"Tch... They're still at it?" Jun commented to herself as she strolled around the mall. She had been doing walking around the building without purpose for a while now, though she was originally looking at some new clothes. Instead of her usual suit, today she was dressed like a girl for once, with a black tank top and plaid skirt hugging her figure while thigh high socks and boots completed her look.

After the night at the inn, Jun had deliberately been avoiding her father's men, even those in charge of guarding her. She was in a foul mood after being used as a "champion" to browbeat another gang into submission. It seemed her father had bribed her opponent to cheat and was banking on Jun reacting to it. If he had bothered to tell her about that little scheme, perhaps she needn't have gone that far. She was reprimanded for going so far as to break the guy's rib, although her own legs would have been broken had she not reacted.

For now though, it seemed her attempt to evade her father's men by dressing more girlishly had drawn attention from a couple of other teenage guys. They had been tailing her for some time, perhaps working up the courage to ask her to join them or waiting until she was alone to harass her. She could handle them easily, of course, but making a scene in public was sure to blow her cover and end her little breather from the house early.

"Let's try there." Jun ducked into Yoshida Book Cafe, hoping her followers wouldn't make a fuss in there.

---

"Dammit, how much time do they have?" She wondered, flipping absently through a book while she was sipping on her green tea. They had been here for half an hour, and interesting as the book she had was, she didn't feel like burning her day until they got bored. Reality doesn't impress me. I only believe in intoxication, in ecstasy, and when ordinary life shackles me, I escape, one way or another. No more walls. She crooked an eyebrow at the line, the words resonating with her.

An evil plan occurred to her right then. She flipped through the menu and looked at all the expensive things they had. She called the waiter over and placed her order. "Oh, waiter-san, you mind billing my order to that table there?" She grinned charmingly. "My bodyguards will pay for my meal. Thanks!"

Alexei's stiff lower lip didn't budge an inch at Matthew's comment about his sister, whatever infuriating thoughts he had were hidden deep beneath his stiff visage. What got him more confused was the turning up of another girl and her apparent jabs at the meek Otonashi-san. Her embarrassed expression and quick departure marked the end of that chance meeting. Alexei just nodded at Matthew after watching Shizuka disappear out of the field of sight.

Elena gave a charming smile at the boy and went along with Alexei to where they were going.



Elena was a bit excited as to why Old-man Yoshida had called upon her himself, it had been through constant request by Alexei that he had accepted to have her as an organizer for the book store. The one incharge of book-setup and general layout. She also helped wait the tables for him to make his job easier. He was skeptical of her ability but was slowly won over. She'd usually hang out at his place after school till Alexei came by to pick her up.

The bell tinkled at her entrance, today was a good day for another reason. There was a high chance that the book Alexei was looking for finally came in mail. She hadn't been there yesterday which meant that the old man may have inventorized everything himself. Walking in she noticed a crowd larger than the usual fare.

Yoshida's cafe was situated in such a way that not many people walked in at a time. Apart from regulars or lovebirds, it was a rare instance to have many people in the cafe. Immediately her glance fell upon the guy dressed in white with an apron round his waist.

"Hey! Onisan. What are you doing here? Do you also work for Yoshida Ojisan?" she asked him curiously, totally disregarding the girl who was ordering something. The book store wasn't a big one, but if Yoshida-san had two people working for him, things would certainly be easier to handle.

Not waiting for his reply though, Elena rushed to he PC at the counter and accessed the inventory. Clicking furiously as Alexei looked on confused at the hustle bustle in the quiet bookstore, she shot upright having found what she was looking for.

"It is here, Nii-san!" she said excitedly, grabbing his hand and almost pulling him towards the general books section. It was a funny scene, seeing a large log of a man being manhandled by a surprisingly tall woman. She sifted through the books till she found what she was looking for.

The 4th Edition of Grandma's Secret: A detailed guide to traditional Japanese cooking. Alexei had been searching for this for more than a month now. She wondered what delicacies he may put up during the week.

"Umm..I think you should find Yoshida-dono." Alexei said in a deep grumble breaking Elena out of her thoughts. She quickly got on task and searched for the guy with the apron.

