It was always amazing how fast a multitude of different thoughts and feelings can come and go as when waiting. Just that thought was an example.

It didn't even have to be a long wait and yet anyone could probably have at least a hundred thoughts suddenly appear before just as quickly being replaced by another.

But then maybe this acknowledgement was just a way to keep some of those thoughts from deterring her while she waited.

Is it right to do this?

That was the most prominent thought she had on her mind once she left Sayori's home. She never really knew how things would go once she went there, and she didn't really know if leaving and doing this now was the right call.

There was no way to know.

Monika looked up. Dark clouds mostly covered the sky, but a few sprinkles of lights were able to shine down through the small rifts.

When she thought about it, the night sky was briefly calming to her up until Halloween.

Suddenly, the familiar sound of a door opening brought her attention back to what was in front of her.

She had no idea if this was truly the right call, but…

"Evening, Ms. Hiro."

Shujinkou's mother was standing before her, surprised.

"I'm sorry for abruptly coming so late unannounced but would it be to much trouble for us to see Shujinkou?"

"'Us'?"

A familiar stranger stepped out from behind Monika.

A small smile was on her face as she waved. "Hey, Auntie Hiro…"

"Sayori?"

Not another word was said between the two of them. They each just stared into the other's eyes until Sayori rushed forward and hugged Hiro, burying her face into her chest.

"I'm sorry, Auntie Hiro," Sayori apologized. "Can I… Can we see Skiko, please?"

Hiro shook her head and gently lifted Sayori's face up.

"No need to apologize, Sayori," she softly assured her. "Of you two can."

"Thank you."

"No need for thanks either."

Monika looked on with amazement. It was as if an entire conversation was compressed into just a few short words and meaningful looks.

I hope I can do something like that someday, but for now…

At the moment, she had something far more important to accomplish.

They walked upstairs.

"Monika…"

Stopping just short of Shujinkou's room, Monika looked back to find Sayori hanging back near the stairs.

She solemnly shook her head. "I don't think I can do this… I don't think I can see Shiko like that again."

Without saying a word, Monika approached her friend and extended a hand towards her. "You trust me, right?"

Sayori looked down at her hand then back at Monika. An outstretched hand and a face bearing nothing but the desire to help, it was all very familiar. It reminded her of that one moment from her childhood she considered very special.

With a slow nod, she finally answered, "…Yeah."

"Then trust me when I say that seeing him now will be good for you," Monika said with a bright, reassuring smile.

"Okay."

Sayori took Monika's hand, putting her faith into her friend to guide her.

Each step she took filled her with anxiety. She could still remember what it felt like to hold Shujinkou's bloodied and comatose body in her arms. She asked for something from him again even when it was clear how unfair it would be to demand it then.

"Don't go away again… Please…"

"Sayori."

Upon hearing Monika's voice, she realized that her eyes were shut tight. She didn't want to see Shujinkou like that ever again, but she wanted to trust Monika. She trusts her friend.

She slowly opened her eyes, the darkness slowly giving way to a sight she didn't expect to see.

"Shiko…"

So many different thoughts and feelings washed over Sayori at once that it would be easier to list what didn't feel. She assumed that she would primarily feel anguish seeing Shujinkou still in his comatose state, but instead she felt something more unexpected: Surprise.

She kneeled next to him to get a closer look. The last time she had saw him before falling into a coma, he was filled with rage and malevolence, but also sorrow and regret. Even when he fell into his current state, it felt like a there was a fading plea for forgiveness around him. But now…

"You're sleeping a lot more peacefully than I thought, Shiko," she admitted.

"He is, isn't he?" Monika said, sitting next to Sayori. "I actually think he looks more peaceful than before."

After everything that occurred, it was jarring for Sayori to see the normally worried Shujinkou look so at ease. It's been so long since she had seen a face like that from him.

"…You said Shiko was pretty 'off' after me and Natsuki were kidnapped, right?" Sayori asked. "Was he always acting like he did when he started beating Akui?"

"Eh… Not exactly like that. Um…"

Monika wasn't entirely sure how she could phrase her response. With everything that happened in such a short amount of time and his increasingly mood swinging state… It was also a struggle to even talk about it when she knew how he himself felt about it.

"I guess you could say he was a little frantic and… well there were just a lot of things that were worrying. You could chalk it up to him being really worried, but just being around him, you could tell something was really wrong with him."

"Yeah… I think I felt the same way after I dropped Shiko on his head," Sayori somberly admitted. "He looked really scary for a second when I was talking to him. He didn't direct at me, but it looked like he was really going to violently lash out at anyone…

And when I saw him again after you and Mali freed us, it was like he wasn't really there at all. Being convinced to leave a dangerous place as soon as possible and purposefully hurting everyone there as much as he could wasn't… I knew that wasn't Shiko, but I couldn't say anything because there was one important thing that clearly Shiko then: The fact that he wanted to save us that much.

