"O-Oh my, I wasn't aware you were the daughter of the owner of this shop. Do keep up your hard work in the maintenance of the shop, the flowers you keep and how they're arranged are quite lovely." A light smile flashed across her half hidden face, but her voice was clear enough to show that her compliment was sincere. As they walked, the colorful scenery of the flowers attracted Shizuka to the point that she was curious enough to gently touch the petals with her finger. When a new customer entered and Kotori's attention was turned to whoever it was, a little accident occurred. With how her eyes covered her vision, the raven haired girl didn't realize she pointed her finger towards the roses, known for their sharp thorns and-- OW. Little amount of crimson droplets oozed out. Panicking slightly with embarrassment, Shizuka pulled out a handkerchief from her purse and covered the evidence.

Being preoccupied with the bleeding finger, Shizuka missed the person who had newly entered the shop by the time she turned her face toward the door. While she may not have seen who it was, the voice was quite familiar, an image of a particular person was forming in her mind until Kotori confirmed her speculation by mentioning his name. Dragunov. Since it was rare for the girl to hear a foreigner speak Japanese in such a proper manner, it was no surprise for her to instantly assume such person would be either of the Dragunov siblings. Realizing that the shop owner's daughter was familiar with the man, her lips parted to inquire, "Ah! You're acquainted with Dragunov-san as well, Shirohane-san? But I suppose it's no surprise with how small Warakuma is."

Upon given an apology and a bow to match for the slight, not exactly interruption, Shizuka waved her non-bleeding hand in a gesture to show that she was not offended in any way. "I-It's no problem, Shirohane-san." Just as they arrived at the shelves where the carnations were located, her eyes sparkled at the lovely assortments of colors for the flower. Just a few moments were all she needed to decide on what she wanted for her gift to be. Before voicing out her decision, Kotori replied to her previous inquiry. "I see, it must take some careful attention to grow these to how beautiful they are now, doesn't it? Common or not, such fact wouldn't change. As to which one piqued my interest, I find these pink and white combination to my liking! I-If reservations of bouquets are acceptable, I would like one of these on Mother's Day."

When the fight was over, thankfully Rikimaru was back home. It was a good that was gonna hurt for a few days. Rikimaru even thought it would be fun going around or two with the both of them. Yet that, was for another time.

By the time he got back hone he knew he wouldn't be leaving this place for another day or two. No friends worth the mention or any inclination for it would make sure that happened. It wasn't until he over heard something about a a video game tournament that made him even give a thought to leaving.

He was ten times the fighter in real life than he was in video games but why not? Whats the worst that could happen? He was gonna lose that was a foregone conclusion but still why not?


Taking his guitar for something to do once he was drubbed out of the the tournament. Rikimaru added his name to the sign in sheet. He at first started to write his name in English before crossing it out and writing in Japanese. He was fluent I'm both but he for one reason or another always innately went for English.

When the time cane he already knew who he would pick. Akihiko, there wasn't a doubt in his mind. He likes the idea of a guy brave enough for hand to weapons. Sure the guy had a knife but Rikimaru didn't think much of it. Now all he could do was wait.

Kotori Shirohane - Shinza Shopping Square: Shirohane Flowershop | Wednesday, April 29 2015

At Shizuka's words, a slightly embarassed expression came across Kotori's face - she wasn't all that surprised that such a conclusion hadn't been drawn, seeing as she was far more glum than her lively mother. Still, she had to suppress the small smile that was forming at the compliment; instead merely nodding to confirm the other girl's words. After the brief exchange of words with Alexei, Shizuka revealed that she too knew him. This wasn't all that surprising - given both his build and the fact that he was a foreigner, he was bound to attract attention one way or another. As such, Kotori simply nodded again in response to Shizuka's words about him - the little mishap of the other girl going unnoticed with her attention having been drawn astray.

As Shizuka noted the beauty of the flowers, a small smile came to Kotori's lips as she nodded. "Yes, it does. But it's nice to watch something grow from a small seed to a beautiful flower in itself," she agreed - her tone of voice showing that she really did think being able to follow a flower's growth to be a reward in and of itself. As Shizuka then stated her choice of flowers, Kotori's eyes followed Shizuka's pointing from behind her glasses before blinking briefly as she saw them - not because the particular set of flowers had been one she'd laid out earlier that day, but rather the meaning behind the carnations: pink stood for admiration for one's mother when gifted on the occasion - whilst one of the meanings of the white flower was honouring a late mother. Luckily though, there were more meanings that a flower could have - and in combination with one another, were more indicative of genuine declaration of love for one's mother. Furthermore, the way Shizuka spoke didn't sound like she was looking for such a gift - and Kotori wasn't exactly eager to ask. As such, Kotori shook the thought off and instead put on a smile as Shizuka asked whether a reservation was possible.

