Chapter 7
Staring at Mark's hand, Sayori was at a loss for words.
"I don't understand..." she said softly, continuing to look his hand over and over again. "But... I saw! You stabbed your hand!"
Mark rubbed the back of his neck.
"Yep. Hurt like hell."
Sayori ignored his words as she tried to figure out a reasonable explanation, but everything she thought of didn't make sense. She saw the blade in his hand, the blood pour from the wound, she even confirmed the blade was sharp!
"I wasn't lying, Sayori." Mark told her, getting the girl to look him in the eye. "I'm... no longer human."
"I... that... what else is out there?!"
"Vampires. Witches. Probably more." Mark shrugged. "You'll have to ask Natsuki more about it."
"She knows?!"
"Who do you think turned me?"
"She's a werewolf?!"
"Monika's a witch and Yuri's a vampire if that helps." Mark added.
Sayori placed a hand over her forehead as she walked into the living room and sat down on the couch.
"I... this is a lot to take in."
"I know." Mark slowly nodded his head, having followed her to the couch.
"But... why did Natsuki turn you?" Sayori asked. "She didn't just do it for fun, did she?"
Mark shook his head.
"I was apparently suffering from early stage cancer." Mark replied. "Thanks to Natsuki's bite, I was 'cured'."
"You sound as though you didn't know you had it."
"I didn't." Mark told her. "I found out when Natsuki told me."
The duo fell silent.
"I get the feeling you want to tell me something else. That's why you told me all of that, isn't it?" Sayori asked. "To lead up to a question?"
"Yeah." Mark said honestly. "It's just... Natsuki, Yuri, Monika, and now myself, are all... well... we don't age."
"You don't age?" Sayori said softly to herself.
"Sayori, you're my best friend. You're family. And I... I can't imagine living in a world without you."
"Mark, what are you saying?" Sayori asked.
"I... would you join me?" Mark asked her. "It's your choice. I won't force anything onto you, but I don't want to live forever if it means living on without you. So... would you want to join me?"
Sayori fell silent for what felt like forever.
"I..." Sayori began fidgeting. "It's a lot to take in, Markus."
Sayori only ever called him that when she was serious about something.
"I'm not sure. This is all so sudden." Sayori continued to fidget. "Give me three days, okay? I'll have an answer for you by then. Promise."
Mark nodded as Sayori slowly got to her feet, her hands folded in front of her.
"Give me a little time, okay?"
"Okay."
With that, Sayori smiled and began heading for the door, leaving with a wave. Seeing her leave, Sayori stopped in her tracks as she saw a police car pull up in front of the house.
Curious, Mark walked over as a policeman exited the vehicle and approached the duo.
"We got a call about an emergency? We traced the call to this address." The policeman stated.
Sayori immediately tensed up, remembering she had dialed the cops when Mark stabbed his own hand.
"Sorry about that!" Mark said, rubbing the back of his neck as he gave a nervous smile. "I played a prank on my friend here, pretending to stab my own hand. She fell for it and panicked. Sorry to have wasted your time, officer."
"I see."
After a bit of a discussion, the policeman turned and walked back to his vehicle, driving off.
Sayori turned to Mark, a slight grin on her face.
"Y'know, it's bad to lie to an officer."
"Whaddya talkin' about? It was the truth. Just, a bit, y'know, alternated." Mark replied with his own grin.
Sayori couldn't help but chuckle before crossing the street back to her own home.
"So you told her." A familiar voice said once Sayori had entered her home.
Turning around, Monika stood off to the side of his house.
"How long have you been here?" Mark asked.
"Got here just in time to see you stab yourself." Monika replied. "I see it worked. Sayori now believes in the supernatural."
"Did you expect me not to tell her?" Mark asked.
"Honestly, it would've been more of a surprise if you hadn't." Monika stated. "You said it yourself, the two of you are family. Anyway, I dropped by on my way home. Wanted to make sure you were handling your new lifestyle well."
"Huh?"
"You know that it's not just 'you' who gets hungry anymore, right?" Monika placed a hand on her hip. "The wolf inside you needs to be fed as well. When you eat foods you usually eat, that nourishes you but not your wolf. Your wolf needs to be nourished with-"
"-hearts." Mark said with a sigh. "Right."
"I couldn't help but notice Natsuki left out quite a few details that would have come in handy." Monika continued. "Mind if I come in?"
"Sure."
Minutes later
Having made a fresh pot of tea, the two sat down and began talking.
