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?

12. Chapter 9: Moving

(Author's Note: I've recently noticed some people in the reviews complaining about the lack of updates. I'm not calling anyone of them out or anything, but I request that you please don't try to rush the production of these chapters. I understand that with the recent quarantine people are really bored, but even though I'm in the same situation and have more time to write, these chapters are getting longer and longer, making it a bit difficult for me to write certain sections so they line up with past and future events in the story. In addition, there are times that I'm unable to write due to things going on in my house, plus my recent addiction to Stardew Valley (although I'll admit that's 100% my fault). Anyway, without further adieu, enjoy the chapter!)

Chapter 9: Moving

Tuesday, April 9, 2022

8:00 am

Notagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagannotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnotagain-

"Alex, are you okay?"

Natsuki's worried voice brought me back to reality, and I found myself sitting cross-legged on my (our) bed, staring out the window. I responded, making sure not to turn around, knowing what would happen if I did so.

"Y-yeah, I-I'm fine." I answered shakily. My voice was shaking just as much as my left arm, prompting me to grab it in desperation of making it stop. The terrifying news of Hiran's survival had shocked both Natsuki and I, fear having gripped both our hearts.

My shirt was off to the side, laying on the bed. I was trying to make a habit of checking my injuries whenever I woke up, although I was waiting until Natsuki was out of the room to check my thigh-wound.

Due to the fear and worry, Natsuki insisted that I be in the same room as her while she changed, saying that she didn't feel safe alone. I made sure to look away as she did, despite her having said it was okay if I looked.

"I trust you enough for it, and it's not like there's much to look at, anyway..." She had said.

I wanted to argue and tell her that wasn't true. In my eyes, she was beautiful. However, I knew she wouldn't believe me. Her father had raised her with one mindset, which she had lived with her entire life. Before I helped her escape from her father, she had exhibited this mindset through anger. When we were at the festival, she had a completely different mindset, being confident and happy, enthusiastic even.

However, after learning about Hiran's apparent survival, she went back to the mindset her father raised her with. Only this time, instead of displaying it with anger, she displayed it with sadness. She thought lesser of herself, her previous confidence in herself gone. There were still traces of her happy self in her, but they were directed at others. She believed she was inferior to those around her, and it broke my heart to see her like this.

Honestly, I wasn't faring much better. Over the course of the night before, I woke up multiple times in a cold sweat, having had nightmares about the deaths of my family and friends. Each and every memory was crystal clear, and just as terrifying. It seemed like my PTSD was getting worse.

These thoughts were suddenly blocked as I felt Natsuki's arms wrap around me from behind. I was worried when I felt mostly skin, although I was minorly reassured when I felt fabric around her *ahem* chest as she leaned into me.

"Alex... what are we going to do?" She asked sadly. "With everything that's going on... I don't know how we could continue from here." She began to lightly sob.

'I have to be strong...' I thought. 'For her...'

I turned around and returned the embrace, ignoring the fact that Natsuki was in her underwear. She rested her head on my shoulder, and I rested my head on hers. If there was one thing I WOULDN'T do, I was NOT letting her suffer alone.

"Nat, I know you're scared, and so am I, but we can't let that fear control us." I whispered. "I'm here for you, and so is the rest of the Literature Club. And I promise, I won't let that son of a bitch hurt you ever again." I suddenly felt wetness on my cheeks, and it was then that I realized that I was lightly crying as well.

"I-I owe you... s-so much..." Natsuki said softly, catching me off-guard. I smiled and pulled out of the hug, keeping my hands on her shoulders and looked her directly in the eyes.

"You don't owe me anything, Nat." I reassured her. "Just being with you is enough."

Natsuki's sad expression eventually changed to a warm and thankful smile, and the tears stopped. Then, her face surged towards mine, and I once again felt our lips touch. Every time we kissed, every neuron in my brain fired off, making each moment pure bliss. I would've been content with that moment lasting a bit longer, but it was suddenly interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat.

Natsuki and I snapped our lips away from each other and looked towards the doorway to find Mc looking at us uncomfortably. Judging by mine and Natsuki's current state of dress, this was a very worrying situation.

"So, uh... I guess I'll come back later..." Mc looked off to the side, blushing, and turned around to walk away. I panicked.

"Hey, it's not like I judged you for what you and Yuri did on Sunday!" I blurted out. I instantly regretted saying that, as Mc turned around with a shocked expression.

The tension in the room suddenly increased tenfold. We stared at each other for a while, both sides incredibly uncomfortable. Having had enough of it, Natsuki jumped in.

"I don't feel safe changing by myself." She explained. Mc took a bit to process this, then let out an understanding "oh", but quickly transitioned to a confused expression.

"Wait, what was that about me and Yuri on Sunday? Were you two spying on us?!" He didn't sound angry, only disturbed.

"I had to walk by your room to go get Natsuki some cream for a burn she got from the stove," I explained, "and let's just say you two weren't exactly quiet." Mc looked mortified and did his best to keep his emotions under control. Eventually, he was able to fit a neutral expression on his face. He looked off to the side, his cheeks slightly red.

"Let's never speak of this again." He ordered. "Meet me downstairs when you're ready. My parents have an idea." He turned to leave, but then turned back to us like he just remembered something. "Also, there's no school today, so just wear whatever." Finally, he turned and left, closing the door behind him, leaving us with that information.

Natsuki and I looked at each other and nodded in a silent agreement. I turned back to the window as Natsuki stood up to get ready for the day. As I listened to the shuffling of clothes, I thought about what this 'idea' could be.

*Five minutes later*

"Okay, I'm done." Natsuki said at last. I turned around to view her in her new outfit that Tiffany had bought her the day before. Once again, I must reiterate, she looked beautiful. Once I was done staring, I stood up off the bed.

"Alright, see you downstairs." I stated. Natsuki nodded in affirmation, then left the room with a new bounce in her step. It seemed like that pep talk from earlier helped a lot.

With a sigh of relief, I began to check my thigh-wound. As I exposed the bandage covering it, I realized something strange. Without knowing it, I was putting equal weight on both legs, which should've hurt a lot with my injury. I touched the bandage where my stab wound should've been, and there was no pain.

