AN: Wow it's been a whole year since I published this. Sorry about that. Full AN notes at the end of the chapter, enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
*Sniffle*
'Hey everyone! Unfortunately, today's club meeting will be canceled today. Something came up unexpectedly that I have to attend to. See you guys tomorrow! :)'
Monika turned off her phone as soon as she sent the message, placing her phone into her grey olive trench coat pocket. The club president sat alone in a small playground. With one hand on the swing set chains and the other on her scarlet red scarf, gripping it lightly, she slowly swayed on the swing set in the cold February air. As she ignored the buzzing of her phone, she tried to recollect the past few hours. It was mostly a blur to her.
She remembered that class itself seemed to be longer than usual for her today. While she did usually prioritize her studies, it just didn't matter to her today; her focus was on something else besides the lecture. Instead, it was on thinking about how she messed it all up today. How she had one simple job to do and somehow she ruined it.
The emerald-eyed maiden dug through one of her coat pockets and felt the crumpled plastic wrap in her hand. As she held the wrapped items in both of her hands, she focused on the contents inside; shattered pieces of chocolate.
She remembered spending countless and sleepless nights baking.
She remembered the taste of all those failed experiments that made her want to retch in disgust.
She remembered the feelings of happiness she felt when she tasted a batch that wasn't burnt or tasted bitter.
She remembered her imagining his cute face light up in delight as he took a bite out of his gift.
She remembered the excitement and anxiety building up days prior.
…
…
…
She remembered being too eager for her own good.
She remembered the shock and pain of crashing into that random student.
She remembered silently picking up her shattered treats as she heads back to class.
She remembered putting her head down on her desk as she felt hopeless, lost, and most of all misery.
…
…
...
One tear broke free, falling onto the ground. Then another.
"Huh?"
She realized more rolled down her cheek as placed a hand on it, feeling the warmness of her own tears on her fingers, contrasting with the cold weather.
"I… I see. I'm… I'm pathetic, aren't I? Yuri and Natsuki gave it to him without messing up, and I'm sure that Sayori did so as well… But I just had to mess up that one simple job, didn't I? All that hard work… was just for nothing..."
Then just like a broken dam, the rest followed into an unbroken stream. "Stupid… stupid…" She silently sobbed as she hiccuped, wiping away the tears from her eyes.
"Oh my…"
As Monika lifted her teary emerald eyes up to the source of the voice, she came face to face with someone from earlier ago. Although she wasn't very familiar with her, and not even knowing her name, she could remember that those ruby red eyes belonged to Ryota's teacher.
This time, she was wearing a beige trench coat, and let her dark raven hair down instead of being tied up. On her shoulder was both loops of her bag as she held onto it. Her face was filled with sympathy as she crouched down to meet face to face with the young girl.
She looked over to Monika's left. "May I sit there?"
Monika nodded in response, still wiping her tears away.
As she sat down on the swing next to Monika, she rummaged through her bag, taking out a few napkins before handing it over to her.
The club president took them, wiping away her tears. "It's okay. Just let it all out, sweetie. It's okay." The teacher starts to gently rub her back to comfort her.
It was silent between the both of them, with the occasional sniffles from Monika. Though the teacher never interacted with the student, she couldn't help but feel responsible for the well-being of Monika. Throughout all of her years' teaching, she always felt that it was a teacher's job to help comfort a student whenever they're in a moment of distress.
And after a few more minutes, she had calmed down, though her eyes were still puffy from the tears. "I suppose the confession with young Ryota didn't work out in the end?"
For a slight moment, the club president remained quiet as she stifled her tears. When she spoke, her voice was quiet and shook ever so slightly.
"N-no…" Monika sniffled. Slowly, she carefully opened her cupped hands, revealing her shattered homemade chocolates to her. "I-I didn't even get to have the chance too…"
"Oh my..." There was another moment of silence between the two as Monika stares at her shattered baked goods in her hands. Her face remained morose as she slowly starts to sway once more on the swings.
A hand had softly appeared on Monika's shoulder, grabbing the school idol's attention. She looked to her left to see the teacher's small smile, filled with empathy, directed at her. It felt warm and nurturing, almost as if it was a mother's embrace towards her child.
"But for what it's worth, I think that you should give it to him anyway."
Monika's eyes widen as she shook her head, clutching her baked chocolate goods closer to her chest. "N-no! I… I don't think that he would even like it when it looks like this…"
"I don't think that he would ever think like that, sweetie. I'm sure he will appreciate it coming from you."
A downcast look appeared on Monika once more. "It wouldn't even matter if I gave it to him anyway. I should just give up… Sayori, Yuri, Natsuki... I know for a fact that they all like him too. They're all so amazing and have wonderful personalities. Sayori is so cheery and energetic. Her presence alone can brighten people's day. Plus they knew each other since childhood. Natsuki is a brash person, but deep down she's sweet and caring towards people she trusts, whether she admits it or not. Yuri is very shy, but she is such an angel once you get to know her. I don't think she wouldn't harm a fly."
