"There won't be any need for that", he reassured Ayano, after Sato had entered the room. All that needed explaining so far was done, the rest was up to a field test. The four spent some time in the hospital before leaving for home. It looked like Ayano was going to be discharged pretty soon, either tomorrow or day after, she only seemed to be upset about not having her laptop.



The next day was rather as expected, there wasn't much happening. It was just the usual class work, there was some talk of summer vacation starting too, but that was almost a month off. Clubs were fairly active, because these somewhat down periods of regular school life were when they were most productive, or able to be. No students skipping for exams, and no one being lazy just because it's close to the end of the semester. Ayano should be discharged today too, so there was nothing to worry about. So now he was looking to what club to attend today...

Akane Hanazawa // Cave Of Solitude
June 7th, Sunday, 2015
Dungeon

All well that ends well, right? Though, truthfully, she hoped it would go on longer so she could beat the crap out of it more but that's life for you. With a sigh, she went to check to see if Ayano was alright. As she was about to offer to pick her up and bring her to the hospital, naturally, she was cut off and interrupted by Kami who wouldn't let anyone else do it. What an irritating guy.

Just as everyone was saying their farewells, she slowly approached Noboru and slugged him in the face, clearly not forgetting the promise to herself earlier to do so. "Some plan you shit."

---

June 8th, Monday, 2015
Warakuma Hospital

Finally deciding to put her distaste for hospitals aside for a little, she decided to drop by and check up on her fellow club member. Making her way to Ayano's room, she peered into the room and saw that she wasn't alone. Knocking on the door, announcing her arrival, she walked into the room. Inside the room with Ayano was Rui, Sato? and...Kami. She could probably guess why they were there, Rui at least, and with the looks she was getting, she probably interrupted. Though, it would turn out they were actually wrapping things up.

Anyways, Unperturbed by it, Akane completely ignores Kami's existence, says hello to Rui before turning to Ayano. "How are you feeling? Last night was pretty rough, after all." she beams without shame.

By the time Kenji had arrived at the scene, some sort of marital artist cosplayer was in a rush to leave after the blow to the thief. "Hey! You there! Come back, we need to properly thank you!" As if he had not heard the older man, the mysterious hero was soon out of sight.

Upon the arrival of the rest of the crew, Shimizu blinked at the unconscious thief being atop her classmate who supposedly ran after him. While the rest of the crew had puzzled expression and no idea what had happened here, Kenji started to speak towards Ryan as he carried the thief off of him and helped him up, "Well, seeing as you've helped in the capture of this money thief, let us show you our gratitude, dear customer. Pick any one dish and one beverage you wish and it'll be on the house." The manager pat the boy's shoulder, flashing a thumbs up with a grin, his signature move he used to do during his career as a sentai actor.

While the crew and the manager were making their way back into the cafe with the thief sent to the nearest police station, the rest who were in the cafe calmed the other customers and started to take orders. Kenji sighed with his gaze turned towards the horizon. "Such a waste of potential. If the other boy had stayed, I would've offered him a position here. His guts reminded me of my younger days..." Shizuka who overheard it simply just titled her head to the side in confusion once again, wondering who he meant.


"....... Have they started dating?", was the first thought Shizuka had. It had started not too long ago. It was subtle but even the half blinded girl could see there was something between them that she didn't know about. From time to time, she would notice the exchange of glances with worried expressions but today, there was something joyous about the two.

Perhaps the maiden is just being paranoid about all this and it's just her shoujo romance fantasy going wild as usual. But with the club members being just the three of them, does that make her a third wheel?! The thought about quitting the club to leave the two alone crossed her mind but this being her first club in high school and it actually being enjoyable to the raven haired student, she didn't want to give it up. For all she knew, this was all in her head. But it wouldn't hurt to ask, would it...?

"Um... Shirohane-senpai, Ha-Harvester-senpai... I-... I'm just curious but... Are you two seeing each other?"

Ayano gave a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat off her brow when she heard there won't be any shooting involved when summoning their persona. While there were more discussion with the three, another familiar faced decided to hop on by...

"Akane?"

