DDLC Ex: Growing Friendship

Rain patters outside as Sayori returns home. Her big smile and blushing cheeks are immediately noticed by Natsuki as she walks into the living room.

“You seem happy.” Natsuki says, with a sly grin. “Anything happen while you were out?”

“Hmm? Oh, nothing really!” Sayori responds, gleefully as she sits down next to Natsuki, who is laying on the couch.

“Come on, Sayori! I can see that big grin, just tell me what happened! Did you finally kiss him?”

“Well… Sorta… It was only on the cheek…”

Natsuki jumps up and wraps her arms around Sayori’s shoulders.

“Good for you, Sayori! Starting to get somewhere! Next thing you know you two will be holding hands in public.”

Sayori’s face turns beet red.

“H-Holding hands…?” she mutters before gulping down a breath of air. Her mind wanders...

*****

Sayori sits on the steps of the school, bawling. You walk up next to her and notice she’s holding her bow in her hands.

“What’s wrong, Sayori? I know we’re not in the same class this year, but we can still walk home, right?”

She wipes the tears from her eyes and looks up to you with a smile.

“Oh, Anon, it’s not just that… I thought… Cutting my hair short for middle school would make me look more mature… B-But… The other girls… They laughed at me for still having my bow…”

You crouch down and put a hand on her shoulder.

“Sayori, don’t worry what they say about it. I think it looks nice on you.”

“D-Do you really mean that?”

“Of course. Now come on, let’s get going.”

You stand up and reach out your hand for Sayori to take a hold of. She smiles and wipes away her tears. The two of you hold hands the entire walk back.

*****

“Hey, Sayori!” Natsuki shouts repeatedly. Sayori finally snaps back to the present. “What the heck, did you just space out on me? Is holding hands too lewd for you or something? Geez, I really gotta show you some mor-”

“No, no, I’m fine, Natsuki… Just a bit nostalgic, I guess…”

“Yeah, I’m sure you guys have held hands before. But anyways, good for you taking the initiative like that. Guess having me around has cheered you up, huh?”

Sayori hugs Natsuki and smiles.

“Yup! Sure has, ehehe…”

Natsuki enjoys the hug for a minute before she finally remembers something she needed to tell Sayori about.

“Oh! Sayori! I, uhh… I have something I should probably show you. I showed it to Anon earlier and he said I should show it to you. Just… Promise you won’t be mad, ok?”

“Natsuki, why would I ever be ma-”

“Seriously! I need you to promise! And you can’t tell anyone about this, not even Yuri! I’ll… Tell her myself later. This is a super secret thing, understand?”

Sayori begins to feel worried, and her expression shows it. She swallows nervously before giving Natsuki a serious nod.

“I promise!”

“Ok!” Natsuki says, jumping up with a smile. “Be right back!”

Natsuki runs up to her room. Sayori can hear her rummaging through a few things before she returns with something wrapped in a towel. She sits on the couch, legs tucked beneath her, as she places the towel between Sayori and herself.

“Ok, now, just don’t freak out when I unwrap this, got it?”

“Natsuki I’m not going to- Woah!”

Sayori quickly takes notice of the holstered Nambu pistol. Her eyes widen.

“Wait, let me explain! It was my grandfather’s! I got it from my dad’s things before I left and I don’t even have any ammo! It’s perfectly safe so don’t fre-”

But before all the words can spill out of Natsuki’s mouth, Sayori has already unholstered the pistol. Not only that but she already has the thing nearly completely field stripped and the parts laid out between her and Natsuki.

“S-Sayori… How did…”

At first Sayori doesn’t hear and finishes disassembling the gun. Then she looks up at Natsuki, a look of shock coming over her face.

“Oh! Sorry! I forgot you were here!”

“F-Forgot? Sayori… You just took that thing completely apart… How did…”

“Oh… Ehehehe… Right…” Sayori stutters, twiddling her fingers. “Well, I spent a bit of time online looking at guns. I never thought I’d get to see one of these though! It’s in great condition!”

Natsuki still can’t believe what she just saw. She never would have guessed Sayori would know anything about guns, let alone how to take them apart so quickly.

“So you’re not mad?”

“Mad? No way! This is cool!” Sayori says, excitedly and with big, bright eyes. “I get why you don’t want me telling anyone though. You can get in big trouble for this. But don’t worry!” she says, smiling, “Your secret’s safe with me!”