At least, it was supposed to be a smile - as always when she actually tried, it was more of a wry small half-smile rather than a beaming one she'd envision. Nonetheless, Kotori nodded before speaking. "Of course," she said as she reached into one of the two small pockets of the green aprons with the white flower logo of the shop upon it and produced a notepad and pencil. "One pink-and-white bouquet of carnations on Mother's Day," she mumbled as she noted it down before looking back up. "Ah, uhm, would that be to be picked up or to be delivered?" she asked, pencil and note still in hand; feeling a little silly for not having asked that before writing - particularly when she noticed her mother's gaze briefly on her, even if her attention was focused on matters with the the other Warakuma High School student.

Tsubame Shirohane - Shinza Shopping Square: Shirohane Flowershop | Wednesday, April 29 2015

As the young man spoke his praise, Tsubame chuckled lightly - not in mocking, but rather at the sheer gap between the gruff appearance of the speaker and his words. A wide smile was upon her lips knowing that the flowers were appreciated so much. "My, it's a pleasure to hear that," Tsubame said in reply before Alexei mentioned the reason for his visit - the bill. A thoughtful expression crossed her face with an "ah" as he spoke. Indeed they hadn't settled the matter yet - but, much like he'd promised, he'd shown up to make up for that. When he apologised for possibly not having enough, Tsubame shook her head with a brief smile. "Oh, I don't think that should be a problem," she said as she quickly patted her hands off on a clean bit of her apron - her daughter had already asked if they could perhaps help out with a lower price after hearing his story; something that Tsubame had followed suit quickly after.

As she pointed toward the counter at the front of the shop - where most of the running tabs were kept for easy access - to show that they'd be heading over there, Alexei then asked if he could be of assistance. Placing a finger to her lips as she walked, Tsubame thought on the offer - the young man had said much the same last time he'd been here, but unfortunately, there weren't any tasks that would require his help. As such, she shook her head with a thankful smile. "I think we've got everything covered quite nicely. But thank you for asking," she said as they reached the counter. Tsubame glanced over to see Kotori noting something down - an order from the girl, most likely - before she thumbed through some thin folders and then pulled one out. "Let's see..." Tsubame said, mostly to herself as she looked over the document in search of one particular entry.

"Ah, here we go." The nod accompanying her words made it apparent that she'd found what she'd been looking for as she pulled a small slip of paper out and then showed it to the Dragunov boy. On it was the bill - which, though it didn't show such a thing anywhere in writing, had been priced a decent bit lower; making it quite affordable for an average high schooler's part time wage. "I hope it isn't asking too much," she added with a smile - whilst it wasn't really normal procedure, it was rare enough that her daughter asked for anything that she was only to happy to oblige; even more so knowing the story herself.

The tournament started, and Rui was doing fine, managing to qualify for the higher spots. Rikimaru and Seighardt had a pretty difficult time once they began vying for 5th and upward spot and were beaten fairly often, while Masahide was managing to go par with the top three. Although, what stood out to all of them, was one opponent, whom Rui eventually fought in the semi-finals. She used Margaret against him though, and he was handily beaten, no contest... He went on to vy for 2nd place with the other finalist and barely managed that, but the skill displayed was insane. He looked at the other matches too, and it seems she switched between Margaret, Marie and Elizabeth. He just took a step outside for a breather as the tournament concluded.

"Woooo! That was good!", it was the tournament winner.

"You look like you had fun Shiki, now come on, you play these all the time when we were in Tokyo though...",

"I know, but there were a lot of strong people here! And it was a tournament! Of course I had to", the finalist was a little girl. Well, she was adorable, so it was hard getting a little miffed about it.

Toma Tanaka - April 27th, Afternoon | Yoshida Book Café

The red haired boy leaned forward on the counter, quite literally twiddling his thumbs as he waited for anyone to enter the store and give him something to do.

As he stared at the shelves across the room, considering grabbing a book to read, he heard a door sliding open behind him and some shuffling. Looking over his shoulder, Toma saw Yoshida entering through the back door, rubbing his tired eyes. When his eyes met the boy's, an apologetic expression flashed across his face as he stepped closer.

"I can't believe I fell asleep like that, I'm sorry," he said before pausing and glancing around. "Did... you look after the store while I was out?"

Toma shrugged. "Sure. I didn't want to wake you," he answered, turning away dismissively.

The old man frowned. "You should have. I need to be awake to run my shop, after all. And I would rather not make a young kid like you feel like he has to waste his time and energy to help out a decrepit old fart."

An amused huff escaped Toma as a small smirk spread across his face. "I wouldn't say you're 'decrepit' yet. You can manage to carry boxes of books still."

"I'm quite close enough to fitting that description," he answered with a scoff.

"Hm, maybe. Anyways, it wasn't any trouble. I stayed because I wanted to. You were only napping for a couple hours, and there weren't too many people to serve."

Yoshida took a few moments to reply, giving something of a defeated sigh. "Okay. Thank you, Toma-kun. I'll include extra money when I give you your pay."