"Oni-san, where is Yoshida-san" she asked him.

Toma Tanaka - May 3rd | Shinza Shopping Square - Yoshida Book Café

The red-haired boy stood behind the counter, subtly keeping an eye on everyone. Mainly, his attention was on the less-than-honest looking pair of guys who kept stealing glances at a young woman. She seemed to be aware of them and purposely avoiding their attention.

The woman eventually called him over, so Toma made his way to her. "What can I get for you, Miss? he asked with a relaxed smile. Writing down her order, he mentally noted how it was all rather expensive. As he wondered why, the woman answered that thought with her next request.

Her smile was certainly disarming, but after thinking it over for a second and glancing at the pair of guys, he raised his eyebrows at her. "Bodyguards? They hardly seem qualified for a job like that," he commented, a small, amused grin on his lips.

Before Toma could continue, another female voice suddenly addressed him, so he turned to look in its direction. As he did, he saw the girl who was at least a few years younger than him judging by her youthful face, though her height left him a little uncertain as to her exact age.

"Ah, hello, Miss," he greeted. From her next words, he guessed that she was the other person who helped out here that Yoshida had mentioned a few times. "I... uh, I'm not sure. Sort of, I guess..." he answered, but trailed off as she went off towards the counter. It was then that he noticed Alexai, whom he had briefly met at the flower shop when Noboru had been missing. Giving the large man a polite nod and smile, he turned back to the woman he was serving, an apologetic smile on his face.

"Sorry about that," he began. "If those boys are bothering you, I'll ask them to leave. And I'll make sure they don't wait around outside for you or anything." He slipped his notepad and pen into the pocket of his apron, glancing back over at the two, meeting their gaze for a second and causing them to quickly look away. "Although... If you don't think it'll cause too much trouble, I'd wouldn't mind seeing their reactions when they get the bill," he said, looking back at the woman out of the corner of his eye, the slightest mischievous grin on his face.

It was then that the younger girl spoke to him again. "Oh, I believe he's napping in the back. I don't think you need to disturb him, though, I can help you with whatever it is you need," he replied easily.

Having spent the last 48 hours working at different places of business within Warakuma, Masahide took it upon himself to take some time off and enjoy the last day before the start of school again. However, nothing seemed to catch his interest, idly walking about the shopping square as he passed by many shops without a second glance. Though one did give him pause as he now stood before the door, Yoshida Book Café. What exactly had drawn his attention to this place, he didn't rightfully know; but that didn't stop him from opening the door and stepping inside the venue. To be honest, Masa didn't quite know what he was expecting, but the place was somewhat busy and nearly caused him to turn around and leave. Instead, he'd quietly take a seat near the door as he began looking over the patrons of this place.

Certainly a diverse crowd, and one that seemed to demand the attention of the boy running the shop. He wouldn't make a fuss himself, rather just sitting in the back and keeping quiet. Yet, as his eyes continued to scan the shop, he couldn't help but notice a familiar figure. It was the raven-haired girl he had met nearly a week ago, but she seemed preoccupied now; so he merely shook his head with a chuckle as he returned to sizing up the rest of the occupants. It didn't take long for him to notice the waiter's gaze upon two seated not far from Masa, as his attention too would be drawn to them. They seemed to be here for a specific purpose, eyeing a rather... Elaborately dressed girl to the other side of the shop. With a brow raised in curiosity, Masa simply sat and silence and watched whatever events would unfold in this shop.

Rui agreed with this course of action, it appeared Leiko was okay with this too, and Matthew vocalized his opinion on this... And the entire dungeon. In any case, that was a fair call. Who knows what they'll end up fighting. With that, Rui motioned Noboru to be on point,

"Alright then, Noboru to the front", with that decided they headed on through the dungeon.

As they ascended the stairs, the amount of area that was there defied all physical limits, this was a much larger area than the floor they entered the building from. It was a withered garden with a unnerving night sky adorned with a black moon that appeared to be covered in thorns. Ahead was a bridge, into a garden, there was no exit in sight, but this area seemed very straight forward. There didn't appear to be many detours.

