Hunger
Chapter 11
Sayori retrieved her phone and checked the time for what must have been the third time in the last five minutes. The pout that adorned her face deepened into a full out frown. What was keeping Naota this morning? Sayori wrapped her coat tighter around herself, hoping that this odd morning wasn't a bad omen of the upcoming school day. The sound of Naota's front door snapped her out of her thoughts as she looked up to see Naota trudging along to meet her.
"Mor-Morning." Naota greeted, being interrupted when a long yawn erupted from his lips.
Sayori took a long, studious look at her childhood friend. There were days where Sayori couldn't be bothered to make sure her bow was on straight or her uniform was ironed and presentable but today Naota was giving her a run for her money. His hair, which was always a bit wild and unruly, was slightly matted with grease and old sweat. His face showed clear signs of a few late nights and bags were starting to develop under his eyes. Even from what she could see of his uniform buttons were skipped and mismatched on his vest and blazer. And even SHE could tie a neck tie better than that.
" Whoa... Naota are you okay? You look like someone put you through the wringer dude." Sayori asked as she finished her visual analysis.
"Me? I'm fine." Naota affirmed, his drowsy demeanor betraying his statement.
Sayori furrowed her brow. "You are not fine! You're practically dead on your feet! What in the world happened to you over the weekend?" Sayori demanded in a commanding yet concerned voice.
Normally Naota would continue to lie and say that he was fine. Today however his mental will was sapped and his defenses were lowered. "Alright, I'll explain everything but lets get walking. I don't want to be late today."
So the two began their trek in a comfortable silence in the cold, late fall air. For a moment staying warm almost distracted Sayori enough to forget the subject at hand. One glance at the way her fellow club member was tiredly dragging his feet was enough to get her back on track. When Naota still hadn't begin to explain his predicament she gently elbowed his side, looking him in the eyes expectantly.
"Oh right." Naota said, rubbing his tired, red eyes. "I was up all weekend worrying about Natsuki."
A whole weekend of fretting over Natsuki? Normally if he had admitted to worrying about their pink haired friend she'd would of given him a hard time about his obvious crush. A whole weekend was a little much though. Sayori silently nodded, signaling Naota to elaborate further.
"I was thinking about all those little odd things about her. The constant hunger, the passing out. Even her shorter stature might be because shes not eating enough." Naota explained.
"And that was enough to keep you up all night?" Sayori asked, slightly concerned for Natsuki now in the back of her mind.
"Well then I started reading about the long term effects and all about organ failure and reading stories about other people and what happened to them. It all just made me worried and freaked out I guess."
"Hmm." Sayori thought for a minute. " So what are you going to do about it?"
"I don't know. I'm not sure if we're even ready to talk to each other again, let alone me asking her twenty questions about her personal life." Naota lamented.
"Well I want to help Natsuki if possible and I'm sure Monika and Yuri would to if we explain it to them. Why don't we ask the others what they think we should do? When Natsuki isn't around of course."
"I guess that could work. It's better than letting it stress me out with nothing to do about it." Naota admitted.
Before long they were entering the school and were ready to part ways until club time.
"Are you gonna make it through today?" Sayori asked one last time, watching Naota slightly sway in place.
"If Natsuki can make it everyday with what I think she's going through I can make it through one sleepy day at school." Naota declared, giving his friend a small grin and a thumbs up. "Just make sure to get to the club as soon as you can today. Maybe we can talk to the others about this before Natsuki gets there."
"Alright, best of luck Naota." Sayori agreed with a quick nod before leaving for her first class.
Clumsily turning on his heel Naota headed for his own class, and maybe picking up some caffeine from a vending machine on the way of course.
The final bell of the day came just as Naota was going to give in to his fight with weariness. However knowing that this might be his only chance to speak with the girls in private gave him a second wind and he made his way to the club room as quickly as he could. Throwing open the door and quickly scanning the room he thanked his lucky stars, it seemed Monika and Yuri were already here. Quickly entering the room he made a beeline to the back closet, sighing in relief when he didn't find Natsuki in there. Letting his tired bones rest a bit he causally made his way to the front of the room where his two other club mates were quietly chatting.
In between subjects Monika finally turned her attention to the lone male of the club. Looking him over her demeanor swiftly turn to one of worry. "Are you feeling alright Naota? You're looking a little worse for ware."
