Our Reality (Doki Doki Literature Club!)

My Father and I Part 2

"Avast ye, scurvy dogs!" Shujinkou yelled until a sword shape object crashed into his right cheek. "Ow!"

"Sorry, Shujinkou," Sayori apologized; embarrassed over the fact that she actually hit her friend.

"No need to apologize. I can use this as a reason to get the eyepatch," Shujinkou chuckled.

"You have an eyepatch?" Sayori asked.

"Well, it's really my dad's, but I'm pretty sure he'll let me borrow it," Shujinkou clarified.

"Why does your dad have an eyepatch?" Sayori questioned.

"I don't really know," Shujinkou said. "But I'm going to see if he'll let me borrow it for our pirate fight."

The innocent young boy ran into his house and walked into the living room. Jomei wasn't there, prompting him to head upstairs. The second he made it past the top step, he heard a very strange scream. Surprisingly, it wasn't one produced by fear, which only caused his curiosity to grow.

Shujinkou cautiously approached his parent's door and clutched the door handle. Going against his second thoughts, he opened the door and saw something that caused him to wake up screaming in the club his father has brought him to.

His neck a little stiff from sleeping on the table, Shujinkou slowly sat up and looked at his phone. To his complete and utter shock, according to the clock on his phone, he has been asleep for 6 hours. He then looked around and found that his father was still at the bar.

"...and that's how we ended up in a field in the middle of nowhere," Jomei smirked as he finished what little was left of his drink. Sometimes he just felt compelled to drink when he told others of the misadventures he's had in the past. Once done, he gently placed it back on the bar table and watched the bartender take the glass away. "Wonder if I should tell her how I got out of that situation?"

He started to think back to the moment when he...

"Hey, father..."

His train of thought crashing before it could make its destination; Jomei turned around and was genuinely surprised by the glum expression on his son's face.

"What's wrong, kid?" he asked.

"Well, it's just that you've kind of been over here for hours," Shujinkou pointed out.

Seeing the blank expression on his father's face caused him to wonder if his father realized that he was asleep the entire time.

"...So, you're not enjoying yourself here?" Jomei queried.

"It's kinda not my thing," Shujinkou instinctively shrugged.

"Really? I thought all adolescent boys wanted to come in here at least one," Jomei replied.

While Shujinkou could not deny the fact that he was curious about what was inside places like this, video games and manga already satisfied that question.

"Alright then, let's get out of here," Jomei said with a casual shrug.

The feeling of relief washed over Shujinkou as he followed his father out of the establishment.

"So what should we do now?" Shujinkou asked.

The next location was not what he was expecting at all. Waiting for his father outside of a random store was not exactly his idea of "hanging out."

As the disgruntled male continued to wait, he couldn't help but notice a small boy carried down the sidewalk by his father. Seeing the smiles on their faces invoked a sense of envy in him; a feeling he couldn't keep down even if he wanted to. It was also at that point where he realized that he had a lot of patience when it came to his father when he was younger.

"Here," Jomei's sudden appearance startled Shujinkou as he was handed a can of soda.

"Thanks," he said as he accepted the drink. But this nice gesture wasn't enough for Shujinkou to feel a tad bit neglected.

"So, kid..." Jomei glanced towards his son and quietly stared at him for a few moments. "You said you were in a literature club?"

"Huh?" a mixture of surprise and amazement welled up inside Shujinkou. He genuily couldn't believe that his father remembered him saying that. "Oh, yeah, I am in one."

"Why?" Jomei queried.

Just like with his grandmother, Shujinkou wasn't too surprised that someone would ask why he was in a literature club.

"Because Sayori asked me too," Shujinkou answered as he scratched his right cheek. "She said she didn't want me to become a basement dweller or something. But despite the circumstances of my joining, I do like being in it."

"Actually enjoying something that you were stronghold into... I know what's that like," thinking back to the times he was in those situations was enough to elicit a small chuckle out of Jomei. "By the way, those other girls you were with, are they part of the club too?"

"Yeah," Shujinkou nodded.

"Right..." Jomei snickered. "Being surrounded by 4 girls... No wonder you like being in it."

His continued snickers caused his offspring's cheeks to change to a bright red hue as he eventually realized the reason he was laughing.

"That's not what I meant!" Shujinkou yelled.

"You say that, yet you're face is completely red," Jomei pointed out. "Are you saying that they're not the reason you stay?"

"Not for the reason you're thinking of..." Shujinkou replied, his cheeks still red with embarrassment.

But that wasn't the only emotion he felt. Close behind the embarrassment brought out by his father's teasing lied genuine anger and happiness.

"Anyway, do you need any advice on how to deal with the various kinds of women?" Jomei offered.

"Not really," Shujinkou instantly answered in an annoyed tone.

"Fine," Jomei shrugged. "But how are you going to more about the opposite sex if you don't take my advice."

Shujinkou responded with a facial expression that was a combination of indifference and irritation; a combination that Jomei didn't even know existed.

"Can we please talk about something else?" Shujinkou asked.

"Like what?" Jomei asked.

There was one topic that Shujinkou wanted to talk about with his father for the longest time. He was afraid to bring it up, but he also knew that there was probably no other chance to do so. With a nervous look in his eye, Shujinkou looked up at his father.

"...Why did you leave?" he solemnly asked.