Today was going to be different. Every morning since she arrived, Natsuki had started the day waiting for Yuri to finish her shower. Even though her haircut had made a difference, Yuri still took her sweet time in there, probably with her mind a million miles away thinking about tea or big words. It wouldn't be so frustrating if she could just go upstairs and have breakfast or something in the meantime, but she simply couldn't allow anyone up there to see how her hair looked in the morning. It was bad enough that the other girls caught a glimpse of it. It had never done this back in the game, but it had become clear that she was going to start every morning here with her head looking like a giant pink rat's nest.
She could hear Yuri rustling around in the next room, probably picking out her clothes for the day. Natsuki sprinted from her room into the bathroom and hurriedly shut the door. Success! As the water came on, she started humming to herself, enjoying the victory. But something was wrong. The splashing she heard below her seemed more prominent than usual. The water wasn't supposed to fill up the tub while the shower was being used, right? The rising water became a bit like a ticking clock and Natsuki rushed to get herself clean before it got too high. When she was done, she shut off the water and reached for her towel, wrapping it around herself as she quickly stepped out. It turned out she had rushed a little too much and stumbled into the wall.
"Natsuki!" Yuri called through the door. "What on Earth are you doing in there?!"
"Something's wrong with the shower!" she yelled back, adjusting the towel.
"What?!"
Natsuki could recognize the anxiety in Yuri's voice and it wouldn't be long until she came in. She got dressed and brushed her hair as quickly as she could. Of all the days this had to happen, it had to be on the day she finally got to shower first.
Sure enough, Yuri came in and noticed the pool of water in the tub. "You took a bath?"
"No," Natsuki answered. "The water isn't draining for some reason."
"What should we do?"
"We have to get Rob, I guess. He better not blame me for this, I was just trying to shower like any other day." She found him eating his breakfast upstairs and when she explained the issue, he ducked into the other bathroom and returned with a thin yellow stick made of plastic. There were little hooks all along either side.
"What is that?" she asked as they went back downstairs.
"It should unclog the drain," Rob answered. "Every so often, they get plugged up with hair."
"Huh? We're losing our hair?!"
"Not really. Just a strand or two at a time. It happens to everyone in the shower. It usually takes a long time for it to accumulate enough to cause a problem, but with all of you down here, that shower's been used more than ever."
Yuri and Natsuki watched as he sat on the edge of the tub and gently drove that plastic stick into the drain. When he pulled it back, there was a huge clump of pink, purple and brown hairs all matted together.
"Oh my goodness!" Yuri exclaimed. "That's disgusting!"
"It can't be helped," Rob calmly replied. "I've had to do this before but it's usually not this...colorful."
"So what do we do now?" Natsuki asked. "Is it fixed?"
"I have to make sure I got it all, but then maybe I'll sell this to a modern art museum."
Yuri groaned. "Please tell me that's a joke."
Natsuki hoped that was a sight she would never see again, but at least she was ready for the day…and what a day it would be. With the chaos of this mysterious "Black Friday" having passed and the holiday month of December having begun, there was no way Rob could put off the Christmas shopping any longer. The girls wanted to get gifts for each other. Unfortunately, none of them had any income which meant that Rob and Kate would be footing the bill for all of them. Natsuki suspected that was the real reason behind their reluctance to take them shopping. She personally planned to bake most of her gifts but still wanted a chance to see the mall and get a better sense of what was out there. Kate had mentioned that most people did their shopping on the internet these days, but forget that. She wanted to get out of the house.
It took two vehicles to get everyone in the house to the mall. Once they had all arrived, they split into two groups. Rob went with Natsuki and Sayori and Kate went with Yuri and Monika. Given the choice, the twins chose to stick with their mother. It was nearing lunchtime, so they Natsuki's group stopped at the food court for a quick meal. She sat in her seat at a small table with a hand on her chin, pondering what to get the others. As Rob and Sayori returned with food, a troublesome thought occurred to her.
"Monika's going to get me a gift, isn't she?"
"I'm sure she will," Rob said.
"Ugh," Natsuki sighed. "That means I have to get her something too."
"Of course!" Sayori piped up. "You would really get something for everyone else and leave her out? That would be so mean!"
She scoffed. "What she did to us was pretty mean too."
"This has gone on long enough," Sayori replied. "I was angry too. We all were, but we're all together and okay. It's time to move on. Rob, talk some sense into her!"
