The school day went on as normal. By the time it ended, Okuyasu had asked Josuke if wanted to hang out. He was slightly disappointed when he was reminded that he had go to his club meeting. And with that, the two went their separate ways.

"Yo! I'm here!" Josuke said cheerfully as he entered the classroom.

"Hi again, Josuke!" Monika greeted him. "Glad to see you didn't run away on us. Hahaha!"

"What? Of course not. After all we did yesterday, how could I?"

Yuri quietly piped up, "Thanks for keeping your promise. I hope this isn't too overwhelming of a commitment for you. Making you dive headfirst into literature when you're not accustomed to it…"

"Oh, come on! Like he deserves any slack. Sayori told me that you didn't even think about joining a club this year. I don't know if you plan to come here and hang out, or what… But if you don't take us seriously, then you won't see the end of it," Natsuki said.

"Natsuki, you certainly have a big mouth for someone who keeps their manga collection in the clubroom." Monika chimed in.

Natsuki blushed a bit and began to pout. "Manga is literature!" She then stopped and looked at Josuke. "Hey, didn't you say the other day that you actually KNEW Rohan Kishibe?"

Josuke scratched the back of his head. "Uh, well, yeah I do know him. How come?"

She suddenly noticed that everyone was looking at her.

She then folded her arms and looked away. "N-Nothing! I was just making sure I heard you right."

Silence hung in the room for a moment as they all processed what just happened.

Josuke decided to break the silence. "So, what are we going to do with our poems again?"

"We'll be sharing our poems later. For now, just have fun guys!" Monika answered him, smiling sweetly.

As the group began to disperse, Sayori quickly informed Josuke, "Oh, oh! Yuri brought you something today, you know-"

"W-Wait! Sayori…" said Yuri, embarrassed for being put on the spot like that.

He blinked and looked at Yuri. "Huh? For me…?"

"Um… Not really… It's really nothing."

"What is it?"

"N-Never mind. Sayori made it sound like it's a big deal when it's really not…"

"H-Hey, it doesn't matter. You don't need to worry about it. I wasn't even expecting anything at all. So there's no reason to worry over this too much. I'm sure it can't be that bad."

"… Well, alright… Here."

She reached into her bag and pulled out a book.

"I didn't want you to feel left out… So I picked a book that I thought you might enjoy. It's a short read, so it should keep your attention, even if you don't usually read. And we could, you know… discuss it… if you wanted…"

Josuke was pretty surprised. He thought that it was really kind of her to pick out a book she thought he would like.

"R-Really? Thanks! I'll definitely read this." He enthusiastically took the book.

Yuri sighed in relief. "I look forward to hearing what you think."

Once she went off to go read book, Josuke looked around to see that everyone else was already doing something else. Sayori and Monika were having a conversation at the front of the classroom, and Natsuki was rummaging around in the closet.

Man. It looks like no one wants to be bothered today. What should I do now? Maybe I should read some of the book that Yuri gave me.

Josuke sat down in a desk and pulled out the book. He quickly looked over the cover and read its title.

'Enigma'

Suddenly the book flipped open to a page where the words were ordered in a way that made it look like a face.

"Josuke!" face in the book yelled.

"WHAT?! HOW?! Crazy Diamond!" Josuke had stood up from his desk as he activated his Stand ability. He shook his head before he attacked and looked back at the book again.

It was perfectly normal. The book was still closed and its title read: A Portrait of Markov. He looked around to see that everyone was looking at him, even Natsuki was peaking her head out of the closet. He silently began to sweat as he retracted Crazy Diamond.

What do they think happened? What should I say? COULD ANY OF THEM SEE CRAZY DIAMOND?!

After a few seconds of silence, he rubbed the back of his head and said, "Uh, sorry about that. I thought I saw a spider."

Natsuki quickly popped back into the closet, Sayori went back to her conversation, but Yuri and Monika's gazes lingered for a moment before going back to what they were doing.

