[b]Tsubame Shirohane - Warakuma Shopping District: Shirohane Flowershop | After School[/b]

Tsubame couldn't help but smile at the scene before her - the kids these days were in such a hurry, it would seem. But then again, that was exactly what they should be after all, what with it being such an important time of their lives. After Alexei stated his name and class, confirming himself as a third year and therefore an upperclassman of her daughter just as Toma had before, Tsubame nodded for Kotori to help with whatever it was that the latter needed her help - though not without a small smile at the thought of a young man needing her daughter's help. Rather than amusedly watch the scene, however, she instead turned to face the other young man in search of help, having thanked her for her words from before.

As the young man decided to go with both what he believed to fit the intended of his gift and the meanings thereof, Tsubame nodded in encouragement - before he brought a pleasant surprise to her as he listed a number of flowers he wished the Ikebana to entail and even how. Usually, requests came with perhaps one or two specifics or just a general theme - it was always nice to know that there were some who gave it such thought. As he then explained his choice, a small smile came across Tsubame's face - not only for his words, but also the way he spoke them; the intended of his gift quite clearly meaning a lot to him, as evidenced by the subtle rub of his eyes that she pretended not to see.

"My, that's a nice choice," she said in agreement - not only because it was, but also because it meant that by stating his choices so, he also was unknowingly inserting the third criteria for a floral gift by choosing it by himself. He really did seem to have given this quite some thought, it seemed - even if it did leave her to wonder who exactly it was that he wanted to present this gift to and the circumstances behind it. However, she was not one to pry into the private matters of others and thus simply listened as Alexei then requested a delivery, if that could be arranged.

"A morning delivery? Certainly," Tsubame said with a nod and a smile before getting to a matter that her daughter had mentioned the other day. "By the way, you don't have to worry about the price. I'm sure that's something we can work out," she said, seeing as it was hardly something he could just easily bring up all by himself if he was already making a request - though she could also understand why Kotori had asked if there was anything they could do to help, seeing the young man's devotion to his family first hand.

"Is there anything else you'd like?" Tsubame then asked.

[b]Kotori Shirohane - Warakuma Shopping District: Shirohane Flowershop | After School[/b]

The first thing Toma did as Kotori stepped closer was to apologise for his sudden appearance, eliciting a quick shake of her head to say that it wasn't a big deal. What then followed certainly wasn't what she had expected - she'd thought he was perhaps a little lost and had simply decided to ask someone familiar for direction. Instead, his easygoing smile dropped, instead being replaced by a serious expression that matched his words as he explained that a Second Year called Yamamoto Noboru was missing and asked whether she'd seen him. 

Kotori's first response to simply blink questioningly - before things started to make sense. It took her a moment to recognise the name she'd heard the day before and to put a face to it in the form of the previously shirtless male would-be Idol Club member she'd met yesterday. What's more, he hadn't been at school - much like a Second Year she'd heard about but had assumed to simply be at home with a cold. If these two were one and the same, however, that theory fell flat given that Toma then went on to explain why he was looking for Noboru. If his brother was on the lookout, that would mean that he could hardly be lying in bed at home.

A worried expression came over Kotori's face at that realisation - she'd seen Noboru just yesterday and he'd seemed fine then. Had something happend after he'd left the MMA Club Members and herself on his own that afternoon? After a moment's pause following Toma's words, Kotori spoke up. "I haven't seen him today," she said, concern apparent in her voice. "But I just met him yesterday a-after school," she continued, briefly stumbling over her words as she remembered the exact circumstances of said meeting, before holding a hand to about chest height. "He's a bit short and, uhm, kind of fit-looking," Kotori explained, given that Toma not knowing how the person he was looking for actually looked probably making things a bit difficult for him and, unbeknownst to her, describing the person he'd actually seen her talking to the day before.

"We were going to go to a restaurant yesterday with three others from the MMA Club, but he left before we got there," she then said after thinking on the events of the previous day for a moment to make sure she got them in order; giving a quick glance over to Alexei as she mentioned the MMA Club of which he was a member. "Was he alright then?" she asked, given that she hardly knew the boy in question long enough to know if just leaving without a word was something he did regularly - though Toma would hardly know, too, perhaps he'd heard more from his brother.