I look at Nia with some slight concern. Nia was usually very chipper and optimistic. I'd barely ever seen her this serious before. "I want to discuss this in private and it might take a while, so meet me in my room after dinner." Her eyes never left mine as she spoke. All I could do was nod hesitantly as I tried to distract myself with hanging the laundry. We continue our work in tense silence and before long, footsteps can be heard dashing up the stairs three steps at a time. "FOOD'S READY!" Emi's voice can be heard clearly throughout the entire first floor. I rub my ears slightly as I emerge from the washroom. Emi is already halfway down the stairs before she looks back at me and smiles widely. "You can just use your indoor voice..." I complain as everyone starts to head downstairs for dinner.

During dinner, Mumei regales us with all sorts of stories of silly things that happened during her stream that day. "... and then my screen suddenly turned off and the game crashed somehow. On top of that..." She barely manages to suppress her laughter as she talks about all the technical difficulties she had today. "But it all worked out in the end so here's hoping next time will be easier." Fuuka looks at Mumei, worry visible on her face. "Would you mind if I took a look at your equipment tonight? Your hardware might have gotten damaged. It would be best to check that now, before it causes more damage to your systems." Mumei looks at Fuuka, realization slowly dawning on her as her eyes go wide. "Oh... I didn't even think about that... Uhm, that might be a good idea. Do you have some spare time tonight?" "I could make some time for you. I have been wondering what equipment you're working with anyway. I could even give you some tips on maintenance, so that the risk of damage can be minimized." Fuuka replies as her eyes unfocus. I can practicaly hear the gears turning in her head as she starts mumbling to herself going over every hypothetical.

After an average but fulfilling meal, everyone splits up for the night. Mumei and Fuuka go upstairs to check on the equipment, while Nia and Emi go to their respective rooms. This leaves me with Maki, as it is our turn to do the dishes. She seemed a lot more withdrawn tonight. She's usually quiet during dinner, especially when someone's talking, but usually she throws out a snarky comment every now and then. But tonight, she didn't say a word. She was strictly focused on her food. She also refused to use her knife for some reason. Well, we were eating pasta. That can easily be consumed using only a fork. I mean, I didn't use it either. Maybe I was reading too much into this.
A clatter from the dishwasher suddenly snaps me out of my ruminations. "Woah, what was that?" As I look over, I see Maki hunched over and a plate lying half correctly in the dishwasher. "That scared the hell out of me." I say, looking at the dropped plate. "Not my fault you're a coward. Just dropped a plate." She shrugs and continues packing the machine. I look at her and notice that she packs the plates one by one. Usually, she grabs two plates at a time. "Stop worrying about things that aren't your business. If she has a problem, she'll tell you." I mentally scold myself while we pack the dishwasher. After that, we clean the last few things by hand. As soon as we're done, Maki drains the water and puts the brush back in its place, before disappearing upstairs. I clean the rest of the kitchen-top.

Three short knocks fall on Nia's bedroom door. "Come in." She answers in an uncharacteristically flat tone. I walk into the room. It is quite spacious. Her wallpaper has a beautiful floral design and it seems to brighten up the room somewhat. Nia's room has two beds. This is so Emi can stay over here whenever we have guests. For that reason, Emi always needs to keep her room tidy, just in case. Nia sits on her bed against the far wall, looking at me with a serious expression. She gestures for me to sit on the bed opposite her. "We need to talk." I sit down, a heavy feeling in my gut, like something is about to happen, but I don't know what. "Lucas..." I startle slightly, Nia never uses my actual name. She usually just calls me Luke. "I think I speak for all the girls when I say I'm thankful that you took us in. And I'm really glad I get to do what I like. But..." She takes a deep breath. "Have you ever considered why we are here?" I tilt my head slightly. "What do you mean? Like, philosophically?" Nia glares at me, fury blazing in her eyes for but an instant. "Gods, you are dense. No. I mean, think about it. Five girls randomly show up at your doorstep, all from different places and different times. You don't know them. They don't know you. Hell, nobody knew anyone around here. Yet somehow, we are all now living in the same house now. Do you think that is normal?" I look to the ground, unable to maintain eye contact. "I mean... at first, it was a bit weird, yes. But by now, I feel like we're all used to it." "Really? You think it's just done and dusted like that? You just accept this is how it is now?" I can feel Nia's anger as she starts laying into me. "Have you not thought for a single moment about what this all means? Why we are here?" I shrug weakly. "I just chalked it up to coincidence. It's curious sure, but I didn't think too much of it. Everything seems to have worked out." I say in a small voice. "Lucas. There is no such thing as coincidence. Things happen for a reason, especially big things like this. There is a reason we came to you and why these beings or whatever brought us here." I look at the wall behind Nia, unable to meet her gaze. "Look, I've tried to think about it, but I can't wrap my head around everything that's happening here and I already have a lot to deal with personally. So yeah, I try really hard to not think about the existential crisis that you guys might bring with you." Nia gawks at me. I'm not sure if I have offended her or if it's something else. She starts speaking in a calm voice. "Lucas. Take it from me. Whenever different world merge, something is going to go wrong. I really hope that you will not be caught up in this, but... Something is definitely wrong. There is a good reason that we are here. I will find out what it is and what must be done. I hope that if we succeed, we can all return home."

