It was like a dream or, at the very least, finally waking up from a nightmare. The last few days, especially last evening, had been very trying and now—
"Guys, you're…"
Shujinkou vividly remembered their faces from what seemed like a few seconds ago. He remembered the fear and Sayori's tears. As he struggled to retain his sanity, he was sure that he would have to make it up to his friends, if they would give him the opportunity.
And yet, they were warmly welcoming greeting him like a hero returning back from war.
"Wait… What about Mali? Is she alright? And what happened to Akuma and Akui? And-?"
Shujinkou couldn't help but blurt out questions but was immediately stopped the instant Monika gently placed her index finger over his mouth.
"Mali's fine and those two are gone."
Monika's gentle and reassuring tone greatly eased Shujinkou's worries.
"…What about you guys?" he asked. "I mean, you guys look pretty… Um, you know, pretty good considering everything that happened last night."
Shujinkou figured his question would be met with some disapproval due to his awkward phrasing, but he was surprised when his friends shared worried gazes between each other.
"Did… Did something happen?"
That was when it hit him. When Sayori hugged him, she cried, "You're finally awake".
"…How long was I out?"
There was silence. No one seemed to want to answer that question.
"Shiko…" Sayori spoke up. "You've been asleep for almost a month."
"A month…?" Shujinkou scratched his right cheek. "That's a while."
"You're taking this news rather well, Shujinkou," Yuri noted.
"I don't know, I guess it's just because it feels like it was only a second ago and a month is kinda getting off easy when it comes to comas," Shujinkou explained.
"Can't really argue with that logic," Natsuki agreed. "Kinda wish it felt that fast for us though…"
"Really. It felt like you were asleep for years…" Monika chuckled awkwardly as she added her opinion.
"Y-Yeah…" Shujinkou continued to scratch his right cheek, wondering why something that was clearly a joke felt so strange. "So… Anything happen while I was asleep?"
There was another bout of silence following his question. Not a peep was heard until Sayori, Monika and Yuri excused themselves.
"Very subtle, huh…?" Natsuki said this with a very forced smile on her face. "Not up to the standards of their trolling, that's for sure."
"Natsuki…"
She sat down next to him. "I made them promise to leave when you asked what happened while you were asleep. It only makes sense that I be the one to tell you."
"Tell me what?"
"I'm… I'm sorry for lying to you."
"What do you mean?"
"You know what I mean. Before everything happened, I told you to just give me time and everything would go back to normal."
Shujinkou did indeed know what Natsuki was referring to. He really wanted to believe in her for so many reasons but could never fully commit to trusting her then.
"I actually planned to cut you off that day because I thought it would keep you safe, but I just couldn't. I didn't want to hurt you by doing that and…"
Natsuki paused. She recalled one specific question Mali had asked her regarding her feeling towards Shujinkou. Even if she couldn't answer it, finding herself face to face after his awakening made one thing very clear.
"…I didn't want to lose you. I didn't want to stop being friends with you," Natsuki admitted. "So, I lied and kind of hoped that things would work out."
"But didn't they? I mean, you're here now, right?" Shujinkou pointed out.
"Come on, Shujinkou, I know you're not that much of a dummy. You know things couldn't have been that easy."
Natsuki's clenched her fists and her lips quivered.
"…My dad didn't like me not wanting to push you away and he decided to take matters into his own hands. I tried to stop him, we all tried to stop him, and we did but…"
"Natsuki…"
Two fingers shot towards him and spread his lips into a smile.
"Come on, Dummy, you can't show such a sad face when just woke up," Natsuki laughed as she played with his face. "Sorry for dumping this on you when you just woke up but, like I said, I should be the one to tell you."
Shujinkou gently clasped Natsuki's hands.
"So, how are you feeling now?" he asked.
"…I guess I'm okay. I'm more happy than sad right now at least," Natsuki replied.
Shujinkou was silent as he let go of Natsuki's hands. He slowly cupped his own around Natsuki's cheeks, obscuring her pink cheeks.
"W-What are you doing…?" Natsuki's lips quivered again as Shujinkou's face drew closer to her own. "Shujinkou?"
Her heart was beating faster than it had ever been before. There were only two other times she had felt like this. He isn't going to-?
She felt his thumbs fall on each end of her lips and stretched them into a smile.
"Then you should smile," Shujinkou chuckled.
"W-What are you talking about? I was just smiling!" Natsuki protested.
"Then you should smile more, right?"
"Cut it out! I shouldn't be hearing that from you of all people, Dummy!"
Shujinkou was having fun distorting Natsuki's expression and, despite her protests otherwise, laughed alongside him.
It was joy that remained until the bedroom flung open. Standing on the other side was Hisa.
"Granny His-"
Moving at a speed belying her age, Hisa pulled Shujinkou towards her and drew him into a tight hug.
"Shujinkou!" Hisa cried her grandson's name over and over, strengthening her grip in tempo with her cries.
