Part 16

Natsuki shouldered her backpack stiffly, muttering short replies to her friend from maths, Mia, who was currently attempting to ignite conversation. Although she just couldn't muster up enough strength to seem all that enthusiastic. The weekend had been overall positive up until later in Sunday, or rather yesterday. The rest of the day at Yuri's had passed a little too quickly for her liking, but that was only because they'd been enjoying themselves.

Yesterday, however, papa had decided to drink a little more than his usual lot and had lashed out at her for no obvious reason, other than 'your room's messy'. It was fairly clear he was merely using her as a human punching bag to vent his frustration at this point. Her head hurt, a throbbing, blunt pain distracting her from concentrating too hard on anything, especially her friend. He'd left no bruises that needed covering, luckily, but the dull pain remained as a constant reminder that her home life was a living hell.

As they left the class Mia shortly yanked her to the side away from the scrambling crowds of students and lowered her voice. "Natsuki, can I talk to you?" Ugh, do I have to? She hadn't seen Yuri yet today, she just wanted to find her so they could eat their lunch in peace with Monika, which would no doubt cheer her up as it often did.

She shrugged anyway, figuring it was better not to postpone the discussion any longer than so necessary. "What's up?"

Mia was shifting her weight awkwardly, seemingly struggling with her words. "I heard that someone saw you kissing Yuri last week in the milkshake bar. Is that true?"

Natsuki hesitated, alarm bells ringing inside her head. She didn't really feel like lying, though it'd be pretty hard to keep their relationship on the down low if she had to answer constant personal questions truthfully. "Who told you that?"

"Just someone," she said in a hurry, her expression contorted into agitation. "Is it true?"

Fuck it, just tell her. "Y-Yeah," she finally muttered, crossing her arms warily. "Not that it's anyone else's business."

"No, I know that, it's just..." Mia shifted again, her fingers fidgeting with the loose strap on her bag. "I know she's your friend, but...She's dangerous."

Dangerous? That didn't seem right. Yuri had told her she could act upon overwhelming emotions, but surely she's not threatening. "What do you mean?"

She examined her carefully. "Don't you remember the stories going around last year?"

In an instant Natsuki felt a twitch of anger rise, balling slowly into a bungled mess of irritation. "You don't know what you're saying. Those weren't true." It seemed like it was her obligation to defend Yuri against the shameful accusations; after all, Mia didn't know her. No one did, not like Natsuki.

"Not all of them, no, but...some were. I'm not trying to start anything here, I'm just trying to warn you. She's crazy."

That was the last straw. Her defenses shot up, acting as a solid barricade against the mixed emotions coursing through her mind. "Leave me alone," Natsuki hissed, butting past her to storm towards the lunch room, her movements firm and instinctive. Those stories really had been false, right? Surely Yuri wouldn't do anything so-

"Oof!" As she turned a corner she collided with a rigid, tall body and her head spun as she was knocked back. Luckily, the other person caught her arms and kept her upright before she toppled back. Natsuki blinked her eyes open groggily to find Yuri, her speeding mind calming at the sight of her. That was until she noticed the glimmer of tears in her eyes. "Yuri? What's wrong?"

"I-I over heard..." she murmured, refusing to meet her eye. "I am not crazy, Natsuki. I-I promise!"

Natsuki shook her head firmly, relieved at the lack of pain she felt in her neck. The bruises were nearly faded enough to get away with abandoning the scarf and the discomfort was minimal. "I know you're not. C'mere."

She wrapped her small arms around Yuri's chest, pulling her close as the girl took a shaky breath. After a moment she relaxed her tensed muscles and returned the hug, her breath rattling as she exhaled deeply. "Don't worry, Yuri."

Yuri laughed weakly and pulled back, swiping the tears from her eyes angrily. "I am afraid worrying is just standard procedure for me."

Speaking of... "Have you called the counselling services yet?"

"Y-Yes, the wait list is months long," she said, sounding a little disheartened. "But they suggested asking the school for an emergency referral, that often only takes a few weeks." They had started walking leisurely towards the lunch hall again. Natsuki glanced unconsciously across at Yuri's hand that was playing with the edge of her school shirt as she talked. Damn, I wanna hold that so bad. Pull yourself together, Nat.

"When're you doing that?" She forced herself to look away and focus. It would be pretty damn hard to deny their relationship to others if they were walking along hand in hand.

"After lunch, I suppose." Oh of course, she had a free period next. They made it to the lunch hall, which was packed with students scurrying around for tables and purchasing their lunches. They wandered to the back of the queue as per their usual routine. "Do you see Monika?"

Natsuki peered around, scanning the other students, but found no sign of her. Even the student council table was missing both her and the Vice President, not that Monika ever really sat with them unless she had matters to discuss. "I don't. Weird." Yuri hummed in agreement as she rummaged in her purse for a few loose coins. Cautiously, Natsuki did the same, finding just enough to afford something small at least.

It didn't take long to buy their food and fight through the crowds to claim a free table. Natsuki glanced up at the door just as Monika breezed through into the hall. She scanned the room until her eyes landed on the two of them, shooting them a pretty, tired smile and striding up to the table to sit opposite them with a relieved sigh.

