"Ah!"
Sayori's high pitched scream loudly bounced around the room. Her heart was pounding so fiercely, it felt like it could explode against her chest. She tightly grasped her flushed cheeks and violently shook her head.
"No! No!" she said over and over, trying to come to grips with the dream she just had.
"Are you okay, Sayori?"
Sayori stopped and soon discovered that Monika had been standing right beside her.
"Uhm…" embarrassment caused her cheeks grew even redder. "I just had a… weird dream."
"Weird" wasn't exactly the correct word used to describe what happened in her head, but that was something Sayori desperately wanted to keep herself.
Desperately looking for something else to focus on, Sayori soon took notice of Monika's current attire. Seeing her dressed in her school uniform set off all kinds of alarms in her head.
"Oh no, I didn't wake up late again, did I?!" she fretted.
"No, no. I just got up early to take care of some things." Monika assured her.
Sayori breathed a sigh of relief. Today was her first day back to school after her "unofficial vacation"; the last thing that she wanted was to have to make a straight dash for it again.
"What were you working on anyway?" Sayori asked.
"It's a secret," Monika said, giving Sayori a coy wink.
"Aw… Do you really have to do your whole secret thing now…?"
"Would it make you feel better if I say it's a surprise? I kinda want to keep it a secret until later."
"Fine…" Sayori pouted. "You must really be feeling better if you're back on your whole secret thing though…"
"Just a surprise… You'll find out later, I promise. For now, why don't you get ready for school?"
"Okay." Sayori stretched her arms as she slowly stood up. If there was one thing she could say for sure after multiple stays at Monika's residence, it was that her floor was expectedly softer than her own bedroom floor. "Ah! Monika!"
Monika looked back from her doorway. She was surprised by the curious, but serious look on her face.
"Do you still remember the promise you made?" Sayori asked.
"You mean the one from last night?"
"Mm-hmm."
Whilst conversing before going to bed last night, Sayori had made Monika agree to something that would surely come up in the future.
"But isn't it a little early to be reminding me of that?" she said with a weak chuckle. "After all, that's a bit off from now."
"I know. But my dream reminded me to make sure."
"Wait… Was your dream about-?"
"Ah! Secret! It's a secret!" Sayori shouted, rapidly waving her hands.
"O-okay," Monika already had an idea regarding what Sayori was hiding qnd her hectic response was a pretty good confirmation to her theory. "I guess we both have secrets then."
"Yeah…" Sayori said with an exhausted sigh.
"Well, anyway, I'll be downstairs if you need me."
Monika took her leave and walked downstairs.
Sayori…
Monika continued her descent until she felt something brush against her foot. There was a bag sitting next to a suitcase at the bottom of the stairs.
"No way…"
"Way!" a cheery voice answered.
Slipping into Monika's view, making sure her cousin could see how satisfied she was with her latest victory was Claudette. As if to emphasize it more, she raised her formed a V shape with her right hand. "I scored a flight for today."
"How?" Monika asked, stunned.
"Luck, I guess," Claudette said with a disinterested shrug.
"Oh…" The night before Monika had approached Claudette and insisted that she leave as soon as she could. Her cousin was understandably baffled by the sudden suggestion and naturally reluctant to do so. It took a lot of convincing, but Monika was able to prevail in their heated debate. Despite that however, "I didn't really expect you to leave so soon…"
"If you want me to stay, I'll cancel my flight right now." Claudette stated in a succinct, matter-of-fact tone.
"No. You already stayed longer than you planned to for me, and you have your own life and commitments. That's the entire reason why I convinced you to leave remember?"
"And do you remember that I said I'd still push those off if you need me?"
"I remember and I appreciate everything you've done but, I don't want to hold you up anymore. Besides…" There was a noticeable sparkle in Monika's eyes as she paused. With a smile, she confidently declared, "I mean it this time when I say: I'm fine now."
Every other time Monika had said that lately, it was clear that she was lying. At times, she couldn't even muster up a proper fake smile to try and help her assertion.
But now, it was as clear as day that Monika really did mean what she said.
"Heh…" A nonchalant smile was on Claudette's face as she shrugged. "…Alright. I'll give you this win. I'll let you kick me out."
"Wait!" The two caught a glimpse of Sayori halfway down the stairs. "You're leaving, Claudette?"
She rushed down the steps and tripped over Claudette's bags.
"Whoa!" Her body soon stopped, her face mere inches away from Claudette's chest. She looked up, noticing her arms were currently being held by Claudette's own. "Sorry."
Claudette giggled as she turned her attention to Monika. "How is it one of your friends is more torn up about me leaving than you are?"
"C'mon, Claudette, you know I'd rather you stay," Monika argued.
"So, you're really leaving, Claudette?" Sayori questioned.