It wasn't often that he'd see his grandmother so emotional. She had once told him that the matriarch of the family needed to be grounded and strong and thus, he had rarely seen her express her worries so freely.
"Sorry for making you worry so much, Granny Hisa."
Hisa lightly tapped his head, silently rebuking his apology as she released him.
"So how are you feeling? Pretty heroic?" Hisa teased.
"C'mon, Granny Hisa, I'm no hero," Shujinkou weakly laughed as he scratched his right cheek.
"Sounds exactly like a grizzled vet coming home from war Shujinkou."
He couldn't argue with her response, and he was well aware of all the time he he heard those three words in fiction.
Never thought I'd think be thinking about it from this perspective.
After that thought crossed his mind, Shujinkou caught a glimpse of someone else entering his room.
"Mom?"
He didn't know why, but seeing his mother caused tears to well up in his eyes. Maybe it was relief knowing she didn't fall victim to Akui's threat.
No, it wasn't just that. With his sanity back, he knew the reckless actions he took nearly made him break a promise he made to himself. A promise that was one of the reasons he was still here.
"Mom… I'm…"
His mother said nothing. Instead, she just approached him and let her son shed all his tears in her arms. It was her way of telling him, "Everything was okay now."
Soon after he was done, his friends expressed that they had to leave. They clearly regretted doing so, but Shujinkou understood that it was late.
But it was fine, since he knew he could see everyone again tomorrow. It may have been the only reason he could genuinely smile as he watched them leave.
"Hm?"
Shujinkou soon realized that Natsuki was still in the house, showing no intention of leaving. He was about to ask, but he clamped his mouth shut once the answer came to him.
He just wished it had come to him sooner, as Natsuki quietly expressed some discomfort towards his brief curiosity.
Neither of them could look at each other until Hisa clapped her hands together.
"Alright, you two, time to get to bed. My Hisa-sense senses big things tomorrow," Hisa advised.
The idea of going back to sleep after just waking up from a month-long coma was something Shujinkou and Natsuki found darkly humorous. They shared a wry smile as they climbed the stairs.
"…You're always so good at diffusing situations like that, Mom," Hiro said with awe.
Hisa shrugged. "You have to be when you're in the business I'm in."
…
Natsuki yawned as she climbed down the stairs. She had figured sleep would have been easy after such a tiring day with an exciting end, but she found herself able to get the required amount.
"Good morning," Hisa took another sip from her cup of morning coffee after her greeting.
She was sitting on the couch, her eyes soon back on her phone.
"What are you looking at?" Natsuki asked.
"Just some messages from my beloved staff." Hisa answered. "I think they're going crazy there without me being there."
Natsuki imagined Hisa's resort in disarray without her guidance. It didn't seem like an impossibility given how Hisa seemed to have the air of a leader.
Glancing over her shoulder, the messages Natsuki got a peek of proved that.
"Maybe it's time you head back?" Natsuki suggested.
Hisa glanced back, shooting an annoyed look at her.
"Natsuki… Are you trying to get rid of me just after my grandson woke up…?"
"No, I was just…!"
Hisa playfully ruffled Natsuki's hair, insuring her, "I was just playing, Natsuki. Appreciate the concern."
It felt nice. That was the only thought in Natsuki's head until Hiro approached them with lunch in hand.
"Hiro, why do you have two lunches?" Natsuki questioned.
"Oh, one's for Shujinkou," Hiro replied.
"Really? You think that Shujinkou's going to school today soon?"
"Yeah, he's going," Hisa said matter-of-factly.
"But he just woke up from a month-long coma. If I were him, I'd take off just to get myself together."
As if to destroy her point, Shujinkou came downstairs with a loud yawn. He was already wearing his school uniform and greeted everyone with a tired smile.
"Shujinkou… You're really going to school today?" Natsuki questioned, perplexed.
He bashfully scratched his right cheek, "Well, I kinda already missed a month's worth of school so… I don't really think I can afford to miss anymore."
"That makes sense, but… Whatever, I guess Sayori wasn't confident for nothing."
"Speaking of Sayori… Is she here yet?"
"She came earlier to tell me to tell you that she was going ahead and that you'll probably won't see her until later since she has a lot to do at school today."
"Oh. Ok."
Natsuki sighed. Not only was she wrong about Shujinkou, but she also had a task she needed to handle today. Shujinkou's surprising desire to go to school did not do her any favors.
She stepped into the kitchen and moments later came out with a wide steel pan.
"It's something for class," Natsuki quickly said as she walked past Shujinkou. "Now let's go. We're gonna be late if we don't get moving."
"R-Right," Shujinkou nodded his head in agreement and followed Natsuki outside.
His mind was filled with curiosity, which was all he needed to know to realize he needed to quickly change the subject.
"Hey… Does it bother you that I stayed at your house for a few nights?"
He was taken aback by the sudden question but answered with, "Not really. Why?"
"Just asking. If I was in your shoes, I'd be wondering why I'm staying there instead of anywhere more appropriate."
