(Yoku's POV)
I knock on Sayori's door to see if she is already up. Sayori opens the door and happily greets me with a cheerful smile. I hand her some bacon and eggs that I made earlier.
" Let's get going? Natsuki already left with Akami-sensei." Sayori pauses for a second, then nods at me.
We walk towards the school in a relatively fast pace. God dammit, Sayori finding out about Natsuki's problems might halt her recovery from depression. I was about to ask Sayori about this when she gives me a look of resolve.
" Yoku... I know you will be angry aboht this, but please let me help! I want to help Natsuki with her problems. I'm her friend after all, and friends help each other." Sayori clenches her fist and her eyes light up with resolve and confidence. She has an assuring tone in her voice.
" Sayori, I know how much you want to help, but... Think about your safety. Natsuki's dad is a dangerous person, and I don't want you to get hurt." I say to her with a tone of concern. She merely scoffs at me and laugh.
" Well, you're here to protect me! You saved me once, and I know you can save me again if anything happens." Sayori chuckled nervously as I sigh loudly.
" I won't always be around to protect you, you know?" I grumble quietly towards her.
" Wah?! Then you're not a super hero?" She looks at me with a sad expression.
" What gave you the idea that I am a superhero?" I ask curiously while I kept my gaze ahead of us.
" Well, you always help those in need. Not to mention you are my personal hero... afterall, you did save me from myself." Sayori gave me a warm smile. She took hold of my blazer's sleeve to keep up with my fast pace.
" Slow down~ You're walking too fast! The school is just there, it's not gonna run away! Waaaaait~" Sayori begins to whine and start to slow me down.
The reason I am walking quickly is because I saw it. The black car that was driving around last night. Maybe because I'm worried about Natsuki, I began to pick up the pace towards school. As we made our way to school, I begin explaining to Sayori why we have to move quickly. I finish telling her what I just saw when we reach the crowded school grounds. We made our way up to the Literature Club and we frantically enter the door, nearly stumbling down on the floor on top of each other. We look around to see Yuri, Natsuki and Monika inside, with surprised and shocked expressions.
" Woah, what's the rush? Something happened?" Natsuki stands and walks towards us. I smile in relief, it seems she was not spotted by her father.
" Not really, we just wanted to see if you are safe. Ehehe~" Sayori blurts out as she begins to chuckle.
" Huh? Safe? W-What do they mean, Natsuki?" Yuri asks worriedly.
" It's... nothing. Don't worry yourself Yuri."
Natsuki put on a smile as she did her best to not worry Yuri. Sayori, had other thoughts however.
" Fine?! You're being hunted by your meanie papa! You're not at all fine!" Sayori bursts out, unable to contain her emotions. Monika interjected to prevent any more fighting.
" Sayori, calm down. Look, Natsuki is in a dire situation right now, so it's best if we do our best to ease her stress." Monika took a deep breath, and let out a heavy sigh.
" Natsuki, I promise you that I... We will not let anything happen to you. Okay?" Monika walks over to Natsuki and pats her head. Natsuki pouts and hiss at this.
" I'm not some cute, little dog, okay?! So stop patting me!" Monika laughs and pull back her hand from this little ball of anger and cuteness.
" Sorry! Sorry! Ehehe~ But you know, yiu are cute, right Yoku?" Monika looks at me with a mischievous grin plastered all over her face.
" Huh? Uhm... Yeah, Natsuki has that cute tsundere charm that many people like." I join Monika in teasing Natsuki.
" I-I'm... NOT C-C-CUTE!!! I-Idiot!" Natsuki turns around to hide her embarrassed face from us.
" Ehehe~ I want to join too. " Sayori whispers to me with a smug face.
" Nah, let's stop picking on Natsuki. I think it's time to look a different booths in the school." I said out loud in the room. It got everyone's attention.
" Oh right, I forgot about that. Okay everyone, let's go check the booths together." Monika clasps her hands and excitedly walks towards my side.
" Yoku will be the one to lead us! I'm gonna let Yoku be the club leader for today." Monika pats me on my lower back with the force of a truck.
" Ow! Hey, watch it! Anyway, I heard from Akami-sensei that there is a pretty nice cafe in the Cooking Club." I rub the spot where her hand made contact while I put on a smile.
" Let's get going then, shall we?" Monika suddenly takes my hand and runs out the door while the others follow her lead.
We made our way into the school's Home Economics Lab where the Cooking club could be found. We enter the door merrily, only to be greeted with girls in french maid uniforms and cat or dog ears. Half of the room is used as the seating and dining area, while the rest of the facility is used for cooking and the like. There are a lot of tables and all of them are covered in fine table cloths and beautiful center pieces. Well, this is the third most heavily funded club in the school. I could feel the gaze of the four behind me, it was like my very soul is being judged. The room is filled with people, but near the window is a large table where we could see a familiar man sitting and ordering something. There is no doubt about it, the way he charms the waitress serving him and the way the poor girl is mesmerized by his words, that man is the god we call-
" Akami-sensei! Hi!~" Sayori runs up to the god, who was surprised and immediately sends off the girl to the kitchen.
