Moments Earlier…

"Oh yeah… I was supposed to give Natsuki her manga," Shujinkou recalled as he walked towards the school.

He had planned on using it as a gamble to talk to her but, in the end, it proved to be unnecessary.

"I'll just put it with the rest of her collection. That's probably what she would want me to do," he sighed.

In any other scenario, he should feel somewhat relieved. His friend didn't hate him and said the exact words to partly assuage his worries.

So, why am I still worried? I honestly don't know how fathers are supposed to be, so I don't know how far stuff like this would go.

If this was on TV there probably would have been a gasp track, a daughter and father fight about trust and privacy and eventually reconciliation. Does that actually happen in real life?

Shujinkou continued to mindlessly walk forward until he felt something quickly wrap around his feet. Once he was properly constricted, Shujinkou was suddenly hoisted into the air and left dangling upside down.

"Not again…" he softly murmured.

Shujinkou had a pretty good idea who set up this ensnarement trap and sure enough, she soon approached him. Her curious eyes scanned her victim from head to toe and soon a smile crossed her face.

"Senpai's still not paying attention to his surroundings," Mali said. "Senpai's still not taking his current circumstances seriously enough."

"Am I really supposed to be looking out for a snare trap though?" Shujinkou questioned, mustering up the best laugh he could manage.

"Maybe, Maybe not. But you never know, Senpai. You never know how someone will carry out their revenge and since Senpai took the credit for finding the photographs, he's a prime target."

"Do you really think Akuma would come back now that he's on the run?"

Mali giggled at his response. "Revenge is a powerful motivator that often obstructs logic, Senpai. Besides, isn't the possibility the reason you've been keeping an eye on your most physically developed potential?"

Shujinkou remained silent. He knew he didn't have to say a word for Mali to know how right she was. Asking in the first place may have been a vein reach for the situation to just go away.

"Poor Senpai, he has to keep an eye on one of his potentials while he's on the fence with another of his potentials, even after finally talking to her behind the gym," she mockingly sympathized.

"Wait, were you there the whole time?" Shujinkou gasped.

"Ah, so you did go back there to talk with the potential you're on the fence with."

"Ah-!"

Shujinkou felt like crying over how easily Mali made him confirm her suspicions.

"What happened to make you look so displeased, Senpai?" she continued to question. "Did she cut you out of her life for good or something?"

Shujinkou shook his head. "Not exactly. We just talked."

"Oh. Talked about how her dad manhandled you and would've went further given the chance?"

"I don't think it would've gone that far; it was just a misunderstanding."

"How can Senpai say that?" Mali asked with fake worry. "You couldn't even make a straight face saying that. I honestly don't know whether you're trying to convince me or yourself."

Shujinkou averted his gaze.

"Senpai's clearly reaching for the best possible outcome for all of this, even when it seems pretty unlikely."

Mali then paused, remembering who she was talking to.

But Senpai's innocent so he can't help it," she giggled. "So innocent that he'll brush off assault for the sake of a friend or even try to pass blame for the whole twisted love thing going on. Senpai clearly doesn't believe in spite."

She leaned forward, wearing a curious expression on her face.

"Or maybe Senpai is picking his battles. Or maybe Senpai's just afraid that anything he does will cause him to lose a friend even though he clearly fears something more is happening. And that something more that is happening, he's letting it happen because he doesn't know if it's real or not."

Mali's words weighed heavily on Shujinkou's mind.

"As I said before, poor Senpai is stuck in things that are way out of his depth and there's nothing he can do about it. All of this because he was just trying to be the best Senpai he could be," she continued. "Isn't that ironic?"

Shujinkou remained silent as Mali taunted him. The nostalgic mix of pain and confusion in his face was a delight to see for her. But despite those feelings he displayed, she noticed something peculiar in his eyes. Another emotion that was buried beneath the others.

"Senpai's still only thinking about his friends. There isn't really much about your own safety in your mind." Mali noted."Senpai's sure shouldering a lot. It's almost like you've been convinced that you have to be the one to save the day."

"I don't really care about who helps who," Shujinkou denied."I just… I just don't want my friends hurting. Even if most of them didn't know it, they were there for me when I needed friends so I want to do the same for them. And even if it wasn't for that… When a friend needs me to be there, I'll be there… to help."

"'When a friend needs me to be there, I'll be there…'" Mali repeated with a chortle. "Senpai said that so confidently. That drive must be the only thing that keeps someone with a continually sad face going; though I really wonder if that's enough. After all, I already know someone who it's barely enough for."

"Who are you talking about?"

