"Continue driving for ~100~ meters, then turn right~"
The electronic voice of Monika droned from the automated display screen at the front seat of the car. It was kind of incredible just how much sass and attitude she'd been able to cram into each one of these prerecorded messages.
"You know…" Yuri spoke from her seat next to him in the back. "Programming your GPS to speak in your own voice could be interpreted as a sign of extreme narcissism."
"Narcissism? Moi?" Curious green eyes could be seen in the rearview mirror, glancing at Yuri. "What makes you say that?"
"I think it's sooo cool!" Sayori declared, almost bouncing in the front seat at Monika's side. She'd visibly been getting more and more excited the closer they got to the forest. "It's like having a little mini-Monika guiding us, so adorable!"
"Yuri might be onto something." MC joined the discussion, happy for the distraction. Despite the limited movement options he otherwise would've had, being paralyzed in a car only seemed to drive home (pun very much intended) how truly boring being stuck like this was. "It just seems very telling of how much you must love the sound of your own voice."
"Well of course I do. Why wouldn't I?" Monika said, seeming genuinely puzzled. "It's my gift to the world!"
A few seconds went by before it seemed to click.
"…ohhh, wait." She said slowly. "I think I get it now. Huh, I just thought I did a much better job than that Siri lady, but… yeah, I guess it might seem a tad arrogant when you put it like that."
"I, uh, didn't mean any offense!" Yuri added hurriedly. "In fact, I- kind of wish I had your confidence."
"None taken. Hm, but speaking of voices I love…" Her eyes switched in the mirror to stare at MC's. "…how about you try and record some new lines for me? It'd only take a few hours if you cooperate!"
"Oooh, yes!" Sayori clapped at the idea. "I might even wanna start taking my driving lessons if it means having a mini-MC!"
"Think I'd rather do the world a favor and pass on that." He declined firmly. "You already know how bad I am at acting. I'd probably just end up making you fall asleep behind the wheel."
"Nonsense, I could never get tired of your sweet, dulcet tones." Monika said, erupting into a shared fit of giggles with Sayori.
"Turn right, now~" The electronic Monika cooed, making the simple instruction sound oddly seductive in a way only she could. The real life Monika obediently spun the wheel, driving them into an uneven dirt road covered by a thick layer of snow from the day before.
The car's all-terrain custom tires made short work of the snow, crumbling it flat beneath them with a hollow sound similar to papier-mâché getting stomped before finally coming to a halt at a small clearing.
"You have arrived at your destination." GPS Monika declared proudly. "I look forward to serving you again soon~"
"Well, there we are." Real Monika announced as well, peering out the window to inspect their surroundings. "This was the forest you were talking about, Sayori?"
"It sure is!" Sayori practically squealed with delight as she pressed her face against the passenger window, leaving a nose-imprint behind on the glass. "Remember, MC?! We used to come here all the time when we were kids!"
MC followed her gaze, taking in the narrow walkway ahead of the clearing, leading straight into a massive group of trees.
"Vaguely…" He said slowly, squinting his eyes in concentration. Something was stirring within his memories, of him and a toddler-sized Sayori from years ago spending the majority of their summer days in the woods after school, playing pirates, searching for weird bugs and getting completely lost on more than one occasion. "I mean, it looks kinda familiar, but… it's hard to tell with all the snow."
"Tsk, tsk." Sayori clicked her tongue, shaking her head admonishingly. "We practically spent our whole childhood here, it should be your second home! But I guess it makes sense, it feels like it's been forever since the last time…"
"It looks like an amazing place. Do you recall why you stopped coming?" Yuri asked, curiously.
"Eh, it was a lot of things." Sayori shrugged. "We got older, school got harder and we didn't really have as much time to ourselves anymore. I think it was also around then that MC got this weird thing for Harry Potter? Did you ever finish those, by the way?"
"…I'll get around to it some day." MC said, feeling his face flush up.
"Typical." She sighed in response.
"Well, we'd better get started unloading." Monika smiled, energetically drumming the steering wheel. "Yuri, if you get the chair propped up and ready, me and Sayo'll do the same with MC."
"Certainly." Yuri nodded promptly, unclasping her seatbelt and exiting the car.
At this point, the girls had gotten maneuvering his helpless body down to a science, so much so that before he even had time to think about how embarrassing it was to be yanked out of the car seat like this, he'd already been relocated to the newly assembled wheelchair outside.
"Phew," Monika clapped her hands together, letting out a relieved breath which took on the form of a steam cloud in the cold air. "Nice job, everyone! I think we're really starting to get the hang of this!"
"The trick is to avoid bumping his head against anything!" Sayori grinned happily, skipping across the snow.
"Glad we managed to learn that this early in the game." MC deadpanned, but smiled along. It was good to see genuine joy in his excitable girlfriend's eyes for once.
"Hang on, I gotta go grab my mittens!" She exclaimed, retreating back to the front seat of the car.
"Thank you for driving us here, Monika." Yuri formally bowed, retrieving her own winter accessories from the purple purse across her waist.
"Don't mention it, I'm happy to help!" Monika dismissed graciously. "I think it's such a wonderful idea you guys had, bringing MC on a field trip like this. Gotta make sure you don't get cooped up at home, right sweetie?"
"I have to admit, the outside air does feel pretty good." MC agreed.
"Yes, well-" Yuri hesitated, a degree of worry creeping into her voice as she began nervously tugging at the collar of his winter jacket. "…y- you're not cold, are you? Do you n- need an extra blanket, or, uh, some hot tea?"
"I'm good, thanks." He reassured. "With all the layers of thermo-underwear you've wrapped me in, I'm pretty sure I could survive a night in Antarctica."
"A- all right, then…" She breathed a relieved sigh. "That's good to hea-"
"And besides, even if he did freeze, it's not like he'd be able to feel it!" Monika added jokingly, grabbing hold of his numb arm and waved it back and forth like an overgrown, wet sausage.
"Th- that's not reassuring!" Yuri sputtered in protest, stepping forward to yank the useless limb from Monika's grasp. "O- oh dear, I'm not so sure this was such a good idea anymore… especially so s- soon after I cut your hair, you'll have even less protection now-"
"Yuri, I'm fine!" MC hurried to cut in before she could build up her fussing to an insurmountable level. "It's not even that cold today, don't worry about me. Monika's just spreading chaos because she's jealous she can't join."
"Hey, that's not true!" Monika exclaimed, her tone just a bit too outraged to be believable. She seemed to realize this as well, evidenced by her next, embarrassed giggle. "Well, maybe just a little bit…"
"O- okay." Yuri nodded, slowly exhaling. "I- I'll try my best to relax…"
"Hey, Moni? Are these… yours?"
