Returning to where Sayori is, she's in the middle of devouring my curry bread; I guess it has gotten cold by now.
"Oh you're back!"
"Sorry, Sayori, I had a few things to do after class."
Natsuki hops forward and apologises to Sayori with a white lie for an excuse, though I suppose there's no reason to tell Sayori what actually happened.
"Oh, like running errands for a teacher?"
I sit down for a bit and just like this morning, Natsuki chooses to stand. I mean there may be class after this as well, but its lunch time. A time to relax from the long, boring classes we had for the past few hours.
"Not going to have a seat, Natsuki?"
"I'll stand. We have classes after this anyways."
I figured.
"Well if that's the case then you can have the last bread in the bag. You haven't had the chance to eat yet, have you?"
Taking the last out, it's fittingly strawberry jam which compliments her everyday milk.
"Y-You don't have to, I mean, I'm saving up for later on..."
Holding her stomach as though it were about to grumble, she looks away from the bread I hold out to her. I guess strawberry flavoured food is one of her favourites given how hard she's holding back.
"Later on? Oh, that reminds me. It's Friday, wanna go somewhere after school? I mean if it's all right skipping clubs for the day."
"After school? Mm, I'm okay with that, it sounds like fun and club activities are paused without Monika here after all.~ How about you, Natsuki?"
"Eh? But if we're not going to our club then I...-"
Having trouble deciding, it's not like I'm forcing her to attend but I'm sure it'd be more fun with her around.
"Ehhh?~ Come on, Nat-chan! It'd be fun.~"
"N-Nat-cha... I-I told you not to call me that..."
With a mischievous smile, I could already tell she has Natsuki in the palm of her hand. Sort of like a certain Tiger.
"Heehee, if you come, I won't call you Nat-chan anymore.~"
A clever trap.
"You're really playing this way, Sayori? Hahh... Fine, I accept."
"Yay!~ With that it's decided, so where are we going, Yuki?~"
Given a moment to think; I more or less spoke without thinking as I'm not too sure where it'd be comfortable for us to hang around at after school.
"How about the cafe? You know, the one close to the arcade and batting cages?"
"Hmm... Oh, that one!~ I always wanted to go there, but... it's always busy with adults and other students from different schools."
It does become rather intimidating with students from different schools visiting the same cafe.
"Yeah it's a little daunting, but cheap food and good service is what draws people in. The food itself is not that bad also."
"And here I thought we'd be going to a fast food outlet or an arcade... or some shady place. A café sounds good to me, so we just wait by the school gate? I don't know the way there."
"Sure, you okay with that, Sayori?"
"Mm! I'm so excited that I don't think I'd be able to go through next class.~"
With both her arms pumped, I'm glad she's enthusiastic about it but it's another thing if it affects her studies.
"A-ahh... at least make it look like you're paying attention. You don't want chalks thrown around; the other kids will laugh at you."
"Oh, then I'll be sure to have the proficiency to dodge if that's the case!"
There's no saving this situation.
...
After meeting up at the gate, we proceeded towards the cafe. The moment we got here the place already had several groups of students hanging out and a few adults in their downtime.
"Wow... there's actually more to a cafe than I originally thought..."
"So you don't come here with Yuki a lot, Sayori?"
Sayori kneels and examines the displayed treats whilst I scan the menu above.
"Nope, since the beginning of high school we rarely did hang out after the last bell. We sometimes did, but very rarely."
"Hmm... I see. Well you two decide. I'll find us a table."
Leaving us to it, it doesn't look like Natsuki's interested in the menu or eating anything really. Maybe she had higher expectations, but I thought she'd at least take some time in looking through what the cafe has to offer.
"O-Oh, right thanks. See anything you like, Sayori?"
"Hmm... I'm stuck between this fruit tart and this chocolate cake..."
Having trouble deciding, it really seems like she wants the two.
"Why not get them both?"
"E-Ehhh? But I don't have enough for it."
Restraining her urges, it seems Sayori's not only trying her best to fight off her depression but her desires too. I mean its good practice for when we get older, and I do hear you can get food poisoning from eating way too much.
I signal the cashier as I quickly make my decision.
"Would you like to make an order?"
"Ah yes, one fruit tart, one chocolate cake and two parfaits."
"Y-Yuki, umm just the chocolate cake is-"
"It's all right."
With a smile, I don't think now's the time to hold back. With the school week finish, we have the weekends to look forward to. Just thinking about it is hyping me up.
"I'll take half of the fruit tart and you can have some of my parfait as well if you want."
