Yuri's POV.


If there is one harmless thing I hate the most about my new body, then it's certainly the feeling I have during the day. My social skills and lack of confidence in myself are problems on their own, but being too tired to even express myself only amplifies them. Even if I decide to take a nap, it still refuses to subside until the night comes or...well...I drink blood. It would be nice to walk around during the day without that awful feeling and that exquisite taste of blood is a cherry o-

Intrusive thoughts aside, I am curious about why blood from that cupcake Kazuki bit didn't make me lose control again. Back when...that happened, all I could think about was having a taste of the precious red liquid leaking out of the wound on his finger and sinking my fangs into his soft an- I couldn't resist it, but this time, I didn't even feel anything. Could it be that only human blood is suitable for me? That would be awfully overspecialized. Whatever I am now, I'm certainly not something that should be able to live...if I can still be considered to be alive, that is. It's a strange thing to think about.

With that said, I'm still hungry and it looks like Monika isn't going to eat her last cupcake...Don't mind if I do...

"Hey, Yuri...I think we need to talk. Again. No bullshit this time either." - Natsuki says as she wipes the blood on her mouth. Honestly, I didn't expect her to eat it, but I can handle such gruesome scenes...I'm actually curious about their taste...

"Later...At night..." - I drawl, something I'm not pleased with. I'm sure she'll understand why I want to leave this conversation for later.

"...Fine. Just don't try to avoid the subject or anything. It's important." - she says after a drawn out sigh.

With a cupcake in my mouth, I think of what she was probably wanted to talk about. We are certainly not mentally stable. While I still haven't figured out what triggers it, I can say for sure that it's related to what we are now. I don't know what exactly Natsuki goes through, but when...it happens, it doesn't feel like someone else is in control. It's more like I start thinking differently, but it feels completely natural until I'm back to normal. It's as if I always was an obnoxiously arrogant and needlessly cruel beast with complete disregard for all life except I never was like this. One would think of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde or werewolves in general, but it's not like that at all.

It would be a good idea to inform Kazuki of this, but something holds me back. I can only assume that it's fear of rejection, but I've been through this enough times to get used to it, however unfortunate that is. I don't see anything that would make this situation any different...aside from what happened to me, that is. I have a place I can call home too, so, I could just leave whenever I wanted to. However, there's something holding me here and I still haven't figured it out. It's not the same feeling I had when offered the choice to go to school again, but it's still something I can't explain.

"Um, guys? You've got to see this." - Kazuki shouts from his bedroom. He doesn't sound like he's about to panic, so it's probably nothing truly important. Natsuki exchanges glances with me and we go to the bedroom.

Needless to say, what we see on the screen isn't very surprising.

"It's...us..." - I mutter as the first post is displayed on Kazuki's monitor. 'So...where's Kimihito?' is written there. The quality of my photo seems much lower than on Natsuki's, so, these were taken by different people.

"Yeah, no shit. Hey, check those comments out...or maybe not..." - Natsuki says and...well, none of them surprise me either.

'First!'

'It look great and all, but who the fuck are they supposed to be cosplaying as?'

'spiders don't have antennae'

'I'd tap that.'

"I'd squeeze those honkers, but I'm afraid she'd bite my hands off if I tried to"

"I think I've seen the small one somewhere before..."

'The dragon girl is looking kinda ret-'

"Can you scroll down a bit?" - Natsuki asks, clearly annoyed by what she's reading, and Kazuki complies. He keeps scrolling until he reaches a post with what appears to be a video.

'The pink-haired girl's classmate here, I can confirm that this is all very real. Take a look at this.'

The video shows Natsuki surrounded by her classmates. I can barely hear anyone in the video, but I don't think it's important. Twenty seconds later, Natsuki opens her mouth like she did when she attacked me. She keeps it open long enough for whoever recorded this to show the viewer what her mouth looks like on the inside. I don't remember seeing teeth in her throat, but then again, I was paying more attention to her mouth so I could close it properly.

"...Natsuki?" - I call her out, waiting for an explanation with the best stern expression I can make in my current state. Honestly, that was reckless. She shouldn't have drawn so much attention to herself.