Monika pauses for a moment before continuing. "And they don't even mess up the simplest of tasks like me." She scoffed. "But for me? I'm nothing special… I'm just Monika. Just regular Monika." A few hot tears slowly began to run down her cheeks once more as she wiped them away. "I'm… I'm sure that he would pick one of them over me. Anyone of them would be a better choice." She said in a disheartened tone.
"Well, that's that's not what my students say." The teacher shows a comforting smile. "You know Monika, somehow you're always the topic among my students about how wonderful you and your achievements are. You cause me so much trouble despite not being in my classroom." She giggled.
Monika, clearly embarrassed, looks away with a light red blush on her cheeks. Despite the small light-hearted moment between the two, there was yet another silence between the both of them before the teacher caught her attention once more.
"Monika." The older woman said with a serious tone. "What did you see in Ryota? What do you like about him?"
"...!" Monika was stunned. It took her a few moments to process the question she was just asked. And when she came back to reality, her cheeks were now blushing fiercely as her eyebrows rose in surprise. "Eh? W-why do you want to know?"
"Don't mind the details. Just tell me why."
After a few moments, the brunette sighed, calming herself down and was ready to answer the question. "Well… while I was excited about getting a new member of my club, at first I didn't really think much about him. He was just a person that I knew from last year, but we didn't talk much back then.
But I think it was a few weeks after the festival. That's was when I started to notice my feelings for him. I would often be on the lookout for him wherever I went. Whether it be in the hallways, in between class, during lunch, or even through the windows whenever his class is outside for gym class."
She pauses before scratching her glowing red right cheek, "Ahaha… it sounds like I'm a bit of a stalker huh?"
"Not at all sweetheart, keep going."
Monika nods. "I started to see all the small details about him. The way he laughs, the way he acts around his friends, the way he smiles, the stupid corny jokes he makes, his habit of rubbing the back of his head, the way he plays with his messy brown hair… I always wanted to play with it too, it looks so soft. He also has beautiful eyes, it's always filled with this warm feeling every time I look into them. I love his personality too; he's so kind and considerate to those around him.
I also think it's because of his personality that the literature club became such a lively place. It was something that I always wished it was. Before he joined, it was just so… awkward in a sense; we all were just strangers with a similar interest, but we all had our differences. Sometimes, it would even get very tense at times which led to arguments.
But then he came along and he was able to become friends with all of us so quickly, which in turn led the club to become closer with each other, little by little. His kind nature really did make an impact on all of us... With him, everything just feels so fun whenever he's around. And also, about me being the center topic of your students?"
"What about it?"
"That's the thing. I know that everyone considers me as the school idol, and it's nice too; I know that almost everyone in school likes me. But most of the time I just feel like… It just gets in the way. Don't get me wrong, I still like the status, but I realized that people don't actually like me as a person… They only like me for my achievements and what I worked for most of the time.
They don't actually know the real me; just that perfect school idol image of me. And for the longest time, it just seemed like no one even tried to get to know me better because of the status I carry. To be honest, it... it just makes me feel alone; like I was trapped in a cell with no way out. Sometimes it just doesn't feel real to me you know?
But… Ryota on the other hand... He doesn't view me like the 'unapproachable student idol' like he used to. After a while, he actually went out of his way to get to know me better, talk with, and spend time with me… He sees me as an actual person. A friend. That's why I consider him one of my closest actually. That's why I…"
"...Hmm. I see." The older woman rose up from her seat, hands behind her back as she turned her head towards Monika. Her lips formed a smile. "So you really do like him huh? Look, I don't know if you even realized it yet but you were smiling the whole time."
Quickly, Monika placed her fingers on her own lips. As she felt her smile, she couldn't help but giggle. "Yeah. I do."
"Well then, I think that should be more than enough reasons to see him right?"
"But-"
"Ah ah. No more excuses, Monika." The teacher bent down to be at face level with her as she placed one hand on her shoulder. "I know this may seem a bit inappropriate for me as a teacher to give advice about love, but I want to give it to you as a woman.
You must face your own feelings head-on! Don't let this small misfortune hold you back into doing nothing! Just because, as you say, those other girls like him too… does that mean you should just give up on your own feelings, even after you worked so hard?! ...To give up without doing anything… tell me Monika, are your feelings for him so weak that something like this makes you sad to the point you want to give up?!"
The club president's eyes widen as she heard those words from her mouth.
"That's why you have to fight for your feelings for him. Reach out towards it and never let it go. Because if you don't, then one day you are going to look back on this day filled with regret. So that's why to go. Go to him and give it to him. You don't even have to tell him your feelings, but just go. Don't make that mistake of not giving it to him."
