"…I think this trip will be the chance for that wish to come true. I never thought that I would ever get to chance to go on a trip with friends so it really makes me happy to have that chance," Yuri confessed, smiling at the stitched-up doll between her hands.

Not too long after her story, Yuki crawled from under her sister's bed, brandishing a tiny, dark blue witch hat.

"So that's when you started getting friendlier with the others and starting crushing on Shujinkou," she said.

"W-Why are you only focusing on that aspect?" Yuri stuttered, trying her best not to look away.

"Honestly? It's because you kind of went into more detail about what you did with Shujinkou than anything else," Yuki pointed out.

"Ah…" Yuri's cheeks faintly grew red. "Still… That was the only part I was mostly involved in."

Her eyes then trailed down to Grimm and she asked, "Does Grimm have a comment too?"

"Um…" Yuki raised her ear to listen to her stuffed companion's voice. "…Grimm wants to know whether you're going to continue from where you left off with Shujinkou the other day or not."

Yuri's red cheeks grew even redder as she recalled her last visit to Shujinkou's home.

"What did happen?" Yuki asked as she retrieved Grimm from her sister.

"Nothing!" Yuri said, unintentionally raising her voice. "Sorry. It's just that… What happened was really embarrassing."

"Did he hold your hand?" Yuki guessed.

"No. That didn't happen. Nothing happened," Yuri sighed.

"'Nothing happened…'" Yuki pondered the meaning behind her sister's disappointment when she uttered those words. "Wait a minute… Did you actually try and follow Grimm's advice?!"

"Ah!" Yuri's entire face was as red as an apple.

"I never knew you could be so bold, Yuri…" Yuki said, amazed. "You must really like him. Though I can see why. He's fun to be around. Still, what happened that made you come home so freaked out."

"It was because I left in such a hurry…"

"But why did you leave so early?"

Before anything else could be said, Yuki glanced down at Grimm and repeated, "Parental block?"

The young child quickly looked back up at her sister and was shocked by her timid response.

"Oh…" Yuki sympathized. "Well, at least it didn't happen in the middle of something serious like hugging or kissing. I know you wouldn't even dance around this conversation if something like that happened."

Hearing those words, Yuri immediately turned away from her younger sister and covered her face with both her hands.

"You kissed him?!" Yuki exclaimed.

"No!" Yuri shrieked.

"He kissed you?!"

"No! None of that happened!"

"Wait… You tried and were interrupted."

Yuri silently nodded her head. Unable to think of anything to say, Yuki looked down and listened to what Grimm had to say. Confusion seeped into her as she said, "Turn around?"

It did not take long for the two to do just that and find their mother standing in front of the doorway drinking tea.

"Mom?!" they exclaimed.

"Oh my… I didn't mean to interrupt you two," she smiled.

"H-How long have you been standing there?" Yuri asked.

"About when you mentioned that Monika had negative feelings about the Cultural Festival."

"Uh…" the growing embarrassment the conversation has built up in Yuri had reached her tolerable limit.

All she could do was play with her hair as her mother sat next to her.

"There's no need to feel embarrassed, Yuri. It's natural for a girl your age to want to kiss someone they like. And you shouldn't let any interruptions deter you either," Yumi advised.

A small smile formed as Yuri embarrassment was replaced with comfort and relief.

"Still… I don't know how I could ever have a chance like that again…" she lamented.

"Well… You could always take Grimm's advice again," Yumi suggested.

Yuki looked down at her stuffed companion. After listening to what Grimm had to say, her cheeks grew bright red.

"Don't…" Yuki advised her sister.

"What did Grimm say?" Yuri asked.

"You don't want to know…" Yuki insisted.

"Hm…" Yuri stared at the stuffed doll in her sister's hands, her expression now one of curiosity. "…Well, I better head to the meeting place before I keep everyone waiting."

After exchanging farewells, Yuri grabbed her bag and left her room.

"…What did Grimm suggest Yuri do?" Yumi asked.

Yuki crawled up onto her sister's bed and whispered the answer into her mother's ear.

"Oh my…" she gasped. "That's… I don't think Shujinkou would be comfortable with that suggestion either."

"Speaking of Shujinkou… I wonder what he's doing right now," Yuki wondered aloud.

The aforementioned individual was currently hard at work, typing away on his computer. His expression was one of determination, but every so often it would change to one of doubt. This cycle would continue until he heard someone ask, "Have you been reading my stuff lately, Shujinkou?"

Looking up from the small screen, Shujinkou met eyes with Natsuki. It wasn't an accusation, but a genuine question."

"Not without your permission," he answered. "Why?"

