Not This Time

by Monado1022

Alex is someone who's suffered through life, losing those who he loves until there's no one left. He pours his sorrows into the modding community of a certain horror visual novel game for years, eventually finding himself waking up in an unfamiliar house one morning. Will he be able to rebuild what he's lost with memories and a cult working against him, or will he fail once again?

10. Chapter 8: The Festival

Chapter 8: The Festival

I for once awoke peacefully, and happily at that. It was so peaceful, in fact, that it almost worried me. But I'm getting ahead of myself, so let's back up a bit.

My eyes slowly opened as I awoke, the warm sunlight shining in through the blinds stirring me awake. I rarely ever woke up without an alarm clock to rouse me, so this was a very, VERY welcome change. With a smile on my face, I yawned as I looked at what, or who, was lying next to me.

Natsuki was still asleep, her arms latched around my torso as if I were a large teddy bear. Her face was, as usual, adorable. Her eyes were of course closed, and her mouth was slightly open. I chuckled to myself at her sleeping face, and her lips curled into a relieved smile. Her grip on my torso softly tightened, if that makes any sense.

I wished that I didn't need to wake her, but I knew I had no choice. Reluctantly, I brought my right hand around towards her face. I poked her cheek softly, smiling as I did so.

"Natsuki, it's time to wake up." I roused. Natsuki frowned but didn't seem to be awake yet. Her subconscious was probably trying to keep her asleep. I poked her cheek again, this time a little bit firmer, and repeated my words. This time, Natsuki began to stir.

"Come on..." She muttered. "Five more minutes..."

'Welp,' I thought, 'drastic times call for drastic measures.'

I leaned in and kissed Natsuki on the lips, and her eyes fluttered open instantly. She looked at me in shock as I pulled back. She was blushing heavily. Her shocked expression eventually transitioned into a warm smile, and she slowly brought her face to mine and kissed me back. I didn't expect this morning to start like this, and that's when it hit me. I pulled away as the thought crossed my mind and put me in panic mode.

"The festival." Was all I said. Natsuki seemed to get my message but didn't look concerned at all.

I turned my body to look at the alarm clock, only to remember that my alarm clock was currently laying on a side table in the living room downstairs. I looked out the window over Natsuki, and it was DEFINITELY past the time we would normally already be at school.

I threw my body around and untangled myself from the blanket encompassing Natsuki and myself. I planted my feet firmly on the floor and attempted to stand up but stumbled back onto the bed as a stinging pain leapt up my body from my right thigh. I winced in pain as Natsuki made her way around me to my side.

"Ah, fuck..." I squeaked out in pain while clutching my thigh. Natsuki looked at me in serious concern, then I remembered about all my injuries.

"I should probably take it easy today, wouldn't you say?" I suggested half-jokingly. "More importantly, what time is it?" Natsuki, now partially content with my well-being, gave me an amused smile.

Natsuki reached over to the bedside table where, as I had just then noticed, my watch was sitting. She held it up by the end of one of the straps and pointed the clockface in my direction, pointing at it smugly with her other hand. I quickly snatched it from her grasp and gave her an amused sideways glance as I strapped it on my wrist.

"Smartass." I commented as Natsuki giggled.

"Dummy." She rebounded. I rolled my eyes as I glanced at my watch.

"8:00?!" I exclaimed. I bolted to get up, but Natsuki held me back.

"Alex, calm down." She ordered. "Today, school isn't until 11:00, then they'll be giving us an hour to prepare for the actual event." I looked at her, dumbfounded, until the information processed. Then, I gave out a long "oooohhhhhh".

"So... what do we do until then?" I asked. Natsuki shrugged.

"I don't know." She said. "But I do know one thing: I'm hungry. Can we get out of bed, now?" We both laughed, then went to get up. Natsuki gave me some extra support on my right arm to help me up and we both faced the door to find Mc standing in the open doorway. We both froze in shock as Mc mirrored our expressions.

"What are you two... why are you two..." He stuttered. "D-did you two have-"

"NO, WE DIDN'T!" Natsuki exclaimed, cutting Mc off. She looked off to the side, ashamed at her sudden outburst. "Alex... heard me crying in my sleep from a nightmare and he... stayed with me the rest of the night to keep me company." After a few seconds with a confused expression, Mc smiled happily at her.

"Well, I'm glad you two are happy together." Mc said. "Anyway, I'm inviting the others over to help with the preparations for the festival. We're all having a shared breakfast, since we don't have to be there until ten. We're going to need the extra manpower since, well..." He gestured to me and my injuries like he was worried he'd offend me.

"I understand." I told him. "Speaking of the festival preparations," I turned to Natsuki, "what are you going to do about the whole 'school uniform' thing?" Natsuki looked worried about that conundrum as soon as I brought it up, but Mc stepped up.

"Actually, we're allowed to wear whatever we want today." He explained. "Since it's a special event, the school is removing the mandatory school uniform guideline for today. We can request a new uniform for tomorrow. And before you ask, yes, we have clothes for you to wear. Tiffany went out earlier this morning to buy you some."

Natsuki didn't say anything for a few seconds. She just stood there and stared at Mc in shock. Suddenly, she bolted forward and threw her arms around him. Her shock was transmitted onto Mc and I both, the two of us shocked at Natsuki's sudden actions. We probably would've stayed in that state of confusion forever if it weren't for the sound of Natsuki's muffled voice as she hugged Mc.

"T-thank y-you." It sounded like she was lightly sobbing. "I-I've never had s-someone care for me l-like this b-before." Not knowing what else to do, Mc lightly placed his hand on the back of Natsuki's head.

"What are friends for?" He reassured.

After a few more seconds of reassurance, Natsuki got a hold of herself and let go of Mc, wiping her tears away as she did. Mc waved to us and turned around, walking out the door. Natsuki walked towards me and motioned to use her for support, but I shook my head.

"I'm not glass, Nat." I joked. "I can walk on my own." Natsuki looked disappointed, but quickly got over it and leaped up, kissing me on the cheek.

"Dummy." She teased. "Anyway, let's get going. I'm starving!" She rushed out of the bedroom and after Mc, leaving me no time to respond. I smiled to myself before following suit, making sure to keep most weight on my left leg.

As I exited into the hall, I heard a door opening off to my right, further down the hallway. I glanced in that direction to find Monika exiting the guest room she was staying in. I almost didn't even recognize her as Monika, as she looked almost nothing like the confident, organized girl I'd come to know.

She was wearing a white tank top with tight blue jeans. While that was different from what she was wearing last night, it wasn't the part that I was focused on. Her hair, which was normally styled into a ponytail by a white ribbon, now flowed freely around her shoulders and down her back. She had a more casual air around her, which made for an interesting comparison to her normal, more serious tone. She yawned heavily as she turned to my direction, then waved as she saw me.

"Morning..." She yawned again, clearly exhausted.

"Good morning, Monika." I greeted. "Are you alright? You didn't stay up late, did you?" Monika stretched as she walked over to me.

"I had to make a quick trip back to my apartment to grab some extra clothes." She explained. "Didn't get back until two in the morning."

"What?!" I exclaimed. "Why didn't you just sleep in what you had?! You could've just gone and grabbed extra clothes in the morning!" Monika gave another hefty yawn, then gave me an annoyed look.

"I'm not going to sleep in an outfit that's covered in blood, you know." She complained. "I'm going to have to get another uniform as well, since that one's ripped." I took a moment to consider her words.

"Good point." I admitted. "Anyway, Mc invited all the others over to help with the festival preparations. He's currently making breakfast for everyone, since we have two hours before we have to leave." Monika nodded in acknowledgement, then breezed past me wordlessly.

It was then that I began to smell something emanating from downstairs. It was DEFINITELY Mc's cooking. At that exact same time, the sound of the front door opening rang out. Multiple voices were heard, and I could easily tell they belonged to Sayori, Yuri, and Shiro. Tiffany's voice quickly joined in, so I promptly made my way downstairs to greet everyone.

As I reached the bottom of the stairs, I was met with a sudden blur of coral pink, and I instantly knew what was coming. Without thinking, I took a quick step back and to the side and dodged Sayori's tackle hug. The next thing I heard was a loud 'THUD' as Sayori's body collided with the floor.

"Sayo!" Tiffany exclaimed from near the front door. I turned back to see her marching towards us with an annoyed expression on her face. At first, I thought it was directed at me, but that belief was quickly declared false when Tiffany breezed straight past me and leaned down in front of Sayori.

"What the..." I muttered under my own breath. To deal with the confusion, I tried my best to analyze everyone as Tiffany helped Sayori up.

Yuri and Sayori were wearing their usual weekend clothes from the game, which made sense. Shiro was wearing a large, white, plain t-shirt with blue jeans and plain white socks. Really basic, just like Mc. Tiffany wore something a bit more interesting. She wore a purple turtleneck sweater with green yoga pants and purple socks. It was a weird combination, but it worked well on her. The details understood, I turned my attention back to the task at hand.

"What were you thinking?" Tiffany asked Sayori. "You know he's injured right now." It took me a second to process what she'd just implied, but when I did, I instantly burst out.

"You told them?!" I complained loudly. Tiffany turned around when she finished helping Sayori up and gave me a solemn smile.

"Moni told them." She admitted. "She and Mc felt like they deserved to know."

I could understand Monika, but why Mc? Then, it hit me. Both Sayori and Yuri had similar issues to Natsuki. All three of them had serious psychological trauma in some capacity, and Monika knew that. Perhaps, by bringing them all together, she thought that maybe they'd all be able to admit these problems to each other.