A few moments went by as Monika stared into the unwavering ruby gaze, filled with such determination that rendered her silent. The school idol grips the chains of the swing harder as she finally made up her mind.
"You're… you're right." Monika stood up from the swing seat, her confidence and resolved restored. "I'm… I'm going to go to him!"
The teacher lets out a puff of air from her nose as she forms a smirk. "Then what are you waiting for?"
Right before Monika reached the entrance of the small playground, she turns around and respectfully bows to her teacher. "Thank you for your words of encouragement, um…"
"Ah, that's right. I never had you as one of my students before. Mrs. Itsuki Uesugi. You may come back to me anytime if you need anything else." She waved, with a small smile on her face.
"Uesugi-sensei… Thank you!" Monika waved back before departing with haste. As she disappeared around the corner, the teacher sat back down onto the swings, a sigh escaping her lips.
'That boy, Ryota Shujinkou…' Her eyebrows started to scrunch up as she placed a few fingers on her forehead, massaging it. It was clear she was beginning to become irritated. 'He has a lot of explaining to do with having four girls liking him! Is he a player? Though he doesn't seem to be that type...'
A sigh once more escaped the teacher's lips as she looked into the grey February skies. 'Oh well. What was Monika's club called again? A literature club? ...I wonder if it has a club adviser…'
'This is the one right here…'
His house was a regular two-story home, surrounded by a white fence. She remembered that a few days before the festival, Sayori had pointed out his house before while they were on their way to the latter's house to work together. Monika stood before the wooden gate door, before slowly opening it and walking on the pathway leading towards his front door. Her anxiety increased with every step she took, but she knew she couldn't back down. After all, that talk with Mrs. Uesugi would have been pointless.
She stood in front of his door, just inches away from the doorbell. Her doubts and questions from earlier ago had invaded her mind once more, but she disregarded them, even if she felt like she was going to be swallowed by them. Mrs. Uesugi's speech had given her the courage to push forward with it.
Slowly but surely, her finger grew closer to the button as her heartbeat quickened. But as soon as her finger touched the button, the door suddenly opened, surprising Monika as she lets an "Eep!" out of her lips.
"I'm getting the mail right now, Ryota, just give me a min- Eh?"
The person who stood before Monika was a girl, seeming a bit younger than her.
The first thing she noticed was her eyes which were widened from surprise. They were just like her crush's eyes; amber yellow.
The second thing she noticed was what she was wearing. Judging by her clothes, which was a black, long-sleeved seifuku [1] with white lining and a white ribbon to accompany it, she had to be in middle school.
The last thing she noticed, was just like her crush, she had brown hair which had touched past her shoulders and all the way down to her back. With it, was a plastic white flower clip that held up her bangs to the side.
There was only one explanation that Monika figured out: this girl in front of her was Ryota's sister!
She had remembered that both he and Sayori mentioned her once or twice before, but this was the first time she was actually meeting her. Now if she remembered correctly, her name was…
"Haru? What's the matt- Monika?!"
Behind Haru, up came her brother in a pair of casual clothes; a black shirt that looked somewhat too big for him and grey sweatpants. The club president's cheeks turned red from embarrassment as soon as she saw her crush's bewildered face.
She starts to play with her fingers behind her back as she lets out an awkward laugh. "Ahaha… Um… May I come in?"
His room is pretty tidy.
That is if you didn't consider his messy bed, his cluttered computer desk which had his school books and gaming controllers on top, his half-opened closet, and even his freshly changed uniform clothes on his bed. Either way, his room was pretty organized; Monika could see how neatly his game collections, and manga collection that sat inside of his shelf, and other merchandise were neatly placed.
"Sorry for the mess. I didn't expect anyone today…" Ryota quickly started to clean up his mess up. He blushed in embarrassment. Not just because of the mess in his room, but also from the fact that he was alone in his room with the most popular girl in his school. Most boys in his school would fight for a chance like this, but here she was alone with him.
Besides Sayori, this was the first time a girl had went inside his room. Sure, both Natsuki and Yuri had gone inside his house that one time to work together for the school's festival, but that was about it. To say he was nervous would be an understatement for him.
His club president sat in seiza [2] on a cushion that was provided by him earlier. "No, no! It's okay, it's my fault that I came here without telling you…" He joined her shortly after, with only a small table in between them.
The door gently opens, revealing Haru, holding a plate with a cup on top of it."'Scuse me…" She places on the table, in front of Monika. "Make yourself at home!" The little sister says as she smiles. She leaves right before receiving a quick "thank you" from the school idol and gives a nudge to her older brother with her feet.
Unbeknownst to them both, she began to spy on them by hiding behind his door, peeking through the small crack left open by her.
"So, that's your little sister?" Monika queried.
