"What's wrong, Sayori?"
By the time she reached the fifth step, Monika had realized Sayori wasn't following her. She was always so eager to check up on Shujinkou, so it was surprising to see her hesitating.
"Monika…" a dark look hung on Sayori's face. "You sure I didn't mess things up with Yuri?"
"I'm sure."
"That… That was fast."
"That's how sure I am," Monika assured her with a bright smile. "And really, you probably made more headway with her than I would have all things considered."
"But was it a good headway or-?"
Monika pointed at her head. "I think you got her thinking and that's probably the most we could do for now. Just know that you set things up for someone else to finish."
Sayori nodded at Monika's words. "Okay. I just hope someone finishes it soon for her sake."
The two journeyed up the rest of the steps and into Shujinkou's room.
"Eh?!"
Dread immediately returned to Sayori as she frantically looked around the room. Everything was how it was supposed to be except for one crucial detail.
"Where's Shiko?"
The bed her childhood friend resided for weeks was now empty. Blankets were spilled over on the floor, all trailing towards the bedroom door.
"W-Was he dragged off somewhere…?" Sayori fretted.
"We don't exactly know that's th-"
"What if someone came by to finish what Akui started?!"
Monika firmly grasped Sayori's shoulders.
"I'm sure Shujinkou's fine, Sayori," she said.
"…I don't think there's any good from someone in a coma being moved," Sayori mumbled. "The only reasons he'd be move would be-"
"Or maybe he just needed to be checked up on. We should probably just ask before we make any assumptions, okay?"
"Okay… Maybe, it really is-"
A tired yawn put a stop to their short conversation. Their eyes were slowly drawn towards the source of that sound. Their faces were pale as they witnessed Shujinkou trudge into the room with a tired sigh.
"My head…" he muttered.
"…Shiko?"
Any sense of exhaustion quickly vanished the moment he heard Sayori's voice. He scratched his right cheek in amazement.
"Sayori…? Monika!"
"Shiko!" With tears in her eyes, Sayori jumped over and tightly hugged her awakened friend. "You're finally awake!"
Her joy completely taking over, Sayori squeezed him tighter and tighter.
"W-Wait…" Shujinkou placed his hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her away.
"What's wrong, Shiko?"
"You're not mad at me?"
"Why would I be mad?"
"Because I…"
Sayori violently shook her head.
"It doesn't! I know you wouldn't act like that if you could help it!" she affirmed.
"Really?" A familiar innocent smile crossed Shujinkou's face. "I'm glad…"
Shujinkou tightened his grip. Fresh waves of pain flowed through Sayori, causing a small yelp to slip through her lips.
"S-Shiko?"
"Don't worry, you pretty much guaranteed that Shiko won't feel too guilty for what happens next, 'kitsune'."
"Ki-?"
Suddenly, Sayori felt some force pull her back. As she fell, her view scrolled up not to a bedroom ceiling, but to a dark bight sky, one that was rapidly pulling away from her. Faster and faster, they were pulled apart until everything went black.
"And that's when I woke up."
Sitting in their clubroom, Sayori took another bite from her chocolate bar once she finished retelling her dream.
"O-Oh…"
Monika was completely taken aback by Sayori's recollection. She was amazed by how accurate Sayori's subconscious version of herself was and everything up to Shujinkou appearing awake seemed like how it would play out in real life.
But the dark turn at the end… Not only did it make her a little worried if it affected Sayori more than she was letting on, but it also reminded her of the unnerving atmosphere that followed Shujinkou on and off the night he fell into his coma.
"Hey, Monika… Do you agree with what my dream version of you said, the part about me not messing things up?" Sayori asked.
"Yeah… It's kind of scary how much you got me in your dream. You really know me, huh?"
"Yep, that's why I accepted it so easily. Still, I kinda think that I went too far with what I said to Yuri…" Sayori fell back and stared at the ceiling. "It had to be too far, right?"
That question had haunted her since her brief explosion and would seem to-
"Well, personally…"
Blinking twice, Sayori's eyes soon widened with shock upon beholding who was now looking down at her.
"I would have to disagree," Yuri stated with a smile.
"Eh?!" Sayori swiftly jumped up and asked, "Yuri, what are you doing here?!"
