The Moon, a large spherical object that traversed the infinite reaches of space alongside the much larger planet known as Earth. A long time ago, humanity viewed the lunar object that appeared once the sun dove beneath the horizon, but now, humanity views their old home from such a spot.

No one really remembers what events could have transpired to have force what remained of Earth's inhabitants to abandon it for the moon, but at the same time no seemed to care. Everyone was content with the life they have built; everyone except for one young man. His name was Shujinkou, whose goal in life was to uncover the secrets of the past.

"Oh man…"

Shujinkou heaved a sigh of disappointment as he strolled through Luna City. Despite his best attempts, he could not help but feel disappointed by his recent progress. He knew he should be proud he made any progress at all, especially after figuring out that the lunar government was adverse to anyone discovering the event that led to Earth's abandonment. But ever since then he had no luck in finding any more information.

Perhaps they were on to him and actively searched for any leaks or perhaps those that did know felt the same. Perhaps everyone but him wanted to truly forget humanity's time on Earth.

But just as he was about to give up, a slim file folder slid in front of his feet. His natural curiosity spurring him on, Shujinkou bent down on one knee, picked the file up and opened it.

His eyes widened with surprise as his eyes darted up and down the pages he was just given. Inside was everything he was looking for. All he had to do was…

"Ow!"

A sharp pain surged from the back of his head to the rest of his body, causing the world around him to distort and crumble. Trying to make sense of what was happening; Shujinkou blinked his eyes until he was no longer on a lunar colony, but in a classroom.

Standing in front of the desk he currently occupied was Sayori and Monika, both looking as surprised as he was.

"What's going on?" Shujinkou asked.

Suddenly, a hand slammed a rolled-up poster in front of him with such force he almost jumped up from his seat. Shujinkou nervously looked up to find Natsuki standing right next to him. She did not even bother to hide her disapproval of his recent action.

"You know, if all you're going to do is sleep every day then you might as well go home," she scowled.

Words failed Shujinkou as he watched Natsuki return to the classroom closet. But even if they hadn't, he didn't believe that he would have said anything back to her anyway. He knew deep down that she had a right to be mad that all he was doing was daydreaming during a club meeting. All he could manage to do was do what he had always done: awkwardly scratch his right cheek and move on.

"I bet you were up all night again," Sayori playfully chastised.

He didn't know how, but her bubbly and playful nature almost always had a tendency to cheer him up.

"Like you're one to talk when it comes to sleep," Shujinkou chuckled. "Besides I wasn't asleep. I was just thinking."

"I never seen a person so detached from reality like you when they're thinking," Monkia giggled. "We couldn't get any kind of response out of you until Natsuki got involved."

Most people would laugh at someone getting hit in the head with a rolled-up poster, but Monika's made it clear that it wasn't malicious at all. It was expected from the person everyone in the school likes and admires.

"Did you need me for something?" Shujinkou asked.

"It's not an emergency or anything. I was just telling everyone that they should bring in their favorite books to share tomorrow," Monika informed him.

"O-Okay…" Shujinkou nervously nodded his head.

He waited until the two traversed to the teacher's desk before letting out a depressed sigh. Despite Monika's assurance to the contrary, it certainly felt like an emergency to him.

Brining in something to share wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the fact that all he had at home to share was manga. He was sure everyone would look down on him for brining in something where a story was half told with pictures.

He sighed once again until a strange feeling suddenly came over him. For some unorthodox reason, it felt like he was being watched. Slowly turning his head to his left, Shujinkou soon met eyes with Yuri.

She immediately turned her attention back to the book nested between her hands, but it was clear as day that she was not really focused on reading.

"Did you need something, Yuri?" Shujinkou asked.

"Ah… it's just that I overheard your conversation… N-Not that I was purposely eavesdropping!" Yuri stammered.

She once again quickly averted her gaze and timidly began playing with her hair. A painfully awkward atmosphere wasted no time in shrouding the two of them.

"Well, it's not that I can blame you for overhearing. You are right next to me after all," Shujinkou pointed out as he scratched his right cheek.

He wasn't entirely sure whether he was saying that to assure her she did no wrong, slice through the awkward silence or both. But whatever the reason, it was enough to get her to look him in the eyes again.

"…You don't seem too eager about tomorrow," Yuri noted.

"Well, it's just that I don't have anything to bring in tomorrow…"

Shujinkou solemnly glanced down at the top of his desk with downcast eyes. He had just recently joined the club and was already going to be ousted as someone who'd never join in the first place. All he could feel was guilt and disappointment, something that didn't escape Yuri's sight.

She could tell just from the look on his face exactly how he felt.

"I-I can…" Despite struggling to speak at a barely audible level, she was still able to recapture Shujinkou's attention. "I could help you find a book for tomorrow… if you want."

"Really?" Shujinkou's eyes lit up with hope. "That'd be great!"

It was like a huge relief has just been lifted off his shoulders. With Yuri's help, he was sure that he could find a book that he could actually enjoy.

Since he still had some time until the club was over, and it seemed like nothing else would be done, Shujinkou decided to go back to his world of imagination. This time he imagined himself in a world where robots have taken over and he was part of the last remnants of humanity that they were trying to snuff out. It wasn't an easy life; constantly moving from place to place, trying his best to survive. Was he ever going to be free from this nightmare or was he just delaying the inevitable?

