Chapter 11: Heart-To-Heart

Markus' POV

It's your typical wednesday afternoon, with a nice sunny afternoon and a few clouds to boot. To my left is Sayori humming a little tune and to my right is Natsuki. She is staring intently ahead, probably tuning out Sayori's slightly adorable humming.

So today I was supposed to hang out with Monika, but due to her and Natsuki's 'scuffle' last week, Natsuki gets three of Monika's days with me, and this is one of them. Now I do adore Natsuki's company but today she felt... off. Normally she would be the most outspoken one in the clubroom but today she was... quiet while reading her manga. Even when we shared poems she didn't offer much criticism.

And then at the end of the hour, she seemed to really want to spend time with me outside of school. Monika gave her the day to spend with me but something tells me even if they didn't have that small argument that led up to this, Monika would of gave her this day anyways. Call it a small hunch but something feels wrong.

I will try to dismiss it now anyways. After all, we are now home... I wave to Sayori as she walks into her home and me and Natsuki walk up to mine. "You sure you don't want to change out of your uniform?" I ask Natsuki with a raised eyebrow. She could live a distance away though, so maybe it would be a annoyance to do that.

"No, it's fine. Let's just go inside." She storms inside with me following after her. Normally she is a little... assertive. But to the point of going into my home first? I walk in and my mom ambushes me with a vacuum.

"Markus! You should already know what day it is."

I sigh and begin to roll the vacuum to my room. "Yep... It's wednesday, which means its chore day."

Mom laughed at my... less than enthusiastic reaction. "You should be used to this by now. We've been doing it for how long?"

I squint my eyes as I think back to my past. "At least three years I wanna say."

My mom nodded and smirked as she saw Natsuki behind me. "Yes, back when my baby was only in middle school. You grow up so fast..." She ruffled my hair a bit as I roll my eyes.

"Way to go mom. You do this the DAY I have a girl over." I can hear Natsuki trying to repress a laugh from behind me.

"What can I say son of mine? It's fun to see you flustered."

Natsuki walked up to high-five my mom. "That's what I'm talking about!" I heave a sigh as I drag the vacuum up the stairs to begin cleaning my room. "Hey, Natsuki?" She looked up at me as I'm halfway up the stairs. "Sorry for doing this. Once I'm done we can read manga. Or bake if you want to." She nods at me as I enter my room.

Alright, lets start cleaning this place.

My room isn't too dirty... okay maybe it is a little I pick up any stray video game cases on the floor and arrange them on my shelf. All alphabetized and everything. Trust me, It's important that things look this proper. I glance at my manga collection on my bookshelf. If there's anything I'm proud of, its my complete collection of every volume of the Pokémon manga. One could say it's 'childish' but as Natsuki would say, 'manga is literature!'

I then clean off my computer desk of any stray papers and pencils and reposition my monitor so it's facing straight. I then open my computer desk drawer and evaluate the contents within. And man, this stuff brings me back.

I have one of those plastic virtual games where you take care of a fictional pet. Unfortunately I got distracted by real-life things and my pet died... And then the batteries died coincidently afterwards. Good times, good times.

Next to that is my small collection of amiibos. Basically figurines of Nintendo characters and whatnot... well mostly. I have a amiibo of Ivysaur, cause that's my main in smash bros. And I also have a Pac-man amiibo. But honestly, I got these figures because I like the games they come from really and I think they look cool... Oh don't give me that look. I have a soft spot for arcade games.

And finally I see my most embarrassing prized possession. My beloved magazine. Being a loner has it's perks and this is the only... uh... 'graphic' thing I own really. One of these days I should really throw this out. Now that I have four girlfriends, I have no reason to keep this. Sentimental reasoning be dammed. I remember when me and Yuri worked on the banner for the festival and she almost looked into here. I swear, if she found out I had this, it's very possible she wouldn't want to talk to me... maybe.

Well, that's enough reminiscing on my random items. I glance around my room and see that its all clean. Okay! Time for the next step... the bathroom. Ugh...

One thorough bathroom cleaning later, I head down the stairs and my nostrils get hit with a very welcoming smell. Could it be...

Yep! Cookies! I see Natsuki staring off while rubbing the countertop. "Hey..."

"Wow Natsuki, these look delectable." I walk up to the tray and evaluate her work. Chocolate chip cookies... what a classic. You can never go wrong with those. "Just one question. Why not cupcakes?"

