(Warning: This chapter contains spoilers for DDLC: A Brand-New Day.)
Chapter 12: The Truth
"H-hello?" I called out. "Is... is anyone there?"
I was in a black void, completely blank in all directions. I didn't know how I got there, nor did I know where I was spatially. The complete and infinite darkness made it difficult to get an idea of where I was.
'Where... am I?' I wondered. 'What is this place?'
I gazed into the darkness, searching for something. Anything that existed. It felt like an eternity of searching, but I finally saw it. A human figure, off in the distance. I was too far away to identify any of their features, but they gave off a strange faint glow.
I started to sprint towards them, essentially throwing myself through the air as I bounded as fast as I could towards the figure. Suddenly, another figure appeared, standing next to the first one. I picked up the pace as a third figure joined in.
This continued for what felt like hours. Whenever I felt like I was getting close, another figure appeared, and I immediately found myself further away. That is... until there were six figures.
Once a sixth figure joined the group, time seemed to speed up as I rocketed towards them at speeds not previously known to me. As I finally got within a few meters, the figures became clear, and I stopped in my tracks, tears in my eyes.
"W-wha... y-you're..." I couldn't even speak.
Standing in front of me, looking exactly how they were when I last saw them, were my old family and friends. They each looked at me judgingly, a detail that I couldn't even process at the time. All I could do was stare on in shock and horror. They weren't in one piece, either. They all had serious injuries, exactly the same ones they had in their last moments of life.
I looked between them all, taking in the horrifying, yet oddly mystical scene. There was a tense silence hanging in the air. As time went on, blood seeped through their various injuries and pooled around their feet. Finally, after what felt like a substantial amount of time, I felt something.
It started out as a minor ache, but almost immediately exploded into excruciating pain along my entire right arm. I fell to a knee and clutched my arm in pain, unable to even see straight. I closed my eyes as tightly as I could and waited for the pain to dull.
Then, suddenly, my eyes were forced open without my control, and my attention was focused back on the others in front of me. However, there were no longer six people there. There were five.
Kyle was missing.
As soon as I noticed this, another pain exploded across my entire body, but this one was different than the one previous. Instead of a stinging pain, it felt like my whole body was being crushed underneath a great weight. I screamed out in pain, but I couldn't move. All I could do was stare straight ahead at those who used to be alive.
Eventually, through all the pain, I took notice that another person had disappeared. Aurora was now gone, despite me never having seen her leave. It was almost like she faded into the background, like an extra in a movie.
I wasn't able to make any sense of this as things went on, due to my body continually being racked with pain. Next, James disappeared, leaving me with a stinging pain in the middle of my chest. Then my parents, whom I was left with multiple bullet points of pain throughout my abdomen.
Finally, there was one. My sister, Caitlyn. I couldn't move, breathe, or even think through all the pain. A quick look at my own body proved there was no damage to speak of, but my nerves were firing off so powerfully it was almost like they were trying to destroy themselves.
I waited for Caitlyn to leave, stifling constant screams, but she never did. She just stood there, staring at me with that dead look in her eyes. It was almost like she was mildly amused at my suffering. Nothing made sense to me, up until she finally did something.
She suddenly started to take slow, deliberate steps towards me. The pace was slow enough, but the pain I felt made those few seconds feel even longer. Finally, she stood directly in front of me, needing to look directly down in order to see me properly.
"You... could have... saved us." Was all she said. I was confused.
"W-what... are you talking... about...?" I rasped through the pain.
Then, suddenly, I felt a tight force apply itself around my neck, cutting of my breath. I brought my hands up to my throat, but there was nothing I could do. As I stared up at my dead sister, things began to fade away. My top half fell over, and I was left powerless on the floor.
I felt a cold darkness envelop me as I slowly drifted away...
…
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"..k. u."
"W..e .p"
"Wake up."
I slowly came to, the strange voice wrapping itself around me. It felt as if it were supporting me, controlling my very being to help me up off the ground. I let it move me, although I didn't actually have a choice in the matter.
Eventually, I found myself sitting on the 'ground' of the infinite void once more, looking up at an unfamiliar woman. I did my best to re-orient myself to my surroundings, then studied the strange woman in more detail.
