Part 23

22.

So that was, more or less, the ending of the game that most people got upon completing the game.

However, there is a different version to unlock that requires getting all of the CGs in the game in one save file (obviously before Monika deletes/corrupts your save files in Act II). This requires reloading from day one at least three times. There are three from Natsuki, three from Yuri, three from Sayori and one from Monika. We’ve seen some of them, but most need to be unlocked via the special scenes with the girls. Since you all went absolutely gung-ho with Yuri, we still have a little bit of work to do before we get that sweet 100% status.

Let’s arbitrarily start with Natsuki. We’ve already seen her first scene back in Act II – the one where we were introduced to Parfait Girls. I have zero ambition to go over the changes you’d see in Act I because there aren’t many. She doesn’t get crazy death eyes and at the end she lets Mitayo borrow the book they were reading with the promise that he would finish it that night and be careful with it. There. You’re all caught up. If you desperately need a refresher, here’s a link to that update.

BGM: Play With Me!



Last time on Tsundere Talk: this is the day after we read volume one of Parfair Girls with Natsuki.

It's not long before Natsuki comes up to me expectantly.

: “Yeah, yeah. Don't worry, I kept my promise."

I pull the first volume of Parfait Girls out from my bag. Natsuki takes it from my hands, then quickly turns it over, presumably to check for wrinkles.

: “Hey, I'm not that careless...I handle manga all the time, you know."

I’m a professional manga wrangler. This isn’t my first manga rodeo, Natsuki.



: “Can you blame me for being paranoid? I don't give people my manga every day, you know."

: “That's true...I don't blame you."

: “Well anyway, let me put this one back. I'm gonna get the next one, okay?"

Natsuki makes her way to the closet. I follow.



I know I’ve mentioned it before, but I just love how excited these girls get about their passions.

: “Where did this volume leave off again? I forget."

: “Ah, the chapter ended when Minori and Alice found--"

: “Monika!!”

Natsuki's voice resonates out from inside the closet.

: “Eh...?"

I peer inside. All of Natsuki's books are lined up on the top shelf.

: “Did you move my manga again?!"



This is from a much more innocent time, when Monika wasn’t, you know, driving these girls to murder themselves.

: “The teacher got mad at me for taking up so much space in her closet...so I had to move some stuff around and clean up a little bit. It's all still there, I just had to organize it a bit!”

: “Ugh..."

The top shelf is far above Natsuki's head. She makes a futile hop, trying to figure out how to reach her manga.

Ha ha, you’re little.

How hard would we get elbowed if we just patted her on the head right now?



: “This is so inconvenient! I'm moving these all back down. There's plenty of room on these shelves. And besides...they're really pretty to look at when they're all lined up! Why would you waste that on the top shelf?"

Part of me wonders if Monika did this on purpose. She’s not evil, yet, but she obviously doesn’t care for us hanging with Natsuki.

: “Ah, Natsuki...there's a stool on the wall there."

In the closet, there's a collapsible stool that's hanging on the wall.

: “If you want, I can reach up there and hand them to you..."

: “I can get them myself!"

Natsuki grabs the stool from the wall and unfolds it.

: “You think I’m too short or something?”

: “I mean--"

I like how Mitayo doesn’t even bother denying it.

: “I knew it! Well, you know what? Just watch me!"

Natsuki hops onto the stool, which ends up being a little wobbly because of its collapsible design.

: “A-Ah..."

: “Careful..."

: “I know what I'm doing!!"

Standing on the stool, Natsuki's fingertips reach the top shelf. The stool would be enough for me to easily grab the books, but Natsuki is being stubborn as usual.

: “U-Uuuh..."

Natsuki uses her fingers to scoot one of the smaller boxes to the edge of the shelf.

: “See...? …Kyah--!"

The box suddenly tips. Natsuki barely catches it before it falls to the floor. The stool wobbles.

…Monika doesn’t even have to do anything in this timeline. Natsuki’s going to get herself killed all by herself.

