Chapter 13: A Story to Tell

The following day after Michael had helped Sayori and Monika with the pamphlets. He wakes up with his eyes slightly burning and having a bit of a hangover. He got out of bed and headed to his kitchen to get a glass of water. He then went back to his room to do his normal morning routine before Yuri comes over. He felt sluggish after some old wounds reopened again, but he knew he had a job to do today and that was to help Yuri with decorations. When he finishes getting ready, he sees a text from Yuri.

"I'll be arriving at your house around twelve if that's okay with you? If not, I could come over at a different time that fits with you?" He responded to her message, letting her know that the time she picked is just fine. With two hours to spare before she arrives. He decided to take a walk outside to clear his head. He walked to the nearest park close by his house thinking about his actions yesterday. He regretted what he did and said to them even though they weren't too harsh or disrespectful. While on his stroll he saw a familiar figure standing in front of the pond.

Michael: "Sayori?"

Sayori: "MC?"

Michael: "What brings you here?"

Sayori: "I could say the same thing? Shouldn't you be at home helping Yuri?"

Michael: "She won't be at my place until twelve, so I thought I could use this time to take in some fresh air."

Sayori: "I see."

Michael: "What about you?" He stands next to Sayori.

Sayori: "Just doing some thinking."

Michael: "About what?"

Sayori: "Uh you know about the Festival." He looks to her curiously.

Sayori: "Do you ever wonder about life?"

Michael: "About life?"

Sayori: "Yeah like what's your purpose in life and will life go on even when your dead?" He doesn't respond to her question. "Oh well it doesn't matter. In the end when someone dies, they end up forgotten. I should be heading home now?"

Michael: "Sayori?"

Sayori: "See you later MC. Tell Yuri I said hi and be nice to her." She smiles to him before leaving.

Michael: "See you too?" (Something seemed off about her, but what? The way she talked, she didn't sound like her usual self.) He shakes his head. "I need to head back home too. I need to practice my performance before Yuri shows up."

On his way home Michael remained troubled at what Sayori said earlier. He tried to put the pieces together but couldn't. When he turned around the corner to where his house is, he saw someone out front of his place.

"Yuri?"

Yuri: "Oh h-hello M-Michael."

Michael: "What are you doing here so early? It's not even twelve yet?"

Yuri: "I-I'm sorry. I don't know what compelled me to come here earlier than I intended?"

Michael: "How long have you been waiting out here?"

Yuri: "O-only about five minutes. I knocked, but no one responded."

Michael: "Sorry, I went out for a walk, but why couldn't you just call me?"

Yuri: "Oh it must've slipped my mind?" (Yuri you idiot!)

Michael: "Well since you're here, we could finish a lot sooner. Come on in." He leads Yuri to the inside of his house.

Yuri: "Oh my it's lovely in here."

Michael: "Thanks. Come on up. We can work on the decorations in my room."

Yuri: "Very well." They both walk up to his room. "How did the pamphlets go yesterday?"

Michael: "It went well. We manage to finish forty of them."

Yuri: "That's wonderful to hear."

Michael: "Well here's my room." He opens the door and allows her to enter first.

Yuri: "Oh wow it's so clean."

Michael: "I made sure to clean it before you or the others arrived." (Shit! Why did I tell her that!?)

Yuri: "That's very thoughtful of you, but if you allowed me. I wouldn't mind helping clean a bit myself?"

Michael: "I see." (Roll with it.) "So, what are we going to do exactly?"

Yuri: "Oh right. I was thinking of using curtains to make the room dark and using some clear Christmas lightings as our light source. Not only that but have a banner on top of where we're be performing."

Michael: "Ok, so what do we do first?"

Yuri: "Well luckily I got ahead start with some of the designing yesterday, so all we have to do is complete it. I dropped by the store to get water paint, some glitter, glue and a stitching kit. We can start with the curtains first by attaching these stars on them."

Michael: "Sounds easy? Let's get started."

Yuri: "Wait!" Michael stops at whatever he was about to do and looks at her. "O-oh I'm sorry for shouting, but if it's alright with you, m-may I please use my Jasmin oil candles?"

Michael: "Huh?"

Yuri: "It helps me be calm and focus."

Michael: "Oh, well ok. You can place them on my nightstand over there." He points behind her.

Yuri: "Th-thank you." She pulls out her candles from one of the bags and sets them on his nightstand. "Okay I'm all set."

Michael: "Alright then. Let's begin."

