"Alright, you are all set, Sayori," Hiro said as she finished packing Sayori's bag.
Despite the fact that she hasn't done it in a while, it felt like it was only yesterday Hiro picked out all the necessities Sayori needed whenever she came over to stay for the night. Once she made sure everything was secured, the slightly weary woman closed the bag and casually tossed the bag to its owner.
"Thanks, Auntie H," Sayori beamed, slipping her arms through the straps of her luggage.
Just then, Shujinkou walked down the nearby steps with a tobacco pipe in hand. He gently blew into the pipe and watched in amazement as bubbles flew up towards the ceiling.
"You know, it's too bad that you can't come to the slumber party with me, Shujinkou," Sayori lamented.
"Wha-?! I can't go to an all girls' slumber party, Sayori," Shujinkou replied in a matter-of-fact tone.
"If mom was here, she would probably say that you may be the only high school male that would say that without a hint of regret," Hiro chuckled.
Sayori joined in on the laughter as Shujinkou simply blew more bubbles from his pipe.
"That said, it's kind of weird staying over someone else's house and you're not there," Sayori continued.
"I guess…" he diverted his gaze as scratched his cheek. The bubble blower didn't know why, but he found it weird that his friend's statement caused him to start to feel weird. Of course, he didn't want her to know that out of fear of ruining her fun. "Eh, I'm 100% sure you'll still have fun without me."
Suddenly, the conversation was cut short by four knocks on the front door.
"Wonder who that could be?" Hiro wondered aloud as she approached the door. She opened the door and was hit with surprise the moment she laid her eyes on Yuri and Natsuki.
"Whoa…" Natsuki said.
"Ah… Is Sayori here? Yuri asked.
Hiro continued to stare at the two girls, unable to hide how completely dumbfounded she was. After staring at them for what seemed like forever, Hiro snapped back to reality and let out an awkward laugh. "Sorry, I think got lost in my own thoughts for a moment. Come on in."
As she motioned them to enter her home, Hiro couldn't help but think, "Oh my…! They're more moe than I thought they would be! …Whoa, I think Shujinkou's anime tongue is starting to get to me again."
Watching the two girls walk into his house; Shujinkou once again started to blow bubbles from his pipe, this act being the only thing hiding the surprise he felt from their sudden appearance.
"What's with the bubble pipe?" Natsuki inquired.
"I…" Shujinkou hesitated for a moment he before immediately deciding to tell the truth. "I sometimes use it when I read things and used to use it when I pretended to be a detective when I was younger. I probably look pretty dumb with it, huh?"
"Hm… I think it makes you look very distinguished," Yuri complimented.
"You think?" The quizzical look he gave her caused the young maiden to immediately divert her gaze.
"Yeah… I do…" a tiny smile formed on Yuri's face as her cheeks grew red.
"It is kinda cool…" Natsuki shrugged.
"See? I told you I wasn't the only one who thought that," Sayori chirped.
"Huh." Shujinkou placed the tip of the pipe in his mouth as he started to ponder. "Wait… But you said that when I was a kid. I don't think it counts at a time when people said I looked cute with it."
His mother could do nothing but watch the conversation take place.
"Wow…" Hiro thought. She couldn't help but be amazed at what she was seeing. "Uh, Shujinkou, why don't you introduce me to our guests?"
"Huh? Oh yeah," Shujinkou cleared his throat and said, "Mom, these are my friends from the Literature Club: Natsuki and Yuri."
"Nice to finally meet you two," Hiro awkwardly chuckled.
The two guests silently nodded their heads in agreement.
"So what are you two doing here?" Shujinkou asked Natsuki and Yuri.
"Sayori thought it would be a good idea for us to meet here so we could all go to Monika's house together," Natsuki answered. The pink-haired girl then glanced at his mother and, at a barely audible level, added, "I didn't expect us to run into your mother though…"
Shujinkou shot a surprised look at Sayori. "Why here?"
"Because I was here," Sayori answered in a matter-of-fact tone. "It wouldn't make much sense for them to meet at my house if I wasn't there."
"Touché," he replied.
"I'm sorry if it's such a bother," Yuri apologized.
"No, it's not a bother," Shujinkou assured them. He then pressed his lips against the end of his pipe and thought, "Though it's not how I pictured introducing them to my mother…"
"Well, I'm ready, so let's go!" Sayori declared.
"Wait a minute, everyone. Why don't I drive you all?" Hiro suggested.