“Well… Thank you, Sayori. Anyways…” Natsuki says, pointing down at the towel. “Could you, uhh, show me how to put it back together?”

“Of course!” Sayori says, scooting closer to Natsuki, excited to finally share this knowledge with someone.

The girls spend a few hours discussing the subject.

“So you really learned all this online?”

“Yup! I uhh… Used to spend a lot of time on my laptop when I was feeling… Well… Anyways! I used the time to learn about a lot of stuff. There’s this one really neat site that has a bunch of really weird guns on it. I’ll show it to you sometime, the guy that shows everything has a ponytail and beard and looks like Jesus.”

“Man, and I thought I knew a lot about this from video games…” Natsuki says sheepishly.

“You know, I wonder if Yuri would be interested in this stuff. It never came up and I just kinda felt it’d be weird to bring up out of nowhere… I’m sure she would be, I got Anon interested at one point.”

“Sayori, you really are full of surprises, huh?”

Sayori smiles, embarrassed.

“Ehehehe… Well, I guess you could say that…” She says, hand behind her head. Suddenly she looks at the clock. “Holy crap! Natsuki! We should have been to sleep like an hour and a half ago!”

“Aww… But I’m not even tired… And I wanna talk with you some more. I…” Natsuki pouts, looking down and muttering, “I missed you a lot…”

Sayori smiles as a single tear rolls down her cheek.

“Oh, Natsuki!” she says, wrapping her arms around Natsuki. “That was so adorable!”

Natsuki is caught off guard by this, moreover slightly annoyed.

“Ah! Geez! You don’t have to keep calling me cute, you know!”

Sayori pats Natsuki’s shoulder before giving her a kiss on the top of her head.

“I know, I know… But I can’t help it!”

Natsuki smiles, accepting the compliment.

“Oh well… You’re pretty adorable too, big sis…”

Sayori smiles. The two girls head to their rooms and go to sleep.

*****

Your dreams that night are filled with visions of your best friend. But something seems strange. Every time she appears the world seems to brighten. Even when your dreams take a turn to the absurd, Sayori’s presence makes everything feel… happy.

“I’m happy you two are together…” a voice says in the distance as you’re kicked awake.

Jolting up from your sleep you gather yourself. It’s about three in the morning. What was that voice? You recognize it, but any ideas as to who it was quickly escape you. Then, as soon as you woke up, you fall back asleep, forgetting the voice that woke you.

*****

Yuri wakes up, early as usual. By the time she’s done showering and getting dressed she notices a text on her phone. It’s from Natsuki.

“Hey Yuri! You think you can stop by Sayori’s for a bit after school? I kinda want to show you something. Let me know as soon as possible, thanks!”

Yuri goes downstairs to get breakfast before leaving for school.

“Good morning, Yuri! Oh, I’m sorry honey, I forgot to go shopping, so we only have a bit of cereal left.”

Yuri goes to the pantry to look what options she has. Pretty much all the boxes are empty, having failed to have been thrown out by whoever last opened them. All but one.

“Mom? Who bought bran flakes?”

“You know, I have no idea… Must’ve grabbed it by accident!”

“Explains why no one has opened it yet…” Yuri’s stomach grumbles. “Well, I guess I can always add raisins or something.”

“That’s my girl! Always thinking smart!”

Yuri smiles, pouring the milk into the bowl. She finds a bag of raisins and mixes them in.

“Oh, by the way, mom” Yuri says between bites of cereal. “I’m gonna be heading to Sayori and Natsuki’s after school, so I might not be home for dinner.”

“Well, I suppose that works out great since I need to go shopping anyways! Have fun, do you need me to pick you up ?”

“I guess I will be out rather late…”

“Alright! I can get you around nine, if that works for you?”

“Should be perfect! Thanks, mom.” Yuri says, finishing up her bowl of cereal and heading out the door.

As she walks to school, Yuri wonders what Natsuki wants to show her.

“What is it that she can’t just tell me about, or text me? I thought she’s shown me everything there is, what could she possibly-”

But Yuri’s thoughts are interrupted as she hears Sayori calling to her. Seems she lost track of time and is already at school.

“Hey, Yuri!” Sayori shouts, running to her for a hug. “Did you get Natsuki’s text?”

“Good morning, everyone. And yes, I did.”

“Great! Then we’ll all be ready for dinner!”

“Huh?” Yuri says, surprised. “What do you mean?”

You smile at her. Sayori looks over at a nervous Natsuki.