She said, voicing her surprise. Honestly, she was a bit shocked to see that she visited. She asked the girl how she was feeling and she reassured her with a soft tone, a smiling forming on her lips once more. The brunette was really touched to see that a handful of people actually took the time to visit her, truly what a Hallmark moment.



On the way to school, the girl could already hear the murmurs of her fellow students regarding her disappearance and subsequent return, with them asking the usual questions. Are you okay? Were you really kidnapped? She sheepishly nodded to their questions, ensuring her peers that she's in tip-top shape, maybe a little wonky, but ultimately fine. Her classroom was in an even bigger uproar when she entered, her classmates assaulting her with a barrage of questions, and she did her best to answer them, and even the teachers couldn't help but notice her emergence. After a good fifteen minutes or so, the teacher told everyone to return to their seats and classes began as normal.

Ryan dove in for the tackle and time slowed down. He blinked and he was suddenly on the ground with the thief on top of him. A few seconds passed and he blinked a bit. "Did a videogame character just uppercut a thief into me?"

He got up with the help of Kenji and he looked around. Ryu was gone and the thief was being arrested. "Oh, uh... thanks." As Kenji walked away, Ryan looked towards the sunset. This was definitely the worst choice he made all week. 'Thats totally the guy from Phoenix Ranger Featherman.'

Ryan ate some food and yawned. Today had been interesting to say the least, moreover it had been very tiring. He decided to go home and sleep for a while, or as much as he could anyways.



Ryan walked in with a Soul Eater manga and sat down to read. He had recently gotten into it and had very few problems with it. His only real problem was how the noses looked in the anime. They looked very off to him, it was really starting to bother him.

About ten minutes passed and he sighed. Just who the hell was that guy? Who dresses up as Ryu and uppercuts thieves into people? This was the most ridiculous thing that has ever happened to him. He wasn't going to get anything done for the next couple days because of this, his ribs were still aching from the impact. Ryan grimaced and went back to reading,

Jun walked leisurely into the schoolgrounds, although there wasn't much time left before the late bell started ringing. Though she did pick up some chatter about a girl going missing. She thought she heard Ayano's name as well. Typical. There had been plenty of abductions, and the blonde girl had expected them to stop being news by now. Though she heard some of them getting curious and planning to ask Ayano about her ordeal.

"Go on, just go and ask!"

"You do it!"

"What if she doesn't want to-"

"You know, I don't think Ayano appreciates nosy parkers butting into something that's none of their business." Jun chimed in as a group of girls were gathered near the corner of the classroom, obstructing the doorway somewhat. They jumped at the irritable and loud voice she had used, warning the girl about their plans. Some of them started glaring and were about to retort after getting over their initial scare, but Jun paid them no heed and took her seat beside Ayano.

"You alright? Just let me know if you need me to swat some flies for you." The girl offered kindly.

"Hm?... Oh it's you again... Ryan?", he said, as he noticed the meek student sitting in the room. Fairly timid, the kid didn't have a very strong presence. Though he entered the club room and didn't see Akane anywhere. Today was Kendo. He was going to go to that, but all things considered at the moment there were a fair few of the club members asking him where Kami went, since the two were seen together occasionally, which was more than with anyone else, and he honestly didn't have an answer for them. He couldn't simply tell them Kami was investigating the kidnappings. Maybe next time he sees Kami he should remind him about the Kendo club. In any case, he noticed that Ryan was reading more manga, this was the manga club after all. This time it was Soul Eater.

"Oh, Soul Eater, didn't that finish?", he seated himself as he spoke, putting his things down.

"Are you picking it up or rereading it?", he inquired.

Ryan looked up from his manga and smiled meekly. "Oh, hi there. You're Rui, right? It's good to see you again." He didn't expect to see someone besides the usual members. Usually it was just him and the president from what he's seen recently. Having this new person in here threw him off.

"Yeah, I just picked it up recently. I didn't know it had already ended though." Ryan replied as he watched Rui sit down.

"I didn't know you were in this club. I don't usually see anyone besides me and the president." 'Oh god, that sounded super rude. Why did I just say that.' Ryan cringed internally.

