Hey!"

I see an annoying girl running towards me in the distance, waving her arms and completely oblivious to whatever attention she may be attracting. Her school uniform is messy and she's still pulling one arm through her wrinkled jacket. Her strawberry colored hair is also ruffled and her red bow on the top of her head is crooked. I sigh. She looks like a mess.

This girl is Sayori, my closest childhood friend and neighbor. We've known one another since we were children. We met in about first grade, and have been good friends ever since. I never could have predicted it happening, though, since our personalities are so different. She's the kind of person you never expect yourself to befriend— but it just kind of works out that way.

We would often walk to school together in the past, since we lived so close to one another, but ever since we entered high school, she began to sleep in later and later. Not to mention her spending all her free time after school at some club, we never really hung out anymore. We're still friends, but kind of distant. It bummed me out a bit, but what could you do? However, if she's going to really chase me like this, I don't mind waiting up for her.

It looks like she finally woke up on time today, but not on time enough to finish getting ready. She approaches me, out of breath. Sayori pulls her arm through her jacket. "I overslept again!" She exclaims, breathing heavily. "But I caught you this time!" She grins faintly, catching her breath.

"Only because I decided to wait for you." I reply, hefting my bag over my shoulder. I begin to walk, and Sayori catches up to me, walking by my side.

"Ehhh, you say that like you were thinking of ignoring me!" She pushes the tips of her fingers together and pouts. "That's mean, MC!"

MC was her nickname for me since we were young. She would have trouble saying my full name, so she just said MC instead. Now all my friends call me it. It's kind of become a game now, whenever someone asks me my real name, I just say MC.

"Well, if people stare at you for acting weird, I don't want them to think we're a couple or something." I tease, not meeting her gaze.

"Fine, Fine." Sayori says dismissively as she straightens her bow. "But you still waited for me!" She croons. "I guess you just don't have it in you to be mean, even if you want to~" she teases right back.

I don't have a retort. I just scoff. "Whatever you say, Sayori..."

Sayori giggles. We found our neighborhoods corner and cross the street, making our way to school. It's easy to already see past the swaths of other students making their daily commute. Group of other people talk to each other, leisurely strolling in.

I look over to Sayori. She's humming to herself, a little prance in her step. She's oblivious to my looking at her, and says hello to passerby. It makes me.. oddly nostalgic. When was the last time we had walked together like this? Not since... middle school, maybe?

Sayori interrupts my train of thought. "By the way, MC..." she looks over to me.

I act like I wasn't looking at her. "Hmm?"

"Have you decided on a club to join yet?"

"A club?" This was a discussion we had had before a couple times. I didn't exactly have the largest circle of friends, and Sayori took notice. Being the empathetic, hands on person she is, she invited me to take a look at the Club Board— a corkboard in the foyer of the school with all the available clubs. The art club, anime club, and a sports club were all up there, plus some more. I didn't really take interest in them. Im perfectly fine getting by on the bare minimum of social interaction.

I sighed. "I told you already, I'm not interested in joining any clubs. Besides, I haven't really been looking."

Sayori's shoulders sunk. "Eh? That isn't true! You promised me you'd join a club this year!"

"Did I...?" I think back to the many conversations with her where I just kind of dismissively agreed with whatever she was saying. I cringed. That was most likely where I agreed to it... Sayori did like to worry about me, and I wouldn't be surprised if this topic came up more than once.

"Uh huh!" She nods, determined. "I was talking about how I'm afraid you won't develop any kinds of social skills before college."

Yikes. Hard blow on me out of nowhere. Geez.

"Your happiness is really important to me, you know!"

Okay, not as hard, but it still stings.

"And I know you're happy now, but I'd absolutely DIE at the thought of you becoming a NEET in later years because you don't know how to handle the real world!" She clasps her hands together at her chest dramatically.

Yeah, than one felt like a baseball bat right to the skull. Sayori May be a nice girl, but she isn't always the master of subtlety.

"You trust me, right? Don't make me worry about you." Her eyes get bigger and sadder.

"Alright, Alright. If it'll make you so happy, I'll look at some more clubs later."

Sayori begins to smile when I hold up a finger. "No promises, though."

