Hips Don't Lie

The guilty party flickered out of sight in a strange upload illusion of light, and a projector hummed from the ceiling. Monika solemnly pulled down a white screen, and you watched as an image appeared.

“No worries; it’s not like anyone had gotten hurt.”  Suzu reassured with a wave of her hand, as she began to make her way inside the “dreaded” Room of Banishment.  Staring at the notebook that was quickly picked up from the ground, she decides to add on to her comment from before.  “Well, besides that journal, of course.”

Laughing quietly as she sat next to Zeycan on the mattress, albeit with a respectable distance to not crowd her personal space, her eyes shifted over towards the notebook in her hands.  “You know, one doesn’t have to be skilled in writing to write a poem; the poem doesn’t even have to necessarily rhyme if you don’t want it to.  It’s almost like…writing your thoughts out onto paper, if you will.  Albeit, you think about what you want to say, but it still is part of your mind.”

Her gaze shifts over to meet with the belly dancer’s amber irises.  “Tell me, Zeycan.  What is something you love, or love to do?”

She chuckles at her comment, scooching over just a bit to give Suzu space. Now that Zeycan wasn’t ever afraid of people being too close, but she didn’t want to make the other girl uncomfortable. She listened quietly, eyes scanning Suzu’s face as she talked. The things she was saying made sense...but...it was a heavier question than Suzu realized.

Even revealing the things she loved was A Lot. It wasn’t a word she liked, at all, or liked to use. Even to describe something as mundane as interests...if she said she “loved” something and it was embarrassing and Suzu made fun of her, then?  Then she’d have something over her?? No, Suzu didn’t seem the type. But none of them seemed like The Type, either. Zeycan was a prime example of that.

Seeing people run off immediately after a meeting concluded was usually never a good sign.  This usually meant that something was wrong, and while it may have not been very severe in this case with Zeycan Demir, Suzu was still concerned nevertheless.  She could always go back to her poem later, right?

The hypnotherapist followed after the woman with long hair, only to see her come across the ‘dreaded’ Room of Banishment’.  Now, unlike what the title suggests, it wasn’t as bad as it sounded out to be. It was simply a single bedroom, with a conjoined bathroom and a mini fridge.  However, the door seemed to be able to lock from the outside, which was considerably terrifying to some.  So, when the belly dancer entered the room, Suzu believed that she should at least make sure no one did anything suspicious while she was in there, right?

As soon as the journal flopped towards the door, the woman couldn’t help but let out a sigh.  Well, let’s give this a go, shall we?  With that, she knocked on the door, trying to peer in a bit to see if the door was actually open.  “Are you alright?”

Zeycan shifted up, throwing on a little embarrassed smile. “Koyanagi-san! Hi, yes. I’m sorry, that was a little childish; I didn’t realize anyone was there.” She stood up, picking up the notebook before quickly stepping back. She gestured her arm out in invitation, if Suzu wanted to come in.

“I told you earlier: I just...am not at all good at writing. Most people seem to be making the effort to make something impressive and worthwhile, so I wanted to write something interesting as well.” She sighed, sitting down on the bed. Not as dramatic, and definitely looking more polite than laying on it like a soap opera star. “I just wanted a place away from the others where I could write quietly, but it’s not helping anything.”

Cain was… struggling, somewhat. Despite his talent, the arts were one of the few things that did not come to him very easily. He had already spent some time ruminating on his poem in the classroom, staring at a seemingly endless blank piece of paper, before deciding that maybe a walk would do him better.

He wandered the halls, searching for any sort of inspiration, but, disappointingly enough, found himself with absolutely nothing. He stopped at an arbitrary door, and took out his pencil and paper once more. Maybe forcing it will work?

…No, there was just too much freedom. Cain was used to being given direction from others, so… well, that only exacerbated the difficulty.

Just as Cain managed a title for the poem, however weak it was, he heard a thud. It didn’t sound like it was anything heavy or worth too much concern, but… Better safe than sorry, right?

He took a few soft steps towards the door, and knocked twice. One, two.

Zeycan shifted out of the bed,brushing all the paper balls underneath so it didn’t look so messy. She picked up her notebook, straightened her clothes out, and put on her nicest, most neutral smile. 

“Hi! Can I help you? Or did you just need a quiet place to write? I don’t mind sharing the room. Or...well, I could leave if you need me to, I guess.”

Normally, if someone who looked this intimidating approached him, Kouta would be an absolute human disaster–but Zeycan seems so nonchalant, almost timid, that he can’t help but be put at ease.

