I own nothing. Monika does.

Sayori's first shift as a librarian's aid was turning out to be rather slow. No one was showing up to the library. A few students here and there, but not very substantial numbers. Not to mention the fact that the librarian herself had taken the day off. Sayori spent most of her time reading and drinking tea, while Mai twiddled on her smartphone. Suddenly, Mai spoke up.

"Ugh, I'm bored." Mai said, dragging out the word "bored" in the process. "Boss better get back soon." She looked toward Sayori with an idea in her mind. "Say, Sayori, what's your story?"

"Um, what do you mean?" Sayori looked puzzled.

"Y'know, your life story! Like, what do you get up to outside of this?"

"Uh, well, right now I live with a boy named Goro. He's very kind. Outside of that, I mostly read and watch TV." Sayori said, not looking up from her book.

"Huh. He must be the Goro from your application… you guys live alone?" Mai raised a curious eyebrow, putting her hands under her chin.

"Yep. It's a pretty small apartment."

"So where're your parents?" Asked the now immensely curious Mai.

"Umm… I don't know." Sayori said with a sigh.

"Don't know? How do you not know where your parents are?"

"I… don't remember where they are."

Mai raised her hands in surprise. "Well, jeez, Sayori! You could have mentioned that earlier! You lost your memory or something?"

"Yes. I'm sorry for not telling you until now. I don't really want to mention it to everyone. The only person I need to be concerned about me right now is Goro. He's a detective. He'll find my parents," Sayori said, shifting uncomfortably, but smiling nevertheless.

"Ah. Well, your secret's safe with me." Mai looked over toward a boy and a girl standing by one of the aisles. They were holding hands.

"...Say, Sayori, what's this Goro guy like?"

"Well, like I said earlier, he's very kind. He's considerate, and I can tell that he cares about my well-being. He has a bit of a temper sometimes, but he never means to hurt me. I'm happy that he found me, instead of some creepy pervert or something."

Mai looked towards Sayori, smiling. "Ha. Do you like him?"

Sayori felt a bit of shock upon hearing the question. She had never thought about it before.

"Uhm… I- I guess I like him. I like being around him, if that's what you mean." Sayori knew exactly what Mai meant.

"No. I mean, do you like him?"

Sayori's brain was in two different universes at once. She wanted to say yes, but she also wasn't sure. She wanted to give Mai an honest answer, but she also wanted her to just drop the subject. She opted for the second course of action.

"C-c-c-can we talk about this some o-o-other time?" Sayori stuttered as her brain came back to Earth. Mai chuckled at the sight.

"Alright. If you don't want to talk about how much you obviously like this guy, we don't have to."

Sayori took offense at this. "Y'know, you're so formal during school. You should stay like that." She growled, attempting to sound intimidating, but ending up sounding like an angry kitten instead. You should also stay out of other people's business.

Mai stood up from her seat behind the desk. "It isn't schooltime, though. Right now, I can be myself." She looked down toward Sayori and smiled. "Don't get me wrong, I'm really not trying to make you feel bad. I'm just being myself. Alright, tea time." Mai strode towards the backroom, ready for a tea refill.

Sayori felt like fuming, but she couldn't bring herself to get mad. She could tell that Mai meant what she said. Furthermore, Sayori was too busy thinking about Goro to get angry. She knew in her heart that she felt something towards Goro. She just didn't know what.

Sayori continued to hopelessly ponder as she headed home. Mai had truly disquieted her today.

I loved him so much that I wanted to die… so, being in love with Akechi… what do I do?

She decided to purge the question from her mind for the moment. She had more important things to do, such as getting home. Strolling through Shibuya's underground walkway, she found herself coming across a familiar face.

"Kitagawa-kun! Hey, it's me, Sayori!"

Yusuke was absentmindedly staring at a can of Arginade, paying no attention to Sayori's words.

"Uh, Kitagawa-kun… what's up?" Sayori quizzically asked as she looked into his focused eyes.

"This color combination… simply repulsive. I do not understand what goes on in the minds of the artists who design these soft drink labels. They're abhorrent."

"Uhm…" Sayori had no words.

"Oh! Hello! I did not realize you were there." Yusuke finally spoke to her.

"I've been here for a while, actually." Sayori said, smiling softly.

"Indeed you have." Yusuke awkwardly paused in order to think of a response. "Well, how has your day been?"

"Pretty alright, all things considered. I got in a bit of a dispute with a girl I work with, but other than that it's been fine."

"Ah. What was the argument about?"

"Just something ridiculous about my guardian. Nothing you need to be worried about."

"You mean Goro-san from Madarame-sensei's art exhibit? The one I believed was your boyfriend?"

Sayori visibly flinched in irritation upon hearing this. "Yes. That Goro." She said through gritted teeth.

"Ah. Well, I'm sorry to hear that. I hope you and your friend can reconcile soon."

Sayori's frustration dispelled upon hearing Yusuke's genuine hope.

He may be a bit unaware, but he means well.

"I hope so too. She's certainly an interesting person. Although, she's not quite as interesting as you, honestly."

"Is that so?"

"Yep. In fact, you remind me of my friend, Yuri, from my old school. You're both quite artistic and… unique. She's the type of person who will forget to start speaking, cause she's so focused on other things."

"Indeed…"

Sayori sighed as she looked back on her memories. "Y'know, I really miss her. She wrote poems just like I did. Sometimes we even worked together. She could paint beautiful pictures with just the words on the page. She's a better artist than I can ever aspire to be." She felt a tear start to form in her eye.

Yusuke slowly looked up. "This sadness that emanates from you as you describe your friend…" A milk carton seemed to tip over in his mind. "I must go, there is painting to be done! Thank you, Sayori! This has been a wondrous conversation!"

Yusuke broke into an almost sprint towards his next subway train. As he did, he looked back towards Sayori and shouted.

"Good luck with your boyfriend!"

Sayori was left with no words yet again.

"Uhm… it was nice talking with you, Kitagawa-kun! I guess…"

I hope you all like this chapter! Please read and review, and I'll see you next time!