As Natsuki finished reading my poem she looked at me with a comicated gaze. "...am I supposed to be the third flower...it's not bad." She muttered handing me back the poem. I gave hers back with a smile. "Well that's what I think when I look at you, so am I right or wrong."
She huffed and then walked away leaving me without an answer. I chuckled and then walked towards Monika. "You want to exchange poems, OK."
She then gave me hers and I gave her mine.
---
A rainy day drips down my eyes,
sometimes ugly, sometimes lies.
Clouds rage like thieves in a midnight bar,
the sky stays bruised, cold, and scarred.
But maybe I'm just chasing ghosts,
a flock in flight, a shadow's host—
a murder of crows slicing the gray,
whispering secrets they won't betray.
It passes—sunlight bleeds through cracks,
soft and calm, the world relax.
Then darkness sneaks back, quiet, thin—
and the cycle starts again, begins.
---
Huh, this seems philosophical but I don't quite get it but I can kinda tell a few things here, She hates lies and loves the truth. "It's a poem that can invoke deep questions upon one's mind, I think it's a great poem."
At my compliment I could see a genuine and happy smile on her face. "Thanks and yours is also good at expressing all of us...but the one about Sayori and Yuri, I wonder what that means."
"Well I guess you would have to find out huh." I said with a slight tease.
She laughed gently. "Well OK, if it's a challenge, I gladly accept it."
After giving back our poems, I made my way towards Sayori.
Sayori was humming softly, her eyes sparkling as she twirled a pencil between her fingers. When I approached, she tilted her head, a bright grin lighting up her face.
"Hey, Mark! Did you finish reading everyone's poems already?" she asked, rocking side to side like a happy child.
"Yeah," I said, holding out my paper. "Wanna trade?"
Her smile grew even wider, and she clapped her hands excitedly. "Yay! Let's read!"
We exchanged papers, and I took a moment to scan her poem:
---
A Bundle of Sunshine
I wake up to a smiling sky,
the clouds so fluffy, they almost fly!
A pancake day, a butterfly song,
the world is right, it can't go wrong!
But if the rain starts to fall,
I'll keep smiling, I'll stand tall.
Because even when it's dark and gray,
I'll always be there to brighten your day!
---
I smiled. It was pure Sayori—light, hopeful, but with a tinge of something deeper, like a thread of sadness hidden in the folds of happiness.
"It's sweet," I said, "like a ray of sunshine in a storm."
Sayori giggled, her cheeks flushing. "Thanks! I tried to make it happy... even though sometimes, it's hard to stay that way."
She looked away for a second, her voice growing quiet. That sadness again. It was subtle but there.
I handed her my poem.
She read it carefully, her eyes widening a little as she reached the end.
"Wow... this is really nice!" she said, her voice bright, but I noticed her hands trembling slightly. "It's like you... you see me, Mark."
Her words caught me off guard. There was a rawness in them, something real and heavy.
I hesitated for a second before reaching out, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"I guess I just wrote what I felt," I said softly.
She hesitated before giving me back my poem. I then complimented her. "Yours feel the same as Natsukis but with a little bit more depth."
"...Yeah I saw it when you were giving Monika yourself, it was a shirt poem but I'm proud of her. " She said cheerfully, I gave a simple nod and went toward the last person I would give my poem too, Yuri.
She seemed to have been waiting for me.
Her eyes, wide and expectant, flickered toward me as I approached. Her hands were folded neatly atop her notebook, but her fingers tapped nervously against the cover, betraying her composed appearance.
"Ah… Mark." Her voice was a soft breath, almost swallowed by the quiet hum of the room. "I… I was hoping you'd come to exchange poems."
She held out her poem with both hands, a subtle tremor in her fingertips. Her gaze lingered on the floor as though she couldn't meet my eyes directly.
I accepted her paper, and in return, I handed mine over with a small smile.
Taking a breath, I began to read hers.
---
Crimson Veil
A breath held tight, a whispered prayer,
the flicker of flame in the midnight air.
Ink bleeds into paper, a silent scream,
a memory fading, a broken dream.
Petals soft as a lover's sigh,
pressed between pages, a secret lie.
Eyes that tremble in dim-lit halls,
hiding behind a veil of walls.
And if the candle burns too low,
will the darkness swallow all I know?
Or will the ink become a seed,
from which a bloom of hope will bleed?
---
The imagery was vivid, swirling in a quiet melancholy. It felt like a tangled garden of emotions, blooming in shadows, reaching for light that might never come.
I looked up at Yuri, who watched me intently, though her face was tinged with a faint blush, as if she feared my judgment.
"This is... hauntingly beautiful," I said honestly. "It's like a secret garden trapped between pages... Are you okay?"
She blinked, startled, and then averted her gaze. Her fingers clutched at her sleeve, twisting it in a nervous rhythm.
"I... I'm fine. It's just... sometimes my thoughts... they wander into darker places."
Before I could say more, a DING echoed softly in my mind.
[Side Quest completed- You have gained small favour. You have unlocked the Minimap.]
