A month.
Dimly, MC kept his eyes trained on an empty, bare point of Yuri's bedroom wall, unobscured by the horror posters and knife-shelves. He found himself unable to do much of anything else in the wake of Dr. Cynthia's absence.
Well, he supposed that was only to be expected. He was paralyzed, after all. But even aside from that tiny detail, MC thought the diagnosis he'd just been provided with had somehow made him even more immobilized than before, only allowing him to stare into that one spot on the wall with that one, singular thought in his brain.
A whole month.
His attention to the world outside of this infinitely repeating concept was at a whole new low, allowing him to just barely pick up the faint voices of the girls talking around him.
"Um, h- here." He heard Yuri's embarrassed voice and he felt the warm, heavy blanket being pulled back over his body, saving what little remained of his dignity. A gesture he probably would have appreciated greatly just a few minutes ago, although he now found himself unable to really care about it that much.
"O-kaaay." Natsuki's voice came next. "So, that was another incredibly uncomfortable and frankly horrifying bit of insight we got into Monika's past and personal life. You really grew up with that woman?"
"Well… yeah." Monika said. "She used to be my nanny when mom and dad went on their business trips. A lot of what I know now, I learned from Cynthia."
"God, that makes way too much sense…" Natsuki said.
"I… think I would very much like to hear a second opinion from another doctor." Yuri spoke up. "To be perfectly frank, this Cynthia didn't seem very… well, sane, to me."
"I'll admit that she's gotten a bit… eccentric." Monika said. "But I assure you, her medical skills are no joke. If she's confident in the diagnosis she's reached with a patient, then chances are it's correct. Trust me, she's singlehandedly kept me and my family healthy our entire life."
"Physically healthy, maybe…" Natsuki mumbled under her breath.
A sudden, choked sobbing noise by his side actually managed to divert MC's attention away from the wall to look out of the corner of his eyes.
Sayori's face had turned red, her eyes shut in tight effort to contain the tears streaming down her face.
"Sayori?" Monika asked, immediately alert. "What's wrong?"
"I- I did this…" She stuttered in a hoarse voice. "M- me and m- my Arrangement… hurt MC. Th- this is all m- my- my fau-"
Although it physically hurt his chest to hear Sayori cry, MC found he still couldn't conjure up the energy to speak and comfort his childhood friend. He felt more useless than ever before.
Thankfully, it seemed Natsuki had his back.
Moving faster than the others, she hurried onto the bed where Sayori was sitting, enveloping her in a comforting hug.
"No, no, shhh." She soothed in a much softer voice than what was usual for her. "This isn't on you or the Arrangement, don't worry. This is all Monika's fault."
"Uh- excuse me, what?" Monika said, blinking.
"You heard me." Natsuki snapped back, her soft voice evaporating on the spot. "MC would have been perfectly fine right now if you hadn't commanded him to go off schedule just so you could bang his brains out. Clearly, it was that extra bit of effort that tipped the scales and paralyzed him!"
"Oh, please." Yuri said, sounding like she'd had enough. "If we are truly to accept this Cynthia's diagnosis, then it's been the continuous accumulation of physical strain we've built up in him for the past four months, not any single event from today. And I regret to say that when it comes to putting MC through stressful activity, you are easily the worst offender, Natsuki."
"What?!" Natsuki yelled, breaking her hug with Sayori and standing up in bed to face Yuri head on. "What the fuck did you just say to me?!"
"From the moment MC enters your house, you set him to work." Yuri said, her voice hard. "You've been forcing him to bake for hours on end, every single day. Furthermore, as if all that wasn't bad enough, you add directly to the stressful environment by yelling at him all the while! Is it really any wonder that his body shut down after everything you put him through?!"
No- that's not right… a low voice stirred in MC's head.
"I know this must be really hard for someone like you to understand." Natsuki retorted, suppressed fury audible in every layer of her voice. "But most people don't break down immediately at the prospect of doing a bit of simple work like you do. Heh, that's probably why you still don't have a part-time job!"
Stop- don't say that to her… The low voice grew stronger, louder.
"Oh, how very mature of you!" A wide, downright manic smile spread across Yuri's face, completely devoid of any form of humor. A clear warning sign. "Still doesn't disprove my argument, though. Did you perchance ever stop to consider how MC felt about visiting you? Did the thought never cross your mind that 'hey, maybe I should use our time together on something that doesn't just directly further my own future career! Maybe I should ask him what he might like to do! Maybe, just fucking maybe, he would like to finally spend some down time with me and just relax like a normal couple?!'"
That's- not how I felt about it at all! Stop putting words in my mouth!
Natsuki narrowed her eyes.
