Kazuki's POV.


A bare classroom surrounded by nothing

A lone girl sitting at the sole desk

A whole world of lies

Shattered dreams

Broken heart

Empty eyes

No escape

...

Where are you?


Today is a very important day...or that's what Monika wants me to think. I don't really care about getting new members for the club and it's not like I joined them because I'm actually interested in literature. Still, I can't leave her on her own and it might be fun. I'm not confident in my poems or my ability to recite them, but it's worth giving a shot. Besides, the poem I chose was something I found online, so, that's half the problem gone.

I get up and leave my bedroom. It doesn't take me long to find Natsuki and Yuri, who have already prepared for the school, leaving me the only one who's not ready.

"Well, are you ready for the festival?" - I ask, still a big groggy, but not enough for it to be troublesome.

"Yeah! It might be a little early to say it, but I'm sure we've got it in the bag." - Natsuki replies. Yuri merely nods in response.

Still, they look pretty anxious about this whole thing. Yuri is even shaking a little. I don't think I've seen her like this before. Then again, it's been only a week since I met them.

Fortunately, I don't have to worry about us carrying everything we prepared for the festival as Monika took everything yesterday, but we'll still have to set everything up in the classroom once we're there. The atmosphere must be just right, but we also need to keep practicality in mind. Natsuki's cupcakes are our bait, so, they must be somewhere where it would be easy to spot them from the entrance. Once someone enters, that's where Yuri's atmospheric enhancements come into play. Even if it won't work on everyone, people should feel like staying there for a bit. I'm not sure when exactly we're going to start the performance, but it should encourage some to join and try it out themselves.

With that said, I think it's safe to assume that Yuri and Natsuki are going to attract people too. Someone revealed that they are a part of the literature club and you don't see someone like them every day, so, someone is bound to take a look just because they are a part of it. Then again, going by what Yuri said on Friday, some might want to avoid it completely because of her alone. I still don't know what caused it, but if Monika is fine now, maybe it won't be a problem? Still, I hope that nobody is going to try doing anything they aren't comfortable with.

Ah, I think I should leave such thoughts for later. I've got breakfast to worry about. We can't really work on an empty stomach, right?


"Oh, hello there, Kazuki! You're the first one here. Thanks for being early!" - Monika greets me as I enter the classroom. Natsuki and Yuri went on their own

"Hi, Monika. Is there anything left to be done for the festival?" - I ask. It doesn't look like it.

"Not really. Almost everything is ready. I just need to place these at every desk." - she says as she points at little booklets on her desk. They must be the ones she prepared that has all the poems we're performing. We didn't have much time to practice, but I'm sure we can handle it.

"Good to know." - I say.

"Hey, do you want to check out the pamphlets? They came out really nice!" - she asks. I see no reason not to check them out.

"Yeah, sure." - I reply as I grab one of the pamphlets laid out on the desk.

"What do you think of them?" - she asks.

"They really did come out nice. Something like this will definitely help people take the club more seriously." - I reply. I expected something...cheaper? Well, this is a nice surprise.

"Yeah, I thought so too!" - she says. She's really looking forward to the festival, isn't she?

I flip through the pages. Each member's poem is neatly printed on its own page, giving it an almost professional feel. I recognize Natsuki's and Yuri's poems here. I didn't really get an opportunity to read most of them thanks to whatever happened a few days ago, but that might not be a bad thing. I want to hear them recite their poems.

I turn my head towards the door when I hear it swing open. I see Natsuki standing in the door way.

"Hello, Monika! Are we ready to get things started?" - she asks. Judging by her antennae, she is excited.

"Hello, Natsuki! Yeah, we're almost done. You can take your seat for now. There's still some time left." - Monika replies as she points at one of the desks.

"Alright. Oh, by the way, have you seen Yuri? I can't find her." - Natsuki asks as she looks around the classroom.

"I haven't seen her either. Maybe she has something to take care of? Whatever it is, I hope it's not going to take too much time" - Monika replies.

"That's weird. I haven't been here for long, but she doesn't seem to be the kind of person who would be late. It must be something important." - I say. I hope she's alright.

"...Well, why don't we practice for our performance until she comes? As weird as it is, we can't just waste time." - Monika suggests. I guess that's a good idea, bu-

A blood-curdling scream draws our attention. While that should be alarming on its own, the roar that follows soon after worries me more. I've heard it before and so I can recognize its owner. It's Yuri. And so, with no time to waste, I run out of the classroom towards the source of these sounds. In a matter of seconds, I reach the water fountain.

Among dozens of other students, I see Yuri standing over a girl. I don't recognize her, but the deep cuts on her face and Yuri's foot on the girl's chest are more than enough.

"What's wrong? Where's all that bravado you had mere minutes ago? Haven't your parents told you that it's rude to talk behind somebody's back?" - she asks as she twists her foot, making the girl underneath squirm. Blood drips from the claws on her right hand.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" - I yell at Yuri. That makes her stop and step off the girl before licking the blood off her claws.

"Who dares to speak?" - she asks as she turns around to face me. Her glare is as frightening as it was a few days ago.

Aside from her appearance and voice, this isn't like Yuri at all. Her manner of speech, posture and movements are completely different. With her wings spread, arms crossed over her chest and head slightly tilted up, she exudes an air of superiority and arrogance. She seems to be even bigger now, but I can tell that it has nothing to do with her actual size.

Somehow, despite everything that happened, nobody even tries to move from their spots. They don't even try to run away. It's exactly like what happened to Monika when Yuri entered the classroom on Friday.

"Kneel." - she commands and everyone around me suddenly collapses onto the floor. For some reasons, Yuri seems surprised.

"What has gotten into you?" - I ask, doing my best not to let fear and confusion get to me.

"...How are you still standing? Tell me, Kazuki, what do you expect to gain from helping that bitch? She is at fault here." - she asks, completely ignoring what I said. When she receives no response, she starts walking towards me. I try to back away when she gets too close, but she proves to be faster as she roughly grabs my neck.

"Y-Yuri?" - I wheeze out. While she doesn't tighten her grip, it's still enough to make breathing difficult.

"...What...is this feeling?...You...You're the one responsible for this, aren't you?!" - she suddenly shouts and yet I feel the pressure on my neck decrease. What's going on?!

As if things couldn't get any weirder, her hand suddenly goes from holding my neck to caressing my cheek and her expression shifts from anger to...joy? Whatever it is, that smile is too wide to be humanly possible. Then again, she isn't a human.

"I...I don't know what it is, but you're the one causing it...When I look at you...When I touch you...It gets stronger and...I cannot resist it...Gah! What the hell did you do to me?!" - she suddenly recoils as if she touched a hot stove. Disgust is clearly written on her face.

"W-What are y-"

An ear-piercing shriek interrupts me as she starts clawing at her own face. I get away from her when she starts flapping her wings and flailing her tail wildly to avoid getting cut into ribbons. Needless to say, the sight is just as disgusting as it is bizarre. Numerous deep cuts line her face and yet the blood oozing out of them doesn't drop. It simply hovers in the air before vaporizing.

"NO! This...isn't right! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" - she apologizes before running away. Unfortunately, she's too fast for me to chase her.

In a few moments, the silence is broken by the sound of heavy breathing all around me. This is what Yuri was talking about, isn't it? What happened to her anyway? I've never seen her act like this.

"Kazuki! What happened?" - I hear Monika ask. I didn't notice her arrival.

But before I can turn to face her, something pierces my back. In mere seconds, everything loses cohesion and fades to black.