"Advance!", on his order, the group quickly quelled the small group of shadows and cut through their front line. The Enchanted Woodland, this dungeon appeared to be forest based. It was annoying how frequently the shadows could heal themselves, but that only meant they had to hit harder and faster, something Noboru was incredibly eager to do.

The events over the last week hazed over quickly. The confirmation for Leiko's presence in the dungeon came almost immediately. How no one died in that time was beyond him, it appeared that the mirror world ran off of it's own time, so time and space was warped... Probably. He wasn't a quantum theorist. In any case, Saya reported the incident to the police, and ever since Wednesday there were police patrols seen all around near the school grounds, both for search and patrol. With Golden Week on the way, it was likely they would try and increase security... But the police station was small, they couldn't patrol everything.

In any case, it was their job to do their work in the dungeon. Rui, Matt, Noboru and Kami made a full team or so Kazuki said.

The Enchanted Woodland looked quite fetching, if it weren't for the shadows, a picnic here wouldn't be such a bad idea. As they trudged forward, Rui began to think... Are these dungeons a reflection of the mind? Noboru's was a reflection of his troubles, but Matt's was different, strange even. Like it was a fantasy... Was this dungeon like Matt's in that way? Well, they'll find out when they get to the end...

The dungeon's lush scenery actually visibly began to deteriorate as they got deeper, but soon they made their way into a forest... Well, the entire thing was a forest, but this one location in particular was unique. As they continued, they began to notice that the ground below was getting bouncier... Bouncier? This was solid grou- oh my god. That's the ground, fifty feet below them. What they were standing on was a large web network.

"Oooh this is a creepy feeling... I'm sensing countless shadows and one big one...", creepy was right. Around them, the party began to hear the countless clicks like insects, fangs baring and clicking as they saw countless spiders scrawl across the treetops, very soon a large spider rappelled itself down, upon it's abdomen was a giant mask, signifying it's status as a shadow, the same went for every other smaller one... There were literally countless, countless tiny spiders.

"This may take awhile..." he responded to Megami.

"Everyone, let's try not to get too far from each other. Cover each other's backs. Use spells to thin out the smaller ones", he stated.

---

Today was essentially the beginning of Golden Week, so there was a special half price on everything for the whole week. It was no surprise there were many families here, even with the whole kidnapping thing. It was Golden Week after all, people just wanted to forget that there was such an event going on. Though there were just as many couples as there were families at the amusement park, most of which were highschoolers or middle schoolers. It won't be until later in the week that more adults would be here, since that was when their days off applied.

In any case, today seemed to be full of excitement at the amusement park. The mall area was fairly peaceful at the moment, many of the people who worked a job at the stores there were out for Golden Week too.

APRIL 26 2015, SUNDAY
Mid-day

The week that could prove the flow of time to be dynamic had finally come to an end. Well, almost. It was Sunday, and a seemingly good one at that. Golden Week was so close anyone could taste it, the weather was fine, there were deals left and right, and the amusement park was alive with activity, which was shockingly rather uncommon. Sato found himself not in said amusement park however, and in the shopping district, cold drink in hand and shopping bag dangling from his fingers.

As he navigated past the people slowly making their way down the street (with more precision and carefulness than ever, after that whole fiasco with the drink last time), Sato kept his eye out for a particular store. His mother had asked him to pick something up since he was going out anyway, but Sato had never been to the place before and was completely unaware of what it even looked like. All he knew was the name, and his brown eyes scanned every sign they could find in his field of vision. There seemed to be an incredible amount of shops that he’d never noticed before as he wandered down the shopping district, and sometimes Sato swore he’d seen the same store twice despite only having been walking in one direction.

And it was only after getting somehow lost did Sato chance upon an establishment was the same name as the one he was given. The boy didn’t even know what he was to be picking up from the store, and was instructed to merely inquire about it through his mother’s name. With about as much enthusiasm as a teen doing a chore could muster, Sato made his way to the store, or café, or whatever it was, and approached the somehow manager-y man standing by the entrance.

”Hello Sir, I’m here on behalf of a Hashimoto Saki. I believe you’ve been expecting me?”

Ayano Wakahisa: Wakahisa Residence

Time: Morning
Date: April 26, 2015

The sun rays reflected on Ayano's windows and shine the bright light of the morning directly on her face, causing her to groan and roll to the other side of her bed, but not without waking her up from her deep sleep. Grabbing her cellphone from the bedside table, the girl checked on the time will rubbing one of her eyes. 10:30 AM, 4/26/2015. "Wait." Ayano said to herself, ceasing her rubbing instantly, looking at her phone's screen once more, there was no doubt it about it. Golden Week officially starts today! Filled with a sudden burst of exuberance, she rushed to her bathroom to clean her face and headed to Chiaki's room as soon as she was done.

