13 Troubled Yuri Part 2

"Man… I got nothing," Shujinkou sighed. The natural confidence the young writer had when he started his task continued to leave him as he stared down at his paper. He could imagine that this was how heroes felt when the situation they try to prevent seems like it does not seem to want to be stopped. The words were there in his head, but every time he attempted to write them down, doubt appeared to say that it wasn't good enough. "This is hard."

"Told you," Natsuki said.

Shujinkou looked up from the blank sheet of paper and locked eyes with the petite club member sitting next to him. He felt like they were judging his every move, but he also noticed a hint of curiosity emanating from them.

"Writing isn't as easy as you thought, huh?" she added.

"It's not like I thought it was going to be easy, but…" Shujinkou's voice started to trail off. He always that knew it wouldn't be easy, but the irritation from just trying to write down the beginning scenario he envisioned was enough to drive a man crazy.

"One thing all writers got to hate is writing the beginning," Natsuki sympathized. "You got all these ideas that you think is great, but then you realize that if you screw up the beginning then you won't be able to get potential readers to continue. And if you think that it gets any easier after that, then you'd be wrong. Transferring your thought to the paper is harder than brainstorming the ideas in the first place. It can be very frustrating."

"I get it now," Shujinkou weakly chuckled. It had just dawned upon him that the credit he was already giving writers was not enough.

"You also got to keep in mind the differences between the medium you're writing for," Natsuki added.

"What do you mean?" Shujinkou wondered.

"Manga for example has two story-telling devices: the art and the dialogue. The dialogue tells you what's going on and see what a character says or thinks while the art allows you to see how the characters are feeling and what they and the setting looks like. For a novel, you have to explain every little detail without explaining every little detail. You have to find ways to explain appearances, describe the setting and set the tone all while moving the story along," Natsuki explained.

"Man…" Shujinkou mumbled. He could feel his respect for writers' sky rocket once more. "So do you feel this frustrated when writing?"

"Me? Hardly. For a pro like me, writing's as easy as it is to sort out my book collection," Natsuki boasted, turning her attention away from him.

"Well, it looks like I have some major catching up to do," Shujinkou said without any hint of envy. He then started to wonder how the other club members viewed the writing process and what advice they could also give him. "So, how'd it get easier for you?"

"Eh?" Natsuki turned back to him with a flustered look on her face. "Well… uh… Just keep practicing and you'll improve."

With her uncharacteristic delayed response, Shujinkou couldn't help but wonder if she was saying that him or herself.

"If you keep practicing you may be able to start catching up to me in about 5 years," Natsuki laughed.

"Maybe," Shujinkou joined in the laughter.

It was always a treat for him to see Natsuki express her positive emotions more.

"By the way… do you think I could borrow volume 3 of Crash Bandicoot?" Natsuki asked.

"Er…" Shujinkou was afraid to answer that question. He would have been glad to lend her the 3rd volume, except the series was cancelled after the 2nd, ending the entire story on a cliffhanger. He felt pretty devastated upon finding out that harsh truth; there was no telling how Natsuki would respond. Fortunately for him, Sayori's sudden and loud arrival took Natsuki's attention away from him.

"Shujinkouuuuuu!" she beamed. "Can I…?"

"No," Shujinkou bluntly answered.

Shujinkou didn't even need to hear her finish that question. He knew her well enough to know what she was about to ask.

"But I'm hungry and have no money!" she whined.

"I know, but you're always asking me for money for the vending machines and I'm always lending it to you," Shujinkou said.

"I know and that's one of the reasons why you're such a good friend," she grinned.

"Thanks, but as your friend, I think it would be best if I stopped enabling you," Shujinkou said, before completing the sentence in his head, "Plus I got to start being a good friend to my wallet too."

"Just one more time, Shujinkou! Please!" Sayori begged.

"I'm sorry, Sayori, I can't," Shujinkou said, giving her a stern look.

The desperate girl quickly turned her gaze to Natsuki.

"Natsuki, help me out here! Tell him to lend me some money!" Sayori pleaded.

"No," she also answered bluntly.

"Why not?!" Sayori complained.

"Because you still owe me for all the times I lent you money for food," Natsuki chastised.

"You two are being so mean," Sayori pouted.

A tired sigh escaped from Shujinkou's body. Sayori's childish reactions made him feel like he was a father working together with his wife to accomplish telling their kid "no" for the first time. It was at that very moment of clarity when he realized that he should probably apologize to his mother later that day. He then noticed Natsuki digging around her bag and watched her pull out a small bag with a pink cat plastered on the sides.

"Look, if you want to eat so badly, then you can have a couple of these cookies," Natsuki offered.

With lightning fast speed, Sayori snatched the bag with a big smile on her face.

"Thanks Natsuki!" she beamed.

"H-Hold on a sec!" Natsuki huffed, slamming her hands on the desk. "I said only a couple."

"You're the best!" Sayori grinned as she skipped away.

"Sayori! Give them back!" exploded Natsuki. She jumped out of her seat and chased after the satisfied vice-president. As the two played their game of cat-and-mouse, Monika returned to the classroom with a small stack of paper in hand.

"I'm back everyone!" Monika said, announcing her presence. But her words fell on only one set of ears as the cat and mouse focused all of their senses on each other.

Shujinkou watched the surprisingly calm club president scan the room before finally deciding to approach him.

"Yuri's still not here?" she asked.

Shujinkou shook his head.

"It's not like Yuri to just not show up," Monika said. "I even checked around to find out if she wasn't feeling well but there were no reports of her leaving early.

The club president neatly placed the papers on the teacher's desk and sighed.

"I wonder what's going on with her," she wondered aloud.

"I think she's scared," Shujinkou replied.

Monika turned back to Shujinkou. Despite knowing that Yuri is consistently nervous, she still knew that someone stating she was scared wasn't exactly a good thing.

"Scared? Scared of what?" Monika asked.

"I'm not too sure why, but she really tensed up when some guy showed up in my class earlier," Shujinkou replied.

"Guy?" Monika repeated. "What did he look like?"

Shujinkou closed his eyes and tried to recall the man's features.

"He had swept back black hair, a slight goatee and a small scar across his forehead," Shujinkou described. "I think he was a teacher."

He watched Monika's expression change as he finished his description. It seemed like she had something in mind.

"What are you thinking?" Shujinkou asked.

"Do you know where this man is right now?" Monika questioned.

"No," Shujinkou answered shaking her head.

"Hmm…" Monika turned her attention back to the paperwork she brought in, staring at them with a determined expression. "I think it's time for a club field trip."