Natsuki could hardly believe it. She thought she had made it pretty clear that after such an embarrassing conversation she needed a moment to cool off. But for some reason Sayori trailed right after her to the bathroom. She was terrified the girl was going to corner her into a second, even more awkward conversation in the school's toilet – basically worst-case scenario. Thankfully, she was at least kind enough to not say anything while they each did their own thing. It wasn't until they had washed and dried their hands and exited back out into the hallway that Sayori finally spoke her mind.

"Did you... really mean what you were saying back there?"

Admittedly it was usually a fifty/fifty split as to whether Natsuki was masking her emotions or being overly honest, and she couldn't immediately decide which statement the girl could even be referring to. "Um, could you be slightly more specific?"

Sayori pouted, clenching her hands tightly. "About Madoka, and... and having feelings for a bunch of different people..."

Natsuki cursed inwardly. Why in the hell did she have to go and say something so weird and honest like that? If she had just given a more token answer, then Sayori probably wouldn't even want to have this awkward talk with her! Still, even as she had that thought, she was also slowly struck by the realization that Sayori must be talking about herself, and that was kind of fascinating. If she was dealing with something that complicated, then maybe she should at least try and hear her out, right? "I mean, yeah. I'm probably biased I guess, and you shouldn't feel bad if you didn't see it. After all, that's just my opinion or whatever. It's not like you have to interpret it that way."

The girl shook her head, adjusting her bag, still with that thoughtful pout on her face. "Th-That's not really... I-I was asking because... It's that I recently started experiencing something... similar?"

Her eyebrows shot up, and she felt a little bad for how obvious her surprise was. This was getting more interesting by the minute. "Got a couple different guys you've got your eye on or something?"

"...or something..."

As always, her reflexes kicked in. Rather than being understanding or open, she just crossed her arms and scoffed. "Oh come on! We're already talking about it. No point in getting coy now!"

In spite of her awfulness, or maybe because of it, Sayori caved. "We-Well, when I first met Monika, I was kinda stunned by how pretty and kind she was... A-And then Yuri, who is just gorgeous and smart..."

Again, what Natsuki mainly felt was jealousy, since she herself was beginning to nurse a bit of a crush on Yuri. It wasn't like she had been especially subtle about it, strolling into the club to give her an entire box of reading material. For a girl like Yuri, that was practically first base! But she couldn't come out and say it, so instead she indignantly rolled her eyes. "What, no love for me?"

There was a rather heavy silence before Sayori barely managed to whisper "Well I didn't say that..."

Ah crap. She was actually going to have to be... nice, wasn't she? "Sayori, it's... it's okay to feel that way, y'know. I mean, I guess... I guess you're not exactly the only one who feels that way. Jeez, at least you were brave enough to be honest about it! That's more than I can say."

There was more silence, though at least a glance told her that Sayori was starting to smile again. Finally she found her voice again. "You wanna come hang out at my house?"

"...sure." Natsuki shrugged. No point in not following this to whatever crazy conclusion it would reach.


Sayori's room was exactly as cutesy and messy as Natsuki had imagined it to be. While she made herself comfortable, her host put on some music and then joined her on the bed. "So..." Natsuki attempted as a beginning, but she wasn't really sure what to follow it up with.

Sayori laughed awkwardly and shifted her position slightly. "Sorry, I don't really have a lot of guests over. It can be tough to make myself clean up when I don't have a good excuse. I'm sure you'd... prefer to be home right now."

At that statement, Natsuki just couldn't help but give a rather sharp laugh. "Yeah, no, home sucks. Seriously, I'm happy to hide here as long as you'll let me." She absentmindedly began to rub her arm where one of her latest bruises was. Bastard always made sure to get here where it wouldn't be obvious. "That was maybe a crappy way to say it. I'm glad you invited me."

Sayori's hands idly fiddled with the hem of her skirt and she joined her in more awkward laughter. "And you don't mind? That I basically just confessed to having, I don't know, a crush on you or whatever? That doesn't make things awkward?"

Natsuki shrugged, which was fast becoming her response to pretty much everything. "It's fine. I mean you also apparently have feelings for Yuri and Monika too. And..." She sighed, trying to draw up every last ounce of strength she had. She'd let herself get drawn into this situation, and she couldn't snark her way out of it. "And maybe I'm... I'm in the same boat. Kinda. I guess. I just wanted to join a club so I could stay at school for a few more hours. It didn't occur to me how much I might appreciate the people that made it feel so safe. And yes, before you ask, that includes you too! So please don't ask me." She closed her eyes, trying to shut out the weird feeling of guilt that washed over her. "It's only been a few days but you guys already feel like my best friends... Like I've known you for years. It's freaky. But ignoring it would just be stupid so... whatever."