"Shujinkou…"

A single call of his name was all it took to bring him back to reality. Once back, Shujinkou found Yuri standing in front of her desk, waiting for him.

"Are you ready?" she asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm ready," Shujinkou weakly chuckled, grabbing his bag.

The two started to make their way to the exit until they were intercepted by Sayori.

"Where are you two going?" she asked, with a quizzical look in her eyes.

"Yuri's going to help find a book to read," Shujinkou replied.

"Ooh, I see you two are becoming good friends already," Sayori happily approved.

"Ah- no… I-It's not like that…" Yuri stammered, quickly looking away from the two.

One of the things Shujinkou liked about Sayori was her eagerness to everyone to get along, but sometimes that same eagerness had the potential to create some very awkward moments.

"It's nothing major," said Shujinkou. "Just two club mates doing something literature related."

"Eh? But it sounds like something two good friends would do," Sayori tilted her head in confusion as she pondered the scenario.

"Whatever the case, it's nice to see club members helping each other out," Monika intervened. "But still, we shouldn't keep them here, Sayori."

She then turned her gaze to Shujinkou and gave him a quick wink. "Be sure to find something you really enjoy, Shujinkou."

With a warm smile. she motioned him to leave. Not wanting to waste the opportunity presented to them, Shujinkou led Yuri out of the room.

As they travelled to the book store, he would soon discover that she was still avoiding eye contact with him. Unsure whether what Sayori had said earlier had affected her or whether she was wary of him, he knew that he had to try something to break the tense atmosphere that surrounded them again.

"Hey, Yuri, we don't have to make a big deal out of this," Shujinkou assured her. "I'm just grateful that you're taking the time to help me."

"Ah… it's nothing special," Yuri insisted, still avoiding eye contact.

"Okay…" Shujinkou said as he scratched his right cheek.

The short conversation did nothing to appease the awkward atmosphere between them and the accompanying silence that persisted until they arrived did not help.

"Finally here," Shujinkou mumbled under his breath, happy that something could break the silence. "Now all I have to do is find a book."

"What kind of book do you think you'd be interested in?" Yuri suddenly asked.

Shujinkou didn't know how to answer. He was so focused on just the thought of finding a book that he hadn't considered what to look for. He slowly crossed his arms as he contemplated that question.

Let's see, I read all sorts of manga, watch all kinds of anime and played every video game genre out there, so I'm pretty sure that I'm not too picky when it comes to all the specifics of a story.

Shujinkou looked into Yuri's eyes and immediately realized, "But I can't tell her that."

The question soon changed from "What book could I possibly find?" to "How can I explain to her that I'm not picky without giving away my interests?"

But before he could truly think about it, the answer quickly popped into his head.

"What about that book you were reading at school? What was that about?" he asked.

To his surprise, Yuri's eyes lit up. It was perhaps the first time he had seen such a reaction from her.

She wasted no time in explaining the book to her. From what he could gather, it was about a girl and some human experimentation camp; overall it seemed like a really dark story, something that he couldn't believe that Yuri was reading. But even more surprising than that was how passionate she seemed as she spoke about the book, a feeling he couldn't hide.

Once she finished her brief summary of the book, she immediately realized that Shujinkou was staring at her. She quickly diverted her gaze, afraid of what he was about to say.

"A-Anyway… I would highly recommend it," she stammered, timidly playing with her hair.

"I didn't realize how passionate you were about this kind of stuff. So, where is this book?"

Without saying a word, Yuri led Shujinkou to the back of the store where rows of horror books lied.

"There…" she pointed to a familiar book at the top of a nearby bookshelf.

The two reached for the book, but ended up briefly touching the other's hand. Surprised, the two quickly retracted their hands. The awkward atmosphere returned in full force as Yuri timidly played with her hair.

But Shujinkou refused to let the atmosphere stifle him again in such a short amount of time. He reached for the book again, confirming it to be the same book Yuri possessed as he held it in front of him.

"The Portrait of Markov… I have to admit, I am a little curious to see how the story will turn out," he admitted.

Without saying another word, Shujinkou paid for the book and walked out of the store with Yuri.

"Well, thanks for the help, Yuri. I owe you."

"I didn't really do anything deserving of that…"

"Right…" he weakly laughed.

He promised that he wouldn't make a big deal of the whole trip, but it was hard to do that when she wouldn't even let him thank her.

His eyes darted around the nearby area, desperately looking for something to focus on until he noticed that the sun was already halfway under the horizon. It was after this discovery that he figured out a way to pay her back.

"You know, it's kinda getting late. Do you want me to walk you home?"

As he expected, Yuri immediately turned away from him and insisted that it wasn't necessary. But he had also insisted that it was not a problem.

Yuri had already found it strange that he would insist to do such a thing, but she was also surprised by the seriousness in his eyes. It was like he was intent on helping her or paying her back and nothing would stop him. After taking a minute to ponder over such an offer, she decided to give in and accept.

But even as she was escorted home, Yuri couldn't help but wonder why Shujinkou seemed like he had to follow up on his offer.