Natsuki watched Cap and Yuri grab their coats from the main room and head outside. She allowed herself a little smile – at least Yuri had something to be happy about.

    “We should go outside for some fresh air too,” Sayori said, giving Yukari a meaningful glance, and then looking at Natsuki. “And so should you.”

    “I’m pretty tired,” Natsuki said. “I think I’d rather just sit and relax for a bit on the couch.”

    “That’s too bad, because you’re coming outside with us,” Yukari said, handing Natsuki her coat. “Lovely toggles on that. It really suits you.”

    “Wait, I–” Natsuki protested, but Yukari and Sayori bundled her up and hustled her outside anyway.

    They stopped once the house was far enough in the distance that all Natsuki could see was its lights.

    “Okay, we’re out of earshot,” Sayori said.

    “Cap has super hearing, he can hear anything,” Natsuki pointed out.

    “Of Kasumi,” Sayori added. “Natsuki, you know Aquila best. What are our chances? Can she get us out of this?”

    “Yes, of course,” Natsuki declared, but then her shoulders slumped. “No, she doesn’t think she can. She’s running scared. And this Balthazar person...she could barely slow him down.”

    “Is that his name?” Sayori said. “I had wondered.”

    “It’s the name I heard,” Yukari said. “Okay, ladies, now we have to figure out what we’re going to do.”

    Sayori sighed and sat on the ground. “What can we do? If Aquila has the powers of a god and she can’t win, what hope is there for us? I guess if this is where we go out, it isn’t that bad. We had four good years of freedom from our story.”

    “I can’t believe I’m the one saying this to you,” Yukari declared, “but grow up.”

    Sayori blinked, and then glared. “What?”

    “You heard me,” Yukari said. “Grow up. Act like the adults we all are. It’s time for us to start pulling our weight.”

    “We’re a bunch of high school kids,” Sayori said. “We were the harem in a harem comedy.”

    “We haven’t been high school kids in years,” Yukari stated. “When was the last time any of us were students in a high school classroom?”

    “I’m not sure ‘high school dropout’ is an improvement,” Natsuki said, sitting down beside Sayori. “Besides, remember what Aquila said back when we started? The multiverse would eat a bunch of girls like us alive.”

    Yukari knelt down in front of them. “How am I the only one who gets this? We are not those girls anymore. We haven’t been them in a very long time. I was the yandere, remember? The possessive girl who was supposed to go psycho over the protagonist. Well, I dealt with that. I’m not possessive anymore, and I’m never going to become a yandere either. Instead, I’ve done things like flown dragons and raced mechs. And as far as men go, well...let’s just say that by now I’ve probably done things that would make Aquila and Kasumi blush.”

    “You may have overcorrected on that one,” Sayori said. “I’m pretty sure relationships are supposed to last more than a few days.”

    “Not for people who travel like us,” Yukari stated. “Only one of us could have that, and she got it. And I’m glad Yuri did - I love seeing her happy. And remember what happened when she started trying to get together with Cap? We got out of her way. We didn’t fall over each other to try to get Cap like we did over the protagonist. Ladies, we are nobody’s harem. I’m not a yandere, Sayori isn’t a tsundere any more, and Natsuki, you...um...actually, I’m pretty sure you’re never going to stop being a genius, so that might be a bad example.”

    “Thanks, I think,” Natsuki said.

    “But that’s my point,” Yukari continued. “We aren’t the kids we once were. Since my birthday last month, none of us are even teenagers any more. We’re adults now, and it’s time to stop being passengers. From now on, we contribute – it’s not Aquila, Kasumi, and Cap trying to get us out of this, it’s all of us working at it. We do our best.”

    “That man we’re up against is a killer,” Sayori pointed out. “If he catches us, some of us could get hurt, or killed.”

    “And?” Yukari demanded. “If he catches us and we do nothing, we’re dead anyway. We didn’t ask for this, or want this, but we’re stuck in a war. People get hurt and die in wars. Getting out unscathed is probably not an option, but if at least some of us make it out, that’s a victory and maybe the only one we’ll get. I’ve already stood there and waited for him to kill me once, and I’m not willing to do that again. And neither should any of the rest of us.”

    Sayori raised her hand. “Okay, you’ve made your point, and you’re right. But what does that mean, when it comes down to it. When we do our best, what does that look like?”

    Yukari frowned and sat down. “I don’t know. I’ve never been in a situation like this before. I’m not even sure Aquila has been, her war notwithstanding. But what I do know is that nobody has more practical experience of the multiverse than our little group. Nobody else does what we do. And that’s not nothing. We might not have superpowers, or the powers of a god, but we have our experience, and we have our wits.” She grinned. “And that’s what it looks like – whatever comes up, we think our way through it.”

    Natsuki chuckled. “And here I thought I was the smart one.”

    “You still are,” Yukari said. “Maybe I saw it clearly first because I’m the one who had to change the most.”

    “It’s funny,” Sayori said, staring up at the stars. “You’re right about how much we’ve changed, but thinking back, I can’t actually remember the change happening. It’s just...we’re not now who we were then.”

    “I think that’s the way it is for everybody,” Yukari said.

    “That said, the things you do are still crazy, Yukari,” Sayori added.

    Yukari chuckled. “They’re a lot less crazy than you think. You only see or hear about the end result. You don’t see all the precautions we take before we do it.”

    Natsuki smiled and stared up at the sky. The glittering ribbon of light arced through the inky darkness. Those aren’t just stars, she thought. Every single one is a story world. She frowned. Story worlds with a war ripping through them. As Yukari enthused over safety precautions to Sayori, Natsuki stared at the stars and wondered how long it would take for the war to reach them again.

NEXT: “Portal”