Chapter 5: Chapter Four- A Relaxing Day Accompanied By Harsh Truths
"Ow!" I let out a pained cry.
I was currently in class. My whole body was sore. Why? When I was working out yesterday, I chose to push myself to the limit. Needless to say, I've learned my lesson.
"Ow…hm?" When I straightened up and raised my head, I saw a note on my desk.
I searched my surroundings to try and identify the person who gave it to me. However, everyone was focused on the lesson and taking notes. Could it have been Hayashi? Well, only one way to find out.
"Keep it up…you're funny to look at."Even though it hurt, I allowed myself to slouch over my desk. My pain was somebody else's amusement!
Ring! As soon as the bell rang, we knew that class was over. With all the courage I could muster, I stood up.
"Please! Go away, pain!" I whispered to myself.
"Hey! Did you get my note?" A feminine voice called out to me.
"So it was you." I turned to look at her. "Please don't do that. This is painful for me, you know?"
"But you have to admit, it's kinda funny." Seriously? A random girl tells me that my suffering is funny and then acts as if we were friends. What the hell?
"Knock it off, Sasaki. He doesn't find it funny." Hayashi came out from behind her and smacked her head. Ouch.
"Hey! That was mean, Kazuki! You didn't have to hit me!" Oh, they seem to know each other already. I quickly and painfully fled the classroom as soon as she stopped paying attention.
"Look what you did! He escaped!" These were the last words I heard from them before the hallway chitchat masked their voices.
"What a guy." Hayashi saved my skin there, whether on purpose or not. I'll definitely thank him later.
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"You do remember what tomorrow is, right, Sayori?" I asked Sayori as we were walking back home. Things in the literature club were calm for once. We mostly read on our own, with the exception of the occasional conversation.
"Tommorow? Ah! That's right. We hang out tomorrow!"
"Did you forget?"
"N-No…"
"Then why did it sound like you did forget?"
"I didn't forget!" Sayori pouted. "I just…almost forgot."
"So you did forget then."
"I said I almost forgot!"
"So if I didn't remind you, were you going to show up?"
"Ehehe…"
"Sigh…I guess you can't help it. can you?"
"B-But can you blame me? I was having so much fun this week! It makes me very happy to see you making friends with everyone in the club!"
"Alright, alright. I understand. I'll see you tomorrow, Sayori." We had arrived at Sayori's house, which was only a minute away from mine.
"See you~!"Sayori shouted as she enthusiastically waved at me.
What a sweet person. Looking at her, you would have no idea she was depressed. But I'll change that. I'll change everyone's fut–
"Huh, what a good friend you got there."
"AH!" I jumped. The voice came out of nowhere!
"H-Hayashi?" It was one of my…friends? I still didn't know what our relationship was.
"Ah, sorry about that. Didn't mean to scare you." He said in a bored voice.
"Well you did!" I yelled exasperated. "Wait. How did you know where I live?"
"Hm? I just followed you." He said it as if it were the most normal thing to do.
"Anyway," He just brushed it off? "Just wanted to apologize for my friend's behavior earlier." So that's what this is about.
"Oh, just tell her to not to do that again, please?"
"Will do." Thank god that's over. Now to go ho–
"But I also have to apologize for something else as well." Sigh
"Sasaki's…probably going to keep teasing you."
"Great…why?"
"I don't know either. She does this to every guy she finds interesting." Wow, that sounds rough.
"Well, that's all I had to say. See ya." Hayashi nonchalantly waved and walked away.
"Why do these things happen to me?"
I'm not even surprised anymore…I'm just going to take a nap.
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Knock! Knock! Knock!
"..."
Knock! Knock! Knock!
"Wha–"
"Fumiya! Are you awake?"
Sayori? What is she doing here? I got up from my bed, still in my school clothes, and went to open the door.
"Y-Yo." I greeted Sayori awkwardly. "Did you forget something?" I imagined she did. I only slept for a few hours.
"Eh? Um…Fumiya?"
"Yeah?"
"We don't have school today, you know, right?"
What.
"What? B-But it's Saturday after school, I took a nap, and—oh." I just realized what happened. The morning sun and chirping birds are a dead giveaway.
"I slept through the whole night, didn't I?"
"Ehehe~ You can be cute sometimes too!"
Normally I'd be flustered after hearing that, but Monika's constant display of affection is helping a lot; it's still slightly embarrassing to hear.
"Oh! It's my turn to fix your hair!" I had just woken up, so my hair was a complete mess..
"Fine, but come inside." I told her. "It's a bit cold." After all, it was late October.
"Okay!" She entered my house skipping.
"Wow!" She exclaimed, looking around my living room. "It hasn't changed at all!"
"Right…I'm going to take a shower and change. You could, uh…watch TV if you want."
"O-Oh, alright!"
I went upstairs and started showering. I had things to think about. Like how I'll explain why my parents aren't here or what we're going to do today. It was a spur of the moment decision when I suggested that Sayori and I hang out today. I have no idea what to actually do. Do we play UNO? Do we play board games?
