CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE – BOTTLES (SayoHiro)

The sun shone merrily from above as Sayori walked along the sidewalk on her way to school. Akihiro had texted her earlier, telling her that he would be waiting for her at one of the convenience stores that they usually stopped by when they walked to school every morning. She was feeling rather jealous that he had woken up earlier than she did, but she was also proud at the idea that he was now starting to become more responsible indeed. She quickened her pace, almost walking with a spring in her step, humming a jolly little tune as she went.

When she finally reached the convenience store in question, Sayori peeked into its glass windows, scanning the interior for Akihiro. No matter what she did, though, Akihiro was nowhere inside. Only other students and some people on their way to work were present, browsing the shelves for snacks and other amenities. Frowning, she went inside the store, sending a text to Akihiro to notify him that she had arrived. Musing that perhaps he was just behind the shelves at the back looking for some snacks, Sayori went there to look for him.

It was no use. Akihiro was nowhere to be found. Five minutes had passed since she entered the convenience store, and while Sayori was becoming anxious about possibly arriving late to school the longer she stayed where she was, she was more worried about the fact that Akihiro seemed to be missing. Was his text message a dud? A joke meant to cause her to become late for school? No, Akihiro would never do that.

When she heard her phone beep in her skirt's pocket, Sayori quickly took it out and opened the message that had just arrived. Her heart felt a bit relieved when she saw that it was a text from Akihiro. What she didn't expect, however, were the words he had just sent her.

"i left already. go away, stop looking 4 me"

Sayori stared, dumbstruck, at the text message. The shortness of it and the brusque tone with which Akihiro addressed her caused her heart to suddenly twitch with pain. What kind of reply was this? Quick tears started forming at the corners of her eyes. Now really panicking, she sprinted out of the convenience store. Akihiro seemed to know that she was looking for him, so she mused that he could be somewhere nearby.

More people were now walking along the sidewalk, but no matter how long Sayori looked around at each of their faces individually, Akihiro was nowhere among them. She called out to him, but her voice seemed to die in her throat. Instead, all she could do was turn around wildly, gasping as tears started flowing down her cheeks. Her chest was tightening, as if it was being crushed, and her legs felt like jelly. Voices filled her head, cold as ice, alien and unknown, telling her all sorts of horrible things.

Sayori jerked awake, sitting bolt upright, gasping as if she had been running from something. The sidewalk had vanished, replaced by the familiar sights of her apartment unit. The people walking by were replaced by only her beloved stuffed animals, still sitting on the windowsill, watching her innocently. Stuck on the wall using some double-sided tape, meanwhile, was the self-portrait that had earned her an A in her Art class, its colors and the two green circles that represented Akihiro's eyes looking diminished in the darkness.

In a mad rush, she quickly grabbed her cellphone from the end table next to her bed and saw no notifications or messages. She looked up and saw on her wall clock that it was now fifteen minutes before six in the morning.

She bit her lip. Just like in her dream, tears formed in her eyes. Feeling scared at the idea of going back to sleep after another nightmare, she scrolled through her cellphone's contact list and stared long and hard at Akihiro's number. Torn between her thoughts, Sayori pressed her hand against her forehead. It's still too early, but . . .

She let out a sad sigh and dialed up his number. After around five or six rings, Akihiro answered; his voice sounded sleepy. "Hello . . . ?"

He's still asleep. I knew I shouldn't have called. But Akihiro had told her during that blissful weekend she spent together with him long ago that if she ever had any more nightmares or if she ever needed someone to talk to about her thoughts, she could call him, and he would answer as long as he was either awake or not busy. It was during a time like this when Sayori bemoaned the distance between her apartment and his place, even if it was just a short one, but at least they had technology to close that gap with. She swallowed her fears about disturbing him. He would've wanted to know.

"Akihiro, it . . . it's . . ." she stammered tearfully.

Some soft noises followed her words; Sayori imagined that Akihiro must have sat up straighter on his bed. When he spoke again, his voice sounded more alert and serious. "Another nightmare?"

"Yes. . ." Over the span of two and a half months, this was her fifth nightmare, counting the one she had when she took a nap at Akihiro's place. On all instances, the things that happened in them were similar, and while Sayori was glad that they didn't come frequently, she always dreaded their arrival and aftermaths.

