Noboru sighed. She poked around in the drama club. Oh well, he guessed it wouldn't hurt to tell a complete stranger. They were most likely to never see him again.

"Well. I got twisted by my sister into it. Blackmailed me, thought it would be 'fun' for me to join. So, here I am. In a terrible club I have no care in being in. But blackmail is blackmail, and I can't do anything about it."

Akane spoke again, telling him about the challenge.

"Are you kidding me? That sounds entirely way too easy. Bring it on chump, I'll knock you down."



It was entirely not worth it. There were no true winners, only the two idiots who decided to stuff themselves. The stomachaches would be huge, and come with a vengeance. Oh well, it was a fun time, not soon to be forgotten.



Akari decided against it. During the concert on Friday is when this would happen. A good way to end the week. Nice and embarrassing.

Actually, let's wait until Friday. I'll send out the pictures for some fun. We get to watch the mayhem. This will be great.



Noboru looked around for where the idols were performing. They looked boring as hell, but there was nothing else to do.

He looked out of the corner of his eye. On a lit up phone screen, he could see pictures of him in the scuffle he had before. It was clear that Akane wasn't showing, but he sure was. His fist was blocking her face, or more of drilling into it. At least she couldn't get angry at him for showing her face. He already had an idea of who did this. He had to make sure Akane's reputation wasn't ruined however. He had to find Akari before she sent out other pictures.

Alexei gave a faint smile of recognition as the girl turned to face himself. It was the girl they had met at the mall earlier in the week and also somewhere else he wasn't sure of. Elena's anger was also instantly washed off as she looked at the girl.

"Shizu-chaaaan!, How are you?" she said excitedly to break her awkwardness. Rushing her for a hug. Elena was hasty that way and had little regard for others personal space unlike Alexei.

"Don't worry, this bugger can take much stronger hits. I think you need to check your coin for dents." she said joyfully, shooting down Shizuka's offer of bandage. Alexei held a plain expression marked by a faint smile but looked sternly at Elena to cut things out.

"You should try again, Otonashi-san. Life is too short to pass up on miracles, that is, if this well is really a wishing well." he said to her. The demure girl looked intimidated, if not by him then by the realization of her actions. These things seldom worked out like mangas but that doesn't mean one shouldn't try it.

"Not your typical shoujo setting but you might hit the spot the second time" he said with a bigger smile before looking at Elena, she instantly cooled down a little. he got out of the clear trajectory of the coin toss towards the side as the siblings stood to the side watching Shizuka.

Toma Tanaka - May 1st, Morning | Tanaka Household

The light creeping into his room and landing directly on his face is what woke Toma up.

With a small groan, he forced his eyes open, only to flinch from the sunlight and squeeze them shut again, turning his head the other way. After a few moments of blinking and staring at the wall directly next to him, he pushed himself up off his desk. While doing so, he accidentally slightly pushed his mouse, turning the monitor on of his sleeping computer, displaying a post-match screen of the game he had been playing when he had passed out.

Rubbing his eyes, he grimaced at the poor score that was displayed next to his screen name. He exited out of the game, and checked the time as he shut down the computer -- from that, he guess he had gotten almost six hours of sleep. Much better than the usual, though that might have had something to do with the fact that he hadn't slept at all the night before.

As he got ready for the day, roaming the house to eat and clean himself up, he noted once again how quiet his house was. His father was in his workroom, the door closed and not a sound to be heard through it, and his mother was still in bed -- not sleeping, as he had found out a while ago, but just gathering the strength to get out of bed and face another day.

There were three living and breathing people in the building, but the air was nearly always dead. A cloud hung over Toma as he made himself toast, wondering how he should spend the day. The idol group in town came to mind, but the thought stirred absolutely nothing inside him. He didn't have any desire to go see them -- in fact, the more he thought about it, the more he realized that there was nothing he desired to do. Except for maybe kicking his soccer ball around some more, but he had literally spent his entire last two days doing that.

So then there wasn't much choice. He'd go to the concert and hopefully find something to do.

His toast popped up, burnt. He gave it the stink eye for a moment, cursing himself for not paying more attention, before deciding that he didn't really care. He forced the food down and made his way out.

---

Toma walked on, hands in his jacket pockets, eyes scanning his surroundings. There really had been no point to even leaving the house today, and if he absolutely had to leave the cold quiet, he should've brought the soccer ball. Sure, it wasn't an exciting way to spend Golden Week, but it's the only thing he even sort of felt like doing.

As he let out a quiet sigh, he spotted a short male. Blinking with recognition, he instantly lit up. That was Noboru.

Of course Toma had something to do -- exactly what he had been trying to do for the past couple weeks: find out more about the kidnappings. Starting with one of the kidnappees was about as good a place as any, if a little insensitive. Noboru seemed like he wouldn't be upset by an inquiry about his disappearance, or at least not as much as Leiko, who had also had a friend injured in her incident.

Feeling a spark of excitement, Toma sped up his walking pace to get to the other boy, silently clearing his underused voice.

