It's time for the Literature Club to meet again on this Thursday afternoon. Josuke gingerly made his way to the clubroom. He was still shaken up by the events that took place yesterday. He had spent the whole day avoiding his friends.

This Stand… I don't know what exactly it does, but I do know one thing for sure. I can't trust anyone! This might even have been from Heaven's Door! I need to clear this up before it's too late…

Josuke entered the clubroom.

"Welcome back, Josuke…" Yuri greeted him.

"Ah, hey Yuri…" he replied. He was not sure what to think of her. Was she affected by the Stand or is she the user?

"Um…" She looked around the room and only found Natsuki reading manga at a desk. Yuri then grabbed Josuke's arm and dragged him to the corner of the room. "About yesterday… I… I really need to apologize. Nothing like that has ever happened before… And… something just came over me, I guess… I wasn't acting mentally sound. Please don't think we're usually like this! I said some horrible things to Natsuki yesterday and I regret them completely."

He had no idea why, but he suddenly felt okay. "Yuri, I'm glad that you were considerate and apologized. I may have only been here for a few days, but I could tell that something was off the other day."

Yuri smiled. "You're really going to make me too happy… I'm really glad that you're such an understanding person, and I'm really glad that you joined this club. Everything is a little bit brighter with you around, and- Ah… S-Sorry. What am I saying right now…? I just-"

"Hey, have you guys seen Monika?" Natsuki asked as she walked over to the two of them.

Yuri jumped in surprise as Josuke answered, "No, I haven't. I was wondering where she was…"

For some reason a strange thought flashed through his mind: Protect her.

She turned to Yuri. "Man… Yuri, I'm guessing you haven't either?"

Yuri was taken aback by how calmly Natsuki was speaking to her. "N-No, I haven't…"

"Jeez, this isn't like her at all. I know it's stupid, but I can't help but worry a little bit… What? Why're you looking at me like that?" Natsuki had noticed Yuri looking at her with slight confusion.

"U-Um… Natsuki, about yesterday… I-I just wanted to apologize! I promise I didn't mean any of the things I said! And I'll do my best to stay in control from now on… So-"

"Yuri, what the heck are you talking about? Did you do something yesterday?"

Josuke and Yuri looked at her in disbelief.

Wait… Did Yuri say something bad to her after I left? I mean, I thought I saw Natsuki running home, crying, as I went back to my house. I don't think that Yuri is lying, but…

"Jeez…" Natsuki continued. "Whatever's on your mind, I'm sure it was nothing. I don't even remember anything bad happening. You're the kind of person who worries too much about the little things, aren't you?"

"Eh? B-But…!" Yuri tried to say.

Josuke backed away slowly as Natsuki began to ramble off words in a very forced manner. What the hell?! Why is she speaking like a robot?!

"I'll accept your apology anyway, if it helps you feel better about it. Besides, it's kind of nice to hear, since I was always afraid you secretly hated me or something like that," Natsuki giggled lightly as she began to speak normally.

Yuri didn't seem to take notice of her change in tone. "N-No, not at all…! I don't hate you."

"Hehehe… Well, you're kind of weird, but I don't hate you either." Natsuki then turned toward Josuke. "You're still on trial, though."

"…" Josuke had no idea how to respond. "Um… Alright…"

Suddenly the door swung open and Monika walked right in.

"Sorry! I'm super sorry!" she apologized.

Josuke felt relieved as soon as Monika entered. "Ah, there you are…"

"I didn't mean to be late…I hope you guys weren't worried or anything."

"Nah…"

"What took you so long, anyway?" Natsuki asked.

"Ah…" Monika began to answer. "Well, my last period today was study hall. To be honest, I kind of just lost track of time…"

"That makes no sense, though. You would have heard the bell ring, at least."

"I must not have heard it, since I was practicing piano…"

Everyone looked at Monika.

"Piano…?" Yuri nervously asked. "I wasn't aware you played music as well, Monika."

"Ah, don't give me more credit than I deserve. I guess I've been practicing for a while, but I'm still not really good yet."

"Still… That must require a lot of dedication. So, I'm still impressed."

"Aw, well thanks, Yuri."

"You should play something for us sometime!" Natsuki chimed in.

Monika looked at Josuke. "Well, I am working on writing a song, but it's not quite done yet… Maybe once I get a little bit better, I will."

The thought of Monika playing piano made Josuke smile. "That sound cool! I'd love to see it sometime."

"Is that so? In that case, I won't let you down, Josuke," she said as she smiled sweetly.

The others looked at Josuke as he suddenly realized what exactly he had said. "Ah…! I didn't mean any pressure or anything like that!"

Monika giggled. "Don't worry. I was hoping that I could share it with you, anyway. I guess that's why I've been practicing so much recently."

"I see…" I don't know if she was addressing the club or just me, but honestly… I don't care. "In that case, best of luck."

"Thanks! So, did I miss anything?"

"Not really."

Natsuki had already run into the closet as Yuri approached him.

"Josuke… Um… Since your compliments put me in a good mood, I was wondering if you would like to spend some time together today. I mean- in the club!"