They looked to be in their early thirties, age lines present in their face, but not very prominent. They had long, brown hair and piercing green eyes, almost reminding me of Monika in a way. They wore a pair of rectangular, black glasses and a full black suit, further cementing the 'professional' air about them.
They looked down at me with an analytical stare, studying me intently. I almost felt uncomfortable, like an animal in a zoo cage. Then, unexpectedly, she put on a warm smile and extended a hand.
"Hello there, Alex." She casually greeted. I did a double take at the mention of my name, not understanding how this woman knew me.
Cautiously, I reached up and took her hand. She pulled me up to my feet, letting go of my hand once she was sure I could stand on my own. A million questions spun around my head, but only one made its way down to my mouth.
"Who... are you?" I asked. The woman smiled but didn't answer my question.
"I can't tell you that yet." She answered, looking off to the side. "It's too soon."
"Okay..." This lady was really starting to confuse me. "Where are we?"
"Again, you're not prepared for that information yet." She replied. I was beginning to get frustrated just talking to her.
"Are there any questions of mine that you CAN answer?" I complained. The woman turned back to me.
"They will remember." She said suddenly. My annoyance vaporized and was replaced with yet more confusion.
"What do you mean?" I questioned. The woman giggled.
"You asked me if I could answer any of your questions." She explained. "One of the possible questions you could've asked was 'what will the final cross-sight event be?', so I answered it." My eyes went wide.
"Wait, what?" I blurted out. Just as I finished that sentence, a splitting headache ripped through my skull, making me fall to my knees in pain and hold my head in my hands in hopes to dull the pain. Before long, images began to materialize in my mind.
Natsuki entering my room, immediately falling to her knees and clutching her head and stomach. Monika stumbling down the hall into my room holding her head. Mc doubled over in the hallway, clutching his head tightly in his hands. Sayori holding the golden sword up to her neck in the living room. Yuri in the kitchen holding a knife against her gut.
"Oh, SHIT!" I exclaimed once the images faded alongside the headache.
"You should probably get back to your own world." The woman pointed out professionally. "We will talk again at a later date. You have much more pressing issues on your hands right now. Farewell."
With no answers and only questions, the woman began to fade as I lost consciousness once more...
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...
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I woke up suddenly and clearly. I was immediately aware of everything, a strange feeling to have right away in the morning. Quickly sitting bolt upright, a quick look at my alarm clock showed it to be around 7:30 am. I tried to think of what I'd just experienced, but despite the starting clarity, a strange ringing in my ears prevented me from doing so.
'Wait... ringing?' I began to focus on the ringing, my expression turning to one of fear as I realized what the ringing actually was.
Screams echoed throughout the house, my ears having perceived them as just another background sound up until that moment. I was able to pick them out as Mc, Monika, Sayori, Yuri, and Natsuki. I barely had any time to think before my body leaped into action.
I rapidly leapt out of bed and threw my glasses on, leaving my watch behind for the time being. I turned and sprinted towards the door, but before I could even make it halfway, the door burst open and in came Natsuki. She looked scared out of her mind with tears in her eyes, one hand holding her head while the other reached out to me.
In an instant, she rushed over to me and reached around me, gripping me in a desperate hug. She damn near clawed my back, only further proving how scared she was. Concerned, I knelt down a bit and softly returned the gesture, calming her down slightly.
"Nat... what happened?" I softly whispered, desperately hoping that vision wasn't real.
"W-what j-just h-happened?" She was still a bit catatonic. "M-Monika... she... m-manipulated us... t-then s-she..." I firmly placed my hands on Natsuki's shoulders to stop her there.
"Natsuki, listen to me." I said. "Monika has changed. No matter what you may remember, she is still our friend. I promise you." I looked her directly in the eyes, a look of confusion appearing in them.
"A-Alex... w-who are you?" She asked. "H-how could you know that Monika is-"
"Alex!" Monika suddenly burst into the doorway, clutching her head as she stumbled over her own feet. Natsuki yelped and clung closer to me.
"Monika, are you okay?" I asked concernedly.
"I'm fine." Monika answered, leaning against the doorway for support. "But the others are barely holding on. Their minds can't handle the sudden jolt." I took a moment to think.
