Jun noted how flustered the girl was when she turned on the charm, though she didn't seem to mind sharing a meal together some time. Ah well, it wasn't as if every single girl in high school was just ready to experiment with dating another girl. Some of them were curious, sure, while others just knew they liked girls, like Jun did. If this girl wasn't interested, she would move on to greener pastures. Though there was no harm in going for that meal and seeing if she could add a potential cutie on her list of contacts. It would be interesting to see if she could charm the girl gay.

Jun saw Ayano walk over to her table, still rather fidgety and sheepish. No doubt this was even harder without her extroverted cousin to help her along. Perhaps playing the domineering senpai at the hot springs and coming on so strongly that day was a bad idea. Jun nodded in confirmation that Ayano did not have the wrong person and pushed out a chair with her foot casually. "Come on, sit with me. Order another coffee if you like. It's on me. Or rather, it's on my fan club over there." She spoke gently and nonchalantly, trying to drop the whole intimidating yakuza act for a while. After all, the poor girl seemed to be worried about Chiaki, so adding on to her stress wasn't going to help. Jun was a helpless flirt and hopeless deviant, but even she wasn't that insensitive.

"Chiaki is your cousin with the chest that has its own gravity field, right?" Jun asked, injecting some humour in an attempt to lighten the mood. "She's missing? That's news to me. Even my 'family' doesn't dabble in kidnapping young girls." Jun signaled the waiter to bring another coffee for Ayano. They were underage and this wasn't a bar, so she couldn't just help Ayano drown her sorrows, but coffee would probably help. At least, having a warm cup to hold might alleviate her worry.

"I'm assuming you spoke to the police already, but when did she go missing?" Jun had a strange suspicion it was shortly after they left the inn, which was why she was being asked about Chiaki by her cousin instead of the police. Nobody knew she was there except for those two and her own family. "Well, if you need help finding her or you just need someone to talk to or somewhere to feel safe..." Jun took a piece of napkin and scribbled down her number, sliding it across to Chiaki. "Just let me know."

"Oho", was Rui's reaction to Noboru's actions as Chiaki fell unconscious. He gave him a look of, "I know what's going on here". Silliness aside, it looks like they were done here, and everyone was ready to leave this place, and that they did. There wasn't much to do, and nothing special seemed to happen when they reached the exit, they simply sent Chiaki home, and she was admitted to the hospital shortly afterward. If things turned out like the rest, she should be able to leave the hospital in two or three days. In any case, everyone bid farewell and good job as they left for home.





School had come the next day, there was no announcement of Chiaki's disappearance and return, but there was a stern warning about going anywhere alone in Warakuma, and to go home immediately when the sun was going down. It didn't seem to matter though, since it was gossip among the classmates about Chiaki already anyways. News travelled quickly.

Otherwise, everyone was reminded that midterms were coming up, and that they should study. Fortunately Rui was just about caught up on content, and if he really took the time he could probably ace it too... He wasn't so sure about that for some people he knew though... In any case, looks like a good day to relax.

Clubs were resuming again, and most people seemed to have had a lot of fun during Golden Week too. It wasn't too late to join a club. It might be hard to make a new club at the moment though, with exams coming up. As he expected activities today seemed more restrained to give room for students to make time to study for the upcoming midterms.

Chiaki was going to be in hospital for a few days, but was likely going to be allowed out before this week ends. Likely police were interrogating her. He should probably pay a visit sometime later...

Ryan sighed as he looked up at his new school. He could already tell that being the transfer student would suck. A lot. He walked through the front doors and headed to his class. Most of it was spent studying as he didn't feel very confident about the Midterms coming up. It was unusual for a student to transfer so close to midterms and they didn't know whether to make him take them or not. In the end they decided to have him take them despite him knowing very little of the material.

At lunch time he passed by a couple of clubs on his way to... somewhere. He really didn't have a hangout spot here did he? In the end he decided to try one of the club's as he didn't have anything better to do. He walked to the Anime and Manga club but stopped just before he reached the door. He shrugged and walked in.

"Who here would I talk to about joining the Anime and Manga club?" He asked quietly so he didn't interrupt anything. To be totally honest he wasn't even a big fan of Anime or Manga. He didn't hate it, but he preferred video games.

Matthew Harvester || 3/05/2015

After the battle Matt's breath was heavy as he felt the toll but watching Chiaki accept her shadow gave him a sense of relief. After she fell unconscious and how Nobo reacted he noticed Rui's reaction and Matt himself showed a smirk "heheheheee" even he could notice what was going on and the relationship between the two.
And with that another battle came to an end.

Agriculture Club - After school || 4/05/2015

Matt whistled energetically as he made his way to the clubroom, knowing he was getting a new member today had put him had him in a good mood. On the way he thought about how the midterms where coming up... maybe he should study a bit just in case, Matt had confidence in himself but it was better safe than sorry.

Arriving at the clubroom it seemed Kotori wasn't there and Shizu wasn't standing around waiting. Thankfully he was the first to arive so Matt quickly started watering the plants before anyone arrived.
He stood there watering the plants on the windowsill in silence thinking about maybe going to visit Chiaki later on... but it was still the first day after being admitted and was bound to be crowded... or if not he could be getting in the way of well stuff.
"hehehee" Matt lightly chuckled to himself

”To-go, please.” Sato replied. As much as he wanted to protest, Sato was not one to pass up a free coffee, especially while he still had a nagging caffeine craving. The teen lingered quietly at his seat, fingering the pages of the book he was reading as he sat solemnly. The drowning feeling killed his mood pretty fast, and he doubted Otonashi was particularly fond of him after their first meeting entailing him spilling coffee on her and her white dress and ughh. He didn’t even help. Or, rather, couldn’t. All Sato had done was get somebody else to aid this scalded girl. At least none of the books on the table got any on them.

Of course, Sato didn’t show his distress. It wouldn’t be any good to make anyone feel bad. Or worse, they think he’s being pathetic.

Once he was done wallowing in his own frustrating feelings, Sato looked over at Otonashi again, who was rubbing her eyes and beaming warmly. ”I-I'm truly grateful for what you've done for me, I-I hope to return them in kind if I may."

Sato responded with a wry smile. ”Don’t bother repaying what I’ve done for you. And again, I’m sorry for what I’ve done. I doubt this is what you wanted when you came here today.” He rose from his seat at the table, heading off to put his books away in their original locations before grabbing his freshly prepared coffee. Otonashi left as he was picking up the drink, and he took a tentative seat back at the table as he watched her leave. He’d have to talk to her again at a later date just to iron out the lingering suspicion in his head.