"Ah… I suppose that's a fair question…"
Not saying a word, Monika took note of the increasingly tightened grip Yuri had on her lunch.
"Actually, I was wondering if I would even be allowed here…" Yuri quietly admitted.
"Of course," Monika answered warmly. "Don't you remember; I said we'll be here to listen to whatever you have to say."
Sayori nodded her head in agreement. "Besides… Um…"
Despite her silent agreement, there was nothing but uncertainty displayed on Sayori's face. It wasn't surprise to Yuri considering how their last conversation ended. At this point, there was only one thing to say.
"I'm sorry!" they both cried. "Huh?"
The two stared at each in surprise.
"Wait… What are you apologizing for, Sayori?" Yuri questioned.
"I'm… I'm sorry for yelling at you when you were clearly still hurt over everything that happened. It's just that… I didn't want to lose another friend again and it really hurt when you said that everything we've been through meant nothing, so much that it made me say things I shouldn't have."
Yuri slowly shook her head.
"No… I'm sad and embarrassed to say that, despite my reaction, your response was actually what I wanted," she admitted.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"I felt like everything that happened that night was my fault. Everyone getting hurt and nearly killed; I felt like I deserved to be punished for that and so… I did everything possible to ensure that I was."
"You wanted us to hate you as punishment?" Sayori was quiet. Her eyes scoured the room before she closed them. Her entire body shook, and she soon opened her eyes. …That's so dumb, Dummy!"
"Huh?"
"It felt like something Natsuki would say and I agree! You shouldn't take the blame for something someone else did! You didn't hurt us, they did!"
Yuri giggled at that statement, surprising Sayori.
"Sorry, it's just that… That's exactly what Natsuki said. …In her own way."
"Wait… You talked to Natsuki?!" Sayori exclaimed.
"The two of us accompanied Rei on a trip to find a certain flower for Shujinkou," Yuri explained.
"…You talked to Natsuki and went on a fun trip without us…?"
"To be fair, it was a spur of the moment activity, one only happening due to us ruining the one Rei already had. Plus, we realized how unnecessary it was for us to be there anyway; Rei would have been fine on her own.
Still, it was during then that I admitted my feelings to Natsuki and she convinced me of how self-absorbed I was being."
"I don't think you were being self-absorbed, Yuri," Monika assured her.
"Whatever the proper term is, Natsuki treating me that still allowed a breakthrough so to say. Actually, in hindsight, it was pretty funny how she actually went about: Mocking what I thought and not letting me get a word in until she got her point across."
"Wow… Natsuki really helped make you feel better…" a giant smile stretched across Sayori's face. "That's great! It's also sounds like Natsuki's feeling a little better too. Operation: Doki Doki Literature Club is going better than I hoped."
"'Operation: Doki Doki Literature Club'?" Yuri repeated, perplexed.
"That's the name of the plan Sayori came up with to get us all back together," Monika explained.
"…So, what is this plan?"
"Eh… I didn't really get much farther than the name…" Sayori admitted. "I kinda came up for it on the spot when me and Monika talked things out."
"Did you really need an elaborate plan name when you only had two more members to recover?" Yuri wondered aloud.
"It was to increase morale!" Sayori insisted. "And it was working!"
"Sorry. It's an appropriate name, nonetheless. My heart was certainly pounding around everyone."
"Would that include Shujinkou?" Monika asked.
"Eh?"
"You said you and Natsuki went with Rei to find a flower for Shujinkou. Does that mean you were with Rei when she delivered it?"
"Well…"
"Wait, does that mean you and Natsuki saw Shiko too?" Sayori hastily asked.
"Well, I did, but Natsuki couldn't," Yuri lamented.
"What? Why not?"
"She had something to do."
"Something else…?"
All semblance of energy was sapped from Sayori as she backed away.
"I have to admit, I was surprised that you two weren't there yesterday," Yuri continued.
"Of all times, huh…" Monika weakly chuckled.
"Of course, it would happen when trying to catch up on my work…" Sayori lamented.
"So, did anything happen there last night?" Monika questioned.
