Hunger
Chapter 1
A/N: The characters in this story have been slightly de-aged. They are now juniors in high school (16 to 17 years old.) Also this is a normal world fic, that means no other realities or god-like Monika. Other than that most of the other details are the same. Please read and enjoy!
"Goodbye mom, see you later!" rang out from one of the houses in a otherwise quiet suburb. From the house emerged a young man dressed in the local highs school's uniform. He checked his bag one last time before shouldering it and ran a hand through his unruly brown hair as he left his yard and took to the sidewalk.
Naota had to admit, he really did love mornings like this. Brisk, cool air filled his lungs with every deep breath he took. The sun finally rising high enough in the sky to warm his skin. A gentle birdsong just loud enough to enhance the peaceful setting and not break it. Scarcely any cars even drove through the tranquil streets of the neighborhood at this time.
But alas it was a Monday and a school day at that. The young man knew that this peace wasn't meant to last. He knew he was due for his daily dose of hyperactivity and bubbly conversation. And at that moment almost as if the fates were listening...
"NAOTA! WAIT UP!" The wails of a young coral haired woman cut through the serene morning air. She nearly fell over herself as she hastily jogged to the young man who now patiently waited at a crosswalk.
Naota sighed and shook his head as he watched his long time friend nearly eat pavement. Somethings in his life never seemed to change. "Good morning Sayori. Glad to see you almost on time today," He dryly quipped before pointed a finger to her neck. "You've got breakfast on your collar again."
The jab seemed to have no effect as the girl flashed a small smile and tidied up her uniform. "Glad you decided to wait for me."
Naota chuckled, "Who said anything about deciding that? I was ready to leave your lazy butt."
Sayori's mouth hung agape for a brief moment. "No you wouldn't! The Naota I know isn't that much of a meanie."
"Maybe, maybe not..." Naota sung teasingly.
The two crossed the street together before Sayori spoke again. "How was your weekend? Do anything fun?"
Naota briefly considered the last two days. Uneventful weekends of late were fast becoming a staple of his. Just T.V., video games, homework and studying interrupted with the occasional meal with his family. "No, nothing out of the ordinary on my end."
"I know right? It's SOOO boring around here sometimes! Thank god its Monday right?"
"Oh yeah," a dull sarcasm dripped from Naota's answer. "SUPER excited for another day of school."
"Whats with that sour attitude? Don't you know it's the first exciting day of the school year?" Sayori chided, smiling all the while.
Try as he might the young man couldn't think of anything special about this Monday. "I guess I don't." Naota was tempted to leave it at that. He had to relent however as it looked like Sayori was about to bust at the seam with excitement. "What makes today so special?"
"It's the first day for after school clubs!" Sayori declared as if it was the most obvious fact in the world.
"Oh." Naota voice remained deadpan.
"Who wouldn't be excited about today?" Sayori comically threw her arms into the air.
"Someone who doesn't plan on joining any clubs I guess..."
Naota's answer momentarily stopped Sayori in her tracks. "Naota! No!"
Naota turned to face her, ready to have the same argument they had last school year. "What's the big deal if I don't join a club?"
"You have to! Clubs are important for like a million reasons!" Sayori quickly trotted back to her friend's side as he began to walk again.
"Such as?"
"Socializing for one! I never see you hanging out with anyone anymore," Sayori said with a little frown.
Naota reflected on that statement for a moment. He made small talk with guys in his class all the time. He just never had the drive to do anything after school with those guys. "I see you everyday don't I?" Naota countered.
"I'm not enough. You retreat to your house everyday like some cave troll." The young woman accused.
"Maybe..." Naota gave a little ground, still not really seeing any problem in his routine of late.
"Secondly, clubs are great at learning new skills! Isn't there anything you wish you were better at?"
"I don't know... nothing springs to mind really." The boy shrugged.
"And! And! what about the future? Colleges love to see extra curricular activities on your application." Sayori wiggled a knowingly finger in the air to punctuate her point.
Naota was barely ready for the school day ahead of him. Was he really supposed to worry about something nearly 2 years in the future?
Silence returned between the two as they continued walking. Sayori seemed to struggle internally for a moment before she spoke up again.