The young male’s attention was drawn from Otonashi’s deperature back to the café when he heard yet another familiar voice speak to him. He turned his head to look, and, to his surprise, it was Mako. The drama kid that was there on the day of… the incident. Sato had thought there was some kind of unspoken agreement between them that they’d never talk about it again, but he supposed that was foolish to think that would happen after such an interesting development. ”Sato Hashimoto, yeah? You remember me? Mako Moritomi?”

”How could I forget. We go to drama together.” Sato answered, a dead-pan manner used.

”I was just…” Mako swallowed. ”Just concerned about how you were holding up. After that… the thing. That one day. Last week…? Just... letting you know that, if you need to talk about it or anything, I'd be happy to just listen.” While Sato was completely expecting the topic of the cross-dressing thing, what Mako actually said was a little odd. He wasn’t exactly sure what Mako was implying but regardless he didn’t like it.

”I’ll assure you, I’m holding up fine. And whatever reason you think it happened for, I can tell you now it’s likely incorrect. It was solely for monetary gain. Just… listen, just don’t mention it to me again, and especially not to anyone else. If you want to do anything for me, pretend it didn’t happen.” Sato felt he was being a little unnecessarily rude, considering Mako had approached him with good intentions, but he was not in the mood for playing around by being polite.

Sato took a deep breath. ”I think I’ll excuse myself now.” And with that, he slipped out from the store, the mid-day sun glaring down at him. It was a nice day at least. He searched for a cloud in the sky, shielding his eyes from the sun with his hand, but found none. One year of Warakuma and he was off to university, back to the city. The town was starting to grow on him, but something deep down told him that his place was back in Tokyo.

Whatever. That kind of thing was hardly important at the beginning of one’s third year. The brunette exhaled, the coffee cup in his hand burning ever so slightly. There wasn’t anything else he wanted to do in Warakuma, so he turned to head home.



When Sato walked up the street to his house, he was a little surprised to see Mika walking away from it. As she was going the other way, the male quickly jogged over to her, calling her name as he did so. She turned around almost instantly and lit up a bit, clearly having business with him. “What’s up, Mika?” He asked, standing up perfectly straight.

“You’ve got some real convenient timing, Sato. You could’ve come home five minutes earlier though.” She clenched whatever she was holding (some kind of package?) and gave a half-hearted smile. Sato figured whatever reason she had came by was not a very happy one. “I just wanted to make sure you’re going to practice first thing tomorrow. It’s important, so don’t skip like the last time. Got it?”

Sato blinked. Important? He didn’t know what this girl was planning, but it was probably rather relevant to him (though now he was just thinking the obvious) considering she’d swung by instead of the thing a normal person would do. “Yeah, sure. I’ll try to make it. Though I need to ask, why didn’t you just text me? It’s not 1973, Mika.” Sato played with his fingers as he talked, the singe from the coffee still throbbing painfully ever so slightly. Maybe the people back at the café were right about treating it, even if it seemed superficial.

“Running errands for my dad,” she held up a brown paper package, “and I just so happened to have to pass through here. Just figured, I’m already here, so why not? I probably would’ve texted you if you didn’t have some sixth sense for arriving when people are leaving. But I really do need to be going now, so… see ya tomorrow, Sato.” Her tone was notably serious. The male waved good-bye as Mika started walking away again. What events would transpire at the range on Monday, Sato could only guess. Now that he thought about it, it was likely something regarding Rokurou. That guy seemed to be the source of a lot of the drama going on around Sato. He took a sip of the coffee he had been holding the whole way back. It was kinda cold. Disappointed, the teen withdrew into his house.

---

MAY 4TH 2015, MONDAY
Afterschool

Sato didn’t really hate school like most of his classmates seemed to, but coming back to school after a week of freedom was still horrible. Especially when one of their teachers had given them a warning to be very careful around town when alone, and to not be out and about in the evening. Of course, they would hardly be able to enforce it, and Sato already knew people were going to ignore the message. Midterms were also coming up, which elicited internal screaming from some in the room. Sato wasn’t particularly worried about it, even if he hadn’t been studying much recently. He’d always been good at taking tests.

To make matters worse, Sato had noticed some talk of a “Saki” when lunchtime had rolled around. Some of the guys had been debating various facts and opinions regarding photos that were no-doubt taken by Akira back at the café. Sato could only hope Mako would take his words to heart and not talk about it like his classmates were. Luckily nobody seemed to be on his trail yet, so there was still time to distance himself from it. How he’d do that, he didn’t know, but there had to be a way…

Regardless, the bell tolled and almost everyone rushed out of their seats in a hurry to get out of their suffocating classroom. Sato, as always, waited for the crowd of students to disappear before getting up. Though, as he was putting his items in his school bag, his cellphone began to vibrate. The teen caught it before it could shimmy itself off the desk. A number he didn’t recognize was calling him.

”Hello?” Sato simply answered. Except nobody replied. He was considering blocking the number when he heard a knock at the classroom’s door. Looking up, he spotted a familiar face. Naomi Chiba, was it? The self-proclaimed city girl that moved to Warakuma a month ago (apparently). “Odd way of meeting somebody, don’t you think?”

The chestnut-brown haired girl was peaking out from around the corner of the doorframe, scanning the room quickly before walking inside. She held her bag behind her, carefully making her way over to Sato, who had just finished putting away his books. “I wasn’t sure if this was your homeroom or not, heh. Your friend has some pretty bad handwriting.” The male felt a bit of flush burning onto his face, but he quickly suppressed it Not cool.

Sato raised an eyebrow at the comment. “He gave you my homeroom number too? How much information did he exactly give you?”

“I didn’t ask for anything other than your homeroom, I swear!” Naomi fumbled a piece of paper out of her bag and showed it to Sato. On it was his phone number, homeroom, and email. A bit much for having barely known the girl, even if she seemed harmless enough. He wouldn’t have been upset if he’d never seen Naomi again, but it wasn’t bad that she wanted to keep in touch with him… Still, this was going a little fast.

“What an ass,” Sato muttered, returning the crumpled paper back to Naomi. He leaned back onto his desk. She emulated him by doing the same with the one behind her. “Well, I can’t change what he did. Not to be rude, but what do you want with me exactly?”

“_{That’s a bit of an accusing way to ask it…}” Naomi brushed a strange of hair behind her ear. “It’s just, I haven’t made very many friends here yet, which is a bit jarring since I was sorta popular back in my hometown, and I felt a little lonely, so I figured maybe we could be friends.”

“Tokyo’s not that far away from here. I’m sure your old friends could still visit you.” Sato said, scratching behind his ear.