Natsuki glared at him, daring him to stick his nose into this when it wasn't his business.
"I've been trying to stay out of this," Rob said. "I'll say one thing and then leave it for you all to work out. Monika tried writing to you once while you were still in the game, I'm sure you remember. You didn't hold back in your response and even though I felt bad for Monika, I knew it was warranted. Since then, Monika has more or less given up on getting you to forgive her. But...she still wanted what's best for you. She wanted you to have a chance at life here even though you wouldn't be especially nice to her. She will always want what's best for you. I can assure you that's the truth, so you can decide what to do with it."
Natsuki felt deeply uncomfortable. How was she supposed to react to that? Even if Monika really was some kind of masochist who would always be trying to win her over no matter how she was treated, it still felt incredibly dangerous to let down the emotional safeguards she had built. Natsuki wasn't sure she could survive another betrayal like that. Yet there was a frustrating truth in what Rob was saying. Monika had done everything she could to get her and the others out of the game and into a home where they would be safe.
"Fine," she sighed quietly. "I'll get her a stupid present."
As they walked past dozens of stores looking for one that could provide some good gifts for the others, Natsuki was a little puzzled by the sense of familiarity she felt. Like anything she might have remembered before the game began, she had never actually been to a mall, but it still felt so…normal. Maybe it was time to stop worrying about what she did or didn't remember from those days. This was her life now and there really wasn't any comparison.
They caught sight of the others once during their exploring. They were waiting in a long line for the boys to meet Santa Claus. Natsuki enjoyed spending time with the twins but realized they had dodged a bullet by not going with them today.
The place they ended up spending the most time at was the bookstore, probably because everyone had the same thought that this was where they could find something for Yuri. Natsuki picked out one that looked perfect for her - a weighty tome with a picture of some sort of demonic octopus on the cover. On her way to find the others, something in the non-fiction section caught her eye. It was a shelf full of cookbooks, many of them will all sorts of unique twists on baking. She realized the sheer breadth of possibilities out there for her passion and felt a momentary giddiness that she would have a chance to explore it to the fullest.
"Natsuki?" She turned and Rob was there, holding a few books of his own. "You okay?"
"Yeah," she answered. "I'm all set, I just got distracted."
Rob glanced over at the cookbooks. "Ah, I see. Maybe Santa will get you one of those for Christmas."
She gave him a strange look. He did know that he wasn't talking to a five year old, didn't he?
The shopping trip ended not long after that, along with the weekend. The next day was much quieter. Katie was at work, the boys were at school and Rob was out grocery shopping. It seemed like he was constantly grocery shopping. Keeping this many people fed had to be a challenge, but they hadn't complained.
Natsuki looked around in front of the TV, wanting to play a game but not sure which one. Then she noticed the plastic instruments gathered in the corner of the room, looking like they hadn't been used for a while. She looked back at the stack of games and saw one called "Rock Band 4." This had to be what they were used for.
"Guys, let's try this game." She turned on the game console and began to navigate the homepage.
"Okay!" Sayori said cheerfully. "Can I play guitar?"
"Sure," Natsuki replied. "I was thinking of trying the drums. That leaves either singing or the other guitar for you, Yuri."
"I would rather not sing," Yuri said. "I'll try the guitar, although I don't know how the game will divide the work between Sayori and I."
"It's the bass guitar," Monika said, entering from the other room. "There will be distinct roles for each of you. I'll be the singer…if that's okay."
"Hooray!" Sayori said with both hands in the air. "We have a full band!"
Natsuki took the lead on getting everything set up, even figuring out how to scroll through the menus by hitting the right drum pads. You could organize the songs by difficulty, so she figured it was good to start with something easy. She picked the song ranked the easiest.
"Wait a minute!" Monika said. "I don't know that one."
"So? I don't either."
"Yeah, but how am I supposed to sing a song I've never heard?"
That was actually a good point. "Right…well, pick an easy one that you know."
She picked one called "We Will Rock You" and it actually the perfect way to start. The drums did one pattern for the entire time, which really helped her figure out how the timing worked. You had to hit the drums right when the little colored square hit the bottom of the screen. Sayori and Yuri had a bit of a tougher time but they had started on the lowest difficulty so the game was forgiving until they had gotten a feel for it.