"Will you at least promise to meet me after school?" She pleads. "I have a special club you'll want to see."

"Yeah, I'll promise you that." I smiled a little as Sayori lights up, as if a switch has been flicked.

"Yay!" She jumps for joy and hugs me.

Why do I let myself get lectured by such a carefree girl? She's so go-with-the-flow about so many things, but does a lot of stuff to help benefit me. I can't believe her biggest worry is about me. It's a little flattering, but also embarrassing. I hastily pat her on the back, then pull away. She straightens up and we continue to walk as my face tinges with heat.

We walk inside, and we're about to part ways when I tug on Sayori's cuff. "Hey, Sayori." I say. "What's the poster for this 'special club' you wanted to show me so bad?"

Sayori's face falls. "Oh, well, we don't have a poster for it quite yet."

"Really?" I ask. "Why not?"

Before Sayori can answer, the bell rings. "Oh! There's the bell!" Sayori exclaims. She begins to run in the direction of her class, and turns around and begins to backpedal. "Remember! After school!" Before I can tell her to be careful, she trips over her own foot but catches herself. I chuckle. She waves goodbye as she runs normally up the stairs. I wave back, and make my way to class.

The school day is as ordinary as ever, and it's over before I know it. The bell rings, and the classroom fills with the blended chatter of students. I stay quiet, with no one to talk to, and pack up my things. As I pack, my movement slows, and I end up staring at the wall, searching for any kind of motivation. I remember Sayori wanted me to check out that "special" club of hers.

I'm reluctant. I've never been a fan of social gatherings, and a school-sanctioned one seems... forced and boring. Especially in a teacher- monitored setting, so it's not even like you can truly relax. And what if it's something I'm not interested in, like origami, or sewing, or poetry or whatever? I exhale slowly and pray the club Sayori wants to show me has something to do with eating, sleeping, or anime.

"Hello?" I hear a voice. Suddenly, I snap to qttention, out of my daze. The room is empty, and quiet. How long was I daydreaming? I look over to the door.

"Sayori?" She must have walked in while I was spacing out.

"I thought I'd see you walk out, but you're just sitting here being a space cadet." She chuckled, weaving her way through the desks. "What're you doing?"

"Hey, you didn't have to wait for me if it would make you late to your own club..." I begin. In response to the "What am I doing" I can't honestly answer with "hoping I don't have to join a club". That would be rude, even for me... I just shrug.

"It's okay. Besides, you just sitting here gave me extra time to, Uh, Yknow..." sayori blushes and scratches her cheek nervously.

"Know what?"

"I wanted to prepare something special for you! So, I did."

I smile a bit, but then get confused. "Why is that?"

"Well, I wanted you to come join my club!" Sayori grins, clapping her hands together. "That's what's special about it!"

"Sayori..." I sigh.

"Yeah?" She says excitedly, like a puppy ready for a walk.

"There's no way I'm joining your club."

Sayori happiness breaks, and her eyebrows knit. "Eh? Did you learn what club it is..." she says with a hint of fear in her voice.

"No, I didn't." In fact, I don't know anything about Sayori's club. Just that she spends a lot of time at it and goes home every day tired. Maybe it's a... sports club?! I shudder at the very thought of me doing wind sprints recreationally. Blindly joining a gathering of people who live to do an activity I'll probably hate isn't my idea of fun, especially when it's fun from Sayori's point of view. We don't exactly always see eye to eye.

"Yeah, I think if I'll go to any club, it'll be the anime club. At least I know what it's about." I mutter that last part as I pick up my bag from the floor and begin to al I out when Sayori stops me desperately, with her hands on my chest.

"Nooo, MC! Cmon, please?" She begs, curling her fingers into my jacket.

I sigh at the wrinkles she's making in my uniform. "Sayori, why does it matter so much to you? "

She backs up, looking shameful, trying to cover it up with a weak smile. She pushes the tips of her fingers together again, a nervous habit of hers. "Well.." she says slowly. "I.. may have told the club I'd bring in a new member... today... a-and Natsuki made cupcakes and everything."

"Don't make promises you can't keep!" I scold her. However, I peeked up when she said cupcakes. Is she really such an airhead that she did this, or that she's secretly cunning enough to have planned this all out? It's hard to tell, but whatever the case, Sayori knows she has the upper hand. Especially with knowledge that I love any kind of sweet food.

