"Ugh… Why didn't I take Shujinkou's mom up on her offer…?"
Laying on a bench just outside of her school, Natsuki groaned as she rubbed her stomach.
"I really should have known that I wouldn't have been able to make lunch last night…"
Continuing to stare aimlessly, Natsuki began to think back to the events of yesterday. She could remember the sorrow and relief she felt when she finally saw Shujinkou sleeping. She also felt guilt and overall conflicted. Though hard, she was able to hide that from his mother.
Those weren't the only feelings she recalled.
She's… That visit was a lot nicer than I thought it'd be, even if the beginning was really uncomfortable…
Natsuki sat up, unaware of the small smile on her face.
"That family's really weird."
She then curiously checked her surroundings. Besides the occasional student passing by, the area was hers ever since classes broke for lunch.
Her eyes were then drawn to a nearby clock. Afternoon classes were about to begin soon.
"Why's lunch so much longer when you don't have anything to eat," she said with a pout.
Standing up, Natsuki's ears were soon assaulted by high-pitch, frantic screams. Very familiar frantic screams.
"Is that…?"
"Somebody help!" somebody cried.
"It can't be…"
Natsuki cautiously walked towards the direction the screams were coming from. Looking at the source, she once again experienced a rare moment where she could believe what she was seeing while also struggling to accept it.
"Sayori?!"
Her usually clumsy friend was dangling upside down from a nearby tree branch.
"Sayori, what the heck are you doing up there!?"
"Huh?" The moment their eyes met, Sayori's eyes sparkled with hope. "Natsuki, you gotta help me down from here!"
Sayori violenlt swung through the air, twisting and turning as she begged for help.
"Stop wiggling like that! You're going to end up falling on your head!" Natsuki warned her. "Plus-!"
Sayori's frantic movements soon came to a halt, her attention focused solely on Natsuki's bright cheeks.
"'Plus-' what? What is it?" Sayori worriedly asked.
Looking away, Natsuki flatly answered. "Your skirt's… Not covering what it's supposed to…"
"My skirt's not… Eh?!"
Sayori looked up, utterly horrified to discover her panties were available for all to see. She quickly covered her exposed undergarments as much as she could and cried out for help once again.
"Seriously, Sayori, you need to calm down before-!"
As she was saying this, something horrifying caught Natsuki's eye. The sole thing keeping Sayori suspended was her left sock snagged on the branch. The hole it created was quickly expanding and in no time, it would rip completely.
Oh crap…!
With no time to think, Natsuki thrust herself under Sayori just in time to soften her fall.
"Auu… Are you okay, Natsuki?"
"Yeah, but…" Natsuki rubbed her head as she sat up. "Why's your head so hard?"
"Ehe, it's the reason why nothing's bad happen to me after falling on my head so much," Sayori chuckled gleefully.
"That's not something you should be laughing about…"
Dusting themselves off, Natsuki and Sayori began walking back towards the school.
"So, what were you doing up in that tree in the first place?" Natsuki asked.
"I noticed a cat in the tree and climbed up to get her."
"Again? Didn't that get you sent to the nurse's office last time?"
"But I couldn't just leave her up there!"
"I'm pretty sure the cat wouldn't have had any trouble getting down. You really need to think about stuff like that before you go and do something that can get you hurt."
Despite being sternly chastised, Sayori had a giant grin on her face.
"What are you smiling about?"
"Your response is so Natsuki-like. You're your old self again!" Sayori cheered.
"Was… I acting really different or something?" Natsuki replied, perplexed.
"Um, now that I think about it… I wouldn't really know. But at least you seem better enough to act Natsuki-like around me."
"Why do you keep saying Natsuki-like to the person you're coining the term from? It's weird."
"Because I've had to fill in for you a little there! Now that was weird…"
"Of course, I can't ever see you acting like me."
"But I guess I don't have to now that you're acting Natsuki-like again," Sayori paused. Her cheerful demeanor soon vanished and she puffed her cheeks. "I guess that trip you and Yuri went on with Rei did wonders for you both…"
"Wait, are you seriously upset you weren't there?"
"You could have at least told us you were going?"
"I mean… It was kinda a spur of the moment kind of trip…"
"You still could have given us a call!" Sayori argued. "It could have been fun for all of us! Not to mention it would have done wonders for Operation: Doki Doki Literature Club!"
