2 Alone in a Club Room

Shujinkou walked out of his classroom and casually stuffed a heavily marked paper into his bag.

"I am so late," Shujinkou thought. Shujinkou was used to occasionally staying after class to converse with his teacher, but now that he's in a club he was suddenly having trouble getting through these meetings. Suddenly, all he could think about during the meeting was how late he was going to be to the club.

He frantically raced to the clubroom and, to his surprise, found that the classroom was empty.

"Maybe I'm not late," Shujinkou thought aloud, looking around the room. He then heard the sound of objects hitting the floor room the closet and approached the area of suspect. Slowly sticking his head inside, Shujinkou was surprised to find Natsuki holding a large box in her hands as she balanced herself on a wobbly stool.

"Natsuki?" Shujinkou called. Startled by her club mate's sudden appearance, Natsuki started losing her balance on the stool until it finally slipped away from under her feet. She closed her eyes and braced herself for the eventual impact, but surprisingly, it wasn't as bad as she expected. She opened her eyes and her cheeks turned bright red once she realized that she was in Shujinkou's arms.

"You okay?" Shujinkou asked.

"Y-Yeah… But this wouldn't have happened if you didn't surprise me," Natsuki replied. Natsuki quickly stood up and gently placed her box on the nearest desk.

"But… thanks anyway…" Natsuki said at a barely audible level.

A small smile crept onto Shujinkou's face as he stood up. He then looked over Natsuki's shoulder and was surprised to find out that the box she got from the closet was filled with various manga.

"You read manga?" Shujinkou asked.

Upon hearing that question, Natsuki's entire body tensed up.

"M-Manga is literature!" she instinctively responded in a very defensive manner.

"So what kind do you read?" Shujinkou asked.

Natsuki stared at Shujinkou with a dumbfounded look on her face. Shujinkou then felt a chill go down his spine when her confused look quickly changed to a skeptical one.

"Maybe she doesn't want to talk about it," he thought. "Or maybe she doesn't want to talk about it to someone she thinks wouldn't understand. Either way, I need to think of something to get out of this awkward moment."

It was at that moment when Shujinkou got an idea. He reached into his bag and pulled out one of his favorite manga series.

"How about we read each other's manga while we wait for the others?" Shujinkou suggested.

Natsuki's face changed expressions once again, this time to one of interest and slight excitement. She then looked through her box of manga and handed Shujinkou the first volume of one of her favorite manga.

"Just don't mess it up or else I'll get pissed," Natsuki warned him.

"R-Right," Shujinkou nodded nervously. He handed her his book and watched her take a seat with a quizzical look on her face.

"I wonder what this manga's about?" Shujinkou thought. He opened the book and read through the first chapter. It was about a girl who was extremely awkward around boys, meaning that while she is an extremely shy person who was easily embarrassed by almost anything, when she talks to boys she puts up an ice queen front to cope with her insecurities. Then one day she gets visited by a fairy who gives her various "love challenges" like "holding hands," getting an "indirect kiss" or giving a "lap pillow", promising true love as a reward if she accomplishes every task.

"It has a lot of cute moments," Shujinkou thought. "I never would have expected that she would have been into these kinds of stories."

Shujinkou then glanced over to Natsuki and was surprised that she was quietly laughing to herself.

"Funny isn't it?" Shujinkou asked.

"Eh… it's okay," Natsuki replied in a nonchalant manner.

"Well it makes sense that it's funny, considering what it's based on," said Shujinkou.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Natsuki.

"Ah, you see that manga is an adaptation of the video game franchise Crash Bandicoot or more specifically, the 2nd game," Shujinkou started to explain. "It's about a bandicoot that was evolved into what he is now by the evil scientist, Neo Cortex. After escaping from his base, Crash, with the help of his mask friend Aku-Aku, travel back to the fortress to save his girlfriend Tawna and defeat Cortex to put a stop to his evil plans.

In the second game, Cortex tricks Crash into thinking that he turned over a new leaf and that the earth is in danger of being destroyed. He enlists Crash's help into gathering the Power Crystals to power a machine that can save the planet, but in realty it's to further his own evil agenda. It's also the game that introduces Crash's sister, Coco Bandicoot, who is skepticl about Cortex's intentions and warns her brother to be careful for any betrayals.

That said there are some differences between the game and the book is that in the games, Crash can't speak, apples are called Wumpa fruit, Power Stones are called Power Crystals and not ever animal in the games are anthropomorphic. Also the manga focuses on comedy more than action, getting Crash into hilarious situations involving the setting around him. Also Crash's appearance has been slightly altered from his first American design. Also…"

Shujinkou immediately stopped his explanation when he realized that Natsuki was left speechless.

"I may have geeked out too much there…" Shujinkou thought. Slightly embarrassed over what just happened, he glanced over to the clock and was shocked by how late it was.

"Are the others not coming?" he wondered aloud.

"Everyone's busy today," Natsuki replied.

"WHAT?!" Shujinkou exclaimed.

"Didn't you read the notice on the door?" she asked.

Shujinkou walked to the classroom door and realized that there was a notice from Monkia declaring that club activities were cancelled.

"I should pay attention to my surroundings more…" he chuckled."But wait a minute, how come you were still here today?"

"I have my reasons…" Natsuki pouted. "Anyway…"

Shujinkou watched Natsuki carry her box back to the closet and walk out with her bag.

"Don't you want to put the one I have back too?" he asked.

"Nope. You can hang on to it until tomorrow," said Natsuki.

"Really?" Shujinkou replied, surprised.

"You want to finish the volume right?" Natsuki grinned. "But I'll lend it to you on one condition… you have to lend me your book, so I can finish it."

"Wait a minute… Is this her way of asking me to lend her my book?" Shujinkou mumbled to himself. Deciding not to think too hard about it, he just grinned and accepted the terms.

"But don't forget, if you mess it up in any way, I'll be super pissed," Natsuki reminded him in a threatening manner.

"R-right," Shujinkou nervously chuckled as she walked out of the classroom. Shujinkou then walked over to the desk he left his bag at until he was suddenly hit by a realization.

"Wait a minute, I mentioned the others coming earlier," he realized. "Why didn't she tell me about the notice earlier?"