Tridon walked through his neighborhood several days after the incident. Tridon didn't walk with anyone and just walked alone. He had left his phone and wallet at home and decided to take a stroll around the area. He just walked aimlessly without a known destination.
However, nobody knew he was doing this and it was a school day. So by the time classes ended, Sayori could only worry for Tridon. She decided to find the other 3 girls and find out if they had seen him.
Sayori noticed Monika leaving the school and stopped her before she left, "Monika!" She called out.
"Oh. Sayori." She stopped and turned while Sayori ran up to her winded, "Uh..."
"Wait a second..." Sayori took a deep breath and finally asked, "Have you seen Tridon today?"
"No." She responded, "I don't have any classes with him. I would think that you would've see him today."
"I haven't seen once today. He told me that he was walking to school alone. The thing is: I haven't seen him all day!"
"Sayori..."
"Oh no. What if the government got a hold of his powers?! What if they kidnapped. Or worse, someone took his nametage and used it in a bank robbery."
"Sayori. Wait, why would he have a nametag?" Monika held a blank expression while Sayori kept listing scenarios.
"If they think he did the robbery, he was arrested!" In Sayori's mind, this is what went down.
"Alright nobody move!" A masked man kicked open the doors to a bank. On his chest was Tridon's nametag, "This is a bank robbery! Attica!"
Sayori stiffened up and proceeded to faint, "He's innocent I tell ya'..." Sayori fell back, but was caught by Yuri, "Yuri!"
"Why is Sayori fainting?" Yuri asked.
"Tridon wasn't at school today." Monika answered.
"What?!" Yuri yelled, "Tridon's gone missing?!"
"No." Monika retorted, "He just didn't show up." However, while saying this, Yuri was off with Sayori and wearing a military hat.
"Alright, I'll go search uptown. Gold Team, that's you Sayori, you search downtown. Any questions?"
Sayori stared at her and cheered, "Gold Team rules!"
"Why are those two acting out Spongebob?" Natsuki asked while walking up to them.
"Tridon didn't show up to school today."
"Oh, I saw him earlier today." Natsuki answered.
"You did?!" Sayori and Yuri pushed Monika away asking her in unison, "Where'd you see him?!"
"He told me he was skipping school to clear his mind." She responded, "He didn't wanna tell Sayori the truth because he knew she would follow him."
"Yeah I can believe that." Yuri and Monika agreed.
"Oh shut up." Sayori retorted, "What else did he say?"
"He said he'll be back tomorrow. He's just walking to clear his mind."
"Why is that?" Monika wondered, "It's been a while since the club has met and I doubt he's used his powers since then. So why is he walking to clear his mind?"
Sayori tapped her head and nodded, "Girls, there's something I gotta tell you." Sayori sighed and shook her head, "I don't know if it still bugs him, but I think it's time I finally tell you about his relationship with Erica." The girls looked at each other and nodded.
The girls sat at their usual spot for club meetings while Sayori fidgeted a little, "I'm sorry girls, but I'm very nervous to tell this story." Sayori closed her eyes and felt someone place a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see Monika smiling warmly at her.
"Sayori, take your time. If it's hard for you to tell..."
"No," Sayori interrupted, "I have to." Sayori took a deep breath began, "Tridon and Erica started dating before high school started. So they dated before the school year began."
"Was it love at first sight or?" Yuri asked.
"Yeah. Those two had eyes for each other the minute they met." Sayori smiled and hugged her knees, "I saw it in his eyes that he was bent on being hers forever and it seemed that way. Until 2nd year that is."
"What happened?" Monika wondered, "It must've messed with him a bit for him to act that way when he sees or thinks about her."
"Their relationship started to take a nosedive. Not on Tridon's end, but with Erica. For some reason, she started to demand more from him." Sayori shook her head and sighed, "She told him to put her before anything else. She was trying to be manipulative and have him right under her finger."
"Why would she do that?!" Natsuki yelled, "I hate manipulative bi-."
"Natsuki," Monika interrupted, "the story is T-Rated."
"Damn it. I forgot..."
"A-Anyway, nobody knew why she was treating him like a dog. Until she came up to me..."
-2 years ago-
"Sayori," Erica walked up to Sayori while she was at her desk, "can I talk to you?"
"Sure thing." The two stood outside with Sayori asking, "What's wrong Erica?"
"Sayori, I know you've seen how I've been treating Tridon recently, right?"
"Well, it's not hard to miss."
"I'm doing it so that he can break up with me."
"What?!" Sayori yelled causing Erica to cover her mouth. She said while muffled, "Why do you want him to break up with you?"
"You know that I come from a rich family, right?"
"Yeah?"
By the way, her family is hella rich. Like, corporate people rich. CEO rich!
Sayori!
Right, sorry.
"Well, they arranged a marriage with some other guy that I can't get out of. They want me to break up with Tridon, but I don't want him to be heartbroken from an abrupt break up. My heart just can't..."
"I understand." Sayori reassured Erica by hugging her, "Trust me, it would kill me to see him heartbroken, but your parents are jerks. Ahem... gotta remain PG-13." Sayori mumbled, "But why don't you just tell him your situation?"
"You know he won't listen when I tell him not to do anything. In fact, if I tell him not to do anything, he's gonna do something."
Yeah that sounds like him.
"Yeah." Sayori looked at the floor and nodded, "Tell him you're leaving the school."
"What?"
"Well, I'm assuming your parents are gonna make you move in with him and attend another school, so that means you won't be able to see him anymore."
"Yeah?"