"O-Oh, okay.~ Ehee, thank you, Yuki.~"
Paying for the food, I take a quick check for the table number for the cashier as we then head over to Natsuki.
"Thanks for getting us a table."
Sitting down, Natsuki takes the seat beside Sayori as I sit in front of them.
"Meh, it's the least I could do. If all the tables were taken we'd have to find some other place."
She's surprisingly sitting down after choosing not to for the past two opportunities.
"Heehee, if that were to happen we could go to the park.~ Oh, speaking of park, they're renewing the play equipment there. I've always wanted a really good swing set there. I wonder if they're going to do it."
Seeing her speak so enthusiastically over the equipment at the park, it's nice that they're doing it; however, I'm not too sure on whether or not it'd be centered for kids rather than teenagers. I mean sure, parks are for everyone to enjoy but some are specifically designed for children to play in.
"Oh really? That's nice. I was always afraid of the chain breaking if I were ever on one. If I remember one thing I enjoyed it was simply climbing on to the equipment itself from all possible angles, or simply running up long slides without falling."
With nostalgia seeping in, we have a good laugh about it as realised we haven't left much room for Natsuki to join in.
"How about you, Natsuki? Was there anything that you enjoyed playing on the most?"
"M-Me? No way, I never played on those childish things..."
"Oh…"
Thinking about it is rather childish now, but back then it was rather enjoyable.
"Well thinking about it now is rather silly, I remember getting irritated sometimes when Sayori told me it's too dangerous to climb onto the roof of the main equipment set."
"B-But it was dangerous! Even your parents said the same thing!"
"Yeah, well I'm just glad I never fell and broke something. The bravery and athleticism I had when I was a child is long gone sadly."
"I wouldn't call that bravery... but I really can't see you do any physical activities at all, Yuki."
With a smirk, Natsuki rests her child against her hand and actively waits for a retort.
"Whilst I do prefer lounging about at home, I enjoy the idea of sports too, like baseball, volley ball!"
"...The idea of sports? Doesn't that mean you don't enjoy the physical part of it?"
I can't believe I let it slip.
"N-Not really, but t-teamwork, working together, y'know isn't that exciting, r-right, Sayori?"
I look to Sayori as she takes a moment to think about it.
"Ehee, when we were little, Yuki loved running and I always thought he'd join the track team. But when we started high school, the times I saw Yuki run grew less and less. Now, whenever our class does joint sports, he'd always end up slow jogging rather than running."
It's not like I had much to go with, if anything I enjoyed running simply because it made people notice me. It felt rather exciting having people say you're talented at something. But then you suddenly realise you're not as special as you initially thought and it really kills your spirit. Though it didn't hurt all too much as I soon found my one true interest.
"Hmm, Yuki liked running that much? I guess I could see that much... didn't he kick down your down?"
"L-Let's not talk about that..."
Laughing the situation off, the waiter comes with our food as I present the other parfait to Natsuki.
"W-Wait, I didn't order anything."
"Well you didn't but I did. I mean if you're here you may as well try the parfaits out."
"Y-Yeah but I didn't want to eat-"
"Just accept his generosity, Natsuki.~ It's a free parfait!"
Sayori cuts through the smooth tip of the chocolate cake slice with her fork and takes a bite. I recall the slice being really rich with a slight bitterness to cut through the sweetness. What a heavenly expression she has there.
"I-I'm not concerned for Yuki's pocket change at all! I just don't eat much and-..."
With her real desires being obvious to the eye, it's rather cute to how much she's resisting the temptation.
"Well if you don't want it then-"
I lean in to grab the parfait from her, and as expected she slides it away from my grasp.
"N-No... I'll take it! B-But don't get me wrong, It's not like I want it or anything, or care about your generosity. There's a rule that you can't have more than one parfait..."
"..."
It took me a moment to realise that she's directly quoting from one of the girls from Parfait girls. Minori was her name? Come to think of it, when we were reading the manga together, her eyes did light up every time she got her own scene.
"R-Right... Anyways, Sayori could I have some of the-"
Placing her fork down against the empty plate, she wipes her lips with a serviette.
"Ahhh... that was so nice, so rich and yet…~ It wish it was a bit bigger so I could- ...Hm? O-Oh, did you want some, Yuki?"
The cake slice disappeared before I knew it as I at least wanted to savour a small bite.
"N-No... Just a bit of the fruit tart."
"Oh, ehee.~ Let's see... you like a bit more of the base, right? Here you go."
