-Kaminari-
"Huh?" Kami turned, surprised by who decided to show up. If he remembered right, the kids name was Noboru... He felt uncomfortable just by his presence, because he didn't feel the need for anyone else to get involved. He just gave a small smile to the boy, keeping a little facade up. "Didn't realized you follow after me... Yeah, I'm not really in a good mood at the moment so I decided to head here... This place usually helps me clear my head and get my thoughts back in place."

He turned his head, an stared at the pond for a bit before continuing on. "Say, Noboru... Whats the most horrible thing you've done that has caused lots of pain to someone?" As he asked this he let out a small groan before facepalming. He seems kind of irritated about something but its hard to tell what. "Don't answer that, I don't want to know... Hum..."

As he continued staring, he kept losing his focus. He couldn't hear his deepest, innermost thoughts with someone around him since he usually thought out loud during times like this. He turned to Noboru, having a serious look on his face. "Noboru, mind leaving me alone for now? I just want to be alone to collect my thoughts, and your presence is sort of disrupting me... Sorry if I seem sort of rude, but could you please leave now." The way he said it sounded more like an order than anything else. It would seem that he just wants to stay here, and reflect on something alone.

Costume aside, this girl seemed a little... strange to Akemi. Or maybe just naturally... what's the right word, jolly? Cheerful? Well, regardless, she seemed like a good enough student. As long as she studied hard and never wavered, her future as an upstanding citizen was guaranteed!
"Yes, you too," Akemi replied, bowing her head briefly, "Feel free to consult me if you need, in the future."

With Chiaki gone, Akemi let out a sigh, placing the note on a table and picking up her bag. She turned her gaze towards Midori, and after a moment, said, "You know, it wouldn't be a bad idea to make more friends. There's no need to be so silent towards everyone."
Midori's shyness was pretty extreme, after all. And as concerned as Akemi was about her attitude towards others, it could also get tiresome, being the only person in school that Midori would ever interact with. If she didn't open up soon, things were only going to get more difficult for her. After all, this was going to be Akemi's final, busiest year at the school.

"...Anyway, let's head home," Akemi suggested. If she couldn't get work done here, might as well tackle the first lot of homework.

The girl just watched as the person she once called a friend just stammered away without another glance back...She had suspected it had something to do with her...No, she was positive it had something to do with her...A thought crossed her mind and she wanted to go in pursuit of him but, something just made her stop and purge all thoughts about it...

"I say that next time if you wish, it just sounded more polite."
"Good...It's better that way..." she muttered. But before she could think of anything else to say or just walk away without another trace, Sachiko just scowled at her!

"What the fuck was that?!
The girl was taken aback, she didn't forsee this at all...Ayano could almost feel a chill shiver up her spine...
"...Nothing, just...Leave me alone, alright? Just go and do whatever it is you're doing and leave me out of it...I'm out of here..."
With a quick turn, Ayano practically speed walked away from the arcade, not looking back once. For some odd reason, she just lost all motivation to go online and had the urge to stuff her face in a pillow and just sleep...

Noboru turned and walked away from the guy, visibly upset about the whole situation. "Fine then.." He muttered, angry he wasn't able to help. He reached the arcade, but before stepping in he went to a wall and exploded in anger.

"Dammit!" He yelled, throwing a first punch into the wall. "Dammit!" He yelled again, his second fist sinking into the wall with a loud thud. He repeatedly punched the wall, yelling out each time he hit it, each time hitting heavier than the last. Throwing one last punch, he put all his strength into it, and slammed it against the wall. He was convinced he broke a bone in his hand somewhere, but he didn't care. He was unable to defuse the situation and that made him all the more angrier. Quickly wiping his bloodied hands on his pants, he cheered up and walked inside the arcade, walking over to sato. "Hey, I promised to be back and here I am. So you ready to go a play a game or two now?"

