Kazuki's POV.
Endless chattering and promises of a horrible fate delivered in a sweet voice
Millions of eyes closely observing my every movement with excitement
Thousands of legs moving in unison to catch the unlucky victim
All I can do is run and run before they can catch up with me
I can already see the heavenly light coming from the exit
I should have listened to them all before going here
I should have noticed the signs of danger
I can already feel the warmth of the sun
But I know now that it is too late
It's behind me
I'm woken up from the nightmare by the lack of oxygen. I open my eyes and quickly find out what's wrong. Yuri is sleeping on my bed, holding me in an uncomfortably tight embrace with her tail wrapped around my legs and my face buried in her chest. I would feel much better if I could actually breathe and so I try to escape.
"Huh? What's the m-K-K-KAZUKI?!" - she shouts before jumping off like a scared cat and running away.
I breathe heavily in desperate need for oxygen. I'm not sure if I would actually like it if it happened every day. I still kinda need my lungs and ribcage. Then again, the thought of it is still pretty nice.
"Good morning, everyone." - I greet the girls as I leave my bedroom. Yuri's skin still has a pink hue and Natsuki's face makes it obvious that she knows why.
"Good morning, Kazuki! Slept well with that big scaly pillow of yours?" - Natsuki asks, her grin still present.
"N-N-Natsuki!" - Yuri stutters with embarrassment. I'm not feeling any better about it, but I try not to show it...TRY not to show it.
"A-Anyway, are you ready for today?" - I ask, failing to keep my composure just as I expected. They exchange looks, but I have no idea why.
"Y-Yeah, can't you see it?" - Natsuki replies. She's already wearing her uniform and looks ready to go. It's safe to assume that she's been awake for quite some time.
"Um...I'll be ready in a few minutes..." - Yuri mutters. She certainly has a lot to work on. Her hair is in a mess and her face...well, I don't think there's anything she can do about that skin color or what looks like dark circles under her eyes. At least she doesn't look as tired as she was yesterday. I don't know how much blood she drank yesterday, but it certainly helps her a lot. I just hope she won't fall asleep.
"Okay then. Here's hoping it goes well..." - I say. For some reason, neither seems sure about it, but I can tell that they are excited thanks to Yuri's tail and Natsuki's antennae...wait, something is wrong here...
'What's with that look?" - Natsuki asks me.
"Where are all of those extra limbs you have?" - I ask in response. It doesn't look right at this point.
"Oh, that? Well, they are wrapped around my chest and shoulders. I didn't know how to put these clothes on with those things on my back." - she explains.
"...That doesn't sound comfortable at all. You hit me with them before and they didn't feel very nice." - I say.
"It's not like my chest is any better no-ANYWAY, I think you two have things to do, don't you?" - she asks, but I still heard that little bit. I don't want to know what she meant by that. I just...don't. There is something I'm curious about though.
"So, Yuri...what were you doing on my bed?" - I ask, trying my best to keep myself calm.
"U-Um, you see, I was...Er...I felt chilly and tried to find something warm. Natsuki was too cold to my liking and so I chose you. I-I'm sorry for that! I didn't mean to...um...well..." - she replies, her voice trailing off. I can see Natsuki glaring at her, but it's gone within seconds.
"I-I see...Well then, why don't we have breakfast first?" - I suggest.
"...Okay, sure." - Natsuki replies, her eyes still fixed on Yuri who simply nods in response to my suggestion.
With my classes about to end, I wonder how the girls are doing. So far, I haven't heard anyone scream and I've yet to receive any messages or calls from them. I assume everything is going alright, but that's all I can do until I actually ask them about it. I'm still not sure if this is a good idea or if it's going to be a disaster.
Now that I think about it, this whole thing is rather...weird. Why would Monika even suggest them to go to school knowing what happened to them? Why didn't they stay at home? Natsuki probably has some friends here, but Yuri herself said that she doesn't have anyone she would really miss here and she seems to be much less active during the day. All things considered, she shouldn't be here. Is there something I'm missing? Something I don't know? Thinking about it, when Monika returned right after Natsuki and Yuri's transformations were complete, she didn't start panicking or even look scared until she saw me. Ma-
The bell rings, distracting me from my thoughts. I should probably leave it for later. Now is time for the literature club. I'm actually curious about what the girls' day was like. I hope nothing bad happened to them...or others. I have no reason to worry about their safety as I know how strong they are, but I can't say anything about people around them.