The boy raised his eyebrows, but still managed to look disinterested. "You don't have to, that's not what I was going for."

"Well, I want to. I've got more money than I'll ever be able to use in the time I have left. You deserve it anyway; you're a good kid, from what I've seen."

Toma raised his eyebrows again, though this time it was more because he didn't know how else to react to those words. After a moment, he smiled and replied. "If you insist, I won't turn down extra pay, I guess."

"Turning down my generosity was never an option. Now get out of here and go do whatever it is you kids do these days."

That got another small laugh from the boy. "Sure thing."

---

April 29th, Morning | Ferrero Mall

Toma strolled around, sipping on his canned coffee, enjoying the spring breeze. Spring was great. And fall, for that matter. Both seasons weren't too warm, nor too cold. The perfect weather for track jackets, and God knew how much he loved his wearing his track jacket.

Over the past couple days, he had seriously been considering visiting Leiko in the hospital, to ask about her kidnapping and see if she'd tell him anything. He decided against it though, since he had only spoken with her once. Not to mention he had the feeling she wouldn't take too kindly to him barging into her hospital room and demanding answers about a traumatic experience mere days after it had happened. She was probably sick of being questioned, and he had no real right to add onto that, despite how badly he wanted to know. He resolved to talk to her at a later time.

And that was essentially the entire purpose of his walk. Along with simply killing time, he kept an eye out for those who had gone missing and turned back up, wanting to stop and talk to any of them. Sure, he could wait until school started again -- that would be a much more reliable way to locate one of them -- but that was several days away, and he didn't feel like waiting that long. And it wasn't like he had anything better to do.

As he finished his drink, he noticed a small sporting goods store. Glancing over, he perked up upon spotting a wall of soccer equipment through the window. Feeling excitement and an irresistible urge welling up inside him, he entered the store and made his way to the soccer section. He was brought back years into the past, remembering all the times he had spent in shops like these, admiring the equipment -- especially the balls and shoes. He had been able to spend hours in such a place, taking everything in several times. That had stopped several months before Taiki had passed away, as Toma had decided to quit competitive soccer to focus on school. It was a decision he'd always sort of regretted since, but still convinced himself it had been the right one -- school, after all, was more important for his future than sports, no matter how much he had dreamed of making it to the big leagues when he was a kid. He missed playing, that much was certain.

Stepping towards and picking up a fancy-looking pair of cleats, he glanced at the price tag and was quickly reminded how expensive these things could get. Smiling to himself, he put them back, before grabbing a ball that looked to be of decent quality. It wasn't the cheapest one there, but it's price wasn't exorbitant either. Besides, he didn't want to skimp on this purchase, and he had the money at the moment.

It had been a long time since he had felt so satisfied while buying an item.

Late Morning | River Bank

It didn't take long for the boy to find himself an out-of-the-way, flat spot of grass right beside the river that ran through the town. The place was plenty peaceful, and even helped relax the recently constantly frayed Toma.

He soon tossed his jacket off, leaving it at the base of a nearby tree, and began kicking the ball around, attempting tricks he hadn't tried in a long time. A few of them took several tries to get right, but he was quickly able to consistently do everything he had been able to do before, much to his happiness. Soon enough, he found himself playing Keep Ups, and seeing how long he could keep the ball in the air without letting it hit the ground, using any part of his body other than his arms and hands.

How many hours had he spent in his life doing this exact thing? Toma wasn't sure, but he wouldn't be surprised if it was in the hundreds. He didn't even know what his record was -- he only knew that it was pretty good.

The game had always been sort of therapeutic for the boy, and it was especially so in this moment. It had been too long. His first attempt of the day had ended at a mere 11 touches, but each subsequent try brought that score up exponentially, until he stopped bothering with counting all together, never dropping it unless he meant to, to take a break or run around a little and try some dekes and tricks.

This was just about the perfect activity for him: it required enough concentration to keep his mind from drifting too far, but not enough to tire him out. And despite how boring it likely seemed to any outsiders, Toma easily lost himself in the game, allowing the time he so desperately wanted to kill to fly by.

Chiaki Nanami
Kitsune Inn - Morning

After sleeping soundly with a belly full of Takoyaki and rice, Chiaki began to rustle a little as the chirping of birds could be heard through the walls of the inn. Slowly, Chiaki battered her eyes open, barely being able to bring her hands upto her face, she rubbed her eyes. Before gaining the strength to arise, she turned over onto her side to see Ayano. She was facing her back she decided to try and bug her, that is to say, she if she was awake. She flicked her hair behind her and began to talk to her possibly still sleeping cousin.

"Oh, Ayaaaa-chaaan. Are you up? I hope you're not secretly playing a game console or something that you snuck along for the trip. Because I organised to have us taken to an arcade for some great fun today!"