[You have completed a Main Quest ahead of time—Reward:Everyone here has a terrifying secret. Extra Reward: Helping Talisman (Basic) X10, Defensive Talisman (Basic) X10, Attack Talisman (Basic) X10.]
I ignored the notification. "Well you seem a bit dropped down, maybe reading with Natsuki would make your mood go higher."
Yuri blinked then her face turned serious. "Her tastes...their too childish and she has a sharp mouth, sometimes I think she doesn't like me.."
No need for the serious face but she really shouldn't judge a book by its cover. "Well she seemed nice when I was talking to her."
Yuri frowned. " I think she just has a favourable impression of you."
I chuckled, it seemed hopeless to convince her huh, well that's got to be worked out.
Anyways I think I am starting to like this world despite the cryptic things I stumble upon every few minutes or hours. Also seeing the situation of each girl here, my heart was moved a little.
Soon the time for the club to end elapsed and everyone was going home saying goodbye to each other...well Sayori stayed to arrange the class and I decided to help.
Sayori who was placing some books that were on the desk looked at me with surprise in her eyes. "You stayed back, why?.".
"Well, I saw you were arranging some small things and you seemed a bit tired. " Hearing my words, she was stunned for a bit and unconsciously said. "Is it that obvious?."
"No but I got a feeling you are, you shouldn't push yourself too much, and you should talk to someone once in a while." I said with a slight smile on my face.
She turned to me with a smile but it was a bit, out of place. "Yeah...maybe you're right, I guess I should go home huh.?"
She was holding onto her other arm tightly and was looking down at the frown, her expression unreadable. "Then...shall I walk you home, a beautiful girl like you might get scared going alone all by herself."
She looked up at me, a small startled blush on her face. "T-thay came out of nowhere Mark."
I smiled a little. "Yeah but my new friend looked a little bit sad and I won't forgive myself if I don't see you around tomorrow."
She smiled with a small hint of amusement. "Whose going to take me away?."
"I don't know, maybe a werewolf that has fallen in love with you or just a ghost taking you away. Boo?!." At my little play, Sayori giggled. "Okay fine, I wouldn't mind some company."
"Okay, let's be done with this." She nodded and after a few.ore .minutes arranging the club room, we went out of the school gates at exactly 5:15.
The world was dyed with a light orange colour significantly the end of the day and the time for going home.
We were both silent, not talking with each other nor initiating a conversation. So I just came up with a topic. "Soo, can I ask why you smile all the time, I have never once seen you not being cheerful."
That was a lie, in the game I did. Sayori sighed but that did not seem to drop her spirit. "Well a friend if mine before he died said that I should always smile, he said when I smile it makes him happy and when I am not smiling it makes I'm sad, before he died he told me to keep smiling so he can still see me even if he is in the afterlife, but I'm not saying I'm sad, I'm actually very happy to bring joy to others with my smile."
Suddenly I felt a strange chil climbing up my back, but I couldn't just let Sayori continue with that kind of ideology. "Doesn't that mean your dead friend was selfish, he was thinking about his own satisfaction instead of yours and in the end you were forced to lean into his ideals without choice, restricting your own freedom and hiding away all those other feelings, suppressing them until one day, they suffocate you and you would have had enough with the world."
Sayori stopped in her tracks. The air around us seemed to shift—the light orange glow of the sunset dimming just slightly, as if the world itself had taken a breath.
Her eyes widened, shimmering under the fading light, and her lips parted in a silent gasp. The usual sparkle in her eyes dulled, just for a moment. She clutched her schoolbag a little tighter, fingers trembling.
"That's... a little harsh, Mark," she whispered, her voice barely above a breath. Her eyes darted away from mine, staring somewhere far into the distance, like she was seeing something I couldn't. Maybe a memory. Maybe a ghost.
"Yes it is and if you can't accept it how can you ever accept your own feelings, looking know we just talked like this because I joined the club, but I could always see you not paying attention In class and sometimes you just stare I to blank air thinking of nothing, Sayori if you need help, just know we are now friends. " I said giving her my hand, she stared at it for a few moments and then did nothing, she walked forward, slowly as if she was waiting for me to catch up.
I sighed, it seems convincing her would take considerable effort. I walked by her side again.
---
The walk was long and also awkward, Sayori stood in front of her house and then turned to me, her face had a complicated expression on it but I could feel she was hesitating to say something. "..your words were harsh...but you are right, I can't really just get away from it you know, it's something I ahev done for years."
I sighed and then reached out into my bag and brought out a single flower, it was a bright red rose that was a bit crushed in some parts. "Well I can't force you, but take this, it should ease your mind a bit."
She stared at the rise fir a few seconds before reaching out and holding it in her arms. She smiled at me, this time it was genuine. "Thanks, you're fun to talk to but you're very Harsh Mark."
[Side Quesr Complete, Reward: Basic Exorcism Knowledge, Defense Talisman(Basic)]
[You have completed Quest#2.]
[Reward: Ability to see ghosts, Luck Talisman (Basic)]
[As you have completed all Main quests today, you have been given an Extra Reward.]
[Extra Reward: Spiritual Energy Unlocked, Danmaku Creation Unlocked (Beginner Level)]