Natsuki laid out her feelings in a matter-of-fact manner, but her logic did little to dissuade Shujinkou.
"No, it's fine. I really don't mind you staying over." He assured her with no hesitation.
"Ok," Natsuki said in a satisfied tone. "Granted, it'd look pretty bad for you if you said it was a problem when I've been doing nothing but helping out."
Shujinkou chuckled and scratched his right cheek.
"Guess I was worried for nothing. You seem absolutely fine."
"Yeah. I guess a month-long sleep can be good for something. I feel completely energized."
"That's good. I got the feeling you're going to need it."
Shujinkou's eyebrows raised with surprise. "What do you mean?"
"Eh… A lot of things. Just take my word for it."
"Okay…"
Shujinkou wanted to question her further, but knew it was best not to press. Instead, the subject was changed to the festival that happened while Shujinkou was asleep.
"Granny Hisa went to the job thing?" Shujinkou asked in surprise.
"Yep, but I didn't really see what her demo was since I was out for most of it."
"What happened?"
Natsuki paused and furled her brow, bitterly recalling the moments before she blacked out.
"Someone threw a vase at my head."
"What?! Why would someone do that?"
"I twisted the knife when Rei aced their scam."
"Scam?"
"It was an extremely hard and controlled bow and arrow challenge. Turns out, it wasn't that difficult for Rei. She nailed all the targets like it was nothing and won the expensive prize."
"And because you said something, they threw a vase at your head?"
"Mm-hmm."
"Ouch."
"Yep. At least the pain didn't last long. I guess I should consider myself lucky that it was pretty much a blink and miss moment for me."
Contrary to her words, Natsuki's puffed cheeks showed that the moment still bothered her greatly.
"Anyway, another thing that happened was Fuyu's mom judging people's reactions with tarot cards."
"What does she learn from that?"
"Just a bunch of little stuff as far as I can tell. Though they seemed to be a little too on the nose to be random… Sayori was practically freaking out with all the cards she drew for you."
"I see…" Shujinkou figured it would be best not to ask what those cards were. "Anything else happened?"
"Well, Kiyoko got a lot of attention from playing an ocarina. She was really good with it."
"Huh. I guess she's good at more than one instrument."
Stopping to think about it, Shujinkou realized that he was still learning things about Kiyoko.
"Man, it sounds like you guys had a lot of fun while I was asleep." He thought aloud.
"What part of getting hit in the head with a vase is fun?" Natsuki jovially shoved Shujinkou with her left elbow.
After that, the two continued conversing until finally reaching school. From what Shujinkou could see, nothing had changed in the month that he was gone.
"It's really true."
Mali's voice rung in their ears, but she was nowhere in sight.
"Ehe, I guess it really is you Senpai."
It was only then when they remembered a criticism Mali had always made a point of saying — to look up.
She was sitting along the outer wall surrounding the school, joyfully swinging her legs back and forth.
"Mali." Shujinkou's surprised response brought a smile to her face.
"Senpai's finally awake," Mali nonchalantly dropped down in front of them and gave Shujinkou a little wave with her right hand. "Welcome back, Senpai."
Shujinkou waved back in response. Mali's surprisingly warm welcome had left him speechless.
"Wait a minute-!" Natsuki quickly approached Mali, focusing squarely on her right arm. "I thought your arm was broken! How's it better already?"
"How?" Mali giggled, flexing her right arm in a taunting manner. "…I'm surprised, Natsuki-chan. I didn't think you'd so quickly blurt something like that out when you haven't even ran it through Senpai yet."
Once again, Natsuki had to concede to Mali's response. From the corner of her eyes, she could see Shujinkou naturally horrified by the sudden revelation.
"Mali, your arm was broken?" Shujinkou worriedly asked.
There was no way Mali would pass up the opportunity to descriptively recap events she didn't want to hear. Natsuki knew this well.
"It was nothing, Senpai. I just had a nasty fall."
Natsuki looked on in bemusement.
"I can't fault Natsuki-chan's surprise. After all, she was so worried when she found me and during our chat at the hospital. Not to mention, I never got around to telling her that it was just dislocated."
"Dislocated…?" Natsuki murmured.
"Of course, we haven't seen each other since then, so of course I couldn't ease your worries, Natsuki-chan," Mali continued.
Natsuki couldn't focus on what Mali was saying. Why was Mali purposely being vague about her previous injury?
Recognizing, and finding pleasure in, Natsuki's confused state, Mali turned her attention to Shujinkou.
"But look at this, Senpai just woke up and he's already showing his worried face."
"It's… It's only natural, right?"
Shujinkou timidly scratched his right cheek. Mali was looking at him strangely, and he didn't know what to make of it.
Her eyes narrowed as she stepped towards him. She pushed herself up with the tips of her toes and leaned in close.
"M-Mali…!" Shujinkou instinctively yelped as he felt Mali's generous chest push against his own.
"Aha, I almost forgot how cute Senpai is when he's flustered."
Mali carefully observed Shujinkou's red face.
