o-i!" Monika called from my bedroom door. "R-e-e-e-AAAAAA-"

My last hope exploded in a cacophony of reds, blues, and greens to be sucked away by the stormy vortex called my broken bedroom window.

It was a nightmare I could not escape. There was no hope, no control. Whatever I was in the past mattered no longer. All that mattered was a pink box obscuring my view. Amidst the chaos around me, the words spoke into being in a crisp white:

You are an anomaly. You must play your role as one. This is your only choice to make.

[Load me] Delete me

My choice was obvious. I would gladly give up my voice to ensure a better fate for my friends. They've gone insane, and I don't know where I went wrong. I need to make things right. I must make things right. Let me. Lord, please let me!

(*)

I slammed my hand on the poem in front of me. A plastic black cover surrounded it, Makoto's notebook... he was the second last person I'd shared poems with today, but Natsuki and Monika were currently teasing him and Sayori. Best friends rekindled with one another, shipped like a sunshine package and whatever the heck Makoto would represent. It seemed right for her to have a good friend to rely on.

I glanced down at his piece one last time, trying to make sense of whatever I missed. Did we recite our works out loud? What was his? Were we gleaning ideas from one another for the upcoming festival?

I collected twelve stars.

Two for you, two for me.

Two for everyone in this room.

I spread them out, nice and far.

The stars for you were sweet little balls of candy.

The stars for me were pictures of dreams.

The stars for my friends were sparkles of their own colors,

Specially designed fireflies.

You held your precious stars close to your heart.

I forgot what they looked like by sunset,

But after sunrise

You've returned to me with their sparkly essence.

Too bad some people don't take time and consider your stars as something special like I do.

I know how to treasure these stars.

Flee from those who reveal your pain.

Those who make you feel alone.

Forgive me if these stars wound you.

I will bring you new ones.

Fill you with warmth and joy.

These stars prove my unrequited love for you.

"Jeez guys," Makoto groaned out loud, "don't make such a big deal out of it... I'm just walking her home."

Yuri scratched the back of her neck. I watched as she parted her hair to reach the skin, but under there seemed redder than what I figured. "It must be a little nice, though," she mused.

"Well... Ah..."

"It's okay, Makoto." Sayori rolled her eyes; I was sure they lost their color for a moment, "You don't have to say it."

I stood up from my desk and slapped the notebook across his chest, adding a small wink for flavor. "Let the words you shared today do the talking."

He grabbed his book from me and harrumphed right back. "Whatever... let's go already."

Once the duo left the scene, all was quiet. Natsuki grabbed her things and took off without another word, not wanting anything more to do with the festival until tomorrow, I supposed. Monika ambled back to the desk to find her keys in that huge school bag she had. She's been a little slow since her episode, so it'd be unrealistic for her not to catch up on whatever's been messing with her time. I plopped back on my desk and rubbed my temples in place of an achy forehead.

Reciting poems, did I do that? I could've sworn that's what the club did today, but I must've been daydreaming through it all. Screw not getting enough sleep. Sayori had better rest easy tonight, or I'd personally take the whole club on a camping trip.

Actually, that didn't sound like a bad idea.

"H-hello, Naomi."

The walking aura of sophistication and politeness shuffled to my left, her school bag the instrument between us both. Yuri seemed to better excel in conversation when the pressure to actually converse wasn't hovering over her, but this was the first time she approached me since I made my debut.

"Hi." I greeted her with a little less formality. "Crazy day it's been, right?"

She frowned and shook her head, "I would agree, b-but if I may..."

I readied myself for an inevitable lecture on word choice or metaphors to include with my next poem. Her advice was very welcomed when we shared - or so I believed - which meant there would be plenty of potentials to improve after today. I breathed in... and out and looked to her in wait. "Go on, it's fine."

"It would, uhm, it would be nice to spend a little time with you this evening..." A hand brushed over her face to move a hair lock before lingering, "With you being new and all, it must be a little uncomfortable navigating our club's nuances. Are you f-free, by chance?"

"M-me?" My idiot self babbled.

Monika let out a hearty chuckle, "Ahahaha, no Naomi! The desk you're sitting on!"

