DDLC: Element Guardians! (Sayonika + Natsyuri)

Chapter Four: Promise Me A Good Goodbye

I never understood the pain in love. You'll have to say goodbye sooner or later; either at the end of the day, or the end of their life.

The girls and I never had a choice if we could say goodbye to our families. They were taken, or they left us purposely. Even to this day, there is one question I never could answer, even after experiencing both scenarios:

Is it better to say goodbye?

LaLa picked us up when no one would. She gave every last ounce of her strength to take care of us, to run a shelter for the broken. She gave us some meaning to live.

And now we had to say goodbye. The train that took all the new students to the high school was running on a strict schedule; we got word that we needed to meet at the train station at eight PM sharp.

It was seven-twenty. We all stood in a group at the front of the train station building. LaLa never let her proud smile falter once. "I'm so proud of you four." She said, once again reminding us that we might never see her again.

"Thank you," I smiled. "We'll miss you."

"Well ya better." LaLa joked, pointing her cane at us.

We laughed sadly. She soon embraced us in a tight hug without a warning, and how she was able to hug all four of us was beyond me.

Only then did I notice Sayori crying, her tears soaking LaLa's shirt, and my shoulder. She whimpered quietly, and soon Natsuki has joined in with crying. We've never seen her cry. She was the type of girl to tough it out, but now we know she's just as vulnerable us.

The grief started to kick in. We were moving on with our lives, and may never come back to see LaLa again. Sure, we could call and send letters but.. That would never be the same.

I felt sour tears threaten to come down, and I decided to let them. I wasn't struggling. I felt safe. Soon enough, all four of us were crying; Sayori wailing loudly, Natsuki cursing quietly, Yuri shaking, but not making a sound as I whispered quietly.

That's when I realized at some degree, that it didn't matter if you said goodbye or not; because you'd still feel the horrible pain of not seeing your loved one.

We sat on the bench in the deserted underground railway. It was cold, the floors were concrete as some small puddles of water wet the ground. Silence echoed around the room. LaLa had left. She was taking a Taxi back home; she said she wanted to leave us in style.

Sayori was leaning on my shoulder, still whimpering and shaking. Natsuki has fallen asleep because of the mental exhaustion, and Yuri starred at the empty rails ahead of us silently.

"I'm.. Excited." Yuri was surprisingly the first one to speak, her gaze still fixed on the tracks.

"Are you now?" I ask, a small smile on my face. Let's let her keep talking.

Yuri nodded. "Tons of kids like us have always wanted to have this chance."

I saw Sayori crack a smile, and I watched it as it soon widened, and she began giggling. "We're so cool." She giggled.

Natsuki, who was still sleepy after waking up smiled. "Heck yeah we are."

"What are all of you exited for?" I asked, feeling our spirits soon rise.

"Everything!" Sayori exclaimed, leaning back in the bench and picking her head up and off my shoulder. I silently whined about her moving it, as I was comfortable that it laid on my shoulder.

"How about, we just name one thing." I reply, smirking.

"Then I'll say the food!" Sayori giggles. "I hope they have good food there!"

"That is something you'd say." Natsuki chuckled. "For me, I'm excited to meet some of the kids, mostly the train ride though."

"Hey!" Sayori exclaimed. "You're only aloud to say one thing!"

Natsuki crossed her arms with a smirk. "Please. I don't have to follow the rules."

"You will when we get there." Yuri warned. "Do you wish to be kicked out of the school already?"

Natsuki groaned, making all of us laugh. "What are you excited for, Yuri?" I ask, glancing at her.

She fiddles with a long strand of her purple hair with her fingers. "Uhm, I guess I'm excited to see what we can learn."

"Boring!" Natsuki groaned.

"I mean, it must be different from what we learned in this school." Yuri explains, her eyes filled with curiosity, obviously ignoring Natsuki's complaint.

"I am too," I add. "But I'm more excited to find out about ourselves. People say that the students who go there find out their life secrets, and never want to leave."

"I've heard that too." Natsuki comments. "Do you think it's true?"

"If it is, we might go separate ways in life!" Sayori whined, a look of sadness in her face.

"Then let's make a promise." I turn my head to face all the girls beside me, and I stick out my hand. "No matter what happens, or what we learn, we'll always be friends. Best friends."

Sayori placed the palm of her hand on top of the back of my outstretched one. "I promise! We'll never be apart!"

Natsuki rested her hand on top of Sayori's. "We'll rule this life together!"

Yuri gently finished the stack of hands and smiled, nodding. "We'll keep our bond strong."

I smiled. I'm not alone. I have a family. The four of us laugh, but stopped as we hear a loud thundering echo in the room.

A large, red and purple train was pulling up on the tracks. It's wheels scrapped and sparked as it slowed down, soon coming to a stop and allowing its doors to open.

"This is it." I say as I stand up and adjust the bag on my shoulders. "This is where our adventure starts."

Excitement and anxiety. Happiness and sadness. So many emotions as I tried my best not to trip as the four of us boarded one of the many carts in the train.