The offer is tempting— join a club, get some cupcakes. Simple enough, I guess. My suspicion begins to rise. But what if it's horrible? What if it's boring? What if I need to spend time even outside of the club doing mundane stuff related to Said club? And the cupcakes may not even be that good. But... by my standards, in this situation, the payoff outweighs the consequences. I let out a long sigh, quietly cursing my weakness for baked goods.

"Fine. I'll drop by for a cupcake."

Sayori grins widely and does a little fist pump. "Yes~ lets go! Everyone's waiting!"

"Alright, okay." I relax a bit. "Let's go."

She takes me by the hand and leads me out into the hallway, then downstairs. Most of the clubs are held in classrooms, so maybe it's on the first floor? Sayori excitedly leads me, without saying a word. We pass by empty classroom after empty classroom. Most students have left the school by now, spare for a few still roaming the hallway or the occasional club in a class. As we walk, Sayori talks about the club at length.

"Oh, you're going to love it!" Sayori prattles on, voice echoing a bit in the empty hallways. " There's me, Yuri, Natsuki... and Monika!"

I pause a moment, waiting for her to continue. But she just keep walking, the only sound in the hallway our footsteps.

"That's it?" I ask tentatively. "Only four of you?"

"Mmhmm!" Sayori smiles, looking over her shoulder at me. "Just us. Thats why everyone as so happy after they heard there would be a new member!"

I grimace at her calling me a "new member." I don't want to commit do anything I hardly know about.

"Hey, that reminds me, what's this club even—"

Sayori cuts me off. "And im the Vice President of the literature club!"

My heart drops. Literature? Not even remotely related to any of my interests. Manga, possibly, but in something as formal sounding as "Literature Club", they must be reading and analyzing Shakespeare or something. That's not a fun activity— that's just actual work! I stop in my tracks.

Sayori tugs on my hand. "MC? Are you coming?"

I sigh. "Sayori, a literature club? I'm sorry, I don't think I'm interested."

Sayori drops her hands and whines. "Come ooooon! We're almost there! Just check it out, please?"

I hesitate, furrowing my brow. Exhaling slowly, i throw my hands above my head. "Fine. In and out, just real quick."

Sayori sighs with relief. "Okay, good! You scared me, MC."

I mutter a halfhearted "Yeah, Yeah." When Sayori takes any hand again. She's more careful about how she talks about the club now— saying things like "I promise you'll like it" "everyone's really nice" "it's tons of fun!"

Sayori's walking gets slower as we near the edge of the building. We've gone down a hallway I've never been to before. It's dusty, and some of the lights are out. I'm beginning to get a bit confused. This doesn't look like the type of place a Literature Club would be. We reach a door that leads to, what I assume, outside. "Sayori?" I say quietly.

Sayori is quiet for a moment, then speaks up. "MC..." she says. "I— I want you to keep an open mind about this, okay? Just— this club means a lot to me, and.. it may be... kind of weird, but... it's fun." She turns around, and looks up at me. "It's helped me a lot."

I'm confused even more now, and a little bit worried. "Sayori?" I ask. "Are you okay?"

Sayori nods. "Yeah. I just... want you to understand how much this means to me."

Uh-oh. Is this... some kind of weird thing? Like a cult? Sayori wouldn't join a cult. She's not that kind of person. But A chill still shoots down my spine at the thought. Before I can protest, sayori grips my hand tighter, and knocks on the door. It's a loud rapping sound. After four knocks in even succession, it creaks open slightly, held barely shut by a sliding chain lock.

"Password?" A female voice says. It's light, but professional. Very kind. It almost eases my nerves.

"Doki Doki." Sayori says.

The door slams shut, and I jump. I hear the sliding lock open, then the door opens once more. Sayori leads me in.

The room is dark— but spacious, I can tell. The air is cool, and not at all dank. It isn't a storage closet, but we aren't outside. I hear the door slam shut behind me, and I squeak. Sayori is still gripping my hand. I hear a light flick on, and am temporarily blinded by the white light. I blink, shielding my eyes.

