Move on… That's what Monika suggested and I kinda accepted it back then, but soon after I found myself thinking about it again. I don't know how she can easily say we should just move on like that. Does she not remember what happened that night?

I mean, we talked about it, so I know we all acknowledged what happened that night happened and now we're just supposed to sweep it under the rug.

Granted, it seems like everyone else outside of us has done so. As far as anyone else is concerned, it never really happened. All those coincidences Monika pointed out along with how Shujinkou's second wind was like his inner demon took over…

Seriously, are we supposed to ignore the whole human paddleball?! The one-man army assault?! Sayori's speedy rescue?!

"Ugh!"

Natsuki buried her head in her pillow.

"No wonder, Monika told us to move on… Trying to figure that night out makes my head hurt."

She squeezed her pillow gently and released a tired sighed into it.

"I want to move on, but does that really mean everything can go back to normal?"

The moment that question left her lips that she felt her eyes drawn upwards. Slowly freeing her head from the softness of her pillow, her attention soon gravitated eyes towards a familiar drawing hovering over her head. Reaching towards it, she softly took it off the wall and brought it to her face.

"I know you didn't want me to make a big deal over you being here, but I still wanted to do something to cheer you up."

What Shujinkou had said to her when he gave her a drawing of herself echoed through her head as she continued to stare at it.

"…I wonder if I can even face Shujinkou when he wakes up."

Those melancholy words were quickly followed by a loud, wailing roar coming from her stomach.

"So hungry..."

She slid out of bed and walked downstairs. Once in the kitchen, she opened the refrigerator door.

"…Knew I forgot to do something today… Great…"

With no other option, Natsuki stepped towards a nearby cabinet, opened it and pulled out a box of cereal. She then reached for a bowl, sat down and absentmindedly poured what little was left of the cereal into the bowl.

Really should have taken Shujinkou's mom up on her offer…

That regret would remain with Natsuki for the duration of her short meal.

I wonder when Papa will be home...

…

"Ugh…"

In one of the stairwells of her school, Natsuki's head rested along the top railing as she slowly stroked her stomach.

"Why didn't I take her up on her offer…!"

She clenched her trembling hand into a fist, greatly tempted to strike her stomach just so it could stop its constant wails.

I know it would just make things worse, but it's so tempting…!

"Natsuki?"

Curiously looking over her shoulder, Natsuki spotted Yuri standing behind her.

"Hey… What are you doing here?" Natsuki asked.

"I was just looking for an adequate spot for lunch today."

"Why don't you just go to the clubroom?"

"I guess you could say I was just looking for something different. I had considered the abandoned school building, but I'm not so sure now."

Natsuki had not seen much of the interior of the abandoned school building herself, but she had seen enough to reply with, "Doesn't exactly seem like a sanitized place to eat?"

"Perhaps…" Yuri replied with a soft chuckle. "So, what led to you deciding to spend lunch here?"

"The fact that I wanted to get away from everyone eating lunch when I don't have anything to eat."

"You really don't have something to eat?"

Natsuki's eyes wavered. "I didn't have a chance to make lunch and I need to save my money for later, so no vending machines…"

"I see…" Yuri glanced at the boxed meal resting in her hands and suggested, "Why don't share with my lunch with me then?"

"Seriously?" For a brief moment, Natsuki's eyes with glistening with relief. However, that relief was soon replaced with hesitation. "…No, I don't want to make you suffer too."

"It's fine. As it happens, I've actually packed enough for two."

"How'd that happen?"

Yuri awkwardly fiddled with her hair. "I… May have had my mind wander to other places thanks to Grimm…"

"Your little sister's stuffed bear?"

"Grimm has been very… 'invested' in certain subjects lately. Only it feels like it's getting to Mali levels of invested and Yuki has to reprimand Grimm every time."

Natsuki shivered. The implications of that response was too much to ignore.

First hearing from Mali that she has a sister much worse than her and now a stuffed toy is causing trouble…! Wait, a stuffed doll causing trouble… What the heck is going on lately?!

Natsuki violently shook her head.

I really hope that doll just stays as a play friend for Yuki's sake.

"So," Snapped out of her thoughts, Natsuki was greeted with the sight of Yuri presenting her lunch to her. "Would you like to share lunch with me?"

"Uh… Y-Yeah, thanks."

Taking a seat against the wall, Yuri opened her lunch box and began portioning the food. Once she was done, the two wasted no time digging in.

"So, what was it like?" Yuri asked.

"What was what like?"

"Your visit to Shujinkou's the day you were absent."

"How'd you-?"

"I have my methods," Yuri said with a soft laugh.

"Don't say that…" Natsuki pleaded, shirking away ever so slightly. "You sound like Mali saying that."

"I don't believe she has the monopoly to that phrase or the actions that give it context."

"I know, but she's all about methods and… it's actually sometimes creepy how much she has everyone's number."

Creepy…

That was a word that Yuri would have used to describe Mali when they first met. Something about her seemed very uncanny.

Given recent events, she doesn't exactly come off that way now… Especially compared to the prelude of that night.