Facing the door, Ayano knocked on the door, calling her cousin's attention. She was already envisioning the things they'd do together, filling her with a sense of excitement and fear.

Kotori Shirohane - Warakuma High School: Agriculture Club | Tuesday, April 21 2015 - After School

Looking around for a moment, Kotori found herself alone in the Clubroom - it seemed that no one was here after all. However, just as she began to wonder whether she should wait a little in the hopes that someone might yet come by or just leave for the day, she felt a hand upon her shoulder. Startled surprise caused her to instantly tense up; a sudden "Ee-!" interrupted after just a moment when she took a sharp breath from the surprise. It only lasted for another moment when a voice behind her spoke up: “yo how are ya? interested in joining?” Whilst the relaxing process was quite a bit lengthier and her eyes were still wide from surprise, she turned half-way around; just enough to see the wide grin across Matthew's face whose hand was placed on her shoulder.

"Haah..." A slow, calming if slightly trembling breath was the first thing out of Kotori's mouth as she clutched both her hands close to her chest to calm herself - evidently not the best at handling such sudden surprises. Following that, the tension slowly left as it took a second for her to realise that the words hadn't just been a greeting but rather a question, too. "Ah, uhm, good afternoon, Harvester-senpai," Kotori said, taking a step back before giving a polite bow. "I'm fine and yes," she continued - though given the rather evident shock she'd just been given, it was perhaps a bit of an overstatement. Nonetheless, she opened her school bag, taking only a moment to find the application therein and then handing it over - though she would first inquire as to when the Club met, exactly, and if it would be okay if she had to leave earlier sometimes. Ultimately, though, she would join.

Kotori Shirohane - Warakuma Shopping District: Shirohane Flowershop | Sunday, April 26 2015 - Morning

"Thank you, please come again," Kotori said with a bow as the customer left the flowershop. Standing up straight again, she watched him walk off - and breathed a small sigh of relief once he was out of sight. Even if she'd done it many times, she still couldn't really get used to talking and tending to customers; preferring far more to instead tend to the flowers of the store. That was indeed what she usually did - unless her mother was out shopping, delivering or otherwise not around to take over. Today was one such day, Kotori's mother having gone to the gardening store and leaving the shop in her care. Stil standing behind the till, she began looking about the shop - keeping an eye out in case any of the displayed flowers showed signs of drooping or other problems; if mostly to avoid having to keep up an inviting smile should anyone walk past - which mostly came out rather stiff in her case. Luckily her mother wasn't going to be out for very long.

Kotori Shirohane - Warakuma Shopping District | Noon

Kotori stood blinking before the flowershop. She wasn't quite sure why, either - just a few minutes ago, her mother had returned, smiled and then pressed a ticket to the local amusement park into her hand and sent her off to get her jacket and whatnot with the words that it wasn't right for a girl her age to stay cooped up inside all day. And thus she now stood outside, turning back in slight confusion to see her mother smiling and waving after having wished her a good time and reminded her not to stay out too late. Deciding to not waste the unexpected gift, Kotori headed off toward Warakuma Amusement Park - a place she hadn't actually visited since it had opened up not all that long ago. Whilst she wasn't particularly fond of thrill rides and the like, she was certain there'd be enough other things there to have fun with - and just in case, she'd put a book into her handbag. With that in mind, Kotori set off.

==~==

Despite it being Golden Week, and all that that statement implied, Mako was in the foulest mood he'd likely been in since... well. He was in a foul mood, was what he was saying. Despite the glorious weather and an entire week free from his academic obligations, there were a number of issues wearing away at his mind. First and foremost of these was Hamada-san's untimely disappearance.

Mako shook his head in disgust. Not only did the police department appear to be completely inept at stopping these random kidnappings, but moreover, the latest victim was one of the only people who would have given him a way to distract from his frustrations regarding the incidents. As was obvious, Drama Club was shut down entirely while its president was gone to gods-know-where, leaving Mako's only recourse for extracurricular distractions as Boxing Club. Which did not help improve his mood. At all. If anything, it just made him angrier.

It was at the height of his frustrations, at the greatest risk of mask slippage, that he remembered the delightful cafe he had visited just less than a week ago. And so it was now that Mako found himself strolling confidently through the front door, eager for any sort of distraction from the perils of the everyday.