Managing to sleep comfortably and early thanks to their little feast last night, Ayano woke up as her cousin was still asleep. Grinning to herself, she sneakily stood up from her position and started to trifle around her bag, searching around for something...After poking around a few times, searching the various pockets, Ayano managed to produce a portable video game console from within! It was the latest model to boot! Somewhere in the distance, a fanfare of music could be heard...Or maybe that was all in her head. With a piece of technology in her hands after a long time she booted up a game that she had brought along with her and began to merrily tap the buttons away. Thinking to herself this might not have been the best of idea's but shrugging to herself nonetheless, after all Chiaki will be none the wiser.

Her eyes not even straying to the console's screen for even a second, she stealthily moved back to her futon and returned to her original position; facing away from Chiaki. Ayano turned the volume down enough so that only she would be able to hear such faint sounds. Losing track of the time as she enjoyed her gaming session, the young woman was taken aback when she heard Chiaki speak up, mentioning the prospect of playing something...Ayano could swear that everything shattered at that moment and shakily, she replied back, "N-No! Of...Of course not!" she said while quickly shoving the console underneath her pillow. After that little charade, she faced her cousin who said something about visiting the arcade for today. "That sounds great! I just hope you can put up a challenge!! Her tone changing from apathetic to cocky in a minute. With a sudden incentive filling inside of her, Ayano quickly began to prepare for their trip, not even caring if she properly brushed teeth or did her hair correctly.


The sounds of various games and sound effects filled Ayano's ears. A brilliant fusillade and assortment of colors entering her vision. Ayano felt right at home, if there was Heaven on Earth, this place would be one of them. With an uncharacteristically cheeky grin on her face, she faced her cousin and asked, "Well? Don't just stand there! Let's get to it! I can't wait to absolutely dominate you!!

'Third place,' Masahide had made his way outside after the events of the tournament, separating himself from the intensity of those that remained indoors. He realized now why this wasn't his environment; so many people all focusing on you while you played... It was a little unnerving. Still, he gave all he had in the tournament with just enough skill to place, but that wasn't enough.

"Damnit," Masa whispered silently to himself, eyeing over the tournament winner as she began exclaiming. Though agitated at himself, he couldn't help but smirk at the girl's reaction to it all, but in the back of his mind; he was still going over the mistakes he had made that cost him higher placement, "Just something else I need to work on." He stood idly outside from then on, watching as the player who took second walked out of the arcade. He'd remain silent for awhile, figuring he had drawn enough attention to himself for one day; but shortly afterwards he would approach 'Rui', offering a hand to the man out of respect, "Hell of a fight today."

Whether it was the whole setting and the gratitude that he felt towards the Shirohanes or it was his own hidden feelings but tears lined his eyes as he looked at the receipt. Scribbled on it was the outstanding balance by the Elder Shirohane. He felt humbled and guilty at the same time. Thinking that his slip up may have had him milking his sorrow.

Taking a deep breath as he looked around the store away from the smiling patron, he wiped his eyes to snuff out the tears that built up inside. With a brief pause, he said. His voice a bit shaky, not having its trademark composure "I'm already grateful for what you both have done for me, Shirohane-dono. Please do not burden me with favors I can't repay. I don't want to annoy you but I can't accept this. For your effort and care alone, I know that your price would be much higher than the Shiyaki's at the Lake's edge and your timely and punctual delivery routine as been a sense of awe and happiness to my family."

He paused, tears building up in his eyes again as he bowed his head and wiped them again to face the lady. "To me, your effort is not just a bouquet but a ray of hope, something that the best doctors in this country have been unable to achieve. I know it is crass to put price on something so priceless but I know that what you ask is too little."

He looked at the lady with eyes filled with sorrow and gratitude.

"If you doubt that I'll be unable to pay your price, I'm willing to drop out. But please, please don't do this." He took out the envelope which had his salary. All of it, some 370,000 Yen.

"Keep this and let me know what more I have to pay." he said with a bow, seemingly regain his mask back on.

Watching the shy girl smile at the thought of how rewarding the care for the plants was, Shizuka thought to herself how it would be nice to feel such way. Maybe joining the agriculture club in her school would be a pleasant experience after all, since joining the manga club in her current secretive state was out of the question. It was about time for her to finally join her first club in high school, when classes resume next week, of course.

As her choice of color combination was said, the younger student obliviously tilted her head to the side from the other's silently blinking reaction. Thinking not much of it, she responded to Kotori's concern, "It won't be too much trouble for me to pick it up since it'll be a weekend, so for pick up will be alright." Thinking it would be easier for her to pay in advance and simply pick up the gift on the day itself, Shizuka rummaged through her purse for a short moment to take her wallet out. Checking the price tag on a bouquet of two color combined carnations, she flipped her wallet open and handed the shop keeper the exact amount.