She nodded her head.
"But… We didn't get to spend that much time with you."
"I know, it's a tragedy. But hey, I'll be back."
"You promise?"
"Of course."
"Okay…" Sayori jumped up and squeezed Claudette as tightly as possible. "See ya, Claudette."
Keeping her composure, Claudette instinctively pat Sayori on the head as she turned to Monika. Monika could already tell what she was thinking, but her eyes made it even more obvious.
It was if they were screaming, "Seriously, I feel like this should be us; not you kicking me out."
Sayori soon let go, giving Claudette a moment to breathe.
"Seriously, I feel like-"
Her words were immediately cut off by Monika wrapping her arms around her. "Thanks for everything, Claudette."
"Ah…" Claudette placed her hands on Monika's trembling shoulders and brought her cousin back in from of her. Her comforting smile contrasted the regret on Monika's face. "Don't make that face. Seeing my favorite little cousin always makes these visits worth it."
Her attention then shifted to her stuff and she effortlessly lifted them up.
"Welp, I'll finally get out of your hair," Claudette announced. "I expect constant updates about what happens from here on out, 'kay?"
Monika cheerfully nodded her head. "'kay."
"Fair warning, you give me any reason to believe something's going on, I'll come be back here in a heartbeat. If you really don't want that, then you better work hard."
With those encouraging words and a playful wink, Claudette took her leave.
"I miss her already," Sayori thought aloud.
That went without saying for Monika. Even when leaving, her elder cousin still took the time to give her one final boost.
"We better get ready to leave too, Sayori."
"Mm-hmm."
…
Office of Student President, Lunch time.
So…
Fuyu scratched her head. Sitting in front of her was a home-made box lunch. Surrounding her were the sounds of others eating from the similar boxes.
"I probably should have asked this from the start but: What's the occasion for this again?"
What "this" referred to was the group of herself, Rei, Monika, Sayori and Kiyoko sitting on a blanket and eating from the lunch boxes Monika had brought them.
"Just my way of saying thanks for helping get my head back together," Monika cheerfully explained.
"Really?" Surprise floated on Sayori's face. "I thought we were just having lunch together."
"That too, but I just wanted to express my gratitude again."
"It was nothing," Kiyoko replied with a laid-back shrug. "Some of us was just voicing our opinion when asked though."
"Still, thank you."
Fuyu was stunned. The sight of Monika's cheery expression was uncanny. I wonder what Ms. Hiro said to her then.
"So… What do you two plan on doing now?" she asked.
"Specifically? We have absolutely no idea," Monika happily admitted.
"None…?" Fuyu's eyes drifted to Sayori. "Nothing at all?"
"I haven't really gotten around to that all that much…" Sayori admitted, the embarassed tone of her voice contrasting Monika's.
Huh. Monika wondered if they were referring to the files Sayori had mentioned before. I just hope that it isn't anything like what Shujinkou and Mali found during that time…
It still sent chills up her spine thinking back to when she read those, or at least as much as she could. Though now, she couldn't really recall much of what she could make out.
Something only Shujinkou and Mali could see, and she could only partially see… It was another unsolvable mystery from that night and the only positive from finding those was that they knew where Akui was hiding.
And though it seemed unsolvable, from time to time, she couldn't help but wonder what led to those strange circumstances. Why just being in proximity those documents caused her to break out in a nervous sweat and why did Mali seem different but the same at the same time?
What affected Shujinkou as much as it did and was it the same thing that granted him the power he displayed that night?
It wasn't just above average strength, but-
"-nika?"
"Hm?" Monika followed the hands waving in front of her back to Sayori. "What's up?"
"I was asking you about the extra lunch box. Who's it for?"
Monika looked down at her bag, a spare lunchbox barely sticking out of it.
"This one?" Monika neatly pushed it back inside while answering, "It's for Mali."
"Mali?" Sayori's gaze switched between Monika and the bag that held the last lunch. "Mali?"
"Mm-hmm. I know she had to have her own personal reasons for doing so, but she still tried to nudge me to do what I should be doing so I figured I should express my gratitude to her as well. I tried looking for her before coming here but I couldn't find her."
"…Mali?"
"Yep."
"Oh…"
Monika giggled. "You can more after school. I have some leftover at home."
"Okay!"
Monika sighed in relief. With one potential issue down, there was only one thing left to think about.
Still… I wonder where Mali's at right now.
One question that hung in the back of her mind was what Mali was doing since that night. Thinking back, Mali was uncharacteristically silent after Shujinkou collapsed in Sayori's arms.
Openly admitting that she considers Shujinkou a source of entertainment, what would she do if that source was gone?
And if Mali considered him only as a passing interest, why would she try to convince who she sees as one of Shujinkou's potential girlfriends to try and mend the broken bonds with the others?