Hesitation immediately gripped the two visitors, a feeling Hiro shared.
"Please? I insist," Hiro said.
Her genuine insistence invoked a strange feeling in Shujinkou and Yuri.
"This situation seems familiar…" they thought.
But with no clear vocal objections to the idea, Hiro led the four to her car, jumped in the driver's seat, and started the car. Once everyone was secured, she entered the address of Monika's house in the GPS and started the drive to their objective.
"So, uhm… How is life in the Literature Club, everyone?" Hiro inquired.
"It's fun," Sayori answered. "We all have fun there every day."
"Really? What do you guys do in it?" she asked.
"Usually anything we want in regards to literature, unless Monika had an activity planned," Shujinkou answered.
"Hm, what's this Monika like?" Hiro asked.
"She's really nice," Sayori answered.
"She's also the smartest and most popular student in school," Natsuki added.
"Really?" Hiro wondered.
"She is quite loved by the student body," Yuri replied. "She's also one of the most athletic students in the school."
Hiro glanced at her son.
"I can't add anything else. They pretty much explained how much of a school idol she is," Shujinkou replied, scratching his right cheek.
"A school idol…" Hiro thought.
Hiro remained silent for the rest of the ride, only speaking up once the car stopped.
"We are here!" she announced.
Everyone stepped out of the car.
"Hey guys!"
The group quickly turned around, surprised to find Monika approaching them from the sidewalk.
"I didn't expect you guys to get here so early," she said.
"Auntie H gave us a ride," Sayori replied.
"Auntie H?" Monika stared at Sayori confused.
"I think she's talking about Shujinkou's mom," Natsuki pointed to Shujinkou and his mother.
"Oh," Monika approached the two and smiled at Hiro. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Likewise," Hiro nodded.
Suddenly, he could feel a different "weird" feeling wash over him. Like the one from before, he couldn't understand why until Monika turned her radiant smile to him.
"Nice bubble pipe, Shujinkou," Monika complimented.
"So I've heard," he chuckled in the usual awkward fashion.
"I didn't expect to see you today. You wouldn't be hoping to try to make that joke into a reality were you?" she asked.
One single moment from the time she tutored him could not stay hidden away in his head.
"N-No…" he muttered.
"What's wrong?" Monika asked.
"Huh? Oh, nothing. I'm fine," Shujinkou assured her with red cheeks. "Anyway, I guess we'll go so you can have your party…"
"Hm… Okay then," Monika said. "Thank you both for bringing them here."
Shujinkou and Hiro returned to the car and, with a wave goodbye, drove off.
"Anyone else notice that Shujinkou's mom and grandma could be mistaken for sisters?" Natsuki said.
Monika and Yuri nodded their heads in agreement as Natsuki continued to stare into the distance.
"I can also see where he got some of his personality," she thought.
"Okay, everyone, I think it's time for us to get this party started," Monika announced.
"Ah… How do we do that?" Yuri asked.
"Um…" the club president's cheeks turned red. "To be honest, I don't really know. I never really experienced a slumber party before."
"Really?" the three visitors' eyes lit up with surprise.
"Well, I do have a few ideas, but I guess the first thing I should do is welcome you to my home," said Monika.
She wasted no time in leading her guests into her house. The curious eyes of the visitors scanned everything it could as they walked into the living room.
"Are your parents here?" Yuri asked.
"No. They left me in charge while they're away," Monika answered.
"Lucky," Natsuki said as she plopped down on a nearby couch. "I would love to have the house to myself for a while."
"Does this mean that we're going to have one of those wild teen parties that happen as soon as the authority figures are gone?" Sayori wondered aloud, plopping down next to Natsuki.
"I don't know if I would be comfortable participating in one of those kinds of party…" said Yuri.
"No, we won't be doing anything like that," Monika assured them. "I wouldn't want to betray my parents' trust like that after all."
Suddenly, Sayori's entire body convulsed as she looked down at Natsuki's carrier. The familiar look of desire was all bag's owner needed to realize what she was thinking.
"No," Natsuki said in a stern tone of voice.
"Can I at least see it?" Sayori pleaded.
"No."
"Please?!"
"No!"
Natsuki immediately moved her belongings away from the danger of Sayori as Monika quickly glanced down at her phone.
"Anyone up for Truth or Dare?" Monika suggested.
"Truth or Dare?" her guests eyes lit up with curiosity as Monika retrieved a bottle of water from her refrigerator.
She placed the bottle on the floor in front of them and asked, "Who wants to go first?"