"Not really, but… It was reliving to see him somewhat at peace, present circumstances aside," Yuri admitted. "It's strange to say that, but…"
"You don't have to explain, we feel the same way," comforted Monika, as she playfully scratched her right cheek.
"Hm…" Sayori's head bobbed back and forth. "Wait a minute! If Natsuki did all that yesterday, doesn't that mean she'd be willing to talk to us? We should invite her to lunch before break's over."
"I actually thought of doing that, but she's not here," Yuri informed them.
Monika was surprised. "Do you mean she can't be found or maybe-?"
"She's absent."
"Absent? What for?" Sayori wondered aloud.
…
This is nostalgic, still…
Hiro gulped as she rung her cleaning rag dry.
"I really have to make sure this never comes up in a conversation when Shujinkou wakes up…"
She reached for a nearby towel and methodically dried her hands.
"Now to just-"
Her outspoken thoughts were soon interrupted by the echoing sound of the doorbell.
Who could that be?
She wasn't expecting anyone and school was still in session. Perplexed by the timing, Hiro swiftly covered her son up and walked downstairs to the front door. Opening it, she was surprised to find Natsuki standing on the other side.
"Natsuki?"
"Hey… Uh…" Natsuki's cheeks were flushed and she struggled to maintain eye contact with Hiro. "I know this is a weird time and everything, but I was wondering if I could see how Shujinkou's doing?"
"How he's… Oh!" Hiro's cheeks soon matched Natsuki's upon remembering the state she left her son in. "Actually…"
"I can't, right? I get it."
"No, it's not that. Um, come in."
Natsuki was puzzled by how Hiro hastily led her inside.
"Do you think you could wait for a moment? I was… I was in the middle of doing some of the things a caretaker has to do at times like these."
Hiro soon sped walked up the stairs, leaving Natsuki even more confused.
What did I interrupt? I mean, what could she be doing to Shujinkou that me coming over would-?
It was at that very moment Natsuki soon wished that she hadn't pondered what was clearly being kept from her. Her entire face was as red as an apple as her mind formed an image she desperately didn't want to think of.
"Maybe it wasn't a good idea to come here after all…"
Desperate to find something else to focus on, Natsuki's attention was soon drawn to an open book resting on a nearby chair.
It was a photo album. Picking it up, Natsuki beheld photos of familiar faces when they were younger happily playing together. It was odd, but the sight of it filled her with a sense of tranquility.
Sayori's really been that close to Shujinkou from the beginning, huh?
She continued to flip through the pages until one picture in particular caught her attention. It was a photograph of Shujinkou with a girl that looked very similar to him.
So that's-
"Natsuki?"
"Ah-!" Surprise hit her like a bolt of lightning, causing her to drop the album. "Ow!"
That wasn't the only side effect. The shock made her once again feel a sharp pain from high up her left arm.
"Are you okay, Natsuki?" Hiro worriedly asked.
"I'm fine… It's just…"
The moment she grasped the source of her pain, a small trail of blood crawled down her arm. In the span of a second, Natsuki's head was already filled with how she could carry on in spite the evidence continuing down her arm, but the concerned look on Hiro's face rendered her unable to say any of them.
"…Would you mind if I take a look?" she requested.
Every fiber of her being screamed for Natsuki to say no. Despite that, she offered her arm for Hiro to inspect.
Hiro rolled up her sleeve to find a blood-soaked bandana tied across Natsuki's arm. She slowly moved it up, revealing a deep cut.
"It's not that bad…" Natsuki muttered.
"…Does that mean that you don't want to go to a hospital and have a doctor check this out?"
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure hospitals don't want to see me around for a while."
Natsuki tried to muster up a laugh, but it was clear it was wasted effort. Nothing about Hiro's solemn expression showed it would work on her.
"…Okay."
Hiro reached under the chair the phot album was on and pulled out a first-aid kit.
"You… You have first aid under your furniture?" Natsuki noted, perplexed
"I know it's strange, but I've learned that it helps to have it accessible wherever I'm at," Hiro calmly explained.
"I guess that makes sense…"
Natsuki watched Hiro walk into the kitchen with a rag. When she returned not too long later, it was wet with small bubbles on it. She then gently took her arm and just as gently began cleaning the injury.
This entire scenario was just strange.