"This whole asocial thing isn't because of what happened last year, is it?" Her words took a gentle, careful tone as she watched her friends reaction closely. He sighed, but his face still had his calm, bored look.
"You don't have to tip toe around the subject you know." Naota didn't even pause for a minute. "I'm not going to fall apart if you bring it up."
Sayori only nodded along, remembering how depressed her friend was last year. He would go days without really saying anything to anyone. Locked away in his room with just his T.V. And manga.
"No, I've been over the break up for a long time now. I rarely even think about it anymore." Naota mostly told the truth. While he would no longer dwell on those days he certainly wasn't the exact same person since.
"Well then you have no reason to spend everyday holed up in your room." Sayori pointed out.
Naota was quickly running out of usable excuses. "I don't even know what club I'd join."
"Well just take a look around. Explore a bit! There's gotta be something that'll catch your eye."
The two finally approached the outer gates to the school where they usually parted ways.
"I don't know Sayori..."
"Think about it. You don't want to make me worry for another year do you?" Sayori's eyes fell and her mouth turned to form a small frown as she pleaded.
As much as Naota valued his alone time it was hard to deny his friend when she looked so downcast. "I'll think it over today OK?"
Sayori seemed to cheer up a bit and nodded. "I'm holding you to that!" she playfully warned.
"Yeah, I get it." As apathetic Naota could be he was glad he could lift his friends mood. "We better get going. It's almost time for first bell."
"OK, but this counts as a promise! You'll do some serious thinking!" Sayori declared as she finally broke from his side and started towards her homeroom class.
Naota didn't think about it one bit that day. After trudging through another day of school he still sat in his final class, leaning back in his with his eyes closed. While waiting for the last of his classmates to file out of the room he pondered on what excuse he was going to tell Sayori.
Maybe I could say I forgot?
No, she wouldn't believe that after a second year of arguing on the subject.
It was the club's fault! They were all full up and couldn't take anymore members!
But clubs didn't really have set limits of members, did they?
There was an emergency at home and I had to rush home right away!
That wasn't going to work either, Sayori would eventually march right into his house just to help in anyway she could.
Perhaps the best plan of action was just to get home undetected for now. He could probably think of a good excuse by the time he saw her tomorrow morning. Yeah there was a plan! All he had to do what get out of the gates without being seen. Resolved in his new plan Naota finally opened his eyes.
Only to be met with a pair of bright blue eyes staring down at him from above.
"Shit..." The young man whispered to himself as his plan he crafted just moments before fell apart before his friend and neighbor who now looked at him expectantly. "Sayori! When did you get here?"
Sayori gave a small giggle. "I was excited to see what you finally decided on, so I ran here to meet you."
"Oh, you didn't need to do that." Naota insisted, uncharacteristically coy.
"I know but I'm just so excited for you! So? What did you settle on? Don't keep me in suspense!" Sayori demanded, her mouth moving a mile a minute.
"Well, the thing is..." seeing his friend nearly shake with anticipation dug a fresh hole of guilt in his heart. "I kinda, sorta didn't come up with anything."
Sayori's face fell at the disappointing news. "Naoootaaa..." she whined.
"I know, I know I promised but it was such a busy day and-"
Sayori held up a hand to silence the excuse her friend was currently struggling with. " You leave me with no other choice then." She wrapped her arm around Naota's a pulled him to his feet.
"What do you mean 'leave me no choice'?" Naota asked nervously as his childhood friend began to drag him into the hallway.
"YOU need a change in your life before you slide any further into this slump of yours. And lucky for you your pal Sayori has a plan B." Sayori gave her friend a confident thumbs up.
Naota could only guess what he was being led into as they made their way to the far end of the school.
"Did you know that I'm the vice president of a club this year?"Sayori cheerily asked, finally hinting at what her plan was.
"Are you now?" Naota wasn't a dumb person and he could easily guess where the girl on his arm was going with this line of thought.
"Yessir, and we happen to need more members..." Sayori hinted
Naota fought back the urge to complain. If he had only put some effort into finding a club he wouldn't be in this mess. "And what club is that?" He eventually asked.
