Chapter 2 Invitation
"Heeeeeeeyyy!"
A girl ran down the street, chasing a figure in the distance; waving her arms, oblivious to any attention she might draw.
That girl was Sayori, his neighbor of the last few months and someone who called herself his friend.
After being hired as a kind of "associate" for the Yakuza, James needed a place to stay. He found a quiet suburb, halfway between the Yakuza and the industrial sector where his power-plant and beat up mech were stored.
His movement had not gone unnoticed, and his new neighbor, a girl his age with coral pink hair and bright blue eyes had introduced herself.
It was obvious to both James and Strayed that Sayori was infatuated with James. Though they would never return those feelings, James humored Sayori by spending time with her during her time off from school.
It was through her that James discovered something terrible about himself. His social ignorance. Sure, he was smart enough to take an 03-Aaliyah arm unit apart blindfolded and put it back together. But ask him what his favorite food was, and his only answer was "anything that doesn't contain human."
Sayori laughed at him for that, not realizing how serious he was at that moment.
Still, it was a large enough issue that he sought to rectify it. So, with incalculable reluctance, James enrolled in the local high school. Unfortunately, it was also Sayori's high school.
It would be polite of him to wait and walk with her, though he was half a mind to just run away at sixty kilometers an hour. However, by the time he had finished a deep sigh while standing idly, she had caught up.
Catching her breath, she took a moment before she could speak.
"Sorry! I overslept again! But I caught you this time!"
"Perhaps. But only because I allowed you too."
"Eeehhhhh, you say that like you were thinking about ignoring me! That's mean!" Sayori cries out like she has been hurt.
"I'm not going to be dishonest with you, your antics notwithstanding."
"Fine, fine. But you did wait for me, after all. I guess you don't have it in you to be mean even if you want to." She beamed at him with a small smile.
That was not entirely true. People that bothered him died without a second thought. However, Sayori wasn't a threat, wasn't interested in him for his money, his status, or his ability to provide food. She was just…herself. A minor nuisance that reminded him of a time he could not recall. At best, he allowed her to stick around him, because she was something different. Something new in an old world.
As they drew closer to the school, more students filled the streets around them.
"By the way James, have you decided on a club to join yet?"
"Mmmh? That's not important. I won't be joining a club."
"Ehh! But I think you really should! It would help you to socialize with people more and that's really going to be important once you finish school! Your happiness is really important to me. And I know you are content now, but I'd die at the thought of you becoming a NEET in a few years because you're not used to the real world!"
Why did she even care? It was not her prerogative how he interacted with people. He got on just fine how he handled people now. Through contracts and through his work.
But he wasn't home. People had more value here than just corporate property. He couldn't just kill them and then pay a fine to their Overseer. That changed things slightly.
"I will…consider it. No promises, though."
"Will you at least promise me you'll try a little?" Sayori asked him seriously. Her bright eyes, filled with hope, looked at him.
"…" He didn't answer. It was difficult to formulate a response sometimes. With great apprehension he closed his eyes and nodded to her.
"Good." She smiled sweetly.
Eight Hours Later
James's time at the school was unique to say the least. As a "foreigner" he had been required to take a form of competency test to place him as a student. The results were highly illogical. He had absolutely perfect marks for math, science, physics, and biology. The method and ease at which he reached solutions was considered unusual.
In language he scored perfect marks in grammar, but oddly, suffered with simple words. He knew words like microeconomics, negative coefficient, and superconducting electromagnet. Yet words he had never heard before confounded him, usually basic and common nouns.
He hadn't bothered attempting the history test, he left it blank. And the geography test was disconcerting at best, seeing as he recalled certain places ceased to exist at a certain point, or were altered beyond recognition.
So, he had spent his day bouncing from grade to grade, filling massive gaps in his educational background.
At the end of the day he was left with little to do. His absolute and calculating focus ensured he had already finished all his homework. Having a split personality and being ambidextrous helped to get more work done at once.