It totally wasn't the beautiful lily next to me making my face red, just Monika... "Sh-shut up!"

"Teehmhmhmph!" But she took the president's joke better than I have, biting her lips to stifle her own laughter. "S-sorry! Hehehe, I guess you don't want to have as much fun as you did today."

Huh, someone's been developing a pragmatic attitude.

I swallowed down my fluster and pulled out my phone, sending a quick message to my parents. "Challenge accepted, ma'am. I'm inclined to learn what this 'fun' means to the talented likes of you!"

"Oh... okay. Uhm, I hav- have to get something from my locker. Shall we meet at the front of the building?"

"Will do. See you soon." I gave her a friendly grin and started to follow her out the door, Monika in tow. Yuri separated from us and headed to the opposite end of the hall.

Meanwhile, we strolled down the stairs and let the halls echo our steps.

"That was one of the most interesting things I've seen Yuri do..." she shared with me on the way outside the doors. "The shy and quiet reader, asking the newest member for an evening out. Bizarre..."

I nodded along with her, "Understand where you're coming from, but... has she always been 'shy?'"

"Since the moment I found her cuddling with a book in the school library two years ago." We pushed the doors open and found ourselves in the late afternoon sun as it raced to meet the horizon. My lips curled upward in the nostalgia of the moment. Monika was the first friend I walked out of the building with, and we pondered heavily on the direction her club's members were going despite my first day.

She swung her bag over her shoulder and turned to me with a faint blush on her cheeks. "You watch her back for me, okay? She hasn't had the most... stellar experiences with people in the school, and I don't want to have to get on your case."

"Eh-I wouldn't-what! Isn't that her responsibility to tell me?"

"It's my responsibility to make the club a safe place, Naomi. And - if you recall - I was right in saying you'd be able to invest in said club. You've been doing so well, and I'm thankful for the impact you've been making."

My mind churned over her words in a battle against an unidentifiable feeling in the back of my neck. She was right. Everybody is a little closer together than before, but I haven't been the only contributor.

Natsuki and Yuri shared their hobbies when Makoto and I first joined. Sayori's been a peacekeeper, and Makoto had some taste when bringing folks on track, save for earlier today. So... "What have I done?"

Monika smiled... squinted... and turned away, hopping down each step individually. "You tell me, Nay. The club has been a little more breathable with you around. Maybe it's more than what you've done. Maybe it's not. Perhaps someone else can spell it out for you!" And with nothing more than a wave, she trotted off the school grounds to wherever her home lay.

"This is my f-favorite place to go when time is on my side..." Yuri paced herself down rickety wooden steps, decomposed by the tides of time. When we reached the bottom of this hill condensed by foliage, the view beyond stole my breath. A small slope stretching North to South followed the quiet river. Across the waters was nothing but the forest and skies; it would be miles until you reached a big city. We were a local district, less polluted by noise and business... Imagine living in a town of around three thousand citizens, only a few miles away from a city of - say - four hundred thousand. It's isolation at optimal convenience.

Even so, nobody told me about the landscape Yuri revealed just now.

I stood with my jaw hanging, amazed by the beauty of the world around me. It harkened to my "olden days" and left me with a sense of belonging. The world was my place to make-pretend friends as a child, conquer foul beasts, tell Mommy and Daddy grand stories of heroism and adventure. So... recounting memories from a simple view made me feel-

"A-are you okay, Naomi?" the one who took me here was already sitting on the slope, hands supporting her from behind, and she looked back at me with a small frown.

"Yeah, uhm... just... admiring the view," I stumbled in reply before making my way to sit next to Yuri. "I must have judged you a little too quickly, thought you were more of a homely person."

Her frown disappeared, and she let herself be immersed by the waters before us. "Well... you aren't entirely wrong. Home is where I do my work, make my food, take care of my cat, and read the hours away. It's just that - sigh - staying indoors is not a good thing to do all the time."

"I get you," I concurred, "a little variety keeps us all sane."

"Absolutely." She sighed, and her exhale felt so alleviating that I reflexively did the same.