"Y-You're too close…!" he fretted.
"Eh? What do you mean Senpai? Your friends are this close to you all the time."
Mali took a tiny step forward to emphasize her point. Just this small movement set Shujinkou's heart ablaze.
"You let VP-san hug you all the time and I'm pretty sure you've had some close encounters with the others, so why should your kōhai being this close bother you?"
"Ah…"
Droplets of sweat crawled town Shujinkou's neck. Just the barest of movements caused their chest to interact more than he would like.
"Mali, cut it out!" Natsuki snapped.
Mali looked back and met Natsuki's fury with a composed shrug.
"Why are you so mad, Natsuki-chan? Actually, did I catch a bit of envy in your voice?"
"W-What? I'm not jealous…!"
"That wasn't very convincing, Natsuki-chan. You shouldn't be jealous over someone doing something you wish you could, you know."
"I don't want to do that!"
Mali giggled and slowly moved away from Shujinkou.
"Okay, Natsuki-chan, but don't say I've never done anything for you."
Mali looked up, returning her gaze to Shujinkou. Part of him felt charmed by the small, but genuinely innocent smile she gave him, leaving him unprepared when she wrapped her arms around him and laid her head against his chest.
"Mali?"
She looked up at him again and said, "My precious Senpai is finally back. I can't wait to see you later, Senpai."
With those parting words, Mali released him and walked towards the school.
"…Natsuki… Did something happen to Mali while I was asleep?" Shujinkou scratched his right cheek, completely befuddled by Mali's behavior towards him.
"I don't know… I never understand what's going on in that head of hers…"
Shujinkou imagined Natsuki surrounded by fire as she responded to his query. That was how dangerous the aura she gave off was.
He didn't think anything could extinguish it before they were approached from behind.
"Morning, guys."
Monika greeted the two of them whilst Yuri nodded her head. In spite of the warm greeting, Natsuki showed more annoyance with their presence than joy.
"…How long have you two been around?" she asked.
"A little bit…" Monika winced.
"We figured it would be better if we didn't give Mali more ammo to tease us all with," Yuri explained.
I can't blame them for that… That understanding didn't stop Natsuki from pouting, knowing that Monika and Yuri had seen everything.
It was a sentiment Shujinkou could relate too. If the ordeal didn't drain him emotionally, he would surely feel more embarrassment than he could handle.
"Ah…" Yuri briefly looked away, unsure of her next words. "Shujinkou, I know you probably thought you should return to school after a month away but are you sure it's okay? Mentally, you haven't had any time to rest at all."
"I get what you're saying, but I'm fine. Besides… I don't think my patience would let me wait another day."
Shujinkou reassured Yuri with a confident grin. The mere sight and the warmth that came from it prompted her to fiddle with her hair.
There really isn't a trace of the person he was that night.
That realization caused her heart to beat even faster than before.
This is…!
She buried her face in her hands.
I thought I was over this yesterday… I… I can't face him right now!
"Yuri?"
"E-Excuse me! I just remembered that I have something to take care of!"
Yuri rushed towards the school before anyone could get a word out.
"…Did I say something wrong?" Shujinkou wondered aloud.
"Don't take it personal, Shujinkou," Monika said. "I'm sure she really did have something important to do. Sayori was the same way this morning remember."
Shujinkou silently scratched his right cheek.
"Hey, Shujinkou…" Natsuki stared at Shujinkou, curiously eyeing him from head to toe. "Do you remember anything that was said around you while you were asleep?"
"Not really," Shujinkou replied, shaking his head. "Is that possible?"
"I just remember someone saying that a person in a comatose state could possibly subconsciously remember what was said around them."
"Um…" Shujinkou took a moment to think. "…Nope, I can't really think of anything that happened after the hospital roof except waking up."
"Probably for the best…" Monika said this with a weak chuckle. "A lot of stuff was said just so we didn't run out of things to talk about. Your head would be filled with a lot of gibberish if that was the case."
Monika's awkward laughter and blushing cheeks confirmed a theory Natsuki held. You too, huh?
"Anyway…" Monika clasped Shujinkou's hands. "We should be getting to class now, shouldn't we?"
"Y-Yeah…"
Shujinkou was taken aback by Monika's sudden action, but it was nothing compared to what she did next. The young man felt a surge of electricity surge corse through him as his friend's arms wrapped around his right.
The closeness of their bodies and Monika's enthralling smile, everything seemed to conspire just to make his heart go, "Doki Doki."
"Shall we?"
"Mm-hmm…?"
Standing on the sideline, Natsuki had to bite her tongue to keep her mouth from falling agape.
When did Monika get so bold? This is way beyond flirting!
Suddenly, she was reminded of a certain phrase that described what she was witnessing perfectly: "Absence really does make the heart grow fonder."
Those very words haunted her as she followed them into the school.
From the school grounds to inside the building itself, Shujinkou noticed something strange – everyone was looking his way.
Then again, the way Monika is escorting me is bound to get a few eyebrows raised.