He then remembered that Sayori had asked him to consider a club. He had earnestly looked, yet nothing stood out to him. Even with things he was good at, he had no interest using his hands on inferior technology. He had already researched the combustion engine and found it to be woefully inefficient to even First Generation Armored Core Nuclear Reactors. He also had no desire to play soldier when his previous rank as Lynx was equivalent to a Colonel or General in this time that he found himself. He had no other interest and had simply decided to stop pretending to look.
He turned to look as Sayori came into the room.
"Oh, Hi James." She sounded kindly. "Have you thought of a club to join?"
Shaking his head, he replied flatly. "I saw nothing that interested me."
"Ah. Well, you could always join my club you know?"
"Sayori?"
"Yeah!"
"I'm not interested."
"Eeeehhhhh?! Meanie!"
James recalled that Sayori was Vice President of the Literature Club. Something that he had no experience or understanding of.
"I think I'm just going to go home."
"C'mon, please?"
"Why are you being so insistent?"
Awkwardly, Sayori looked away. Her index fingers where pressed together, a quirk of hers when she felt embarrassed, James had noted.
"Well…I kind of told the club yesterday I would bring in a new member…and Natsuki made cupcakes and everything…ehehe..."
There was a bit of a translation error. Not from Japanese to English but in the Lingua Franca of years, from 2450 to 2017. The word "cupcake" had no translation and therefore went completely over James head. As such, he interpreted her statement incorrectly but not inaccurately.
Sayori was contract bound to arrive at her club with another person slated as a new member, as far as James could interpret.
"…" He sighed. A hand came up to rub his eyes. It had been about a week since he last slept, having spent the additional time at night to prepare for school. He would consider getting some shut eye within the next few days.
Giving a defeated one-handed shrug, he answered back.
"Alright, fine. I will at least see what this club is, but it is still in consideration."
"Yes! Let's go!" Sayori squealed in delight.
For what would happen over the next few months, one might say James sold his soul. For a cupcake no less. Except for one thing.
Lynx had no souls.
With passive interest, James followed Sayori across the school and upstairs to the third year's level. Full of energy, she eagerly swung open the door to the clubroom.
"Everyone! The new member is here!" Sayori shouted happily.
"May I remind you I didn't agree yet-!" With a pause of surprise, James regarded the club members.
"Welcome to the Literature Club. It's a pleasure meeting you." The tallest girl present greeted. She held a polite demeanor. Her hair and eyes were a deep, dark purple. "Sayori always says nice things about you."
"Seriously? You brought the foreign boy? Way to kill the atmosphere." Stated rudely the shortest girl, who had bright pink hair and eyes. Quietly, James started listing the number of Lynx who would have snapped her neck where she stood for her insolence.
"Ah James! What a nice surprise! Welcome to the Club!" The last and second tallest girl exclaimed. She had light brown hair and radiant emerald eyes.
"…" All words escaped him in this situation. This club. Is full of human women.
For. Fucks. Sake. Why. ME?!
James's sensitive nose did not fail to notice the rising levels of estrogen in the air. It gave him the urge to jump out the window and transfer to an all-boys school. It wasn't that he didn't like girls, but human girls were complicated and fragile compared to a Lynx.
There was something that did not belong in the air as well. Blood. Not that kind of blood. Somewhere in the room, open wounds seeping. Pooling under the skin. Both distinct smells, fresh. Recent. It gave him pause.
"What are you looking at?" Asked the rude girl. "If you want to say something, say it."
"…" There wasn't anything he wanted to say. A part of him was already set on leaving. Another part, curious, on where he would find the blood.
"Natsuki…" The tallest girl called the rudest.
"Hmph." Natsuki crossed her arms. The impression that perhaps they had been too harsh towards the foreigner.
"You can just ignore her when she gets moody." Sayori suggested to him. Though truthfully, he was doing it already.
"Anyway! This is Natsuki, always full of energy." Sayori introduced. "And this is Yuri, the smartest in the club!" Sayori gestured to the tallest girl.
