Mike sits down and talks to me after the... altercation with Natsuki. Sayori is gathering some poster paper from the classroom closet, while Natsuki sits idly underneath her reading her manga. Yuri is in her natural habitat, reading underneath the warm sun in the corner of the room.

"So. When do you plan on telling them?" Mike sternly whispers at me.

"You know, my head is really sore from you shoving me up against the wall like that." I reply. "I could report you for that."

"You're not answering the question, Monika." He looks down and grimaces. "Alright I'm sorry for hurting you." He looks back at me. "Now I've apologised. When will you?"

I'm stunned. He really threw me with that one. I just look away from him.

"Hmph. Go figure. I'll go see what the hell Sayori wants." He gets up and wonders over to Sayori, who's jumping up and down trying to get his attention. I look at Yuri, and she turns back to me. Instead of turning red and looking back at her book in embarrassment, she stares at me, searching for my emotions with her eyes.

"You know, I'm never been very good at telling how people feel while talking to them." She closes her book, but remains sitting, staring in front of her. "But it's when I glance at them, when they're not really paying attention, that I truly understand. I guess it's one of the perks of having Autism." She looks at me, chin resting on idle hands. "Penny for?"

Her forwardness startles me greatly. I don't even know what to say at first. I glance at Mike briefly, seeing Sayori point towards the classroom door, beaming. He nods, and they make their way over there. Natsuki looks sad.

"Ah." Yuri says softly. "It's the face, not the voice, that speaks all, my dear."

"That's very poetic."

She chuckles. "I could write many poems about all the troubles I see on your pretty face. You've got the whole world resting on your shoulders, and your one confidante doesn't seem to appreciate that all. In fact I'd say he seems angry at you."

"You could say that." I nod. Her empathy is astounding. "It's more... he's waiting. Waiting for me to make an important decision."

"So tell him."

"What? No!" I reply quickly. I glance over at Natsuki, who's clearly listening, but pretending she isn't. I let it slide. "It's not that at all. And lower that eyebrow!" I sigh, and lean back in my chair in a slump.

She chuckles again. She gets up and walks over to me, pulling up an adjacent chair. She sits down, facing me. "Let's say I believe you. If it's not that, then what is it?"

I stare away from her, looking directly at Natsuki. She pretends to laugh at something in her manga, deliberately not making eye contact with me. "He's waiting for an apology."

"From you? What on earth did you do?"

"A lot of things. A lot of terrible, terrible things, Yuri. And I cannot explain all of that now."

"And you don't have to." She takes my hand. This side of Yuri is not one she shows normally, but it's definitely the side I need right now. "All will come in due course." She definitely means it, but I can see the curiousity creeping across her face.

I turn to look at her, and grip her hand. "Thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me right now. I really, really appreciate everything you've done for me."

"It's the least I could do. After all, I know you'd do the same for me." She looks down and chuckles. "Hah! You've already tried. You just need to get me at the right time." She winks, and sits back down at her window seat, resuming her escape into her book.

At that moment, the door swings open, and Mike walks in, his arm on the shoulder of a moaning Sayori.

"Ooooh..."

"Just keep it steady, and don't move too fast."

"I am! Don't fuss." She waves him off and sits down next to me. "Hey Moni."

"Jesus Christ are you alright?" I see the cool can pressed against her forehead.

"Yeah I'm fine."

"You took a rather nasty fall is what you did." Mike interjects.

"I told you not to worry about me!" She groans and clutches her forehead tighter. "It wasn't that bad. I just lost a fight with a shelf haha." She giggles a little bit, causing her to wince in pain.

"I'm gonna talk to Natsuki real quick." Mike announces. "You stay there with Monika." He looks at me. "She'll look after you.

I nod in return, giving him the stern expression he needs. He nods back, receiving my telepathic message. Yuri hasn't noticed a thing. I think her consoling me took all her energy.

I gently place one hand on Sayori's shoulder and another on her hand, which she takes in return. She smiles at me.

"Thanks Moni. We got all the supplies you needed for the festival."

"Ah yes. Forgot about that. Thank you so much. Will you be okay?"

"I'll be fine!" She laughs. "God I don't want you fussing too."

This is my chance. I must take it. "But why?"

She freezes. I think I've made a mistake. But I must press on. I ask again.

"Why do you not want me - or Mike, for that matter - to worry about you?"

Her eyes are wide open, staring at the ceiling. Her face just goes completely blank. After what seems like an eternity, she responds.

"I don't know. I just don't know."

Mike's POV.

Talking to Natsuki is like talking to a brick wall. Except the brick wall constantly punches you in the face. God I CANNOT seem to get through to her.

"Look, Natsuki. It's clear you care about Yuri. You WANT to be with her, so why not?"

