Content Warning: Mentions of attempted suicide

It took all of two minutes for MC to get jumpy inside the closet.

The most he could hear from his makeshift clothing cocoon were the thumps and bangs he presumed came from downstairs. They didn't sound like gunshots, thankfully, but that was only a minor reprieve in the grand scheme of their current situation.

Crashing, clanging, shouting. As far away as it all sounded, they might as well have been gunshots with how they rang in his ear. The frequency of them made MC wonder about what Sayori had said about there being potentially more people like Natsuki. More psychopaths that were closer than MC might have thought.

And they'd all be ganging up on Sayori. His best friend, fighting alone downstairs. While he was stuck hiding in a closet.

He removed himself out from underneath his cover of clothes before he could think better of it. Sayori would probably be upset with him for not hiding like he should have (and barring that, running away like he really probably should have), but the thought of leaving Sayori alone didn't sit well within him. What kind of person left their best friend since childhood to fend off multiple lethal assassins, or whoever it was that had come after them? Especially when it was him that they were originally after?

MC took a breath. Regardless of how unfair it was that he was thrown into this situation to begin with, it was still on him to get them out of it. He threw the closet door open, calling upon his courage from earlier. He'd need plenty of it if he was gonna get himself and Sayori out of this alive.

First things first, he'd need something to defend himself with. While Sayori's stapler and mechanical pencils looked in tip-top shape, knowing what he knew about her now, he figured Sayori had something more effective he could borrow. He'd seen her take a variety of trinkets with her when she'd left to go confront Natsuki, but surely she had something she hadn't thought to bring that would work for him.

MC got to looking, trying to ignore how wrong it felt out of context for him to be frantically searching every inch of a girl's room. Beneath the bed, atop desks, beneath piles of clothing, but while he found a few things of note here and there (he'd been wondering where Sayori had put that pen of his!), there wasn't anything he could use in a fight conveniently lying around.

He was met with his last resort—her clothes drawers. For the sake of his best friend's privacy, he'd been avoiding poking his nose anywhere near there, but as he heard telltale signs of fighting continuing downstairs, he was left without a choice. Starting at the bottom, he began rifling through Sayori's impressive pajama collection for anything that would hurt.

Nothing. It was the same in her pants, tops, and undershirts drawers as well. That left the very top drawer, which going by the order of the previous drawers, left only one category of clothing.

"Sorry," MC apologized as he opened the drawer and was met with Sayori's undergarments, thumbing through them with as little physical contact as possible.

Morality aside, he wasn't sure what he'd find. Sure, it was the last place he'd decided to look out of respect, but to anyone else, it might have been the most obvious place to stash something you wanted to keep hidden. Something lethal hidden beneath your unmentionables felt like a trope to him, from all the movies, games and shows he'd consumed. Given that this was real life, and that Sayori was, in her own words, a professional, there wasn't a very big chance that she'd actually leave anything worth a damn in as obvious a spot as—

His hand brushed against something that definitely wasn't underwear. Thin, metallic, and sharp. Digging it out from the pile of undergarments, MC was met with a straight piece of metal that hooked slightly near the end, fitting snugly in his hand.

It took him a moment to piece together what it was—a lockpick, just like how they looked in the movies. Consider Sayori's line of work, it made sense that she'd have one. Maybe she'd already used this one, and had somehow misplaced it? Or had stashed a new one away somewhere people wouldn't go snooping. Not that he could tell the difference between a new and used lockpick.

It didn't matter at the moment. It was sharp, it would hurt, and he was running out of time to help Sayori. Gripping the lockpick, MC made his way out of Sayori's room and tiptoed down the stairs as inconspicuously as he could.

The sounds of fighting increased as he made it to the bottom of the staircase, which meant he thankfully wasn't too late. More than that, he had happened upon Sayori engaged in conversation with the person they both feared had broken in—Natsuki.

"Doesn't need to be this way," Natsuki spoke slowly. There looked to be a few cuts on her face. Thankfully, she didn't seem to have brought anyone with her. "Hand him over, and we can forget this ever happened."

"I wouldn't have brought him back with me if that was an option," Sayori shook her head. She looked similarly roughed up. "If you'd just stop for a second and listen to me—"

"We're past listening," Natsuki cut off. "I'm sorry, but a bounty's a bounty. And I'd be stupid to ignore a catch this big, this close. That's just how it is." She gave Sayori a knowing look. "And you know as well as I do that I won't be the only one in on this."