Monika sighed. Every question just leads to another… Mali's the definition of an enigma.
…
Clubroom of the Literature Club, after school.
"It feels like it's been forever since I've been in here," Sayori's energetic voice bounced off the walls of their clubroom.
That was a sentiment that Monika shared, adding to her delight watching Sayori skip across the room. It was as some form of normalcy had finally returned.
"Wait…"
Sayori stopped and looked around. With a confused and slightly disappointed face, Sayori faced Monika. "Is it weird that I kinda expected cobwebs and a lot of dust and stuff to clean just to show that we're partially back in business?"
"No, that actually sounds like it would be pretty nice to do right now," Monika giggled. "Then again, it does allow us to get straight to business."
Sayori eagerly nodded her head. "Right. Now we can get started with Operation: Doki Doki Literature Club!"
Sayori's voice rung throughout the room again, the echo being the only response to her grand declaration.
"Monika?"
Monika was staring at her with a blank expression on her face.
"What's wrong?"
"…Operation: Doki Doki Literature Club?"
"You don't like that name?"
"It's not that but… why is there a 'Doki Doki' in the name?" The moment Monika heard those four words strung together, she felt both happiness and despair all at once. So much that it felt too much for just one person.
"Because we're trying to bring the club back together and there's bound to be a lot of heart pounding touching moments like we had," Sayori explained. "Hence 'Doki Doki'."
"Still… That's…"
"That's a little on the nose, don't you think, VP-san?" The closest door swung open following that interjection. "As on the nose as mine and Senpai's names."
"Mali?!"
The enigmatic first year giggled at the amount of shock her seniors displayed. "You two seem surprised."
"I…" Sayori's voice shook and her body trembled. How does Shiko handle Mali doing that all the time?
"Mali… What were you doing in there?" Monika asked.
"Eh?" Seemingly surprised by the sudden question, Mali didn't offer a response. Instead, she curiously sized Monika up. "Why say that like my presence here is strange at all?"
"No, I meant why-"
"I know what you meant by what you said. But really, you'd ask the same if I was out in the open because you also really want to know why I'm here. So, I ask again: why say that like my presence here is strange at all? I was under the impression that this was a free space now."
"Wait… Did we lose the clubroom?!" Sayori exclaimed.
"No. No," Monika quickly assured her. "We were close to, but no."
"Eh?"
"I'll tell you later…"
"Wait, were you about to give up the clubroom too?"
"It's not like I could have held on to it if no one was going to use it…"
"Right… That's true…" Sayori nervously chuckled.
Beneath her jovial façade, she was still a bit shocked over learning that. She wasn't trying to start an argument, but unknowingly expressing her surprise.
She knew it was too late to even consider or worry about, but losing the clubroom would have been-
"Wow, it's really surprising seeing you two here and acting like the status quo is restored," Mali's expression of amazement interrupted Sayori's thoughts. Her face was bright with her usual smile before it suddenly darkened with sorrow. "Aw… I was really getting used to the idea that I would have Senpai all to myself."
"Eh? But…! But Shiko has other friends," Sayori frantically pointed out.
"True, but given various circumstances, I would have had the most available time to spend with him," Mali effortlessly countered. "Maybe even become his new best friend."
"Ah…" Sayori couldn't respond to that.
Monika, however, could. "You say that, but if that's true then why would you try to talk to Natsuki and Yuri like you did with me?"
"Oh. Should've known School President-san would've mentioned that…" Mali said with a sigh.
"So, you've been trying to help us, Mali?" Mali asked.
"You say that like I've never helped before."
"I wasn't trying to say that! It's just… well… I kinda thought you wouldn't be around much with Shiko asleep right now."
"Hm… That does sound logical. After all, Senpai's my main interest. I should be by Senpai's side right now or just moving on to my other pursuits because who knows how long he'll be comatose. Who knows if he even wants to come back after everything that was done to him?"
"And yet you're here." Monika pointed out.
"Ah, but Idol-san, you should know by now that I do what I want, when I want to do it," Mali reminded her. "So, why say that as if I'm really here for you two?"
"Perhaps you're here waiting to see which of the branching paths you'll take."
A knowing smile flashed on Mali's face. "Ah. You're really proving that your status as 'Idol' isn't just for show."
She exchanged a brief glance with the two before continuing.
"Moving on, this 'Operation: Doki Doki Literature Club', it's a fancy way of announcing your intention to mend the broken bonds with Senpai's other potentials."
She then crossed her arms and breathed a disappointed sigh.
"Unfortunately, Senpai isn't awake right now, which is too bad since Senpai being here would make things a whole lot easier. No one can just match Senpai's innocent and reassuring existence; even the most hardened demon of darkness can be taken aback by it.
