There was a smattering of applaus and few cheers. An inattentive crowd, what buzz kill. His fingers were still bleeding and no one seemed to notice. With all the genius and wilds that the fifteen year old could muster he would play a
another song and get off the stage.

He only passed the first chorus before it happened. The stage was rushed by an orange hair girl, running up in an overly cute and feminine sorta way. She whisperes into his softy. "Keep playing the same song and only sing the choruses. They'll love it." As quickly as she appeared, she was on his phone. Selecting a different version of the same, one that Rikimaru didn't know. While music was almost identical, the opening however, was vastly different.

From the second the music started to play the orange haired girl was bouncing up and down in complete and total rocker chick fashion. A great contrast to Rikimaru's standing strong energy. With each verse that the two sang. It was more like they were sing to each other than to a crowd of people.

Each movement instinctively played off the other. Her sass played off his played his pleading. They're contradictory ways only seemed to compliment each with each passing note. It was the first time they had ever seen each other, let alone preformed together. Yet no one crowd could or would have guessed that.

This was far from the best performance that two people could or would have put on. Truth be told both left a little something to be desired, however like a cheeseburger or a beef bowl, it was much greater than the sum of its parts.

When the song was over, the crowd cheered and roaring at exceeded expectations. These two kids, complete strangers to each other had slayed it. The orange haired girl went back to being as cute as she could. In a kind and thankful voice, she shouted out to the crowd. "I'm Ai, thank you so much for listening to our song!" She posed with a peace sign and shouted something that Rikimaru couldn't make out.

After watching her leave Rikimaru looked at his hands and fingers. They were bloodies pretty well. He also notice that his guitar was almost covered in it. It wasn't gonna hurt anything , fingers are pretty vascular but still he needed to get it taken care of. With that thought in his head Rikimaru put his stuff away grabbed his phone and bowed deeply in front of the crowd. He was greatful for being able to play but girl named Ai had already said enough for the both of them in his mind.

Friday, 1^st, 2015 – Golden Week

Warakuma Shopping Complex

Gen looked back at the stage. The idol group was gone and with it their followers. But then someone got on stage. Someone that seemed... familiar. He would have recognized him earlier had he been wearing the shcool uniform. But there was something that gave him away. The mask. That mask was characteristic of someone from school! More specifically, someone that was in Gen's class! He had a weird surname, but he knew his name was...

"Rikimaru?!" Gen's jaw dropped, and his eyes became as big as saucers. Seeing someone you knew up on a stage was odd, even if one had not spoken to said person very much or was friends with it. He was good at it, at least, good enough to be confident about it and play before a crowd. Gen would not be capable of such things, in his opinion. When the song ended, he clapped, though it was most out of respect than anyt- Wait, was Rikimaru bleeding?!

And he was still playing?! But, how? Actually, why? His fingers were red, Gen could see that much. The first year moved towards the edge of the crowd. Even if he did not know the first thing about him, Rikimaru was still a classmate, and as classmates, there was an unspoken pact that they would help their peers. And if that meant bringing him down the stage, then so be it.

But maybe after he finished the song, it would be rude to just step in mid-performance like that.

So when Rikimaru was done, Gen was waiting at the side. He started asking the most important question he had. "Are you crazy?!" And then: "Oh, sorry. Itoshi Gen. We're classmates. I think I saw a pharmacy here. You should... put something there." His eyes looked down on the bleeding fingers. Gen thought that bleeding from playing too hard was a myth, a lie made by the movie industry, but apparently it was not a lie after all.

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

With matters about the Mother's Day gift flowers settled, Shizuka bid her farewell to which Kotori returned the bow. "Ah, thank you too, Otonashi-san. We look forward to seeing you then," she said, the latter words feeling a little awkward - but she still felt a little happy that the girl was so joyous at the prospect of the gift. However, rather than say any more, a rather unexpected sight caught Kotori's eye - and Shizuka's, it seemed - when Alexei, who had been talking to her mother, turned to face the two girls. It took her a moment to realise that there were tears coming from his eyes and she wasn't quite sure she wasn't just imagining it as he bowed quickly - but then it turned out to be true as he raised his head again and shortly left the store. The so very unexpected sight left Kotori glancing between the slowly shutting door and her mother as Shizuka, leaving the older boy a moment, followed suit. It was only once they had left that Kotori hurried to the counter; in her hurry not even having noticed the handkerchief covering the small prick that Shizuka had incurred.

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

Following her words, for a lack of better words, Alexei fell apart. He had briefly shown this side moments before - but he'd recovered in time. Now, however, the tears filled up the corners of his eyes before spilling over. He quickly noticed though and bowed his head even as Tsubame's smile turned gentle - it seemed that the boy really was having it tough, though she didn't speak a word yet. He spoke - to his credit with only a slight wavering - instead, asking to confirm that she really would honour her words if ever the need arose. Tsubame gave a slow nod - though even if Alexei was quite tall, he'd hardly be able to see it with his head bowed so low - before putting it to words too: "Of course. You have my word, Dragunov-kun."

