Author's Note: Thank you Crystal for proof-reading my work before hand... I know we both still tend to find errors even after I upload each chapter but thank you like always... I always appreciate your input... To the rest of the public. Sorry for the delay in this chapter. See you all real soon. Enjoy.

Chapter 5: Gemini

"The World seems rather quiet today.

Wrapped under a cold blanket,

shades of grey.

Lowly winds are all I can hear,

let go of your fears

and open your heart for what draws near.

Embrace the day, embrace who you are."

-Joxhaus

After everything that's been going on so far, I finally got to meet Monika in person... that much I know is a dream come true. However, this little journey of mine has taken a sharp, agonizing detour after the simulation decided to glitch tremendously, causing me a little bit of harm... or at least what I remember feeling after being booted out of the simulated world. Not only that... my Nobody apparently has split from my consciousness entirely... and now has his own simulated body. It's unusual since he's carrying my real-world characteristics, while I'm still being projected as an eighteen-year-old version of myself. I can only imagine this situation I'm in turning out poorly. Joxhaus only stared at me, confused, like he understood I was lost in my thoughts, or trying to process why everything is happening the way it is.

Josh: "How... How did this happen?"

Joxhaus: "Look, I'm just as confused as you are..."

Monika: "After I left your house... a couple minutes passed but I felt an odd disturbance in the code... and only a moment after that I heard your scream all the way from my house... So, I rushed back over here as fast as I could... You were out cold... but according to him you were disconnected from this world for a moment, right?"

Josh: "Ah... yeah... the programming in this simulation apparently wanted me to do a mandatory 'test' but... for some reason... it felt like my brain was being pierced my several volts of electricity... even through my eye where I'm able to access a run command box..."

Joxhaus: "Most simulation tests do passive readings on a user's body. Some programs ask permission from the user, while others sometimes test users without having to ask permission for it... However, this one... gave him a prompt... but didn't give him an option. And in the process, I was split from his body... and the glitches were affecting the room space we were in... formally distorting it."

Monika: "I... I couldn't even come get to you... I couldn't even enter the room because of how bad the glitches distorted the environment... I tried looking into the code to see if I could fix it myself... but even that was far beyond my power..."

Monika seemed like she might cry, she was stuttering lightly because she was exceptionally worried about me... I'm honestly touched from how much she's caring about my well-being.

Josh: "Monika... I know you did what you could... please don't worry okay? I managed to fix the issues from the outside... so things should be good for a while."

She sniffles and buried her face in my chest slowly

Monika: "Okay Josh... I believe you... I just don't want to lose you..."

I gently pat her head and hold her for an embrace and my Nobody scoffs quietly and walks towards the door and folds his arms not wanting to look at us.

Joxhaus: "So... are we just now stuck as two separate entities now? I guess I shouldn't be complaining... We could probably get more work done with two of us being here..."

Monika looks up over at him confused and asks, "More work done...? What do you mean by that...?"

Oh shit... This is not a conversation I want to be brought up right now... I immediately make a means to redirect the subject and hopes my Nobody won't catch on.

Josh: "I-It's nothing important..."

Joxhaus looks back over at me curious at what I'm about to say, but I keep my voice down a little trying to only keep the conversation between me and Monika.

Josh: "What he means is since there's two of us here... I can continue to spend time with you in the simulation while Joxhaus looks into what's causing the simulation to act weird on me..."

I could vaguely hear my Nobody sighing lightly to himself and I swear I could see him shaking his head a little bit but he didn't respond... or maybe he's acting as if he didn't hear me...

Joxhaus: "Well... shall we try to get some sleep...? It's about 2:34 AM..."

Josh: "Yeah... we probably should try to sleep now. We'll have a long day ahead of us..."

Monika: "...Josh... if you don't mind... I'm going to be staying here for the night..."

Both Joxhaus and I look at Monika. Joxhaus presented a surprised look while I am in a state of awe.

Joxhaus: "...you can't be serious... no... not acceptable."

Monika: "I... I am serious. I'm worried for Josh's safety... and I don't exactly trust you being around him! I'm staying... like it or not."

Well... things sure escalated quickly... but, I think I understand where Monika is coming from... she's scared of losing me... Just like from the game. She was afraid of losing the only other "real" person in her simulation. The only person she could love... I was honestly flattered and I felt... really happy to hear that coming from her. But to hear her distrusting my Nobody...? I'm not sure how I feel about that. I mean... I get it, most people I could imagine, don't fully understand "Nobodies"... but even so... we're basically, the same person... just two separate halves of me... and even Joxhaus vaguely explained that when I returned to this world. I think Monika sees him as a stranger or a threat in this reality... I can feel the tension rising between them... I'm probably going to have to explain the details with Monika about him later...

