"Ow!" Sayori's shriek of pain echoed through the nurse's office.
"Sorry, Sayori," Monika apologized. "But I have to dap it with alcohol."
"Ok… Just be quick."
Sayori tightly shut her eyelids and her body was suddenly as stiff as a plank of wood.
"Alright…" Monika slowly brought the alcohol-soaked rag towards Sayori's cheeks and lightly dabbed it between them.
Despite her best efforts, tiny sounds of pain slipped past Sayori's lips.
"And… Done."
Monika removed the rag from her Sayori's face and disposed of it in a nearby bin. She then grabbed a few bandages and brought them to the cuts on Sayori's cheeks.
As she gently placed them over the fresh wounds, Monika noticed Sayori staring off into the distance with red cheeks.
"Sayori?"
"Eh?" She looked up at her with confused eyes, as if waking up for a trance. "Oh, uhm…"
She started softly chuckling, her red cheeks growing even brighter.
"I was just thinking about all the times Shiko did this for me when we were kids," she admitted, embarrassed. "Then again, he's even done stuff like this after joining the club."
Her laughter soon came to an end and the only expression of emotion left on her face was a small wistful smile.
"Shiko's always took care of me, in spite of his own troubles…"
"Sayori…"
Sayori shook her head and smiled. "Sorry, it's just that I really miss Shiko right now. But you don't have to worry about me there; I've got experience waiting to see Shiko again."
Monika cocked her head with an intrigued smile. "Now that I think about it, you used to talk about Shujinkou all the time before he joined the club, didn't you?"
"Yeah, talking about our childhood days felt like it was the only way to be near him in any way back then. Actually, speaking of our childhood… You'd really think that I'd be used to alcohol on my scratches but it's still as painful as ever!"
"I don't think anyone can get used to stuff like that, Sayori…"
"You'd think I would after enduring it so much!"
"If pain was something that we could get used to then… Honestly, the only effect would be not feeling it; we'd still have to deal with the source of the pain," Monika noted. "And knowing that reminds you that pain itself is an indicator that something is wrong and needs attention.
Can you imagine what would happen if we didn't have that indication?"
"Um…"
Sayori was stunned. She followed Monika's response perfectly and was still stunned.
"Sorry, I kinda went on a tangent there," Monika apologized, embarrassed.
"Don't be sorry, I'm glad you went on one. It really shows you're in a better mood," Sayori beamed.
"Mm."
"Still… Couldn't the indicator be less… painful?" Sayori winced, caressing her cheeks.
"Wouldn't be as effective in that case," Monika pointed out.
"Still…"
Monika couldn't help but laugh at Sayori's insistence, if only how relatable a feeling it was. "So, ready to go?"
"Yeah!" Sayori jumped up from bed, eagerly awaiting to-. "Wait, where are we going? You never said about going anywhere else."
"Well, since we missed Yuri on the way out and had to make a pit stop here, it's highly likely that she's home by now, you know. So, I figure that could be our next destination."
"I was hoping that could be an option. Now I can make up for falling from that tree."
"There's really nothing to make up for there."
"It could have costed us time."
"Actually, timewise, it's more likely to be beneficial."
"Really?"
"Enough time for someone to settle in at home."
"Oh. Then I guess falling out of that tree was a good thing to happen to me."
"I wouldn't go that far…"
"Anyway, let's go!"
Sayori happily skipped out of the Nurse's Office, blissfully unaware that Monika didn't follow behind. There was something on her mind.
It's kinda weird to be following Mali's advice after everything. It feels like we're all pieces in a game or plan of hers. Still, our goals do overlap so… it's not bad to continue doing so, right?
Am I second guessing everything because of how she acted during then or am I feeling uneasy about planning encounters like this? Even without Mali, this was what we were going to do right? Is there actually a line between playing it by ear and intense planning?
Shaking her head, Monika tried to calm herself with some playful laughter.
I better not stress myself out too much. If I do, Claudette might sense it and show up at my doorstep…
"Monika?" Sayori's head soon popped into the doorway, shooting a confused look her way. "What are you waiting for? Let's go."
"Right."
Wasting no more time, the two took off for their next location.
"You've talked to Yuri before, right? How'd that go?" Sayori questioned.
