So, as I was looking through my old documents, I came across these two neglected chapters sitting in my archives. I figured it was finally time to publish them, even if the DDLC hype has mostly died down.

Welcome, all, to Doki Doki Bounty Hunter. Pleased to have you on board. A few things to note before we get started.

I'm sure you're already aware, but this story is AU. Nothing about the original game, exempting the characters and setting, applies to this story. No fundamental wall-breaking or profound psychological torture, just a semi-normal high school experience. Of course, that also means that MC is sentient in this story. The concept of a "player" doesn't exist. Additionally, MC will be his own character, meaning that he isn't a self-insert.

A few other minor changes to canon will be made, but nothing too detrimental. With all that said, I hope you enjoy Doki Doki Bounty Hunter! Let the head-hunting begin!

Wednesday, 7:15 PM

South Central Metropolitan Area — Entertainment District

The Outskirts of Central Mall

As the sun began its slow descent below the horizon, it looked as if it would be a regular evening in the city's bustling shopping center.

"Order ready for... MC?"

A young man strolled over toward the counter with a minuscule wave. "That's me."

"Here ya go," the fast food employee, an older male, passed the teen his food with practiced caution. "Cool name, by the way. That a stage name or somethin'?"

The young man smiled cordially. He'd heard the question enough to already have an answer ready. "Nah, just my real name. I don't actually MC at clubs or anything."

"Oh yeah? What do the initials stand for?"

MC's smile turned sheepish. "I'd... rather not say."

The employee shrugged in understanding. "Parents are weird. Come again."

"Will do." Clutching his receipt, MC made his way back to his seat, where his drink and other belongings waited on him faithfully. Plopping himself into his solo booth on the wall unceremoniously, MC quickly spread the contents of his order nearly in front of him, whipping out his phone as he ate.

The day had been a little more hectic than MC would have liked. His intentions had been pure enough—he'd decided to venture down to Central City Mall, despite his reluctance to travel all the way into the city proper, in an effort to purchase a few gifts for his parents, both of whom were currently away on a business trip. The haul had been respectable; some tennis shoes for his dad, who was in desperate need of a new pair, and a new hairdryer for his mother, who had an innate and equally unnatural talent of breaking things. It'd taken some savvy bargaining, and even though his wallet felt a fair bit lighter, imagining the pleased looks on his parents' faces made MC feel a little better.

He'd be lying if he said he didn't miss them. They hadn't even been gone for a week, yet MC felt as though he'd been alone for much longer. He didn't think that he'd miss something as seemingly insignificant as a warm welcome home.

Taking a resolute bite of a french fry, MC cleared his head. There wasn't any use in lamenting over his lonesomeness now. For the time being, MC had been left to his own devices. And there were worse fates than having free reign over what to do in your spare time.

Maybe there was something he could go out and do this weekend. There might be something worthwhile dropping in theaters. Or maybe he could binge something at home? If he were so inclined, he could catch a Swingin' Swines game, since his father had been so courteous to leave his season tickets at home with him.

MC sighed. Those all sounded like decently fun excursions, but only if he had someone to go with. He had a friend in mind, but MC doubted that even she would be interested in doing those kinds of things with him. His neighbor was plenty busy with her own friends and life anyway.

He finished eating, and MC threw away his trash, grabbing his things as he left. It was a cold night that evening, enough to warrant borrowing his father's spare work coat. Though a few sizes too big, it kept him plenty warm, so MC didn't mind. He never put much stock into fashion anyway.

Walking along the sidewalk, MC walked in the direction of the nearest train station. Taking tentative sips of his drink as he walked, MC resumed his inner monologue from earlier. It wasn't like he was completely incapable of having fun. He had plenty of things to keep him entertained when he was bored. In fact, who said he absolutely had to make plans with anyone? Maybe he could splurge a bit on a solo gift, just for him.

Reaching a crosswalk, MC sighed. Maybe he was overthinking this whole thing. "I just need to pull myself together and relax," he reminded himself quietly. Stress was the last thing he needed while mom and dad were away.