Her voice had been more low-key as opposed to her usual almost perpetual cheerfulness as if to make clear her sincerity - how could she not, after what he'd just shown? As he then expressed his gratitude, her smile returned again as she gave a bow whilst receiving the money. "Oh, I must thank you," she said before the boy gave a bow toward both Shizuka and Kotori and, after a smile that seemed to be bit too strained to be a common occurence for him, headed outside. Seeing the confused look on her daughter's face, Tsubame could already tell that she'd be heading right over the second the other girl left - which she did just moments later.

"Wha... was everything alright?" Kotori asked, briefly glancing out through the flowers standing in the display windows and outside, but not seeing Alexei and only a glimpse of Shizuka before she passed out of the field of view afforded. "Oh, there's really nothing to worry about," Tsubame said with a smaller smile than usual. "Dragunov-kun merely got a little emotional," she said - though the doubt was written all across Kotori's face in the small ways that her mother knew how to read all too well. Whilst she didn't doubt the words per se, it was just quite a difference to the usually so stoic-seeming and imposing-looking Alexei that it was a little hard to believe right away. "Don't worry, neither he nor his family are in any trouble. Quite the opposite, really," Tsubame said with a wider smile.

Glancing one last time out the window, Kotori slowly nodded after a moment's thought - though she hadn't seen his face for more than a few moments, he hadn't seemed quite as sad as tears might have suggested. Deciding to let the matter rest - perhaps there would be an opportunity to ask at a later time without prying into the matter too deeply - Kotori remembered that there was still work to be done.

Kotori Shirohane - Ferrero Mall | Friday, May 1 2015

Kotori was looking down at her shopping list once again, mentally crossing off the last item that was packed away in her bag before looking back up with a brief satisfied expression - only to turn startled when suddenly loud music started up. Looking to its source, a group of five girls burst onto the stage - Azure 5, the idol group whose show had been announced before and whose faces were on the numerous flyers around town for a while. There was a large crowd gathered in front of the stage and their cheering was mixing with the music as the girls danced about the stage whilst singing; showing no signs of stage fright despite standing before so many people - at least no sign that Kotori could notice. Standing a bit away from the crowd, she was watching the show - whilst she didn't follow the ever-changing world of idols both male and female, she couldn't help but admire them for the way they could stand upon a stage with the world watching and sing to their heart's content, wearing such flashy and cute clothes.

When the show drew to a close and the girls gave a final bow, Kotori gave a subdued clapping - mostly due to her shopping bags containing the next few days' groceries being in the way. The cheers were loud and went on for a little while longer - they must be quite popular, she thought as she got ready to head back home. However, just as she turned, she heard a voice over the general noise of the crowd - in particular, a name being cried repeatedly; the slowly rising panic in the voice evident even against the backdrop though not the exact name unfortunately. Had perhaps some friends got split up in the slowly moving crowd - or perhaps a child gotten lost? Not seeing who was calling through all the people, it then seemed to stop - hopefully because the caller had found who they were searching.

Deciding to hang on for a moment, Kotori looked about to see if any children happened to be about without any attending parent or sibling - but to no avail. As a boy took to the stage with his guitar, the crowd was starting to thin out - their main draw, Azure 5, having left already after all. Amongst those still staying, some were listening to the boy who was soon joined by a girl, though neither drew Kotori's attention at that moment - instead, she pushed up her glasses that had gotten a little misaligned from the constant looking about as before passing over one girl in particular. A frantic expression coupled by the uneasy way she held her phone to her ear brought to mind the voice Kotori had heard - were the calls perhaps only interrupted because she was speaking to someone on the phone?

It took her another moment - but after seeing the clear distress on the girl's face, Kotori decided to step closer; waiting for her to finish her call. She couldn't hear what she was saying over the music and the other people's voices - but she didn't seem happy, that was for sure. When the girl in question brought her phone back down from her ear, Kotori stepped forward. "E-excuse me?" she said, her voice barely audible over the background noise and probably not even heard, given the intended listener's state. "Is... is everything alright?" she asked, only slightly louder this time and all the while with worry creeping into her expression. Whilst she wasn't sure it was her place to burst into someone else's matters in this way, she couldn't help but at least offer her help if she could - even if she felt a little silly for not having anything else to say in such a situation other than a question to which the answer so clearly was 'No'.

Rikimaru was taken by surprise, a classmate that remembered him. The mask made him stand out a little more than he'd ever want but it was a nessary evil. Still it was... Nice, for lack of a better word. "It happens. Layla is any easy song to get carries away with." He was so calm about it you'd think he was talking about the weather. It wasn't all that uncommon for Rikimaru to play until his fingers bled. Playing, like fighting was almost an unhealthy addiction for him.

By the time he had finished speaking, more and more people started gather around. All either impressed by the music or the fact he could play through the pain and the blood. Either way, Rikimaru didn't want anything to do with this. Heaven forbid that idol agent would come over. They were hard to get rid of to say the least. Rikimaru did take solice in that girl though. Anyone would be a fool to go after him and not her.

Am,the girls name was name. She had shouted something at him before running off but he couldn't make it out. He almost wished that she had left her number. Their on stage chemistry was awesome. She could have been fun to play with but there was more pressing matters to deal with.

Rikimaru went back to Gen. He stuck out his bloodied hand for a hand shake Realizing it was the bloody hand that needed a little medical attention, he withdrew his hand and simply bowed. "Rikimaru Elsworth. Could I bother to show me where this pharmacy is? I need to take care of my hand before it gets any worse." Again his voice was calm, almost detached from the whole situation.