"Everyone!" Sayori says, excited. "The fresh meat is here!" At my look of fear, Sayori giggles. "Sorry! I meant new member."

I look around. It's a classroom— sort of. The desks are pushed to the walls and are dusty, as if they haven't been used even once. The windows are shut, as are the blinds. There's a closet in the back. It looks like any other classroom, But for the most part, it's not as horrifying as I thought.

Then I see the three girls. The first is a tall, slim young lady with long purple hair. she has a hair clip in a section of her bangs, and seems slightly nervous. She is looking at me cautiously. "Welcome to the Literature club." She says, her voice firm but quiet, as if she is mustering all the strength she can to be brave. "It's wonderful to meet you. Sayori has said many nice things about you."

She's pretty nice. And it doesn't hurt either that's she's also pretty attractive. Not to mention polite, and... my gaze almost wanders to her bust... Well endowed. But my focus on her is distracted by a voice behind me, by the door— the person who switched the light on?

I turn around at the sound of a frustrated groan. A small, thin girl stands there. She has short pink hair, with two pigtails tied with thin red bows and an X shaped clip in her hair. She walks up to Sayori and puts her hands on her hips. "Seriously? You brought a boy?" She says. The girl rolls her eyes. "Way to kill the atmosphere, Sayori."

She's very cute, very girlish in her charm. She has wide eyes and a clear complexion. But before I can even process her, another girl comes into my view.

A girl with long, brown hair in a ponytail tied in a white bow smiles at me, and holds out a hand to shake. She's familiar— I know her name is Monika. "You're MC, right? What a nice surprise!" I take it carefully, still a little surprised from the situation. "Welcome to the club." She greets me, smiling kindly.

I stay quiet, slightly shocked. I'm not entirely sure what to say. The last thing I expected in a club as boring as a literature club and as scary as the trip I just made... was a group of incredibly cute girls! I swallow.

The shorter girl stink-eyes me. "What are you staring at? If you want to say something, say it."

She catches me off guard, and I apologize. "S-sorry.." I manage to choke out.

The tallest, dark haired girl looks at the other. "Natsuki." She says, almost scolding her. Her tone is firm and even.

The sour girl, who's name seems to be Natsuki, folds her arms and looks away dismissively. Is this the same Natsuki that made cupcakes?

Sayori giggles and walks up to Natsuki, slinging an arm around her. "You can just ignore her once she gets all moody~" she says, pinching Natsukis cheek. Natsuki swats her hand away with a "humph!"

"Anyway!" Sayori exclaims, pointing towards me. "MC, this is Natsuki. Short but sweet!" Natsuki gets noticeably more upset at this, and grumbles, but I can see a blush spread on her face.

Sayori prances over to the purple-haired girl and puts a hand on her shoulder. "This is Yuri! Probably the smartest in the club!"

Yuri looks away, nervously stroking a strand of hair that has fallen over her shoulder in her fingers. "D-don't say things like that, Sayori." She mumbles. I notice Yuri seems much more mature, yet timid compared to Natsuki and Sayori. I have empathy for her— I deal with Sayori almost daily, and have a rough time keeping up.

"Ah..." I say, finding my voice. "It's nice to meet both of you." I say it earnestly as possible to make up for the embarrassing introductions by Sayori.

"And this is—" Sayori begins, approaching Monika when I cut her off.

"Monika." I finish, looking at her. Monika smiles and nods.

"That's right! Nice to see you again, MC."

We do know each other— well, vaguely. It's not like we really talked casually. We shared homeroom together last year. Monika has had a bigger group of friends than me, and they're about as separate as they could get. She was pretty popular, getting straight As, and one of the sports allstars in school. She was a wunderkid, basically.

And, not to mention, incredibly out of my league. But to see her smile at me so genuinely— it sends shivers down my back.

"N-nice to see you too." I reply, cursing my shaky voice.

Sayori claps her hands together. "Okay! Now that introductions are out of the way, let's get to know each other a bit better." She pulls up a chair from the back of the room and pats on it, signaling me to sit.

"Sure, i guess." I do so carefully, brushing the dust off the chair. Everyone else pulls up on as well, and forms the five chairs into a circle. Sayori smiles, leaning over her chair and resting her hands on the back. "Okay! I'll go first. Hello, everyone!"