"You've had a lot of experience with this kinda stuff, huh?" Natsuki asked.
"You think?"
"You kind of seem too prepared not too."
"I guess you could say I have a little experience," Hiro acknowledged.
"Sayori?"
"Sometimes. But other times I had to do this for Hiroko."
"Uh…"
Natsuki didn't expect for Hiro to just casually mention someone she and Shujinkou seemed to actively avoid doing so in the past.
"I've heard you all heard about her while… you know." Hiro explained.
"Oh…"
Once she was done cleaning, Hiro reached into the kit, grabbed a tube of ointment and squeezed some on the tips of her index and middle finger.
"Are you sure you're okay with talking about her?" Natsuki worriedly asked.
"I'm sure Shujinkou would have preferred if it came up naturally…"
"But what about you?"
Hiro placed the tips of her fingers on Natsuki's wound and began rubbing.
"I think professionals would say to not treat her as a taboo subject. One of the reasons I haven't mentioned her much was because in the past, it would automatically cause Shujinkou to recede into his daydreams."
A chill went up Natsuki's spine upon hearing that. All of a sudden, all the bits and pieces of information regarding a certain subject came together. "That's really why he daydreamed so much?"
"He was always a bit of a daydreamer. He had a pretty active imagination and liked playing it out in his head. But after Hiroko passed away, he used those dreams as to escape the pain he felt in reality. He stopped caring about himself and the real world and focused solely on escaping to his dreams. It eventually got to a point where he was able to delve into them with absolutely no intention to do so."
Natsuki remembered moments Shujinkou would do exactly that in the past. Moments where she would give him a hard time for doing so.
"It's because of that that even after reuniting with Sayori and befriending you and the others, I was still afraid to talk about my daughter because I feared it would make the progress he was making go away."
"That… That makes sense…"
"Plus, I was pretty sure Shujinkou should be the one to tell you all when she inevitably came up."
"Yeah, it probably should have been him…" Natsuki agreed with a sigh. "…Now I really feel bad about how I treated him daydreaming when we first met."
"You shouldn't."
"I hit him with a rolled-up poster on one of his first days for daydreaming…"
Hiro winced at the imagery that accompanied that admission. "He never held that against you."
"Still…"
"I think it was better for Shujinkou that you treated him as you normally would."
"Even the poster?"
"That part could have been taken out, preferably…" Hiro said with a meek laugh. "Still, I don't know how to explain it, but I really think the genuine way you treated Shujinkou was one of the reasons he thinks highly of you."
"Only he can think only good things about someone who hit him on the head with a poster," Natsuki said with another sigh.
Hiro finished applying the ointment, reached for a roll of elastic wrap and started wrapping the elongated bandage around Natsuki's wound.
"The last time we talked, you said I followed my heart here," Natsuki recalled. "Is that what you think I did this time?"
Hiro looked up, surprised. "Didn't you come here to check up on a friend?"
"I guess in more ways than one. Part of me wants to see Shujinkou, but I'm not really sure if it's the Shujinkou I've gotten used to or…"
"The one I heard about? The one that beat people near to death and pulled off near superhuman feats?"
"I don't think you can call him literally playing human paddleball with someone 'near'…"
Natsuki could still remember the glee on Shujinkou's face as he threw Akui around and the murderous anger he displayed when declaring to kill, Akuma.
"I mean, what was it like hearing that he did all that?"
"At first… I was too focused on him being comatose to focus on the strangeness of what I heard," Hiro admitted. "Even now, it's still a little too much to wrap my head around. I know it has to be true because I know you all wouldn't lie about something like that.
I guess in the end, I'm in the same camp Sayori's in."
"Which is?"
"That Shujinkou wouldn't have done uncharacteristic things like that if he had a choice."
"But that doesn't make any sense… I want to believe that, but…"
More memories of that night came flooding back. As she was hanging on for dear life, she could hear Shujinkou desperately beg for the madness to stop. She could hear his desperate attempts to reach her.
She thought that was the last time she heard his voice. No, there was one time after that: When Sayori tearfully begged him to stop.
He said that he wouldn't upset us anymore… Like he was defying someone and then…
Finished bandaging her arm, Hiro placed the elastic wrap back in kit and slid it back under the chair.
