I'm the first to wake up. Sayori still is sound asleep next to me. The sight of her sleeping so calmly warms my heart. This must be one of the few rare times she truly is at peace. I don't want to wake her yet, so I carefully get out of bed and make my way into the kitchen.

There is not much left in my fridge, but I want to prepare Sayori a nice breakfast. I fry some eggs and make ham and cheese sandwiches on the side. After I'm done I go to wake up Sayori.

I gently shake her shoulder. "Time to wake up, Sayori!"

She buries her face in her pillow. "Lemme sleep..."

"I can't just let you keep oversleeping. Come on!"

Sayori looks at me with sleepy eyes. "Five more minutes..."

I sigh and sit down beside her. "I already made breakfast, so you could sleep longer. Do you want the eggs to get cold?"

"Rrgh!" Sayori grunts, but slowly sits up. I smile at her. Suddenly, she grabs my face and blows a kiss on my lips. My heart starts pounding like mad. Sayori takes advantage of my perplexity to wrap her arms around me and pull me into bed. She giggles as she snuggles up to me.

"That's unfair and you know it!" I say. "You know I couldn't resist you..." I reluctantly put my arms around her.

"I can hear your heartbeat." Sayori whispers.

"Ehehe, well..."

"It's going really fast."

"Well... It's the first time you kissed me after all."

"So you really did mean it..."

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"You really do love me."

I wince at her words. "O-of course I do." I hold her closer. "Did you really doubt it?"

"Well... You did sound sincere back then. But I thought you just did it out of pity or something."

The hopeless sound in her voice feels like a spear going through my heart. "No, Sayori. I really do love you. Please believe me."

"It's... it's just very hard to imagine."

"What? That I love you?"

"That anyone could ever love me."

Tears start filling my eyes as I hear her words. When did I get so emotional? Her pain really seems to get to me. I shake it off. I have to be strong for her. Seeing me in pain would only make her's worse.

I hold her tightly. "I love you, Sayori. I really do. And nothing will ever change that."

Sayori hugs me tighter as well. We stay like this for a moment. "I-" she says hesitantly. "I believe you." She looks up into my eyes and I smile at her. I can still see some doubt in her eyes but she smiles back.

"I'd love to stay like this with you all day, but we really need to get up." I say. "Come on, breakfast is waiting."

She pouts. "Alright, fine..."

I kiss her one more time before we get out of bed and go downstairs to have breakfast.

With each bite Sayori's expression gets a little brighter. The eggs are already cold, but she doesn't seem to mind. I wonder what it is about food that she likes so much.

"Hey, Sayori?"

"Yesh?" she says, mouth still full.

"How come food always puts you in a good mood? Are you really always that hungry?"

She swallows her food. "No. To be honest I don't really understand it myself. I often really don't feel like eating at all. But when I do, it gives me some kind of warm feeling inside. It helps me get through my days..."

I reach across the table and take her hand. "Now you've got something else to help you through the day as well." I say, smiling at her. But the whole time my mind is racing. Now that she shows me her real feelings, I can see the full extend of her depression. My support may be helpful, but it won't be enough. I probably can't save her on my own. But it was hard enough for her to open up to me. She won't do the same with any of the other girls. That leaves only one choice...

"Say... did you ever talk to a therapist?"

My words make her flinch. I almost feel bad for bringing it up.

"N-No..." Sayori has a hard time keeping her voice steady. "I~ I could never... I'm already a burden to my friends. I don't want to add anyone else to the list..."

I hold her hand more tightly. "First of all, you are not a burden to anyone!" She looks away with a pained expression. "And it's a therapist's job to help you. How could you be a burden to him, if you make him money?"

Sayori hesitates. I take her other hand as well. "Sayori, I will do everything to make you happy. I will support you every single day. But I fear it won't be enough. I still don't fully understand your feelings. So I need help..." I take a deep breath. "We need help."

Sayori looks at me. The pain on her face has faded but she still looks worried. "Maybe you're right... But, I don't know if I could tell a therapist anything about me..."

