Our Reality (Doki Doki Literature Club!)

The Guilty

"Ow!" Sayori's shriek of pain echoed through the nurse's office.

"Sorry, Sayori," Monika apologized. "But I have to dap it with alcohol."

"Ok... Just be quick."

Sayori tightly shut her eyelids and her body was suddenly as stiff as a plank of wood.

"Alright..." Monika slowly brought the alcohol-soaked rag towards Sayori's cheeks and lightly dabbed it between them.

Despite her best efforts, tiny sounds of pain slipped past Sayori's lips.

"And... Done."

Monika removed the rag from her Sayori's face and disposed of it in a nearby bin. She then grabbed a few bandages and brought them to the cuts on Sayori's cheeks.

As she gently placed them over the fresh wounds, Monika noticed Sayori staring off into the distance with red cheeks.

"Sayori?"

"Eh?" She looked up at her with confused eyes, as if waking up for a trance. "Oh, uhm..."

She started softly chuckling, her red cheeks growing even brighter.

"I was just thinking about all the times Shiko did this for me when we were kids," she admitted, embarrassed. "Then again, he's even done stuff like this after joining the club."

Her laughter soon came to an end and the only expression of emotion left on her face was a small wistful smile.

"Shiko's always took care of me, in spite of his own troubles..."

"Sayori..."

Sayori shook her head and smiled. "Sorry, it's just that I really miss Shiko right now. But you don't have to worry about me there; I've got experience waiting to see Shiko again."

Monika cocked her head with an intrigued smile. "Now that I think about it, you used to talk about Shujinkou all the time before he joined the club, didn't you?"

"Yeah, talking about our childhood days felt like it was the only way to be near him in any way back then. Actually, speaking of our childhood... You'd really think that I'd be used to alcohol on my scratches but it's still as painful as ever!"

"I don't think anyone can get used to stuff like that, Sayori..."

"You'd think I would after enduring it so much!"

"If pain was something that we could get used to then... Honestly, the only effect would be not feeling it; we'd still have to deal with the source of the pain," Monika noted. "And knowing that reminds you that pain itself is an indicator that something is wrong and needs attention.

Can you imagine what would happen if we didn't have that indication?"

"Um..."

Sayori was stunned. She followed Monika's response perfectly and was still stunned.

"Sorry, I kinda went on a tangent there," Monika apologized, embarrassed.

"Don't be sorry, I'm glad you went on one. It really shows you're in a better mood," Sayori beamed.

"Mm."

"Still... Couldn't the indicator be less... painful?" Sayori winced, caressing her cheeks.

"Wouldn't be as effective in that case," Monika pointed out.

"Still..."

Monika couldn't help but laugh at Sayori's insistence, if only how relatable a feeling it was. "So, ready to go?"