Despite himself, MC clutched his presents a little tighter as he stood waiting. 'Maybe I just need some more excitement in my life. Some crazy, outlandish occurrence to get me out of this rut I'm in.' It was wishful thinking, yet the idea enticed him, embarrassing as it was to admit.

The signal allowing him to walk flashed, and MC, along with the small crowd behind him, made to cross. Taking another sip of his drink, and still absorbed in his own thoughts, he failed to notice the tall rush of black that crossed his vision, and eventually ran into someone who had more or less sprinted dead into him. Dropping his things and spilling his drink on the concrete upon impact, MC fell with a resounding thud, to the shock of the crowd around him. The culprit sprinted off without apology, disappearing into the crowd behind MC without so much as a passing glance.

"Watch where you're goin', asshole!" One bystander, a young adult woman with short auburn hair, called out to the offender, before offering her hand to MC. "You alright there, guy? Nasty little tumble you took."

Though his rump felt a little sore, and he'd gotten his dad's trench dirty, MC didn't feel particularly hurt. "Yeah, I'm okay. Thanks." He wanted to say more, but he was still partially dazed from the hit he took.

The woman, noticing that the timer allowing them to walk was nearing its end, made to help pick up his things. "Let's get you to the sidewalk. Doubt you'd wanna get run over this late at night."

MC agreed and made to follow her, gathering what he was able to and following her to the opposite side of the street. It pained him to see what remained of his drink crushed on the street by oncoming vehicles. That was a dollar-seventy he wasn't getting back.

Upon reaching the street, the two sat themselves upon an unoccupied bench. Taking a moment to make sure that he wasn't injured, MC then turned towards the good samaritan that had assisted him. "Hey, thanks for the help. I appreciate it."

"Nah, don't mention it," the woman grinned toothily, obviously pleased with herself. "Just trying to get myself some good karma."

The two shared a laugh, before the woman remembered to hand MC's gift bags back to him. "Oh, here you go. Don't think any of 'em are damaged or anything. You've got good taste in gifts, if you don't mind me sayin'."

Accepting the bags, MC's eyes lit up. It was nice to get an outside opinion on his gifts. "Really? I didn't know what exactly to look for, so I just went with my gut feeling. I'm happy to hear that, though."

The woman shrugged nonchalantly. "Just bein' honest. That stuff you got is pretty high-end. Must be one lovely girl, for you to splurge on her like this."

MC stuttered. "What do you—oh, no! It's nothing like that. These are for my parents."

The woman simply nodded, patting MC on the shoulder. "Relax, big guy. Young love is nothing to be ashamed of. If she means that much to you, you should cherish her and show her off for the world to see!"

"But I seriously bought these for my—"

"Anyways, I should get goin'," the eccentric woman leapt off of her seat on the bench, and casually strolled away. "Hope she likes the presents! May we meet again!"

She left as soon as she came, and as MC watched her leave his field of vision, he quickly shelved what the woman had said into the back of his mind. He was loath to admit it, but his situation concerning the fairer sex was a sensitive subject of sorts for him. More and more guys his age were becoming romantically active, and while he wasn't as desperate as others he knew, he had entertained the idea of dating more times than he'd be willing to admit.

MC made to eject such thoughts from his mind. Girls weren't all that important now—he'd miss his train home if he dallied any longer. Returning to his original path of travel, MC walked with a tad more pep in his step than usual, eager to escape the city and return to the friendly confines of his own home. He'd had enough eventfulness for one day.

MC had to force himself awake once the train reached his stop. The sun had finally set over the horizon, and it was well dark outside now. As he stepped onto the platform, gifts in hand, he checked his phone to realize what time it was—a little past eight. Much longer than he had intended to be out originally.

Thankfully, the journey home was much less stressful than his venture in the city. His neighborhood was a generally quiet place, especially as nightfall arrived. True to form, MC encountered barely anyone as he walked home, save for the occasional late-night dog walker, to whom MC gave a small wave. As his own house came into vision, he almost audibly sighed. He hadn't yearned for a shower and sleep this intensely in a while.

