It would have been the perfect time to head outside, doing things you normally never got a chance to do. Building snowmen, having snowball fights with your friends. Heading into a forest just to savor how beautiful the naked branches looked with the glittering white crystals spread across their surfaces like a layer of cold sugar.

And then, after you'd finished taking it all in with your fingers numb from the cold and sniffling up a storm with your stuffy nose, you could head into a cozy, warm café where you'd be treated to a steaming mug of hot cocoa.

It would have been a day just about anyone would have been delighted to partake in and savor, especially when snow came as sparingly as it did in this area. You really had to take advantage of this once-in-a-decade opportunity when it finally arrived.

A shame then that MC had to be stuck in the passenger seat of Monika's car, slumped over and unable to move any part of his body from his shoulders and hips downwards, idly watching through the window as they drove past the winter wonderland of Yuri's street and towards Monika's mansion.

From the rearview mirror, he could see Sayori smiling weakly at him from the middle of the backseat, Natsuki and Yuri on either side of her. Normally having those two in such close proximity to each other only spelled out disaster, but miraculously, nobody was yelling at each other in this moment. In fact, ever since the four girls had collectively carried him into the car and strapped him in, nobody had said so much as a word, the vague humming of Monika's car engine being the only source of sound.

He could hardly blame them, given how things had turned out last night. With none of them getting even a hint of sleep except for him and Sayori, followed by the sudden decision to move in somewhere else, it wasn't really surprising to him that they'd be too exhausted to do anything besides sitting there, quietly.

No sooner had he thought that before Natsuki began rolling down her window, effectively breaking the spell.

"Natsuki, please close the window again." Yuri said, softly. "It's very cold outside."

"Then put on some gloves, I need it open. I get carsick really easily." Natsuki retorted, squinting her eyes at the cold wind that started blasting against her face, ruffling the pink hair all around.

"You can look out the window just fine while it's closed. Opening it doesn't help at all."

"Yes it does, I need to feel the fresh air. If I close it again, I'll literally hurl all over Monika's fancy car."

"Monika's house isn't that far away, you can easily hold out until we get there."

"Likewise, I think you can avoid freezing to death during that time too, so how's about you shut it?"

"Monika." Yuri sighed at the driver in front of her. "Don't you have some override controls of the car windows? Can't you close Natsuki's side and perhaps put a child lock on it?"

"Hey, Monika!" Natsuki exclaimed as well, not taking her eyes from the open window. "Think you can explain to Yuri that not everyone is so sensitive to the cold that they have to wear three whole layers of clothing during the fucking summertime?"

"Please say something to her, President." Yuri grumbled, shooting Natsuki a hard glare. "She's being childish, as per usual."

"Can I suggest turning on Yuri's seat warmer, Monika?" Natsuki asked. "I think her massive behind is in need of some relief given how butthurt she's acting."

"Not to worry, girls!" Monika replied cheerfully from the front, glancing at them through the rear-view mirror as well. "I have the perfect solution to the problem ready!"

Raising a slender finger, she pressed a red button on the car's control panel. There was a sudden, fast "whisking" noise directly behind them, followed by deathly silence.

MC looked up at the mirror again, seeing Yuri and Natsuki who visually looked like nothing had changed, still snapping at each other based on their mouth movements. But strangely enough… their voices had vanished. Although their body language and gestures clearly indicated that their argument was still ongoing with increasing animosity, not a single sound could be heard from either girl.

He turned his head to glance at Monika, who shot him a casual side glance as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

"Monika…" He said, relieved that he could still hear his own voice and didn't have to add "deafness" to his ever-growing list of health issues. "…did you just mute them?"

He didn't know what it said about his past experiences with her that the idea of Monika having a button that somehow turned down the speaking volume of the people around them didn't seem like that outlandish an idea.

"Nifty, right?" She grinned back at him. "I had a mechanic friend install some of my own custom designs to the car. It's a hydraulic-based, transparent, completely soundproof plastic barrier that slides upwards, separating the passengers in the back from us in the front. It's the perfect thing if you want to just drive in peace and not get yelled at by backseat drivers."

"That's… certainly one way to deal with your problems." MC commented dryly, watching as the two girls in the back continued trying to call for Monika's attention, poor Sayori caught in the middle between them. The plastic shield was so clear that they didn't seem to have even noticed their demands falling on deaf ears.