"Eh… Not that good…" Monika sighed. "For one, I wasn't even really confident that I could make much head way with anyone. I didn't even really know what to say other than a half-hearted, 'It'll be okay' basically."
"So, do you know what to say now?"
"Um…" That was a good question, one that Monika didn't put too much thought into. "I guess this time I'll be confidentially honest and listen to what she says?"
"So, basically what Shiko did the first time she skipped a club meeting due to Akuma?"
"Pretty much…"
It was strange how reminiscing such a time could inspire both happiness and sadness.
That was actually the first time I heard Shujinkou say… You know. Last time, I really didn't know what to say so it really shocked me when Shujinkou only had to make that declaration to get through to her," Monika recalled wistfully. "I used to think that something else was the reason for that, but now I know better."
"'Something else'?" Sayori's eyes grew wide with curiosity. "What did you think that was?"
"Well…" Monika remained silent for what seemed like forever. "It's a secret."
"Aw, seriously…" Sayori's disappointed face heavily contrasted the glee on Monika's. "You're keeping secrets now?"
"Like you said, I'm in a better mood," Monika giggled.
"But what if this secret is something that helps us?"
"Trust me, Sayori, with our current situation, this secret couldn't be helpful even if we wanted it to be."
"Okay… But why do you have to have so many secrets?" Sayori complained.
"Everyone's allowed their secrets."
"But so many…"
…
Monika and Sayori waited patiently before the front door of Yuri's house.
"There's no answer…" Sayori said.
"Um…" Monika didn't want to say it, but she realized at this moment that just getting the door opened would be a daunting task all on its own.
"It'd be really convenient if Yuri left the front door open like I do sometimes."
"Eh…" That was the only response Monika could muster up. From her perspective, it may best not to say anything else.
Suddenly, the door slowly cracked open. From the dark slit, the two could see a small, beady red eye staring back at them.
"Monika? Sayori?" a childish voice sputtered with surprise.
The door opened further revealing Yuki to them.
"Hey, Yuki," Monika greeted. "Guess I don't need to ask if you remember us, right?"
Yuki glanced down at Grimm. "No, you were hiding then, remember? And they were only here to pick up Yuri then."
Yuki looked up at the visitors then back down at Grimm.
"…that's not nice to say, Grimm…" she whispered.
"Wow…" Sayori bent down in front of them, her eyes sparkling with wonder. "So that's Grimm. Grimm's as awesome as Shiko and Yuri described."
"'Shiko'?" Yuki repeated, perplexed.
"That's what I called Shujinkou since we were kids: Shiko."
"Shiko… That's a really cool nickname!"
The child looked down at her stuffed toy, her face distorting with disappointment. "You've been really grouchy lately, Grimm."
"Eh? Why would such a cool looking bear be so grouchy?" Sayori questioned.
"Because Big Sis has been upset lately."
"Oh…"
"Hey, is Shujinkou up yet?"
Sayori shook her head. "No… Shiko's still sleeping."
"Aw… Shujinkou could definitely make Yuri happy like he always does," Yuki lamented. "Plus, I just want him to feel better too."
"Me too…" Sayori empathized. "But we can definitely help with the first one. Is Yuri here right now?"
The child shook her head. "Uh-uh. She doesn't really come home after school much lately."
"She doesn't?" Sayori noted.
"Uh-uh."
"Do you know where she could be?" Monika questioned.
"Um… Maybe she's at her favorite store at the mall. The one where she gets all her atmospheric stuff at."
"Alright!" Jumping up, Sayori clenched her fists in excitement. "We'll go check over now and try and make her feel better, ok?"
Yuki silently nodded her head.
Accepting this silent acknowledgement, Sayori took Monika's hand and started their journey towards their next destination. "See you later, Yuki!"
As she was dragged along behind, Monika couldn't hide her amazement over the way Sayori handled talking to Yuki.
"I remember Yuri talking about a store where she gets her relaxing stuff at. Sounds like she really likes it there," Sayori thought aloud.
"You think that means she'll be there now"
"It's our only lead right now, so we have to investigate it."
"That's true."
"Yep, um…" Sayori energetic stride soon slowed to a crawl.
"What's wrong?"