"…Well, to answer your earlier question, I heard that you paid a visit there when I went yesterday evening," Yuri explained.

"Right… Yeah, well just because I couldn't go with you and Rei the day before didn't mean I was never going to go."

"I'm not accusing you of anything. I'm just glad you went at all. To be honest, I was fine until I got inside. Then I was completely wrecked with worry wondering if I could bare to see a friend bedridden the way he was."

"And?"

"Well, it kind of went away when I actually saw him."

"Oh."

Natsuki mindlessly ran her finger across the floor.

"Something wrong?" Yuri queried.

Natsuki shook her head. "I was just thinking that that probably made it easier to talk to him since you're supposed to do that or something."

"You mean how it helps a person in a comatose state?"

"Yeah, I read about that somewhere. Don't really know if it's true or not. If anything, it seems really convenient for the person talking."

"I'm not so sure. I would like to think our words are getting through to Shujinkou, at least to assure him that he has people waiting for him to emerge from his slumber."

Natsuki looked up with an unsure look on her face.

"It'd be pretty awkward if the actual words were actually getting through, I bet. Imagine all the times in stories where you confess something to someone close to you who currently out cold and they actually remember hearing it. That… I would not want to be that person."

"That truly would…" Yuri took a deep breathe and slowly exhaled. Once she was done, a smile was left on her face. "Well, I suppose if that was the case, I'd be glad I didn't say anything truly important when I saw him."

"You didn't?" Natsuki gasped.

"You assumed I did?"

"You don't exactly hold back your feelings when it comes to talking to Shujinkou."

"That's somewhat true, but I guess you could say that's why I didn't."

"Huh?"

Yuri closed her eyes as she turned away. "What I really want to say… I want to say it to him when he's awake."

"But… You don't know when that'll be."

"I know… But I'm fine waiting until then."

Seeing the almost blissful look Yuri displayed at that moment affected Natsuki in a way she couldn't understand. Despite that, she was still able to produce a genuine small smile.

"…This is kind of what I meant when I said you don't hold back," she said, shaking her head. "Shujinkou really is a dummy in a lot of ways."

"Or maybe he's what Mali always calls him."

"'Senpai'?"

"Innocent."

Natsuki crossed her arms and took a moment to recall all the times she had heard Mali say, "Senpai's so innocent". To her it seemed like an additional way to insult him as were the initial time Mali had referred to Shujinkou as her 'Senpai'.

"That's actually the one thing I can agree with her on," she confessed. "He's definitely a lot more innocent than most guys here."

Yuri giggled.

"What's so funny?"

"I'm sorry, it's just… Sometimes it's still a little funny to hear you compliment him like that when you used to act like you didn't like having him around."

"Oh, come on! He was a stranger back then and you know he didn't make the best first impression!" caterwauled Natsuki. "Besides, I didn't see you welcoming him with open arms at first."

"That's true…" Yuri admitted, playing with her hair. "I was really hesitant because I was afraid of alienating someone again. Plus… To be perfectly honest, before I got to know him, something made him seem unapproachable back then. It wasn't his penchant for daydreaming but something else… But I guess we both know what that was now, don't we?

It… really explains a lot, doesn't it?"

"It definitely explains how he was acting at the end of our vacation." Natsuki replied, struggling to keep her expression neutral.

"Mm."

As both had expected after that exchange, there was a noticeable, uncomfortable silence following the end of that topic. It seemed as if it would last the rest of lunch until Yuri spoke up.

"So, how was your visit?" she asked.

"It… It was nicer than I thought it would be. Granted, it was probably no different than yours or the others."

"Did you happen to say anything important to Shujinkou?"

"Not really. If I was going to divulge a secret to him during the only time I could, there was no way I could do it while his mom was around."

"That's true."

Finishing her half of lunch, Natsuki stood up and once again took her post along the railing.

"DDLC Plus, huh…?" she muttered.

"Pardon me?"

"Monika's attempt at a joke with Sayori's overly long name for her operation. Seriously, sometimes Monika's so unsubtle that it warps back around to confusingly subtle."

"That's true. As expected of the former star Debate Team member."

"I'm not even sure if I can call Shujinkou a dummy whenever she's like that."

"About that… I've been meaning to ask: how come you still call him that?"

Natsuki shrugged. "Because he still acts like a dummy sometimes. Why else?"

"Perhaps that stems from the innocence Mali always points out," Yuri suggested.

"So, he's like an innocent dummy?"

"Innocence in something can lead to somewhat unwise decisions. That's what got me thinking about Mali calling him that all the time. At first, I thought she was referring to his kind nature, but now I think she may also be calling him naïve at the same time."

"Wait… Are you defending Shujinkou by using Mali's words or are you agreeing with me that he sometimes acts like a dummy?"

"Ah… I was just arguing from your point of view while taking a middle road."

"So… You are saying he sometimes acts like a dummy? That'd be weird coming from you since you and Sayori usually let him get away with those moments."

"I guess I just see those moments in a different light than you."

Natsuki shot Yuri an annoyed look. "So… Are you saying I'm too unreasonable with him?"