He gulped.

Were those two able to see it? And if they could, what Stand abilities do they have?

Josuke looked back at the book again to see that it was still closed.

Could one of their Stand abilities have caused that?

He looked around again, only to see that everyone was doing their own thing again.

Maybe I should get to know each one of them and figure out who it could be.

He decided to start with Natsuki since she was the first to look away from him, possibly to eliminate any suspicion. As Josuke approached the closet he heard an exasperated sigh.

Once he sees her, he asked, "You need some help looking for something?"

Natsuki responded without turning around. "Freaking Monika… She never puts my stuff back in the right spot."

He noticed that she was sorting out a bunch of manga.

She then looked over her shoulder at Josuke and asked, "You read manga, right?"

"Uh… sometimes. I haven't read that much manga. It's more Koichi's thing."

She raised an eyebrow upon hearing that name. She had never heard of him before, but she just brushed it off believing that this 'Koichi' is one of Josuke's friends.

"Earlier you asked about Rohan," Josuke began. "Was there anything you wanted to know specifically?"

She blushed slightly and turned back around to continue sorting out the manga. "I was just wondering if maybe you would help me… m-meet him or something. His work is some of my favorite in the world, and I thought that it would be cool to tell him something like that."

Josuke smiled to see that someone who acted so stubborn would think about doing something nice. His smile fell once he noticed something on the back of her neck. It looked like a bruise or something, just peeking out from behind her collar.

What's that? Could this be from the Arrow?

He decided that he might as well heal her since she showed no hostility towards him. He brought out his Stand which gently touched her neck, healing her bruise.

Natsuki suddenly straightened up and put her hand do her chest. She then turned around and was face to face with Crazy Diamond, but she looked straight through it to look at Josuke in the eye.

Assuming that she could see his Stand, he nervously asked, "Uh… Are you feeling okay?"

After a second Natsuki looked down at the floor and took a deep breath. "Y-Yes actually. I've never felt better."

Josuke sighed in relief as she turned back around, not even paying attention to Crazy Diamond. He then noticed a lone manga volume in a shelf high up. He picked it up and she then looked at it.

"There it is!" Natsuki exclaimed as she snatched it out of his hands. She then puts it into a box of manga. "Aah, much better! Seeing a box set with one book missing is probably the most irritating sights in the world."

Despite not being that into literature in general, Josuke completely agreed. Intrigued as to what was in the box, he looked in and read the title.

"Parfait Girls…?"

He had never heard of this before so he didn't know what to think.

Natsuki pointed at the door and said, "If you're gonna judge, you can do it through the glass on that door."

He began to chuckle a bit. "That was pretty good… But I wasn't judging anything."

"Well, I've got a lesson for you straight from the Literature Club: Don't judge a book by its cover!" She then pulled out the first volume of Parfait Girls. "I'm going to show you exactly why!" Natsuki shoved the book into his hands.

Ah… Dang it. I was planning on going to see Yuri now to see if she is a Stand user. Natsuki is obviously not or else she would have reacted when she saw Crazy Diamond. Well, I guess I can't leave her hanging. Plus what's wrong with making a new friend?

Josuke looked at the cover to see several girls striking feminine anime poses.

Natsuki then spoke up, "Don't just stand there!"

She then grabbed his arm to pull him out of the closet. As she did this, he noticed just how small she was compared to him. He might even say he was about half a meter taller than her. Natsuki then took a seat against the wall, beneath the windowsills. She patted the ground next to her to tell Josuke to sit with her. He sat down with her, still towering over her.

"Alright…" Josuke sighed as he opened the book.

She begins to read with him. "Wow, how long has it been since I read the beginning…?"

They began to read for a bit. Josuke wasn't really paying much attention because nothing had really happened yet. It seems like it was just about a bunch of friends in high school. It reminded him of Koichi and Okuyasu. He was disappointed that he wasn't able to hang out with them yesterday. Since he didn't have that many assignments due tomorrow he decided that he would go spend some time with them.

