"So...basically. I really wanna be good for MC. I'm not gonna waste this life," Yuri stated.

She took an absent-minded bite of her burger, too lost in her own thoughts to notice the ketchup dripping on her shirt.

Natsuki looked away. "I'm not gonna lie. I kinda choked on my drink when you made that face."

"Huh? What face?"

"The way you looked off into the distance-whatever. So. Let's hear it! Yuri's ten steps on how to be the perfect wife!"

She looked down at the watch Yuri gave her for her birthday. Ohhh boy. It certainly would be an interesting hour before their next class starts.

Yuri cleared her throat. "Step one...!"

Yuri . exe has stopped unexpectedly.

She sounded stupid just thinking about it, let alone blurt it out for Natsuki to judge. But in her mind, she had to. Ever since she had left the game, all of her assumptions of being in a romantic relationship was thrown out the window.

Turns out, real life was a lot busier than she thought. Not one second would go by without the thought of what she had to do next. Whatever happened to peacefully doing yoga at eight in the morning?

She had taken up the role of housewife, student and writer all at once the moment she had cleared her identity. And the guilt was beginning to catch up to her. The guilt of not being able to live up to her ideals, apparently.

"...you've got boobs," Natsuki muttered.

"Ghwa?!"

Interesting noise.

"So it's not like you're unattractive to MC. That must be good for him right? That's how men work? I think?"

"T-That's not what I mean."

Natsuki took a bite of her burger and spoke like she was spouting off mundane facts. "I think the fact that you're even worried you're not perfect for MC is enough, don't you? It'll happen with enough persistence right?"

"How long will it take?," Yuri asked.

"Mm..you know who you should ask?"

"Monika?"

'Sayori. Seems like- (wait, how the hell would you ask Monika...) Seems like she's really turned over a new leaf. Making her bed n' shit."

For some reason, the thought of Sayori standing in a clean, put-together room made Yuri very uncomfortable. Like oil and water. The two weren't meant to be together.

"She seems...really busy. I don't want to bother her. But while you're here, would you like to spare me some advice?"

"Advice? You want to ask...me? For advice?"

Yuri nodded. If not for the height difference she would be looking up with stars in her eyes.

"God, I don't know. You seem really busy too. I'm guessing it's pretty hard being a student, writer and a housewife all at once so don't stress it, ya know? Umm...and like...go slow. Work your way up to...whatever it is you want to do."

"I'll...try."

"But most importantly go talk to Sayori about this kind of fix-your-life kind of stuff. I'm no good at that. Now can we please talk about this new anime I want to show you?"

Huh. Sayori is doing a psychology course...maybe she has something good for me.

The combined time spent at university and her commute home completely drained Yuri for the day. While talking with Natsuki did little to drain her 'social battery', it was the other classmates and professors that did it for her.

You would think she would have gotten over her shyness by now, but it seemed to have activated whenever she saw a new face. A rare occurrence in her hometown of DDLC.

"I'm home!"

Writing time. Time to be a writer. Time. To...wait. How did I get here?

She had collapsed onto the couch and buried her face in MC's belly, finding herself unable to get up. The triple whammy combo of a comfy couch, no-bra and the feeling of a hand stroking her hair completely shutting down her muscles.

"Would you like your dinner? Or a bath? Or-"

"I would like all three of those things at once please," Yuri groaned through hoodie fabric. MC kissed her on the forehead.

"You'll be glad to hear that I have prepared an array of Thai food for us."

"Ohh...," Yuri moaned. "I am glad. Thai food with MC...on the balcony...

"And after you've been fed, I'll wash your back, give you a little massage and we can do that lewd thing you like-"

"Nnoooo...!," she groaned.

"Hwuh? Thought you liked it when I read to you."

"No, not that...I...have to write...but I'm too tired and you're really selling this night right now!"

"Hm.."

"Ugh...and my assignment. MC, is life usually this difficult? Or is it just me?," Yuri asked.

"I think you're doing pretty well for someone who just escaped a video game," he responded without a second thought. His mind was elsewhere, and a plan was formed. "Say, what's this new book about wifey? Sell it to me."

"...the book?" She was now laying down face up with her arms stretched out. MC found it funny that she looked like a comfy cat.

"Ah...well...it's a psychological horror book. You ever know the feeling of being somewhere you're not supposed to be?"

"Somewhere I'm not supposed to be...?"

"Like...your office late at night, well after everyone had left. There's that...off feeling, you know? Like you aren't completely alone," she explained.

"Actually...yeah. I once forgot my phone so I went back to my office. For a minute I kinda forgot what I was doing and where I was."

"Right? Because you're so used to seeing other people in the office that the whole place doesn't make any sense without them. What's the point of an office without any people in it? It might as well be a glorified table showroom."

Yuri giggled. She liked that he felt unnerved already as he relived the memory. "It's called 'Liminal Spaces'. The book and the phenomenon. I think it'll work well because many people had that experience, where a space is taken out of context like that."

"I would read the shit outta that."

"I knoooow. I would too," she groaned, wriggling around like she was a fish out of water. Yes, one of the symptoms of writer's block includes: irritability, excessive verbal noises and restlessness. Yuri had the itch that she couldn't scratch.

"It sounds to me like you don't want to write it?," MC prodded, feeling his smile grow even wider because his master plan was working. "Is this what therapists do? Is this what Sayori is doing? This feels great."

"No..! No, of course I want to write it! I-It's just...WRITER'S BLOCK!," she yelled through grit teeth.

"Okay...okay calm down. Tell me where you're stuck."

"S-Sorry. Ermm...something something something...she's in a big liminal space basically. But instead of an office, it's a suburban neighbourhood and a school and a shopping mall. High school stuff."

"Sorta like DDLC?"

"Exactly like DDLC. Actually...it's based off my own experiences."

MC blinked in realization. "You're...telling me you had that feeling? For however long you were in that game?"

"...yeah. Which is why I need to get it down. I mean...it's the only thing I that I can think about writing so far. Is that bad? T-That might be bad."

"Is this book about you and me?," MC asked quietly.

Yuri nodded, burying her face in her hands in embarrassment. Now that it was out there, she suddenly had doubts on the book's interestingness. Who would want to read the story of a girl trapped in a game who gets saved by the player? Totally predictable, totally bland and totally cliché.

Apparently MC, because he bent over and hugged the girl in his lap.

"I'd like that," he expressed, joy practically dripping off each word. "It'll be another good one. I can feel it."

She hugged him back tight. "MC?," Yuri murmured. "Hypothetically speaking...if you knew someone...or something, doesn't really matter- was keeping you in that office building. All by yourself, why do you think it would do that? Why?"

He imagined a black shadow rearing a tiny portion of itself from behind a corner, only for it to disappear the second he came close. Like it was watching him. Like it...

"...wanted a friend?," he thought out loud. "Maybe...it knew it couldn't get out. Maybe it didn't want to be alone."

That's it!

Right...it didn't want to be alone! It doesn't have to be malicious, just...lonely!

So much for 'too tired to write'. Turns out it was just writer's block.

As a reward, MC involuntarily received a big, long kiss on the lips before Yuri sped off into her room. He smiled when he walked past, hearing the click-clack of her mechanical keyboard fire off like it was a machine gun. Well, they say the pen is mightier than the sword, so it sorta was like a weapon.

"Do your best Yuri!," he thought, not wanting to distract her. "Proud of you. Always will be-"

"Uhh...MC?"

So much for being wired. She turned around and the sheepish look on her face told him everything.

"Chicken pad thai and green curry?," he announced.

"Love you tons!"