"Long story short, I've been worrying and researching stuff about Natsuki all weekend." Naota explained bluntly.
"Worrying?" Yuri asked. "Is something wrong with Natsuki?"
"I think so. I was thinking all weekend about her hunger pains and the occasional clumsiness and the passing out. Now after researching it I'm really worried that she's not eating enough."
"Like she's starving herself or something?" Monika inquired.
"I'm not sure if that's exactly the reason but all I do know is that if this has been going on for a while she could get seriously ill in the future." Naota explained sternly.
Monika and Yuri shared a glance with one another, neither quite sure what to make of this situation. If Natsuki really was in danger they'd help her out without a second thought of course, but they hardly had any evidence.
"So what's your plan in approaching this problem?" Yuri asked as she turned her focus back to Naota.
"Huh?" Naota asked in his tired stupor.
"Natsuki isn't the easiest person to approach with personal matters like this. She can be very defensive and quick to anger on top of that. You should know that better then anyone." Monika explained, a knowing smirk accompanying her last statement.
"I guess I was so worked up over dying organs I just assumed she would let us help her." Naota admitted.
"How do we help her?" Yuri wondered aloud. "I don't think any of us has the spare money to feed an extra person three meals a day."
Naota grit his teeth in frustration, there was another important point that he put zero thought into. "We'll figure something out, let's just try and breach the subject with her first."
The three fell quiet and their attention snapped to the door as they heard it open again. In sauntered a joyful Sayori, cookie in her mouth and Natsuki in tow behind her.
"Sorry for being late guys, miss cookie monster here dragged me to the vending machines with her." Natsuki explained as the two late members took their seats.
"It's no problem, we've all been kidnapped for a snack run before. Right Sayori?" Monika explained as she playfully side-eyed her vice president.
"Mmm hmm." Sayori agreed through her mouth full of cookie.
"Didn't you get something for yourself Natsuki?" Monika continued.
"No, I wasn't that hungry." Natsuki curtly explained.
"Oh, well I always have some money on hand if you need some." Monika offered.
"Okay..." Natsuki raised a curious eyebrow. She was sure Monika hated when they brought food to the club, but she let them so long as there was no mess left over at the end of the day.
Sensing what Monika was doing Yuri suddenly stood from her seat, hoping to find a suitable escape before tempers had the chance to flare. "I-I've completely forgotten about the tea! You all will excuse me for a moment won't you?" Without another word Yuri had left to retrieve her kettle and get water.
Natsuki blinked in confusion. A jittery Yuri was nothing new, but no one was even paying her any attention this time. Just what was going on with her club mates today? She studied Monika for a moment, who just offered a warm and understanding smile. Naota, in her own words, looked like shit. She only met his eyes for a brief moment before his gaze fell to the desktop in front of him to her secret dissapointment. It seemed like interactions with him only made her chest hurt lately, but that was a problem for a different day.
"And everything's going good at home right Natsuki?" Monika pressed further, sneaking a glance to Naota as well. She silently prayed that she wouldn't have to do all this herself.
"Yeah... why have you heard something different?" Natsuki folded her arms. The pink haired girl hated rumors.
"No! No, I haven't heard anything. Just making sure my club mates are safe and sound." Monika assured.
"Then why don't you play twenty questions with the zombie over there. " Natsuki nodded to Naota.
"I already explained all that before you got here." Naota spoke up as loud as his weary being would let him.
"Well can we quit with the questions anyway? I don't need you guys getting all weird on me." Natsuki warned before she could be fully dragged out of her comfort zone.
Silence filled the room for just a moment or two before Monika let out an audible sigh, resigning herself to a more blunt approach."I just heard that you fainted in gym class last week and I was a little concerned."
"I was just really tired that day. I just fell asleep and I did NOT faint." Natsuki said defiantly.
"Please don't get angry, Monika- I mean all of us are just a little worried about your health." Naota tried to reason.
"Well I don't need you guys fretting over my every action. I'm fine!" Natsuki was on the verge of yelling now.
Naota and Monika shared a glance with one another, mutual disappointment that their questioning wasn't going anywhere.
"I know it just you and your dad and I know how rough that can be..." Naota continued, not noticing the embarrassed and angry look coming over Natsuki.