"I can't find the first volume Parfait Girls," she said in a huff. "I know I recently saw it and it irks me when I know I saw something and it suddenly disappears in thin air."

"I can relate," Shujinkou sympathized. "Sad thing is for me is that it's usually in front of me the whole time and my brain decides to just block it from my vision."

"Ugh, I hate when that happens…" exhausted from her failure to locate her book, Natsuki allowed gravity to push her onto Shujinkou's bed. "By the way, what've you been typing this entire time?"

"It's a secret."

"Seriously? You too?"

"Monika wants to keep hers a secret until she finishes, I don't want anyone to see until it doesn't make anyone laugh."

"Really?" Natsuki quickly sat up and tried to catch a glimpse at Shujinkou's work. "Let me see it."

"What? But it's not ready to be seen," Shujinkou replied, moving the device away from her.

With surprising speed, Natsuki snatched his laptop out of his hands before he could fully protect it. The only response he could think of after losing so easily was, "Wow…"

"Y'know, you're not going to get anywhere if you can't take any professional criticism," she pointed out.

"It would be nice if I could get some. First time I posted something, I got lambasted…" Shujinkou sighed.

"Really…" Natsuki glanced down at the computer screen. "Well… If you let me read it, I promise I won't give you too much grief over it."

"Well… Only if you want to," Shujinkou replied, scratching his right cheek.

A sharp chill crawled down his spine as Natsuki looked over what he wrote so far. But to his surprise, what frightened him the most wasn't a look of disappointment, but the reality that Natsuki's expression was unchanging.

"It's not terrible, ya know," Natsuki finally said. "I mean you write in script and you include way too many coincidences, but I can tell you actually enjoyed writing it, so… Don't let the harsh criticism get to you. Just keep writing, so you can improve."

"Okay," Shujinkou nodded.

"By the way… Don't you think a multi-crossover fanfiction is tough story to start with?"

Shujinkou shrugged his shoulders.

"You got more guts than I thought you ever had," Natsuki praised.

"Speaking of writing… What is it that you're writing sometimes in the club room?" he asked.

"W-What?! What are you talking about? I haven't been writing anything during the club except for some of the stuff Monika came up with. Why would you think I've been writing?"

"Because I sometime see a pencil rising above the pages of the compilation magazines you read. Also, I caught a glimpse of a journal in your hand sometimes when you go into the closet."

"Erk…" Natsuki looked away from Shujinkou. "I thought you were supposed to be daydreaming half of the time… Actually, now that I think about it… You haven't really done that all too much since you joined."

"So…" Shujinkou scratched his right cheek, awaiting an answer.

"…Fine. I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell you," Natsuki gazed into Shujinkou's eyes, her glowing cheeks now matching the color of her hair. "I kinda want to be a manga writer one day so, you know, I'm working on a story I came up with that I hope to pitch one day."

"Oh. What's it about?"

"I… can't tell you. And before you call me a hypocrite, it's not that! It's just that… everything that I came up with so far could be a potential spoiler. I mean… I already told you how hard beginnings can be."

"I get that. Still, I think it's cool you're working to be mangaka."

"Heh. Trying to butter me up so I'll tell you a little about what I got so far?"

"Not really. I've learned to stick with the first no from now on. If a person doesn't want to spill, then they don't want to spill and I have to respect that."

Natsuki glanced down at Shujinkou's laptop and thought, "Yeesh, now I feel like a hypocrite and a jerk. Maybe…"

Natsuki looked back up from the screen and handed the device back to its owner. As she contemplated her options, her eyes were soon drawn to a book that lay atop Shujinkou's desk.

"There it is!" she beamed, wasting no time in retrieving the item. "Parfait Girls Volume 1! Must have already grabbed it and put it down."

As Natsuki looked fondly at the cover of the book, a curious question entered her head.

"Hey, where's Sayori?" she asked. "I kinda figured that she would be here too."

"She's on her way to pick up Fuyu and Rei," Shujinkou answered. "She insisted on being the one to do so."

"And how did you get Rei to agree to come on this trip?"

"Fuyu answered for her."

"Of course… I still can't believe those two are related."

Meanwhile, Sayori once again found herself patiently waiting for someone to answer the door for her. Her call was soon answered as a woman that heavily resembled Fuyu answered the door.

"Hey there. I'm here to pick up Fuyu and Rei," Sayori explained with a cheery smile.

The woman's eyes scanned Sayori from head to toe until Fuyu and Rei approached them.

"Mother, you're not on duty," Fuyu joked.

The woman simply chuckled at her daughter's response and walked back in the house.

"What just happened?" Sayori asked.

"She was analyzing you. Think Sherlock Holmes," Fuyu casually answered.