Briefly plopping his gifts onto the welcome mat, MC fiddled with the keys in his pocket before finding his house key. A click and turn later, MC pushed the door open, and stepped inside. The familiar scent of home flooded his senses, and the urge to melt away in the comfort of his own living room eventually overpowered any resolve he had to do anything else. He'd been out and about nearly all day—what harm would a few minutes of relaxation do?

Reclining into his favorite spot on the couch, MC grabbed the idle remote and switched the nearby TV on, defaulting to the news channel. It was the only channel he really cared for, considering he didn't watch much television these days. Cable was for old people anyway.

"—which marks the eleventh straight Central City Dog Show championship win for Grover the three-legged Schnauzer. Dominance in its purest, and most adorable form!"

The female newscaster's tone then took on a more serious nature. "Police are advising citizens within Central City to be on the lookout after an armed robbery occurred at the Parnell-Underwood Banking and Exchange Services building this past hour. Officials confirmed that the bank was robbed at approximately 7:15 PM, and that one employee was left in critical condition after a confrontation with the robber. Details concerning the robbery and how much was stolen are currently being withheld by authorities, but the investigation is reportedly still ongoing. The suspect is still at large, and is presumably still in the city."

That got MC's attention. Robberies rarely occurred within the city, much less at one of the city's more prominent buildings. Disregarding its silly nickname (which executive thought that PUBES would be a good name for a government building?), it was still a well-regarded bank with above-average service and security. Not really the scene for a small-time hit.

He hadn't been too far from the PUBES building when he'd been shopping. He heard sirens occasionally, but he didn't think that the incident in question would have happened to be so close to him without him knowing. If he had any reservations about heading back into the city before, they'd increased tenfold now.

MC's mind then drifted towards his walk home, and to that man he ran into. He'd looked awfully suspicious, and was in an unreasonable hurry. It was a bit of a stretch, but could that have possibly been...?

"In other news, another incident involving gang violence occurred uptown in Central City tonight. Police reports say that a gunfight occurred right outside of Central Mall between three confirmed gang members and an unidentified individual less than an hour ago. No other casualties were—"

MC turned the TV off. Near encounters with criminals aside, it was still a school night, and he needed sleep. A full day awaited him when the sun came up tomorrow.

As he prepared to make his way up the stairs and into his room, MC noticed the barren cupboards in the kitchen as he passed by. 'Crap, I was supposed to go to the grocery store today,' Pausing and pondering for a moment, MC shrugged before continuing upstairs. 'Oh well. I'll just do it later in the week.' His parents would have certainly been concerned with how often he was eating out, but if they didn't know, what was the harm?

A quick shower later, MC nearly dove into his bed, grinning blissfully at the warmth that overcame him as he sank into his sheets. Truly, this was heaven. He hadn't managed to get a lot of downtime today, so he felt as though he had more than earned the comfort his own bed supplied.

Just as he was nearing the beginning stages of slumber, a vibration from his nightstand alerted him to a sudden notification. Rolling over begrudgingly, MC grabbed his phone and checked his messages, seeing he had gotten a text from his neighbor.

[MC! r u okay?]

A weird question, especially this late at night, but Sayori was always the endearing weirdo. Sighing, MC shot back a reply, aware that she would likely worry herself to death if he didn't respond quickly.

[Im fine. Whats up]

He was surprised to see her reply in less than a few seconds. Whatever the issue was must have had her really spooked.

[thank goodness! i was just waching the news and i saw that thing about that robbery at PUBES, and i remembered that u had gone to central to get presents, and i got really worried! But since u texted back I guess ur fine (ᵔᴥᵔ)]

MC couldn't help but smile. As hyperactive as she was, Sayori always meant well, even if she had a tendency to overthink things. He felt a little guilty for not buying her anything while in Central.