It wasn't the first time being around Monika in public garnered attention and he was sure it wouldn't be the last.
He eventually split off from Natsuki and Monika and walked into his classroom. Despite not feeling like a month had passed, Shujinkou felt a wave of nostalgia emanating from every corner of his classroom.
Perhaps it was just because it was the first time in a long time, he was able to come to school worry free.
But as he thought this, he noticed he was still getting a few odd stares here and there.
Wait… I have been gone for a month. I guess it makes sense my classmates would be surprised to see me back.
He was satisfied with his conclusion and continued to his desk. He was used to his classmates giving him weird looks and a day or two of that again wouldn't be so bad.
Dropping his things by his desk, Shujinkou scratched his right cheek and chuckled softly at the sight of Kiyoko's head lying against the top of her desk.
"Kiyoko?"
"Hm?"
She looked, showing no signs of fatigue or grogginess.
"Hey, Shujinkou. Welcome back to the land of the living," she greeted.
"Thanks. It's good to see you again, Kiyoko."
"Ditto."
"Can you believe I've been asleep for a month?"
Kiyoko shrugged. "Could've been a lot longer."
"Yeah… That would have really shocked me," Shujinkou replied as he took his seat. "I don't think I could handle anything longer than 3 months."
"Hm."
Despite Shujinkou giving nothing but basic and generic responses, Kiyoko seemed to be fascinated anyway. It was like she was hanging on to his every word.
"Hey, Kiyoko, did the others tell you what happened that night?" Shujinkou queried. "Like not vague but everything they saw?"
"Yep," Kiyoko quickly replied.
"Oh… And that doesn't make you feel weird around me?"
"Not really."
"At all?"
"Nope."
"Oh."
Kiyoko was never one to mince words, Shujinkou knew that, but he was still surprised by the lack of hesitation or a break to gather her thoughts.
"You're not worried that something like that could happen again?"
"Shujinkou, are you worried that you'll spontaneously lash out at us?"
She hit the nail on the head. Shujinkou could only feebly nod his head in front of what could only be a supernatural 6th sense.
"Do you still feel off like you did when all of that happened?"
"Not really…"
"Then you're fine. No need to overthink it."
"That is a thing I always do, huh?"
It was something he always appreciated about Kiyoko, her ability to calm him down with simple and basic logic.
It wasn't just her words, but how she delivered them and the calming vibe she always seemed to give off.
"Oh, by the way, I heard you played an ocarina in front of a lot of people while I was asleep."
"I didn't know it would get everyone's attention. I was just giving it a whirl."
"But that's pretty impressive, right? It sounds like you amazed everyone."
Kiyoko gave a nonchalant shrug.
"You gotta show me some time," Shujinkou requested. "I've never seen someone play it in real life."
"Have you ever wanted to play it yourself."
"Well, as a kid."
Kiyoko shot Shujinkou an amused look.
"What?"
"There's a pretty easy 'A Link to the Past' joke I could make here."
They both shared a light chuckle until someone tapped Shujinkou's shoulder.
His whole class was standing in front of him, looking at him with awe.
"Uhm… Yes?"
That was when it began. He was soon thrust into a tsunami of never-ending questions.
"How'd you do it?!"
"Shujinkou, were you scared?"
"Is it true you got shot?"
What was happening? Everyone wanted to know what happened on Devil's Night, something they shouldn't know about.
"Oh wow…" Kiyoko surprised tone drew Shujinkou's attention back to her. "I thought they would have told you. Then again, I guess they were too focused on you waking up."
"Wait, tell me what?" Shujinkou asked.
"That you're the 'Hero of the School.'"
"WHAT?!"
Out of everything that has ever been said to him, "Hero of the School" was assuredly the most surreal. It was too much to process but fortunately the arrival of their home room teacher freed him from having to do so.
"Good morning, everyone," Chica greeted everyone with a bright smile.
It was a relieving sight, a sign that not everything was suddenly turned on its head.
"Oh." Her eyes were soon on Shujinkou, and she said, "Ah, welcome back, Shujinkou. Have you had your hero's return moment yet?"
"Uhh…" Shujinkou buried his head in his arms. He needed to figure out what was going on and he needed to do it fast.
…
"Yep, you're the school hero," Fuyu answered matter of factly.
When Shujinkou rushed to her office during lunch looking for an explanation, he did not expect Fuyu to give him such a simple and straightforward response.
"But how? How did I suddenly go from 'the weird kid that daydreams too much' to 'school hero'?" Shujinkou desperately begged for an answer for something so unbelievable.
"You're forgetting the possibly Monika's boyfriend part."
"Wait, that's actually a thing?! Like an actual rumor that's going around and not just quiet speculation?"
"Mm-hmm."
Shujinkou cradled his throbbing head. "…How did all of this happen?"
"Shujinkou, I wasn't there to see how it all went down but you did single handily take down a bunch of hardened criminals, saved your friends and then went on to take out the ringleaders of the entire kidnapping incident all while suffering from a bullet wound.