"Yeah, definitely…" Despite how dark the book's description sounded, he did enjoy how the story was going and wanted to see where it went.

"Okay! Can we start now? Let's find a place to sit- A-Ah! I'm being a little forceful, aren't I…? I'm sorry! My heart… just won't stop pounding for some reason…" Yuri said as she tried to hide herself in her hair again.

Seeing her like this makes me understand why she and Yukako are friends. "It's alright. There's no need to worry. I guess it's nice to see you so passionate about something."

"Y-Yeah! But… I need to try to calm down. I won't be able to focus on reading like this…" She took a deep breath before taking the book out of her bag. "Actually, I have a request… Do you mind if I make some tea first?"

"Not at all."

Yuri explained how a cup of tea goes well with reading and offered Josuke a cup before retrieving the tea set out of the closet. Josuke helped her out by holding the electric stove and water pitcher.

"I'm going to plug this in at the teacher's desk, and then I'll go get some water," she explained. Yuri set up the stove on the desk and switched it on to get it ready to heat up. She then took the water pitcher from him and began to make her way out to get some water.

"H-Hey, I might as well walk with you…" Josuke nervously said.

"Th-That's okay!" Yuri stated. "You stay here… It won't take long…"

She exited the classroom with the pitcher. Monika suddenly appeared again.

"… Did Yuri leave you again?" she asked.

"No, it's not like that. She just went to get water to make some tea."

"Oh, okay! Sorry for misunderstanding."

As Monika went back to what she was doing Josuke began to get lost in his thoughts.

Damn… She's cute…

Ten minutes had passed.

Yuri said that it wouldn't take that long. The nearest water fountain isn't that far from here. Is there something holding her up? I should probably see if she's okay…

Josuke stood up and made his way out of the clubroom. He walked down the hallway toward the nearest water fountain. All of a sudden, he heard a strange noise coming from around the corner. It sounded like breathing. A sharp inhale, like when someone sucks air through their teeth. Worried, Josuke peered around the corner.

"Yuri…?" he asked.

"Kya!" Yuri jumped in surprise.

Josuke took a step back in horror as he noticed many fresh, deep cuts along her left forearm.

Was she… CUTTING HERSELF?! Natsuki was right…?

Suddenly, he saw a figure emerge from behind Yuri, wearing a purple suit, skull-patterned tie and gray slicked back hair. Josuke's eyes widened in fear at the realization of who this figure was. Before he had anytime to act, a pink man with cat-like ears and eyes suddenly appeared in his left eye.

The suited figure cackled maniacally as he grabbed Yuri's head, tears streaming down her face.

"Josuke…" the figure began. "This is the power of Killer Queen's Third Bomb: Bites the Dust!"

The cat-man in his eye pressed his thumb on his finger, like he was using a detonator. Then…

The world exploded.

"I'm back. Thanks for waiting patiently," Yuri said calmly. "Josuke, do you like oolong tea?"

Josuke looked up at her. He was sitting at a desk in the clubroom.

Just then… that was Kosaku Kawajiri… He then stood up and grabbed Yuri by the arm.

"Come with me," he said sternly.

Yuri began blushing from embarrassment as a boy just dragged her out of the room and down the hall to the bathrooms. Once they had turned the corner and were out of sight from the clubroom, Josuke turned around to face her.

"Yuri…"

"Y-Yes…?" Her whole face was red.

Josuke then rolled back her left sleeve to show the cuts that he thought he had just seen before. Yuri's eyes widened as she tried to pull away from his iron grip.

"Yuri… Why?" Josuke looked at her dead in the eye.

"A-Ah… I, uh… I d-don't know…" she stuttered. "I don't know why I'm doing it at school… There's something wrong with me… Please, let go."

Without stopping his gaze, he began to use Crazy Diamond's ability to heal her. Yuri looked scared and confused as she saw her cuts disappear right before her eyes. A moment later, she shifted her focus on Josuke as he held out his other hand.

"Give me the knife, Yuri."

Her stomach sank as she wondered how he knew that she had a knife with her. She turned away for a moment before Josuke made her jump.

"Yuri! Knife, now!" he yelled at her.

She swallowed as she gingerly took her knife out of her pocket and held it out. He swiped it out of her hand and held it at his side.

"I'll give this back to you tomorrow. If you hurt yourself, I can help you. But please, don't do it again."

Yuri silently nodded.

Josuke sighed, "Now, go back to the clubroom. I'll meet you there."

A few seconds later, she slowly began to walk back to the clubroom. Once she was out of sight, Josuke went into the bathroom, grabbed a handful of paper towels and wrapped them around the blade of the knife before putting it in his pocket. He then walked back to the clubroom, slightly relieved to see Yuri making tea. She hadn't even bothered to hear his answer so she decided for him. Josuke made his way over to her, slipping the paper towel-wrapped knife into his bag, and sat down at a desk. Once she had poured each of them a pot of tea, they continued reading the book, sitting on the floor per Yuri's request.

After a while of reading, Josuke turned his head to look at Monika. His gaze lingered.

"I can't…" Yuri muttered.

He turned back around to face her. "Huh?"