"That was not nothing! Hey, don't-" She first wanted to try and stop Ayano from leaving. But, something in her just decided to let it go. In the mood she was in, she just decided that she had enough of today herself, and left without saying a word to the others. She even shocked her parents upon her return by storming straight into her room and keeping them out. It was the first time she had done that for a very long time. With time, Sachiko calmed down, but then, she started to feel bad about what she had done. Although she still felt that Ayano's attitude was ridiculous, it wasn't becoming of her to treat her with aggression. Ayano was still a friend, even if she didn't think of any of them the same way. When she thought about it, Sachiko realised she knew where that bout of anger had come from. That meant this night was time for another first in a long while.....she was going to write in her diary. She only had the one, and hadn't written in it for a good year or two. For good reason, as it was filled with.....painful thoughts. It was there to be filled with painful thoughts. But once written down, Sachiko always found them easier to lock away.

When she eventually decided to head to sleep, she had one final thought about what had happened today. Ayano's behavior was hardly appropriate, and she still neither understood it nor condoned it. And if it had made Kami uncomfortable, that much was certainly unacceptable. She had to do something. Because, no matter what, she was still her friend. They all were.

"..."

Midori was silent for a moment. Make friends...? But... well... she... they were just... other people. Midori didn't know how to talk to them and she didn't want to learn how. She didn't need to learn how and it didn't matter at all. She talked to people over the internet on her pixiv and that was enough really. She didn't need to go talking to these other people... After all... "... Y-you're the only one I need, Akemi-sempai!"

And that was that, in Midori's opinion. Akemi was the only person Midori needed. For anything. Sure, her own family was important, but not in the same way by far. And when Akemi suggested heading home, Midori brightened up even further. She could walk home with her!

"Yes! That... that would be really nice!"

-Kaminari-
After a while, Kami just took a look up at the darkened sky. How long was he standing there, thinking? It didn't matter now, as he pivoted around and began to walk home. He felt a cool breeze blow past him as he looked forward, humming to himself. He had so much going on for him that it really wasn't fun at all. Kami looked at the different people that past him, noting their age and physique. As he walked he passed a chattering couple, who seemed to be happy with each other due to the giggling coming from them both. He turned, and took a look at them for a few seconds, before continuing on his way home.

---

As he entered inside, he saw that he was the only one home for the time being. "Huh, sis must be out with her friends... Oh well." As he flipped a switch on he saw that dinner was ready for him, and that his sister prepared a plate for him... Was she in a good mood or something, because she rarely did that. It didn't matter to Kami, as he sat alone at the table, munching away at his dinner.

Kami sat in his room at got out most of the school work he had to do. He had to get a bit of studying in also, so he sat at his desk and began tapping his pencil on his lip. As he worked away, his eyes sometimes strayed around his room. He caught a glimpse of his crime board which had different people pinned down on them along with a well drawn map of the city. Each of the different people were either highschool students or parents who had the words "afflicted" or "parent of an afflicted" under them. He turned to his bookshelf, noting of the many different detective novels in there. He stared, before continuing to scribble, working on his homework.

"And.... Done..." He gave out an exasperated sigh before grabbing some clothes and heading to the bathroom. I would go into detail about what he did, but screw that, nobody wants to get a visual of what I want to put down... No seriously. As he finished getting cleaned up, he left the bathroom decked in a black tank top, and black boxers. He heard someone come in, and took a look to see that it was his mother who recently came home from work. He gave her a pleasant hello, and made a bit of small talk with her before heading back to his room.

As he entered his room, he caught the sight of something he hadn't seen in a long time. He walked over and picked up the picture case, holding a picture of Ayano, Kato, Sachiko, and himself. It was back after they came home from middle school, and Kamis mother wanted a picture of all of them. He thought he put this in storage or something, but apparently someone put it back up there again. He walked over to his trash bin which was filled to the brim with crumpled up paper. Kami was ready to throw the thing away, but then he took one last look at the picture of the four of them again.

"I won't throw it all away... I... I'll try and mend our broken bonds... (Because I...)"

He set the picture down in the same place where it was left before and plopped onto his bed. He didn't know how many hours passed by, but before he knew it he was fast asleep. What he was dreaming of was unknown to others, but to him he knew what he would be dreaming of. Kami would soon be visiting that room again. That dream had began to repeat lately, but he took no note of it, and continued dreaming of the room, the woman, and the man.