“Oh, no, I definitely understand…! Honestly, I’m no good at this kind of thing either… I always have a lot of ideas, but I never know how to execute them in a poetic way. I guess that’s why I rely on art in my work so much? Even then, I’m always look for inspiration from the work of my seniors…”

Kouta absentmindedly scratched at his cheek before catching himself. Oh, hey, he’s going on about things that no one care about again. Good work!

“Mm, uhm, sorry, I ended up rambling a little… That’s, maybe flipping through a poetry book or something would help us both out? I uh, looked through those cupboards earlier, and it looks like they have books of all kinds in there… One of them is bound to have some inspiring poetry in it.”

Flipping his paper over, the boy turns to face Zeycan a little more directly and offer a small bow. He probably should have done that about five sentences ago, but better late than never? Probably?!

“It’s nice to meet you as well! I guess everyone’s already looked through the student directory, but it feels weird to not properly introduce myself…I’m Murakami! Uhm, Kouta Murakami, the Super High School Level Mangaka. I’ll look forward to reading your poem as well, so let’s do our best…!”

“Timid” wasn’t a word people would usually use for her, but she was pleased that he was at least a little more relaxed talking to her. 

“That definitely makes sense. I feel like I kinda am the senior here, so I don’t know if that strategy really works as well for me. But...I guess the actual poets who know what they’re doing would be my seniors for inspiration? I don’t know  Even being good with words, putting them into that kind of poetry style is so weird for me.”

They can both be rambling! Honestly, normally so much rambling would be a little annoying, but Kouta was nice! How could anyone be upset at him? She smiled at him, returning her own bow.

Kouta had been jotting down some vague concepts for a poem when he heard some shuffling behind him. Someone coming over? To ask a question? To read over his non-existent poem?

“Uhm–!”

With an impressive speed for someone so frail-looking, the blond lunged forward to cover the scratch paper with his entire body. You know. As one does. Almost instinctively, he lets out an awkward laugh. Yikes. He must look ridiculous right now!

“Ah–sorry…! Uhm, that’s–it’s a force of habit, I guess. My unfinished work is always really embarrrassing, hahah… Uhm, not that I really have much of anything done yet…”

Ack, why are you still talking, Murakami!? No one wants to listen to you blather on like that! He can’t help it, the words all just seem to tumble out at once. It seemed like there was an apology in there somewhere, but the kid isn’t making any moves to uncover his paper or anything…so it doesn’t really feel like much of an apology. Just a typical, instinctual act of politeness without much of a driving force or meaning behind it.

Hoping to at least drive some meaning home, Kouta turns to face the person who approached him more directly! Right! He should really…try his best to be involved with him clubmates however he can, right? 

“Have…you had any luck writing a poem yet?”

The question feels more sincere, at least. The boy waits patiently, fiddling with the pen in his hands.

She was a little embarrassed to get caught. Because...well, she really was hoping for a little sneak peek. It was definitely invasive, but since writing this poem didn’t feel optional, she wanted some inspiration from the guy who seemed the most artistic. Still, her own embarrassment meant that she didn’t even register Murakami’s actions as impolite.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I know this is a little awkward, but I really did just want to take a little peek. I know it can be difficult for others to see your art before it’s done, but I’m really no good at this kind of thing.”

She sat next to him, awkwardly twiddling her fingers.

“It’s nice to meet you, by the way. I know this is a strange first meeting. But I’m looking forward to being in a club with you! And when you’re ready, I’m excited to see your poem!”

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>RESTART F̵̠͓̥̯R̴͉O͘M̭̙ L̷̵͈̬̣̺͘A̸̜͓̕S̠̳͖̤̮̝̗̀͠ͅT́҉̺̗̙͕̼͍̭̭ S̡͉̼͚̯̠̪̙̳̖̺̣̗̙̘͎̟͜͡ͅͅͅĄ̵̸̺̥̯͓̭̻̫̮̤̣̖̣̺̲͔̩͍̱́V̵̱̟͚̗͙̜̤͚͙̳͇̱̦̀͟͜͝Ȩ̴̢̛̖̖̝̥̣̼̻̣̩̯́ S̹̳̖̗̰̗̫̻̬̣͕̣̯̳̪͍̹̯͝T͔͙̤͇͓̮̙̺͝À̡̫̲̩̻̟̳͠͝T̵̴͍̭̲͢͝Ȩ҉̴̛͔̪̘̭̩̲̣̳̗͓̻̦̦̠̮͇͜

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“Okay! The results are in! And…”

Setting down the box with all of your club sign-up forms, Monika clapped her hands together.

