Hello again, readers! I'm back with another chapter of Pens of F8 and I'd just like to thank you all for reading the first chapter as well as address the reviews I've gotten thus far! I always appreciate feedback in any form, so you can imagine I was quite pleased to receive some comments :) Before we begin, let me take the time to respond in kind.
If I Could Begin to Be: Thank you so much! Amazingly enough, I had never really dabbled in or done much research on the Persona series before getting this review. Having looked it over though... yeah, I can definitely see the comparisons. ^^; I swear it wasn't on purpose though! Makoto and Akira in particular have some similarities, right down to the hair color and even the fact that this Akira also wears glasses, but I assure you that it was an unintentional reference. That being said, I'll take great care to avoid copy-pasting character arcs and the like.
Celgress: Thank you! I'm glad to hear that you seem to be enjoying the story so far. To answer your questions, M.C.'s deja vu moments regarding Monika will be explained later. This story still takes place in the game, just in an "alternate reality" where M.C. and Sayori grew up with the three newcomers. I'm afraid I can neither confirm nor deny your last question at present, however; you'll just have to read on for now!
Once again, thank you both for leaving reviews! Now that I've stolen enough of your valuable time, let's get on with the story!
"...ar…e…"
"C...y...ear...e?"
"..."
"Can you hear me?"
I sat up from my bed, panting and sweating profusely. Groaning, I reached over for my phone to check the time. I had practically knocked out after I got home, so I was surprised to see that it was only 8PM. Still, what was that all about? And why does my head hurt all of a sudden? I could have sworn I heard someone's voice… a cry for help, perhaps? Ha, that sounds like the name of a poem or something…
The poem!
"Oh, shit," I sighed, putting a hand to my forehead. "I completely forgot I had to write that tonight…"
In truth, I had no idea what to write about. Natsuki was right when she said that we had never done this before; at least, I hadn't. Ryu never struck me as the "flowery" type, but Akira might be into poetry. Makoto's always been so upfront with his feelings, too; perhaps this was a secret hobby of his? Sighing, I decided to text the three of them to ask what they were writing about.
Ryu: i still havent decided yet LOOOOOL!1
Makoto: My god, Ryu. Use. Proper. Grammar.
Ryu: man shut upppp! wu doing 4 yer poems?
Me: Stop that.
Ryu: k
Akira: I think I'm going to write about the inner machinations of my mind and how I perceive the world in which we live.
Me: Hmm… interesting. What about you two?
Makoto: Dunno. I'll probably end up writing something extremely bleak and getting sent to the counselor's office again, heh.
Akira: Uh...
Me: Makoto? You wanna talk or something…?
Makoto: Why so serious? You guys know this is how I am.
Ryu: Ain't that the truth. Still, at least you guys have some idea of what you want to write about. All I can think about is that Yuri chick…
Makoto: Geez… all you think about is girls. Well, and that and exercising.
Ryu: Dude come off it, this is different. This is love. And don't get all high and mighty with me! I saw how you and Sayori were looking at each other.
Makoto: What did you just say?
Me: Hey, there's an idea. Why don't you write a poem about how you feel about her?
Makoto: Uh, because I don't?
Akira: Based off of the observations of myself and others, it would appear that you seem to like her at least marginally more than the rest of us. Therefore, it wouldn't be completely out of left field to conclude that you feel something for her.
Ryu: Blue and Sayori, sitting in a tree…
Makoto: Shut up, Ryu! And don't even know what you're talking about, Akira. Let's not forget about your little crush on Natsuki.
Akira: I-It's not a crush! I merely find her intriguing, that's all. It's far too soon for any of us to be romantically involved, don't you think? We literally just met them today!
Me: Good point. Hey, how come you're so much more outspoken over text, Akira?
Akira: It's easier on my anxiety than face-to-face confrontation.
Me: Ah.
Makoto: Makes sense.
Ryu: Mhm. So it's decided then. We're all gonna write poems to win their hearts!