"Good afternoon, everyone! How are we all doing today?"

While the female student was busy with her mind being clouded by thoughts of extracurricular activities, a brunette female stops her on her tracks with an offer, which determined who she was, or at least who Shizuka assumed. The culprit of releasing those embarrassing photos! At first thought, she expected it to be some sort of a blackmail but instead, the other female had a smiley face about her and offered her pictures and... many more (?) if she were to request from her at school. Before she could reply to the girl, she left quickly as she came, leaving Shizuka to her own puzzled thoughts. While she refused to take any of her own pictures, what caught her curiosity was the "many more" part. What exactly did the brunette have that she could offer to her? She may not find out any time soon as if she were to approach the stranger at school in her ordinary self, it might as well be revealing her own identity to a schoolmate. The blond maid quietly mumbled her thoughts as she continued her way to the cafe.

---

Today officially marked the beginning of the Golden Week. Shizuka only had a loose plan for this week, a few plans with her circle of friends to hang out, an animated movie she waited for a long while to watch, and the rest of the week were either working shifts at the cafe or free time to herself. Today should have been a day off for the girl but most of the other crew members had made plans on this day, which caused her to be summoned to work today. She didn't mind much seeing as how she enjoyed the work most of the time, other times being troublesome for her, especially because of customers who were difficult to handle, complaints after complaints of unreasonable nature. Due to the short supply of waiters and waitresses today, Shizu has had a lot on her plate since this morning, figuratively speaking.

Their manager stood at the entrance of the cafe, seemingly waiting for someone's arrival as he shifted his head to left and right, occasionally greeting the customers who entered or left the cafe. A graceful male approached the man and on an impulse, he was about to greet the boy as a customer when he briefly explained that Ms. Hashimoto had sent him here in her stead. The taller man took a glance upon the male and flashed a smile, opened the door for the guest and welcomed, "Please come in, I've prepared the envelope I intend for her to receive but I have a favor to ask of you before so. We'll have the chat inside, if you don't mind."

Upon entry, the usual round of "Welcome home, master!" echoed throughout the cafe as the manager lead the young male to the staff area. "It's rude of me to ask so suddenly of you but could you fill in as a waiter for this day? We're understaffed as you had seen earlier and we desperately need any help we can get." The manager's eyes had an obvious hint of plead in his eyes as he continued his speech. "While Ms. Hashimoto may have sent you, young man, to receive the envelope, she also mentioned of a suggestion of having her son volunteer if ever I needed any assistance. I presume you are her son? I ask of that assistance now, with your consent."

Shizuka hadn't mean to eavesdrop or any of that sort but she had heard most, if not all of what her manager had said, standing by at the counter awaiting for any customers needing her attention. Her eyes gazed half behind the rifle she held, at the slender figure of the male, imagining how elegant he would be in a butler's or a maid's uniform. But she was not to interfere unless her manager would call for her to help prepare the boy serve customers, of course after the black haired male was to approve of doing such thing. Her thoughts were interrupted as the entrance doors were opened, to which she instinctively joined with the others, "Welcome home, master!"

A familiar face had entered through the doors, it was the man who visited not too long ago before she left for home. Since she was free of any customer requests at the moment, Shizuka stepped forward and greeted him once more with a polite bow while letting him settle down on a seat. "Glad to see you coming back again, master! I do hope you'll once again enjoy your time here and please take a seat comfortable to you." Once he was settled, the blond waitress handed over the menu which had exactly the same content as the previous one. After awhile, the theme was to be changed to a new one, along with the menu. "Shall I fetch a cup of coffee for you while deciding on an order, master?" She inquired in a friendly tone with a bright smile to boot.

==~==

Mako grinned as the blonde girl who had attended to him on his previous visit came forward to greet him once again. Always a pleasure to see a familiar face. The feeling was apparently mutual, as the girl greeted him cheerfully, and directed him to a place to sit, handing him the same menu as the last visit. He quirked an eyebrow. Same menu. It must change with the theme, I guess. Not that I'm complaining- there are still plenty of things I haven't tried yet. As he started perusing the menu for something to snack on, he smiled up at his waitress as she inquired about what he'd like to drink.

"Why, yes, thank you. A cup of coffee sounds lovely, Miss..." He paused as he considered that he'd never actually asked her what her name was. Or, at least, the name she gave while she was here, anyway. Cosplay and all that. Still, if he was supposedly the "master" in this scenario, he should at least have the decency to learn the names of those that were serving him. How terribly improper that this had not occurred to him on his previous visit. He smiled somewhat sheepishly.