Kotori Shirohane - Warakuma High School: Agriculture Club | Monday, June 8 2015 - After School

The Agriculture Club meetings were slowly but surely becoming a routine for Kotori - checking on the plants, seeing the progress of anything they'd grown themselves and discussing new methods or ideas, even if the talking of the latter was done mostly by Matthew, all of them were starting to have an almost comforting normalness and regularity about them. It was quite a stark contrast to the events of the previous day - but not in the least bit unwelcome. However, it was still a strange situation to know that Matthew too was involved in the Investigation Team whilst Shizuka wasn't - though the same was true for Akane and the rest of Class 2-2, the difference in scale made the oddness of the whole situation rather more pronounced.

But then again, Kotori definitely preferred Shizuka remain oblivious to the whole other world ordeal, lest she too would have to go through the same thing as the other kidnappees - that wasn't something she'd wish on anyone, no matter the ultimate outcome. "Um... Shirohane-senpai, Ha-Harvester-senpai..." The sound of the other girl's voice brought Kotori's eyes over to her as she gingerly spoke. "I-... I'm just curious but... Are you two seeing each other?" Following her words, Kotori blinked before turning to look over to Matthew, then back to Shizuka. Without a word, she lifted a hand, pointing first at herself and then at the older boy; seemingly perplexed at the question as she still had a blank look about her: "Eh?"

At least until she fully realised what Shizuka was implying - at which point a rather odd sound came from Kotori: a small amused chuckle. The very idea of it was just absurd. Not only would such a development have been far too fast - they'd only met a few weeks ago after all - but she couldn't recall a single instance where Matthew had treated either of them as anything other than fellow club members. Of course there was the fact that they shared a certain secret - but the same was also true for some of the far more popular girls in school such as Leiko or Chiaki. "No, not at all, Otonashi-san," Kotori reassured the younger girl, giving a brief shake of her head while she spoke before glancing over to Matthew; waiting for him to tell her much the same.

Akane Hanazawa // Warakuma High // Manga Club
June 9th, Tuesday, 2015
After School

As the bell sounded to announce the end of classes, she left the classroom and decided to deviate from her schedule a little. Usually she'd be heading on over to the kendo club about now but since she skipped out monday to see Ayano in the hospital, she thought she'd drop by today. She'll just go to kendo tomorrow. After all, the president of all people should drop by at least once or twice a week, right? Well, People would probably argue that they drop by more, but who cares.

Anyways, she was glad that Ayano was alright after all that that happened in the dungeon. She should be able to return to school today, so that was relieving. Reaching the room, instead of knocking like normal to announce ones arrival, she just opened the door with a loud thud. Entering the room with a "Hey" upon seeing Ryan and Rui there. Glancing over to see what Ryan was reading."Soul Eater, huh? That was a pretty good series, also loved the spin-off of it. Shame it didn't go on longer."

Agriculture Club // tuesday - after school

Today was just another day that Matt tried to enjoy but he found nothing more enjoyable than going to his club for the afternoon, having even gained club members that seem to be interested in his actual interests had been a huge bonus he welcomed.
Inside the club Matt followed his usual beginning routine before jumping into whatever he felt like making his topic of the day...or hour… or minute.
Even though he outwardly talked about agriculture inside Matt was thinking about how one of his club members had been involved in all the madness now, he knew he couldn’t help it but he still felt responsible for not being able to protect one of his few club members. Hopefully they could stop this before something could happen to Shizu.

Matt’s inward thoughts of some form of self guilt were interrupted when he heard Shizu talk.
"Um... Shirohane-senpai, Ha-Harvester-senpai... I-... I'm just curious but... Are you two seeing each other?"
Matt was so shocked by the question he almost choked on nothing. While Matt regained himself from the shocking question Kotori was already reassuring Shizuka that no such thing was happening before looking over to Matt.
“W-what, ah yea nah there's no such thing going on Shizu, we’re just club members right?” Matt choked out before mumbling “I couldn’t even protect her”
Still Matt was shocked by this question like really bloody shocked.
“Shizu I’ve got to ask, where did you get this idea from?”