Confused, I began to unravel the bandage. Looking back on this, I now realize just how stupid of a choice this was. Despite this, when I fully removed the bandage, all that was there was skin. Plain, undamaged skin. My wound was nowhere to be found.

At this point, if anything weird happened, I would always assume Monika knew why it was happening. With this mindset, I deposited the now-useless bandage into a trash can in the corner of the room, then began to get dressed.

*Five minutes later*

As I had gotten dressed, I noticed something that made the whole situation even weirder. While my leg wound was gone, my arm and gut wounds were still there. As I moved, my arm wound still ached, and my gut wound still slightly stung when I touched it.

How was it that my leg wound, arguably the most serious wound I sustained, was gone, while my less-serious wounds were still there? I was DEFINITELY going to need to talk to Monika about this.

Anyway, as I finished pulling on my clothes, I picked my phone up off my bedside table and texted Monika:

You: Hey, my leg wound is gone, but my other wounds aren't. What's going on here?

It was a strange way to put it, but there were no normal ways to put it, either. I stared at my phone's screen, waiting for Monika to reply, but she never did. In fact, it wasn't even marked as 'read'.

"Huh, well that's strange..." I lamented to myself. Suddenly, a horrible thought came to mind.

'What if she's already been attacked by Hiran?' I thought frantically. 'Oh, shit. Oh, god. Oh, fuck. Oh, shi-'

Bing!

My eyes snapped back to my phone screen, which now showed a reply from Monika:

Monika: I'd rather talk about that in person.

You: Why'd it take you so long to respond?! I almost had a heart attack!

Monika: Sorry, I was in the shower.

You: Oh, okay. Anyway, why do we need to talk about it in person?

Monika: Just trust me.

You: Hey, come on. What's the problem with just telling me over text?

Monika: SWYgeW91J3JlIHJlYWRpbmcgdGhpcywgaXQgbWVhbnMgeW91IHdhc3RlZCB5b3VyIHRpbWUu

You: What?

Monika: No more texts. Only talk in person.

I turned off my phone and looked around me, confused. As if by looking around I'd find the answer. With nothing but confusion in my mind, I left the room to meet Mc and Natsuki.

*Five minutes later*

For once, I didn't find them instantly. Then again, I always found them in the kitchen first, so that wasn't all that weird. The kitchen lights were still on, and there were clear signs of food having been cooked there not long before. The miniature mystery of where they were was instantly solved when I heard Mc's voice calling from the living room:

"Hey, we're in here!" He announced. "We already got you a plate!" While I was anxious about what could be going on with this idea he said his parents had, the promise of his cooking quickly overtook that worry, and I rushed to the living room.

"Hey, Alex!" The voice of Keisatsu greeted as I walked in.

I did a double take as I heard that and looked in the direction of the voice to confirm it. In addition to the two four-person couches that mirrored each other in front of the TV, there were now two extra armchairs in between the couches that directly faced the TV. In the chair on the right sat Keisatsu, giving me an enthusiastic smile, and in the chair on the left sat Ishi, giving me a warm smile.

Mc sat on the couch furthest from me, while Natsuki sat on the closer one. Natsuki looked at me happily and pointed towards a plate of pancakes on the coffee table, followed by her patting the spot next to her in invitation. I smiled back, then walked over to her right, plopping down next to her.

I reached over to the plate of pancakes that was in front of me and began to eat as the others conversed.

"Now that everyone's here, I think it's time to talk about our plan." Keisatsu began. "Long story short, we're going to be keeping you kids in a safe environment where you're always under supervision and protection of a police officer." I almost choked on my food.

I was about to talk with my mouth full, which would've been quite embarrassing, if not for Mc chipping in.

"Uh, dad, I think we need more information than that." He pointed out. Keisatsu held up a hand in a 'give me a moment' gesture.

"I was getting there, Junior." As he said this, Mc put on a sour expression. "Now, as I was saying, this relocation is not limited to just the people in this room. It will apply to the rest of your 'Literature Club', as they may be targets of Hiran as well."

As soon as he said 'Hiran', Natsuki had a sharp intake of breath. Her breathing turned shaky, just like her body. She began to sweat, and tears fell out of her eyes. I quickly swallowed the food in my mouth and put my hand on her shoulder.

"Nat, calm down." I said as I rubbed her back reassuringly. She instantly curled into a ball and leaned into me, basically trying to get as close to me as possible.

Keisatsu and Ishi looked confused, and while I was incredibly worried for Natsuki, Mc was able to keep an air of calm around him to explain.

"Dad, it's not a good idea to say 'that word' around her." He explained. "It triggers some bad memories." Keisatsu instantly went rigid and frantically tried to apologize, but I put a hand up in a 'stop' gesture as I continued to comfort Natsuki.

You may be wondering what was going on, and I'll admit, I should've explained this in my last entry.

You see, after discovering Hiran's apparent survival, Natsuki developed some sort of post-traumatic reaction to his name. We unfortunately learned this while talking the night before, and it took a while to get Natsuki out of her catatonic state.

Luckily, this time it wasn't as bad of a reaction. It took only about a minute for Natsuki to regain her senses. She slowly let go of me and got back to her normal sitting position, albeit not moving away from me to get back to her original spot. Once she was calm again, Keisatsu went back to his explanation after a few more apologies.

"Anyway, since your clubmates could also be targets for 'him', we're going to be bringing them here where they'll stay until we find 'him'." He explained. "Here, everyone will constantly be under my supervision and protection. We've already gotten the sleeping arrangements set up, and their parents have been notified of this issue." I luckily just finished swallowing when he said that.

"Wait, what?!" I exclaimed. "So, you're telling me that you have room for ten people in this house, including you two?!" I had many other questions, but for some reason, that was the most prominent one in my mind at that time. Keisatsu and Ishi laughed, then Ishi said:

"Well, yours and Mc's rooms can fit two people each, so we have you three plus Yuri covered." Mc blushed and looked away. "In addition, one of these couches extends into a bed for two, we have two guest rooms that house one person each, and then there's our own room." I did the math in my head and found out they were right.

"Oh, okay. Wait..." My gaze fixed on Mc. "Mc, why did you force me to sleep on the couch on Sunday if it could be turned into a bed?!" Mc looked at me guiltily, then rubbed the back of his neck in nervousness.