Joxhaus: "... Fine... Say what you will... I'm going to go sleep in the other bedroom... And you two better behave or I swear..."

He started walking out of the room as he was saying that. He sounded slightly annoyed with Monika and I... either that or he was just disgusted with us... Monika was still holding onto me on the floor and we were looking at each other for a moment blushing a bit and unsure of how to respond to that.

Josh: "Uh... perhaps we should sleep too... and I'm not letting you sleep on the floor... or the couch..."

Monika: "E-eh? A-Are you suggesting... we... sleep together...?"

Josh: "I mean... would that be a problem...?"

Monika: "A-ah... well... no... but... I've just never done that before..."

Josh: "Well... you aren't the only one... but like I said before... I'm not letting you sleep on the floor or on the couch or anything..."

Monika: "A-Alright... well if that's the case... I'm going to get changed into my PJ's... No peeking... Alright?"

Josh: "Knowing you, I thought you'd probably want that..."

Monika: "Hehe... not yet..."

We both got up from the floor and I sit on my bed and she wanders off into the upstairs bathroom for a few minutes. In the meantime, I change into PJ's of my own, which mainly consists of sweatpants and a tee shirt. (Yes, I'm a very simple person) Soon after I changed, Monika returned out of the bathroom wearing pink PJ's and holding her school clothes. I tried not to stare at her and I got in bed. I planned on sleeping closer to the wall.

Monika: "So are you sure you're alright with me sleeping next to you...?"

Josh: "mhm... I'm sure... and I promise I won't do anything sketchy while we're sleeping."

Monika: "Mmm... you better not! You might regret it~!"

Josh: "I said I promise I won't!"

Monika: "Hehe~ I know silly... but I am serious... one wrong move... and this hand will go right across your face mister!"

Josh: "Alright, alright! I believe you..."

Monika: "Hehe~ good... now behave and let's get some sleep... okay?"

Josh: "Okay... The morning will be here before you know it..."

Monika turned off the light to the room and she slipped into bed next to me but we were keeping our distance for the time being. I closed my eyes for the moment but I couldn't sleep right away... I had so many thoughts roaming through my mind. Monika turned toward me for a moment and our eyes met once more... But for some reason this moment almost felt intimate.

Monika: "Hey Josh...?"

Josh: "Hmm... yeah?"

Monika: "A-are you sure this is okay? I mean... for me to be sleeping with you...?"

Josh: "I'm sure this is okay Monika. I mean... we already know how we feel about each other... and like I said already. I'm not going to let you sleep on the floor or the couch... besides... Joxhaus is already taking the other bedroom and I'd rather be with you when I sleep... by the way... speaking of which... You seem rather, uneasy with him... why is that if I may ask?"

Monika: "Well... when that strange anomaly happened... and you got hurt to the point of being booted out of my world... I noticed another character was added to the world... So, when I saw you on the floor, I thought that he... might have hurt you or worse! So... how can I just trust some random stranger who was probably the product of that horrible test that nearly killed you!? Ah... Sorry, I was rambling a little bit... But something about him just seems... I don't know... off. Like, he's just unsettling."

I kind of felt a little hurt by what she said... I mean, I get it... That side of me is extremely unsettling to experience in person. I know I can be a little scary, especially when I'm in a bad mood... or if my depression takes over my mind. Since Joxhaus is literally my living embodiment of all my negative emotions, I can fully understand Monika's mistrust of him... but in the end, he's still a part of me.

Josh: "Well... like he briefly mentioned... he... is a part of me... a part of me that is rarely seen... he's made up of all my negative emotions and feelings such as my depression and self-hatred... so, I'm sorry if he's a bit... disturbing... I promise he's not nearly as bad as he seems... he can be an ass at times, but I know he's not all bad..."

Monika: "I really hope so... but, I don't think I can bring myself to trust him yet though... even if he is a part of you... I'm sorry..."

Josh: "Monika... I really don't blame you for feeling that way... if I was in your perspective, I could totally understand. I know it doesn't make a lot of sense... but just give him time... but for now, we should try to get some rest, okay?"

Monika: "Alright... sleep well okay, sweetheart?"

Josh: "You too... my love...good night..."

Monika: "Hehe... good night~"

After that we were both blushing... Monika rolled over on her side now facing away from me and I decided to lay on my back. I'm not sure if I'll be able to actually sleep... but I need to try. The whole "day" in general has just been hectic. Or in some cases a rollercoaster of different things. Everything up to this evening was pretty fucking awesome. This world is just as beautiful as some of the "top-of-the-line" virtual reality simulations I've ever seen. Monika, Sayori, Yuri and Natsuki all seem so real now as well... they all act and respond like actual humans rather than simulated characters following a basic script. They respond clearly to more casual conversations or responses.