"How's it feel?" she asked.
Natsuki flexed her arm. "Better… Thank you."
"No need."
That was a familiar response. The fact Shujinkou's mother said what he sometimes says in response to being thanked prompted Natsuki to ask, "Do you and Shujinkou have something against being thanked?"
"What makes you say that?"
"There are a lot of times Shujinkou says, 'no need for thanks' or something like that whenever someone thanks him."
"Oh… I think that's just our way of saying that we'd do it anyway?" Hiro answered.
"Still doesn't hurt to be thanked, you know?"
"No…" a small smile crossed Hiro's face. "It doesn't. Oh, that reminds me, would you like to see Shujinkou now?"
"Maybe a little later…" Natsuki mumbled. I don't think I can see him without that image in my head…
"Then would you like to eat? I was thinking of making some ramen for lunch, but I don't mind making some for you too."
"Really? Ramen?"
"Something wrong with that? Is there something else you would like?"
"No, it's not that. Just… You don't look like a ramen eating person."
"I've heard that a lot… But I do enjoy a good bowl of ramen as much as anyone else and I especially like the final touches of making it."
Hearing that last part had piqued Natsuki's interest. "And by that you mean?"
"Um…" Hiro pondered how she could answer. "I'd rather you wait and see. So, would you like a bowl or…"
Interested even further, Natsuki eagerly accepted the proposal. She followed Hiro into the kitchen and took a seat at the table. There she waited as Hiro began making their meal.
"Is cooking something you like to do?" Natsuki asked.
"It's an interest I've picked up when I was younger," Hiro replied. "When you're an only child who isn't good at making friends and is a bit anxious when it comes to social interactions, it surprisingly leaves you open to taking up hobbies that kids don't usually think of."
"Like?"
"Practicing perfecting tying ties."
"Really?"
"I was really bored and there wasn't really much to do that day."
"What else?"
"Reading up on the various kinds of flora my parents might have seen around the world."
Natsuki immediately recalled the few passing remarks Hisa had mentioned that same topic during the summer. "Oh, that's right… Your dad was an 'adventurer' right?"
"He travelled the world with Mom. They've been to all sorts of places and had many adventures. I still remember him telling me about them as he put me to bed."
Natsuki couldn't tell too well from where she was sitting, but she was sure that she could longing on her host's face. It was clear that she had thought the world of her father.
"Wow… Your mom went from world trotting adventurer to Spa Resort owner. She should to write an auto-biography," Natsuki half-jokingly suggested.
"She has one."
"Seriously!?"
"Well, memoirs. Though she has no plans to publish them."
"Oh… Kinda surprised she never mentioned them."
"I'm sure it's because it's filled with personal stuff. The kind of stuff that you don't want others to know about."
That was understandable. It would seem impossible to travel around the world and not have some embarrassing tales you wouldn't want anyone to find out.
"Wait… Is Lady Hisa around?"
"She's out running some errands. I'm not sure when she'll be back."
"Huh. Wonder what she's up to."
Time passed by. The air was filled with a thick, rich smell, filling Natsuki with anticipation.
"Here you go."
A steaming bowl of noodles was gently placed in front of her. The rich smell had already made it desirable but there was something else that Natsuki was hoping for.
Just with a glance, Natsuki could tell that the appetizing meal in front of her was prepared with great detail and care. The wavy noodles were positioned to look like waves in the ocean all leading to the narutomaki centered on the lower left side. Two bamboo shoots were sticking out of it, delicately cut so the top splintered into all directions, giving it the appearance of the top of a tree.
Taking another look, she noticed tiny pieces of narutomaki in the shape of various sea creatures slowly drifting in the broth.
When viewed as a whole, it looked like an edible version of a beach.
"This looks amazing!" Natsuki praised.
"You really think so?"
"Are you kidding? This looks like the kind of stuff on I'd see on TV."
Hiro bashfully fiddled with her chopsticks. "Thanks. Sometimes I like to add a little more effort to make my meals as aesthetically pleasing as possible."
"You mean… You like working on the presentation too?"
Hiro nodded her head.