"It's the Literature Club!" Sayori proudly declared.
Naota stifled a sigh as to not hurt his friend's feelings. Out of all the possible subjects a club could offer it had to be something he never would of considered. When was the last time he even read a book for fun? A year? 5 years? Did he ever read a book that wasn't assigned by a teacher?
"I don't know Sayori, I'm not sure I'd be a good fit for a literature club."
"Come on just give it a try! You'll never know until you try."
Naota's wit seemed to run out on him. With no snappy come back or excuse to come to his rescue the captured young man silent accepted that his afternoon now belonged to this literature club. As the two finally reached a near empty classroom and Naota felt a uneasy nervousness he hadn't felt in some time.
"Hello everyone!" Sayori sang as she dragged her brown haired human weight into the classroom.
Inside the quiet classroom several desks were pushed together for a makeshift large table.
Sayori wasn't kidding about needing members, Naota noted as he scanned over the clubs three other members. One by one they stopped what activities they were busy with and moved to welcome their new guest.
"Everyone I'd like you to meet a long time friend of mine, Naota! He needed a club to join this year so I suggested he check ours out." Sayori waved her arms as if she was present the prize in a game show.
Naota fought the urge to roll his eyes. Oh so getting dragged from one end of the school building to the other was just a "suggestion". His attention shifted as one of the members stepped forward, a girl with deep green eyes and a long, chestnut brown ponytail.
"Welcome to the literature club Naota. It's good to see you again." The young woman warmly greeted, offering a confident and professional hand forward.
Naota recognized the girl from a class they shared last year. Her name was Monika and she was known by nearly everyone in their grade. Top of the class in looks and smarts Naota couldn't believe he might be joining a club with someone of her social standing. He steeled himself as he took her hand in a firm handshake. "Monika right? It's good to see you again."
"Thanks for considering our little Literature club. I hope we can make reading and writing fun and exciting." Monika gave a small nod in acknowledgment as she stepped back. An awkward silence filled the room for a moment as nobody moved or said a thing. Monika lightly nudged the girl beside her in order to keep the introductions moving.
The next young woman was the tallest of all the young ladies and as tall as Naota himself. Her deep purple hair cascaded well down past her waist. She gave off an air of elegant and reserved beauty. She looked up to meet Naota's eyes but quickly looked away again.
"Its...its a pleasure to meet you Naota. My name is Yuri. I look forward to...reading with you I guess." Her gentle voice expressed the nervousness she was feeling as she clasped her hands together gave a curt bow.
Naota was taken aback by the shy beauty for just a moment before he remembered his manners and bowed in returned. "The pleasures mine Yuri."
As Yuri shuffled back into place all attention was placed upon the last stranger. Height wise she was the exact opposite of Yuri, a foot shorter at least. It wasn't just her height either, everything about the girl was smaller then her club mates. It wasn't to her detriment however, it just gave her an air of cuteness despite the scowl she currently worn. Two thin red ribbons adorned the sides of her short pink hair. He eyes nearly matched her hair, and seemed bright and fiery despite the dirty look she currently gave him.
"Really? You had to bring a guy?" The shorter girl asked Sayori.
"Yeah? Whats wrong with Naota being a guy?" Sayori returned bewildered.
The pink haired let out a annoyed sigh before folding her arms and turning to Naota. "Hi I'm Natsuki. Welcome, I guess." Natsuki wasted no time in waiting for a response before returned to her spot at the center table. Naota could only watch in confused silence as he was brushed off.
A club with nothing but cute girls. That's probably just asking for trouble, Naota internally warned himself. Just watch yourself and you should be fine. Nothing like last time.
"So..." Monika spoke up again, regaining control of the situation, "What interested you in joining our club?"
Naota started becoming nervous under the scrutiny of the remaining girls. He didn't want to admit that Sayori had to drag his loner ass here. So why would he come to such a club?
"I...uh just wanted to improve my reading and writing skills. I haven't been do so well in those subjects you see." Naota half lied, he wasn't failing any classes or anything. There was room for improvement in his C+/B- lifestyle though.
"That's wonderful! Self improvement is something everyone should strive for." Monika said sagely.