"I'm just pointing out that the relationships we have with him and how we interact are different," Yuri explained. "Despite that, we seem to share how close we are to him."

"…I feel like you added that last part so you wouldn't sound haughty."

"I have learned from my past social mistakes."

"I know. I still can't believe you were the same person that only spoke up to look down on my interests."

Yuri smiled as she replied, "And I can't believe you're the same person who only glared at everyone."

"I didn't glare…" Natsuki mumbled under her breath. "It was stern at worse."

"Plus, you hit Shujinkou with a poster."

Natsuki hung her head and groaned.

"Ugh… That's seriously my Monika's maid café moment, isn't it? Then again…"

With a smirk on her face, Natsuki leaned in close to Yuri and whispered, "I may have hit him on the head, but at least I didn't ask someone I didn't know for long to be my fake boyfriend."

Backing away, Natsuki couldn't help but feel satisfied by how flustered Yuri was, a feeling that increased as she watched her friend bury her frantically bury her face in her hands.

Through them, Natsuki could barely make out a muffled, "Did you really have to bring that up…?"

"You were being pretty relentless to me so… Yes."

"Fair enough…" Yuri's hands slowly dropped back to her sides. There was a distinct look of defeat in her eyes. "That… Was a complicated situation and I was just trying to ease my family's concerns."

"Good thing you knew someone so 'innocent'. I can't imagine anyone else agreeing to something like that you just sprung up on them."

"Yeah… I was desperate and selfish to spring that up on him back then. At least he didn't suffer much."

"Erk-!" The clear regret on Yuri's face hit Natsuki like a dagger to the heart. "Come on, I really doubt hanging out with your family would cause him to suffer, especially seeing how much your little sister likes him."

"That's true. Despite the initial lie, I am glad he's on good terms with them and…" a small smile formed on Yuri's lips, illuminating the previously dark look that lied on it. "…The day was overall nice."

"…Geez, you took my counterattack and found the positive in it," Natsuki said with a defeated sigh. "There's just no winning with you now, is there?"

"Well, if I tried any harder and the situation was reversed, I would probably say the same for you."

"Is that so?"

"I mean, even if you understandably get enraged sometimes, you always seemed to be able to get over stuff much more easily than me."

"Yeah, I guess you do let stuff bother you a lot longer than I do and that's saying something. Still, you are a lot better at not letting that happen. …Recent human paddleball related events, notwithstanding."

"You really are obsessed with that particular moment, aren't you?" Yuri noted.

"Well, maybe I'd be obsessed with the one-man assault if I actually saw that," Natsuki argued. "As it stands, that's more believable to me than the human paddleball, the slingshot kick or Sayori's speedy rescue."

"But were we not advised to move on from it?"

"I am…" Natsuki said with puffed out cheeks. "I'm just having trouble thinking of anything else to keep me from thinking about it. Like, let's forget about the out-there demon possession on Devil's Night thing you brought up or just how weird Shujinkou was acting, are you telling me that you couldn't stop thinking about the near fictional levels of feats?"

"No. Admittedly my mind still wanders back and questions those moments. I'm also quite reminded often of how his touch relieved me of all pain, but I am trying to just leave all of that within those sparse isolated moments," Yuri explained.

"Like I said, you and Sayori really let Shujinkou get away with a lot. But I guess with you two, it somehow shows how much you care or something."

"You say that as if you keeping an eye on him and making sure he doesn't do anything you consider unwise isn't your own way of showing you care."

"Don't say it like that. You make it sound like it isn't natural that I care…" Natsuki had her arms crossed as she looked away.

"I wasn't trying to insinuate that."

"I know, but still… I mean, I know I don't always show it best around him, but I do care for him as much as I do everyone else. …Care so much for the Dummy that it hurts."

Yuri, unable to form a response to those last words, nodded her head.

"…I missed these conversations," she suddenly admitted.

Natsuki turned back, stunned by the vagueness of that statement. "What conversations?"

"Just… these conversations. I missed being able to talk with friends."

"Well, you were the one who decided to punish yourself."

"That's true, but I had friends how were patient and one who gave me the 'kick in the pants' that I needed."

"Heh… I take back what I said, you don't hold back your feelings at all, do you?"

"Not since the end of summer, recent events notwithstanding."

The two shared a brief laugh together.

I want these moments…

…

…..

….

I don't want…

…

….

I…

Meanwhile…

"Mali?"

Sayori's voice echoed throughout the first year classroom where the eponymous student usually spends her day. She expected a faux cheerful response to her call, instead she received worried stares from the students housed in the classroom.

"Um…" Taking a look around, Sayori was gutted to discovered that Mali was not one of those students. "Has anyone seen Mali?"

Amidst some chatter between the students, one girl cautiously approached Sayori and informed her, "Mali's absent today."

"Absent? Is she sick?"

"I don't really know. For all we know, she's here, just not counted for attendance."

"Oh… Okay, thanks anyway."

Walking back into the hallway, Sayori let out a solemn sigh.

"Second day in a row…"