: “Wawaa--"

Losing balance, Natsuki hops off the stool. Thankfully, she was able to stay on her feet. She holds the box triumphantly.



Having almost fell, Natsuki is a bit shaken up.

: “Jeez...no need to prove yourself to me. There's no way you'll be able to get the bigger boxes like that. I can reach them, so just--"

: “I said I can do it! I don't want your help, okay?"

: “Sigh..."

: “I'm gonna get a chair, so just hang on."

Natsuki forces her way past me out of the closet.

: “Let's see..."

The classroom chairs have the desks attached, so they're too inconvenient to fit into the closet.

: “Aha!"

Natsuki trots over to the teacher's desk, which has a computer chair behind it. She rolls it on its wheels back over to the closet.

NO. BAD IDEA.

: “Ah--"

It's a little dangerous, since the chair swivels and rolls. But I've already learned my lesson, so I keep my mouth shut.

: “Ush--"

Natsuki climbs onto the chair, then slowly balances onto her feet. Since she refuses my help, I take a seat with my back against the side of the doorway and simply watch.



I refuse to take responsibility for this.

: “Aha! There we go! See? I can easily do it now."

Natsuki grabs a stack of manga and bends down to put it on the shelf below.

: “W-Wahh--"

The chair swivels. Natsuki catches herself on the shelf.

: “What are you doing?? Can you at least hold the chair steady instead of sitting and doing nothing?"

(Who was it who told me not to help...?)

If I help, that means I was complicit in this stupidity.

: “Yeah, yeah...I got you."

I hold the chair while Natsuki reaches back up.

: “--!"

I can...



…seriously, Mitayo? We’re doing this?

: “Guh--"

I force myself to turn away. Natsuki seriously didn't think this through...! Once she realizes, I'll be dead!

: “Hup--"

Natsuki wraps her arms around the Parfait Girls box set, easily the largest one on the shelf.

Why the hell are you grabbing like fifteen books at once? You’re on a wheely chair. You shouldn’t be on there anyways!

: “Uu...heavy...hey, Mitayo...I-I don't think I can bend down without falling...! Hurry and take this one..."

: “Eh? But then I have to let go of the chair..."

: “That's fine...! Just for a second! Hurry up..."

: “Alright...! Let me just stand up."

I slowly release my grip from the chair.



Natsuki looks down at me.

: “Why are you all the way back--"

BGM: Music fades out.

: “E-Eh...?"

Natsuki looks like she just realized something, but she'll lose her balance if she moves.

: “Natsuki, the box--"

BGM: Poem Panic!

: “W-What are you looking at?!"

We mostly avoided the big awful anime tropes. This scene is shoving them right back in.

: “--!"

: “You're trying to look at my...m-my..."

Natsuki's legs shake.

: “I-I'm not! I was just--Natsuki, don't try to move! Just give me the box!"

: “You...you perv! You set me up!! Go away! Get out!"

: “But--"

: “I'll do it myself!!"

: “A-Ah--"

The chair suddenly swivels beneath Natsuki's feet.

: “Natsuki--!"



The scene turns to chaos in a split second. The chair flies from under Natsuki's feet. Frantically, I try to catch her. The box topples out of her hands, and the books go flying.

: “I got you--"

BGM: Music stops abruptly.

Crash!

The full force of Natsuki's body against me throws me to the ground. A whole bunch of books pelt me in the face. Natsuki tries to shield herself with her own arms as her face lands straight on my chest.

: “Ungh..."

My right arm and my back seriously felt the impact.

BGM: Daijoubu!



I…think…Natsuki is the only one who has these abruptly anime >_< eyes.

Slowly, Natsuki comes to her senses.

: “Ghk--!"

She presses her arms straight into me to prop herself up.

: “Eh...?"

Natsuki seems to realize that it's not the floor that's beneath her.

: “G-Guuuuu...!!"



You know, this doesn’t really help your “I’m tiny cute but totally mature, take me seriously” image, Natsuki.

: “Ghak--!"