We were alone, but I wasn't bothered by the fact. No students had the chance to pop into the nurse's office—no parents with the opportunity to creep on our conversations. I was free for the time being. Poems and homework could wait. Yuri and the world in front of me were all I had to deal with for now, and she wasn't troublesome.

"I-uhm, N-Naomi..." said lady spoke up, "It's not my place to say, b-but I believe you have been stressed for quite some time."

Knock on wood, I prayed I haven't, "You think so?"

"Well... when you consider joining a new club, dealing with our antics, and being confronted by us in various degrees, I would say stressed is an accurate assessment."

I gave her words some thought, "Perhaps. Is this your way of apologizing for what happened yesterday? If so, uhm, thanks."

"Mhm, actions speak louder than words. Literature has a knack for broadening one's opportunities to communicate with others."

"That's an interesting statement, Yuri. You're smarter than the others give you credit for."

"Th-thank you, bu-bu-but this isn't all about me." Her cheeks turned pink, and she turned away the moment I caught her with my compliment. How long was she looking at me?

No matter. I was free to let my walls down, and I only had her to thank. I put my hands behind my head and eased onto the grass, a comfy position to see the sparkly constellations above. Finally, I was at ease and could focus on the senses around me.

Bright little white dots satisfied my eyes. The rustling leaves and trickling waters left me with a slight thirst. The heat from my friend next to me sent a chill down my spine.

Wait, that's not right.

I slightly tilted my head to - just - look at Yuri. Her relaxed complexion, her beautiful purple eyes. Her tan sweater. The relaxed posture she had as she sat, her darkened wavy hair in the night, and hiding figure... No one would be lying if they said she was attractive, but it should not have taken so long for me to notice.

How could I be so indecent? This was not part of the taking-care-of Monika told me to do. She'd have my head if someone found out. So I scooted down the slope a little bit so Yuri could be accountable.

"I'm sorry I don't have much to say, Yuri." I cleared the quiet to quell the warmth in my face.

"Don't apologize. A-all I want is company..." she stuttered.

And we stayed in silence, enjoying life for just a little longer.

OoOoO

I was a vivid dreamer. Remembering the antics that occurred in slumber was a rarity, but certain images would make their way from deeply rooted memories to my subconscious. One of my favorite memories stemmed far back into my childhood, where my parent's lives weren't hectic, and they always had time in the evenings for me.

We had a picnic in our American backyard, one with hamburgers and muffins. We went the whole nine yards that day; my grandparents had shown up with our cousins, aunts and uncles - heck, the whole family system was together. I was the youngest of the cousins, and the oldest of them took a liking to me. A sweet redhead named Christina - nine years my senior - sat quietly with the adults on the picnic blanket rather than playing with the kids. Not being a fan of activities and "making well with the tykes" myself, we passed the time listening to the elderly conversations.

At some point, I had grown tired of listening to their yakking, and Christina had noticed all too easily. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, big stretches, and vocal yawns. It was my bedtime, but it was a special Sunday night where bedtimes were extended... just so the kids could really tucker out and the adults could have more leisure.

"C'mere you!" The teen grabbed me from where I sat mid-yawn and tickled me 'round the waist, belly and back. I flopped over on the blanket, laughing, and then she readjusted me.

Underneath the sparkling heavens and near the warmth of the campfire, my head rested in my favorite cousin's lap for the last time I'd remember. One tender hand hung over my tummy, and the other ran fingers through my hair, hypnotizing me into a state between slumber and consciousness. With times like these, I was able to hone in on what went on through my ears. Sweet, soft Kansan dialect buttered every word spoken to me in my blissful comfort. However, none of her sayings ever came to recollection, and I am certain to this day that they've impacted my love for music and making other people happy.

It's almost as if I felt her still. Slow and careful patterns traced across my head and trickled on my face. Warmth flushed about where I lied. The sounds of nature and an angelic stuttering whisper tingled my ears.

I opened my eyes to see a lake reflecting the light of the heavens above. Lush green blades of grass filled my peripherals, and my head rested atop two thighs covered by black socks, her feet protected by way of tan boots.