"Hey, are you even paying attention?" Natsuki asked frustratingly.

"Wha- uh… yeah. But… is there ever going to be a plot?"

Natsuki then talked about some of the events that would happen later in the story. They continued to read on for a few minutes. Reading through a few chapters, they occasionally spoke about their situation of her having to basically watch him read. As he read, he noticed that there was a lot of cooking in this manga. He assumed that she might have taken her interest in cooking from reading this.

Maybe I should introduce her to Tonio. I might as well bring Rohan while I'm at it since she was so eager about meeting him.

The thought about seeing Tonio helping Natsuki learn new things to cook made him smile.

"Okay, everyone!" Monika began, addressing the club. "Are you all ready with today's poems?"

Natsuki spoke up, "Oh come on! Could your timing be any worse?"

"Sorry! I just need to make sure we have enough time. Though you do look pretty cozy over there. Ahaha!"

"Eh-?!" Natsuki blushed, noticing that the whole club was looking at her. "A-ah!"

She then noticed how close she had gotten to Josuke and quickly slid herself away.

Josuke blinked. "Uh… I guess we'll stop here for now." He then closes the book and hands it to Natsuki.

"You're just giving it back? Don't you want to know what happens?"

"Uh… well, Monika said that-"

"Don't be dumb. Just take it home with you."

"Woah, really? Are you sure?"

"Yeah. You can finish this one so we can start the next one by tomorrow."

"By tomorrow…?" Josuke looks a bit nervous because he can't think of when he would have time to read this if he hung out with his friends. "Well… okay." He then got up to put the book in his bag.

Monika then approached him. "By the way, did you remember to write a poem last night?"

Josuke smiled. "Yeah, I did! I really liked the way it turned out. Want to see?"

Monika smiled sweetly. "Sure!"

They exchanged poems. Josuke was pretty proud of his poem and Monika could see why.

Best Friend

My best friend is always by my side.

He has always been there, fixing life's mistakes.

Only some can see him, those with a friend like me.

He watches over, shining bright like a diamond.

He stopped the queen from taking what is ours.

He did not shiver before the doors of heaven.

He does not only see what is on the surface.

My friend is a diamond, and my friend looks up to a star.

This is a star that had shone over the world.

A star is unstoppable, but a diamond is unbreakable.

But he hopes that one day, he too can shine as crazy bright as that star.

"Wow, Josuke! That was pretty good for someone with little literary experience." Monika stated, impressed.

He was still reading her poem, but when he was done he looked up at her and smiled. "Thanks, Monika! I liked yours too."

She giggled. "Thanks. Hey, are you feeling okay? You gave me quite a scare earlier. You looked like you had seen a ghost."

"Ah… well I guess I had just learned that I'm more afraid of spiders than I thought," he laughed nervously.

"I just wanted to point out something about your poem. Your writing style is a bit all over the place. I suggest that you show listen to the others and ask for their advice on the matter."

"Oh, really? Thanks, I guess."

"Anyway, here's Monika's Writing Tip of the Day! Sometimes when you're writing a poem – or a story – your brain gets too fixated on a specific point… if you try so hard to make it perfect, then you'll never make any progress. Just force yourself to get something down on the paper, and tidy it up later! Another way to think about it is this. If you keep your pen in the same spot for too long, you'll just get a big dark puddle of ink. So just move your hand, and go with the flow! That's my advice for today! Thanks for listening."

"Well, thanks! I know I'll be busy with my new pen. Thanks for the advice!"

Josuke eventually went around exchanging poems with the rest of the club members. He had taken in each of their criticisms about his poem and listening to some of their ideas for his future poems. He then thought about more important matters.