"D-don't say things like that…" Yuri grasped at a strand of her hair nervously, turning to look away.
"…Hello, nice to meet you both." James faked a smile, uncertainty extreme. He was a hunter and a killer. Talking in this manner pushed the limits of his knowledge.
"And it sounds like you already know Monika, is that right?" Sayori asked, referencing the last girl present.
"That's right." Monika interjected. She stood confidently, forward. "It's great to see you again, James." She smiled sweetly.
James barely knew her. She was present at the school when he was trying to transfer into it. She had taken an obvious interest in him. He had been hoping to forget her. He had heard, through passing comments in halls and through doors with his sensitive ears, many things about her. She was someone who did not go unnoticed in the school. He had personally wanted to avoid that, seeing as he brought too much attention to himself already as a six-foot-tall foreigner.
Having her smile at him…did not bode well.
"Y-you too, Monika." James replied hesitantly.
"Come sit down, James! We made room for you at the table, so you can sit next to me or Monika." Sayori eagerly explained. "I'll get the cupcakes-"
"Hey! I made them, I'll get them!" Natsuki exclaimed.
"Sorry, I got a little too excited…"
"Then, how about I make some tea as well?" Yuri suggested.
Left to his own devices, James was forced to choose sitting next to where Sayori would sit. Though much more active than Monika, he could at least predict what Sayori might say better. Additionally, he watched Natsuki go to retrieve a wrapped tray, further enforcing the idea that 'cupcake' was some kind of food. Meanwhile, Yuri went to the classroom closet.
Natsuki returned with her tray, marching proudly.
"Okaaay, are you ready?" Natsuki smiled eagerly. It was a massive shift in personality to how she was acting not a minute before.
No. I am not ready for this. James thought hopelessly.
"…Ta-daa!" Natsuki exclaimed, reveling the cupcakes she had made. A dozen of them, decorated with white frosting to look like little cats.
"Uwooooah! So cuuuute!" Sayori exclaimed.
"I had no idea you were so good at baking, Natsuki!" Monika commented.
"Ehehe. Well, you know. Just hurry and take one!"
"…?...?!...!?" James experience failed him. The 'cupcakes' looked like some kind of unit of food to him, but by their design they could have easily been an ornament. He only felt certain when Sayori grabbed one and eagerly shoved it in her mouth.
"It's delicious!" Sayori exclaimed, her mouth full and some of the icing on her face.
At the declaration that it was, in fact, food, James took one and eyed it curiously. The texture was a soft and spongy material, while the white material was slightly sticky. The smell tickled often unused receptors in his nose.
He noticed Natsuki, trying to discreetly watch him. It was already difficult trying to eat something that still had a face. Her unnecessary interest wasn't helping.
Taking a bite, his tongue was then assaulted by something that was entirely foreign in taste. The shock so severe that he actually jumped slightly at its strength. His visceral reaction had not gone unnoticed.
Natsuki looked scared, frightened. She clutched the hem of the skirt on her uniform, tears moments away for spilling. In her mind, she had somehow made and served a rancid cupcake, and the one person she was trying so hard to impress had gotten it and would hate her for it.
Less dramatically, Monika noticed as well and voiced her concern. "James? Are you ok?"
"…Yes. I'm just surprised." James, still puzzled, stated.
"It tastes…cold."
Natsuki stopped looking so scared and looked up in confusion. Sayori and Yuri both stopped eating to pay attention, having heard something odd. Monika frowned.
"Do you mean like its frozen?" Monika inquired.
"No." James shook his head. "I mean it taste. Cold." He stated again with more confidence. No one realized that descriptions for flavor beyond 'hot' and 'cold' did not survive past the Third Great Destruction.
"Can you not taste the vanilla James?" Sayori question, curious about the odd answer.
"Vuh…ni…luh?" James tried to pronounce the new word. Ironically tasting the definition simultaneously.