"I was just remembering when Shiko told me about the time he went to the mall with Yuri. He was surprised that she wasn't mad at him anymore. Actually, he said that about everyone."
"Mad?" Monika repeated perplexed. "When did this happen?"
"The weekend after we got our clubroom."
"The weekend after…" Monika's cheeks immediately grew red with embarrassment upon realizing what Sayori was referring to. "Oh… Um… I can't really speak for the others but I'm sure none of us were really mad at him then… Still, kind of proves my point about you staying safe during that night. You were the only one that didn't leave him behind then."
"Don't feel down, Monika. What's important is that there're are no hard feelings on both sides."
"I think one side didn't have hard feelings at all, but thanks Sayori."
Sayori smiled, speeding up her stride once again.
"By the way, Sayori, I've been wondering this for a while but… Why have you suddenly start calling Shujinkou 'Shiko'?" Monika queried.
"Why? Because Shiko let me call him that again," Sayori happily answered.
"So, where'd 'Shiko' come from?"
"It came from a long time ago when I was playing a name rearranging game with… Um…"
Judging from the time she was referring to and reluctance, it was clear to Monika who Sayori was referring to. "Hiroko?"
"Yeah… I'm still not used to openly talking about her," Sayori solemnly admitted. "I spent so long not trying to accidentally blurt her out that it's kinda weird to do the opposite."
"We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."
"No, no. I'm fine. Anyway, we were playing a game and as we were taking letters out of his name to try and see what words we can make out of it, we ended up with 'Shiko'." A happy, dreamlike smile crossed Sayori's face as she reminisced. "I immediately liked it and started calling him that from then on."
"And he didn't mind?"
"Not really and I'm glad he didn't. It's kinda nice having a special name for him."
"It does sound nice. Maybe that's why Natsuki seems happy to call Shujinkou 'Dummy' after awhile," Monika theorized.
"You noticed that too? I kinda thought I was crazy thinking that she looked happy whenever she called him that, especially when he didn't really do anything to deserve it," Sayori confessed.
"And now that I think about it, Mali's referring to Shujinkou as 'Senpai' doesn't seem as much as a taunt as it used to," Monika continued.
"Really?" Sayori took a moment to think of every previous exchange she witnessed between Shujinkou and Mali. "Oh yeah, it doesn't seem as mean as it used to. I guess I'm not crazy for thinking that Mali's becoming nicer too, at least to Shiko."
"It's possible. Her entire attitude overall does seem different since we first met her. I wonder…"
"Hm? 'Wonder' what?"
"Never mind, it's nothing. We better hurry up and get to the mall before Yuri leaves," Monika hastily answered as she took the lead.
Sayori could only stare ahead, confused by what just happened.
…
"Hey, Monika… Does it look like some people are buying Christmas gifts early to you?" Sayori questioned.
Looking around the mall, Monika could see a few sparse items that could only lead to that conclusion: wrapping papers and items that look romantic in nature.
"Yeah, but it's not surprising some are looking to get their things before the rush," Monika replied.
"Oh, I know, I'm just surprised that it's going to be that time of the year soon. Speaking of which, did you know Shiko sometimes does gift related things super early?"
"Really?"
"Yeah. One time he even outright asked me what I wanted during the summer."
"Huh." Looking around once again, Monika unknowingly smiled at the sights. "You know, once this all over with, we'll probably have to contend with the gift rush ourselves."
"Aw…" Sayori whined. "…I'm not looking forward to that again. Hiroko had to save me from getting trampled a few times."
"Seriously," Monika gasped.
"Or it felt like trampling. All I know is that she saved me from crowds when we were shopping for Shiko."
"Being a lifesaver really does run in the family, huh?"
"Yeah… She really was a lifesaver…" Sayori agreed, wistfully laughing.
They continued their trek through the mall before finally reaching their location. Once they were inside, Sayori wasted no time frantically searching the store.
Contrasting her friend's speedy search, Monika took her time scanning the surroundings. Not really sure if this is a place that would give away evidence by treating it like a crime scene investigation though…
Right after that thought, Sayori jumped in front of her. "Do you see her yet?"
Monik shook her head. "There's not really much to check in here. We probably missed her, or she was never here at all."
"But… Where else can Yuri be?"
