Doki Doki Literature Club Genderbent

The Fight (Day 2)

I glance around the room. That was a little more stressful than I anticipated. It's as if everyone is judging me for my mediocre writing abilities... Even if they're just being nice, there's no way my poems can stand of to theirs. This is a literature club, after all. I sigh. I guess that's what I ended up getting myself into. Across the room, Satori and Moniko are happily chatting. My eyes land on Yuki and Natsuki. They gingerly exchange sheets of paper, sharing their respective poems. As they read in tandem, I watch each of their expressions change. Naruki's eyebrows furrow in frustration. Meanwhile, Yuki smiles sadly.
"(What's with this language...?)" Naruki muttered.
"Eh? Um...did you say something?" Yuki asks.
"Oh, it's nothing." Naruki dismissively returns the poem to the desk with one hand. "I guess you could say it's fancy."
"Ah— Thanks... Yours is...cute..." Yuki says softly.
"Cute? Did you completely miss the symbolism or something? It's clearly about the feeling of giving up. How can that be cute?" Naruki demands.
"I-I know that! I just meant... The language, I guess... I was trying to say something nice..." Yuki says.
"Eh? You meant you have to try that hard to come up with something nice to say? Thanks, but it really didn't come out nice at all!" Naruki says.
"Um... Well, I do have a couple suggestions..." Yuki offers.
"Hmph. If I was looking for suggestions, I would have asked someone who actually liked it. Which people did, by the way. Satori liked it. And MC did, too! So based on that, I'll gladly give you some suggestions of my own. First of all—" Naruki says angrily.
"Excuse me... I appreciate the offer, but I've spent a long time establishing my writing style. I don't expect it to change anytime soon, unless of course I come across something particularly inspiring. Which I haven't yet." Yuki says.
"Nn...!" Naruki stutters.
"And MC like my poem too, you know. She even told me she was impressed by it." Yuki brags.
Naruki suddenly stands up. "Oh? I didn't realize you were so invested in trying to impress our new member, Yuki."
"E-Eh?! That's not what I...! Uu... You...You're just..." Y stands up as well.
"Maybe you're just jealous that MC appreaciated my advice more than she appreceated yours!"
"Huh! And how do you know she didn't appreceate my advice more? Are you that full of yourself?" Naruki asks, cockily.
"I...! No...If I was full of myself...I would deliberateley go out of my way to make everything I do overly cutesy!" Yuki says smirking.
"Uuuuuu...!" Naruki whines.
"U-Um!! Is everyone okay...?" Satori asks lightly.
"Well, you know what?! I wasn't the one whose ego magically grew a size bigger as soon as MC started showing up!!" Naruki says with the "final blow" tone.
"N-Naruki!!" Yuki yelps.
"Um, Naruki, that's a little--" Moniko starts.
"This doesn't involve you!" Naruki and Yuki yell simultaneously.
"I-I don't like fighting, guys...!" Satori yelps.
Suddenly, both girls turned towards me, as if they just noticed I was standing there.
"MC...! He-He's just trying to make me look bad...!" Yuki gasps.
"That's not true! He started it! If he could get over himself and learn to appreciate that simple writing is more effective... Then this wouldn't have happened in the first place! What's the point in making your poems all convoluted for no reason? The meaning should jump out at the reader, not force them to have to figure it out. Help me explain that to him, MC!" Naruki says angrily.
"W-Wait! There's a reason we have so many deep and expressive words in our language! It's the only way to convey complex feelings and meaning the most effectively. Avoiding them is not only unnecessarily limiting yourself...it's also a waste! You understand that, right, MC?" Yuki asks.
"Um...!" I yelp.
"Well??" Naruki and Yuki say at the same time.
"..." How did I get dragged into this in the first place?! It's not like I know anything about writing... But whomever I agree with, they'll probably think more highly of me! So of course that's going to be...! Help me Satori!!
"N-Naruki.." I stutter.  Naruki glares at me, drying up any words I had in my mouth. So instead I turn to Yuki.
"Yuki..." I start.
"..."  But Yuki's expression is so defenseless that I can't bring myself to say anything to him.
"... Satori!" I burst out.
"Eh?!" Satori squeals.
"...Yeah! Everyone's fighting is making Satori's uncomfortable. How can the two of you keep fighting when you know you're making your friend feel like this?" I say with a hint of fake authority in my voice.
"MC..." Satori says quietly.
"Well... That's his problem! This isn't about him." Naruki says.
"I-I agree... It's unfair for others to interject their own feelings into our conflict." Yuki says.
"Yeah, unless Satori wants to tell Yuki what a stuck-up jerk he's being." Naruki throws in.
"He would never...! It's your immaturity that made him upset in the first place!" Yuki said.
"Excuse me? Are you listening to yourself? This is exactly why... Exactly why nobody likes--" Naruki starts.
"Stop!!" Satori yells.
"--" The two say nothing.
"Naruki! Yuki! You guys are my friends! I-I just want everyone to get along and be happy! My friends are wonderful people... And I love them because of their differences! Naruki's poems... They're amazing because they give you so many feelings with just a few words! And Yuki's poems are amazing because they paint beautiful pictures in your head! Everyone's so talented... ...So why are we fighting...?" Satori says.
"Be-Because..." Naruki stutters.
"Well..." Yuki says softly.
"Also! Naruki's cute and there's nothing wrong with that! And Yuki's ego is the same as it always was! Big and beautiful!!" Satori says brightly.
"..." Naruki says nothing.
"..." Yuki says nothing.
"Satori..." I say.
Satori stands triumphantly. Moniko stands behind him with a bewildered expression.
"I'll...make some tea..." Yuki rushes off.
Naruki sits down with a blank expression on his face, staring at nothing.
"So, this is why Satori is Vice President..." I whisper to Moniko.
He nods in return. "To be honest... I might come off as a good leader, and I can organize things...But I'm not very good with people... I couldn't bring myself to interject. As President, that's kind of embarrassing of me." Moniko laughs nervously.
"Nah... It's not like I can blame you. I wasn't able to say anything either." I shrug.
"Well... I guess that just means Satori is amazing in his own way, isn't he?" Moniko says.
"You could say that. He might be an airhead, but sometimes it's weirdly suspicious that he knows exactly what he's doing." I say.
"I see~ Take good care of him, okay? I would hate to see himself get hurt." Moniko says.
"That makes two of us... You can count on me." I say.
Moniko smiles sweetly at me, causing my stomach to knot. Such a genuine person really does make a good President, regardless of what he says. If only I could get the chance to talk to him a little more...
"Okay, everyone! It's just about time for us to leave. How did you all feel about sharing poems?" Moniko says.
"It was a lot of fun!" Satori says brightly.
"Well, I'd say it was worth it." Yuki says.
"It was alright. Well, mostly." Naruki says.
"MC, how about you?" Moniko asks.
"...Yeah, I'd say the same. It was a neat thing to talk about with everyone." I say.
"Awesome! In that case, we'll do the same thing tomorrow. And maybe you learned something from your friends, too. So your poems will turn out even better!" Moniko says.
"..." I think to myself. I did learn a little more about the kinds of poems everyone likes. With any luck, that means I can at least do a better job impressing for those I want to impress. I nod to myself with newfound determination.