((Sorry, had to get one more post in. Now I'm done.))

Sato Hashimoto // Warakuma Arcade

Before he answered, Noboru unexpectedly needed to go somewhere, leaving only a promise of coming back. And before Sato could answer the boy was already gone and the OOP art that is Sato quickly became a mixture of confusion and disappointment. He didn't really want to play a game THAT much, but he hadn't even touched a videogame in several years, and the concept of how games have changed since then intrigued him a bit.

Sato looked around the arcade, straying from the machine he started at. Most of the machines had titles he didn't recognise, and the ones he had heard of before were just caught from the conversations of the other guys in his classes. The idea of having that much time to waste to play dozens of hours of videogames struck him as a bit odd, but it so struck him that his daily schedule had a few hours of relaxation time that gamers must've replaced with videogames. Not long after starting his exploration of the arcade, Sato returned to the machine he started at only moments before Noboru returned, with a noticeable smear of blood on his pants. Fortunately for Sato's curiousity, Noboru returned still in a mood to play a game or two of something, and Sato had no objections.

((End of day for both Sato and Noboru, I guess?))

Typical Midori response. The end of this year was going to crush her, Akemi figured. It was sad, but... at this point, what could she say to convince the younger girl that there was more than one person in this entire school? Her isolationist attitude had probably already scared off the rest of her class, too. This was such a bother...
Well, troublesome or not, Midori was still a fellow student, and the closest thing Akemi had to a friend. She was obligated to keep trying, even if she really should be focusing on work, exams, and her future college. If she dare say so, Akemi felt she was a very nice and accommodating individual!

"Let's hurry, then," Akemi said simply, heading for the door. She waited for the other girl to exit before closing it, and set of briskly down the hall. The second she got home, Akemi figured she could finally make some leeway with her studies today.

Rui Shinichi | Warakuma Arcade

Noboru seems to have returned, it looked like he was hiding some kind of wound, but he didn't say anything... Needless to say it concerned him just a little, he was technically new here, even if this was him returning to this town, so it looked like there were some circumstances and relationships to learn and understand. In any case, it looks like everyone who wanted to play was here, so he finally made it past the selection screen with an opponent on the other end. The group played a couple rounds, Rui avoided playing his best character most of the time, but even then it seems his experience and understanding of the game just brought him the most wins anyways... They rotated every now and then or upon loss, and played for some half hour before calling it a day. Once everything was over and done with and everyone made their separate trips home, he waved good bye and went on his own way.

"Hmmm... Moving back here might not be so bad...", he thought to himself.

Later that night...

Once more, a room of overwhelming blue. Once more, a strange, short man and a tall woman sitting before a group of guests. A wall of faceless figures, albeit with subtle differences that cannot be pinpointed at the moment. For now, the odd duo seem to command attention just by staring at you.

"Hello once more," spoke the strange old man, his wide eyes staring unblinkingly, "As I'm sure you remember, I requested that you make a decision regarding your future..."
With a wave of his hand, he revealed the tarot cards laid out on the table before him, "The role you will play in this tale... will you play the part?"
His grin looked crazed, but strangely calming. As if he were a protective father figure, looking out for the well-being of his children. Resting his chin upon his clasped hands, he placed a finger upon the centre card on the table.

"Before we continue, allow us to introduce ourselves formally. My name is Igor," he revealed, "this is my assistant, Henrietta."

"A pleasure," the tall woman bowed her head.

Picking up the card, Igor continued, "Our role in this story is to observe and support, but we still need the main cast. For those that have decided, please, go ahead."
Indicating the cards on the table, Igor waited for the group to approach and take a card. While some of the faceless figures did move forward, others did not. Regardless, as soon as a card was touched, the room seemed to darken considerably, vision suddenly clouding. The consciousness of all present, save for the two mysterious occupants of this room of velvet, suddenly waned...