She exhaled loudly. “Well, they could, but it’s a little far away for a highschooler, dontcha think? It’s better if we just stick to texting, haha.” Sato tried not to stare, but he couldn’t help but examine her face again. Now with a name and place, he recognized her a lot more. But, of course, he didn’t look too much, lest he get flustered again. “Oh, that boy gave you, uh, my phone number, right? _{Forgive me for being so forward…}”

“Huh?” Sato reached into his uniform pockets, but came back with nothing. Of course it wasn’t in there. He felt dumb for checking. Last time he remembered, he’d thrown it onto his desk all crumpled up. It should be there. “Oh, yeah. You’re good for asking, though. Knowing Rento, he probably considered keeping it for himself or something, heh.” Rento wasn’t really like that and it wouldn’t even be a smart move. Sato was just saying whatever popped into his head; this wasn’t good. It was then that the teen remembered he had archery practice after school, so he quickly grabbed his bag and stood up. “Sorry, Chiba. I’ve got to go.”

Naomi nodded knowingly, standing up straight as Sato made his way to the door. “Kyuudo, right?”

Sato stopped. That was weird. “How’d you know that?”

“Oh that must’ve sounded creepy! I’m sorry! I only know you’re a member there because I saw you practicing there when I was scoping out the clubs here at Warakuma High. I still haven’t joined any though.” Naomi seemed a little embarrassed, understandably. “See you later, right?” She gave a happy wave good-bye as she brushed past Sato, returning to presumably her other recently made friends.

Sato waited for a minute in the door frame, since she went the same way he usually took to get to the archery range and he wanted to avoid any kind of awkward post-goodbye path crossing. Or he just needed a moment to process his thoughts on this girl who basically forced her way into a friendship with him. But did she have some kind of hidden agenda? No… He shook his head, erasing the idea from his head. He’d learned his lesson about humouring that train of thought.

Against his better judgement, Sato made his way over to the range. He really didn’t want to attend practice this particular day, but he felt obligated to, especially after what Mika had said the previous day. A nauseas feeling swept over him as he stepped inside, but he was sure it was just a weird second-guessing sensation. As he looked around, the building seemed emptier than usual. There typically weren’t that many people around on a typical day like this one, and it was understandable for it to be a low considering it was the first day back after the break.

Still, though. Suspiciously empty. As the boy stepped onto the firing range, bow and arrows in hand, he noticed Mika and the others standing at the wall opposite to Sato, far from the only other people at the range that day. Reluctantly, he walked over to them, setting his equipment against the wall. “Did something happen here?” Sato simply inquired.

Rento gave out a tired sigh, looking over to Sato, explaining the situation. “She had a spat with Rokurou before you got here and the drama got to some of the members so they left. Wasn’t how we wanted it to go but what can you do.” Sato nodded. Though, Mika seemed oddly calm despite having had an apparently feisty argument with the club president. “Not a fist fight or anything, though I got pretty close to giving that dick a black eye.

“Where’d he go?” Sato asked, not sure why he felt he needed to know out of all questions he could ask. Part of him wanted to go talk to Rokurou again but he reconsidered quickly.

Rento shrugged, but Mika then spoke up. “He went off somewhere with his girlfriend or whoever she is to him. Not like it matters.” She shot him a glare as if sensing he had a fleeting desire to seek the president out. The atmosphere felt too tense to continue, so Sato awkwardly stepped away from the group with his bow already notched. It didn’t take him long to get tired of firing it, so he put it away quickly and slipped out from the range again.


Sato exhaled, shaking his head ever so slightly. He didn’t really feel like wandering about Warakuma after the teachers’ warnings, so he instead decided to head over to the school’s library to study some more. It was fairly busy considering midterms were coming up very soon. Some people were diligently going over the material, while some were scrambling to get notes together. Sato set up on a table one of his classmates were at and got to reviewing. As always, the mathematics were pretty much a breeze for him, and he was quickly onto the next subject. The teen fished around in his school bag for his textbook, but he frowned when he couldn’t find the one he needed. This was… problematic.

Sato got up from his table and scanned through one of the aisles for something to use in place for the missing textbook. While it was still an issue that he wasn’t using the intended source, he was confident he could get the same result with any other book. It wasn’t like the textbooks made up all of biology. It took him a couple minutes but he finally located a suitable replacement in the midst of a bookcase He went to withdraw it from its home in the wall of books, but, and he wasn’t sure how it happened, almost the entire line of books the text was in came out with it. He tried to catch them and not make a commotion, but he only ended up crumpling to the floor with them (albeit quieter than it would have). What a mess. He didn’t even know which books were where as he started trying to put the pile of literature back in their rightful places. A helping hand would be nice.

Kotori Shirohane - Warakuma High School: Classroom 2-2 | Monday, May 4 2015 - Morning

Kotori sat down at her seat, getting out all the books and utensils that would be needed before quickly flipping through her notebooks - though she'd already done her homework at the start of Golden Week and even checked it last night, she wanted to make sure she had all she needed. A content nod followed when that was indeed the case before she had to stifle a sudden yawn - she'd stayed up longer than she'd anticipated the night before. She wanted to say it wasn't her fault, but she knew it really was - but whenever a book got particularly interesting, she found it rather hard to just put down. After all, a good mystery couldn't just be left off to the next day. As other students started to enter the classroom - Kotori having been somewhat early - she looked up, though most were either chatting away with friends, preoccupied with their phones or wearing a downright disgruntled face at the prospect of school after a whole week of freedom. Still, she did give a thankful nod in greeting as the sight of one of her classmates, Akane, reminded her of the incident in the Amusement Park a few days ago.

Kotori Shirohane - Warakuma High School: Classroom 2-2 | After School

As the bell signalling the end of classes for the day rang, the usual chaos erupted in the classroom as most rushed out to meet up with their friends to discuss the happening of the last week, to head over to their respective club room or to simply head home after a tiring day. And, much like usual, a few took things a little more slowly - such as Kotori who was finishing up her note-taking before packing her books back in her bag. Looking up and around the classroom, most of the immediate hustle and bustle had died down by now, making it a lot easier to walk in the hallways without having to somehow navigate through the masses of onrushing students. Pushing up her glasses that had slightly slid down from her continuous downward gaze toward her books, she set off - though not homeward, but rather toward the Agriculture Club room.

Kotori Shirohane - Warakuma High School: Agriculture Club | After School

Standing in front of the door to the Agriculture Club room, she watched a pair of chatting students walk down a hallway. She'd passed them on the way and caught a brief bit of their discussion - which had been a similar topic to what she'd heard some others speak about during breaks. Apparently there had been another case of a missing student - though no one seemed to know any particular details as there hadn't been any announcement to that effect but rather a general warning about going home alone or staying out late. Kotori wondered if it happened to have anything to do with the panicked girl at the mall that she'd seen some days ago - but without knowing anymore, there was little that she could do but put the thought aside with a sigh.

