"Check it out!" Natsuki proudly announced.
The pink-haired student placed a plate on one of the desks and eagerly pulled off the cover to reveal 24 handmade cookies for all to see.
"Whoa! They look awesome, Natsuki!" Sayori gushed as she marveled at the confections in front of her.
"Yep. Each one is has a word on it that, when put together, form a very short story," Natsuki proudly explained. "Just let me put them together and…"
Natsuki was quickly rendered speechless by the sight of Sayori scarfing down her 5th cookie.
"SAYORI! NOW I CAN'T SHOW OFF MY LITERATURE COOKIES!" Natsuki roared.
"Eh? But I thought you made these for us to eat," the confused vice-president replied.
"NOT YET!" Natsuki fumed.
"Don't be mad, Natsuki, your cookies are still delicious," Monika complimented before taking another bite from one of the cookies.
"Ugh…" Natsuki groaned.
Then, from the corner of her eyes, Natsuki noticed Yuri was once again lost in one of her books. Without saying a word, she gently grasped one of the cookies with a napkin, slowly made her way to the distant maiden and forced the treat in her line of sight.
"Eh?" brought back from her trip to the world of fiction; Yuri curiously looked up and found it strange that Natsuki was avoiding any form of eye contact. She then silently accepted the cookie and took a small bite out of it. "Thanks."
"Don't mention it," Natsuki casually shrugged. "Now I just have to make sure there's something left for anyone else that wants it."
The moment she finished that sentence, Natsuki realized something important.
"Hey… where's the only boy in our club?" she wondered aloud.
"Maybe he had to help a teacher with something," Monika hypothesized.
"Or maybe he's just spacing out somewhere again," Natsuki countered.
"It could both!" Sayori interjected before swallowing her 10th cookie.
"SAYORI!" Natsuki exclaimed.
Contrary to his club mates' guesses, Shujinkou was actually in the middle of a very strange moment. He could do nothing but watch; confused to why Kiyoko was personally applying tape around the wound on his right palm as her team continued to practice their drills.
"Um… I could have put the band-aid on myself, Kiyoko," he finally said.
Kiyoko glanced up at Shujinkou.
"Oh, I don't mind," Kiyoko replied. "That said, you know you could have gone to nurse if you wanted something to patch up the wound. Why did you come here?"
"Well… I was doing something I'm trying to keep confidential and coming here seemed like a better way of keeping it that way," he answered as he scratched his right cheek. "Plus, I know that sport clubs have first-aid kits in case of injury so…"
"That sounds like the right move for whatever you're doing," Kiyoko tightened the tape around his hand and cut it from the rest of roll.
Shujinkou curiously looked down at his hand then back to Kiyoko.
"Anyway, thanks for your help, Kiyoko," thanked Shujinkou. "And… you didn't see me here."
"No problem and understood," Kiyoko smiled.
With his objective now complete, Shujinkou walked out of the school gym and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Glad she didn't push," he slightly chuckled.
Satisfied that he got part of he wanted to accomplish done, Shujinkou started to make his way to the club room, but his journey was soon cut short as attention was drawn towards a man struggling to carry two crates filled to capacity with an assortment of books.
Instinctively, he approached the struggling adult and reached for the top crate.
"Don't worry, teacher. I'll help you with this," Shujinkou said.
"Oh, thank you…" the teacher struggled to reply.
Shujinkou grabbed the top crate for himself, allowing him to see the teacher he was helping and instantly regret his decision.
"Akuma!" he kept himself from saying out loud.
Once again, Shujinkou found himself in an encounter that left him speechless. He was face to face with someone that struck fear into one of his fellow club members without saying a word.
"Are you okay?" Akuma asked.
"Huh? Oh, I'm fine." Shujinkou quickly answered. "Where are we taking these?"
"To the library," Akuma answered. "Follow me, young scholar."
With no other choice, Shujinkou cautiously followed Akuma down the hallway.
"What have I gotten myself into?" he sulked.
Akuma then glanced back at Shujinkou, nearly causing him to break out in a nervous sweat.
"Have we met before?" Akuma asked.
"…I don't think so," Shujinkou answered.
He felt no shame in lying. If Akuma knew he had a connection to Yuri, it would not be a good thing for either of them.
"…Maybe I'm vilifying him too much," he thought. "But still, I shouldn't be too careful. After all, Yuri is terrified by him and was suspended once."
Fortunately, Shujinkou was able to spend the entire trip in silence as Akuma did not make an effort to continue the conversation. Once the job was done, Shujinkou was all too ready to make a quick escape.
"I think a reward is in order," Akuma suddenly said.
"What?" Shujinkou looked up at the man and couldn't help but feel uneasy as Akuma scratched his left cheek. "I don't need a reward."
"I insist," Akuma replied.
"O-Okay… What did you have in mind?" Shujinkou asked.
"Well… I honestly have no idea," Akuma awkwardly chuckled, scratching his left cheek once more.