"...I apologize, but it has just occurred to me that I haven't asked what your name is. And since calling you Maid or Servant would be incredibly rude, would you be so kind as to... illuminate me?"

The man confirmed that Sato had came to the right place and did indeed have a package addressed to his mother, which was a relief to here. Sato let out a deep breath as he followed the (assumed) manager into the store. Immediately after entering, Sato had two revelations: this was a café, and it was a cosplay café. What did his mother need from a place like a cosplay café anyway? And why were all the girls dressed in French maid outfits carrying fake guns?

When the manager passed by the main room of the café, the maids and butlers gave a resounding “Welcome home, master!” to them. The younger male shifted uncomfortably in the plaid shirt he wore. This was his first time in such a weird place. The manager led him into the staff-only area (another first for the boy) before stopping and addressing him regarding the favor he had mentioned. And Sato could hardly humor it after listening to the man’s plea. Fill in as a waiter? He literally just walked into the building for the first time ever and he already received an invitation to work there, albeit for a day. Aren’t waiters supposed to have some kind of training first? Some experience? The only job Sato ever had was cleaning dishes for a family friend’s restaurant and that was significantly different from waiting on and serving people.

”So wait a minute, you want me to be one of those maid waitressesers or whatever and serve food and stuff?” Sato blurted out, obviously flustered over the proposal. Flabbergasted, even. ”I’ve never even been a waiter before. Will I get paid?” Initially, Sato had been set on his answer being no, but after considering that he probably would get paid for doing it for a day, he reconsidered. A solution to his money problem was looking him straight in the face. And all he’d have to do would be to dress up and give people the food they order. How hard could that even be?

The teen tapped his chin with his fingers before continuing. ”Although. I guess… I guess I could do it. It’d be rude not to return the favor for my mother’s parcel. What would I have to do, exactly?”

Noboru looked around. It was an odd place for sure but that didn't mean he couldn't punch stuff. In fact, he had a special outfit just for the occasion. Then he saw them. Ooooooooh he saw them. And he hated them. He wasn't scared of them, he just hated them because a certain someone else hated them. And he was angry at them. Focusing his attention on a certain group, he started [RAMPAGE]ing all over tbem, trying to crush them.

However that didn't mean he couldn't crack a quick joke. "Hey. Hey guys. Guess this a literal dungeom crawl now ehhhh? Ehhhhhhhh?" His grin widened as he kept stomping on the spiders.

Akane Hanazawa // Warakuma Amusement Park
Sunday, April 26th, 2015

"Ahhhh...." she stretched her arms back in relaxation as she passed through the entrance of the park. Finally, the longer awaited golden week is here! She'd often find herself staring out the window of the cafe in the mall at the amusement park but just couldn't find the time to come check it out. Maybe this trip to the park was what she needed. Akane figured she needed to start doing more things that differed from her usual routine. After all, writers and artists of all sorts gather not just their imaginations into their work but also their life experiences.

The more she does, the more things she has to work with and distort. "Now, what should I ride first...." she muttered to herself as she walked around glancing at all the rides until she stopped. "That's it!" she beamed as she stood it front of the roller coaster. The roller coaster in question was one of the main attractions of the park, given how high and fast it can go. The Perfect place to start. Pumping her fist into the air in excitement, she made her way to get on the ride.

The familiar customer agreed to her suggestion and as she was about to excuse herself to bring him his first order, he inquired for her name. It must have slipped her mind the last time they met due to her early leave but it was compulsory for waiters and waitresses in this cafe to introduce their nickname or cosplayer name to their masters. She fidgeted slightly with the rifle upon this realization before lowering her head in a short, apologetic bow. "O-Oh goodness, pardon me for my late introduction, master. I'm referred to as 'Shizu-chan'. I do apologize for having given my name on our second meeting." The waitress bows once again and upon raising her head back up, her lips flashes a faint smile. "But master, it would be my pleasure to serve you this time! Excuse me for a moment while I'll have your coffee prepared." With that, she returns to the area behind the counter and follows the standard procedures given to prepare the coffee.