"Will this suffice for both the reservation and the actual bouquet payment? I'll make my payment ahead and just stop by on the day for the pick up, if that'll be alright with you, Shirohane-san." Once the payment and other reservation procedures were over with, the otaku girl planned to stop by the nearest pharmacy in the area to buy a bandaid for her silly, little mistake.

"Hm?", Rui noticed someone walking towards him, by his speech, it was a sportsmanlike congratulations. It took him a moment, but soon he recognized who he was, the Akihiko player who scored third on the placements. Likewise, Rui accepted his handshake.

"Yeah, I'm surprised to see more Akihiko players, they were much rarer in Tokyo", he began.

"You have my respect for that", no lie, the character Rui chose was based on playstyle, and quite liked it. Neither of them were in uniform, but based on their approximate ages, this guy was likely a student too. He decided to introduce himself first.

"My name is Rui, I attend Warakuma High as a 2nd year".

Akane Hanazawa // The Meat Shack
Wednesday, April 29th, 2015

"You....in the drama club?" Just thinking it caused Akane to bust out laughing. "I just find it hard to believe that you of all people will be forced into anything." She noted, calming a little before continuing. "Let me guess, it was a woman who did it, wasn't it? That bad with women, huh?" she laughed hard again before calming down for real. With a grin, "But seriously, what did the little have that managed to bring you to heel? Got me curious now."

As Noboru's food arrived, he dug right in and immediately ordered more as he simply shrugged at her. "Oh? Was that a challenge? You're a 100 years too soon to challenge me in a contest of eating! I'll leave you further in my dust!" Turning towards the server before he made to leave. "We'll both go for the bucket special! Bring them on!"

What's the bucket special you ask? It's a a little contest/special run by the meat shack in which they give you a bucket of 20 hamburgers. The thing is, if you're able to eat them within a certain time frame, you win and you're meal is free. Fail.....and....well....its not so free. The time frame? 1 hour. Some of you might say that's ridiculous and impossible but it's really not. Like in the usual eating contests, its just the meat and the buns.

One can eat them with the usual toppings but its not preferred in an eating contest. Given the fact that the toppings add to the filling of the meal, it'll only hamper the amount of burgers you'd be able to eat and cost you the competition. Drinks are given, obviously, to help wash the burgers down so you can keep chugging!

---

Akira Kirigakure // Home

After days of preparation, seems that Akari is ready to begin, as explained in her text. After the incident at the mall (the fight between Akane and Noboru), Akari, After throwing around orders, parted their company to prepare for the next big scene that will surely stir up things in Warakuma. Of course, not before Akira added to the pot and one upped Akari with pictures of his own. What pictures you may ask? Well, "Saki's" pictures of course!!! You may also go 'But Akira deleted those pictures, doing so in front of everyone in the cafe, even showing them that they were gone from his phone.

That's true, while they were indeed deleted, the fact of the matter was, they still existed, on the internet! What the others in the cafe didn't see, especially 'Saki' was that before deleting them, he emailed the pictures to himself, ensuring their survival. Phones are so convenient now-a-days!!

With a grin, Akira sent a reply text.

I'm all set on my end, ready when you are. Draw the curtains.

---

Akane Hanazawa // Game Over Arcade

Reeling from the effects of the bucket special challange at the meat shack, they finally arrived at the arcade where a gaming tournament was to be held. The game for this go around was Persona 4: Arena Ultimax. It was a game she wasn't all the familar with. Well, she's quite fond of the Persona series but she has rarely gotten the chance to play Arena Ultimax and thus not able to master a specific character. If you were to rate yourself on a points scale of 10, she's probably a 3, with Margaret being her best one. She was a fun one to play but like the other characters, she had trouble getting all the combos and such. When it comes to games, her glaring weakness would be those games with complex combinations/systems, finding it hard to master them all and mash them in time.

Seems like she was a little late as the sign ups have close, thanks in no part to the eating contest. She does go a little overboard when it comes to meat, after all. Oh well, she's fine with watching.

Kotori Shirohane - Shinza Shopping Square: Shirohane Flowershop | Wednesday, April 29 2015

"Alright," Kotori confirmed as she briefly wrote something down - presumably adding a quick note along the lines of 'pick up', judging by the way she mumbled those words too. As the girl then brought forth her wallet before handing over some money, Kotori looked over to the flowers to quickly check the price, too - whilst she'd always been good with remembering which flowers were where, the numbers attached to them were a little more elusive. Luckily though, Shizuka had the exact amount handy as she asked whether it was alright for both the flowers and the pickup. "Ah, yes, certainly," Kotori said, giving a bow as she took the money. "I'll set them aside on the day, Otonashi-san," she ascertained with a small smile - it was always nice to see people giving others gift flowers to make them happy.