Me: That was never decided. Like, at ALL. Look, this isn't helping. I just texted you guys for an idea and you're trying to rope me into some weird dating scenarios. This isn't a visual novel, you know.
Akira: I agree. I need to finish up some chemistry homework tonight anyway, I'll think of something later. Good night.
Makoto: Ditto. Night.
Me: Night, guys.
Ryu: Night…
Checking my phone, I could see that almost an hour had already passed during the conversation. I couldn't believe the nerve of Ryu; sure, the club was full of incredibly cute girls, but… wait, what was I saying? The club is full of incredibly cute girls! I should seize this opportunity to write my way into someone's heart. How about-
Monika.
The name flashed in my mind, and I could feel my brain heating up and my heartbeat beginning to increase. Memories of the girl from last year began to bubble to the surface; Monika being class valedictorian, her triumphs in the school's various athletic competitions, her leadership positions in countless other clubs… everything about her screamed perfection. So what made her decide to start up a literature club of all things? And why can't I stop thinking about her?
I groaned again, hopping out of bed and looking for my backpack. I needed a pencil and paper; it was time.
Before I knew it, the night had turned to day and I found myself in front of the literature club, a poem in my oddly sweaty hand. What was I so nervous about? This isn't some love confession; it's just a poem! What's the worst that could happen?
"Okay, everyone," Monika began, clapping her hands together and smiling at everyone, "I have an announcement to make!"
Shit.
"Now, ordinarily," the emerald-eyed beauty continued, "everyone would all share with each other one-on-one. Since we now have a higher member count, though, I thought it'd be best to assign poem partners to everyone!"
There was a nervous silence across the room. Yuri and Akira looked flustered, fiddling with their papers and avoiding eye contact with anyone. Ryu shot Yuri a wink while flexing, causing the poor girl's face to flush as Makoto shook his head in disgust. Sayori and Natsuki both looked anxious, though Sayori wore a smile on her face rather than a look of discomfort.
"Now then," Monika began once more, "as Sayori and I have taken the liberty of putting the girls' names on slips of paper and putting them in this hat, this means that our new club members will be the one to choose their partners."
"Told you they'd ruin the atmosphere," Natsuki huffed with folded arms, pouting.
"Natsuki! You sure have a big mouth for someone who keeps her manga collection in the clubroom," Monika giggled. Ryu was the first to laugh (and quite loudly at that), followed by Sayori giggling and Makoto smirking with his arms folded. Yuri, meanwhile, looked off to the side as Akira watched Natsuki's face turn three shades of red.
"S-Shut up! All of you! Manga is literature!"
"Hee hee! You're too cute, Natsuki," Sayori giggled, putting her hands on the smaller girl's shoulders.
"I'm not cute!"
"Goodness, we're only teasing," Monika giggled with a hand over her mouth. "Back to business, then."
As if out of thin air, Monika produced a dark hat with four slips of paper in it. Smiling, she looked towards me with those piercing emerald eyes. "M.C.! You go first."
All eyes were on me, and I suddenly felt my heart threatening to break through my ribcage as my vision started to blur. Why was I so nervous? It's just a partner. It's not like I'll pick Monika or anything-
"Yay! You picked me!"
What!?
Sure enough, the slip of paper I had pulled out indeed read "Monika", sealing my fate. Sayori clapped excitedly as Ryu gave me a thumbs up. Rubbing the back of my head, I let out a chuckle.
"Welp. Sorry you're stuck with my worthless self, Monika."
"Hey, that's my line," Makoto griped.
"My pleasure," Monika spoke sweetly, her eyes seeming to sparkle for a moment before her facial expression became one of embarrassment. "I mean, you're not worthless! I'm sure you'll write some very good poems, M.C.."
"Ah…"
My words were caught in my throat as I felt my face getting hotter. What is wrong with me?
"Alright, boys," Ryu started, sauntering up to the hat, "observe how a pro chooses!"