"Is it about . . . that again?" asked Akihiro.

Sayori hiccupped as she bit back a sob. "Y-Yes. . ."

Akihiro sighed. In her hearing, it always sounded like an expression of exasperation from him, borne from being woken up at such an early hour just because she had bothered him again. As always, however, Akihiro would be quick to assure her that it was an expression of concern and sadness at the idea of her being unable to get some proper sleep. For now, she took it as such.

He asked, "Do you want me to come over in a moment?"

"No!" Sayori cried out imploringly. "No, it's alright. I'm d-doing fine now, really!"

"Are you sure?" Akihiro's concerned tone never left him.

"Yes." In spite of the nightmare's terribly jarring effect on her, hearing Akihiro's voice was indeed calming her down. "After all, w-we're gonna be meeting halfway on the way to school, right? We'll j-just see each other then."

"Alright, if you say so," said Akihiro. "Are you gonna be going back to sleep? I'm gonna be waking up at around six-thirty anyway, so I guess I'll just wait."

"I think I'm gonna wait, t-too," replied Sayori. "Do you w-want to meet up before seven? I'll go to your place if you want."

"Are you sure you don't want me to go to your place instead? It's totally fine with me, Sayori."

"No, it's okay," Sayori insisted. "Besides, school's in the direction of your place, right? It's better than you heading in the opposite direction. . ."

"Well, alright, if you're sure you're okay with that," Akihiro mused. "Don't rush yourself too much, okay? You can arrive a bit later than seven if you want."

"Yes, and don't worry. I'll be f-fine!"

As she ended the call, Sayori let out a sigh. The nightmare's effects still lingered on her, but it was the thought of seeing Akihiro again that gave her the strength to fight them. She smiled. Though Akihiro wasn't there to see the expression, she let it out as she began to feel better little by little.

Lunchtime was quieter than usual for Sayori, but it wasn't all bad. Though their new status as a couple would warrant more time spent together even at school, those kind of moments weren't as frequent as one would think. Sayori didn't want to make it seem like she was dragging Akihiro away from his classmates and other friends just so he would keep her company during lunchtime or such. Moreover, it wasn't that big of a deal as Sayori also had some of her own friends around as well. Her meetup with Akihiro earlier that morning had done a lot to improve her mood, and she was sure that it would only get better once the two of them met up again after school at Akihiro's insistence—Sayori was sure that, much like when she had her first nightmare with him around, Akihiro was doing this to cheer her up even more.

When she finished eating, she excused herself from her friends and made her way back to the 3-A classroom, intending to catch up on some last-minute reviewing for their upcoming Social Studies quiz later that day. There, she found Monika sitting alone in her chair, humming as she wrote on her notebook.

All thoughts of reviewing for Social Studies momentarily forgotten, Sayori decided to approach her for now. "Hello, Moni!" she said brightly.

Monika looked up and smiled when she saw her. "Hello, Sayori! Had a good lunch?"

"Yep!" said Sayori, returning the smile with extra cheerfulness. "How about you? Have you eaten?"

"Yes, thank you for asking," replied Monika amiably, setting down her pen. "Didn't eat much, though—just a sandwich and nothing else. I'm going out with Kenta again later after school, and maybe we're gonna grab a bite then."

"Eh?! How can you last for three more hours on a small lunch?!" asked Sayori. The idea of not eating much always seemed like a terrible thing to her. "Won't you collapse or something?"

Monika laughed. "I'll be alright, Sayori. Kenta told me that there's this good vegetarian resto that he found out about earlier this week that we can try. I'm just saving up some space in my stomach just in case."

"Ooh, that sounds nice! Seems like you two are really starting to become close, hmm?" Sayori remarked with a knowing grin.

"Well, I can't deny that," said Monika amicably. "How about you and Akihiro? Still going steady?"

Sayori blushed. "Y-Yep, but I don't think we're going out as often as you t-two lovebirds are!"

Monika's face turned a little pink as well, though her eyes looked warmed by her remark. "Well, how frequently do you go out on dates with Akihiro?"

Sayori fidgeted, embarrassed. "Um, I don't really count how many times we've gone out already over the past couple of months, b-but most of the time we plan it for every other week, and sometimes we end up going out twice in that week. I guess that's good enough for me!"

