Grey clouds swam across the surface of the sky, alternating between blocking the golden rays of the sun and accentuating them. A faint breeze brushed by Monika as she watched the scene take place from an open window.

"It was a brief meeting, yet… I ran into someone I ended up angering. I don't really know her, but she seems to hold a grudge against me. She also seems to believe that I find myself too good for Adobansu. To be honest, I've ran into people who don't like me before. I don't mean to say that in a vain way kind of way. I mean, I've had people hold grudges on me before even if we don't personally know each other. It's the other side of being put on a pedestal; you can make enemies by just trying your hardest and being yourself."

Monika breathed out a sorrowful sigh as she slid to the edge of the bed she currently occupied and glanced down at a pair of legs sticking out from beneath it. "That doesn't sound vain, does it?"

The rest of the body the legs were connected to crawled out from the underside of the bed with a pencil in hand. "Not really."

Shujinkou replied as he scratched his right cheek. He was a little upset that those were the only words of reassurance he could offer her. There had to be more he could say. "I mean, everyone goes through a one-sided rivalry jealously phase during their school life at least once. Like you're trying your hardest on an assignment and you're constantly wondering how the classmate sitting next to you, most likely a total stranger, always finishes the assignment before you."

Monika's cradled her knees as her head slightly tilted to her right. Her quiet, attentive gaze causing Shujinkou to wonder I his words were having any positive effects. But he continued nonetheless. "Um… Anyway, the only thing anyone can do in that situation is let go of that mindset and move on; makes for a healthier school experience."

Monika remained silent as she continued to stare at him. Just as he was beginning to think his words had zero effect, a warm smile formed on her lips. "Thanks for listening to me angst, Shujinkou."

"It's nothing. Everyone needs an ear when something's bothering them."

Relieved that his words did yield a positive result, Shujinkou reached for his sketchbook and plopped himself on his bed. The moment he positioned his pencil near the top of the page, he felt a shoulder gently bump into his. From the corner of his eyes, he watched Monika curiously lean forward to catch a glimpse of what he had so far.

"What are you drawing this time?" she asked.

"N-Nothing much, I'm just sketching out an interpretation of Solid Snake confronting Venom Snake," Shujinkou replied.

Monika's eyes scanned the page from top to bottom. It depicted two men staring each other down, their eyes filled with determination. One possessed a missile launcher while the other held a rifle with a drum in the shape of the infinity symbol. Despite their massive age difference they also looked very similar. "Solid Snake" and "Venom Snake", Monika recalled Shujinkou and Fuyu telling her about the complicated reasoning behind they're similar appearances.

But beyond the story the drawing was told, she was once again astonished by the clear amount of effort and detail he put in his work. "Incredible as always.

"Huh?"

"Your drawings are always really good."

"Thanks… I try." Shujinkou still found it a bit awkward to be complimented by his drawing skills, especially after he decided to not depreciate his accomplishments.

"Have you ever thought about entering some art competitions?"

"Not really. I usually just keep them to myself."

"You know, Shujinkou. You should eventually market your artwork. You never know what kind of attention you can get. You may catch the attention of colleges and maybe even some professionals."

"That kind of attention…" He sincerely doubted he could garner attention like that. There were lots of great artists in the world and he couldn't see his work matching up.

Shujinkou furiously shook his head, trying to rid himself of those thoughts. Plus, if his friends were giving an unbiased observation… "You really think so?"

"Mm-hmm," Monika smiled as she reassured him.

Maybe I should try to do something public with it at least once. Wait… Somehow that thought caused his mind to swing back a fact he had missed when he was trying to console her. "Wait a minute; you said the girl you met at Adobansu said you were too good for that school… Were you going to go there?"

"Well, I did get a scholarship offer there, but I turned it down," Monika replied.

Shujinkou scratched his right cheek, amazed how Monika could say that as if it was just a simple fact. "How come?"

"No real reason, I just wanted to go to the school we go to now. And I can't say that I have any regrets about that decision."

"Wow… Not many people would deny going to a school like that just because they didn't want too. That's awesome."

Monika giggled with faint red cheeks. "Thank you."

"So what was the school like? Does it really have a lot more stuff than normal schools can afford?"

"Yeah. It's pretty much like a futuristic school today. Not like distant future with helmets that download the knowledge straight into your brain but just that they treat equipment that will eventually be common in public schools common now. Plus, their lockers have retina scanners."

"What?!" Shujinkou exclaimed.

"Just kidding," Monika laughed, leaving him speechless.

I would have believed it… Slightly embarrassed by his outburst, Shujinkou averted his gaze. "Oh!"

He effortlessly pushed his embarrassment to the side, jumped out of bed and walked to where his eyes landed: his desk. "Can I get your opinion on something?"

Her curiosity guiding her, Monika joined Shujinkou at his desk. "Opinion on what?"

"I've been working on a new poster/flyer." On top of his desk was a 24x36 white sheet of paper. Shujinkou gently turned it over.

"Is this the latest poster for the club?" Monika asked.