"Hm…"
As she pondered that question, Monika's eyes were drawn to what looked to be a store employee. She approached the employee. "Excuse me?"
The employee looked up. She was wearing a name tag with Kandela neatly written across it.
"Oh, hello, may I help you?" she asked.
Monika nodded her head. "Have you seen a girl with long purple hair, matching eyes, wears purple hair clips and may have been wearing uniforms like ours?"
"Hmm…" Kandela examined Monika from head to toe then did the same for Sayori. "Could you be friends with Yuri?"
"Yeah!" Sayori chimed in.
Kandela was silent once again.
"You must be Monika," she said facing Monika. She then turned to Sayori. "And you must be Sayori."
"Wow," Sayori marveled. "How did you know which one of us is which?"
"Yuri gave me vivid descriptions of her friends. It was one of the ways I was able to identify your shared male friend."
"You met Shiko too?"
"Young man with a strand of his hair standing up that looks as if It can form a question mark when confused?"
"That's him!" Sayori chirped. "Ah, wait, we were talking about Yuri. Have you seen her?"
"She was here earlier," Kandela confirmed. "But I have no idea where she was going next."
"Oh…"
"Still, if you are searching for her, then I should warn you that she may seem a bit more cold than you two are probably expecting."
"Cold?" Sayori repeated, perplexed.
"Remember that if you catch up to her," Kandela advised.
"But…"
"Thank you for the advice," Monika interjected. "We'll be on our way now."
Taking Sayori by the hand, Monika led her out of the store.
"Yuri seemed cold? Even with everything that's happened, that's a bit hard to see in my head now," Sayori admitted.
"…Even so, Yuri must have explained her circumstances to her somewhat. She seemed knowledgeable," Monika concluded.
"That's true..."
"Well, it's not really something we need to focus on. Right now, we have to figure out where Yuri is."
"But she wasn't at our only lead. Where else could we look?"
An idea instantly came to Monika; however, it wasn't one that she was comfortable asking.
But it may possibly be our only lead at the moment.
"Monika?"
Steeling herself for the possible ramifications, Monika asked, "Sayori… When Shujinkou was still grieving over his sister, do you know how he spent his evenings?"
"Well…" Sayori closed her eyes. "He wasn't really home after school a lot. Auntie Hiro said he'd just be wandering around and I even caught him doing that myself from time to time."
"Yeah, I indulged in that mindset a little myself the last few days… But only knowing that we can only infer that Yuri probably isn't home yet and is on the move without any rhyme or reason."
"…You know, I think that maybe there was something to Shiko's back then."
"Really?"
Sayori opened her eyes. "I actually caught him one time spending a lot of time where Hiroko died at. He was just standing there, really sad and crying."
Hearing that, Monika recalled the dream she had on Devil's Night. She saw a younger Shujinkou all alone in the rain, crying how he kept losing the people he cared about."
"Oh…"
Despite the uncomfortable air the question wrought, it did however confirm her own thoughts.
"If that's the case, then maybe…"
"What?"
"If Yuri was doing that now, then I can think of at least three spots where she could be at," Monika explained. "And one that could be accessed the easiest would be…"
"The hospital roof?"
Monika shook her head. "The place where she was captured at."
"You really think that one spot would be more important than the other locations?" Sayori wondered.
"Mm-hmm. Remember, Shujinkou was with Yuri when that happened and what did Yuri say when she was brought before us?"
"She said… She said Shiko was shot and tossed into a river," Sayori recalled with sorrowful sigh. "Yeah… I can see why that would be a place she would go to like Shiko did with Hiroko's place. But we don't know exactly where that happened at."
"Well, I'm thinking it would have to be the closest river from my home, unless they went further than that. Considering the feats Shujinkou was capable of that night, I don't know if there's actually a limit to how much ground they covered.
Still, we should probably walk along the closest canal from my house and see if we can her or at least anything there."
"Okay."
…
There was a tense air as the two followed the river. It was expected; what else would they feel when trying to find a place where their friends were hurt.
What made things even more tense was the fact that Sayori hasn't said a word since agreeing to come here. She had just been hanging back with an unsure look on her face.