Meanwhile, the manager gladly patted the shoulder of the younger boy in response to his agreement to the favor as he spoke, "That's the spirit! And of course, you will be given a proper amount of monetary compensation for your work today, don't worry. As for what you'll have to do," He stepped out of the staff only room to take a glimpse at the main area of the cafe for the crew who were present today, determining who had more time on their hands at the moment. Spotting Shizu heading behind the counter, the older man gestured for Hashimoto to stay and added, "Hold on for a moment if you will, I'll introduce you to someone who can coach you throughout the day. Let me fetch her." Just as he stated such, he left the room for a moment to approach the aforementioned waitress who was reaching up for a cup and saucer pair on the shelf. With ease, the manager picked the ones she was reaching for and held them in his hands.

"Making coffee, Shizu? I can take over from here since I'll need you to do something else. You saw the boy that entered the cafe with me earlier, yeah? Well I'll need you to get him ready to serve customers, appearance and mind set wise. Could you manage that?" Somehow, as if her prayers have been heard, Shizu's manager had granted her the position to make over the graceful male. With a tinge of excitement upon her expression and voice, the blonde replies, "Yes sir, I will try my best! But let us serve the coffee to our dear master, we hopefully won't take too long. I'll be sure to make him presentable!" The taller male gives a nod of acknowledgment as he tilts his head towards the staff room, gesturing that the mentioned boy was currently in that room. With a bow to her manager, she paces towards the staff room quickly while he started on the coffee making process.

"Greetings! My manager brought me here to get you ready with your costume and mind set of being a waiter. Please do not hesitate to ask me any question!" Upon entering, Shizu greets the taller boy with a bow and a delighted smile upon her lips before searching through the usable costumes being hanged in a row, found at the side of the room opposite to the door. Maid costume... maid costume.... maid costume..... Ah, a butl-- maid costume. "Ah, and my work name is 'Shizu-chan'. When one works in a place such as this, it is recommended to create a nickname for one's self when they want to conceal their identity. Speaking of such, oh my, we seem to have run out of butler costumes... I suppose majority of the waiters who are present today are male. It seems... we have no choice." While her expression was that of disappointment or something similar, her mind told her otherwise, in fact, she was glad for the scarcity of butler costumes today.

―――――――――――――――
"May I present to you... our newest maid!" Shizu stood in front of the expecting manager who had been awaiting for the two for awhile, his view on the male [?] being separated by the blond waitress standing in between them. When it was time for the reveal, she side stepped out of the way and there he was, in full black, French maid outfit, long, pink wig with straight cut bangs and wavy ends, a holster around his waist to carry two pistols and a face powdered with expert-leveled make up with cherry pink lips. The manager was amazed by the unexpected result and releases a casual whistle. "Shizu, you've really outdone yourself but... why a maid? Well, no matter, it doesn't change the fact that he indeed looks presentable so I'll let it pass. Go on, I had the coffee for the customer done, try your hands at bringing it to him while Shizu will be there to assist you."

As the two approached the brunette bespectacled male, the blond waitress spoke up with a polite bow, "Apologies for the wait, master, here is your coffee brought by our new maid! Do introduce yourself." She let Hashimoto serve the coffee for the male customer and gestured for him to smile when introducing himself. A quick pointers of waitress etiquette and how to respond were taught to the other maid in the staff room but Shizu was worried nonetheless. "If you are ready, we will take your orders, master!"

Matt - Warakuma high school || Tuesday - After school.

With a more widened grin Matt gave a quick explanations of weekly meets (mon, Thurs, Fri) and that those days would be to make sure there were enough active members and who would be responsible for checking up on the plants on certain afternoons. He also said it was fine to leave earlier if needed, and with that the agriculture club gained a new member.
Matt also remembered he wanted to sign up for the kendo club.. but with everything that happened he never got a chance… maybe he will at some point this week.

Enchanted Woodland || Sunday

Matt frowned as they got to the cobweb network, he liked the forest even with all the shadow things and fighting, Matt also thought he was getting used to fighting quickly but most the enemies so far had been pretty weak.
With Noboru jumping into action accompanied with his lame jokes Matt also decided to get rid of some pests.
“wow so cool Nobo Senpai~” Matt tried to make it sound as least sarcastic as possible but with Matt being older and the lame joke he couldn’t help the sarcastic tone.
“something i learnt back home is spiders burn easily”
“Maragi” matt summoned his persona and scorched the surrounding spiders.

Sato found himself leaning against the wall again (a thing that became subconscious) after the manager had left to go fetch his mentor for the day. For being as elusive as it was, the staff room was pretty bland. Or perhaps, Sato considered, he had just went a little crazy with his imagination when it came to the mysterious staff-only section of stores and restaurants. It was almost crushing, really. And as Sato considered this disappointment, a chirping sound came from his pocket and he fished out his phone almost instantly. Three texts from Mika.

satoooo u heard about the big sales?? HALF OFF
half off sato
come with me sato nobody else will

The boy clicked his tongue as his fingers flew about the touchscreen keyboard.