"Oh, well... uh..." He muttered. "I... I guess I forgot." He laughed nervously. Luckily for him, Keisatsu jumped in.

"Anyway, now that the sleeping arrangements are decided, it's time for us to discuss the actual moving process." He explained. "We have two cars, and each can fit about four people. Alex will come with me to pick up Monika and Shiro, while Mc will go with Ishi to pick up Yuri and Tiffany."

"But what about Sayori?" I inquired. "And we can't just leave Natsuki on her own. She's 'his' prime target!"

"I'm your answer to both questions." I heard a voice behind me say. I turned around frantically to find Sayori standing there with her hands on her hips, feeling strangely professional.

"Wha-how did you-what?" I sputtered, failing to create a single cohesive sentence. Sayori giggled at my confusion.

"I got here earlier and was in the bathroom up until now." She explained as she walked around the couch. "Anyway, I'll be keeping Natsuki company until you get back."

There was something strange about Sayori there. Usually, she was clumsy and childish, but here, she almost seemed like she was imitating Monika. It seemed like Monika was really starting to rub off on her. Despite the sudden and seemingly random plan, I felt confident in it. As I finished the last of my pancakes, I turned to Keisatsu.

"So, when do we start?" I inquired. Keisatsu gave me a smug smile.

"Now." He stated. "We need to get this done as soon as possible, so we can't waste any time. Put that plate in the kitchen and meet the rest of us at the front door." He got up along with Ishi and Mc, then rushed out of the room towards the front door. I got up and Sayori instantly plopped down in my place. Before I left, I turned towards Natsuki and knelt down in front of her, putting a hand on her cheek.

"Stay safe." I told her. She nodded cheerily and leaned forward, kissing me on the cheek.

"You two." She responded. I gave her a sideways nod as I stood up.

I walked towards the kitchen, betting a lot on this plan.

*Ten minutes later*

Despite the speed of the police car we were in, I couldn't help but feel like we were going too slow. It probably had something to do with the fact that we were going for the two people who were the furthest away from Mc's house. We were currently going for Shiro. Neither of us spoke, knowing that words won't do anything for the current situation.

We eventually stopped at our destination, and I looked out the window at what was supposedly Shiro's house. It wasn't large, but it wasn't your average home, either. It looked almost like a mix between Mc's house and Natsuki's old house, seeming like an upper-middle class establishment.

"Welp, here we are." Keisatsu stated as he exited the car. "Come on, we need to make this as quick as possible." I nodded, mirroring his movement and getting out of the car.

As we made our way up to the actual house, there was something about it that disturbed me. It took me a moment to pinpoint exactly what it was, but even when I saw what it was, it was still eluding me in some way. The property was incredibly clean on one side, but on the other side, it was a mess. The left side had perfectly cut, perfectly green grass without a weed in sight. However, the right side was very unkempt, and looked more like a jungle than an actual lawn. There were even a few toys strewn about that looked like they'd been sitting there for ten years.

I wasn't given much time to think about this, though, as we were rushing towards the house. The most important thing for that plan was speed. We needed to get Shiro and Monika, then get back to Mc's place as soon as possible.

We reached the front door and rang the doorbell. After less than a second of waiting, the door swung open as Keisatsu let himself in. He wasted no time in marching forward to find Shiro. Before he could make it far, however, Kuro appeared from around a corner.

"Ah, there you are!" He acknowledged. "Shiro is almost done packing. He'll be down in a moment. Would you like some tea?"

Kuro was acting quite strange. It somehow sounded like he was calm and anxious at the same time. Like two personalities were acting at the same time. I noticed this, but Keisatsu merely shook his head.

"No thanks." He declined. "We're on a tight schedule, and we can't waste any time." Kuro looked legitimately disappointed.

"Ah, of course..." His demeanor changed when he noticed I was there. "Ah, Alex! I apologize, but could I have a moment of your time? Please, I'm sure we'll be done by the time Shiro's ready." Keisatsu opened his mouth to decline, but I cut in.

"As long as it doesn't take too long." I accepted. Kuro put on a grin, then waved me over as he walked a bit further down the hall.

"Come." He ordered. "I'd like to speak with you in private." Not knowing what else to do, I followed him down the hallway and around a corner, out of earshot of Keisatsu.

"Okay, what's this about?" I inquired. Before he responded, Kuro's demeanor changed to one of shame.

"I-I'd like to apologize for what happened yesterday." He explained. "The way I just walked out on your club wasn't very polite." I put up a hand to stop him.

"You don't need to apologize for that." I reassured him. "The shock of what you learned about Hiran must've really gotten to you. Trust me, no one in the Literature Club thinks you should apologize."

Kuro opened his mouth to argue but was interrupted by a voice calling from upstairs.

"Okay, I'm done!" The voice of Shiro called. "I'm ready to go! Let's do this!"

Before Kuro could continue the conversation, I rushed back towards Keisatsu, who now had Shiro by his side. He had THREE DUFFEL BAGS on his body, most definitely carrying clothes, video games, and a shit ton of anime, if his personality was anything to go by.

Not wanting to waste any time, I quickly waved goodbye to Kuro and followed Keisatsu and Shiro out the door. I kind of regretted just leaving Kuro mid-conversation, but I didn't have time for idle chit-chat. There was no time to waste, even though we wasted a bunch of time trying to get Shiro's stuff to fit in the car.

*Ten minutes later*

Our next target was Monika, who I was surprised to learn lived in an apartment. It was a bit further into the city, but we still made it there in record time. Once again, we got out of the car and marched up to the huge apartment building in front of us, leaving Shiro in the car as we did.

It was your average apartment building, inside and out. Average exterior, average lobby, average everything else. Behind the counter stood a young woman, about twenty, with short brown hair and a tomboyish demeanor. Keisatsu and marched up to the receptionist.

"Excuse me, we're here to pick up Monika Kontororu." Keisatsu explained. The receptionist smiled, then pointed to the hallway on our right.

"You'll find her on that side of the building, floor 3, room 317." She told us.