Knowing there was little point to mulling over it, Kotori raised a hand to lightly knock against the door before entering the room with a small "Pardon the intrusion" as she glanced about. Unsurprisingly, the clubroom showed much the expected sight with no one but Matt being about, the older boy currently busy with watering the many flowers about the room. "Ah..." she was just about to speak up in greeting when the club president gave a small chuckle, seemingly to himself. Kotori blinked in confusion at that, seeing as there was no one else about - but shook her head quickly. "Good afternoon, Harvester-senpai," she said in her usual quiet tone as she set her school bag down, any pauses in the pronunciation of the foreign name being markedly shorter than the first few times.

Seeing as he was already doing the rounds with watering the plants, Kotori remained standing, a little unsure about what was left to do for an Agriculture Club member.

During homeroom period, the teacher had given a warning to the class regarding loitering the streets of Warakuma alone or after dark, without having a specific explanation as to why this time around. But moving the topic to the hospitalization of Chiaki Nettu, one of the class' popular students, the teacher announced that 'Get well soon' gifts may be collected tomorrow homeroom period to be brought to her if anyone wished to do so. With how obvious the transition of topics was, the students put two and two together to figure out that the warning and Chiaki being in the hospital were connected. While a bunch of the male population of the class were heart broken to hear their idol brought to the hospital, others such as Shizuka worried about the well being of their classmate. Maybe buying her a basket of fruits would be appropriate for a gift, Shizuka noted to herself.

Once the end of class bell rang throughout the campus, the raven haired girl bid her two friends farewell as she wanted to drop by the Agriculture Club to turn in the club application form, as she had promised Matt last weekend. With a filled up form in her school bag, she paced nervously along the hallway towards the club room. This was the first club she was to join in her high school life, was she going to enjoy it? Are the people going to be as friendly as Kotori and Matt? What if her knowledge for plants isn't sufficient enough for her to join the club? Well, it was better to try and find out, rather than giving up on the go.

A deep breath, in... and out... Before Shizuka slid the door before her and entered into the Agriculture Club room. It seemed to be almost empty, except a certain club president who seemed to be watering the plants along the windowsill caught her hidden eyes. Due to hindrance in her view, she hadn't noticed Kotori was in the room with them as well. A soft chuckle as she mumbled to herself, "Harvester-senpai must really love nature." While she did not want to interrupt his time with the plants, it wasn't as if she could stand and wait till all the plants were watered. After a nod of her head, she walked forward towards the upperclassman with the club application form in hand then greeted with a polite bow of her head before him. "Go-Good afternoon Harvester-senpai, I-I don't mean to interrupt you, but I would like to join the Agriculture Club."

Ayano was rather surprised at the mild-mannered disposition the so called 'Yakuza' was showing her, whether it was to woo her or just her usual state of being flew over Ayano's head and without hesitation, sat with Jun. For other girls or people in general, sitting with another girl in a place like a cafe' would virtually mean nothing, but for her...It was more than enough to instill feelings of awkwardness inside the girl, she could swear other people were giving them the look or assumed they were dating. Her tense mood did lessen when Jun spoke of free coffee, this was her fourth one this day! Either she's going to be twitchy all day and not be able to sleep tonight, or she's going to be staying in the bathroom for a very long time. Ayano grunted at the fan club Jun mentioned and did not even dare to look at them.

The poor attempt at humor...was mediocre at best, warranting a disinterested look on Ayano's face. "Yes...You better not be getting any ideas." She groaned, maybe this wasn't the best idea after all? She was starting to regret this little rendezvous with the Yakuza girl, but it would seem that even they don't stoop that low. With a sigh of relief Ayano formed a small smile on her lips, thankful that they haven't kidnapped her, despite the fact that there was no solid evidence supporting it whatsoever. "Well, I guess that's slightly comforting, at least it narrows down the list of possible suspects..." Although Ayano didn't want to think of it, one of the possible kidnappers could be some sort of hyper-perverted stalker of Chiaki's...Just imagining what kinds of things he would do to her...It'd would all fit in some sort of terrifying doujin meant for really depraved people. Another possible suspect that came to her mind was the cult...There had been cases of missing persons before Chiaki. There was that Noboru, some Harvester kid, the drama (club) queen Leiko...Could they be behind some sort of mass kidnapping? What for? All of these complex thoughts made Ayano place a palm on her head in defeat.

"It was some time after the whole inn escapade. We were at the mall, some idol group was there and she went to go get us something to eat...She never came back." As she was re-telling the story to Jun, a somber mood soon took over and made Ayano melancholic just at the thought of it, it was like a ghost haunting her. She stayed there, not saying anything more, a blank look on her face. She only snapped back to reality when Jun gave her...Her phone number? Ayano wasn't sure how to feel after the entire encounter...


Another day goes by with Chiaki's absence and Ayano could swear she was getting worse. There was no updates on whether or not she's still missing or they've finally found her (or her corpse). This state of mind was not the ideal one to have when midterms were coming up, she wasn't exactly confident over the prospect, but she knows she could do above average than most, and if she took the time and effort to actually do research and face a textbook for once...She might actually pass with flying colors, but when your cousin's missing and you're the last person she was seen with, it all adds to the stress of life.

As the classes finished, a smell speck at the back of Ayano's mind was calling out to her...Something something club...Clubs? She wasn't in one, was she? There was a long pause as Ayano sat in thought. Then, that smell speck burst into something big. "Oh my god! I totally forgot!" without a moment's notice, she ran as fast as she could to the Anime and Manga club room, as fast her legs could carry her anyway. She would occasionally bump into someone or into the usual teacher, at which point she would stop in her tracks in order to greet them or apologize to them.

After a few minutes of running around the halls like the Flash, Ayano was panting and almost out of breath from the intensity of it all. But she was there, right at the front door of the club room, she even remembered when that big guy was there, although his name had escaped her...Shrugging the minute detail off, she opened the club room to find a new face...Well, new in terms not having seen them before. She cast a glare to the boy who looked like he was looking to join. "Umm...Sorry if I haven't been attending recently" she said to the entire presence of the room, giving a slight bow to them.

Noboru sighed as he got out of school. Drama club wasn't today, which was a godsend for him. No dealing with all that was perfect. He didn’t have to deal with dramatic people. Heh heh heh. That was a good one. Noboru thought to himself for a second. It was time to visit the hospital, and go talk. He started on his way down the path to the hospital.

He got to the hospital, and looked in his bag. Good. The sweater was there, and he hadn't forgotten it. He had had it for a few weeks now, forgetting to give it back at any point in the past. He walked into the hospital and found her room. He walked in, pulling out the sweater. He opted to speak first.