"Just shut up, already!" Natsuki growls harshly at me. "I told you, I don't like her! She's a stuck-up, rude, bitch who only cares for herself!"

I raise an eyebrow. All those qualities describe Natsuki, not Yuri. I can see Natsuki is projecting. I need to dig. I need to find what is actually going on.

"Ok then. What's the problem."

"What do you mean what's the problem I told you-"

"Not with Yuri, idiot, I mean YOU. What's going with you that makes you like this? There has to be more to it."

"Well excuse you, pally! I dunno who taught you how to console people but they were clearly a dumbass!" She retorts. I was a bit too harsh with that. I'll try again.

"So you admit you need consoling?" I smirk. She freezes, then scowls.

"No, I-"

"I know you throw up this whole macho facade to hide how you truly feel." I interrupt, speaking softly and reassuringly (I hope). "You blame others for your own feelings. You act tough, because you want to be tough, but it doesn't work. You're small, and you hate it, so you have to act big so people will see you like that. You have insecurities, Natsuki. HORRIBLE insecurities. And if you'll just LET ME IN, I can help you. I know how happy you would be if you and Yuri were together. I know how happy SHE would be. Both of you need to stop chasing after false dreams written - or in your case drawn - on pieces of paper. You need each other. And until you see that, you will always be lost." I finally stop. That felt good. I hope she listens. I get up, and as I do, she grabs me.

"No wait!" She looks up at me, tears in her eyes. I see bruises on her neck from above. "Please, listen to me."

I sit back down across from her, cross-legged. I look directly into her eyes, and she does mine as she speaks.

"You're right. It is a defense mechanism." She starts to cry, and rolls up the sleeves of her arms, revealing horrible scars and bruises, several of them bleeding. "I can't live like this. It's HIM. it's all HIM."

"Who, Natsuki?" I touch her leg, gently.

"My dad." She sobs. "He blames me for everything." She looks up at me. "So I blame everyone else, for everything too. It's all I've ever known. And as for hiding my feelings?" She looks down again. "That's to hide them from myself. Not anyone else. If I ever had someone I love, I don't want to treat them like the way my father did me, or my mother."

"And that won't happen, because you are not your father. The way you have lived previously will not always be the life you live." I graps her hand tightly. "They say history repeats itself, but they also say that mistakes are how we learn. I will be your guide through this, into your new life. And so will Monika, once you tell her." I glance at Monika, who's resting Sayori's head on her shoulder. Monika is rubbing Sayori's hand gently.

"Monika!?" Natsuki cries.

"SHUSH!" I hush, but no-one seems to have noticed.

"I can't tell her!" She lowers her voice to a harsh whisper. "She has too much on her plate."

"Oh trust me, I think you'll find she's capable of a LOT. She owes us all quite a lot. And so do I."

"Owes US?" Natsuki says, confused. "If anything we owe her a lot, from the club and all."

I shake my head. "I cannot explain everything now. Monika should be the one to do that. And she will." I look at Monika again. "I hope."

Monika's POV.

I wipe a tear from Sayori's eye. I hope that did the trick. Everything seems to be ok, for now. I see Mike approach and I tell Sayori to go talk to Natsuki for a bit. She looks between Mike and myself, and then nods. She gets up and walks over to Natsuki, who looks like absolute death.

"What on earth did you do to her?" I ask Mike, regarding his conversation with Natsuki.

"What I needed to. She cracked. She told me everything." He sits down next to me.

"EVERYTHING?" I cry. "How the fuck did you manage to do that?"

"I had to be fierce. She's a tough nut to crack. I had to break her to open her."

"You opened Pandora's box is what you did." I look at her, bruises cover up her arms. Sayori hugs Natsuki, and it takes a few seconds for her to hug back. Yuri is still oblivious.

"Have you talked to Yuri yet?" He asks me. "I saw you talking to Sayori. I think you cracked her too."

"I was not as fierce as YOU were," I say harshly. "And I guess that means I didn't get everything. But I managed to get a start. She told me why she didn't want us to worry about her. But I haven't got the... you know... yet."

"Hmm." He nods. "And Yuri?"

"Funny thing actually. Instead of me talking to her, it was her talking to me."

"Wait, really?" He asks. "God something IS different."

"Hmm hmm." I nod. "She really got me to open up. She knows how I feel about you now. Keeps telling me to confess."

"Oh God don't say that word."

"Sorry..." I forgot the connotations behind that, especially regarding Yuri and Sayori.

"But that's interesting. And what did you tell her?"

"I told her I needed to apologise."

"Good." He nods and looks away. The three girls are all looking at him. They nod in unison.

"What's going on?" I whisper to him.

"Well I need to apologise too." He says.

"For what?"

"For this." He says, before punching me right in the face.