"Thanks." I said, since Keisatsu had already rushed ahead. "Sorry, but we need to go quickly." The receptionist nodded in understanding, then waved me off as I followed Keisatsu.

He was standing in front of an elevator, waiting for it to open. It did just this as soon as I caught up to him, and we both stepped inside at the same time. I stood and faced the doorway as Keisatsu leaned over and pressed the 'floor three' button, then mirrored my pose.

"Men in Black up in this bitch, huh?" He joked. We chuckled, then rushed out as the elevator dinged and the doors flew open.

We rushed down the hallway, keeping a careful eye on the room numbers.

'311... 313... 315... There, 317!'

"There it is!" I announced.

I walked up to the door and knocked, probably more than I needed to. In fact, I was still knocking when Monika answered the door.

She looked... underprepared to say the least. Even though she looked awake and perfectly fine, there were no signs that she'd packed or done anything to prepare for the moving. In fact, even her expression showed the message of 'oh, shit'.

"Monika, why are you not prepared?!" I exclaimed. Then, without warning, she grabbed my arm and yanked me inside.

"Grab my laptop and everything around it." She ordered. "I'll grab anything in my room that I need. Keisatsu, stay here, just in case." She then closed the door, not giving anyone any time to respond.

Now that I was inside, I was able to see her apartment better. It mostly had light-blue walls with abstract paintings hanged here and there. It was your average apartment, with the main room being a living room and a small kitchen being attached. However, right next to the door, invisible to anyone looking inside, were a suitcase and a computer-carrying bag, both obviously full.

"Wait, I thought you said you weren't packed." I pointed at the two bags. Monika took a deep breath.

"I just wanted to talk to you in private." She whispered. "Now, about that thing you asked me earlier..." Despite my confusion, I was able to respond:

"Oh, right." I recalled. "Hey, why couldn't you tell me over text?"

"I didn't want to risk it." Monika instantly responded. I stared at her in confusion.

"Okay, that clears up nothing," I pointed out, "but we don't have much time. Anyway, just tell me why my thigh wound is gone, but my others aren't." Monika sighed deeply, as if I should've understood her reasoning, but answered me nonetheless.

"In addition to the abilities to enhance your strength and speed, your body will also heal itself faster." She explained. "However, it doesn't heal everything equally. Your more serious wounds will heal first, followed by your less serious wounds. It takes longer for serious wounds to heal, so that's why your gut wound is already healed." I did a double take.

Not thinking, I reached for the bottom of my shirt. Slowly raising it, I revealed the bandages that covered my supposedly-now-gone stab wound. I touched the bandages, and sure enough, no pain. I unraveled the bandages, revealing just plain skin. Surprised, I looked back at Monika.

"H-how did you know?" I asked her. She shrugged.

"Lucky guess." She admitted. "Anyway, take off your arm bandage." Her sudden order caught me off-guard.

"W-what?" I stuttered. Impatient, Monika reached forward and rolled up my right sleeve, revealing my arm bandage.

She unraveled the bandage, this one still hurting a bit. I was about to stop her, but then she finished taking it off, and I gasped.

The long cut was still there, but it wasn't 'fully there', if that makes sense. It looked like a mirage. As if it were just an illusion. I watched in awe as it slowly faded, and eventually disappeared, leaving bare skin behind.

All of my injuries were now gone, leaving me flabbergasted. I flexed my arm, shook my leg, and even twisted my torso. No pain. In just two days, the most serious physical wounds I'd ever sustained were already gone. I probably would've stayed there, standing in shock, if it weren't for Monika tapping my shoulder. I shook my head, clearing my mind.

"Come on, we need to go." She prompted, picking up her suitcase and computer bag. I nodded confidently, then joined her at the door.

*Five minutes later*

As we all packed into the car, Keisatsu drove off, going faster than he had been going before. He sped down the road with the siren on.

"Only one more pit-stop before going back." He stated.

"Wait, what?" I confusedly asked. "I thought we were just picking up Shiro and Monika." Keisatsu sighed, like he was preparing to disappoint a toddler.

"Even though the boys and I already did an investigation, we aren't completely sure we got everything." He explained. "We're going back to Hiran's house so you can maybe find something we didn't."

The thought made me shiver, and I was tossed into the recesses of my mind. I recalled the events of Sunday, and the horrors that I witnessed. Natsuki on the verge of death, immense pain from my fight with Hiran, and the knowledge that he wasn't even dead. I was scared, yes, but I had to do it. If I could find something at that crime scene, we could be able to get some sort of clue as to where Hiran was.

"O-okay." I affirmed. "L-let's do this..."

*Ten minutes later*

The former home of Hiran loomed over my soul as we stopped in front of the property. I stared out the window at the gate, the hole I had created still there. The door was, of course, still broken inward. Everything outside was the same, with the exception of some police tape strewn about. Despite the vacant look of the house, it still chilled me to the bone.

"Hey, you okay?" Keisatsu asked me. He put a hand on my shoulder, startling me and causing me to turn around.

He had a worried look on his face. The tough façade that he held up to be police chief was now absent, and he looked like nothing more than an old man, concerned for the health of someone else. I meekly nodded, doing my best to banish the memories.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I lied. "Let's just get this over with." I quickly got out of the car, slamming the door behind me.

As we made our way up to the house, I couldn't help but look at the barred window up on the second floor. I knew that window belonged to Natsuki's old room, and my fear was replaced with anger. It was funny how my fear of Hiran was overrun by my hatred of him for what he did to Natsuki so quickly, and my scared walk instantly changed to a confident march.

We reached the front door, a line of police tape held up across the empty doorway. Keisatsu held up the tape, allowing me to duck underneath and enter the house. He followed behind me as I stepped inside, and I took in the scene.

The hallway was lighter than it was before, most definitely due to the time of day. The sword display cases were still shattered and empty, the swords laying of the floor a bit further down the hall. The blades of both were still covered with blood, my blood on the gold-hilted sword, and Hiran's blood on the silver-hilted sword. So far, everything looked the same, so I walked a bit further in.

"So, notice anything weird, yet?" Keisatsu asked from behind me.

"No, not yet." I answered without turning around. "Most of the action took place in the kitchen and this hallway, so those are the most important areas to check." As I kept walking, I glanced into the living room on my right to find nothing out of the ordinary. Everything was the same as when I first saw it at first glance, so I didn't look any closer.