'Mc probably learned about Yuri's cutting shortly after they started dating,' I thought, 'and Sayori could've admitted her depression to him at some time after Thursday.'

"Alex, are you alright?" Yuri's calm voice jerked me out of my thoughts. "Y-your wounds. Are they...?"

I looked at Yuri, who expressed some concern. Thinking about it now, there was no reason for her to not worry. On paper, my injuries were pretty damn severe. I mean, a moderate cut along the entirety of my forearm? A deep knife wound in my right side? A stab wound from a katana in my right thigh that was stabbed TWICE? Most people wouldn't even be able to SURVIVE those wounds combined. I was lucky to be alive.

"They sound worse than they are." I answered. "What about you?" I knew that I would strike a nerve with that one, but it wasn't as bad as I expected. Yuri looked to the side and blushed a little.

"I-I'm fine." She said. "Mc has been helping me through this quite a lot, actually."

"When did you tell him?" I inquired, trying not to push my luck too far.

"H-he found out yesterday when we were making the decorations." She explained. "Please don't ask me how he found out." I didn't need to ask, because I already knew.

"Alex, can I see?" I heard Sayori ask. I turned around and she was looking at me with the same worried expression Yuri had before. By this point, everyone else (except for Mc, Monika, and Natsuki, who were currently in the kitchen) had gathered around me. Anyone else probably would've called her rude and walked away, but I was hard to offend accidentally. So, I slowly rolled the right sleeve of my hoodie and revealed the first bandaged cut.

It wasn't bad, and you could clearly tell the bleeding had stopped. The only sign that it even existed with the bandage covering it was the presence of a single, thin, blood-soaked line on the bandage that extended the entire length of my forearm. Sayori lightly tapped the wound experimentally, and a minor sharp pain shot out from where she touched. It felt more like getting a papercut, but it was still enough to get me to recoil.

When I recoiled, Sayori meekly retracted her hand.

"Oh, sorry..." She apologized. I saw a look of guilt on her face, so I quickly went to comfort her.

"Hey, it's not too bad." I reassured her. "You just startled me, is all."

We all stood there awkwardly for a few seconds, unsure of what to do next. Thankfully, Natsuki popped out of the kitchen just in time to break the silence.

She was wearing a pink t-shirt, not unlike the one she was wearing the day prior, except that one was white. Along with this, she wore a tan pair of leggings and socks with a striped white-pink design. These were obviously the clothes that Tiffany had bought for her, and I had to admit, they looked pretty good on her.

"Hey, everyone." She greeted. "We're not quite done cooking yet, so just bear with u-" She was suddenly silenced when Yuri quickly strode over, knelt down so her face was parallel with Natsuki's, and planted a hand on her shoulder. Everyone froze in shock, but I had a feeling I was shocked about something different than the others. I was surprised by Yuri's sudden confident movement, while Sayori and Shiro seemed to be surprised by Natsuki herself.

After what felt like forever, Yuri pulled Natsuki into a hug, further surprising everyone. Natsuki seemed to be the most surprised, which was understandable. That confusion, however, was eventually (mostly) dissipated when Yuri spoke, sobbing at the same time.

"M-Monika told us e-everything." She stuttered in between sobs. "I-I am sorry you h-had to deal with h-him..." Natsuki was stunned speechless. I was sure she'd get angry and yell or something, but she just stood there, shocked by Yuri's words and actions. When Yuri realized Natsuki wasn't responding, she quickly let go and cautiously backed away. Natsuki had her eyes closed and had a neutral expression.

"I guess it can't be helped." She said, surprisingly calm. She looked up at everyone, a small smile planted on her face. "It makes sense that Monika would tell you guys. I mean, we ARE friends, aren't we?" No one said anything for a few seconds, then Shiro chimed in and said what everyone (except me) was probably thinking.

"You've sure changed." He joked. Natsuki smiled coyly.

"Well, dating someone like Alex will do that to you." Then everyone froze. Their heads slowly turned towards me, a look of interest on their faces. I was cornered, so there was no use hiding it.

"Yeah, Nat and I are together now." I admitted. I looked to the side and scratched the back of my neck, feeling my cheeks burning. I was a bit surprised by Natsuki's openness about the whole thing, but I was happy the news was finally out so I wouldn't have to explain it by myself.

"When did this start?" Yuri inquired.

"It started when Nat and I were baking cupcakes yesterday." I explained. "However, it wasn't official until last night." I tried to stop myself, but it was too late.

"Wait, so you two-" Sayori sounded slightly less than mortified, so Natsuki quickly cut in.

"No, we didn't!" She exclaimed, then looked a bit ashamed. "I mean... since he kind of saved my life... we felt that would be the best time to... confess to each other." She seemed to be choosing her words carefully. When no one said anything, Yuri chimed in to relieve the tension in the hallway.

"Might I suggest we move the conversation into the living room?" She proposed.

"Good idea." I agreed, and everyone else nodded their heads.

We all began making our way to the living room. On the way past the kitchen, I decided to peek my head inside to see what Mc and Monika were cooking. I almost gasped audibly at the sheer amount of food they were making. There was bacon, pancakes, crepes, breakfast sausages, and even toast just laying on a plate. It seemed like an absurd amount of food for just eight people.

"Why is there so much food?" I asked. "None of us are going to be able to eat all that, you know." Mc turned around from cooking to face me.

"My mom's a doctor, so she taught me a lot of medical stuff growing up." He explained. "Natsuki's going to eat all of this, and then want seconds. Trust me." He smiled, then turned back to cooking. I thought about what he said, and it made sense.

Because of how malnourished Natsuki had been getting over the course of the last nine or ten years, it made sense for her to have a bigger appetite after being given easy access to food. It still amazed me how she was able to survive on nothing but takeout leftovers and the generosity of people. I hoped her father was burning in hell for what he'd done. I was suddenly catapulted out of my thoughts by Natsuki's voice.

"I'm going to go help finish making the food." She told me as she walked by me into the kitchen. "It'll be ready in about ten minutes." I nodded to her then turned back towards the living room. Walking forward, I prepared myself for what would probably be the most awkward conversation I'd ever had.

*Five minutes later*

The conversation started out pretty normal. I told everyone everything that happened last night just in case Monika left out some details, then the conversation somehow got to this point through random topic changes:

"So, what's everyone's favourite anime weapon?" Shiro asked. Everyone, believe it or not, took this question seriously. Everyone went quiet as they thought about it. I was the first to answer.

"Definitely Kirito's double swords." I answered.

"I always liked the mechs from Evangelion." Shiro replied.

"Crescent Moon from RWBY." Tiffany brought in.

"Oh, that's #2 for me." I agreed.

"I haven't watched all that much anime other than the ones Mc has shown me, but I'd say my favourite is Liz and Patty." Sayori said right before making motions of using double guns with her pinky fingers.

"I do believe I have watched even less, but from what little bit I know, I have found myself enjoying the abilities of Gowther. Such interesting mind games!" Yuri calmly decided. With everyone's opinions decided, I thought to ask a similar question:

"What about favourite video game weapons?" I asked. Sayori instantly responded.

"Truth Bullets!" She exclaimed.

"I'm not 100% sure that constitutes as a weapon, but I'll allow it." I told her. "My favourite will always be the Folding Sword from Dishonored."

"I love the Monado." Tiffany cut in.

"The ACT button from Undertale..." Yuri admitted. Everyone was a bit confused by this decision, but Shiro jumped in to out-confuse her.

"The puzzle board from Huniepop!" He declared proudly. All attention on Yuri immediately ceased and was now focused on Shiro.

"That's not even a weapon!" I complained.

"It's a weapon against a woman's heart." Shiro joked, straightening his glasses as he did so.

"Hey, what's Huniepop?" Sayori inquired, sounding extremely curious.

"It's nothing!" Tiffany and I shouted in tandem.

I was worried Sayori wouldn't give up asking, but the day was saved by the arrival of Monika. She strode through the doorway to the kitchen and entered the living room, a warm smile on her face.

"Okay, everyone!" She announced. "Breakfast is ready! We just need your help to carry it in here."

"Okay, thanks Monika." I said as I got up alongside everyone else.

Winding our way around the couch closest to the kitchen, we walked collectively as a group around Monika. While everyone else continued onward, Sayori stopped in front of Monika for a few moments. Then, she tossed her arms around her and pulled her into a hug. I was at the back of the group, so I was the only one who saw it. They began to speak, something along the lines of Sayori being worried about Monika for the events the previous evening, but I didn't want to be rude, so I quickly joined up with the others.

As I entered the kitchen, my senses were overwhelmed with multiple stimulants that combined to bring only one thought to mind: breakfast buffet. The kitchen table and counters were overflowing with plates of delicious-looking breakfast food like bacon, pancakes, waffles, eggs, breakfast sausages, and toast. The smells coming from each dish combined to create a perfect waft of food scents. It almost felt like overkill if it weren't for Natsuki. Speaking of Natsuki...

"It looks so good..." I heard Natsuki say from my right.

I turned towards the source of her voice to find her practically drooling over herself looking at a stack of pancakes. She was leaning on the table with her face uncomfortably close to the food. She had a look of entrancement on her face. I was worried that she would eat them right then and there, so I quickly waltzed over and grabbed her waist, pulling her back. We ended up in a position where she was literally pressed up against me, so when I looked down, I saw her looked right back up and me, the perspective making it seem like her head was upside-down. I smiled, unable to contain myself.