Can’t （ﾉ´д｀） I’m busy today. tommorow?

Just as the text finished sending, Sato heard someone entering the room and immediately thrust his phone back into his pocket. A blonde girl wearing the same kind of get-up as all the other waitresses entered the room and gave a bow. Sato returned it before she walked over to a rack of costumes and clothes on the other side of the room. The girl skimmed through the various frilly skirts before uttering the first word. ”Nice to meet you. I’m Sato Hashimoto, and I suppose we’ll be working together today.” And it was after he introduced himself did Shizu-chan bring up the issue that there was no butler costumes left due to the overabundance of male waiters working. ”What’re we going to do then?” Sato wrapped his arms around his chest. Even though he hoped otherwise, the slender male knew what they were going to do.

---

”May I present to you… our newest maid!”

Sato did a tiny twirl in his long black dress. The newly christened maid stumbled awkwardly to one side after having done so, and he quickly repositioned himself and quietly folded his hands at his waist. ”Welcome home, master!” Sato practiced, using the most realistic feminine voice the boy could muster. At least with the wig and the amount of make-up applied, the chances of being recognized by anyone were slim to none. An alien feeling of bashfulness ran through him when the manager gave a whistle, and he shook his head a bit to get rid of it. This was just like… like playing a character. Acting. This whole thing was just some practice for drama! Yeah, that was it!

The now pink-haired Sato took the cup of coffee and followed Shizu-chan over to their customer— master? —and as soon as he saw his face, the boy wanted to scream. Mako, that one guy from drama, was at the maid café. And they were serving him. Nervously, Sato placed the elegant cup of coffee before Mako as fluidly as he could. ”H-hello, master! I’m Saki, and I’ll be serving you today!” The words came out too fast and too loud, and Sato at least knew he would appeal to the guys that were into the whole shy girl thing. That was something. ”A-ahh, your order. Would you like anything, Mak— master?”

==~==

Mako smiled at the maid's flustered reaction, before nodding. "No, please, don't worry yourself. I haven't given you my name, either. It's a pleasure to meet you, Shizu-chan. You can call me... Moritomi-san, for now." He had another smile for his server as she bustled away to get his drink order. They had rather good coffee at this particular cafe. Hell, he could almost come here just for the coffee. But the cosplay experience what sold him on the establishment- they were rather dedicated to the spectacle, which he quite enjoyed. Speaking of which, his server was trotting over with his coffee, even now. With, oddly enough, another maid trailing behind her. A... strangely familiar maid. Hm. All right then. He greeted the two maids with a smile and a nod, as the pink-haired girl somewhat nervously set his coffee cup down in front of him.

She must be new. I suppose I should be accommodating to the poor dear.

"H-hello, master! I’m Saki, and I’ll be serving you today!" Mako paused in his thoughts, for a brief moment. Now her voice sounds familiar. Have I met her somewhere before? Mako studied her briefly. Now that he had a closer look, the girl seemed nervous for other reasons. Her eyes wouldn't leave his face, though she never quite met his eyes. Was it him in particular that made her nervous?

"A-ahh, your order. Would you like anything, Mak— master?"

Mako blinked. Did she almost call him by his name...? Did she know him? He narrowed his eyes slightly, trying to make sense of just what it was that was so familiar about the new maid when... suddenly, it all made sense. Not a her. A him. Hashimoto. Sato Hashimoto. They were in Drama club together. And now he was... here. In a maid dress. And a pink wig. Serving him- here he took a sip of his drink- some damn good coffee.

...Huh. He studied "her" for a brief moment longer, then smiled.

"Pleasure to meet you, Saki. I'm Mako Moritomi." He turned to his menu briefly, then back to the pair of maids. "I've been curious about your Bunker Buster Cake special since my last visit. I think I'd like to illuminate myself on that, thanks."

Everyone managed to clear out or thin out the horde of spiders, making it manageable for the time being. Maragi, Magaru, Mazio, Swift Strike, the smaller spiders didn't stand a chance, but it looked like more were coming, but it'd be awhile before they reached the same numbers they did just before. This was their chance to take down the large spider, which opened up with spitting venom at the party. Rui dashed under the spit with Askr's Sukukaja, and then hit it in the face with a Garu to give everyone a chance to advance on it. He suspected the abdomen was the weak point, which had the shadow mask on it.