I know this isn't a perfect simulation... Monika is still considered a "god" in this world and could have the potential to kill anyone if she truly wanted to. However, that aside, with this simulation being more complex and past the game itself, I believe that Monika doesn't feel threatened by her fears of having me being taken away by the other girls anymore. She doesn't have to feel alone anymore either... but, with that in mind... How will the other girls react if they find out my feelings for Monika? And on top of that, Joxhaus is now going to be roaming around the simulation on his own accord? Will any more pain-staking glitches happen while I'm back in here again? I feel my anxiety kicking in... I don't think this simulation is going to go as well as I hoped... but I have to keep a positive mindset or else it's just going eat me alive from the inside out. Well I wanted this to get interesting, right? Well lucky me. I got more than what I initially bargained for.

I felt a lot of worry... but ever since my traumatizing experience this evening... I've been feeling flat out exhausted. My eyes were sore, and my head felt like it was splitting... My last worry for the evening before falling asleep though... I REALLY hope I don't ruin Monika's sleep with my snoring... I mean, I know this is virtual reality and not all the details for me are one to one... but I'm going to feel awfully embarrassed if I do wake her up due to my snoring... Monika seems fast asleep and I can hear a very soft and a very quiet snore coming from her... it's actually kind of cute! A small smile runs across my face before I initially pass out myself...

All is quiet in my mind, without Joxhaus being in my head... it's... almost kind of weird not having any dreams now or anyone to talk to in order to occupy my thoughts while I'm asleep... just silence... it's peaceful, but at the same time, it's still just so weird to me...

Hours passed... even though to me it felt like only a couple of minutes...

I hearing my alarm clock going off, granted, I'm still in the simulation. The simulation gives you a watch on your wrist to keep track of time like a "normal" person would; it even came with a wake-up alarm. Then again, I was never "normal" to begin with. I would have rather relied on my cell phone waking me up. Regardless, the morning was here... and like typical me, I REALLY struggled to get up and moving in the morning. I did put the alarm on snooze... about twice... or three times. I turn my head to the right and I hear a softly moaning Monika waking up next to me... she was... a little closer than I remember... and by closer she was actually cuddled up next to my arm. It was actually kind of adorable. Her eyes opened up slowly and she was looking up at me and smiling.

Monika: "Ehehe... good morning Josh..."

I softly yawned and I still felt awfully exhausted and I smiled back at her, still half asleep.

Josh: "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah... good morning, Monika... sleep well?"

Monika: "Hehe... I did... how about you...?"

Josh: "Well... I could have slept a little longer... but I have to get up, don't I?"

Monika: "Mhm... we have school in the next hour and a half sleepy head~ Get your butt up~"

Monika starts to playfully pull me up out of bed and she gets up and stretches for a moment. Afterwards she takes her school uniform and heads towards the bathroom.

Monika: "I'm going to get changed. You better get your uniform on too!"

Josh: "Oooooooooookay..."

I'm still tired so I sound like an absolute sleepy goofball. Monika giggles at me as she closes the door to the bathroom and I "attempt" to get my uniform on. Since I feel so tired I'm just a little slow in the morning. I managed to get my uniform pants, socks and shirt on, but Monika already beats me and exits the bathroom and re-enters my room.

Monika: "Hehe... having problems?"

Josh: "Nah... just slow when I'm tired."

Monika just giggles at me again as I get my blazer on. Monika picks up my uniform tie. I stand up and stretch a bit myself, yawning loudly as Monika gets in front of me and pokes my forehead.

Monika: "Stop it~ Wake up sleepy butt~ And hold still... I'm going to help you with your tie..."

My cheeks flushed a bit pink and I allowed her to put my tie on my uniform. Afterwards she was staring at me in my uniform for a moment and smiled. I was curious as to what she was thinking...

Josh: "...yes?"

Monika: "O-oh nothing! You just look really good in uniform is all~"

Josh: "Uh-huh... And so do you..."

Monika: "Ehehe... such a sweetheart, aren't you...?"

Joxhaus: "...Ahem..."

Both Monika and I jump at the sound of Joxhaus interrupting our moment. We both turned to the entrance of the room where he was standing in the doorway. I don't even think he took off his black coat... his arms were folded and I imagined he was annoyed with us being all lovey-dovey again... but I didn't care... I was happy with my decision.

