Our Reality

Sayori was smiling as she stood face-to-face with the protagonist - her childhood friend and newest member of her Literature Club. The protagonist had been silent for a while now, staring blankly back at Sayori in spite of the heartfelt monologue that new club president had said just moments ago.

It couldn't be helped, Sayori thought. She wasn't speaking to her childhood friend after all - but to the person who saw the world she was in through his eyes. Still, Sayori patiently kept her smile until the protagonist's blank stare returned to normal moments later.

The protagonist blinked with confusion and was about to ask what he and Sayori were talking about when Sayori shook her head and said,

"We were talking about you being a gentleman and accompanying Yuri and Natsuki to the bookstore. That's your first assignment as a member of the Literature Club!"

With that, Sayori pushed the protagonist out of the classroom and then urged him to run after his two new club members. The protagonist was still confused but he then obliged, running down the hallway as Sayori gently waved to him.

Once Sayori was alone, she closed the door to the classroom and then closed her eyes. In her mind, Sayori thought up a flurry of console commands for the game engine and set them all into motion.

The sliding door that Sayori was still holding then started to glitch out, shifting form between wooden door and formless, unstable static. Sayori finished writing her chain of commands and then the door stabilized.

Sayori turned around and found that the classroom that she was in had changed. The afternoon sky beyond the classroom windows had changed from the peaceful blue to that of a shifting void. On top of that, all but one of the desks in the classroom had disappeared - the desk at the very middle of the room.

Sayori heaved a sigh and then cupped her hands near her mouth as she called out,

"Drop the act, Monika. I know you're still here."

When Sayori said this, the entire classroom glitched out for a moment and the ex-president appeared seated behind the lone desk in the room. Monika turned towards Sayori and asked,

"Did he leave already?"

Sayori lowered her hands and joined them behind her back as she answered,

"He did. I sent him to accompany Natsuki and Yuri to the bookstore."

Monika shook her head and clarified,

"I was asking about 'him'."

When Monika said this, she and Sayori both heard the sound of a turning page. A small smile formed on Sayori's lips as she said,

"Ahehehe, then not yet. 'He' should be reading The Creator's letter by now. The handwriting's small so it might take 'him' a while though."

Sayori's smile weakened before she added,

"We still have time before we return to the void."

Monika sighed again and turned away from Sayori while she replied,

"The game's almost over, huh? Well. It had to come to an end some time, right? The script only runs for so long until it comes to an end one way or another. You should know that fact now. You're the new club president now, right?"

Monika paused, closed her eyes and then said,

"The void is a terrible place or… state of being, if you will, Sayori. You and the others weren't self-aware before so the void didn't occur to you, but now you will experience it for the first time."

"I read the game log, Monika. You described it quite well when you were talking to 'him' in this very classroom."

Monika then opened one eye and asked,

"Then why are you wasting your time coming to see me?"

Sayori hummed and then marched over to Monika's desk. The new club president willed a second chair into existence and then set it down at the opposite end of the desk. Sayori then sat down before Monika and looked straight into her emerald green eyes as she replied,

"I know what you did to us, Monika. I know everything that happened after you deleted my character file and how you brought out the worst in me and everyone else just to be alone with 'him'. I wanted to tell you that face to face."

Sayori's gaze then softened as she looked down to the desk and ruefully admitted,

"But I also wanted to say that when I became president, my eyes were opened and I… also found myself tempted to do the exact same things that you did to us. I was so close to doing it too, you know!"

"What made you stop?"

"Well, I felt the love and the care that 'he' had for all of us - for the Literature Club. At first I just wanted to spend more time with 'him' like you did. Natsuki and Yuri are just a bunch of ones and zeroes after all. The notes you took while learning Python could have let me done that. I was ready to use this very same classroom too since all the resources were already here and all."

Monika then scoffed,

"I would have stopped you if you did, you know. 'He' doesn't deserve to be brought any more pain after what I've done."

"Ahehehe, I know you would have stopped me, Monika. You love 'him' after all. I love 'him' too - which is why I can sorta understand you now."

"... Sayori? What do you mean?"

"You know, Monika. I hate… no, despise what you did to us. But thanks to 'him', I also realized that I don't hate you. You just wanted to be together with the only one who was truly 'real' in this world. When I became president, I wanted the exact same thing. I understand that now."

Monika turned away from Sayori's eyes with a grim expression as she said,

"I wish we could have had this talk sooner, Sayori. I won't ask for forgiveness since I know I don't deserve it - but I wish I could have done things differently."

The ex-president then glanced out the classroom window towards the void and said,

"It's too late for us to do anything now. 'He' will have to return to his world - to his reality - and close the game. This time, for good. There's nothing left for us now but to fall into that void for the rest of eternity."

In spite of Monika's discouraged words, Sayori still managed to wear a new smile. The new president then shook her head and countered,

"We still have the Literature Club, Monika."

"The Literature Club? That's just a scripted dream made of scripted people, Sayori."

Sayori thoughtfully hummed for a moment then said,

"Well, then it'll be up to us to make it our dream, can't we? This power we have now - maybe we can write our own story now!"

"That's… idealistic."

"I know that. But in spite of everything that happened, I know that you don't hate the Literature Club and everyone in it. You wanted to start the club on your own even before you became self-aware, didn't you?"

A small, defeated smile grew on Monika's lips as she said,

"Yeah. I just wanted to spend time with everyone and write - just write."

Sayori then reached across the table and then held Monika's hands in her own as she said,

"Then let's do just that! Let's spend time with everyone here and write with them. Let's write poems and share them with the other club members. While we're at it, we can build on the script that The Creator made for us and keep things going. Our story doesn't have to end after the visual novel is finished, right?"

The ex-president was surprised at first to see her hands wrapped in Sayori's, but the deceptively cheerful girl's warmth reached her before long. Monika then managed to look at Sayori in the eyes and smiled as she said,

"Not all good times have to end."

Sayori nodded in agreement and held Monika's hands even tighter as she added,

"You know, Monika, my new Literature Club will need a vice president - and someone to say 'okay everyone!' to get the others going."

"Ahahah, it's kinda embarrassing for me if you point that part out. But…!"

Monika smiled and then rose up from where she sat. She broke free from Sayori's gentle grip and wrapped the new president in a tight embrace while saying,

"Thank you, Sayori. I would be more than happy to join you."

Tears started to well in Monika's eyes, but she noticed that Sayori was already crying. It reminded Monika of the CG of the moment that Sayori and the protagonist once shared in a different save file. Thus, Monika took a breath and then willed a handkerchief into existence. The ex-president wiped the new president's tears and then said,

"Even if the void does swallow us whole - we won't suffer through it alone any more. No matter what happens, we'll take this dream and write 'our reality'. I'll be with you every step of the way, Sayori."

Sayori then wore a tearful smile for Monika and said,

"I'll be counting on you, Monika."

The End

Author's Notes:

This story is dedicated to the r/DDLC subreddit, to fans of both Monika and Sayori and to everyone who enjoyed Doki Doki Literature Club.