"What do we do?" I inquired, unable to think of anything else to say.
"...We tell them." Monika told me after a moment of hesitation. I was a bit shocked.
"But Monika, are you sure? You told me that the last time you did that-"
"There's no other choice." She interrupted me. "If we don't explain everything they remembered, they'll go insane!" With a quick nod, I shook Natsuki off and took a step forward.
"Everything will be fine, Nat." I reassured her as I left the room.
I followed Monika out of my room. She held her palm against the side of her head, the cross-sight event taking a toll on her mind. Before we could even get two steps towards the stairs, however, we heard a bang from behind us.
We both turned around to see Mc bursting out of his room, his stumbling suggesting he was also suffering from the memories. Without missing a beat, Monika turned around and ran to his doubled-over form to begin helping him up.
However, as soon as Mc looked up and saw her, he immediately slapped her hand away and fell backward. He had a look of terror and anger in his eyes. I already knew where this was going, so I rushed over to help.
"Y-you killed them!" Mc screamed at Monika. "You killed them all!"
Meanwhile, Monika retained a somber and guilt-filled expression, not reacting at all to Mc's accusations. His continued screaming didn't cease at all when stood next to Monika, either. It was like he was ignoring me altogether.
"Mc, calm down." I said firmly. "Monika is not your enemy." This only seemed to set Mc off more.
"What the fuck are you talking about?!" He screamed. "She killed Sayori! She killed Yuri! She killed Natsuki! How can you say that she's not my enemy?!"
"Because she's been trying to save them for years!" I snapped, startling Mc. "Now, I'd suggest that you get a-fucking-hold of yourself and focus before Sayori and Yuri die!" Even my eyes went wide when I said that. It wasn't until that moment that I had actually processed that part of the vision.
"W-what?" A voice uttered from our left as the nearest guest room door opened.
We all turned to said door as Tiffany emerged, tears in the corners of her eyes. A set of footsteps from behind also caught our attention, bringing the emergence of Ishi into the situation as well.
"Alex, what are you talking about?" Ishi questioned. "What do you mean, Sayori and Yuri will die?" She maintained a look of professionalism, but clear signs of worry bled through. With a deep breath, I returned my head to face forward and closed my eyes.
"You probably won't believe me when I say this, but..." I hesitated before explaining. "Mc, Monika, Sayori, Yuri, Natsuki, and Tiffany have been caught in a loop, I guess you could say, for quite a long time now. What you are remembering are the memories of all those loops. Sayori and Yuri have died more times than anyone else here, so they probably won't be able to withstand remembering all this. Do you understand?"
There was a short pause, one which I had no more patience for. Without waiting for any longer than three seconds, I turned around and bolted down the hall, pushing my way past Ishi and almost falling down the stairs. A quick look behind me confirmed that Monika was following me.
"You save Sayori, I'll take care of Yuri, got it?" I planned. Monika nodded, and we split off as we reached the bottom of the stairs.
I made a straight bolt towards the kitchen, gasping as I entered, despite having already known the signs. Yuri stood at the counter, holding a kitchen knife towards her chest, prepared to stab herself. I had flashbacks to when she tried this back in the hallway a while back, so I quickly dashed over and grabbed the knife handle before she could do anything.
"Yuri! Snap out of it!" I yelled. Yuri turned to me, a crazed look in her eyes.
"Just let go." She responded sadly. "I can't take any more of this."
Her surprising tone almost made me let go of the knife handle. It was so incredibly sad and somber. It was like both of her personalities had combined into one, her yandere personality enhancing the negative points of her dandere one.
"Yuri, I know what you're going through right now, but doing this will only make things worse." I told her. Yuri suddenly took on an angry expression.
"You don't know what I'm going through!" She replied angrily. "So many deaths! So many losses! Don't you DARE tell me you've experienced the same!"
Her personalities were out of control. Not only that, but she was just as strong as she was the last time this happened. Meaning she was still just as difficult to overpower. If I could just find an edge...
'That's it!' I thought. 'The memories!'
It was a crazy idea. A stupid one as well. If I could somehow exploit the memories she was remembering, I could probably get her to back down. At the time, there was only one thing I could think of. One event from one mod that I knew would work, and this is where the stupid idea comes into play.
