"I'll join the Literature Club…"

As Anon said those words, a massive amount of tension seemed to dissipate from the room, and, to a greater extent, his terror at being vaporised by four Titans slowly began to fade as well, with Ion, Scorch, Ronin and Monarch all lowering their armaments in approval while the eyes of their pilots lit up in happiness.

"Yesss! I'm so happy! Things will be much better with you around, Anon!" proclaimed Sayori, her usual bright smile once again on her face as she jumped up and down, with her skirt and bow bobbing up and down all the while. Ion was rather glad to see her pilot in such a state, and if she could, she would've been smiling widely right about now, though Anon didn't know what to say in response to Sayori's words, for he was just relieved that he wasn't about to be bombarded anytime soon…

"You really did scare me for a moment…" admitted Yuri under her breath as she leaned forward and slackened her shoulders, exhaling a little sharply all the while. Behind her, Ronin magnetically holstered his Broadsword onto his back before he went on standby, with his singular rectangular optic still affixed onto Anon as he sweated a tad, silently acknowledging how the Titan probably held no qualms with disintegrating him right there and then had he declined.

"Hmph, either way, if you came just for the cupcakes, I'd be pissed," groaned Natsuki, frowning deeply as she crossed her arms, with Scorch bobbing his 'head' up and down a little in agreement as he holstered his Thermite Launcher, causing Anon to gulp rather intensely as he subconsciously felt the heat from Natsuki's Titan rub against his skin.

"But regardless of all that, let's make this official!" finished Monika, smiling as she leaned forwards just enough to make Anon blush a little and lean back, an act that caused her to smile just a little wider as she continued, ignoring the somewhat disapproving glance she was getting from Monarch as she called off her twin Acolyte Pods and holstered her XO16A2 Chaingun. "Welcome to the Literature Club, Anon!"

And to that, Anon blinked and stepped back a little as he tapped his hands together, with the gesture being a pre-programmed thing he was meant to do regardless of whether or not there were Titans involved, prompting Monika to resist the urge to roll her eyes as she maintained her smile. His AI was still so damn… basic, so much so that it almost hurt to interact with. Even so, she had to resist the urge to just try and screw over the game at such an early time, as it would probably cost her the chance to actually meet her beloved player!

"Hm, seeing as how you've just joined, why don't we celebrate this occasion with something special?" suggested Monika in an attempt to keep herself from thinking about messing with the code, rubbing her chin thoughtfully as she spoke. At that, everyone present perked up and glanced at her, Anon and the Titans included, all seemingly interested in what she was gonna say. "I suggest we each write a poem and submit it at our next meeting. That way, we can get Anon acquainted with how we roll!"

"Seriously, Monika? It's been at least a month or two since we've done that!" protested Natsuki, crossing her arms tightly as she pouted a little, though as for Yuri and Sayori, they didn't seem to mind as they nodded in approval and jumped up and down happily in response to Monika's proposal.

"Well I think it's a wonderful idea!" proclaimed Sayuri as she bounced up and down, much to everyone's amusement as Anon stepped a tiny bit away from his childhood friend. Meanwhile, Ion 'nodded' in agreement as she raised a hand up into the air, pointing her index finger towards the sky before speaking.

"I very much agree with Sayori. By exchanging poems and showing them to Civilian Anon, we can very well show him what he can expect in the future,"agreed Ion, prompting Sayori to turn and smile widely at her Titan who, in turn, offered her a thumbs up before Ronin and Yuri nodded in agreement.

"Well put, Ion. We can very easily show him what we're capable of with this method," praised Yuri as she clasped her hands together and bowed her head down a little, and though it was subtle, a mild release of steam from Ronin caught her attention, prompting her to turn and see that her Titan was 'laughing', so to speak, prompting her to redden in embarrassment, though a hand gesture from Ronin assured her that he wasn't about to reveal her true intentions to her fellow clubmates unless she wished for him to do so, much to her relief.

Likewise, Monika and Monarch were rather happy with their Vice-President's agreement, with the former shuffling up to her side and gently patting her over the head as a form of congratulations, something that made Sayori widen her eyes a tad before she smiled and thanked her Club President. As for Monika, she was quick to blink in surprise at what she was doing, though she ended up smiling a little before removing her hand.