I smile to reassure her. "Let's try making you one appointment. If you don't like it we can stop after that. Okay?" She nods.

"Actually, I have an idea to make it a bit easier for you." I say. "I will make the appointment for you. They will ask me why you will come and I will tell them what I know. That way you won't have to make that first step."

"Can~ can you come with me?"

"I'm not sure if they will let me. But I will ask."

Sayori holds tightly onto my hands. "Thank you..." she whispers.

After breakfast I search the web for a nearby therapist. We might be late to school, but this is more important! I find one close to our school and make an appointment for Sayori.

"Alright, I got you an appointment for Tuesday, the day after the festival." I tell her. "Unfortunately it's during the club meeting, but it's only a few meters from school, so we'll be there in no time."

"Aw... Can you at least come with me?"

"I'm sorry, the therapist said it would be best to have your first appointment alone. But I will bring you there and pick you up afterwards. And if you decide to continue with the sessions I can come with you."

Sayori looks disappointed, but she doesn't protest. I lay my arm around her. "Everything will be fine." She shows me a weak smile. "Alright, we really need to get ready for school now." I kiss her forehead before letting her go. "Let's go!"

We quickly change into our school uniforms and make our way to school. As soon as we are outside, Sayori is back to her cheerful self. Even though I never admitted it, I always loved her bright smile. But now it hurts me to see it, knowing what's behind her mask.

"So, what do you want to do in the club today?" I ask her. "Do you still have something to prepare for the festival?"

"No, nothing." she responds. "The posters are done and we will prepare everything else on the weekend."

"Okay, then I have an idea. Remember the book Yuri gave me? How about we read it with her? She always reads by herself, maybe she'd like some company."

"Good idea!" Sayori beams, but suddenly hesitates. "Um... is it a scary book?"

"Um... I'm not sure. The cover text didn't reveal much."

"I don't like scary." She holds onto my arm. "And I know Yuri likes scary books..."

"We can just ask her later. And if you don't like it, we can stop."

"Okay!" Sayori smiles again. I really can't tell how much of her smile is sincere. But that's something I will have to get used to as long as we are not alone.

As soon as the school day is over I rush to the club room. During class, I developed a little plan to help Yuri and Natsuki on their way to become friends. But I need to talk to one of them first. I stop before the club room and calmly walk inside to not arouse any suspicion. Inside I find Yuri, her face already buried in a book. I feel bad for interrupting her, but I have to.

"Hi Yuri!"

Yuri looks up from her book. "Oh, hello MC. You're quite early."

"Yeah, um..." I look for an excuse. "My last period ended a little earlier."

"Oh, okay."

Yuri looks down again to continue reading, but I still have to ask her my question. "So, did you suggest my idea to Natsuki? To write about the same topic?"

"Yes. She actually seemed to like the idea. I don't know if it was for the idea itself or because you suggested it. Anyway, we picked a topic to write about."

"That's great!" Now I just need to make sure that they don't kill each other when discussing their poems. That's what my plan is for. But it all depends on Monika so I will have to talk to her as well.

"What topic did you pick?"

Yuri smiles. "I think it'd be more fun to keep it a surprise."

"Aw, alright." I fake a disappointed voice. After all, I already know the topic.

Soon, Natsuki and Sayori join us in the club room. Sayori looks surprised as she sees me.

"MC, you're already here? You've always been the last to come in."

Natsuki grins. "Looks like you care about the club after all!".

"Don't be mean, Natsuki!" Sayori says. "Of course he cares about the club!"

"I know, I know." Natsuki responds. "I still need to tease him a bit. He knows I don't mean it."

"Do I now?" I ask. "What if you ended up just scaring me away?"

"That's—um... It's not like you would actually do that."

"Yeah, you're right. It's kind of fun to hang out here, even if I have to put up with you."

Natsuki tries to hit my stomach with her elbow, but I'm faster. I take a step to the side. The momentum of her attack makes her stumble. Before she falls, I catch her.

"Now, now, don't get ahead of yourself!"

Sayori looks worried. "Please don't fight, guys..."