I transitioned my grip on the knife from the handle to the blade.
'Ow! FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK!'
The pain was unbearable, but I pushed through. The memory that I was trying to exploit was from a mod I used to play all the time: A Brand-New Day. If Yuri truly remembered everything, then she was bound to remember that time Mc cut himself on her knife to stop her from killing herself.
"What are you doing?!" Yuri asked. I winced in pain.
"Yuri... if you really... remember everything..." I spoke between breaths. "Then you should... remember when Mc... did this... to save you..." There was a change in Yuri's expression.
"How... how do you know that?!" Yuri demanded. It was quite difficult to answer that whilst I was currently being cut, but that didn't stop me.
"I've known you... for a long time..." I grunted. "Much longer... than you've known me..."
"W-what?" Yuri was starting to sound confused, proving that my plan was working.
"Where I come from... the Literature Club... is famous..." It was getting increasingly hard to hold the knife, so I was trying to get things wrapped up. "There are people... out there... who've seen... what you... just saw. I am one... of those people..." Yuri's expression continued into mild surprise as her grip on the knife slightly loosened.
"I... don't understand..." Yuri was starting to cry, a detail that seemed to surprise even her.
"You don't need... to understand... yet, Yuri..." I tried my best to smile. "Just... let go... and let me... handle the rest..."
Yuri's crying intensified by quite a bit, tears streaming down her cheeks constantly. She was no longer pulling the knife towards her, like she had completely forgot it was there. Meanwhile, I continued to smile at her reassuringly.
Finally, she let go of the knife and fell to her knees. I grabbed the knife by the handle with my left hand and released the blade from my right. The cut was moderately deep, but not life-threatening as long as I got medical attention. I placed the blood-covered knife on the kitchen table to my left and turned my attention back to Yuri.
She was on her hands and knees facing me, tears dripping down off her chin and cheeks and pooling on the floor beneath her. It was a sight that made me completely forget about my bleeding hand. I kneeled down in front of Yuri, startling her into looking up.
"Alex, I..." She appeared to be on the verge of breaking down. "I'm so sorry..." She closed her eyes and continued sobbing, feeling guilty about the previous scuffle.
"There's nothing for you to be sorry about, Yuri." I rested my undamaged hand on her shoulder, slightly surprising her. "If Mc forgave you the first time this happened, then there's no reason why I wouldn't do the same."
Yuri looked up at me with tear-filled eyes. A small, thankful smile slowly crawled along her mouth, reassuring me that she was okay. I saw her gaze shift to behind me, to which I promptly turned around. There, at the entrance to the kitchen, Mc, Natsuki, Tiffany, and Ishi stared on in shock.
"Hey, guys." I greeted them casually. "How long have you been standing there?" I stood up, trying to keep a straight face while battling the intense worry inside me.
"S-since you grabbed the knife blade." Ishi responded, thrown off by my nonchalance.
"Alex..." Mc stepped forward. "How did you know about that?" He had a suspicious look on his face.
"If I told you now, you wouldn't believe me." I sighed. "I'd rather explain that with Monika."
There was a sudden, tense silence at the name. The others who remembered clearly didn't trust her yet, and the ones who didn't remember were probably just going along. It was a difficult situation to be in, especially when Monika suddenly stepped into the kitchen from the living room, Sayori standing next to her.
"Oh, there you are." I turned to them. "I see everything went alri-" I suddenly stopped when I saw her sorrow-filled expression, aimed at the others.
A quick scan of the area confirmed the situation. Everyone stared at Monika with a suspicious (in the case of Mc, hate-filled) expression, whereas Monika looked back with guilt. Sayori had a sad expression, staring at the floor. It almost felt like years had passed before someone said something.
"I understand that you may not trust me right now," Monika started, "but I truly don't want anyone else to get hurt-"
"I don't want to fucking hear it!" Mc snapped. "I've watched you kill everyone in this room so many goddamn times! If you really think that I'm going to just take your word for it, then you're wrong!" The air in the room suddenly felt ten times heavier, so I felt it necessary to step in.
"Then what about my word?" I inquired. "If you don't believe Monika, then believe me. She's not your enemy." Mc was practically fuming.
"HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT WHEN-" Mc was suddenly cut off.
"Enough!" Ishi ordered, stopping everything in the kitchen. "We are going nowhere if we continue like this. Alex is injured, Monika is being accused, and NO ONE is making any progress towards resolving any of these issues!"
The sudden rant shocked everyone in the room, including myself. I never knew Ishi could be so forceful with her words.
Eventually, after a few seconds of conversing, we made up a plan of healing my wound, then all meeting in the living room so Monika and I could explain everything. Mc, who was still oddly angry, objected to this plan for some reason. We were able to calm him down somewhat with a promise that Monika would be in the same room as everyone else so as to keep multiple pairs of eyes on her.
Ishi, Natsuki, and I went back upstairs to the bathroom while everyone else filed into the living room. As our groups parted, Monika turned around and gave me one last desperate smile before Mc urged her forward.
We walked down the hallway in silence. A silence filled with suspicion and worry. Natsuki kept glancing at me from the corner of her eye, as if I would make some sort of move at any time. She was clearly being cautious of me, a thought that very much scared me.
We finally reached the end of the hall, turning to the right into the bathroom. I sat down as Ishi got the medical supplies out of the medicine cabinet and Natsuki sat on a nearby stool. She continued looking at me with that wary gaze. I looked back, and she looked away.
"Nat-" I tried to speak to her but was interrupted.
"Don't." She cut me off. "It's not that I don't trust you. I just... don't know what to think right now."
Those words nearly cut my heart in half, even if they weren't meant to.
*Five minutes later*
Our group of three entered the living room, a new bandage now on my right hand. We took our seats, but there was something off about everything.
Ishi sat in her normal chair, but Natsuki, Mc, Yuri, and Tiffany all sat across from Sayori, Monika, and I. They kept their suspicious gazes locked on Monika, but I could feel the looks pass onto myself from time to time. The sorrow look on Sayori's face suggested she felt the same.
"So..." Mc started. "What the hell ARE you?" It was a strange question to start off with, but an understandable one.
"The same as you." Monika answered simply. "A person."
I was surprised by how she was holding herself together, but the small shaking of her hands made it clear she was barely holding on.
"Okay, then..." Mc grumbled frustratedly. "WHO are you?"
"The same person I introduced myself as. Monika Kontororu." Monika responded.
"You know what? Fuck it." Mc said. "Explain everything that's going on, and don't try anything." Mc wasn't even trying to hide his frustration. Monika took a deep breath.
"A while ago, I went insane with loneliness and killed off my friends so I could be with you." A tear fell out of Monika's eye, but that was the only crack in her composure. "After being destroyed myself by you, I was released from the grips of madness and realised what I'd just done. I've since been spending all my time on trying to save you all."
"BULLSHIT!" Mc banged his fist on the coffee table. "I remember what you did! We ALL remember what you did! Who here would just take your word for it?!"
"Me." I cut in. "I would take her word for it."
Mc looked at me with an incredulous expression. That feeling transitioned to everyone else in the room besides Monika and myself. Mc seemed like he couldn't even believe what I'd just said, so it took quite a while for him to form a coherent response.
"W-why would YOU take her word for it?" Mc exclaimed. "What has she done that would prove her claim?!"
"Because I've been helping her with it this entire goddamn time!" I suddenly yelled.
The tension in the room shifted all at once from hostility to surprise. Mc seemed to sink back into the couch as he tried to process what I'd just said. No one said something for a while, up until Mc finally got a hold of the information.
"B-but why?" Mc stuttered. "But why would she get YOUR help? You're a friend of mine from Canada! Why would you be the one she goes to for help?!" I almost cringed at the fact that I was about to break his and Sayori's hearts.
"Because me being a friend from your childhood was just a cover story." I blurted out, making Mc's and Sayori's eyes go wide. "Your memories of me are fake. They're not real. The first time I met you personally was when I woke up here on Tuesday."
There was a long silence, like when the power goes out at a concert. Mc looked at me in disbelief. I couldn't meet his eyes no matter how hard I tried. A quick look at Monika showed that she was just as shocked as Mc that I just let that information out. I could feel eyes all around me, which made it feel like hell until someone finally spoke.