Naturally, something like that isn't going to be a private affair and naturally you're going to be considered a hero by everyone for that."
"But… That…"
Shujinkou struggled to wrap his head around this revelation.
"This is crazy. I'm no hero," Shujinkou asserted.
"Something said by Solid Snake whenever someone said he was such," Fuyu quickly pointed out.
"But that's different. He was the only Snake that wasn't trying to impose his will on others and when he just couldn't have a normal life, he decided to put his life on the line and do what he could to make sure the world doesn't blow itself up.
I'm just a normal student."
"Who decided to put his life on the line to save his friends even when he was struggling internally, but persevered because he couldn't afford to lose or quit. That sounds like a hero to me."
"But… I didn't act like one. I mean I… I…"
Shujinkou scratched his right cheek and frowned.
"What's wrong?"
"I don't… I don't really remember much of what happened that night."
"You don't?"
"I remember getting shot and nearly dying. I remember saving Monika from and leaving with the others and I remember everything from the roof except for what happened after getting Akui away from the others."
Shujinkou cocked his head and furrowed his eyes.
"I… Did I fight off a lot of guys? I know everyone says I did and I kinda remember a bunch of unconscious people, but I don't really remember fighting them.
Wait, do you know what happened to Akui's wife? I- Did she-?"
"Hold on, Shujinkou!" Fuyu raised her hands, signaling him to stop talking. "You're showing signs of you beginning to go off on a tangent. Let's take it from the top and slowly work our way to you waking up."
It was good advice. Shujinkou took a deep breath and loudly exhaled it whilst sifting through his memories.
"So, I remember going off to look for Sayori and Natsuki and I remember showing up in front of Monika and Yuri to show them what I found, but I don't really remember how I found it."
"You mean those weird documents you found?" Fuyu brought up.
Shujinkou nodded his head. "Except I don't remember what I read on them or what happened to them either. I do remember being freaked out by them though…"
"What else?"
"Everything's crystal clear up until the point Nivia shot me and left me to die in water. After dragging myself out, I ran into… someone."
"Didn't you run into Mali?"
"I think so… And after that… I remember moving and dodging, catching Monika, I found Claudette and Mali found the others and then I was at the hospital and…"
Recalling what happened next was bad enough, but something else bothered Shujinkou. He could remember laughter. Someone was enjoying the pain inflicted that night.
"Everyone was hurt, and I was the only one left standing and… I needed to do something… I needed to save everyone and…"
No matter how hard he tried to remember, Shujinkou could not recall the finer details of that encounter. Particularly jarring was that he had no recollection of what happened to Akui fate before he fell into his coma.
But he could hear begging and pleas to stop in his ears.
"…Then Sayori had to beg me to stop before I did something I would regret and then I woke up in my room."
"So, you can't remember the violence," Fuyu concluded.
"The violence?"
"From what you said, it sounds like that's the most significant portions that are missing."
"Just the violence? But I kinda remember fighting Akui. It was really one-sided until… Um… I turned it around somehow and he was sent flying. And then Akuma… I attacked him and then… Everyone looked so upset…"
Fuyu had kept quiet, but she had noticed the way Shujinkou's body trembles as he tried to recall what was lost to him. "You know, I read something like this from my mother's books. It sounds like you have post-traumatic amnesia."
"You mean I'm repressing something I really don't want to know?" Shujinkou queried.
"That's another possibility, but that's not what I was getting at. Post-traumatic amnesia is something that happens when a person wakes up from a coma. Of course, it's important to remember that it's not the coma that causes it, but the injury to the brain that does."
"Could me not being myself have anything to do with it?"
"Possibly."
Even with a medical explanation, a last-minute memory loss still seemed like a perfect end to a series of strange coincidences.
"And you know, you shouldn't be too hard for yourself for being a little out of sorts given everything that was happening to and around you in such a short time span," Fuyu continued. "I think you've been through enough for anyone our age to snap."
"I guess… It just doesn't really feel like I was close to snapping like that," Shujinkou said with a sigh.
"Then what was it like?"
"Like… I don't know, maybe I'm just dwelling on the past too much again."
"It's understandable that you'd want to get an understanding of what was just moments ago for you. But maybe you should give yourself some time to mentally recover from the whole experience. Get your mind off of it and just focus on the things that make you happy."
What she said made sense. For all anyone knew, an explanation for all the strange events would never come. Just letting it go and moving on seemed like the best course of action after all.
"I guess. Thanks for the advice, Fuyu."
The student president smiled warmly and assured him, "It's what I'm here for."
Shujinkou returned the smile and left. The second he was gone; the rest of the Literature Club came spilling out of the closet.
"Oh, I totally forgot you guys were in there…" Fuyu admitted
"How horrible… I can certainly see why Shujinkou would be bothered by suffering from memory loss. It has to feel like losing a part of yourself," Yuri sympathized.
"I don't know, Yuri. Maybe it's best this way," Sayori replied.
"How so?"