Noboru tagged along with Aiko, his hands in his pockets. Aiko wanted to drag him along for whatever reason. He didn't mind however. It gave him a reason to skip clubs. Recently he had grown distant from them, them not being much fun anymore. He thumbed through his phone, there not being much there. No messages, no missed calls, nothing. His social life had gone dead. Or, at least, it was on life support. He turned his phone off, turning it back on again, hoping for new messages. Nothing.

"Cmon Noboru." Aiko decided to speak up, trying to get his attention. "Perk up. You need to get yourself in a better mood. You need a pick me up. I know the place." Aiko's hair was still dyed black, ruffled from the hair gel he used to make it look like Ryu's. It stood out, not being his normal matted down hair. He had his outfit in his backpack as well, something he didn't want to tell anyone. You never know when you needed a good cosplay. "Hey I have an idea. Maybe after this we can go workout. You always love working out right? That will perk you up if this doesn't." They continued down the road, and Noboru minded his own business. "Hey, look alive, we're almost here."

Noboru looked up. Oh no.

"No Aiko. Uh uh. No. I'm not going in there. Uh uh. No. You can't make me. I refuse. I've had enough bas experiences with idols and such to last me a lifetime. I'm leaving." Noboru turned around to walk away. His feet wouldn't let him. Looking around, Aiko's hand was on his collar, holding him in place. Aiko scolded him. "Noboru, you are going to meet people and you are going to like it. I'll beat you out of this slump if I have to. Let's go. What's the worst that could happen."

Noboru followed Aiko inside, who was already speaking. Aiko's words went a little like this. "Hello sir. You might not recognize me now, but I was _{the cosplayer} from yesterday. I was wondering if everything went alright. Did you manage to catch the thief?"

Seeing the older female's reaction answered Shizuka's curiosity and indeed, it seemed to be all in her imagination. ...Or that's what she thought but as she turned her gaze towards the older male, whom Kotori's was also turned to, the brunette boy was looking at her as if she had said something outrageous. Was it really? In spring time of youth, love can be found anywhere, it wasn't THAT impossible for it to be true! Or perhaps... This could all be an act to hide the actual truth from the girl!

I mean, why IS Matt planting all these flowers around the room recently? It could be for Kotori, the freshman thought, they're something special to her and these were perhaps some sort of hidden sign from the boy! ....Or it could turn out to be her wild shoujo imagination, again. But... the vibrant flowers seemed to sparkle at the background, creating an aura of sparkling, bright otome scene behind the two plantation lovers that seemed to flourish even more as the two gazed at each other. Or should she say, actual lovers.

Shaking her head to snap out of whatever that was, Shizuka paused and stuttered for a moment before coming up with a reply for the president's question. "No-Nothing in particular... I-It's just that... I feel as if there is so-something going on between you two that I have no idea of." Even if her hunch might have been true, it was none of her business, but... why was she making a fuss out of it?


It was another usual day for the manager of the cosplay cafe. Checking the supplies, surveying the cafe premises, analyzing the profit and loss for certain items, taking his favorite coffee break, and motivating his crew to enjoy what they do. However, in one of his rounds while surveying the cafe by the counter, a young male with a familiar looking face approached him. Flashing a friendly smile, he greeted the customer, "Good afternoon dear customer, may I help you?"

After he let the boy speak, his smile intensified to a grin as the man let out an amused chuckle while firmly patting Aiko's shoulder. "So that was you! Everything turned out alright thanks to you and that other boy, let me properly thank you!" Reaching towards the counter behind him, Kenji picked up a menu and handed it to the raven haired boy. "Here you go, pick out any items you want. It's on me!" Whether the boy's attention was turned towards the menu or not, the manager rested his chin upon his knuckles with arms crossed across his chest, carefully inspecting the boy.

"Say, you wouldn't happen to be interested in working as a cosplayer waiter here, would you? You caught my attention with that gutsy action of yours but now that I see you properly, you might become popular with the girls here!" Kenji casually offers, hoping the boy would at least consider it after some thought. "But it's no problem if you can't, I don't mean to press it if it's not your thing."