"What kind of books do you enjoy reading Naota?" Yuri asked.
"I can't say that I read much outside of manga right now." Naota admitted almost ashamedly. Yuri expression seemed to fall a bit at his admission.
"That's all the more reason you should be here with us!" Sayori cheered.
"Well now that introductions are out of the way shall we all get seated and get our first meeting underway?" Monika moved to take a seat at the center table and the other girls fallowed suit. Naota eventually took the remaining seat between Sayori and Natsuki.
"So, I figured whenever we had meetings we could start with a writing and sharing exercise. I was thinking we could all try poetry." Monika explained to her small circle of members.
"Poetry?" Naota wondered aloud, suddenly wondering what he had got himself into.
"Yup! Monika and I thought poems would be a great form of self expression," Sayori interjected. "Not only that but they're so versatile! They can be long or short, wordy or simple. They don't even have to rhyme! So long as they express your feelings or ideas." Sayori looked over her friends as she finished, gauging their reactions.
"I suppose I could try..." Yuri timidly agreed.
"Poetry? That'll be easy." Natsuki declared confidently.
Naota only nodded, agreeing to give it a shot.
"Well that will be our homework before our next meeting. Beyond that if anyone has suggestions on books we can read and discuss I'm open to suggestions." Monika assigned with her best impression of a teacher.
Sayori and Natsuki looked to Yuri expectantly, causing the tall girl to shy away from the attention. "What... why is everyone looking at me?"
"You're the most well read here Yuri!" Sayori encouraged her friend. "You probably have a bunch of great suggestions for books."
"I have read quite a few but, I'm not sure I know of any everyone would like. My preferences are a little niche'. I'm sure you all would rather read something else." Yuri excused glancing over to Natsuki.
"What?" The smaller girl huffed. "I can handle your silly monster books."
"Actually I'm much more interested in more subtle horror. It's much more exhilarating when the danger is unseen and implied. Cheap jump scares are more suited to movies and comics." Yuri explained.
"Hey!" Natsuki interjected. "I'll have you know some of the world's most renowned manga are horror. People love turning the page only to find some terrible scene waiting for them on the other side." Natsuki crossed her arms. "Not that it's really my thing or anything."
"Well I'm sure we all find all sorts of different genres we can read together." Monika assured, taking back control of the conversation. "Now to commemorate the first meeting of the Literature Club Natsuki has a surprise for everyone."
Natsuki rose from her seat and retrieved an aluminum covered pan from the back of the room. When she was sure she had everyone's attention she removed the aluminum with a confident flourish. Inside the pan sat a dozen vanilla cupcake with white frosting. Each one had been decorated to look like a cat face with additional chocolate icing and pieces.
"Oh my gosh!" Sayori squealed. "They're so cute!"
"They look wonderful Natsuki. If I didn't know better I'd say a professional made them." Yuri complemented.
"Nope these are one hundred percent Natsuki!" The pink haired girl boasted, proud of her handiwork.
Naota gave a low whistle in admiration. "They look delicious."
"Well you're lucky I'm in a sharing mood today." Natsuki boasted but turned to hide her reddening face.
"I'll prepare some tea to go along with our snack." Yuri rose from her seat and moved to the back of the room to retrieve the club's tea set. Before long everyone had eaten their cupcakes and drank their tea and took to small talk and idle chatter.
"I would call that a successful first meeting." Monika stood to address the club as a whole. "I trust I'll see you all in a few days with your poems?"
The other girls all chirped their own affirmations. Then all eyes turned to Naota when he didn't say anything.
"I'm not sure if I'm the best fit for this club..." Naota began, stopping as he saw the girls expressions fell one by one. Natsuki 's face morphing to a scowl.
"I suppose no one can force you..." Monika relented.
"That's unfortunate, I was hoping to turn you on to some good books." Yuri lamented.
"Come on Naota!" Sayori whined.
"Figures a guy would just come to a meeting to eat and run..." Natsuki sneered.
The chorus of lamentation quickly ate away at the young man. Taking a deep breath Naota forced himself to reassess the situation.