"Oh," Sayori said before realizing the terrors of facing that ability in real life. "Ay… Wait, does that mean that she can… you know."

Fuyu followed Sayori's gaze and watched as Rei curiously looked around their immediate area.

"She has theories, but nothing conclusive," Fuyu answered as she adjusted her glasses.

"Like Holmes. He's usually on the right track, but he still has to prove it," Sayori gleefully stated.

"You seem to know a little about Holmes? Have you guys talked about him during club hours?"

Surprisingly, no. I used to pretend to be Holmes a lot during mysteries while Shujinkou used to be Batman."

"Batman and Holmes?" Fuyu remained silent for a moment. "I wonder if a crossover like that ever happened."

"What about you, Fuyu? Does your knowledge hint at an interest in literature?" Sayori asked.

"That's not exactly why I know a little about Sherlock. It was more so I knew what to expect from such an ability."

"Oh…" In that moment of clarity, Sayori heard her phone ring and answered it. "Hello?"

"Hey, Sayori. How's it going over there?" Monika asked.

"I just met up with Fuyu and Rei. We're about to head to the meeting spot," Sayori happily reported. "What about you?"

"I'm just running down the 'leaving home' list. I'll be there soon."

"Okay. See you then."

The moment the call ended, Monika switched back to her previous one, "Hello?...Yeah, I think everyone's ready… Yes, I made sure that everything is in acceptable condition… Thanks. I know I'll have fun… Love you, too."

The moment the call ended, Monika pulled up a picture from her collection and smiled before taking off. Not too long later, she arrived at the train station where her friends were waiting.

"Been waiting long?" she asked.

"Not really," Sayori shook her head. "We all pretty much got here at the same time."

"Talk about your coincidences," Natsuki interjected. "But at least we're all here so we can go."

"Not yet. There's still one more person we need to wait for," Shujinkou said, scratching his right cheek.

Before anyone could question his response, the group heard someone shout, "Shujinkou!"

Following the direction of the sudden voice, the group turned around to find Kiyoko walking towards them.

"Almost thought I missed you for a second," she said, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Who is she?" Natsuki questioned Shujinkou.

"Everyone, this is Kiyoko," Shujinkou introduced. "She's in a few of my classes."

"You may better know me as the one that caused him a few headaches," Kiyoko weakly chuckled.

"How did you do that?" Sayori queried.

"I haven't exactly mentioned those headaches…" Shujinkou mumbled, scratching his right cheek.

"Oh…" Kiyoko casually accepted.

"Ah… Yuri shifted her gaze to Shujinkou. "When did you invite Kiyoko on this trip?"

"It actually wasn't that long ago," he answered.

An evening, not that long ago, Shujinkou was walking home after a day of shopping until he was intercepted by a force strong enough to knock him off his feet. Once again in darkness' cold embrace, Shujinkou forced himself back to consciousness and found him face with to face with a familiar sight.

"We have got to stop meeting like this," Kiyoko said with a slight chuckle.

"More like I shouldn't be around you when you have a basketball in hand," Shujinkou retorted.

Helping her injured classmate up to his feet, Kiyoko couldn't help but catch a glimpse at his earlier purchases.

"Finished shopping?" she asked.

"Yeah. Just bought something Mom asked for," Shujinkou clarified. "She asked me to help her make something for Granny Hisa too before I see her."

"Ah, heading up to Grandma's place, huh. Anything special happening or is just a friendly visit?"

"Actually, it's kinda both. I'm heading up there with some friends for the Summer Festival."

"Really? I don't remember getting invited."

"Huh?!" At that moment, Shujinkou felt like kicking himself for such an oversight. "Oh… I…"

"Just messing with ya, Shujinkou," she giggled. "I know it's not like we're friends or anything."

His vocabulary once again abandoning him, Shujinkou could do nothing but watch Kiyoko pick up her basketball.

"Would you like to come with us?" he suddenly proposed.

"Really? Kiyoko asked as she spun the ball on her left index finger; her perplexed expression allowing some doubt to enter his heart."

"Yeah. That 's if you don't have anything else to do."

"Okay, I'll go."

"That was quick response."

"And your proposal was out of nowhere."

"Touché."

Back in the present, Shujinkou was met with surprised stares from the other girls in the group.

"You seriously just asked her then and there?" Natsuki questioned.

"Yeah," Shujinkou confirmed.

"…Seriously, how can you be so nice all the time?" she shook her head in disbelief.

"Best not to question it and acknowledge it as one of his best points," Monika interjected with a smile while smiling at Shujinkou. "So is there anyone else that we need to wait for?"

"Nope," he answered.

"Then our first summer trip together can finally begin!" Sayori declared. "This is so exciting!"