Sayori called it the Bachelorette Pad. Sometimes she liked to stand outside and admire the large but tasteful home she had created for herself and the other two girls in the Literature Club. She would have to gaze on it again later; it was getting dark now and the others were waiting for her.
Inside, Natsuki and Yuri reclined on the long bend sofa that sat in the middle of their living room, wearing pink and purple pajamas that complemented their respective hair colors. Sayori had red pajamas waiting for her in her bedroom, just one of the numerous clothes Rob had managed to find and give to them by filling up the game's folder with images.
They had done more experiments with this and now the group also had an extensive selection of music that Sayori controlled with the tablet device she had conjured into existence. The music Rob picked often veered a little too far on the heavy side for everyone's taste, but he had thrown in some gentler songs as well. They had all been particularly taken to the song that was playing now, a catchy tune about some guy who really likes Africa.
"Is there something in the oven?" Sayori asked as she walked back down the stairs to the living room. At one end was the entrance to the kitchen, which was full of cupboards that Natsuki had quickly filled. The door at the other end led to the study, a quiet room with several bookshelves and chairs. This room was mostly used by Yuri, who had adorned it with scented candles and other atmospheric touches. Rob had also supplied them with numerous books thanks to something called "pdf files."
Natsuki answered her question with a satisfied grin. "Yeah! This is going to be a good batch, I can tell!"
"Well now I'm very excited for dessert!" Sayori replied. "The pizza should be here any minute."
She wasn't always this comfortable with her role in their world. Sayori nearly snapped when the truth revealed itself to her, coming out of nowhere as she was leaving herself and walking towards MC. The realization that her reality existed inside of a video game was actually too absurd to digest right away, the initial shock came from the revelation that she had been dead.
As far back as she could remember, she had depression. It had been hard but survivable. But right around the time she introduced MC to the club, it became unbearable to the point where ending it all seemed like the only sane choice. It wasn't until the noose was tight around her neck that she realized just how much she had been manipulated by Monika, but at that point, it was too late.
That should have been the end, but it wasn't. Because of him. The player. Rob.
He knew something was wrong. He outsmarted Monika (even if he was too much of a softie to truly delete her) and didn't stop until Sayori was restored to life. What had she done to earn that kind of loyalty from someone who was more or less a stranger? As she reflected on this, Sayori realized that she could also imagine the memories of Yuri and Natsuki. That was when things really got strange.
All three of them had memories of Rob writing poems that appealed to them. Both Yuri and Natsuki remembered spending a special day at MC's house even though only one of them could have been there. Sayori racked her brain trying to figure out how this was possible until the answer came to her. Rob had the ability to manipulate the flow of time in their reality. He had experienced those few days at the club multiple times in order to bond with each of the girls.
He had put in so much effort just to make all of them feel loved and cared about. If the rules of this reality allowed him to do so for Monika, he would have. It was then that Sayori's panic faded away. Rob was gone now, but he had left behind so much love and clinging to that allowed her to come to grips with the truth about her life. No matter what she managed to do now, there was no way she could ever suitably repay him for that kindness.
It was ironic, really. None of the girls would physically age as long as they were in this reality, but Sayori felt like she was about a decade older mentally. She was able to get the depression under control and made less of an effort to hide it. Making the other girls happy was still her top priority, but she wasn't quite the ray of sunshine they remembered. She was jaded, less likely to use cutesy words like "meanie" and more open about her true feelings. Some things didn't change, however. She still loved food.
The doorbell rang and Sayori opened it to see Natsuki's father holding two large boxes of pizza. She realized she probably should give him a name at some point. Hideo, maybe? After she became president of the club, she considered deleting him altogether but decided a more appropriate fate would be to spend the rest of his existence providing food for his daughter.
He peered into the living room and waved. "Hi, Natsuki!"
"Hi Dad. Did you get the toppings right this time?"
"Yes, I double checked! Have fun!"
Sayori set the pizzas down on the counter. Yuri walked over with the notepad they had written their individual requests on and examined the food.
"No errors this time," she said. "Perhaps we don't need to call the manager."
Natsuki cast her an aggravated look. "Only kidding, of course."
The girls grabbed slices and set them on paper plates before returning to the couch. All three leaned back into the cushions and set their feet on the coffee table as they ate. Sayori looked at the smiles on Yuri and Natsuki's faces and was grateful the two of them were so content. One of her ongoing internal debates was how much to tell them about what she knew.
Rob's sudden disappearance had to be explained. After all, MC hadn't moved from that desk in months. They knew that Rob was a person from a different world, one similar to theirs but larger and more complicated. They knew that it was his presence that animated MC, even though he had never directly spoken to them and mostly had to abide by what MC wanted to say. They knew the end result of Monika's disappearance had been for Sayori to obtain almost godlike power over the world they lived in. They knew that Sayori had found a way to communicate with him and that he had been able to supply them with new clothes and music.
They knew almost everything, but Sayori had left a crucial detail out. They had no clue that their world was a video game, one where all the trauma they had experienced was written ahead of time and presented to a player. Why should she risk giving her two best friends an existential crisis? Besides, they were alive. Their origins were not what they thought, but they had feelings and desires all their own.
This is what Monika never understood, or perhaps didn't want to. She viewed them as worthless puppets of whoever created this game, but it wasn't that simple. After all, she was able to escape into Rob's world as herself, not as a two-dimensional cutout or lines of code. The period of time covered by the game had ended and their lives continued, a development that even the creators likely didn't know.