That last part caught Natsuki's attention. In the flattest tone possible, she gave one word in response: "What?"
"Ah! I mean-!"
"I knew you'd have some plan up your sleeve, but what's with the name?"
"It's to signify the many heart-pounding moments we would have as we makeup and move on," Sayori proudly explained. "I mean didn't you have a moment like that with Yuri?"
"I wouldn't exactly call it that…" Natsuki had her arms crossed, keeping only the faintest of attention on Sayori.
"But how couldn't you? It sounded like you two did when you went on that fun trip with Rei…" her friend responded with another pout.
"Will you please get over it? We weren't even needed on that trip; we just figured we go and help anyway we can since it was our fault the trip was even necessary in the first place."
"Still…"
Natsuki groaned. "Look at it this way, maybe our part of your Operation: DDLC wouldn't have gone that well if you and Monika showed up as our plus twos."
"I guess you have a point…" Sayori scratched the back of her still aching head. "Now that I think about it, that's probably an example of what Monika was talking about."
Just as Natsuki's curiosity was piqued again, the two heard someone chime in, "What was I talking about?"
Looking to their side, they found Monika and Yuri walking towards them.
Natsuki shook her head in disbelief. "…Seriously, do we all know where the others are at all time or something?"
"Huh? Um…" Monika closed her eyes for a bit. After a few seconds, she opened them and directed a very familiar knowing smile towards Natsuki. "I'm pretty sure we don't. If that was the case, it would have been a lot easier for us to avoid each other, right?"
Seeing that smile filled Natsuki with many different emotions thoughts, but they all added up to one particular feeling: Frustration.
With a forced smile, she growled, "I see you're feeling better… At least enoguht to start holding things over our heads again…"
"I'm not trying to do that," Monika insisted. "But if I really am doing that, then that means…"
"'It means…'?"
"-It's a secret."
Trembling amidst Monika soft laughter, Natsuki struggled to maintain the smile on her face.
"Yeah, you're definitely feeling better…" she murmured:
"By the way… Where'd you two come from?" Sayori asked.
"We were just checking the contents of the abandoned building," Yuri explained.
"You mean you two were having fun exploring the building without us…" Sayori complained.
"But didn't you tell me you explored it years ago on your birthday?" Monika reminded her.
"Oh yeah… That's where I got my big surprise." Sayori smiled wistfully as they pleasant memory played back in her mind. "Well, anyway, it's great that we ran into each other."
"Huh." Monika quietly thought back to every encounter she had after the events of October 30th. "I was kidding before, but Natsuki really has a point, huh; we really have run into each other a lot when we were trying our hardest not to…"
"Perhaps it was fate…" Yuri speculated out loud.
"'Fate'? You really think so, Yuri?" Sayori queried.
"Well… Ignoring the fact that running into each other at school is inevitable, it does seem like we've ran into each other and other people of interest a lot and in such a short amount of time. That does seem more than a bit coincidental."
"After what happened the night before Halloween, I'm ready to believe anything…" Natsuki said with a sigh.
"So… Do you think we should finally talk about it now?" Yuri asked aloud.
Sayori's eyes lit up with curiosity. "Talk about what?"
"Our feelings towards that night? Or should we wait until we're all together again?"
"I don't know, Yuri… Talking about that seems like the only thing we should do without Shiko," Sayori said, scratching her right cheek.. "I really doubt he'd want to relive that night anytime soon when he wakes up."
For Monika, hearing that brought back the memories of her last conversation with Shujinkou. "…That's definitely likely. To say he was really distressed before he…"
"-started playing human paddleball with Akui before slingshotting himself at him after jumping off the roof," Natsuki interrupted.
"…yeah. It would be an understatement to say that."
"Honestly, shouldn't we talk about what happened on the hospital roof?"
"You want to specifically discuss Shujinkou's sudden second wind and display of superhuman strength along with an incredible shift in demeanor," Yuri specified.
Natsuki nodded her head. "Exactly. What was that?"
"I've been thinking about that ever since then, Natsuki, but I don't think we'll ever get an answer to that," Monika lamented. "Even Shujinkou didn't know what was happening, in fact, I'm pretty sure that's why it frightened him."