I smile reassuringly. "Don't worry Sayori, we're just joking around."

"Ugh... nice reflexes." Natsuki says, getting onto her feet again. I won't tell her that I knew she was going to attack me. Maybe the next time it's not in the game script and I won't be that fast. Better leave her thinking my reflexes are faster than her's.

Suddenly, Monika comes running through the door. "Aw, man... I'm the last one here again."

"Were you practicing piano again?" Yuri asks.

"Yeah... Ahaha..." Monika laughs nervously.

Yuri smiles dreamily. "You must have a lot of determination. Starting this club and now picking up piano..."

"Well, maybe not determination... But I guess passion. Remember that the club wouldn't be here if it wasn't for all of you. And I'm super happy that you're all willing to help out for the festival, too!"

Sayori beams. "The festival is gonna be so great!"

Surprisingly, Natsuki agrees. "Yeah, I can't wait!"

"Eh?" Monika looks surprised as well. "Weren't you complaining about it just yesterday, Natsuki?"

"Well, yeah. I'm not talking about our part of the festival. But it's a whole day of school where we get to play and eat all kinds of delicious food!"

"You sound a bit like Sayori all of a sudden..." I say.

"I'm hungry..." Sayori mutters. Everyone starts laughing.

"Okay, everyone!" Monika calls out, still chuckling. "I think it's time to start our activities. We will plan the preparations for the festival after sharing poems."

The group disbands. I reassure Sayori that I will be with her in a minute. I then approach Monika, who is shuffling through some papers at her desk.

She greets me with a smile. "MC! What's up?"

"Hey, Monika." I say timidly. "I was wondering if you could do me a favor later."

"Of course! What is it?"

"Well, you see, yesterday I suggested to Yuri to pick a topic with Natsuki they both could write about. I thought it might help them be better friends. And I just asked Yuri, they actually did it."

"Wow, that's a wonderful idea, MC! But how can I help with that?"

"Well, I would like to prevent them from fighting again. So I thought we could share our poems with everyone at the same time. If we have a chance to interfere a little bit, they might not kill each other. But since you're the president, you'll have to be the one to suggest that."

"I see..." Monika hesitates for a moment, but then smiles at me. "Okay, I will think of something!"

I smile back. "Thanks, Monika."

I return to Sayori. "Ready?"

She smiles. "Yep!" We retrieve Yuri's book from my bag. I glance over to her. She seems to look at us with a hopeful expression. But as soon as she meets my eyes she buries her face in her book.

I approach her together with Sayori. "Hey Yuri, we were going to read the book you gave to me. Mind if we sit next to you?"

"Ah...! Of course, go ahead..."

"Are you sure? You seem a little apprehensive..."

"That's..." Yuri looks down. "I'm sorry... It's not that I don't want you to! It's just something I'm not very used to... That is, reading in company with someone."

"I see... Well, just tell us if we end up distracting you or anything."

"A-Alright... "

"Um, Yuri?" Sayori asks shyly. "What is the book about? Is it scary?"

"Oh, um..." Yuri thinks for a moment. "I don't think it is scary. It can be very emotional though. And it has a lot of psychological elements, playing tricks on your mind."

Yuri closes her own book and scans her eyes over the back. I notice it's the same book she lent to me. It is titled "Portrait of Markov". There's an ominous-looking eye symbol on the front cover.

"Alright..." Yuri says. "I just wanted to make sure I don't accidentally give anything away. Basically, it's about this girl in high school who moves in with her long-lost younger sister... But as soon as she does so, her life gets really strange. She gets targeted by these people who escaped from a human experiment prison... And while her life is in danger, she needs to desperately choose who to trust. No matter what she does, she ends up destroying most of her relationships and her life starts to fall apart... "

With every one of Yuri's sentences, Sayori's expression becomes more and more worried. "That sounds scary!" she whimpers.

"Yeah, that's really kind of dark..." I say. "But I think we should at least try it."

"Y-You don't have to!" Yuri says hastily.