"Looks like we have a little company", he commented, as the shadows near the edges began to swirl and form into enemies, they seemed to be flower themed. Rui quickly cut down the nearest one personally before he gave a command.

"Move close together and get across the bridge".

Noboru stepped to the front. He was glad that he was being useful and not staying in the back. He panned his head left and right, taking in the scenery. It all seemed quite familiar, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was similar to. Perhaps it was just déjà vu, and he was being paranoid. There was always the possibility that he wasn't being paranoid, but he was quite sure. The shadows formed slowly, and Rui gave a command. "Move close together and get across the bridge"

"Let's get going then huh?" We should definitely put the petal to the metal here. Wanna keep carrioning on. Ehhh?"

Noboru looked at one of the shadows. Ewww. He swiftly kicked it, launching it a short distance. He looked at the rest of the group and shrugged. It was inefficient but it was fun to do. He headed the group, punching his way through.

Alexei Dragunov | Yoshida Book Cafe | May 3, Sunday

Elena gave the boy a full look before telling him "I don't think you can help me, Oni-san. Old man called me to come help out. Is there something you need help with?" she asked him. Before she could say anything further, Alexei interrupted their little conversation.

"Pardon me, but are you the guy I met at the flowerstore?" he asked curiously. Elena looked at her brother before turning back at the guy.

"Even he can help." she said pointing at Alexei, "He can make some ready to eat snacks to accompany the beverages, I know where Yoshida-san keeps the food stuff." Now it was Alexei's turn to look on a bit confused, he had volunteered without even knowing. Keeping the book at the counter he went behind it to tuck it in the cupboard next to the cash register.

He took a glance around, if he were to serve what he usually made at home, the books would be in danger of being soiled. As a book enthusiast he knew how bad that was. He was thining through all the recipes he knew, maybe the other guy would help him out with a suggestion.

'Tips on how to choose the right fabric for garment details.' These were useful tips indeed, Shizuka nodded to herself mentally while taking in the important tips into her memory. Perhaps it will come in handy the next time she visits the fabric shop to purchase cloth for her upcoming cosplays and casual wardrobe. As she rested that book and picked up one of the magazines regarding summer season fashioned outfits, another person seemed to have settled on the same table somewhat across her. Lifting her gaze up to steal a glance at the other's face, her bangs-covered eyes widened. It was a boy who knew of her alter ego, Sato Hashimoto. Maybe he won't notice, right? She looked dull compared to her cosplaying self, no make up and all. Please let my long bangs cover enough to go unnoticed.

"Did we not meet at the, err… maid café, the other week?" HE'S TOTALLY ONTO HER. She flinched ever so slightly at his question, while poorly attempting at keeping her composure by clearing her throat and lifting the magazine higher to half cover her face. If anyone had noticed, her legs under the table visibly shook at the panic. With a voice as soft and faint as a mouse, the female student replied in a higher pitched tone, "O-Oh, is that so...? I-I don't recall going to a maid cafe of any sort, perhaps we've met elsewhere."

Just as there was an awkward silence between them after her quiet response, their orders seemed to have arrived. With a short "T-Thank you, Tanaka-san.", the girl tilted her head for a small bow. While taking a sip from the hot tea cup of milk tea, Shizuka wondered to herself why she was so easy to see through despite her disguise. Including Sato, there were two people who saw through her overly glam make up. Feeling it would be best not to exchange eye contacts with the boy anymore, the raven haired girl's gaze fleeted towards other people.

One of the customers who newly entered the cafe was followed by a pair of men who seated themselves away from the blonde with eyes intently watching her. It was none of her business what motive they had for being here but she knew they were up to no good. Turning her gaze again, she barely spotted Elena with Toma, her hand stopped mid rise for a wave when she realized the foreign girl had not noticed her and she seemed to be busy with the crimson haired boy. Oh well, she supposed she could greet her at a later time. Resting the tea cup down on the table, Shizuka gave another look around the cafe before deciding to go back to her reading, while avoiding Sato's gaze, to spot yet another familiar face. Masahide, an upperclassman she found stumbling in the mall. Seeing as he seemed to be watching over the other customers, including herself, she gave a small wave of a hand with a gentle smile upon her face.