[Promise Im fine. Imma order pizza tmrw, wanna come over? We can run a movie too if your down]

MC felt his eyelids growing heavier. He was about to succumb to sleep once again before his phone vibrated.

[inviting me over while ur parents r gone? how bold ;)]

MC scoffed. [More pizza for me then]

An instantaneous reply. [ill be over at 7! dont start without me!]

Quirky as she was, she was still predictable. But MC was plenty fine with that. It made for less stress in his life, which was always welcome. [Cool, see you tmrw]

[goodnight!]

MC put his phone down, and finally let the tresses of sleep lull him away. His day had been long, and some sleep would do him plenty of good. Shutting his eyes, he settled into a comfortable position, smiling softly as he drifted into unconsciousness.

Today had been weird, but it was over now. He had a good feeling about tomorrow.

To MC's surprise, Sayori was the one waiting on him the next morning.

"Good morning!" His neighbor chirped, beaming in his direction. She hadn't looked like she had been waiting for long, but to see her waiting on him at all was a bit of a rarity in itself. Still, he wouldn't complain—it saved him the trouble of having to heave her out of bed.

"Hey, Sayori," MC replied, leaning against the doorframe leading into his home's entrance. "Not used to seeing you here this early in the morning."

"I know, right?" She looked just as surprised as he did. "I just happened to wake up early, so I figured I'd go see my bestest friend in the whole wide world!"

MC smiled. It was nice to see her so energetic to start the day. Maybe she'd been trying to fix her sleep schedule? If such a thing was helping Sayori to this extent, maybe he needed to chance a potential change in his own sleeping habits.

"Well, it's good to see you up," MC admitted, before continuing. "I hope you'll keep this kind of thing up. Having to lug you out of bed every morning takes a toll on a guy."

Sayori pouted dramatically. "You say that like you don't like seeing me."

"Of course I like seeing you. I just don't like having to be your caretaker on top of your best friend."

A huff, followed by Sayori turning away in faux indignation. "Well geez, if you're always gonna be this mean in the morning, maybe I'll just keep sleeping in."

MC figured that was enough teasing for one morning. "Alright, alright, I'll stop," the young man turned back to the inside of his abode, beckoning the girl to follow. "I was almost done with breakfast. You can wait inside if you want."

"Sure!" The girl preened, following MC into his home. The young man got to finishing his breakfast taco as Sayori plopped herself in the seat adjacent to his.

"Got any for me?" Sayori asked. MC didn't know if she was kidding or not. "I would have made extra if I'd known you would be waking up this early. My bad."

"No sweat!" Sayori beamed. "You can just pay me back with a snack at school!"

He certainly could have. But did he want to? "I'm, uh, broke."

A skeptical eyebrow. "But you're buying us pizza tonight."

Shit. "That's... the last of my money. I'm gonna be flat broke after that, and wouldn't it just stink if we couldn't get pizza because I bought you a snack?"

With a deadpan that could have put the most pessimistic of cynics to shame, Sayori relinquished her seat and made her way over to the pantry, promptly opening the door and finding it barren. She moved to the fridge and repeated the motion, before turning back to MC. "Jeez, that's a shame. I guess with no money, you won't have anything to buy groceries with, huh? It would suck if you, like, starved or something."

This damn girl. She dropped the airhead act as soon as food was involved. "Fine," the teen relented. "I'll get you your snack."

"Thanks! You already know my favorites~" Sayori sang.

He finished his breakfast, put away his plates, and the two were out the door and on the way to school shortly after. The walk was nice—a bit chilly, but present company distracted him from any sense of cold.

"So, I know this is kind of weird," Sayori started. "But, did you see any of it?"

"Any of what?"

"You know!" Sayori leaned in, whispering like she was divulging some big secret. "The robbery from yesterday."

"You're really hung up on that, aren't you?"

"Well, duh! You could have gotten hurt!" Sayori's concern was evident. "And you didn't text me either so I had no idea what happened to you!"