"Is…this the first time you've eaten a cupcake James?" Yuri deduced.
"Yes." That much was certain.
"Then I think the words you are looking for is 'the vanilla is sweet'." Yuri suggested.
"Yeah. Cold…isn't a flavor." Monika added.
"Vanilla." James said, trying the word again. "Sweet."
"Wow, you had me worried there. And it turns out you just don't know the word for what you are eating, you baka." Natsuki returned to her normal self, confident that the fault had not been with her food, and glad that James seemed to enjoy it.
Unamused, Strayed tore the desk he was sitting in in half. With a quick stride he was upon the girl, his other hand lifting her by her throat, crushing it and her neck within a second. The nerve of the impudent child, to disrespect a Lynx of ORCA so openly. He wasn't some child playing with words. His actions had cemented his name as the meaning of final vengeance. Without pause. Without mercy. Without remorse.
James blinked.
"…just don't know the word for what you are eating, you baka." Natsuki smiled confidently. Unaware of how close death had come to her.
Just a warning. A reminder of who his better half was.
"…Thank you for the food." James stated flatly.
"W-why are you thanking me? It's not like I...!" Natsuki defended. "…Made them for you or anything."
That wasn't what he recalled Sayori saying.
Yuri returned with a tea set which she set down next to the cupcakes, a teacup in front of every person.
James didn't have anything to add to the conversation. Not incorrectly interpreting his silence as apprehension, Monika decided to encourage him.
"Ehehe, don't let yourself get intimidated, Yuri's just trying to impress you."
"Eh? T-that's not..." Yuri jumps in surprise, looking away in embarrassment. "I just wanted you to enjoy a cup of tea with us."
"…Alright." At this point, James was just reacting to things that happened. He had no thoughts or interest in the four girls.
"So, what made you consider the Literature Club?" Monika asked sweetly.
"Sayori forced me to come here." James answered honestly.
"Oh…" Monika said dejectedly. He did not fail to notice the four looks of disappointment around him. It was simply beneath his concern.
"Well…we'll make sure you feel right at home, okay?" James doubted that severely. Of the three homes he considered his own, one was slaughtered, the second disbanded, and he was the entirety of the third.
Anatolia. Line Ark. ORCA.
"As president of the Literature Club, it's my duty to make the club fun and exciting for everyone!"
"…"
"To tell you a little about this club, I was originally a board member on the debate club." Monika began. "But I got tired of all the politics and wanted to do something I enjoyed with close friends, and to make it special. And if it encourages others to get into literature, then I'm fulfilling that dream!"
"Monika really is a great leader!" Sayori added. Yuri nodded in agreement.
"It has been slow though." Monika explained. "Not many people are very interested in putting out all the effort to start something brand new. Especially when it's something that doesn't grab your attention like literature. You have to work hard to convince people that you're both fun and worthwhile. But it makes school events, like festivals, that much more important."
"I'm confident that we can all really grow this club before we graduate!" Monika stated with a lot of enthusiasm. "Right everyone?"
"Yeah!" Sayori shouted happily.
"We'll do our best." Yuri stated confidently.
"You know it!" Natsuki exclaimed eagerly.
James wasn't really sold. The idea of willingly interacting with four overly hormonal human teenagers wasn't all that thrilling. Someone would probably get hurt with him around.
"So James, what kinds of things do you like to read?" Yuri inquired.
"Technical documents and contracts." James answered flatly. It wasn't something he liked but was what he was very used to reading.
"…N-not much of a reader, I guess…" Yuri, along with everyone present, looked disappointed. Again.
Curious about what someone from this era reads, James asked. "What about you, Yuri?"
"Well, lets see…" Yuri traced the rim of her teacup with her finger, setting off alarms in the back of James head.
"My favorites are usually novels that build deep and complex fantasy worlds. The level of creativity and craftsmanship behind them is amazing to me." Yuri continued to explain. "And telling a good story in such a foreign world is equally impressive."