Sayori kept up a brave face, but even MC noticed the subtle bite of her lower lip. "Do they know?"

"About me being here? Nah. But you can pretty much guarantee they're aware of the bounty. They're coming to collect sooner or later, Sayori."

More mentions of the "others" Sayori had mentioned earlier. More ominous figures that posed a threat to him, that would hunt him down for a bounty he didn't actually have.

Sayori was apparently skeptical. "You bypassed the locks and systems I set for the house that would have stumped everyone except professionals. There's no way you could have done that by yourself."

Natsuki shrugged. "I had help."

"That's what I'm worried about. I'm not gonna go outside and see Yuri, am I?"

Who was Yuri? He hadn't heard that name before. Whoever she was, Natsuki shook her head in denial. "Please. She's a spaz, but you and I both know direct confrontation isn't her thing. She owed me a favor, that's it."

"And I should trust you now after we all agreed to not raid each other's houses?"

"That 'agreement' was bullshit from the start, and you're a fucking moron for ever taking it seriously," Natsuki rolled her eyes. "All of us lie for a living. You think we were gonna start suddenly being honest with each other just because she of all people asked us politely? Really, it's cute that you're acting like we haven't had each other tapped the second after that little make-believe treaty went into effect. Hell, she probably had us pinged the second after we registered, knowing her."

Sayori was still holding her staunchly defensive stance, but MC could clearly see her deflate slightly. "I wanted to at least think that we knew each other well enough to at least trust us not to go this far. Honor and all that, I guess."

"Then you're an even bigger moron than I thought you were." Natsuki's expression looked equal parts tired, yet steely. "Last chance, Sayori. Walk away. Pretend you never got involved. I'll even forget that you tried to off me earlier and give you a piece of the cut for keeping the guy safe before I got to him."

Sayori took a breath. "I can't let you do that."

Natsuki seemed entirely unconcerned, letting a moment pass before shrugging nonchalantly. "Guess that's that, then. For what it's worth, it was nice knowing you." She crouched down, flexed the muscles in her legs, and—

"Wait!" MC emerged from his spot. The panic in his voice was enough to stop anything from escalating, if only briefly. Two pairs of eyes turned toward him, one substantially more scared than the other.

"MC!" Sayori hissed. "What are you doing?"

"Huh," Natsuki said simply. "That makes this easier." She turned her heel and prepared to charge him, eyes narrowing in retribution.

"I told you to wait!" MC threatened, taking a fearful step back. He only hoped he sounded as confident as he was scared.

That drew a jeer from Natsuki. "Oh yeah? You're a big man now? Letting your girlfriend do all the work in helping you escape makes you brave now?" She looked down at his weapon of choice and snorted. "Ooh, a lockpick. Real scary. What, gonna needle me to death?"

Even for as scared as he was, she was still pissing him off. Taking a breath, he tried to calm himself. He obviously couldn't harm her, and even with Sayori's help, he was about as useful in this fight as the lockpick he was currently clutching. A direct confrontation would only end one way—being kidnapped, or worse.

If he couldn't beat her outright, he had to outsmart Natsuki. Use something against her. But what could he use? It wasn't in any position to threaten anything of hers, and it wasn't like he himself had anything she really wanted—

He froze. An idea hit him. A dangerous one, but maybe, if he really sold it, one that would save his and Sayori's life.

"Not you," he spoke slowly. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and turned the lockpick in his hand... aiming it right at his own neck.

Sayori was immediately horrified. "MC, no!"

Natsuki, meanwhile, didn't look convinced at all, going so far as to audibly laugh this time. "Oh, this is fucking rich. You were pissing yourself earlier, and all of a sudden you have the balls to kill yourself?"

"I'll do it," MC vowed. "You're laughing now, but you won't in a second."

"Oh I promise, I'll still be laughing," Natsuki assured him. "About the saddest way to go out, combined with the dumbest 'weapon' you could possibly choose. I can already imagine your tombstone—'Here lies MC: Died by fingering his jugular with a lockpick. It was the only thing he ever fingered in his life.'"

God, she was such a bitch. The vindictive side of MC took over, and he slowly drove the lockpick into his neck, breaking skin. It was just a little prick, but it drew a wince from MC all the same. Sayori was screaming something, but he didn't care to listen. Not right now, as his gaze bored into Natsuki in challenge.