A Literature Club? Is that what you really want? Wouldn't it be better to just get back to your old routine?
But I'd be letting everyone down...
So what? A bunch of girls don't get what they want for once in their life. Boo Hoo.
Is that anyway to repay their kindness?
I don't think Natsuki has said one kind thing since I've got here.
So? It was for the best you don't get attached to anyone anyways. More girls just means more problems.
Still... You can still join this club and improve yourself and your grades a bit. Just keep your guard up and no mistakes this time.
Right?
One final look at the negative moods Naota caused broke his dam of stubbornness.
"If you all will have me, I guess I can come back as permanent member." Naota relented. Seeing the humor of the room lift with his decision made the young man break into a smirk. A warm hand clasped his shoulder and he turned to see Sayori beaming proudly at him.
"Well then now that's all settled I guess I can call this meeting adjourned. Everyone write a poem and be ready to share in a few days." Monika reminded everyone before gathering her stuff and heading toward the door. Naota moved to follow suite before a hand caught his elbow.
"No you don't!" Natsuki tugged at his arm. Turning around Naota saw Yuri and Sayori gathering tea cups and a small trash bag at Natsuki's seat. "Be a good boy and move these desks back into place." Natsuki demanded.
Natsuki's act was getting a little old to Naota but rather then argue he rolled his eyes and began the task at hand. "Only because you asked so nicely." He quipped back.
"Welcome to the Literature club." Natsuki sassed dismissively.
The sun had cast the sky in fiery hues by the time Sayori and Naota started their walk home.
"So what ya think? I've got some pretty fun friends right?" Sayori asked.
"They seem alright." Naota mused. Monika was far more approachable than he originally thought. Yuri was very shy and quiet but nice once you got her to talk a bit. "Natsuki doesn't seem too pleased with me being around."
"She just has a little trouble dealing with change. Give her time and she'll warm up to you. Maybe you two can talk manga sometime?"
"I haven't been into any series though lately." Naota admitted.
"Well that's just a opportunity to get some suggestions from her." Sayori advised, ever looking on the bright side.
Naota only nodded, considering his friend's advice.
"Just you wait and see Naota! Things are only going to get better from here on out!." Sayori cheered before stopping in front of her house. With a quick wave she said her goodbye and disappeared inside, leaving Naota alone for the brief walk to his house.
"Hey I'm home!" Naota yelled out as he took his shoes off at the front door.
"Naota honey? We're in here." The familiar voice of his mother answered back from the living room. Naota followed the voice and found his parents relaxing in the living room. His mother turned down the volume on the T.V. as he entered.
"Hi mom. Hi dad. How were your days?"
"Things were the same as always around here." His mother sighed. His father only grunted in agreement. It seemed his day was nothing out of the ordinary as well. "What about you dear? I was worried you were so late getting home. You didn't get yourself in trouble again did you?"
"Nah Ma, it was the first day of after school clubs."
Naota's mother gave a surprise look to her husband and back to Naota. "And you actually joined one?"
"Well, yeah. I joined Sayori's Club, The Literature club." Naota explained.
"That's wonderful. You always had room for improvement in that subject." The middle aged woman cooed. "Isn't that wonderful dear?"
For the first time since entering the room Naota's father look to his son with a steely, analytical eyes. "You're going to put some hard work into this right son? This isn't just some excuse to hang out with friends after school?"
Naota bit his lip, feeling a familiar uneasiness from his fathers words. "No sir."
"Well see to it that you stay on task. It's not fair to your classmates or anyone if you half-ass this." His father's voice didn't rise or falter with his warning. As ever his words were sightly cold and stern.
"Yes sir." Naota replied rather automatically and stoically. "I have some homework I really need to start on now."
"Alright dear. I'll call you down when dinner is ready." His mother's supportive tone added some much needed warmth to the atmosphere.
"Thanks mom, thanks dad." Naota nodded to the two before retreating to his room on the second floor. In truth he didn't have that much homework to do tonight, but speaking with his dad always made him feel odd lately. Setting his bag by his desk he collapsed on his bed. Just for a moment he needed to process the excitement of the day events and the odd, uneasy feeling talking to his father put him in.