The soft, inquisitive voice swiftly pulled their attention towards Sayori, still standing by the front passenger seat. She'd successfully retrieved her mittens and put them on (white knitted, with black, blob patterns like that of a cow) but was now holding what appeared to be a crinkled up chips bag of a brand MC didn't recognize.
But judging from the way her smile vanished on the spot and the colour drained from her face, it appeared Monika did.
"W- where did you find that?!" She exclaimed in a shrill voice as she rushed through the snow to tear the bag away Sayori's hands.
"The- the glove compartment." Sayori blinked, clearly thrown off by the strange reaction. "I was looking to see if you had any snacks and I thought those were chips, but then I read the label-"
"Shh shh, not so lou-"
"-and it said 'Crispy Squid.'" Sayori finished, oblivious to Monika's hissing. "I've never had those before, are they good?"
Monika almost seemed to physically wither on the spot.
"Hang on a moment, did you say…?" Yuri began softly.
"…all right, fine. No use hiding it anymore, I guess." Monika sighed in defeat, pulling the bag into view again and unfolded it to fully reveal the smiling, blue cartoon squid printed upon it. A speech bubble extended from its mouth, bearing the caption 'It's Octo-Licious!'
"Wait. You actually… like squid, then?" MC asked, bewildered.
"I don't 'like' it." She glared back at him. "I love it."
As if to demonstrate, she plunged her hand into the bag, rummaging for a bit until fishing out what looked like a dry, fried yellow tentacle, and popped it into her mouth.
"Phlease, dom't tell Nhatsuki…" She chewed miserably.
"I don't understand." Sayori scratched the back of her head. "If you love squid, then why've you spent all these years convincing us you hate them?"
"Because of that stupid joke!" Monika swallowed, her face flushing up. "Mon-ika! That pink-haired menace didn't even know a thing about me when she created the meme, she just made a damn pun that doesn't make a lick of sense in translation because she's a filthy weeb who reads too much manga!"
"And yet, she was apparently right on the money…?" MC asked, trying his best to keep a straight face. For some reason, watching the normally composed and proper brunette flustered over something as dumb as this was absurdly funny.
"That's what's so infuriating!" Monika was almost yelling at this point. "I've loved squid since I was a kid, but then she comes along and completely throws me off my game so I just deny it outright and now I'm stuck! I've kept up the lie for too long, and you all know she's going to be absolutely insufferable if I admit to it now!"
"This is quite possibly the most ridiculous dilemma I've ever heard." Yuri commented flatly. "I'm actually struggling to think of a worse reason to keep a secret."
MC averted his eyes, suddenly finding a tall pinetree off in the distance immensely interesting.
"I think you should tell her, Moni." Sayori said. "Nat likes teasing, but she's no bully. Explain it to her while you help her with those gingerbread houses, I'm sure she'd understand!"
"Ugh, don't remind me…" Monika groaned. "Why'd I have to go and promise to help bake with her today?! I'd much rather join you guys in the forest!"
"Your sacrifice is greatly appreciated." Yuri said with an uncharacteristically smug smile.
"I still have yet to really crack her code…" Monika muttered. "MC, do you have any advice on how to make her stop yelling at you during baking?"
"Follow her instructions to the letter." He replied. "Do exactly as she tells you, don't mess up, don't ask questions, don't talk about sex-stuff and whatever you do, don't annoy her in any way whatsoever."
"And that'll work?"
"Probably not." He shrugged. "But at least you'll know you did everything you could to prevent it when she goes off."
"I suppose I'll just have to take that…" Monika said with another sigh.
"I wish you the greatest of luck." Yuri bowed lightly. "Suffice it to say you're going to need it."
"What the heck are you guys even talking about?" Sayori asked, puzzled. "Nat never yells when we bake. Have you tried asking her nicely to stop?"
"I… have not, actually." Monika frowned. "Huh, maybe I should try that today. Thanks."
"…surely it can't be as simple as that?" Yuri said, incredulously.
"With Natsuki, it often is." Sayori shrugged.
"Oh well, guess I'll just have to find out!" Monika perked up, snatching up one last crispy tentacle before rolling the bag up tightly and pocketing it. "Gotta get going, I'll come back and pick you up in about two hours or so!"
"See you then." MC said, bracing himself as the girl leaned in to plant a cold kiss on his cheek.
"Try and have fun, okay?" She whispered softly into his ear, and leaned back up with a large smile.
"Take good care of him for me, Sayori."
Sayori clicked the heels of her fluffy winter boots together and saluted.
"Aye aye, President!"
Monika giggled, then turned to Yuri.
"Yuri... take care of Sayori, will you?" She added. "…and MC, if need be."
"Hey!" Sayori exclaimed indignantly.
"I will… do my best." Yuri nodded with a bit of trepidation, but looked otherwise ready for the task.
"Then I'm off!" Monika declared, chomping down on the dried sea creature and re-entered the car, bringing the engine roaring into life with the push of a button.
"Ciao!" She waved at them through the open window before making an u-turn and drove back down the snowy gravel road.
Before the vehicle was even fully out of earshot, Sayori made an excited, high-pitched noise like that of an over-stimulated guinea pig, tugging impatiently on Yuri's purple scarf with an ear-to-ear grin.
"C'mon, let's go already!" She said, practically dancing across the snow toward the heavy cluster of trees. "We've only got two hours to explore the greatest place on Earth, we've got to keep moving! Oooh, this is gonna be so flippin' awesome!"
And with that she spurted forward, moving with such grace and fluidity it was as if she wasn't hampered down by the heavy clothes or thick layer of snow in the slightest.
"…and there she goes." MC commented, watching his childhood friend disappear behind the first row of trees.
"Simply incredible." Yuri grunted as she positioned herself behind the wheelchair and pushed it into motion. With the all-terrain deluxe winter tires Monika had recently purchased online, he could hardly even feel any difference between rolling across the uneven forest ground and the pristine smooth floor at Monika's mansion. "Uhm, do you think she might get lost running ahead like that?"
"Not a chance." He scoffed. "Once she realizes we're carrying the snack bag, she'll come crawling right back."
"Oh my gosh, look at this!" Sayori exclaimed, gesturing at a seemingly innocuous pile of snow at the very outskirts of the walkway. "D'you remember when we found this place?!"
She looked at MC encouragingly, clearly expecting him to smile back with recognition and share in the nostalgia.
It was therefore downright painful that he had to disappoint her like this by shaking his head.
"Sorry Sayo, but… it's not ringing any bells." He admitted apologetically. "My memory is already bad enough, and all this snow isn't exactly helping. It just looks like any other snow pile to me."
I'm the worst boyfriend ever. He thought as he saw the smile droop slightly from her round face.
"No, no, you gotta remember!" She protested, jumping towards the pile which she began feverishly brushing clear with her gloves. Soon, the wrinkled old bark of a felled tree became visible. "This was our ship! We used to sail the seven seas in this, plundering the meanie rich ferries and giving back to the lost kids on Treasure Island! We had some of our greatest adventures here!"