It wasn't long before they all felt more comfortable moving up to medium difficulty, but the songs they could use was pretty limited thanks to Monika. Everyone was still having a great deal of fun and the time passed quickly. Nobody heard Rob come in and put the groceries away, but he was soon drawn to the basement by the familiar sounds of wooden drumsticks hitting plastic.
"Well this takes me back," he said.
"Ah, perfect!" Monika said, turning around. "I don't think any of you knew this, but Rob was one of the best Rock Band singers in the world back when these games were really popular."
"How did you know that?" he asked.
She ignored that and kept talking, sporting a big grin. "And yet somehow, I've never heard him sing." She handed him the microphone.
"You guys are doing just fine," he said.
"I need a break," Monika replied. "My throat is a little sore."
That was obviously bullshit. She must have really wanted to hear him sing. He looked at Yuri. "Do you want to switch? I know bass can get repetitive."
She wasn't going to bail him out. "I don't mind it. I find it quite calming."
Rob surveyed the room and saw the looks on everyone's faces. He realized there was no getting out of this. Monika sat down on the futon looking very pleased with herself. There was some story behind all this that she hadn't heard.
"What song do you want?" Natsuki asked him.
"Oh, it doesn't matter. I've sung all these at one point or another. You can just hit random if you want."
"Works for me." As the game was loading, she bent over to adjust the kick pedal and missed the name of the song. Whatever it was, it had a bassline that was really keeping Yuri busy. Rob started singing, although it was fairly quiet for someone who was supposed to be so good at this game. The lyrics seemed kinda goofy, something about some guy named Tommy on the docks or whatever.
He may have been hesitating at the start, but some switch got pulled during the final chorus of the song. There was a huge key change and he was forced to rise to the occasion. Natsuki couldn't believe how high the vocals were getting but he didn't falter.
The song ended and they looked at their scores.
"Rob, you got 100 percent!" Sayori said.
"And he was playing on the hardest difficulty," Yuri added.
"It's no big deal," he said. They went with a random song again and this time Natsuki did see the name. "Aces High" by Iron Maiden, which she believed was Rob's favorite band. She was curious to hear how he did on this one, but once the song finished its introduction, Natsuki realized she had better pay attention to her own instrument.
"Holy shit!" she exclaimed as the song began to sprint ahead.
Monika laughed. "Having trouble, Natsuki?"
"Fuck off!" Natsuki yelled as her arms flailed around. This was far more challenging than anything else they had played but she was determined to learn this rhythm.
About halfway through, a guitar solo had Sayori barely holding on to the guitar. "What the hell's going on?!"
The bass was no picnic either, but Yuri seemed to have gone into some state of extreme concentration. After one more verse and chorus, the song reached its end and what an end it was. Rob's last note was so high and so loud that she nearly fell off her chair. She would never have thought he was capable of making a noise like that. Hopefully the windows in the house hadn't shattered.
The song was finished and she was worn out, but also exhilarated.
"I think that gave me tendonitis," Sayori complained.
"That song…was awesome," Yuri said.
"That song was FUCKIN' awesome!" Natsuki agreed.
The group played for hours after that. Rob offered to let Monika take over quite a few times, but she seemed delighted to watch him operate at the peak of his powers. Natsuki was grateful to her for that, actually. With a singer like this, there was nothing their "band" couldn't accomplish.
Rob eventually had to go pick up the boys from school, which effectively ended their jam session. When he came back, Monika stuck to him even closer than usual. She must have been really grateful to have finally heard him sing.
At dinner, Kate noticed that Rob was looking at his phone rather intently. "Have you heard anything about that arts center job?"
"Yes," Rob said. "They actually just emailed me."
Everyone's ears perked up and they turned to him. "Well?" Monika asked.
Rob took a few moments to read what they had written. "I didn't get it."
"What?!" Katie exclaimed. There were similar outbursts from the others.
"At least they told me," he said.
"Huh?" Natsuki asked. "Don't they have to tell you?"
"They should, but a lot of times they don't. There have been plenty of times when I've applied for a job and never heard anything after that. You just have to figure it out for yourself that you didn't get it."
Everyone stared at him, not sure what to make of that.
"That's the best I've got for a silver lining, sorry." He got up and left the room, snarling to himself as he walked off. "Waste of my fuckin' time."
"Yeah, Daddy!" Andrew yelled out. "That's fuckin!"
