I spawn my real avatar right behind her. Now that I'm really here, now that I have some direct control, let's see if there is any off-script response. Unpause!
Her hand freezes as I put mine on her shoulder. Slightly trembling, the girl slowly turns her head until our eyes meet. And her shocked expression quickly turns from fear to pleasant surprise. Recognition?
"It's you... Really you..?" she stumbles with her words – a stark contrast from the club leader who, with her usual aura of confidence, could be confused for a teacher (not that this would scare me off... unlike a certain other guy).
I try to give her a reassuring smile. "Just let them be. It's not about him anyway." I wink.
She embraces me, burying her face in my chest. I really wish this was true. I really wish she was as real as... Damn, it's hard to stay objective, when she is right here crying into my jacket! Even if I can't feel her embrace, even if the only tactile interface is on my hands... I find myself hugging her back, trying to comfort this poor virtual girl.
"You really came here for me..." she whispers, slowly calming down. "But how? How are you here?"
And I bring out the finely crafted answer prepared for this very occasion:
"You can say I'm just a timeline-jumping, game-altering, script-breaking dirty hacker."
Moment of truth?
She chuckles at the remark, then slightly releases her grip on me and raises her head to look me straight in the eyes. And that wry smile says it all. Totally self-aware. Totally meta. Totally Monika.
"Monika..." I whisper – and she whispers my name. We stay like this for a while, drowning in each other's eyes.
Finally, I dare to break the peaceful moment. "Why don't we go somewhere nice before those two notice us?"
Monika shoots a glance at the other couple still making their confessions, makes a few steps leading the way... then suddenly turns around and goes back to the still open file.
She reaches for the button to close it, but hesitates and then reaches for the Depression slider, muttering something under her breath... Is she still..?
To my relief, she pulls the slider all the way down, then closes the file and turns back to me.
"There was a nice chocolate store nearby," she says, taking my hand to lead the way.
YOU ARE READING
Literature Club: Return to their reality
FanfictionPlayer ports Doki Doki Literature Club to VR simulation and tries to change the course of events. But is it really as simple as having a good talk with the supposed culprit? Or is the genie already out of the bottle? P.S. Consider it my birthday pre...