Everyone says hello back. They must be very accustomed to Sayori's oddities by now.

"I'm Sayori, im In my second year, and I'm the one who brought MC here!" She points to me. "I love the Literature club because it's fun and I love spending time with all my friends."

"Gushy as usual, Sayori." Monika laughs.

Yuri is next to her, so she pipes up. Her voice is light. "Hello. I'm Yuri. I'm in my third year... and I enjoy the literature club because the art of... er, literature... is very interesting." She concludes.

Natsuki is next. "Hi, you all already know me, but I'm Natsuki. I'm a third year, and i come to the literature club because it helps me relax."

I'm next. "Uh, hi, everyone."

Sayori says an enthusiastic "hi!" Back. Yuri gives me a little wave. Natsuki just kind of says "hey." Monika greets me with a "hello, MC."

"I'm, Uh, MC. I'm a second year. I came because Sayori told me to."

That gets a chuckle out of Monika, who's next. "Hello, im Monika, Im a third year and the president of the Literature Club. I enjoy being here because I like organizing sessions and watching everyone have fun."

Sayori claps her hands together. "Okay! Now that we all know each other—"

"We already did." Natsuki Says.

"Let's go eat some cupcakes! I'll go get them."

Natsuki shoots out of her chair. "Hey!" She exclaims. "I made them, I'll get them." She hurriedly makes her way to the front of the room, where the teachers desk is pushed to the wall. As Natsuki carefully picks up the tinfoil-covered tray, I wonder why all the desks are pushed back. Isn't it inconvenient, especially if this is a Literature Club?

Before I can ask any questions, Natsuki comes back. Sayori apologizes to her as she does. "Sorry, I got a bit carried away."

Yuri smiles slightly. "How about I make some tea, then? It helps soothe my nerves." She gets up, and Sayori goes over to help. Natsuki puts the tray down on her chair, and looks at Monika and I. "Don't even think about eating any yet!" She says mostly to me. "Wait for everyone else."

"Ok." I say. Natsuki walks off to join Yuri and Sayori with their tea making. That just leaves me and Monika, sitting quietly. I clear my throat— I'm not sure what I should do, sitting next to Monika, so close and so alone.

Her voice surprises me, breaking me out of my thoughts. "So..." she says. "What made you want to join the club?"

"Huh?" I say. I was hoping this question wouldn't come up. "Well... sayori just wanted me to join a club. And she's in this one, and she just kept asking, so... I kinda caved." I chuckle.

Monika smiles. "I'm glad you chose this one. I'm proud of you to make a decision like this one— Sayori said you've never had any experience in this before."

I shrug. "Yeah, I guess. Neither has she, I don't think."

Monika hums. "Well, I hope you like it as much as everyone else does. I'm sure you know what we do is a little... unorthodox. But, I'm sure you'll have fun. That's what we're here for, right? To have fun." Yuri comes over, holding two teacups. She hands one to me, and then one to Monika. Monika thanks her and then takes a sip. I thank her, and Yuri blushes quietly with a "you're welcome". She heads back to her kettle, presumably to pour three other cups.

As Monika takes a sip, I reply, staring into my cup. I swirl around my tea a bit, it's still too hot to drink. "Yeah, I hope I'll have fun too... even though I'm not that into reading and stuff."

Monika chokes on her drink for a moment, catching herself before she sputters and spits. Before any tea can drip, she puts down her cup on the floor and wipes her mouth with her sleeve. I assume it's because the tea was too hot, but I realize I must have said something wrong. "I'm Sorry?" She asks.

"I-is that offensive? I'm really sorry." I hurriedly apologize. "I'm not all that into books, but I can try. I-I do like manga!" I desperately grasp for something to say.

As I'm floundering for an excuse to make up for whatever it was I said, Monika sighs. "Sayori." She says under her breath.

Before I can say anything, she smiles, stands up and says "just a second." She walks over to Sayori and leads her to the back of the room, where all the desks are pushed. They seem to be talking quietly about something.

Natsuki and Yuri come over, holding their teas. Natsuki places hers down and begins to lift the foil on the tray, seemingly ready to display her cupcakes. "Okay, who's ready—?" She begins to grin, then sees that I am the only one sitting here. She looks to the back of the room, where it seems like Monika is quietly chastising Sayori.