"Wait a second…" He hesitated, face screwed up in concentration. Something was starting to come back to him now. "…this was that old hollow trunk we hid in when those bullies were chasing us, wasn't it?"
"The very same!" Sayori's smile returned in full force, patting the wood appreciatively. "We tried switching our clothes that day for fun, and hoo boy did they get upset with us! I still don't get it though, you looked great in my dress!"
"Geez…" MC breathed, feeling his face heat up as the memories resurfaced. Him, lying in a twisted uncomfortable position, scared to even breathe while listening to the trampling footsteps of some of the biggest kids in school searching just meters away from them. They'd been in there so long, Sayori had started to name all the spiders crawling around her hair. "I'd completely forgotten that… man, it looks a lot smaller than back then."
"I bet I could still fit, though…" She said, looking like she was seriously contemplating crawling in right here and now, but then shrugged. "Eh, maybe some other time!"
"Hold on…" He exclaimed, suddenly recalling another visit to their 'ship.' "…didn't you try eating some red mushroom here too and got hospitalized for a week?"
"Oh right, ehehe…" She chuckled, a blush spreading across her cheeks that had nothing to do with the cold. "That wasn't very fun. Still tasted pretty good, though."
He had to shake his head.
"Wait a mo'!" She suddenly froze, eyes widening in what seemed to be realization as she looked at a point above his head. "Yuri, are you all right? I haven't heard you say anything at all since we got here!"
"I am perfectly fine, don't worry." Yuri's soft, calm voice reassured from behind. "It just didn't feel right for me to intrude on your childhood memories while you were reminiscing. Pay me no mind."
"Oh, no." Sayori moaned. "I didn't mean to leave you out of the conversation! Uh- if you want, I can start talking about other things like-"
She paused and furrowed her brows, clearly attempting to come up with something on the fly.
"…knives?" She tried.
Yuri merely chuckled at the suggestion.
"There is no need for that, you didn't alienate me at all." She said. "I agreed to come with you because I love taking walks in nature… well, and I wanted to escape baking duty with Natsuki. Point being, most of my walks take place in complete silence which I am perfectly content with."
"Oh." Sayori frowned lightly. "Would… you like me to shut up, then?"
"Not at all!" Yuri denied. "I very much enjoy listening to your stories, even if I haven't a lot to add to them. Your recounting of these events actually provides me with a connection to the forest I wouldn't otherwise have. So please, as you were."
"I think me and Yuri would both love to hear more, Sayo." MC spoke up. "Speaking as someone who feels guilty about forgetting most of these things, it makes me feel a bit less like a dick when you help me remember."
Sayori beamed at them.
"That's good to hear, because we're reaching the main attraction now!" She announced, spinning around on the spot to further guide them forward. "I've saved the absolute best for last, the crème de la crème of the entire forest!"
"Laying it on a little thick, aren't you?" MC asked with mild amusement as Yuri pushed his chair into motion again.
"Am not!" She dismissed him, glancing over her shoulder to show him an ear-to-ear grin. "If anything, I'm underplaying the awesomeness! You'll see what I mean soon, it's just up ahead here-"
She led them around a corner where the road split in two, and turned right. From there, they had to traverse a very uneven, narrow path with wide, iced over lakes on either side before finally-
"G- good heavens…" He heard Yuri gasp softly.
"There we are!" Sayori cheered. "God, I've missed this place!"
They'd reached a large, open clearing of the woods, completely surrounded from every direction by tall, thick trees. But all of them were dwarfed in size by the one at the center.
An absolutely massive oak was standing tall and proud, placed so unbelievably perfect in the middle of everything he frankly hadn't seen anything like it before. Its branches looked so thick and heavy, it was hard to fathom how they managed to even stand as upright as they did, stretching so far into the air he couldn't even make out the point where they ended.
"Holy shit…" Was all he could say at the beautiful sight.
"You have to remember this tree!" Sayori said, almost pleadingly. "We were the only ones who ever visited, since nobody but us were crazy enough to go through all that mud when the lakes weren't frozen, ehehe… We would literally spend whole days climbing around up there, trying to get to the top and look out at the entire forest! When the leaves were out, you couldn't even see the sky from all the green!"
"It's… marvelous." Yuri spoke in a voice of hushed awe.
"We used to call it our Slice of Heaven." Sayori sighed, looking at MC with nostalgia flooding her eyes. "Heh, you thought it was a stupid name, but you never came up with another, so it just kinda stuck."
"I-" He began, struggling to recall these events for himself. It seemed downright ludicrous to ever forget something as awe-inspiring as this tree, and yet… he just couldn't quite put any images to the things she were describing. The tree did stir up something within his mind, no doubt about that, but… it wasn't exactly a remembrance he'd call 'positive.'
But seeing as it was the only one he had…
"…didn't you fall down from there once and knock out a front tooth?" He asked, hesitantly.
"Pft, of course you remember that!" Sayori snorted with laughter. "Not all the times we used it as our tree fort, nooo, just the part where I got hurt!"
"Sorry…" He muttered, embarrassed.
"No, it's fine. It was objectively hilarious." She stated matter-of-factly. "I whistled every time I spoke for a month afterwards, and I looked super goofy in the Year photos! I just wish I knew where the heck it landed…"
She glanced at the ground, but seemed to quickly realize just how fruitless it'd be to search for a ten year old lost tooth among a sea of fresh, white snow in the forest. She looked up again, shrugging.
"We always told ourselves that we'd bring planks and nails with us the next time we came and actually make a proper tree house, but we never got around to it and after that accident we just sorta stopped coming… Probably for the best, though. I bet we would've made it look really ugly if we tried, but-"
"…Sayori? Is that you?"
The three of them all collectively froze at hearing the sudden, female voice calling out from somewhere behind them. MC shuffled in his seat, twisting his neck as far as it would allow him to spot the intruder.
A petite figure was approaching them, wearing a very stylish, white coat with matching, thigh high boots and a wooly beret shrewdly placed on a head of wavy, blonde hair. A black rucksack was slung loosely over her shoulder.
Sayori stared at the girl, seemingly dumbfounded at the presence of another person in her Slice of Heaven. She quickly recovered however, lighting up into a flustered, but otherwise bright smile.
"Hana!" She exclaimed, rushing over to greet the newcomer. "Oh my gosh, how are you?! Do you want some snacks? We brought some of Nat's cookies, carrots- if you're into that- oh, and I managed to snatch one Crispy Squid from Monika without her noticing!"
"Uh- I'm good, thanks." The girl named Hana declined politely, looking slightly overwhelmed, but quite unable to suppress a faint, weak smile.
Sayori has that effect on you. MC thought, knowingly.