"Yeah." Ryota responded as he scratched the back of his head, "I didn't really mention her much during our club meetings, did I?"
"I think you or Sayori mentioned her once or twice. I'm not too sure. Anyways, what year of middle school is she in?"
"Hmm." He starts to stroke his chin in thought. "She's in her last year I think."
"Ah!" Monika's eyes started to sparkle in excitement, "Will she be attending our school then?"
He smirks at her expression. He knew where she was going with this; it was written all over her bright and excited smile. He thought it was cute, but he didn't want to voice it out to avoid any awkward moments. "Yup."
"Maybe she can join the literature club!" The potential of getting a new club member always excites her. While she and the rest of her members were very disappointed that no one expressed an interest in joining the literature club after the festival, that didn't stop her from giving up hope.
"Hmm." He starts to scratch the back of his head, "Well, I'll talk to her about it. Hopefully, she joins. After all, we're going to graduate next year, so it would be nice for the literature club to continue while we are all in our universities."
A worried look formed on Monika's face as he mentioned that. "Hopefully she does…" However, that expression disappears as the club president forms a smile, "Though that just means we have to try harder next year to get more people to join!"
He forms the same smile that Monika had fallen in love with many times, causing her to slightly blush. "I'm sure we'll get more people to join the club, Monika."
"That's right!" The club president responded as she nodded, returning a smile to him.
And just like that, the conversation ended.
An awkward silence filled the air as none of them knew what else to say. Ryota scratched the back of his head as a few questions had wandered into his mind, while Monika tried to figure out how to strike another conversation into leading her giving the gift to him.
A few minutes of silence happened, and ultimately, what had happened was…
"Monika…?"
"Hey, Ryota…?
The two looked at each other in surprise as they interrupted each other. And after a couple of minutes of insisting the other to go first, Ryota had struck the first question.
"So… how did you find out where I lived if you don't mind me asking?"
The school idol's cheeks were now a bright red from embarrassment. She had finally realized that while she knew where he lived, he had never told her. She now just hopes that he doesn't think of her as a crazy stalker... "Ah! Sorry about that… I'm sure you were surprised by the sudden intrusion, but do you remember when Sayori and I worked together for the festival? She showed me your house while we were on the way to hers."
"Oh, I see… Well, that makes much more sense. I really was surprised to see you out of all the people on my front door. Anyways, you go can go ahead now. What did you want to say to me?"
"Ah! W-well… you see..." As Monika stumbled on her words, she felt her anxiety boost up by a thousand; the tempo of her heartbeat increased each second. And in between those very few seconds, it felt like hours for her as she reached inside the contents of her school bag.
…
…
…
She took a few papers out of her bag and handed it over to him. "Here you go. Before I had left school, the teacher stopped me on my way and told you to give this to you."
A look of both slight shock and confusion was seen on his face. "O-oh… I see. Thank you, Monika." Ryota quickly reads over the contents of the paper.
The club president quickly stands up from her seat, and respectfully bows. "Well then… I should be going."
On the outside, Monika Tachibana had kept her straight face on the whole time. But on the inside, she felt like crying; she inwardly cursed at herself for messing it up. Was it because of the pressure she felt at the moment? Is she feeling afraid? Or maybe just both?
"Ah! Already? Well, alright then. Let me walk you down." As he got up, he couldn't help but feel… a bit sad. 'It's Valentine's Day, right?' He thought.
They slowly walked out of his room, just before Haru had hidden away in the room before his, right behind the door. On all fours, she crawled near the stairs and watched as they walked down the stairs, holding onto the railing in silence.
'Uwah… They look a bit gloomy… Did something happen? I couldn't really hear them that well… Big brother, did you mess up?' The little sister fearfully thought. But the answer to her question would not come until later.
The young man in question, however, was just as confused as his little sister. With every step down the stairs, Ryota couldn't help but get lost in his thoughts.
'Hmm. What was I thinking?'
As for Monika, she could feel her stomach turn with each step as she also got lost in her own. 'I… I can't believe I messed this up again…'
'I thought she came here to give me a Valentines' Day gift… Well, I guess I did think a bit too much of myself. Just what was I thinking? We're both in two different worlds since she's so popular… She wouldn't give one to someone like me anyway.'
'Even after that talk with her, I'm just still too nervous…'
'It's up to her whether or not to give me one or not anyways. But I thought we were close enough to receive chocolate from her like the rest of the girls did with me. Or something like that…'
'I'm sorry Mrs. Uesugi… I'm too weak right now… Even if I give it to him now, I think it would just cause him trouble...'
'But…'
'Well, there's always next year right…? Yeah… next year for sure.'
'It would have been nice to know that she at least doesn't hate me.'