"Oh, dear." Yuri says quietly.

"What's THAT all about?" Natsuki asks. She looks over to me. "Did you do something?"

"No, I—" Monika comes over, thankfully interrupting me. Sayori looks ashamed, looking to the floor.

"It's has come to my attention," Monika begins. "That MC May be under some... false pretenses under what this club is about."

"Why're you talking all formal like that? I-" Natsuki's face suddenly pales, then she looks at me. "Oh."

"Oh, dear." Yuri says again, even softer this time. she lifts the two teas in her hands to her face, almost covering her eyes.

"What?" I ask, worrying. "Is— is there something wrong?"

"Yes," Monika says. "But it's not your fault."

"Well— What is it?"

Monika bites her lip, then looks over to the tray of cupcakes. "Let's... talk about it over cupcakes. Natsuki?"

Natsuki jumps a bit, then nods once she settles. "Geez, now the mood is spoiled, but, whatever... ta-da." She lifts the tinfoil to reveal the cupcakes.

Sayori lifts her head a bit to look, then her eyes light up. "Ooooh!" The "ooooh" is justified, as I see a dozen beautiful cupcakes. It looks like six are chocolate and six are vanilla, and they are all frosted with a thick and fluffy icing. They are designed to look like little cats, with chocolate chips for eyes. There's fondant to make the ears, and intricate lines of black frosting were made for whiskers. They are, I have to admit even in this tense moment, very cute.

Sayori excitedly sits down, then looks up at Monika. "Can I still have one?"

Monika sighs, then can't help but smile. "Sure, Sayori. You can still have a cupcake."

Sayori barely holds back a squeal as she grabs a cake off the tray. Monika sits down next to me again and looks at the batch, inspecting it. "Wow, Natsuki. I had no idea you were so good at baking."

Natsuki can't help but smile. Pride scoots it's way onto her little face. "Ehehe. Well, you know..." she sits down and picks one up as well.

She passes the tray around to Yuri, who picks a chocolate one. She in turn passes it to Monika, who also chooses chocolate. The air still isn't quite relaxed, and I don't really feel like having a cupcake now— ironic, as it was the first reason I even came here. I pick one at random.

After everyone chooses a cupcake, Monika clears her throat, placing her cupcake on the floor next to her tea. "Well," She says. "This isn't something to try and avoid." She turns to me. "This isn't a Literature Club."

"It's not?" I say, not meaning to. My thoughts just escaped me. I turn to Sayori, who is snarfing down her cupcake. "Why did you lie to me?"

Sayori stops mid-bite (though she's basically crammed the entire thing in her mouth at this point) and slowly chews, with icing already smeared on her face. She signals that she can't talk because her mouth is full, but I have a sneaking suspicion she did this on purpose. I sigh and turn back to Monika.

Monika adverts her gaze from me and continues. "As I said... this isn't a Literature Club. But Sayori didn't exactly lie to you."

"This club is the Literature Club." Yuri pipes up. "That's what we refer to it as, at least. But we aren't... exactly... focused on... literature..." Yuris voice fades out slowly, apparently growing shyer as more people look at her.

"Really?" I raise an eyebrow. "Then... what do you do here?"

The four girls nervously exchange glances. Yuri rubs her neck and takes a long sip of tea. Monika tries to look professional, but is beginning to almost visually sweat. Natsuki is getting fidgety. Sayori crams another cupcake in her mouth.

Finally, after an immeasurable time, Natsuki finally shouts. "Augh! Geez! We fight each other!"

I blink. "What?"

"We—" Monika begins, urgency in her voice. The president of the club almost sounds panicked at this statement— But i am surprised when She gives up after not even a moment, almost deflating. "We... yes. We fight each other."

I blink again. "I'm sorry, what?"

"It's known as recreational combat." Yuri pipes up again. "We... ah... you know how... when you get upset, you want to fight someone?"

Sayori finally seems to finish her cupcake, because she says something. "That's what we do!" Her voice is thick with icing. "It's... it sounds a lot worse saying it out loud, but... I promise, it's not that bad!"