"Eh... You guys didn't have all of the necessary ingredients for it. So I made the second best choice." I then reach my hand down to grab one off of the tray. "Hey!" She slaps my hand away. "Are you going to eat these without offering any to your mama?"

"Oh... Maybe." I turn around and head to my moms room upstairs. "Hey mom, wanna try Natsuki's baking?"

"Ooohhh... Sounds like fun." We head back down to try out her delicious cookies. Natsuki once again has done a really good job baking. Someday, I wish I could try to bake as good as her. But knowing her, no matter how good I get she will claim that she is better.


Me and Natsuki were sitting next to each other in my bedroom and were reading the third volume of Parfait Girls. So far, this manga has managed to keep my attention. Despite it looking exceedingly 'moe' I do enjoy the slice of life antics that the characters get involved with. I find these types of stories hit or miss. Sometimes they stick with me but the lack of good writing can be a turn off. Maybe I should speak my thoughts to Natsuki...

I turn and I see that she is not looking down at the manga, but instead just staring ahead. It kinda looks like she's spacing out to be honest. I snap my fingers next to her to 'wake' her up. She looks at me with a frown.

"What is it, dummy?"

"Well, we were reading Parfait Girls and you don't even seem interested in it." I try to reason with her.

"It's because I've already read this volume, and basically all the ones coming after it."

"Maybe... But usually you laugh at the jokes and point out random tidbits about the story." Not gonna lie, I kinda enjoyed that whenever we would read. She looks really off-put today for some reason. And I wanna get to the bottom of it.

But how exactly? It's not like she would open up to me completely. She always brushes off people that address whatever problems she's dealing with. I need to coax her into it. I look down and notice her socked petite feet. There's my opening.

"Hey Natsuki? You look stressed. Do you... uh..." Crap, I'm getting nervous. I need to put on a brave face to get through her walls. "Do you want a foot massage by chance?"

She looks quizzically at me and glances down at her feet. "Uh... that's a weird request." She says with her frown remaining.

"Understandable, but you do seem like you have a lot on your mind. Doing this would help alleviate it."

She snaps back at me. "And how would you know how my life is!?" She sounds a little hostile but still, this is Natsuki we are talking about.

"I don't know how your life is, but through-out all of today you have seemed... off. I don't think you have teased me once today. That is a new record right there." She gritted her teeth and looked off to the side.

"Ugh! Fine." She places her feet on my lap. "But you better not complain. They may be a little gross."

I shrug. "Eh its-"

She cuts me off and stares into my soul. "And if you tell anyone that you did this, I will personally end you."

After hanging out with her for a good while, her threat feels a little empty. But I'll go along with it. "It's just if I told Monika, she would get jealous methinks." Now it's her turn to shrug as I take her left foot and use my thumbs to apply pressure to her arch. Even with wearing socks I can tell her foot is both soft and stiff. A massage is much needed for someone as stressed as hers. I'm hoping this calms her down...

I embrace myself for what could be coming.

"So Natsuki, what's been on your mind lately."

"Urk!" She looked up at me, startled by the question. "W-why would you care?"

"Because I'm your boyfriend and I would like to help you with your problems where I can."

She sighs a bit, possibly in content from the massage I'm giving her. "Y-you wouldn't understand. No one has."

"Try me." I respond daringly. She darts her eyes at me and gives me a stern stare. Natsuki takes a minute to gather her thoughts.

"Have you ever known someone who's been... forceful? Someone that doesn't value you as a person. Someone that is very clearly evil."

I cringe a bit as that description reminds me of someone from my past life who fits a similar description. "I'm not gonna lie Natsuki, I have had some nasty recurring encounters with those types of people."

She looks at me with narrowed eyes and parted lips. "Maybe you do understand..." I hear her mutter. "It's not fair Markus." Her frown appeared again. "Why are there so many jerks in the world. Jerks that use force to get what they want!" She puts her legs off of my lap and embraces me in a hug.

"Shhh... It's okay Natsuki. You're safe here." Something tells me that me and Natsuki have another thing in common. But unlike our interest in manga, this one has to do with a troubling figure from our past. If my suspicions are correct anyways.

I can tell that she's had this pent up sadness for a while. But unlike what happened between me and her in the clubroom when she changed her cutesy appearance, this time she's not crying. I try to wrap my arms around her to further comfort her.