"You've sure outdone yourself today, Nat." I commented. She smiled back up at me proudly.

"What did you expect?" She said. "You're talking to Master Chef Natsuki, here!" She put her hands on her hips enthusiastically. Then, Mc stepped in.

"I literally had to pick you up so you could read some of the labels." He joked. I looked at him, and he was snickering. Natsuki turned her body towards him with a pure red face, embarrassed at him exposing that little detail.

"N-no one asked you!" She stuttered, causing Mc to laugh. I was barely able to stifle my laughs, myself. Mc walked away, aiming to grab food and bring it to the living room for us to eat, and I was once again alone with Natsuki.

It took me a moment to realize, but I just then noticed that everyone else was already gone. They somehow had already grabbed almost all the food and brought it into the living room. It was just Natsuki and I, which I wasn't complaining about.

"So... shouldn't we follow them?" I asked.

"One moment." Natsuki told me. "There's just one thing I want to do first..."

She grabbed the back of my head and forced my head down a bit lower, my face now laying right in front of hers. She then closed her eyes and I did the same, both of us moving our faces closer simultaneously. We kept going. Closer and closer, until our lips touched.

It was only my third time kissing Natsuki, but it still felt amazing. Every neuron in my brain fired off in excitement, and I felt at ease. I slowly opened my eyes to find Natsuki doing the same. Again, I was staring at those beautiful pink globes in a sea of white. Without thinking, I uttered the words:

"I love you, Nat." My face was burning, but I didn't care. It was the same with Natsuki. Her face was pure red, but she showed no indication she noticed. We both eventually smiled at each other, and Natsuki finally responded.

"I love you too, Alex." She threw her arms around me, and I did the same to her. We stayed like that for what was almost a suspicious amount of time, then we slowly let go.

"We should get going. We wouldn't want the others to get suspicious, now would we?" I nudged.

Natsuki nodded confidently with a joyful smile on her face, and she turned to grab the plate of pancakes she was staring at earlier. I reached towards the table and grabbed the last two plates there, one displaying a stack of crepes, and the other with breakfast sausages. With these plates full of delicious food in hand, I followed Natsuki into the living room.

"The hero and the loli return!" Shiro joked as I set the plates on the (oddly large) coffee table. I then spent the next five minutes trying to prevent Natsuki from killing Shiro.

*One and a half hours later*

It was 10:00 by the time we finished eating. Or should I say, it took us until 10:00 to wait for Natsuki to finish eating at least 50% of the food that was prepared. Even from the beginning, it was obvious she would eat more than everyone else. Every time I ate something, Natsuki had eaten at least five of that same thing. Each time any food went down her throat, she threw a replacement into her mouth as quickly as it was gone. It was behaviour I expected more from Sayori than Natsuki, but I could understand why she was eating with such reckless abandon. I don't think I even need to explain why.

Anyway, when all the food was eaten and the dishes were put away, everyone sat back down on the couches. I sat on the couch furthest from the kitchen with Tiffany to my left and Natsuki and Mc to my right. On the couch across from us (from my left to my right) sat Shiro, Monika, Sayori, and Yuri. Monika clapped her hands together to get everyone's attention, then announced:

"Okay, I believe it's time to explain the REAL reason why I invited Sayori, Yuri, and Shiro over." Her voice had a solemn edge to it, like a sad conversation was about to start.

She looked at the aforementioned people to her left and right, then they nodded in unison. Tiffany, Natsuki, and Mc looked confused, but I had a good idea of what was about to be discussed. I was proven correct in my assumptions when Yuri lightly gripped the end of her right sleeve and began to slowly roll them up. When the scars on her arm were revealed by the absence of cloth, everyone on my couch gasped. The scars didn't look as bad as they used to, but they were still prominent. When no one commented, Yuri began to speak:

"Natsuki... you are not the only one suffering, here." She gave her a small smile of reassurance. "My scars may not be the same as yours, but please... consider this as a reminder that we are all in this together." Then she turned to Sayori. "Sayori? It is your turn." Sayori gave her a small nod of confidence, then turned back to us.

"My pain isn't exactly something I can show you myself, so I asked Monika to try to find something for me. Monika, could I have the thing we talked about?" Monika nodded to Sayori before reaching into her purse and retrieving something that even made me gasp.

Out from her purse, Monika produced a two-foot long length of rope with a loop tied at the end: a noose. The very same noose that I pulled out of Sayori's desk drawer and threw out four days prior. A million questions were floating through my head at that time, but I chose to not relay any of them. This wasn't about me, it was about Natsuki. Monika held the noose out to Sayori, and Sayori took it.

"For my entire life," Sayori explained, "I've had this really bad depression. Yesterday, I would've used this noose to kill myself if it wasn't for Moni's help." She looked at Natsuki with a desperate smile. "Just like Yuri said, you're not the only one with scars." She slowly handed the noose back to Monika, who calmly took it and placed it back in her purse.

I was stunned. Sayori and Yuri, who had previously kept their secrets so tightly inside, were now exposing their past scars to help Natsuki feel better. I found myself crying as I looked around at everyone. They were crying along with me. Tiffany, Natsuki, Mc, Sayori, Monika, Yuri, and I could even spot tears flowing down from behind Shiro's glasses.

No one said anything for a while. Everything was silent except for the barely audible sound of a few tears hitting the wooden floor. My head was faced slightly downward towards the floor, so the sudden sound of Natsuki's voice lightly startled me.

"T-thank you..." She spoke softly. "I-it's been so l-long since I've f-felt like this." I glanced to my right to witness Natsuki letting loose tears of joy. "T-ten years..." She looked up at everyone and smiled. "After ten years, I finally have people I can call my family."

Surprisingly, no one gasped or showed any signs that they were surprised. In fact, their expressions got brighter. Monika looked the happiest of all, and I don't think I need to explain why. In response to her proclamation, I brought my right arm around Natsuki's shoulders and lightly squeezed, giving her a one-armed hug. She instantly pressed up against me and rested her head on my shoulder.

"Shiro, wasn't there something you wanted to say?" Monika asked. All eyes snapped to Shiro, who looked like a combination of excited and uncomfortable, if that was even possible. He was normally really upbeat, so it was strange to see him like this. He twiddled his thumbs a bit before responding.

"So, Natsuki, you know how Monika told us about everything that happened?" He inquired nervously.

"Yeah, what about it?" Natsuki answered confusedly. Shiro was obviously anxious, but he hid it behind a look of thought. He was clearly thinking hard about what he was about to say.

"Well," he continued at last, "I'm sorry if this sounds a bit insensitive, but was there anyone who took pity on you in some way?" His question seemed to be a bit out of the blue, but that was understandable given the circumstances. Natsuki thought for a bit before answering.

"T-there were two, actually." She admitted. "I-I've already told everyone about the teacher that fed me, b-but there was one more. O-one of my f-father's co-workers had a son who would spend time with me when he was there. I-I don't remember his name or what he looked like. W-why do you ask?" A wide smile crawled its way across Shiro's mouth, giving off a sense of confidence. He slowly stood up and sauntered over to Natsuki and thrust out a hand in a greeting. Everyone was confused, then he said something:

"Hello there, Natsuki." He greeted in a child-like voice. "My name's Shiro." My confusion didn't waver, but a look of familiarity and amazement crossed Natsuki's face.

She looked like she'd just remembered something big. Suddenly, she sprang up and threw her arms around Shiro in an overly friendly gesture. They both started to laugh like friends that hadn't seen each other in a long time, then I began to put the pieces together. After about two seconds of thinking, I figured it out.

"Wait... Shiro, you were childhood friends with Nat?!" I asked incredulously. Shiro turned to me to respond.

"Back in Tokyo, my dad was a businessman who worked with Nat's father." He explained. "Whenever they had a meeting at his house, Nat and I would spend time with each other." They gave everyone a moment to process this information, then Monika suddenly stood up. Natsuki and Shiro let go of each other and looked at her. She was looking at her phone with a slightly panicked expression.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your reunion," she said, "but we have to go. School starts in half an hour." I checked my watch, and she was right. It was already 10:30. I went to get up, then felt another jolt of pain shoot up my right thigh. I again stumbled back onto the couch and clutched my thigh in pain.

"Alex!" Natsuki exclaimed. She rushed to my side, but I held up a hand in an 'I'm okay' gesture.

"I'm fine, Nat." I reassured her. "I just put a little too much weight on it."

With this in mind, I slowly pushed myself to my feet again, making sure to put most of my weight on my left leg. After a bit of reassurance to Natsuki that I was, in fact, fine, she finally let the topic go.

"Okay, everyone!" Monika announced. "The cupcakes and decorations are next to the front door. Everyone will be carrying something." She looked at me. "Well, everyone except Alex. Him carrying something isn't the best idea with his injuries." I felt a little annoyed, given what I'd just said to Natsuki, but I understood that I had my limits. With those injuries, I wouldn't be of much help. Everyone nodded in agreement, and we made our way to the front door.

*Five minutes later*

Even with seven able-bodied people carrying everything, they were still all just barely able to bring it all. Natsuki and Sayori each carried three tupperware containers of cupcakes, Tiffany carried five, Monika, Mc, and Yuri carried various decorations like banners or props, and Shiro was carrying eleven of what looked like glass plates, only they were mounted on a single small 'leg' in the center of the plate and were allowed to spin freely. I was told they were for the cupcakes, but for a literature club event, they seemed a bit excessive. Either way, it was still impressive how he was able to balance them all on top of each other.