"Hey, you're Yamamoto Noboru-san, right?" he asked, gently tapping the seemingly preoccupied boy's shoulder and giving a slight bow. "I'm Tanaka Toma, a friend of Aiko's. I wanted to ask..." Toma trailed off, noticing the boy seemed a little worried. "Uh, is something the matter, Yamamoto-san?"

”Sato!” The teen looked up from his book, meeting the eyes of his fellow student. ”How can ya even read in a place like this? And with those girls on the stage?” Rento’s eyes were locked on to the stage, only flicking a glance over in Sato’s direction as he spoke. The two males were positioned at the back wall, much to Rento’s frustration. They could hear the music plenty clearly but the waves of people and the obvious distance obscured their view of the actual stage. Sato sat cross-legged, focused on the book he was reading, occasionally stopping to peck at the salad balanced on his lap.

”I’m not really that into this stuff actually,” Sato replied, looking up from the words on the page momentarily. He’d thought it’d be something to do but watching these cutesy girls dance around and sing a type of music he didn’t even really like wasn’t doing it for him. He’d bought a few books as he was walking to the food court, being unable to resist a good deal on his favorite genre. ”There wasn’t much else going on for me this week, so I thought I’d keep you company instead of reading by my lonesome. Though, I can’t say it’s a very pleasant audial experience.”

Rento leaned back into the wall, a bit of a grimace on his face. ”Man, I can’t enjoy this if you’re not into it too. Way to kill a guy’s mood.” Sato frowned. Rento probably would’ve found someone else to go with him had he not went, and he felt bad for being a killjoy. What an extrovert this guy was. It wasn’t until Rento spoke up again did Sato realise he was leaning into him, pointing at someone out of the crowd. ”Hey, look at mask boy over there. Weird, eh? Lugging a guitar ‘round the mall…”

Sato looked over at whoever Rento was gesturing towards, which proved easy enough. There was, after all, only one young man carrying a guitar on his back and an unusual mask on his face. It would’ve been understandable had it been the typical kind of mask people wore, but this was a bit more… out there. Definitely not disposable. Mind the guitar too, the possibly more interesting part. His curiosity was rising, and when Rento elbowed him in the side, it got the best of him. Sato rose to his feet, passing off the half-finished salad to Rento and shoving the novel into his coat pocket.

As he approached the boy, Sato noticed the young man had his eyes closed, presumably focusing on something and/or listening to the music as he walked. Sato scratched the back of his head a bit before speaking up. ”Excuse me, sir, but will you be playing today? I’m just curious.” He glanced over to Rento, who gave a simple thumbs up back. Whatever the idols were performing ended, and as they began to transition to the next song, the roar of the crowd filled the mall. Sato never fancied unruly crowds live performances of stuff like idols and rock bands always brought with them. As he waited for the crowd to die down and the young man to reply, Sato watched the boy carefully, looking for a sign of annoyance.

@AcerRo

Matthew Harvester || The nature doesn't like idiots
may the 1st

“arg finally i got freedom” Matt grumbled as he jogged through the park. After the events of Sunday Matt thought he could get time to rest, but it turned out he needed to work through the week. It’s not like he was going to say no and risk losing his job as Matt did like having more than the bare minimum of money.
He thought of doing a few things this week like going to check up on the girl who they saved as that seemed to be a thing. But Matt just didn’t have the time.

“*sigh* I didn’t even get to go to the tournament at the arcade” There was so much he could have done but hey he got payed so what else is there to complain about.
After a bit Matt slowed down to take in the scenery instead of grumble to himself, as an avid lover of nature Matt had always wanted to see Cherry Blossoms. They seemed to be so beautiful in pictures, but in reality they were even more beautiful right in front of him.
you know sometimes when you are gaping at awe at something like an idiot you shouldn't keep jogging.
It’s a shame Matt doesn't think like that.
“its so beautiful” Matt muttered before tripping over the pavement face first onto the ground.
“MOTHA FUDGING HELL” Matt yelled in English as he rolled on the floor holding a blood nose.

When the band was done playing Rikimaru knew he was gonna get up there and play. He had more talent than they did and he knew it... Or so he told himself.

He was just about to open his eyes when he heard a voice from behind him. He jumped at the unexpected surprise. As quickly as he was surprised, Rikimaru spun to face the speaker. It took him a few seconds to put everything together. He had been asked if he was gonna play.

The person that had was had the question was scratching the back of his head. He was about as non threatening as one could be.Rikimaru gave him a second measured look before speaking. "I will, thank you for asking. Please excuse me." Rikimaru gave a small bow before heading to the stage.

Nerve took hold of him as he walked up the steps of this stage. All he had to do was not fall and he would he fine. He was now scared shitless as he plugged in his cell phone to an amp that would play the backtrack.

"Just take a deep breath, you can do this." He said to himself quietly. Next he plugged in his guitar up. All that was left was to hit play and see what happened.



With one final deep breath Rikimaru hit play on his phone and when the moment was right, he played as hard and best he could. He closed his eyes and got lost in the music. Only falling deeper into his trance as he played on. It only took a moment before the worries faded away and was he was reminded of what he loved so much about playing.

Maybe it was nerves, maybe it was the brand new strings. He was only half way into the song when his fingers started to bleed. He wouldn't notice or care until was he done playing. When you love what your doing it, pain and inconvenience could be tossed by the way side.