"Why don't you two go out every week?"

Sayori gasped. "I couldn't ask Akihiro t-to do that for me! I mean, it's bad enough that he spends his allowance on me whenever we go out, s-so I might end up emptying his wallet fast if we went on dates every week! W-What if he goes hungry or can't buy what he needs because he already spent all of his allowance on our dates? I can't let that happen!"

Monika reached out and patted her on the arm gently. "I understand. You know, it's always so heartwarming when you speak about things like that, especially about Akihiro."

Again, Sayori began fidgeting with her fingers. "I just don't want him t-to give too much time and effort for me, especially when he has other important things to d-do, like homework. You know that I always r-remind him about that, right?"

"I know," said Monika, "and that's really sweet. But you do realize that if Akihiro goes out of his way to be with you, it doesn't mean that he's doing it against his will, right? He likes you, and he cares enough to do what he can to make sure that you always have fun, just like how you want the same for him!"

"I know that. It's just . . ." Sayori bit her lip. Her voice faltered a little as she remembered how worried Akihiro looked initially when they met up earlier that morning. "I don't w-want to bother him about that most of the t-time. . ."

Monika patted her again. "I know you're a girl who likes to have a lot of fun, Sayori, and I'm certain Akihiro knows that as well. Don't sweat over the little things, okay? Go out, enjoy the time you have with him! Don't think that Akihiro is just being forced to go out with you. If you're having fun, I'm sure he is too. Your happiness is his priority, just like his wellbeing is yours."

Sayori let out a sigh. What Monika had said was perfectly true, and she saw no reason to deny it. "Alright, I'll keep that in mind. J-Just do me a favor and remind me when I forget, okay?" she said timidly.

"I'll gladly do that, Sayori," said Monika in a motherly tone, "and if you need help with anything else, just let me know, okay? I'm not claiming to be an expert on relationships, but I'd be glad to help you two!"

Monika's openness made Sayori smile. "Thank you, Moni. I'm glad you're here to help me out."

"What are friends for, right?" said Monika, returning the smile genially.

Sayori's face fell when Akihiro showed up at the school entrance. Even as he gave her a smile and walked with her arm in his, Sayori saw a tired and downtrodden look behind his pale green eyes. Immediately, she asked him in a concerned tone, "Are you okay?"

"Mostly," said Akihiro with a sigh. "Had a bit of a rough time at P.E., plus our group got into a bit of trouble for passing some of our History research notes late."

"Oh, no! I hope you weren't given a lot of trouble!" exclaimed Sayori worriedly.

"I'll manage," Akihiro muttered. "It's just one of those days, with schoolwork picking up and all, so sometimes I end up getting tired a bit faster. How about you? How did your day go?"

"It went pretty well," replied Sayori. "Most of that is thanks to you, of c-course!"

Akihiro smiled. "Couldn't leave you to get through the day being sad, right? Good thing I knew just what to do to cheer you up."

Sayori pouted. "If you're going to tease me for being happy that you bought me breakfast, I won't talk to you anymore for the rest of the day."

"I didn't say anything yet," said Akihiro, chuckling. The laughter faded away quickly, though, and his eyes looked tired again. Picking up on this, Sayori hugged his arm tightly against her.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked with apprehension.

"Yeah, don't worry about me," said Akihiro. "Hopefully, tomorrow's gonna be a better day."

As the two of them walked past the school gates and towards downtown for their planned after-school excursion, Sayori kept watching Akihiro with growing concern, imagining what she could do to cheer him up. Though part of her burned to call off the trip for another time so that Akihiro could rest and feel better, Sayori also remembered Monika's words earlier, and how having fun with Akihiro downtown might actually help them both better than going home immediately will.

"I want to go to the arcade again," said Sayori after a while. "I want to try out that game you were playing last time, the one with the gun-shaped controllers and the zombies."

Akihiro looked at her. "Are you sure about that? When I was playing that, you were screaming and jumping like crazy."

Sayori pouted. "Only because the zombies pop out in jumpscares s-sometimes!"

"So how are you planning on playing it? By hiding behind me while I do all the work?" asked Akihiro jokingly.

"I'll manage! You'll see, meanie!"