It was becoming obvious that Yuri, despite having no confidence in herself, was deeply interested in reading complicated fictional stories. James wouldn't know what that was like. Both fiction and history were banned under The League.
"But you know, I like a lot of things. Stories with deep psychological elements usually immerse me as well." Yuri went on. "Isn't is amazing how a writer can so deliberately take advantage of your own lack of imagination to completely throw you for a loop? Anyway, I've been reading a lot of horror lately…"
"Huh." Imagine that, James thought. He just got used to eating human-free products after a decade of it. The Closed Plan just added a few hundred million to his kill count. Yeah. He could imagine what Yuri liked to read about.
"Really? I wouldn't have expected that, Yuri." Monika commented. "For someone as gentle as you…"
"I guess you could say that." Yuri replied. "But if a story makes me think, or takes me to another world, then I really can't put it down.
"…" Despite his silence, James was listening intently.
"Surreal horror is often very successful at changing the way you look at the world, if only for a brief moment."
"Ugh, I hate horror." Natsuki spoke up.
"Oh, why is that?" Yuri questioned.
"Well, I just…" Natsuki looked at James for a moment. Something changed her mind.
"…Never mind."
"That's right, you usually like to write about cute things, don't you, Natsuki?" Monika noticed.
"W-what?" Natsuki shouted embarrassed. "What gives you that idea?"
"You left a piece of scrap paper behind last club meeting." Monika mentioned. "It looked like you were working on a poem called-"
"Don't say it out loud!" Natsuki shouted, turning red in the cheeks. "And give that back!"
"Fine, fine." Monika replied.
"Ehehe, your cupcakes, your poems…" Sayori approached Natsuki. "Everything you do is just as cute as you are-" She then got behind her and put her hands on her shoulders.
"I'm not cute!" Natsuki shouted, eyes shut in frustration.
"…" Something got stuck in James mind. A new word that he didn't know. "What is…a poem?"
"Eh?" Natsuki asked. "You don't know what a poem is?"
James shook his head.
"Well, it's a…um." Embarrassed, Natsuki racked her brain to explain it while sounding smart. "A poem is like an idea, or a feeling that you have, and you write it down."
"…" James cocked his head slightly, trying to understand. "Can I see one?"
"No!" Natsuki shouted again, then turns, avoiding his eyes. "You wouldn't…like them…"
"…" James wouldn't know if he would like it or not. He had nothing to base it on.
"I understand how Natsuki feels." Yuri commented. "Sharing that level of writing takes more than just confidence. The truest form of writing is writing to oneself. You must be willing to open up to your readers, exposing your vulnerabilities and showing even the deepest reaches of your heart."
"…"
"Do you have writing experience too, Yuri?" Monika asked. "Maybe if you share some of your work, you can set an example and help Natsuki feel comfortable enough to share hers."
"…" Yuri was quiet.
"Aww…I wanted to read everyone's poems…" Sayori languished.
Everyone was silent for a long moment.
"Okay!" Monika shouted confidently. "I have an idea, everyone-"
Everyone turned their attention onto her, puzzled.
"Let's all go home and write a poem of our own!" Monika explained. "Then, next time we meet, we'll all share them with each other. That way, everyone is even!"
Both Natsuki and Yuri shared an apprehensive look.
"Yeaaah! Let's do it!" Sayori shouted enthusiastically.
"Plus, now that we have a new member, I think it will help us all get a little more comfortable with each other, and strengthen the bond of the club. Isn't that right James?"
Monika smiled warmly at him once again. She was looking for too much. She would find no love in a Lynx's hearts.
"I never officially agreed to join this club. It is still under consideration." James answered back. "Sayori may have coerced me into showing up, but I am not yet convinced that this is something that will interest me."
The four girls looked at him sadly, with dejected eyes. He had seen that look many times, but to much greater effect. How many millions had he seen, deep in the mega-slums under the Earth, with eyes hollow and hopeless? He had not cared then when he passed them in their squalor, or when he had hunted them under contract.