By the time Rui turned back around to pass the mall centre again where the idols were performing, there was a much smaller crowd watching someone play guitar and another sing. It was uncommon for people to come out and perform something once in awhile, but it was uncommon for it to happen in areas like this. Usually it happened in some districts of Tokyo, or other cities that had space to do this. They were street performers to put it simply. Rui simply stopped for a bit before heading home with his shopping.



"I'm glad you all could come",

"Of course, someone's been taken again huh?", within the warehouse stood Rui, Kami, Matthew and Noboru, as well as of course Kazuki, Megumi and Riku. A little in the back behind Rui's side was Leiko. Rui managed to have her come along...

"Someone... You mean like I was?", she inquired.

"That is correct", Rui and Kazuki then proceeded to explain the situation to Leiko. She had the option of leaving, an option Kazuki did not care to mention. Basically, Leiko was told about all the kidnappings and who was behind it. A small cult calling themselves the New Order were abducting people. Kami managed to figure out what they were calling themselves, since they managed to keep that under wraps until now. In any case, they take people and throw them into the mirror world, they don't know why or how they're managing to do it, but they can't just leave them in there and hopefully they can remember something, but despite the rescues so far, they haven't learned anything from the victims.

"Alright, I understand".

"Excellent... Well, we shall not tarry, Megumi, Riku, if you two would please lead the way", and like that the party was in the mirror world.



"The hell is this gaudy-ass place?", the party had entered a tall purple building. It looked like a studio from the outside... And the inside, although the theme for this studio seemed unnecessarily 'exposing'. The entrance was clear. On one side was a receptionist desk, unsurprisingly empty, and on both sides were billboards, "only the naked truth", "reopening old wounds".

"Hmmm... I feel a little... Familiar with some of those figures...", Rui looked at them again... Yeah, that's true, where has he seen that before? It's either been awhile or just not his focus at most times...

"In any case... Let's get moving", he announced.

"I will be close behind with the rest and watch your back", said Kami. This meant that Rui's forward party will be Matthew, Noboru and Leiko.

"Okay, understood".

As they entered through the doors, Noboru checked his trusty tape. It was wrapped nice and tight around his fists, with strips of sandpaper slipped inbetween each wrap. It felt like it really did damage, to where he felt useful. He wasn't just a burden with his skills, he actually waa able to do damage. He may have not had any woodly doodly magic but he couid sure as hell punch stuff into submission. Still, he couldn't help but feel inferior. He wanted to do the woodly doodly magic, look important. Oh well, those were thoughts for another time, when someone didn't need rescuing. Looking around, he noticed the tacky decorations.

"God what is this place? Looks tacky as hell. Not even my family would like this shit. Where are we even? Who the hell was kidnapped this time? Why do people keep getting kidnapped.

Noboru looked around again, and shuddered. It hurt his eyes to look at all this. He came up with an idea and caught up to Rui. Placing his hand on Rui's shoulder, he spoke.

"Hey Rui. You lead, but let me take the front. I'm the most resilient here, I can take the surprise attacks and heavy hits. That way we can be in tip top shape for any fights. Yes? No?"

Friday, May 1^st, 2015 – Golden Week

Warakuma Shopping Complex

Eh? EH?! Gen could not believe it. This guy, this guy was casually talking and paying no heed to his bleeding fingers. As though they did not exist. If they did not hurry, he could lose them! Wait, that was not possible... was it? Maybe Gen should stop thinking about it and help. "Yeah, let's hurry! Let's go!" Gen urged Rikimaru forward by pushing him slightly forward. The pharmacy was not far, and it was not big, so finding what he needed would be easy as pie. Oh, now Gen was hungry. Great timing, stomach!

"We're here." They were there. The glass window doors slided swiftly and Gen brought them in. The cashier greeted them with a monotone "Welcome!" and went back to tending her post. She probably frowned at Rikimaru's wounds, but Gen did not pay attention. "Here!" She chanted, victorious. It was just gauze, but he held it as though it was the balm of the Gods. "Is it getting infected? We should probably look for something to disinfect it?" Oh no, the pressure was making him nervous! Gen looked back at Rikimaru's eyes, which was kind of the only part of his face he could look at, and asked him: "Will this do, or do you use anything else?"

"Oh! S-So both of you are classmates? That must mean you're an upperclassman too, Dragunov-senpai. I suppose that would explain why you seemed awfully familiar, to think we were from the same school." Releasing a soft giggle behind a hand, Shizuka gradually calmed from her earlier flustered state. One who was from Warakuma would not be too surprised to find schoolmates around town as it might be growing a little more industrious as its neighbor, Tokyo, but there are only about two schools around the area, one of which is a private school. Yet it was still nice to find more people of her age and befriending them, mostly due to Shizuka being shy and a freshman to the school at that.