"Hey you gave me this a while back and I figured you might want it. It doesn't really fit me, so it might be better if you had it back."

Noboru fidgeted, unsure of what more to say besides that. He thought of something quick, so the silence wouldn't be awkward.

"I hope you don't mind me asking. But back... there... your shadow said something before it disappeared. What was it? Or was it too personal to talk about? If it's too personal that's finr, you already had enough spilled to last a lifetime."

Having spent the majority of the previous on his own, Masahide had plenty of time to prepare himself for the return to school. Catching up on his studies and putting aside some time for his kendo drills. As he sat idly in his seat, gazing out the window, he couldn't help but recall his experience at the cafe. At first his focus was on his own unease, being around so many people he had never met and the awkwardness he felt. It wasn't often that he found himself in the middle of crowds, having made it a point to spend most of his time alone in his work or studies. Still, it wasn't all bad... He met a familiar face, and actually did something helpful for someone who hadn't asked for it. The thought brought a meager smile to his lips, though fading rather rapidly. His eyes flickered about the class as he took stock of his usual classmates; noting that the girl from the brutal brawl was among them.

'How can one draw that much attention to themselves? And for something so stupid as a fight?' His thoughts echoed in his own mind, turning his gaze away and back to the front of the class, 'Is she not embarrassed? There are far better ways to draw attention to yourself.' Shaking his head with a subtle sigh, he'd attempt to dismiss the thoughts. He sat silently through the rest of the class, his attention never wavering from his teacher or his papers until the final bell had rung. Packing away his supplies in his satchel, Masa wasted no time in preparing his departure. Soon, he'd be among those in the kendo club, and have his chance to unwind.

Matt - Agriculture Club || Monday - After school.

Distracted by his thoughts Matt didn’t notice anyone enter until Someone spoke up behind him as he was finishing off. From the quiet voice Matt guessed it was Kotori who he was turning around to greet, but before he greeted her Matt noticed the girl from the other day Shizuka or simply now Shizu walking up to him before she nervously greeted him while bowing.

“hahaha there's no need to bow I was hoping you were going to turn up today, If you want to join the club will gladly welcome you” Matt said with a beaming smile before placing his hand on Shizu’s head and patting it.
He then pulled it away and laughed.
“sorry I kinda just do things like that at times, also hello Kotori as you can see we just got ourselves a new member… hopefully this one won’t suddenly leave hahahahahaaa” Matt was energetic like usual Matt finally greeted Kotori.

“ok so now we have 3 proper members I feel like I should talk about why I wanted to make this club and some of my ambitions which I will start here” Matt didn’t let his smile disappear but he had become a bit more serious.
“I have gotten permission to use the empty space next to the clubrooms to make a small field, I plan on using this space to test different agricultural methods….and grow some flowers but I mainly want to study methods more thoroughly.
I wish to find the best way to revitalise decaying lands and make barren lands harvestable”
Matt coughed and ended hoping he made things even a bit clear.

“oh right I almost forgot, i haven’t really talked about what there is to do in this club… well I’ve got my ambitions but out of these what would you guys prefer? we can learn about agriculture methods of the world, learn about different plants and uses or something like growing different types of flowers and stuff” Matt had totally ignored the part where clubs have group activities until now

Shad an entire day full of questions and interrogations on what had happened to her, not only police but media bugs too. An Idol such as Chiaki suddenly going missing? The media eats that up for breakfast then recycles it for lunch. It didn't matter what she told them, she honestly couldn't remember what happened, just that she went to get some snacks for her and her cousin when she blacked out... Or was knocked out. It's not like she was going to tell them about the crazy stuff that happened afterwards in that weird world. She made up a very simple story that she must have been drugged, slept the entire time she was taken, and awoke outside the hospital still influenced by the drugs that her kidnappers dosed her with.

After a day of interrogation, her room was open to visitors and there was an in flood of male students with cards, balloons and gifts for her. It must have been strange for them to see her without her long hair into drills, no makeup, or fancy dress. The hospital wouldn't allow for to wear anything but their hospital sheets, no beauty products what so ever. Some hours later, the nurses shooed away the crowd of boys as they were being too rowdy, their noise began to irritate the other patients.
Shortly after, a familiar face showed up. It was Noboru.

"Hey you gave me this a while back and I figured you might want it. It doesn't really fit me, so it might be better if you had it back."
It was the sweater from a month or two ago that she gave him... Because of the 'event' back then.
"I hope you don't mind me asking. But back... there... your shadow said something before it disappeared. What was it? Or was it too personal to talk about? If it's too personal that's finr, you already had enough spilled to last a lifetime."

"Oh that! Yeah, um, well, thanks I guess... I mean, I can't really wear it since I have to keep this on until I'm allowed to go home..." In regards to the other question, Chiaki blushed and her hair fell in front of her face before she looked up and answered him.
"Um... Well it would probably be better... If I tell you here and now. While it's just us, nobody else... Noboru... I think I like, but more than just friends. My shadow... It told that I should confess my love for you. This must be hard to hear, coming from somebody like me, after everything you witnessed and did. But, I can feel it in my heart, my feelings for you are real, the rose you planted in my heart has bloomed into a full blossom. Noboru Yamamoto... Noboru Yamamoto I am in love with you!" Shouted Chiaki, her face red and hands shaking, she was a little scared and anxious, but she quickly calmed down and rubbed her cheek, eagerly waiting a response from the boy she confessed her love to.

"Hm?", looks like Noboru was already here. Based on what the nurses said Chiaki was okay and probably going to be able to go back to classes very soon, before the end of the week, and that police were here this morning too, as he expected. As he opened the door, he heard a fairly... Embarrassing? Confession of sorts. It was aimed towards Noboru it seems, as he was the only one in the room at the moment.

"Um... Well it would probably be better... If I tell you here and now. While it's just us, nobody else... Noboru... I think I like, but more than just friends. My shadow... It told that I should confess my love for you. This must be hard to hear, coming from somebody like me, after everything you witnessed and did. But, I can feel it in my heart, my feelings for you are real, the rose you planted in my heart has bloomed into a full blossom. Noboru Yamamoto... Noboru Yamamoto I am in love with you!", by the time their silence of awkwardness that followed finished after this, they noticed Rui was at the door.

"... I must have the wrong room", he said as he closed the door. Shortly after this though, Noboru would get a text from Rui saying, "nice".