Warakuma High- Kendo Club
9/6/15 - Afterschool

"Masa!" a voice seemed to ring out to the darker haired male, catching his attention a moment before a wooden training blade came down to strike him. Caught off guard, Masa could only brace himself for the upcoming strike, but it never came as his partner withdrew slightly. Before Masa could lift his blade to continue the exercise, he felt the hand of the club's president on his shoulder. "Masa," the familiar voice spoke again as the speakers frame came into view, "You've been off your game lately. What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm fine.," Masa replied curtly, shrugging off the hand as he turned to face the male fully. He was an older male, about Masa's height but with a thicker frame, "Just distracted."

"Well, you've been distracted for days now. Your not doing anyone any good, including yourself." The soft voice had been replaced with a now stern and precise tone, "I think you need to call it a day. Some rest might-"

"I said I'm fine. Thank you for your concern, but it's not needed." Masahide interjected, his gaze now focusing on his partner once more as he drew up his wooden sword once more. Once again, a hand collapsed on his shoulder much firmer than before as it practically spun him around.

"Go home, Masa." The president spoke up, his expression seeming almost angered, but Masa could make out the subtle tinge of concern. He'd seen this look on his mother's face before, and it was the same expression on Yamato's face before... Reacting almost instinctively, Masa turned his blade round, thrusting the pommel forward into the padded armor of the president. The force was still enough to stagger the boy and cause him to groan as Masa stepped forward, grasping the collar of the uniform. With a brisk and firm pull upwards and towards him, Masa pulled the president off his feet all the while glaring at the elder student. Shortly after the exchange, a pair of hands would be placed on Masahide's shoulder, tugging and practically throwing him backwards as his grip on the president loosened. Sure enough, the display had garnered the attention of other members of the club who now stood between the dark haired male and the leader of the club. With a click of his tongue, Masa turned his head to the side with eyes closed as he attempted to calm down. Once again, the familiar voice spoke, "Go home, now! You're lucky I'm willing to look over this little outburst, but you've overstayed your welcome today."

Without another word, Masa turned and exited the dojo stopping at the locker-room long enough to store his equipment and catch a brisk shower. As he sat in silence -the sound of trickling water the only audible noise in the room- Masa's thoughts began to creep up on him, causing the male to shudder in a mix of the now chilly air and the unwanted memories. With an audible growl, he'd slam his fist onto the wall in both anger and confusion. Why? Why was this bothering him so much? He had been alone most of his life, and now he was finally feeling isolated? Yamato's expression continued coming to the forefront of his thoughts as Masa shook his head, withdrawing his hand from the wall to turn off the water. It was then that he noticed the sharp pain residing in his knuckles, withdrawing his hand as he looked over it. Sure enough, the blow had broken the skin, and it was a surprise it hadn't broken the knuckle. Clicking his tongue once more, Masa ran the water over the wound once to clean it before using his other hand to kill the water. After drying off and making his way back to the lockers, he would open his own and open the first aid kit he had stowed away. Wrapping the hand and dawning his own clothes, he began to set out to leave the school and enter the city of Warakuma.

Agriculture Club // tuesday - after school

hm? waiting for a reply from Shizu Matt noticed that she started to seem somewhat anxious looking around the room, it seemed like she was thinking if not overthinking the situation at hand but through the time he waited Matt noticed Shizu’s eyes dart to the flowers that he had planted very recently. More accurately she had looked at the three sets of flowers that where Lilacs with their bright purple colours that sat next to the white Chamomile a member of the aster family and lastly the slightly toxic but beautiful purple Sweetpeas , the only thing the three had in common was their sweet scents ever so different the sweetness was.