Because the two of them didn't have any place picked out yet, Akihiro decided to humor Sayori and went to the arcade with her. As usual, the place was crowded, and cacophony prevailed everywhere as music from various arcade machines and the happy voices of teens and young kids playing mixed together in a resounding din. After they had bought a great number of tokens at the arcade's counter, Akihiro guided her towards the corner where the game that Sayori had asked to play—Bullets 'N Brains—was located.

For the next thirty minutes, the two of them worked together to play through the game, shooting down different varieties of zombies as their characters progressed through an abandoned town. Obviously, Akihiro was clearing out the zombies faster than she was, but Sayori dug deep and kept playing as best as she could, only faltering whenever a jumpscare appeared to catch her off guard. She laughed and squealed and shouted as she played, and there were times when she would instinctively embrace Akihiro after being startled by a jumpscare. In spite of some onlookers laughing along at Sayori's reactions to the game, Akihiro laughed with them and Sayori out of enjoyment.

"Oh, man, that was something else," said Akihiro, still chuckling when the two of them managed to finish the game. "I didn't realize you'd get so good at shooting halfway through, Sayori."

"See? I told you I would manage!" said Sayori proudly, looking at her character's score on the game's screen one more time before they left to go elsewhere. "It just takes some practice, but if I really get into it, I'll be able to play more video games like that with you in the future!"

"Yeah, it does take practice to not scream every time a zombie appears on the screen," said Akihiro mirthfully. Sayori pinched his arm.

"Horror games are an acceptable exception, okay?" she cried out. "Anyway, I want to keep learning about video games so that you won't have to play all alone anymore."

Akihiro blushed. "I'm okay with playing games alone, Sayori. But still . . . thanks for that," he said with a smile.

Sayori beamed at him, hugging his arm once again as the two of them walked around the arcade, looking for more games to play. "What else are we gonna be playing here? Or do you have a place in mind that we can go to now?"

Akihiro looked at her, frowning thoughtfully. Sayori waited for him to reply, but when he was still silent for a few moments longer than usual, she asked him, "What is it?"

"I'm just reading your mind," said Akihiro in a serious tone, "and it's saying. . . 'I want to eat now.'"

Now it was Sayori's turn to frown. Again, she pinched his arm as the frown on his face was replaced by a gleeful smile. "Did it also tell you what a big meanie you are?" she asked.

Akihiro laughed, ruffling her hair. "No, it told me how cute and sweet you are for helping me feel better."

Sayori's face turned pink. "Well . . . was it t-that obvious?" she asked, giggling a bit nervously.

"I don't care if it was. It's still really sweet of you," said Akihiro appreciatively.

The two of them decided to spend another half-hour playing some arcade games, capping it off with four tries at the arcade's claw machines. Though one of their attempts bore no fruit, their other three attempts earned Sayori two more stuffed animals and what looked to be a gold belt that she accidentally pulled off the foot of a stuffed toy that she was aiming for. Upon inspection, the two of them saw that the belt was actually a hidden special reward that allowed a winner to pick any prize of their choosing at the arcade prize counter. To Sayori's immense delight, she now had a pink cat, a fluffy hedgehog, and the prize that she had redeemed with the golden belt: a stuffed cow the size of a small child, which she instantly and lovingly dubbed Mr. Cow; Akihiro was quick to remind her that cows were female, instigating a short but cute debate about whether or not "Mr. Cow" was a girl as they left the arcade.

Because they had a bit of trouble carrying Mr. Cow to their next possible stops, the two of them opted to order some takeout from the night market and eat back at Sayori's place instead. Now carrying small boxes of yakitori, korokke and takoyaki, they made their way back outside downtown and towards the direction of Sayori's apartment, running into some of their schoolmates along the way.

Sayori's place remained virtually unchanged apart from the unkempt state her bedsheets and pillows were in. She admitted with embarrassment that she had been in such a hurry to meet up with him before school that she forgot to make her bed in the process. On a normal day, Akihiro would have joked about this particular lapse, but given why she had been so flustered and agitated in the first place that morning, he decided to keep mum about it and instead helped her arrange everything before they sat down to eat.

When the two of them were done, Sayori placed her newly-won stuffed cat and hedgehog along with the rest of her animal friends on her apartment unit's windowsill. Mr. Cow, on the other hand, earned a place at the foot of Sayori's bed, given that there was no windowsill or shelf large enough to prop her on.