As the song ended, Rikimaru finally felt the warm liquid running down his hand and guitar. He could only smile at the sight of it. For some this was a badge of honor, for others it was simply a myth. It was part of the first group.

As the song ended and last note rang, he simply wiped the blood on pants once and gave a small bow. He had one more song in his back pocket if the people felt the need for it.
@Sen

"Oof! I-It's nice to see you again, Elena-san." Suddenly being hugged by the younger girl, cheeks of the raven haired girl flushed lightly, embarrassed and slightly uncomfortable of the physical contact. Due to her being a timid type of girl, even slight physical contact with girls caused her to fluster, it wasn't necessarily only towards Elena. But even then, this sort of affection was nice to be shown towards her. It felt as if she was accepted by the person, even if little.

"A-Are you certain he's alright...? We-Well, if you insist." Looking up at the taller student to inspect if any visible injury was found on Alexei, Shizuka's hazel eyes peeked behind her dark bangs. With her offer of a band aid being turned down and seeing no visible marks on the Dragunov, the female student placed it back into her purse while attempting to calm herself down. Once she was being suggested to retry at her attempt at the coin toss, she felt heat upon her cheeks once more feeling abashed at her earlier failure. "I-I suppose so... If it does truly grant happiness as the rumors have said, it'll be worth another try." With a bashful smile, Shizuka nodded and picked the coin from the other's hand.

Once again, the girl turned her back towards the fountain with the 100 yen in hand. Her hidden eyes shut closed in concentration, her mind solely thinking about the courage she needed and the understanding from the people she hoped for. At the moment she was about to toss the coin backwards into the fountain, “MOTHA FUDGING HELL.” Greatly startled by the sudden English shouting, Shizuka's aim towards the fountain missed once more and flew towards the new foreign male, bonking him on the head. Quickly turning to the source of the voice, she covered her mouth to soften her gasp at the sight of the boy with a bleeding nose and her coin atop his head.

"W-Why must this keep on happening?" She was finally done trying this dumb rumor. It was becoming more of a curse with how she keeps clumsily hitting people with the coin, it was definitely not worth it anymore. Rushing at the fallen boy's side, she panicked while quickly trying to form words in English that she could recall as of now. "U-Uh, I-I am bery sory fo disu a-akshidento. Ma-May I herup you?" Pronunciation definitely needed work but Shizuka hoped the foreign male would understand what she was trying to convey. Whether he understood it or not, perhaps using gestures was easier, bending down, she held an open hand towards the boy.

Matthew Harvester || the boy who tripped

*donk* "WHA" As Matt rolled on the floor he felt something hit his head. Trying to assess what had hit him Matt decided to stop rolling around like an idiot though he spent the next few seconds in a daze after noticing a coin? was on his head and hearing a girl try to speak to him.
To be perfectly honest he didn't understand anything she said so he stared at the girl for a few seconds before he had a stupid revelation.

Suddenly Matt jumped up yelling "[OH GOD ITS A CUTE LITTLE ANGEL AM I DEAD!?]" Of course screaming such a thing suddenly would probably startle anyone so realizing this Matt suddenly got embarrassed.
"er... sorry for that i tend to yell stupid things when shocked... of course I'm not dead.... i think" Scratching the back of his head Matt laughed awkwardly as he noticed his surroundings... there where people around... looking at him... they must all think im some kind of idiot...
ok being an idiot wasn't getting anyone anywhere anytime soon so Matt coughed and decided to try and blow over the situation.
"um thanks for seeing if i was ok? So this is kinda awkward soooo... The names Matthew Harvester nice to meet ya'll even in this weird situation hahahaaa" Matt started scratching the back of his head again

Noboru was worried. If those photos got around to the wrong person, they would cause a lot of trouble. But there was nothing he could do now. It was already set in motion. Akari was gonna fuck his life up for the next few weeks with this. If that wasn't bad enough, some random stranger came up to him. He introduced himself, as someone called Tanaka Toma.

"Oh uh, hey. I didn't recognize who you were at first, Aiko talks about you occasionally. You're his track running friend right? Nice to meet you. No, uh, nothing is the problem. I was just a bit surprised at something. It's gone now, nothing major.

Noboru was uncomfortable. He didn't know how to talk to any of his siblings' friends. He didn't much care to, mostly to not get involved with his siblings. But if Aiko was having this sudden change of heart, might as well be friendly to his friends as well.

"So, uhhh, you're Aiko's friend? Nice to meet you. If you didn't notice, Aiko doesn't tend to have many friends. Mostly due to his up front rudeness about himself. Glad you fought through that silly facade however. He needs some friends. So ummm, was there something else to ask?"

Noboru's feet tapped the ground, he was nervous. It felt awkward talking to someone his brother had a crush on, but that was something he wouldn't spoil.

"I'm going to dominate you!" Shouted her cousin, with a very eager and... frightening expression on her face... Chiaki could feel her defeat hanging over her head before they even began to play any games. With today's new age technology the arcade require you place virtual tokens on key cards that you swipe on any machine you wish to play. Thankfully, Chiaki and Ayano had brought along some extra money for today... Although Chiaki hoped Ayano wasn't blowing all of her money, though it did seem like she was...