The twin tailed maid's eyes shifted from 'Saki' to Mako back and forth while a smile remained upon her lips, wondering how slightly odd the two were acting. Oh! Perhaps this stuttering, shy persona was what Sato selected Saki to have (or was he actually nervous to serve people?) and Mako was simply observing this new maid's performance, Shizuka thought to herself, oblivious to their relations as fellow club members. Once Mako had decided on what to order for himself, she responded brightly with a polite bow, "A splendid choice! Bunker Buster Cake Special is currently one of our bestsellers and limited to the current theme. One order of Bunker Buster Cake Special, it is. Excuse us for a moment, Moritomi-sama, we shall return in a short while."

With a short scribble on the order form, Shizuka left Mako's side and lead Saki back to the counter area and handed the order form to the kitchen staff on the other side of the pick-up counter. The manager who had been watching them from afar greeted them with a casual raise of the hand as they came back and inquired, "How did Hashi-- pardon, I mean, Saki do?" Gesturing her hand to the aforementioned maid, Shizuka replied, "She seemed to capture a new persona to play naturally, which amazes me for a supposed beginner. Kenji-san would remember how awkward I used to be when I first became a waitress here, cosplaying is different from serving customers after all." Kenji, the manager, chuckled light heartedly to the comment and pat her shoulder as if to ease the embarrassment from her past. "That's water under the bridge Shizu, no worries. But good, good. I'll entrust you to look after her while I return to my office to prepare Saki's pay for the day." With that, the older male turned on his heel and started towards his office until he stopped abruptly and turned back to the two. "That's right, I've never introduced myself to you yet, have I? Pardon my rudeness, I'm Hoshikawa, Kenji, former sentai actor and as you can see, now a manager of this cafe. Kenji or Kenji-san is fine, no need to be too formal. Now excuse me, I''ll be taking my leave, good luck you two."

After the manager's leave, a pair of new customers entered into the cafe just as the ordered cake was provided and placed neatly on the pick-up counter, ready to be served. Shizuka harmoniously recited along with the crew, "Welcome home, master!", before turning to Saki, "Saki-san, please deliver this to our master while I'll handle our new masters. I believe in you to do fine! Not to worry, I'll be back quickly after settling them down. Good luck!" And with that, the blond waitress left the counter area to show the new customers into the cafe.

The Golden Week was about to start and the hype was palpable, he was a pretty drab and dull guy but Elena was a firecracker. She was goofy as she was spontaneous. After a few hours of whining and pouting she had managed to pull Alexei out of his housekeeping and clean-up job for the day and bring him to the market.

"Ni-san! there's a new cafe that has opened up recently, I heard it from my friends. I'll like to take you there." she said sprightly, once they were at the market.

"I wonder when you grew up on me, Elli." Alexei said with a small smile. Though he was a unabashed workaholic, it was okay to take some days off, especially if it were his mother's request or his sister's order. They played an important role in his life, it can be said that his life centered around them. So, though he may give of the impression of being overworked, emotionally he was rather barren and what little love and devotion he did have were all showered on the two flowers of his life. The girls understood that as well and covertly planned to keep him sane through regular change-ups in his busy schedule.

Today was one such day, Elena knew of the stash of mangas that lay tucked under his pillow and his cupboard. Apart from working tirelessly, this was the only activity she had seen him do. So when she first heard of the cafe and a brave classmate even managed to ask her for a date, she politely declined it in favor for her brother. She wanted to go there with him. It was her responsibilty in a roundabout way, after all he had done for her.

Underneath that calm and cheerful exterior, Elena hid her guilt and sorrow towards the life her brother leads, she just wanted to grow up quick and be married, to not be his burden anymore. Though, Alexei would scold her for even entertaining such a dark thought. The siblings were weird, or atleast appeared to be so in the eyes of others.

"I am told that its a cosplay cafe and there are quite a few interesting setups and props, arranged on a weekly basis. I'm eager to see the theme for this time." she said gleefully as she literally dragged the massive man forward. Alexei gave up on the game of resistance and calmly walked beside her, her hands wrapped around his burly arm. They may appear to be lovers had her face not been child-like.

On reaching the place, Alexei hesitated a bit but Elena powered through and entered. Upon entering, all around they could see a manga personified. "Hello! there." She said cheerfully hoping to draw attention of the busy maids.