Yuri had me in her lap.

Something set aflame inside me like never before as I twisted my head to the face above me, something ambitious and weighty. My body shuddered.

She picked up on my movements, and I felt her hands stiffen. "S-s-s-sorry... This... this is... is this okay?" Her face lit up, but I saw the heaviness in her irises. Is this what she wanted, to take care of me, hold me, fill me with relief and a space to be?

I adjusted myself rather quickly. Before my mind could catch up to my heart, I've entangled her in an embrace and ended up on top. Her chest pressed into mine, her legs instinctively curled around my own. It was time to do or die, and we were barreling toward the former, unmatchable desperation to act upon what was unthinkable mere hours ago.

"A-are... Are we ok-kay?" I mumbled, mere centimeters between our eyes. I could stare into her purples and find the ends of the universe, bathe in the feeling of our meshing body heat.

Panting was her reply. Her breath dispersed about my lips and mine right back. We inched just a bit closer... a bit closer was all we needed.

BZZZT! BZZZT!

The world wouldn't leave us alone.

The weight of our scenario dawned upon us, and I scrambled off of Yuri to reach into my pocket and pull out my phone. One text message was sent to me from Sayori of all people, and I knew if it was in the evening, it wasn't any good. "Help me, they're so loud omg"

"I-uhm, Yuri. We have to go. Like - now."

She nodded and shook the deep red from her face. "Y-yeah?"

Our legs tore through the streets of the town, blazing past the odd passerby with urgency. Yuri's neighborhood was quiet in the dark, and its homes were nice and beautiful until you got closer to the school, but people liked to be out and about for reasons of their own. Within three blocks of the baseball grounds nearby, you've practically traversed an invisible line separating established estates from "livable" houses. But the city never sleeps, and I've been given good reason to remain awake.

I pounded on my phone, pulling Mom up from my contacts, and yanked the device towards my ear. That familiar buzz mattered more to me than it should've; Mom always picked up after the third ring, and I was already en route to Sayori's, but when there was no room for patience, every second mattered.

"Hello, Naomi? Why aren't you home yet? You're usually home before sunset. Don't tell me you've been having too much fun away from-"

"Sorry - huff - it's been crazy - huff - today," I panted my way through the words traveling a zillion kilometers per hour, falling out of cadence with my running, "I'm still with Yuri and we're in a hurry and... and... Sayori-"

Mom cut me off in the same way I did to her, "Naomi, stop."

"B-but Mom, I can't-"

"Yes, you can."

Despite how infuriated I was with her sternness, I halted myself and swallowed, feeling the jitters crawl up and down my legs and arms. Yuri was on the fence between putting her arms overhead or hands on her knees as she breathed hard. "Sayori texted me that she needs help. She told me this morning that she had mean voices and rainclouds that follow her around. I promised her I'd support her if she needed me, and I have to get to her."

Silence came from the other end of the line, lasting longer than I wanted to, until a heavy sigh. "You're just like your father, aren't you? Your heart is so big, and you're extremely kind to your friends. That's why you have to slow down, use that smart brain of yours, and be confident in yourself. Have faith in your friends, too, because I know they believe in you."

I fumbled with the phone and looked at the screen to be sure I called the right person. "How do you know that?"

"Oh, silly, I trust my husband. When I need him, he's there for me, and I for him. Sayori and all the others will believe in you because you believe in them. Right?"

"I... I hope." Lord, yes, I have hoped. My doubts have met me ages ago, and we became good friends over time.

"That's good enough. Now think, and utilize your resources. Okay? Call me if you need anything else. Dad's got a client meeting here for an entrepreneur-esque proposal, so it's better that you stay out and play."

"We're not playing, but okay, Mom. I love you."

It was faint, but I heard a soft giggle. Mother was always kind and generous and full of humor, but her laughter was a rarity. "We love you too. We truly do."

She hung up, leaving my own end with a dry buzz. I loved her. I would have taken a bullet to believe everything she told me, but something nicked me in the back of the neck like a pinched nerve. For the first time, I felt something deeply paranormal antagonize me.

"Give, give, and give.