And so, they began. What sounded easy to him at first was in reality very difficult as he kept messing up with the stitching until Yuri taught him how to do it properly. Luckily for him and her, Michael was quick to adapt and was able to make good progress. Thanks to her help the both of them were able to finish stitching the stars on the curtains within about two hours of hard work.

After they finished Michael offered Yuri some water during their break before they get started with the banner. After relaxing for a couple of minutes, Yuri brought out the banner along with the water paint. The paint was wrapped really awkwardly that it was almost impossible to open normally. It wasn't until Yuri brought out her knife and sliced open the 'impossible' wrap.

Michael: "Hey that's a cool looking knife you got there." He points at it.

Yuri: "Y-you think so?"

Michael: "Yeah can I see it?"

Yuri: "W-well if you like to then here you go?" She puts on the cap back on the knife before giving it to him.

Michael: "What a very unique one you got here? Where did you get your hands on it?" Yuri stays silent.

Yuri: "... You may think I'm weird, but I have a f-fascination with knives."

Michael: "I don't think it's weird." She stares at him for what he just said.

Yuri: "Y-you don't think I'm … weird?"

Michael: "You have interests. Nothing wrong with that so long as it doesn't harm others. I don't shame anyone, because I'm no better."

Yuri: "Y-yes I suppose your right? Thank you for being understanding."

Michael: "You're welcome." (Man, this knife looks really cool. I wonder what the edges feel like?) "Ouch!"

Yuri: "Michael what are you doing!? It's very sharp at the edge."

Michael: "I can see that now." (At what point did I think that was a good idea?)

Yuri: "Here let me see that." She takes a closer look at his wound. A single drop of blood started to leak out of his finger, but Yuri keeps her focus on it.

Michael: "Um Yuri are you squeamish? I could go wash it off it would make you feel … woah!" Yuri sticks his finger into her mouth. He felt the warmth from her mouth and the slick of her tongue until he pulled out.

Yuri: "Oh I-I'm very s-sorry I don't know what came over me? Oh, I'm so e-embarrassed now." She covers her bright red face.

Michael: "I-it's ok Yuri. You didn't do anything wrong. You were only trying to help." She doesn't respond. (Got to think of something to make her feel better or at least take some of the tension away from her?)

He looks at Yuri's embarrassed look one more time. (Well, it's all or nothing.) He grabs her hand and does the same thing to her.

Yuri: "Huh!? M-M-M-M-Michael?"

Michael: "Now we're even." He smiles. (Please let this work.)

Yuri: "Y-y-yes I suppose we are." Her red face changes to light pink with a cute smile.

Michael: "That's great to hear." (Phew glad that helped.) He looks at the banner. (Oh god what have I done?)

Yuri: (This is so embarrassing.) They both struggled getting back to work for a while.

An hour had passed and they were already making good progress after that awkward event. That is until they both tried to reach for the paint on each other's side.

Yuri & Michael: "Kya!" They bumped into each other's head.

Michael: "Yuri I'm sorry are you ok?"

Yuri: "Yes I'm alright. I'm very sorry about that. I should've asked instead of reaching for it?"

Michael: "No I'm the one who should be sorry. I should've asked you first."

Yuri: "No I'm sorry."

Michael: "No it was clearly my fault." They kept at it for another good five minutes until he notices something on her face. "Hey, you got some paint on your face.

Yuri: "Oh my. It must've jumped a bit when I was painting?"

Michael: "Wait here, I'll get you a towel to wash it off properly." He gets up and grabs a small towel from his closet and rushes to the bathroom. He placed the towel into some hot water and went back to Yuri. "Here you go." He places the towel onto her cheek, but Yuri jumped a bit. "Are you ok?"

Yuri: "Y-yes I'm fine. It's a bit hot that it surprised me."

Michael: "Sorry about that. I thought that if I put it into warm water, it would have cooled down too soon."

Yuri: "No, no, it's feeling a bit comforting now."

Michael: "I see, well I'll leave you the towel then and huh?" Just when he was about to move away from her, Yuri held on to his hand.

Yuri: "Just a bit longer."

Michael: "What?"

Yuri: "Please, just like this awhile longer." She looks at him with seductive eyes. It took Michael time to realize it, but she had beautiful purple eyes. Her eyes were like jewels. Beautiful.

Michael: "Ok" He remains still, lost in her eyes. Even though Yuri can't see his eyes underneath his hair. Her eyes were focused on him and his were the same. "Yuri … tell me more of the story. The story you were talking about before?"