While thinking of the flowers Shizu finally replied, "No-Nothing in particular... I-It's just that... I feel as if there is so-something going on between you two that I have no idea of." wow she seemed pretty worried about it for some reason, Matt was starting to think she was REALLY overthinking it… she wasn’t worried about it for any reason right? Matt was trying to think of a way to explain things without worrying her… there was something going on but it had nothing to do with love and he certainly couldn't get Shizu involved.
“h- hey come on now look around you, do you see anything out of the ordinary? well for me out of the ordinary if i was going out with someone wouldn't i say it in the language of the flowers? Come on girl its like you're letting your delusions run wild ya know” Matt couldn’t really call anyone delusional after all the times he zones out though.

“Just take a look around and think about things in my perspective for a bit ya get me… well that could be dangerous but hey your thinkin is a bit dangerous but whatevs”

Kotori Shirohane - Warakuma High School: Agriculture Club | Tuesday, June 9 2015 - After School

Matthew seemed to find the idea at least as silly as Kotori, judging by the way he too answered Shizuka's question before asking for her to confirm it. Kotori nodded at that before turning back to Shizuka, the older boy's mumble going unheard before he then went on to ask exactly how the other girl had come up with such a question in the first place. Kotori would have to be lying if she said she wasn't curious - after all, she didn't want to give anyone any wrong ideas. Shizuka in turn said that she didn't have any particular reason.

But as she mentioned that she thought that there was something else going on, Kotori briefly tensed up - that was almost scarily close to the truth, though perhaps for different reasons that what Shizuka had extrapolated from it. Luckily though, Matthew quickly answered before she could try and find something to say; letting her know that he'd just have said it with flowers already. "R-right," Kotori quickly agreed, adding a nod for emphasis before glancing back at Matthew before her eyes wandered on to the most recently planted flowers - and then stopping on them for a moment.

Purple lilacs. White chamomile. Purple sweet peas. She hadn't thought anything further of it at the time, but with Matthew mentioning that he'd say it with flowers, Kotori stopped to think of their meanings - which brought about a rather rapid series of blinking before she looked back at Matthew, currently telling Shizuka to look at things from his perspective, even if that may be a little dangerous. Looking back to the flowers, then him and then to Shizuka, upon whom his eyes were laid, Kotori was left to wonder only one thing: Was Matthew trying to fell Shizuka he liked her? Looking at things in such a light - had Shizuka perhaps used the opportunity to ask whether he was in a relationship because she too liked him but couldn't just ask outright?

Looking between the two, a small smile came across Kotori's lips at the thought, though she decided not to say anything on the matter - after all, if she was wrong, it would be rather embarrassing for all of the involved.

Once the older teen explained that there was nothing out of the ordinary and to look around them, Shizuka sheepishly turned her head from left to right to survey the classroom. It was just any other room in the Warakuma High school, potted plants and flowers being the only difference.

Her hazel eyes laid upon the flowers once more, but to recognize only the white chamomile by name, the rest unknown to the girl still new to learning about flowers. This of course meant that she knew not of any of the meanings behind the flowers nor did she think Matt meant that when he said the language of flowers. The poor oblivious girl took his words literally, thinking that the foreign upperclassman would present his beloved admirer a bouquet of flowers or some sort, which he did no such thing to Kotori.

Embarrassed from the realization that she indeed was over thinking this way too much, her cheeks reddened into a light hue while hands covering the said cheeks. "I-I-I'm truly so-sorry for the misunderstanding!" Bowing repeatedly in an apologetic panic, Shizuka's voice shook as her lips struggled to speak clearly. Rushing to stuff her belongings into her school bag, the freshman quickly made her way to the door while jumbling her words, "O-Oh I must le-leave, I-I had promised to uh, meet-- no, he-help around my family's tailor shop. A-Ah yes, that was it, pa-pardon me for leaving so soon. Fa-Farewell."

The raven haired maiden was such in a hurry, while her hidden eyes weren't focused on where she was going, SLAM. Her face met the door with a loud thud and they could audibly hear her going, "O-Owww...!" Embarrassed from yet another incident, Shizuka ran out of the room without looking back but unbeknownst to her, a white handkerchief labeled ' Otonashi' was left on the floor, beneath the desk she had occupied.