Lightly nodding in response to Matt's permission for calling her such, the female student enthusiastically (in her own, soft voice way) spoke, "T-Thank you, senpai! I'll be submitting my application form possibly by Monday. Shirohane-san as well? She does seem to appreciate plantation, so it wouldn't come off as a surprise but it is delightful to know there will be acquaintances in the club." Genuinely thankful that the club she will be entering has friendly people she just came to know, there was a slight excitement in her tone, enough for someone listening to notice. Shizuka might not know a thing or two on the common knowledge for nature enthusiasts but she was willing to learn and appreciate the vegetation.

Once the upperclassman who had been voicing out his passion for nature finished his piece and apologized as he chuckled, Shizuka clasped her hands together and held them atop her chest with a light curve upon her lips. His speech didn't bore her at all, in fact, it was inspiring for the underclassman. "Oh no, it was not a nuisance at all, Harvester-senpai. In fact, I find it admirable to see someone passionately speak about their interest. I... could relate to it at some points, bu-but I'm afraid I cannot be as courageous or open as you..." Her gaze slowly fell onto the ground as her voice trailed to a soft whisper. Realizing it might cause the two of them to worry, Shizuka attempted to quickly change the subject. "O-Oh um... S-Speaking of clubs, what does your club do, D-Dragunov-senpai?"

"You really need to calm down Gen. I won't lose anything other some blood." Rikimaru was grateful for the guys worrying but he was in nine kinds of a tizzy for something only required three or maybe four kinds of tizzy. The amount of tizzy was too damn high! None the less Gen was kind.

With those words said Rikimaru gathered a few more things. Doing his best not to get blood anything more than floor. Gen had the Gauze of Life, but he still needed tape, disinfectant and a bottle of water. He couldn't help but smile under that mask of his. He was more worried about the blood stains on this guitar than his cuts on his finger.

The look on the woman's face when Rikimaru went to pay for everything was near priceless. The look of disgust and shock on her face when he handed her the bloody money was awesome. Again he couldn't but smile. "Gen, you coming?" With that he walked out and starting ripping open the packaging and fixing up his fingers, he was fast and good at. It was more or less an occupational hazard, he was used to it.

By the time that Gen could get to him he was already done and working on cleaning up his guitar. It wouldn't take him long to get it cleaned, again he had done this once or twice before. Without a look Rikimaru spoke to Gen. "I'll be at park the tomorrow. Afternoon, if you care to join me." As soon as he finished he got up and left.


Rikimaru was sitting on a picnic table, meditating. If he couldn't play today he could at least do some training. In front of him was set of training Kamas. A clear head, and a mostly uninjured body would be just right for him. His dress was the same always when away from school. He never understood why people put on training gear when that's not something their likely to have when needed to use any sort of fighting art. He did

Within an instant he was off the table, with Kamas in his hand. With every movement he gained speed and power. His movements weren't in the traditional style of hard, sharp movements. His movements were fluid, quick and light. These movements could easily be turned into hard, sharp and powerful movements but there wasn't a need for any of that right now.

Alexei let Matthew go on about passion and achievement, like a man who has found his calling or something. The intense love for nature was clearly visible in his eyes despite a bit of daze from the recent fall. It also worked wonders at charming the young girl besides them, he had to agree that Matt had that flair about him. A certain aura that was strangely jovial and disarming, like the Sun which has blessed his homeland quite greatly in comparison, he was more like a dark night: keeping his emotions inside.

Shizuka joined in with her query about him being familiar which was hardly surprising given his peculiar build. He was quite a strange one in the school so it was not hard to miss but he never knew that she went to the same school, partly due to her being a freshman and partly because of her looks. It was easier for her to blend in unlike him. She looked rather excited on the mention of Kotori's name signalling that the affable Shirohane had rubbed her presence on her as well. Though he felt that she was hiding something as she talk about expressing herself freely to which Alexei could relate.

He wanted to know of the constraints that denied her free expression but he wasn't the probing kinds rather he waited for her enough to let her ask another question.

"Well, mine is an MMA club. Headed by our classmate, Inoue Matsuhita. Perhaps, you would have heard of her, she is quite famous in the sport circles and in Warakuma. Inoue the Iron-legged, I think is her sobriquet." Alexei said in reply to her query, waiting for it to sink into both of them. He hadn't formally asked Matthew to participate in his club so maybe he could use this chance.

"It was essentially more of a self-defense training Club but that name wasn't catchy so we went with MMA since that also happens to be the end goal of the president. Currently, there are only three members. All upperclassmen. But anyone and everyone is welcome, from all walks of life. You don't need to be a prior martial artist to join. We currently have a Muay Boran specialist, a Tae Kwon Do one and myself training Jiujitsu and Sambo." he said in an even tone. Hopefully, the answer was detailed enough to sate her curiosity.

Meanwhile, Elena was getting a bit irritated for being ignored for so long.

"Hey! don't forget me." she barged in the group, going upto Matthew to take his hand and shaking it.

"I'm Elena, Alexei's sister" she said confidently, Alexei looked at her sideways to signal to drop it and re-establish the space. The glance was fleeting but one that Elena knew well but she chose to ignore it, giving him a bashful smile in return. He was an over-protective brother and though she loved him for it, sometimes it was a bit stifling. She can have the lecture later and get done with it but for now, this wa the only way to be included in the conversation.