She was really worried that Sayori might try to say something in return. She wasn't sure she was quite prepared for that yet. Instead, she just took her hand and shuffled over closer to her, leaning against her with a little hum of approval. It must have been several minutes of the two of them just sitting there with the soft music providing a tiny distraction. It was peaceful, even if it was fraught with tension. Natsuki had just started to adjust when Sayori finally spoke again, still in that hushed whisper. "Do you think they'd hate us? If they found out?"

"No." The answer came out even more certain than she had expected it to sound. "I mean, from what Yuri was saying about the manga, maybe it was already on her mind, which means she must be at least a little open to the idea of it. And Monika, even if she doesn't want to be club president, she still seems focused on watching out for us and all of us being... close? It's not the most insane thing in the world."

Sayori made a kind of whimpering noise and sort of nuzzled into her shoulder. "Even me? I'm not like you guys. I'm not special or beautiful. Why would someone want me?"

That seemed almost impossible. Surely she had to know how cute she was, right? Natsuki, for all her posturing, was kind of an expert on cuteness. But now that she was considering what she had seen and heard so far, maybe just telling Sayori that she definitely was cute wouldn't be the best idea. Perhaps she would be more willing to accept direct action? Could Natsuki really do that? She certainly wanted to! "You're such a dummy..." she said ominously, before leaning in and pressing her lips against Sayori's.

It was not at all like what any of her stories would have her believe. There was a significant lack of fireworks. It was clumsy and unsure, and at one point she tried to do a thing with her tongue that the other girl clearly didn't like and she had to quickly retreat and go back to just using her lips. But she didn't get shunned or pushed away, and eventually it ended with the both of them blushing equally hard. "I'm not a dummy you jerk..." she finally quipped back, though the big smile on her face spoke volumes. "Are we really going to do this? What if it screws things up?"

It was a fair question, and Natsuki didn't have a great answer. But she had to say something. "Hey, if it goes poorly, you still got me. For whatever that's worth." She chuckled and squeezed her hand gently. "But I really don't think it will come to that. I can't say exactly why. It's mostly just a feeling I have." That had been happening a lot lately. Deja-vu, strange dreams, memories that never happened. Some of them were quite nice, others were incredibly terrifying. But all of them seemed to be serving her, guiding her where to go next. "I think I have a plan."


The idea was relatively simple. Over the weekend, each of them would hang out with the girl they were closer to and bring the idea up with them privately. Then, back in the club on Monday, they could all talk about it together. Natsuki was in the process of cooking up the perfect excuse to hang out with Yuri when the girl called her and asked if she would like to go to the book store. Sure, it was exactly what she needed, but she was still a little sore about not getting to be more clever about it.

So that was how she found herself spending a Saturday afternoon with Yuri in a little bookshop. She was grateful that it was a lesser-known place so she wouldn't feel as awkward about the conversation she was about to initiate. "S-So yeah, what was it you wanted to talk about?"

"Well, you were so kind to introduce me to a series that I'm greatly enjoying. I thought that perhaps I should do the same for you." She motioned for Natsuki to follow, so she walked along beside her as Yuri led the way toward the fantasy/sci-fi section. She started trailing a finger along the books until she located what she was looking for. "Ah, Sir Terry Pratchett... Rest in peace."

"Sir? Sounds kinda stuffy to me..." Inwardly, Natsuki cursed loudly. Why did she have to be such a massive bitch about every little thing? Just because she was a little scared of being authentic for even a second. "Why is an author a knight?"

"It happens to English authors who are particularly skilled. I chose Pratchett because. Well. I think perhaps his style most fits yours. It's a bit rough and coarse at times, funny and wry, and the social commentary is quite poignant. There's a little bit of everything." Finally Yuri took one of the books out and passed it to her with that rare little smile of hers.

She flipped the book over to look at the description and began to smile. Mort, a story about Death, his servant, his daughter, and his new apprentice. It really did sound pretty good. Hell, no time like the present, right? "Yuri... Sayori and I were talking the other day and... and she admitted that she has kind of a crush on all of us a-and I confessed that maybe I did too. We thought it might be best to just stay as honest about it as possible and see how you and Monika felt. And there's no pressure or anything, you can take a while to decide but also maybe don't take forever because that would be annoying. But that way on Monday we could all talk about it together." As she spoke, her voice got more rushed and she continued to fiddle with the book in her hands.

The motion was ceased when she suddenly felt Yuri's hand come to rest on top of her head, rubbing affectionately. Not only that but she was... laughing? "Natsuki, you really are too cute for words. It will be a bit... scary and new for me since I still don't even know what to do with attention from one person. But... if it's true that Sayori feels the same, perhaps Monika will not be hard to convince. Ah, still, we've only barely started our day together. Why don't I buy that book for you and then we can go to the movies?"

"S-Sure, whatever, that'd be cool I guess."

Yuri giggled again, obviously amused by her poor attempt at a smooth response. "Then we'd best be on our way," she responded before gently stealing her hand. "I would like at least one date before I'm forced to share."

Natsuki chose not to mention the kiss she already shared with Sayori. Perhaps she could at least use that experience to make the next one better.