More Than Friends [DDLC - Natsuki x Yuri]

Chapter VI

Natsuki was not looking forward to going home. She hadn't for quite some time now. Her father had always been a drunk, ever since her mom died, but now he had been getting verbally abusive. Natsuki did her best to avoid him. Luckily, today he had fallen asleep on the couch, so Natsuki was able to sneak by him and get up to her room without trouble. There, she sat on her bed and pulled put her phone. She had gotten it for her birthday s few years ago, before her father's drinking became too much of a problem. She decided to text Yuri.

Nat: Heyy  Yuri

Yuri: Hello.

Nat: Whats up?

Yuri: Not much, we literally just parted.

Nat: Wanna hang out later?

Yuri: Sure, what do you have in mind?

Nat: idk, maybe I could come to your place

Yuri: We just did that.

Nat: Theres no such as thing as too many visits

Yuri: Maybe we could go out.

Nat: like a date?

Yuri: Yes. I don't see why you're treating this like it's new, we've gone on dates before.

Nat: where do u have in mind

Yuri: There's a Korean restaurant in town.

Nat: I didnt know u liked Korean food

Yuri: I've never had it, and I'd like to try it.

Nat: Im up for it

Yuri: Good. I'll at meet you when, around 6?

Nat: Yeah 6 should be fine. Wheres the place?

Yuri: It's on the corner of 6th and 7th, it has big Korean writing. You can't miss it.

Nat: Cool ill be there at 6

Yuri: Good. See you there. :3

 Natsuki used her phone to check the time. It was 3:46, so she had a couple of hours to spare. The question was what to do in that time. She sat up and thought for a moment.

"What to do, what to do..." She thinks. She just decides to stay in her room and read manga for a while.

After a while of reading, she checks the time. It's 5:45.

"I should get going..." she says. She gets dressed in some actual clothes as opposed to the T-Shirt and shorts she was wearing and goes downstairs. Her father's in the kitchen, so she carefully sneaks past him and gets out the front door. By 6:00, she's at the Korean Restaurant to find Yuri there already waiting for her.

"Hey!" She says. She goes up to Yuri and gives her a kiss. "Did I keep you waiting long?"

"No, only a few minutes. I'm fine." Yuri says. "Here, let's go in."

And with that, they enter the restaurant. They are quickly seated and a waitress comes over to them. Natsuki orders a dish of Japchae, while Yuri orders Kimchi.

"So, how have you been?" Natsuki asks, trying to start up a conversation.

"Oh, well, you know... the usual, I suppose." Yuri says.

"And what's the usual?" Natsuki asks.

"Um... I don't understand." Yuri says, confused.

"Well, we spend a lot of our free time with each other, but what's been going on outside of that? I just want to know. How are classes going? How's your day been?" Natsuki says.

"Well..." Yuri pauses for a moment to think about what to say. She could tell Natsuki about Hideki... no, that's a ridiculous idea. Just then, she remembers Monika from earlier in the day, how odd she was acting.

"To be honest, I'm a little concerned about Monika..." she says.

"Monika?" Natsuki says. "What's wrong with her?"

"Well, she hasn't told me, but she's being very dismissive. And today, her poem, it seems like it's her... well, 'coming out,' so to speak."

"You don't suppose she's..." Natsuki begins.

"Don't be so shocked. You're on a date with your girlfriend, you shouldn't treat it like that big a deal." Yuri says.

"Well, it's just that I didn't think Monika of all people would be a lesbian... I always thought she had a thing for Morp, didn't she?" Natsuki says.

"Well, her poem did include very specific usage of the word 'her,' and it had themes of being forbidden from loving who she wanted, so I believe it could very easily be the case." Yuri says. It was now that the waitress returned, carrying each of the girls' meals. They thank the waitress, who goes off back to the kitchen.

"Anyway, Natsuki, I think she's ashamed of it. I think that's why she was acting so nervously when I asked her about it. She even said that it would make things more complicated for anyone who knew."

"Well, what do you think we should do?" Natsuki asks, sipping from a cup of Korean Tea that came with her meal.

"To be honest, I'm unsure... we should try to be as supportive as possible, I imagine, but we shouldn't force her to say anything she doesn't want to say. We should ease her into it, make her more comfortable talking to us." Yuri says, now eating her meal with the pair of chopsticks given to her.

"Well, how do you suppose we do that? If she doesn't want to talk about it, how can we comfort her without saying it?" Natsuki says, also beginning to eat.

Yuri takes a moment to chew and swallow her food before beginning. "I believe we should be vague. Say things like 'We're here to help you' or 'You can tell us anything' or something like that. It should help her feel comfortable confiding something like this, and then she'll feel better." She says, now resuming the consumption of the dish in front of her.

"Well, if you think it'll work, I'm on board with it." Natsuki says.

As the meal goes on, they come up with more and more ways they can help Monika. Before long, they have formulated a plan they're confident will work. After they finish their food, the girls depart from the Korean restaurant, and Natsuki returns home, ready for the next day.