“I’m so happy you all decided to join the Literature Club!”

“I know there aren’t any other choices, but…”

“I’m still glad. I’ll make sure we have a lot of fun diving into the world of literature!”

She retrieved a key from her pocket and approached the teacher’s desk, unlocking a drawer and pulling out an envelope. It l̴̥͙̰̗̗̯̘͚̕o҉̸̛͈͍͎̼̭ok̸̘̼̦̯̤s̨̲̙̲̲̙͜ f̸̢͇̯̞͖̪̮͙ͅa̷̶͎͓̣͙͈̳̝̤̝͈͔͜͞ͅm̸̻͎̪͕̦͝i̵̗̫̹̱͇̭͡ͅḻ̵̶̴̢͙̬̠̬͔̭̤͕̱͉͞i̴̷̶̸̧͚̳͈͍ͅa̵̟͇̤̙̺͇̯͔͖̩̜̜̙̙̗̙̣̹͟͞͞a̸̩̘͓̘̮̫̺̥̦̥̬̠̥͕͟͜ͅa̖̮͖͇̤̭̼̖̘̻̣̕a̶̝̜͕͍͢à̢̛͉̘͕̼̥̖͎͙́ą́҉̢̻͍̟̹̝̯̭̰̟̘͈͓͎̖̯̩͘͜ấ̢͎̱͖̟͖̘̦̙̮̣̜̟̖̘̙̜̭͞ä̴̙͕̥̳̣͔͔̱̯̕͢æ̻̝̭͚͙̞͙̬͟͠͝ã͍̙̬̩̮͇̣͝å̧̡̢̲̜̬͘ͅā̸̸̶̛̳̞̖͕͈̟̹̖̗͇̜͚͘ͅͅ

You’ve never seen it before, but it sure does say “Literature Club!”

“Right here we have our club funds to put towards our stand for the school festival!”

After a brief pause, she tore the envelope open and peeked inside.

“Okay, good. I figured since they were out of the way, we wouldn’t have any problems this time.”

As some of you exchanged weird looks, she laughed sheepishly.

“Oh, ignore that! Just me talking to myself. And maybe the muns. Anyway!”

“I think we have enough to do some really cool stuff, so we can show the world just how great literature can be!”

Before any of you could react, a knife was in Monika’s chest. After another stab for good measure, Denki pulled away. Now unsupported, Monika collapsed against the wall and slowly slid down it.

“Ah… A-ahh…”

The other club presidents looked on in silence, some more shocked than the others. While Ken had the look of a man who knew this was inevitable, he still fainted. Misaki at least kept his head from hitting the floor. Mai and Kotone clung to each other. Chie looked elsewhere, her arms crossed tightly. Monika bled.

What was happening? This was wrong. This was wrong.

T͡ͅh̖͔̪i̸͉͔̭̯̫̜s̱͕͍̤ ̤w͖̤̟͞a̵̩̗̹s̹͈̦̙̮͙ w̟̜̮̱̙̜ŗ̺͙͉͕͓̣̱o͍͇n̮̳͙g̫̰̮̮̭̯̳͝.̛̣̹

Ṱ̯̣̼̲̬͎͚͟͠͠͞h̸͢͏̖̪̥̠̲̼̠̬͇͙̠̫į̴͙͖͉̭̩̕͟͠Í̸̴̛̱̣̥̟͕̩͎̝͔̜͉͘ͅÌ̡̟͚̥̲̯̥͉̩̘͉̤̤̣̰͟į̹̠̹͈̖̬̻̤̦̩͎̕i҉̸͉͕͙̱̕Í̵̱͔̱̭̱͓̱̣̹͚̬̞̱̘͚̬͘I̡̝̟͎̪͈̦͍͠I͏͖̭̝͍̗̻̮͙̥̖̳̼̻̝̘̠̤̹̭͠î̷̷̙̼͖̭̹͓̩̤̙̳̥̱̙̀͢î̸҉͘҉̹͉̯̻̬͔̮̟̪͉͖̹ͅÄ̴̸̛̛͇̱̱̰͙̜̩̹̖͚̺̱̟Ī̸̢̨̢̧͔̫̹͙̝Į͡҉͉̭͔͎͉͎͖̬̖̲͔̳̗̪͔̘̞͙̪͟͜͝ï̵̶̘̤̮̦̝̩̼͈̼͖̩͓̤͓̭̮̟̖̕i̶̸̧̖̮̳͔͖̼͈̙i̶̷͡҉̶͇̱͉̼̖̣͔œ̷̷̧͓͍̤̣̭̰͚̮̪͇Â̛͙̙̭̟̪̞̮̺͓̲̳͡͠æ̕͏͏̭̯̱͉͎̗͖̞Á̴̢̧̦̩̗̯̠̻̤͍̜̮̭̪͚͇͉̦̱̩͢À̢͕͉̝͈̟̖̜̤̺͍͟Á̶҉̥͎͇̗̭̮͟͠ͅÂ̢̘͙̠̻͙̱̠͔͜Ä҉̧́͏̭̺̪̺̣̮̰͍͖Æ̷̨̨͕̘̰̞͖̘͓̬͟͝Ã̡̝̼͚̼͉͝Å̵̹͖̤̟̭̰͇͢A̴̛̛̳̝̜͚̖͎̩̗̳͞͝Ą̧̛̞͈̯͕̞̥͚̠̙̄