"Um, well, you see, I...Okay, I've got nothing." - she confesses, cowering under my scrutinizing gaze. I don't know what it looks like from her point of view, but I can imagine what it would look like with my eyes. I suppose I should feel sorry for her?

"To be fair, it could have been worse. You could have been caught by some top secret organization and kept in specialized cages for the rest of your lives or something." - Kazuki says, but I don't think it improves anything.

"Where's Monika anyway?" - Natsuki asks.

"In the bathroom" - Kazuki replies. It's been a while since she went there.

"...I don't think...she's going to like this...unless it helps make the literature club...more popular...in some roundabout way." - I say. She's been quite desperate to get more members if her idea with the festival is anything to go by, so, I wouldn't be surprised if she ended up using us as some sort of bait.

"I bet the festival is going to be a doozy..." - Natsuki mumbles.

"Oh...right...Kazuki, could you...buy something?" - I ask. I can't go outside like this and I don't want to draw any more attention to myself, so, someone else has to buy what I need for the festival.

"Um, sure? Just write down a list for me and I'll buy it." - he replies and I nod before leaving the room.

My goal is to create a unique and unforgettable atmosphere for whoever decides to stop by. An experience that will leave them wanting more...um, in a good way. Essential oils should work well for that. Maybe Jasmine? It enhances one's emotions and helps you feel them flow through your body...hm...Yes, that will be perfect for sharing our poems. But first, we'll need something to disperse it...Ah, there's so much to think of...

"Okay, everyone! I'm sorry, but now it's time for me to take my leave. I'll be back tomorrow, so, don't worry about having to do all of this by yourself. See you!" - I hear Monika say. A sound of the door opening and closing follows soon after.


Finally, the moon shines down upon me and I am free to do as I please. Unfortunately, Kazuki is already in his bed, so, he cannot assist me. I can make the curtains and the banner all by myself, but for some reasons, it doesn't feel right without him. Oh well, if I'll need company, I can ask Natsuki to help me. She has nothing to do at the moment and she has yet to go to bed. I'm not sure when she's supposed to be sleeping, but it seems to be relatively normal compared to me.

Speaking of Natsuki, we must have a talk. I can't delay it any further. I look for the littl-I mean the girl and find her in the kitchen, but it doesn't look like she's doing anything important.

"Um...so, what did you want to talk about?" - I ask despite knowing exactly what she wanted to discuss.

"Well...I think it's obvious at this point that we've got some screws loose in our heads. It doesn't matter whatever the fuck causes it. We either fix this or pack our things and run as far as we can without looking back. We can't let anyone be hurt if we go apeshit or something. We're going to tell him about it and we do it together. For real" - she replies.

"...I don't think that's a good idea." - I say. She doesn't look happy to hear it.

"Oh? And why do you think it isn't?" - she asks with her arms crossed.

"Just...What are we going to accomplish? Even if he doesn't abandon us, there's still nothing he can do. Even if there is a wizard out there who can help us, what are the odds of finding him?" - I reply, slightly more agitated for my liking.

"Y-You are right, but...but..." - she tries to counter, but it looks like she has nothing to say.

"All we're going to accomplish is making him wary of us. Eventually, mere caution will turn into fear as he sees it happen more and more frequently and that's when things get ugly." - I continue.

"...Then what are we supposed to do? Keep our mouths shut? That doesn't sound right either." - she finally retorts.

"I...I don't know...We can only hope that we'll figure it out before we become a threat...Either way, we shouldn't make him worry about us. We've overstayed his welcome as it is." - I reply.

"...Fine. But if something goes wrong, you can bet your ass I will never let you live it down." - she says before leaving the kitchen.

This conversation didn't take as much time as I thought it would. She didn't fight back as fiercely as she usually does, which is something that bothers me the most. She kept going even when she had no viable argument, but this? This isn't like her at all. I shouldn't be so insistent on keeping him oblivious to our real problems either. I didn't feel like either one of us lost control again...What's going on?