"Alex..." Natsuki whimpered. "Who are you?"
The topic of conversation changed just like that. The suspicion on Monika was wiped clear as everyone focused on me. I looked around at everyone else, all having the same expression. They were scared. Scared that I wasn't the person I was thought to be this entire time.
With this in mind, I took a deep breath and began to tell them everything.
"My name is Alex, I am eighteen years old, and I'm from Canada. That much is true." I explained, looking down. "However, I'm not just some transfer student. In my world, you all exist as characters inside a psychological horror/visual novel video game called 'Doki Doki Literature Club'. The game itself just so happens to match up exactly with what happened... back then. You all know what I'm talking about."
There was a stunned silence following the sudden bomb of information. Everyone was clearly in disbelief but couldn't find any reason to not believe me. As crazy as it probably sounded to them all, there was no reason for me to lie at this point.
"That's... crazy." Mc, however, was still trying to deny it. "There's no way that's possible!"
"If that's not possible, then how do you explain how I knew everything about you all?!" I stood up, confusing some of the people in the room. "Explain to me how I knew about Sayori's depression and attempted suicide! Explain to me how I knew about Yuri's cutting!" I turned to look at Natsuki. "And tell me how I knew about Natsuki's abuse..."
A shocked silence permeated the air as I finished my rant. Mc's expression showed that he'd far given up at this point. There was no doubt now that what I was claiming was true. I slowly sat back down and waited for someone to respond.
"So... you're from another world?" Ishi asked incredulously. I didn't expect her to be the first one to speak up.
"...Yeah, I am." I answered. "But that's not what's important right now. Didn't you all want to question Monika?"
I felt like kind of a dick for pushing the focus all on Monika, but at that point, my personal feelings were overriding my will to care. Everything was being revealed, and it was only a matter of time before I had to talk about THAT.
I shivered at the thought.
"Er... right." Mc leaned forward, thrown off by how casually I let this information out. "So, Monika... you really are just trying to save us?"
"Yes, I am." Monika answered, oddly weakly. "However, this isn't the first time. I've watched you all die countless times. I've failed to save you all before, and if it weren't for Alex, I'm fairly certain we wouldn't all be alive to have this conversation."
There was yet another long silence. Understandable, considering how much was just explained in such short time.
"S-so... t-that's it?" Tiffany questioned. "W-we're just going to accept this and go on with our day? Monika has watched us all die, Alex is from another dimension, and we're just going to stop there?"
"No." Natsuki suddenly said. "We're not done here."
It wasn't a commanding tone, but it may as well have been. Everyone turned their heads to Natsuki. She stared at me, a strange look of worry in her eyes. It wasn't caused by any physical thing, but a feeling of tense anticipation found its way inside of me. Like I was approaching a boss halfway through a video game.
"Alex... what will you do after all this is over?" Natsuki inquired, small tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "Will... will you just go back to your own world once we're all safe?"
The air in the room seemed to drop temperature drastically. Everyone's expressions became solemn and worry-filled, same as Natsuki's. It was a question that I'd thought of many times, but always came to the same conclusion on:
"No, I'm staying here." I answered, my eyes down. "There's nothing back there for me, anyway..."
The disbelief in the room was practically tangible. Everyone, excluding Monika, were shocked by my words. Despite not knowing specifically why I said this, the heaviness of my words was enough to give them a good idea. I was a person who'd experienced serious loss, and my tone proved it.
"Alex, are you talking about-" Sayori started, but I interrupted.
"Yes, but there's more." I'd only ever told Sayori about my sister's death, so even she was mostly in the dark. "I... need to go grab something. I'll be right back."
I stood up without waiting for a response and left the living room. The trip to my room felt too short, probably because I only wanted to delay the inevitable. I opened up my bedside drawer and reached inside, pulling out the two framed photographs of my family and friends.
A tear fell onto one of them as I turned around and went back, the journey once again feeling much too short. I entered the living room again and sat down in the same spot, feeling concerned eyes all around me. I held up the two photographs for everyone to see.
"Do you see these photos?" I asked, to which everyone nodded hesitantly. "Well, everyone in them is dead."