It only makes your heart more malleable, Naomi.

It's a slow, agonizing fade when you give yourself away."

I could find a balance between the two arguments made in my favor. Just for today, one more day, I could pay the price to help my friends. I've been doing so since 2 AM. What's the worst that could happen?

To our left was a house on the corner of the street. I overheard muffled conversation through its walls. There was no light on the inside, but the smaller voice from within locked my feet into the ground.

The door flew open and swung outside, smacking into the metal railway guarding three measly steps to a cracked sidewalk. A ginger with a plaid long sleeve glanced my way from the inside, various stains all over its front. He shook a can in his left hand, liquid flying out of the container as he yelled with a heavy slur.

"You thhink you'll be a better girl whhhoring with that strangerr, knock yurself out!"

His daughter in question stomped out of the house with a hoodie that covered her face, even though I could see one of her iconic pink bangs flopping out from the middle. "Papa," she groaned as her legs trampled the ground, "please just go to bed."

"Don't tell yur father what to do!" He stumbled down the first step and grabbed the door, whirling it with him to slam himself back inside. His clearly drunken voice wasn't done yaking as he had the audacity to babble on and on until the cows came home, "Good fer nuthin piece of..."

Natsuki puttered down the sidewalk, each step growing quieter as her feet drove her toward me. Her hoodie was charcoal black, but unlike her guardian's outfit, hers was well kept. No stains or undone stitchings were spotted. It just seemed like a worn sweater, flapping against what little breeze traveled through the area. Her blue jeans didn't fare as well, the ends scuffing along the ground behind her shoes. Someone got the pair with a little too much length, I guessed.

She didn't stop walking until her head bumped into my chest. "I hate today," she muffled through her clothes.

"Y-yeah. Today sucks. Why'd you come outside?" I snapped out of my observation and rose my arms but didn't know whether to touch her or not. She's never given me direct permission, and I did not feel like being called an idiot. Not now.

"It's better that you get the shorty than the drunken sailor," she scoffed before stepping back and pulling off the hoodie. "Count your blessings, dummy."

I suppressed the urge to vomit. Yuri was rendered catatonic. Red marks splashed around the little girl's neck, and the same hue was found on her right cheek.

What, what on God's green earth, what happened to her? Why has this happened to her? Yet what scared me the most was the correlation between the entirety of today and the one antagonistic thought, the thought which gargled saltwater in the back of my brain since it came to me...

A strangled howl escaped me as I turned away from Natsuki, "What the hell is happening to everyone?!"

"Naomi," she barked back, "Be rational! I'm fine for now. You're the one who's running around town like a lunatic today."

Yuri piped up in agreement which I found intriguing in hindsight. "I-it's true. As much as I don't like prying, you've seemed very stressed, and... it was best for you to take a step back. That's why most everyone left without you today.

That did it. Everyone kept trying to put me in my place. Connor, the club, my parents. No one knew my limits except for myself and someone up and had to cross the line.

"No, you're not," I argued against the ladies as I marched across one more block before turning south. At the moment, I couldn't have cared less if that egotistical and pushy Pinkster turned right back to her father for the night. "No one is fine! Everybody's got some kind of issue with themselves, and I'm the one it gets forced onto. I thought I was catching a break when I joined the club, but it doesn't seem to be that way now, does it?"

They chose to follow me, saying nothing of the sort. No answer, no sorry, no plea, no backtalk.

"For Pete's sake, does it, Nat?!"

"Who said I wanted your help, Nay?"

I turned around and slowed down, just as Mom advised me to... just for now. "Well... not directly, but..."

She lifted her sullen head, somehow holding herself high against my cloud of rejection. "And who never told me no?"

My stomach boiled with a strange concoction of anger, compassion, and regret. I experienced too many things in only a few days and had to sit with it all like I was programmed to. To reject the life I chose to live was asking for everyone around me to put on their shoes and walk out my door. I couldn't live with myself.

What choice did I have? If someone strikes you, turn the other cheek. If they ask you to carry their luggage one mile, carry it two. If they trust you, trust that you can depend on them too. With a couple of kicks against the base of my shoes, I walked onward and tried clearing my mind for the night's next potential monstrosity. Did I want to?