Yuri: "You sure?"

Michael: "Yes, I want to hear more about it from you."

Yuri: "If that's what you want then I will." She closes her eyes before speaking again to tell the story.

[Join Me In Death by HIM.]

"I left off with the princess being shy but wanting to see the world outside her castle. Being alone all her life. All she could ever do was look up at the sky. Day in and day out. From the bright mornings to the night where the stars shine the brightest. Despite her wanting to leave the castle. She feared what lies on the outside world. She felt she could never leave her home until she decided to go for it. To take a chance.

She left home to see the village nearby but feared what it contained. She was lost and couldn't find her way back home until someone guided her. A prince saved her. She knew he was a prince with the way he carries himself and he knows that she's a princess. She felt nervous meeting him for she never interacted with anyone else before. With no hesitation and a bright smile, the prince invited the princess to join him for a walk.

Her thoughts swirled. She was left with confusion. Despite her shy personality and only just meeting him. The princess accepted his offer. She wasn't sure why she accepted it, but she knew she had to leave the comfort of her home to see the world. The more time she spent with him the more time she knew he was an honest person. Every day they would meet up and spend quality time together. Walking, talking, and laughing. Every moment she spent time with him. She knew she was having stronger feelings for him. In the end she felt stronger emotions. Emotions she couldn't understand and so they overwhelmed her."

Yuri places her hands onto his face and Michael does the same, dropping the towel he placed on her rosy cheek.

Michael: "What happens next?"

Yuri: "That's all I could say."

Michael: "Really?"

Yuri: "Yes" She says taking his breath away. They both closed their eyes and leaned in closer. The only sound they heard were each other's heart beats. Nothing else mattered to them. (This is it.)

Michael: (Could I do this?)

Michael & Yuri: (His/Her heart beats. It puts me at ease.) Just when they got closer, their lips almost touching each other. Feeling each other's hot breath. Their faces burning like crazy. They were only one centimeter away from locking lips. However just before that happened.

[Song Ends]

Michael: "I … I can't do this." They both snapped back into reality. "I'm sorry Yuri, but I can't. I just can't."

Yuri: "W-what?"

Michael: "I can't be with you or anyone else. I'm already in a relationship."

Yuri: "Y-you are?"

Michael: "Yeah I'm sorry for leading you into this." He gets on his hands and knees bowing to her. "I'm sorry for the crimes I committed. I understand if you hate me now. You deserve for better than this."

Yuri: "N-no, no, no. I'm the one who should be sorry. I almost caused you to cheat."

Michael: "Don't be sorry. I should've said something sooner, but instead I kept it to myself. I'm the one who should say sorry." (I really am no different than him.)

Yuri: "No don't be. My Jasmin oil causes aphrodisiac. I'm the one who asked for your permission to use them and it caused you to be affected by it. I'm very sorry." (It's my fault for getting my hopes up.) "Michael, may I ask a question?"

Michael: "Yeah, anything"

Yuri: "What's she like?" He looks away from her. It was clear that something was wrong, but for Yuri she didn't know the full story.

Michael: "I would prefer not to talk about her."

Yuri: "I understand. Sorry for asking. Let us continue our work."

Michael: "Yeah"

The both them continued working on the banner. They worked on it without saying a word or so much as look at each other. The only time they did talk was about making sure they didn't make any mistakes on the banner. After spending hours making it, they finally finished.

"We did it. Just in time before it gets dark."

Yuri: "That's good to hear. Michael, may I ask you if we could leave the banner here until the Festival? The paint isn't dry yet for me to take it home."

Michael: "Sure, may I lead you out the door?"

Yuri: "Yes please." Both left his room to the front door of the house. "I'll see at the Festival."

Michael: "Yeah sure." Yuri smiles before leaving. "… Hey Yuri." She stops walking and looks at him. "Listen … there's nothing wrong with you. I think you're a beautiful girl who could find someone better than me."

Yuri: "Thank you. I'm looking forward to your performance." She bows before she leaves for home.

When she left Michael went back to his room and punches the nearest wall. While Yuri walks home with tears in her eyes.

Michael: "Damn it!" He slides to the floor back against the wall. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for hurting you. If I wasn't with someone else, I would have kissed you right there. I don't want you or the others to be dragged by me. There is only one person who accepted me. She's the only one who could understand me and shows me her love. Even though she has a tough way of showing it."

He places his fist near his heart. "God I'm a fuck up."

End of Chapter 13