"You really like hugging Mr. Cow, don't you?" asked Akihiro in an amused tone as he watched her pick up and hug the large stuffed animal one more time.

Sayori looked at him knowingly as she set Mr. Cow down. "Is someone getting jealous that they're not getting any hugs?"

That caught him off guard. "I d-didn't say anything like that," he replied, blushing.

"It's okay, because I've got plenty of hugs for you!" said Sayori happily. As if to prove her point, she went over to where he was and embraced him snugly. Akihiro felt relieved by the warmth of her body; it was always a good sensation which let him feel just how much emotion Sayori was putting into such a gesture. Given the rough day he had earlier, her hug was more than welcome, and he embraced her back just as tightly.

"Are you feeling better?" Sayori asked, her voice muffled as most of her face was pressed into Akihiro's shoulder.

"Loads better, all thanks to you," replied Akihiro. "How about you?"

"Of course," said Sayori brightly, breaking away a bit from the hug to look at him. "As long as you're around, I'll always b-be fine. Oh, that reminds me. I talked to Monika earlier."

"What about?"

". . . Us." Sayori blushed. She gave him a small smile, but before Akihiro could return it, she sighed and buried her face into his chest, sighing sadly.

"I'm sorry for troubling you again earlier," she said quietly, "because of m-my nightmare and all. . ."

"No, Sayori, don't," said Akihiro in a reassuring tone. "I don't want you to apologize again about things like that. I've told you before. I understand, and it's okay with me. I can't stop you from having nightmares like that, so the least that I can do is to keep you company whenever they arrive. Remember what I told you when you slept over at my place?"

"I know, Akihiro, I remember. It's just that—"

Before she could finish whatever it was that she was about to say, she stopped cold when Akihiro cupped his hand gently on her face, stroking her cheek softly with his thumb. Akihiro still hadn't gotten used to giving gestures such as this, even if the two of them were now an official couple in the eyes of their schoolmates. The intimacy of it embarrassed him slightly, but he knew that it was one of the more serious ways that he could express how he felt to Sayori when words weren't enough.

"When I saw you crying because of your nightmares, Sayori, it reminded me of the times you got hurt as a kid while we were playing. Back then, it always hit me so hard whenever you cried because you were hurt, but seeing you cry the way you did that night because of . . . of a different kind of pain . . . I'll b-be honest. I don't want to see that happen anymore."

As he spoke, he imagined the pain he felt watching Sayori cry so fearfully, so miserably. Indeed, it was more than his heart could take, and he knew that he could never fully make through another instance of it without being torn apart inwardly.

Sayori spoke up before he could say anything else, holding onto the hand that was cupped on her cheek still. "I understand, Akihiro. I'm just scared because . . . what if m-my nightmares started because I showed how I felt to you? What if the voices that I sometimes hear started appearing b-because I couldn't keep my feelings for you a secret? Does that mean . . . I caused all this trouble?"

"No, Sayori, you didn't," said Akihiro firmly, "and I don't want you thinking that way, okay? Besides, I'm glad that you showed me how you felt about me. It made me realize how I also felt about you."

"Why? What k-kind of feelings did you have for me then, Akihiro?"

Again, Akihiro stroked Sayori's cheek with his thumb. "Well, it's like I said. Even if I like messing around with you, you're still an important person to me, Sayori, even more so now that you're my girlfriend. I've always liked you, even if I didn't show it too much before because we've gotten so used to treating each other as best friends. But still, I believe that even if I'm your boyfriend now, we still get to goof off and have fun like we did as childhood buddies, and I want you to keep that in mind all the time, okay? I just want you to be happy like you've always been with me, and I don't want that to fade just because you showed that you have feelings for me. Nothing's gonna change, I promise you that."

"I'll try to keep that in mind. And I'll do my best to make you happy too!" said Sayori determinedly.

"I know you can do that, Sayori, especially when you put your mind into it. You're a girl who's capable of a lot of things."

"You're j-just pulling my leg, Akihiro," Sayori mumbled.

"Now, now, don't say that, especially where Mrs. Cow and the others can hear you!" said Akihiro, tutting.

"I've already told you before. He's 'Mr. Cow,' okay?" Sayori shot back, giggling.