True to his word, she wasn't laughing now. Any previous mirth had been replaced by a deathly stare "You wouldn't," she said simply.

"Wanna bet?" MC dug the tool a centimeter deeper. Sayori was in hysterics. "MC, I told you to stop!"

MC ignored her. "I kill myself now, you never find that pendant, you can't cash in on my corpse, and you never get that score. And hell, we can let your little friends know that it was you who drove me to this, since you didn't wanna play ball. I can't imagine they'll be thrilled to hear all that money went poof because you got too greedy."

"I can find it without you," Natsuki growled.

"You sure? You can search every inch of my home, bulldoze the entire place down if you want, and you still won't find that pendant. You think I'd be stupid enough to leave it somewhere as obvious as my own house?" For once, this whole mixup was actually benefiting him for a change. Even if he didn't know where the pendant was, he could play it off as if he'd hidden it in a secret location only he had access to. That information was valuable—and worth keeping him alive. "Fact is, if I die, you're never getting that pendant."

He could see Natsuki's fists tightening. Oh yeah, she was pissed. "Then how I beat it out of you, you fucking smartass?"

MC mustered up a condescending laugh. "Yeah, because that'll really make me wanna cooperate with you. Anyone ever praised your people skills?"

"I think you'd cooperate if I hogtied your parents and threatened to drag them across the fucking interstate," Natsuki threatened.

"Then I'd have to kill you," Sayori quickly intervened, deadly serious. "The second you involve civilians, all bets are off. I know that, the other two know that, and you know the rest of the underbelly knows that. Once you compromise secrecy, you get silenced."

Finally, that seemed to stump her. Which was good, because MC was starting to feel a little lightheaded. How much blood had he lost so far? It didn't feel like a lot, but adrenaline seemed to be doing a majority of the heavy lifting for him at the moment.

"So what?" Natsuki eventually spoke. "I just fuckin' leave, we all pretend this never happened, and I don't get my cut? Fuck that."

"I didn't say that," MC denied. He knew giving Natsuki no incentive to wait would just make her kidnap him and start this whole charade all over again. And he wasn't sure he'd be so lucky as to have Sayori save the day for him again.

"Then what?"

"You give us three days," MC declared. "Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. We'll meet again on Monday, after school. There, we can talk this whole thing out like civilized adults. Without threatening to kill each other."

Before Natsuki could lash out at his suggestion, MC cut her off. "I know it's a wait, but you're gonna have to trust me. It's either you kill me now and get no chance of receiving your payday, or you play nice and we might come to an agreement."

"And how do I know you won't fucking bail after I decide to wait?" Natsuki posited angrily.

"You don't. All I have is my word. And I'm telling you now that I won't." He threw his hands up non-threateningly. "At the end of the day, I'm still just a high-schooler. Where would I even go? You think I have some off-the-grid beachside villa I can just retreat to whenever I want? Nah, man. I'm just a guy." That, at least, was the unadulterated truth.

A few tense seconds passed that felt like hours to MC. Natsuki continued glaring at him, looking for any cracks to show he was lying. MC kind of wished she'd hurry up so that he could get the incision in the side of his neck patched up. That small trickle of blood was going to start becoming a problem in a few minutes if he didn't get it treated.

Finally, she mercifully blinked, biting back what was clearly barely restrained rage. "God fucking damnit. Fuck. Fuck!" She punched the nearby drywall, leaving a hole. "You're paying for that," MC heard Sayori mutter nearby.

"Three days," Natsuki repeated. "Three days. That's all you get. No later."

"And no sooner either," MC quickly tacked on.

"If I find out you flaked, or you decided to invite anyone else to this little meeting of ours, it's your head on the line."

"Duly noted," MC acknowledged.

"Fuck," Natsuki growled. "I don't know where this little act of yours came from. You were shitting yourself when I had you alone. You are such an annoying, smart-mouthed, two-faced fucking pussy."

"One of my better traits, I've been told," MC tried for a casual shrug that probably came off more as a janky shudder. "Have a good rest of your day, Natsuki. We'll see you Monday."

"Fuck you." She launched something at him, and MC momentarily feared for his life until he felt the familiar smack of leather. "My wallet?"

"You're fucking welcome." MC was surprised to see all his cash still in there. When he looked back up, Natsuki was already gone, having slammed the door behind her as she left.

