"Sayori!"

Shujinkou called for his friend after entering her home, but his only response was silence.

He waited to meet up with her for their daily pilgrimage to school, but she never came. He tried calling, but she never answered.

Maybe it was his growing paranoia, but he felt compelled to see if she was home.

"Sayori!"

After checking the first floor, Shujinkou went upstairs and walked into her room. Like the rest of the house, it was empty. While disappointed, he noticed something odd about her room.

It's clean. Did Sayori start cleaning up her room now?

Shujinkou scratched his right cheek.

I guess she went on ahead of me. But… she usually lets me know and she usually answers her phone. She isn't mad at me for suddenly leaving the way I did, is she?

Shujinkou chuckled as he thought about his circumstances. "Possibly on the fence with the rest of the club… That was something I feared when I first joined."

His laughter soon devolved into a depressed sigh as he left his friend's home.

No! I can't revert back to being a sad sack! Sayori wouldn't want me acting like this! I'm sure she's just doing her usual behind the scenes… whatever it is she does.

I'll just check up on her at lunch later.

…

"Staying positive sure is hard right now…"

Shujinkou's shoulders slumped forward as he continued wandering the school. He had spent a good portion of his lunch break looking for Sayori, but so far, he had no luck locating her. It was strange and oddly depressing at the same time.

"This is starting to feel like Natsuki all over again."

Just saying that invoked a sense of dread in Shujinkou. Though it was more likely that he was just missing Sayori at every turn, he couldn't help but feel like something was very wrong. It had been gnawing at him all day and that feeling had been getting worse and worse as time went on.

Am I just being pessimistic?

Before he could consider that possibility, Shujinkou felt a presence behind him. Given their history, it had to be…

"Mal-REI!?"

Standing behind him was his perpetually silent companion, staring at him with her usual blank expression.

His heart felt like it could burst out of his chest; one reason being the surprise that it wasn't who he was expecting and the other the embarrassment he felt for reacting so strongly.

Even after steadying his breath, Shujinkou could only follow up with a half-hearted, "H-Hey, Rei. What's up?"

Rei didn't respond to his question. There was no wave hello or subtle changes in her eye; she just continued staring at him.

"Did you need me for something?"

It was at that moment when Shujinkou noticed a subtle change in her eye. It was hard to discern, but she seemed confused.

I wonder what she's thinking.

Shujinkou didn't know what to do in this situation. He was curious and slightly worried over what bothered Rei, but at the same time he wasn't sure if he had the time to indulge her silent treatment.

Actually, going back to Mali… I'm still wondering what she was talking about yesterday. She said was planning on speeding things up on something, but… I honestly don't know. Everything after that was pretty… off.

Shujinkou scratched his right cheek, thinking about everything he considered an issue so far.

Natsuki, Yuri, Mali and now I have a bad feeling regarding Sayori… What's going on? It's almost as if life is trying to throw so much at us that it's suffocating and frankly depressing.

He couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

Wish I could get some help…

"Strange…"

"Huh?"

Shujinkou's eyes lit up with surprise. It hadn't been that long since he's last heard her voice, but it was still a surprise to hear Rei speaking to him, especially after convincing himself that the last time was most likely a onetime event.

"Shujinkou… strange… Also… worried and… scared…" she continued.

Shujinkou was speechless. Not only did Rei start speaking again out of nowhere, but she also accurately explained his current mental state.

"Th-That's not true… I'm just…"

Shujinkou shook his head and smiled.

"Everything's fine. I just have a constantly sad face. I'm still working on that," he assured her.

"Shujinkou's lying… Why…? Rei asked.

Shujinkou looked away. He didn't know why he lied to Rei. Even more, he felt like punching himself for thinking he could get away with it.

Just because she's usually quiet and doesn't show her emotions doesn't mean she's dumb.

He looked back at Rei. Her emotionless gaze contrasted heavily with her curious words. That and his guilt could very well be the reason he decided to give in and explain, though he felt there were other factors in play.

"Rei… A lot of the stuff that's bothering me… It's not really my place to say. And honestly, I think it's making me paranoid and feeling useless. I know it doesn't seem like it, but I'm trying my hardest not to get too upset over everything but… It's almost impossible. Every time something happens that makes me feel a bit more positive about something, something else comes and pushes me straight back to 'perpetually negative mode'.

Shujinkou sighed. Once again, Mali's words were on his mind.

"Mali was right… There's been nothing but problem after problem after school started back up. First semester was so strange, but by the end, I ended up making so many new friends. And now when they need me, I can't do anything. Overall, I just wanted… I hoped that after last semester, we could have a semester with no issues; just friends going through the motions of high school, but it's like some force doesn't want that to happen."