"That's why I know something had to be making him act that way!" Sayori insisted. "There's no way Shiko would gleefully cause as much damage as possible."
"Well, what could make him act like that while also making him able to do… everything he's done that night?" Natsuki asked.
"…Maybe he was possessed by a demon…" Yuri proposed.
"A d-demon…? Natsuki stuttered, a chill crawling down her spine.
"Like you said earlier, given what happened that night, it wouldn't exactly be out of the realm of possibility. Mental state aside, it would be the only explanation for the unnatural display of strength."
"Not to mention how everything seemed to fall in place during the leadup to that night…" Monika added. "And strange documents only Shujinkou and Mali could fully read; I could only somewhat read them and the coincidental timing of dealing with 'Devil Brothers' on 'Devil's Night'."
"And the fact that they mysteriously disappeared…" Natsuki said with a shudder. "Are we sure that they didn't just stage an elaborate breakout?"
"Those two…" A look of uncertainty was present on Monika's face. "I really get the feeling that their disappearance wasn't voluntary."
"How can you be so sure?"
That was a question Monika had been asking herself for a while. Unfortunately, she didn't have an answer that made any sense.
"Just… Besides what Jomei said, I just have the strongest feeling that wherever they are, they're not having a good time right now," Monika explained.
Natsuki was skeptical. "Just a feeling?"
"Mm-hmm. I know it's strange, but that's just the hunch I have."
"You've been having a lot of hunches like that lately, Monika," Sayori noted.
"What are we talking about…?" Natsuki sighed. "How did we get to the point where we're actually considering what we're saying? Have things really gotten this crazy ever since that crazy night?"
"Actually, it feels like things got this crazy earlier…" Monika mused.
"Earlier? I don't remember anything strange happened earlier…" Sayori said, perplexed.
"There was the time Monika was kidnapped by a that guy who had our clubroom before us," Natsuki recalled.
"Oh yeah… Was that what you were talking about, Monika?"
Monika was quiet for a moment. She shook her head and smiled "…Never mind, I don't really know where that came from."
"Actually, while we're on the subject of strange phenomenon…" All eyes were on Yuri as her hands slid to her body towards bottom hem of her shirt. "Do you remember how I was stabbed by my own knife? Well…"
Yuri lifted her shirt ever so slightly, exposing the area the knife plunged into. To everyone's collective shock, there was no scar or signs of injury.
"It healed up completely?" Sayori questioned.
Yuri shook her head. "…I kept checking right here every morning, expecting something to show up but nothing has. When left to think about it, I'm sure it's related to what happened when Shujinkou pulled my knife out from here. Not only did it not hurt, nor did blood pour out after it, around the same time the blood pouring out from my head stopped to. Any semblance of pain after that was gone."
A chill, the same one that had previously crawled down Natsuki's spine suddenly shot up it.
"It was the same for me," Monika chimed in. "I was in serious pain until Shujinkou helped me onto my feet."
"And then there was how fast Shujinkou was when he saved me from Akuma…" Sayori recalled.
Natsuki clapped her hands, gaining the attention of the others. "You guys are going to give me a heart attack at this rate!"
She then took a deep breath.
"So let's get this straight: On the night before All Hallow's Eve, also known as Devil's Night, we were kidnapped by a pair of devil brothers, Shujinkou was shot and left for dead in a river, Shujinkou went on a roaring rampage to rescue us, when he does, he's surprisingly callous and a little schizophrenic, then Shujinkou needed to be hospitalized, then he's missing…
Then Akui and Akuma show up and nearly kills us, then right as Shujinkou was done for he suddenly turns things around, smacks Akui around and then does who knows what to him after slingshotting into him, then he beats Akuma with the intention to kill him, then he just enters a coma just like that!
Again, am I the only one that thinks what we're considering is crazy!?"
"You what else is crazy? A lot of the weird stuff mentioned really is squarely centered on Shiko," Sayori pointed out. "Like it feels like Shiko shouldn't have been a central target and yet suddenly he became the center of everything…"
A sentiment Monika shared, one that always reminded her of one singular phrase .
'Shujinkou must save the day'," her musings catching the attention of her friends, Monika explained further, "That's what Mali said before Shujinkou came after us. Afterwards, she started insisting he'd be okay since, 'Mali's with him'."
"So, you believe that Mali really may have something to do with the events that followed?" Yuri questioned.