Kotori Shirohane - Warakuma High School: Agriculture Club | After School

It was only when she spoke up that the Agriculture Club President seemed to notice her entrance, most likely having been absorbed in his own world - something Kotori could understand; remembering her mother asking her what she'd been humming to herself when she'd been tending to some of the display flowers in the shop when she hadn't even been aware of doing any such thing. However, before he could speak up, the door opened again, causing both Matt and Kotori to turn their gaze toward the person entering the room. The girl seemed familiar immediately - and just a moment later, Kotori remembered where and when she'd seen the girl. She hadn't been wearing her uniform back at the Flowershop, but the long hair - particularly the way it covered half her face - was undoubtedly that of Shizuka Otonashi.

As the girl stepped toward Matt whilst clutching a piece of paper, she seemingly missed Kotori who was standing off to her side - who guessed the girls intentions even as she bowed before handing what turned out to be a club application form over; her voice not exactly brimming with confidence. Perhaps that just was in her nature rather than being out of her element, Kotori pondered as she remembered their previous meeting - before a thoughtful expression crossed her face when she furthermore remembered the sight of tears flowing down Alexei's face that day. She hadn't seen the older boy since then - though as she thought about it, it was hardly proper to just outright ask about such a thing.

Putting those thoughts off, Kotori blinked in surprise when she heard her name being spoken - as Matt both returned her greeting and perhaps noted her presence unto Shizuka. Bowing quickly - both in greeting to Matt and Shizuka and as a small apology for not having paid attention due to her thoughts wandering - she gave a wry half-smile at Matt's words. Indeed, up until now they had been the only two club members - or at least the only ones who actually showed up, given that she'd never seen anyone else in the room since she'd joined. Matt didn't really seem to worry about it though, given the way he laughed his own words off. Though they were already acquainted from a few days ago, Kotori nonetheless repeated her previous bow before giving her introduction: "Ah, I'm Kotori Shirohane from Class 2-2," Whilst they were acquainted, she hadn't actually known that Shizuka also attended the same school, after all.

Once introductions were done, Matt turned toward the girls again - and addressed the question Kotori had asked herself just moment earlier. He explained that he wanted to try to find different agricultural methods to make things grow - and, judging by his intentions, not just flowers but also, as per the club's name, agricultural produce. Kotori blinked in surprise at that - both the goal and the tone seemed somewhat of a more serious note than she'd expected from the boy who seemed so easy-going all the time. Seemingly only remembering then, he went on to ask the two of them what they wanted; perhaps feeling a little guilty to just push his ideas on them.

"Ah, I... don't know how much I can help, but, uhm, I think all three options sound good?" she said, though it sounded almost like a question toward the end when she realised, even whilst she was speaking, that she really didn't know all that much. Of course she knew how to plant flowers and how to tend to them to make sure they grew and blossomed - but certainly that was rather basic and not what he was looking for. Still, she wanted to at least be of some help - even whilst she nervously fidgeted with the hem of her skirt when she noticed the eyes of both of the other two club members on her. "Uhm, w-what do you think, Otonashi-san?" Kotori quickly asked, passing Matt's question along to the First Year.

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

Toma gave a small laugh at the woman's words. "I'll keep that offer in mind, then. I'm also a third year at Warakuma, Tanaka Toma," he said with a slight bow. He went to continue the conversation, but stopped himself, remembering that he was a waiter and had a job to do. "So I'm sure I'll see you around. Let me know if you need anything else, Himura-san." With that, he went off.

Finding himself with a moment to spare, he brought Jun's receipt to the two boys that had apparently been following her around. He stepped up to them with a bright smile plastered on his face, laying the piece of paper in front of them as he reached through the pouch full of money he wore to make change. The two stared at it for a moment, glancing up to him in confusion.

"This isn't ours--" one of them began, but was swiftly cut off by Toma.

"Wow, it sure is nice of you guys to pay for such an expensive meal. I'm impressed," he began, upbeat like nothing was amiss. "But usually, at least where I come from, guys sit with the girls they're taking out, not staring at them from across the room." He shrugged his shoulders, containing himself as the two glanced back and forth between Jun, himself, and the receipt. "Whatever works for you, though, I guess."

"What the fuck!?" one of them said as they jumped out of their seat.

The other boy, perhaps being the smarter of the two, immediately stood up and put his hand on his friends shoulder, motioning towards the door with his head. "Come on, let's just go," he said, pulling on the other.

"Hm, you aren't paying for the lady? And you aren't ordering anything for yourselves?" Toma continued, ever patronizing. "A shame. Please come again when you have the chance!"

The door closed behind them, and Toma looked over at Jun, a mock look of confusion on his face as he exaggeratedly shrugged his shoulders again.

---

Later on, after the impressive crowd in the store had gone and Toma was getting ready to head home, he turned to Alexei and his sister.

"Thank you both for the help, I would've had some trouble taking care of the store myself today," he said gratefully, before reaching into his pocket and pulling out the 5,000 yen tip that had been left on the counter earlier. "Here you go, Miss, one of the customers you served left this," he said with an easy smile as he held it out to the younger female.

After changing into his regular clothes, he gave a short good-bye and was off.

---

The good mood Toma had been in thanks to the nice day he'd had had been ruined the moment he stepped back into his house. He found his mother on the couch, having a crying fit -- something that occurred every now and again since Taiki had passed. Keeping himself smiling despite the cloud that had formed over his head, he comforted her as best he could, and had gotten her off to her room to sleep. All while his father hid away behind his office door, working the night away.

Toma spent the next hours staring at his computer, trying and failing to get his mind off his mother's breakdown and Taiki. Hearing his stomach growl, he got up and tip-toed down the stairs, both his parents now asleep given the late hour. He opened the fridge and stared inside, looking for anything easy to eat.

The boy's eyes stopped on a pack of beer, tucked away in the back-corner of the fridge. He had never drank alcohol alone, just for the sake of drinking it. But the urge to do so was taking hold of him right now. He looked over his shoulder slowly, for no real reason.

'Drink his sorrows away.' Apparently he could do that with alcohol. But he had no sorrow to get rid of. He wasn't like his parents, who were unable to get over Taiki's death and dealing with it in their own, stupid ways. He was stronger than them. He had no sorrow. At least not enough to want to drink it away.

So, if asked, he wouldn't be able to answer why he was taking a sip of the cheap beer.

He only realized after the second sip what he was doing. Anger and disgust immediately flared up inside him, his brow furrowing violently. He whipped through the kitchen and out the front door, yelling into the night as he tossed the nearly-full can. It hit the tree in his front yard heavily, bouncing off and spinning wildly in the air before landing on the ground. As the liquid spilled out, Toma walked up to it with heavy steps, raising his foot and bringing his heel down on the can as hard as he could, again and again, panting out in fury every time.

