Our Reality (Doki Doki Literature Club!)

Alone in a Boy's Room

Sunday has finally arrived and the last emotion Shujinkou was feeling was nervousness. Instead the current emotion that was present in him was annoyance.

"I just can't win with these medal pulls..." he sighed.

After failing to receive the advertised medal for the 3rd time in Kingdom Hearts Union X, the disappointed gamer closed the app just as he was approached by his mother. Sweeping her chestnut bangs away from her matching eyes, a soft smile appeared on Hiro's face as she analyzed her son's choice of wardrobe.

"You should cheer up, Shujinkou. A good host has to have an air of positivity," she advised.

"I know," Shujinkou faintly grinned.

"It's a shame I won't get to meet your friend," she added.

Shujinkou couldn't really find it in him to agree with that sentiment. While he loves his mom and considers her the coolest mom in existence, he can't see a scenario where any mother wouldn't react in a weird way to a girl visiting their son's home. Fortunately for him, he didn't give his mother enough information to discover the gender of his partner and she'll be gone all day so the two won't have a chance to meet.

Shujinkou followed to Hiro to the entrance of their home and watched her open the doorway to a bright and sunny day.

"By the way, Shujinkou..." Hiro raised her left index finger.

"Yeah?" Shujinkou answered.

"You might want to take off your Big Boss eyepatch before your partner gets here," she grinned, closing the door behind her.

Finally remembering that he was only using half of his vision for an hour, Shujinkou sheepishly removed the eyepatch from over his right eye and quickly stuffed it into his pocket.

"That was a close one," he chuckled. "Anyway..."

Shujinkou glanced down at his phone and checked the time.

"Natsuki should be here soon," he thought. "I wonder if I can complete a job on Sly 3 before she gets here."

The sudden vibration of his phone gave him the answer to that very question and he sorrowfully opened the front door.

"Sup?" Natsuki waved.

"Hey, Natsuki," Shujinkou greeted his project partner. It was a strange feeling. Ever since the two planned for this visit, Shujinkou expected to be a nervous wreck when Natsuki finally arrived, but instead he felt surprisingly calm.

"You gonna keep staring or are you going to let me in?" she asked.

"Huh? Oh right," Shujinkou stepped away from the entrance, allowing his partner to enter his home.

"Yeesh, if you're already spacing out then we're going to be in serious trouble," Natsuki said bluntly.

"You don't need to worry about that. I'm totally in to this assignment," Shujinkou assured her.

"You better!" Natsuki grinned.

From the corner of his eyes, Shujinkou noticed Natsuki's hands tightly wrapped around the handle of a small pink box.

"What's that?" he asked.

"This..." Natsuki averted her gaze as her cheeks changed colors to match her pink hair. "It's a surprise."

"What is it?" Shujinkou asked.

"Well, it wouldn't be a surprise if I told you," Natsuki answered in an annoyed tone.

Shujinkou couldn't understand why Natsuki quickly grew irritated two questions in, but decided to stop before any more negative emotions could rise. After all, they wouldn't be able to successfully work together if Natsuki was cranky all day.