Crumbing a bit of the outer shell on to a piece, she forks it over to me as though she's planning to feed me.
"S-Sayori, I can get it myself..."
Feeling my face redden, it's like Sayori doesn't understand the situation of being in a cafe. No, I'm sure anywhere with people would be just as much embarrassing, especially with Natsuki here.
"Oh? This is interesting, are you going to take a bite?"
Natsuki simply accepts it as she takes from bites from her parfait, enjoying the front row seats of the situation.
"O-Of course not, I'm-"
"If you don't take it now, I'm going to eat it all.~"
Sayori, that wasn't part of the deal!
"F-Fine..."
With a gulp, I close my eyes and bite down against it.
"Aww, how cute, aren't you two hitting it off.~"
"Sh-Shut up, Natsuki..."
With the sweet taste of the fruit tart in my mouth, the bitterness of the situation took over as I couldn't enjoy it as much as I wanted to.
"Heehee, now some for you also, Natsuki.~"
"W-What!? I-I never agreed to this!"
...
After being defeated by Sayori's secret technique, we continue chatting for a while as Natsuki brings up the book she borrowed from me. She critiqued it as overall enjoyable, however unrealistic as she said there's no way royalty would ever adopt a child from an orphanage. I found the book bittersweet but I never did try thinking about it realistically. She seemed awfully passionate about voicing her opinion.
And so, after we returned each other's books, we exit the cafe as a peculiar sound suddenly interests Sayori.
"Umm... What's that sound? Can you hear it; it's like a ting sound."
"Hmm... can't hear anything like that. Though, it might be the batting cages just near here. Want to check it out?"
With another last minute decision made by me, I ask them if they'd want to check it out.
"Batting cages… like baseball? Okay, it sounds interesting, the ting sounds really nice, heehee.~ Though... Natsuki, you have to be home soon, right?"
Taking into consideration that Natsuki always seems to be in a rush to get back home, she takes a moment to decide in silence.
"..."
She doesn't voice her thoughts; however it appears she accepted as she makes her way towards the batting cages.
"I take that as a yes?"
Sayori nods as though to answer as we follow Natsuki's lead. Up the stairs, she was already through the door as I could already feel my legs starting to ache trying to keep up with her. The complex is larger than I initially thought as the cool air conditioning feels quite welcoming.
Taking in the surroundings, we head towards the receptionist as its very clear to him that it's our first time here. And so, after going through the rules and tips, he recommends the cage on the far right which is designed for beginners.
"You're not going to give it a go, Sayori? It's not much but I can spare some for you to at least get a go."
"No no, ehee, I'm not really that interested in trying it myself, but I do want to see you and Natsuki play."
"Well, suit yourself... I don't know what I can do in my condition but."
"Come on, Yuki, you can't just use that as an excuse."
Natsuki steps in all geared up and ready to take the first try.
"You look all ready to go. Have you done this sort of thing before?
"Hmm? Oh no, not really. But it doesn't seem all that hard, just hit the ball as it comes, right? Can't be that hard."
Adjusting her helmet, she taps the tip of her shoe against the ground and loosens up her shoulders. If anything the helmet looks a little too big for her.
"Uwaa, Natsuki looks so cuuute. Cuter than usual! Can I take a picture?!"
"H-Hey, not so fast, Sayori! I'm not doing this so- Y-You're seriously taking pictures anyways?!"
Despite opposing the idea of getting her picture taken, Sayori simply listens to her own desires. It becomes quite a ruckus as I'm glad no one else is here to be disturbed by two high school girls messing about. And yet, why do I feel a strange sense of fulfillment just watching them?
...
It took quite a while as Natsuki soon accepts the situation she's given and allows Sayori to take a proper picture. But of course she didn't look at the camera; I sort of wanted at least one picture to capture this moment. Perhaps I could ask Sayori later when Natsuki's not around; she'd say all kinds of outrageous things...
"All right, I'll go in first."
Taking her position in the cage, it looks like she has the form right, though I can't say that with confidence. If you manage to strike a home run, you'll receive a prize; though we don't know what it is exactly.
"Go go, Natsuki!~ You can do it!"
With deep breaths, the first pitch was a little faster than I anticipated as Natsuki missed the ball. Though she doesn't let it get to her as she readies for the next.
"Ehh..."
At first, Sayori and I cheered her on as we hoped she'd at least enjoy her time. However, after the first it seems she's more or less releasing steam as she puts full force into swinging her bat. Some balls even reached the ceiling as I began feeling a little afraid that she'd injure herself.
