"You're going to use Natsuki's manga to get her to talk to you?"
Sayori looked down at the manga then at Shujinkou. She repeated this pattern three more times before finally keeping her surprised gaze squarely on her friend.
"That's pretty manipulative of you Shiko, using blackmail," she marveled.
"I-It's not blackmail. I'm just taking advantage of a moment where I have to return something that's hers," Shujinkou argued. "Besides, it's not like I'm holding it hostage until then; it's actually kind of a gamble. She could just take it and go, but this is the best chance I got right now."
"Um…" Sayori kept her eyes locked on Shujinkou's. It was the first time in the past few days where she saw any light in them. "And you said Yuri came up with the plan?"
Shujinkou nodded his head.
"Huh…"
Though she looked perplexed on the outside, inside she felt something else entirely.
No! No! Sayori yelled in her shaking head. Gotta focus on Natsuki! Gotta… focus…
The room around her started spinning. It was like she was a top spinning at its highest possible speed and just like a top at the height of its speed, the loss of balance soon followed. And after the loss of balance was the ground waiting for a crash landing.
"Whoa!"
Shujinkou quickly reached out and grabbed Sayori by her wrist. He then effortlessly pulled her forward.
Uh oh.
Instead of helping Sayori back on her feet, Shujinkou's attempt to help ended up causing her fall to be redirected towards him.
With no time to brace for impact, the ensuing collision sent both of them careening towards his bed.
"Ow. Sorry Sayo-"
Slowly opening his eyes, Shujinkou quickly came to realize how close their faces were to each other. The face just above his was bright red and he could feel her breath caress his cheeks.
"Shiko…"
Sayori's lips noticeable trembled as she leaned forward, slowly closing the distance between them. But before Shujinkou could process what was happening, Sayori suddenly buried her face against his chest.
"Sayori?"
She rubbed her head against his chest then looked up at him with a cheery face.
"Isn't this how I usually fall on top of you when this happens? Face first around the chest or the neck. Happens so much that I can even tell how your heart beat's supposed to be."
"Doesn't that imply that we fall down a lot?" Shujinkou chuckled. "Actually, doesn't that imply that I'm constantly used as a cushion?"
"You make it sound like I'm constantly using you like that on purpose. I don't do that," Sayori pouted. "Besides, that wasn't what I was implying at all."
"What were you implying?"
"Mmm… Secret," Sayori said with a wry smile.
Shujinkou weakly chuckled at her response. "Now you're doing Monika's thing?"
"It keeps me from being predictable."
"Now you kinda sound like Mali. She likes to keep me on my toes too.
"Mali?" a curious look floated on Sayori's face. "You know, I'm really surprised that hasn't tried to join the club yet."
"Really?"
"Yeah, I'd figured she'd do it right away considering she really wants to be around you."
When he thought about it, Shujinkou was equally as surprised as Sayori. Though as they had just discussed, Mali is far from predictable. Even if she explains her motives and methods, it was still hard to tell what she's thinking.
"Guess that's just more of her keeping me on my toes," Shujinkou theorized.
"Like how she helps you despite purposely making you uncomfortable all the time?" Sayori queried.
"I wouldn't say she does that second part all the time…"
"I'm pretty sure does that at least once every time she sees you."
"Well…"
"But she also helps you a lot too… I wonder if that's just her way of saying that she likes you."
Shujinkou would like to believe that's the case, but he already knows the truth. Everything Mali had done so far was on a whim and because she found it interesting to get involved in whatever dilemma he faced.
But despite knowing this, deep down, he hoped that can change.
"Maybe," he said, scratching his right cheek.
"Well, whatever the reason is, I'm still grateful for helping with the whole Akuma thing," praised Sayori.
"Huh?"
"You know; finding the evidence and giving it to you."
Shujinkou's eyes widened with shock. "How-?"
"It wasn't that hard to figure out Shiko. You talked with Akuma and then you showed up later at the clubroom with Mali and the evidence. I'm pretty sure Mali at least pointed you in the right direction, but you said you did all yourself because you didn't want Mali to get in trouble for snooping around," Sayori explained in a matter-of-fact manner.
"Oh."
"I'm pretty sure the others don't really buy you're stumbling upon it since you would have to e in a position of snooping around in the first place to just stumble across it," she continued.
"Wow… I really am an easy person to see through aren't I?
Sayori shook her head.
"We just know Shiko really well," she assured him with a bright smile.
"Still, I think I have to point out that I still willingly went along with Mali, so that, at the least, makes me an accomplice," Shujinkou pointed out.
"That doesn't change the fact that you most likely wouldn't have done it if it wasn't for her."
"So… does that mean that we're shifting the blame solely to Mali?"
"No, there's no blame at all. It was a good thing. I was just saying that you wouldn't have done it without being convinced."
A dark look fell on Shujinkou's face as. "So that just proves that I'm awkwardly and submissively passive…"
Looking away, Shujinkou let out depressed sigh, emphasizing how much that fact bothered him.
"That's not what I'm saying at-!"
As she tried to explain, she noticed a small smile resting on Shujinkou's lips.