"Geez you're pretty dumb..." Sayori mumbled, "You tell him you're moving away and the break up will be mutual. Neither party is gonna experience being hurt... long term. They're gonna be hurt for a little bit, but the long term hurt won't remain."
"Okay. I understand."
"But don't do it over dinner or something like that. You have to do it one on one."
"Right..."
-Present-
"And she told him that?" Natsuki questioned.
"Yup. However, I was wrong about the long term hurt. Erica seems to have gotten over it, but Tridon..."
"Obviously hasn't." Monika finished, "They must've had the most perfect relationship ever."
"Yeah. They were destined for one another."
"So wait," Yuri interrupted, "does Tridon still hopes to be with her? Judging by her reasoning to break up with him..."
"Then seeing her the other week has him believe that he can still be with her." Sayori finished, "He told me that exactly 2 days after the story incident. So I don't know who he loves now. The fact that Erica is probably within walking distance and the fact that..."
"Wait Sayori." Monika quickly interrupted, "Say that again."
"That again." She repeated.
"No what you said before..."
"No what you said before..."
"Sayori! He's going to find Erica's house!"
Sayori stared blankly at Monika for a second before her eyes started widening, "Oh no!"
Tridon continued walking until he approached a lavish neighborhood. He looked around for a second before walking down the street.
Sayori, Monika, Natsuki, and Yuri ran non-stop until they reached the same neighborhood, "I know where she moved to. I kept in contact with her until the beginning of this school year." They stopped in the neighborhood and took a good look around, "She lives in a 2-Story house."
"2-Story house." They took one good look around to see multiple 2-Story houses, "Well this'll be easy..." Monika groaned, "Well, we have to find a house with Tridon in front of it."
"Found him." Natsuki stated, "Over there." She pointed over to one the house where Tridon stood in front of it, "You were right Monika. That was easy."
"Oh come on." Sayori pulled the girls over to a nearby tree and spied on him, "Let's just listen and see what goes down."
Tridon stood outside for a short second before ringing the doorbell. He tapped his foot and fidgeted his hands in his pockets. Once the door opened, he sighed and said, "Is Erica home?"
"Yes." A man just slightly older him answered, "Who are you?"
"I'm an old friend from her old school."
"Oh right. You're Tridon." The man nodded and turned round, "Erica, a friend is here for you!" He walked away while Erica walked towards the door.
She noticed Tridon and smiled, "Tridon. It's so great to see you." Erica looked around and appeared confused, "Those other 4 aren't with you?"
"No. I skipped school today to get here."
"Tridon, you can't skip. It's your last year in school."
"I know. I just wanted to give myself some closure."
"Closure?"
Tridon looked past Erica to see the man watching them, "So that's who your parents made you marry, huh?"
"Y-Yeah..."
"Well, I hope he's treating you right." Tridon looked down and said, "For the last 2 years, I still held those feelings and the hurt of losing you. I thought I would be able to cope with it since it was mutual, but I couldn't."
"Tridon..."
"No. I just thought that someday that we could be together again, but I think the minute I joined that club, I eventually started to get over you. Then I saw you that day." Tridon shook his head and looked around the neighborhood, "It messed with me. The fact that you were still an arms length away made me think that maybe, just maybe I would finally be able to be with you again."
"I'm guessing you knew about our marriage?"
"Eventually. Even before I saw you again that day. I knew you were married to some other guy and that was the reason you had to move away." Tridon scratched the back of his head and smiled, "But don't worry. I'm ready to accept your new, happy life. That's all I wanted. For you to be happy."
"Tridon," Erica choked up, "I'm so sorry."
"It's okay. I'm honest. Spending time with those 4 helped me get over our relationship. Trust me. I miss our relationship. I really do, but I know now that I needed to finally get over it." Tridon looked at the tree the girls were hiding behind from the corner of his eyes and smiled wider, "I just wanted some closure."
"Well, I hope we can still be friends though. I miss the times when we used to hang out."
"Of course we can." Tridon stuffed his hands in his pocket and whistled, "So uh..."
"Hey," Erica softly started, "I don't have any plans this weekend and my husband will be out of town. Why don't we hang out like we used to?"
"I'd like that." Tridon answered, "So this weekend?"
"Yup."
"Sweet. Well, I'll see ya' then." Tridon waved Erica off who watched him walk away. Tridon waited until Erica closed her door before turning to the tree. He snapped his fingers and a football landed in his hands. He threw the ball at the tree inciting a yelp from it, "Get away from the tree girls."
They stepped out looking at him with heads held low, "So what's the sitch between you and Erica?" Sayori asked, "We heard that you were finally over her."
"You bet. I just wanted to have that closure. I realized that I only wanted her to be happy. Even if I'm the one not giving her that happiness."
"That's uh..."
"Look, it took a long time to find this house." Tridon began, "I just wanna get home and be done today."
"Yeah." Sayori agreed, "Let's all go home. Together."
A/N: Sorry for short chapter. Nothing much was planned for this chapter other than Tridon's backstory with Erica. The next few chapters will feature more on-offs with the Dokis. Next chapter will be a tutor session with Yuri where we get to learn about the maths. Then Natsuki about history and Sayori. Monika doesn't need a tutor, but I know for sure she would want a study date with Tridon, but that will come at a later date. Also, for those wondering if a festival arc will come well... maybe. Yeah, I'll have to do a festival arc. The thing is that I haven't written out the plot for that arc. Just bear with me as a Festival Arc is coming. Just be patient my friends. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I hope to see all of you in the next chapter!