Sunday, May 3^rd, 2015

Warakuma Park

"I hope I'm not late." Gen whispered while walking towards the park. He forgot to bring a watch, and he did not feel like pulling his cellphone out to check the time. Oh well, he will just have to apologize to Rikimaru on being late. Big deal. Unless he was the one being late. In which case, Gen will have to accept his apology. He probably would have already mostly recovered from yesterday. Oh no, what if he got worse? Could he actually get worse, though. Probably not, but then again, the guy wears a mask, so maybe his body works differently from the rest?

When Gen reached the park and was near the picnic table where they had arranged to meet, he just stood there, dumbfounded. Un. Believelable. He was training, or maybe role-playing? There were rumours that some people like to take their role play a little too seriously. What was he suppose to be? A farmer samurai who dishonoured his clan and now seeks revenge? No, that sounded too cliché. Oh wait! A farmer samurai destined to find the legendary Demon Flower to save his wife! Probably. But seriously, carrying weapons in public, even if they were farming instruments, was against the law.

"Oi, Rikimaru-san!" Gen waved at him so he could see him. He seemed to be immersed on his own world, swinging his kamas around and whatnot. "Sorry for the wait. Umm..." He hesitated, eyeing the edgy tools in the other's hands. "Are you... allowed to have those out here? Legally, I mean."

Ryan was busy cooking himself some lunch when he heard a knock at the door. He rolled his eyes and turned off the stove. Ryan was about to open the front door when he first looked at the mirror on the closet door. He made sure he was smiling, no visible skin on his arms, and he looked relatively clean. After going through that checklist he opened the door to answer whoever was knocking. It was a delivery guy with the furniture he had asked be delivered.
After signing for the furniture he had it brought in and placed wherever. Ryan thanked the delivery man and had them leave quickly. "I wonder why it took them so long to bring the furniture. I don't live that far away." He asked himself as he went back to cooking. He finished up quickly and sat down to eat. He turned on the TV and watched the news. It appears as if some sort of idol has gone missing. Weird. It's not him though, so it's not that big of a deal. He flipped through the channels some more before deciding to go take a nap. He didn't have any friends to hang out with after all.

Rikimaru Elsworth
Sunday, May 3rd, 2015
Warakuma Park, Afternoon

Rikimaru couldn't help but laugh at the question. It through him off his kata and movements. He turned to look at Gen. He hasn't seen him but there was little doubt that it was. He seemed like the timid, overly concerned type. Maybe not, maybe he was just a regular guy and Rikimaru was the odd ball.

"Yes these are perfectly legal. Its made if a dull zinc alloy. Its a safe training weapon. Would like to learn a little? I do owe you one for your concerns yesterday." Rikimaru was almost shocked at how much he just said at once.

Was Rikimaru starting to make a friend? This what freienda did for each other right? They helped each other and showed concern. None the less, it was still a chance to have and show off a little. Who could pass up that opportunity?

To a alleviate any anxiety but Gen might have had. Rikimaru spun both Kamas in his hand. Both front wards and backwards. He was midly impressive and flashy for someone who didn't know what they were looking at. Truth be told however it wasnt anything to write home about.

Sunday, May 3^rd, 2015

Warakuma Park

What Rikimaru said reassured Gen somewhat, even if he did not know what 'dull zinc alloy' meant. Did he know about weapons and that sort of stuff? Seems likely. He had that air of mistery that those ancient warriors often depicted in stories had. That was it; Rikimaru seemed as though he had been ripped off his tale and brought to the real world. He surely had his reasons to wear the mask, even to school, where it was probably an infraction to dress code policies? Well, no one said anything, so probably not.

In any case, he started doing something with the kamas. Gen prayed for his life, because for a moment he thought he had offended Rikimaru and so he would have to pay with his life. But it was not so. In fact, apparently Rikimaru was doing some tricks with the weapons to... impress Gen? Why would he need to impress him? Even though he asked that in his head, Gen was fairly impressed. His eyebrows raised in mild astonishment and when the other was done, he even clapped a bit. Not an overly-enthusiastic, probably embarrassing ovation, but a modest and sincere set of claps. "That looked cool! Where did you learn that?" Gen asked, still keeping a good distance between him and the sharp edge of the kamas. Remembering something, he took off his backpack and opened it. "Oh, I hope you don't mind, but I brought some snacks with me."

One would imagine that by 'snacks', Gen was meaning 'potato chips' or something along those lines, but instead, he took out a plastic container that had homemade brownies and another with scones, also self-elaborated. "Not to brag, but I'm actually very good at cooking. Hehe. In middle school, my class did a café for the festival, and I had to run back home to make more sweets because we ran out." He let out a laugh. Good times, good times. Maybe he could suggest that when the school festival comes? They were bound to be very popular, in Gen's opinion.

"I... I... Don't eat out in public. Gen... I don't. I'm sure it's great but I... Can't." Rikimaru said very reluctantly.

Realizing that he needed further explanation. Rikimaru tapped the side of his face with a Kama. "There's a reason I wear this and its not the most pleasant on world. It can really set people off their feed." He hung his head clearly not wanting to pursue the subject anymore.

He didn't know what else to say on the matter. There was nothing that he wanted to talk about on that subject. It wasn't a pleasant one for him. In fact he avoided it at all costs. Outside of his parents and his new found guardians and the school principal, no one had seen his face in years. He took the mask off so seldom that tan lines would form in the summer.