Walking into the kitchen, I took a moment to survey the surroundings. I hadn't taken notice of it my first visit, but I had just realized how strangely grandiose the kitchen was. It was something you'd expect Gordon Ramsey to cook in, which didn't seem to fit Hiran very well.

Nonetheless, I pushed onward and followed the trail of mine and Hiran's fight. I searched the entire kitchen, even places we never went near, and I still found nothing strange.

"Everything's the exact same." I stated. Keisatsu sighed.

"So, we have no leads?" He asked dejectedly. I shook my head.

"There's one last place I want to check." I told him. Without another word, I turned to the stairs on the left side of the room and climbed them, hoping that this final destination will give us any leads.

As I reached the top of the stairs, I entered another hallway. I walked a bit down the hallway, then turned and stopped in front of a specific door. It was pink, with childish flowers and hearts stuck to it. With anxiety and anger fighting in my mind, I opened the door and entered Natsuki's old room.

It was just as I left it, and that's to say, there wasn't much. All that decorated the room was a single white bed with no pillow or blankets and a barred open window. There probably wasn't anything in there, but I had to check everywhere. No stone could be left unturned.

"This was Natsuki's room?" Keisatsu asked, sounding short of breath. I nodded solemnly, but he said nothing more.

"There probably isn't anything in here, but I just wanted to make- what?" I stopped speaking as I saw something peeking out from beneath the bed. I don't know how I didn't notice it until that moment.

Rushing forward to the bed, I got onto my hands and knees and gazed under the bed. There, hiding under the bed, was a doll. It had pink hair, pink eyes, and a white tank top with a pink skirt. No doubt about it, this was a doll of Natsuki. I reached forward and grabbed it, pulling it out from under the bed. Keisatsu looked at me strangely.

"What's that?" He asked confusedly. I shrugged my shoulders.

"I'm not one-hundred percent sure, but it's obvious a doll of Nat." I said. "It's definitely not evidence, but I should still ask her about it." I pocketed the doll, its head sticking out the top of my pocket.

"So... there's no clues?" Keisatsu asked dejectedly. I solemnly shook my head, disappointed.

"Let's get back." I said. "The others are waiting for us." Keisatsu nodded in agreement, and we began making our way back.

We retraced our steps out of the room, down the stairs, and through the kitchen to the hallway. Before I could even tell, my brain was already telling me something was wrong. I put an arm out, stopping Keisatsu in his tracks. I scanned the hallway, until I saw it.

"The sword..." I muttered. Keisatsu followed my gaze and his eyes widened.

On the floor of the hallway, right where we had seen it not five minutes ago, the gold-hilted sword was missing. We ran forward at the same time and bent down, confirming its absence. We were stunned silent for a few moments.

"W-where did the sword go?!" Keisatsu exclaimed.

'It doesn't make sense!' I thought. 'We saw the sword here when we arrived, and now it's gone. The only way that this could've happened is if someone was... here... with us...'

The realization hit me like a truck. Suddenly, I felt a presence behind me, and an impending sense of danger. My instincts kicked in, and I grabbed the nearby silver-hilted sword. I stood up as quick as possible, and turned around, swinging the sword in a wide arc.

My blade connected with another, and I found the missing sword. It was being held by someone, and that someone was currently in a blade-lock with me. Keisatsu stood up in alarm and took in the view of this strange person along with me.

They were wearing completely black, like a cliché ninja/assassin. The only visible part of their body was their eyes, which displayed shock. They were completely covered in black clothing. It looked skin-tight, but padded at the same time, making their body type and gender impossible to discern, with boots and gloves to further cover their identity.

As soon as it was there, their shock quickly dissipated and they took action. They pushed my blade away and retreated to the kitchen. I rushed after them, Keisatsu following, but making sure to keep a decent distance away.

When I passed into the kitchen, all I could think was 'BLOCK' when I suddenly saw the gold-hilted sword swinging at me. I raised my sword, blocking another strike. I spun my blade in a corkscrew, pushing the person back. They recovered incredibly quickly and aimed a thrust at my head. I leaned to the right, dodging the sword, and swung my sword at theirs to knock it away once again.

I went on the offensive and swung in an overarching motion, which they easily blocked. Luckily, this was exactly what I was hoping for. Using the momentum from their block to my right, I spun around and made a small hop, swinging my blade quickly and hitting theirs even harder, knocking it further to my right.

I took this chance and swung upwards, creating a cut from their left hip to their right shoulder. It wasn't a deep cut, but it was enough to draw blood. They staggered back, and I spun my sword into the reverse grip. I lunged forward and knocked them into the counter, holding my sword up to their neck, and holding their sword hand down with my left hand. Their life was at my mercy.

"Who are you?!" I exclaimed, nothing else coming to mind. I heard a small laugh from the person, and a click from their left hand. It was at this moment that I realized that I fucked up.

They began to convulse, their eyes rolling back into their skull. They dropped the sword and I jumped back, startled. Falling onto the ground, they continued to convulse and spasm, until they eventually stopped moving altogether. I stood there in shock, but Keisatsu pushed past me and crouched down next to their body, looking at their left wrist.

Keisatsu grabbed their left sleeve and pulled it down, revealing a small pin embedded in their wrist. He stood back up, but didn't move after that, seeming to be lost in thought. By this point, my mind had just barely processed what happened. My instincts had been driving me during the fight, not allowing me any time to ponder the situation until after the fact.

"W-what happened?" I stuttered, still shook.

"They poisoned themselves." He stated. "When they were cornered, they pushed that supposedly-poisoned pin into their wrist to kill themselves. It must be a pretty powerful poison to kill someone that quickly."

Finally diverting his attention from the recently deceased person, he turned to the gold-hilted sword that now lay on the ground next to the body. He bent down and picked it up, turning to me and presenting it.

"Put both swords back in their scabbards for easier transport." He ordered. "We're bringing them with us." I wasn't sure I heard that right.

"Wait, what?" I was confused. Keisatsu put on a (somehow) more serious face.