Something I noticed as we walked down the street was that there seemed to be more people than normal. Curious, I asked Natsuki if she noticed.

"Some of the students' parents will be attending the school festival." She explained without turning her head. "Believe it or not, the school festivals are a big event in this town. A lot of the students are really skilled in one way or another, and the school festival gives them the opportunity to use those skills on their booths."

"Oh, so we might see some of the other club members' parents, right?" I asked. Natsuki didn't respond, so I turned to look at her.

She was staring straight ahead, definitely lost in thought. I was worried that I might have said something wrong, but then I followed her gaze to see that she was staring directly at Shiro. Remembering what happened earlier, I waved my hand in front of her face to get her attention.

"What is it?" She sounded slightly annoyed.

"I know what you're thinking about, Nat." I told her. "Why don't you talk to him? Maybe catch up a little?" Natsuki pondered this for a bit, then turned to me with a concerned expression.

"I don't want to just leave you behind with your injuries." She reasoned. I laughed.

"Nat, I'm not going to just fall over randomly." I reassured her. "I'll be fine. I promise." Natsuki kept the concerned look on her face for a few more seconds while she thought about what I said, then gave me a reassured smile.

"Okay, but I'm not picking you up if you DO fall over!" She joked. She ran up ahead to meet up with Shiro, and they instantly began talking.

While I couldn't hear exactly what they were saying, I could easily pick up the mood of the conversation. It started out normal, but quickly escalated to excitement from both sides. Their speech was enthusiastic and friendly, and it was obvious they were close friends already. Well, they were technically ALWAYS close friends, but you know what I mean.

My attention was eventually diverted from their conversation by Monika and Tiffany lagging behind to meet up with me. When they were both right next to me, they matched my pace all while carrying a ton of stuff.

"I can't believe Natsu's okay after what happened last night..." Tiffany lamented. I looked at her with a smile.

"It's all because of what happened last night that she's okay." I responded. "Thanks to our little rescue mission, she's finally free from her father's abuse." I felt a tear rolling down my cheek, so I brought my right hand up to wipe it away. After looking to my left and right, I discovered that Monika and Tiffany were also weeping tears of happiness.

"It's finally over..." Monika stated happily.

"Yeah, it is." Tiffany agreed.

Those words... 'it's finally over'... they didn't mean what Tiffany thought they meant. Monika had watched her friends die over and over again. Almost all the time, it was caused by suicide. The loop that she was trapped in was finally closed, and she could move on with her life.

My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a ringing sound coming from Monika's purse.

"Dang it." She muttered. "Sorry to dump this on you Tiff, but could you take these for a moment?" She held out the decorations she was holding (which was just a container of various craft materials) and Tiffany readily took it, balancing it on her stack of cupcakes.

"Don't even worry about it, Moni." Tiffany reassured. "Just leave it to me!" Monika gave her a laugh and a smile, then pulled her phone out of her purse. However, as she brought it to her ear and answered the call, she suddenly yelped and dropped the phone on the ground. Concerned, the others ahead of us stopped and came back.

"What happened, Moni?!" Sayori exclaimed. Monika had a shaken expression on her face.

As the others tried to comfort her and get her to explain, I reached down and grabbed the phone. Out of curiosity, I brought it to my ear and heard a voice I was all too familiar with.

"Come on, bitch!" The voice of Chad yelled. "You know you want me..."

Chad probably still thought that Monika was holding the phone, and not me. Either way, I was fuming. He constantly bullied the other members of the literature club, and here he was, trying to take advantage of Monika. I wasn't going to stand for it. My anger barely contained, I began to speak.

"You never seem to learn, do you Chad?" I said through gritted teeth, causing Chad to yelp. "Listen up here, you goddamn shitstain. I'd better not find you talking to Monika like that again, or we're going to have a problem. Now, stay the fuck away from my friends." I hung up, not giving him a chance to respond.

"T-thanks, Alex." Monika said from my right. I looked at her and handed her back the phone. She graciously took it, and Sayori came up to us.

"Moni, are you okay?" She asked. Monika nodded to her confidently, but there was still a hint of uncertainty in her expression.

"I'm fine, Bun." She answered.

'Ah, I see we're going with the Summer Hope nicknames.' I smiled internally. Sayori didn't look too convinced.

"Really? Then what happened?" She inquired. Monika looked uncomfortable, so I stepped in to answer for her.

"Chad happened." I explained. "He was just harassing her again." Sayori still seemed a little suspicious but decided to let the topic go.

"Okay, then." She reluctantly said. "Anyway, let's get going! A club shouldn't be late for their own event!" She took off ahead of us as we redistributed our loads, then we rushed after her to catch up.

*Thirty minutes later*

We eventually caught up to Sayori at the gates to the school, and she was just outside the school property. She gave us a wide smile as we approached, which Monika returned. I found myself smiling as well, which held up as we walked closer.

"You guys are too slow!" Sayori playfully told us as she rejoined our group.

"You are literally carrying three things." I pointed out. "That's pretty much a given." That earned me a laugh from everyone, but something seemed off.

In the sea of laughs, I heard one that sounded like a middle-aged man. Looking around, I saw someone walking up to us from behind. They were male and looked to be around forty years old. They were pretty basic-looking, almost like Mc. Same skin tone, hair colour and style, and they even had the same eye colour. The only difference between them was that the man had some wrinkles on his face from age. I was a bit confused as to who this person was, but that was quickly cleared up when Mc saw him.

"Hey, dad!" He greeted the man, slightly surprising me. Everyone else turned around and stared at the man in confusion. I took the time that it was taking for him to walk over to take note of his interesting wardrobe setup.

He was wearing a full police uniform. Nothing else needs to be said. It was a complete uniform with the bullet-proof vest, the walkie talkie on his chest, and even a taser holstered in a utility belt. The process that my mind went through when I saw this was from 'this guy is a policeman' to 'Mc's dad is a policeman?!'

"Hey, son!" He greeted Mc, then looked to me. "Ah, Alex. It's been quite a while." He extended a hand, and I shook it cautiously. Just like Mc and Sayori, his memory must've been altered by Monika.

"Yeah, it sure has." I responded. "I barely remember you." It probably would've come off as rude to say that, but I didn't care. If I played my cards right, I'd learn his name without seeming suspicious. Luckily, his response explained just that.

"Well, seeing as it's been so long, I may as well give you a refresher." He cleared his throat, then said confidently: "The name's Keisatsu Sabishi, and I'm Mc's father. You can call me Keisatsu, or maybe Police Chief Keisatsu, if we want to be formal."

Name: Keisatsu Sabishi

Gender: Male

Age: 43

Height: 5'5"

"Police Chief?!" I asked incredulously. Keisatsu laughed.

"Yup, Police Chief." He confirmed. "How do you think Mc has all that money?" I looked at Mc, who seemed a bit uncomfortable.

"Dad," he muttered, "I'd rather not..." Keisatsu looked a bit surprised, then his expression softened.

"Sorry about that, son." He apologized. "Anyway, I see you've found yourself a club! Why don't you introduce me?" He sounded proud of him, like this was some sort of really big achievement. With that situation through, Mc began to introduce everyone.

It started with Yuri, whom introduced herself as Mc's girlfriend. She was surprisingly confident while saying it, and the news seemed to make Keisatsu happy. Sayori dragged Monika over and introduced her as her girlfriend, which Keisatsu was happy to hear. Next came Tiffany and Shiro, who introduced themselves. Keisatsu was happy to meet two people from out of town, but then came Natsuki.

I was the one who brought Natsuki over, as she was a bit hesitant around Keisatsu, probably due to what happened the night before. When Natsuki introduced herself (nervously, I might add), Keisatsu smiled, but had a hint of... something behind his eyes. I couldn't read him as well as the others, but I could tell he was thinking of something. Just when I thought he'd never move, he finally spoke:

"Could I speak to you, Mc, and Alex in private for a moment?" He asked her. "You're not in trouble, I promise." Despite that second sentence, I was still a bit skeptical. Looking at Mc and Natsuki, it was clear they felt the same.

Reluctantly, Mc and Natsuki gave what they were carrying to Yuri and Sayori respectively, then Keisatsu lead us to an empty part of the school property while the others went on ahead. When we stopped, Keisatsu turned around and looked at Natsuki gravely.

"Mc told me what happened." He admitted, causing Mc to look guilty. "I have no trouble with the events of last night, as it was for the greater good. Due to legal reasons, however, you cannot legally live on your own without a parent or guardian. Because of this, the government is allowing Mc's mother and I to take you under our care." Natsuki looked confused.

"You mean... like adoption?" She asked. Keisatsu nodded.

"Welcome to the family, Natsuki." He confirmed. "We still don't have all the paperwork done, but it might as well be official right now."

I was speechless. While I never saw them in any mods or anything, Mc's parents never really had any effect in the stories of those mods. However, that speechlessness ended as soon as a worrying thought came to mind.

"Keisatsu, you said Mc told you everything that happened, right?" I asked hesitantly. Keisatsu looked at me in confusion.

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

"Well..." I was sweating profusely. "Does that mean you know what happened to Hiran?" Keisatsu looked puzzled at this question, but then remembered his occupation. He laughed.

"Oh, don't worry about that." He said as he stood up. "Even if I'm the Police Chief, I still hold morals above the law. Speaking of the law, Natsuki is set to inherit all her father's belongings. Before that, however, I'm having the boys conduct a search of his house, just in case." I breathed a sigh of relief. Natsuki, however, didn't look too happy.

