Monika rubbed her eyes before continuing her homework. Normally, she would have finished it before the darkness of night set in, but she was occupied earlier.

She let out a small yawn. It wasn't too late in the night but a funny fact she noticed when working a little later than usual was how the body would "coincidentally" be tired in moments like this. If there wasn't work to be done, then she would be as awake as her cousin would be early in the morning.

"Remind me never to be around when you and Natsuki make cupcakes."

Monika looked up. Standing in her doorway was Claudette, sporting a white robe. It was fluffy and not a speck of dirt appeared to have graced it. The young woman rubbed an equally stainless white towel across her blonde hair as she walked over to her cousin's bed.

"You two just can't take a joke." She sighed as she plopped down on the soft mattress.

"It was kind of a stretch," a slight giggle slipped out of Monika as she recalled firing frosting at her with Natsuki.

"Hm…" Claudette swiftly pulled the towel from atop her head. She playfully cracked it like a whip before dropping it on her younger cousin's head. "So, when do I get to meet the others?"

Monika simply shrugged. She couldn't really give a definitive answer to that question.

"Okay…" A playful smile crossed her older cousin's face as she leaned closer. "Can the next one be the guy?"

"Claudette…!" Monika's cheeks briefly flashed red.

"Shujinkou, right? The only guy in your club. The only guy I hear you talk about so much," the older cousin's knowing smile grew even bigger. "Didn't you sneak over there yesterday when you were supposed to be shopping?"

"It was more of a spur of the moment decision," Monika weakly argued.

"And that refutes my point… How?"

Her younger cousin couldn't really find a way to answer. While true it was a spur of the moment decision she made to confide in a friend, she felt deep down that it was also fueled by a desire to see him.

Once again, Monika had met her match in Claudette, a fact the older of the two was well-aware of.

…

The bell announcing lunch rang loudly throughout the school. As usual, the students wasted no time in taking advantage of the break to spend time with friends or just to rest their minds.

After she walked for a bit, Monika was in front of the door that led to the clubroom the Literature Club was recently gifted with. She gently pushed the door open.

"Yuri?"

Monika's eyes lit up as they spotted a familiar purple haired maiden sitting against one of the surrounding walls. A small, singular book sat between her hands and an opened lunchbox lied to her right.

She appeared to be in a trance, but she soon looked up. She seemed confused at first, but that was quickly replaced by a small smile. "Hi, Monika."

The club president closed the door behind her as she walked into the room. As she approached Yuri, her mind once again briefly considered how to give the empty room an identity; something that would make it clear that it was theirs.

She was sure Shujinkou's 1st poster would help, but it would only be a start. After all, the others, including herself, still had their own contributions to add.

"What are you doing here, Yuri?" Monika asked as she sat down next to her.

"I was just looking for a quiet place to read," she replied. "What about you?"

"Looking for a quiet place."

Monika giggled as she opened her lunchbox. Inside was the lunch she had prepared… alongside food she hadn't. On top of the foreign food was a small note.

Monika reached for the note and read its content in her head.

"Just added some extra food in case you wanted to share lunch with a certain someone. Wink, Wink. Nudge, nudge."

Claudette…! A weak laugh slipped through her lips. This act was entirely on brand for her cousin.

"What's wrong?" Yuri asked.

"N-Nothing," Monika replied, stuffing the note back in her lunchbox.

From the corner of her eyes, she then noticed a peculiar feature about the book Yuri was reading. Spread throughout the page she glimpsed were images that separated into panels.

"Is that manga?" Monika asked.

"Ah…!" Yuri briefly glanced away, carefully considering her response. "Yes. After the Royal Rumble I decided to give graphic novels a more unbiased chance."

The young maiden looked down at the book solemn eyes. Looking closer, Monika could spot some regret hidden in there.

"…I asked Shujinkou one weekend if he could recommend something for me and just recently I asked Natsuki if she could let me borrow something random from her collection," she continued. "She seemed skeptical at first, not that I can blame her. But in the end, she lent me the first volume of a story called Hadi Girl."

"Really, what's it about?" Monika questioned.

Yuri closed her eyes, recalling what she has read so far.

"Well… It's about a girl who cannot properly convey her emotions suddenly being granted an angel of love whose job it is to help her find love. But to do so, she has to complete romantic tasks that will apparently satisfy the conditions of an angelic egg she was given. The conflict of the story is her struggling to complete these tasks while struggling with her own emotions."

Her eyes then narrowed as she looked back down at the graphic novel.

"Honestly, I really emphasize with her plight. The inability to properly convey her feelings to those she isn't already close to I mean."

"Hmm…" though she didn't outwardly display it, Monika was happy to hear her club mate speak as passionately about this book as she would any other. "Sounds interesting."

"It really is…"

A sorrowful look crossed Yuri's face as she contemplated her own feelings.

"Monika… How come you never kicked me out of the club after my fight with Natsuki?"

"Why…?" the club president was taken aback by the sudden question. The thought of resorting to such an action never even crossed her mind. "Why would I do that?"

"Because I sewn discord into the fragile structure of our club not too long after joining."

"Well…" Monika paused to pick her next words carefully. They needed to be truthful. "I know that wasn't a fond moment for any of us but I was hoping that we all could eventually move past it."

Her lips formed a regretful smile as she diverted her gaze.

"To be honest… I really felt powerless back then. Despite being the club president, I couldn't find it in me to find people to form the club with and couldn't do anything to fix the rift back then. But…"

All sense of regret vanished from her face as she looked back at Yuri. "But I can't stay stuck on that moment of helplessness. Without even thinking about, I moved on. The same way you and Natsuki are moving past your past fight."

Yuri remained silent. Hearing those words reminded her of the moment Natsuki had handed her the book she currently held.

The instant she received it, Yuri was assaulted by intense regret. After the things she said, was it truly right to ask to borrow from Natsuki's precious collection?

She could remember vocally asking her pink-haired club mate this. In response, Natsuki looked her straight in the eyes with a playful smile.

"Yeah, but let me give you the same warning I give Shujinkou: If you mess it up in any way, I'll be super pissed."

That brief memory caused a small smile to light up Yuri's dour face.

"Yes… We are."

There was a brief silence as she looked around the room.

"It's kind of funny… I used to always be looking for places where I can be alone with my books; a place where I could be with people I knew wouldn't judge me. Then when I'm offered a place where I could share my interests, I do the same thing.

I've come to terms with my hypocrisy there. But I have to admit that it I used to think that the reason I wasn't kick out of the club back then was because of the numbers game each club had to face. Once Shujinkou came into the picture, I thought I would no longer be necessary."

Yuri giggled as she recalled those old feelings.

"It's even funnier that I was concerned about the person who unknowingly allowed me to see my faults as a person and helped me convey my own feelings better.

But he wasn't the only one who helped me. Everyone in their own way help me feel better about myself. I know it may sound weird, but I wouldn't have learned how to be better without everyone's efforts. So…"

Yuri awkwardly bowed to Monika.

"Thank you for inviting me to the club!"

"Eh?" Monika could only reply with surprise. She didn't see the conversation taking the turn it did.

"I know you could have picked anyone and none of this development would have happened if you didn't pick me and you've also always been very reassuring so… Thank you."

Monika had no clue how to properly respond. She could understand Yuri giving thanks to Shujinkou, but it was a little hard for thanks to be sent her way.

But at the same time-

"No problem," she replied with a bright smile.

At the same time, that acknowledgement filled her with more joy than Yuri would ever know.

Maybe… I wasn't such a useless club president after all…