"I'll do it!" the energetic girl quickly dropped to her knees and spun the bottle. Natsuki's heart sunk as the bottle pointed to her."Natsuki, truth or dare?"
"I'll take dare," Natsuki said, her voice layered with false confidence.
"Okay, I dare you to…" Sayori's head rocked back and forth as she tried to think of a suitable dare. "I dare you to… Prank call, Granny Hisa."
"What?!" Natsuki exclaimed. "I can't do that! She knows me!"
"You just have to pretend that you're somebody else."
"Ugh… Fine."
Natsuki reluctantly grabbed her phone and slowly dialed the professional number for Kitsune Spa Resort.
"Hello?" Hisa said.
Natsuki cleared her throat and spoke in the most masculine voice she could bring herself to do, "Excuse me, is Mr. Wall there?"
"I'm sorry, there's no one by that name, Natsuki," Hisa answered in a casual tone.
"W-Who is this Natsuki?" Natsuki stammered.
"I don't want to be mean, Natsuki, but your male voice isn't that good," Hisa chuckled.
Natsuki could hear the spa owner scratch her right cheek from the other side of the call.
"So, what do I owe the honor of this prank call?" Hisa inquired.
"It was… It was a dare," Natsuki reluctantly admitted.
"Huh. Are you girls having a slumber party?"
"How'd you-?"
"I analyzed all the facts. But anyway, I got some Hisa-things to do, but it was nice hearing from you."
"Y-Yeah. You too."
"You and the other girls have a great time, okay?"
"Alright."
The call ended, leaving Natsuki slightly surprised.
"Okay, I'm done with this game," she announced. "If I'm going to have to keep doing things like that, then I definitely don't want to play anymore."
"So, what should we do now?" Sayori wondered aloud.
"Perhaps I could make us some tea while we wait for a viable suggestion?" Yuri suggested.
"Eh? But isn't that a suggestion?" Sayori's confused expression was all it took to make Yuri look away.
"Ah… I guess it is…" Yuri then turned her gaze to Monika. "Do you mind? I brought my own things to make some."
"Of course," Monika nodded.
Yuri proceeded to enter the kitchen as Monika sat down on the couch.
"You know, we probably shouldn't force anything," Monika said. "After all, an expert once said that we should let things come naturally."
"An expert…" Sayori closed her eyes and began to theorize the identity of this "expert" Monika referred to. "…I got nothing. Hey, did any of you ever find out who won the contest to Granny Hisa's spa resort?"
The two girls beside her shook their heads, followed by Natsuki asking, "How did we all miss that info?"
"I guess we weren't paying that much attention," Monika concluded.
"How could we not pay attention to the something that involved us winning a free trip?" Natsuki said in disbelief.
"Well, Monika was probably very busy and Shujinkou gets lost in thought a lot," Sayori said. "As for the rest of us… We probably weren't paying attention."
"That's just what Monika said," Natsuki sighed.
"Oh yeah," Sayori chuckled. "But it wouldn't be the first time we weren't paying attention to things. Like how Monika worked in a maid café during the Cultural Festival even though everyone else in school knew about it."
"Eh… I wasn't exactly thrilled with that entire situation," Monika said.
"But it was so successful," Sayori pointed out. "Your class attracted the entire school."
"Even so, I still found the whole thing kind of embarrassing," Monika replied.
Just then, Yuri approached the three and handed them each a cup of tea.
"It must have been nice though to have everyone look forward to something you're involved in," Yuri said.
"See? There's something positive to take out of the experience," Sayori said.
"Actually… I think there's another positive thing I got out of the experience," Monika took a sip from her cup with slightly red cheeks. "Oh yeah, that reminds me."
Monika reached under the couch and pulled out a tower of board games.
"My parents said that we could play these to pass the time," Monika said.
"Why were they under the couch?" Natsuki queried.
"I don't know," Monika shrugged. "Anyone want to play trouble?"
With no arguments towards the idea, the host set the game up and each player set their colored pieces in their proper starting points. They then hit the POP-O-MATIC to roll the dice inside; each one hoping they would earn the coveted number 6 in order to escape from "Home."
15 minutes later, their pieces were still trapped in the four starting areas as they continued to hit the POP-O-MATIC.
"Anyone want to play something else?" Monika asked.
Her guests silently nodded their heads and Monika grabbed another board game.
"The Game of Life," Monika announced.