Later that night, back at his apartment, Akihiro rubbed his eyes tiredly as he put closed his notebook. The first half of the day had been taxing indeed, but more because of what happened at school instead of what happened with Sayori. His shoulders still bore a bit of strain from the strenuous game of basketball he participated in for P.E., and his mind sagged with stress from the lapses their group leader had made with the research notes they should have been submitting for Social Studies. Still, like he had told Sayori, days like this do happen, and the only thing he could do was shrug things off and move on to the next day hoping for the better. At the very least, he was glad that the latter half of the day brightened his mood thanks to Sayori's efforts and presence.

He stood up to go to the bathroom in order to wash up and brush his teeth when his cellphone suddenly began ringing. Frowning, he took a look and saw that Sayori was the one calling. He answered it quickly, wondering what was up.

"Hello?"

His heart took a bit of a drop when he heard how quiet Sayori's voice was. "Akihiro . . ."

"Sayori? What is it? Is something wrong?" he asked, becoming alert all of a sudden.

Sayori seemed to struggle to find the right words to say. "I . . . I'm . . ."

"Yes, what is it?" asked Akihiro again, urging her on.

Her next reply sounded deeply embarrassed. "I just . . . miss you. That's all. . ."

Akihiro paused for a moment, taking in what she had just said. "Sayori, you know I've only been gone for a couple of hours, right?"

"I know, I know. It's just that w-when you left, everything just felt . . . sad again. . . And I'm a b-bit scared to go to sleep alone. . . I mean, w-what if I have another nightmare, r-right? I'm sorry. I just d-don't know what to do. . ."

Akihiro glanced at the wall clock in his room; the hands showed a quarter past eight. Plenty of time.

"I understand. I'll talk to you, but is it okay if I go to the bathroom for a bit? I'm just gonna wash up and brush my teeth. I'll call you back when I'm done."

"Oh, of course! T-Take all the time you need, okay? I'll just clean up a bit here as well."

"Sure thing, Sayori."

As she finished dressing up, drying her hair with her towel, Sayori felt dejected. She had been perfectly fine when Akihiro had left her apartment unit to go back home, and she even managed to complete what little homework they had been given for the day. Once she found that she had nothing else to do, though, her heart suddenly began sagging with a profound sadness as she stared around her room. Only her stuffed animals kept her company, and while their presence and the arrival of Mr. Cow made everything a little better, they couldn't speak to her, nor could they give her the assurance she needed whenever her spirits flagged.

She cursed the sadness and anxiety she was feeling for making her call Akihiro again. What if she was only imagining things? What if she just had nothing better to do so she decided to disturb Akihiro? He definitely sounded like he was busy. I shouldn't have disturbed him. Why did I have to go and call him? I could've waited for this to pass. Sayori let out a long and ragged sigh, feeling more ashamed with each passing second.

Yes, you shouldn't have disturbed him.

Sayori looked up. No, he told me that if I needed him, I—

He was busy, and you know it. And yet you decided to go ahead and waste his time on you.

I'm not wasting his time.

You are. He lied to you.

Stop it, that's not true!

He's annoyed with you. He won't call you back. Just deal with this by yourself.

Sayori shook her head. Moments like these were even more dreadful than her nightmares. Try as she might to remember the comforting words of encouragement and reassurance that people like Monika and Akihiro gave her earlier, other voices had different things to say—voices that belonged to no one, voices that she was starting to become too familiar with. In her mind and heart, it felt as if the cold and distant Akihiro that lived in her nightmares had manifested into a disembodied chorus of loathing and deprecation.

You should've just kept quiet. None of this would've happened if you just kept quiet.

Look at yourself. Akihiro has better things to do than stick around you.

Sayori plopped down on her bed, burying her face in her towel. Please, just go away. Go away. Go away. . .

Her cellphone beeped once. Sayori picked it up from her end table and saw a text message from Akihiro.

"i'm coming over, just taking care of a few things here"

Sayori sat up straighter, her mind going into overdrive. What in the world was Akihiro doing all of a sudden? She had been expecting him to say that he was done cleaning up and was free to talk to her again, but this? It was like when he surprised her at breakfast a couple of months ago, arriving at her doorstep carrying groceries for the two of them to prepare and eat. If Akihiro pulled another stunt like that and showed up unexpectedly right now carrying his things without telling her, Sayori would have become a hundred times more flustered at the sight of him.

