Lust of Misanthropy

XIV. Anticipated Results

It took me a while to adjust my mind, before I sat down next to Yuri, and smiled reluctantly at Sayori, glad to see that she was back. And at that, her spirits seemed to be lifted.

From across the room, Natsuki sat near Monika's distinct podium. She held an affectively yet irritatingly grand smile towards my direction, leaning her head down on her shoulders.

Monika nudged at Natsuki, seeing as she was overtly staring at me to my discomfort.

I shook my head. Yuri turned to me, and smiled lightly, a secreted blush indicating her pine for me.

Feeling more comfortable than I did yesterday, I returned a warm, giddy smile and greeted, "Did you miss me?" I said.

Her cheeks grew pink, as her head shook, and her eyes widened, "Y-yeah... I did." she admitted, seeming surprisingly less conceited and sexually vain than usual as of lately.

Her bag lie open, not very tidy.

"Want me to help you organize your stuff?" I asked, "Sorry for waking you up so early."

"No... I've just been writing a lot," she said, taking a few quick glanced back at her bag, and then back at me, "...Stories about you and I."

I chuckled, just a little bit, considering I didn't want the outcome to leave her embarrassed. I've written stupid love stories in the past, too. Nobody's really ever proud of them... I understand this kind of thing. In fact, I found it cute.

"Can I see them?" I boldly asked her.

"There are some things on them." she forthwith responded in a strangely quick way.

"Ah," I said, awkwardly reaching from her book from within her bag, as she watched with credence. "Where'd we leave off? Gee, I gotta pay more attention sometimes..."

Before Yuri and I could do our routine reading, Monika cleared her throat in a way to avert our attention to her. She smiled gleefully with a strait-laced posture.

"Okay, everyone," Monika started, shuffling a few papers on her podium, "Today is Friday, which is motivation day– or grading day." she smiled.

From across the room it was relevant that everyone was in grief, Natsuki even seemed to shrink down slightly. Worried over a club grade? Not me...

"Sayori..." Monika said, almost triumphantly, "...Zero!"

Sayori sighed, "Darn..."

Monika waved her hand in the air, "Don't sweat it," she said with a hint of laughter, "You have a lot of time to catch up, since you were absent."

From across the room, Sayori beamed. Her smile seemed bland, almost weak. It kind of made me feel morose. I convinced myself to speak to her after class.

"Natsuki and -kun, hundos!" Monika continued with a coo to the end of her words.

Slightly shocking me, I watched as Natsuki pumped her fists in the air in a movement too strange to comprehend, she proceeded to throw up two rock symbols and whirled her head around in a way too silly not to snicker. "YES!" Natsuki boasted.

"We're AWESOME!" she continued as she made her way towards me while almost forcefully grabbing my hand with one of her's to high-five it with her other.

Monika watched in distraught as she sighed and shot me an unsure smile away from Natsuki's view. She slowly shuffled her papers and coughed awkwardly, "And, Yuri,"

"Twenty-four."

Yet again, Natsuki shot up from her seat and gaped her mouth open like a hyena, but was halted when Monika held a firm hand on her head, insinuating that she should sit down and/or stay silent.

Yuri? The most intelligent one in the class, with a practical F? Odd. Perhaps this was because of her failure to remain attentive, or possibly a grudge Monika had for her.

Fortunately, Yuri didn't seem to be phased by it. She still had the same, iron-like and unmoving eyes she normally had, ever so cold. She was still staring at me, almost lost, leg still tangled around mine. I found her lack of attention outside of her ogling at me to be adorable.

The grading session ended abruptly, yet the amount of pressure speaking of a few numbers had on us was ridiculously heavy.

I had to weigh the pros and cons for tonight, I was unsure of how to let Yuri off for the night and pursue Natsuki's promise to help her and Monika out with cooking. Half of me didn't care, maybe I wanted to spend some time outside of Yuri. The other half of me was overly skeptical. I couldn't begin to think where she'd be, or what she'd do if she caught me doing something like this, as if it was crime of some sort.

Lately, the climate seemed to decrease slightly. That, and the daily fog seemed to grow so filmy and dark, that it was difficult to see ten feet past one's line of sight. I couldn't think of a more dreary atmosphere.

Watching the scene from an apex-point height in the school was half aesthetic, half mundane; most of it leaving me with a bleak feeling.

"-kun?" Yuri spoke, wrapping her arms around my abdomen, and hanging her head down on my shoulder.

"Yeah?" I replied.

"We're late," she began, her common gloomy eyes dropping slightly, with a quivered mouth, "I want to go home."

I had to think of an excuse this time. Luckily, I was on the money with this one...

I dug into my pockets without a word spoken, took Yuri's hand, and placed my house key into her hand, "You can hang on to this for now," I began, smiling, "I'd feel bad for you to be locked out again, heh..."

Yuri shot me a warm, almost radiating smile, one so endearing, one I haven't seen in a month. "Are you going somewhere?" she asked, tilting her head in wonder.

I lifted myself from her grasp and faced her, shuffling my hands in my pockets, "For a while."

"I will cherish you for lightyears to no end, -kun. I will forever serve you." ; an unexpected answer, though assuring.

Surprisingly, Yuri didn't seem to resist the temptation to follow me. This time, I felt like she almost let me off the hook.

With a faint smile, I watched her take the usual turn to walk to my house. Oddly enough, I wasn't in ire with the idea of her heading to my home alone. Surely, she would never deceive me, she's proven that on multiple occasions.

I waited a few minutes. Out of nowhere, astonishing me, a sudden and aggressive slamming of the hands caused me to stumble, soon accompanied with legs wrapping around my waist, as if I was being mounted.

"Agh!" I bleated, as Natsuki's head poked out from my left shoulder, bright smile on her face.

"ONE-HUNDRED POINT CELEBRATION!" Natsuki wailed, hugging me tight as I somehow managed to heave her up.

Monika appeared from behind me, a baffled and unsure look planted on her face, "Didn't think you'd show up! Come on, Natsuki will lead the way."