This time, it's Yuri who forcefully grabbed Josuke's arm and brought him to his feet. The teacups were knocked over.

"Josuke…" she breathed. "My heart… My heart won't stop pounding, Josuke… I can't calm down. I can't focus on anything anymore. Can you feel it, Josuke?" She suddenly pressed his hand against her chest.

Uh… What is she doing?

"Why is this happening to me? I feel like I'm losing my mind… Do it again."

He looked at her, confused. "Um… what? Do what again?"

"That thing you did to my arm. Do it again."

"Y-Yuri… It wouldn't help this sort of thing."

"I can't make it stop. It even makes me not want to read. I just want… to look… at you."

She began staring at Josuke, breathing heavily. He had pulled back his hand from her chest.

This is creepy… even for Yuri. How could I get out of this? Wait…

"Does Yukako know?" Josuke whispered.

Yuri blinked. "Huh?"

"About what you did to your arm…?"

She suddenly looked extremely nervous. "H-How do you know her…?"

"She's a friend of mine, too."

From that point on, neither of them said anything.

After a while, Monika told everyone that it was time to share poems. Since they were near each other, they shared poems. Josuke had copied down that poem he found, Arrows, onto a new piece of paper. They exchanged poems.

Once they had read each other's poems, Yuri began to speak. "My mind had been a little hyperactive lately, so I had to take it out on your pen. Ah-"

Hold on. My pen?

"That is… a-a pen fell out of your backpack yesterday, so I took it home for safekeeping and… I, um…" she fumbled with her words a bit. "I just… really like… the way… that it writes. So I wrote this poem with it, and now you're touching it… Hahaha! I-I'm okay!"

Josuke just stared at her. She was probably the strangest girl he had ever known. Although, he still wanted her to be safe because he detested self-harm.

The rest of the poem sharing went on as normal. After that they all talked about the club festival next week. However, Monika was feeling pretty bad after Natsuki and Yuri stated that she was the only one who cared about the club like her. Josuke couldn't help but feel bad for her. Natsuki left the meeting after some arguing with Yuri and Josuke.

While Monika sat and stared at her desk, the other two began to converse.

"This is bad…" Yuri muttered. "I don't know what to do…"

"Well… Do you have an opinion on the festival?" Josuke asked.

She began to play with her hair. "I-I don't know… I'm kind of indifferent, I guess… Who cares about that obnoxious brat?"

He jumped back in surprise. Whoa, wait. What the hell?!

"I mean, I like how nice and quiet the club is now… And I'm just… happy with you here… But still! I'm the Vice President… It's not right for me to ignore my responsibilities like that… Nobody would cry if she killed herself."

He then looked at her angrily. "What the hell, Yuri?"

She looked at him in confusion. "W-What? Did I do something wrong?"

"'Did I do something wrong?' That's rich! You just said that no one would care if Natsuki killed herself!"

Yuri's eyes widened in horror. "N-No… I-I would never-"

"Shut it! I'm tired of your shit today. Clean up your act. I'm going home."

Yuri's face had a look of terror and betrayal as Josuke stormed out of the clubroom. On his way out, he shot a glance at Monika and suddenly felt at ease.

Josuke was at home, writing a poem for the next literature club meeting. He was pretty lucky when he found the poem that he supposedly wrote by Angelo Stone. He did find another poem that he had written, but it seemed a bit too short and didn't seem that good overall. Having to write another poem wouldn't kill him.

He was almost finished writing when the phone suddenly rang. Josuke's mom picked it up and called out, saying it was for him. He slowly made his way over to the phone and answered it.

"Hello…?"

"Hi, Josuke!" the voice on the other end of the line said.

"Ugh! I told you already, Koichi, I can't trust any of you," Josuke groaned as he began to hang up.

"W-Wait! Josuke, stop! I just need to tell you something!"

His hand froze before he raised the phone back up to his ear. "… What is it?"

"I want you to know… We're all worried about you-"

"Stop. For my own safety, I'm not going to be talking to any of you. I've been seeing a bunch of stuff at that club, and I don't want to be suddenly told that I have completely forgotten someone. This Stand has made everyone act differently around me-!"

"Josuke! Please! Let me just help you. I won't ask you what happened or tell you anything that you don't want to know. I just want to tell you to call us at the café after your club meeting."

"Koichi, I'm not gonna do that…"

"In that case, we'll all charge in there and expect the worst."

Josuke gritted his teeth. He couldn't decide whether or not he should do as Koichi said. He couldn't trust any of them with what he knew, but at the same time he didn't want them all to rush in there and let their Stands loose. Josuke shuddered at the thought of The Hand scraping away parts of the clubroom bit by bit.

He sighed. "… Fine."

Koichi's voice began to sound more cheerful. "Great! … So… I'll see you at lunch…? I won't say anything about the club. I promise."

"… Alright… Goodbye," said Josuke as he hung up the phone.

Eventually, he made his way back to his room. He slumped down in the chair at his desk, facing the poem he had begun to write.

… I don't know why I just did that. Maybe I'm just… lonely, or something. I can't trust them with what I know. The only one who doesn't really seem suspicious at all is Monika… Yeah… Just Monika…

-To Be Continued