'This accursed mod…' thought Monika somewhat bitterly as her smile faltered a little, though it was quick to strengthen once more when she saw the smile Sayori was giving her. It was rather genuine… even in spite of her usually depressed self… and just seeing it was enough to make Monika smile genuinely as well. 'Even so, I suppose it isn't too bad…'

Off to the side, both Natsuki and Scorch seemed rather indifferent as the former simply crossed her arms somewhat disappointed and the latter pondered on if he should reach in to pat her back. Ion, on the other hand, seemed rather happy at seeing the smile on her pilot's face, so much so that she turned to Monarch to give her a thumbs up, a gesture that she returned seconds later.

"Tsk, whatever I guess. Writing a poem isn't exactly what I thought we'd be doing again, but sure… I'll play your game," grumbled Natsuki, frowning deeply as she slouched forward. As she said that, however, she heard a burst of steam behind her, prompting her to turn towards Scorch and raise her brows when she saw him attempting to cheer her up by waving a small flag that said "Go Natsuki!" in one hand, having materialised it out of thin air or something, and the sight itself was enough to make the girl giggle a tad.

"Cheer up, Natsuki! Or not, because you look adorable when you're upset!" proclaimed Sayori as she moved close to her friend and squished her cheek up against hers. At that, the shorter girl grimaced and attempted to shove Sayori away from her to little avail, with that gesture being enough to make Ion tense up a little while Scorch simply 'chuckled' a little at his pilot's temper.

"Stop calling me cute, dammit!" proclaimed Natsuki as she swatted Sayori away from her to no avail, with the club vice-president smiling widely as she moved to hug her pink haired friend a little in an attempt to prove her point. Monika and the four Titans all watched on in amusement as the two struggled with one another, and despite not wishing to admit to it, Yuri was quick to pull out her cellphone and snap a quick picture of the scene unfolding before her eyes.

"You wished to capture the moment, hm?" quipped Ronin silently as he leaned a little closer towards the window to whisper to his pilot, and at that, Yuri squeaked in shock, nearly dropping her phone in the process, before she turned on her heel to look at her Titan.

"Y-Yes… forgive me but… such moments are hard to come by," apologised Yuri, scratching the back of her head sheepishly as she spoke. However, before she could feel too bad about it, Scorch and Ion squeezed in beside Ronin, effectively sandwiching him between the two of them, before speaking up.

"Please send us the image," insisted both Titans as they crowded around the one window, and even in the background, Monarch signaled to Yuri that she wanted that image too, prompting the young woman to bite her lower lip before she thumbed her phone a few more times.

"I-I understand. I will have them sent to all of you before the day ends," promised Yuri before she pocketed her phone, her answer being enough to satisfy the Titans as they moved away from the window, causing her to sigh in relief before turning back to see that the little issue between Sayori and Natsuki had been resolved by now, with the latter having shoved a cupcake she seemed to have materialised out of nowhere into the former's mouth to force her off herself.

"Mmm…" muttered Sayori, smiling in ecstasy as she nommed on the cupcake, prompting Natsuki to roll her eyes a tad as she glanced over at Monika with a raised brow, a clear sign of her asking her club president how she managed to put up with Sayori, to which the club president smiled and moved to gently nudge her clubmate with her elbow. "Hm?"

"Please try and be a little more professional, Sayori," urged Monika as she nudged her vice president and gestured towards Anon, prompting the girl in question to turn towards him and blush a little before swallowing the cupcake in her mouth and poke her fingers together awkwardly, something that made the club president hold back a chuckle.

"H-Hey, don't worry about me. I'm just here… doing… stuff," assured Anon as he waved his new club president off, prompting Monika to chuckle once more as she ruffled Sayori's hair once more before moving towards the only guy in the room and stopping in front of him.

"Perhaps, but we still need to make a good impression, now don't we?" quipt Monika, offering Anon a rather playful wink as she spoke, prompting the faceless AI to blush as he looked away from the redhead, and though it was probably a preprogrammed gesture, the club leader still couldn't help but feel somewhat satisfied at that reaction she go from him, prompting her to chuckle briefly before she stepped away from him. "But regardless, I suppose that we can end today's meeting on a good note."