"B-but…" Monika muttered uncertainly.
"I'm sorry, I thought…" Yuri apologized profusely.
"Hmph." Natsuki turned in a huff, her anger just barely hiding her sadness.
"James…" Sayori pleaded.
Why did the eyes of these spoiled children, who had the greatest luxury of breathing clean air, compel him so? It was something of serious thought, he had to admit. But Lynx never make any kind of agreement, without some kind of contract.
"However." James stated with his eyes closed. His ears picked up on the four breaths hitching in unabashed hope. Damn them.
"If I can learn something about literature by attending this club, then perhaps I will consider it a worthwhile venture. Is that agreeable?"
Each of the girls looked up hopefully, happily. That was a mistake, you incompetent fucking shell of a man; came a whisper from the back of his head.
"Yesss! I'm so happyyy!" Sayori exclaimed, invading his personal space and wrapping her arms around him. Only her longstanding classification as someone completely harmless kept him from disemboweling her where she stood. His eyes looked down at her, narrowing in annoyance. He refused to return her hug.
"You really did scare me for a moment." Yuri smiled calmly.
"If you really just came for the cupcakes, I would be super pissed." Natsuki threatened.
"Then that makes it official!" Monika announces. "Welcome to the Literature Club!"
"…Let go of me." James stated flatly, directed downward. Sayori relented with an awkward smile.
"Okay, everyone!" Monika spoke. "I think with that, we can officially end today's meeting on a good note. Everyone remember tonight's assignment. Write a poem to bring to the next meeting so we can all share!"
"James." Monika said to the tallest person present. "I look forward to seeing how you express yourself. Ehehe." She giggled quietly.
"…" James still didn't know how to write a poem. He would do his best, but he had no intention of trying to impress anyone.
"Hey, James, since we're already here, do you want to walk home together?" Sayori offered innocently. He was still cross at her for putting her hands on him uninvited.
"…You do what you want." James tried to dismiss her, but she still considered it an invitation.
"Yaay!"
With the club ended for the day, James went home, with Sayori tagging along. Though he would rather forget anything about the people he met that day, he couldn't help but to analyze them, the proximity they shared adding to his knowledge, their feelings leaking out and oozing into his well-trained mind.
Sayori, Natsuki, Yuri, Monika. All of them hiding something, something that ate away at them. It wasn't their shared feelings for him, that they were not even trying to hide. It was like a scream, a scream so loud it could not be heard. It was a scream he knew well, having heard it non-stop for the last four years, since his augmentation made him into a living weapon. Throughout all the slums below the surface, he had heard that scream, seen it in people's dead eyes, their tired gaits, their labored breaths in recycled air.
Now he heard it through four false smiles.
Their curses are their own. They are not important. Ignore it.
The stronger of his voices demanded. He relented.
That Evening
With slow methodical movements, his hands guided the miniature manipulation claws, tedious and patient, no room for mistakes.
Protected in a custom-built chamber, a small piece of his custom NEXT was being inspected and repaired. He had a workshop built into his new home, and he spent many hours, day and night, attentively inspecting every component from the powerful machine.
For the most part, he simply viewed what damages had been caused and what lengths he would have to go to find a suitable replacement. It was, extensive.
Finished with his inspection, James stepped away from the protected bench, and sat down at a desk, with files neatly organized and stacked. Finished with his notes, he remembered the task he had been given.
He still did not know how to write a poem, but he had been contract bound to arrive at the club with a poem of some kind to present.
With that in mind he pulled a fresh paper, and with pen in his right hand, listed several important things that were on his mind.
Authors Note: I will admit right out. Chapters 2-6 and 14 very closely follow the plot of Doki Doki. I changed as much as I could due to the unique nature of my main character, but events will still closely follow the game except for when they deviate wildly. But I promise that if you can stick with it through to chapter 8, you will see something new. You will not expect it. I hope you will feel as I did writing it. Thank you for making it this far. Stay tuned for more!