---

With a groan, Akemi raised her face from the pillow, momentarily confused. It took her a moment to remember where she was. Her own bedroom, and not... some blue place. Again. Ugh, this was getting ridiculous. Why was she having such a weird dream? It made no sense! At least it seemed to play out differently. Kind of like a continuation, was it? It was difficult to recall much of that freaky nose-guy's words, but... the creepy faceless things that seemed to surround her had approached. Or some did... either way, Akemi herself hadn't. At least... that was supposed to be herself, right? It seemed to come from her perspective, after all. Well, whatever.

Putting the pointless dream to the back of her mind, the groggy student, reached for her glasses, resting on the bedside table. Once equipped, she glanced disdainfully at the time. Oversleeping until 9:30? Ugh... so many wasted hours! And she had to go buy some things, too. A necessary time-wasting task, but nonetheless irritating. Today was off to an awesome start.

...Well, might as well get ready as soon as possible.

-Kaminari-
The dream was a lot different than last time as he found himself surrounded by the same facless figures the night before. Blue paved the room as he stared down the duo he saw the other night. The man started talking and introduced the woman to the faceless figures and Kami. "(So her name is Henrietta, huh? Interesting... I wonder if these faceless figures... Are they?)" Kami wanted to speak out loud to the duo, and find more answers, but he kept his mouth shut for some reason. "(Playing our roles in this story... Are they talking about what's going on? Are they the perpetrators behind all this? I need to ask them... I need to know the truth.)"

Kami quickly pushes himself up and walks to the table. Before he speak to them a few cards are laid out beforr him. "(What the heck is this for.... Hm... If playing a major role in this tale involves me solving this crime, then count me in!)" Kami grabs a card at random, and flips it between his fingers. "(The Emperor, huh? Ok, now onto the quest.... ions?)" As soon as the card was read, his vision began to fade, and the duo began disappearing from sight. "(Ah, god damnit, I didn't even ask them... Then again it is just a dream, so eh.)"

---

Kami awoke, groaning as he pushed himself up, and sat on his bed. He looked around the room, frantically searching for something until he found it. "Huh, so it's 9:30... I need to get to work, because today is going to be a busy day... Wait, what is it today?" He jumped out of bed and turned to the calendar near his desk. It was Sunday, XX, 20XX from the looks of it. Wait a second... "Huh, today is my birthday it seems... Looks like I'm finally eighteen!" He begins grabbing clothes from his drawer, closet and heads to the bathroom. He needed to get ready for some investigation, and he needed to get some studying down for today despite the fact that it was his birthday. As he entered the bathroom, he quietly closed it just in case anyone was still sleeping in the house... Then again, most of them have probably left for work or to do other things.

---

Kami walked to the park with a notebook in his hand, a notepad, and pencil. He sat at the bench for a bit, reading something from his notebook. The park was serene and quiet for right now, as most people really wern't around the park during this hour. He smiled peaceful, letting out a sigh of happiness as he began to get to work. He watched as different birds passed on by, and sometimes jotted down something in the back of his notepad. As he continued studying and watching the nature around him, he eventually turned his eyes to the small pond.

"This is going to be a great day... I can feel it in my bones."

Rui Shinichi | The Velvet Room

This dream... Or rather, it didn't feel like a dream to him, but there was no other description he could think of. After a few sentences, speaking of roles and decisions, he indicated to cards upon the table, to select one and decide to move forward. He already knew what he was going to do, so without hesitation he was one of the first to walk forward. No one would recognize him, but he won't recognize the others either. As he stepped forward, he picked one of the face down cards on the table seemingly out of random, and upon flipping it, it would read "The Fool". The Fool...? The card number was zero too, and the picture on it looked like someone hitting the road, what with the knapsack and everything... This card definitely didn't mean he was an idiot then, but it looked to him more like... Learning? What was he about to learn or experience...? Before he could think any further though, he felt his body be pulled back, and his vision faded as if he'd backed away through a door.

____________________________________________________________________

Rui Shinichi | Home - Sunday

"Ugh...", rising from his bed around 10 AM, he rubbed his eyes and got up for breakfast, along with the normal morning rituals... All he could really think about at the moment was that dream. Tomorrow was going to be his first day at school, so he still had the Sunday to do whatever... What to do though... He didn't feel like going to the arcade again today, was there something else to do around here? His parents weren't here right now... They said that most days they wouldn't be at home too. As he went to clean his dishes up and put them away, he saw a note on the table, beside some money.