As Monika picks up her shoes from the front entrance, a mournful look, hidden from him formed on her lips, '...Next year for- "tell me Monika, are your feelings for him so weak that something like this makes you sad to the point you want to give up?!"...
I can't...
I...
...
...No… I can't! I… I have to do this!'
With her newfound courage, she finds her strength and faces her one and only love. "Ryota!"
"Huh?" As he snapped back into reality from his thoughts, he realized that they were both at the entryway to the front door. He saw that Monika had already put her on shoes, but one thing that caught him off guard was the deep red blush on her docile face. Quickly, she rummages through her bag and grabs a certain item from it.
It was time for her to face her fear.
"I'm sorry! Really, really sorry! I-I really meant to give this to you instead..." With both hands, she finally presents her shattered gift wrapped in a plastic bag, "It's... for Valentines' Day." Monika said as her crush takes it from her hands.
As she noticed him observing the contents of the bag, she started to feel very tense from it. The school idol looked away as she started to play with her hair. "Y-you see, what had happened was that I umm… I tried to give it to you earlier, but then I bumped into someone and fell on top of them, then it got messed up and got all shattered and then-"
Monika was interrupted by a small chuckle from her crush. Slowly, she looks up to his face only to see a smile on his lips. Just seeing his smile washed away all of her doubts and fears away and made her feel so warm.
He started to scratch the back of his head, "You know, it's a bit embarrassing to say this but, I was getting a bit nervous. The other three gave me gifts earlier today, but you didn't. I was getting worried that you didn't like me or something, and by the end of the school day, I was convinced you weren't going to give me one." Realizing his words, he blushes in embarrassment and started to retract his words. "N-not like that type of 'like'! Y'know, as a friend.
But… err. What was the point I was trying to make? Hmm. Ah, whatever. But anyways, receiving chocolates from you makes me really happy. Thank you, Monika."
The girl in question silently stared at him with a deep red blush burning on her cheeks. Ryota was surprised to see her speechless.
"That… that chocolate was the best one I've made so far… You're welcome." She finally said with a genuine smile on her face.
"Really? You made this?" The young man excitedly takes off the ribbon that was tied onto the plastic gift bag.
"A-ah!" In response, her eyebrows rose in surprise; a worried look was now spread across the young maiden's red face. She reached her hand out to try and stop him. "You don't have to eat it now!"
But it was too late, her crush had already popped a few pieces into his mouth. She closed her eyes and braced for the worse. But imagine the look on her face as she heard a "wow!" escape his lips. She slowly looked up to see a delighted look on his face. "This is really good Monika! It's sweet, but not that sweet if you get what I mean. The texture is pretty smooth, plus the flavor is pretty rich. Good job!"
This wouldn't be the last surprise that Ryota would face. He soon realized that a teardrop had formed in her eye and trailed down her cheek. "Eh?! Monika?! Why are you-?!"
"Ah… Ahaha~!" Monika wiped away the tears in her eyes. They weren't tears of sadness this time. No, they were tears of happiness! "It's fine Ryota, I just… I just had something in my eye." The brunette couldn't stop giggling, right before she puts her hands behind her back and leaned forward with a broad smile. "I guess I had nothing to worry about after all!"
"Huh? What do you mean by that?" He asked.
"Nothing." She hummed. "Anyways… I'll see you tomorrow Ryota."
"Alright then. Well, do you at least want me to walk you home?"
The brunette pondered for a few seconds before politely declining; she wanted to end things on a good note for the day. Monika didn't think her heart could take any more hits from him that would make her heart strum faster. And so, with a red blush on her face combined with a gentle smile, she said, "Good night Ryota. I'll see you tomorrow" as she waved goodbye before she closed the door.
But in the last second before she closed the door, she could have sworn she saw a blush on his face.
"Oh big brother~!" chirped Haru. The person in question followed the voice upstairs towards her room. There, he saw his little sister sitting near the edge of her bed with a smile on her face. But this wasn't an ordinary smile, it was one of those sinister smiles where the other had an ulterior motive behind their back. Ryota knew what was coming; after seeing his little sister and club president standing face to face, he knew Haru was bound to say something. He gulped in fear as he stood by her front door.
"Y-yes?"
She pointed towards a black cushion on her bedroom floor. "Sit."
"Errr... Why-?"
"SIT."
Her sudden rise in voice frightened him. And in turn, it made him immediately complied with her demand.
"Soooooo…." Haru started off as she leaned in forward with her hands on her cheeks.
"...So?"
"You know what I'm going to talk about! You finally got chocolate from someone other than big sis Sayori! Was it romantic chocolate, or friendly chocolate?"
A light blush appears on his face, he averts his eyes in response as he scratches the back of his head, "Well, I think it was friendly chocolate."
"What? You think so?"
"I mean, there's no way she would give me, out of all people, romantic chocolate. I don't think that would be the case at all."
"What's her name anyway?"