Shujinkou moaned as Akuma tried to think of a reward.
"I got it," Akuma said.
Shujinkou nervously watched the man in front of him reach into his pocket. His mind was suddenly hit with a barrage of possible scenarios of what kind of dangerous things Akuma could pull out of it.
"How about some chocolate?" Akuma offered said item from his pocket.
"Um…" Suddenly all of the thoughts that previously filled him with fear filled him with nothing but embarrassment. "I don't know…"
"You sure? It's a high quality chocolate bar imported straight for Europe," Akuma added.
The teacher then went on to explain the origins of the chocolate bar, the quality of the ingredients that make it up and the rave reviews it has gotten. Shujinkou had to keep himself from drooling as he listened to Akuma's description.
"So, do you want it?" Akuma asked.
"Um… Alright," Shujinkou awkwardly reached for the bar of chocolate, accepted it and slowly inched it towards his mouth. He took a small bite and, the moment that small piece made contact with his tongue, instinctively showed the world how delighted he was. "Awesome…"
"It must be really good. Too be honest, I haven't really tasted it myself," Akuma chuckled.
"Yeah, it's really good," Shujinkou chuckled as he scratched his right cheek.
"Hm?" Akuma silently stared at Shujinkou, an act that caused him to once again feel nervous. "Wait a minute… You're that young man that was with Yuri that one time."
"Should've known this was gonna happen…" Shujinkou lamented in his head.
"Yes… I recognize your cheek scratching habit from before," Akuma added.
"Dang my cheek scratching tic…" Shujinkou muttered.
"I'm hope I'm not overstepping the bounds that were set between student and teachers, but I have to admit that I'm a bit surprised to find out that she has a boyfriend," Akuma admitted in a casual tone of voice.
His last word quickly destroyed what were left of Shujinkou's mental defenses and caused his cheeks to glow bright red.
"B-?! I'm not-! We're not dating!" Shujinkou struggled to respond.
"My mistake then," Akuma replied as he scratched his left cheek. "…Are you sure?"
"I'm very certain that I'm pretty sure that I'm sure…" Shujinkou answered.
"Well, even if that's not the case, I'm very certain that I'm pretty sure that I'm sure that she's incredibly fond of you," Akuma said.
"W-What?" Shujinkou stammered. "What are you talking about? Why would you say that?"
"Well, based on my real life and fictional knowledge of the female gender, I can tell how much she likes you just by how comfortable she looked back then," Akuma explained.
"Are you saying that she-?"
"I never said that," Akuma interrupted. "Fondness can be used in many ways. It can be likened to how a son is very fond of his mother."
Shujinkou found the comparison strange when used in relation towards the relationship between Yuri and himself.
"So… you think that she thinks I'm a good friend?" asked Shujinkou.
"I can't be too sure young scholar. All I can say is that it is an impressive feat to make her feel comfortable around you," Akuma praised.
"It is?" Shujinkou knew that Yuri was always shy but he still found it weird that Akuma would talk about the subject like it was such a grand accomplishment. "Not that I'm trying to devalue befriending her."
"What was that?" Akuma asked.
"Huh? Oh nothing, teacher," Shujinkou replied.
"Anyway, thank you again for your help, young scholar," Akuma thanked.
"Uh, no problem…" Shujinkou awkwardly answered.
The two took their leave, allowing Shujinkou the chance to reflect on what just happened.
"This whole thing was just weird," he sighed. "That said… I have no idea why Yuri's afraid of him, but I still got a weird vibe from him. Heh, I've been treating this whole thing like it was an anime moment."
Worn out from his recent encounter, Shujinkou hoped for a quiet day at the Literature Club. Unfortunately, those hopes were dashed the moment he stepped inside and caught a glimpse of Sayori and Natsuki fighting over a cookie.
"Come on, Natsuki! Just one more!" Sayori pleaded.
"This is the only one left!" Natsuki angrily countered.
"What's going on here?" Shujinkou asked.
Natsuki quickly turned towards Shujinkou and, with a determined look on her face, shoves the treat in his hands.
"What's-?"
"Just eat it!" Natsuki snapped.
Undeterred by her harsh tone, Shujinkou took a bite out of the cookie.
"Aw…" Sayori sulked.
"Finally," Natsuki sighed. "What took you so long, dummy? I've been saving that one for you for a really long time."
"Really? You went through all that for me?" Shujinkou asked.
"D-Don't say it like that!" Natsuki chided the confused male "I just wanted to make sure that everyone had one. That's all."
"Okay… Thanks anyway," Shujinkou thanked.
"It's no big deal…" Natsuki mumbled to herself.
Shujinkou's gaze then turned towards Yuri. Noticing this, Yuri smiled and waved at him, causing him to remember what Akuma had previously said to him. Remembering how flustered he got before, Shujinkou couldn't help but turn away to hide his uncomfortable expression.
"Is there something wrong with me today?" Yuri timidly wondered.