Joxhaus: "If you two are about done... breakfast is ready and it'll be waiting for you on the kitchen counter..."

Monika: "…"

Josh: "Alright... we'll be down in a moment."

Joxhaus: "… alright, well don't take forever."

He walked away, returning downstairs, leaving Monika and I in the room feeling a little awkward, but I have been in worse situations... Monika seemed rather disturbed by what just happened.

Josh: "Are... you okay?"

Monika: "Does... he always do that...? Or should I ask, have you always done that...?"

Josh: "I did that very rarely growing up... I was always very quiet and would sometimes appear behind people and they weren't expecting it... sorry."

Monika: "It's fine... just... scared the living hell out of me. Doesn't he know how to fucking knock?"

Josh: "Well... the door wasn't exactly closed either... but it's whatever... come on, let's go get breakfast before Sayori ends up knocking at my door again."

I'm not sure if Monika was really satisfied by my response, but we retreated downstairs and to our surprise, there was a full-course breakfast set for both of us. My Nobody was sitting on the couch, half-asleep as well. He looked like he might fall back asleep at any minute, but his focus came back since we were in his presence. Monika and I started to eat the breakfast he made for us. It was good and as far as I could tell Monika wasn't complaining either. I could still sense she didn't exactly trust him, but this is a nice way to start the day... Although I'm still not sure why he went out of his way to do this...

Josh: "You realize you didn't have to do this, right?"

Joxhaus: "Hmm... I know... but I really don't care to listen to your logic right now. So just enjoy it..."

Monika: "So... why did you make us breakfast?"

Joxhaus: "Because I know lazy-ass over there probably wouldn't have woken up in time to make it himself..."

Josh: "Hey...! I resent that!"

Joxuhas: "Again... does it look like I care?"

Monika started to get a little agitated with his attitude and I could really tell she was trying her hardest not to say anything she might regret...

Monika: "Well... aren't you a part of him? So, wouldn't you also be a contributing factor to being a 'lazy-ass'?"

Joxhaus moved his head over towards us. His expression seemed unphased by her comment, but I could see it in his eyes: a small spark of anger.

Joxhaus: "Not really sure why that's your concern all of a sudden... But as far as you should be concerned... I am much more responsible and logical than my other half... and since I can tell you're trying to stand up for him, just know I have a heavy sense of 'cold' sarcasm. So, try not to take everything I say so seriously..."

Monika: "…"

I place my hand on Monika's... trying to signal her to calm down. The air in the room felt very heavy... it was tense between him and Monika... I know he's sarcastic but his cold and sometimes casual tone always makes it difficult to determine whether he's being serious or not.

Joxhaus: "So... what are your plans for today...?"

Josh: "Resuming school and progressing the day like normal?"

Joxhaus: "…alright, that's fine."

Josh: "And what about you?"

Joxhaus: "Hmm... depends... maybe research, if I'm up for it."

He slowly stood up and stretched. He chose not to look at us and he turned away from us and he put up his hood. Monika and I finished up breakfast and I put the dishes away in the sink for now. Monika only continued glaring at him. Neither of them were moving.

Josh: "Going somewhere?"

Joxhaus: "Hmm... yeah. I'm going to start looking around the world. Doing little tests of my own... I'll be around I guess. I'll see you all later perhaps... Don't wait up."

As soon as his sentence finished an unusual wave of darkness surrounded him in an oval shape and it disappeared... Now that, was unusual. Monika and I sat in the room in silence for a moment.

Monika: "So... he knows how to teleport in my world now?"

Josh: "Yeah... that's something I always wanted to do in these virtual worlds, but I know making it work is very complicated and sometimes dangerous... and if I recall his character file is based off of an error code that was part of that glitched test... So it wouldn't surprise me if he managed to find little cheat-steps in the simulation's code. Even if it's just something as simple as short-distance teleportation."

Monika: "So am I still wrong to assume he's evil?"

Josh: "Well... am I evil?"

Monika: "Well... no. You're too much of a sweetheart to be bad. But... he is everything that's negative about you."

Josh: "And I'm fairly certain 'evil' is not one of those things. A cold asshole maybe, but not evil."

Monika: "Yeah... but he even called you a 'lazy-ass'! Just... UGH! he just makes me want to punch him just from that comment alone."

Josh: "...Well... remember... part of that is just my self-hatred talking... and like he said... 'don't take it seriously'"

Monika sighed lightly and pressed her forehead into my chest.

Monika: "Alright, I'll try not to let him get to me... I'm sorry, Josh."

Josh: "It's okay Monika, I forgive you. Now... do you think Sayori will break if she sees you with me coming out of my house?"