"Oh, don't be like that." Monika giggled lightly. "You can't expect me to be a 100% rational and diplomatic Leader all the time. It's been a long night for all of us, and I really don't wanna have to deal with them right now. Let them squabble amongst themselves and if it gets violent, I'll just activate the knockout gas pumps in the back."

"…you're kidding, right?"

Monika didn't respond, but her smile suddenly turned a whole lot more ominous. MC decided that he really didn't want to know, and went back to idly looking out the car window.

He immediately noticed Monika's extravagant white mansion-home off in the distance, steadily getting bigger as they drove closer. He thought it somehow looked a whole lot more threatening than usual, and he was unable to shake off the sinking feeling of being shipped to a prison complex.

He sighed, heavily.

"Come on, don't be so gloomy." Monika chastised him. "This'll be so much fun, you'll see. Just think, you're gonna live in a palace with four hot girls taking care of your every need. It's basically every warm-blooded guy's dream scenario!"

"Riiight." MC said, sarcastically. "And the part where the warm-blooded guy gets locked inside his own body, unable to move a muscle for the entire month? That a big part of the fantasy, too?"

"You'd be surprised." Monika shrugged. "Try looking for the silver lining. It's not your whole body that's paralyzed, just your arms and legs. The most important part of you is still fully functional, and I guarantee we're going to have a lot of fun with that!"

He gave her a questioning look, and she raised a teasing eyebrow in response, licking her lips very suggestively. Finally getting her meaning, his face heated up and he released an exasperated groan.

"Aw, you're so cute when you get all embarrassed!" Monika giggled.

"You really are incorrigible, you know that?" He said. "I thought the Doctor told me I had to relax this month?"

"What's more relaxing than sex?" Monika asked, making it sound like a genuine question. "Really, I think our session yesterday was the only reason you lasted all the way over to Yuri's, after everything Nat put you through. I bet if we just keep doing it as often as possible, we'll be able to half your recovery time!"

He stared at her in disbelief. She winked at him, playfully.

"What? It's not like you'll have anything better to do with your time for this month!"

"Unbelievable." He shook his head and glanced back in the rearview mirror where it seemed Sayori had managed to break off the fighting between the other girls in a very… Sayori manner. They were now all sitting cross-legged with their eyes closed, the girl in the middle lifting each of their hands as if in the middle of some kind of shared meditative ritual of sorts.

"Is this seriously all that you're taking away from my situation, Monika?" He asked, not wanting to comment on the strange sight in the back. "A new, immobile toy you can play with for a month? I'm starting to think Natsuki might be right about you."

Monika released a bubbly laugh.

"Oh, don't be so silly, MC! Of course that's not how I see this. I'm just acting like this as a desperate coping mechanism after getting scared half to death yesterday!"

He frowned, and looked away from the mirror to really take in Monika. There was nothing out of the ordinary with her upbeat voice, and her face betrayed no hidden emotions as she drove, just smiling vaguely while paying attention to the road ahead of her. There was nothing about her on the surface suggesting that anything was wrong.

But then he looked down to see her hands, each one of them clutching the steering wheel so tightly her knuckles had gone completely white.

"Monika… are you okay?" He asked, feeling the worry swell up inside him when he saw her shake her head briefly, face still neutral.

"Oh no, not at all." She casually revealed. "I haven't been able to calm down or stop screaming internally ever since I got Yuri's text about you collapsing. I'm stressed, tired, and I desperately need a fucking cigarette!"

MC stared at her, mildly alarmed now. She'd quit smoking just a little bit after they'd first started seriously dating, and he remembered being very impressed when she seemingly hadn't experienced any drawbacks at all after having the habit for years. But now, upon looking at her face that didn't match up at all with the words she was saying, he wondered if she was just simply that good at keeping her emotions hidden away.

"W- why?" He asked.

"Why?!" Monika repeated, laughing again. "Maybe because the person I love more than anything else on Earth got seriously hurt after leaving my care! You could have died, getting paralyzed in the snow, and I wouldn't have known before it was too late! Then, when I try to come up with a way to keep you safe and secure in my home, you resist and refuse to tell me why! So yeah, excuse me for acting a bit hornier than usual, but I figure that's probably a better outlet than screaming and pulling my hair out like my instincts are telling me to do! Wouldn't you agree?"