He tried his best to remember everything he could about Hana as Yuri began turning the chair around to face him in her direction. They went to the same school, that much was obvious, but what else did he really know? She weren't in any of his classes, and he wasn't exactly the pinnacle of social interactions himself. Before joining the Club, he hadn't even talked to any girls, really. Sayori seemed to know her quite well, but… Sayori knew everyone.
Hana had seemed like one of those "popular" girls, the kind who could almost always be found mingling with the most influential students which was the sole reason he even recognized her in the first place. Be it a festival, play or charity, if the school had an event that was advertised in any regard, there was a good chance of Hana's smiling face being on the front cover to promote it.
Obviously the polar opposite to the "dorks" residing in the Literature Club, but she'd seemed nice enough.
"So, you come here too?" Sayori continued greeting, just as over-enthusiastic as ever. "I had no idea anyone else knew about this place, this is awesome!"
"Yeah, it's really nice and quiet here..." Hana nodded vaguely. "How about you? You sound like a regular."
"Oh, I'm not." Sayori chuckled lightly. "I mean, I used to be along with MC, but not so much anymore unfortunately. I'm just here today to remind him of the place and show Yuri!"
She stepped aside, gesturing over to him. He tried to straighten himself up in the chair and look as dignified as possible.
Hana's eyes widened with surprise.
"…MC?!" She exclaimed, voice shocked.
Huh, she actually knows my name.
"Uh, 'sup?" He attempted a casual smile, hoping it didn't come across as too awkward. He'd gotten over most of the embarrassment after living with Monika for so long, but when it came to people outside of their little bubble?
…well, not so much.
"Wh- what on Earth happened to you?!" Hana persisted, moving closer to get a better look.
"It's… a long story." Sayori said. "But the gist of it is he lost function of his arms and legs a few days ago."
"Hence the magnificent throne you see before you." MC quipped, and cringed.
Why are my jokes so lame?
"It's not… permanent, is it?" Hana frowned in concern.
"I sure hope not." MC shuddered.
"He's fine, just a bit… handi-capable, at the moment." Sayori assured them. "According to the Doctor it should only take about a month before he recovers. Until then, we've all moved in with Monika so we can take care of him together!"
"Oh." Hana blinked. "That's… cool. So you're still going strong with that arrangement thing then?"
"Yup, no plans on stopping that anytime soon!" Sayori happily confirmed.
"Good for you." Hana said, sounding genuinely impressed. "Seriously, that's awesome. Glad some of us are able to make it work. I've never really believed those gross rumors that have been spread about you guys. Love wins or whatever, right?"
"…we've been fairly secluded from the rest of the students at school." Yuri spoke from behind him, much more reserved than when it'd just been the three of them. "Who's been spreading rumors? And what do they say?"
"Oh, um." Hana blushed, looking like she regretted bringing the topic up. "J- just some idiot gossiping, y'know? Honestly, it's probably for the best if you don't know about them. It's… Yui, isn't it?"
"Yuri, actually." Yuri corrected coldly.
"R- right." Hana nodded awkwardly, before smiling again and extending her hand towards Sayori. "W- well, I won't take up any more of your time. It was nice to see you guys, and I wish you luck with the future."
"Thanks, that's really nice of you!" Sayori accepted the handshake with vigor. "And unless we see you before, merry Christmas and a happy New Yea- oop!"
By lowering her shoulder for the handshake, Hana's rucksack had come loose and slid all the way down the length of her arm, causing its contents to spill out onto the snowy ground below.
Notable among the clutter were several hot-red plastic bottles of some kind.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Sayori apologized profusely, bending down at once to pick up the scattered items. "I shouldn't have shaken your hand so wildly, my bad!"
"It's fine." Hana said rather shortly, already frantically gathering and dumping all of the bottles back into her rucksack.
"Here, let me help you get… those…"
Sayori hesitated as she grabbed hold of one, taking in the cover. From what MC was able to make out, it appeared to be some kind of pill bottle from the Pharmaceutical's.
"Thanks!" Hana said harshly, snatching the bottle from her hand and stuffed it in her bag which she zipped securely shut. She then got to her feet again with a very unconvincing smile. "Well, that was a bit awkward, haha. A- anyway, guess I'll see you guys late-"
"Hana?" Sayori stood up as well, her own smile completely gone. "Are you okay?"
"Huh?" Hana blinked a few times, confused. "Uh… yeah, I'm fine! Never better, actually. Why do you ask?"
Sayori's shifted uncomfortably on the spot, looking straight at Hana who'd notably stopped making eye contact.
"Oh, you mean… the pills?" She chuckled in what was probably an attempt at sounding casual. "It's nothing. I've just been getting a lot of headaches lately, so that's why… y'know…"
A sudden tension had settled over the clearing, only getting more and more impenetrable the longer Sayori looked at Hana. The deathly quiet of the winter forest had turned from charming and peaceful to almost nerve-racking with every second that ticked by.
"A- actually, they're not even m- mine!" Hana tried in vain to salvage her explanation. "I'm just, uh, carrying them for a friend! He's very… sick, y'see…!"
"Right…" Sayori nodded softly, still not smiling. "Hana… is Chris here with you?"
The blonde's unnatural smile drooped for just half a second as her face turned scarlet, only to return again full force.
"Uh, no…" Hana said. "I'm here on my own. We actually, um, broke up recently."
MC had to do a double take.
Hana and Chris… broken up? What?
"…I'm sorry." Sayori recovered after a moment's silence, her expression softening. "I'm… so sorry to hear that. The two of you always seemed… well, inseparable."
Typically, MC didn't really get invested in all the relationship drama going on at school (he had more than enough of that to worry about himself) but this was the one exception to the rule.
Chris was another popular student, a rather large and beefy jock-type who'd picked up a football back in first grade, and basically never put it down since. He'd won more physical trophies and medals for their school than any other single student and had been crowned champion for almost six years in a row. He'd always seemed like a nice enough guy about it, although it was pretty easy to tell that not a whole lot was going on between his ears.
But before football and the semi-fame, before the first day even, he'd had Hana by his side. Nobody knew how the relationship started exactly, and nobody had really bothered to ask. The two of them being together was just kinda accepted as one of the constant pillars of school, a pairing so iconic that trying to imagine them apart was as foreign a concept as Sayori ditching her bow or an abstinent Monika.
And yet, here she was. Completely alone.
"Yeah… we were pretty great together, weren't we?" Hana said, still not meeting Sayori's eyes. "But it's fine, really. We've both been doing great! He's gotten together with Sophie since then, and- and I know he really loves her, since- well, since he was apparently seeing her way before he officially broke up with me, ha ha. So like… in a way, that proves we weren't really meant to be, y'know?"
"Hana…" Sayori tried, but Hana kept going in a shaky voice.