Long after the aluminum had been completely flattened into the ground, Toma relented, backing off and using the tree to balance himself as his anger receded, crushing guilt taking its place. He may have only taken two sips, but he had thought about drinking himself into a coma, like a pathetic, disgusting, worthless alcoholic. Like a weak person.

And he had no idea why he had considered it; he had no sorrow.

---

The first day back at school hadn't been the greatest. Toma had foregone any sort of sleep the night before or breakfast in the morning, and upon arriving at school, had quickly learned about Chiaki and had realized he had completely missed a kidnapping, much to his irritation. He did his best to focus during class, but of course had a hard time in his condition. A small consolation was that his right hand was now usable for writing notes again.

When classes were done, Toma decided that enough was enough -- he absolutely had to find out more about the kidnappings. He had to find one of the ones who had been victims of the incidents, and it didn't matter if it was Noboru, Hamada, Harvester, or this Chiaki girl. After a moment's deliberation, he decided to head to the library -- due to exams, many students would be spending time studying there, making it somewhat likely that he could find one of the kidnapping victims.

Before that, he made his way to his Track club, spinning a tale for Arata to explain why he had to leave early. After a little while, he left the field and changed.

A few minutes later, the red-haired boy was stalking around the library, keeping an eye out for any of the people he was looking for. What caught his attention, however, was a muffled crashing noise.

Blinking in confusion as he looked around, Toma stepped around a large shelf of books and poked his head into the aisle, spotting the boy who had spilled his coffee the day before getting up off the ground and picking up several books that had presumably fallen. Huh. This guy appeared to be a little clumsy.

Toma stepped down into the aisle. "You seem to be a little accident-prone," he said, amused, as he crouched down to grab some of the books. The red-haired boy quickly looked over the other as he stood up, before turning to the shelf and eyeing the books, figuring out where they went. "You look okay, but I'll ask anyway," he said with a small smile and raised eyebrows, glancing at the third-year student and shelving a book.

Sieghardt Kasumi- 4/5/2015 Monday after school

Classes were over, he did really fuck all for Golden week besides getting his ass beat at that Persona tournament. Well he did better than he thought, a little too much because he didn't know the results would be made known to the world. Okay scratch that he knew, but he assume the winner and runner up would be made known not literally everyone's ranking. So he spent a lovely few days being put under watch from his parents who found out such results. Who knew they wouldn't be thrilled that their son told them one thing then did another? Then again he did go there to watch not participate, come to think about it how did he participate? So pretty much he got grounded, and as such was told he was only allowed out for school and anything that they instructed their servants or themselves to do. Was he allowed to do stuff? Yes he was, however was it fun? No it was not.

So a few days went by of a hell only a parent who would want the best for their child, a knowledgeable one. So in class Sieg would look less than amused at pretty much every single class, he spent Golden week learning and now he spent today learning. He would then spend the afternoon learning with his families servants coming out in different intervals to teach him. Now normally he would be bored with it, but he was more so worried for he knew how they acted and what they did to teach him. They went to far into character, quite a bit..... all the time. So when class ended he delayed standing up and walking to the school's entrance where he stood speechless at what laid before him. It was his families Limo and one of his tutors dressed in a robot suit waving at him. Sieg would sigh to himself as he sheepishly walked to the limo where the man in the suit was currently doing the robot dance. "Hello mast-" Sieg would hold up a hand and just get into the Limo where the robot man would commit to his part and even get into the Limo like a robot.

"Today we are going to a museum...OF SCIENCE!" Robot man would say to which Sieg sighed but in relief this time. "Of course we are.... wait a second you guys didn't do what I think you guys did did you?" Sieg would ask but receive no response until they got there where he would see that he was correct. His family got the place to allow his tutor to go around the entire building teaching him and a bunch of other people. This wouldn't be so bad, yet they did have a big sign with a caption of special lecture by Robot Man from the Kasumi's, to freaking promote it! So Sieg would have to walk through the exhibits which would be more enjoyable with silence, yet would have to listen to his tutor dressed as a robot who was still doing the robot dance. To make matters worse instead of getting called sir or boy, he was called young master so everyone would instantly know he was a part of the Kasumi household. He was certain he heard a child laughing at him. 'Laugh all you want little boy, I'll laugh my ass off to when I deport you.' Sieg would think to himself before going on to answering more questions. Then came the dreaded moment he feared, they came to a robot presentation and was asked how do robots dance. Yet of course telling was out of the question, he had to show it. Sieg's face would redden as he walked forward and removed the robots mans head and put it on himself. "I have to commit right?" Was the only thing he said before he started doing the robot dance, shockingly doing it better than the tutor was doing. Which of course had the tutor taking notes while everyone clapped to Siegs performance.

The bright red was obvious on Noboru's cheeks. He felt the heat on his face, burning quite bright. He was speechless.

"I.. I..Um...I"

He wasn't quite sure what he would say.

"I mean... I...I.. I don't know what to say. I... um...I"

Noboru fidgeted around and looked away. His face became more flush with each passing second, turning a nice shade of red. Noboru thought to himself. Come on Noboru. It's only the girl you like being extremely up front and catching you off guard. Noboru steadied himself and spoke up.

"I... I...I... Argggh why can't I even say I like you as well? Why am I such a pansy? I was supposed to say I like you, you shot me down and we go on our happy merry ways, not this. But here we are. Yes! I like you as well! Aggghhhh!"

Noboru confessed but his cheeks still felt quite flushed, the rush of excitement burning his face up and showing his embarassment quite well, and out in the open. He then did the stupidest thing possible.

"Agggh! I can't handle this!"

Noboru dropped the sweater onto a nearby table and stormed out, unsure of what to do. He slammed past the hospital doors. He never felt the buzz of his phone in his pocket.

Jun chuckled as the guys left without issue. Well, they hadn't paid the bill, so Jun just giggled. She signaled to Tanaka that she'd pay it herself and turned her attention back to Ayano. "Well, I hope they find her soon." She offered the girl a smile and got up to leave, before heading right to the counter to pay for her order. On second thought, she should have anticipated those guys would just walk out and leave her to pay for all this herself. Oh well, they were to her taste anyway, so she didn't mind splurging a little. She left a small tip for Toma before saying goodbye to both of him and Ayano. "See you two in school, I guess."

---

When Jun returned to school at the end of Golden Week, the whole school was buzzing with rumours of how the idol Chiaki had been found after going missing for days. Mostly it was the boys who were planning to go down and visit her and use the time as an excuse to kind of get close to her. Or, closer than they normally would be able to, at least. "How simple-minded." Jun commented under her breath as she gazed out the window from her seat while trying to tune out their discussion on finding Chiaki's hospital room.