Akane Hanazawa // Apartment - Convenience Store
Sunday, May 3rd

What a glorious day this was, it was one of her favorite days of the weeks. And why? Well, knowing how Akane is and what she is, well, it's quite obvious. Manga delivery day! A god sent day in which some of her favorite mangas are sitting there waiting in the store for her to come and whisk them back to her home. Shounennnn Sundayyyyyy. Well, she plans to get others but mostly shounen for today, with tomorrows focus being seinen. It was quite fortunate for her that a store that would carry all her needs would be so close to her apartment, only a 10-15 minute walk and another 15 or so to the school, though it sometimes can be longer depending on the mood.

Though, their selection isn't all that huge, they at least carry the major magazines. That's all that mattered because she can simply head to a bookstore and what not at a later date to finish up her 'shopping'. Soon as she arrived at the store, she bolted straight to the rack, plucking out her targets in record time, leaving nearby people speechless. Grabbing her targets, she grabbed a bottle of coke and purchased a number of chicken croquettes. She has a lot of reading to do after all.

The girl reacted quite awkwardly to his question, only stoking his suspicions that this girl was quite in fact the Shizu-chan who’d helped him back at the maid café (a venture which may or may not have had unforeseen consequences). He wasn’t actually very confident that he was right when he first addressed the girl and they’ve definitely met… but she disagreed that they’d met at any kind of cosplay café, so Sato decided to drop the whole thing. It’d be horribly embarrassing if he was wrong all along and he’d continued on to further questioning.

A red-haired young man moved up to their table, wearing a simple button-up and apron combo. The waiter, who seemed highschool age, set the two drinks he held in front of Sato and the girl. What looked to be a tea for her and the coffee he’d ordered earlier obviously for himself. With his job finished, the waiter (who introduced himself as Tanaka Toma) walked off after nothing that he’d be happy to help if they needed it. Sato considered putting a bit of cream into his drink but decided against it upon taking a quick sip, cringing a bit as the liquid scalded his tongue.

”Well… my apologies, I must’ve mistaken you for someone else. It’s nice to meet you regardless. I’m Hashimoto Sato, if you’d care to know.” Sato returned his glance to the book he was thumbing through. It wasn’t particularly interesting, just a typical murder mystery with a less-than-inspiring protagonist. He set it down upside-down and picked up the other one, which title promised a more interesting story. His fingers flicked to the first page or so of Chapter 1, which detailed the childhood of a sociopathic boy who was particularly adept at solving puzzles. It seemed interesting enough.

The teen reached his hand out to grab his drink, though, being a bit absorbed into the story he was reading, he wasn’t really paying attention to the actual action. It wasn’t until a high clink did Sato look up from the pages, shooting up from his seat once he realised what had happened. The scalding-hot coffee splashed away from him, the direction of the girl. Without thinking Sato lunged forward, attempting to push any books away from the spill regardless if they got caught by the splash or not. Catching the dark liquid by accident with his finger tips, the heat singed his hand and the boy snapped away from the table.

”A-ah! Oh my god I’m so sorry,” Sato looked around in a fluster before remembering the waiter who’d brought them their drinks. Now was a good a time as ever for asking for his assistance. ”Waiter! Could you bring some towels or something?!”

Matthew Harvester

Matt really didn't like the looks of this place but its not like he could complain that much about it... Well he could... lets not though. Hearing the command to cross the bridge together Matt watched the others start taking action and Matt took some action himself casting agi on a shadow a bit away from the group.
After doing so he suddenly had a thought.
"its a good thing this isn't a Wooden bridge or anything because I didn't really pay attention to it until after i started setting stuff on fire hahahahahaaaa" Matt laughed at his thought that should have really took more notice to things other than the ugly look BEFORE he started setting things on fire. Well its not like he needed worry about such things now, they just needed to get across the bridge and continue.

The party managed to cross the bridge safely. These shadows weren't much, so clearing a way through them was trivial. It was a good thing Matt was on for this, since his Agi spells seemed to be rather effective. As they finished crossing, the shadows calmed down.

