Earlier that day: Lunchtime…
Sayori waved her clenched fist around as she traversed the school hallways. Yuri followed close behind, wearing a curious and amused smile on her face.
"And that's how the meeting can go," Sayori concluded.
"A very unorthodox encounter that displays two differing personalities." She liked the idea, but there was something that confounded Yuri. "Still, I'm a little confused about the time period you're presenting."
"I told you; it's like a mash up of various times or at least something like that that would grant a lot of opportunities."
"As long as it makes internal sense. Such free reign can make people complacent and lazy."
"True, it is a hard thing to balance… But that's what we all have to deal with right? I'm sure we can work out all the bugs before we get too deep into it."
The two continued their trek tow until something peculiar caught Sayori's eye. She was immediately drawn to a poster on the wall. Posters for Halloween littered the school, but this particular one she recognized to an extent.
"That's Shiko's poster." She felt both amazement and horror as she went for a closer look."It's so unnerving."
"Hmm…" Yuri analyzed the poster, making sure she observed every facet of it. "It evokes a classic monster mythology but also shows humans in a negative light. Also, the scratchy style he went for adds a layer of depravity that enhances the overall piece."
"I never realized that Shiko could draw something so disturbing."
"Have you never seen him draw something like this before?"
Sayori shook her head. "I've seen action drawings, cute drawings, crossover fan arts, and other Halloween stuff but never something super disturbing like this."
"But isn't that a mark of a good artist if he can subvert what's expected of him?"
"Yeah… That's why I'm also amazed. I never really thought about it, but I think he's getting better. I'd never have expected such a disturbing Halloween image from him," Sayori beamed. "Speaking of which, I wonder what we should do for the big Halloween festival."
She was excited for the prospect, but her excitement soon vanished upon noticing the regret on Yuri's face.
"About that… I've decided to skip it," Yuri solemnly admitted.
"Eh!? Seriously?" Sayori asked, disappointed.
Yuri nodded her head.
"Okay," Sayori accepted.
"Okay?" Yuri couldn't help but be surprised by how quick Sayori quickly accepted her response.
"I understand with everything that's going on and all," she explained. "So, okay."
"Oh…"
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I'm just surprised," Yuri admitted. "I expected a response encouraging me not to skip it."
"What makes you think I would do that?" Sayori curiously asked.
"Well, you do have a tendency to do that."
"Encourage people?"
"That too, but… Sometimes when things don't go your way or you really want someone to do something, you have a tendency to try your hardest to convince them otherwise."
"I don't really do that," Sayori denied.
"You do," Yuri argued. "In fact, I think you do it most to Shujinkou."
"I don't do that to Shiko…" she then recalled the conversation she had with Shujinkou the prior night, prompting her to add, "Not that much…"
"What about the moment you invited him towards the club?"
"I just invited him."
"You insisted he join a club and when he relented you spliced our club name in-between other clubs multiple times," Yuri pointed out in a succinct manner.
"I was doing my duty as vice-president," Sayori insisted.
"Then you appealed to his sweet tooth by mentioning that cupcakes would be there even though they were only being made because you told everyone he was coming," Yuri continued. "Overall, you manipulated the situation to ensure that he would visit."
"It was to make him happy…" Sayori pouted. Being called out on her tactics again so soon was bit too much for her. "Ah! I almost forgot!"
Without warning, Sayori took off yelling back, "Sorry, Yuri, there's something really important that I gotta take care of!"
Knowing her time was short, Sayori sprinted as hard as she could towards her objective: Fuyu's office.
…
Her heavy pants were mixed with sighs of relief the moment she arrived. Using the last scraps of energy she had left, she opened one of the doors and stuck her head inside.
Surprisingly, there was no one there.
"Behind you." Fuyu called out from behind her.
The suddenness of her response was enough to nearly make Sayori jump out of her skin.
"Fuyu, where'd you come from all of sudden?" Sayori frantically asked.
Fuyu looked back at Rei then back at Sayori.