"Don't." She told him. Keisatsu gave her a confused look.

"What do you mean, don't?" He asked.

"I don't want to inherit anything he owned." She stated. "It was all alcohol and takeout leftovers, anyway." Keisatsu gave her a warm smile and nodded.

"Very well." He then turned to me and spoke in a serious voice. "One last thing. Alex, to make sure the scene hasn't been tampered with by some third party, could you tell me exactly how you left it?" The question seemed a bit out of the blue, but I understood why he asked it. Thinking back, I did my best to recreate the scene in my mind.

"Hiran's body should be in the main hallway next to the living room doorway." I recounted. "There should be a sword in his chest, and another sword somewhere nearby. The hilts should be plated silver and gold, respectively." As I spoke, Keisatsu was writing down everything I said on a notepad. When I stopped, he looked back up at me.

"Anything else?" He ushered. "Maybe some details related to other rooms in the house?"

"Well... there should be two shattered display cases in the hallway with the body." I explained. "In the kitchen, there should maybe be some evidence of a fight, since that's where my fight with Hiran started. Other than that, the only thing I can think of is some puke in Natsuki's old bedroom upstairs." Keisatsu took a few moments to finish writing what I said, then flipped the notepad closed and deposited it into a pocket in his police uniform.

"Thanks." He smiled. "Now, go along. Wouldn't want you to be late for your own club event!" He bade us farewell, and we began to make our way inside.

*Ten minutes later*

The halls of the school were surprisingly not as packed as I thought they'd be. Sure, there were more people there than there would normally be, but it wasn't to the point where we were constantly pushing through a crowd. It took a while, but we eventually found ourselves standing in front of the clubroom doors. With a deep breath to calm the nerves, I opened the doors and entered.

As soon as I entered, I could just tell something was off. I didn't even need to look far to figure out what it was. For some reason, there was an extra person in the room.

Yuri, Monika, and Tiffany were setting up decorations along the walls of the room like streamers and banners while Sayori and Shiro worked at the back of the classroom, setting up the cupcakes on the spinning glass plates. However, Sayori and Shiro had an extra person with them. They were facing away from me, so I couldn't see their face. They were a bit tall and thin, wearing a white t-shirt and blue jeans. He stood right next to Shiro. Confused, I strode up to them.

"Um... hello?" I greeted. The person turned around along with Shiro and Sayori.

They looked to be around forty to forty-five years old, their face showing clear wrinkles from age. They had black hair and a small moustache. They also wore a pair of very thick glasses, similar to Shiro's. Because of what Natsuki told me earlier that day, I had a good idea of who this was. The stranger enthusiastically extended a hand and gave me a warm smile.

"Hey, there!" He greeted. "The name's Kuro. I'm Shiro's dad. You must be Alex!"

Name: Kuro Shiroi

Gender: Male

Age: 45

Height: 5'4"

I shook his hand cautiously. His age and face combined with his overly happy demeanor caught me off-guard. Ignoring my own confusion, I spoke:

"Yup, I'm Alex." I confirmed. "So, not to be rude, but what are you doing here?" Kuro gave me a confident smile similar to Shiro's.

"I came here to help out with your club preparations." He explained. "Since you've been so nice to my boy, Shiro, I thought I'd return the gesture!" Suddenly, his expression changed, and he looked past me. "Wait a minute. You look familiar..." I followed his gaze to Natsuki, who seemed a bit uncomfortable.

"H-hello, Kuro." She greeted shakily. "My name is Natsuki K-Kurushimi. I'm the d-daughter of one of your old b-business partners."

I noticed that she was only mainly stumbling over her words whenever she said something relating to her father, which was understandable. I looked back at Kuro, who now had an excited smile on his face.

"Well, I'll be!" He sauntered over to Natsuki with a hand outstretched. "You're Hiran's little girl! Tell me, how's he been doing this past decade?"

Before I knew it, I had already stepped in between Kuro and Natsuki. He was taller than me by about an inch, but it was still enough to entirely block his view of Natsuki.

"He's dead." I stated. Kuro gave me a look of shock.

"W-what?" He sounded like he couldn't believe it. "H-how could he have died? He was only forty-six!" I was a bit surprised by the fact that he didn't know this, but that didn't faze me. Judging by his speech, it was pretty clear he didn't know the kind of person Hiran really was. Either way, I was about to destroy his entire perspective of Hiran.

"I killed him after he tried to rape Natsuki." I explained through gritted teeth. "This was after ten years of physical, mental, and emotional abuse, along with five years of sexual abuse." After ten seconds of shock, Kuro swallowed shakily and responded:

"I... I'm sorry." He apologized. "I-I didn't know he was that kind of person. I... I think I'll go now..." He slowly turned and walked out of the clubroom, his head hanging low in defeat. As I watched him leave, I thought that maybe I'd given him the news a bit too quickly. However, I didn't have much time to think as I felt Shiro's hand on my shoulder.

"Don't worry about it, man." He said. "My dad has tough skin. He'll get over it quickly." However, he didn't sound very confident. Then, I remembered Natsuki. I quickly turned over to her.

She had a couple of tears in her eyes, and those eyes looked a bit scared. Extremely worried, I put my hand on her shoulder and looked her in the eyes.

"Hey, are you alright?" I asked softly. Natsuki looked up at me for a few seconds with empty eyes. She seemed to realize my worry, then promptly wiped away her tears and smiled at me.

"I'm fine." She answered. "Now let's get the cupcakes set up!" She looked like she was trying her best to be enthusiastic.

'After the events of last night, her mental state is pretty fragile.' I thought. 'She must be trying to keep her mind off her father...' I smiled back at her, and we quickly got to setting everything up. Shiro, Sayori, and Mc went to help Monika and Tiffany with the decorations, while Natsuki and I got to the cupcakes.

*Thirty minutes later*

"And... that should be the last of them." I said as I placed the final cupcake. Natsuki and I took a step back to admire our work, and I must say, it looked pretty good.

The spinning plates were lined up evenly along a row of desks at the back of the room, extending the entire way from the wall to the side of the closet entrance. As I gazed across the table, I think I began to understand why Natsuki loved baking so much. Each cupcake (except for the plain ones with no icing) was completely different, having different designs of icing that made each one unique.

"Thanks for everything, Alex." I heard Natsuki say from my right. I chuckled.

"I mean, I don't deserve ALL the credit. You're the one who-" I was silenced by the feeling of Natsuki pecking her lips on my cheek. I felt my face heat up as my head snapped to the right at Natsuki, who was also blushing. We both lightly laughed.

"Wow, those look delicious!" Tiffany commented as she came up behind us. "You two really outdid yourselves!"

"No eating any!" Natsuki ordered playfully. Tiffany giggled.

"You should be telling that to Sayo, not me." She joked. We all laughed, then stopped as we suddenly heard a knock from the clubroom door.

"H-hello?" A soft voice cautiously greeted. We all looked to the door to find a girl standing in the doorway.

She had blonde hair that reached her neck. She wore magenta-rimmed glasses with silver rhinestones dotted along the entire rim. She was wearing a purple turtleneck sweater with blue leggings and black running shoes. Her face was pretty, but in a 'shy bookworm' kind of way, similar to Yuri. Another thing was that she was quite short. Not as short as Natsuki, mind you, but pretty close. She couldn't have been older than sixteen.

Monika was the first to move and strode over to the girl, giving her a warm smile when she stopped in front of her.

"Hello there. I'm Monika, the president of the Literature Club. What's your name?" She greeted. The girl shifted uncomfortably in her shoes, then eventually responded:

"My name is Iine." She introduced herself. "I was wondering if you knew where the main office is?"

Name: Iine %&$(^#(

Gender: Female

Age: 16

Height: 5'

Monika smiled sweetly at her, then began giving her directions. I studied this girl a bit more, and something about her seemed familiar. I just couldn't put my finger on it. Eventually, I just gave up and told myself I was being crazy.

"...and that's how you get to the office. Will you be okay, now?" Monika finished speaking to Iine. Iine thought for a few moments, then nodded confidently.

"Okay, I think I got it. Thanks!" She thanked Monika.

"You're welcome." Monika rebounded. Iine turned to leave, but then suddenly stopped as she noticed us looking at her.

She wasn't just looking at everyone randomly. She was specifically looking at Tiffany and I. After way too much uncomfortable staring, she turned back to Monika.

"Hey, could I come in?" She asked.

"I don't see why not." Monika answered. Iine quickly thanked her and rushed over to us excitedly.

"Hey, you're from another country, right?" She asked me.

"Uh, yeah." I responded confusedly. "I'm from Ontario, Canada. Why do you ask?" Iine didn't respond, and merely turned to Tiffany.

"Same with you, right?" Tiffany looked a bit uncomfortable with the question, but answered nonetheless.

"Yes." She answered. "I'm from Manhattan, in the U.S." Iine was practically bouncing off the walls in excitement, but Tiffany and I couldn't see why. We looked at each other and shrugged, confused by Iine's strange excitement.

"Um, why do you ask?" I inquired, trying to get the conversation along. Iine was smiling unnecessarily wide, but she was at least calm enough to respond.

"I'm a big fan of other ethnicities' beliefs and societies." She answered, still excited. "Ever since I was a little girl, I was always so fascinated by how people in different parts of the world have such different beliefs."

I could honestly relate. For a long time, I'd always been interested in the beliefs and customs of Japan. I found it so interesting how they were one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world, and yet they'd somehow not let go of their old beliefs.

