epilogue

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Greetings and salutations - welcome to another end of my second DDLC fanfiction. For the last time here, I hope you enjoy!

(Also, please read the author's note at the end.)

 It's been ten years since the Literature Club was almost destroyed forever, almost reduced to nothing but a fragment of my memory. Though it was so long ago, I still have nightmares about my wife, my best friend, and one of the sweetest couples being deleted forever.

Just the thought of them enduring that pain alone forever is enough to make me wake up in a cold sweat at three o'clock in the morning.

Luckily for me, the nightmares are infrequent for the most part, besides nights like this one.

As I woke up for the fourth time, heart pounding in my head and my breathing frantic, Monika did, too, groaning. "Y/N, please."

"I'm sorry, but for some reason the thought of seeing them tomorrow makes me feel that guilt all over again," I sighed, laying back down. Monika snuggled into my side, stroking my arm. "Just try to sleep, darling," she yawned.

"Trust me, I have been," I replied, pressing my body close to hers. As her warmth and sleepiness began to infect me, I drifted back to bed, praying that I wouldn't wake up again as a result of those nightmares.

Luckily for me, those prayers came true, and I woke the next morning feeling frazzled but happy I was awake at the right time.

Monika prepared breakfast, ever the early riser, and went downstairs to open Greens, the vegetarian cafe we'd opened three years ago. I dressed and ate the breakfast she'd made before joining her.

She greeted me with a kiss on the cheek when I appeared, assigning me cash register duty so I could watch for the girls, actually do something productive, and distract myself from my anxious thoughts all at the same time.

I still thought about the girls, but this time with considerably less nervousness.

Sayori had become a self-help author and mental health advocate, writing books and talking at conferences, donating all her proceeds from royalties and most of her pay to charities that helped those with depression and the like.

Natsuki and Yuri became a couple, opening a dual bookstore-bakery and becoming a favorite of local bookworms. Natsuki went to therapy for the abuse she'd endured, completed culinary school, and had become a friendly, sweet person to be around, though always kept her trademark sass. Yuri had also gone to therapy for her self-harm habits, and gotten her college degree in literature, and wrote a book-and-movie review column in the newspaper.

The thought of my friends' successes made me smile, and I slowly but surely forgot my worries. They were just the Literature Club, after all - what did I have to fear?

After the inevitable breakfast rush, the lull of brunch, and the trickle of returning customers at noon, I was thoroughly tired of cash register duty. As I was about to ask one of the servers to take over for me, I spotted a flash of pink in the corner of my eye.

My heart began to pound. Could it be?

No. Just a customer in a pink scarf with matching sunglasses covering her face and a sun hat hiding her hair.

"How many will it be today?" I asked. Too late to ask a server to take over for me - I might as well just get this customer out of the way.

She counted on her fingers, a familiarity to her smile. "Five, I think. If you're not too busy to join us?"

I started. "Huh?"

She laughed, the bubbly sound warming my heart. She whipped off her sunglasses, revealing eyes as bright and blue as the sky. "Got ya!"

"Sayori!" I exclaimed, discarding my cash register duty to leap towards her, wrapping my arms around her. "I missed you!"

She continued to giggle, waving behind her. A couple emerged, two girls - one with short, wine-colored hair, one with long, bubblegum-colored hair. It seemed Natsuki and Yuri had switched hair lengths.

"Y/N!" Yuri smiled, coming forward to hug me, but instead being grabbed by Sayori and forced into a giant group hug. Natsuki rolled her eyes, but joined in with a small smile on her face.

"I missed you all so much," I mumbled.

"Hey, what about me?" Monika entered, giggling. She joined the hug.

Suddenly, I was transported back ten years, to the moment I'd saved all these girls. Tears built up in my eyes and I embraced them, overwhelmed with emotion.

As we broke apart, Yuri, Sayori, and I crying, and Monika and Natsuki making fun of us, I felt my heart fill.

Though we had been through hardships big and small, we'd all managed to chase away our rainclouds, leaving room for all the sunshine in the world for us to share together, in our reality.

  ♡ ♡♡ 

  Ahh! I can't believe it's over!

After about five and a half months of procrastination, agonizing over plot twists, hating my inability to write decent dialogue, and other fun author angst, this book is complete. Despite all the problems I've had, I'm a little sad to see this go.

As I publish this, my final year at my current school begins, and I can't help but feel a little nostalgic as the game's one-year anniversary/Monika's birthday approaches on September 22nd. 

Thank you all so much for tolerating me and my iffy writing schedule throughout the end of last school year and this summer. Thinking about this book has been a constant for almost half a year now, and I'll miss updating infrequently. 

This might sound silly, but it'll mean a lot to me if you write a little review. Be completely honest, and give me all your opinions and criticism on this book.

Again, thank you all so much. I love you all more than you know, and I hope you genuinely enjoyed some aspect of this. I hope you all have a wonderful year!

- Anna


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