Agriculture Club // tuesday - after school

Shizuka’s reaction was amusing and at the same time worrying. Matt watched her stumble around with her things quickly while she said she needed to help her family store, before Matt could say anything Shizuka ran for the door.
SLAM
Ok more like into the door.
“h-hey are you ok?” Matt asked but she was already gone.

Scratching the back of his head with an awkward chuckle Matt turned around to Kotori.
“hahahaa what an eventful day this turned into…. You don't think she's scared off do yo-” *bzzz* “oh shit my phone its probably work, can you lock up and everything? I probably should turn up on time today hahahaa”

Matt turned back to the door to rush out and he almost tripped on a handkerchief ALMOST being key thanks to looking down at his phone, he crouched down and picked up the handkerchief and looked at it for a moment.
“huh looks like Shizu dropped this i guess i could catch her if i leave no-” *bzzz* *bzzz* Matt’s phone rang again and this time he picked it up.
“yea... huh? sorry….i’ll be there right away, bye” After he hanged up Matt spent a minute looking out the door and looking down at his phone.
“tch… I’ll have to return it to her later on” Clicking his tongue the handkerchief was stuffed into his pocket as he ran off.
“cya later” Matt called out to behind him

Kotori Shirohane - Warakuma High School: Agriculture Club | Tuesday, June 9 2015 - After School

With both Matthew and Kotori denying any relationship other than being in the same club multiple times, it seemed that Shizuka's worries were finally laid to rest - at which point she seemed to instead start feeling rather embarrassed, judging by the way she hid her face whilst apologising quickly enough to almost stumble over her words. Kotori quickly raised a hand up to wave it off when she saw that the other girl immediately stood up to gather her things - almost throwing them off the table more than once in the rush. "Ah, no, it's..." Kotori started, but before she could tell her that it wasn't a bother, Shizuka was already halfway through the door - literally, as she'd be all the way through if she hadn't run into it in its closed state.

"Are you..." was yet another beginning that Kotori didn't manage to finish as Shizuka was already out of the door before she could ask if she was already. She was a little concerned - but at the same time knew that she most likely wouldn't be able to catch up to the other girl. Matthew, meanwhile, seemed to be similarly concerned - and not just for that reason, as he turned to wonder if Shizuka may perhaps have been scared off. Looking back to the door and thinking on how flustered the girl had been, Kotori didn't take long to shake her head - she had the feeling that scared would be the wrong word.

The phone call that interrupted Matthew's words meanwhile seemed rather important - as he asked her to lock up; quickly getting his things to head out to work - though not before nearly stumbling over something. Picking up the handkerchief that had come to rest on the floor beside the table, Kotori was just about to nod in agreement that he should go after Shizuka to return it - but at that moment, his phone rang yet again. Unfortunately, it seemed that his work appointment was rather important - whilst a little disappointed at development, Kotori could at least agree that work would be important too. When Matthew mentioned returning the handkerchief later, she nodded quickly with a "Please do" added for emphasis before he too was out the door and gone from sight.

Left alone in the club room, Kotori spent a moment looking at the open door - not even noticing that she still had the faintest of smiles on her face as she rather more calmly collected her things. Taking one last look around the flower-filled room after heading for the door, she gave a small bow toward the room before closing the door and locking up behind herself.

One detour to the teacher's lounge to drop off the clubroom key later, she stood near the school's main entrance; wondering what to do now that Agriculture Club had ended so unexpectedly soon.

Drip, drop. Drip, drop. Evening summer rain had started to shower over the town of Warakuma, tranquility washing over the little rural town. Its occupants were slowly making their way back home under umbrellas of different sorts.

One particular girl did not anticipate such change of weather, having to wait out the downpour under a roof. This girl, Shizuka, had just got off from her work at the cosplay cafe, despite informing her friends at the agriculture club otherwise. The reason she spouted was merely an excuse she thought up in a moment's spur. While the freshman did feel guilty for her action, she couldn't figure out why she was flustered to that extent.

The calming raindrops drowned out her thoughts when another person stepped under the roof, taking refuge from the seemingly ceaseless summer rain. With a slight curiosity, Shizuka's eyes turned towards the person, just to widen from surprise. "Ha-Harvester-senpai?"