"I don't blame him, though. You know Sophie, right?"
"Uh, yeah…" Sayori said slowly. "From the old Debate Club, right? Monika's mentioned her a few times..."
That was certainly the polite way of describing the numerous, semi-coherent hour-long rants Monika had made detailing the back-stabbing ways of her former clubmate to anyone who'd listen. At this point, Sophie was probably the closest thing she had to an actual, real life arch-nemesis.
"That's the one." Hana confirmed. "And she's so, so beautiful. Like, I completely understand why he'd rather be with her. Chris deserves the best, and so he'll get the best girl. It's all for the best, see? Everyone's happy this way…"
"But what about you, Hana?" Sayori implored. "Are you happy?"
"What?" Hana asked, as if just now realizing her presence. She hesitated for about half a second before another fake smile spread across her face. "Oh yeah, of course I am! Sometimes these things just happen, y'know? Uh, not to say it'll be the case for you guys and MC, that seems to be working out just fine!"
She chuckled darkly to herself, dabbing her furry sleeve against her eyes.
A horrible sinking feeling had begun settling into the pit of MC's stomach as he watched. It was hard to recall the last time he'd felt this uncomfortable with a story.
"Oh, listen to me rambling." Hana tutted, shook her head and motioned to turn around. "You probably just want to be left alone. I'll make sure to get out of your hair, enjoy the rest of your tri-"
"Don't do it." Sayori interrupted her, quiet but straight to the point.
Hana looked back at her with a bewildered expression.
"Sorry, what did you just say to m...?"
"Please." Sayori's voice was more insistent now, without a trace of her usual lighthearted demeanor. "Whatever it is you're planning, don't. You have friends, I'm your friend! We can talk about this. I know you probably think this is the end of the world, but trust me, it's not!"
"I- I really have no idea w- what you're talking about." Hana said stiffly, motioning to walk off. "R- really now, I should get goin-"
Sayori's arm shot forward, grabbing a tight hold of Hana's wrist.
"You have a family, Hana!" She urged. "I saw your mom and little brother at the Festival last year. They both seemed like really nice people, and I guarantee they'd be absolutely devastated if you left them behind like this! I would be devastated! Just please, please, please, don't do this to us!"
"Oh God…" MC heard Yuri's muted gasp from behind.
He himself had no words of comfort, too shocked to do anything but stare as the situation unfurled before him. He'd like to think he'd be of some help if he could actually get up, but… there was no way to know for sure.
I feel like I'm gonna be sick…
"Well, that's easy for you to say, isn't it?!" Hana dropped the façade, her expression changing into an angry sneer as she tried retracting her hand from Sayori's grip. "You and your perfect relationship with your perfect boyfriend! What, are you going to suggest I share Chris with Sophie?! That might work in your pretty little airhead world where everything is sunshine and rainbows, but it's a little more complicated than that for us normal humans, okay?!"
Sayori didn't even flinch at the hostility, keeping her hand locked around Hana's.
"It's okay." She said, calmly. "Remember to breathe, everything will be-"
"It's not fucking fine!" Hana shouted, her shrill voice echoing throughout the clearing. When she next spoke, her voice had become intertwined with choked sobs. "L- let go of m- me!"
"No." Came Sayori's simple, defiant response. "I'm not going to let you do something everyone'll regret! Whatever it is you're feeling right now, I promise it's going to pass! This is not the solution!"
"You d- don't get it!" Hana exclaimed, wet tears now trickling down her face. "Every d- day I wake up and all I s- see is him, telling me we can't be together! Nothing makes me happy anymore, don't you understand?! This is the only way out!"
Sayori considered her silently for what seemed like hours before replying.
"…it feels like you're slowly drowning, right?"
"W- what?" Hana blubbered, taken aback.
"Everything you used to love has lost all meaning. So like, there's no point in doing anything, right?" Sayori went on. "The only thing that's ever really mattered has been taken and left you with nothing except the memories and the pain. But that's not even the worst part, is it? At least with the pain you feel something instead of the emptiness that comes from just existing."
"H- how…" Hana stuttered, looking at Sayori as if only noticing her now. "How c- could you possibly know…?"
"Do you remember a few months back when I wore a Christmas sweater to school?" Sayori asked softly, her face unreadable.
"S- Sayori…!" The exclamation had flown from his mouth before he even had a chance to properly think about them. He wanted to follow it up with something, but couldn't find the words.
"It's okay." Before he could think of something, Sayori had shot a reassuring glance over her shoulder. "I've got this."
He nodded back, shame and embarrassment filling his insides. He wasn't sure why he'd even made the attempt in the first place.
He… wanted to think he was just looking out for his girlfriend. Making sure she didn't have to relive that horrible day again. It was certainly a better thought than his own selfish, cowardly desire to pretend it'd never happened.
In any case, she'd been right to silence him. This wasn't his place to cut in or interject.
"I-" Hana hesitated, furrowing her brows in confusion. "Y- yeah, I remember that… you told us 'December didn't have to be the only festive month,' and 'August needed some love, too.'"
Sayori nodded.
"There was another reason for wearing it." She said. "A secret reason. You see, I needed to hide the mark on my neck when I tried hanging myself the day before."
Having seen it coming from a mile away, he thought he'd be more prepared for it.
He'd been wrong.
Judging from the shocked look on Hana's face, she felt much the same way.
"You?!" She exclaimed, eyes bulging as she tried making sense of the information received. "But- I don't- Why?!"
"I've had depression almost my whole life." Sayori said, her voice remaining calm and unwavering. "It was at its absolute worst when I got MC into our Club and I realized everyone around me was falling in love with him. This was before the Arrangement was even an idea, and I thought I was easily the worst choice for him. So, I decided to remove myself from the playing field."
"I d- didn't know…" Hana stuttered out. "I- I'm so s- sorr-"
"Don't be. I'm not telling you this to guilt trip you." Sayori shook her head. "I just want you to know, I get it. I know what it's like to have days where all I want is to die. I… still feel like that, every once in a while. But after actually trying it and seeing my friends' reactions… it's not worth the suffering. It's just not. Because you're not only killing yourself, you're killing everyone close to you. I know everything hurts right now and you just want it to stop, but I promise you can get through it. I promise that whatever your brain is trying to convince you at this moment, you don't actually want this. You want help. And I'll be here to help you every step of the way, if you'll let me."
Hana's lip quivered, her face drenched in tears. She tried speaking, only to have her voice come out as an unintelligible groan, before giving up and collapsing her head into Sayori's shoulder where her crying was reduced to muffled sobs.
When her knees gave out below her, Sayori hugged her tightly around the waist, gently lowering them both to the snowy ground where they remained embraced.
"I- I'm s- s- sorry…" Hana choked into Sayori's jacket. "I- I'm s- so, so s- sorry…"
"Shh, it's okay… Let it out…"
Sayori clapped Hana's shoulder, smiling weakly as she looked over at MC and Yuri.