"Yeah. What do you think?"

Monika's eyes meticulously scanned what Shujinkou made so far. "I think it looks really good. Very appealing to the eye. Speaking of which… Do you still have that poster you showed us before?"

"Yeah?" Curiosity and embarrassment filled Shujinkou as he wondered why she brought up his previous poster.

"Do you think we can hang it in the club room?"

"Huh?" His prior feelings were quickly superseded by surprise. He couldn't fathom Monika would ask that. "Are you sure?"

"Mm-hmm," Monika said in reassuring tone. "I think it'll look great in there."

"Are the others fine with it?"

"Yep, we had a vote the day you were with Rei. It was a unanimous."

"Huh… Well, if no one minds. Actually… I don't think I really mind either." A look of surprise landed on Shujinkou's face after that vocal admission. "That was kinda of weird of me to say."

"Not really. It's just evidence that you're getting more and more comfortable with expressing your interests and hobbies."

"It is? I would have thought it was just evidence that I gave up ever trying to say no," Shujinkou chuckled. "But I'll be sure to bring it to school on Monday. I should be finished with the poster then too. I just hope that it doesn't get literally overshadowed by posters and fliers for upcoming school events."

"Yeah, before we know it, Halloween will be here, maybe some dances…"

"What did we do for Halloween last year?"

"Hm? Weren't you there?"

"No, I was home scarfing down candy while watching scary movies with Mom."

"Oh, well, it was really like the Cultural Festival, only Halloween themed."

"Huh," Shujinkou continued to work on his latest piece of fan art as he imagined the kind of attractions the school had for Halloween the year before. "Wait, we had dances?"

"We had Winter Formal. Don't you remember, I asked you to it and you said no?"

"Wha?!"

"Just kidding, I didn't do that."

"Oh…"

"Though I certainly would have."

Shujinkou remained silent as he scratched his right cheek, waiting for the inevitable "if". But it never came. Instead, Monika just giggled and sat on his bed.

"Actually, now that I think about it, you should try making some Halloween posters and present them to the school," she said, swiftly changing the subject.

"They take student admissions?"

"Mm-hmm. It's a contest. Winner gets an artist commission."

An artist commission?" Shujinkou scratched his right cheek. Getting paid for my art? Never really thought about doing that? But all in all, maybe that can be my at least once showing of my work. Besides, it's not like people will be paying attention to the artist they credit. People hardly knw me anyway, so I wouldn't really get that much attention."

He glanced down at the club poster. "I think I'll give it a try. I just hope a possible inter-school competition doesn't mess with everyone's Halloween mood."

"Hm? You knew about that?" Feeling both surprise and curiosity, especially when she tried to avoid spreading that information, Monika's mind pleaded for an answer.

"Yeah, Fuyu told me about it last night. I heard you're looking forward to it if it happens."

"Maybe a little. It's always exciting to go head to head against unknown opponents."

"You kinda sound like Goku right now."

"Goku? How so?"

"Goku's always excited about fighting new threats. I think that aspect of his character may have been a lot more emphasized in the Super era, especially during the Tournament of Power arc, but he's always been like that."

"How much emphasis was put on that aspect of his character?"

"…Probably best we leave it there. And don't go asking about Goku's duplicity regarding that tournament."

"So, I'm like a Saiyan, but when it comes to academic competitions?"

"No, you're like Goku when it comes to academic competitions. If you were an academic Saiyan, you'd probably bask in the failures of those you crush under your heel, telling them point blank how outclassed they were and of they get close to beating you, you'll commit a rage quit that's equivalent to a child not getting their way all the time."

Shujinkou paused as he pondered his words. "Actually you wouldn't even necessarily be a Saiyan. You'd basically be every Dragon Ball villain ever."

"I guess the only real difference would be that I don't have a 'Super' form to rely on in a pinch,"

"I doubt you would need a super form anyway."

"You never know. You never know when you may run into someone who can give you a run for your money."

She really does sound like Goku right now. Amused by the parallels he's finding, Shujinkou had a hard time keeping his laughter to himself.

"But I'm speaking like I'm already involved in something that's not even decided yet. Oh well, I'll just have to hope that I'll the opportunity if it happens," Monika noted.

The young man weakly chuckled as he scratched his right cheek. What would people say if Monika wasn't involved? Still her excitement kind of makes excited to see what it'll be like.

A brief beeping sound knocked him away from his thoughts. Monika reached to her side and picked up her phone. "Sorry to complain and run, Shujinkou, but I have to go grocery shopping before it's too late."

"It's nothing, like I said, I don't mind lending an ear," he assured her.

Though his reassurance was comforting, it did nothing to assuage the regret Monika felt in her heart. But she knew she shouldn't complain when her friend didn't mind her showing up out of nowhere just to talk.

Putting on a happy face, Monika followed Shujinkou downstairs and waved as she bid him farewell.

Once she heard the door close behind her, she finally let out the sigh that had been building up since she received her reminder of other things she needed to do.

Now… Just got to make sure I get everything for tomorrow.