"Shiko already mentioned to Monika that the way he was acting really made him upset and that was before whatever he did to Akui and the beatdown he gave Akuma. He also really seems fragile right now, so it really seems like it's a good thing that he doesn't remember how the fighting went."
"But is it really a good idea to withhold that information from him?" Monika asked.
"It's not like we're trying to be mean. It's just that I don't think Shiko could handle it right now. I'm pretty sure he still feels a little bad since he still remembers how he felt, he just doesn't remember why he feels bad."
"To present another side of the argument here, I think you guys should proceed like you didn't accidentally overhear something we're not so sure he wants to mention again," Fuyu proposed.
"That's a good point…" Monika accepted.
"Not like us dwelling on it going to make him feel any better," Natsuki added. "The last thing he needs is for us to constantly remind him of something he can't completely remember and probably hopes he doesn't."
"Right. Right now, we need to focus on what happens after school," Sayori reminded everyone of their goal and how little time they have left.
Though she said that, Sayori still wondered just how Shujinkou was doing.
Was it going to be easy to take Fuyu's advice to heart or not?
As he roamed the halls, Shujinkou found himself surrounded by numerous eyes. For once, especially notable since he was alone this time, they were all on him.
People were staring at him in awe and reverence.
All Shujinkou could do was awkwardly wave back. He just couldn't get used to the surreal feeling of his fellow students looking at him like that.
It's not like this is bad right…? I mean, it's better than everyone thinking I'm still the weird guy that daydreams too much, right?
Shujinkou solemnly scratched his right cheek. He wasn't even sure if he still had that reputation. When he thought about it, he never really interacted with the other students since he came to this school.
If he hadn't overheard everyone around him the few times he had his ears open to reality, then maybe he would not have discovered he had that reputation in the first place. If he did, maybe it wouldn't have taken a basketball to the face to meet Kiyoko, someone who was in his class.
"Does that even matter now… It's not like it bothered me then."
He muttered this just before he bumped into someone.
"Rei?"
The girl who usually held onto her silence was standing in front of him. With her usual unchanging expression, she slowly waved at him.
"Sorry. I was lost in thought again…" Shujinkou scratched his right cheek as he apologized.
Per usual, Rei did not offer a verbal response.
"Hey, um... Rei, are you busy right now? Cause I wanted to know if you'd like to go somewhere with me."
Rei slowly nodded her head, easing Shujinkou's worries that she'd refuse due to his awkward phrasing.
The slight embarrassment remained though.
Shujinkou led her to the roof, granting him reprieve from the attention that's been heaped on him.
"Hey, Rei… Did anything interesting happened while I was gone?" Shujinkou asked. "I mean besides the job thing here?"
Rei slowly shook her head, surprising Shujinkou. He was trying to get Rei's perspective on anything more that may have happened while he was gone, and while that may bring up her accomplishment in archery, he didn't expect her to completely downplay her feat.
"Really? But I heard from Natsuki that easily beat a rigged archery challenge. I didn't know you had such a good eye," Shujinkou complimented.
Rei didn't say a word, nor was she looking at him. He didn't sense that she was ignoring him, rather it was as if she was waiting for something else.
She had a desire to hear what he really wanted to say first and foremost.
"…Hey, Rei, thanks again for listening to me last month."
Her gaze returned to him, and she slowly cocked her head as Shujinkou continued.
"I was in a bad spot, and it really helped that you listened. It really meant a lot."
Shujinkou scratched his right cheek bashfully, pondering if there was anything more, he had to say.
"Also, thanks for the flowers. I heard you went out of your way to get them for me and…"
He didn't know why he felt awkward expressing his gratitude to Rei, but at the very end he was able to give a heartfelt smile and simple, but wholehearted, "Thanks, Rei."
"…Kind…"
"Huh?"
"Shujinkou is… always kind… to me. I always… wanted to do something… kind for Shujinkou," Rei admitted.
"Rei… You don't need to say that like you owe me anything. It's not like an expected back and forth kind of thing."
"But Shujinkou's friends… always want to… do nice things for you too… Friends… do nice things for each other."
"That is true…"
"I wanted… to do something nice… like I was your friend."
Shujinkou quietly scratched his right cheek.
"But Rei, aren't you already my friend?"
Rei was once again silent. This time however, it appeared that she couldn't say anything even if she had wanted to.
"Friend…? Shujinkou thinks… Rei is his friend?" she questioned.
"Yeah. "We definitely are friends, Rei," Shujinkou brightly assured her.
Rei's eye drifted away.
"…Shujinkou is my friend… I have a… friend…"
The disbelief Shujinkou felt from Rei was something he could relate to. He remembered having a tough time accepting that he made a friend in Sayori when he first moved here.
"Shujinkou really is… kind…"
"Rei?"
Shujinkou understood Rei's feelings, he truly did. But no matter how much he could empathize, it couldn't stop him from expressing great surprise over what he saw.
Rei was smiling.
"Shujinkou is kind… Is kind like, Davi."