"It's something Senpai may not have to worry about. Besides, Senpai already has his hands full already acting like he's trying to help his friends when in reality he's doing the bare minimum. Then again, Senpai usually doesn't do anything until he's pushed to do so. Then he says a few nice words that only work because they're usually aimed at his potentials that are utterly dependent on him.

Maybe that's why Senpai's trying to shoulder everything. He isn't trying to martyr himself; his friends are practically pushing him to be their problem solver."

"They're not dependent on me." Shujinkou contested.

"Senpai can't see it because he doesn't want to see any of friends' flaws or their own personal troubles. Sure you'll do something when it's happening right in front of you, but when it's not you'll cower and constantly question if their anything you can do.

Your talk with Akuma and you're third potential. You took those at face value and put the problems at the back burner because they seemed to be heading towards the best possible outcome."

"That's not- I mean I was hoping for that, but I wasn't putting them on the backburner…" Shujinkou weakly argued.

"Oh? Then what was Senpai going to do then if his Kōhai didn't intervene after your talk with Akuma?" Mali questioned. "What would have Senpai done if his fourth potential didn't give him an idea to talk to his third? Mope about how he doesn't have a solution?"

"I… I don't know…"

"For the so-called heart of the club, Senpai doesn't really seem to do much to earn that title. It's not like he meant to bring his club together, that was just an inadvertent side-effect. Really, despite everyone's praise, Senpai's only notable quality is being nice. The quintessential generic, oblivious and submissive nice guy."

Shujinkou just stared at Mali. She had teased him before, but something about this time seemed even more malicious. He wasn't sure whether she was restraining herself in the past or if something happened to her recently, but it was as if she was truly trying to break his spirit. If that was the case it was working.

"No…"

Shujinkou vehemently shook his head.

"Maybe I am generic. I can't really think of anything that makes me special like the others. I can't bake, I can't have a great sense of atmospheres, I don't have boundless energy that inspires others not to mope around and I'm not smart and athletic.

Maybe I am oblivious. There's a lot of times I've been blindsided by things that are obvious to others.

And yeah, I'm definitely submissive. I can't recall the last time I've didn't want to do something and said no. Not to mention, I just take it when someone takes shots at me."

Shujinkou chuckled as he scratched his right cheek.

"At least, that's what I would have thought some time ago," he admitted.

"Honestly, I still have a hard time imagining what makes me special compared to the others, but if they see something, then I'll believe it's there. I think I'm a pretty decent artist, but if others think it's amazing right now, I'll accept that now.

I won't deny I'm oblivious, but I can't help that. And maybe I am really submissive, but it's not because I don't want to fire back at people. It's because there's often no point to.

Natsuki was pretty harsh with me when we first met and I took it because she had every right to call me out when I first joined. I couldn't say no to anything Sayori requested, because I felt like I had a lot to make up for. And I usually let what you say towards me slide because despite it usually pretty harsh can be and despite your own stated reasons, you've helped me and the others before.

And you're right that I hope for the best possible outcome, because I generally don't want anyone I care about to go through anything bad and maybe my hesitance is because I want to make sure whatever I do leads to that. It's like how right now, that I'm hoping your words right now are your own way of inspiring me to do something like you did when you led me those photographs."

"That's all fine and good to say, Senpai, but what would you do if life doesn't meet that optimism?" Mali proposed.

"I don't know. I've already had that happen to me several times and I ended up running away from the world. Maybe me hoping for the best possible outcome and attempting to take this heart of the club thing as my role is just me going to the other extreme. I really don't know myself as much as I should; probably because I've beaten myself up so much for years.

But if there's one thing about me I do know for sure… No matter what the circumstances and no matter how I view things, my desire to make sure those I care about are okay is genuine. It's to the point I hardly even think about it; it's a reflex. Maybe that's cheesy and maybe that's an impossible task. But that's who I am and that's one thing about me that I refuse to relent on again."

Those words caused Mali's composure to slip, allowing Shujinkou to see genuine surprise rest on her face. But it wasn't just surprise he saw.

He couldn't properly describe it but whenever she was around, Mali put up an air of innocence that most can see through. This time however, he felt her innocence was genuine this time.

Suddenly, her usual innocent smile crossed her face, making her previous face seem like it was just an illusion.

"…Senpai sure seems serious. I think I'm beginning to understand why he's been running himself ragged and why he's almost always in a funk. But does that really change any of my points? Senpai's still innocent and his desire plus his potentials dependence on him is just going to destroy him in the end.

Not to mention that it doesn't change what I said about it being easy to just say those words."

Mali reached forward and cradled Shujinkou's face.

"What're you-?"

"You've really had nothing but problem after problem happen to you once the second semester started and I'm sure you're starting to get tired of it. So, what if your Kōhai helped remove one of those lingering problems from the board?" Mali offered.