And soon enough it appears she did; with her bat falling to the floor, she immediately clutches her left thigh and staggers.
"H-Hey Natsuki, are you all right?!"
Halting the pitches, we rush in to the cage as Natsuki desperately tells us there's nothing to be concerned about. But as her brow furrows, we could tell that she is without a doubt injured in some way.
"I-I'm fine, I just felt a little jolt is all... Like don't you guys ever get that from nowhere?"
"...Sure but... you're bleeding..."
The moment she removed pressure against her thigh, blood started dripping from her leg. During her time in the batting cage, there's no way she got injured enough to bleed. I don't recall any balls hitting her, nor did I ever see her bump into anything on the way here. So why is she bleeding?
"You're definitely not fine, Natsuki! Let me have a look and-"
"Nono, I'm okay! This... this is nothing!"
Natsuki leans in to inspect her leg, however, Natsuki backs away.
She knows she can't fool us any longer, however she still tries to. There's just something that she isn't telling us, but... backing her up into the corner like this... is this the right thing to do?
"-perhaps you should place some trust in her. If there's something bothering her, she'd come to you because you're best friends, right?"
The relationship between Natsuki and Sayori isn't mere acquaintances, club member or just friends... They're close, aren't they?
"If it's bleeding then we should treat it before it gets-"
"Really, I'm fine so just drop it!"
Raising her voice, I felt hostility in her words as Sayori falls silent and straightens her posture whilst averting her gaze.
"S-Sorry, I didn't mean to..."
Having trouble looking either of us in the eye, she looks at the floor and moves past us and out of the cage.
"…I'm going to the restroom…"
Halting for a brief moment at the entrance, she leaves us with those words and doesn't look back. Watching her leave, neither of us could utter a word.
"...Yuki, was I being too forceful?"
As though she believed it was her fault, Sayori continues gazing to where Natsuki walked off to.
"No... I don't think so, but... I think she was just in a tight position with no way out..."
"...Mm... I'm a bad friend, aren't I?"
Choosing to sit on the spot despite the bench being only a few meters away, she wipes her eyes with her palm.
"No, Sayori that's not it. You're-"
"No no, ehee it's okay, Yuki..."
Her body quivers as though she's about to cry, however she holds her tears back.
"…I knew that something was unsettling with Natsuki today... No, that's not it... I always knew Natsuki was fighting against something... You know, at times she curses a lot and I don't think she realises that sometimes."
Come to think of it, her language this morning was really surprising.
"What am I saying..."
Rising from the ground, she waves at me as though she's about to leave.
"I'm going to go check on Natsuki, but this time I'll know when to call it quits."
"Y-Yeah..."
Watching her leave, I began feeling helpless as I desperately try to shake it off. There's no reason for me to be down in the dumps, I should be strong for Natsuki and Sayori both.
...
By the time we left the batting cages, it was already evening as we came to the fork in which we had to part ways to our respective homes. We offered to walk home with her as we're in no rush, but she declined.
Watching her walk away once again, the moment she turned the corner I looked to Sayori as she nods.
"We have to follow her."
With that intention in mind, we pursue after her; we may not be respecting her wishes, but if Sayori feels the same way as I do, then something must be up. I mean it's not like we're guaranteed to find out the problem if we follow her, but our gut feeling tells us otherwise.
"I really don't think we should be doing this but... it's for Natsuki, right?"
As Sayori whispers that, I suddenly feel an extreme sense of guilt.
"...Yeah, if she finds us I'm sure she'll be mad..."
Quietly stalking her, it's a good thing the street is somewhat empty of we'd look pretty suspicious.
"So then we just have to make sure she doesn't find out..."
...
The stalking felt like hours as Natsuki finally walks into the front lawn of a building. The house is a little on a small scale, compared to Sayori's and I; It actually looks pretty cozy.
"That's Natsuki's house?"
I say as I try to not draw attention to myself.
"Looks like it; I've never seen what her house looked like... she never allowed me to visit her..."
As she pulls out the keys from her bag, the door swings open with force as it almost hits her straight in the face. A man stood before her in a white t-shirt and un-kemped hair. His overall appearance is extremely disheveled.
"Ah, I'm ba-"
He strikes her against the cheek as the keys fall from her grasp.
"W-Wh-"
Both Sayori and I hide as my heart begins racing.
"T-That's..."
"...her Father..?"
As I didn't want to admit it, Sayori finishes my sentence; however the truth isn't yet set in stone. A Father wouldn't just strike his daughter out of nowhere. There's just no way!