"Indeed. Though not much was accomplished today, we achieved a new member, which is a milestone in itself," agreed Monarch as she clasped her hands together, prompting Monika to roll her eyes a little at just how extra her Titan had to be from time to time before continuing.

"That much is true, Monarch, but as I was saying, don't forget to write a poem and bring it to the next meeting, all of you!" finished Monika, smiling gently as she spoke, and seconds later, she glanced over at Anon and quickly winked. "I look forward to seeing how you express yourself, Anon. The same applies to all of you! I expect to be beyond impressed!"

"I'll make sure I write something that could make Mozart blush!" claimed Sayori, leaping into the air as she made her claim, to which Natsuki rolled her eyes while Yuri giggled behind her hand. "Right, Ion? We'll make sure to write the best poems ever!"

"Indeed, Sayori. We will knock this out of the park, as Pilot Natsuki would say," agreed Ion as she bobbed her cockpit up and down in a nod. At that, Sayori smiled widely and jogged up to the window to offer her Titan a high five, one that she gladly accepted, prompting Monika to shudder a tad.

'Is she really depressed…?' thought Monika, frowning as she rubbed her chin, though she was quick to snap out of it when Natsuki scoffed.

"Psh, well Scorch and I'll make sure to outdo you, Sayori! We'll write something so awesome that the school will melt just by being close to it!" proclaimed Natsuki, smirking wildly as she pumped her fist.

"Awesomely cute, Natsuki," 'corrected' Scorch, and upon processing the word cute, Natsuki stiffened before she rushed towards her Titan and quite literally leapt out of the window and latched herself onto his cockpit hatch, slamming the side of her fists against it all the while.

"GOD DAMMIT SCORCH NOT YOU TOO! I TOLD YOU I'M NOT CUTE!" bellowed Natsuki as the Titans watched in amusement as Scorch lifted his hand up to gently pry his pilot off his cockpit hatch and place her back in the clubroom, where she landed on her feet with a mild squeak.

"I apologise, Natsuki," apologised Scorch half-coredly as he held his hands up 'apologetically', with him having saved the image of the pouting Natsuki in his databanks all the while. Meanwhile, Yuri couldn't help but gently rest her hand against her forehead as she sighed.

'That child…' thought Yuri dismissively as she glanced over at her Titan, only to widen her eyes a little when she saw him shaking his head in disapproval, prompting her to shudder a tad.

"I… wasn't thinking what you thought I was thinking," muttered Yuri bashfully as soon as she was close enough to whisper to her Titan, prompting him to shake his head.

"Then why do you stutter?" asked Ronin, prompting Yuri to cover her face with her hands, showing her guilt all the while. At that, the Stryder Titan offered a mild sigh before he bobbed his head from side to side and whispered to his pilot. "Yuri… in spite of your differences, you should not think so lowly of your clubmate."

"I… I know… but it's very hard to do so…" apologised Yuri sheepishly as she hugged herself, to which Ronin bobbed his cockpit back and forth a little to show that he was going to hold her to that as he stuck his index finger through the window to pat her head gently.

"I know… you are trying your best, and I cannot fault you for that,"assured Ronin, sounding somewhat resigned as he moved his finger back out of the window and nodding at Yuri, who smiled awkwardly before glancing back at Monika, who waved a little as Anon watched her interact with her Titan with an awkward gaze, seeming to wonder if he should even be there in the first place.

Upon noticing their gaze, Yuri blushed and scratched the back of her head, and after she noticed her friend's discomfort, Monika cleared her throat and spoke up.

"Well, considering how today's session has ended, why don't we pack up and leave?" suggested Monika, smiling gently as she gestured for everyone present to leave. At that, the girls began to slowly disperse from the clubroom, with the last to leave being Sayori as she shut the door and locked it.

Their walk to the main entrance of the school took quite a short while, with it mostly being in silence that was broken primarily by Sayori, who was humming a little as she hopped forward beside Natsuki, who rolled her eyes at that, though she didn't show any actual irritation at the bubbly young woman's humming and hopping as she simply kept her mouth shut and walked.