She finished, and his mild alarm was replaced with immediate concern. She hadn't raised her voice even a fraction during this outburst and her face remained casual, still bearing her usual playful smile.

But even with all of that forced normalcy, she wasn't able to hide the small, singular tear protruding from her eye, trickling down her cheek when she shot him a sideways glance.

"Uh…" He hesitated, quickly considering the best course of action he could take here. "…Monika, should we ask Yuri to drive the last bit? I know she hasn't gotten all the way through her driving lessons yet, but if you need a break…?"

"I assure you, I'm perfectly fine." Monika said, and reached up to wipe away the tear, effectively removing the evidence of her emotional status. "Perhaps not so much psychologically, but I'll deal. We're getting you into my home where I can personally monitor your continued safety and ensure that nothing else happens to you. I couldn't possibly be happier now that you're in my care. Everything is awesome!"

Oh no, she's quoting the LEGO Movie now. That's concerning. He thought.

"I'm… sorry, for putting you through this." He said, feeling pathetic and wishing he could place an arm on her shoulder to try and calm her down. "I- I didn't realize it was having this much of an impact on you."

"Tsk, don't you worry about me." Monika dismissed him as she turned, driving them up the snowy road that led to her mansion on the top of the hill. "Let us worry about you, kay? We're really good at that!"

MC gulped, in part because they'd arrived, and in part because he could feel his guilt deepening. If the normally unphased Monika had been this affected by the situation, then he could only imagine how the other, generally much more sensitive girls had to be feeling about this.

He looked back at the mirror as if to check, and was met with a very strange sight. It looked like Yuri and Natsuki had ceased their argument since they were slumped to the sides, both of them with their heads leaned up against either side of Sayori's shoulders, seemingly fast asleep. Sayori looked into the mirror again, meeting his eyes with a confused, wide-eyed stare, looking like she had no clue how exactly she'd managed to achieve this feat herself.

"And… there you go, nice and easy!"

MC breathed a sigh of relief as he finally felt himself being gently lowered onto the soft mattress beneath him, overjoyed and only a little bit surprised at still being conscious.

Of course he was eternally grateful to his girlfriends for carrying him all the way up to one of Monika's guest rooms, although maybe it could have been accomplished by just Yuri and Monika. Getting Sayori and Natsuki involved too, and with each girl wanting to carry their fair share of his body had led to a fair bit of chaos and misunderstandings with the coordination, such as pulling a limb when they should have pushed, and perhaps being a bit too forgetful about his body's limits when getting through some of the narrower doorways.

He found himself actually feeling a little thankful that he couldn't feel his limbs after how often he'd heard his arms and legs colliding with Monika's walls. And even more thankful that they'd only bumped his head against an edge once or twice.

"Thanks." He muttered bleakly, hoping the dizziness would fade away in a bit since he wasn't sure seeing eight pairs of girls all looking down on him in concern was a good sign.

"Uh… perhaps it would be a good idea to t- take off some of his clothes?" The two Yuris said in perfect unison, faces lighting up in embarrassment. "S- so he won't get t- too hot under the covers I mean."

"Excellent idea!" The Monikas exclaimed brightly before thankfully melding back together into one brunette. "Okay everyone, it's time to strip him!"

"You sound way too happy about this." Natsuki commented as she turned on the spot, refusing to look as the other girls converged on him.

With shaking hands, Yuri carefully zipped off his hoodie, carefully avoiding eye contact with him.

In one swift, fluid motion, Monika had whisked off his pants, wagging her eyebrows suggestively as she stared unblinkingly into his soul.

Leaning down by the foot end of his bed, Sayori pulled off his socks, giggling as his feet came into view. Looking at him with a mischievous expression that reminded him of when they were kids, she began tickling his toes only to frown dejectedly once she remembered that he couldn't feel her touch.

"Are… are you comfortable?" Yuri asked him, a mixture of concern and embarrassment in her voice.

"As comfortable as I suppose I can get while being this exposed in my underwear." He replied, flashing her an awkward smile. At least she'd let him keep his t-shirt this time.

"R- right." Yuri blushed, and hurried to lift a thick cover over him.

"Alrighty then!" Monika said, clapping her hands together to get his attention. "So, this is where I thought you'd be staying for the main duration of your time here. It's one of the smaller rooms, but it has windows, a TV, bathroom, basically everything you're gonna need.

