Our Reality (Doki Doki Literature Club!)

Real Feelings

"Here we go..."

He wasn't completely sure that he could pull it off again, but Shujinkou was able to successfully carry a friend home and bring them to their room without trouble.

He gently laid Monika in her bed and sighed in relief. "Here we are."

"Here we are," Monika playfully repeated as she slowly sat up along the edge of her bed. "Thanks."

"No problem."

"I can tell; you don't seem exhausted at all."

"I kinda carry a lot of things..."

"Are you trying to brag?"

"Not really..."

Shujinkou scratched his right cheek. Something about Monika caviler attitude despite what she had been through seemed oddly familiar.

"You're okay, right?"

"Mm-hmm."

"You sure? You've kinda been held hostage almost two days."

"Yeah; I'm fine."

Shujinkou nodded his head. It was as he thought earlier, Monika was one of the only people he knew that could handle something as traumatizing as abduction fairly well. "That's good."

"Plus, if I wasn't, being carried like a princess by one of her rescuers certainly would have helped," she added with a giggle.

Taken aback by what she just said, Shujinkou could only awkwardly scratch his right cheek. Even though he knew it was a possibility, the comparison still made his heart go a little "Doki Doki".

"Well, Fuyu and Rei did everything; I was just around.

They were pretty amazing; Fuyu knocked Nese out with one punch and Rei... Rei took a knife to the hand for her sister..."

Those were acts that deserved praise all things considered, but thinking about it also weighed heavily on Shujinkou's heart.

"Shujinkou...?"

He was almost claimed by his subconscious, but Monika's worried voice kept him from leaving.

"Yeah...?"

Monika brushed her finger across his right cheek, wiping away his tears. "Are you okay?"

"I... I don't know where that came from," he solemnly answered.

"Are you sure nothing's wrong?"

"Well..."

Shujinkou wanted to say he was fine, but his face gave a different answer. Monika motioned him to sit down, and though he had his doubts, he took the offer and sat down.

"So what's been bothering you?" she asked.

He felt like he's been asking that for a long time now; even longer then his sudden outburst in front of Hiroko.

"I couldn't tell you. It just been coming and going. I think it all started a few days ago. I saw my sister and... I felt happy and sad at the same time."

"Really?" a concerned look rested on Monika's face. "And you don't know where that came from?"

Shujinkou shook his head. "Not really."

"And just now?"

"I don't know. You said that maybe I'm experiencing Jamias Vu but, when I think about it, it's not just familiar things seeming unfamiliar. The happy and sad feelings seem pretty familiar and I don't think that's just Déjà vu."