The two girls enjoyed several different varieties, and of course, Chiaki failed miserably at most every one of them and was too scared to try any of the horror simulator games, such as 'Corpse Manor' & 'Horror House 4D' where you sat in a booth and had to wear special 3D glasses, she feared a heart attack going near the booths themselves. Chiaki was rather fond of her bonding time with her cousin, it was most likely one of the most precious times while staying in Warakuma...

At the racing simulators
"Oh goodness me, I seem to have crashed into a competitor of mine!"

At the fighting game section
There was a rather large group of people, watching the duo fight, it seemed as if perhaps they had arrived just after some sort of competition, pity Ayano didn't get to participate, although exhibition matches were still allowed and it seemed as if she was enjoying the constant thrashing of Chiaki in the game.

"Oh me oh my! I've lost again! Can't you cut me some slack Aya-chan? I've never even played this type of game before!"
A few of the boys in the crowed were cheering for Chiaki regardless of how poorly at the game she was doing, it was mainly due to her popularity at school.
After the duo duked it out at the fighting arcade machines, Chiaki swiftly pulled Ayano over to the rhythm games. These were games she was all too familiar with, her career as a model that pushed her into becoming an idol for some short time really aided her in her miraculous victories, although Ayano started off bad at first, she quickly picked up the pace and learned how to get a really powerful combo stringing along. The crowd from earlier also followed to the two to this area and watched them dance battle. Whilst most were cheering for Chiaki, small cries for Ayano were even heard amongst the cheers.

"Wow! What an amazing day we had huh? I actually really enjoyed myself, perhaps we should come here more often?" Joyfully said Chiaki as her and Ayano left the Arcade. Whilst they waited for their Taxi to arrive and return them to the inn, Chiaki couldn't help but feel as if something, or someone was watching her. Call it womans intuition, if you must. She shrugged it off as nothing and returned to the inn with Ayano, all the while chatting with her about their day during the trip back.



Today the shopping complex had a new Idol group performing. 'Azure 5' they were called. Chiaki new who exactly they were, the newest group from Tokyo who were doing poorly, due to their music not hitting high enough in the charts, also, her replacement. This group took over Chiaki as an Idol due to her being unable to fully become one when she moved to Warakuma. She almost chuckled. As awful as it was to think lightly of their situation, for some reason she was happy they weren't a large success.
Looking over at Ayano, it didn't appear as if she particularly liked the group or the song they were singing.
"I'll go get us some ice cream, just a moment Aya-chan, keep an eye on their cute dresses, that's probably the best thing about them hahaha..." Chiaki left after making her poorly tasting comment. It only took a moment to get through the crowd and find a vendor selling food, unfortunately, no ice cream, the two would have to settle for some colourful candy in a bag. Whilst she was away, the crowd seemed to have become alot thicker, not anybody she recognized from school, they must have been from Tokyo, followers of the group she assumed. Not a friendly looking bunch... Deciding to take a small detour, she walked around the outskirts of the crowd to try and find an opening towards Ayano...

It was very sudden, but she heard somebody call out her name... It was the last thing she could remember before losing all her energy, dropping the snacks on the ground and slumping into somebodies arms... Was it their arms?... Could it have been a bag?... Was it just a single person?... Confused and drifting into a slumber, Chiaki had passed out and was being taken somewhere...

Feeling confident over her mastery of the virtual world, Ayano was confident all throughout their time in the arcade. With swipe after swipe of the cards they had bought, she could just see the imminent cloud of defeat looming over her cousin...She almost felt bad for her. "Almost" being the key word. The small voices in her head calling out to her that she cease bullying her obviously inexperienced cousin were shot down by her overblown ego, maybe it WAS too much? Probably not, in Ayano's case anyway.

With another swipe of their cards, Ayano could swear they've probably spent more than they should have all in this arcade, but it was a small price to pay for their happiness. Even though she was dismayed over the fact Chiaki wouldn't play any of the horror games or the horror-themed rail shooters with her, she just shrugged and gave a reassuring smile to her cousin. "Meh, those games force you to waste all of your money anyway...Keeping you on edge just to get to the end where you keep on swiping and swiping to defeat the final boss..." It was true anyway, she could remember the days where she would spend half of her allowance just to finish 'Mansion of the Undead' in one sitting. The horrible voice acting made it worse.

During their time at the racing games, Chiaki was failing miserably at every turn, seemingly getting worse until the point where she crashed her car with another player's. Now, she wasn't the best at these things but she knows for a fact that that's the opposite of what you do in racing games, the absurdity of it all made Ayano laugh wholeheartedly, possibly moreso than she's ever before in her cooped-up life, it was a nice change of pace, refreshing even. She stepped out of the booth and with an uncharacteristic bounce in her step, walked with cousin towards the fighting game machines. Even ecstatic at the fact they were holding a fighting game tournament today, shame that it wasn't one that she played. "Remember when I said I was going to dominate you?" She said while turning to face her cousin, her face turning playfully aggressive as she sat down/ "Yeah, I'm not going to be hold out just because you're new."