Matthew Harvester
Friday, May the 1st

“ahahahahahaaa” Matt was having fun and it seemed his little lecture didn’t bore the small audience. He had even roped in a new member for the agriculture club.
Matt listened into Alexei talking about his club and it was obvious he loved it, Matt even found the club sounded interesting…. though it reminded him.
He never got the chance to go to the Kendo club.
All the sudden the girl which had been standing there suddenly took Matt's hand and introduced herself.
Matt thought he heard wrong for a second and looked between Alexei and this Elena.
“w-w-wait, your telling me this brutish looking guy has such a cute little sister!?” due to the seemingly shocking information to Matt he couldn't help but blurt his thoughts out loud. No he was honestly shocked with the sudden revelation.

Sunday, May the 3rd

Walking into the most gaudiest looking place ever Matt had to agree with the other comments made on the place.
“ok come on this looks horrible who designs these places? wait better yet why do they even exist?” Matt wondered out loud as he looked around before hearing Noboru’s idea.

“I agree with Nobo he should be at the front, imagine what would happen if anyone else's face was ruined by a surprise attack? I kid but Nobo is right, he is the most resilient one here…. second is me obviously” Matt laughed at his own stupid comments.
“I can either help out the front line or focus on burning everything” Matt said holding his 2 machetes. He was not trying to fulfil his stereotype whatsoever. Nope no Stereotyping here.

"Inoue the Iron-legged...? I might have heard of such name somewhere but I'm afraid I have no relations to the sports circle in school, so it must not have been from there." Tilting her head slightly, Shizuka attempted to recall where she might have heard of it for a moment or so to no avail. As Alexei explained what sort of club he was in, the younger student listened intently, nodding from time to time as a gesture that she was indeed listening. After hearing the details of what the club was all about, she started to comment when the upperclassman finished with the types of martial arts[?].

"Such a club would be truly helpful to the students, especially with the serial kidnappings of high school students on going as of recent." She trembled to the thought of it happening to anyone she knew. It must have been a terrible and traumatizing experience for the victims. Before going off topic, she continued, "Bu-But Mu.. Muay Bo... Bo-- Um...? Martial arts sound a little too... b-brutal or physical for myself, but it does sound like a splendid club. I do hope you will be able to recruit more new members, perhaps from the freshmen group." Shizuka suggested, since the first years were still new to the school and some of them, like Shizuka, may not have been in any of them so far.

In response to the exchange between Elena and Matthew, the raven haired student merely flashed an awkward smile at the foreign boy's rude yet 'probably not meant to be offensive' comment. The Japanese girl could somewhat understand his shock. Looking back at her meeting with the Dragunov siblings, she might not have been able to guess they were related unless they introduced them so.

"Hohoho, what do we have here? Shizuka, two foreign boys and one foreign girl?" That familiar, perky voice. With a quick turn of her head, there she was, Rinko. Oh no, Shizuka had taken too long, Nozomi must have asked her to search for their missing friend. "If you were gonna have a mixer, you shoulda invited us too! So which one of them were you gonna ask for his e-mail address, huh?" The latter statement was loud enough to be overheard, Rinko having no idea that these people understood Japanese after all. She poked the cheek of the now blushing girl. The short haired girl made it sound like a joke but the thought embarrassed the shy girl nonetheless. I mean... Matthew was someone she had just 'stumbled' upon and she had barely known much about Alexei too.

But the storm of cherry blossom petals being carried by the wind in the background, the season of spring of youth, the bright sun rays shining down upon them, .....This was exactly like a shoujo mang-- No. It was like.... an otome game.
---
Tokimeki Memorial: Girl's Side ~Foreigner Ver.~
LOADING. . .
> NEW GAME
LOADING. . . . . .
GAME START!

No no no no NO. "Ri-Ri-Rinko-chan! P-Please don't be ridiculous, t-they're just my senpai and no-nothing more! I-I mean... I-I just happened to meet them b-by literal accident, th-that's all." The panic and fluster in her tone was clear as the blue sky today while she fidgeted with a tomato red face. Before making this any more embarrassing on her part, she quickly bowed and bid her farewell before brisk walking away from the scene. "I-I apologize for my su-sudden leave but I must go. Ou-Our friend is waiting for us t-to buy drinks. Go-Good bye and so-sorry once again for hitting both of you wi-with a coin." And ZOOM she went. Rinko was caught off guard by her speedy walk, she started to run after her friend as a shouting at the distant can be heard, 'Shizuka! I was joking! Come on! Slow down a bit, will you!'.

---

A light humming was heard along a street of the Shinza Shopping Square, not particularly of a song, but a vague, happy tune. It was from the lips of Shizuka, who held a paper bag close to her chest. A paper bag full of manga worth a whole month to read. But of course, it was sealed properly, no passersby would suspect her of being a huge otaku. Content with the purchases she made today, she was in a rather great mood due to it. Before heading home to indulge in her hobbies, her feet ceased in their tracks. What had made her pause? Realization of walking down the wrong path. Who knew there was a part to Shinza Shopping Square that she was not familiar of?