"How?" Shujinkou queried.

"Don't expect your Kōhai to just magically make things better. I can't do that and that would surely draw ire from somewhere. I'm just going to continue supporting Senpai. After all, with how things for everyone went so far, the 'Protagonist' has to be the one to save the day."

It was strange. Shujinkou felt like he could hear her clearly, but her voice also sounded so distant. Was the blood finally rushing to his head? With his vision constantly fading between darkness and light, that had to be the case.

"I think I can do something that would speed everyone towards an amicable resolution, one I'm sure everyone would be content with," Mali continued. "You good with that, Senpai?"

"I…"

He could hardly think. At this point it was a struggle to keep his eyes open. He had to be let down soon or else something bad could happen.

"Look forward to it… Shujinkou," Mali giggled.

Her smiling face was the last thing he saw before everything went black. As he drifted off to an involuntary slumber, he could faintly make out a few last words.

"You'll be let down soon, but before I go, let me make one quick request in return: Try not to disappoint me too."

With those parting words, Shujinkou was finally claimed by the darkness of slumber.

"I wonder if Shiko already went back inside…"

Wha-?

He heard another voice call his name. Soon after, he felt something collide with him, shocking him awaked.

"Whoa!" Shujinkou cried.

"Huh?"

Awoken from his short respite, Shujinkou suddenly found himself face to face with Sayori. She seemed surprised, most likely by the fact she found him hanging upside down.

"What happened, Shiko?" she queried.

Shujinkou scratched his right cheek. He swung back and forth as he continued to dangle above the ground. "Well… I was heading to the clubroom and one thing led to another."

Even if it seemed obvious, he didn't want to reveal it was Mali who did this to him. He was sure his decision was to make sure the already negative perception of her didn't get worse.

It was a desire he didn't fully understand in the past, but as he spent more time with her, it was gradually becoming a little clearer.

"Did Mali do this to you?" Sayori finally asked.

"Yeah…" he admitted. Then again, it's gotta be an insult to the other's intelligence if I keep doing this…

"How come? And where is she?"

"She said was trying to get me pay attention to my surroundings, along with…"

Shujinkou closed his eyes as he paused. He didn't exactly want to go into the particulars of what Mali had said to him, especially if it was her way of spurring him to action.

But that wasn't the only thing that caused him to hesitate. He genuinely was confused by Mali's last words before she vanished.

"…Stuff I didn't really get," Shujinkou finally continued. "After that, she left, insisting I would be let down soon."

He then watched Sayori walk towards the anchor point of the rope and untied it, sending him hurdling to the ground.

"Ow!" Shujinkou moaned.

Rubbing his throbbing head as he stood up, Shujinkou could barely make out an apology among Sayori's timid giggles.

"Y'know, I'm glad you came along, but what're you doing out here, Sayori?" he asked.

He was curious as to why she wasn't at the club but she instead retorted with. "I could ask you the same thing. I'm only out here because I was looking for you."

"Oh, well…" Shujinkou awkwardly scratched his right cheek, preparing himself for the ensuing conversation. "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," he explained in a matter-of- fact tone.

"Oh," she marveled. "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. "No, I don't think Gramps would have been like that with me. Would have been pretty awkward if that happened.

Shujinkou scratched his right cheek. He wasn't sure what Sayori meant, but he was sure that it just provided another example of his obliviousness.

"So… Natsuki's been grounded b her overprotective father and she wants us to stay away from her?" Sayori asked.

"Yep," Shujinkou answered with a nod.

Not a word was said after his response. Sayori remained silent as she stared deeply into his eyes. It was as if she was trying to fish for more info through them.

However, she didn't question him further, instead puffing her cheeks out in annoyance.

"What's wrong?" Shujinkou asked.

"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," he 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?"

Shujinkou anxiously scratched his right cheek. "…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."

Hearing that felt like a punch to the gut for Shujinkou. "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.

Natsuki had told him one thing, but Sayori denied it. It was abundantly clear by the surprise in Sayori's voice that she wasn't lying and given how Natsuki was acting when they talked, it would make the most sense that Natsuki lied to him.

But the implications of that fact were unpleasant to say the least. Just thinking about it caused something inside him to bubble.

"Shiko?"

"Hm?" Snapped out of his thoughts, Shujinkou glanced at Sayori. Upon seeing her worried face, he instinctively asked, "Something wrong?"

"Um…" She continued to stare at him before suddenly laughing. "Nothing. I thought I saw something weird and scary. 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.

Walking to the clubroom, Shujinkou could feel a sharp pain throbbing in the back of his head accompanied by a haunting phrase.

Look forward to it…