"N-No, I want to try it as well." Sayori agrees with me. I can't help but wonder if she only does it to make Yuri happy.

We slide a desk up against the one next to Yuri and sit down. I open the book and we begin the prologue. I soon understand what Yuri means about reading in company. I can feel Sayori next to me as well as the presence of Yuri. It's not a particularly bad thing. Maybe a little distracting, but the feeling is somewhat comforting. Yuri is in the corner of my eye. I realize that she's not actually looking at her own book. I glance over. It looks like she's reading from my book instead-

"S-Sorry!" she apologizes hastily. "I was just-!"

"You wanted to see our reactions, right?" I say, trying to give her an excuse. "I'm always eager to see people react to things I like."

"Uh, yeah!" she responds, sounding relieved.

"We should all read together!" Sayori says cheerfully.

"It could be very hard to read from one book with three people..." I remark. "But I might have an idea."

I stand up and slide my desk until it's up against Yuri's. The girls look at me confused. I sit down and gesture Sayori to come over. As she does I take her hand and sit her down on my lap. She seems surprised, but she doesn't protest. Yuri's expression is a bit curious as well.

"Okay." I say. "Now you two can hold the book and we will all be able to read from it at the same time."

Yuri takes her left arm and holds the left side of the book between her thumb and forefinger. Sayori does the same with her right arm, on the right side of the book. We all continue reading.

But I have a harder time concentrating on the book than before. Being that close to Sayori is really distracting. I feel the warmth of her body against my skin. Before I know it, my heart starts pounding and I stare at her absentminded face. A warm feeling fills my body. How is it possible that I never noticed her beauty all these years? I never want to let her go...

"Eh? What does that word mean?" Suddenly, Sayori's voice snaps me back into reality. She is pointing at a word near the bottom of the page. I feel a moment of panic. The girls have read way further than me already. I quickly try catching up while Yuri explains the word to Sayori.

"That one? Oh, 'retribution' is a punishment for a crime someone has committed. It's usually not a punishment by authorities, but rather some kind of vengeance."

Sayori stares at Yuri with big eyes. "Wow, you're so smart Yuri!"

Yuri looks away, clearly flustered. "Oh... it's nothing. Are you ready to turn the page?"

Crap- I'm still not at the end of the page. "Ah...sorry! I think I got a bit distracted for a second..."

"Ah... That's okay. You're not as used to reading, right? I don't mind being patient if it takes you a bit longer... It's probably the least I can do... Since you've been so patient with me..."

"Y-Yeah... Thanks."

We continue reading. Sayori is really invested in the book, making a lot of remarks about the events unfolding. She feels with the characters, getting sad when harm is inflicted on them and flinching when something unexpected happens. Yuri clearly seems to enjoy her reactions. Every now and then Sayori asks for a word and Yuri is happy to explain it.

By their remarks I can determine how far they are on the page. I assumed Yuri would be faster than me, but Sayori is as well. After a while they no longer ask me if I'm ready to turn the page. Instead I just turn it by my own volition.

The main character reminds me of Yuri a lot. I'm unsure if I should bring it up, knowing that she is self-conscious about it. But I decide to do it anyway. I just need to choose my wording a little more carefully.

"Hey, Yuri... This might be a silly thought, but... The main character kind of reminds me of you a little bit."

"You...think so?" Yuri responds. "How does she?"

"Well, I guess she's more blunt in a lot of ways... But she also is very careful about the things she says and does. Like she's afraid she'll hurt someone... It's not like I can see into your head or anything... But they're kind of reminiscent of some of your mannerisms."

"I-I see..." Yuri remains silent for a moment. "Is... Is that a good thing?"

"Well, considering the feelings of others makes you very considerate. So yeah, I'd say it's a good thing!"

Yuri seem relieved. "O-Okay..."

"I think it's cute." Sayori says cheerfully. Thanks, Sayori! I think that as well, but I couldn't really call another girl cute in front of my girlfriend.

Yuri blushes, but she doesn't seem as flustered as in the game. It's probably different when another girl calls her cute instead of a guy.