That led to some really interesting possibilities. It was clear that it was possible for them to leave this world, but Sayori wondered if that also meant someone could come there. It would be simple to add another bedroom to the house…or maybe just make her bed a little bit wider.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her customized tablet vibrating next to her feet on the coffee table. Sayori sat up and examined it.
"Did we get another letter?" Yuri asked, her eyes lighting up with excitement.
"Has he found a way to get us some video games?" Natsuki asked. "Cause I don't want to hear from him until he does."
"This one's from Monika," Sayori said with her eyes still on the screen.
"Oh, great." Natsuki rolled her eyes. "Let me guess. 'Please don't be mad, I know I tried to kill you all but I was just having really bad PMS.' She's such a brat."
"Natsuki!" Yuri tried to sound aghast but was also stifling laughter.
Sayori wasn't laughing. In fact, her face had gone deathly white.
"What's wrong?" Yuri asked.
"She…she says that Rob was in a bad car accident," Sayori answered, barely able to get the words out. "She doesn't even know…if he's still alive."
There was terrible silence for a moment until Natsuki abruptly stood up off the couch. "She's lying!"
Her friends weren't sure how to reply, so she continued. "She doesn't like that he writes to us so she's making this up! She…"
Natsuki's voice trailed off and she rushed upstairs, tears streaming down her cheeks. Yuri held up a hand to try and stop her but it was no good.
"I'll go talk to her," she said.
"Thank you," Sayori replied, gently touching Yuri's shoulder.
Finishing the letter was the responsible thing to do, but Sayori couldn't bring herself to look directly at it. A welcome distraction came when a beeping noise went off in the kitchen. It was the microwave timer, indicating that the cupcakes were done. She walked over to a drawer and put on a pair of oven mitts. By the time she had the cupcakes safely on the counter, she had shored up enough inner strength to continue reading.
Sayori,
I know you don't want to hear from me, but I think you should know that Rob was in a really bad car accident tonight. He wasn't able to talk on the phone for long, but Kate left to find him and by now an ambulance has been called. I'm not sure when I'll know more. I feel like everything is falling apart.
I wasn't going to even write this much, but I don't know what else to do. I've been jealous like usual and I fought with him earlier today. Now he might die and I won't get the chance to make things right. I'm just so scared. I know I have no right to ask for your support but I need you. I need my friends. I'm so very sorry for everything.
Monika
Her words brought on a multitude of different emotions, all of which Sayori decided to put on hold by checking on the other girls. She walked up the stairs, doing her best to say calm, and peeked into Natsuki's room. She was on her knees sobbing into Yuri's shoulder.
Even though she wasn't crying, Sayori was actually more worried about Yuri. Natsuki crying so hard was the more healthy way to deal with these feelings. One of the first things Sayori did after their world had been restored was to take Yuri aside to talk about that cutting habit that she had just become aware of. Sayori opened the conversation by revealing her struggles with depression, so that it would feel more like an equal exchange instead of a one-sided interrogation.
What she didn't expect to hear was that Yuri had suspected her condition all along but had never said anything. Sayori had to concede that it made some sense, Yuri was very smart and very analytical. When the conversation switched her issues, she wasn't very forthcoming but Sayori gently revealed that she knew what "feeding the raccoon" really meant.
They agreed to try and come up with some other way to relieve stress and the stability of life afterwards had been good for her. The bachelorette pad was a safe place. But after a shock like this, old habits might look appealing.
"I don't understand," Natsuki finally said. "I've never met Rob, not really. But…I don't want him to die! That's not right!"
"None of us do," Yuri consoled. "We care so much because he cared about us."
"Still does," Sayori added.
"He even cares about Monika," Natsuki said. "Soft-hearted sucker."
"Oh yeah, Monika," Sayori replied. "I guess I should write back to her before I go to bed. Are you two going to be okay?"
Natsuki sat up and wiped her eyes. "I…I think so."
Sayori looked at Yuri. "What about you?"
Yuri broke eye contact. "I'm very concerned, but I believe I can stay composed."
"Remember, we don't know the whole story yet. No sense panicking too much until we hear more."
"If Monika even decides to tell us," Natsuki said.
"She will," Sayori said. "Hey, I have an idea. Let's all sleep in the same room tonight."As soon as she spoke, sections of the wall folded down and revealed two new beds in Natsuki's room.
About a half hour later, Yuri was reading a book with the aid of a small lamp on her new nightstand while Natsuki slept. Before she started to drift off, Sayori made her tablet device appear in her hands and began to write.
Monika,
This is not news that any of us wanted to hear, but you did the right thing by telling us. If Rob had stopped writing without an explanation, that would have been hard. Please tell us when you know more, even if it's bad news. The uncertainty isn't good for any of us, especially Yuri.
I don't want to be too hard on you this time because I'm sure you're suffering already. I hope that if nothing else, this inspires you to grow up a little bit. You've been able to spend so much time with him and we're still here, so I don't understand why you would still be jealous. Please snap out of it, for your own sake as well as his. If he pulls through, consider paying us a visit. We won't be able to resolve all of this through writing. Plus there will be cupcakes.
Sayori
The batch of cupcakes that Natsuki had baked tonight still hadn't been iced, but that wasn't anything to worry about. It might make a nice distraction tomorrow. She allowed herself to fall asleep, hoping for better news in the morning.