When I open the door to the classroom we use for the club, I'm greeted by the sight of Monika...sleeping on a desk. I approach her to w-
"IT'S TIME TO EXCHANGE POEMS!" - she suddenly stands up and screams, making me jumps. Well, at least she looks better than yesterday. Man, I've never seen her in such a horrible state before that day. I half expected her to become something else too.
"H-Hello, Monika..." - I greet her.
"Oh, um...Hi, Kazuki. Sorry about that. Now then, are they here?" - she asks and I can't help but notice that something is missing here.
"Yes, they should be coming in a few minutes, but...where is your bow?" - I ask, pointing at her loose hair. It looks much longer when it's no longer bound by anything.
"My bow? What are you talking about? It's h- oh...Jeez, I've been surprisingly absentminded lately, haven't I? I swear this isn't what I'm usually like." - she replies with a pout.
I hear the door open and see Natsuki walk into the classroom. She looks pretty happy, which in turn makes me feel better about this idea.
"Oh, hi Natsuki! It's been a while, hasn't it? How was your day?" - Monika asks before I can do.
"Hello, Monika! You look...good today? Anyway, it was pretty fun. I thought it was going to be dull or uncomfortable with everyone staring at me, but it was much better once I got past all those stupid questions about what happened to me! Oh man, their faces when I entered were good on their own, but you should have seen them when I did this!" - she says before opening her mouth. Just like that time when I...er...tried to force her to produce web, her mouth splits into five parts, but this time, teeth emerge from each part and...even her...throat...Monika even jumps a little at the sight of it.
"Jesus Christ, Natsuki, you're not supposed to do that unless you're trying to give someone a heart attack!" - Monika exclaims. Fortunately, Natsuki closes her mouth.
"C'mon, people thought it was cool. Well, except for one asshole, but he complained about other things like the screaming skull on my...abdomen, was it? Either way, he refused to let me attend his classes and I had to wait for a while with nobody to talk to aside from my spiders." - Natsuki says in response. The last bit draws Monika's attention.
"Your spiders? I don't remember you keeping any pets, let alone spiders..." - Monika muses with her hand under her chin and a puzzled expression on her face.
"Ah, right, you don't know. I'll show you what I'm talking about later. It's kinda hard to make them come out with these clothes, but I can assure you that they are amazing." - Natsuki replies.
I hear the door open. Suddenly, Monika's body tenses up and her eyes widen. She looks...scared. Terrified. Her eyes are fixed on Yuri standing in the door way, but the girl in question looks just as confused as I am.
"Uh...hello, Ms. Club President?" - Yuri greets meekly, but Monika doesn't respond. She can barely breathe.
"Monika? Are you alright?" - I ask, my voice laden with worry. Natsuki looks worried too.
"Y-Yuri..." - she manages to wheeze out.
"Ah...you too, huh..." - Yuri mutters, her hands fiddling with her hair.
"What are you talking about? What happened?" - I ask.
"Well...how should I put it...Almost everyone I've seen has been acting strangely. They didn't say anything or even try to approach me. Most of the teachers treated me differently too. Even when I gave them incorrect answers, they accepted them immediately. So far, only you, Natsuki, some of my classmates and two teachers didn't behave any differently. It's like they are just...scared of me. However, there were people among those exceptions and they...aren't exactly known for their bravery. When I entered and explained everything, they were confused at worst." - Yuri replies. That certainly sounds weird.
"Hm? I didn't have anyone react to me that way. You don't look that scary either and even if you were, I'm sure they would have ran away or something." - Natsuki says and I agree. Aside from her monstrous strength and appetite, Yuri is not that bad...as far as I know.
"...Y...Yuri...C-Could you...leave the classroom...for a second?" - Monika asks with some effort. Yuri seems confused, but she still complies. As soon as she's out of the classroom, Monika relaxes and starts gasping for air. A few seconds later, Yuri comes back and Monika tenses up again. What is going on?
"...I see...This is...odd..." - Monika says with a strained voice. Yuri appears to be deep in thought.
"Oh my God...And here was I, thinking everything was going to be alright..." - Natsuki says with her face buried in her hands, clearly not happy with the current situation.
"...Okay...Kazuki...Natsuki...Could you leave me and Yuri...alone for a bit?...You can go home now...I'll see you tomorrow..." - Monika asks, struggling to keep herself standing. We decide not to make her strain herself any more and leave the classroom.
"Is it really a good idea to leave them all by themselves?" - I ask no one in particular.
"WHO. CARES? I mean...you trust them not to do anything stupid, right? Then let's just go home. Yuri can catch up with us quickly." - Natsuki says. I swear I saw her eyes flicker for a moment.