"You okay?" Natsuki asked, eyeing her curiously as she ate. Monika looked weary; she blinked sleepily at her and nodded with an encouraging smile.

"I just have a lot of work to do for the student council at the moment," she said, rubbing her face. With school responsibilities, University applications, music and Sayori it seemed Monika had a hell of a lot on her plate to cope with.

Yuri frowned. "Please ensure not to overwork yourself." That earned a little laugh off Monika, who was shaking her head confidently.

"That won't happen. Oh, I forgot to mention! Sayori wants to see you two again."

The rest of the week dragged slowly without the club being on and Sayori being in the hospital. Fortunately, though, with the club being off it gave Natsuki an extra hour and a half after school to occupy other things. So on Tuesday and Thursday they had visited Sayori, while the other days were spent at Yuri's.

Visiting Sayori had been a pretty eye opening experience. Monika hadn't been lying when she said she could be particularly distant on her bad days. They'd witnessed that on Tuesday; her eyes and skin had looked dull and she'd barely had the energy to hug them. However, she still managed to crack a weak smile at times. Natsuki had promised that she would make her some cupcakes for the next time they saw her, which she and Yuri had on the Wednesday. And by the time they had delivered them she had cheered up a lot more into her usual, energetic mood.

Unfortunately she had spiraled slightly since then. Sayori had been given free rein of the aux, as per usual, on their drive to the movies and she was playing...pretty depressing stuff, to be honest. Monika glanced cautiously over to her as she drove with her hand on her girlfriend's leg, presumably for comfort. She spoke quietly, "Hey, sweetie?" Sayori only nodded as she stared blankly out of the window. "How about something more cheery, huh?"

Sayori didn't respond to that. She just watched the greenery and dying trees pass by and the bright Autumn sun shimmering off the puddles and ponds. What the heck could be going through her mind right now...? Natsuki caught Yuri's eye briefly, a fleeting, intimate moment of quiet understanding. Their friend would recover eventually in time.

The hours spent after school at Yuri's had been fun, while productive. They had powered through a fair bit of homework together while also finding time to play a few video games. Papa hadn't exactly been lenient with her lately so she had been pretty much relying on Yuri for food, which she felt was unfair on her but Yuri had insisted.

They had never really kissed properly again since their conversation. Fleeting, affectionate kisses were shared often, but nothing close to intimate. Yuri was allowing her to take the relationship at her own pace, to which Natsuki was more than grateful.

Monika parked the car in an empty parking space and shut the engine off. She sat in stiff silence until she spoke up firmly. "Give us a minute, we'll meet you in the cinema."

They followed her orders quietly, leaving her and Sayori alone in the car. The parking lot was fairly busy as they wound their way around vehicles and other people bustling along. The buzzing energy inside the of the cinema building was pretty contagious; parents herding scurrying children while groups of students hovered by the doors and families waited in queues. It was a nice, chatty atmosphere, as a whole.

Natsuki fished her ticket out of her purse, turning it over in her palm a few times before handing it over to Yuri. "Time to see if I'll actually enjoy this." Yuri passed the two little slips of paper over to the ticket man who punched holes in the corners.

"Well, I have been looking forward to it," Yuri replied as she took the tickets back with a charming, shy smile. "Hopefully Sayori is alright." Natsuki only nodded in reply.

They found the theater for their particular showing and delved inside to find their row. "Monika managed to get some pretty good seats," Natsuki said as she sat down, straightening her skirt as she made herself comfortable.

Humming in agreement, Yuri removed her jacket and allowed it to pool around her waist, leaving her in her black skinny jeans and cream sweater that complimented her violet hair. The look suited her, Natsuki thought as she ran her eyes slowly up and down her frame, mindlessly nipping her lip. Yuri caught her eye with a sheepish smile, "What are you looking at?"

The desire to kiss her rose quickly, but she suppressed it. "Nothing. You look good," she admitted a little awkwardly, but it made Yuri grin nonetheless, a fiery blush spreading along her cheeks.

"You too." A rustle could be heard not far away and when Natsuki turned she found the source as Monika and Sayori shuffling down the aisle. Good call on avoiding the kiss, then. She shot the two a nod as Monika slipped into the seat beside her with a little, content sigh. "Everything alright?" Yuri piped up.

Sayori nodded lazily as Monika spoke up, "Indeed. We arrived just in time, I see."

The lights dimmed and the buzzing conversations surrounding them thinned out as the movie begun. Catching a last glance to her friends, she noticed Sayori blinking sleepily at the screen with her head resting against Monika's shoulder. She just looked so painfully drained.

If only helping were as simple and reaching out and comforting her. It hurt like a stab to the heart knowing Sayori was suffering and she couldn't do a thing to make her feel any better.

Her thought process halted as she felt a warm pressure on her exposed knee and glanced down to find Yuri's hand resting there. Her pulse quickened in an instant, but she forced herself to take a leveling breath and focus on the film.

After a minute the warmth had moved higher ever so slightly and she felt teasing fingers scratching the skin of her lower thigh. A deep heat pooled in her belly, spreading wild fire up her torso. Okay, that's way too distracting, Yuri.

Natsuki made a discreet grasp for Yuri's hand, her fingers slipping between her own and squeezing them gently.

Much better.