Can you please get the groceries today? List is on the fridge, it said. With little delay he walked over to the fridge and there it was, a list. Just the usual stuff, milk, eggs, some vegetables, etc. There it was also stated he had enough extra to get something he liked, probably just spend it on a bit of candy or something then...

"Well, I guess that's what I'll do today", he conceded to this little task, got changed, wearing jeans and a nice black double breasted coat and got going.

Kato | The Velvet room

what? Oh, it was the room from that one dream. So blue, it was kind of relaxing. Even the odd Old Man seemed friendly to the Kato, even with his bulging eyes.
He was talking about his and others roles in a upcoming story, as he placed down some cards he remember as Tarot cards, supposedly able to read the future. What a strange dream. Kato thought.
The old man introduced himself and the tall woman, as Igor and Henrietta respectively. Such foreign names. Are they American? European?
But The strange man, Igor, spoke up again. About his role in this supposed story. Support and Observation? Kato was honestly getting excited, he always wanted to go an adventure, but due to him being narcoleptic he couldn't leave the town without missing half the excitement due to sleeping in odd places. Kato got up as fast as he can, their must be a reason they would pick somebody like him, he must know why. He went to the table so did a few others, and he picked a card. But everything became dark and clouded, and suddenly....

---

A groan can be heard from under the sheets. The young man Pulled himself out of the blankets and sat up straight on the bed. His hair was a mess and he still had shadows under his eyes even though he slept for over ten hours last night. He looked around, it wasn't the velvet blue room as mere moments ago. He sighed, of course, nobody would pick somebody with his health problems to be in some story. He was stupid to think so.
He picked up his cell phone which he somehow charge last night before passing out. It was 10:15, very early for him, he normally wouldn't wake up on weekends until lunch or after, when most of the day passed. But at least he can enjoy the morning on his own instead of being woken up like normal.

Kato gotten out of bed and had a quick shower before getting dressed in his grey sweater which he honestly has a hard time reading but it looks cool, black sweatpants and put on his red and white shoes at the front door, this outfit was comfy so he won't wake up uncomfortable. He went out of his bedroom and walked pass the old family pictures, some of which went missing, all of which had his sister on them, it was too painful for his parents to lose their daughter to a cult. But Kato wouldn't believe that, he knew his sister would never join a cult, but her personality tells otherwise, but he wouldn't believe it. He will learn why she changed and get his older sister back. And right next to the staires was the picture that made yesterday a pain to think back on. He stopped and looked at it. Four small kids, two boys and two girls each with a different range of smiles, Kato and Sachiko had the biggest smiles while Ayano and Kaminari was more subtle but it was obvious they were happy. It was so much simpler back then. He not as optimistic as Sachiko, he knows it be years before this friendship could be mended if ever. Ayano wasn't ready to talk to them yet, he didn't blame her for that, but it still hurt for her to still be so hurt from the bullying, he wished he did more, but he was always asleep or tired back then and still is.

He conituned walking and he went down the stairs, lhe didn't say anything to announce his arrival, his parents are gone and won't be back until after midnight, hard to pay for two houses when the owner of the other house does nothing to help pay for rent. His parents have always been hard working but they are going to kill themselves if they keep doing this for his changed sister; but it is better then leaving her out in the streets like what most parents done with kids who 'Joined the cult'.
He didn't even bother to look in the kitchen, as the same note from every other day would be there and some sort of breakfast that was half cook and which would make him sick if he eats it. He went though the front door and decided to go to the grocery store and get something to eat that won't kill him. "This will be a long day."