MC, finally letting the tension leave his body, turned to Sayori. "So. Not bad for a 'pretty bad liar', eh?"

Instead of a laugh, he was instead met with a slap. He had just enough presence of mind to register the sting in his cheek as he turned back to a furious, teary-eyed Sayori. "What were you thinking, MC?"

"I don't think I was, honestly."

"I know! That's why I'm upset!" She gripped the front of his uniform with a strength that MC didn't know she had. "I told you to hide for a reason, MC! She could have killed you at literally whatever point she wanted to!"

"But she didn't," MC grunted. "Because I knew what it was she wanted—"

"Stop being a fucking smartass and listen to me, MC!" That shut him right up. Sayori hardly ever swore, unless it was serious. "I... I could have lost you. If she'd decided to kill you, God... I don't know if I could have stopped her. For whatever advantage you thought you had over her, she could have easily ignored it and just decided to kill you anyway. Natsuki, she's... she doesn't always hold back. I've seen that firsthand."

Her attention directed itself to the wound in his neck. "And this, MC! You were so reckless! What would you have done if you'd punctured an artery? You'd have bled out on the spot!"

"But I didn't!" MC finally fought back. "What was I supposed to do, Sayori? Leave you down here by yourself? I didn't know how many other people were here! I'd have let you die by yourself, and then they probably would have found me anyway!"

"You don't know that!"

"I don't, but I'm not risking it!" MC shouted, his voice becoming hoarse. "I'm not losing you, Sayori! Not again! I swore I'd protect you no matter what, I fucking swore! After what happened that day, I told you that I'd never let you get hurt again, and I fucking meant it!"

"But you have no idea how scared I was, MC!"

"Then maybe you finally know what it's like, not knowing if your best friend is alive or not!"

There was no rebuttal after that. Sayori looked shocked, and after the reality of what he'd said set it, MC was too. Everything drowned out into the background—all MC could focus on was the expression on Sayori's face.

MC felt his mouth dry up, even as he attempted to speak again. "Sayori, I—"

"Your wound," Sayori quickly interrupted, standing up abruptly. She'd hidden her face from him. "It needs to be cleaned. I'll be right back." She disappeared into some corner of her house, presumably looking for first aid or something to that effect. MC was left to reflect on what he'd said, the stomach in his pit growing with every passing second.

After some indeterminate amount of time, Sayori eventually returned, and began treating his cut wordlessly. MC let it happen, not willing to let his fat mouth ruin things any more than he already had. As it was, any stinging or pain that came from Sayori cleaning and dressing the incision felt deserved.

When she finished, MC wasn't sure what to say. Sayori didn't leave, choosing instead to crouch beside him, staring into nothing. It was a look that didn't suit her at all. But for the life of him, MC couldn't summon the right thing to say from his mind. For all his previous bluster when dealing with Natsuki, he was completely lost now.

They stayed like that for a while. Maybe Sayori knew that he was at a loss, because she eventually broke the silence herself. "I didn't tell you the entire truth earlier."

MC's voice was a rasp. "About what?"

"About why I started doing this job." She took a breath. "When I told you I took this job to make a difference and get some money... that was true, but there was one reason I forgot to mention." Her voice was small, her eyes downcast.

MC immediately took notice. "What was it?"

"To pay you back for saving me."

His brow quirked. "Saving you?"

"You know what I'm talking about." A rueful smile overtook her lips.

MC's could almost feel his blood freeze. "No, Sayori, I never should have mentioned that, you don't have to—"

"I need to say this to you, MC," Sayori quickly cut off, before calming down slightly. "I... I have to. You deserve to hear it."

She sniffled, trying her best to keep her voice level. "I-I... I had already decided to do it. That morning, I woke up, and I just knew I couldn't take another day of living like that. Mom and dad were gone, and all I really had was you, and I only ever felt like a burden. I couldn't take it anymore. I just wanted to go."

Without thinking, MC grabbed her hand in a show of comfort. Before he could think twice of how the gesture might not have been what she wanted in the moment, he felt Sayori's fingers squeeze back. "Thank you," she whispered, a ghost of a smile briefly returning.

It was a moment before she continued again. "When I felt the rope around my neck, I was scared. I was sure it was what I wanted, but I hadn't felt more alone in my life until that moment." Her voice shuddered. "A-and when I saw you barging into my room, MC... I-I thought the last thing I'd ever see was... was that horrified look on your face..."