This club… there's something off. I'm sure this is no coincidence. Stand users attract other Stand users. That must mean at least one of them is a Stand user, or maybe they all are! But I've got to play this safe. No randomly bringing out Crazy Diamond again. I don't know if I can cross out Natsuki. Either she isn't a Stand user or she is EXTREMELY good at acting. Ah… I'm probably just over reacting. She's probably fine. Although, I should probably spend some time with Yuri and Monika. There's no reason to rush. Sayori is fine, I've known her my whole life, right?

As he was lost in thought, he overheard Natsuki and Yuri begin to argue.

"Maybe you're just jealous that Josuke appreciates my advice more than he appreciates yours." Yuri said.

"Huh! And how do you know he didn't appreciate my advice more?" Natsuki quipped. "Are you that full of yourself?"

"I…! No… If I was full of myself, I would deliberately go out of my way to make everything I do overly cutesy!"

"Uuuuuuu…!"

"Um… is everyone okay?" Sayori asked.

"Well you know what?!" Natsuki yelled. "I wasn't the one whose boobs magically grew a size bigger as soon as Josuke started showing up!"

Josuke's eyes widened.

D-Did that happen? I hadn't noticed…

"N-Natsuki!" Yuri gasped, embarrassed beyond belief.

Monika tried to step in, "Um, Natsuki that's a little-"

"This doesn't involve you!" both Natsuki and Yuri yelled at her.

"I-I don't like fighting guys…!" Sayori whispered.

They then suddenly turn towards Josuke.

"Josuke…!" Yuri began. "She-She's just trying to make me look bad…!"

"That's not true! She started it! If she could get over herself and learn to appreciate that simple writing is more effective, then this wouldn't have happened in the first place! What's the point in making your poems all convoluted for no reason? The meaning should jump out at the reader, not force them to figure it out. Help me explain that to her, Josuke!" said Natsuki.

"W-wait! There's a reason we have so many deep and expressive words in our language! It's the only way to convey complex feelings and meaning the most effectively. Avoiding them is not only unnecessarily limiting yourself… it's also a waste. You understand that, right, Josuke?"

Josuke was speechless. "Um…"

"Well?!" they both ask simultaneously.

Oh, great. How did I get into this mess in the first place? Dang, I wish I had Star Platinum to get out of this.

He sighed. "Look, I liked both of your poems. But the thing is, I barely know a thing about literature. Besides, you both have completely different writing styles. How can I say which one is better? It's like asking: which is better, a spoon or a car? There's no comparison."

They both looked at the floor then glanced at each other.

"Also, insulting each other does not help either of your cases," he added.

After a few minutes of uncomfortable situations, the two apologized to each other.

Monika then spoke up to the whole club. "Well, now that we're past that, everyone's read each other's poems, right? I hope that was worthwhile for everyone! Especially you, Josuke! And to be honest, it's a nice change of pace from the lazing around we got a little too used to."

"So, I guess me joining the club kinda ruined the atmosphere…" said Josuke.

"No, not at all!" Monika stated, almost hurt by what he said. "Well, anyway, let's do the same thing tomorrow. I think that we all learned a lot by sharing poems."

Great. Another poem. Well, this should be fine. I guess I'll be staying up late.

"Josuke!" Sayori began. "Ready to walk home?"

"Y-Yeah, right. Let's go." He responded.

Josuke glanced back at the clubroom to make sure that nothing was off.

"Sayori, that thing between Yuri and Natsuki, does that happen often?" Josuke asked as they were already in their neighborhood.

"Uh, not really. No. That's honestly the first time I've seen them fight like that. I promise you they're both wonderful people. You don't… You don't hate them, do you?" she asked him, lowering her demeanor.

"What? Hate them? I've only just met them. It's not like they're-… evil or anything…"

"Heh, right. You know, I'm glad that I get to spend time with you in the club, but I think seeing you get along with everyone is what makes me the happiest. And I think everyone really likes you, too!"

"Ah… well, I guess we'll see what will happen in the future, Sayori."

I had a lot of fun today. But I can't forget about Okuyasu and Koichi again! Once I take her home, I'll go see them and tell them what I saw.

-To Be Continued