A fist pounds into my chest. Natsuki then hoists herself to her feet.

: “What were you thinking?! You sicko!"



: “I heard a loud noise..."

Monika suddenly peers in.

: “Monika! See what happens when you put the manga on the top shelf?!"



”Of course not! Not yet, anyways!”

: “Jeez!"

: “S-Sorry, sorry! Ahaha..."

: “Oh, and one more thing. It seems like your most recent club member is a total pervert. So I hope you're happy."

: “I didn't--!"

Somehow, it's impossible for me to explain this whole bizarre situation to Monika.

: “I didn't do anything, I swear...!"

: “I know, I know, don't worry~"

Monika says that quietly to me. Looks like I'm off the hook...

BGM: Music fades out.

: “Oh no...! My...my..."

: “Eh?"

I look down. Natsuki is kneeling on the floor, holding one of the books that are scattered all over. There's a large diagonal crease along the page that she's desperately trying to smooth out.

: “Ah, it must have landed on the page..."

Natsuki tries a bit more to fix the crease, but she can't get it out. Suddenly, she gives up and slams the book shut, then throws it to the floor. Instead of continuing to yell, she just lowers her head.

BGM: My Feelings



Aww.

: “...Natsuki, are you--"

: “No!"

Natsuki's voice squeaks. I see tears on her face.

: “Ah...I'll help get the crease out, okay? It's partially my fault, so..."

Natsuki shakes her head, still looking down.

: “No...I don't even care that much...I'm just...having a really bad day today..."

Natsuki sobs again.

: “I didn't mean to take it out on you...”



: “It's...it's fine. Is there anything you want to talk about?"

Natsuki shakes her head.

: “Just...every day...is...so hard. I just want to...come to the club and..."

: “..."

Natsuki falls silent again. I can't press her, so I can only do what I know how to do.

: “Alright...well, I'll help clean this up. And I'll move the rest of your manga for you."

: “Ah."

I pick up volume 2 of Parfait Girls.

: “We'll set this one aside. This'll help cheer you up a bit, right? We can get started on it once I'm done here."

Natsuki looks up with her glossy eyes. Her lip quivers.

: “You're..."



I mean, it’s more that we’re just civil human beings.

: “Eh?"

That sounds really strange, coming from Natsuki. I didn't expect it at all.

: “Well...I'm just treating you like a friend, you know?"

: “Nn..."

Natsuki lowers her head and stifles another sob. I'm not sure what happened to her today, but being nice is the least I could do. The next couple minutes are silent between us as I begin gathering the scattered books. I make sure to slip them into the box in their correct order. After a little bit, Natsuki starts helping. It isn't long before we're done, and I hoist the box onto the shelf where Natsuki wanted to put it. Then, I get on the stool and quickly finish moving the rest of her books from the top shelf.

: “Alright--! That should do it."

I hop off the stool. Natsuki averts her gaze.



: “Ahaha...It's nothing."

Natsuki is holding the volume I set aside in her hands.

: “Alright, I'm ready."

: “Good. Even if you weren't, I'd make you anyway. You're taking responsibility for what you said."

: “The thing about cheering me up."

: “If you insist!"

BGM: Daijoubu!

We sit in the same spot as last time, and I open the second volume. Natsuki's mood quickly improves, laughing and pointing things out to me. She's surprisingly sharp, making note of a lot of subtle repeated jokes and background elements. In the end, I'm pretty impressed by how everything ties together in this manga. I guess Natsuki has good taste after all.

After some time, Monika gets our attention as usual, and it's time to share poems again.

: “Guess I'll be holding onto this for now."



: “Even you sound more enthusiastic this time."

: “Well, I'm starting to get into it, you know."

: “Ehehe. Told you."

: “Yeah, yeah..."

I return to my seat and slip the book into my bag.

And then we build a relationship and nothing bad happens to anyone ever.



Okay, I keep hitting the message limit. I've never run into this problem before. Stay tuned for the VERY NEXT REPLY for the second of this update!