"Just what the fuck are you trying to say?"
Sayori- Monika- anyone! Step in! Stop them before it's too late!
But one glance at the girl still whimpering weakly by his side told him all too well that Sayori was still way too distraught to mediate anyone right now. He turned his head to the other side, only to find that Monika appeared to have fallen into one of her old trances again, where she would just stand idly by and watch whenever her Club members got into intense arguments, unable to break out of it herself, unable to interfere.
Watching in silence while her friends tear each other apart… just like I used to do.
Just like I AM doing.
"My sincerest apologies for not making it more clear to you. I'll try explaining it in simple terms that even you should be able to understand." Yuri went on, her distressed smile growing wider as her pupils shrank.
"You treat MC like an employee, not a boyfriend!"
A slap to the face from Yuri would have probably gotten a milder reaction. Natsuki looked completely incensed, face scarlet as her entire body vibrated in anger.
She was about to explode, and everyone would be caught in the fallout.
"Listen to me very carefully, you self conceited, vain, stuck-up bi-" She started.
"STOP!" MC bellowed, snapping out of his own trance at last. "Please, just stop!"
A stunned silence filled up the room. Everyone turned to stare at him, surprised at his outburst.
He could recall the early days of the Literature Club, back when he'd first started attending. During this time, the girls had constantly gotten into fights almost every single day, usually because of some stupid, insignificant thing he'd done. And while they'd fought, he'd just stood by like Monika for some reason, not intervening at all as their arguments kept escalating to new heights.
Their friendships had nearly been torn apart on many such occasions, just because of his inaction and unwillingness to step in between them. It'd been a long while since they'd last fought, owing in part to the success of the Arrangement, but also because he'd finally stopped being the passive bystander he'd used to be in crisis situations and actually interfered.
He couldn't afford to freeze up feeling sorry for himself ever again. The cost of inaction was just too high.
What would have happened if he hadn't reacted when discovering Yuri's cutting addiction?
What if he'd stood by and watched as Natsuki's father beat her to death?
What if I'd presumed Sayori to be dead and gone like Yuri and Nat did and just left her hanging in that noose?
With great effort, MC tried shifting around his shoulder muscles, attempting to prop himself more upright in the bed without the use of his arms to help him. He'd promised himself long ago that he'd never be caught standing by when he could help again, and if this paralysis thought it could make him break this vow, it'd be sorely mistaken.
"Please." He kept going, lowering his voice now that the room had quieted down. "Let's not go back to the old days of yelling and pointing fingers on my behalf. I don't want that. It physically hurts my heart when you fight like that. I love all of you, and I love spending time with you. Whether we're watching movies, or baking, I don't care! It doesn't matter what we end up doing, as long as we're together. Now listen, I don't blame any of you for what happened to me, so please, stop blaming each other. Try to remember that you all love each other, and that's why we got this whole Arrangement started, okay?"
He stopped talking to catch his breath, hoping that this impromptu, rambling speech of his had been at least somewhat coherent.
He looked towards Natsuki and Yuri, focusing on the latter. The smile she'd been putting up as a front had disappeared completely and her pupils were steadily turning back to normal. Without the manic traits, her expression quickly turned into a much more "normal" state of distress.
"Y- you're right." She said timidly, her purple eyes swelling. "Oh Natsuki, I'm- I'm s- so sorry. I d- didn't mean to d- doubt your love for MC. P- please, forgive me."
Natsuki visibly grit her teeth as her eyes began to water as well. She opened her mouth as if to say something, perhaps a stinging insult at Yuri, but closed it before any sound came out. Her eyes shifted back and forth, confused.
MC thought he knew her well enough to have an idea of the turmoil going on inside of her. She'd built up all this anger, barely keeping it contained, bubbling just beneath the surface, ready to unleash it. But then the target of all this fury, Yuri, apologized first?!
She no longer had anyone to aim her anger at, no outlet for her release, and was left to stew in silence instead.
"I- I'm s- s- sorry." She choked out after a few minutes. "T- to b- both of y- you, Monika, Y- Yuri. I don't- I didn't- fuck!"
Without saying anything else, she jumped off the bed and stormed out of the room.
"N- Natsuki!" Yuri called out in concern and motioned to follow her, but was stopped by Monika who'd thankfully awoken from her trance after hearing him yell.
"Let's just give her a few minutes by herself to cool off." She said quietly, and hugged Yuri.
MC sent a silent thought of gratitude to Monika for being there to comfort Yuri for him. He knew Nat would be okay. After getting a few minutes of alone time to compose herself, she'd eventually return like she always did in these situations, so no reason to worry about that just now. Instead, he was free to focus entirely on cheering up Sayori again.