"We… just walked here and found you standing in front of my office," she answered. "Besides, weren't you looking for me?"
"Oh yeah..."
Amid the awkward silence, Rei slowly waved at Sayori.
"So, what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" Fuyu asked, breaking the silence.
"Right. There's something I want to ask you."
"Yes?"
"Can I see Natsuki's school record?" Sayori requested.
Fuyu didn't say a word. Sayori watched Fuyu's right hand rise up to her glasses and push them against her face.
The now sharp look in the President's eyes sent chills down Sayori's spine.
"No." Fuyu coldly answered.
So cold! Sayori shivered in place as Fuyu walked past her.
"It would seem you still have something to say. Would you like to discuss it further in my office?" she offered.
Sayori nodded her head obediently. "Yes please."
Sayori timidly followed Fuyu into her office. She has seen Fuyu's presidential glare before and has had it aimed at her and the others before. However, she couldn't remember the last time it was directed solely at her.
It felt like she was standing on the edge of a cliff and anything, even the sound of Rei closing the door behind them could push her off.
Fuyu turned back towards her, her face now back to normal. "Why do you want to see Natsuki's record?"
"Well… It's not like I wanted to see anything really confidential. I just wanted to see one really obvious part," Sayori explained. "I figured since you let us see Yuri's, you would let me see Natsuki."
"Wow, you made sure to include I let you see one student's before…" Fuyu sighed. "Shujinkou's right you do have different levels of manipulations."
"He said that?" she gasped. "He makes me look like a bad person when he says that to others..."
"To be fair, you did draw him to the Literature Club with the promise of cupcakes that were only made because you insisted he would come in the first place."
"Why does everyone keep going back to that!? It was to make him happy!" she argued.
Sayori immediately turned towards Rei. "Rei, you don't think I'm a manipulative schemer, do you?"
Rei's only response was a blank look.
Sayori then averted her gaze with and puffed her cheeks.
"I know Shiko doesn't hold it against me, but I'm starting to think people look at me like I'm a bad person who manipulates people for her own goals…"
Fuyu cleared her throat, regaining Sayori's attention.
"Anyway, I have to admit, I only let you guys look at Yuri's file because I was somewhat aware of the Akuma incident," Fuyu explained. "I think it's safe to assume that you want to look at Natsuki's to prevent a similar occurrence?"
Sayori answered with a single nod. "Yeah."
Fuyu pointed to a nearby file cabinet. "That would require you looking through there?"
Sayori once again answered with a single nod.
"No," Fuyu coldly answered.
Sayori shivered in front of her gaze. That was colder than the last one...
Fuyu once again walked past her Sayori and reached for the office doors.
"I'm going to the bathroom. Don't do anything until I come back," she instructed.
Fuyu closed the doors behind her, leaving Sayori alone with Rei.
"Fuyu's really convincing…" Sayori noted.
…
Once school ended, Sayori rushed to Shujinkou's classroom. There was something she wanted to talk with him about right away.
She looked for him amid a sea of departing students, but couldn't find him. Confused, she approached Kiyoko and tapped on her shoulder.
Kiyoko removed her earphones and looked up at the visitor.
"Hey, Sayori," she greeted. "What's up?"
"Do you know if Shiko already left for the clubroom, Kiyo?" Sayori asked.
"Actually, he looked like he was heading outside."
"Outside? What for?"
Kiyoko shrugged.
"Okay, thanks Kiyo."
With those parting words, Sayori once again found herself entangled in a sea of faces. Pushing through, she was finally able to break free and circle around towards a less congested exit.
From there she would explore the perimeter of the school. She looked and looked, but no matter where she went, she couldn't find Shujinkou.
"I wonder if Shiko already went back inside…" Sayori mused.
She wondered whether or not she should keep looking before suddenly running into a sturdy object.
"Whoa!" a voice cried.
"Huh?"
Sayori stared on in surprise. She didn't expect the thing she ran into to be the person she was looking for. Even more, she didn't expect to find him suspended upside down by a single rope.