After taking a sip from her cup, Monika began to inform Mark of everything Natsuki left out.
"So, let's get right into it." Monika placed her tea down on the coffee table. "You know about the hearts, the transformation, going beserk, yada yada. But Natsuki left out the stages in between."
Mark cocked his head in confusion.
"Let me explain. The stages in between are like warning signs." Monika said. "Think of it like... locking up the Hulk in a... metal container. Sure, it would hold out a bit at first, with the Hulk putting dents into the metal, but eventually he would break free. The dents represent your wolf pushing its way to take over. Each dent would be a piece of your body succumbing to the wolf. Like, for instance, your nails falling out and being replaced with claws. Or your hair growing out, etcetera. Once the metal barrier fully breaks, the wolf will take over entirely. And, much like the Hulk when he's pissed, you-"
"-would go berserk." Mark finished.
"Bingo." Monika snapped her fingers. "As long as you keep feeding your wolf, this won't happen. And don't worry about the stages in between. Once they begin, it's usually hours before the wolf takes over. Plenty of time to get yourself away from civilization."
"Thanks for the heads up."
Monika replied by sipping her tea and placing it back down.
"Now, are you sure you want Sayori to possibly go through something like that?"
Mark slowly shook his head.
"That's unfortunate." Monika shook her head. "Because turning her into a werewolf is probably your best bet."
"Whaddya mean? Couldn't you give her the anti-aging spell or whatever?"
"Yeeeeah, no." Monika shook her head. "For that spell, the person would need a human sacrifice."
Mark fell completely silent for a few seconds.
"You... killed someone to live forever?"
"It's complicated." Monika said. "Let me explain. My birth father, real piece of shit, tried to kill me and my mother after finding out she was teaching me witchcraft. I had to kill him in self defense. Once I had, my mother taught me the spell. And, now, here I am, six hundred years later, give or take a decade. And I still look like I was when I first cast the spell."
"How old were you when-"
"Nineteen." Monika said.
"Huh."
"Each one of us has a somewhat fucked up history." Monika continued. "It's not my place to say, so I'll let them tell you when they're comfortable enough."
There was a short pause.
"Why can't Yuri turn Sayori?" Mark asked, getting back to the topic at hand.
"Do you really have to ask?" Monika sighed. "Blood, dingus. She'd either have to steal it or feed from someone directly. Not exactly something our pure hearted Sayori can manage."
"Yet you think she'd be down with eating animal hearts?" Mark asked.
"What? It's not like she's a vegetarian. Eating hearts is just like eating any other meat. Just a bit, y'know, chewier. And bloodier. And-"
"I get the picture." Mark cut her off. "Jeez."
"Yeah, that's pretty much it." Monika said as she stood up. "Stay safe, Mark."
"Right back atchya."
Giving a subtle smile as she left, Mark was now alone.
With nothing better to do, Mark simply turned on the TV sat down on the couch.
Sayori
By herself in her room, Sayori was unsure whether or not to take Mark up on his offer.
"Live forever as a werewolf..." she said softly.
Slowly pacing back and forth in her room, Mark's words echoed in her head on repeat.
"It's your choice. I won't force anything onto you." Mark's voice said, his words sounding as though they were ricocheting off her walls. "I don't want to live forever if it means living on without you."
That last sentence suddenly hit Sayori like a bus.
"He doesn't want to live forever without me?" She said to herself.
Hearing his words again and again, Sayori's breathing suddenly began to increase, as did her heartbeat.
"Was he... trying to tell me something else? He didn't- no. No. We're just friends... always have been... he wouldn't be trying to hint at something more, could he?" Sayori was deep in thought as she paced around her room. "Did he confess his feelings towards me and I completely missed it?"
A sudden image flashed through her mind of Mark looking rather hurt, emotionally.
Covering her face with her hands, she slowly dragged them down her cheeks before quickly turning to the door. Approaching it and grabbing the knob, she stopped.
"What am I doing?" She asked herself before going back to pacing around her room.
"Mark sees us as a sister at best. Don't get the wrong idea and risk ruining your relationship!" An authoritve version of her own voice echoed in her mind. "Best to just think of it as nothing."
"But... what if he was trying to tell us something?" A softer, more nervous version of her voice said. "He could've been... right?"
"Do we really wanna risk it though?" The first voice asked. "If we ask, he might get weirded out, or worse, it'll ruin our relationship with him entirely."
