❝Promise?❞ // [Sayori x Reader]

🌸Chapter Twenty Two🌸

....

I sit there, Sayori's head in my lap. I brush a stray lock of her pink hair out of her face, looking down at her dead eyes.

I hold onto her hand. 

It's cold. Of course it is.

I refuse to look away from her, even when I hear footsteps.

"Game over again, huh?" Hums a familiar voice. "Will you retry, or just accept the fact that we were meant to be?"

I look at the pair of white and pink shoes before me, with black socks underneath. 

I close my eyes and grit my teeth, not baring to look at nor talk to the brunette. 

"I told you, no matter how many times you uninstall this game, wipe the data, anything— I'll always get rid of her in the end."

I look back at Sayori. It's no use hoping this is a dream. It isn't, no matter how many times I tell myself it is.

Monika chuckles, and crouches down beside me. "All your memories are back, aren't they? If you try again, I'll just keep wiping them in order to make this painful for you. After all, none of this would ever happen if you chose me."

"Shut up!"

I throw a punch at her, but my fist just goes through her, making her laugh.

"You're a real human, remember? You can't meddle with fiction. However, fiction can meddle with you — your mind, specifically!"

"I despise you, Monika."

She smiles. "I love you, too."

"If you love me, why do you hurt me?"

"I can't program you to love me, right? Screwing with your emotions is the only way to get you to fall for me." She gets up. "So, what do you say this time?"

"I..." I shut my eyes tightly. "I want to retry."

Monika huffs. "Again? I'm running out of ways to break your mind!"

I stroke Sayori's cheeks. "I don't care how many times I have to do it. All I want is to see her alive, even if it means seeing her die in the end."

Monika pouts. "You're so persistent."

There's a silence, before she snaps her fingers.

"You must be curious as to why Yuri didn't directly tell you, right?"

I don't answer. Monika doesn't care, and keeps talking.

"I programmed her so that if she even mentions Sayori's name, she'll die! And the reason she was so crazy at first was to throw you off and make you concerned about her. The moment she broke down was when Sayori died."

My body jerks, and the brunette giggles.

"Struck a nerve, did I? Sorry, darling~"

I carefully slide Sayori off my lap, and stand up.

"I'm tired of this, just restart the game already. Let me get another chance."

Monika yawned. "This is the what, 58th time now? I hope you learn how to give up."

Everything starts going dark.

I know what's coming.

Another life of happiness, love, 

and death.

But before the game gets a chance to restart, I grab Monika by the throat.

It surprises us both that I can physically touch her now.

Not expecting to be caught in my grip so aggressively, she thrashes around, trying to break out.

"Let me go!"

I refuse.

I watch Monika struggle,

and struggle,

and struggle,

and struggle.

It goes quiet.

Monika is nowhere to be seen.

It feels as if I woke up without actually waking up.

In a world where nothing exists.

A loud, crackling noise fills my ears.

Pixels which had failed to load correctly flash in my eyes, almost blinding me.

Did I mess up the game?

I don't know if that's a good thing or not.

If I should be happy or afraid.

Truthfully, I know nothing about this world. 

All I was here for,

was to fill the hole in my heart.

And maybe, this might be my chance.

Maybe I can fix this.

Maybe we can finally be together.

"In that case,
wake up."