“Perhaps the reason why it doesn’t work,”  She lowered her finger a tad, and leaned just a little closer to point at the slot for coins to be inserted into.  “Is because we can’t find any currency to dispose into there, is what I am guessing.  Thankfully, this isn’t my…most preferred way to gamble, if I were in such a scenario, that is.  I would like to use something that involves more than just a machine’s luck of the draw, you know?”

…Wait, does this woman mean to say that she’s had experience in the art of gambling?  Who knows.

Zeycan wasn’t exactly bothered by the gambling thing. She wasn’t sure how legal that was, but it wasn’t a big deal. Gambling was never her thing, but she wasn’t gonna condemn people who wanted to do it.

“I’d have to concur with that, Zeycan.” The Hypnotherapist had to laugh a little, scratching the side of her head, before her smile disappeared for a moment. “I, too, don’t have my belongings. I would have really loved to have had my journal…That way, we could remember…what we need to, you know?”

She turned back towards the machine, then looked on towards the door. “Either way, we should be out of here soon enough. Then we can give this odd-looking machine a go, yes?”

“Perhaps the reason why it doesn’t work,”  She lowered her finger a tad, and leaned just a little closer to point at the slot for coins to be inserted into.  “Is because we can’t find any currency to dispose into there, is what I am guessing.  Thankfully, this isn’t my…most preferred way to gamble, if I were in such a scenario, that is.  I would like to use something that involves more than just a machine’s luck of the draw, you know?”

…Wait, does this woman mean to say that she’s had experience in the art of gambling?  Who knows.

Zeycan wasn’t exactly bothered by the gambling thing. She wasn’t sure how legal that was, but it wasn’t a big deal. Gambling was never her thing, but she wasn’t gonna condemn people who wanted to do it.

“Hey, everyone? I’d like your attention, please!”

Monika didn’t have to resort to banging pots and pans—or teapots and platters—before the room went quiet.

“Great! Thanks.”

“As you all know, the school year is in full motion, and it’s the final day to select your after-school club!”

“I know there are a lot of choices, but I’d really love it if you guys would join me in the Literature Club!”

“It’s really not that popular, but it’s going to be a lot of fun, I promise! Even if it might not sound like it…”

“But it’s up to you! Just fill out one of these short forms and slip it into the box. I’ll submit them once they’re all in.”

“Don’t take too much time, though! This class period is almost over.”

“If you’re having any trouble deciding, I’d love to help you out! Just let me know, okay?”

Truth be told, your memories were still more than a little hazy. But Monika certianly seemed to know what she was talking about, so why not go with it? It was a pretty simple decision, after all.

It is time for your character to select their after-school club! Please send in asks to the main blog to make your choice official.

Options:

“I’m…not cute….” No blush here, as Arisa’s Natsuki impression goes slightly off-script. Instead, she merely hugs her folded arms together a little tighter than usual. “Therapeutic things…its important, sometimes, for anybody.” She’s really against the ‘edgy’ persona that she often sees portrayed in popular fiction, something her grandmother was always especially poignant of pointing out. Factoring that sort of nature out, even if it feels instinctual or right for the moment, is something that rubbed off of Babee to the tracker. 

“I…still have no idea. The only logical conclusions is that he consumed something and just didn’t ever speak of it. But the amount of food that would require…it would be absolutely astounding. He could have also been holding weighted items in his pockets, such as a jersey in the start, and more heavy clothes afterwards.”

So much for a mystery, the tracker might as well have debunked it.