With the usual goofy expression upon his face, Matt turned to the surprised girl with a grin. "oh hey Shizu you got caught up in this weather change too? hahahahaaa..." Matt's laugh trailed off as his eyes wondered around a bit. "oh yea you feelin ok from before?" Reaching into his pocket the boy produced a handkerchief "you seemed to have dropped something in your collision"

In an attempt to calm herself, Shizuka gazed away from the upperclassman and towards the serene scenery of raindrops. "A-Ah, yes, I hadn't expected this sudden change so I unfortunately haven't brought an umbrella with me." Despite the trembling, soft tone of her voice, the raven haired maiden loosened her tense posture and relaxed a little.

However, once the boy mentioned what had happened earlier this afternoon, she flinched slightly and tightened her hands together in front of her. "Uhm... I-I'm alright...-- ...! I've been searching for it all afternoon, thank you senpai!" With an expression of relief upon her half covered face, Shizuka received the handkerchief and kept it into her school bag.

After a brief pause of thoughtful silence, thinking over the events earlier in the day, the younger student parted her lips to speak once more, "..... Harvester-senpai, .... what did you mean by the language of flowers? You haven't um.... gifted anyone with a bouquet of flowers, have you?" With how soft her voice was, unless he were intently listening to her, it would've been easily drowned out by the sound of the harsh raindrops. Her eyes were averted towards the ground, with cheeks flushed rosy pink. The shoujo romance delusional girl had finally started to figure out why this has been bothering her, but admitting to it was a whole different story.

Matt had stood there watching the girl fumble around with her words seemingly able to hear everything as his expression had changed from the usual and it seemed somewhat more serious... if anything Matt's smile turned into a bit of embarased one as the girls eyes averted from him.
"huh? have I giv... no I've never done such a thing.... though" Matt gave an embarased scratch at his face before continuing "you do remind me of Lilacs"

A relieved smile made its way upon her lips at the answer but realizing this, Shizuka immediately hid her lips behind her hand in embarrassment. 'I-I mustn't be too obvious...!' , Shizuka told herself, before what Matt said caught her attention. "Lilacs...? What significant meaning does it hold? I-I apologize for not studying enough about flowers."

As Shizuka asked Matt about the meaning of Lilacs the boy became more fidgety as he restlessly scratched the back of his head. As experienced as he was with some things Matt was completely inexperienced in others, this was one of those things which made him extremely nervous which would probably seem obvious.
"uhh... how do I um...come on man just say it" Matt seemed to be psyching himself up “Uh the Lilacs are known to represent… their known to represent first… first love” by the end of the sentence Matt was almost mumbling with his hand now resting on the back of his neck.

Wait. Wait. Did she just hear that right? This wasn't another one of those delusional shoujo romance scenes she's been dreaming about right? Shizuka caught her breath, her hazel eyes now still towards the flustered boy. A long moment of silence had passed, save for the dropping noise of the rainfall, until the color upon her cheeks darkened and she could swear he could've heard the beating of her heart from how loud it was.

The lips of the girl shyly parted but no voice would come from it. It frustrated her how here Matt was, expressing himself how he felt, but she couldn't find the courage to do the same. Shaking her head, she attempted to muster all the courage she had as trembling hands firmly, yet gently, clasp one of the boy's hand between hers to raise it up to the height of her chest. "I...... I admire you as well, Harvester-senpai."

Astonished by the mutual feelings from the girl, Matt's facial expression was that of delightful surprise before flashing the widest grin he could manage, but one could tell he was still pretty embarrassed by the color of his cheeks. Shizuka returned the gesture with a sheepish smile, one that was warm and gentle enough to ward off the cooling feeling as a result from the rain.

The two had kept silence between them after the confession while they faced the raining scenery, a pair of hands being held together in an innocent bliss. When the rain had eventually lighten up, the upperclassman held his jacket above the freshman and assisted her home, after countless times of insisting despite her protests that she did not want to be a burden. Upon arriving at the gate of the Otonashi residence, the two bid farewell, exchanging expressions of true delight before parting ways for the night.