Monika and Sayori didn't see Natsuki immediately when they walked into Yuri's house, and for a moment, they were a little worried that she had, indeed, gone upstairs to yell at Yuri some more. But, deciding to give their friend the benefit of the doubt, they passed by the stairs and went on into the kitchen, where they were rewarded by the sight of Natsuki gathering a small pile of tea packets and mugs from the cabinets.
"Hey, Natsuki," said Monika, frowning. "Um…that stuff's all Yuri's."
"Trust me, she doesn't mind," Natsuki replied with a small smirk. "She likes to get other peoples' opinions about her tea. If she wakes up to all of us telling her what we thought, she'd damn near thank us."
"Huh," Monika said. "You know her really well, don't you?"
Natsuki squinted. "Yeah. She's my friend."
Monika looked away and pursed her lips. When it came to Natsuki, she truly couldn't tell if she was doing a single thing right.
Thankfully, Sayori was still there to swoop in and save the day. "So, hey! Natsuki! Are you excited for the festival on Monday?"
Natsuki's only response was a shrug as she turned her back to Sayori, filling a teapot with water. "I guess."
As Sayori and Natsuki continued bantering, Monika placed a hand on her chin. That was a rather halfhearted response just now. Clearly, Natsuki wasn't excited at all about the festival. Of course, that would make sense considering the fact that, back in the game, she'd had the desire to keep the club to just the four original members. It seemed like she still harbored those feelings, here. But had she explicitly expressed them yet? It certainly seemed like a situation that hadn't been resolved.
Monika gritted her teeth and furrowed her brow, glad that the attention of the two other girls was off of her while she mulled this over. She wanted to help her friend, but at the same time, felt sure that she was going to fail in that endeavor. Could she afford to take the risk of making her relationship with Natsuki worse?
She clenched her fists. If Sayori could stick by her side despite everything Monika had put her through, then she had to count on Natsuki doing the same in the worst case scenario. She'd just have to try her best and trust that Natsuki would understand.
Monika cleared her throat, and when the next lapse occurred in the conversation, she spoke up.
"Hey, Sayori," she started. "Can I talk to Natsuki alone for a minute?"
Both Sayori and Natsuki looked at her questioningly. "If it's about performing on Monday, I'm still not doing it," Natsuki growled.
"N-No," Monika stammered. "Something else." She gave Sayori a knowing look. Sayori exhaled slightly and gave her a warm smile.
"Well, if you say so. I'll be right outside." Sayori bounced past her merrily. "Knock her dead!" she whispered in Monika's ear on her way by.
Monika smiled. But that smile, as well as her confidence, both dropped tremendously and settled down somewhere in the pit of her stomach soon after she heard the front door close behind Sayori. She was all alone with Natsuki and the pressure was on.
Natsuki huffed and leaned back, resting her hands on the countertop. "Alright, spill."
Monika wrung her hands and tried to figure out where to begin. "Okay, well, I wanted to talk to you about…that is to say, I wanted to reassure you…I, um…"
Monika growled and smacked her forehead with her palms. "Okay, okay, okay. Let me start over."
Natsuki squinted at her, a little worried over that display of physicality, but Monika continued unabated, not allowing herself to acknowledge her lack of confidence even for a second. "I…have been having trouble talking to people lately. It's an issue that I'm working on, but before anything else, I just want to let you know in advance that I might mess up and say something hurtful. If that happens, I promise you that I don't mean it."
"O-kay…?" Natsuki said, crossing her arms.
"Okay," replied Monika, taking another deep breath. "Okay. So, I know that you aren't all that excited for the festival."
Natsuki hummed and looked away, but didn't try to deny it.
"I also know," Monika continued. "That you – and Yuri, as well – don't like the idea of adding new members in the first place. I know that you'd rather the Literature Club stay a close-knit group of friends instead of turning into something bigger and more organized."
Natsuki's eyes sizzled, and she put her hands on her hips. "Ex-cuse me? When exactly did we say anything like that?"
Monika raised her hands defensively and took a step back. "H-Have you not told me that yet?"
"What kind of a question is that?" Natsuki ranted. "Did Sayori tell you? I swear, I'm going to kill that girl one of these days."
"Sayori wouldn't – Look, n-no one told me anything," Monika stammered. She forced her hands down to her sides. "I just…figured it out."
After glaring at Monika for a few moments longer, Natsuki whirled around and busied herself with organizing the tea packets into meaningless little rows. "Okay. So, we're not into the idea of newcomers. Are you going to give me a speech about sharing my love of writing with the world or some bullcrap like that?"
"I-I'm not trying to change your mind," Monika said, growing increasingly flustered. Why on Earth did she think it would be a good idea to have this kind of a conversation with Natsuki, of all people? "I'm trying to…"
But what was she trying to do? She didn't have a solution to Natsuki's feelings, and she certainly couldn't stop the festival from happening. So, what could she say that would help her friend?
After a moment or two of hard thinking, Monika continued. "I want you to know that…I understand your feelings. And, as the club's president, I'm going to take them into consideration moving forward."
Natsuki stopped what she was doing and peeked over her shoulder. "Yeah? How so?"
"I…well, I don't know yet," Monika admitted. "The festival's going to happen one way or another, because Sayori and I still want new members. But if you and Yuri don't, that's half the club. I can't ignore that."
She leaned her elbows on the countertop in front of her and stared off into space. "Maybe we could…I don't know…make it so that the full club only meets for some of the week? Keep designated days that are just us four? Something like that?"
She looked up at Natsuki hopefully, but received only a pair of crossed arms and an intense, if slightly curious, glare. She sighed and squeezed her hands into tight fists. Time to finish it off.
"I want the Literature Club to be for everyone, and that includes you and Yuri. I don't know how the club will change in the future, but I just wanted to promise you that I'm going to do my best to make sure that it changes in a way that makes you just as happy as everyone else."
Natsuki huffed ambiguously. Monika huddled her arms closer to herself, sweating through her skin, unable to meet her friend eyes.
The sound of a showerhead turning on upstairs broke the silence.
Natsuki rolled her eyes and giggled. "Finally. Such a slowpoke."
Monika hummed, but smiled despite herself. "I wouldn't call Yuri slow…"
"No, seriously," Natsuki continued. "Everything's got to be just right with her. She can't do it otherwise 'cause she's always so caught up in the details. I've started doing all of her housework for her just so that it can get done this century."
"Housework?" Monika chuckled. "You two must hang out a lot."
Natsuki squinted at Monika. "Isn't that what friends do?" she growled dangerously.
"Oh. Of c-course. Sorry," Monika said sheepishly.
Natsuki smirked. "It's fine. Anyways," she said, uncrossing her arms. "I appreciate the gesture. I'm sure Yuri will, too."
"I hope so," Monika said, bowing her head. "Thank you for being so understanding."
Natsuki rolled her eyes and looked away. "Come on, none of that. You're embarrassing yourself."
"S-Sorry," Monika said again, straightening up quickly.
"Quit apologizing already!" Natsuki said firmly, turning around to check the teapot. "And go grab Sayori, the water's almost done."
"Oh, yeah. Sure," Monika said, turning on her heel. She walked to the front door with the proudest of smiles on her face. She'd succeeded fantastically.