"It's the best part, isn't it? Baking and Cooking is satisfying by itself, but being able do what you want with the final product is… It's just really fun to do whatever you want and have others appreciate your vision."
"It is nice… Both, I mean. Which is good since presentation is important to a meal."
"Yeah, not a lot of people realize it's what causes them to pick yours over theirs. We do that all the time and some still don't get it. It's kinda why I don't expect them to get how much fun working on it can be."
"It's fine if they don't consciously realize that though, isn't it? I think they appreciate subconsciously if they pick yours."
"It's not like I'm looking for constant praise or anything. I just wish that people don't see it as part of the process. It's an extra step that requires more effort and creativity than they know!"
Natsuki hung her head, exhausted and a little embarrassed by her last second outburst.
"We should dig in before our food gets could." Hiro advised.
Keeping her head down, Natsuki did exactly that.
It's nice…
It wasn't just the meal that spawned such a simple thought. There was something about the current situation she was in that served as a direct contrast to another.
Natsuki looked up at Hiro with unsure eyes. "Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?"
"What is it?"
"What did you ever see in Shujinkou's dad?"
No sooner than those words left her mouth, Natsuki realized the consequences of what she just said.
Hiro was clearly upset as she played with her chopsticks. "…That's a lot more personal than I expected."
"Never mind, it's none of my business. Sorry…"
The silence afterwards was uncomfortable, comparable to-
"Does you running into Jomei have anything to do with that question?" Hiro suddenly asked.
"Ho-?"
"I heard about it from Yuri."
"Should have known…" Natsuki mumbled under her breath. "…That doesn't bother you does it."
"It more surprises me than bothers me. There's also the fact that I met him and the rest of your friends have too, so that probably helps keeps it at surprised."
"He did mention that, but he sounded almost ticked off about it. Plus, he was pretty insensitive to Yuri's concerns and showed no care for his son… That's exactly why I asked what you ever saw in him. You two are as polar opposites as you can get and not in the attracting kind of way."
"I guess… I guess you could say he was a different person back then. He…"
Hiro was silent once again.
"Sorry, I shouldn't have asked."
"It's fine. I'd be curious too if I was you."
"Still…" Natsuki took a deep breath. What she had on mind was something she normally tried to avoid doing. "Ask me a personal question!"
"Huh? But why?"
"I'm a guest and I asked an inappropriate question now of all times. It's only fair for you to do the same."
"I don't really see how that's fair."
"Please. It's the only way I'll stop mentally kicking myself."
Despite making her intentions very clear, Hiro still felt uncomfortable taking up Natsuki's offer to 'even things'. Though it was clear Natsuki wouldn't budge, meaning there was only one way she could satisfy both parties without any further pain.
"Okay… Why do you call Shujinkou 'Dummy'?" she asked.
"Uhh…" Natsuki's cheeks grew bright pink and her eyes were darting across the room. "It's… Well, sometimes… I mean sometimes he just does dumb things, so I call him out on it."
"Ah."
"Like there was the time he missed an obvious piece of paper on our old clubroom door saying that the meeting's been cancelled. He ended staying there with me without knowing any better for awhile."
"That must have been fun."
"I guess…?" Natsuki said with a half-hearted shrug. "I didn't really know him then yet. Back then he was just Sayori's friend that daydreamed too much."
As If she wasn't already reeling from the personal question, now Natsuki felt like crawling under the table after another insensitive comment.
…Sorry."
"No need; go on." Hiro calmly insisted.
"…Looking back on it, I guess that day was what made me begin to think that there was more to him. I've been giving him a hard time up to that point and thought he was just keeping any issues he would have with me to himself. But then one day I was about to fall while getting my stuff and he caught me.
Sure, that just seems like basic human decency, but it was the way he looked at me as he asked if I was okay…. I don't think someone who was bothered with me could look that concerned. Though he did follow it up by doing something dumb."
"What was that?"
"He got me interested in a unfinished story! Like, I let him read something from my own personal collection and he got me started on something that I could never finish!"
Hiro remembered hearing that. She could remember the dread on Shujinkou's face as he tried to think of what he would say when he was inevitably called out on it.
She also remembered feeling some guilt then. Part of her enjoyed seeing him like that. It wasn't that she enjoyed seeing her son upset, but that he was showing concern for something in the real world.