"You know, I haven't seen you here until now." Tiffany brought up. "Are you visiting for the festival?" Iine nodded her head.

"But that's not important right now." She claimed. "Is it okay if I ask you two a few questions?" She took out a notepad and pen, then looked up at us with a curious expression. It was almost funny to see this girl who looked so shy just holding a notepad like she was an interviewer. Tiffany and I looked at each other, then nodded.

"Sure, why not." I answered, and Iine began to ask us a torrent of questions.

*Twenty minutes later*

I quickly regretted that decision. Iine asked us question after question, not letting up for even a second. It was difficult to keep up with her, and I quickly found myself exhausted just from talking to her. I'm not saying she was annoying or anything, she was just a bit too excitable.

"Okay, that was the last question." She said at last. "Thanks for your attention!" She put the notepad and pen away, then turned to leave. However, before she could even move towards it, a large man walked into view through the doorway.

He was buff. Like, muscles the size of my head, buff. He had blonde hair that was tied back in a "biker" kind of style and his face sported a handlebar moustache. Speaking of his face, it was rugged, and he had a strong jaw, further cementing the "biker" aesthetic. He wore a camo sleeveless shirt with blue jeans and black combat boots. Also, he was tall. Like, unrealistically tall for someone from Japan. He basically looked like a biker in the army.

He had a serious look on his face as he scanned the clubroom. Then, when his gaze focused on Iine, it instantly changed into a cheery smile, and his demeanor changed with it.

"Iine, there you are!" He announced happily as he strode towards Iine. "I've been looking everywhere for you!" There wasn't any anger or annoyance in his voice, which suggested he was saying this to Iine without worry. Even so, Iine still hung her head a bit low.

"Sorry, dad." She apologized. "I won't do it again." The man laughed wholeheartedly.

"Oh, you say that every time!" He announced. "More importantly, why are you here, of all places?" I was getting a bit impatient, so I chose to cut in.

"Excuse me, but who are you?" I asked, trying not to be rude. While this guy seemed cheery, it was pretty damn obvious he could easily snap my spine in two. Knowing this, I thought it best to be cautious.

The man sized me up, then glanced around to find seven other people staring at him. His expression implied that he somehow didn't notice everyone else in the room until now, which was an incredible display of being inobservant.

"Oh, I apologize for my intrusion." He apologized. "It's just that I've been searching for my daughter for the past twenty minutes, and I didn't expect to find her in a random clubroom." I opened my mouth to say that didn't answer my question, but Monika interjected.

"Don't worry about it, sir." She reassured him as she walked up. "Your daughter just came in here looking for the main office, and she got caught up talking with two of my club members."

"Let me guess... she was talking with those two?" He inquired, pointing at Tiffany and me. Before Monika could respond, Natsuki pushed past me and pointed a finger at the man.

"What's wrong with that, buddy?" She accused him. "Is there something wrong with your daughter talking to people not from Japan?"

For about ten seconds after that, nothing happened. Everyone was staring at Natsuki like 'are you TRYING to get yourself killed?', but the man had only a shocked expression on his face. After the ten seconds were up, he burst out laughing.

"Um... what's going on?" Mc asked from the corner of the room. I would've responded by telling him the same thing, if it weren't for the man's sudden cease of laughter.

"Well, aren't you a little fireball!" He joked. "I have nothing against foreigners. I just knew that my daughter wouldn't pass up an opportunity to talk to one."

"Okay, so now that we've gotten that out of the way," I started, getting impatient, "could you maybe tell us who you are?" I'll admit, I was a bit rude, but I was getting worried we wouldn't get all the decorations up in time for the event.

"Very well." The man said. "But you'll have to tell me your names after. The name's Heishi, and I'm Iine's father."

Name: Heishi %&$(^#(

Gender: Male

Age: 50

Height: 6'

After that, we all introduced ourselves to him. All throughout the introductions, there was something about him that confused me. He referred to Tiffany and I as 'foreigners', and while that meant he was clearly Japanese, he didn't look like it. If anything, he looked like he was from the U.S. Even his accent didn't match up. Because of this, when the introductions were over, I decided to ask him:

"So, not to be rude, but are you even Japanese?" I inquired. Heishi gave me a weird look, trying to process the question.

"Ah, you're confused because of my accent, right?" He asked.

"Well, that isn't all of it." I admitted. "But yeah, that's one of the them." Heishi chuckled at my confusion.

"The short answer to that question would be yes, I am Japanese." He answered. "However, the long answer to that question would be that I moved to the U.S. for thirty years, where I joined the military. That's why my accent doesn't sound right."

"But why would you do that?" I asked. "Why join the U.S. military specifically?" Heishi gave me a smirk.

"What? Did you expect me to be discriminatory?" He asked, seeming a bit more serious. That seriousness concerned me, so I quickly tried to explain.

"N-no, actually." I stuttered. "I mean, it's a pretty strange decision to move to another country that used to be enemies with your country, and even join the military there." I mentally kicked myself, realizing that reasoning could imply I actually DID believe he was racist. However, Heishi merely laughed.

"I was just pulling your leg!" He announced. "The reason why I joined the military isn't all that interesting, anyway. I moved to the U.S. when I turned 18 to find a better life, but I ended up joining the military because I couldn't find a stable job. Now, I would love to continue this conversation, but Iine and I have to leave. Nice talking to you!" He waved at us as he turned to leave, Iine following close behind him.

However, before he could leave, he suddenly stopped short, his body language suggesting he was surprised.

"And just WHAT are you doing here, Heishi?!" A female voice called from the doorway. "Here, let me see!"

Heishi was pushed aside, along with Iine, and a woman came into view. She had long, blonde hair and a face that made her look young, but the wrinkles on her face made it obvious she was MUCH older. Like, around 50. She had a weird sort of 'witch' look to her, with black lipstick and a black robe that went all the way down her body. Judging by her tone from before, I instantly knew I wouldn't like this lady.

She looked around the room, her gaze slowly panning across every square inch of the place. Her face implied she was constantly judging everything she saw. Heishi and Iine watched her with a worried look on their faces, like they were worried about what she'd do. After an uncomfortable amount of time, her view locked onto the cupcakes Natsuki and I set up earlier and began to waltz towards them.

When she was halfway to the cupcakes, Natsuki stepped in front of her with an annoyed expression on her face. The woman looked down on her, not only physically, but probably mentally as well, judging by her expression.

"I'm sorry, but the cupcakes are reserved for the students who attend our event." She said to the woman, trying her best to contain her annoyance.

The woman, who up until this point had been quite calm and collected, looked at Natsuki with a disgusted frown.

"Don't you talk to me like that, child!" Suddenly, like lightning, her arm rose up and she backhanded Natsuki, using enough force to get her airborne before falling to the ground a meter away.

"Natsu!" Tiffany yelled as she ran over to help Natsuki. My gaze locked onto the woman, who still had a distasteful frown on her face.

My vision went red and, making sure not to hurt my injured leg, I rushed over to the woman and took Natsuki's spot. Then, even faster than she had hit Natsuki, I reared my arm back and thrust it forward, punching her across the face. I used my right arm, even though it was cut from my fight with Hiran. However, it was still enough force to make her stagger back.

"Why, you little..." The woman muttered. "Eskimo, do you have any idea who I am?!"

"Yeah." I answered. "A racist fucker who just hit my goddamn girlfriend!" Suddenly, I heard a laugh from the doorway. I turned my head to see, and low and behold, it was Okane. Laughing like a dick.

"Really? You're in a relationship with that creature?!" He mocked. "And I thought you couldn't go any lower!" I was getting a really strong urge to throttle him right then and there.

"Okane, dear." The woman said to Okane, suddenly calm. "You must use more creating language when regarding these freaks." The woman walked over to Okane, then stood next to him, facing Heishi.

"Honey, you KNOW what Okane told us about these things!" She scolded him, then turned to Iine. "And you are a disappointment. Spending time with these people, you are no daughter of mine!" Suddenly, something clicked in my mind.

"Wait... Dear? Honey? Daughter?" I asked. "Don't tell me..."

"Eskimo, what were you doing, talking to my sister?" Okane yelled at me. Iine looked uncomfortable and ashamed, and Heishi looked ashamed.

"Yes, Alex," he said, dejected, "this is my wife, Majo, and my son, Okane."

Name: Majo Burondo

Gender: Female

Age: 48

Height: 5'5"

I was stunned. Iine was Okane's sister? How was that possible? Before I could say anything, however, Tiffany came over along with Natsuki.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Tiffany yelled, full of rage. "Why would you just hit Natsuki like that?!"

Majo didn't respond, and merely stared at Tiffany with a bored expression.

"Come, family." Majo said as she turned around. "There is no point in being near these stains. Let us leave."

She left the room along with Okane, and Heishi and Iine followed soon after with apologetic expressions on their faces. I was so confused about how they just up and left in the middle of this. Tiffany and Natsuki, on the other hand, were still fuming. Monika came over to calm them down, and Yuri came over to me.

"Whatever happened to 'you two should learn to respect women'?" She joked. I remembered when I first met her personally, as that was what I had said to Okane and Chad when they were bullying her in the hallway.

"I am a man of true gender equality." I responded in my best 'fancy' accent I could do. "I am not afraid to dropkick a lady, if it means I will protect those I cherish." Yuri giggled, and I heard a snicker from behind me. I turned around to see Natsuki snickering, with Tiffany and Monika suppressing their giggles.

The mood of the clubroom quickly regained light, and our preparations continued. Now that the cupcakes were done, all that we had to do was finish up Yuri's decorations.