MC looked around, noting how this "smaller" room could easily fit half his house inside it. It even had an extravagant crystal chandelier dangling above him, which he already knew would be incredibly anxiety-inducing.

"Well, it's not like I'm gonna need the space to move around in." He joked, trying not to sound too ungrateful despite how uncomfortable he was feeling about this whole thing.

"Don't hesitate to tell me if there's anything you'd like changed." Monika said. "I have a Craftsman friend who's only a call away, and he'll be able to adjust the room to whatever preferences you might have."

MC filed this knowledge in his brain, thinking he'd use it at a later date to get rid of the crystal falling hazard above him. But not today. They'd done more than enough for him today.

"It's fine." He told her. "In fact, it's perfect. Thank you so much guys, I could never have asked for this."

"Ah, it's nothing." Monika waved him off, blushing mildly.

"Is it even legal to be as rich as you?" Natsuki muttered aloud, squinting her eyes as she inspected the enormous flat screen television mounted on the wall.

"Now, I really hate to leave you already." Monika smiled sadly. "But since I'm the only one of us with a driver's license, I'll have to help the others relocate their belongings. And the quickest way to do that is strapping on a trailer, bring everyone with me and drive between their houses to pack the items!"

"Already?!" Natsuki groaned. "But we just got here!"

"The longer we prolong it, the more likely we are to stagnate." Monika said in a lecturing tone of voice. "Might as well just get it over and done with now."

"While I can see the logic in your sentiment, it does admittedly sound rather exhausting." Yuri stifled a yawn.

"Yeah, how are you even still functioning, Monika?" Natsuki asked suspiciously. "You didn't get any sleep last night, same as the rest of us. Is it even safe to drive with you?"

"I can keep on going for a while." She winked, rolling up her sleeves to reveal several pink patches plastered along her arm.

"Caffeine patches." She explained. "Quicker and far more effective than coffee, each patch provides me with an hour and a half of energy!"

"Is that… healthy?" Yuri asked, frowning at the sight of her arm along with Natsuki.

"Cynthia vouches for it!" Monika informed them, rolling down her sleeves again.

"That's not exactly reassuring." Natsuki deadpanned. Monika shrugged, and turned back to MC.

"So we're gonna be gone for a few hours time, do you think you'll be okay during that time?"

"I really doubt I could get into any trouble under these conditions even if I tried." MC said, tilting his head towards his paralyzed limbs.

"Do me a favor then, and don't try." Monika leaned down to plant a small kiss on his forehead. "We'll drive by your place too to pick up your toiletries and spare clothes. Is there anything else you need?"

He considered the question for a moment before replying.

"By my bed, on my nightstand." He said. "There's these two framed pictures of my parents and my little sister. D'you think you possibly…?"

The room echoed with the cascade of "d'awww" noises the girls made.

"Of course we will." Monika said, smiling at him. "Try to get some rest while we're gone, okay?"

"Rich, coming from you." He smirked back. "Couldn't I just get a caffeine patch and just not sleep?"

"Don't be foolish, I do sleep. Once the effect of these wears off I'll literally just pass out on the spot."

Natsuki and Yuri exchanged worried glances from behind.

"Oh right, and one more thing!" Monika snapped a finger before pulling out a sleek, black phone from her pocket, which she then placed on the night desk next to the bed.

"What's that for?" He asked, confused. "I can't really move my hands, so if you're trying to give me some entertainment while you're gone, it won't work."

"Oh no, it's not for that at all." She said. "I really don't feel that good about leaving you here all alone, so I programmed a failsafe before we left Yuri's house. Observe: 'Hey, Cutiepie!'"

A small beep could be heard from the device before a more scratchy, pre-recorded sound file of Monika's voice spoke up.

"Hey yourself, sexy. How may I service you?"

"I hate technology." Natsuki looked at the phone in disgust.

"Please call up my favorite girlfriend!" Monika continued.

"As you wish, handsome. Calling Monika…" The phone confirmed, and soon after the ring tone of Monika's main phone could be heard from her other pocket. She pulled it out, silenced it, and looked back at him expectantly.

"Well?! Isn't it neat?"

"Uh, sure." He said, having already decided not to use this new system of hers unless faced with an extreme emergency. "But don't you think you're laying it on a little thick?"

"My code, my rules." She smiled back.

"Well then, we'll be off!" She announced, making her way out of his new guest room. "Sayori, would you like to join me on the front seat? I got this really cool button I want to show you!"