" Geez, what kind of a teacher flirts with a student? How repulsive..." Natsuki groans at Akami-sama, who laughs nervously.
" I expected more from a teacher like you. How vulgar and immoral." Yuri quietly mutters to herself.
" Oh! Y-You got it all wrong! I was just complimenting her about how impressive she is! That's all!" The god shakes his head in order to deny the accusations being thrown at him. He looks at me and I could see in his eyes he wants me to help him.
" Let's just sit down and forget about that, right guys? After all, he is treating us." Akami-sensei's eyes widen and looks at me in shock, but gave in. Everyone took a sit and began to order.
" I didn't come here for the girls... I came here for the delicious parfait and banana crêpe made by the cooking club. Although, if I must say... the person who thought about the attire in this place has great taste." The god looked lecherously at the highschool waitresses that served in the cafe. He had a stupid grin on his pleased face.
" Disgusting... Ugh..." Natsuki shiver as she let out these words. Sayori looks as though she is saddened by the actions of this god.
" Akami-sensei, you shouldn't look at underaged girls like that. You might get sent to prison, and no one would be able to teach me Science as well as you." Sayori softly said to the god, who know looked ashamed.
" Very well... but for your information, I am looking at the costumes, not the girls." He exclaims to us before calling a waitress and ordering a parfaits, crêpes for all of us and a cup of coffee for me and Monika.
We proceed to chat about our plans for today and what booths we will visit. We shut down Akami-sama's plan to check on the Anime Club's cosplay event. From what I heard, today is the girl's turn to cosplay. After talking for a while, we decided to go check out the different food stalls in the quadrangle, visit the musical performance by the Music Club, then go visit the Art Club's gallery before going into the horror hallway set up by Occult and Supernatural Studies Club. What the hell? What kinds of club does this school allow?
The food we ordered is finally here. We began to dig in and enjoy the sweet treats in front of us. As expected of the Cooking Club, this is delicious! We made our positive remarks for a moment before continuing to finish the treats in front of us. It seems the ice cream used in the parfait is home made and the batter for the crêpe is also made from scratch. After we finished eating, Akami-sensei paid for the food and we rested for a moment to let the sweet treat we have eaten settle down in our stomachs. After we are done resting, we stand up and left the cafe to go walk around and participate in the school festival.
Sayori spent all her money on the different foods found in the quadrangle, I lent her some money due to her begging me for it. Monika enjoyed the musical that was presented my the Music Club. She really enjoyed the part where someone plays the Moonlight Sonata on the piano. Natsuki was amazed by the art in the Art Club's room, but she was more interested in the manga that was created by the Art Club's president. I bought her the manga she was looking at, then got a " I-I d-didn't ask you to b-buy this me... dummy" response from Natsuki. At the end of the day, we went trough the 'Hallway of Horrors' one of the east wings of the school. Sayori and Natsuki stayed behind, along with Akami-sama. Monika, Yuri and I made our way to the end of the hallway. As Yuri was having a thrill, Monika and I were really disturbed. One of the jump scares is a hanged man, the other was a body with multiple knives sticking out and a mannequin with a broken neck and black eyes. This brought back tons of bad memories. As we reach the end of the hallway and went around the back to fetch the group, Yuri looks at us and asks.
" Umm... A-Are you two alright? D-Did I dragged you g-guys into something you don't like? T-The two of y-you look pale, it almost seem like you both saw a real ghost." Yuri asks with a worried tone.
" Nah, we're fine. We are just still recovering from some of the jump scares." Monika replies to Yuri to comfort and ease her anxiety.
" Oh, I'm glad. Oh look, they are waiting for us." Yuri points at the end of the hallway and I look up and see the three waving at us cheerfully. Well, I guess tht ends our tour for today. We head back to the club room to pick up our stuff and head home.
As we say goodbye to each other, Akami-sensei drops by the club to pick up Natsuki and bring her home to my house. I told Akami-sama to also take Sayori with him. Sayori protested at first, but eventually give in to my request. Yuri heads home alone, which kinda saddens me, leaving me and Monika alone in the club room once again.
" This has been a fun day, huh?" Monika asks as she gives me a warm hug.
" Mhm, it was fun. But I still can't shake that feeling off, that feeling that something is still coming." As I begin to ponder about it, Monika gives me a short kiss on my cheek. I turn my head to meet the gaze of her glistening green eyes.
" Hey, don't worry! I'm here by your side to help you out. Now, why don't we go home together? We can now walk home while holding hands since Sayori isn't with us." She smile as she locks her fingers around mine.
" Sure! I'd love that." I give her a warm smile before we walk out the door. We begin to walk home, holding hands every single step of the way.