Tsubame Shirohane - Shinza Shopping Square: Shirohane Flowershop | Wednesday, April 29 2015

Tsubame's wide smile slowly turned smaller and more thoughtful as the young man spoke upon seeing the bill - whilst what he said hadn't been beyond her expectations, the scope thereof had been. It was touching to hear someone so devoted to their family - and at the same time almost saddening to know that he'd be quite willing to go to the lengths he described. Tsubame stayed quiet as he spoke, no longer smiling but merely listening - but as he ended, a gentle one slowly returned. She could tell that Alexei took his debts very seriously and was going to see them honoured, no matter what.

"Dragunov-kun," she said. "You're right, I am undercharging you," Tsubame confirmed outright - it didn't seem right to make some excuse up, after all. "But please, don't think of it as a favour but rather an expression of gratitude on my side," she said before looking over to where Kotori and Shizuka stood, her smile widening for a moment. "You see, it was actually Kotori who asked in the first place and it's the first time she actually brought a friend along. And I think it would sadden her far more to know that you were having to go through hard times becaues of her. Besides, it's not like you haven't already offered your help, which is greatly appreciated." Her smile was taking on more of its usual cheer as she spoke.

"So if I may perhaps call in that offer at a later time and you'll continue being her friend, then I'm going to have to ask you to indulge this old lady wanting to dote on someone because her daughter just won't let her and make another family happy in the process. That would more than make up the balance." Though Tsubame spoke with a joking tone, it was clear that she meant what she way saying - that she intended neither to doubt Alexei and his abilities, nor was she going to be backing down on her part.

Alexei Dragunov | Shinza Shopping Center, Wednesday April 29th

He noticed her smile fade as he spoke what he had to. The elder Shirohane pondering over his words for a moment before gracing him with her ever present smile. It grew in radiance as she put forth her stance and her side of things. To think that he would be treated with such love from a stranger moved Alexei greatly. All his life, his height and his build had been enough to make him outcast. Coupled with his non-native looks, he was a Gaijin hoping to survive in the underbelly of the working and progressing Japan.

The fact that Tsubame Shirohane had considered him, even briefly, someone worthy of her affection was overwhelming. The mask that he had so shakingly put back on finally gave way. The tears that had welled in his eyes, silently dropped at her words. He bowed his head to hide his embarrassment and spoke to the patron of the store.

"I have your word then, should you need help with anything, anything under the sun? Please call on me, I'll be there as quickly I can. Also, should you ever require an extra hand around the shop, let me know. I'll send my sister over." His head bowed on the counter.

"You have my most heartfelt gratitude, Thank you." He left Three hundred thousand yen with Tsubame, amounting to a fifty thousand advance like last time. He turned to look at Kotori with still wet eyes and gave her bow before giving a strained smile back at elder Shirohane and leaving the store.

It was the 1st of May now, and while shopping Rui spotted a performance taking place in the mall. It was an idol performance, there was a sizeable crowd there too, but not packed by any means. Then again, he remembered seeing posters all over the mall about this... It was a performance by 'Azure 5', it seemed to be an idol group from a neighbouring district. There were loads of idol groups these days, so this didn't strike him as strange. Though a performance may be one of the first for Warakuma, considering they usually came around for festivals instead or did tiny events at recreational centres. Though having one in the mall's central area was new. This mall was fairly new, so perhaps Warakuma was starting to simply become part of the metropolitan area of Tokyo. In any case, it seemed they were performing today.

There were 5 girls on stage, and the song was pretty energetic. There wasn't much else for Rui to say, except the uniforms were pretty cute, and it looks like they're popular enough to have some diehard fans up front. He noticed a couple of the people he's seeing in the crowd weren't even slightly familiar, it was possible they came from another area of Tokyo to see these girls perform. In any case, he stayed to watch a little.

"Thank you Shirohane-san, I'll return then. Farewell for now and thank you once more for the stunning flowers for my mother." With a bow, Shizuka was about to excuse herself out of the shop when Alexei passed by her and Kotori with a pair of watery eyes. Not wanting to pry into personal matters, the younger girl decided against having a little chat with the Dragunov. She let the taller one let himself out of the door before leaving, with a slight bow towards the owner's daughter. Directing herself towards the pharmacy a few minute walk away, Shizuka's wedge heels clacked against the ground as she started on her way.

---

Petals of pale pink danced along with the wind as they gently landed on the ground, piling together as if to form a sea of vibrant pink hue. A lively laughter of girls sounded throughout the area, a group of three high school students sitting on a picnic mat with half emptied lunch boxes atop it as well. One of the girls, with short hair and bright tone, stretched her arms and folded them behind her head, landing backwards on the mat with a soft thud before exclaiming, "See? Wasn't it a good idea to go cherry blossom watching at the last few days of their bloom? We've got this great view all to ourselves to enjoy! ..._{Though Nozomi's food was unappetizing as usual.}" Rinko, the girl who sent the invitation for the hanami, mumbled her last statement as quietly as she possibly could.