"Monika Tachibana. She's pretty much the school idol. She's pretty, smart, athletic. She has everything going for her. But she's really friendly though."
Haru crosses her arms as an unhopeful look spread across her face. "Uwah… She really was pretty. But you're right, she does have a lot of choices…"
"Hey!"
"Okay, okay. I'm half-joking big brother." She giggled. "Anyways, good for you! But the real question is, what are you going to do for White Day?"
"Ah… Well, I'm not sure about that actually. I don't know what to get the others-"
"Others?!"
"D-did I say others? I mean her, sorry slip of the tongue…" Ryota lied. He couldn't let her sister know that he got other chocolates from the rest of the literature club; he would have died from embarrassment. Not only that, how would he explain that the club he was in was filled with girls?
"Hmmm." The little sister sighed as she placed one hand on her cheek, a bored expression appeared on her face. "Well, you should go check that out then." She looks towards her window, and suddenly her amber yellow eyes widen in surprise. "Woah, Ryota! Check that out!" Haru excitedly said as she pointed.
"Huh? There's nothing-" The older brother was interrupted as he saw his little sister zoomed off of her bed and towards his bedroom. "Wait!" He quickly got up and rushed towards his room, but it was too late. In his sister's hands was the other chocolate gifts he received.
"Big brother… Care to explain?"
He gulped in fear.
A sigh escaped the young girl's lips as her brother finished explaining himself. They found each other sitting across from one another on his bedroom floor.
"So… What you're basically telling me is that you're in a literature club out of all places, just because there are four girls in it?"
"Don't make it sound like that's the only reason!" Ryota starts to scratch the back of his head, "I mean, you're kinda right, but my point still stands! I only joined because Sayori kept asking me too, and I couldn't just deny them. I felt really bad when I told them I wasn't sure if I was going to join, so... I just did in the end anyway."
She sighs once more.
"Big sis is always dragging you into something huh? Well, whatever. Anyways, you got four chocolates from four different girls this year… So I'm going to ask again: are you sure they're all just friendly chocolate instead of romantic chocolate?"
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure…" Ryota said with uncertainty, something that Haru caught onto.
"Hmmm. Maybe it is. Or maybe they were just too embarrassed to say that it was romantic chocolate…"
"Maybe you're- WAIT WAIT WAIT!" A visible bright red blush formed on his face as he shook his head, "I-I don't think that's the case at all! I mean, why would anyone of them have a crush on me?! They wouldn't like me that way I think..."
"Or maybe you're just really dense and you don't know how a girl's heart works…" Haru puts her hand on her chin and lets a hum escape her lips. "Well if it was friendly chocolate, there isn't much to worry about. The point of Valentine's is the act of giving chocolate to others like your friends or co-workers. But if one of those chocolates there was romantic chocolate instead, then that's something to worry about..."
"Okay…"
After a silent pause, the little sister looks straight into her brother's amber eyes and without falter said, "Do you like any one of them?"
"Huh?!" Ryota's blush starts to intensify on his face, "I mean sure, yeah I like all of them!"
"Come on! Do you like them or not!"
"I already told you! Yes!"
"Hnnnnnnng! You know what I mean! Stop avoiding the question!" Suddenly without warning, Haru puts both hands on his shoulder with a serious look on her face and said, "Just think really hard about any one of them, and please tell me; do you like 'like' one of the girls in your club!"
And so, the young man lets out a quiet sigh before he paused. He knew his sister wasn't going to give up until she got what she wanted to hear. So he started to look back really hard, remembering all of his good times at the literature club. He didn't notice himself, but a small smile formed on his lips doing so. But at one point, he started to remember one key memory with one of the girls in the club.
Then another.
Then another.
Then another, until it all came crashing down into his head. Ultimately, the only thing that was in his mind was her smile. Little by little, his cheeks started to burn brightly as his expression starts to get softer, something that did not go unnoticed by himself and his little sister. 'Ah, crap…' He thought.
Ryota covers his blush with his fist in front of his face as he turned away from his little sister, "I mean… I guess I'm a bit interested in one of them…"
In response, his little sister's eyebrows start to furrow into slight annoyance as she lets out a "huh" escape her lips. 'Hmm. Ryota is being cute right now…'
"Why do you look so annoyed with me…?" Her older brother quietly said to himself.
Haru slowly starts to get up, a sigh escaping her lips, "Oh well. Whatever happens, happens." She shrugged her shoulders. The little sister then crosses her arms and with a smug look on her face, she says, "Anyways, since you don't know what to give them for White Day, this is where I come in!"
Ryota starts to scratch the back of his head, "Well, I was going to ask you for the help anyways."
"Haha! Just as I thought. You really don't know anything about a girl's heart! So next month, we're going shopping for myself!" There was a short pause from Haru before she corrected herself into, "For your gifts!"