"Can I see it too?" Natsuki asked, following along.

"No." Came Monika's blunt reply.

"Sure thing, Moni!" Sayori smiled, but remained where she stood by the side of the bed. "I'll join you guys in a bit!"

The moment the others had left the room, her smile vanished from her face as she leaned downwards.

"Hug." She said simply, and he wondered whether it was a command, request, or wish. In any case, she embraced his upper body like she had back at Yuri's.

"You okay?" MC asked softly, wishing he could hug her back. Instead, he settled on rubbing his cheek against her hair.

"I- I think I will be, eventually." Sayori mumbled and pulled back, looking at him with glossy, blue eyes and a microscopic smile. "It's just that… well, since yesterday, the Rainclouds have been making a bit of a surprise comeback special."

MC's eyes widened in shock, feeling the sensation of pure dread wash over him that always came whenever Sayori mentioned the Rainclouds.

"Well, to be fair, they never really went away, per se…" She continued, furrowing her brows. "But it's like… they've gotten more 'cloudy?' Not sure how to explain it exactly."

"A- are you okay? He stupidly repeated. "D- do you need to talk about it? Can you call up your therapist?"

"Relax, MC!" Sayori giggled softly at his worry. "It's not nearly as bad as it was… back then. I've got it under control. I wanted to tell you just in case you think I'm being a bit quieter than usual, but don't worry about it, okay?"

MC wasn't sure if he really could do like she said and avoid worrying, considering what'd happened the last time she'd brought up the Rainclouds. Getting paralyzed had evidently impacted the girls much harder than he'd thought, and the guilt swelled up inside him at not being able to do anything to help them.

"Have you told Monika?" He asked, hoping that she would at least be able to be more helpful than him.

"I'm gonna." She promised. "It's not gonna go like last time. I know who my friends are now and how to get help. But… maybe you should consider telling her about what's bothering you about staying here, too? We all just wanna help you, y'know."

He blinked, caught off guard. He hadn't expected that from her at all.

"I-" He started, unsure of how to respond.

"Eheheh…" She giggled at his dumbfounded expression. "There's still no pressure, MC. If you don't want to say anything, then that's okay too. I think that we're very alike in a lot of ways, which I guess makes sense seeing how long we've known each other. But… that's not an entirely good thing."

"What do you mean?" MC asked.

"We both really wanna make the people around us happy, without burdening them with our problems." Sayori elaborated. "It seems like the right thing to do in our heads. Just keep quiet and bury your own feelings so you can focus on helping others. Because they deserve it more, right? But then you get all bottled up inside with your emotions and before you know it, you can't take it anymore, and you do something… really dumb. Something that's going to hurt your friends way more than if you'd just gone and told them about your problem in the first place."

MC blinked once. He tried to speak, but found he had lost his voice.

Sayori smiled at him.

"Anyway, it's just some food for thought, okay? Try to think about what's the worst thing that could happen if you tell us about whatever's bothering you, and consider if it's really worth keeping it a secret."

She got up to walk towards the bedroom door, but stopped halfway.

"So, uh… I'm guessing this probably means the snowball fight today is cancelled, huh?" She spoke softly, not looking at him.

"I- I'm so sorry Sayori. I was looking forward to that as well-" He started.

"Don't be sorry, silly." She turned to smile at him. "None of this is your fault. Just focus on getting better, okay?"

She grabbed a remote standing by the TV and turned it on. She flicked through the channels until finding one that seemed to show non-stop cartoons.

"There, you'll have something to watch while we're gone." She smiled in satisfaction. "See you, try to cheer up a bit, okay? I think Monika and the others could really use a pick-me-up. See ya!"

She closed the door behind her, and her footsteps soon faded into nothingness. MC sighed, staring at the TV without really taking in the action.

Maybe Sayori was right. Just because he was paralyzed, it didn't mean he should be so pessimistic about everything. The girls had gone above and beyond in ensuring he'd get the best of care in this difficult situation, so maybe he should take care to show them some gratitude and a more positive attitude in return, instead of sulking around grumpily. In many ways, this was just as hard on them as it was for him.

He'd definitely turn his attitude around when they returned. Looking around, there were so many things he could be happy about, even just in this room. It wasn't cramped, it was downright beautiful, he had a TV, and the very best part?

It all smelled of Monika's perfume.