In a flash Ayano's character was setting up combos and juggles up to the point that Chiaki's character's life bar was just a hand's reach from death. Deciding to go with a flashy finish, her character's meter had just enough for their most powerful super move, and with quick button presses, Ayano's character unleashed a flurry of punches and kicks, ending with a huge explosion that sent Chiaki's character beaten. "And that's how you dominate!" The girl said with a coy expression on her face, she was pretty much petered out from their little brawl and was shocked when Chiaki was the one pulling her instead! Ayano just groaned as if to say "Alright, alright." when she saw that their next (and hopefully last) game this time around would be a rhythm game. When they started to play, Ayano was surprised to see how good Chiaki was at this game, heck, SHE was the one who was failing the first few times! It took quite some time for her to get adjusted to the rhythm and beat of the game before finally setting on a pace she was comfortable with and managed to get a good string of combos in no time. The crowd watching them was cheering, their names being shouted as if they were big-time idols. Ayano was more than embarrassed at the thought. And with the final steps ceasing their playtime at the arcade was over, Ayano was deadbeat and gasping for air...Truly, this day will be one of the most memorable in her lifetime. As they returned to the inn, the girl couldn't help but feel as though something was troubling her cousin...


Today, Ayano was dragged to the shopping complex because an idol group that her cousin knows would be performing today. According to the websites she's visited, they're a new idol group called 'Azure 5', who from various sources she's visited, were not exactly at the top of their game. Some even claimed they were meant to replace Chiaki, following her move in to Warakuma. Unfortunately, Ayano wasn't exactly in to idol's, this particular group just seemed mediocre than most of what she's seen, but at least they're bearable...To a certain extent.

After Chiaki made a distasteful comment about the group and going to buy ice cream, Ayano just laughed as she waited for cousin to come back, she was getting a little hungry after all. The minutes ticked by and Chiaki had not yet returned, making Ayano slightly worried. Deciding to take action, she plunged herself into the arms of the crowd, calling out her cousin's name as loud as she could. She walked and she walked but there were no signs of her...This is bad, had she gone missing? The girl feared for the worst and did the most responsible thing she could at the moment: Get the attention of a police officer and say that her cousin is missing, even giving her visual appearance. She was worried, she feared for the worse...Some sicko or pervert probably snuck her away into a nearby stall and...Ayano just shivered at the thought, hoping that was just one of the least possible outcomes.

Ryan sighed as he put up his military poster. He tried to center it again, but it was always tileted slightly to the left. If his dad ever saw his room he would probably be pissed. Luckily for him, he lived with his mom now. His mom who was never at home. His mom who barely remembered he existed. Hell, the only reason his parents fought over him was so that the other couldn't have him.

"I fucking hate this town. I fucking hate this house. I fucking hate everything." He kicked a lamp over and watched it shatter. He sighed once more. Clean up time again. This is the third thing he's broken this week alone. He made himself some food as he looked up the nearest furniture store. He was going to have to get that stuff replaced before his mom got back from her business trip. When was she getting back anyways? A month. She's getting back in a month. "I fucking hate life." He cleaned up his latest mess and walked outside to the shopping district.



Ryan was buying a new lamp with his credit card his mom gave him when he felt his head hurt all of a sudden. He turned around and scowled at the source of his headache. Some new shitty band was being loud. Along with their crowns of adoring fans. It made his head hurt. He turned back to the store he was headed to and grimaced. He had no idea where he was. He growled and kicked a nearby trash can. It rocked a little but didn't fall over. He looked around and saw a few people staring. What the hell, everyone knows that if you stare at a weirdo then you're even weirder. He put on a smile and waved. "Sorry about that. I tripped." They turned away and continued their business. He looked at his phone to check where he was and shook his head. He made a wrong turn a couple of blocks back.

"Fucking weirdos." He mumbled under his breath as he walked into the furniture store. He bought a lamp and told them to have it delivered to his house. They thought nothing of it and continued their day. Ryan walked out of the store and some tall girl (Taller than him anyways) kicked him over. It's worse than New York around here! He shook his head and cleared the cobwebs out. "God damn that hurt." He muttered to himself.

Tuesday 28th April 2015: Midday

Leiko Hamada: Warakuma Hospital

The police had visited Leiko that morning, as she had expected. Recalling the events of that strange world was too much to form into logical words, and when they pushed her for the answers they sought, she felt herself clamming up, despite the desperate need to express exactly what had happened.

"I...I don't remember...", she answered meekly, in a tone so subdued it made her feel sick.

The officers weren't too pleased with Leiko's vagueness on her whereabouts the past few days, but the nurse quickly ushered them away before they could distress her too much with the 'traumatic memories.' And for that she was thankful. It was likely that the hospital were operating on the assumption that Leiko had been abducted and assaulted, given their careful behaviour around her, (and the various health checks they performed), but it was obvious that they were considering giving her the all-clear soon and discharging her. And Leiko could hardly wait.

---

Not long after the police had left, Rui made a surprise visit to the hospital, and all at once, the thousands of questions that rattled through Leiko's mind threatened to tumble forth. What was that place? What's a Persona, and why do I have one? How did you find me?