Even though my social skills have improved, I have no idea how to keep a friendship going. I do have to wonder, however, if someone like Sayori would be friends with me in the first place. We only have this friendship right now because it was predetermined to exist...
How ironic. I keep telling myself that Sayori and Yuri should be more confident, but here I am with these self-deprecating thoughts.
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My nose was filled with the aroma of eggs as I made my way downstairs. Did she make breakfast? I smell something burning though…
"Sayori? Are you cooking?" I yelled as I entered the kitchen.
"Ahh! Don't look!" Sayori frantically tried to block me from looking but failed. The eggs were burned.
"Oh…"
"I-I'm sorry! I tried to cook us some eggs because you hadn't eaten breakfast, but I got distracted!" She spoke in a fast and flustered manner.
"W-Well, at least you didn't almost burn down the house." I said this in an attempt to lift her spirits.
"H-Hey! T-That was an accident!" Apparently, that had the opposite effect on her. Seriously, though, what happened? She makes me lunch every day, and they all came out fine, so what happened this time?
"W-What do we do, Fumiya?" Snapping me out of my thoughts, Sayori asked me an important question.
"Let's see…Oh! We could try cooking together." I think that's a good thing to do to pass time and also because I want to see how Sayori cooks.
"That's a great idea! Here!" She gave me one of the aprons my parents used. She was wearing a pink apron that my mother used to wear; it actually suited her well.
I gave her a gentle smile. "Let's get started."
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We decided to give cooking eggs another shot. Sayori, with my help, learned some other cooking tips. I hope it sticks.
"Ehehe~" Sayori let out a giggle as we were finishing cooking.
"Hm? Something happened?"
"We look like a married couple!" Sayori brazenly yelled.
"Cough W-Wha Cough are you Cough saying!?" I began to choke on my saliva when she said that. Does she just say anything that comes to mind?
"Ehehe~"
"Don't 'ehehe~' me!" I lightly chopped Sayori's head. "L-Let's just eat."
I served the food on the table before sitting down.
"Thank you for the food." We both said in unison.
"Mmm! It tasfes redy goof!"
"I'm glad you like it, but you shouldn't talk with your mouth full of food."
She swallowed her food. "Sorry~ It tastes so good that I couldn't help it!" That's Sayori for you.
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As we were washing the dishes, I remembered something important.
"Isn't the cultural festival this coming Friday?"
"Mhm!" She nodded. "We're making cupcakes!" Oh yeah. That's what she and Monika were talking about the other day.
"Is that it though? Just cupcakes?" It couldn't just be cupcakes; we're not the cooking club, and also because we end up doing a pamphlet, or something like that, in the game.
"Well… I have no idea!" What a great answer, Sayori. "Why? Are you excited?!"
I would be lying if I said I wasn't excited. This would be the first cultural festival I'd spend with friends. Also, this would mark the end of the knowledge I have of the game. The game became crazy at that point, and we never got to see the cultural festival; I'd be flying blind.
"I guess I am." I told her. "We should ask Monika what we're going to do, though."
"Okay~!"
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"Wow! That's a lot of books!" Sayori exclaimed.
We were currently in my room. Sayori did tell me she wanted to visit my room, so I indulged her.
"Is this how you do it?" Sayori tried lifting one of my weights to no avail.
"Sigh. You should stop before you hurt yourself."
"Booo~" She said before jumping onto my bed. How much energy does she have?
"Ehehe~ Your bed is so comfortable, Fumiya~ and—" She sniffed my bedsheets. "It smells just like you!"
"D-Don't go sniffing my bed!" I yelled, exasperated. "You wouldn't want me sniffing yours, would you?"
"I wouldn't mind…" Again with the muttering. I can't hear her.
"What did you say?"
"N-Nothing!" She sat up straight, her face flushed. It looks like she won't tell me.
"Alright then, what do you want to do?" I asked her. I had no idea what to do next.
"Um…something fun?" Sigh. This was going to be a long day.
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In the end, we decided to play some video games and then watch some of Sayori's favorite shows. I didn't know she liked K-On! Well, I didn't even know what the anime was about until she told me about it.
In the evening, Sayori told me she wanted to stay the night, but I immediately rejected the idea. I told her that her parents, whom I didn't know existed until now, would be worried. At first, she was reluctant to go but finally went home when I promised that we would hang out again.
"As long as she's happy." I mumbled under my breath.
I was making my way toward the literature club. Today would make a whole week since I've been transported here.
"Hey! You!" Someone yelled from behind as I was walking.
"Hm? What's wron–oh, it's you." I turned around to see who it was, and it was the girl, Sasaki, who is Hayashi's friend.
"Hey! Don't be like that! I just want to talk to you!" Sasaki exclaimed.
"I'd rather not." I told her. "I have places to be." Unfortunately, Sayori wasn't walking with me today. She said she needed to help a teacher with something.