Shujinkou placed his right hand on his chest and slowly gripped it.

"You know, not too long ago, I was feeling pretty good about everything. It was like this heavy burden that's haunted me for years has finally been lifted from my shoulders. I was finally free from any lingering guilt and could see myself as the person the others see me as. But that didn't last long. Things happened and I can feel myself slipping back into old habits. I don't want to, but… it's like I can't stop it. It's like every time I try, it ends up making things worse.

And overall, I have this really bad feeling and I can't tell if it's all of the above making me feel that way or some sort of premonition."

Shujinkou gripped his chest tighter and tighter, oblivious to the slight pain it caused him.

"So I am scared and worried, but that's not all. I'm mad, determined, skeptical, confused; I have all these various emotions coming at me all at once and out of nowhere and I don't know how to deal with it. All this constant emotional switching is almost driving me crazy! I just want everything to end!"

The young man instinctively slapped his hand over his mouth. He didn't mean to raise his voice, but he did. All the emotions he just described urged him too.

This is how I felt yesterday, when Sayori was worried about me after freeing me from Mali's trap… And how I felt when I left her or something familiar to it. I didn't scare her, did I?

That possibility made him feel even worse than he did before.

No… That can't be it. Sayori would tell me if I did. If anything she seemed more confused when I last saw her.

His refusal to accept that what his mind came up with granted him some relief, but it was quickly supplanted by the ambiguous bad feeling that haunted him.

What's more, he realized that he had yet to say anything to Rei after raising his voice.

"Sorry, Rei. We don't talk much and I just unloaded a lot of drama on you all at once," Shujinkou apologized.

"I'm… used to it…" Rei slowly replied. "I'm always… listening… It… was always… the one thing… I was allowed to do…"

Indecisiveness held Shujinkou's tongue. On one hand, he wanted to know what Rei meant; one the other, he wasn't sure if he should. Maybe it wasn't his place to know or maybe… Maybe he didn't want to know the answer.

He couldn't tell what he wanted. What was a normal thought or emotion and what was pessimism, he didn't know.

"What do you mean?" he suddenly, instinctively asked.

Rei remained silent for a moment. "Reizo… was only meant… to listen…"

Shujinkou scratched his right cheek. He wasn't sure if he would have understood her response even if he wasn't feeling the way he did.

"Shujinkou also… always listens…" Rei continued. "Friends… like that… about him…"

"Well… I guess that's a quality I can agree with. I do do that."

"Shujinkou also… listens to me… even when silent…"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Most… don't…"

The school bell suddenly ranged. All Shujinkou could think about upon hearing the sound was how it added credence to his belief that some mysterious force was unnecessarily making things hard lately.

"Um… That's the bell so…" Shujinkou awkwardly scratched his right cheek. He hated having to leave Rei after she just admitted that most don't listen to her, but he had no choice. "We can continue talking later, if you want to, okay?"

Rei silently nodded her head. He wasn't sure if her renewed silence meant something or not, but that was something to think about later.

Rei turned and watched Shujinkou leave. Just before he got too far, she noticed a familiar accessory disappear around the corner.

"White…" she mumbled to herself.

Shujinkou continued forward, oblivious to the world around him. Right now, all he could think about was how he failed to locate Sayori.

Wait a minute…

He soon came to a halt and looked around.

Whether I'm missing Sayori at every turn or she's avoiding me, she'd have to come back to class, right?

With that fact in mind, Shujinkou decided to go and scout out Sayori's classroom. He peeked inside once he arrived, but she wasn't there.

He then decided to wait. He watched as student after stepped inside, but none of them was the person he was looking for.

Before long, the doors around him shut. The next class was now in session.

There was nothing left he could do but go back to class. It should be fine if he showed up a little late.

Wait!

Shujinkou immediately turned and dashed towards the location that just popped into his mind.

How could I forget to look there?

He soon came to a screcching halt as he stopped in front of the Nurse's Office. Panting heavily, Shujinkou pushed the door opened and stepped inside.

To his disappointment, the only person there was the school nurse.

Granted, I guess I shouldn't be too upset she isn't here…

"Is there something you need, Shujinkou?" the nurse asked.

After coming to her office quite a few times over the school year, it's no surprise that she knew both of them by name.

"Um… Has Sayori come through here today?" Shujinkou queried.

The nurse shook her head, effectively finishing off the small hope he had of finding any trace of Sayori here.

"Okay… Thanks anyway."

Shujinkou walked out and closed the door behind him. He was pretty sure he checked everywhere in the school.

What was he to do now?

