Lasting Trust
Sayori stood on the classroom floor as she listened to her club mates discuss a plan.
"Yuri and I can handle her while you do your research. It's not a big deal," Natsuki said.
"I-I don't think it would be too much of an ask," Yuri added. Monika gave a small sigh.
"I-I just feel bad putting this on you guys. It's unfair to you." Sayori frowned a bit at hearing this. She didn't need to be cared for, nor did she want to. Putting a burden like that on her friends was the last thing she wanted. Monika was right. This was really unfair for all of them. Sayori felt a small urge to curl up and hug herself as her mind was wracked with negative thoughts. For some reason she couldn't control them as much as she could at her normal age. On really bad days she would usually be able to bottle it all up until she got home. But in her two-year-old body, it was as if her doubts could easily overthrow her. An all too familiar feeling suddenly took Sayori by surprise, pulling her from her negative thoughts. The toddler bit her lip as she started to shift her weight between her legs.
"I-I need the restroom…" She thought to herself. Although the feeling wasn't urgent, Sayori noticed that it was ramping up in seriousness rather quickly. She hastily made her way to the door of the classroom. The other three club members all noticed this, and Monika was the first to speak up.
"Where are you going, Sayori?" Sayori turned and babbled at Monika in an attempt to respond. She pinned her knees together slightly, squirming in place. Seeing this, Monika's expression became serious. She grabbed the diaper bag and put it over her shoulder before walking over to Sayori and taking her hand. Sayori blushed a bit in embarrassment at this. First it was being cleaned up by Monika, and now it was being walked to the restroom by her. "Let's hurry to the bathroom." Sayori didn't argue. At this point the feeling had gotten concerningly worse. Natsuki and Yuri watched as Monika led Sayori out of the classroom. Monika walked down the hall, holding Sayori's hand and making sure to keep a hasty yet considerable pace as she walked. She was aware of the urgency of the situation, but at the same time she didn't want to drag Sayori along. Sayori on the other hand was on the verge of desperation. She hurriedly walked along with Monika as if keeping her pants dry was a matter of life and death. It was already bad enough that she was making her friends deal with the whole mess of her being a toddler. So, she wanted to do everything in her power to make the burden as painless as possible. Or at least that's how she saw it.
As Monika approached the door to the girls' bathroom, she was just about to push the door open when she noticed a bit of resistance from Sayori. "Hmm? What's wrong Sayori?" Looking back at her friend, Monika saw that Sayori was standing with her legs crossed tightly. Thinking fast, Monika scooped up the toddler by her underarms and hurried into the restroom. Sayori gave a small squeak of surprise at this before trying to squeeze her legs together once again, however it was all for nothing as she just wasn't able to hold it anymore.
"S-Sorry Sayori, w-we're almost there," Monika tried to offer a few words of comfort in response to the squeak that came from Sayori upon picking the toddler up. All the while she was unaware that Sayori had already lost the battle. Sayori just avoided Monika's gaze as she felt the padding between her legs soak up both her accident and the remaining amount of her confidence. By the time Sayori was placed back on her feet in front of one of the bathroom stalls, the deed had already been done. And when Monika gave her friend an encouraging smile, she was a bit concerned when Sayori's eyes remained fixed on the floor. Monika's smile faded as she took notice of Sayori's shameful demeanor. She swallowed hard as she frantically thought of how to approach the situation. She didn't want to upset Sayori even more.
"D-Did you not make it?" She asked gently. She kept her expression soft and caring. Sayori hesitated before she gave a small, silent nod. She kept her eyes on the floor as she couldn't bring herself to look at the person who had entrusted her to be the vice president of the Literature Club. Monika became a bit tense at this, trying to think of how to approach the situation. "W-Well…" She began. Monika weighed her words and her options before she slowly took the diaper bag off of her shoulder. "W-Why don't I help you get cleaned up?" Sayori's cheeks went bright red at this question, her eyes widening a bit. She suppressed a small whine as she shook her head up at Monika. Being walked to the bathroom was embarrassing enough. Not only that but Sayori hated the idea of making her friend have to clean up her accident. It made her feel both helpless and ashamed. Monika frowned at seeing Sayori's expression, and she gently knelt down to her toddlerfied friend. "Hey, hey. L-Listen, it's not a big deal for me, okay? I promise, I just want to make sure you're comfortable." Sayori bit her lip as she looked away from Monika. Seeing this, Monika gently wrapped her arms around Sayori, picking her up and pulling her into a gentle hug. Sayori just buried her face into her friend's shoulder. Her mind was racing with what seemed like thousands of thoughts at once. Monika frowned at this. She could feel Sayori shaking slightly.
"E-Everything I do is just an inconvenience to everyone else…" Sayori thought. How was this fair to Monika? Heck, how was this fair to the Literature Club? The faint scent of vanilla clouded Sayori's senses. It reminded her of a time back when it was only her and Monika in the Literature Club. Sayori remembered the first time she had ever told anyone about her struggle with depression, and how Monika had helped her through her emotions. Monika's blazer smelled of vanilla even back then, and ever since that day Sayori associated the scent with feelings of trust and safety.