"So…" Monika immediately looked back at Sayori, surprised by her first word in a while. "How bad was Shiko after Akui took me and Natsuki?"
"It's kind of hard to say," Monika replied with a heavy sigh. "I'm not even sure how to describe what was going on with him that night other than what he told me. The thing is, it was a very stressful situation for him. He was really worried about you when you weren't around to walk with him to school and it got worse when he discovered Natsuki was missing.
You could assume it was just him being worried until those documents he found and then that's when everything went down. Last time I saw him, he was extremely worried and the next, he was dealing with threats like he was a fantasy hero.
So, I guess you didn't really miss much when you saw the final result. How he was acting that night was new to all of us."
"Oh…" The uncertainty on Sayori's face distorted further into worry. "You don't think me dropping him on his head caused him to start acting like that, do you?"
"I don't think a simple drop to the head could explain the one-man assault…" Monika assured her.
"But what about the not acting like Shiko part. He started acting weird right after."
"I can't explain it, but I'm pretty sure that none of us had anything to do with Shujinkou not acting like himself. Especially since despite the worry, he was still fine for the most part until he came to save us. "
Before she could say anymore, Monika noticed something peculiar on the ground in front of them.
There were splatters of dried blood running along the ground towards the water.
"Is that… Is that really Shiko's blood?"Sayori murmured.
"The splatters does make it look like someone was shot here, but…" Monika looked around. "Looks like she's not here."
Despite her disappointment, Monika soon found herself thinking about the last time she saw Shujinkou before he carried out his rescue.
"I wonder if what happened here was what caused Shujinkou to suddenly go from worried to brutal?" she wondered aloud.
"You think that losing so much and getting hurt all at once pushed him into thinking he had to fight like that?"
"The timeframe matches up, plus, if Shujinkou could do what he could do later here, then he definitely wouldn't have gotten hurt in the first place."
"I guess, but I don't think Shiko could do that."
"Hm?" Monika looked back at her friend, confused by her statement.
"It seems he could only do stuff like that when he wasn't acting like Shiko, because if he could then he wouldn't have gotten so hurt when he was trying to save Natsuki," Sayori pointed out.
"Oh yeah…"
It was at that point where Monika remembered Mali's assurance regarding Shujinkou's safety when he came to rescue them the first time. She said that Mali was with him even when she was leaving him.
I conceded that the whole night was strange but… Thinking about it more… Effortless systematic kidnappings, knowledge of us, those weird documents, Mali pointing us in the right direction, Shujinkou's rapidly detoriating mental states, police unwillingness to get involved, Claudette and I kidnapped in broad daylight, Shujinkou's second winds after getting hurt which led to him invoking a sense of invincibility…
In hindsight, not only was all of that really weird, but also a little contrived…
It just so happens that someone form Yuri's past has a connection to someone from Shujinkou's past. Stuff like that can happen, but everything happened so quickly after Akuma was exposed which was done by Mali revealing evidence to Shujinkou. And around the same time Shujinkou had a talk with Mali afterwards, Sayori and Natsuki were taken and that was when Shujinkou's decline started. Plus, he was acting a little out of character before that in the nurse's office…
Everything really does seem too coincidental when you think about it. And the final strange thing was Shujinkou abruptly falling into a coma. From the sounds of it, you would think he induced it on himself, even though that shouldn't be possible to do just then and there.
But that's all I can conclude… That it seems coincidental. Because, even with that thought process, too many things are so unexplainable that none of may really get a concrete answer to what that night really was.
And I can't help but wonder if actually knowing would be better for us or worse…
Monika sighed.
Is that why I've been hesitant to really ask Mali what she knows? Am I just trying to show her signs of trust or do I not want to make it so we don't have as much help as possible. She seems earnest about helping us in Shujinkou's stead and like I admitted earlier, she has been kinder to him but…
It's like Natsuki always says, you really can't tell what she's thinking and that's how she likes it.
"Monika?"
Monika shook her head, ridding herself of distracting thoughts. What's up?"
"You've just been staring off into space? Have you been daydreaming?" Sayori asked.
"No. I was just thinking some crazy things," Monika replied with a soft chuckled.
"Oh. It's just that you've been scratching your right cheek like Shiko lately that I thought… Ah!"
"What? What is it?"