He turned his head to see her still sitting by his side in the bed, her sobbing having died down a bit into mild sniffling. But one look at her face made it obvious that she still wasn't in a very good place.
"Hey, Sunshine." He spoke up, flashing her his best attempt at a winning smile. She raised her head meekly, looking at him as if he was some otherworldly alien being.
"Why don't you come over here?" He suggested.
"O- okay." She obeyed weakly and scooted closer to him.
"Thank you. Normally I would have a big hug ready for you now, but, well, as you might have noticed, my arms are a little… indisposed at the moment." He said, smiling apologetically. "Do you think I could get a little help from my bestie here?"
Sayori made a sound between a sob and a giggle before throwing her arms around his upper torso. As soon as she buried her head into his shoulder, he could feel her breathing become ragged as she began crying anew.
"S- so s- sorry…" She rasped into his shoulder.
"Hey, hey, shhh." MC said, wishing he could clap her back. "I promise you, this isn't your fault. The Arrangement is such a wonderful stroke of Sayori-genius, and I've loved every second of it for these past four months. As it turns out, I'm just too much of a wimp to keep doing it as it is for now."
"Y- you're not a wimp!" Sayori protested, leaning back to look at him with tearstained eyes. "God, I s- should have never insisted on p- playing those Dance Dance games. Should have realized that you a- already had enough on your plate… I even stomped on your foot…!"
"I really don't think the problem lies with the activities I did with any of you." He replied, confidently. "It probably has more to do with me being dumb and deciding to run between all your houses like a lunatic. If anyone here's to blame for this, it would be me."
"D- don't say that!" Sayori exclaimed, giving his chest a soft push. But MC could see the faint hint of a smile starting to form on her face, and kept going.
"In the future, I'll have to stop being such a cheapskate and buy a scooter or something to cut down my travel efforts a bit. How does that sound? We could even get a sidecar for you, and then ride it like we're Batman and Robin! Quick, Sayori! To the MC-Mobile!"
This broke Sayori, like he knew it would. Releasing a great snort of laughter, she collapsed directly on top of him, caught in one of her giggling fits.
Still got it. He thought, satisfied.
"While a charming sentiment, I don't think we're entirely blameless in this dilemma." Yuri said, followed by Monika to join in on the conversation. "We could have tried visiting your house on certain days. You didn't have to go through the effort of traveling directly to us every time."
"Ah, you've seen what my place looks like." He dismissed the suggestion. "It's really not that appealing or noteworthy in comparison."
"True that." Monika nodded, receiving a hard look from both Yuri and Sayori in return. "What?! He just said it himself!"
"We'll keep adjusting the schedule until we get it right, Sayori." MC said, keeping up his smile. "We won't give up until we make this Arrangement work. I promise."
"Exactly." Monika nodded, joining them on the bed and placed a comforting hand on Sayori's shoulder. "Like with all writing, we'll just have to keep trying until it's perfect, and not let ourselves be thrown off by mistakes and set-backs."
"Was… that your Writing Tip of The Day, President?" Yuri smiled, settling herself on the bed as well.
"Told you they can be applied for everyday use." Monika winked back.
The bedroom door then softly creaked open behind them, and Natsuki walked in, staring resolutely down at the large, metal box she was carrying with her.
All heads turned towards her, and she visibly blushed, refusing to meet their eyes.
"Uhm." She mumbled softly. "S- so, uh. I wanted t- to apologize properly for before. I… really didn't want to accuse any of you for causing this. I'm… not sure why I even did it. I think my mouth just kinda runs off on its own when I'm stressed, but… that doesn't excuse me being toxic to you guys."
It looked like it required a great deal of physical effort for her to formulate these words.
"So… sorry, I guess." She went on. "Uh… I got some freshly baked cookies here. Can I like… use them as a bribe to make you forget all the things I said and instantly forgive me on the spot?"
"Only if by eating them I can bribe you to forget about my accusations as well." Yuri said, and the two of them exchanged small smiles.
"Get over here on the bed with us, Nat!" Sayori exclaimed brightly.
Natsuki didn't need to be told twice as she crawled onto the foot end of the bed, and removed the lid on her metal box. Immediately, the lavender smell of Yuri's bedroom was replaced with the scent of chocolate chip deliciousness which seemed to eliminate what little remained of everyone's dour moods.
After taking one for themselves, each of the girls took turns feeding MC cookies, laughing as he clumsily spilled crumbs all over Yuri's bed.
"Uhm. So, MC." Natsuki spoke up again to get his attention. "Now that the Winter Break has started, I'll have a bit more time to actually do things for fun instead of just baking all the time. And uh, I guess you're gonna have all the time in the world. You like Anime, right?"