"Shiko, you…" Sayori quickly picked up a nearby pillow and shoved it in his face. "You were making me feel guilty over nothing!"
"You're not the only one who can pull a Monika," he laughed.
"You made me seriously concerned for you! That's so manipulative!"
"You're manipulative too. That's how you got me to visit the club in the first place."
"That was to make you happy! You were just messing with me!"
"Pretty sure you also did it for the cupcakes."
Silence was the only response to his last point. Curious, Shujinkou peeked beyond his pillow to find Sayori struggling to form a comeback.
"…It can be both!" she finally cried.
"Maybe you're just rubbing off on me," Shujinkou countered.
"Now you're just making me seem like a bad person!"
Shujinkou immediately sat up and effortlessly tossed the pillow aside.
"You're one of the last few people I'd consider a bad person," he said.
"I know that. I was just…"
"Trying to guilt trip me?" Shujinkou interjected. "That's pretty manipulative, Sayori."
"You're doing it again!"
Shujinkou scratched his right cheek as he laughed.
"…Thanks, Sayori."
"Huh? What for?" she asked.
"I was still feeling a bit anxious over everything ut you pretty much calmed me down like you always do. Thanks for that."
Overwhelmed by what he just said, Sayori tightly gripped his arms and once again buried her head in his chest.
"You've really been open with your feelings lately, Shiko," she spluttered, burying her head further into his chest.
"I know; it's surprising me too."
The next day…
Shujinkou yawned as he walked into his classroom. A constant marathon of nightmares made getting any chance of getting sleep impossible.
"Morning, Shujinkou." Kiyoko greeted. "You look exhausted."
"Yeah. I kept having dreams getting gruesome game overs and barely waking up in time," Shujinkou explained.
"Ah, the video game version of the falling down the stairs dream."
"Pretty much."
"Well, you should probably make sure you get as much downtime as you can during breaks."
"I don't know. I'm not really a master of sleeping and waking up when you need to in school like you are. In fact, I probably wouldn't have gotten called out on daydreaming so much if I was."
"I could wake you up if you want," Kiyoko suggested.
"But won't that cut into yours? I'd rather not do that," Shujinkou declined. "Besides, I'm used to waking up throughout the day."
"Well, if that's what you want. By the way…" Kiyoko dug into her pocket and presented a tiny, folded piece of paper. "This is for you."
"What's that?" he asked.
"Don't know. Natsuki asked me to give it to you."
Shujinkou imagined his jaw hitting the floor. He wondered how what his next move towards getting Natsuki to talk to him would be, and out of nowhere she left him what he assumed was a note.
Accepting the paper, Shujinkou quickly unfolded it and read the contents on it.
"Meet me behind the gym after school. Alone." Natsuki really wants to talk to me?
After spending the last few days avoiding him like the plague, her requesting to take was a great surprise to Shujinkou. "Granted, a happy one."
"A happy what?" Kiyoko asked.
Shujinkou couldn't help but feel embarrassed over verbalizing his thoughts in front of Kiyoko.
"Just that what she said on here made me a little happy, that's all," he explained.
His classmate's eyes trailed down towards the note, then back up to him.
"Okay."
With a simple shrug, Kiyoko turned and walked to her desk.
I still can't get over how Kiyoko doesn't dig any further when it comes to stuff like this. It's just like the time I went-
Shujinkou scratched his right cheek, pondering what he was about to say.
I went… Went what? Went somewhere? Went on something with someone? What was I about to say?
But no matter how hard he thought about it, an answer wouldn't come to him.
I was probably just trailing off.
…
Anxiety gripped at Shujinkou's heart as he walked towards the gym. He knew he would respond this way. Even if he was completely prepared he would feel some anxiety, because he knew that no matter what he did or say, nothing guarantees that the best possible outcome will arise from this moment.
"Doesn't help that it's been slowly building up all day and that today was super slow because of it."
He soon circled around to the back where he immediately bumped into Natsuki.
"Shujinkou?!" she exclaimed.
He was sure that she was walking his way they bumped into each other. Was she pacing back and forth waiting for him?
Never mind that. I have to take the initiative!
He waved and replied with a simple "Hey."
Natsuki briefly looked away before responding with a disheartened, "Hey…"
The next few moments were as tense as Shujinkou expected. Shujinkou knew he would have to quickly get a grasp of the atmosphere so he would know the best way to approach this conversation. He knew that, however the varied emotions Natsuki's face displayed made that a near impossible task.
First she looked annoyed, then regretful, then angry. He hadn't seen her look that angry at him since Mali found the clubroom.
Her expression soon softened, her face now sporting one of defeat.
"Natsuki…?"
"I'm sorry."
"Huh?" Those were two words Shujinkou was not expecting to hear.
"My dad… he was pretty rough with you. So…" Natsuki bowed low and hastily apologized. "I'm sorry."
"Oh, you don't have to apologize. It's not like I'm angry over that or anything." Taken aback by Natsuki's behavior, he could only just as hastily respond to her apology.
After another brief moment of silence, Natsuki looked up at Shujinkou with worried eyes.
"…You… You didn't tell anyone did you?" she asked.