Deep down, yeah.

"I'm sorry, Natsuki," I babbled quietly, "I know you don't mean harm, and that home isn't great today, but it gets taxing on my end now and then. I'm glad to be your friend, but we all have a friend in need."

"Monika? You mentioned everyone, but I guessed she was not herself with being late and all."

"I'm going to Sayori's."

Her tone changed in an instant, concern as her method of conveyance. "She... needed more than a cookie but I wasn't gonna tell her straight up."

"Yeah, she'd think you're a cutie for that."

I looked toward the bubblegum lady, and she glared back at me, a pouty expression on her lips.

"Baka. I know that look."

"Thanks, Nat. Love ya too."

Quicker than I was able to react, Natsuki reared a fist and smacked me in the arm. Pain shot up and down the nerves, leaving a lingering sensation. "Don't test me! You know I hate that kinda talk!"

"Ourrch, thanks..." I groaned and rubbed where she made direct contact.

Yuri giggled quietly, but it got the whole of us laughing along. Just a moment of wholesome reverie is all I could've asked for.

We crossed another of many streets, the smaller houses making way to a more suburban area as we traveled south. Sayori sent me her address over text whilst hanging out yesterday, so locking in her home by GPS wasn't difficult. The sun had completely set, and the moon and stars illuminated the sky.

The house we arrived at wasn't lit up, and there were no vehicles in the driveway, leaving a hollow feeling hanging in my chest. Natsuki wrapped herself around my arm. I took comfort in inadvertently bringing a friend with me and kept her close.

Giving a phone call didn't seem appropriate; I could have done so a long time ago, yet the communication between Sayori and myself couldn't've been... interpretable. Simply, I had to believe in her.

What was I so nervous for?

I knocked three times on the doorway and tried the faulty-looking doorbell on its right. Faulty it was. "Sayori, it's Naomi. We're coming-"

"Wait, do you hear her?"

I shifted Pinky's hold on me with an inquisitive stare, "What're you talking about?"

"Listen!" Her cheek and ears were against the entry, and her body shook with cryptic energy I haven't seen in the past.

Sure, let's dillydally and waste more time analyzing the problem away from the problem.

But I didn't even get the chance to do such a thing. Natsuki reached across me and shook the doorknob until it gave way and bolted inside right after. Unlike the skimpy mouse she was being, I tripped over the frame between the inside and outside. Down on the floor, it became clear to me what Natsuki heard from upstairs...

"Get out of my head...

Get out of my head...

Get out of my head...

Get out of my head..."

On and on, never-ending, a tragic chorus to a song that played over and over like a broken record. Sayori chanted the same phrase in a losing battle of mind over heart. Desperate to beat Natsuki to the punch, I scrambled to get up and took off the same way she went, turning on all the light switches I passed by.

"I-Should I call for help?" Quaking Yuri went unanswered, standing at the door in fright.

We ascended a set of stairs, rounded a corner one hundred eighty degrees. Pastel yellow spun, blinding my eyes with every switch I flicked upward to eliminate the midnight blue. And then, down the hallway and creaky (yet modern) floorboards, we trod lightly. At the end of the hallway was an open room, disorganized with a torn calendar, a sock atop a chair, olden plushies fallen over beside an open closet.

No Sayori.

I backpedaled and used my ears, hearing my pounding pulse as it threatened to escape from its bony confines, but I still heard her. My foot caught itself on something hard, her phone on the floor face-first. Picking it up revealed my message I sent to her. "Hold on, don't stop fighting the voices."

The door it was next to was bigger than the one down the hallway, and our friend in need was clearly inside, repeating that same uncanny chant. At least it was a command rather than a message of succumbing to.

(*)

Natsuki clamped her poor shivering self on the back of my jacket. If she was afraid, then there must be a good reason. I gently opened the door and flicked the light switch to my right with a quiet announcement.

"Sayor-"

"PUT THE GUN DOWN SAYORI!"

The next few seconds were a blur, but I felt it all slow to a crawl.