Shujinkou was still focused on Rei's small smile. There was a child-like purity to it.
"Wait… Davi? Who's-?"
The class bell could be heard throughout the school. Lunch Break was now over.
"Uh…"
They had no choice but to return to class, but Shujinkou still couldn't get his mind off of what Rei said.
Who was Davi and who was this person to Rei? What other connections could Rei draw between the two?
"Shujinkou."
Kiyoko was calling for him.
"Hm?"
"You know school's been over for 15 minutes, right?"
"Eh?!"
Looking around, Shujinkou realized that they were the only ones left in the classroom.
Have I've been stuck on that this whole time?!
He could feel his soul desperately trying to escape his body. His first day back at school and he had squandered every opportunity to try and catch up.
"Don't let it get to you, Shujinkou. You still have time."
Shujinkou appreciated the encouragement, but he still couldn't get his mind off of earlier. Was being curious about what Rei said bad?
It seemed too close to delving into her past and he didn't want to question it unless she brought it up first.
I don't think just a mention would count so… I guess I just need it to be just that - a passing mention. That way, I won't try to dig deeper again.
That was the plan he settled on.
"Finally worked things out?"
Kiyoko was staring at him with fascination. It became clear to Shujinkou that he had indeed worked things out – in front of Kiyoko.
"Uh…" Shujinkou sheepishly scratched his right cheek. "Y-Yeah. I'm pretty sure I did."
He remembered being told that he was an open book when it came to his emotions, and yet it didn't seem to be just a figure of speech when it came to Kiyoko.
She's as good as Mali when it comes to that. And it doesn't help that I am an open book.
Shujinkou chuckled. A positive form of self-deprecation felt nice.
Suddenly, he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket.
"Fuyu wants to see me in her office?" Shujinkou wondered aloud.
"Same here," Kiyoko replied.
"Really? I guess it doesn't have anything to do with my first day back to school. You don't think it's something bad, right?"
Kiyoko shrugged. Her cavalier response reminded Shujinkou that it may be something good too.
Or just a notice.
They gathered their things and walked to Fuyu's office. Shujinkou opened the doors and—"
"SURPRISE!"
The rest of his companions were there, struggling to use their confetti poppers. By the time they finally managed to do so, confetti flew out a few centimeters then slowly drifted to the ground.
There was a moment of silence, no one daring to say a word until Rei activated the final one, sending confetti flying through the air.
"What's going on?" Shujinkou questioned.
"A reflection of a failed surprise, Senpai," Mali cheerfully answered.
"But for what?"
"Don't be such a dummy, Shujinkou," Natsuki lightly chastised. "What else?"
"Oh, get the thing, Natsuki!" Sayori excitedly instructed.
"Right."
Natsuki walked towards the office's closet.
"Ah, as you can see, we were trying to give you a welcome back surprise," Yuri explained "And as you can see, it didn't turn out so well."
"Guys…"
"Ah geez, Senpai, don't get sentimental yet. Your Kōhai made a backup." With a giggle, Mali fiddled with her phone.
The sound of fast pulling rope preceded a hail of confetti and balloons.
"Surprise, Senpai!"
"…Mali, when did you set this up?" Fuyu questioned.
"When it was most needed."
"Did you have to do that with all the food here?" Natsuki quietly chastised.
There was a table with a cover on top. Natsuki pulled the cover off revealing a spread of various snacks and a punch bowl.
In the middle was a large open space, just enough to fit the tin pan Natsuki had brought to school earlier.
"Okay, let's try this again."
Monika led everyone behind the table and Natsuki removed the lid.
"Welcome back, Shujinkou!"
Under the lid was a cake with the words, "Glad to have you back!" written across it.
"Guys…"
Shujinkou scratched his right cheek, unknowingly rubbing his tears across it.
It was totally unnecessary - that was the first thought that popped into his head, but strangely, he instantly refused it.
"…Thank you."
He wiped away his tears and joined his friends. Never before has just sitting and talking with friends warmed the heart so much.
"Senpai looks like he wants to cry again," Mali noted.
"Really?" Shujinkou gingerly rubbed his eyes.
"It's not like it's a bad thing you're comfortable expressing your feelings, Shujinkou," Yuri gently assured him.
"I wasn't trying to imply that," Mali corrected. "I just think Senpai's crying face is cute."
"Eh? Cute?" Sayori leaned close to Shujinkou, taking a good look at his face. "I never thought that…"
"Eh… Can we stop talking about my face when crying please?" Shujinkou sheepishly requested.
"Yeah… We need to only talk about happy things. Especially since we're all going to be busy after we're done."
"Busy? Do you guys have some catching up to do too?"
"Kind of. But that's why it's so important that we work hard."
"Especially you, Senpai," Mali interjected. "Afterall, the finals for this semester starts first thing next week."
"Oh…"
Shujinkou worriedly scratched his right cheek. If the exams were next week than he knew he would have to study harder than he ever had befo-
"THE EXAMS ARE NEXT WEEK?!"