*Ten minutes later*

"Okay, everyone!" Monika announced from the front of the clubroom as we finished putting up the decorations. "Now that everything is ready, we have thirty minutes left until out poetry performance. Now, would anyone like to get in some last-minute practice?"

Surprisingly, everyone nodded their head except for me. Mc, Yuri, Sayori, and even Natsuki agreed. Monika looked at everyone, smiling, until her gaze hit me.

"Alex, are you not going to practice?" She asked confusedly. I shook my head confidently.

"Nope, I want to save my poem for the event." I answered. Monika looked at me for a few seconds, then smiled cheerfully.

"Very well, then." She agreed. "Now, who wants to come up and practice first?"

*Thirty minutes later*

The poetry reciting took only fifteen minutes, which was good, because as soon as the last club member came down from the podium, the first person entered the clubroom for the event. Monika greeted them, Natsuki offered them a cupcake, and Sayori sat them down at a desk. They were surprisingly coordinated with their planning, which made me happy to see.

After another fifteen minutes, the desks were full up (except for the six assigned to the main club members), and the poetry performance began. I sat down and looked up at the podium as Monika walked up. When she reached the podium, she calmly referred to the audience and began to speak:

"Hello, everyone." She greeted. "My name is Monika Kontororu, and I'm the president of the literature club. I won't take up more of your time than I need to, and you all already know what you're here for, so I'll do my best to get this along. I will be the first to recite my poem, and I hope this event entices some of you in some way to join our club."

Monika then pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket, obviously her poem, and began to recite it to the group.

*Ten minutes later*

Everyone clapped as Natsuki's poem finished, including me for obvious reasons. Monika, Sayori, Mc, Yuri, and Natsuki had all just finished reading their poems, and now it was my turn.

"And now, our final poem." Monika announced from the podium. "Now, before this final poem performance, I'd like to take a moment to tell you something about this next person. His name is Alex, and he's from Canada. Even though he's only been at this school for a week, he's already proved himself in multiple ways, and you've probably heard of some of his feats. Most notably, he fought Chad and Okane on multiple occasions, and won."

Muttering could be heard from throughout the small crowd, and judging by the tone, they knew exactly what she was talking about.

"However," Monika continued, "there's something that he did recently that truly proves himself. Last night, he saved Natsuki's life from peril. Without giving too much away, he took multiple injuries to protect and save Natsuki from the brink of death, and because of that, he's currently suffering from a couple stab wounds. However, despite that, he's still chosen to be here to recite his poem for you all, and honestly, he's done more for the club than anyone else. So, without further ado, come on up, Alex."

There was some applause as I stood up from my seat and walked over to the podium. I tried my best to keep my walking normal, but even so, I constantly had a slight limp. I didn't view it as a bad thing, though. It was proof of my injuries, and proof of what I'd done the night before. With confident thoughts in my head, I stood up on the podium and Monika handed me the microphone, stepping off the podium and sitting down in her seat.

"Thank you, Monika." I said. "Although I wouldn't say I've done THAT much, I still really appreciate the gesture. Anyway!" I turned back towards the small audience. "As Monika just explained, my name is Alex, I'm from Canada, blah blah blah. Anyway, this poem is very special to me, and reflects a very recent event that's happened in my life and had given said life more meaning. I hope you enjoy."

As I finished my brief speech, I pulled out my poem and began to read:

Not many people can understand my strife.

Depression? Loss? Heh, story of my life.

That was the old me, but now I am new.

And I believe that's all thanks to you.

You see, that day would've been my last.

However, you helped me let go of my past.

I will never forget the people I've lost.

But I'll still move on, remembering the cost.

I thank you so much, you gave me a reason to live.

You had much to lose, and little to give.

Even so, what you gave me was a very great deed.

Your small gift is all that I need.

Thanks to you, I can finally live happily.

Because, with your help, I've found a new family.

As I finished that final verse, I looked back up at the crowd. They were all silent, completely slack jawed. After a little bit, the first person to do anything was Natsuki. She stood up and began to clap loudly, and one by one, everyone else followed.

I looked through the audience, everyone clapping, until I saw Monika. She was still sitting down, staring right at me, and crying tears of joy. Even though the others didn't know the poem's true meaning, she understood it perfectly.

My attention was snapped away from Monika, however, as Natsuki rushed up to the podium. The applause died down as she stepped up onto it, then she threw her arms around me and pulled me into a hug.

I put my arm around her and taking advantage of my distraction, she reached over to the mic and pulled herself over to it, still holding onto me with her left arm.

"And for all you ladies out there," she said into the mic, "he's mine." The clubroom erupted into laughter, including Natsuki and I. I leaned into the mic as well.

"Thanks for coming, everyone!" I announced. "We appreciate your attendance and have a great day!"

"Take another cupcake on the way out!" Natsuki yelled gleefully.

As the students began filing out the doors, Natsuki turned to me and looked me directly in the eyes. I stared into those adorable eyes once again, and a smile crept across my face. With my free arm, I turned off the microphone.

"I love you, Nat." I told Natsuki.

"I love you too, Alex." She responded.

Just as the last person left the clubroom, Natsuki's face thrusted forward and her lips touched mine, pulling me into another kiss. I didn't know what the future held for me, but as long as I could be by Natsuki's side for the rest of my life, I didn't see how it could be anything but good.

After what felt like an eternity, we finally pulled away from each other, staring into each other's eyes once again.

"Guys, that was awesome!" Sayori screamed as she hugged me tightly from behind.

'Welp,' I thought, 'that's that moment over.'

Very quickly, everyone was at the podium. Mc, Sayori, Monika, Yuri, Shiro, Tiffany, Natsuki, and I all stood there, enjoying the moment.

"I didn't expect that kind of thing from you, Alex!" Mc clapped me on the back. "That was pretty good!"

"Truly an incredible example of poetry." Yuri said softly.

"I didn't think it could get better after Natsu's poem," Tiffany told me, "but you proved me wrong!"

"Real impressive, Alex." Shiro adjusted his glasses.

"Alex, thank you." Monika thanked me, prompting me to turn around. "I... really appreciate what you've done. I don't know how to thank you."

"Listen, if we keep thanking each other like this, it'll never end." I joked. "Why don't we just go out and enjoy the festival?" Pretty much everyone nodded in agreement, Sayori being the most excited.

"Yeah, come on, Moni!" She ran in the direction of the door, yanking Monika's arm as she did.

"Ow, Bun! Give me a- ow!" Despite her protests, Monika was smiling happily.

I hadn't mentioned it before, but it was a bit strange to see Sayori and Monika in a relationship. Not that I hadn't seen it in a mod before, it was just strange seeing them in a relationship, in person. Does that make sense? Probably not.

"Come on, guys!" Tiffany prompted while running towards the door. "Let's go!"

Almost everyone in the room grinned excitedly and followed Tiffany out the door. I went to follow them, but I was stopped by Natsuki yanking my arm back. I turned to face her. She was blushing and twiddling her thumbs, not meeting my gaze.

"What is it, Nat?" I asked her. Natsuki looked up at me, the blush still as prominent on her face as ever, still twiddling her thumbs.

"Alex... would this be considered... our first date?" She asked me, instantly looking down at her thumbs again. I could feel my face getting hotter, and I could tell I was blushing just as hard as her, if not harder.

'Our first date...' I thought.

I hadn't thought of that yet. I mean, I knew our relationship was official already, I just hadn't thought about dates yet. Despite that, I knew exactly what both Natsuki and I wanted.

"Yes." I answered with a smile. "This is our first date."

Natsuki's gaze snapped right back up as soon as I said that, a warm smile plastered across her face. I mirrored her expression, feeling the exact same thing she felt at that moment. She extended a hand, and I took it graciously. And with our hands connected along with our hearts, we began towards the clubroom door...

*Two hours later*

Natsuki and I had a great time. Honestly, there's no better way to put it. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

The outside of the school was filled with booths, students, and visitors alike. There were booths serving food, selling homemade wooden models, and even a few homemade carnival games. For a school festival, they were all pretty high-quality. The food was delicious, the models were well-made, and the carnival games were surprisingly fun.

While it wasn't a place you'd expect a first date to go well at, it was really fun.

Anyway, as we enjoyed the festival, we began to lose track of time. Before we knew it, there was only an hour left, and I heard a notification on my phone. Pulling it out of my pocket, I took a look at the screen to find a text from Mc:

Mc: Hey, where are you?

You: Somewhere.

Mc: Real specific, Alex.

You: Lol

Mc: Everyone's eating together at a mini-fast food booth. You wanna join?

I turned to Natsuki.

"Everyone's eating together at a mini-fast food booth, and he's asking if we want to join." I told her. Natsuki gave me a toothy grin and nodded frantically in agreement. For the past hour, she'd been a lot more excited than usual, and it wasn't hard to figure out why. Smiling, I turned back to my phone screen:

You: Sure. Where's the booth?

Mc: On the right side of the school, near the outdoor picnic area.

You: K, on our way.

I put the phone away and immediately turned to Natsuki.

"Where's the picnic area?" I asked.

"It's literally right outside the cafeteria entrance to the school." She answered, sounding a bit condescending.

I felt stupid, as that was the area Monika and I talked on my first day here. After mentally beating myself up, Natsuki and I started towards the picnic area.

*Ten minutes later*

We arrived at the picnic area, and god damn, how did I not notice this place earlier?