My arm holding the photographs fell to my lap, as did my gaze. I felt disconnected after admitting this, so I couldn't tell the reactions.
"Two years ago, there was this attack on my school." I explained sadly. "A group of terrorists had planted a bunch of bombs everywhere, which caused the school to collapse. None of my friends survived."
I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Monika's. I promptly brushed it away.
"Two months ago, my parents were murdered by a robber in a convenience store. The culprits were never arrested." I continued. "And just two weeks after that... I found out my sister hanged herself in her room..."
There was complete silence afterwards. Everyone was too shocked to comment. Meanwhile, I continued to be deaf to the world. The memories of the events popped into my mind and my breathing quickened.
The images of the dead bodies piled themselves into my mind one after another, pounding their way deeper and deeper into my consciousness. I was never able to save even a single one of them, so what was the point of continuing to try? Nothing mattered to me anymore. Nothing was important. Nothing-
I felt a soft hand lightly grip my shoulder. The images slowly got dimmer and dimmer, until they eventually just disappeared. I opened my eyes back up and looked straight forward. Natsuki was there, holding my shoulder and giving me a reassuring smile.
"N-Nat..." Was all I could muster to say. Fortunately, Natsuki didn't need me to say anything else.
"Everything will be fine, Alex." She said, leaning in closer and pulling me into a light hug. "We're here for you. You don't need to be alone."
I felt a torrent of tears falling out of my eyes, like a floodgate opened and just let an ocean's worth of water free. I began to openly cry, returning the hug and burying my face into Natsuki's shoulder. It wasn't a flattering scene, yes, but I didn't care.
Natsuki rubbed the back of my head as she comforted me with kind words. It was at that very moment that something finally clicked. I wasn't all that different from anyone there. I had my own mental weaknesses, same as all of them. I didn't have to rely on only myself to get further.
"Nat... thank you..." I thanked her.
"Don't even need it." She joked. "Just let it all out."
And so I did. I cried. I cried out all the tears my eyes could produce, taking my fears with them. Each tear was filled with all the sadness and loss I'd sustained over the past two years. As each tear dripped down, it took these feelings with them. Natsuki's voice... Natsuki's touch...
It gave me hope.
Seconds passed. Then minutes. I don't know how long I cried, but it was long enough that my eyes ran out of tears to cry. My cheeks finally running dry, I lightly pulled away and looked into Natsuki's eyes. Those beautiful, pink eyes that I fell in love with. With all the loss I'd gone through, I found myself briefly wondering whether things were better to turn out this way for me.
Natsuki gave me a small, cheery smile. I found myself unable to resist mirroring it.
"Ahem." Mc cleared his throat. "A-anyway..." Natsuki and I looked at Mc, who was blushing slightly. I suddenly realised that the situation had gotten slightly uncomfortable.
"O-oh, right." Natsuki blushed slightly, then sat down to my left.
There was a short silence as everyone thought of what to say next. The amount they just learned about me far outnumbered how much they knew about me before. It was probably really confusing for them.
"The poem..." Yuri mumbled. "That's what the poem was about, wasn't it?"
It took me a moment to understand what she meant, then I remembered the poem I wrote for the school festival:
"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."
I recited the poem perfectly, surprising myself with how accurately I could remember it. I slowly turned back to Yuri to say my response.
"Yeah, that's what it's about." I nodded. "If it weren't for Monika, I wouldn't be standing here now."
There was a short silence before Mc stood up suddenly. He turned to face Monika with closed eyes, then bowed low in apology.
"I'm sorry for accusing you so harshly." He apologized. "Please forgive me."
It was a gesture I wouldn't have expected from Mc, but it made sense in context. I didn't know all that much about Japanese courtesy, but I'd seen this done in Japanese media.
"You don't need to apologize, Mc." Monika laughed. "It all worked out in the end."
Mc gave her a strange look, then slowly straightened back up and sat back down again.
"After learning how much Monika has done for all us, I honestly don't think I could doubt anything you guys say." He said. I saw an opportunity to lighten the mood and confuse Mc.
"Your name stands for 'Main Character'." I blurted out jokingly. Mc turned to me with wide eyes.
"I... hate how much sense that makes." He muttered, earning a laugh from everyone.