"D'you guys think you can go ahead? I think we'll need a moment by ourselves..."
"…are you sure?" MC asked hoarsely, not feeling good at all about leaving her like this.
"Yeah, don't worry." She assured him with a nod as her own eyes started swelling. "It's just that I think I'm gonna start crying any moment now, and it'd be kinda awkward if you just watched us. We'll come and join in a bit when we're done, 'kay?"
"C- certainly." Yuri obeyed in a thick voice as she twisted the wheelchair around, forcing his perspective away from the kneeling girls and into the larger clearing beyond.
"Uh-" He hesitated, trying to come up with something supportive to say before it was too late. "…call us if you need any help, okay?!"
"Sure thing!" He heard her quiver back. "We won't, but thanks for asking!"
The muffled soft sobbing of Hana got lower and lower the further Yuri led them away until the only audible sounds were from the snow crumbling beneath his wheels and the occasional creaking of tree branches in the wind.
After enduring the stunned silence far longer than he thought any of them were really comfortable with, Yuri finally broke it with a deep sigh.
"Poor Hana…" She said. "I- I had no idea she was going through something like this…"
"Me neither." He said, quietly. "But like you said, we've been pretty isolated from everyone else. I think this is the first time we've ever even talked to her. I… don't know if there's any way we could have known."
"Yes of course, but even so…" She sighed again. "Something like this couldn't just have happened without proper build-up. And Hana's a pretty popular girl, isn't she? I don't know, it just… it seems like something we should have noticed!"
"I know exactly what you mean." He lowered his head. "But… I don't think we should go around blaming ourselves. People can be scarily good at hiding their true feelings when they really want to. I think… I think we should just be happy Sayori was on her game today and able to help."
"She was absolutely incredible." Yuri agreed with deep admiration in her voice. "The way she handled that situation… such flawless execution. I'm starting to think she might be a secret 8th Wonder of the World."
"She's amazing." He stated the plain and simple truth of the matter. "Always has been. Took me way too long to realize that myself."
"I… shudder to think what would have happened if she hadn't been with us." She went on. "The moment I comprehended the true purpose of those pills, I just… froze. J- just like I d- did… back then."
She didn't elaborate, but she didn't have to. Horrible memories from that awful day had already started flashing before his eyes, reminding him in frankly unnecessary detail of exactly what'd happened. He could still feel the cold legs on his shoulders from where he'd grabbed her motionless body, lifting her as high as he could. He could still hear his own bellowing voice, thick with desperation and even anger;
"YURI, NATSUKI! WHAT ARE YOU DOING, DON'T JUST STAND THERE! HELP ME GET HER DOWN!"
"It- it's n- no u- use, she- she's already d- dea"
"SHE'S NOT DEAD! BUT SHE WILL BE IF YOU DON'T SNAP OUT OF IT AND FUCKING HELP ME!"
"It… wasn't your fault." He shook his head in an attempt to push the traumatizing event from his mind. It'd been the first and only time he'd ever raised his voice at them. "If it hadn't been for your quick reaction and aim, we… never would have cut the rope in time."
"Even so," She countered the point. "If you hadn't yelled me back to reality-"
"How about we just call it a team effort and leave it at that?" He suggested, immensely uncomfortable at the prospect of arguing which of them were more responsible for his childhood friend's continued life.
"…as you wish." She conceded, mercifully. "I only meant to say that seeing Sayori take that experience and use it to help another girl struggling… I've seldom seen anything more inspiring. She's truly one of the most wonderful people I know."
"Yeah." He said, quietly. "She is."
A wonderful person we almost lost forever, all thanks to-
Before he could finish the thought a sudden, almost violent rustling of branches and twigs from above caught his attention.
He craned his head upwards, scouting the tree tops. It was hard to really make out anything; the trees were so thickly intertwined in this part of the forest that not even the snow had been able to penetrate the branches, leaving the forest floor barren, undisturbed and darkened. Very darkened.
He had to squint in effort as another rustling noise could be heard, seemingly from one of the larger trees a good distance in. He furrowed his brows, diligently searching for any signs of movements. Maybe it was a squirrel or a bird of some sort, foraging for food? But from the sounds it made alone, it seemed so much larger than any animal he knew-
He then flinched in shock as a loud crack echoed throughout the forest, and a feminine, withered figure rapidly descended from the maze of branches above. She fell about halfway down the trunk before the rope around her neck went taut, suspending her in mid-air.
"MC?" He heard Yuri's concerned voice from behind. "Is- is something wrong?"
"I-" He muttered out, struggling to take his eyes from the lone, dangling figure. Even from here, he was able to make out her sickly gray skin and rotted lips. "…no, it's nothing. Just- thought I heard an animal, is all."
There were no doubts about it this time around, no convenient way to explain her appearance. He was awake, fully lucid, in the company of another person and still she was there. Horrible as she'd been on the first day at Monika's place. Horrible as she'd been on the night before, crawling out from under his bed when the real Sayori had left to get a glass of water (her throat tended to get very dry at night) only to shuffle back out of sight when she'd returned.
Which begged the question…
"Uh, Yuri-" He said, trying to sound casual with his heart lodged in his throat. "…can you see Sayori from here?"
It was a question with two possible answers, though he already knew which one she'd pick.
"Uhm-" Yuri hesitated, and he heard her turn on the spot to check. "Yes, she's- still comforting Hana from what I can tell. W- why do you ask?"
Just as he'd expected, she remained totally oblivious to the monstrosity dangling right in front of them.
"Oh, no reason." He lied. "Just… kinda worried, is all."
"Right, of course… From what I can tell, she seems to have the situation well under control, but I can stop here and keep watch if you wish."
"Yeah, that's probably a good idea." He forced out a tiny laugh.
He knew it'd be useless to try and explain the truth to Yuri. Even if he wanted to, the creature would be just as invisible to her as it seemed to be for everyone but him.
What ARE you?! He asked silently in his mind, at a complete loss for any explanations aside from the obvious one- He was going completely mad.
As if on cue, the hanging girl's eyes burst open, empty and glazed over as always. Even without pupils, he knew she was staring directly at him.
There was a loud snap in the distance, which certainly could have been an old branch breaking somewhere nearby of entirely unrelated reasons- just as it also could be a rope severing. Either way, the result remained the same. Sayori falling the rest of the way, landing on her feet without making a sound. Even though wearing a dilapidated, torn version of her school uniform with her corpse-pale legs exposed, she showed no visible signs of discomfort to the cold.
In fact, he was only able to make out one, distinct emotion from her sunken face and lipless sneer. The same one she'd been radiating since the day she'd started visiting.
Blame.
What does this mean, though? He wondered to himself, still finding it impossible to look away from her. Why now? Why here? What the fuck do you want from me?!