...Velvet...That's what the only thing the girl saw in her dreams...She's never had this kind of dream before, it all just looked...surreal. Then, she found herself sitting in a room with velvet just about everywhere and she saw a man that looked like something that came out of her nightmares and a girl. She wanted to scream but she couldn't, all she do was watch as he explained something about how they are just observers and supporters and need a main cast. One faceless figure stepped forward and picked a card that was laid out on the table but soon faded into darkness as soon as the figure touched it...Ayano couldn't think straight...Is this really a dream? Maybe picking a card would wake her up...She nervously approached the table, picked a card and flipped it...The card read "Hermit" it was numbered IX/9 and showed a picture of cage with an eye. What could it mean? Before the girl could even ponder about it, everything became gradually darker...

---

Ayano woke up staring at the ceiling of her room..."That dream...what WAS that?"...Still groggy from the current events, she lazily got up and checked the time...10:30 AM...Still early, and it was Sunday too. Wait, wasn't today his birthday? The girl groaned, she's not the type to go outside and buy a present or anything but it's the least she could do after how things went yesterday. It was settled then, before she goes into the virtual world, she'd buy him a present. Yeah...

The girl took a shower, got dressed and took some money with her. "I'm going out for a while." she said to her parents as she closed the door behind her and was greeted by the warm sunlight...Oh. how she hated it.

It was time for one of THOSE dreams again. Sachiko's dreams were usually of things that related to the day's events, but these were always the exception. Her only wish was that she could bring herself to interact with them more. She had an intense desire to poke fun at the man called Igor's nose. It was so ridiculous! But she never did speak. Only listened. She, like a few others, reached out to take a card. Sachiko couldn't help but be excited at the prospect of something other than more and more nonsensical rambling occurring in one of these funky visions. She took the card and looked at it. It depicted a moon. Before she could contemplate the meaning, she found herself wide awake. She giggled a little at how seriously she seemed to be taking what went on there. She imagined it would amount to nothing much in the long run, and clambered out of bed to begin the new day.

---

One look at her calendar made Sachiko's eyes light up. It was Kaminari's birthday! Today would have at least one pleasant event in it. She had already prepared a present to give to him and everything. She was a little disappointed she hadn't heard of any plans to throw a celebration for him. She would've planned one herself, but she had a feeling she had spent enough money on the present. Her family wasn't poor, but she sure wasn't made of money. But Kaminari was almost always busy anyways, so a party would probably be a wasted effort. A lack of festivities wasn't going to stop her from tracking him down and delivering her present, however! She gathered up the present and exited her house, breaking into a skipping motion when she was out on the street.

---

"You!" Sachiko's shout upon finding Kami would disrupt the usual quiet of the park. "You should not be so hard to find on your own birthday!" Sachiko had first gone by his house, and found it empty. So she resolved to check out his usual haunts to find him. Because she wasn't letting the opportunity to give a friend a gift pass without going to all lengths necessary. She was just glad she had the luck to find him before he had to go do detective things or whatever kept him busy on his own birthday. Coming closer to him, she continued talking. "Anyway! Here you go!" She handed him the present, which was presently wrapped. "I pre-ordered you the latest in the Chief Inspector Gamache series. I don't know what it's about, but I heard it's highly acclaimed and I know you love your detective stuff. Happy birthday, Kami! NOW PREPARE YOURSELF!" She quickly closed in and gave him a strong hug. This was another birthday tradition she never missed an opportunity to perform.

Chiaki was lying upon her queen sized bed. Underneath a warm black feathered quilt. She snuggled tightly amongst her purple heart shaped pillows. Her long rouge hair untied and sprawled over the pillows, almost like ice freezing over a body of water. Alas, something was amiss, Chiski was having a rather strange dream. "The nose... Its... Sooo very... Long..." She mumbled in her sleep about a goblin looking creature with bushy eyebrows and an extensive nose, he was quite unnatural and spoke in a strange way.
"Child of born under the lovers, it is not your time. Return back to your peaceful dream tome..."
This dream was rather peculiar, but Chiakis' sight was not clear enough to make out her surroundings, though, she could see deep shade of blue that enshrouded the room. A few black entities walked towards the goblin creature, though she could not. She was frozen, unable to move her body. Her vision began to blur again, no longer was Chiaki in a blue room, but back in her bed.