The game was soon under way. Monika finished the game as a successful doctor with a healthy family, Sayori was a rich accountant, Yuri was a famous journalist and Natsuki was plagued with a lot of debt.
"Ugh…" Natsuki groaned as the game ended.
"Let's try playing Monopoly next," Monika suggested.
The next game began. 1 hour later, the game ended with Natsuki losing all of her money through pure bad luck.
"These dice are biased," she tightened her grip on the pair of dice before dropping them back on the board.
"Uhm… How about we play Sorry," Monika nervously suggested.
The third game ended with everyone but Natsuki guiding their pieces to the "Home" zone.
Monika couldn't help but fearfully chuckle as she watched her manga-loving guest willingly fall back against the couch.
"Oh yeah, I just remembered something else my parents left for us," Monika sat up and led her guests into the kitchen. She then searched through one of the cabinets and pulled out a tiny fountain. "A chocolate fountain!"
"Your parents are awesome," Sayori beamed and turned her gaze to Natsuki. "Does this mean we can finally eat what you brought over?"
"I don't see a better time," an excited smile crept up on the exasperated girl as she left to grab her bag. She soon came back with a bag of cookies as Monika turned on the fountain.
The girls watched in delight as chocolate began to pour out from the top.
"Let's dig in!" Monika announced.
The four each grabbed a single cookie, smothered them in chocolate and took a bite. Only the satisfied look on their faces could describe the glee they felt.
"Ah… Should we be eating these before dinner?" Yuri brought up.
The euphoria left as quickly as it came as Yuri's realization set in.
Moments later, the girls sat in Monika's room, watching TV and eating their dinner.
"I think it's late enough now," Monika said.
"Late enough for what?" Natsuki asked.
" Something that a good sleepover party should always have… a good old scary story," the calm smile Monika sported was enough to cause Natsuki to break into a nervous sweat. "Does anyone have a really scary tale to share?"
"I think I have a scary story that might suffice," Yuri offered.
"Go for it," Monika encouraged.
"Well, this tale takes place in the Victorian Era," Yuri began the story with a slight smile on her face. "There was once a girl named Annie who lived with her best friend Ida in a private school for the gifted. The two weren't the most popular, or the smartest, but they were very comfortable with each other and found solace in that.
One morning, Ida opened their wardrobe, only for the corpse of another female student to fall on top of her. Naturally, the girls were horrified and news of this death quickly traveled throughout the school. Once the body was examined, it was discovered that there rope marks around the neck of the corpse and the death was ruled as a suicide.
But things didn't end there. From then on, day after day, more and more corpses were found around the school. It wasn't long before other students began to suspect that Annie and Ida were the ones responsible for all the recent deaths. The other students began to bully and belittle them, so they decided that they would find out who the murderer was and clear their name.
That very night, Annie and Ida searched the school for any clues, until they heard a scream resonate within the corridors. Annie suddenly took off to follow the screams and Ida tried to follow, but couldn't keep up. While searching the school for her friend, Ida heard another scream. Fear began to cloud her senses. She was so afraid, that she didn't notice a mysterious figure approach her until she heard her friend call her name.
Ida looked up immediately ducked out of the way of a knife slash and Annie clumsily pushed the man to the ground. She then proceeded to grab the knife and thrust it into the figure's heart. Ida was shocked over the entire situation to say the least. She took a closer look at the figure and was surprised to find that it was just a normal man.
'Y-You fool. Why are you helping…' he died before he could finish his sentence. Ida couldn't fathom what the man was trying to say until she felt cold steel pierce her back. It all happened so quickly, that couldn't even scream. She hit the ground and looked up. She saw a knife covered in her blood in the hands of Annie. She was shocked by the dead look in her eyes. The last thing she saw was her friend leaving before darkness took her away.
Now you would think that this was the story of a deceptive friend, but there's actually a lot more to it. Annie disappeared from the face of the earth that night. One century later, the same kind of murders started taking place in private schools all around the world. Soon, they evolved into murders that would take place anywhere. Some believed that Annie is a ghost one that that's eternally bound to this realm, killing as much as she wants. Taking a different appearance, befriending a new friend, earning their trust just so she can make a new kill!"
A bright smile appeared on Yuri's face as she drew a knife from her pocket, frightening the others to the point of them huddling together for comfort.
"Was that sufficiently scary?" Yuri queried.
"That was way too scary!" Natsuki screeched.
"Really scary," Sayori fearfully nodded her head in agreement.
"I, uh… I think it's safe to say that this party had a good scary story…" Monika nervously chuckled. "By the way, Yuri, why do you have a pocket knife?"