Maybe it had something to do with the relative distance between them or the fact that she'd chosen to appear outside in broad daylight, but he found that he wasn't as frightened of her as usual. Not to say she wasn't scary as fuck, the idea that he didn't even need to be asleep to see her remained horrifying as ever, but it wasn't the same sort of incapacitating fear he normally felt during her visits. His thoughts were way too lucid and logical for that.
No, it definitely wasn't fear. It was more akin to annoyance.
The feeling swelled up inside him the longer he watched her. The real Sayori was being her absolute best self right now, helping another person in need while this thing just stood there like some grotesque parody of the darkest moment of her life.
Forget annoyance, he was getting angry. This was an insult to everything Sayori stood for. She was a goddamn real life superhero who deserved to be portrayed as such, not this ugly zombie-extra insult besmirching every great memory he still had of their childhood together.
The creature slowly tilted her head to the side, as if it could hear his thoughts. The noose around its neck swayed with the movement.
He steeled himself, taking a page from Natsuki's book and met her empty eyes head-on. He'd had enough of backing down and cowering in fear to these silly, made up nightmares. He was done letting them control his life.
I'm not fucking scared of you!
"Sayori" just stood there motionlessly for a few more seconds, considering him. Then, she turned on the spot, shuffling further into the forest on stiff legs. Just before she disappeared behind the tree she'd fallen from, she twitched her head in his general direction.
Like some sort of gesture for him to follow.
He blinked a few times, at a loss for what to do next. On the one hand, moving into the dark forest seemed like a tremendously stupid idea, especially considering the creature lurking inside. With its prior behaviour well established, it was almost certainly a trap.
He then shook his head, catching himself.
"A trap?!" Listen to yourself, she's not even real!
He took a slow, deep breath, remembering Yuri's exercises for relieving tension. He hadn't even realized his heart had been pounding all this time.
All right. He thought, mentally laying out his options. This is the first real chance I've got to actually investigate this madness. Yuri's with me and I'm SURE I'm awake. What could go wrong?
…
Well, okay, maybe he could have dropped that last line. With the amount of horror movies he'd watched with Yuri, it seemed maybe just a biiit too fate-tempting…
In any case, he'd just made the claim that he wouldn't let the nightmares control him anymore. Going against that already would make him look like a total bitch.
"Uh, Yuri?" He made his decision at last, tilting his head back to look at her. "D'you think maybe you could bring me further into the forest?"
"Huh?" She glanced at him, mild worry already present in her purple eyes. "I- in where?"
"I… think I recognize one of the trees." He lied, nodding his head in the vague direction that "Sayori" had gone. "Y'know, from when me and Sayo were kids? I'd just really like to check if it's the one I'm thinking about."
Yuri followed his gesture, peering into the darkened area of the woods. Her light frown seemed to deepen slightly.
"Uh…" She hesitated, fidgeting nervously with the sleeve of her jacket. "I- I'm not sure going off-road is such a good idea… even with the new tires, moving across such rough terrain is going to be extremely bumpy and unpleasant. I- I might get you stuck in there…"
"I'll be fine, I promise." He reassured her. "It's not very far, I can see the tree from here!"
"I- I don't know… shouldn't we at least wait for Sayori?" Yuri looked behind them, trying to gauge how far along the other girls were.
"Please?" He pushed her a bit harder, unwilling to give up so easily. Not when he was this close to maybe finally getting some answers. "It's just… you know how bad my memory is. It's pretty big when I do remember something on my own."
"I…" Yuri shifted on the spot, a clear sign he'd won the battle. "…very well, I- I suppose if it can't be helped… I- I'll try to move as carefully as possible, but please let me know if I'm going too fast."
"Thank you so much." He gave her a bright, encouraging smile. "You're honestly the best, Yuri."
"S- sit tight." She commanded, unable to hide a small grin of her own as she disabled the safety clasps on the chair, and pushed him into motion.
She'd been right about the uneven ground. The floor beneath him was a mess of twigs, leaves and dirt, all frozen so completely solid that every turn of the wheel left him shaking up and down in his seat like a phone set on constant vibrate. It got so bad he had to actually slacken his jaw out of fear his teeth might shatter on some of the rougher patches.
"A- are you all right?!" She implored him for what was probably the fifth time in a row as they rounded a mound that nearly tipped him sideways.
"P- p- peachy!" He stammered back, trying his best not to bite his tongue off.
They arrived at last at the foot of the tree fake Sayori had disappeared behind, and he signaled for Yuri to stop.
"Is this the tree from your memories?" She asked, curiously.
"I…" He hesitated, finally able to think somewhat clearly now that his brain wasn't rattling against his skull anymore. "I think so…?"
He appraised the tree, squinting to try and find something off about it. He was convinced the hallucination or nightmare or whatever the hell it was had intentionally led him here, but why? What was so special about this tree in particular? It looked identical to any of the thousand others in this place!
Now that he was here, so close to where he'd seen her, he found he wasn't so sure about this genius plan of his anymore.
While it wasn't pitch-black or anything like that, it was still dark enough to muddy the details of everything around them, giving each and every shape and shadow in the distance a highly unsettling look.
What also didn't help was the deafening quiet enveloping the woods like an oppressive blanket, strangling anything that might relieve some of the tension. He was quite sure a forest shouldn't be this silent, even at winter. The only real audible noise was a low, constant creaking from above which by all means could be the branches groaning from the weight of all the snow, just as it could be a ragged rope straining from-
No, don't go there. He closed his eyes, pushing the thought away. He was just being ridiculous, making this place so much creepier in his mind than it had any right to be. He needed to get a hold of himself already.
Looking around him, there were no signs of anyone having been here for ages. Sayori's bare feet probably wouldn't have left much of a trace on ground as solid as this, but there was nothing to suggest anyone had landed from above either.
"I- I think it might have been on the opposite side." He said, swallowing his fears. He knew the chances of her still hiding behind the tree were astronomically low, but… he just needed to make absolutely sure.
"Do you remember any specifics of the thing you're trying to find?" Yuri asked, pushing and turning his chair.
"Uh…" He scrambled to think up some kind of justification while craning his head, trying to peer around the trunk. The detour probably hadn't been the greatest for the one pushing him, either. "…I think it was some kind of message, or- or a clue to something?"
Okay, so he maybe he wasn't the most creative person in the world. But hey, at least it hadn't been an outright lie.
"Hmm, a clue you say?" Yuri said thoughtfully, glancing at the bark as well as she fully rounded the tree.
There was no one there.
He couldn't help breathing a sigh of relief. Of course no one was there. No one had ever been here. It was just his imagination running rampant after being stuck in this damn chair so long. Everything was okay.
"MC?" Yuri asked. "Could this be the clue you were searching for?"