"Guns are useful for self-defence, but sometimes they're not the best weapon in close combat." He explained. "That was some pretty impressive swordplay right there, and I trust you with these more than anyone." The information finally through my skull, I reached out and took the hilt of the sword, the handle feeling strangely comfortable and familiar in my hand. I had never used a sword before, so it was strange how well I did in a swordfight.

The possession of these two swords made me feel oddly powerful and at home, as if I were some character in a video game who'd just reached max level. For the first time that day, I felt confident in myself, and my ability to protect those around me. With a smile on my face, ignoring the strange events that just transpired, I turned around and began to sheath the swords in their respective scabbards.

"Huh... that's strange." I heard Keisatsu say to himself. I turned around to see him inspecting the dead body, looking at their right hand after taking the glove off.

"What is it?" I inquired. Keisatsu waved me over, and I leaned in close to see what he was looking at.

"Does this symbol mean anything to you?" He asked me as he pointed at the back of the hand. I looked closer, and saw a strange symbol tattooed, or something, onto the back of their right hand.

It was a circle with an arrow pointing upwards, almost like the male symbol. There was a similar symbol below it, this one pointing down. They were divided by a straight line, making it look humorously like a fraction. I shook my head in response to Keisatsu's question, and he sighed deeply.

"I'll have the boys look into it." He said. "Anyway, we should be off. With this new evidence, I think I might know how Hiran survived..." This statement of his created more questions than answers.

'What new evidence?' I thought. 'How would he know how he survived? Does it involve that strange symbol?'

I looked at him, waiting for him to continue, but he never did. It seemed like this talk was over, and it was time to leave. I stepped aside to allow him to pass by first, and I quickly followed him outside. I kept a strong hold on both swords, clutching them both to my chest like they would disappear if I dropped them.

The odder of the two things we found, the doll found under Natsuki's bed, still remained in my pocket, the head peeking out due to not fitting. This was my first time seeing any sort of doll relating to Natsuki, so I would be sure to ask her about it later.

As expected, I got a few strange looks from Monika and Shiro as I entered the car. Conversation started as soon as we were moving.

"So... what's with the swords?" Shiro asked. "Wait, scratch that. What's with the swords, AND the doll?" I turned my head to face them. Shiro had a look of confusion, but Monika seemed a bit shocked. Scared, even.

"W-why are you bringing those back?" She pointed at the swords, obviously remembering them from the fight with Hiran. My throat closed up when I noticed this, and it would've been difficult to answer had Keisatsu not intervened.

"We were jumped by some weird person wearing all black in there." He explained professionally. "There was a small scuffle, and they ended up killing themselves when Alex got the upper hand. We're bringing those swords for self-defence, because Alex was pretty good with them back there." There was some silence as they processed this information, then Shiro said at last:

"You had a sword duel?!" He inquired excitedly.

"THAT'S the part you're shocked about?!" I exclaimed. "Not the fact that some guy tried to kill us, looking like something out of Dishonored?!" Shiro opened his mouth to respond, but Monika put an arm out in front of him to cut into the conversation.

"I think we can all discuss this when we get back." She stated. "However, I have one question: Why do you have a doll that looks like Natsuki sitting in your pocket?"

"I found it under Nat's bed." I explained. "Other than the actual bed, it was the only thing in there." Monika thought for a moment, then nodded in affirmation, content with the explanation.

I turned back ahead, the conversation now over. We continued to speed down the road, the houses and people shooting by as we drove. I began to feel anxious. Not because of what happened, but because of what it could entail in the future.

*Ten minutes later*

We finally arrived in front of Mc's house, the first thing I noticed being that there was a car in the driveway. It was the car that Ishi and Mc had taken to pick up Tiffany and Yuri, so I was reassured that they were safe.

With a sigh of relief, I began to climb out of the car. All throughout this, I refused to let go of the swords. It wasn't voluntary, and I probably didn't even realize that I was clutching them so tightly, but I just didn't want to let go of them. For some reason, I felt safe, or even powerful when I had them. And, to protect Natsuki and everyone else, I needed to be powerful.

Anyway, we all eventually got out of the car, Shiro and Monika carrying their stuff with them as they did. It was quite a funny image, comparing how much each was carrying. Monika held only a single suitcase and computer bag, while Shiro held three full duffel bags. If someone were to pick them out of a crowd, they'd instantly know which one was the more professional one.

As we walked up to Mc's house, my attention was taken by a flash of movement from one of the upstairs windows. I snapped my gaze to it, but only saw a closed curtain.

'Probably just one of them acting as lookout.' I concluded mentally.

We reached the door, and Keisatsu grabbed his keys to unlock it. For some reason, I had a sudden feeling of anxiety, as if I, or WE, were being watched. I looked around frantically, trying to find the source of this strange feeling, but to no avail. I was snapped from my stupor by the sound of the door unlocking.

"Alright, after you." Keisatsu stepped aside as the door swung open, allowing us entry. Monika and I went in first, her probably having the same feeling of being watched as me, judging by her quick movement.

"Ah, dammit." I heard Shiro say behind me as we entered.

I turned around to see him stuck in the doorway, his three duffel bags held at his sides making him too wide to fit. Despite his words, a playful smile remained plastered on his face, and he lightly chuckled at the absurdity of the situation.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Keisatsu exclaimed from outside. It was at this moment that I noticed Shiro was blocking his entry, making him stuck outside. Of course, at that moment, there was something to distract us from that situation.

"You're back!" I heard a voice call from behind me. I turned around and saw Natsuki at the end of the hall, smiling happily.

There was a comical 'POP' sound effect from behind me that signified Shiro's escape from the confines of the doorway, but that was only in the background as I looked at Natsuki, who's expression had now changed to one of shock and confusion as she noticed the swords in my hands.

"Alex... why did you bring those?" She asked quietly. I sighed deeply, the scared tone in her voice hurting me emotionally.

"Something... happened while we were out." I answered. "Keisatsu took me to your old house to investigate further, and we were attacked by someone. We decided to take the swords with us, since Keisatsu thought I was pretty good with them when I used them in defence." The negative expression never left Natsuki's face, but it brightened a little after my explanation.