She texted back hastily, "no, i'm fine, u can just call me! :("

"no, i want 2 keep u company tonight, i don't want u 2 go thru this alone again ok?"

The voices started whispering again. See? What a troublesome little girl you are.

Knowing that replying with another text was too slow, Sayori dialed up Akihiro's number instead. When he answered, she immediately blurted out, "No, Akihiro, don't come over! It's already late in the evening!"

"Sayori, I made up my mind already," said Akihiro seriously. "There's nothing wrong with it, okay? Your place isn't that far, I can make it there in ten minutes tops."

Making him go through all this trouble. How could you?

"No, I'm alright! You d-don't have to worry about me right now!"

Learn to keep your mouth shut next time.

"Sayori—"

"I said don't come over here!"

Silence followed her outcry. Even Sayori was surprised at how angry her voice seemed to be. Akihiro didn't speak, and she wondered for a moment whether she had offended him without her immediately realizing it. She swallowed, feeling quick tears form on her eyes.

"A-Akihiro, I'm sorry," she said, her voice trembling a little. "I didn't m-mean to shout like that. . ."

It took a few more seconds for Akihiro to reply. When he spoke, his voice was calm. "It's okay, Sayori. If you don't want me to come over, I understand. I'm just worried about you again, when you said that you're scared of going to sleep. T-That's all."

The way Akihiro's voice shook at the end of his reply broke Sayori's heart a little. In her ears, he sounded hurt, and she blamed herself for it. After all, Akihiro was only doing what he promised to do. Out of the blue, Monika's words earlier that day came floating back to her.

Your happiness is his priority, just like his wellbeing is yours.

Sayori bit her lip. If I could just be happy every day, these thoughts would stop, and he wouldn't need to worry about me all the time. He wouldn't waste his time trying to make me feel better for every single second if he has nothing to worry about.

"I understand, Akihiro. B-But you don't have to come rushing over every t-time I'm not feeling okay, alright? I'll be fine on my own. I promise."

Akihiro paused for a moment. "Are you sure about that?"

"Yes," replied Sayori with a bit of determination. "Let's just t-talk for a few more minutes, and then afterwards, m-maybe we can both try going to sleep."

Sayori heard him sigh. Again, in her hearing, it sounded as if he was more tired of her than he would like to admit. It was always so hard to tell. "Well, if you say so," he replied silently. "I just hope you'll be able to sleep properly this time around."

"I hope so too. . ." Sayori told him.

The hallway seemed to move as Sayori kept running through it. Her legs burned and screamed for her to stop, but the fear that was spurring her onward defied any order or hesitation. The floor felt as if it would give way with each stride she took, and the walls seemed to be closing in. Darkness prevailed everywhere. Try as she might, she could not see what was behind her or in front of her. All she knew was that she had to keep running, lest she fall through the floor and into a void of nothingness or be crushed by the shrinking walls all around her.

Suddenly, the hallway vanished, and Sayori plummeted downwards. The scream that poured out from her throat echoed distantly. She clawed at the air, trying desperately to cling onto something and stop herself from freefalling, but it was no use. Below, the abyss came rushing up to meet her like a gaping maw, bottomless, formless.

Sayori woke up with a start, looking around in terror at the walls of her room. When she realized where she actually was, she calmed down considerably. Another nightmare.

She sat up straighter and waited for her breathing to ease down. A cold sweat had broken out all over her face, and she wiped it with her bedsheets. When she squinted at her wall clock in the darkness, she saw that it was five in the morning. Instinctively, she picked up her cellphone from her end table to tell Akihiro about what just happened.

As she did so, however, a soft buzzing began filling her ears—disembodied voices, like whispers in the wind, so alien and yet so familiar.

Sayori stopped. There were no coherent words to be heard, but she knew what the noise signified, and they only seemed to grow louder and clearer the longer she held onto her phone. In her head, she repeated the words she had imagined earlier that night.

If I could just be happy every day, these thoughts would stop, and he wouldn't need to worry about me all the time.

Slowly, Sayori put her cellphone back on her end table. Lying back down, she covered her face with her hands and cried silently. As quick as they had come, the voices vanished.