It was a fact that caused her much internal conflict. His goals and how he went about achieving them. IT wasn't whether or not the people who held them deserved such brutality, it was about Shujinkou delving into it.

"Still, I didn't really see Shiko again until Akui forced him to fight to the death. I saw Shiko again and I saw him terrified and hurt again. I saw Shiko being tortured and still trying to save us.

And he did, but when he did, I didn't see Shiko completely. Once you and the others were out of danger, he vanished until he saved me.

And as he was about to kill Akuma, I saw Shiko about to go away for good and… I didn't want that. Right then and there, all I wanted was for Shiko not to go away."

That plea always was accompanied by one specific memory. The moment in her life that she felt changed it forever.

"I remember the first time I met Shiko. I made a fool of myself again on the first day of school. Everyone was laughing at me, and it really hurt. But one person didn't. He offered his hand and wanted to make sure I was okay even though he didn't know me and felt he wasn't that good at talking with others.

Shiko accepted my clumsy, mess everything up side with a smile. Whenever it seemed like I did something that would have made him mad, he would shrug it off and make sure I knew that he wasn't upset with me.

We didn't have any other friends outside of family, but we had each other and that… That was something I would do anything to keep.

I wanted to be there for him as much as he was there for me. I always wanted him to help him be happy even though it seemed the world didn't want him to.

I wanted to help him be happy… So much that I was willing to leave him be if that was what it took. I really didn't want to, but if me leaving him alone would have made him happy or at least happier, than I had to accept that.

But then Shiko told me that he would be happier if I was around. It was something I wanted to hear so much even if it wasn't what I wanted exactly. And then everyone was helping him through his pain, and he was trying to help us… Us helping each other…"

Sayori heaved a heavy sigh.

"I already knew what it was like to lose someone; I lost two people I cared about at once, in fact. I lost Hiroko and Shiko all at once. I didn't want that to happen again, but it did. And like before, I didn't just lose Shiko, I lost others that I cared about. I was used to hurt my friends and I couldn't forgive myself for that. Then we were all used to hurt Shiko because of Jomei's past.

And because of that Shiko went away again."

She shook her head and looked up at Monika. "Monika… Do you… Do you think Shiko will come back to us?"

"I'm sure Shujinkou will wake up sooner than later," Monika answered. "We just have faith that he will."

"No, not that. I mean… Will it really be Shiko when he wakes up? Or is he really gone forever this time? He feels like Shiko now, but what if he still acts like he did the night before Halloween when he wakes up?"

That was a fair question. For all they knew, they were just projecting an image of peaceful slumber on their comatose friend for their own sake.

Monika looked down at Shujinkou and, after pondering that possibility, shook her head. "I don't think he will."

"How can you be so sure?"

Monika looked up and calmly explained, "Because he never wanted to do what he did up 'til that night. Because when he threatened to kill Akuma, it was clear that he didn't want to go through it. Because when it looked like he was, you stepped in to stop him."

"But what does that have to do with-?"

Using her eyes, Monika silently directed Sayori's gaze to Shujinkou. "Remember how I told you that night it was best if nothing happened to you; that wasn't just because you were the only one who could keep everyone calm. I didn't completely realize it then, but now I know that when I said that back then, I was including Shujinkou too.

I figured it out when you stopped Shujinkou from killing Akuma. You were probably the only one who could have stopped him then. Your genuine desire to keep him from doing something he'd regret reached the true Shujinkou and gave him the strength to overcome whatever was compelling him to act that way.

I know it sounds strange, but it feels like the reason why Shujinkou seems so peaceful now is because he ultimately won out over the unexplainable that night and it was because of you."

Sayori looked up at Monika. "You really think that I had that much of an effect then?"

"I do. After all, who was the one that stepped in then to help him?" Monika pointed out with a reassuring smile. "And don't forget, like you said, in spite of how he was acting, his first priority was always our safety."

Sayori closed her eyes and nodded her head. "Yeah… Even though I didn't really see it, I guess a part of Shiko was always there in some way, even at his lowest."

"And didn't he come back from his lowest point before?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Besides, if Shujinkou really is still struggling with whatever made him act like that then we'll just have to be there for him, right?

A tiny smile formed on Sayori's lips. "Yeah."

"Because if a friend needs me to be there-"

Sayori's smile grew wider, her face now brightening up the room. "-We'll be there – to help!"

Laughter soon filled the room. There was no real reason, they just felt like laughing. Just that simple expression of joy was comforting.

Once the laughter died down, Sayori looked down at Shujinkou then back at Monika. There was a peculiar look in her eyes as she grinned. "…Thanks, Monika."

"For what?" she half-jokingly asked.

"For being that friend that'll be there."

Monika was stunned to hear that. Perhaps she should have expected it, but the words Sayori used to express gratitude still affected her greatly.

All she could do at that moment was look down and gently grasp her chest.

She couldn't express how happy those words made her feel.