"How about you change it to McDonald McDouglas McDougle?" Sayori joked, although I couldn't actually tell whether that was a joke or not.
"I hate that even more." Mc replied, earning another set of laughs.
Once the laughter died down, I was hit with a torrent of questions about my own dimension. There unfortunately wasn't much I could say, as most basic facts about the world were the same, but it was nice to finally have all that stress off my shoulders. I was having a surprising amount of fun just talking, and I soon lost track of time.
*Two hours later*
"-and that's why I'm able to communicate with you all." I finished.
"It's quite strange to think that you perceive us as speaking English, but we perceive you as speaking Japanese." Yuri pondered. "This is something beyond merely changing the way your brain thinks, as your lips are clearly mouthing that of English to you but are mouthing that of Japanese to us. It's almost as if your physical form we see is merely a projection of your true body, and your true body is hidden from us on another level of existence..." Yuri looked deep in thought, not noticing the strange stares coming from everyone around her.
Suddenly, a 'ding' sound resonated through the air. I looked around in confusion, not knowing what it was. Mc stood up.
"That was the doorbell." He said. Well, that answered my question.
"It must be Keisatsu, right?" I asked. "Where's he been all this time, anyway?"
"We've been wondering that ourselves." Ishi answered grimly. "He should've been back by the time we all woke up."
There was a long, tense silence as Ishi left those words hanging in the air. We looked amongst ourselves, waiting for something to happen.
"Wouldn't he have come inside by now?" Tiffany questioned. "I mean, he has the key, right?"
"Something's wrong..." Ishi muttered.
After a few more seconds of silence, we all jumped at the sound of a loud "BANG" against the front door. It sounded like someone had just thrown their entire body weight against it, so we were all quickly on guard. However, no more sounds rang out.
"I'll go check it out." I said, standing up. Natsuki grabbed my hand.
"Alex..." She whimpered.
I turned around and looked at her. She had a desperate expression on her face. I'd become so accustomed to this more friendly, fragile version of Natsuki. The look she had was giving me a feeling of worry and guilt.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine." I reassured her. "I'll bring the swords."
This seemed to calm her down to the point of letting my arm go.
"Be careful." Mc told me as I walked over to the back of the room to grab the swords. I gave him an affirmative nod.
I picked up both swords and quickly left the room, everyone for some reason trailing behind me. I walked down the hallway, carefully watching the door for any sign of movement. My walking turned into smaller steps, which turned into tiptoeing.
Finally, I stood in front of the door. Unsheathing the silver sword and passing the gold one to the side, I slowly reached for the door. My hand grew closer... closer... closer to the doorknob. I heard quiet sounds of unease behind me.
I rested my hand on the doorknob.
I gripped my fingers around it.
I prepped my muscles to move.
The doorknob slowly turned.
And the door slowly opened up to reveal...
"WHUMP"
I jumped back in surprise as a body flopped inside, pushing the door inward faster than I'd anticipated. However, no muscles on the body moved. It had landed on the floor very roughly, surprising me for a moment before I could study it.
It was wearing a blue-white flannel shirt with blue jeans. It was blonde, with no facial features visible due to it being face-down. He also had a satchel clutched in its left hand, clearly having been very important for him. I noticed all that before I noticed the blood.
Out of his back was a small hole leaking blood. Most likely a bullet wound. He wasn't dead, as he was still breathing. He only passed out from blood loss, explaining the loud bang we heard earlier. The panic of seeing his injury and not knowing how close he was to death worried me, so I quickly reached down and turned him over.
I jumped back in surprise, as did everyone else, as we saw his face.
"W-what?" Monika stuttered, as confused as me.
"It's... him?" Mc.
"It... it can't be." Sayori.
"Why would he be...?" Tiffany.
"This does not make any sense..." Yuri.
"What's going on?" Ishi.
"I-I d-don't understand..." Natsuki.
Meanwhile, I was speechless. Everything that we'd known about the person now laying on the floor made no sense. I didn't have the power to form even a single coherent word. All my mind could comprehend was the identity of the person. My lips moved to form a word. The only word I could think of. The identity of the body:
"O-Okane?"
End of Chapter 12