Akira Kirigakure // Cosplay Cafe
Sunday, April 26, 2015
Golden Week

It's quite fortunate that Akira always has sunglasses on him because the sun was quite blinding, though, they wouldn't be need had he not been dragged out. Well, saying 'dragged' may be a little much but it wasn't entirely incorrect. His original plans for the start of golden week was to sleep and hit up the arcade to kill time but his older sister, Aoi decided to make a surprise appearance. Just as he was in the midst of his wonderful slumber, he was woken up by the phone. At first he waited the phone out, remaining in bed and hoping that it would stop ringing so he could go back to sleep. After enduring for about 30 minutes of ringing every few minutes, he surrendered. While normal people may have given up after a couple of minutes, his sister was anything but normal.

She called to let him know that shes back in Warakuma for a bit and that she wanted to see him and hit up the Amusement park, like they did when the place first opened. Of course, he turned her down, insisting that he had plans and wouldn't be able to make it. It's not they he had something against her, in fact, they got along quite well and she was quite fun to hang around with, but he was tired and wanted to enjoy golden week and sleep in. Of course being his older sister, she knew Akira all too well, she knew he wouldn't have any plans. While she called him, giving him the impression she was a good distance away...she was in fact close by. Just as he hung up the phone and made for his way back to bed, the door knocked. Damnit. With a groan, he made for the door and opened it to find his sister grinning with her cell in hand.

And well, here we are. Well, aside from the fact his sister took off soon after waking him up, saying she had to do something before they went and to meet back up at the amusement park in a few hours. Honestly, That Aoi.... Every time. He sighed in resignation. Aoi always had a habit of doing things like this, getting him to agree to go with her to places only to postpone and do it later. Can't be helped, as he walked along, stopping once he caught sight of someone he had seen around, a big guy and he was with a younger girl. He's a third year, Alexai, I believe. Must be his little sister. And they were in-front of that new cosplay cafe. Given the time, Aoi is either already at the park or heading over there and as such, it probably wouldn't kill her to wait a little longer. With that, he followed them in.

Greeted by the harmonious welcome he took his seat and was about to order when something caught his eye. More like someone, he couldn't see their face, their back being turned, but something was off. It was the voice of that maid. Maybe they had a cold? Hmm... He became even more suspicious when he managed to get a side glimpse of her face. He definitely seen 'her' before, that's for sure. Well, that's the feeling that hit him as he thought about it more.

He had a hunch but wasn't sure, since he found it hard to believe considering their personality, but he was curious. As she delivered food to a customer, being near his seat, he couldn't resist. Calling from behind, "Saki-chan was it? You look awfully familiar, now, where have we met before?" he grinned.

Ayano Wakahisa: Wakahisa Residence

Chiaki was sitting in front of her vanity, brushing the knots out of hair. It was pretty much her daily routine. Her hair had gotten really long recently, she decided to change her hair, do something different from the two large drills she normally does. Today was... a day for long majestic straight hair... With some added accessories of course. Suddenly, there was a knocking upon her door, it must have been Ayano, she had finally awoken and was ready to start their golden week together.

Chiaki quickly placed a clip in her hair and walked over to answer the door.
"Aya-chan! I see you're ready for our adventurous week! I'll grab our passes for the inn. It was a really good package that we booked, a lovely inn with some hotsprings, and access to some of the events going on during the week. When you're ready, let's head off to the inn and get unload our things into our room". Chiaki happily smiled, walked over to her desk and picked up two glimmer passes.

Ayano Wakahisa: Wakahisa Residence

As the door to her cousin's room opened, Ayano's excitement was reaching new heights, she had never been this excited before. The last time she remembers being like this was when she was a mere child. Chiaki faced her and she gave her a light smile.

"Aya-chan! I see you're ready for our adventurous week! I'll grab our passes for the inn. It was a really good package that we booked, a lovely inn with some hotsprings, and access to some of the events going on during the week. When you're ready, let's head off to the inn and get unload our things into our room"

An inn? This was the first time she'd be going into one, visions of the scenery flashed in her mind...Needless to say, it was a mix of uncertainty and joy, from what her visual novels showed her anyway. "Alright, I'll tell you once I'm done packing." Giving a light wave to her cousin, the girl ventured back to her room and dug through her closet to find a bag she could put all her stuff in.

Taking a moment to catch her breath, Ayano began to put all sorts of things inside. Clothes, food for the trip, toiletries, just the usual stuff, the inn would probably have most of the stuff they'd need to survive throughout the week. "That should be enough." She thought to herself as she carried the bag and knocked on Chiaki's door once more, shouting, "Ready when you are!"