"Hey, welcome back!" I heard Mc joke as he came up from behind Natsuki. "Yuri told us that she saw you out there, so we came here to confirm it." It was starting to sound like this house was some sort of bunker, which honestly wasn't that far off from its current purpose. Nonetheless, I was happy to know that movement I saw in the upper window was Yuri, and not someone else.

"There's a lot to talk about." Keisatsu cut in, finally able to fit past Shiro in the tight corridor. "Once everyone's situated, I want everyone to meet me in the living room." He lumbered past the rest of us, seeming quite serious about these plans.

We all looked at each other, then nodded in agreement at this plan.

*Ten minutes later*

As it turned out, the others who got there before us hadn't even STARTED packing for some reason. I don't know why, but I assumed it was because of how anxious they were about our return.

Mc, Natsuki, and I were helping Yuri, Tiffany, and Shiro unpack. It wasn't necessary to help Sayori and Monika unpack, since they would be sleeping in the living room together on the couch-bed. Tiffany and Shiro would be sleeping in the guest rooms, and Yuri would be sleeping with Mc in his room. Pretty basic stuff.

Anyway, for the actual unpacking, Mc was helping Yuri, Natsuki was helping Shiro, and I was helping Tiffany. I wasn't complaining, since out of those three, Tiffany was the one who I wanted to talk to the most.

"Hey, Tiff..." I began as we unpacked her stuff into the room.

"Yeah?" She responded.

"How have you been doing ever since Sunday?" I asked. The room went silent, and the tension increased.

We all reacted to that night differently. I was happy to have Natsuki back, Natsuki was happy to finally be safe, and Monika was relieved that we managed to save Natsuki. The only person who didn't seem to acknowledge the event positively was Tiffany, and it wasn't hard to see why.

"I... don't know." She answered at last. "I'm happy that you and Natsu are okay, but... I just... don't know."

To most people, that answer wouldn't mean much. But as someone who had gone through it before, I knew that she felt scared. In my time before coming here, I felt constantly scared about the concept of losing those around me, and that was the exact thing I said whenever I was asked how I felt about the terrorist attack that took the lives of my friends.

"Tiff, you're scared, aren't you." It was more of a statement than a question. When Tiffany didn't respond, I turned around to view her.

She was facing away, holding a box that she'd brought from home. She began to shake, then a quiet sob escaped her mouth. She dropped the box, which hit the floor with a loud 'THUMP'. She fell to her knees, sobbing quietly into her hands. I quickly stopped what I was doing and rushed over, slowly putting my hand on her shoulder from behind.

"H-how could I n-not be s-scared?" She quietly asked between sobs. "With everything that's happened so quickly in the past few days..." She suddenly turned around and planted her hands tightly on my shoulders, tears streaming down her face. "I just don't want to lose all of you!"

She threw her arms around me and clung to me tightly, sobbing into my shoulder. I stared straight ahead, shocked by her sudden emotional breakdown. I slowly brought my hand up and rested it on her back, reassuring her in her crying state. Her sobs eventually died down, and I was able to speak:

"Tiff, I know how you feel." I told her. "I know that feeling of powerlessness and the worry of losing the people you love. And since no one was there to tell it to me, I'm here to tell it to you: I promise you that everyone will be fine. No matter how bad it gets, as long as we're there for each other, everything will always get better."

We stayed there like that for a few minutes longer, her sobs now ceased, but her breathing slow and sad. Everyone has their limit, and it seemed like Tiffany's was almost reached. Eventually, she lifted her head and looked me in the eyes, a small smile on her face.

"Ever since I came here, I'd been looked down on by so many people." She lamented. "I'm so glad I met you all. Alex... thank you." I smiled back, her kind words reaching their way into my heart.

Neither of us wanted to, but we had to eventually get up and get back to work unpacking Tiffany's stuff. Despite this, the feeling of sadness in the room had completely disappeared, replaced with a soft reassurance of hope. And, if Danganronpa taught me anything, it was that hope can beat any despair.

*Ten minutes later*

"Is that it?" I asked as I placed the final book in the bookcase.

The boxes had seemed endless. Whenever I thought we were close to done, another box was revealed. It wasn't much work, but it felt oddly grueling. Tiffany had brought many strange things in addition to her normal belongings, like paintings and sport equipment. I didn't question it, though, as I assumed it was sentimental.

"Yup, that should be it." Tiffany confirmed from across the room. I stood up from my uncomfortable crouching position, but then paused as I noticed something on the desk at the foot of the bed. Or rather, I noticed a few things.

There were trophies on the desk, obviously brought there by Tiffany, as I had not seen them before. They were clearly sports trophies, sculptures of sport-related things adorning the tops of each one. I took a few steps towards them so I could make out the engraved messages on the bases.

"1st place: Tiffany Edwards?" I read aloud, coincidentally gaining the attention of Tiffany. She walked up from behind and stood beside me, a proud smile planted on her face.

"Impressed?" She asked. "I may not look like it, but I'm pretty big on sports!"

I looked at the other trophies, and they were all first-place awards. They ranged from football, to soccer, to even hockey. There were twelve in total.

It was this point that I concluded that I should just throw everything I thought I knew about DDLC out the window and stop assuming everything would be the same, because it clearly wasn't. With this new information in mind, I turned to Tiffany.

"Impressive." I complimented her. "I didn't expect this kind of thing from you." Tiffany nodded to me.

"I've recently been a bit more focused on my grades." She admitted. "That, and our school doesn't have an open spot on the team, so..." I nodded understandingly, then heard someone clear their throat from the doorway. We both turned around to find Natsuki standing there.

"If you two are done, could you maybe come to the living room?" She reminded us. "We're kind of all waiting on you."

"Alright, we're on our way." Tiffany agreed. "Come on, Alex." She walked forward and waved me along, but something about Natsuki confused me. She was looking at something. At my pocket.

I followed her gaze to my left pocket, which still held the small Natsuki doll that I'd found at her old house. I'd completely forgotten about it and was a bit surprised that she didn't notice it earlier. She rushed forward and grabbed the doll from my pocket, holding it up and looking at it intently.

"W-where did you find this?" She asked after a while.

"Keisatsu and I found it under your old bed when we investigated your old house." I explained, careful not to mention the name 'Hiran'.