"It looks like we're okay... Noboru, continue to take lead", he said, and so they did. They passed an ornate fountain as they continued through, and the withered and thorn-covered bushes and wilted flowers continued, the grass having a poisonous purple-black hue to them, even emanating a slight fog. There seemed to be shadows lurking away from the path, but they didn't act at all, and if anything seemed to stay hidden. Rui wasn't sure if this was just how the floor was, or they were waiting to strike again later.

As they continued down the path, they finally came to a thorn covered door, with two statues side by side. The figure here was clearer, and wearing a bikini... Rui was absolutely sure this was someone familiar. Before he could say anything though, he heard Megumi warn him over her Persona.

"There's big readings behind you! Two large shadows approaching!", He turned and saw larger shadows stepping onto the pavement, making sounds as they did. He didn't notice them approaching... If this was all grass and there was no support, he probably wouldn't have heard them until it was too late. It didn't look like an endless horde like before, but this time they were bigger. Two of them and they seemed to be followed by a few smaller ones similar to the ones at the entrance.

They had the appearance of treants, except with black rose thorns. They had a hulking figure, so they seemed to be able to take a lot of hits.

"I guess we'll deal with them", he stated, readying his blade. What to do now should be rather obvious, and they burn easily too.

Noboru wanted to look at the statue that Rui was looking at, maybe it would clear up the confusion about who was in the dungeon, but he didn't get a chance. Two big trees came up to them, trying to be imposing. They looked like they could take hits, but nothing could take hits forever. Noboru laughed.

"Haha yew poor saps are gonna be pining for mommy after i'm finished!"

Noboru ducked in, right next to them. He thought for a second. Maybe if he drove his left fist clockwise and drove his right fist in clockwise it would tear the trees to shreds. He thought about it for mere milliseconds before deciding it was worth a try. His left came first, digging into it, and his right came next, digging in as well.

"Hey guys! Let's finish them quick!" Noboru yelled out, ready to move on.

Jun laughed politely at the waiter's response. "That is my intention. I'd deal with them myself but I don't have my shinai with me and the bill for my snacks are cheaper than hospital bills." She joked, though there was a hint of seriousness in her tone. "I appreciate it."

She crossed her legs and flashed a charming and gentle smile. She rested her face on one hand, leaning the elbow on the table as she spared a glance at the boys in question. They seemed smart enough to guess that she was deliberately ignoring them and her friendliness with the waiter was just pissing them off. Her prank might be lighting a powder keg at this point. Oh well, she would take responsibility if there were damages.

"Let me know if they start causing trouble and you need help, waiter-kun." She grinned with an air of mischief about her. There probably wouldn't be too much trouble, especially when she had that.

Toma Tanaka - May 3rd | Shinza Shopping Square - Yoshida Book Cafe

Toma listened to the young girl, nodding at her words as he glanced around the unusually busy shop. "Okay, that'd be great, actually. If you feel comfortable enough doing so, could you help serve and take orders?"

Alexei then addressed him, the question he asked bringing a small, slightly embarrassed smile to the red-haired boy's face as he remembered how he and Aiko had acted that day.

"Yeah, that's me. Tanaka Toma. Dragonuv-san, right? It'd be hard to forget you," he said, reintroducing himself. "Your help would be much appreciated, too. Anything you can make would be fine."

With that, he turned back to the young woman he had been serving, and gave a small laugh at her words, not sure she was entirely joking.

"Sure thing. I think I'll be able to handle it myself, though--" he replied, but as he spoke, a small commotion had begun on the other side of the cafe.

Spotting the spilled drink, he was already off, making his way to the counter as fat as he safely could as the young man called for him. He quickly grabbed a handful of towels. A few seconds later, he was over at the table he had served not too long ago.

As Toma threw a towel over the liquid and started to mop it up, he looked over at the two occupying the table. Seeing the boy holding his fingers, he assumed they had been burned by the hot coffee. "Go to the sink behind the counter and run your fingers under water." He glanced between the boy and the girl, wearing a reassuring smile. "I'm sorry this happened, I hope you're both okay. And I'll get you another drink, if you'd like, sir," he said as he got down on his knees to wipe the coffee that had dripped onto the floor.