"Hey now, don't try to backtrack after that pause…"
"Come on now! Don't sweat the details big bro!"
A few hours later, after it was almost dead of night, Ryota had finally finished his homework. He wanted nothing but to just lay in bed and wrap himself under his warm blanket, even if it was earlier than his usual sleeping time. Today was certainly eventful at the most, dealing with school, receiving Valentine's chocolates from his club members, Monika visiting his house, and dealing with Haru definitely wore him out. While he did want to just sleep away the night, there was one thing that was bugging him that his little sister made him open his eyes too.
"Do I really like her?" He said to himself as he stared at his ceiling.
The young man looks towards his desk where he placed all the chocolate gifts the literature club gave him today. That wasn't the only thing he had to worry about, what about the rest of the girls? Where does he place his feelings for them too? Does he also like them that way? And what if he doesn't? But do they like him that way too? How would their relationship change with him? Would he need to reject their feelings? How would-
"I think I just need to sleep on it. This is just going to keep me all night…"
After a few minutes pass by of shifting around in his bed into a comfortable spot, the young man finally drifted into a peaceful slumber, free of worry.
But as for the rest of the literature club...
Curled up on her computer chair, hands hugging knees, Sayori Akimoto slowly spins around. 'Well, I gave him chocolate again this year…' She thought, 'But I didn't confess to him… again…'
Stopping herself from spinning with her feet, she inches herself forward towards her dresser. Opening it up, she reaches under all of her clothes until she found what she was looking for. Pulling it out, she puts the heart stamped envelope towards the ceiling; it was a love letter that she wrote in her first year of high school.
'This year… for sure!' She paused for a couple of seconds before setting the letter down. She noticed how tattered and crumpled up it was. "Ehehe… Maybe I sure write another one…"
...
...
...
"I suppose I should end it off here for tonight…" The purple hair maiden says as she closes her book. Yuri Shizuka sets her book on her nightstand and shuts off the only source of light in her room, before covering herself with a warm blanket. She slowly closes her eyes, allowing herself to drift into a peaceful slumber…
That is until her mind suddenly replayed today's events. She started to squirm around her bed, a bright blush on her face the whole time. She placed a hand on her chest, feeling her heartbeat increase before placing her hands on her face. "Uuuuuuuuu…. I still can't believe I did something so embarrassing today…"
A few silent seconds go by, and ultimately, she turns her lamp back on and grabs her book once more. "Perhaps another chapter can keep my mind off it…"
...
...
...
Leaning against the wall as she sat on her bed, Natsuki Kanakura lets her pen roll off on her brown nightstand, which contrasted her brightly colored room. She takes a good look at her piece of paper; it was a list. A list of both good and bad points of the young man in her literature club.
Natsuki starts to trail her eyes down the list, "Let's go over it again… He's a dummy, maybe a pervert, a bit dense… But..." She felt the heat rushing towards her cheek as she places her hand on her chest. The tempo of her heartbeat quickens as she kept going down.
Flustered, she quickly crushes her list into a paper ball, throwing it near her trash can in a fit of embarrassment. Sitting in the corner of her bed, she clutched onto her stuffed cat, holding it tighter with every silent second passing by. "Do I really like him?"
A few thoughtful moments pass by her until she ultimately sighs and loosens her grip on her stuffed cat. "I shouldn't be thinking about stuff like this. Besides, he's just a dummy in the end!"
She looks towards her desk where a plastic bag lies. As she reached inside the bag, she pulls one of the items out, which was one of the volumes of a new manga series she was interested in.
Natsuki had no idea what genre it belongs too, only the fact that the cover art was a bit cutesy and that the reviews online were good. Besides, it didn't hurt to try out a new series, it possibly could become her new favorite series. " Maybe this can take my mind off these stupid thoughts…" She says as she flips the cover and wrapped a blanket over her body.
But perhaps it may have been her biggest mistake.
As she kept reading and went deeper into the story that was surprisingly good, she realized it was a romantic comedy. While there is inherently nothing wrong with that, her only problem was the likable protagonist, who reminded her of…
Immediately, she closes the small book and quickly turns off her only light source, all with a bright blush on her face. "Yup, definitely just going to sleep now."
…
"Maybe one more chapter wouldn't hurt."
…
...
...
Monika Tachibana opened her front door to an empty house. Her parents usually come home later at night, but that was fine with her today. She needed to be alone to unwind her thoughts of today's events anyways. She took off her shoes by the door, before quietly going up the stairs and into her room.
The moment she stepped inside of her room, the normally calm girl dove straight into her bed and held onto the nearest pillow. Thinking about the events at his house made her grip even tighter as she kicked her legs in embarrassment.
"I can't believe that I went through all that trouble today… I really was worried about nothing."