Even after all this, im still confused. I have so many questions. But the first one I ask myself is— are they serious?Are they ACTUALLY serious? I look around at the faces of everyone. There's no hint of laughter on Sayori's face that would give away a joke. As if she read my mind, she nods

So they are serious.

The rest of the questions come flooding in. Who would want to do this? Why did the school let them do this? Did the school even let them do this, or is this some kind of illegal fighting ring? Oh god— is this illegal?! Do they get really hurt? How long has sayori been doing this? Why do they think that it's "fun"? I shake my head, rubbing my eyes.

"So..." I start, slow. "You're telling me that this Literature Club is... some kind of undercover fight club?"

The air is quiet for a moment before yuri states "that's essentially what it is, yes."

"What, do you all hate each other or something?" I say before I can stop myself. "Why would you want to fight each other?"

"No!" Sayori exclaims, shaking her head in denial. "I love these guys! I love the club! It's just—-" she exhales, hard. "I don't know! It helps me! It's good to get all those feelings out through just kinda..." She pantomimes punching. "It's—" Before she can continue, her voice cracks. Natsuki pats her back gently, comforting her.

Monika rests a hand on my shoulder. "I know it's.. odd. And difficult to understand. But... Sayori said you do have some stressors in life that might be good for you to get out."

"Stressors? By fighting people? I don't want to fight anyone, least of all my best friend!" I gesture to Sayori.

Sayori looks at me and exhales. "It's not like we fight because we don't like each other. We fight because we do!"

I stand up, confusion turning into anger. "What?! That doesn't make any kind of sense. Sayori," I say. "Why are you doing this? Why did you lie to me?"

Yuri breaks into the conversation. "Please." She says. "Please, calm down." Her soothing voice almost calms me, but a hardness in me is stubborn. I sit down, at the very least.

The room is quiet. There's no noise but the soft chatter of tea cups and quiet crinkle of cupcake wrappers. To distract myself, i stare into my lap and I take my first bite into the cupcake. It's good, but it doesn't get the bitter taste of fear and confusion out of my mouth. Everyone sits, sipping tea and eating cupcakes.

"I... I lied to you because you wouldn't say yes if I told you."Sayori's voice raises an octave, straining as if she's about to cry.

"And you thought I would if you lied to me?" I fire back.

Monika speaks up again. "I understand if you don't want to join." She starts. "Before you say anything else, I just ask you one thing. "

I stay quiet, staring into my cupcake. Monika continues.

"Please, don't tell anyone. The school board will have us expelled."

"Undoubtedly." Yuri replies, voice muffled by her lips on the cup.

"Yeah..." natsuki says. She looks deflated. Sayori stays quiet.

"And... this is something that's special to us. I understand if you want to go."

"To be fair..." Sayori says, picking her empty cup up off the floor. "It's not everyone's... cup of tea!" She forces a grin.

I force one back.

"So... " Monika stands up. "You can go, if you want. We get it. Just... don't say anything."

Before I can protest, Natsuki interjects. "And if you don't want to be a good friend and at least hang out and watch, that's fine too." She grumbles.

Yuri simply nods, adverting her eyes and sipping her tea.

I nod. Putting my cupcake wrapper on the chair, I stand slowly. I try my best not to look at Sayori, but I know inside she must be devastated. I think about how much this means to her— But I don't get it. I don't get any of this.

I look over to Natsuki. "Thanks for the cupcakes." I say. She doesn't even look at me, just bunches up her skirt in her little fists.

I look over to Yuri. "Thank you for the tea." She replies with another low, mumbled "you're welcome."

I walk over to the door, footsteps and the creaking of the wooden floor are the only sounds in the room. I don't turn around. I begin to open the door when I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn to see Monika, holding a cupcake and smiling sadly. "Here." She says, handing it to me. "One for the road."

I take it, smiling back out of politeness. "Thanks."

"...thanks for at least giving us a chance." She says, hands behind her back. "And... for keeping us a secret." She looks at the girls in the circle, still quiet.

"I... guess I'll see you later then." Monika says, walking over to the circle again. As she turns away, I open the door and leave, shutting it behind me.