"I'm sure he didn't mean to." Hiro assured her with a meek chuckle.
"I know he didn't, but at the time, I thought he was just setting me up the entire time just to mess with me!" Natsuki sighed. "But no… It was just a mistake and from there he just continued to be awkward but friendly until the first time I came over to work on our contest entry for your mom's contest."
"Between you and me, Mom came up with that contest hoping that your school would win as an excuse to get Shujinkou to come down and visit."
"Seriously?!"
"Mm-hmm. She figured it was a good time to do so once I told her that Shujinkou was making new friends."
"Isn't that a little… 'expensive' to gamble the potential of our school winning? Actually, doesn't scream severe nepotism?"
"Mom made sure that she was impartial."
"Well, despite all the circumstances saying otherwise I can believe that. Anyway, I came over and I saw a completely different side to Shujinkou. The awkward, but friendly guy suddenly became an enthusiastic and skilled artist whop pretty much took charge of the project. It was just shocking.
We worked on it together until he accidently marked me on the face with a permanent marker. I clearly couldn't let that slide and got payback and then…"
Natsuki couldn't help but blush again the moment she recalled what happened after that brief tussle.
"…Anyway! I kinda accepted that Shujinkou was the type of person who would do anything so a friend wouldn't feel upset over something. Also, he's pretty fast at giving someone cat whiskers."
"Hm…"
"What?"
"Nothing, it's just… Your account sounds like you had just as much fun that day as Shujinkou did," Hiro admitted.
"R-Really?"
"It was really strange, but nice, to see him that happy when I came home."
Natsuki's cheeks grew even brighter.
"Still! He does still do things that are pretty dumb like keeping certain information to himself or just saying things that makes things awkward or just continuing to let Mali be around him despite doing everything in her power to make him miserable."
"I've heard. And yet wasn't Mali supporting him when he went after you all?"
"Ugh… It feels strange to be indebted to someone who gets a thrill out irritating you… The really strange thing is, I don't exactly see her getting involved if it happened when she first Shujinkou. And just when did she go from mockingly referring to him as 'Senpai' and start to consider him as her 'special Senpai'?!"
Hiro could understand Natsuki's feelings. Meeting Mali and noting how she acted then compared to the first stories she heard about her was a shift even without the full context Natsuki had.
"But is that really a bad thing?" Hiro wondered aloud.
"Yes! She says she's interested in him and I don't really see how that could possibly be a good thing. She just has this malevolent feeling to her that she likes to make as obvious as possible, that I can't help but suspect she's up to something. At this point, a huge part of me thinks the best-case scenario is that she's just going to tease us until she gets bored!"
Natsuki entire body trembled with anger, every moment Mali either teased or verbally gave them the runaround adding on to it.
She was like a ticking time bomb and just the right push would set her off. But as she looked at her host's face, a feeling of acceptance washed over her.
"But despite that… I can't deny she's not as bad as she was at first, at least regarding Shujinkou," Natsuki begrudgingly admitted. "Know what, I think I know what annoys me the most despite everything: It's the fact that she's so deliberately confusing that you can't even tell if she's trying to be half the time! My unfocused rant is just proof of that!"
"Mali really leaves an impression, doesn't she?"
"She's came over to see Shujinkou, right?"
Hiro nodded her head.
"What was she like?"
"Curious and courteous."
"Of course, she wouldn't show her nasty side around you…" Natsuki muttered. "Granted the only adults I've seen Mali interact with tried to kill us so what do I know?
"Well, if it helps, even Mali questions why Shujinkou doesn't mind her hanging around him."
"I know it has to do with that he's that kind of person, but…"
Hiro tapped the side of her bowl, capturing Natsuki's attention before she could sink into her thoughts again.
"It might be best just to trust Shujinkou's judgement."
Natsuki had her arms crossed and shut her eyes. "I guess… But that doesn't mean I'm going to let up on her when she steps out of line."
"Mm."
Slightly opening her eyes, Natsuki was surprised to find Hiro smiling at her. The serenity of it felt as it could be infectious.
"Hey, uh… Have the others mentioned me?" Natsuki hastily questioned.