“How about you, dancer? I’m interested in something you believe I don’t know about.”

Is that a challenge? Perhaps.

Zeycan’s smile stays on as she tilts her head. Her face is unmoving, and it’s almost a little...creepy. Her expression is warm, but whether Arisa can see the slight cold cracks underneath is debatable. “Of course you are! You’re very pretty.” True enough.

“Hm..but a jersey shouldn’t weight that much. I wear covers before events and they don’t cause such a drastic change. But he might have had something in his pockets, that’s true. Guess we’ll never know” Arisa’s theories certainly made sense, but it wasn’t like Zeycan was losing any sleep over some dumb mystery like that.

Her smile tightens a little bit, and she chuckles. Well, can’t say I know what you don’t know, you little weirdo. “But you know quite a lot, apparently. How much do you know about Turkey? I don’t know any fun facts that aren’t related to that. Have you ever been near the Bosphorus ? Seen the Yalis? They have these huge ocean side mansions. Some of them are thousands of years old, all along the river.”

“Indeed, it does, doesn’t it?”  The hypnotherapist lets out another humorous giggle escape her pale pink lips, for the possibility of this all being some sort of elaborate prank sounded…quite ludicrous, to be quite frank.  Perhaps, however, someone could be able to come to their rescue soon enough.  Was that wishful thinking, or a miracle in need?  Suzu was hardly able to tell by this point.

“In the meantime, though, there is something I did notice in the back of the classroom.”  She shifted her body a little to her right, before pointing at the strange slot machine that she had found as soon as she began investigating.  “Something I would consider an oddity in an environment like this…Wouldn’t you agree?” 

Could schools even play pranks on students? Perhaps it was that way too rich academy background thinking, but it didn’t seem right. But still, wasn’t the point of wishful thinking that you knew deep down you were probably wrong? Didn’t change the fact that she wished for it anyway. She looked at where Suzu was pointing, before making a noise of vague disappointment.

Suzu let a grin slither upon her lips, chuckling at the returned compliment produced by the woman with darker hair.  “Why, thank you.  It’s always a positive trait to carry yourself with conviction, no?”  Knowing that there was another strong person amongst them all did send a wave of reassurance throughout her entire being…or at least, most of it.

“Indeed.  There is no possible way we all walked here on our own accord, if we don’t remember anything.  If there is someone else here, we’ll just have to wait this out until they arrive, yes?”  The woman let her smile soften, hoping to at least give a little more reassurance.

Zeycan nodded, standing up a little straighter. Conviction was...a nice word. She definitely like the feeling that they were both strong people. And having her be addressed like that just made her want to appear better to this other girl, even though she knew she was fine. “Definitely. We could use more people with that kind of confidence.”

“No, I…it was fine. I’m just glad we know more about the situation now. Its just, whoever, or whatever we are dealing with…they are able to possess material such as that. I predict wealth backs whatever is happening.”

Wealth is a great enemy, but not an unbeatable one, as many might assume. 

“Safe…is…maybe an exaggeration, but I don’t think anything will harm us right now. Later, maybe, but still, I wouldn’t see any reason why. The situation would be different in that case…just..trust me.” And to Zeycan’s next point, Arisa lightens up and nods. “Yes…I…usually watch videos of kittens and puppies to calm myself after a hard night. A different topic would be…nice.” Something interesting…well…uh…

“I’m not a fan of basketball, but–” What…is this going to be about??? “In a playoff game in 2016, American basketball player Lebron James entered a playoff game weighing 271 pounds, only to gain seven more pounds by the end of the game. He drank a regular portion of water, and ate nothing.”

…

“Well, yeah. Money tends to help a lot of things.” Says the rich girl, richly.  But yeah, this would take...a lot. If not a lot of people, than a lot of money. Or maybe both. Nothing good either way.

Zeycan’s eyes lit up, and she tilted her head, smiling. “That’s...really cute, Minamoto-san. You projected such a serious air I’d have never imagined. I love watching puppy videos too, especially.”

Her expression quickly changed as she listened to Arisa talk. Her smile was still on her face, but the light in her eyes dimmed a little bit. Well. That’s a little strange. But sure, she could roll with it. 

Classes were optional?! If Jérémie had known, he wouldn’t have worried so much beforehand. But again, he didn’t have a choice in this scenario.

“Oui… I’ve had enough of this. I want to know why I’m here and how I got here so I can leave…”

Bold of you to assume we’re gonna be able to just leave. But of course, that was inappropriate to just blurt out.