He turned his head, seeing Yuri pointing towards a spot on the trunk.
Even through all the layers of thermo-underwear, he felt his blood run cold. There, at about shoulder height, etched into the very bark of the tree, stood a message. A message consisting of two, simple words:
YOUR FAULT.
"Seems a bit mean-spirited, doesn't it?" Yuri went on, frowning lightly. "I mean, really. Not so much a 'clue' as a full on accusation. Or am I missing some context here?"
He didn't answer right away. He couldn't.
He kept staring at the words, practically able to feel the hatred gone into making them. Hatred unquestionably directed at him.
How is this possible? If she's not real, then how did she write this? IS it even there, or am I just seeing things again? What-
His millions of questions took a backseat as he snapped back to reality, staring straight up at Yuri.
"Wait a minute." His voice was low, hoarse. "Yuri, you- you can see it?!"
She looked back at him as if he'd gone insane. Which given recent events, wasn't exactly an unfair assumption.
"Of course I can, it's… right there." She said, gesturing to the carved message again. "'Your fault,' correct? Does that bear any significance to you?"
There was no doubt in his mind that the nightmare Sayori had written it. He'd heard her rasp those words at him so many times, it was practically her catchphrase at this point. That wasn't what terrified him so much.
This was the first, undeniable proof he had of the nightmares being able to affect the world at large. It could no longer be explained away as just his imagination. If Yuri could see it, then he could be sure it was actually there.
He didn't understand why or how this could even be happening. He just knew what it meant.
If it can carve into a tree… what else can it do?
"Are… you okay, MC?" Yuri asked, bending down to inspect his face. He must have looked as horrified as he felt judging from her eyebrows furrowing in obvious concern. "You- you don't look very well…"
That was the understatement of the year. Waves of dread were currently crashing against him as he became all too aware of just how isolated they were here in the thick of the forest, with who knows what might be lurking nearby, ready to ambush them. It was quickly dawning on him how bad an idea it'd been to come in here.
He tried forcing a reply out of his dry throat.
"W- we n- need to l- lea-"
"Hey guys!"
Both he and Yuri shrieked at the same time as a bright, cheerful voice suddenly ripped the blanket of silence away, and a round-faced, red-cheeked girl popped out from behind the tree.
Sayori looked on with amused befuddlement at their reactions, her wide smile not dropping an inch.
"Geez, you two have got to pay more attention to your surroundings! What the heck are you even doing in here?!" She berated, skipping forward to hoist what looked to be Hana's black rucksack loaded with pill bottles onto one of the wheelchair's hooks. "Y'all better not be smooching without me!"
"H- how on Earth were you able to get here without making a single noise?!" Yuri gasped breathlessly, clutching at her chest as she tried to recover. Sayori merely shrugged in response as she began rummaging around the wheelchair's pouches for snacks.
MC was rendered momentarily speechless as he watched his childhood friend hastily unwrap one of the cookies they'd packed from home, completely oblivious to the intensity of the atmosphere she'd just chased away. Despite the seriousness of the situation, he found it hard to focus on that with her standing there, being her usual, happy and non-zombified Sayori self while stuffing her face with chocolate chip crumbles.
"Oh, rhight!" She exclaimed, giving a mighty swallow to free her mouth. "I've talked things out with Hana and she's gonna be joining us for dinner tonight. I've told her Monika's got some juicy gossip to tell about Sophie from her Debate Club days, so that'll probably cheer her up some!"
She finished her cookie and looked up, as if just now noticing their expressions.
"What is it?" She raised an eye brow. "You look like you've seen a ghost!"
"Uhm, w- well." Yuri blinked, the first one of them to finish processing the stream of words from Sayori's mouth. "We uh, came across a message of sorts, and I think it upset MC for some reason."
Before he could protest the claim, she'd directed Sayori's attention towards the spiteful carving.
"Oh, that." She visibly cringed as she read it. "Yikes, I can see why. I've never really liked it either, to be honest. Such a dumb thing to vandalize a tree with."
"Wait." MC said incredulously, finally finding his voice again. "You've… seen this before?"
"Ugh, you have too!" She rolled her eyes. "Man, your memory's seriously the worst! We used to sit here and make fun of it all the time when we were kids!"
He frowned, trying to recall when the heck that'd happened. Nothing came to mind, but she did have a point about his lackluster remembrance skills. It definitely couldn't be ruled out.
"But then… who wrote it?"
"Who knows?" She shrugged. "People write weird stuff in weird places all the time. I once saw a French poem in a public bathroom. But y'know what, I'm glad you reminded me of this one, cuz I've had just about enough of it. Yuri, can I borrow your knife please?"
"Uh-" Yuri hesitated as her eyes widened in a poor attempt at feigning confusion. "W- why would you think I'm c- carrying one with me…?"
There was a moment's pause between them.
"So can I?" Sayori asked again, expectantly.
"…fine." Yuri sighed, fishing a silver switchblade from her purse and handed it over. "J- just be careful, Natsuki will never let me hear the end of it if you cut yourself!"
"I've got it!" Sayori reassured her, taking off a mitten to accept the blade before turning with a concentrated look as she approached the trunk. "Sorry tree, but you've been a Negative Nancy far too long!"
She stood on her tiptoes with her back turned as she reached up with the knife, and began making deliberate carving motions. MC made sure to keep a close eye on her while she worked, partly to watch out for any potential nightmare monster creatures and partly because Sayori really shouldn't be around any sort of sharp objects.
Finally, after working hard for about a minute straight, she lowered her hand and glanced over her shoulder with a satisfied smirk.
"Ta-da!" She announced, twirling to the side and revealing her carving. "Behold, my masterpiece!"
Even with all the serious worries that continued to haunt the corners of his mind, MC was quite unable to suppress a faint chuckle when he saw the crude addition she'd made to the tree:
NOT YOUR FAULT. ;)
"…how very charming." Yuri said, looking similarly amused.
"Aww, yeah!" Sayori said, cockily throwing the knife in the air to catch it again. "Am I the woman or w-"
"Sayori, no, THAT'S THE WRONG END OF-" He tried yelling just as the descending knife's tip made contact with her extended ring finger.
"Ouch! Whoopsie, that hurt!"
"You told me you'd be careful!"
"Ah, sorry Yuri! Uhhh, it's fine, I'll just tell Nat I pricked my finger on a thorn!"
"There's no way she'll believe that!"
"Yuri, did we pack band-aids?"
"Guys, it's not even that ba- oh, wait. I'm bleeding."
"Yuri, band-aids?!"
"I didn't pack any fucking band-aids!"
"Can't one of you just put my finger in your mouth? Hey Yuri, suck my finger please?"
"I don't do that anymore, would you kindly remove your hand from my face?!"
Sorry for the wait, guys. Feels great to be back to this again!