Peeking out once again, the man appears extremely crossed as he folds his arms.
"Where have you been?"
"...I was at school, the teacher-"
"Don't lie to me!"
He slams his fist against the door as he doesn't even attempt to believe her words.
"You were out again, weren't you? With your friends? How many times must I say it before it gets into your puny head!? They'll leave you like everyone else, they're worthless! What you should do is what I tell you! Isn't this the reason why your Mother left you?"
"...But it wasn't because of-"
He strikes her in the opposite cheek with greater force as Natsuki staggers back.
"Don't give me that, you pathetic liar! You know what you did; you're the cause of everything! Now come!"
Grabbing her by the wrist, he forcefully pulls her in as Natsuki grits her teeth. Enduring his punishment; it must hurt a lot, however she's not retaliating, for some reason she's accepting it as I couldn't stay silent any longer.
"Stop!"
I move from my position as Sayori grabs my hand and shakes her head side to side, desperately pleading that I should stay hidden. But I couldn't just walk away from this as I step out alone and head towards them.
"Hah!? Who are you to tell me what to do!?"
Looking at the two, my gaze meets Natsuki's she looks away.
"You really shouldn't be hitting people like that... I mean, you should talk things out and-"
"Who are you to tell me what to do? She's my daughter, which means she's my property. I don't have to listen to you!"
"W-What? T-That's ridiculous… …C-Come on, Natsuki, say something!"
"..."
As I'm clueless with what to do in this situation, her Father grimaces at Natsuki's silence as she closes her eyes.
"See, she knows this which is why she'll stay silent or else."
Threatening her, she bites her lip so much as I begin to worry she'd pierce it.
"...It's okay, Yuki... What he's doing is right; it's my fault because I'm a bad daughter who doesn't listen to her parents, so I deserve this."
As though she were a robot, she recites lines that I don't even think even she believes as though it were to appease her Father.
"D-Do you honestly even begin to believe what you're saying? You're-"
"Yuki!"
Cutting my sentence short, she grasps her arm as her eyes water.
"Please... just go..."
Without so much as even looking at me, I knew from that point on there really is no point of me even being here. My presence here alone would only further hurt Natsuki.
"...S-Sorry, Natsuki... I…"
With that, I exit from their front lawn slowly before sprinting away pass Sayori. The feeling of being utterly useless was enough fuel to deny my aching legs as they I eventually fall on the sidewalk.
Not even feeling an ounce of pain, I shift my body over as I'm left facing the orange painted sky.
"..."
If there's anything I could do to help her, I would... however after that attempt... the chances are extremely slim.
"Y-Yuki!"
With Sayori eventually catching up, she drops to her knees to catch her breath.
"Hey... Sayori..."
"...What are you doing..?"
"...I don't know... I want to do a lot of things right now, but..."
Covering my eyes with my forearm, there's no way I can openly show how vulnerable I'm feeling.
"...That really was her Father, right? Not a stranger or anything, right?"
Sayori still has trouble accepting it as I too wouldn't have ever believed that Natsuki had an abusive Father.
"...It seems that way... You know, whenever she mentioned that she had to be back for her Father, I never thought it was because of that..."
"...Mm, Natsuki usually mentions him from time... I honestly thought they were close and that... she just wanted to spend time with him."
"..."
A regular, good Dad... Did Natsuki have to lie in front of us like that?
"...I met Natsuki in the library; she was always reading by herself in the corner alone..."
"Hmm?"
As though she's telling me the first time she met Natsuki, I sit up and face her.
"I found it strange that someone as cute as her was always by her lonesome, so I tried talking to her. At first, I just wanted to see if she'd join the literary club, but soon after... I just wanted to be her friend."
"...I see."
"Mm, she was really irritable at first and really loud, but soon... she started to smile from her heart, ehee. From then, I always just wanted to see her smile... She became one of my closest friends."
Standing up, she pumps her arms with enthusiasm.
"If not for her I would've fell further down into the well. I want to help her, like she did for me!"
"...But does she even want it? I mean, she said to leave her alone..."
"R-Right... I did hear her say that..."
"Yeah, and I'm afraid if we do attempt to free her from him it'd only end up further hurting her."
"So... is there really nothing we can do? It must be awful living with a Father like that... Uuu, I don't want to see my Natsuki like that..."
"No, it's too early to give up... I'm sure there's something we can do... there's got to be something at least..."
Rising from my spot, I dust my clothes as we return to Sayori's home in which we further discuss ways to stop Natsuki's abusive Father.