Kazuki's POV
When I wake up, the first thing I notice is that there's something heavy on top of me. The second thing I notice is that my shoulder is wet. I turn my head to take a look at whatever it is and find Natsuki sleeping on my back. She's drooling. Fortunately, she doesn't seem to have acidic saliva like some monsters do in those old movies, but it's still not very pleasant. I try to crawl from under he-
Suddenly, something squeezes me tightly. I don't have to turn my head to see her spider limbs holding me in place. I try to tell her to stop it, but I can barely wheeze out words. Trying to wiggle out of it only makes it worse. Is this how I'm going to die? Not the best way to go, but it could have been worse. Oh, what a cruel world.
"...Eh? KAZUKI?!" - she shouts as she almost instantly jumps off me.
I don't think there are enough god for me to thank. I do my best to swallow air I've been deprived of. What was she doing here anyway?
...Oh, right. I forgot to tell them where they are going to sleep. That's one hell of an oversight. If Natsuki decided to sleep here, then where is Yuri? There's not much space in my house. Maybe she's in the living room? The kitchen?...The bathroom? Well, I'll find out eventually. I have school to worry about.
I leave my bedroom and, just as I've expected, Yuri is sitting on the floor and reading something...or trying to. She looks drowsy. Did she not sleep? Judging by her face, she hasn't slept in years, but that's obviously not true. I take a look at the book she's trying to read and I don't think I've seen this one before.
"...good...morning..." - she drawls.
"Um, are you okay?" - I ask.
"Oh?...Y...Yes...I'm...fine..." - she replies.
"Man, you really need to go to sleep, don't you?"
"N...No...I...must...finish...th-"
"Do you even hear yourself? Even if the book is that good, everyone needs rest." - I interrupt her as I close her book. She tries to stop me with a noticeable delay.
"Give...it..." - she tries to say something, but it looks like she just gave up.
"You can use my bed if you want to. It's top tier material." - I tell her before giving the book back to her. She...crawls towards my bedroom and wait, since when did she wear a sweater? Eh, I'll leave these questions for later. I can't afford to spend any more time on this.
When I walk towards the classroom I need, I spot Monika in the hall. She looks disheveled and it sounds like she's muttering something.
"Delete character Monika...Delete character Monika...Delete character Monika..."
...What the hell is that supposed to mean? I quickly approach her and she jumps when I touch her.
"AH!"
"..."
"...Oh...Aha...ha...It's you, Kazuki...So, um, how's it been? Anything interesting to talk about?" - she asks.
"...Well, not really. To be honest, I didn't spend much time with them." - I reply, making sure not to tell her that I sort of passed out.
"Okay then! I'll see you later!" - she says before walking out of my sight. Now that was weird. Either way, I have things to do.
I enter the classroom used by the literature club and surprisingly, Monika is already here, sitting at her desk.
"Welcome back, Kazuki!" - she greets me cheerily. She looks slightly better now, but it's still not right.
"So, what is THIS all about?" - I ask.
"Oh, uh, I couldn't sleep last night. You know, too many things on my mind. Then I had to explain what happened here and oh boy, wasn't that just great?" - she replies and I don't want to imagine how it went. I wonder how she explained everything.
"Speaking of that, what are we going to do now that Yuri and Natsuki can't attend school? You can't have a club consisting of 2 members." - I ask.
"...Are you sure they REALLY can't be here?" - she asks in response. Is she serious about it?
"Their school uniforms are ruined and even if they could be here in whatever clothes they want, people would still see that something's wrong about them. Yuri would certainly be noticed even if others usually don't pay attention to her." - I reply.
"...Alright. I was curious, that's all. I suppose we can forget about the festival now." - she says, sadness permeating her voice...or is it disappointment? I can't tell and wait, festival? What festival?
"Oh, that's right, I haven't told you about it but we were supposed to be there on Monday to gain more members. We were going to recite our poems and let others try it too. Having mo- Natsuki and Yuri there wouldn't end well. We're not the anime club, so, we can't just say they are cosplaying as something and it's not Halloween either." - she explains to me before I can ask anything. It sounds like it could have been fun.
"Maybe they'll be back to normal just in time for the festival?" - I say.
"...What if they don't? What if it's permanent? Have you thought about it? Forever confined to your house with no hope of being a part of the human society ever again? We're not going to abandon them, but are we really enough for them? Just thinking about it...it's a horrible fate, isn't it?" - she asks and...damn, that's a horrible way to put it.
"Well, we don't have much of a choice, do we? We can't let others know about it...or at least I don't think we can. People these days aren't going to burn them at the stakes or anything, but...I just...don't know what to do." - I say with a sigh.
"...we have some time to think about it. For now, I've told everyone that they are ill. Maybe we could try to bring them here. Asking them about it wouldn't hurt. We can't really decide everything for them. Now that's just wrong!" - she says with a smile, which doesn't fit what she just said.
"I'll ask them about it...Good grief, what did we get ourselves into?" - I say, gripping my non-existent cap.
"Really now? This is neither the place nor time for this." - she says...Is she a...?
"With that said, it's time to go home. We have nothing to do if we're the only members present in the classroom. Oh! Speaking of that, if they refuse, we could have a literature club at your place!" - she suggests.
"That...sounds...like a good idea? I mean, we wouldn't have to worry about anything if it's my house. Hell, we could even walk around naked and nobody would say anything!" - I say before thinking. Judging by the look on Monika's face, that wasn't the right thing to say.
"...The meeting is over. Go home." - she says with a smile, but I can tell that she's not in a good mood.
When I come back home, I'm greeted by Natsuki.
"You bought everything I asked you to, right?" - she asks.
"Yeah, I did" - I reply, showing her a bag with the things she asked me to buy this morning.
"This gonna be good..." - she says, rubbing her hands before taking the bags from me.
I'm really looking forward to this evening. I don't know what the occasion is, but she told me that she's going to bake cupcakes and that's great to hear. She's still in high spirits despite everything. I thought she wasn't going to be in a good mood after seeing her freak out yesterday, but looks like I was wrong and I'm happy about it.
When I enter the living room, I see Yuri sitting on the floor again and she's not much better than she was earlier. She does look pretty comfortable with her wings draped over her shoulders. I wonder if it actually helps her warm up?
"Did you even sleep like I asked you to?" - I ask.
"Huh?...Oh...yes...I did..." - she replies, but she's either lying or it has something to do with her new body.
"Ooookay then. So, are you going to wait for the cupcakes or have a snack right now?" - I ask and immediately draw her attention.
"YES! YES!...I mean...the latter..." - she replies.
"In that case, go to the kitchen. Sandwiches aren't the best way to go about it, but it should do." - I say.
When we enter the kitchen, I see that everything I've bought has already been unpacked. Natsuki notices us.
"Are you really THAT impatient? I haven't even started yet!" - she says. I shake my head in response.
"No, it's not that. Yuri is too hungry to wait for the cupcakes, so, I decided to make some sandwiches. I want to have one too. What about you?" - I ask. She sighs.
"Alright, let me see what you've got." - she says.
I take out the ingredients I need and get to work...or at least I try to, but the knife seems to be dull. It can't even cu- OW! Okay, maybe that wasn't the best idea. I've accidentally cut my finger while testing the knife's sharpness and so I look fo-
Yuri freezes. She looks wide awake now. Her eyes are fixed on my finger.
"...Yuri?" - Natsuki pokes her, but she receives no response. I move my finger around and Yuri's eyes follow it.