"Hey!" She flinches from the contact as I touch her back. I immediately back off. "Just... Don't touch me there. It hurts." ...Huh? Now I feel even more sorry for her. But should I ask her whos been directly causing her this 'pain?' Man... if only this was a visual novel with two different options to pick. That way, I don't have to put in the brain power to make my own decision. ...I think I'll try option C.

"I know the trouble you've been going through." I say to reassure her. "I know its hard to believe me but that 'jerk' I've dealt with, led me and my mom to moving to this new neighborhood. It was the only way out for us..." I look at her as she's listening closely. "I know it may look dark for you, but there is always light at the end of the tunnel. I fully believe you will have the strength to push forward." I lightly hold her hand as she continues to stare into my eyes. "And if you need any help from your friends, all you have to do is say something."

She nods and we begin hugging again for a little while. Only after a few minutes she spoke up again. "Thanks Markus. I needed to hear that. I'm so sick and tired of all the jerks in this world. They cause so much trouble and stress... and pain." Again, she muttered that final part. She's clearly still upset about whoever it is that's causing her trouble, but I hope that this talk helped her clear her head for a bit.

This moment gets interrupted by my stomach growling. No wait, scratch that. It's my bowels. I stand up and head to the bathroom. "Sorry Natsuki. Your cookies went straight through my stomach and-"

"Ew, Gross!" She puts up a hand to stop me as I chuckle. "You are seriously disgusting Markus!" I can't help but smirk as I want into the now clean bathroom.

Natsuki's POV

I have to hand it to the dummy, I didn't think he would get my struggles. The other girls of the club, while supportive, don't really have much of a clue what it's like to get beat down over and over again.

But Markus? Has he really been abused by someone in his life?

I shudder at the thought. No one deserves to go through that. And even if his words didn't solve my problem, it at least puts me at ease. Such a caring and kind person... And if I told him that, he would never let me hear the end of it.

I stand up to stretch as I feel a tingling sensation in my feet. Wow, he did a amazing job at that massage. I feel like a new young women! And while stretching I glance up and notice Markus' manga collection. And wow, that's a lot of volumes.

The Pokémon series, huh?

I never got into video games, due to how strict my papa was. All he knows how to do is waste his money on booze and then complains to me about it when he returns home drunk. ...Followed by an inevitable beating. Just thinking about it makes me pissed! Why am I subjected to this...?

After my silent venting I realize that it's been a few minutes and Markus still hasn't returned. I shrug as I start doing a little bit of snooping. Now, if anyone did snooping in my room, I would kindly tell them to back off, but I'm only doing this to get a better read on Markus. He always seems like a happy individual... but after finding out that his past life is a little dark, maybe not. Surely there has to be a secret to keep him staying positive.

I open his computer desk drawer and I see some plastic toys, and a magazine. I wonder what other things he reads besides manga. After flipping over the pages my eyes widen.

...Holy shit

Markus' POV

I stroll out of the bathroom and head back to my bedroom and I'm greeted by a sight I wish I never would of have to of seen. "Natsuki is standing there with widened eyes, reading my magazine!"

"AH!" I snatch the magazine away from her. "Did... did you open my drawer?"

Natsuki looked nervous as she looked back at the desk. "Yeah..."

I sigh as I mentally prepare myself for this conversation. "I'm sorry you found out this way Natsuki. I'm not comfortable sharing this information with anyone." She looks like she wants to say something but says nothing. "I've been meaning to throw out this magazine for a while now. Ever since I started dating all of you."

She then looks quizzically at me. "I just... Don't understand it. You... like feet?" I cringe as I hear her say that.

"Yes..." I say rather embarrassed, avoiding eye contact. "I don't know what it is about feet but that's how it is okay? I understand if you find it weird and gross, and I also understand if you don't want to associate with a weirdo such as I.

Natsuki narrows her eyes as a smirk appears on her face. "So that's why you gave me that foot massage, huh?" She looks down at her stocking-clad feet. "I didn't think you would ever be into that."

"Well, I am okay." I then see Natsuki pulling out her phone.

"...What exactly do you like about feet?" She says with a quizzical glance. "N-Not like I care or anything. I just want to see how much of a pervert you are!" I sigh as I close my eyes to think a bit.