"I just realized you haven't been scratching your right cheek like Shiko does!"
"Huh?" Monika looked down at her right hand then caressed her respective cheek. "Oh yeah, I haven't done that lately. That's strange."
"I've been meaning to ask since that night: why did you start doing that?"
"I'm not so sure myself. The habit came out of nowhere and now it vanished just the same."
"Well, that's good. That wasn't really a Monika thing to do anyway."
"'A Monika thing'? What's a thing I do a lot?"
"Keep secrets."
"Really…?" Monika said with weak chuckle. "That's really something I do so much that it's constantly brought up."
"Well, you do have a lot…" Sayori pouted. "Not to mention your super-secret story."
"I already apologized for that one, even though I feel like I'm being peer pressured into sharing it."
"We don't have time to talk about super-secret stories, Monika!" Sayori snapped. "We have to find Yuri before it's too late!"
She just changed subjects…
"Come on, let's go check those other places you mentioned!"
Not giving Monika a chance to respond, Sayori took off for their next destination.
This has to be payback for earlier…
That was all Monika could think as she tried to catch up with Sayori.
Later that night…
"She wasn't at any of them…" Sayori moaned.
"It's entirely possibly that we missed her or even that she wasn't at any of those place at all."
"You mean my lead was wrong?!"
"No, it's just that it was always a 50/50 chance. While some can't help but be drawn to important locations, others may absolutely do everything to avoid places that remind them of their traumatic experiences," Monika explained. "Like I once did."
"Me too… So, I guess the only thing we could do now is wake up early and head to her house before she goes off to do… Whatever she may do on the weekend."
"Sounds like a plan."
With a new plan in mind, the two could finally go to their final destination in peace.
"I wonder if there's been any change with Shiko yet?" Sayori wondered aloud. "How long do people stay in comas again, Monika?"
"It depends. It's really something that can be rushed."
"Well, at least he looks more peaceful than before," Sayori conceded. "He hasn't looked like that in a really long time… at least when sleeping."
"Yeah, I'm glad he's at least fine while he's resting," Monika happily agreed.
The two soon arrived at Shujinkou's house only to find something truly unexpected there.
"Yuri?" Sayori gasped.
The young maiden slowly turned towards them. Her eyes were dull and somewhat lifeless.
"Sayori… Monika… What are you doing here?" she asked.
"We're here to see Shiko. Are you here to see him too?" Sayori excitedly asked.
"Not really… I was wandering around and found myself here."
"Ah. Well, since you're here, why don't you come in with us to check up on him?"
"Check up on him…" Yuri slowly shook her head. "No, I don't really want to."
"But… You're already here."
"Like I said, I was just ended up here by chance."
"Still, you're already here. Aren't you at least curious to see how Shiko's doing after everything?"
"No."
"You really don't?"
"No."
Sayori stared at Yuri with curious eyes. After a moment of silence, she shook her head. "…I don't believe that. I really don't think that you just came here randomly. I think deep down, you really want to see how Shiko's doing, right?"
"I told you, that's why I'm not here," Yuri refuted.
"Maybe not, but don't you think that it might make you feel better to see Shujinkou doing better?" Monika calmly proposed.
"Doing better… How could he be doing better if he wasn't at school today?" Yuri countered.
"There are other ways of doing better. You could see it for yourself right now if you want to."
"But I really don't want to. I was just arguing your point."
"Still, and I'm speaking from experience, it may help alleviate you of any bad feelings if you do so."
Yuri didn't respond. She snuck a glimpse of Shujinkou's home before quickly turning her gaze back to Monika.
"…You seem to be mistaken, Monika. I don't posses these 'bad feelings' you speak of. I told you before, I just simply want to be left alone," she coldly corrected.
"But that can't be true at all! If you really wanted to be alone so much, then you would have done everything in your power to avoid coming here!" Sayori countered. "You would have made sure you could never have wandered here."
"Nobody's perfect and I… I… I don't have to justify myself to you."
"Wha-?"
"Now if you'll excuse me, I have to return home now."
With nothing more to say, Yuri pushed herself past her former friends.
"Yuri…!" Sayori called out.
Responding to her desperate call, the young maiden stopped.
"JUST STAY AWAY FROM ME!"