The treant shadows were taking physical hits pretty well, but Matt immediately followed up with a Maragi, setting them on fire, and clearing out the other smaller shadows in the process, with Leiko creating a zone of control. This was Noboru's cue to try again, who immediately did so and shattered the shadow instantly with a barrage of punches from his Persona Atlas. The previous strikes only served to push one of them back, but now he was able to deal discernible damage. Rui went right after the other one, slashing right at it. First taking it's arm as it swung towards him, before a cross slash, one horizontal and then right up, before his Persona appeared to deal the finishing blow.

As the treant shadows fell and turned back into black ash, Megumi informed the team.

"Looks like the door is open, those two shadows seemed to be guarding it", she stated. The team turned around to see the thorn covered door now no longer covered in thorns. The door had the words "stairs" on them, like an office building's emergency stairs. Rui looked at the two statues again, hoping maybe he can recognize it this time, but to no avail. He could hear some dialogue as he walked towards the exit,

"Mum! Look at what I made! Isn't it pretty!?"
"Huh?! I'm busy! Go annoy your father!"
"Daddy! Can you-"
"Damn it! Just get away! I don't have time for you!"

"That was... New... Well, let's keep moving", this could be something fairly deep, the previous dungeons didn't have this kind of thing, in any case the team moved onto the next floor.

The previous floor seemed to have some life to it, at least the roses were in full bloom, and there were some lush colours amongst it despite the thorny overgrowths, but this floor was filled with death. The roses wilted, or turned eerily black, and pavement was dirty, the grass was a sickly yellow and black...

As the party progressed, nothing seemed to happen, until they reached the middle of a wilted hedge maze... Which wasn't much of a maze, since they could see through it all, but it was a large clearing, and if anyone's played enough RPGs, they would know this was some kind of cue. They were right.

"Come here you ungrateful brat!"
"Don't you run away! You deserve this!"

The exits to the clearing were suddenly blocked by vicious thorns covered with blood red roses. A large shadow began to form at the centre of the clearing.

"NO! GET AWAY! DON'T TOUCH ME! IT HURTS!", the sound of sirens began to fill the room briefly.
"You shouldn't spend your life moping because of what happened, put that beautiful face to use and show the world who you are!"

"Nana... Who I really am..."

The gigantic shadow took full form, a preying mantis, roses for eyes, masks at the joints of it's sickles, it's body seemed to have a beautiful effect where it would be a different colour from different angles, black, green and red. Though large, it immediately showed it was also incredibly quick, striking down at the party before anyone could properly react, forcing everyone on the back leg. Rui immediately went for a counter-attack with Cleave, but the mantis did what looked like a teleporting dash backwards. There was no way any of them had the means to strike quickly enough with that kind of speed...

"Wow it's fast! I'll get to scanning it to see if I can find some opening, just hang in there".

The shadows faded and Noboru was satisfied. Goodbye you worthless plants. Good riddance to your branches and leaves. They walked to the next area, and he heard the voices. One sounded familiar, but he decided to ignore it. It definitely wasn't who he thought it was for sure.

They went through the hedge maze and the hedges slowly died out, the grass turning shades of vomit. The voice spoke up again, the one from before. Noboru shook his head in denial. It definitely wasn't her. No way. It wasn't a possible thing. The shadow popped up. A rainbow mantis, it seemed. They all recovered from its initial strike, rolling backwards. Noboru stepped forward to taunt the mantis. He took a swagger walk, raising his arms outward, taking a shit eating grin to his face, even though it was a facade given the circumstances.

"Now, now… I AM quite good, you know, but don't be afraid to get hit. Take it like a man! Or a bug. Or something."

To the otaku girl's relief, the boy dropped the topic by simply labeling it as a mistake. Thank goodness, she thought to herself. Relaxing a little, her legs ceased to tremble and her voice calmed from its rattled, panicky tone. "I-It's alright, little mistakes like this are not uncommon. I understand. Um... I suppose Otonashi will suffice for my name. Pleasured to be acquainted with you, Hashimoto-san." She nodded her head as a short bow towards the boy, as her gaze focused back to the magazine on hand as the other did with his book.