While tracing back her steps, a bookstore she had never seen before. Yoshida Book Cafe. Huh. A bookstore and a cafe combined together? Curious, Shizuka stepped inside and found herself between shelves of books and more books. Earlier that day, she might have had purchases of manga but she supposed she could take a look at a couple of sewing and clothes tailoring books. Picking out a few books and magazine of such type from a shelf, since they seemed to be organized in a certain way, Shizuka headed to the counter to order a drink for herself. "Um... Would you happen to have milk tea? If not, I would like to have a glass of cold green tea instead." After placing her order for a beverage with the old shop keeper, the female student settled down on a desk, resting her purse, paper bag of manga and the rest of the books atop the table before flipping through one of the cloth tailoring books.

Sunday, May 3^rd, 2015

Warakuma Park

Gen shouted incomprehensibly, grabbing the food he had made, after hours of slaving himself on the kitchen, and ripped off Rikimaru's mask. "YOU WILL EAT IT AND YOU WILL LIKE IT!!" He spat out, his eyes big and mad and almost out of his socket. His hand pushed the brownies and scones inside Rikimaru's throat, while a crazy laugh rung loudly...

Of course, that actually did not happen. Gen stood there, shook his head off to remove the aforementioned mental image, and separated a few sweets aside. "Oh, that's okay, you can take them home. Sorry, I never thought it was a serious thing, the mask, I mean." Gen bent his back slightly, to bow, offering his apology. Now Gen could only think that the other was hiding something, which made him all the more curious. Even if it disgusted him, even if it put distance between them, one day he wanted to know what lied behind it. Maybe it sounded selfish, and it was not like he knew the guy for years; they barely talked at school and up to now their conversations have not been exactly deep. But one day he would like to know.

"Anyway," Gen said, more to break the awkward atmosphere that was setting in like a thick fog. "I think I'll take you up on your offer. But please, no fights. I would not want to get home all wounded." He uttered a anxious laugh. Seeing that Rikimaru knew a lot more than he did, a winner of a showdown between them was rather obvious. Besides, Gen was not one to pick fights, preferring to stay at the side and maybe tend to the defeated. "First thing first, how do you hold it?" It was evident that Gen had not picked up a weapon in his life.

Maskboy responded affirmative, and Sato stepped back a bit. He’d intended to make some kind of conversation but it appeared that the guitarist needed to go get ready or something as he immediately dismissed Sato to head over to the stage. Sato returned back to Rento, slumping back down the wall and sitting next to the boy. ”It seems he’ll be playing today. I wonder what kind of song he’ll do after the crowd was just listening to idol stuff. It’d be a bit of a sudden transition to go so acoustic in my opinion.”

Rento cocked his head back towards the idols on stage. ”I dunno. I’m only here for Azure 5, man, so I’m really to blow this joint as soon as they wrap it up.” The two teens watched the girls on stage close off their performance, and only as men started to carry away some of the equipment and such did they rise from the ground, walking towards the exit they came from. As they drew close to the stage, Maskboy took the front, fiddling with something before facing the crowd with a guitar in hand. They were rather close to the stage, so Sato could see the male was pretty into playing the instrument, even playing to the point of a crimson leaking onto his guitar from his nimble hands. The crowd seemed rather apathetic towards this seemingly random guy playing, only a few bothering to cheer on the young male, though the lack of response seemed to not deter Maskboy much as he continued on to another song. ”Geez, is that kid wearing a bloodpack or something? Playing way too hard.”

Sato had no idea about the peculiarities of guitar-playing, so the third-year just nodded in response to Rento’s comment. Neither boys were very interested in the music Maskboy was playing, seeing as they both came prepared for something rather different, and left the complex just as Maskboy got interrupted by some orange-haired girl. With nothing left to do for the day, Sato and Rento went their separate ways, the former heading straight home and lazing away the rest of the day.

---

MAY 3RD 2015, SUNDAY

Sato yawned, stretching his back as he walked down the street. He had stayed up late last night, marathoning some new sentai show he’d found. Though he had fallen asleep somewhere around episode 17, leaving seven more to finish that evening, Sato found himself enticed by it despite the plot being rather lacklustre. Super sentai will always be his guilty pleasure.

Being drop-dead tired and wanting to get outside at least once on the last day of Golden Week, Sato decided to get some kind of coffee. He’d already read through the three novels he’d bought the other day prior to binge-watching sentai, so heading over to the Yoshida Book Café seemed the best idea. He’d seen it when he was cutting through Shinza one time. It wasn’t hard to find again, seeing as it was on the only path he’d taken.

The teen entered the book café, taking in the scent of coffee and the possibly imagined smell of old books both at once. It seemed nice enough. Sato wandered over to the front desk, money already in his hand. He ordered a heavily caffeinated coffee, and, assuming it’d take a bit to get his drink ready, wandered off into the maze of bookshelves to find something he was interested in reading. He managed to pick up a few crime novels after a quick scan of the section he was in. With the books in hand, the male stepped away from the walls of literature and over to a nearby table, disregarding the one girl already seated there. It wasn’t like anyone would care if they were into what they were reading.