Natsuki erupted from her seat, slamming her palms on her desk. "FIRST of all, my home situation isn't yours or anyone in this rooms business. So butt out of it. Second, if the Literature club is just gonna be a pity party for poor little Natsuki then I think I'd rather spend my time somewhere else." Gathering her book bag the pinkette rushed to leave the room, nearly knocking over the returning Yuri in the process.
"Natsuki!" Naota half called half groaned, but the scorned young woman was far beyond his reach now. What remained of the Literature club sunk back into their seats in defeat as Yuri timidly served the freshly made tea. "It's okay. It'll all be okay. She just needs sometime to cool off and then maybe we can try this again." Naota said, more to himself then anyone else as he held his head in his hands.
"I didn't know it was just Natsuki and her dad at home." Sayori admitted softly.
"Me neither." Monika concurred.
"I didn't think she told me that in confidence!" Naota lamented over his newest mistake.
"I don't think we've ever really took the time to learn about each other personally." Yuri mused. "Outside of literary tastes that is."
"Well I guess there's not much we can do with a missing member, we'll just have a free reading day." Monika relented.
With silent nods the two other girls gathered something to read from their bags. The despair in the room began to dissipate as books were read and tea was sipped. Naota dragged himself up and walked to the closet in back. He was fully set on picking out a manga to read, but couldn't bring himself to start a new one without Natsuki. Exhausted, he sat cross legged on the wooden floor. Staring up at the collection of comics above him he could only ruminate on his tumultuous relationship with a certain pink haired baker.
The walk home was chilly and lonely for Natsuki. The approaching winter winds easily ate through her thin hoodie but her still fuming temper was enough to distract her from it. She silently prayed that her dad was home and she could get in the house since he didn't trust her with a key. All she wanted now was to waste the rest of this miserable day in her room.
Thankfully the door opened without a fuss and Natsuki was welcomed home by the familiar blare of the T.V. And the smell of cheap beer. Natsuki sighed, relieved to be away from the wicked wind outside. Taking off her shoes and hoodie she entered her living room to greet her dad.
"Pumpkin!" Her dad greeted joyfully from his arm chair, one arm extended in anticipation for a hug.
"Hi dad." Natsuki gladly reciprocated, a nice tight hug being just what she needed after today's events.
"Rough day?" The older man asked as he took note of his daughter's expression.
Natsuki was astonished for a moment at how astute her father still could be after a few cold ones. "How'd you know?"
"No one squeezes that hard in a hug unless they really need it." Her dad replied sagely.
"I'll be fine. Just some friends at school being jerks today..."
"Boys?" Her father asked with a raised eyebrows.
"No, just the girls in the Literature Club. I know I'm not supposed to hang around boys." Natsuki had to keep her eyes from rolling.
"Good, with young ladies like you boys can quickly become more then jerks. They can ruin your life."
Natsuki giggled. "But dad you're a boy."
"Wrong, I'm a man dear." her dad chuckled back. "As for jerks, they aren't worth your time. I'm sure any club at that school would be happy to have a member like you."
"Maybe you're right dad." Natsuki took a moment to ponder the possibilities. "I think I'm going to get started on my homework."
"Alright, just come say goodnight before you turn in." her dad requested, patting his daughter's back a few times before she left.
Alone in the safe haven of her room Natsuki continued to think about what her dad said. Was it really going to come to finding a new club? Maybe she didn't even need a club? She would miss Sayori and Monika and maybe even Yuri. Her stomach cut her train of thought with a low rumble. She would have to hunt down some spare change tomorrow.
Wanting to think about something aside from jerks and hunger she grabbed her volume of Parfait Girls from her book bag. She'd hadn't read from this one since before the festival. The book held no solace for her however. As she opened the manga her eyes locked on to the plain white bookmark she used. During one of the past meetings the book mark had fallen in Naota's possession and he spent the time doodling little goofy faces and whatnot on it.
"That idiot..." Natsuki muttered, her thoughts being dragged back to today's fight. She silently closed the book and returned it to the safety of her bag.
Maybe today was a better day for writing instead of reading.
A/N: Fear not readers I haven't abandoned you! March and April have been crazy months so far, I was in the hospital for almost 3 weeks! I'm back now and things are finally getting back to normal. I thank you all for your patience and hopefully things are smooth from here on out.
BTW I've been inspired recently to write a longer one shot featuring Sayori/MC. Maybe after I finish this story you'll come back and check that one out?
Next time: Natsuki gets a little hot under the collar... but not like that!