Natsuki stood there, speechless for an uncomfortable amount of time. Then, suddenly, she surged forward and encompassed me in a tight hug to rival Sayori, shocking me as speechless as her. She kept a hold on the doll of herself, not letting go as she held me. She was crying tears of joy, although I didn't understand why.

"Uh... what's going on here?" Tiffany asked, confused. "What's with the doll, Natsu?" Natsuki was unresponsive to her question, and made it seem like she was explaining of her own volition:

"Alex, you have no idea how happy this makes me." She told me softly. "This doll was... the last birthday gift I ever got from my mother before she died... thank you." I couldn't really imagine getting that happy over a doll, but sentimental value was very strong when it involved dead loved ones, which was exactly the case with the money I inherited.

"Well, I'm glad I could help, Nat." I ruffled her hair. She looked up at me, trying to look annoyed at that action, but couldn't bring herself to do it.

The wide smile remained on her face with no sign of disappearing, and it was then that Tiffany was forced to crash the moment.

"I know you two have a lot going on right now, but..." Tiffany pointed to the doorway, reminding us of the fact that Keisatsu wanted to speak with us all. We reluctantly let go of each other and started towards the door.

As we were unpacking Tiffany's things, I had propped the two swords up against the doorway so they wouldn't be in the way as we worked. As we left, I grabbed them back into my hands, feeling safe once again.

*Five minutes later*

"So, now that we're all here, I'd like to talk about something relating to the survival of 'You Know Who'." Keisatsu started. Natsuki shivered a bit in response, so I held her a bit closer to calm her down.

"Now, Alex, how do YOU think he could've survived?" He continued, looking at me intensely.

'What? Me?' I thought. 'Why me?'

Despite the sudden prompt, I delved into the back reaches of my mind in hopes to find an answer.

"Well... he got stabbed in the chest, close to, if not in, his heart." I recalled. "I read somewhere that someone can survive an injury like that for about five minutes, which wouldn't be enough time for him to do anything to save himself. So... I don't know." Keisatsu sighed in response.

"Think about what you just said." He prompted. "There wouldn't be enough time for HIM to save himself." I thought he'd continue, but I was unfortunately wrong. Suddenly, I had a revelation.

'Wait... HE couldn't have done anything.' I thought. 'But what if...'

"Are you suggesting he had help?" I deduced. Keisatsu pointed at me, giving me a 'you got it' gesture.

"Precisely." He confirmed. "In addition, I believe that it has something to do with the person who attacked us today. You see, I did some research on the strange symbol that we found on their left wrist, but it all came up empty. Despite this, it was found that the symbol was similar to other symbols that represented famous cults back in the day."

"So, you're suggesting that he's a member of a cult?" Mc cut in. Keisatsu held up a hand, silencing him.

"Maybe, but maybe not." He responded. "We can't be sure he was always a member of this cult, or that he was even a member of the cult to begin with. However, he was a proud man who believed himself to be better than those around him, which is a trait often found in cult members."

'How the hell does he know all this stuff?' I wondered.

"Furthermore, Alex, wouldn't you say it makes sense for a cult member to be so quick to kill themselves in a bad situation?" He questioned. "The person we encountered today probably killed themselves so they wouldn't give away any information."

Thinking about this, it all made sense. However, it was Tiffany who cut in and brought up a fair point:

"But this is all theory." She mentioned. "What makes you think he survived at all? He could've just crawled a little ways away from the house somehow and died there." She had a good point, up until that second and third sentence.

"My team and I did a full search of the surrounding area up to two kilometres away, and we found no hints that he had died." Keisatsu responded. "Anyway, that's all the information we have for now."

"Um... I have a question..." Sayori muttered. "How will this affect our school attendance?" It was a random question, but an important one. Keisatsu sighed deeply.

"Due to the highly-crowded streets during the day, we thought it best to allow you to walk to and from school normally, although there will be a few undercover police officers keeping an eye on you throughout your journeys." He answered. "Now, will that be all?" No one said anything.

"Okay, that will be it."

*One hour later*

I found myself in Mc's backyard with the two swords. I was swinging them around, trying to get a good feel for how I'd fight with them. I thought about any sort of weapons my opponent would have, how they'd use them, and different tactics to deal with them. I quickly found out I'd be able to combine my ability to enhance my strength and speed with them to fight faster, eventually making me able to literally slice a leaf in half in midair.

Now, up until now, I realize I haven't described Mc's backyard. And holy hell, it was beautiful. It was basically your old, cliché Japanese backyard with a pond, cherry blossom tree, and a small Japanese garden. It was cliché, but I was always a fan of the aesthetic, so I wasn't complaining.

"Are you training, or just having fun?" I heard a voice from behind me ask. I spun around faster than was necessary and found myself face-to-face with Monika. I sighed in relief that it was only her.

"Don't scare me like that." I ordered. Monika giggled at my frustration.

"If you say so." She walked around me and took in the scene of the backyard. "It's quite beautiful, isn't it?" I walked up next to her.

"Yeah." I agreed, looking up at the cherry blossom tree. "I've always loved the look of Japanese gardens. Something about the tranquility and beauty just resonates with me." Monika again giggled, then sighed happily.

"I realise we haven't really had a chance to talk normally ever since you came here." She pointed out. "So, anything you'd like to talk about?" It was a strange request, but then again, I could see why she was asking it.

"It's weird how the two of us know so much more than the others." I lamented. "You brought me here to help you save the others, but do you have any plans to tell them that?" Monika pondered this question for a moment.

"I've told them before in other dimensions, but it always freaks them out whenever I told them." She answered. "Even if they didn't, I don't really see any point in telling them at the moment."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." I agreed. "So, what are your plans now?" Monika turned to me with a smile.

"Live." She responded simply. I nodded.

"Yeah, that's a good plan." I joked. Both of us laughed, and I felt relief.

Monika was confident in her future, and I wanted to do my best to follow her trail. Even if we were in mortal danger because of Hiran, I felt hope that we would make it through this. I was sure this wasn't the end of our troubles, but that didn't mean it was the end of our happiness either. Our future wouldn't die. My friends wouldn't die. I... wouldn't die.

Not This Time...

End of Chapter 9