“Uhh… I think I forgot to tell her we invited Anon over for dinner too… Or about dinner at all…”

“Natsuki!” Sayori says, slightly annoyed. Natsuki pouts.

You chuckle.

“Don’t worry, it’s not like it’s a big deal or anything. Natsuki just wanted to cook with you is all, right?”

“I guess… It’s just… Well I watched her type the text as I told her to invite Yuri for dinner.”

“Well, I invited her. I just wanted to show her the thing.”

A look of surprise comes over Sayori’s face. Seems Natsuki told her about it last night.

“Oh! Right! That thing! Well, I guess that’s OK then.”

Yuri is obviously confused, looking back and forth between you, Sayori and Natsuki.

“W-Well, I’m sure it’ll be a lovely night.” Yuri says.

Natsuki grabs Yuri by the waist.

“Sure will be! Anyways, see you two lovebirds later!” she says, winking at Sayori.

“N-Natsuki! D-Don’t say that kinda stuff out loud!” Sayori stutters, blushing. She looks at you, even more nervous now, knowing you heard what Natsuki said. You just smile and her expression quickly melts to happiness as you two walk to class.

*****

You and Sayori leave class and find Natsuki and Yuri waiting outside the gate for you.

“So, the four of us are all finally gonna walk home together, huh?” you say.

“Seems so! I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t wanting Yuri to join us at least once!” Sayori says, happy Yuri is joining in.

“I-I’m just glad you guys invited me…”


“Oh come on, Yuri!” Natsuki says, thrusting her hand on to Yuri’s shoulder. “Why wouldn’t we invite you? Sayori and I got some nice cuts of pork that’ve been marinating for days! I would dream of having you miss out on this!”

“Did Natsuki make some kind of special marinade?” you ask.

Natsuki smiles confidently.

“I used a secret blend of spices and tea for the marinade!”

“Tea?!” Yuri says, surprised.

“Yup! I’m a master chef, remember? I can make anything taste good!”

“Well, I’m sure it’ll be great, chef!” Sayori beams.

When the four of you finally arrive at Sayori’s house, Natsuki rushes ahead, throwing off her school jacket and shirt on to the couch. She puts an apron over her tank top undershirt and starts work in the kitchen.

Natsuki takes the pork out of the fridge and lets the bowl with the marinade get to room temperature. Meanwhile she cuts up the vegetables for the dinner. First she cuts up an onion into long strips. Next she dices ginger and garlic, setting it aside. Finally she prepares a bit of ponzu sauce.
Mesmerized by Natsuki’s process and iron-willed focus, the three of you can’t help but stare on in silence.

Next, Natsuki prepares the rice cooker and sets it aside to cook the rice. Once the pork has warmed up a bit she heats a pan and gets some cooking oil. To the hot oil she adds the garlic, ginger and after both have caramelized, the onions. Once they had turned a light brown she adds the first two cutlets of pork.

The aroma of the food fills the house. You notice Sayori’s mouth watering in anticipation. Yuri nervously bites her lower lip, awaiting the flavorful dinner to come.

Once the first side is done, Natsuki flips the cutlets, pouring ponzu on top and basting the meat. She repeats the same process for the next two cutlets, using fresh vegetables. The rice finishes just as the meat is done. Perfectly timed by chef Natsuki. She lets the cutlets cool a bit before slicing them and placing them on top of bowls of rice, topping with the fried onions, garlic and ginger and a bit of extra ponzu sauce.

It’s obvious that Sayori is using all her willpower to not start eating before everyone has their dinner.

“Let’s eat!” she excitedly shouts as everyone is ready to eat.

As she put the first bite into her mouth Sayori’s face melts into pure ecstasy.

“Natsuki… This is amazing! Where did you learn this?”

Natsuki smiles smugly, hands on her hips.

“I came up with it myself!” she declares confidently.

“N-No way! That’s amazing!”

“I agree!” Yuri says. “This meal is wonderful! And to think you’re self taught, I can hardly believe it even myself.”

“Hehehe… Your praise is greatly appreciated!” Natsuki says.

Everyone finishes their food quite rapidly. No surprise there, the food was just that good. After everything is cleaned up, Sayori decides to put on the TV for everyone to relax and watch.

“Oh, yeah, Yuri. Come to my room, I wanna show you something…” Natsuki says, tugging on Yuri’s sleeve.