"Just hear me out!"
"I said no already." Why was she so persistent? I started walking away from her faster.
"Doki Doki Literature Club," Sasaki said.
I stopped walking and turned to face her.
"How do you know about that?" How? Is she like me? What is going on?
"So you'll hear me out?"
"Just spill it." I knew it was uncharacteristic of me to be this agitated, but she knew something about my situation. I needed to know.
"Alright, jeez. Don't have to be rude about it."
"..."
"Fine, have it your way."
"You know we're in the world of the game, right?"
"Yeah."
"How did you get transported here?"
"Ugh, that." She said in an annoyed voice. "I was just hanging around when this really strong headache appeared." She said. " A few hours later, my vision blurred, and I was just here." Interesting, so the headache was part of it.
"Now let me ask you something. What is she doing?" She?
"Monika?"
"Who else?"
"She's doing fine, I guess."
"Not that, dumbass!" Rude. "I'm talking about her weird powers."
"She doesn't have those anymore."
"Wait, really?" Sasaki looked dumbfounded.
"She told me she woke up without her powers and that the people outside looked 'real.'"
"Are you sure you can believe her? What if she's—"
"Who are you talking to, Fumiya-kun?" I recognize that voice.
"M-Monika, w-what's up?" Her words sounded sweet, but her true feelings were clear.
"Oh, me? Nothing much." She walked up to Sasaki. "Just wondering why you're talking to someone like her." Monika snickered.
"Someone like me? What are you trying to say?" Sasaki's eyes narrowed at Monika.
"You know what I meant, slut." My eyes widened at her words. What the hell!
"You've done it now, you bitch!" Sasaki grabbed Monika by the hair.
"Hey! Stop!" I quickly grabbed Monika by the shoulders, and I tried to pull her off Sasaki.
"Let go, Sasaki!" I yelled.
"Not until this bitch apologizes!" Sasaki said, making things worse.
"Me?! Apologize?! You're the one who's getting too close to him! He's not yours!" What the hell is wrong with Monika?
"Oh yeah?! So he belongs to you?!"
"You're not helping, Sasaki! Just let go and leave!" I yelled at Sasaki.
"Tch! Fine!" She finally let go and ran away.
"Why were you defending her, Fumiya-kun?! Why were you even talk–"
"Stop!"
"But–"
"Just stop!" I yelled at Monika, angry at this situation.
Her green eyes looked at me with confusion.
"I'm not yours." I sternly said. "At all."
"You don't even love me."
"B-But I–"
"Stop! You listen to me!" I took a deep breath. "You're not in love with me, and I know that. You're in love with the idea of me. You're in love with the idea of someone else being real and understanding you. You would have said the same thing to an old man or even a girl if they had shown up instead of me, wouldn't you?"
"N-No! I really do love you!"
"Sure you do." I scoffed. "What do you even know about me?! Besides my name and age!"
"I-I–"
"That's right. Nothing. You know nothing about me. You say you're going to make me fall in love with you, but what have you done this past week?! The only thing that you did was make your confession and write the message on the back of your poem. You didn't try to talk to me at all! I'm aware that it is hypocritical of me to not make an effort to speak with you, but I already know a lot about you. I know the effort you put into running the club. I know how passionate you are about the club. I know how caring you can actually be. I know that you suffered every time the game was closed. I know that you're lonely and just want someone by your side; I understand that. But your love for me isn't real, it's misguided"
"..."
"And you know what's even worse? " I said. "I know Sayori likes me. Just like yours, her love isn't real either. Or maybe it is, I don't know!" Tears were starting to fall from my face.
"Sayori was programmed to love the main character; tell me. Does that sound like genuine love? I keep saying that this world is now real because of the other people here, but what do I know! They could all be code! Hell, I might be code!"
I let all of my thoughts out. All my doubts, insecurities, and theories were just laid bare. I was a horrible person, and I knew it. I knew I was disregarding their feelings, but I just had to let it out.
"F-Fumiya…" Monika was looking down at the floor. Her sobs were falling to the ground.
"I'm sorry, but I'm not going to the club today. I-I need some time to think."
I then turned away from the first girl who had ever confessed to me in tears, leaving her by herself.
I truly, utterly hate myself.
Author's Note
Arc 1- A Calamitous Week is finished.
Leaving on a really sad note, huh?
Fumiya has finally laid bare what he had been thinking this whole time. This was what he meant when he mentioned his personal problems in chapter two.
I wanted to show that, despite being shown affection, Fumiya's trauma doesn't let him accept it. The emotional negligence of his parents plays a huge part in Fumiya's character, he isn't perfect.
Alongside the other girls, Fumiya has to grow and mature as a person.
I know this is a short arc, but that was the point, to hit the readers hard.
Before taking a 2-3 week break to gather my thoughts and ideas for the story. I'll write a few short stories from the girls' perspectives. I'll also gladly look at suggestions and respond to comments. Thanks for reading!
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