Once the door closes, and as soon as I hear the click of the lock, it's as if a switch is flipped. My feet don't move. All I think of is Sayori's face, tears welling up in her eyes— my frustration suddenly flips to regret. The emotional change almost gives me whiplash, and I'm left with a pit in my stomach. What was I thinking? Being so rude, being so mean to her friends—Natsuki, Yuri, and Monika seemed like fine enough people. They were nice. Sayori seemed to enjoy being around them.

My mind snaps back into the mentality I had while sitting next to sayori, once again giving me vertigo. A bunch of people beating each other up for fun?! Geez. They must be crazy. That must be torture— just punching and kicking at one another until you wear out. No wonder Sayori would always be so tired. I wondered if she had ever gotten hurt, and my anger morphed into fear. But... I sigh. Its not the worst thing that it could have been. She seemed to be acting like she always did..

So many thoughts swirled in my head. How all these seemingly good-looking and well behaved girls would be... like this. Frustration, fear, confusion, and other emotions seemed to blend together in my mind relentlessly. My thoughts just thrashed, morphing into one another and not giving me enough time to process them. I exhaled slowly, leaning my weight against the wall. I slid down until I was sitting, carefully holding the cupcake Monika gave me in my hands.

I stared at it for a bit. Looking into its chocolate-chip cat eyes. It just blankly looked back at me.

I think about all the girls— the kindness of Monika, the familiarity of Sayori, the gentleness of Yuri, and the fiery spirit of Natsuki. They all seemed... good. Normal. Nice to be around. I enjoyed their company, and they seemed to enjoy mine. Not to mention, I think, my face flushing. They were all pretty cute. And fighting? Why did I get so upset over that? How different could it be over self-defense techniques, or karate, or kickboxing or whatever? I'm sure even if things did get heated, they wouldn't let it get out of hand. They were all reasonable. They were all kind. They were all kind... to me.

And my heart pangs even harder when I realized how much they welcomed me. This club was a huge secret— threatening them all to get expelled. This is serious, this is private, but they welcomed me. They let a complete stranger into a group that was close and personal, and I spat on it.I rub my eyes, frustrated now at myself. What was I thinking? I look back at the cupcake cat. It just looks back at me with its empty, chocolatey eyes. I imagined Sayori looking as blank as that.

I didn't mean to leave her behind. Not again, and certainly not like this.

Before I know it, i'm up on my feet again, cupcake in hand. I find myself knocking my knuckles against the door four times in succession. The hallway is quiet, the air thick with anticipation. No one answers the door.

Silence seems to penetrate my body. I exhale. Of course they wouldn't let me back in, Why would I expect them to? I just hope that Sayori gets home well. I cringe at the thought of seeing the girls in the hallways; I hope they'll be kind to me. After lingering in front of the door, i decide it's time to leave. Turning on my heel, I begin to walk away when I hear the door slowly creak.

"...Password?" A voice I've heard ever since I was young says.

I smile, weights lifting off my chest. "Doki Doki."

The door is thrown open, revealing an open-mouthed grinning Sayori. Her eyes are a little red, but she is still smiling. I can see Natsuki, Yuri, and Monika peering their way into the frame. Their faces all relax when they see me— Yuri gently smiling, Natsuki looking satisfied yet proud, and Monika smirks, as if she knew I'd be back.

And, as I'm getting used to, something cuts me off before I can say anything. Sayori leaps into my arms, hugging me tightly around the neck. I'm taken aback, and also lose my breath. But, I begin to hug her back as she starts to chatter on relentlessly in my ear about how great this is going to be. I just listen as she rambles, patting her on the back.

Sayori turns around to the other girls, smiling. The three come out into the hallway, and Sayori pulls them all into the hug. Monika is accepting, but Yuri and Natsuki are reluctant. But, miraculously, four beautiful girls have their arms wrapped around me in a hug. I smile, face flushed. After a minute or so of cathartic hugging, Sayori asks me "So... does this mean you're joining us?"

I hesitate. I didn't want to leave Sayori alone, or miss the opportunity to hang out with everyone... but of course, I need to figure everything out. This is entirely new to me, and I have no clue what to expect. But... a voice in the back of my head says I have plenary of time to learn. And, four beautiful girls to help me learn.

I look at Sayori. "Absolutely."