"Ah…" Yuri placed the knife back in her pocket. "No real reason…"
"I bet you only have it on you so you could scare us with that story of yours," Natsuki said.
"It did make for a scary twist," Sayori said. "Plus, you looked so cute when you were scared."
"I'm not cute!" Natsuki yelled. "Especially when I'm scared!"
"Actually I think you look cute no matter how you're feeling," Sayori grinned.
The smiling girl's face was soon introduced to a cat shaped pillow. Muffled sounds could be heard as Natsuki tightly held the pillow against her face.
"You still think I'm cute?" Natsuki asked with a smug look.
Sayori's arms continued to flail about until one of them grabbed another pillow and swung it at Natsuki. Now able to breathe again, Sayori gripped the pillow tighter and raised it over her head.
"Pillow fight!" she effused.
Sayori turned her gaze towards Monika and Yuri. The excited look in her eyes was enough to frighten Yuri. The club VP swung her pillow at Yuri, only to be immediately intercepted by Monika. The lightning fast speed Monika demonstrated left Sayori open long enough for Natsuki to take her revenge for earlier.
"You've both met your match!" a confident smile spread across her face as she swung her pillow at Monika.
The host of the party effortlessly blocked the swings of her guest with a gentle smile on her face.
"You're enjoying how easy this is, aren't you?" Natsuki said.
"It's not easy at all," Monika replied, as she casually blocked a blow from Sayori.
"Not easy? Yeah right…" Natsuki muttered as she raised her pillow.
Teaming up with Sayori, the two continued their relentless assault against Monika to no avail. Just as the two were about to give up hope, an azure pillow struck the back of Monika's head. Everything came to a stop as the three turned their surprised gazes at a just as surprised Yuri.
No words were exchanged as the four started the fight once again.
15 minutes later, the girls collapsed on the floor laughing.
"Anyone else so tired that they can't move?" Monika asked.
"Right here," Sayori raised her hand.
"I'm also very exhausted," Yuri said.
"You better be," Natsuki said. "Your swings were so hard that it'd be crazy if you had any energy left."
"Ah… Sorry," Yuri apologized.
"Yeesh, you don't need to apologize when that's the point of the game," Natsuki pointed out.
"Oh. Sorry," Yuri apologized once more.
"Ugh… Your apologizing is making me feel like a jerk…" Natsuki moaned.
"I don't think that you have to worry about feeling like you're a jerk to Yuri," Sayori said. "After all, a jerk wouldn't have felt so mad when they first laid their eyes on Akuma."
"Guh… That's not how it happened…" Natsuki muttered at a barely audible level.
"Is that true?" Monika asked.
"It happened after you and Shujinkou went to Yuri's house. We ran into him and Natsuki looked so mad that I thought she was going to jump him right then and there," Sayori answered.
The surprised that appeared in the eyes of Yuri and Monika was enough for Natsuki to divert her gaze.
"It's not such a big deal," she said. "I was just making sure that nothing awkward would happen. In fact, I was madder about him mistaking me for a first-year student."
"That sounds like you," Monika giggled.
"Ah…" Yuri slightly fidgeted as she looked into Natsuki's eyes. "Thanks, Natsuki."
"It's… It's not a big deal," she said in a huff. "Let's just drop it, okay?"
"Well, if that's the way you want it, Natsuki. Do you want to talk about the day we first met?" Monika suggested.
"St-Stop teasing me!" Natsuki snapped. "Maybe I'd rather talk more about the maid café thing?"
"Eh… No thanks," Monika nervously chuckled.
"How about we talk about what we did during the poster contest?" Sayori suggested.
"NO!" Yuri and Natsuki screamed. The two girls silently looked at each other, surprised by the other's response "No."
"Did something happen when you were working with Shujinkou, Natsuki?" Sayori asked.
"Of course not," Natsuki replied. "There's just nothing to talk about. We made a poster and that's it. Point is, we don't need to talk about that because there's nothing to talk about."
"You sure?" Sayori asked. "You seem to be…
Another pillow was quickly held against the vice-president's face.
"I gotta start bringing a pillow with me to the club," Natsuki smiled as she imagined putting the idea in practice.
She was then struck herself by Sayori, igniting another war.
The next morning, Monika slowly opened her eyes as a massive yawn escaped her body. She then looked around, noticing that she and her guests were still huddled together. She simply smiled and joined them back in the comfort of sleep.