We reach my house to see it empty. I look at Sayori's bed room window and saw that the two were there. Sayori notices me and waves at me, I wave back and told the two to stay there while I make dinner. Monika and I enter the house and took a sit in the dining room. We thought about the possible dinner we could cook for them. As we discuss it, I ask Monika to check if she can find the file for Natsuki's dad. She nods at me and begin to look trough the game's file. I look at the time and saw it was already 5:30 pm. I stand up and begin to prepare the marinated mushrooms and vegan meatloaf. The evening was silent, due to the both of us being engrossed in our tasks. There was no exchange of words occurring between us. After an hour, I place the meatloaf in the oven and I finished making the marinated mushrooms. I was about to ask Monika about her work when the we heard the doorbell ring. I run up to the door and opened it, thinking it was the two coming over to eat. But when I threw open the door to greet the two girls, I was shocked by the person that stood in front of me.
The person wore a suit that seems like it hasn't been washed in days, and has streaks and stains of food and alcohol. He is pale and thin, it looks like a strong gust of wind could blow him away. His hair is messy and greasy, and his face pale and hollow, devoid of joy and life. He tried to smile but it only worsened his horrible and ugly features. He ipened his mouth, and with a coarse, raspy and deep voice asked a question that made all color from my face drain away.
" Hello young man... H-Have you seen my daughter Natsuki? She ran away from home yesterday, and I think she has been seen here by a few neighbors. Would you call her out to me?" I was petrified in fear, this is the man that caused Natsuki's suffering, and now he stands in front of me. I called out to Monika in my mind.
" Monika! Get out of here, quickly. Teleport into Sayori's house and keep them safe." I pretend to think about my answer as I wait for Monika's demand.
" O-Okay, but make sure you're gonna be okay, alright?" I smile as I hear the faint sound of codes dispersing. I look Natsuki's dad in the eye and gave my answer.
" No, Natsuki is not with me right now. I live alone, as you can see." I point inside my empty house. He was silent, then his face contorted into that of irritation.
" Don't fuck with me boy. I know she is here... Now, where is she?!" He sounds angry, perfect. If I'm right, there is a CCTV hidden inside the light bulb in my porch. He looks inside the house and started to shout Natsuki's name over and over.
" Sir, for the last time... Me, or my club mates haven't seen Natsuki. So, please leave the premises of my house or I will be forced to ca-" I was stopped short of my sentence when he grab me by my collar and tried to lift me. Since,
he wasn't able to lift me off my feet, he pushed me to the wall of my porch and looked straight into my eyes with this angry look on his face.
" I TOLD YOU NOT TO FUCK WITH ME BRAT!!! Now, if you don't tell me where my daughter is, you are about to enter a world of pain." He threatened me as he raised a fist. Before I could answer, I heard the opening of windows.
" DAD! STOP! I'M RIGHT HERE! DON'T HURT HIM!"We both look at the open window of Sayori's bedroom. Natsuki is crying and being pulled back by Monika and Sayori into the safety of the bedroom. He smiled maniacally and looked at me once again.
" Trying to hide my daughter from me, huh? You little brat! Take this!" I close my eyes to prepare for the incoming punch, I could hear the three shout 'Noooo!' from the distance. Strangely, the punch never came. I opened my eyes to see Natsuki's dad looking at his side and his fist being pulled and held by a hand. It was Akami-sama.
" Excuse me sir, I can't help but notice what you are doing with a good student of mine. Care to explain?" The god spoke calmly, but he had a really serious look on his face. Natsuki's dad let go of my collar and I ran to the side of Akami-sama.
" Yeah, I'll tell you what's happening. That punk kidnapped and hid my daughter from me. I'm just trying to teach the brat a lesson, that's all." He spoke in an angry voice while glaring at me.
" Hmmm... I see, but do you really need to discipline the kid with violence?" Akami-sama spoke once again with a calm voice, which seemed to anger Natsuki's dad even more.
" I'll fucking discipline the little shit however I want!" He shouted at the god, who still had a serious look on his face.
" If I recall correctly, I think your actions are punishable by law under the Child Abuse and Prevention Act. Do you not agree, sir?" Akami-sama glared back at Natsuki's father, who is now agitated and being driven into a corner.
" Just who in the fuck do you think you are?! I can charge you people with kidnapping! Now give me back my daughter!" He clenched his fist and glared at Akami-sama, who is now smiling.
" Who am I? I'm a concerned Highschool teacher who cares for the well being of my students." Akami-sama laughs at the angry man infront of him.
" What's do funny, dipshit? You think I'm joking around?" He threatened Akami-sama, who now begins to chuckle to himself.
" Well, a teacher's pay is low, but at least it beats being unemployed and in debt! Ahaha~ And at least I have clean and presentable clothes unlike so-"
" SHUT THE FUCK UP BITCH!" Natsuki's dad threw a jab straight into Akami-sama, but the god merely dodged and grabbed his arm. Like a scene from a kung-fu movie, he subdued Natsuki's dad by twisting his arm and tackling him o the ground.
" Now, now, let's not get violent. Children are watching. Besides, look, the police are already here." As Natsuki's dad struggled to break free, two police cars pulled over and two officers came to collect him.
" Thank you for informing the police about this, you did the right thing citizen. But we will have to take you in for questioning." As Natsuki's dad was being shoved into the police car, he kept shouting vulgarities at the god. Akami-sama obediently got in the other car and the vehicles drove off quickly. I pulled myself together and ran to Sayori's room
I gently open the door.