The dam broke then, and as the tears started falling, she leaned into MC for support. MC readily obliged her, squeezing her tight as her body racked with sobs. "I'm here," he whispered softly, doing his best to not let tears overtake them both. "I-I'm here."

Minutes passed before the sobbing finally subsided. When Sayori looked up again, her eyes were red and puffy, and her voice was hoarse. "T-thank you," she rasped. Though she readjusted herself, her hold on MC remained.

"I-I don't know how I survived, but... I-I think it was 'cause a part of me didn't want to hurt you. I loved you too much to do that to you, and knowing that I would have left you alone to deal with the aftermath of what I was about to do... I just couldn't."

Her grip on him tightened. "I still have a long way to go, but... MC, you gave me a reason to keep going. You saved my life, and I-I don't wanna waste that. When I started out in this job, I thought that if I could help save even one person the way you helped save me…"

Sayori's lip was quivering, and she sounded on the verge of tears again, yet she powered through regardless. "T-then I'll have done good in this world. I'll h-have proven you right in saving me. And I'll... I'll have known that I deserved to live."

"You don't need anything to deserve to live," MC quickly countered. "I'm glad you're here, Sayori. So are your friends at school. You can spend the rest of your life eating pizza and playing shitty video games with me, and you'll still have deserved to live."

That managed a tiny chuckle out of her. "A-as nice as that would be... I just can't sit around and believe that. Y-you saved me, MC, and I don't wanna let that go to waste. So, for as long as I'm still alive, I wanna do right by you."

"But you don't need to do right by me. And even if you did, after today, you've more than made up for it."

"W-well... you're still the guy I like," her gaze averted slightly. "And you can't fault a girl for wanting to look good in front of her crush..."

A smile finally worked its way onto MC's face. "Well, I can admit you looked cool today. Kinda."

"Kinda?"

"Only a little," MC conceded. With the heaviest stuff out of the way, he pulled her into a hug. "Sayori, you know I love you. Maybe not in the way you love me, but you're my best friend. That'll never, ever change."

That actually seemed to deflate her a little bit, despite her sinking into his embrace. "... does that mean you're rejecting me?"

"... I didn't say that." MC could feel his face heating up. "I just... don't know right now. Kind of a lot going on for me to process that right now."

"... okay," she accepted. "... I love you too, MC. Even if you're really reckless, and really stupid, and don't know when to shut up sometimes... you're still my best friend, too."

He'd readily take that. "Does that mean I also looked cool today?"

"Kinda."

"Kinda?"

"Only a little."

"I'll take it." They remained wrapped in each other's embrace. A part of MC noted how natural it felt—the rest of him made a point not to think about that right now, especially with how vulnerable Sayori was currently.

"So... three days," Sayori said eventually. "Is there a plan at all?"

"Not at the moment," MC admitted. "I'm sure you guessed it, but that was just to buy us some time."

His best friend seemed to debate the scheme briefly. "Not the worst thing you could have come up with, I guess."

"We're both still alive and breathing, so I'll take it. I do have a plan for the immediate future, though."

Sayori leaned back, looking into him. "You do?"

MC grinned. "Pizza. I'm starving."

Sayori's expression turned deadpan. "Really?"

"I did promise, didn't I? Don't pretend like you aren't starving too."

For as much as Sayori looked like she wanted to retort, she ultimately didn't. "... yeah, I am."

"Then it's settled. Pizza for dinner, and maybe even a movie. We can ignore... the rest of this until tomorrow." More than a few things had been toppled over during Natsuki's forcible entry and ensuing brawl with Sayori. Miraculously, the TV had survived completely unscathed. Which boded well, all things considered.

Sayori smiled. "Sounds good to me." And despite it all, MC dared to hope that things would all work out as he looked into his best friend's smile.

But then again, it wasn't like he had much of a choice either.

This won't be the last of the content warnings, but I'm sure you all already knew that. Regardless, I won't flood future chapters with them. For as dramatic as this story is, I don't want this to become a deeply traumatic descent into the characters' psyches. Each of the club members has their problems, and they'll be explored and given their proper weight and gravity for sure, but not to the point where it becomes the focal point of this story. We do have a premise to keep up with, after all.

Again, thanks for your patience. See you next time. Slalem out.