The cheeks of the friend with long twin braids hued into a light crimson color as she pouted with both hands resting on her hips. "Hey, I heard that, Rinko-chan! I-I may not be one of the best chefs around, bu-but I at least tried. It's a given that you'd have a talent for cooking with your family running an old Japanese fashioned diner." She sighed exasperatedly before stretching her arm to reach the can of cold green tea, popping it open before taking a sip from it. Shizuka on the side chuckled softly at the exchange of her friends, thinking to herself how they got along really well, at least, to her eyes. "Shizuka-chan, please tell me you're not agreeing to her comment, are you?"

Alarmed from having been asked such a question, Shizuka flinched slightly and attempted to recollect herself before stuttering out her answer. "Um... I-I wouldn't exactly say they're inedible, but they ce-certainly have a ... unique taste."

The girl lying on the mat burst out laughing with her hands holding her stomach area, she was just about to form tears at her eyes from the laughter when she sat up and wiped at her eye with a finger. "Pffft ahahaha, I say that's Shizuka's nice, subtle of way of saying the same thing I just said! Come on Nozomi, you gotta practice harder or else you can never hand your home ec cooking over to senpai. He might as well graduate before you get any good!~" Nozomi's cheeks became even brighter crimson as the current speaker nudged her elbow towards the blushing girl's arm. "Hey, why doncha just try that thing everyone's been recently gossiping about?"

Curious as to what this was about, Shizuka leaned forward and parted her lips, "A new rumor? What could this one be about?"

"Which one do you mean...? Ah! That thing about the coin toss in the park's fountain? Don't be ridiculous, Rinko-chan, throwing a coin into a fountain doesn't grant wishes like a fairy tale story. I'd rather die trying in the kitchen than to waste a spare change hoping for a miracle to happen." She rolled her eyes as she gulped down half of the can's contents. After few moments, she placed the empty can on the mat and continued, "I might as well spend that 'would have been wasted' coin on a new drink. Speaking of which, we're out of drinks, are you two thirsty?"

Not convinced by the sarcastic remark made by the student with braids, Rinko continued insisting of such rumor to be true. "But the rumors said there were more than one person who's been blessed with happiness from it! Like didja hear about that one class 1-3 girl, with no reputation whatsoever, getting together with the captain of the soccer team? I heard she wished on that same fountain before confessing! Oh oh! And this old man won the local lotter--"

Shizuka's raised hand paused the gossiping girl from speaking further as both of her friends' attention turned towards her. "Uh... I don't mean to interrupt you, Rinko-chan, but I'll fetch a new batch of drinks for us at the vending machine, if no one objects. I'm quite thirsty myself." Having both of the girls responding positively, the raven haired girl stood on her feet and started on her way towards the nearest vending machine with thoughts of the rumor keeping her occupied. This sort of rumors were pretty common even among her shoujo mangas, if they were based off of real life situations, there's bound to be some truth in it... right?

Just as she had these thoughts, the fountain that her friends were talking about came into view while on her way to the vending machine just minutes away from her current position. Shizuka stopped on her track towards the vending machine as she faced the water fountain, her hands clenching onto her baby blue chiffon dress. Was it worth trying? Will it actually work? ... Will she gain the courage to admit her secret? Seeing as there was no harm in throwing a mere 100 yen coin into the fountain, she faced back from the water spouting landmark (the method as she had seen in her mangas). With all her might, she tossed the coin backward into the fountain! .... or so she thought. Few seconds had passed but... no Plop? Did it miss the fountain? Maybe it hit something? .... or someone?

"Well, damn, that didn't went south quick. I should've kicked that bastard in the head when I had the chance." Rikimaru said under his breath. He wasn't the kind too lash out like that but he was more than willing to exaggerate his intention. He had no thought he win but even this set him off his feed. With that in his mind and his anger at himself at too high a level, Rikimaru went home too.



This was insane, what was this? The third or fourth time this week he had been outside of not only his room but the Ramen shop. This was almost starting to get out of hand. Now that he thought about it, how much he had been out of his room it started to make him nervous. He adjusted his mask out of sheer nerves. The side of his face was starting to hurt. It was always there, always hurting, but most of the time it was easy to deal with.

Again with the mall, he really needed to find a new place to hang out at. There was at least an idol band of sorts. He never understood the term 'idol,' it was a girl group. Simple as that. Still they were cute, just like all the others. Had a nice little song and dance, just like the others. As he got closer, the guitar on his back grew only heavier. Closing his eyes and listening to the music, it would have been fun try playing it.

After the outburst, he felt strangely relieved. Knowing that there were people who'd help him out or give him a chance were slowly increasing was a good boost to his confidence. The day went on smoothly and he cleared all his dues with various people he owed for the month. After a stop at the farmer's market to get supplies. He made a healthy pork soup and ramen for himself and Elena and went about his other work at home after putting her to sleep.