Though… as he set down the two books before him, Sato couldn’t help but look at the girl. An awfully familiar one, with a face that provoked unpleasant memories. The girl from the maid café? He wasn’t entirely sure, so he didn’t say anything yet, but as he skimmed through the first chapter, the urge was too great. ”Sorry, miss,” Sato blurted out, swiftly closing the cover. ”but don’t I know you from somewhere? I’m Hashimoto Sato. Did we not meet at the, err… maid café, the other week?”

@Amaterasu

Toma Tanaka - May 1st

Toma smiled easily as Noboru said he recognized him. The boy's slight awkwardness was not lost on Toma, and it was something the taller boy understood -- it had always felt a little strange interacting with Taiki's friends. Drawing from his past experiences, Toma decided to do his best to put his junior at ease.

"Yup, that's me," he began, slipping his good hand in his pocket and letting the other one dangle. "Oh? I didn't have to go through any sort of facade. Aiko was pretty welcoming the moment I spoke to him. Though I have noticed he can get a little... uh, uppity, I guess." The boy gave a small laugh. "He's a good guy at heart for sure, though."

Toma paused, thinking over how he should go about asking Noboru about his kidnapping. After a moment's deliberation, the only thing that came to mind was to just get to it.

"Yeah, actually, I wanted to talk to you about your kidnapping." The tall boy paused again, letting that statement hang in the air for a second. "I'm extremely glad you turned up unharmed. You probably know, but Aiko had been worried sick about you, and he spent the entire time you were gone looking for you," Toma said with a small smile.

"I'm sure you're tired of being asked about it, but do you know anything about the people who nabbed you...?" Toma glanced away, worrying that his questions would upset the other boy. "I want to find out everything I can about these incidents. To, uh, try and do something about it, I guess--"

As he spoke, his cell phone began vibrating, telling him he had an incoming call. Toma rose his eyebrows in mild confusion as he pulled the phone out. He hadn't received a call on it since arriving in Warakuma, instead having only been texting. Checking the number and thinking he vaguely recognized it, he gave a quick bow to Noboru to excuse himself as he answered.

To his surprise, it was Yoshida, asking him to come in and work at the Cafe.

"Right now?" Toma asked, glancing at Noboru.

"If it's not too much trouble," was the response.

Toma thought it over, quickly deciding that he couldn't say no -- if this kept up, he'd soon officially have a job at the place. "Alright, I'll come over."

Turning back to Noboru, he scratched the back of his neck. "I'm sorry for leaving as suddenly as I appeared, Noboru-san," he began, looking disheartened. "If it's not too bothersome, I'd like to speak with you at another time. And I don't want to impose, but if you ever need any help with anything, I'd be glad to lend a hand, especially seeing as your Aiko's family," he added.

With that, he gave a quick wave and went off.

---

May 3rd | Shinza Shopping Square - Yoshida Book Café

As Toma walked through town to Yoshida's shop, he unwrapped a small red lollipop and stuck it in his mouth.

This was, what, the fourth time the old man had called him to ask him to help for the day? Toma wasn't complaining -- work was work, after all -- but he kind of wished the man would offer him a proper part-time job. He didn't mind working there. It wasn't very stressful, but there had been more customers in the last couple days, keeping Toma from getting too bored. It was certainly slow enough that Yoshida would be able to take care of everything himself, so Toma wasn't sure why the man kept calling him back, but he didn't think too much about it. As it was now, Yoshida was the one actually making the drinks and running the little business, while Toma took care of everything else, especially keeping the place clean and doing any neccessary heavy lifting. When it came to waiting on customers, they basically took turns.

In short, it was pleasant, if not as intensive as the boy imagined he would prefer.

Toma opened the door into the cafe, causing a small bell to go off, and noticed the two customers, both appearing to be high-school age. He walked by quietly, not wanting to disturb them, as they both were reading.

"Ah, Toma-kun, good day," Yoshida greeted from behind the counter as the tall boy approached.

"Hello, Yoshida-san. I see business is booming," Toma replied with a small nod and smirk.

The man laughed softly. "Could you bring our guests their drinks once I have them finished?" he asked, busy with readying the orders.

Toma glanced back at the two for a moment. "Sure, just let me change quickly."

He stepped into the back room, putting down his bag and hanging up his jacket. After tossing the stick of his finished lollipop into the trash, he slid on a nicer, white button-up shirt over his white t-shirt, and tied a small black apron around his waist. It was plain and simple, nothing extravagant, which was how he liked it.

Toma stepped back out through the swinging door just as Yoshida placed the drinks on the counter.

"Milk tea for the young lady, and coffee for the gentleman," the old man said with two quick points to the cups.

The tall boy scooped them up, one in his left hand and one in his right, which had been healing okay and was becoming more and more usuable by the day. As he stepped around the counter, he heard the boy's voice, speaking to the girl. Toma slowed his walking pace down, hoping to arrive near them during a pause in the conversation.

Which is exactly what happened, just according to keikaku*.

"I'm sorry to disturb you two, but here are your drinks. Milk tea," he said, as he placed the girl's drink in front of her, "And coffee," he finished, giving the boy his, the saucer clinking against the small table. "I'm Tanaka Toma. If either of you need any help at all, feel free to give me a shout." With that, he bowed and stepped away, back towards the counter, noting to himself with an amused half-smile that the old man was gone, likely in the back room stealing a nap.

*(Author's note: keikaku means plan)