Her grip eventually loosens up as she started to recount the events leading up to visit his house. Ultimately, she turned over, still holding onto her pillow, and sighed. "But I was also all over the place today with my emotions. That isn't like me at all either…" A small smile started to spread on her lips, "At least I was able to give it to him thanks to Mrs. Uesugi words at the last moment… I should really thank her tomorrow."
Looking over to her nightstand, she opens up the drawer and takes out a notebook with the title "Diary" written on it. As she starts to flip to a free page, she couldn't help but look over her past entries. She went over the day she left the debate club, the day when she opened the literature club, meeting Sayori which led to finding Natsuki and Yuri in the next few entries, and even her thoughts and feelings about Ryota and how it grew into something a bit more than platonic. A giggle escaped her lips as she read, and finally, she started to jot down today's events.
After doing so, she flipped to the very back of her diary to a poem she started not too long ago…
"Every day, I imagine… Hmm… No, that's still not right..." She crossed out a few words as she lets a small sigh out. "I don't know when I will finish this poem for him. I'm just so lost after that one sentence..." After a few more brainstorming minutes, she gave up, deciding it was time to retire for the night. Perhaps in her dreams, she'll finally figure out what to write to him.
And with that, Monika Tachibana slowly closed her emerald eyes and drifted off into a comfortable slumber with a smile on her face.
They had slept well later that night, all with a smile on their faces, dreaming about nothing but love and literature.
[1] Seifuku- Right. So these are basically the school uniforms that are based on a naval sailor uniform. You pretty much see these on any slice-of-life anime girls. I based Haru's seifuku off of Taiga Aisaka's (Toradora!) one from the very last episode.
[2] Seiza- A more formal way of sitting where you sit on your knees and rest your buttocks on the top of your toes. Fun fact, when I was in Kyoto a few years back, they had a specific type of chairs for it instead of cushions. The whole time I tried to do it, however, I gave up and decided to crisscross.
AN: Well now, I finally finished writing this after months! Yeah I know, it's been a full year since I first published this story, but honestly, I got a bit burnt out of DDLC. I mean, I still like it, but with starting college and working I don't have much time to write so I put this in the backseat for a while. Then awhile became months, and now here we are.
To be honest, I started getting my motivation back during Christmas, writing everyday bit by bit. Before, I had only written the beginning of this chapter until Mrs. Uesugi appears (Which is totally not a reference to a manga/anime series, wink wink). But then during mid-January, that's when I actually sat down and started to write more. And now, bam, this chapter is finally done.
I want to talk about a few parts of this chapter. You guys can skip this if you want, I just wanted to get this out of my chest really.
Anyways, one is where Monika talks about what he likes about our protagonist. I wanted to elaborate on Monika's in-game trait of being the school's idol and being the unapproachable girl. I had always thought in an AU where Monika doesn't have her in-game sentience, or 'it's not a game scenario', her problem would've been that she feels lonely (just like how she feels lonely in-game because nothing to her is real) since people don't see her as "her" but only as the school idol, making her not have many real friends. Which would lead her into falling in love with MC after interacting with him over time. For that part, I didn't know what dialogue to write in her character for a long time. But after being inspired by a few fanfics over on the DDLC subreddit, a few mods, and especially one of my favorite DDLC fanfics here on this website that still gets updated from time to time till today, I finally knew what to write. There are too many people to name, but I still thank them.
Another part I want to talk about is after the switching thoughts moment between Monika and Ryota. Specifically when Haru is talking with Ryota about if he likes one of the girls. That part is heavily inspired by another manga series and it just fitted way too well with the way I always wanted to write Haru that I wanted to put it in the very first moment that I've read it.
The last part I wanted to talk about is the ending, which is that I tried to connect each girl with a form of literature, (Sayori starting to rewrite her love letter to Ryota, Yuri reading her book, Natsuki reading her manga if you consider it literature, and Monika writing her poem/song.) and thinking about their crush before they slept for the night which is a connection to the DDLC soundtrack "Dreams of Love and Literature." Just not too sure if I executed it correctly.
Disregarding that, initially, my goal was to make this story to be at least, five or six thousand words long, but this chapter is actually eight thousand by itself so there you go.
Anyways, I still want to continue with my other fic Doki Doki Chuunibyou Club, but I have to start remembering the scenes and plot points I had in mind. I don't know when the next chapter will be (if anyone is still interested in it anyway) but I don't really like leaving things unfinished. I may even have to edit it out just a bit.
But I also do have a few fanfictions in mind about DDLC, it just depends how motivated I am.
Oh and please leave constructive criticism down below, it has been a while since I have written something. Anyways thank you all for reading and have a good day/night.
One more VERY important note is that I have already written out an epilogue/sequel/special chapter or whatever you want to call it that just needs a bit of revision. That will come out VERY soon. Then that will be it.