There was a large square of hedges, similar to a hedge maze, but just an outline of a very large square with gaps on each side for entry and exit. Inside the square was a concrete path between the four entrances in the shape of an X, with grass filling out the remaining space. On each grass plot was four picnic tables, each about the same size as the booths in the cafeteria.

In the center of the X was a large booth, definitely bigger than the ones we'd visited so far. Inside, a collection of students were working hard making various fast food items. Something that struck me as odd was that there was no one sitting at any of the tables, which made me confused about why they were working so hard.

Standing at the booth was everyone else, all of them facing away from Natsuki and I, unable to see us. Or, that was the case, until Sayori glanced behind her and saw us, a look of excitement instantly shocked onto her face.

"Hey, guys!" She greeted, waving her arms in the air. Everyone else turned around as Natsuki and I walked up, warm smiles on their faces as well.

"Don't worry, we already ordered for you." Mc explained. "I remember your favourites, Alex, and we just ordered something basic for Nat. Is that alright?" Natsuki grinned and nodded excitedly, but I was confused about what he meant by 'I remember your favourites'. I glanced at Monika, who gave me a wink, answering my question.

"Oh, hello there Alex!" A woman's voice greeted from the booth. "It's been quite a long time!" I refocused my gaze at the booth to see a woman standing there, seeming a bit out of place from the students.

She had black hair that reached down to her shoulders, and had large, round glasses that made her eyes look unnaturally large through the lenses. She had a face that made her look to be around forty to forty-five. She was a bit taller than me, but shorter than Yuri, so around Tiffany's height. She wore a pure white coat with white leggings and white shoes, giving her a sort of 'clean' feeling.

"Keisatsu told me that you didn't remember him immediately, so I should probably reintroduce myself as well." She said. "My name is Ishi Sabishi, and I am Mc's mother."

Name: Ishi Sabishi

Gender: Female

Age: 43

Height: 5'4"

"And you must be Natsuki." She assumed, turning to said person. "Nice to meet you. Mc told us about what happened, and I must say, you're lucky to be alive. If Alex wasn't there, you would- what is it, honey?" Mc was poking her mother's shoulder, trying to get her attention.

"Mom," he started, finally having her attention, "it's kind of a sensitive subject for her right now. A decade of abuse doesn't just go away overnight. As a medical professional, you should know this!" He sounded annoyed.

Ishi's gaze transferred between Mc and Natsuki multiple times. At this point, Natsuki had a bit of a vacant look in her eyes, so I nudged her to snap her out of it. She muttered a small "thanks" before looking back at Ishi, who now looked a bit guilty.

"Oh, my. I'm so sorry, Natsuki." She apologized. "I'm more of a physical doctor, not a mental one. Speaking of which..." He eyes narrowed as she looked back at me. "Alex, are your wounds okay?"

"I'm fine, thanks for your concern." I answered quickly. I wanted to get away from that subject as quick as possible. Luckily, a voice called out from behind Ishi before she could respond.

"Okay, your food's ready!" It announced.

A few students came out from behind the counter, carrying a couple trays of burgers, fries, salads, and drinks. It all looked delicious; I almost began drooling. Ishi sighed.

"Well, I guess that's the end of our little chat." She said, a bit down. "Enjoy your food."

We all took a tray of food, making sure we took what was ordered to us. We picked a table at random and began towards it. As we walked, I turned to Mc.

"Hey, why was your mom at the fast food booth?" I asked.

"She's a doctor, so she's always a bit cautious of germs." He explained. "When she found the fast food booth, she joined in to make sure everything was sanitary, and refuses to leave until the event is over to prevent 'food poisoning'." I chuckled at this information. The image of a middle-aged woman yelling at a bunch of high school students about being sanitary was hilarious to me.

We all sat down at the picnic table we chose; in the exact same spots we sit during lunch in the cafeteria. Natsuki, me, Monika, and Sayori sat on one side, while Shiro, Tiffany, Yuri, and Mc sat on the other side. With all of us sat down, we began to dig in.

The food tasted amazing, shockingly enough. No one talked as we ate, probably because they were so focused on how good the food tasted.

*Thirty minutes later*

"So, I guess this could be considered a triple date?" Mc joked when everyone was done. I snickered.

"Yeah, I guess so." I responded.

"Why not a quadruple date?" Shiro smiled devilishly, pushing his glasses up. Tiffany frowned in mock exasperation.

"In your dreams, buddy." She rebounded playfully. Everyone at the table laughed.

"Tiffany, Shiro, are you going to join the literature club now?" Sayori inquired. Tiffany wasted no time answered.

"Why wouldn't I?" She responded. "After that performance, I don't think I'd be able to refuse even if I wanted to! What about you, Shiro?" Shiro thought for a moment.

"I don't see why not." He decided with a smile. Everyone at the table cheered, including Monika.

"Well then." Monika started. "As the president of the literature club, I now declare you two as members!"

Despite it not being necessary, Monika got up and shook the hands of Shiro and Tiffany, inviting them into the club. Everyone once again cheered, and once the cheering died down, Tiffany spoke:

"There's one thing that's still bothering me, though." She stated. "Natsu, why did Keisatsu want to talk with you, Alex, and Mc?"

The question seemed sudden and out of place. The whole table went quiet as all eyes snapped to Natsuki. You could practically see the beads of sweat running down her forehead. She'd already been under a lot of stress recently, so this was the last thing she needed. Before things could proceed any further, I stepped in.

"Long story short, Nat is now legally Mc's sister." I joked, trying to lighten the mood. The focused expressions towards Natsuki changed to confused expressions towards me, and Mc lightly gasped.

"Oh, shit. I didn't even think of that." He muttered.

"Um... I think we need a better explanation than that." Tiffany pointed out.

"Well... since I'm technically an orphan now..." Natsuki explained, twiddling her thumbs. "I'm not legally allowed to live on my own, so Mc's parents adopted me, in a way."

The table instantly became silent. After a few moments of excruciating silence, Tiffany slowly reached her hand across the table and rested it on top of Natsuki's, comforting her.

"I'm glad you could finally find a family that loves you, Natsu." She reassured her with a warm smile. "Congratulations."

Tears of joy began to formulate in Natsuki's eyes. With bated breath, she uttered the words:

"Thank you."

*Thirty minutes later*

After that moment of reassurance, the atmosphere at the table quickly picked back up, and everyone was back to chatting with each other. After everything that'd happened so far, I was so glad I was able to just lay back and talk, relaxing from the drama of the night before. We eventually lost track of time, and before we knew it, a message began playing over the intercom:

"Attention students and visitors! The festival is now over. If you have any questions, please see the secretary at the main office for info. Have a nice evening."

As the message completed, we all got up and threw away our trash. As we walked towards the exit, I couldn't help but think of how fun that day was. I thought about that day, the day before, and the day before, all the way back to when I first entered this world. It had only been a week, but in that week, I felt like I'd done more than I'd done in my entire lifetime. With these amazing memories in my mind, and the friends all around me, we made our way towards the exit, and left the school.

*Thirty minutes later*

As we walked back to our homes, we talked, laughed, and just had fun as we recounted the events of that day. By the time we got back to Mc's house, it was already quite late. We said goodbye to our friends, and Mc, Natsuki, and I made our way to the front door.

"Thank you both... for everything." Natsuki thanked us. Mc and I turned to her and smiled as Mc unlocked the door.

"You don't need to thank us for anything, Nat." I responded. "As long as you're safe, I'm perfectly happy." Natsuki snorted, laughing.

"Really?" She laughed. "That was so cheesy!"

The three of us laughed all the way towards the door, inside, and into the living room, where we all plopped down onto the couch.

"You guys want to watch a movie?" Mc asked us, holding up the TV remote. Natsuki nodded wildly.

"Sure, why not?" I answered, earning a "yay" from Natsuki.

"Alright." Mc pointed the remote at the TV, but a ring from his phone interrupted him. With an exasperated sigh, he pulled out his phone and looked at the screen.

"Hang on, I need to take this." He said, leaving the room.

Natsuki let out a small sigh, then leaned into my right side. I put my arm around her and held her close as she planted a small kiss on my cheek.

"Alex, I'm so happy." She said. "To be here with you, away from him... I can't remember the last time I felt like this." I looked at her with a smile, then pulled her in for another kiss.

"I'm just glad to be with you, Nat." I responded. "I'm so glad it's over, and we can live peacefully."

Our tender moment was suddenly interrupted by Mc walking back into the room with a concerned expression on his face. No... it wasn't concern... it was fear. My mind sparked into action, and my relaxed state vanished.

"Yeah, I'll tell them, but they won't be happy." Mc said into the phone.

"What?" I asked, concerned. "What is it?"

Mc turned off his phone and put it back into his pocket, looking me in the eyes. He was slightly crying, but the serious expression never left his face.

"You guys know how my dad was doing a search of Hiran's old house?" He asked. I was beginning to get a bad feeling about this.

"W-what about it?" Natsuki stuttered. Mc gave her a grave look.

"Well, they found almost everything that Alex described, except for one thing." He explained.

"O-oh fuck no..." I muttered. "D-don't tell me..." Mc nodded to me, confirming my fears.

"They never found Hiran's body." He said, scared. "He's still alive."

Natsuki gasped in fear, and tightly clung to me. The feelings of happiness and hope that I'd just had a few moments ago were gone. Hiran wasn't dead. He was still out there, probably pissed at everyone who helped save his daughter. I didn't want to believe it, but I had to. This... this wasn't over.

N-not t-this t-time...

End of Chapter 8