By the time they had reached the school's main entrance, they saw that their Titans were already waiting for them, with all of them crouching down with their cockpits open to allow their pilots to hop on board. At that, Natsuki smirked before moving to board Scorch, offering her clubmates one last wave before boarding her Titan, and not long after, Yuri bowed respectfully towards her leftover clubmates and jogged awkwardly towards Ronin. The two of them boarded their respective Titans at almost the same time, with both Scorch and Ronin getting stuck on the main gates to the school all the while, much to the faceless security guard's dismay.

As the two of them attempted to get themselves unstuck, Monika offered a wink directed towards Anon, who blushed once more, before moving to Monarch and hopping into her cockpit. When her cockpit closed back up, the Titan's singular optic was shown to be narrowed in apparent disapproval at how her pilot was acting, though she didn't voice that out before standing up and nodded towards Sayori.

"Have a nice rest of your day, both of you," quipped Monarch as she nodded her head, prompting Sayori to smile and offer a thumbs up before she marched off, leaving Sayori alone with Anon as she fidgeted a little beside her childhood friend, who didn't seem to notice her that much as he rolled on the balls of his feet.

"Hey… uh… Anon, since we're already here… do you want to walk home together?" asked Sayori, smiling gently as she eyed her old friend. Hearing her, Ion was quick to close her cockpit back up and stare at the two expectantly whilst kneeling down, though at that, Anon rubbed the back of his head and chuckled awkwardly.

"S-Sorry Sayori. I… uh… don't wanna hold you up, so you go on ahead," replied Anon as Sayori's smile faltered a little, though aside from that, she didn't allow her emotions to show as she forced herself to smile once more and nod firmly, causing her bow to jerk up and down a little in the process.

"I… I see! Well, see you tomorrow, Anon!" quipped Sayori as she waved towards him and jogged towards Ion, who had reopened her cockpit hatch by then, allowing her pilot to hop. As soon as she did, the Titan shut her cockpit before pulling the Splitter Rifle off the back of her waist and used it to help her stand up, though before she turned to leave, she narrowed her optic towards Anon, who shrunk down under her glare, before she turned to leave the school premises.

"He does not hate you, Sayori. He simply wished for you to return home safely."

"But what if he does…"

Frowning immensely as she curled herself up in Ion's cockpit, Sayori hugged her backpack and buried half her face into it. All the while, Ion stared at her through the cockpit cameras, and if she could frown, her frown would've been just as intense as her pilot's.

"I urge you to not think too much about his rejection to join you,"said Ion, attempting to calm her pilot down as she walked. "He is possibly overwhelmed with joining the Literature Club, one that is made up of beautiful young women, no less. He is old enough to be rather hormonal, and his emotions going berserk was inevitable."

"W-What if he shoves me to the side, though… what if… what if he thinks that the other girls are better…?" muttered Sayori, burying her face deeper into her backpack as her thoughts spiraled through her mind, much to Ion's dismay. "What if… w-w-what if… he just leaves me behind… a-and forgets about me?"

"That day will never come,"announced Ion, her voice sounding more firm and resolute than Sayori remembered it being as she stared up at the built-in cockpit camera with wide, glassy eyes. "But if it does… know that I shall forever stand by your side, Sayori. Pilot or not, you are still important to me, and I will never leave your side until my power core has been destroyed."

"I-Ion…" muttered Sayori as she wiped at her eyes and offered a weak smile, prompting Ion to calm herself down a little as she realized that her pilot's emotions were stabilizing, as was her heartbeat. Even so, the Titan was unsure on how long this would last, and as such, she began to think of a way to keep her pilot from thinking about Anon until further notice. At first, nothing came to mind…

And suddenly…

"Ice cream, come get your ice cream…"

The sudden, unenthused voice of a nearby ice cream vendor caught both pilot and Titan's attention, and upon hearing it, Sayori's eyes flashed as she leapt forward and pressed her cheek against the side of the cockpit.

"Oooooh…" muttered Sayori, drooling just a bit as she stared out at the strangely young ice cream man, and at that, Ion held back a mechanical chuckle and holstered her Splitter Rifle.

"Do you want an ice cream?"

"YES!"