"Ah! A nightmare? Or perhaps a peculiar dream... No matter, I shall obtain a glass of milk and return to my slumber." Chiaki paused for a moment. "Goodmess, I'm talkimg to myself, I need more sleep. This is the second time I've woken up in the night. Its terrible for my brain cells and even worse my skin complexion"
Chiaki left her room for a drink and returned to her bed after her late night drink so she could once again sleep.

... Velvet.

That was the only way to describe the room Midori found herself in. And there were people... other people... The man with the big nose was talking to her. She didn't know what to say or do. It was just... enough to keep her silent. And yet... those cards. Something inside her clicked. This... this would help, wouldn't it? Wouldn't it? Her hand reached out rapidly, fingers brushing a card. It would help her with Akemi... wouldn't it?

Even as her vision began to fade, she flipped her card.

The Devil.

---

"... Mmnn..."

Midori's eyes slowly opened. The light of day filtered through the curtains, casting light onto her bed. The blankets lay upon her, and she felt pleasantly warm. It took a few moments for her to recall that strange dream. It wasn't the first she had like that, all of them had been strange and this one was no different in that respect. But somehow, something about it felt new and unusual. Midori really would rather dream about Akemi. Slowly, the smallish girl sat up, rubbing one eye as her blankets slid off of her. The pyjamas she wore were somewhat large and floppy on her body, mostly due to the fact that they were comfortable. Her blonde hair stuck out at all kinds of odd angles. It was always really messy after she slept.

The girl yawned. Today was Sunday, wasn't it? She needed to call Akemi after she got ready. She wanted to know what the most wonderful girl in the world was doing for this Sunday. Hopefully not just homework all day... Homework needed to be finished, but it was such a waste for the lovely girl to spend all of her time on it. She wanted to spend time with her! ... That wasn't too selfish right? She didn't want to upset Akemi by being too selfish that would be terrible...

Midori rubbed her eyes again and clambered out of bed. She needed to take a shower and get dressed first...

Akemi, displaying her extensive knowledge of fashion, had ended up with the plainest clothing possible. Grey skirt, white shirt, black cardigan... it was obvious she held no desire to make herself look appealing to the eye - after all, she was only going shopping for food and miscellaneous items, so why even dress up?
Leaving the house with a small frown, Akemi tried to forget the dream once again. It was so damn irritating, the way it constantly lingered in her mind like an important memory or something. Dreams were pointless and stupid! Especially re-occurring ones! And very especially the ones that made her feel guilty for... actually, why was she feeling guilty?

She could remember featureless mannequins or whatever those were, stepping forward and picking up playing cards (they were playing cards, right? Meh, whatever). There were also quite a few that hadn't stepped forward, herself included. Why did she regret that? What was there to regret? It wasn't anything important, regardless of the dream's presentation.

...Akemi couldn't shake off that feeling of guilt, no matter how much she rationalised it. Ugh, the sooner homework got started, the better.

Yanagi Shiki - Yanagi Household

Shiki had woken up early today. Yes, it was a Sunday, and there really wasn't much to do on a Sunday, but that was no reason to sleep in. Honestly, he'd been waking up early for a while now. He was a kid, after all, and filled with boundless energy, but that wasn't exactly the entire explanation. Even though he was still only 10, he wasn't too young to realize that something was very, very wrong. He'd been worried for quite some time now... Midori, his older sister, had been acting really strange. She had always been a bit off since Keiko's accident, but... It wasn't healthy to be that obsessive. Even he could tell that. She needed to focus on things other than that... What's-her-name... That other girl. As much as he loved her, she was just...

...But it wasn't a good idea to dwell on that right now. Already washed and dressed, Shiki headed off to Midori's room and was about to just barge through the door before remembering what happened last time he did. That was something he didn't want to see again, after all, so instead he simply knocked lightly.

"Hey... Hey, sis!" he chirped from behind the door. "Sis, you promised you'd take me out today! And... And mom and dad are out, and you know they'll get really mad if you leave me on my own!" Well... Technically it was true. She had promised, and they would get mad, but... Really, he just wanted her to get out and focus on something that wasn't what's-her-name.