The questions would have to wait it seemed, as Rui dismissed the notion of a serious discussion on what happened on Sunday and promised her a time where they would finally be able to talk out of earshot of nosy nurses and doctors. She wanted to argue with his logic, but she knew had a good point, so instead she fell stormily silent and looked down at the strange anime keyring he had given her. It wasn't really her cup of tea, but it looked cute enough, and a gift was still a gift.

Rui gave her a scrap of paper as well, with his phone number scrawled into it. So she at least had the means to contact him so she could demand her answers. Not to mention figure out what exactly she was supposed to do with her newly found powers.

The boy began to retreat from the room, but not before offering her some kind words on her presidency. It had been unexpected, in the light of everything that had happened. But it was still nice to hear.

"Thank you Rui-kun. For...everything." Her reply was warm and heartfelt, and no more was said once he left the room.

She would get the answers she needed...eventually. But right now, what was important was her friends and family.

---

Wednesday 28th April 2015: Evening

Saya Ueno: Warakuma Hospital

"They're discharging me tomorrow. There's no real need to keep me here any longer."

Saya nearly choked on the piece of red velvet cake that she had sneaked into the room for herself and Leiko to share. "Wh-What? Are you sure? Don't you need more checkups?"

When she had been informed that Leiko had been admitted to hospital, it was the single most heart-rendering feeling that Saya had felt in her life so far. Her best friend had been found intact, and alive. It was nothing short of a miracle to her.

She couldn't remember the details of what happened when she saw Leiko awake and well for the first time. She had cried so much her eyes got tired and sore, and she was pretty sure she was close to breaking a few of Leiko's ribs when she embraced her. Hearing her friend joke about the fact drew out a watery chuckle from her, and from that point, they had carried on as if nothing had changed between them.

Except for the inexplicable feeling that Leiko was hiding more from her than she would like. The strawberry haired girl insisted that she couldn't remember anything beyond Saya getting struck and falling unconscious, but something clearly struck a wrong chord with her. Leiko was a good actress to be sure, and Saya wanted to believe in what Leiko was saying, but she knew her a lot better than what she expected. Heck, she was a bona fide Hama-chan expert. So why would she hide something so important from her?

Saya reasoned that whatever the memory was, it was just too traumatic for her to recall, which forced her to hold back from pressing the issue further. She loved Hama-chan, and the last thing she wanted was to hurt her any further. Saya had gained some issues just from being struck by the cult, let alone what Leiko had been through.

But considering her mental state, was it really okay for Leiko to be leaving the hospital so soon?

"Honestly, I'm sick of these four walls. I want to get out and start living life again." Leiko replied with a carefree smile. "I've missed so much of Golden Week already! I'm tired of living vicariously through other people's experiences..." She took a thoughtful bite of the cake that Saya had brought and studied her friend carefully. "Have you been okay? I'm glad your bruise is healing up...I was worried about you."

"Worried about me? Hah." Saya shook her head dismissively, her eyes falling onto the get well shrine Leiko was accumulating. "You're getting quite a collection there. We were all out there looking for you, you know. Our friends."

"I know," Leiko agreed, her eyes following to where Saya's rested on. "I feel so...blessed. I took you all for granted before. Treated you like pawns. I...wasn't a very good person."

"What? Hama-chan, no-"

"It's okay, Saya." Leiko reassured her with a confident smile. "I'm not making any more excuses for my behaviour. I want to change. I want to be a better friend."

The words coming out of Leiko's words were so strange to hear, that it made Saya merely gawp at her soundlessly. The strong, aloof, tough-as-nails Leiko Hamada never apologised for anything. But she seemed so...humble now. It was just too weird.

But...she had stayed at Leiko's side through thick and thin, and she wasn't going to stop now. "Well, then so will I." Saya vowed, reaching over and looping Leiko's pinkie finger through hers. "To being better friends!"

There was still an undercurrent of doubt that plagued Saya, but she wouldn't show it as the two girls continued to gossip and eat cake until the end of the visiting period ended.

---

Friday 1st May 2015: Midday

Leiko Hamada and Saya Ueno: Warakuma Shopping Complex

"Are you sure you're okay to keep walking around like this, Hamada-san? I mean, you were only discharged from the hospital yesterday!"

The sun was bright in Warakuma and the crowds were loud and bustling as they headed away from the city centre, where the 'Azure 5' idols had just been performing. That was the main purpose of the day, with most of Leiko's friends being keen fans of the group. Leiko couldn't pretend that she shared their passion, although she admitted that a couple of their songs were catchy enough. So she had agreed-and insisted- that she join them for the day. It was only fair, since she had such little of a Golden Week to begin with. "Honestly, I am fine. They wouldn't have discharged me if I wasn't ready. Besides, I really don't want to be cooped up on a day like this," she reassured them, gesturing to the clear blue skies that blessed them. "And please, don't call me 'Hamada-san'. I want you to call me 'Leiko' now, ok?"

That was another change that had been inspired from the recent state of events. In the past, she had insisted that even her closest friends refrain from calling her Leiko. It was too personal, which made her feel far too uncomfortable. Now that she had faced the doubts in her heart, she wanted her friends to get to know the real her, rather than the image she had assumed before them. Dropping last name basis had been the start of that.