Shujinkou shook his head. "No… Fuyu found out but she promised not to say anything until we talked."
"Oh…"
Natsuki didn't display happiness or sadness over that answer. Seeing his friend act this way, Shujinkou no longer held any reservations towards asking whether she was okay or not.
"Yeah," she nodded. "I know I've been avoiding everyone lately but how would you act if your father grabbed one of your friends and embarrassed you in front of everyone?"
Shujinkou remained silent as he scratched his right cheek. He wouldn't really know what that would feel like. Whether it was because of their genders or maybe because he figured his father wouldn't have paid him enough attention for that to be a possibility, he couldn't even imagine it.
"Uhm… You get what I'm saying though, right?" Natsuki quickly continued. "I just couldn't look anyone in the eye, especially you, not after what Dad said in front of you guys."
"Yeah… Thinking about, I guess I've always had it in the back of my mind that a parent would have assumed that I was involved with someone," Shujinkou admitted. "After all, everyone assumes that I joined the club just so I can be the only guy in a club comprised solely of women."
"Well, you're not exactly doing anything to prove that wrong when you keep making friends with other girls." Natsuki retorted under her breath.
"It's all coincidence! It's not like I'm purposely making sure that I'm friends with nothing but girls," Shujinkou disputed, recalling all the circumstances that led to him meeting all of his current friends. "Even so, it's not like it's a bad thing, right? Only having female friends?"
Natsuki sighed, "Only because it's you. Anyone else would be pretty suspect."
Shujinkou scratched his right cheek. Natsuki's responses and actions seemed to more normal now.
"Anyway, are you okay now? I didn't get you in any trouble did I?" he worriedly asked.
"Did you get me in trouble…?"
Natsuki remained silent for a moment, processing his question. Her expression darkened and her entire body was violently trembling.
"…Of course you did, Dummy!" she exploded.
"Huh?!"
Taken aback by her loud and grandiose confirmation, Shujinkou was completely off guard for what's to come.
"I got Dad to calm down, which was pretty hard, since he was in protective-dad mode. With everything, including never mentioning that one of the friends I spent time with was a guy who I also went somewhere with during the end of the summer, I was in a pretty bad spot," she continued.
"Um…"
"I barely got him to agree not to kill you for being an accomplice in 'sneaking behind his back'."
Shujinkou silently stared at Natsuki, confused by what she just told him. But I didn't even really know about him being weary about her having male friends… Other than her saying her dad would kill me if I walked her home. I thought she was exaggerating…
"Don't look all confused; you definitely are just as responsible," she scolded. "I mean, after all, you were the one who kissed me the first time I went to your house."
"You were trying to give me a fake mustache…"
"Then there was you suddenly grabbing me to help me aim better at that shooting game during the festival Monika took over."
"I'm sorry. I should've asked first…"
"Plus, you invited me to your house that one time and said I could come whenever I want."
"But, isn't that what friends do?"
"...Point is: imagine how that looks from a dad's perspective. You should've known how far boy/girl friendships could go. The one you have with Sayori is pretty much the exception. All-in-all, you really left me in a tough spot."
Shujinkou submissively scratched his right cheek. "I don't really follow, but… I'm sorry for my part in all this."
"You should. Thanks to your part, I'm grounded," Natsuki stated bluntly.
"What?"
"Pretty much the other reason I haven't been around. I didn't want anyone to find that out."
"I'm sorry…"
Seeing Shujinkou's genuinely regretful face made maintaining eye contact with him much more difficult for Natsuki.
"Well… It wasn't just your fault. Should've known I shouldn't have hidden the fact that I'm friends with a guy from my father," she admitted. "That never ends well."
"So, you being grounded means you can't stay after school for the club?" Shujinkou asked.
"Pretty much. Really, I think it's the whole not explaining that I'm going away with a boy thing that guaranteed me getting grounded no matter what I did."
Natsuki sighed once again.
"Knew that one was going to come back to haunt me later."
"But you're okay? Nothing wrong?" Shujinkou queried.
"I'm as okay as anyone grounded and embarrassed by their father can be," she said with a third sigh. Anyway, I was wondering if you could tell the others to stop worrying and looking for me. I'm trying to get my dad's trust back and if he ever comes to check up on me, I don't want him to get the wrong idea."
"So, keep our distance?"
Natsuki nodded her head.
"Well, if that's what you think is best," Shujinkou accepted.
"It is…"
Preparing to leave, Natsuki adjusted the strap of her school bag, wincing in pain as she did so.
"You okay?"
"Yeah… Another embarrassing thing to admit," she groaned. "I was avoiding everyone and they let me walk away for the most part, but Sayori, she actually chased me around the school. I ended banging my shoulder around one of the many corners I had to take to lose her."
"Ouch." Shujinkou sympathized.
"That's an understatement. Anyway…" Natsuki looked up at Shujinkou with confused eyes. "Later."
Before he could even respond, she was already gone. Now alone, Shujinkou couldn't help but feel empty.
"I guess I was exaggerating everything in my head," he said. "I don't know why I didn't think of just a super protective dad."
With his goal completed, Shujinkou walked back to the main building.
I really hope that's the case…