You and Sayori sit on the couch together. The tension in the air is palpable. Sayori smiles nervously to herself as she inches closer to you. You notice yourself putting your arm over Sayori’s shoulder as she leans into you. But the atmosphere is broken by a yell in Natsuki’s room.

“N-Natsuki!” Yuri shouts, running to the living room. Sayori stands up to see what is going on. Yuri seems out of breath coming in to the living room. Almost immediately her eyes meet with Sayori’s. Then, almost as if their minds had become perfectly attuned, they run into each other and clasp hands together.

“So cool!” the girls shout in unison.

Sayori smiles, still holding onto Yuri’s hands.

“You like guns too?!”

“Of course! My grandfather told me all about them! He even left me a bunch of books about them!”

“Yuri! Why didn’t you tell me the other day?”

“W-Well…” Yuri says, releasing Sayori’s hands and looking down to the floor. She begins to twirl her hair between her fingers. “I thought you’d think I was a weirdo… I mean me liking knives and Russian stuff is already weird enough… I didn’t want to-”

Sayori puts her hand on Yuri’s shoulder.

“Yuri, you’re my friend. I’m not gonna leave you over a couple weird hobbies. Especially one we both share!”

Yuri smiles. Natsuki has come down stairs and is standing next to them.

“Hehe… That’s exactly what Sayori said to me last night about why she didn’t talk to them with you either.” Natsuki says.

Sayori smiles, laughing awkwardly to herself.

“Well, I guess that’s just another thing we have in common.” Yuri says.

Natsuki grabs both Sayori and Yuri.

“Alright! Looks like it’s time for a group hug then!” She then looks at you. “Well? Don’t just sit there! That means you too!”

Sayori looks over and smiles at you. You get up and join in on the group hug.

Suddenly Yuri’s phone starts ringing.

“Oh, hi mom? You’re outside? I’ll be there in a minute!” Yuri hangs up. “Sorry everyone, looks like my mother is here to pick me up.”

“Aww… Already?” Sayori says, disappointed.

“Well, guess we might as well do a quick round two on that group hug!” Natsuki says, pushing Sayori and Yuri back into her.

After Yuri leaves you decide it’s a good time to head home yourself. As you give Sayori a hug goodbye you notice Natsuki trying to be sneaky and spy on you. She puts and looks disappointed as you walk away.

*****

“Sayori! Why didn’t you kiss him?”

“Huh? W-Was I supposed to?”

“Well, no! He’s supposed to! But he didn’t, so-!”

“Calm down, Natsuki. I think it’s better this way. Besides, I don’t even know if he feels the same way yet…”

“Sayori! Of course he does! If he didn’t don’t you think you’d know by now?”

“W-Well, I mean…”

Natsuki firmly puts her hand on Sayori’s shoulder.

“Come on, big sis! You gotta be more confident in yourself! You don’t gotta rush if you don’t want to, but it’s obvious he feels the same way. Heck, I’m sure he doesn’t want to rush anything either, probably for exactly the same reason as you!”

Sayori twiddles her fingers and smiles.

“Y-You think so?”

Natsuki wraps her arm tightly around Sayori.

“Of course! And that just makes it more obvious you two are supposed to be together!”

Sayori laughs.

“You’re really invested into this, aren’t you?”

Natsuki puts her fists on her hips and looks confidently at Sayori.

“Why wouldn’t I be! You’re my big sis! Plus he isn’t so bad to have around either…” she says, pouting.

“I can see he’s like a big brother to you too. Must be fun playing matchmaker on both sides.” Sayori says, giggling to herself.

“Actually it kind of is…” Natsuki says flatly. Sayori looks a bit surprised at this plain admission. “Well, anyways, I just want to see the both of you happy! Besides it’s so obvious with you two.”

“Ehehehe… Yeah, maybe…” Sayori says, nervously.

Natsuki leans over and gives Sayori a kiss on the forehead.

“Anyways! I’m tired, see ya in the morning, sis!”

Sayori takes a quick shower before bed, the whole time contemplating her relationship with Anon.

As she lays down in her bed she notices a message from Yuri.

“You know, I asked Monika and she likes guns too! What a wonderful coincidence! Anyways, I thought you might like this channel online, it’s called ‘Forgotten Weapons’. Here’s a link to one of the videos. Hope you sleep well, good night!”

“Thanks, Yuri! I was actually going to send you that myself. Good night to you too!”

Sayori smiles to herself as she drifts to sleep, happy that she’s been able to find so many great friends.