Before anybody could say anything, the blonde buffoon had already reached into the hat and pulled out a slip of paper. "And now, the moment you've all been waiting for! My partner, the lucky girl she is to be paired with such a handsome devil, is none other than-"
"Oh, brother," Natsuki snorted, "I feel bad for the poor girl who gets stuck with this moron-"
"NATSUKI!?" Ryu cried, staring at the slip of paper in utter shock. "No… no, that's not true! That's impossible!"
"Wh... what?" Natsuki asked quietly, her brow furrowing before it finally sank in, an expression of confusion and anger now on her face. "WHAT!? Me… and HIM!? No! Just... no!"
"Oh, c'mon, you two," Monika spoke in a gentle tone, "I'm sure you'll get along just fine. Besides, we may end up switching from time to time, so everyone should get a chance to talk to each other one-on-one eventually!"
"Then what was the point of any of this?" Makoto started, earning an elbow to the rib from Sayori.
"Mako! Don't be mean," she pouted, doing that weird thing with her fingers. "You haven't even gotten a chance to pick your own partner yet!"
"Alright," Makoto sighed, a hand rubbing his forehead. "Guess I'll go next. And don't call me Mako."
Reaching into the hat, our downcast companion chose a slip of paper and read the name out loud, sighing inwardly.
"Sayori."
"Eeeee! Yay!" Sayori cheered, pulling Makoto into a tight embrace and jumping up and down like an idiot. "This is gonna be so much fun!"
Monika ignored Makoto's cries of help as she turned to the two that remained unpaired, Yuri and Akira.
"I guess that makes you two partners for the time being, ahaha. Just take a deep breath and relax. This is just part of the introduction phase of the club, so don't worry! Just take things a day at a time and have fun."
"I-Indeed… pleased to properly make your acquaintance, Akira," Yuri spoke politely, smiling and extending a hand.
"T-The pleasure is all m-mine, Yuri," Akira replied, nervously shaking the taller girl's hand. Yuri was a gentle soul, but I could imagine that her height might have made her intimidating to little Akira. Not to mention his general shyness anyway…
I looked around the room, trying to make sense of the situation. Akira and Yuri were striking up a conversation about that "Portrait of Markov" novel, Makoto was still trying to free himself from Sayori's death grip, and Ryu and Natsuki were glaring at each other intensely. Turning to Monika, I asked, "Are you sure this is going to work out?"
"What?" Monika asked, sadness in her beautiful green eyes. "You don't trust me, M.C.?"
"Ah-"
Suddenly, her face went back to normal as she let out a giggle. "Relax, I'm only teasing. You're quite tense, you know?"
"Aha," I coughed, blushing. "Y-Yeah. Sorry about that, Monika."
"No, it's fine," she consoled, placing a hand on my shoulder. I felt my face heat up even more as I struggled to meet her gaze. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as she spoke to me. "You've only been here a day, it's natural for you to feel out of your element. My job as President of the Literature Club is first and foremost to make sure that all of our members are comfortable, and that includes you too, M.C.. If there's anything I can do for you, and I do mean anything… just let me know, okay? Ahaha."
"W-Wow… will do. Thanks, Monika," I replied earnestly, smiling. Her hand hadn't left my shoulder and her words had found their way into the deepest parts of my being. She was being awfully intense considering we still don't know each other very well, wasn't she? Still… I get the feeling that this was about to change.
"Okay, everyone!" Monika clapped her hands, returning me to reality and regaining everyone's attention. "It's time for us to split off into our pairs and share! Here's to a good first day!"
"Right!"
"Let's do it!"
"I'm so excited!"
"Whatever."
Everyone began to split off into their pairs until it was just Monika and I standing at the center of the room. I wasn't quite sure what I was getting into, but I knew this much at least.
I am so screwed.
So, what did you guys think? I apologize for the cliffhanger; I didn't want this chapter to be too long, so I figured I would spend the next chapter having the pairs discuss their poems and finally start giving each of the girls more time to take the spotlight. The story is largely about them too, after all; it wouldn't quite be Doki Doki Literature Club without them! As always, I welcome any and all questions, comments, and concerns, so don't be afraid to give me your thoughts! Have a wonderful weekend and I'll see you all next time!