"A lot."
"They say anything interesting?"
"Um, interesting? Would you consider wondering how you're doing 'interesting'?"
"Sounds more expected… In fact, I bet one of them making plans to confront me or something."
Hiro was silent. She was staring intently at her half-empty bowl as she slurped the rest of the noodles.
"…Sayori's really been making plans, hasn't she?"
Hiro gulped down her food and went for more.
"Why am I even asking like I'm surprised? We're talking about the same girl who manipulated me and Shujinkou to get him to visit the club; I'm sure she has some kind of plan in mind,"
Natsuki looked down at her bowl with downcast eyes and brushed her finger around the perimeter.
"But who am I to talk? I had to plan to avoid everyone at school so…"
She continued to brush her finger against the bowl, slowing the orbit it made.
"You ever had moments like that back when you were in school; that you have to feel like you have to spend half your day planning ways to avoid someone?"
"I think everyone's had moments like that."
"But what if most of your life was like that? What would that make a person?"
"…I guess..." It was a question Hiro had wondered about herself for a long time and after witnessing everyone's feelings and considering her own, there was only one answer she had. "I guess that would make the person human."
Natsuki slowly looked up at Hiro, perplexed. "What do you mean?"
"Like I said, everyone has moments like that. It's natural to want to avoid anything that scares or makes you uncomfortable in anyway. It could be someone, a place, or just a simple fact and we'll do anything to avoid confronting head on."
"It sounds like denial at that point."
"Sometimes it is. Other times it's desperation and others… Whatever the reason it's a completely human reaction and you shouldn't feel shame in having those moments.
Still, I've learned that you shouldn't use that as an excuse to keep avoiding just for the sake of avoiding. I won't delve into the many other complex reasons, but I think whatever the reason, what we're avoiding will eventually come to us, so it may be better to prepare for that at least."
"That's…"
Natsuki suddenly broke out into an uncontrollable fit of laughter.
"Did I say something funny?"
"No, it's just… Nothing, you have a point."
Saying no more, Natsuki returned to eating lunch with Hiro doing the same. Soon after they were finished, they walked out of the kitchen where Hiro's eyes were drawn to her photo album, still resting on the floor.
"Sorry, I kinda forgot I just dropped it," Natsuki apologized.
"It's fine," Hiro said as she picked it up. "Did you still want to look at it?"
"No thanks. Maybe when Shujinkou's awake."
"Okay."
"But, uh… Speaking of Shujinkou, I gotta ask: Does it ever bother you that most of the people your son's close to are women?"
Hiro shook her head.
"Honestly, it was a little surprising at first, but no," she explained.
"At all?"
"No."
"You really don't mind that your son has that many female friends?" Natsuki marveled.
"Not at all," Hiro confirmed.
"Weren't you at least a little concerned with how close Shujinkou and Sayori were as kids?"
"No."
"…Really?"
"Uh-uh."
"But what about when you first met me and Yuri?"
"That was the surprise I was talking about… Also, just the fear of embarrassing my son."
"Okay… So, you've never minded your son having multiple girls here at once?"
"Truthfully, I was happy he was befriending that many people."
"Wow…"
"Is it abnormal for a parent to feel that way?"
"I mean, some parents freak out over their kid having one friend not of the same gender and that's not even going into parents discovering their kid has a harem-"
Not even a second after saying that, Natsuki desperately shook her head
"N-Not that I'm calling us Shujinkou's harem!" she sputtered. "Just without context, it comes off that way!"
"Eh… I guess it helps that I know that Shujinkou wouldn't set out to befriend girls just so he could surround himself with them. That's not really like him, especially considering the circumstances at the time he befriended everyone."
"Also probably helps he never planned to, and he just ended up doing so by pure coincidence… The fact he has done exactly that multiple times is just amazing… He may end up befriending a lot more before the school year's done… Geez…"
Hiro didn't know how to respond to that distinct possibility. She meant it when she said she had no problems with Shujinkou having many female friends, but she was also worried about a potential dilemma her son may have to face in the future.
"Oh. Speaking of Shujinkou, would you like to see him now?" Hiro offered again.
Without hesitation, Natsuki answered with a simple nod and followed Hiro up the steps.