"If that was the case, I doubt she would have involved herself with what happened on the roof with the intent of ending things then and there if she believed that Shujinkou needed to be the hero. Not to mention that something seemed off with Mali too until the warehouses.
Plus, back then she was referring to him by name instead of exclusively referring to him as 'Senpai' until that evening where she went back to doing so. Not to mention those documents she found."
"Wait…" Natsuki was eyeing Monika intently with a annoyed look on her face. "…What if this was all some kind of prank Mali set up?"
"A prank? Could anyone consider what happened a prank?" Sayori thought aloud.
"We're talking about a girl who went overboard with random pranks against the school for an entire week, then effortlessly set up traps that would have embarrassed Shujinkou in such a short amount of time and also got us a clubroom just so she can set Shujinkou up for a kiss then deny it. Given her overall personality; it's totally possible she would go as far as set all that up just to mess with us."
"That's possible… But it wouldn't really explain Shujinkou's actions along with his feats of strength," Yuri argued.
"That's true," Monika agreed. "The really strange thing is, I also feel like Natsuki has a point too. I feel like Mali could do all this and I feel like she wouldn't."
Natsuki groaned, her head hanging down in defeat. "Ugh… All this talking is just brings us to the same conclusion: The fact that we have no idea what is going on."
"I guess that means there's only one thing for us to do…" Monika exchanges glanced with everyone and softly smiled. "Move forward and forget!"
"What?! Natsuki exclaimed. "How do we move forward from human paddleball?"
"I get it; it's a lot to ask for, but the thing is… Besides lamenting about how we ended up afterwards, I've also been wracking my head trying to understand all the strange things and coincidences that happened and I always end up with more questions.
I really do think that just accepting we won't get any answers and moving on from it will be best for all of us."
"So… We just pretend like none of that weird stuff happened?"
"No, we acknowledge it but move on from it."
Staring intently at Monika once again, Natsuki raised her right hand, balled it up into a fist and thrust it forward. She soon retracted it then thrust it out again before repeating it several times.
"Hu. Man. Pad. Dle. Ball."
She mindlessly continued her act until Yuri gently grasped her hand.
"Perhaps it is best to just move on from that and the other strange phenomenon," she advised.
"Yeah, no point in mulling over whatever made Shiko act that way!" Sayori agreed.
"You're really obsessed with that part, aren't you?" Natsuki chuckled.
"I just want to make sure Shiko doesn't wake up with his friends doubting him."
Suddenly, the class bell rung.
"Looks like our time is up," Yuri noted.
"Aw… But the last part of Operation: Doki Doki Literature Club was going so well…" Sayori lamented.
Natsuki shot Sayori a disapproving stare. "Seriously, don't you think that name's a little too… I don't know, it just seems more romantic sounding than friendship building."
"Yeah, maybe we should call it Operation: Doki Doki Literature Club Plus," Monika cheerfully suggested.
"What's the plus stand for?" Yuri queried.
"The friendship part."
"Then what about the romance?" Natsuki asked.
Monika giggled.
"That comes later," she said with a knowing smile.
"Yeah, you're definitely feeling better." Natsuki said with a knowing smile of her own.
"Yep. Anyway, let's get to class before we get in trouble."
"Yeah… I can't afford anymore missed class time…" Sayori said with a weak chuckle. "Let's go!"
Bursting with energy, Sayori ran up to Monika, took her by the hand and quickly led her into the school.
"Sayori, we're not that late!" Monika cried as she was dragged away.
"Wow…" Natsuki cocked her head, baffled by what she had just witnessed. "…What exactly happened during the first part of Operation: DDLC?"
"I can't be sure, we had our 'Doki Doki' moment separately remember?" Yuri giggled.
"Not you too… It sounds too romantic to use in this context…"
"Well, I guess it's probably preferred to use in the later context like Monika had alluded to."
Processing that implication immediately caused Natsuki's entire face to turn red.
"What's wrong?" Yuri worriedly asked.
"Nothing… You just made me think of something I was trying to block out since yesterday…"
"Like what?"
"I'm not telling you; I'm trying to forget it! Come on, we have to get to class!"
Natsuki stormed into the school.
"Ah."
Smiling to herself, Yuri scratched her right cheek and made her way to class.