Kazuki's POV.


The sun rises to shine down upon our little town.

Natsuki told me to rest, but I simply couldn't sleep. I couldn't stop thinking of Yuri. Monika said that she will soon lose herself, but how much time do we have before that happens? She could already be gone and we wouldn't even know it until we find her. If that happens, I don't know what we're going to do. That other side of her was mad at me last time we met and if Monika's words are to be trusted, then my chances of survival are pretty low. Monika also told us that she's gone mad, but she didn't tell us what exactly she meant by that. It could end up being a problem, but we don't have enough information about it to adjust our plans accordingly.

I wonder what exactly Natsuki has in mind. She told me that she's going to use her spiders to help us restrain Yuri, but she didn't tell me how. Maybe she didn't know the answer either. I don't know what to expect from them at this point. Apparently they can change their forms if it's required to carry out Natsuki's orders, but neither of us know their limits. Perhaps that is what she spent the whole night on? Hopefully she can get something useful out of them.

Of course, they are only a part of our plan. The most important thing here is Natsuki's web. If we can't actually restrain her, then it's all pointless. Fortunately, it proved to be very durable. Not even Natsuki herself could damage it without using her saliva, which is the only way to get rid of it once it's formed. The only problem is that we need time to actually bind Yuri. We can't leave any body parts unrestrained, but if we have no other choise, then her wings should be the top priority target. Without the ability to fly, her mobility will be severely restricted and we won't have to worry about getting cut by the blades on her wings.

...Alright, enough thinking. I get up from my bed and walk out of the ro-

As soon as I step out of the room, an obnoxiously loud screech stops me. I look around for its source and find one of those camera spiders. Looks like she didn't get rid of them...wait, the markings on their abdomens is back to Natsuki's hair clip...So...these are new.

"Ah! Kazuki! Didn't I tell you to rest?" - Natsuki yells as she approaches me.

"You did, but...How can I rest at a time like this?" - I reply. She narrows her remaining eye.

"I get it, but you're not doing anyone any good by losing sleep over this mess...You're not going to listen, are you? You idiot..." - she says, her voice trailing off at the end.

"...So, any progress on...whatever it is that you've been doing since yesterday?" - I ask before she can go back to the living room.

"Yeah, I'm done. Just gotta set them up properly. But I'm not going to show you anything. I don't want you to end up screwing everything up. No offense, but you're not exactly subtle and she's quite perceptive." - she replies.

"I'm not going to deny that. Do you have any ideas on what to do once she can no longer harm us?" - I ask.

"Nope, I'm drawn to a blank. I thought about beating sense into her, but that's not guaranteed to work and I don't think she's going to be okay after that if it actually works." - she replies.

Honestly, I still don't know what to do either. We don't have the information needed to come up with a way to help her. I'm tempted to try out Monika's solution, but it just sounds so...stupid. This isn't some fairy tale where power of love fixes everything. Then again, none of this should be possible. For all we know, there's some evil witch who decided on a whim to turn Yuri and Natsuki into monsters. Hopefully this is the first and the last time it happened if it somehow is true.

"Well, we'll think about that later. We're moving out in twenty minutes. Every single second could change everything." - I say. It should be enough to prepare ourselves for what comes next.


When Monika said that Yuri's house radiates a malignant aura, I didn't think it was something that we could actually see. However, there are no sounds coming from it, something that contradicts what she said. This could be either a good or a bad sign.

"...Are you ready?" - Natsuki asks and I nod in response. I'm actually not ready for this, but we can't waste time.

We carefully approach Yuri's house. We don't have the keys to open the door, but breaking the door down would leave an opening that would let Yuri escape. Fortunately, Natsuki's spiders are small enough to pick the lock. As the door opens, we brace ourselves expecting Yuri to attack us only to find no one. We lock the door again as we enter her house.

We look for Yuri on the ground floor, but it turns out to be completely empty, which means she must be upstairs. The claw marks lining the stairway should have made it obvious, but she could have went downstairs at some point after making them and so we had to check.

As we ascend the flight of stairs, I hear a strange sound coming from somewhere upstairs. I hear it again and again, but I can't tell what it's supposed to be. The fear clearly shows on Natsuki's face, but she doesn't let it deter her.

Finally, we reach the source of these sounds. To say that the room was a mess would be an understatement. Torn books, broken furniture, windows lined with scratches and even more claw marks on the walls make up a very unpleasant sight. Surrounded by this mess is Yuri, but I can't see what she's doing.

Suddenly, Natsuki's body tenses up. Looks like she noticed us.

"Why...Why did you come here?" - Yuri asks with a hoarse voice as she turns to face u- Is that a knife sticking out of her chest?

"We came to help you, Yuri." - I reply. Her eye widen as she clutches her head.

"No...No...No no NO NO! You shouldn't have come here! You shouldn't have! You...Ah...I see...I see!" - she shouts, but then she suddenly starts laughing.

"Y-Yuri?" - I stammer, but she doesn't stop. Yuri keeps laughing and laughing, but there's no joy in that laugh. It keeps going for what feels like hours before she finally stops.

"You really hate me that much, don't you? You all just want to see me suffer...The world itself wants me to suffer..." - she says with an inhumanly wide smile.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" - Natsuki asks.

"Why else would this happen to me? Years...For years I've been called a freak for simply liking something different, but now? They are right! I am a freak! Cursed to live for eternity as everything crumbles to dust! I'll have to watch you all wither and die while I stay the same. I'll watch your children wither and die while I can't have any of my own! I can't even kill myself to avoid this torture! No matter what I do, it never fucking works! Even when I finally managed to tear my head off, it still didn't work! It doesn't even hurt much!" - she keeps rambling, her claws digging deeper and deeper into her skull as she starts clawing at her face.

"Yuri, calm down! Let's just ta-"

"And now you came! You came to watch me suffer!...but...I can't bring myself to hate you...You are my friends...You were the only thing that mattered in my life...And that's exactly why I must do this...Do this while I still can..." - she interrupts me as she pulls the knife sticking out of her. Her self-inflicted wounds are already gone.

"Wh-"

Natsuki tackles me down to the floor before a knife can pierce my head. I look at Yuri again to see her smile falter. I expected her to look angry or disappointed, but she looks sad.

"Please...Please don't make this harder for me!" - she pleads before her expression suddenly shifts. Sadness changes into barely contained anger as her posture changes.

"It's time to get to work, Kazuki! There's no point in trying to talk her out of this!" - Natsuki says as she helps me get up from the floor.

"Have you finaly realized the consequences of your actions? You've done this to me. You're the one responsible for this. You will pay for it with your life. Still, I must say that your decision to approach me during the day was a good one...but there is something you failed to take into account...You see, I am not completely helpless. I will have to rest for a while once I'm done with this, but it will be worth it. While I would normally take my time killing you, I cannot afford to let you live any longer lest I lose my mind completely. With that said..." - Yuri says. She closes her eyes for a second and when she opens them again, their color changes from purple to bright red. Her posture changes again as she hunches over and spreads her wings.

"Alright, just remember our plan..." - I whisper. I didn't want it to come to this, but we didn't come here without preparing for this outcome.