Short sleeved or no sleeve one piece seemed to be a trend in the coming summer season, with how much of them appeared in different designs and colors among the pages of the magazine. Perhaps she will try her hand at customizing some of her own to add to her closet. Thankfully, most of the sewing and tailoring equipment were available to her need due to her mother's job concerning with designing and making of clothes. Though nowadays, she busied herself with running her business instead of doing the labor.

Shizuka was occupied with thoughts of sewing and fashion that she had not noticed the high clink sound before her, perhaps she might've heard it but not paid heed to it. That was her mistake. Splash! SHRIEK. "Ho-Ho-Hot!" Startled from the sudden gushing of a heating liquid upon her skirt and lap, she almost literally jumped from her seat and onto her feet, away from the table with the magazine in one hand. The dark liquid had tainted a small area on her white ruffled skirt as little droplets slid down the skirt surface and her legs, coloring it a little further.

The raven haired girl winced slightly from the burn on her lap as she picked up a couple of tissue from the little tissue stand on the table and attempted to wipe the coffee dry on her skirt. "I-It's alright, I-I'm fine. A little mi-mishap is all, it happens." She tried to sound reassuring while flashing an awkward smile despite the burning pain on her thighs. Maybe this was bad karma on her for ruining this boy's day by crossdressing him that one fateful day. But she still strongly believed he was amazing, dressed as a female. One of the skirts she had made on her own might have been ruined by the stain but she didn't mind as much, as long as she had the materials, replicating it was easy as pie.

"Ha-Have you gotten yourself bu-burnt as well, Hashimoto-san?", she asked in concern.

Alexei Dragunov | May 3rd, Sunday | Yoshida Book Cafe

Alexei was a bit confused by the way Toma replied but he didn't voice it. Instead both the siblings got ready to shoulder the duties. Elena quickly went up to the counter and picked up a spare pad and pen. She then headed straight to the new boy who had seated himself a bit closer to the two other guys who were eyeing the girl talking with Toma with a bit shady expression.

"Would you like to order something, sir?" she asked politely to the lone male who sat at his table alone.

"Would you like any suggestions as for the any books you are looking for? I helped organise the place, I can easily look up your desired material if you wish." she said politely. She hadn't done much waiting nor much of interaction with other people apart from her brother. But in school she was a bubbly young girl with a big friend circle so she did have a bit of comfort in talking with strangers unlike her reserved brother.

Alexei meanwhile looked into the fridge to see what was available when he heard a shriek. He peeked over the counter to see the matter when he saw the panicked form of Shizuka, he had earlier thought of not interrupting her after the awkward way their last interaction ended but he couldn't help himself this time.

He quickly fished for talcum powder in his bag and rushed to the girl nearly bumping the two boys into the table. "Wash with water immediately and apply this on the affected area as well as your dress Otonashi-san. It would minimize the damage." he said in a concerned voice. Elena meanwhile had took notice of the situation but kept, there was no need for complicating the problem with too many people.

Having caught sight of Shizuka waving at him, Masa couldn't help but wave back as his face held a small smirk at her actions. Though he hadn't expected to run into her here, it felt good that she remembered him. 'Perhaps your kindness wasn't just for show...' Still, he'd sit in silence as the bustling cafe continued to teem with life, all the patrons adding their own unique flair to this uncommon place. He couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head out of amusement; seeing as how this was the largest amount of people he'd been around since the day of his father's passing...

Before Masa's mind could slip away to that dark place, an unfamiliar voice rang out beside him, causing Masa to startle slightly in his seat. He couldn't remember how long he had been zoning out, but it seemed like the activity was picking up further into the establishment. As his vision turned to the source of the voice, he'd see the unfamiliar female beside his table.

"... I-" Pausing for a moment, Masa couldn't really think of anything to say. It was one thing to address someone who noticed him doing something foolish, it was another to notice someone who just... Well noticed him. Unable to help but feel slightly embarrassed, Masa shook his head free of the foolish notions as he reverted by to his distant self, "No. Nothing I can think of..." This was harder than it was before. Used to he could shut people out no problem, but since Shizuka and Gen- well it wasn't that easy anymore. A subtle smile formed on his face as he nodded his head in her direction, "Surprise me."