He decided to take advantage of the softness of the bed to catch some Z's so he could be well-rested when the others returned and do what he could to repay their kindness. As his eyes drooped shut, a slight smirk crept over his face.

Maybe this won't be so bad after all.

His eyes burst open, and he caught himself in a brief moment of disoriented panic at not being able to recognize his surroundings or moving his limbs before remembering.

Right. Paralyzed. Monika's guest room. Everything's fine.

He looked around, noting that the room was different now. The lights had turned off, plunging the room into nearly total darkness with the only source of light being the TV screen on the wall that Sayori had turned on. But instead of cartoons however, it only showed flickering, electronic black and white snow while a faint static noise could be heard.

The others must have returned and turned off the light in here. He idly thought up an explanation. And… maybe Monika lost her satellite connection to the TV?

He briefly considered calling out to them when suddenly his thoughts were interrupted by another sound, faintly audible over the static.

A sound from above.

A creaking sound.

His heart immediately started pounding as a sense of dread clamped down on his chest.

He recognized that creaking from months before. He was sure it would haunt him until his final days.

His heart pounded faster and faster as his eyes slowly and automatically began drifting up towards the source of the creaking. He tried convincing himself that it was just the crystal chandelier coming loose. Having that crashing down would still be better than the alternative…!

But his plausible deniability ceased when he saw the feminine figure dangling above him, suspended by the creaking rope around her throat.

She was shrouded in shadow, only faintly illuminated by the TV screen. Her finer features were all completely obscured, and he was only able to see her kicking and thrashing her arms and legs in a desperate manner, clawing at her throat in wild movements that were rapidly growing fainter.

MC tried opening his mouth to yell, call for help, use Monika's phone setup or just talk to the figure- but no sounds came out. He tried using every single ounce of his willpower to get out of this bed and help Say- this unknown woman, but his body remained just as unresponsive as ever. He could only watch in silent horror as the life ebbed out of her body. He heard a faint, choked rattling as her arms fell to her sides.

No! He thought, desperately trying to make sense of the situation. This… this can't be happening, not again! We saved you! We got you down, revived you! This- this didn't happen!

As if on cue, there was a loud SNAP as the rope severed, and the figure violently crashed down to the floor with a dull thumb. With his heart continuing to pound, MC stared transfixed, unable to see the figure from behind the bed's footboard, unable to check if she'd somehow survived the fall.

Then, he began hearing heavy rustling from where the figure had landed, scuttling movements as if some… thing, was crawling across the floor. The sounds were heavily accentuated by sickening cracking noises, as if the limbs it was using to move around with were all broken.

It was getting closer to the bed.

MC's heart continued reaching entirely new speeds as he saw a thin arm rising from the end of the bed, bending down to grip the wooden footboard tightly. The joints of the arm were oddly bent and misplaced in an unnatural way, and even in the faint light of the TV he could tell that something was very wrong with its skin.

It was all… gray, as if it'd been decomposing for several days.

Another arm emerged upwards, clutching at the footboard like the other while dragging and scratching with dirty nails. Whatever these arms were attached to, it was pulling itself onto the bed. He started hearing ragged, raspy breathing from behind the frame, slowly coming closer.

He suddenly realized that he no longer wanted to see if she was okay. He wanted to look away before this creature could reveal itself.

But his eyes wouldn't close. All he could, was to stare.

With a final heave, the figure fully pulled itself into the bed. If MC had been capable of producing any sound, he would have screamed.

The skin stretched tightly over her face was the same sickening gray as her arms, her lips fully rotted away, locking her mouth in a permanent, toothy sneer.

Her once strawberry-blonde hair was flat, faded, and covered in a thick layer of grease. The familiar red bow that had somehow managed to stay on after her fall added a degree of normalcy that only served to make her appearance that much more horrifying.

Her eyes were a pale and empty white without a hint of blue, staring directly into his with unmistakable blame. The thick noose remained tightly wound around her neck, its snapped end dangling as she moved.

She slowly opened her lipless mouth, revealing hundreds of wiggling white maggots that spilled out into the bed.

"Your fault." Sayori spoke up in a voice so hoarse, it sounded like dried leaves getting crumbled to a fine powder. "All… your… fault."

Meanwhile, in the car:

Monika: Wait. Sayori, did you hear that?

Sayori: Hm? Hear what?

Monika: I'm not sure... It kinda sounded like… a tone shift?