"Maybe I should've asked her for a note…" Shujinkou thought aloud. "This has got to be some karmic punishment. I pushed her out of my life and now I can't find her just to make sure she's alright.

Is this Sayori felt? Just want to make sure your friend is alright, but can't find out or doing anything aout right away?"

That thought made Shujinkou regret his actions from yesterday even more.

"But… Sayori's a lot stronger than me. She wouldn't let something like that get her down or dwell on it too much."

He scratched his right cheek, his mind drifting back to the first time they came to high school together, or at least, the grounds of it.

The abandoned school building! I haven't checked there!

With hope in his heart once again, Shujinkou made his way to the abandoned section of the school.

Entering it brought back memories of the last time he was there. Monika was previously held there by a student with an obsessive crush on her. It felt totally out of nowhere, but it was still a situation that escalated quickly.

But despite everything, no one seemed affected by it. It was like a passing thought.

It was really surprising that Monika, the one who was kidnapped and held against her will, didn't show any trauma from it. It was almost as if she hadn't gone through it at all.

"Sayori!"

Shujinkou called his friend's name as wandered the building. Again and again he called, but like this morning, he never received an answer back.

Frustrated and desperate, Shujinkou placed his hands around his mouth and playfully yelled, "Marco!"

He raised his ear, listening for any response. Like before there were none.

"Polo…" he answered dejected.

Shujinkou's eyes were drawn towards a nearby window. He was sure it was the one he looked out of with Sayori on her birthday.

He approached the window still looked out of it.

At least we'll face those issues together, right?

He wasn't surprised that question popped into his head as he reminisced the past.

"This really is karmic punishment…" he sighed. "I just hope Sayori isn't being punished just for me to suffer."

Shujinkou waited for the next class break before returning to school. Once it was time, he quickly went back to his classroom, grabbed his backpack, and just as quickly left.

He then waited for classes to resume before leaving the school.

If I was Sayori, where would I go?

Despite his troubles, Shujinkou was determined to continue the search. But despite looking around every conceivable place he could imagine his missing friend at, he still couldn't find her.

By sunset, he found himself standing where his worries began: Sayori's bedroom.

Sayori…

Shujinkou lowered his head in defeat and shame. With everything that was happening, he couldn't fathom what kept him from completely giving up and returning to old habits.

"I really don't…"

Before he could think about any further, Shujinkou heard a knocking sound from behind him.

He immediately turned around; the light in his eyes quickly fading once he discovered the sound came from Monika.

"Oh… Hey, Monika…" he quietly greeted.

"Hi…" though she was smiling, Shujinkou could tell she was forcing it.

"What're you doing here?" Shujinkou questioned.

"I figured you would be here so… that's why I'm here," she answered succinctly.

Shujinkou scratched his right cheek. Amongst the silence between them, he noticed that Monika was struggling to maintain eye contact.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

"There must be…"

"What do you mean?"

Monika didn't say anything. She looked around as she approached Shujinkou.

"You and Sayori didn't come to the club today and neither of you responded to my calls. Yuri and I looked for you two even though it was likely you went home. I wasn't too worried until we ran into Kiyoko. She told us that you missed a class, suddenly appeared then just as suddenly left with your stuff."

"That's…"

"I talked to Fuyu and she told me that Sayori was absent today," Monika continued. "That and you leaving school early doesn't exactly paint a pretty picture."

Shujinkou sighed. There was no point in trying to hide the truth even if we wanted too.

"Sayori's missing. I spent all day looking for her, but I couldn't," he solemnly admitted.

"I feared that was the case…" Monika lamented. "Have you called the police yet?"

"The police…?" Shujinkou scratched his right cheek. "I'm not sure I want to do that…"

"Why not?"

Shujinkou continued to scratch his right cheek. "Well, I wanted to make sure that Sayori was actually missing before going that far…"

"But now you're sure." Monika pointed out.

"Yeah, but… I don't know; it'll probably make things worse. I mean, look how the Akuma thing played out. Went to the police and now he's on the lam. I think we both know that a cornered or on the lame guy is more dangerous than if he wasn't."

"I don't think you should let how those events played out make you think you did the wrong thing Shujinkou. You can't control how things can happen."

Though he appreciated her concern, it did nothing to assuage his worry. Calling the police would be the right move, he knew that. But deep down, something inside him convinced him that he shouldn't do that, at least, not yet.

There was one more option he had before doing so. It seemed unlikely to work, but he felt a need to pursue it first.

"Just… Before we do that, let me try one more thing."

"Shujinkou…"

"Just trust me, okay?" he pleaded.

Monika remained silent. It was uncanny; the way she was looking at him was identical to how Rei looked at him earlier.

"…Okay," she relented.