"Okay..uhh, Leiko-chan," her friend stammered, looking uncomfortable and pleased at the same time as she looked over at the other girls. "What's holding them up?"

"Ugh, it's Saya. She's getting distracted again..." One of the other girls complained, and true enough there was Saya in the distance, eyeing something in one of the stores.

"That girl..."

The girl in question was busy looking at the new, polished oak vanity table displayed in the furniture store, and Saya wanted it more than life itself. She had far too many cosmetics scattered around in her room, and the piece would be such a nice addition to the aesthetics of her room. But the thing cost so damn much! If only she could be scouted by an idol agent or something...and then she would never have to work a day at her family's crappy restaurant again.

She heard her friends begin to call for her at that moment, snapping her out of her doldrums as she called back as loudly as she could. "I'm coming!"

She broke into a brisk sprint so she could catch up with her friends, but not before abruptly tripping over a short, sullen boy about her age. "Ahh! Ooops!" Quickly catching herself before she unceremoniously landed on her face, Saya quickly looked over at the boy with an apologetic look on her face. "Oh my gosh, I'm sorry! I didn't see you. I really wasn't looking. Are you okay?"

Friday, 1^st, 2015 – Golden Week

Warakuma Shopping Complex

Do you hear the people singing? Singing the song of idol groups... Oh yes, Gen did hear it. He was two blocks away and he could feel the wave of chants and music and everything that entailed the visit of a popular idol group. Well, popular in the sense that people knew their songs and some even traveled to see them. Gen would probably not do something like that for a group. He was not really obsessed with anything in particular as of that moment. Maybe after seeing the performance he would turn into a group-loving fan that would kill to watch his idols perform?

...Nah.

"I didn't think it would be this crowded." He whispered to himself. Where all these people come from? Definitively not from Warakuma. Gen lived in the town all his life, and he barely recognised anyone. Someone had clearly been busy making all these humans. But to make a single human you need nine months of pregnancy, and you could only have so many fetuses inside one womb. Unless... it was a mega uterus?! A scientific discovery that could host several fetuses at once! How could have Gen not seen that? But would not everyone be identical? No, if several samples were used and not just one, then... an evil idol group could have infinite fans and make a lot of money!

"What am I thinking?" Gen looked up over the crowd. Thanks to his being taller than the average first year students (and some adult people) he could watch the stage. Cute outfits, though, he thought. He was no expert on singing or dancing, but they were okay. It was not his favourite thing to listen to, but he could imagine himself humming it in the shower, or in the bus, or in the middle of a midterm. It was rather catchy, okay?!

Ryan brushed himself off as he got up. He put on his smile and looked at the girl. She seemed nice, innocent. The opposite of him really. He already hated her. "Yeah, I'm fine. I've gotten used to being knocked over." Ryan responded. Probably shouldn't have said that. Now she's going to feel worse and she's going to talk to you more. "You're okay though, no need to apologise." He lied smoothly. Of course she should apologise, she just completely bowled him over! Watch where you're going for christs sake! It was probably polite to offer her a hand up.

He walked over to her and offered her a hand up. "You need some help?" Ryan asked politely. He felt like he was in a shitty romance movie now. It wasn't her fault he hated her, he's just not a good person. If they had met just a few years earlier he might've been nice to her for real.

Alexei Dragunov | Warakuma Park | May 1st, Fri

Elena let out a giggle as she saw Shizuka fail again. She had to admit, it was damn funny to watch others getting people in their situation. What's more, the boy in question had already clumsily stumbled at the curb and literally dived in front of the coin to get hit. Alexei gave her a sideways glance to make her stop.

He instead went forwards to the boy after Shizuka.

"Hey! Matt, bad way to meet up in the Golden Week. Are you okay, mate?" he tried to be as friendly as he could be. Afterall, they both were in the same class and he had been sort of concerned of his disappearance not so long ago. The agriculture club president was a jovial and hearty Australian but the fall could shake anyone.

He took out his handkerchief and handed it to him, "Here, plug the nose to stop the bleeding." Before turning to Shizuka, "I think Otonashi-san it is better if you try it at night or regular week. Probably would be less people around." he said with a gentle smile, it was really funny watching him smile given his stern and hard exterior.

A moment of awkward silence between them passed by as Shizuka's cheeks were blushing a light shade of red, embarrassed that he may not have understood her horrible speaking of English. But not long after, the foreign boy was up on his feet and shouted yet another English statement. Being taken aback and blinking her eyes in shock from his sudden recovery, it took several seconds for the Japanese girl to pick up the English words she understood to form an idea of what he might have said. The currently lightly colored cheeks hued into a deeper shade, realizing he was pertaining to her when he mentioned the words 'cute little angel'. She quickly raised both of her hands to hide her blushing face from anyone's view, until she heard the brunette boy speak Japanese in a somewhat fluent manner.