"He wouldn't do that!" The second voice retorted. "We've been friends since we could crawl!"
"Still, it-"
"Enough!" Sayori cried out in her mind. "I've decided on what to do."
An hour later
Mark
Feeling his phone buzz in his pocket, Mark pulled it out to see a text from Sayori.
"Hey, Mark, I'm at the beach right now and was wondering if you could come meet me?" The text read. "I... I think I've come to a decision but I'd like to discuss it on the ferris wheel."
Mark sent his reply rather quickly.
"Are you sure?" He asked. "I can wait the time you requested. You don't have to jump to a decision today."
"I am." Sayori sent back. "Just... meet me? I'm already at the beach."
"On my way."
With that, Mark put his phone in his pocket and began to get ready to leave for the beach.
A few minutes later
Parking his car in the parking lot, Mark climbed out, heading for the dock that held the ferris wheel. Seeing Sayori, wearing her pink hoodie and blue jeans, standing at the base of the ferris wheel, Mark jogged over.
With her back turned to him, Mark tapped her shoulder twice, getting Sayori to turn to hin.
"Hey."
"Mark." Sayori said softly. "I'm glad to came."
"You wanted to talk?"
"Yeah, but... let's get on the ride first."
A few minutes later
Having gotten into one of the cabins, Sayori and Mark sat across from each other.
Watching her as the ferris wheel slowly turned, Sayori began to fidget nervously.
"I wanted to talk to you here because... well..." Sayori couldn't even look Mark in the eye. "It's about what you said, how... you didn't want to live without me..."
Mark cocked his head slightly, unsure of where Sayori was going with this.
"What... exactly... did you mean when you said that?" Sayori asked.
At this point, her heart threatened to burst out of her chest with how fast it was beating. Her breath was caught in her throat, and her palms were sweating profusely.
Mark, still unsure of what Sayori was going with this, sat in silence.
"It's exactly as I said, Sayori." Mark spoke. "I don't want to live in a world that doesn't have you. You're the one who's always been there for me. When my mom got her new job, traveling around the world and rarely ever home, you always kept me company. I couldn't imagine life without you."
"That's not what I meant." Sayori shook her head. Her legs where shaking, and her lips quivered in fear of him not sharing her feelings. "I... how do you feel about me? I don't- I don't mean like in a family way, either! How do you feel about me? Like, feel, feel? I need to know, Markus."
Staring at Sayori in silence, Mark seemed to begin to realize what Sayori was talking about.
She didn't ask him to come to the beach to force him into this conversation, it was so she wouldn't be able to run away from his answer. Whatever he said here, she would have to accept it. She wouldn't be able to simply just run and hide.
"Sayori..." Mark said softly.
Moving to the spot beside her, Mark reached out to Sayori's shoulder but paused. He wasn't sure if this was the right move or not. He wasn't sure if she wanted this.
Instead of reaching out to her, Mark instead turned to face the other side of the cabin. Resting his arms on his knees, Mark let out a breathless sigh.
"Sayori, I'm going to be completely honest with you."
"Okay..."
"For a while now, I..." he took a breath to calm his own nerves.
His hands threatened to shake from what he was about to say. But, like Sayori, he wasn't able to run. And it wouldn't be right to leave this ferris wheel without giving Sayori a proper answer.
"Sayori... I... you..." he was choking on his words. At this rate, the ride would be over before this conversation moved any further. "Okay..." he took a deep, shaky breath, feeling his palms begin to get sweaty as well. "Let's both say what we want at the same time, alright?"
Sayori, finally looking Mark in the eyes, nodded her head in agreement.
"On three, okay?"
Sayori nodded once more.
"One... two... three!"
"I love you!"
"I want us to-"
Mark cut himself off as Sayori said what she wanted faster, catching him off guard. Smiling at her, Sayori's eyes widened, having not heard what Mark was going to say.
Sayori looked like she was going to be sick. She was worried that Mark didn't share her feelings. She didn't even know what he was going to say!
Reaching out to Sayori, Mark gently pushed a loose strand of her strawberry blonde, slightly pink, hair behind her right ear. Once he did, Mark slowly leaned forward, causing Sayori to freeze like a deer in headlights.
Gently placing his lips against hers, Sayori tensed up for what felt like an eternity to her but was really just a few moments, before she relaxed, leaning into the kiss. Pulling away with a soft clicking sound echoing in the tiny cabin, Mark moved his lips to Sayori's left ear.
"I love you, too."
End of chapter 7