I look up at Nia, a heavy feeling in my stomach. On one side, I want these girls to be happy and be able to go back home. On the other, more selfish side, I am really enjoying their company and the busyness and energy in the house. But I know deep down that keeping them here is not the right thing to do. If what Nia says is right, we need to do some serious research and find the cause of all this. I sigh. "You're right. I'm... I'm gonna need some time to think this over." I slowly get up and shuffle away. Upon reaching my room, I fall face-first onto the bed. I grab my plush ducky and just think. After a while, I get up and decide to just sleep early today. On my way to the bathroom, I see Fuuka walking out of her room with a pair of pliers and a magnifying glass. "Found the problem?" I can't help but indulge my curiosity. "Yeah." She sighs. "Going to try and fix it, but this solution is most likely temporary. A few of the pins on her CPU are bent. I'm going to try to straighten them out so it hopefully works again, but chances are high that she will have to buy a new one." She gives me a worried look. "I really hope this works. It's mostly just a gamble at this point.""Let me know how it works out tomorrow." I say as we part ways.
As I get into bed and grab my plushies, I try to sleep. My mind, however, is running full capacity. "Why ARE they here? Did someone bring them here? Did that person or being have an agenda for them? Was I supposed to be involved? Or am I nothing but a shelter for them, while they do all the hard work? Is something coming for us? Do the girls even have the ability to fight back? Am I gonna be a hindrance to them in the long run? Should I just let them go for our mutual safety?" The pit in my stomach just won't go away. It gnaws at me and my mind is not helping to calm it down. I grab my phone to try and distract myself with some videos, but it's impossible to focus. A million and one questions keep my mind busy and unable to sleep. All this stress leads to a very rough night. As my alarm clock rings in the morning, I sluggishly get up and turn it off. I drag myself downstairs and go into the hallway in my pyjamas. Emi is there, happy as always. Upon seeing my dishevelled form, she gives me a curious look. "You okay? You look horrible." "Thanks." I grunt in response. "I feel even worse, so I'm calling in sick for today." Emi's shoulders droop slightly and she stops bouncing. "Oh... okay... I'll. be off then." She says, her small frame becoming even smaller somehow. "I thought we were really gonna go far today." She lifts her head slightly, some semblance of her cheerfulness restored. "I'm just gonna have to go twice as far to make up for you." "You do that." I manage a small smile. "Be sure to take your phone, just in case something happens. And Emi... Be safe." "I'll be fine. This isn't the first time I've gone running alone, you know." "I know. See you soon and have fun." With an enthusiastic wave, Emi leaves and rushes off. Once she's out of sight, I close the door gently and smile to myself. "That girl sure has energy." Returning to my bed, I try to let go of the horrible feeling and at least make up for lost sleep. At around 7 AM, sleep still isn't coming along, so I decide to call in sick today. After speaking with my boss and allocating the required free hours, I slump back onto my pillow. Today is gonna be a long day...