Senpai's absence will especially be tough in regard to Natsuki-chan. Don't you agree VP-san?"
"Huh?"
"You of all people had to have recognized some similarities of the circumstances Senpai and Natsuki-chan have just from what you glimpsed. That's why you took her school files, right?"
Sayori's body tensed. "Y-You knew about that?!"
"Well, 'I' did a bunch of snooping last month. And knowing what I know about Senpai now and after seeing Senpai's father firsthand and how he interacted with Senpai's mom…"
"Jomei was here!?"
Sayori's surprised shout shook Monika. She realized that she never did get around to mentioning her own encounter with Jomei.
"I should probably mention that I actually ran into him too recently…" Monika timidly admitted.
"You too?! What was Jomei doing here?"
"Not seeing his son as expected. He was just here to see the fallout of the grudge match he's related to," Mali explained bluntly.
"Of course… Maybe there's one good thing about Shiko being asleep right now: he didn't have to deal with that again," Sayori somberly thought aloud.
"Ah, but let's not get off topic. We were talking about Natsuki=chan, right? I was just thinking that now that I know about Senpai and you being his best friend, I think I have a pretty good idea of what you plan on doing."
Mali's eyes narrowed and her smile vanished. There was a serious air to her, something that was uncanny to the two club members.
"I have to say Club VP-san, that plan of yours is pretty risky, intrusive and overall, a potential detriment to half your plan. You're risking Natsuki-chan hating you forever."
Monika immediately looked at Sayori. She knew Sayori took those files, but she never got around to asking what she planned to do with them.
Judging from the regret Sayori displayed, Mali wasn't exaggerating.
"…I know that," Sayori confirmed. "But… I already watched my best friend go through something like that. I can't let another too if its really the same."
"Hmm…" Mali continued to stare at Sayori, before suddenly giggling. "Okay!"
"Okay?"
"One of Senpai's most consistent desires is to make his best friend happy, but he can't because he's out of commission. I guess that means I'll have to put my selfish desire to have him to myself aside and provide a little assistance in his place.
"Really?" A big smile crossed Sayori's face. "Thanks, Mali."
"Ah, but don't think that means I'll lead you all the way. I've never even held Senpai's hand the entire way so I can't just do more for his potentials. Maybe a little tip will do."
"What kind of a tip?"
"You should probably focus on Lilium candidum-san first."
"Who?" Sayori asked, perplexed.
"Yuri," Monika explained.
"But why'd she call her lilium candidum?"
"It's a scientific name for lilies which is Yuri's name."
"I had another nickname, but she wasn't too keen on that. She and Natsuki-chan really weren't keen on the first nicknames I gave them," Mali lamented.
"…So, any specific reason why you'd want us to focus on Yuri first?" Monika questioned.
"Aha, telling you that would be giving you more assistance than I give Senpai. Though I do wonder if you could qualify some of the stuff 'I' did during that time 'assisted' Senpai. Well, it certainly kept him alive at the end," Mali playfully mused. "Ah, but then again, I did say I would try and fill in for Senpai and he would not rest until he could think of something he could do."
She closed her eyes and just as playfully scratched her right cheek, wondering what she could do in Shujinkou's place.
"Hmm… Maybe I could take on what Club VP-san had in mind."
"Huh? But that's-!"
Mali interrupted Sayori's cry with one simple fact, "Natsuki-chan already doesn't like me, so wouldn't it be better if I take on that friendship-destroying gamble."
"But why though?"
"It's simple… Because it's the Senpai thing to do, of course. Accepting the potential consequences for others is so Senpai, right?"
Sayori didn't answer, instead she wrapped her arms around Mali, drawing her into a tight embrace.
"Thanks, Mali…" she softly thanked.
"…When I said I was filling in for Senpai, I didn't mean this much," Mali chuckled.
Mali gently wrenched her way free of Sayori's embrace and lightly pushed her away.
"Besides, you shouldn't really thank me unless I get results," she continued as she turned towards the exit. "By the way, Club VP-san, you should really return that those files before School President-san gets in trouble."
"Right… Ah, but… Um…"
"Don't stress yourself out, Club VP-san, you'll feel even more guilty if you actually let me see them; not to mention ruin me doing this myself anyway."
"But how are you?"
"Don't worry about me. After all, I've been doing some snooping too."
With one final giggle, Mali walked out of their clubroom.
"Mali's as confusing as ever, but when it comes down to it, she keeps helping us," Sayori happily acknowledged.
"I don't doubt that she's helping but…"
"But what?"
Monika wasn't sure how to articulate it, but the way Mali would occasionally refer to herself concerned her. "Never mind. What's most important is the fact that she's helping us. With that acknowledged, then we should probably go with her tip for now."
"Right! Time to commence Operation: Doki Doki Literature Club!"