Come to think of it, there were several people from the school who had gone missing recently. Weren't they all victims of the cultists or something like that? There was some rumours about that going around too. If the sickos were targeting high school students... Jun's face turned to a frown as she pondered the possibility that her father might get dragged into protecting the school under the request of desperate parents or something and end up tightening her leash.

---

The lessons were dull, as usual. It wasn't that the teachers were droning on about the subject material without pause, but rather nobody in class was interested in paying attention. They all wanted to know about Chiaki. Seeing as how some of them probably thought criminal activity might be involved, the blonde girl thought it best to keep a low profile. If Ayano had suspected her just from a brief meeting at the hot springs, thing would be a lot worse if everyone else thought she had something to do with it as well. Not that they'd say it to her face, but she didn't exactly want to give them more ammunition either.

So she decided that instead of wasting her time, she'd actually attend club practice for once. If there was one place nobody would talk shit about her, it was the school dojo where she would have plenty of weapons within reach. Jun headed straight for her locker in the gym, standing in the corner of the girls' changing room where she was out of sight of everyone else. While it wasn't a big secret that she had a dragon tattoo on her back, she didn't exactly like showing it off and confirming that yes, she was "branded" like all yakuza were.

Being the first in the dojo had its perks, and before anyone could catch a glimpse of her back, Jun was geared up and already practicing on her own against the training dummies.

As the third-year tried to figure out which psychology textbook came first, he heard someone walking up behind him. Sato quickly gave up on getting it right, since it wasn’t like it mattered that much, and shoved the two books onto the shelf. Straightening his back out, Sato looked over to that person that had approached him. To his surprise, it was the waiter from the book café. You seem to be a little accident-prone.” The red-haired boy said, picking up a few of the books to help out. “You look okay, but I'll ask anyway.”

”I suppose you’re right. As of late, at least.” The teen picked up another textbook from the floor. Sato was trying hard to recall the waiter boy’s name from when he had introduced himself back at the café. While the red-head’s given name escaped him, Sato at least remembered the surname the guy had used to introduce himself with. ”I’m fine, of course. Thanks for asking. If I remember correctly, you’re Tanaka, from the café? I’m Hashimoto Sato. I figured you would be a student here.”

While there wasn’t that much of a mess anyway, the books were quickly put away back to their (hopefully) original positions, minus the one text Sato had actually needed. In a weird mixture of procrastination and not wanting to just leave after having met Tanaka again, he decided to bring up the topic that had the students abuzz with rumors and questions. ”You’ve obviously heard of the kidnappings, correct? I haven’t been following it very much, but the latest victim was that idol girl that moved here, right? This whole thing’s pretty weird. From what I hear, the police have no idea where they had been taken or anything.” While he wasn’t lying about how he wasn’t on top of the news, it was a popular subject amongst the guys he sat next to and getting the latest tid-bits about it proved easy enough.

Thinking about it, he realized he actually knew all of the victims to some extent. It’d been impossible to not know Hamada, the drama club president, was one of the victims. He knew Noboru, an acquaintance at best, had been missing as well, and while he had only met her once or twice, Sato remembered talking to Chiaki Nettu as one of Noboru’s friends once or twice. That Harvester guy that was in his class was also one of the victims, having been missing for a week or however long it was. He was almost embarrassed to admit he hadn’t really noticed at all.

”It’d really suck to get into that kind of trouble with mid-terms right around the corner. I hope they’re all alright.” Of course, news about them post-kidnap was pretty scarce. Sato assumed they were all okay since there wasn’t any talk of injuries or anything (and that he knew Harvester was fine, seeing as he had returned to school seemingly unscathed). ”That Harvester guy’s in my class, actually. Not that I’m really acquainted with him though. If you don’t mind me asking, Tanaka, are you familiar with any of them yourself?”

@XLegs

Alexei Dargunov | Yoshida Book Cafe

Elena finally served the full order at the table she waited on. Alexei had finally manage to make good of the canned tuna in the fridge for making pickled Tuna. It was nowhere near restaurant quality but it was certainly good enough to be served. There wasn't much traffic after the original occupants of the cafe left for various reasons. Toma was quick and efficient in putting things away properly and in order and they managed to shut food counter orderly.

Elena had done a good job in supporting Toma through the whole thing and at the end he was gracious enough to hand her a 5K yen tip that she had earned. Though it had been dubious at best since the one who left it hadn't ordered anything but Alexei's argument was snuffed seeing the happiness on his baby sister's face.

---

They parted ways with Toma and went shopping for supplies for the week. Starting tomorrow the schools resumed which meant meal management and stockpile of ingredients on Alexei's part. He was going through the list of things he would be making for his sister as they walked absently towards the store. He seemed to be absorbed in mental management of the coming week even as they shopped. Elena had thought of breaking the silence but decided against it.

As they were walking home, she finally spoke after more than an hour of silence, "I'm tired, Onii-chan."

"Huh!"

"Carry me home." she said drawing her arms in front of her. A pout appearing on her face. Piggy back rides had been a staple of her growing up. When she was small, she'd ride the back of Alexei for hours though he never complained.

"Now! Are you sure?"

"Yeah! I am very tired. Carry me."

"Won't you be made fun of if your friends see?"

"I don't care." Alexei shrugged at her response and bent down next to her. She wrapped her hands around him and soon they began to move again. To Alexei who carried heavy beams and equipment almost daily. His sister didn't weigh more than a feather. But Elena's eyes were moistening a bit. She didn't know why she acted this way, why was she testing him but it seems her brother would never say no to her demands. She felt a pang of sadness as a few stray tears roll down her eyes.

'I better grow up soon and marry.' she thought to herself, that was the only way to not burden her dear elder brother.

---

The Golden Week was finally over and many good things had happened over the week to keep the classmates gossiping but Alexei was rather surprised to learn of another kidnapping. This time of a girl who was a known face among the kids here with him. She was some sort of idol. Alexei remained focused on the lessons that slowly passed by. The day was rather dull and dreary but he had remained in thought.

'There has to be some relation.' The kidnappings had a few similarities but many differences. They all had involved people getting abducted and then left near their home. They also didn't have any physical injuries or mistreatment. All the kids had made a surprisingly fast recovery. Plus, they weren't target a particular sex. It was a bit dumbfounding. Alexei had thought of asking Matt about the circumstances of his disappearance but had decided against it.

In the end he had decided to just practice with his two friends at the gym. There was no drama club today, nor he had done the sketches for the manga strip he was planning, so it didn't seem like he had any pressing matters to address. Thus a tough practice would put his mind at ease. He practiced for a few hours before packing up and leaving for work. He dropped Inoue at her home asking her to be careful. He then went to work, there was a site he had to visit regarding faulty wiring.