Natsuki couldn't help but laugh at the kid's attempt at solidarity. Kate looked dismayed but wasn't going to chastise Rob this time. Everyone exchanged glances, unsure of what to do. What could they do? It was completely out of their hands.
Finally, Sayori got up and walked towards the master bedroom. The rest of them went back to their own business, but Natsuki felt curious and followed Sayori. She learned against the door frame to the bedroom, making a quick glance to see Rob sitting at the edge of the bed staring out the window.
"It's okay Rob," Sayori said as she sat down next to him.
His response was little more than a grunt.
"We love you no matter what," she said, resting her head on his shoulder.
Natsuki felt something like jealousy after hearing that, but it had nothing to do with Rob. It was about how Sayori could be so giving with her love and affection without any hesitation. How did she do that? How was she so certain that it wouldn't invite some hurtful response? How many times had she tried to connect with her own father only to be met with either indifference or anger?
But then again…none of that ever really happened. The memories were getting hazier with each day. Did it really make sense for those fake experiences to dictate her behavior? She took a deep breath and decided to try and follow her heart. Rob meant a lot to her and he should know it.
As she stepped into the bedroom, her plan was derailed by a surprising distraction. Out the window, she could see white stuff falling from the sky.
"Is that….snow?"
"Yep," Rob answered. "The first of the season."
"I've never seen it before," Natsuki said quietly.
"Let's go!" Sayori yelled excitedly. Soon enough the three newcomers to the house (snow was apparently old news to Monika by now) and the two boys were putting on hats, gloves, boots and thick jackets. There wasn't much on the ground yet but that didn't stop Andrew and Lucas from flinging handfuls of it into the air.
Natsuki marveled at the tiny little flakes landed in her gloved palm. Like the mall, it was another thing she had always been aware of in some corner of her mind. There was something exhilarating about feeling the chill outside and seeing it drop from the dark gray sky. Yuri seemed fascinated by how it was starting to accumulate on the branches of the nearby trees while Sayori ran around trying to catch a snowflake on her tongue.
Some neighbors walked by on the nearby road and gave them a strange look. It had probably been a while since they saw teenagers this excited about something that happened here every year. They would forget it within hours. The girls would always remember it.
That evening, Natsuki was particularly absorbed in her reading and lost track of time. The snow continued to fall outside the house and created a surprisingly relaxed atmosphere. Before she knew it, everyone else had gone to bed and she was alone on the living room couch. Even though she could have stayed up later, she decided she had better get some rest before the morning mayhem caused by the twins woke her up. Only Sayori had ever been able to sleep through that.
Speaking of Sayori, she and Yuri were asleep on the futon as Natsuki gingerly made her way down the stairs into the basement. She glanced over to make sure she hadn't woken them up. Yuri always looked peaceful, even elegant, while she slept. Sayori…not so much. She was flat on her back with her mouth half-open and one leg dangling outside the blanket. At least she wasn't snoring.
In the other room, Monika was sleeping on the makeshift pile of cushions and blankets she had made. Natsuki was looking at her instead of the floor in front of her and subsequently tripped on an empty laundry basket.
"Ugh!" The manga volume escaped her grip as she hit the carpeted floor. By some miracle, the other girls were still sleeping after that. Natsuki looked around for the manga and saw that it had bounced over into a small closet. She crawled over on her hands and knees and picked it up. It was then that she noticed a large bag tucked against the wall that she hadn't seen before. Without thinking, she peered into it and pulled out some of its contents.
It was full of baking utensils, including a rolling pin, a spatula, a whisk and even a large cookie tin. The tin had something engraved on it that was hard to see in the dark. She brought her eyes close and saw that it read "Natsuki's Kitchen."
Natsuki realized she was looking at a Christmas present. How had Monika managed to get these personalized like this? It must have been done before the trip to the mall. She would have noticed if Monika had been carrying around a bag of baking tools.
Her eyes filled with tears. It was such a wonderful gift and now the surprise was gone. Natsuki decided she could still act surprised on Christmas morning when she received it, but there was more to think about than just that. Much more.
Author's Note: The next chapter will be the last. Although I could theoretically go on forever with the adventures of the girls living in the real world, I always meant for this story to encompass one full year. I hope everyone has enjoyed it and is looking forward to the finale. I also thought it might be fun, if anyone is interested, to have a bit of a Q and A. If there's anything you want to ask about this story, leave a review with your question and I'll answer them at the end of the last chapter. Thank you!