"I do." He nodded, remembering the old days before the Literature Club where he'd basically stayed inside his house every day after school without leaving like a total NEET, just endlessly consuming animated media. He wasn't entirely certain how fond he should be of these memories, but it wasn't like the Anime was to blame.
"I was thinking…" Natsuki went on, blushing as she looked down at her cookies. "…would you wanna watch a few series with me?"
"Uh oh." Sayori exclaimed, an amused grin on her face. "Is this going to lead to another 'manga vs novels' fight with Yuri about what's more mature, horror movies or Anime?"
"Not at all." Yuri shook her head. "I am perfectly capable of admitting to myself that most of the horror flicks we watch together are utterly ridiculous."
"Are you implying that Anime is ridiculous, Yuri?!" Natsuki piped up, sounding offended.
"Ah- N- no, I d- didn't m- mean t-"
"Relax, I'm joking." Natsuki smiled. "It totally is."
"I'd love to, Nat." MC replied, receiving a bright smile from the pink-haired girl in return. She reached into her box, procuring one of the bigger cookies.
Then, when Natsuki was just about to stuff her cookie in his mouth, she hesitated.
"Wait, no." She said, and he tried not to let the disappointment get to him too much, seeing her deposit the cookie back into the box. "You should probably get the takeout Yuri ordered so you'll get at least some kind of nutrition."
"Oh, of course! I'll get it!" Yuri said, and hurried off to retrieve it from the kitchen. Faint beeps could be heard, most likely as a result of her fiddling with the microwave.
"Look at you!" Monika exclaimed at Natsuki, looking genuinely impressed. "Already taking steps as MC's caretaker!"
Natsuki blushed, saying nothing.
Yuri returned, carrying a steaming Chinese box of noodles. Naturally, she'd taken special care to order his favorite brand that he'd told her about on their very first visit together.
Like with the cookies, they each took turns feeding him bites of that as well, which only got a little embarrassing when Sayori started making airplane noises as she maneuvered the chopsticks into his mouth.
Finally, when he'd consumed the last of the noodles, Yuri cleared her throat.
"So, uhm… loathe though I am to put a dampener on the current good mood, I can't help but feel we should probably discuss where we go from here?" She said, her voice serious. "According to… that Doctor… MC needs to relax for a month before he can begin recovery. I take it we'll need to place him at a hospital and split the pay among us?"
MC suppressed a sigh. He knew this had been coming of course, but that didn't make him any more excited to actually discuss it.
"Eugh, yikes." Natsuki visibly shuddered. "A whole month of laying in a hospital bed, doing nothing? I literally can't think of anything worse, no offense."
"Don't remind me." MC groaned. "And you really don't have to spend money on-"
"MC?" Monika interrupted him. "Please take this in the kindest, most loving way possible: shut the fuck up. I will be handling every expense that comes from this, and there's literally nothing you can do to stop me."
"We'll keep some version of the Arrangement going, to make sure you get visited as much as possible!" Sayori promised. "Uh- how far away is the nearest hospital by the way? I'm… fresh out of bikes."
"Monika can be our chauffeur." Natsuki grinned, overjoyed at the idea of making their President work for her. "Right, Prez?"
"Sure, whatever you- need…" Monika said slowly, her brows suddenly furrowing in a thoughtful expression. As if she'd just had an idea.
That normally doesn't bode well. MC thought.
"Monika?" Yuri asked in mild concern.
"Maybe…" Monika said in the same slow voice, chewing thoughtfully over every syllable. "…maybe he doesn't need to go to a Hospital at all."
"The Hell do you mean by that?" Natsuki frowned. "MC literally can't do anything like this. He's like a super vulnerable man-baby who needs constant care and surveillance."
"But at least I still have my loving girlfriends to respect my dignity as always." MC commented dryly.
"Obviously I know that." Monika waved off Natsuki. "But that doesn't mean he needs some random nurses to take care of him. I think we could do it pretty handedly ourselves."
The room fell into a short-lived silence.
"Wait, what?" MC then said.
"Are- are you suggesting we just take him back to his house and take turns visiting him as his caretakers?" Yuri asked.
"That'd be poetic justice, I s'ppose." Natsuki shrugged. "Making us run around between houses like we made him do. Giving us a taste of our own medicine."
"Let's do that." Sayori said, a bit of the guilt from before still present in her voice. "I'm ready."
An alarming smirk stretched across Monika's face as she looked between the girls, her emerald eyes twinkling mischievously.
"Sure, we certainly could do that." She said. "Or, we move him in with me."
Thanks AWalkingMeme for your continued support! Now I wish I had given Cynthia a bird…