Our Reality (Doki Doki Literature Club!)

Kohai's Gift

"Wait; there was really a movie about Romeo and Juliet that started with a shootout?" a look of sheer disbelief landed on Natsuki's face as she asked this.

"Yeah," a nostalgic smile formed on Sayori's lips. "Our teacher showed it to us back in our before school uniform days."

"But the characters still spoke as they did in the original text?" Yuri queried, her face lit with curiosity.

"Yup," Shujinkou confirmed with a nod. "It was a really weird movie."

"It sounds like a really weird movie," Natsuki said in agreement. The petite student then crossed her arms, silently contemplating what she just heard. Though the concept was strange, she just had to ask, "Why did they have a shootout again?"

"The Capulets and Montagues were rival crime families with... um... construction businesses as a front?" Shujinkou vaguely recalled.

"From high class families to mobsters, huh? What does that make the prince; a major political figure or the godfather of the families?"

"No, the prince is a police captain."

"A police captain?" the look on Natsuki's face could only be described as one of confusion and acceptance. "They're sure taking liberties. Thought I guess a police captain makes sense when the two families are mobsters."

"Going back to your initial observation, liberties are necessary when adapting text to the silver screen," Yuri calmly stated. Though her calm demeanor would not last long as it would soon fall to worried curiosity "...That said, I do wonder if the updated setting robs the original tragedy of its unique identity."

"Well, you can tell that its Romeo and Juliet, but that may be because of the script," Sayori guessed.

"Wait..." silence once again took hold of Natsuki as she quickly recalled various plot points of the famous tragedy."If there's no prince in this version... What about Romeo's banishment?"

"The police captain banished him," Shujinkou answered.

At that moment, Natsuki's expression quickly shifted from curiosity to disbelief to acceptance. Once she reached acceptance, she couldn't help but chuckle to herself over what she had heard. The whole concept sounded too dumb to believe.

After taking a moment to compose herself, Natsuki glanced up at Shujinkou. "...I'm gonna assume that this film's a comedy version of the story."

"That's what I assumed after watching a more faithful version," Shujinkou chuckled as he scratched his right cheek.

"So, its unique identity is lost in this version..." Yuri thought. The young maiden then snuck a glance at her fellow club members. As she had expected, she was the only one who seemed bothered by such a fact. "But... I guess it could just be chalked up to an alternate retelling. Everyone has their own version in their heads, right? Plus, it's not like it will harm the original in any way."

"Wait..." Confusion possessed Sayori as she swiftly turned her gaze to Shujinkou, then Natsuki then finally Yuri. "Where's Monika?"

The four club members shifted their attention towards the teacher's desk where they found their club president writing. Her eyes were glued to the pages of her journal as she continued to fill the blank canvases with words. Suddenly, she swiftly closed the journal and glanced up at the rest of the club.

She smiled as she watched disappointment fill their curious eyes. "Did you need something?"

The four remained silent until they heard a bright voice call, "Senpai!"

The entire club followed the voice to the classroom door and watched Mali cheerfully stroll in.

"Mali," curiosity and anxiety swelled in Shujinkou as he laid eyes on the sudden guest. "What're you doing here?"