"What happened, Shiko?" she queried.
Shujinkou scratched his right cheek. He swung back and forth as dangled above the ground. "Well… I was heading to the clubroom and one thing led to another."
Recalling a similar circumstance Shujinkou had mention he been in, Sayori asked, "Did Mali do this to you?"
"Yeah…" he admitted.
"How come? And where is she?"
"She said was trying to get me pay attention to my surroundings, along with…" Shujinkou closed his eyes, remaining silent as he continued to swing back and forth. "…Stuff I didn't really get. After that, she left, insisting I would be let down soon."
Sayori followed the line of rope tightly tied around Shujinkou's legs and found the anchor point. She bent over and released the rope, sending Shujinkou hurdling towards the ground.
"Ow!"
Shujinkou gently rubbed his aching head as he slowly stood on his feet.
"Sorry, Shiko," Sayori apologized with a weak giggle.
"Y'know, I'm glad you came along, but what're you doing out here, Sayori?" he asked.
"I could ask you the same thing. I'm only out here because I was looking for you."
"Oh, well… I actually came out here to talk to Natsuki."
"Really? That's great! What did she say?" Sayori excitedly asked.
"I got her grounded and she wants space so she can regain her father's trust," Shujinkou explained in a matter-of- fact tone.
"Oh." His succinct and almost casual response surprised Sayori. "That's all?"
"Pretty much. I'm also trying my hardest not to be overcome with guilt."
"What about her dad pinning you against the wall?"
"Overprotective father."
"That's was just overprotectiveness?"
"I guess. I mean I really have no firsthand experience with that kind of stuff. Wonder if Gramps would have been like that with you and Hiroko."
"Eh…" Sayori's cheeks briefly turned red with embarrassment. "No, I don't think Gramps would have been like that with me. Would have been pretty awkward if that happened.
She then shook her head, riding herself of distracting thoughts.
So… Natsuki's been grounded b her overprotective father and she wants us to stay away from her?" Sayori summarized.
"Yep," Shujinkou answered with a nod
Sayori stared deep into Shujinkou's eyes. Contrary to his calm exterior, his eyes displayed nothing but uneasiness. But she was not sure which recent conversation caused that.
"Mm…"
Shujinkou scratched his cheek as he tried to comprehend his friend's annoyed face. "What's wrong?"
"I'm glad Natsuki talked to someone, but why couldn't she tell us she needed some space too?" she pouted. "Aren't we close friends too?"
"Sometimes it's easier to tell one person something and not others regardless of how close they are," Shujinkou pointed out. "I mean hasn't there ever been anything you've never told me but have told others?"
"I don't really think that works here, Shiko. I think Natsuki thinks of you as her closest friend," Sayori argued. "Then again, it's easy talking to Shiko. But I'm easy to talk to too, aren't I?"
"…Yes."
"Why'd that take you a second?" she bleated.
"It's just that you can come on a little too strongly, like how you chased Natsuki around the school."
"Huh?" Sayori's eyes grew wide with surprise. "I never chased Natsuki around the school."
"You didn't it?"
Sayori shook her head.
They didn't say anything else, but it was clear from the atmosphere that they were thinking the same thing.
"Do you think-?"
Words immediately failed Sayori as she looked upon Shujinkou's face. The almost murderous look he showed was the frightening thing she had ever seen.
"Shiko?" she worriedly called.
"Hm?" Shujinkou curiously glanced at Sayori. "Something wrong?"
"Um…"
Sayori stared on in confusion. It was like the face earlier never existed.
Maybe it didn't. She'd rather think that either way.
"Nothing. I thought I saw something weird and scary," she weakly chuckled. "Probably because it's almost Halloween."
"That makes sense. Anyway, we should probably get to the club before the others wonder where we're at," Shujinkou suggested.
"Right," Sayori agreed.
She made sure to follow behind Shujinkou as they walked to the clubroom. She didn't want to see how much that face she saw upset her. All she could do was hope she was really seeing things.