Slowly lowering her hands to take a peek at the male once more in curiosity, the female student responded with her now clasped hands nervously shaking in front of her. "Um... I-It's alright, I-I understand... And yes, you are mo-most definitely not dead." The bashful girl's voice trembled, clearly flustered from the outburst from earlier. After another awkward moment of silence, the boy spoke up again in an awkward manner and claimed to be Matthew Harvester. Huh. Where had Shizuka heard of that na-- "Ah! Yo-You must be Harvester-senpai whose name was on those agriculture club flyers, labeled as President. I-I agree, it is truly an... awkward circumstance we've met under, bu-but it is a pleasure to be acquainted with you as well. Uh, m-my name is Otonashi, Shizuka, a first year student from your school." While trying to keep a calmer composure, Shizuka politely bowed as she introduced herself.

Remembering her consideration in joining the aforementioned club, the younger student parted her lips once more to continue. "T-This might not be an appropriate time to ask but I've taken an interest in your club a-and I was wondering if there was still an opening...?" She fidgeted, anxious about her first attempt at an entry for a club in high school. Another surprise which caught her off guard was that the two foreign males seemed to know each other. What a small world Warakuma turned out to be. "Eh? D-Do you two know each other, Dragunov-san? As for the coin toss, I-I'd prefer not to speak of anything w-which transpired today." Shizuka's gaze fell towards the ground in embarrassment, today was not going her way it seems.

Alexei was a bit surprised at the girl's statement that she was in the same school as him. Guess, he never asked. He never liked to prod people to talk more, he wasn't the kind. He only kept conversation at a bare minimum. But at her question he felt like he had to reply to sate whatever little curiosity she had.

"Well we both are in the same class, 3-3. His club seems to be getting quite a bit famous though, compared to mine. I didn't know that you were in our school or that agriculture would interest you. Well, I'm glad that us newcomers are getting to interact with people here. Big towns aren't this friendly." he finished apparently lost in thought. Matthew had recoiled like a suppressed spring, full with life and energy.

"You know Otonashi-san, even Shirohane-san is in Agriculture club." Alexei spoke breaking out of his train of thought before turning to Matt.

"Man! you gotta tell me how you got so many peeps interested. I have been going around the school and anyone hardly seems interested. I think I'll shut mine down and join yours, probably."

the secrets to success by Matthew Harvester

Chuckling at the cute reaction the girl in front of him gave Matt’s face showed a mischievous grin which only lasted a few momentsas when the girl introduced herself and anxiously voiced her wish to join his club.
The mischievous grin turned into a huge smile.
“is there an opening? of course there's an opening, anyone who loves nature is always welcome in the agriculture club Shiz… shizuk… um can I call you Shizu? i’m still really bad with names and honorifics hahaha” Matt had started his habit of drawing people in his own strange pace. Though it was only because he was so happy to find someone interested in his club. Though he didn’t expect to also meet up with Alexei who had handed Matt a handkerchief.

“oh hey Alexei didn’t think i would meet you on my trip after work” Matt laughed off his little accident while plugging his nose.
While he adjusted the handkerchief Alexei started asking him the secrets to success.
“hmmm how to gather interest?” Matt crossed his arms and made a face that seemed to show he was lost in thought.
“Ah there's only one word I can think of that explains it…. and that is LOVE” Matt’s face brightened as he started his own little lecturing session.
“If you ever want to succeed you need to make sure you truly love what it is you are doing, Do you really love your club if you're having thoughts of closing it? whats the point of starting something if your not going to see it through till the bitter end.” Matt stopped for a second as he thought.
“thats how i think my club is starting to roll into success, for i truly love nature” Matt spread his arms out to emphasize the park around them.
“no matter how hard it is no matter how long it takes there are people out there that love the same thing as you, you just gotta keep pushing until you find them” Matt’s face froze as he realised he had started a full blown rant.
“ahahahahahahaaa sorry I kinda get very passionate when I can relate to something”

Akira Kirigakure // Home

"So fickle, that woman..." he sighed as he laid back down on his bed. Not like he was in a rush in anyway.

Given a response wasn't necessary, he closed his phone and placed it on the nightstand, having his silence confirming his agreement to the changes. By the time Friday roles around, her brother will be in a little fix and 'Saki' will become Warakuma's newest poster 'girl'. Either way, he's actually looking forward towards returning to school. Funny how that works.

Heh

---

Akane Hanazawa // Warakuma Park

She heavily considered heading over to the Mall Centre to see 'Azure 5' because, you know, cute girls, catchy songs and a bunch of idiots making fools of themselves but, given what happened at the mall recently, it's best if she kept her distance from it awhile longer. She also wasn't all to familiar nor fans of the idol group but she had a lot of time on hands and nothing to kill it with. Anyways, after much debating, she found herself walking to the Park in order to clear her head and get out of her cave.

There's been more whispers and eye contact aimed at her as of late, but that's no real surprise because word travels fast in a place like Warakuma. She was reckless but it couldn't be helped, not like anything as changed really because given her reputation and all, it can be assumed that Noboru was simply one of the thugs/trash she normally deals with, so if theres anyone in a situation, it'd more than likely be him. Though, she did fight a gruesome fight, by Japanese standards anyway, in a public place so it's not she won't be on the end of some backlash or punishment for it.

She's actually expecting it, well, not like she's the pure and innocent type so it doesn't matter though, she is an honor student after all. While her grades might bring forth leniency, if she gets otherwise, she'll take responsibility and accept the punishment given to her.