"Well, I do enjoy giving foot massages, but I would prefer it if the feet in question were perfectly clean." It does feel weird talking to someone about this. I really feel some regret in not tossing that magazine out."

She then looks off to the side and smirks for a bit as she pulls out her phone. "Oh, I'm so telling everyone in the literature club." I snatch the phone from her in a hurry and then hold it high, with Natsuki's smirk dissapearing while she's jumping to try and reach it. "Hey! Give that back!" Again, I cringe when I hear her pleas. Doing this to her is not helping her mental state, but I can't risk this personal interest of mine getting to the other members.

"I'll give you your phone back if you promise not to blabber on to the others!" I say trying to calm her down. "I'm sorry Natsuki, I just don't feel comfortable doing this." She then stops trying to grab her phone and crosses her arms.

"How would you know how the other members would react?"

I shrug a bit. "Well, Sayori probably wouldn't care. But I fear Yuri would think its too weird and wouldn't want to talk to me, and Monika would tease me for what would probably be years."

"Markus... you have to put in some more trust into this relationship." She says with narrowed eyes. "I told you about some personal stuff today, why can't you tell anyone about your personal stuff? It's not even like this fetish of yours is inherently bad."

My eyes widen. "You... you really mean that?"

Now its her turn to blush as she looks away. "H-Hey! Don't get me distracted here, you baka. You should know that we would never judge you for it."

My eyes squint at her. "Um, forgive me for my language, but what the hell is a 'baka?'"

"F-Forget that." She says dismissing my question. "But you get where I'm coming from, right? In order for this relationship to stay functioning, we need to communicate better. We all do. Including the members of the club."

I nod acknowledging what she's saying. "Okay, fine. I understand Natsuki." I hand back her phone. "I'm not looking forward to confronting this." I rub the back of my head and nervously think about how the next meeting day will go.

"Don't think of it as a bad thing. As you said to me, you just need the strength to push forward." I smile as I think back to our earlier conversation. "Thank you for opening up to me... a little bit anyways." She looks away from me. "You hear that? Just a little bit. Don't think so much about it." And just like that, she's back to her tsundere personality.

"And thank you Natsuki for speaking what's been on your mind. I know it must of been hard for you and-"

"I told you to not think about it so much!" She says in a huff. I glance back at the parfait girls manga that we were halfway through reading.

"Want to finish what we started?" She looks back at the manga and she shows a small smile.

"Sure..."


A new day in the clubroom and I couldn't be any more nervous. I mentally prepare myself for the multitude of questions imma get from the other club members. I have a good feeling that Monika will milk my foot fetish as much as she can. I want to see it as a blessing but it's still a little embarrassing.

Okay... Just gotta get this crap over with. I hope the girls won't see me as a lesser man because of it.

I grab the handle and steady my breath. Maybe I'm making a big deal out of it, but I've never told anyone about this secret of mine before. Surely anyone would be nervous to address this situation from the core. "Guess I feel how Natsuki felt when she was talking about her personal stuff yesterday." I mutter to myself.

With newfound determination, I walk into the clubroom and the usual scene greets me. Yuri is reading her novel, Monika is writing in her notebook, and Sayori is eating a swiss roll, presumably from the vending machine. Monika locks eyes on mine. "Hello Markus~" She stands up and kisses me on the cheek. Yeah, ever since the small kiss that Sayori gave me, she blabbered onto Monika about the date and now, Monika feels the need to be more affectionate. I mean, I'm okay with it but it is a little strange anyways.

I see Natsuki pull out the fourth volume of Parfait girls as she motions her hands for me to come greet her. "Hey Natsuki. What's up?"

"I..." She's having some trouble speaking. "I didn't tell anyone in the club about your... fetish." She lowers her voice so that no one can hear.

My eyes widen as she says that. "Really? Why not?"

"Because..." A smirk grows on her face as she puts her hands on her hips. "Now that I know about this secret of yours, I can use it to my advantage. Next day we hang out in the clubroom, I want a foot massage while reading my manga. Got it?"

I smile as I agree to her terms. "You've got yourself a deal." I turn around and I see Yuri put down her novel and smile at me. "Well, I'm scheduled to hang out with Yuri today so... guess I'll see you later."

"Yep. Have fun, pervert." I roll my eyes at her slightly snarky comment. And so the mockery begins.