He hadn't known that he was supposed to text her after the fact, but he rolled with it. "Well, as you can clearly see, I'm okay. Right as rain."

"You better be. Who's gonna wake me up if you're stuck in a hospital somewhere?"

"Very true," MC rolled his eyes, not without a smile. Such was the honor that had been bestowed to him however long ago.

"I know!" Sayori's eyes lit up, and she pointed an accusing finger into his chest. "You were actually taking part in the robbery, and that's why you couldn't text me!" Her voice lowered, but her scandalous tone remained. "Because you were stealing!"

MC snorted. "You really think I have it in me to steal something? From a bank, no less?"

"Everyone has their secrets," Sayori admitted sagely.

"Even you?"

"Even me."

"I'm so sure." MC decided to play along. "Well, you've got me all figured out. I'm ten times wealthier after stealing all the... whatever it is banks carry these days."

"Fives and ones," Sayori answered quickly. "Sometimes twenties. But not always."

"And you know that how?"

"Everyone has their secrets~"

Ugh. Since when did Sayori go to banks? Since when did Sayori have money? Thoughts for later, as she apparently wasn't done talking.

"Hey," her tone had become oddly solemn. "You're not... actually doing anything illegal, are you?"

He almost stopped walking out of shock. Did Sayori... actually think he was a criminal? "Sayori, are you serious?"

She seemed to shrink on herself. The sudden ray of sunshine that broke through the clouds and fell right on her didn't do her any favors. "Er... maybe?"

Wow. She was serious. "How long have you known me?"

"A while..."

That was putting it lightly. "And in all the time you've known me, have you ever seen me steal anything?"

It seemed to dawn on her how silly her worries were. "Well... not really..."

"'Not really' means 'no', because I haven't stolen anything bigger than an eraser in my entire life," MC reminded his suddenly amnesia-ridden childhood friend. "Sayori, where is this even coming from? You know better than that."

"I know! It's just—well," she struggled for what to say next. "I... maybe don't know everything about you, and I don't know everything that you do in your free time, so..."

"So you assumed I scheme and participate in bank robberies when I've got time to kill?" MC finished with a raised brow.

"... are you mad?"

"Not mad, just disappointed," MC quickly clarified. "And a bit bewildered. Where did that even come from?"

Sayori sighed uncharacteristically. Their school was coming into view. "I don't know. I..."

MC decided to nip whatever this was in the bud now. "Look, you have my word that I've never done anything illegal. Ever." He paused for a moment. "Unless you count pirating media."

"No, those streaming services deserve it," Sayori quickly cleared up.

"Then by all accounts, I'm a law-abiding citizen, and still your best friend."

For whatever reason, she still didn't look like she believed him. Waking up early, and now she was interrogating him—what was with her this morning?

"Do you mean that, MC?"

He crossed his index finger over where his heart was. "I swear it."

Another silence followed. Her eyes lingered on his, and for a moment he considered attempting to convince her further, before she eventually returned to her trademark smile. "Okay, I believe you."

"You better, dork," he landed a playful punch on her shoulder. "Any other misconceptions about me you want to clear up before classes start?"

"No," Sayori answered, her tone back to what it usually was. That was good—whatever weird spell had possessed her seemed to have come and gone. "Sorry for being weird. Thanks for indulging me."

"Any time." He'd reflect on how weirdly serious her inquiry was later. For now, he'd simply chalk it up to Sayori being her usual unknowable self.

A brief silence passed before he spoke up again. "Would you like me more if I was a bank robber?"

Sayori laughed. "No! You'd be so bad at it!"

"And what makes you so sure?"

"I just know," she declared with finality, and a smile. "You're not allowed to change who you are, anyway."

Kind of weird, but endearing nonetheless. "Wasn't planning on it, but thanks."

"Of course!" Sayori grinned as the two walked through the entrance to the school. MC was met with a wall of sound from the chit chat of other students, but not before one last comment from Sayori.

"Please, never change, MC."

Not sure when I'll get around to updating this next. We'll see. Thanks for reading!

~Slalem