It was a good day today and after meeting their mother in the morning and having breakfast together, the siblings had decided to do a little park workout routine. They were at the fountain which had a strange rumor attached to it. The spot had been turned into a wishing well and it seemed that a few stories that had more to do with confidence and sincerity got accredited to the Well's doing. Alexei knew about the place, it had been a talk in the school and though he had no friends that indulged in these sort of practices, the word flew around quick.

As he was passing by with Elena in tow, a coin hit him on the temple. It wasn't painful but a bit surprising. He could see a raven headed person standing with their back to him. Judging by the blue chiffon dress, it was probably a girl. Come to test the well. Alexei had caught the coin from falling and went as normally as he could hoping to not startle the lady.

"I think this is yours, Ma'am. Sorry, I think you got to try again." he said to the lady, coming closer and towering a bit over her. He hoped that she won't bundle in and run away. As his voice was sincere. Elena meanwhile, was about to let one lose but seeing how Alexei had reacted, resorted to just puffing her cheeks.

You are to forgiving, Nii-san, she thought.

"Yeah. I just kinda picked him up and he stuck with me." Masa replied, withdrawing his hand shortly after before bowing his head respectfully to Rui's declaration of his respect. However, when the matter of the school was brought up, Masa couldn't help but chuckle slightly, "Seems like I'm running into more classmates everyday. Name's Masahide. 2nd year at the same."

Suddenly a rather 'familiar tone' resounded from Masahide's pocket, causing the boy to reach within and draw out his phone. Surely enough, it was his near daily round of texts from many establishments in the area asking for assistance. With a slightly annoyed sigh, he'd return his vision to Rui, "It was an honor to meet and compete against you. Maybe I'll see you around the school." With a wave of his hand, Masa turned from Rui as he began walking off to whatever job seemed most appealing... Maybe helping cleaning the mall?

---

[center]

"Is he here again?!"

"Doesn't he have a home? It's so sad to see him l-"

Masahide stirred from his position on the bench as his eyes opened to see two younger females startle and begin to walk away. Having worked late into the night before, Masa had barely any time to wash-up and change his clothes before returning here only to pass out on one of the benches. He hadn't planned on going to sleep here, but he had promised that he'd return to help with the concert that was to be held... Seems his body had forgotten that; as a simple minute to get off his feet turned into a couple hour snooze.

"Figure I'd be used to these things by now," the boy muttered between a yawn and stretching himself out, the familiar discomfort that came from sleeping on the hardwood accompanied by the subtle aches and pains that plagued his body. As his demeanor returned to normal, Masa rose from his seated position. He saw that the traffic had increased from when he was awake. No doubt bustling with people who were awaiting the show and trying to get a good spot. Still, he'd pay it no mind as he rounded to head to the supply closet- only to be stopped shortly after.

"Masa." The gruff and gravely tone called out behind the boy, causing him to glance over his shoulder to see who had addressed him. Nothing could've halted the following sigh as the familiar figure, the Head of Mall Security, "I've warned you- what? Six times? Seven? You can't keep crashing here. You're creating a scene and scaring a few of the patrons. I've gotten at least two reports today about you!"

"... Alright. Sorry," With that, Masa would attempt to walk away, only to feel a heavy hand upon his shoulder that kept him in place.

"This is the last time," This wasn't the first time the guard had made this statement to the boy... But his tone was somewhat different- almost angry, "You've your mother to thank for it taking this long. However, I will ban you from returning if this happens again." Without waiting for a reply, the man turned as he departed.

"Well that was fucking annoying," Masa shook his head as he rolled his shoulders, trying to shrug off the events that just transpired. His mind would begin focusing on his task at hand, but a subtle discomfort slowly arose. Was it embarrassment, fear, or anger? Masa wasn't sure himself, but that didn't stop him from making his way to the supply closet.

"I think this is yours, Ma'am. Sorry, I think you got to try again." Quickly turning herself around to face the speaker, Shizuka slightly jumped at sight of Alexei with the 100 yen she had just thrown on the palm of his hand. Oooh boy, she had indeed hit a person with that coin toss, a person she was acquainted to, at that. With the obvious panic in her voice, the shorter girl stuttered in a louder tone than usual at the surprise. "D-Dragunov-san?! O-Oh my goodness, I-I deeply apologize for that li-little accident!" Bowing over and over in sincere apology, she approached the man and continued in a concerned voice, "A-Are you hurt by any chance from the coin? U-Um, it might not be much but I-I have a band aid in my purse."

Even before the elder Dragunov had the chance to speak, the flustered student dug her hand into her bag in a slight panic, rummaging through it to pull out one of the checkered band aids she bought the other day. A pink checkered band aid. It was certainly too... girly for the other but it was the only color she had in her possession. She held it out in front of the other anyway. In response to the suggestion he made for the raven haired girl to retry, Shizuka strongly shook her head, still embarrassed at the mishap. "N-No thank you! I-I'd rather not cause another accident like that, t-the rumor is not worth trying again with the ri-risk of repeating such accident."