"You're one of my closest friends, Sayori," Monika began. "And I never feel as though I have to put up with you. Being able to help my friends makes me happy, so my care for you isn't a waste of effort." Sayori let out a small hiccup as she rested her chin over Monika's shoulder. Monika smiled faintly. She could feel Sayori's breathing start to slow. "Being able to help you makes me feel happy. I really mean that." Sayori felt herself starting to relax a bit as she listened to her friend's gentle words. Slowly but surely, she managed to recollect herself. And eventually she lifted her head from Monika's shoulder, and looked up at her with a small smile. Her eyes were slightly pink from her tears. Seeing her friend in a calmer state, Monika smiled. "W-Why don't I help you clean up? I promise it's not a big deal." Sayori took a small breath to recollect herself before she gave a hesitant nod up to Monika. Monika gave a nod back, still smiling. "Thank you," she said. The club president walked over to the bathroom sinks and carefully sat Sayori down at the side of one of the faucets. Sayori watched as Monika opened the diaper bag and began to look through it. She pulled out a clean diaper, a tub of wipes, and a bottle of baby powder. She was about to close up the bag when she noticed a rolled-up mat at the bottom of it. She gave a small shrug before she pulled out the mat as well, unrolling it on the counter space in between the two sinks. The mat had a cherry pattern design on it, and it looked and felt more comfortable than the stone-cold marble between the sinks. "Alright, I'm going to lay you down and then we can work things out from there." Sayori gave a small nod in response before she was carefully picked up and laid down on the changing mat. Monika thought for a moment before she rolled up Sayori's skirt so that it wouldn't get in the way. The pink hearts on Sayori's diaper were slightly faded, indicating that the padding was indeed wet. Sayori looked up at the ceiling, blushing brightly.
"G-God this is embarrassing…" Sayori thought to herself. The toddler kept her eyes on the ceiling as Monika undid the tapes of her diaper and pulled the front of it down. Monika paused for a moment as she thought through what actions she was supposed to take. Sure, she was a top student, but she had zero experience changing diapers.
"O-Okay so… I g-guess I just move the used one out of the way," Monika thought aloud. She carefully took Sayori's ankles and used them to lift up her legs so she could slide the wet diaper out from under her rear. Sayori got a brief glimpse of her own shoes before Monika gently set her legs back down. The club president then opened the tub of baby wipes. Sayori tried her best to just focus on the ceiling, though despite her best efforts, her face remained nearly as red as her bow from her embarrassment. A sudden, ice-cold feeling was brushed across Sayori's rear, and the toddler let out a small yelp as her legs kicked out a bit in surprise. "S-Sorry," Monika said, holding a baby wipe. "I-I should have warned you that they're cold." Sayori just bit her lip and tried not to squirm as Monika finished cleaning her up. "There, no more cold wipes." Monika said this with a small smile towards Sayori before she started unfolding the clean diaper. Sayori looked up at Monika, watching as she unfolded the babyish undergarment. Monika smiled back at her, her green eyes holding a warm feeling of reassurance. "Don't worry, I'm almost done," she said. Sayori found herself giving a small nod in response to this before her ankles were lifted up once more. The blue tips of her school shoes came into view once again as Monika slid the diaper under her bottom. Sayori expected Monika to set her legs back down, however the club president had a puzzled look on her face as she looked at diaper. "W-Wait, I think the tapes are supposed to go in the back," she said, before fixing her mistake. Monika then grabbed the bottle of baby powder and sprinkled a bit in the diaper. She then lowered Sayori's legs and pulled the front of the diaper over the toddler's waist. She got a smile when her assumption about the tapes was confirmed. And with that she neatly taped the diaper up. Sayori let out a small sigh of relief at this. The worst was over with, at least for now. Monika smiled warmly at the girl before disposing of the used diaper and wipes. Sayori sat up, looking at the fresh diaper that was taped around her waist. Though she still felt bad for making Monika have to change her, she had to admit that it did feel nice to be clean again. As Monika was washing her hands, Sayori babbled up to her.
"Th-Thank you Monika," she thought. Monika smiled back at Sayori before she dried her hands and gathered the changing supplies back into the diaper bag. And after putting the bag over her shoulder, she helped Sayori to her feet on the bathroom floor. Then they started back to the classroom together.
Upon walking back into the classroom, Sayori let go of Monika's hand.
"What took you guys so long?" Natsuki asked, looking up from her manga. Sayori felt her cheeks redden when this was asked, and she shamefully hid behind Monika's legs. Monika bit her lip hesitantly before she let out a sigh. She didn't want to lie any more than she had to.
"W-We had a small mishap along the way. Regardless, I need to go to the computer lab so I can try to figure this out." Monika said. She took the diaper bag off her shoulder and set it on the front desk of the classroom. "I-I'll leave the bag here in case you guys need it." Yuri gave a small nod in response to Monika. Natsuki gave a nod as well. And with that, Sayori watched as Monika left the classroom to head to the computer lab, the white bow in her hair bobbing as she walked. Frowning, Sayori toddled over to the crayons and paper she had brought back from the art club's room.