Monika: "Yeah, I thought about that too. I checked the simulation... chances of that happening are actually high. Just because this simulation still runs a set or expected 'script'. The day's events still need to roll on track as they normally should or else... the simulation breaks apart."

Josh: "Alright... well could I see you in school then?"

Monika: "If the script allows it... then possibly. But I won't be able to find out until we get there. So, let's go about our day like normal and see how it goes, alright?"

Josh: "Sounds good."

We get our shoes on and prepare to leave the house. Monika stops me before I go and kisses my cheek and my cheeks flush pink again.

Monika: "I'm going to teleport myself from here... I'll see you at school alright~? I love you~"

Josh: "Alright, I'll see you later Monika. I love you too~"

As soon as I finished my sentence she smiled and waved as a flash of light blinded me and she disappeared from my sight. I still find that astonishing... every time.

I make my way out the door and start walking out to school and surprisingly as soon as I start walking past Sayori's house, Sayori opens the door and leaves her home while walking towards me with some toast in her mouth. She starts waving and saying "Hey!" From a distance. However, she's muffling herself with the toast so I can't help but laugh as she hops toward me.

Josh: "haha~ Sayori, swallow your food before you speak."

Sayori: "Ehehe~ Sorry! Breakfast to go for the win!"

Josh: "Did you sleep well last night?"

Sayori: "Mhm... for the most part. But what about you? You look like an exhausted train-wreck Josh! Did you stay up watching anime again?"

Josh: "N-no... I didn't. I promise!"

Sayori: "Ehehe! I'm just kidding Josh. I know you're not THAT irresponsible... but... I could have sworn I heard something weird last night."

Josh: "Weird...? What do you mean?"

Sayori: "Well I thought I was asleep when I heard it so I really don't know if it was a dream or real but I swear... I thought I heard a loud scream last night... it sounded like someone was in a lot of pain..."

Josh: "O-oh... I see..."

Sayori: "Yeah, but the news this morning didn't report anything happening overnight so I think I was just hearing things... or maybe my house is haunted!"

Josh: "Ahaha... Nah Sayori I think you're just delusional. Ahaha..."

Sayori: "Uwa! Hey! Josh! That's SUPER mean!"

Sayori shoves me and starts to pout at me while crossing her arms. I think I might have made her a little mad at me... But I know she's a sweetheart and I think she knows I didn't really mean it.

Josh: "I'm kidding! I'm kidding! I'm sorry!"

Sayori: "You better be! I'll kick your butt if you're not!"

Josh: "I really am sorry. Have mercy!"

Sayori: "Ehehe... aww I forgive you~"

Sayori gave me a hug and we kept walking to school. I felt super uneasy from that whole situation though. I think a pit grew in my stomach... Sayori probably heard me screaming from last night's... issue. But I'm glad she isn't aware of my problems... I'd much rather keep things as simple as possible. I don't want to over-complicate anything right now. But since that conversation, I started to grow more quiet... anxious... and uneasy. And Sayori took notice of it as we approached school. She stopped me before entering and she made me look into her deep blue eyes.

Sayori: "Hey Josh...?"

Josh: "Yeah...?"

Sayori: "Is everything okay...? You don't seem okay..."

Josh: "Yeah I'm alright... just a little tired today is all."

Sayori: "Are you sure...? If anything is bothering you... you know you can tell me, right?"

Josh: "I know... and I promise you'll be the first person I talk to about it."

Sayori: "...pinky promise?"

Sayori might be a goofball in her own little way but she truly does care about me as an individual. And like in the game she only cared about the MC's happiness over her own. Which isn't a good thing, but it's not a bad thing either. I honestly wished I had someone like her in my time through high school... depression was kind of difficult for me then... but, it makes me happy to see how genuine she's being to me now. I hold out my pinky finger and wrap it around her and I smile.

Josh: "Pinky promise."

Sayori: "Ehehe... thanks Josh. I'll cya at the club later today, okay?"

Josh: "Alright Sayori. Have a good day with classes."

Sayori: "You too sleepy butt~ Ehehe~"

Sayori trots off into school and waving at me as she darts off into the halls and to her classroom. I remember the first classroom I had entered on the first day so I had no need for the run command program right now for the navigation program... and I really didn't want to try it after last night's incident either. For now, I'll keep it on hold and I'll try to get through the day without it. I manage to make it to my first class and I let out a sigh that mixed into a yawn and I could only feel myself slowly falling asleep in the first class.

As soon as the bell rang and the class started I immediately realized something important! Shit, shit, SHIT! I FORGOT TO WRITE A POEM FOR TODAY!

Next Chapter: The Eye of the Storm