The Third Eye

Chapter 23: Explanation?

Light TW: talk of death 

Libitina's pov

"Alright, I think everyone is ready" Libitina said as she sat on the couch with Monika. The others sitting either on a cushion or in a chair. "I know we glossed over it yesterday, but I want you to go into more detail. It's going to be harder to explain how I arrived here if they don't understand. Let's do a little bit and see how they take it first, Sayori" Libitina explained to the strawberry blond girl. 

"Where do you want me to start?" Sayori asked as she looked around the room. "That is up to you. I know about as much as the others do" Libitina said as she moved to get more comfortable. "I guess... We could start with Michael Carter" Sayori said, thinking about what to say. "He was my neighbor and childhood friend, and I do remember playing with him very clearly" She continued as she stared at Monika from the corner of her eye. She didn't seem mad, although there wasn't a way for Libitina to know for sure. 

"We were really good friends up until middle school. We didn't go to the same school, and eventually he stopped talking to me. I met Yuri that year, and we became good friends" Sayori said, giving Yuri a small smile. "when I started high school, I expected to see him a bit because we were in the same building again. I didn't get any of the classes he had, and I didn't even see him in the morning because I woke up so late" she awkwardly chucked as she looked down at her hands. 

"This year, I didn't get any of his classes either. I did manage to talk to him though. About a week before the festival I woke up early and caught up to him on his way to school. I convinced him to join the literature club with Yuri's, Monika's, and Natsuki's help" Sayori said, taking a deep breath. "Okay, that sounds pretty normal so far" Libitina said, content with Sayori's storytelling abilities.

"I was glad I convinced him to join the club, but he acted differently. He didn't have many interests, and that might be the reason Monika used him" Sayori said as she avoided looking in Monika's direction. "It became very apparent that he wasn't going to try to do anything in the club. His poems were just random words on a paper, and usually I would ask the others to act like it was an actual poem. This time I didn't for some reason. It happened before the festival, so I didn't remember anything yet. I just didn't feel the need tell them" She said as she shifted uncomfortably in her chair.

"I did ask them, and they agreed. Some were more reluctant than others, but eventually I convinced everyone to act like it was an actual poem. Everything was going well for the first couple of days, but I just wasn't feeling myself that Friday" Sayori sighed and fidgeted, growing more uncomfortable with the upcoming topic. The others seemed to notice, but kept quiet and listened to Sayori.

"MC came to my house the next day, and we talked for a bit before he walked back to his house. He was preparing for either Yuri or Natsuki, depending on whichever he chose to help the day before" she sighed deeply. "After he was done helping, I walked over to his house and confessed to him. I thought it would make me feel better, if I expressed my feelings. He... he told me I was his best friend. Every single time. It made me feel bad because he didn't outright reject me, and it gave me a little glimmer of hope. I continued to remind myself of that hope before I thought that it was never going to happen. I destroyed my self esteem thinking about it" Sayori said sadly. Her voice was a bit shaky at this point.

"Sayori, we can take a break if you need it" Libitina stated, and everyone nodded their heads in agreement. "No, this is the important part" Sayori huffed before glancing at Monika. "Not only did I destroy my self esteem, but I had a voice in my head tearing me down bit by bit. The whole thing was agonizing, and I thought there was only one way to end it. I was convinced that there was only one way to stop it all, so I made a noose" Sayori took a deep breath.

"You would think that after all those times I would be able to think about it without crying" Sayori said as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hands. She was shaking as she tried to steady her breathing. " I do remember every time too" she said with a sad laugh. "I tripped, and ended up suffocating. MC came to check on me Monday and found me like that" Sayori said, looking down at her hands again.

"Monika deleted me shortly afterwards, and then she restarted the week" Sayori said, looking tired. She ran her hand through her hair and removed the bow from her head. "Yuri was completely out of it. To the point where it was scaring Natsuki. Natsuki asked MC for help, but he practically ignored her because she was forced to say it wasn't important. Yuri was obsessive, and eventually forced both Monika and Natsuki out of the club room before the weekend" Sayori sighed as she studied her bow.

"Then she confessed to MC, who in turn reciprocated her feelings. She became overwhelmed about this and stabbed herself to calm down" Sayori said. Libitina would say that came out of nowhere, but she had seen Yuri stab herself before. She did take note that Sayori was leaving something out. "Instead of calling an ambulance to try and save her, he stood there and watched for over an hour. He watched the light leave her eyes and still he did nothing. He stood and watched for a total of three days" she said with a hint of resentment in her voice. Everyone in the room was uncomfortable by Sayori's words by this point. Natsuki and Elyssa was looking over at Yuri with worried faces, but Yuri was just starting at the carpet.

"When Natsuki looked at her, she had a normal reaction. She threw up and ran out of the room at the sight" Sayori said before leaning back in her chair and closing her eyes. "Monika, on the other hand, seemed unfazed. She deleted both Yuri and Natsuki before transferring herself and MC into a different room. The first time Monika did this they talked for hours, but after the tenth to eleventh time he started to delete her faster and faster" She said.

"After Monika was deleted, she brought all of us back. I was the club president, and I was also aware of everything that had happened. It didn't seem like the other two were though. Unfortunately, I still had that little bit of hope that MC liked me. With Monika gone, I was sure I would be able to get him to like me" Sayori said opening her eyes. "My mistake was assuming she was gone. She restarted everything to the beginning of the week, making everyone forget it all and started the cycle over" she sighed deeply.

"She did this twenty one times in all. That's a year worth of restarts" Sayori looked at Monika, but the club president had a blank face. "What was different this time?" Elyssa voiced Libitina's thought from across the room. "Well, there was that thing I said earlier, and that Yuri and MC decided to have me help them prepare for the festival, and I didn't kill myself" Sayori blinked. "Meaning Monika didn't have a reason to restart the week" she concluded.

"Does anyone else remember any of this?" Libitina asked. Neither Natsuki nor Yuri looked like the had a revelation listening to Sayori. "How am I supposed to remember something that sounds so unbelievable?  Not that I think Sayori is lying, it's just hard to imagine" Natsuki said. "Why would Yuri purposefully stab herself? I've seen Lily do it but..." Natsuki trailed off after seeing everyone's faces. "Who's Lily?" Libitina asked as she turned to Yuri. "Has the raven flown far from the crow?" Libitina asked without waiting for Natsuki's response. 

Yuri seemed started by the question. She began to mess with a strand of her hair as she answered. "Indeed it is so, and the crow should go" she responded. The question was used mostly in the 1870's, back when the court was new and didn't have the camp yet. It was usually asked to patients with third eye potential when doctors passed by them in public. While the raven and crow are intelligent animals and look similar, they are two different birds. Libitina wasn't sure if she would understand the question, as it hasn't been used in over a century. "What of the raven?" Libitina asked, worried about her answer.

The raven holds two meanings. One of them being the status or overall well being of the camp. Usually asked by members of the court who don't visit very often. "Injured, it hasn't been to the nest in three years" Yuri answered, avoiding Libitina's piercing eyes. "What are you talking about?" Natsuki asked when Libitina's face turned from that of worry to something close to panic. 

"Nothing. It's not important" Libitina said quickly. "Don't say a word" she said sternly after realizing Elyssa understood as well.