Strawberry (A Natsuri Fanfiction)

Chapter Eight

I arrived to the washroom first. Yuri came after, about twenty minutes late.

"There you are!" I shouted. "Where the hell were you?"

"Busy," she responded without missing a beat. She seemed a bit distracted.

I furrowed my brow. "Hey, are you feeling okay? Maybe you should lie down for a bit."

"I'm fine," she said. Her words were oddly robotic and forced. She didn't seem terribly happy to see me. Hell, it didn't look like she felt anything at the moment. "I'm just tired, that's all."

I decided not to push it any further for now. We had a long day ahead of us, and I didn't want to make things awkward between us. Instead, I gave her a small smile. "Well, do you at least want a hug or something?"

"No."

"No? What do you mean, no?"

"I mean no!" Her voice reverberated around the washrooms, and she wouldn't stop twitching. Something was seriously wrong.

"S-Sorry," she stuttered. "I've just been a bit...on edge lately."

"That's fine," I mumbled. "See you this afternoon, I guess." I left the washroom without saying another word.

~♡~

The day after that was fine. I got my work done, I focused, and I studied. Nothing special.

When I entered the clubroom, Ive and Yuri were already talking. I slunk around to the back and looked for Parfait Girls for some solace in the frustrating morning. Of course it wasn't in the right place.

"Monika!" I shouted. "I told you not to--"

She wasn't there.

Of fucking course.

"Ugh...Is she really late again?" I plopped into a chair.

"Inconsiderate as usual, Natsuki." Yuri swiveled around to face me.

I was taken aback. "Excuse me?"

"Must you always interrupt my conversations with your incessant yelling?"

"What are you talking about?!" I stood up fast. "You say that like I do it on a regular basis or something. I just wasn't paying attention, okay? I'm sorry. Seriously...What's gotten into you lately?"

Hi again~ Yuri reads with MC, MC picks me to help during the festival. That's about it. Sorry I keep butting in, but it's to help keep the story interesting~ I promise this is the last time! -Monika <3

I scoffed in protest. "Are you fucking kidding me? This isn't fair at all!"

Monika glared at me. "It is fair, Natsuki. It's what he chose."

"No, it's not fair!" Yuri stomped her foot. "Giving us all this work and then taking Ive for yourself. What a shameful thing to do!"

Monika rolled her eyes. "Yuri, I didn't even give you any work. You decided it for yourself. You're being a little unreasonable here."

Yuri cackled. "I'm being unreasonable? Ahahaha! Monika, I can't believe how delusional and self-important you are! Pulling Ive away from me every single time you're not included in something."

Taking Ive away from her? She lied! She really did love Ive more than she loved me! I felt my hands ball into fists and my face grow red hot from fury.

"Are you jealous?" Yuri continued. "Crazy? Or maybe you just hate yourself so much that you're taking it out on others? Here's a suggestion. Have you considered killing yourself? It would be beneficial to your mental health."

I recoiled at that last line. "Yuri, you're scaring me a little..."

"Natsuki, let's just go," Monika said to me. "I don't think she wants us around right now."

Yuri put her hands on her hips. "See, that wasn't very hard. All I want is to spend a little time with him. Is that so much to ask?"

I took one last look at my girlfriend in her manic episode and tearfully exited the clubroom. Monika stared at me sobbing, then pushed me down the hallway. We stopped at the debate club's room, now standing empty. It seemed everyone had already gone home. We could hear Yuri cackling in the clubroom, which only made me cry harder.

Monika sat me down in a beanbag chair. "I'm really sorry about her, you know."

"It's okay," I said, wiping my face with my sleeve. "I really thought she'd be the one, you know? I mean, she was always there for me when I was struggling, so I feel terrible I can't help her now."

Monika pulled me into a tight hug. "She's just going through some things. I'm sure she's dying to see you at the festival, trust me."

I sniffled. "T-Thanks, Monika. You're a really good friend."

~♡~

I could barely sleep that night over the sounds of crashing in the kitchen (likely Papa looking for the light switch) and concern for Yuri. She was such a wonderful person before Ive came and messed everything up. Why did she have to go all yandere? And why was she so cold to me? There were so many questions in my mind, like a rotating wheel. Turning an axle. Grinding. Bolthead. Linear gearbox. Falling sky. Seven holy stakes. A docked ship. A portal to another world. A thin rope tied to a thick rope. A torn harness. Parabolic gearbox. Expanding universe. Time controlled by slipping cogwheels. Existence of God. Swimming with open water in all directions. Drowning. A prayer written in blood. A prayer written in time-devouring snakes with human eyes. A thread connecting all living human eyes. A kaleidoscope of holy stakes. Exponential gearbox. A sky of exploding stars. God disproving the existence of God. A wheel rotating in six dimensions. Forty gears and a ticking clock. A clock that ticks one second for every rotation of the planet. A clock that ticks forty times every time it ticks every second time. A bolthead of holy stakes tied to the existence of a docked ship to another world. A kaleidoscope of blood written in clocks. A time-devouring prayer connecting a sky of forty gears and open human eyes in all directions. Breathing gearbox. Breathing bolthead. Breathing ship. Breathing portal. Breathing snakes. Breathing God. Breathing blood. Breathing holy stakes. Breathing human eyes. Breathing time. Breathing prayer. Breathing sky. Breathing wheel.

Oh, ahaha! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to break it! I accidentally copied some code from the original game into this fanfiction! Here, let me try and reset it...