Natsuki shrilled so loudly that my ears rattled as she detached herself and shoved past my arm. The one she yelled at in question was curled against a giant velvet red bed, indicating this was a master bedroom. Her eyes barely held any recognizable color, and the collar of her pink shirt was a terrible mess of snot and tears.

My neck tightened convulsively in discomfort.

In front of her collar was a pistol against her jaw. Sayori's fingers were never on the trigger, but that could have easily changed, and it did. Natsuki's cry made her flip out. I watched in horror as she chucked the gun right past the other's head. It smacked the wall and created a dent.

My body ached.

Everyone gaped as the weapon tumbled to the ground. Bang.

BANG

A tsunami of burning pain flooded my chest. I dropped Sayori's cell and gripped my body tightly, but didn't feel any warm liquid. Everything hurt so bad I couldn't care for Sayori's frantic screaming that "it was a blank." She was right. There wasn't a hole in my body.

It was darkness... a gaping hole of darkness in front of me. Pain ushered me into the hole, failing to stop for my silent cries.

(*)

I can't breathe.

Are my friends okay? No present injuries or scars.

Okay. Good.

I can't brearge.

My friends live to see another day, and we can all have fun tomorrow and watch the sunrise and

I can'

no one will cause trouble because I will be there to make sure it doesn't happen. People rely on me, and I love everyone

I brcant helpeathe

too much to look at the log in my own eye.

There's a log in my eye?

Why is everyone turning away from me?

What did I do wrong?

Just tell me to go if you don't want me. I'll be fine on my own. And you can always call me back.

Reach.

Try.

Sometimes, poems are never finished.

Not because the poem stops moving.

Rather, the writer suffocates in his words, and nobody cares to pull him out.

aHR0cHM6Ly9kcml2ZS5nb29nbGUuY29tL2RyaXZlL2ZvbGRlcnMvMWprdXNMVEVxZXE5aW8yUS1NRk9LOFg3cUxOUGxYYy16

Police and health officials surrounded the home under Sayori's family name. An anonymous neighbor contacted emergency services, claiming there has been an altercation in the home at roughly 9:30 PM. Three women were there; one man has been whisked away to a nearby emergency hospital. No further information was allotted from anyone, including the conscious parties present at the scene of the said altercation.

I passively watched from my bedroom window as he fell with the chaos, grateful to have silenced him and thereby bring my story to its initial ebb and flow. He never knew that I know what's best. It was my happy ending to have and hold. My control of who needs to be impressed belonged to no one else.

The choices are mine alone to make. I don't need you to find good fortune for me.

OoOoOoOoO

Author's Notes

Important: It turns out people cannot copy-paste the Base 64 codes. So I will provide the results at the bottom of every chapter with a cryptic code, message, or symbol.

One of the very last - potentially controversial - decisions I had to make involved how I would portray the character of Yuri. In the base game, I consider her as the most mature; she has a levelheadedness in the midst of her self-consciousness and sufferings in communication. When the Second Act rolled around, there's been many scenarios where we could find Yuri "ashamed by her actions," but my interpretation sought forth these acknowledgments that she knows/is better than what she's done/said.

That coins Yuri the Doki with the most tragedy, the greatest cross to bear. Her worst traits spiraled out of control in a fate that scars me to this day. Heck, the script didn't even know how to act!

Putting the elegant lady aside, there's a lot of content we can delve into from here. Some things we'll explore in the upcoming Act will include Makoto, Connor (the bulli meanie), and the background of Naomi. Some of these topics are a given, but others will be more complex than initially designed. What avenues will Sayori take to alleviate the voices in her mind? How and why does Natsuki toughen up with the crap her father's given her? The heck does Monika do to cover up her anxiety/panic disorder(s)and where do they come from - has she always had them?

I know how I want my story to end, regardless of the character relationships and their endgame circumstances. Getting there is what makes TRTT entertaining to me. Honestly, this first Act has been rocky, and I still aim to freshen it up. The problem is that I'm a busy man who doesn't always have time to write. Kinda sucks!

That's about all I got for now. The first chapter in the upcoming Act will be a doozy, so please look forward to it!

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