SOU MIYANE - Central District: Tamagakahara

---

Miyane waved back. She didn’t stick around to watch the car take its leave.

Upstairs, she was greeted by the familiar silence. Not exactly comfortable with its presence but… it was here. And so was she. It was a far cry from the old dorms in Seoul, a flat half this size and with seven other girls mucking around, cooking or watching dramas or fighting over the hot water. The memory was extinguished as her handbag flopped onto the six-seater sofa, shortly followed by Miyane herself. A sigh escaped as she let her eyes shut.

Hyejin was likely returning to her own apartment after her phone was repaired. Daehyun just started his last week of filming. It was still a few days too soon for Miori’s weekly visit.

She had half a thought to invite Kaneko-san upstairs if they met again. The idea prompted an incredulous chuckle.

Guess it was just her tonight. With another sigh, a drama was loaded up on the LCD in front of her.

Something to cut through the silence.

"Big brother, huh?" Tsurushi queried, her arms folded as she said this.

Her eyes shifted over to Tamiko, who seemed rather defensive of a rather gaudy shark bandanna that this "brother" of hers had given her. It was obvious that this was a girl who had way too many things confiscated from her, although that in turn led Tsurushi to wonder what kind of lethal shit Tamiko was trying to bring into the school. Perhaps this wasn't the time to ask; she didn't want to come off as too pushy.

"Well, I'm actually her new teacher," Tsurushi said, to answer the young man's question to how she knew Tamiko, "I just happened to chance upon her here while I was trying to find this place... ugh..."

She couldn't believe she was wasting valuable lunch break hours on this mess. Tsurushi have to go back to the school herself soon enough so she could continue with her job, and trying to convince Tamiko to come with her was a lost cause. Everything was falling apart around her.

Mana retracted slightly, her overlong sleeves folding down as she lifted her hand to her chest. Her face was one of a confused cringing; was this girl actually in middle school? She lifted an eyebrow and spoke in a manner she thought echoed her ‘disreputable’ friends all too much.

“Ahn? The hell are you talking about? You lose your parents in a crash, or something?” she said, waving a hand in dismissal.

“Oh no,” the schoolgirl shook her head, “I’d be able to indulge in self-pity if that were the case. This...better that you don’t know.”

Mana crossed her arms, frowning. “Well now you have me curious. You’re really weirding me out. Are you on drugs? What did you take today? No need to be embarrassed. I’ve been there.” Mana’s expression softened somewhat. She really was convinced at that point that something was mentally up with the girl, self-induced or not.

Her eyebrows raised slightly, a sliver of surprise at Mana’s concern. But she shook her head again. “Didn’t take any. I don’t take any. Not anymore. But I…” The girl cut herself short. Restarted with a different sentence. “Miss, are you happy with your life?”

Mana dropped her hands to her sides, staring for a moment. Why were the tables being turned?

“Happy…? Well, I suppose I could be happier, yea. Not exactly easy being me, but then I guess you’d tell me you ain’t… well you’re worse off than me. What’s your point?” she asked, briefly looking up into the grey sky. She’d have preferred at this point to be inside, but she definitely wasn’t about to turn her back on the lunatic girl in front of her.

“A red pill, glowing like an ember in the center.” She closed her eyes, as if envisioning it in her mind. “Don’t take it, no matter how you feel. They might even label it as an anti-depressant. And tell your friends too.”

She opened her eyes again, wiping the rain from her face, shifting wet strands of hair behind her ears. “Like the apple in Eden. Take anything else, just not that.”

“You’re… really weirding me out, kid,” Mana said, shaking her head. She stepped aside, silently gesturing for the girl to back down the stairs before her. “I’m not leaving till you’re back on ground level.” Mana crossed her arms -she was quite adamant about the demand. She wasn’t going to follow her forever, but once the girl was out of her hands, she’d at least feel that her responsibility to her and the clean-ish streets was absolved.

That was the end of that, wasn’t it?

“Then I suppose I will comply.”

A quieter place then.

“Keep what I said in mind though, ok?”

With that, she picked up her shoes and walked down, bare feet leaving prints in the cement.

Mana watched her go back down, and so as not to make it awkward, stayed up on the roof for a minute longer, listening to her trek down the stairs. A red pill, glowing in the center? She’d never heard of a drug like that circulating around. Perhaps it was just some fancy rave ecstasy. But…

How’d they get the glow to be inside? Mana shrugged off the thought, and headed back to work.

---

Location
Central District

Interacting With
N/A

---

Following that, he nodded in response to the man, crossing his arms with a self-assured smirk on his face as the officer reproached his efforts, though it came more offhand than anything else. He thought little of it as the man prattled on, staying silent as he went between trying to get a look on the situation on the van without looking too suspicious.

If anything, he kept it up, lightly nodding with that same expression on his face as the officer applauded him for his own work before stating not to do that again. "Yeah, yeah, alright, I'll try not to get too involved next time," he smiled in the mans general direction as he departed and disappeared into the truck.

And in a few moments, the weight of the city crashed down onto him once again. Despite the overbearing weight, he stood there, along amidst the trash in the dank alleyway, waiting a couple of seconds before he was certain the van carrying the man was consumed by the cacophony of this place.

And then, he took a whiff of himself.

Bleugh!

Ugh, yeah, that scent was still lingering as much as his face was starting to become a prune. On reflex, he began wiping down his jacket with his hands, despite understanding full well that the odor was going to continue staining his shirt. He couldn't tell if he wanted to go home at this point, or just...

Nah, he still had to check out those Whispers in the Wall... somewhere in the Red Light District, or was it the Western District?

Marc wasn't exactly sure as he leaned against one of the grime saturated walls, tapping the code to open up his phone, only to discover that it was working perfectly fine now. He had access to the internet, hell, could call his Mom or Rin if anything as he glanced at his three contacts.

That is, before looking up at where the van once was, giving that area a thousand-yard stare before attaching himself to the world once more. Popping off the side of the wall, he walked at a leisure pace, recomposing himself as the maverick of the streets as he went against the flow once again.

"Child, people, bell, birth, sorry, fix, joy."

Those words replayed constantly in his head as he calculated how long it would take him to get on a train and ride his way to the Redlight District as he began shuffling fervently through the crowds. Another set of words began beating through his head before he shut off his phone.

"Look for the place where the light glows brighter as the cats fortune wanes."

The Whispers in the Wall.

Supposedly based on what he read, that Ducking had multiple accounts and rumors she recounted about people reporting about this area, from these whispers giving you the answer to anything you want, to it whispering a persons future with it being different for each person, to it just being a glory-hole.

Of course, this could be one of the buildings that had cheap walls you could hear through with people going on a drunken rambling, so it could just be that. Couldn't hurt to give it a shot, among other things as he strode swiftly through the crowds, hoping to at least make it in time for the next train ride to the Southwestern District.

'A pedo? Me? That's more of something a man would be accused off...' Tsurushi contemplated. It was rare for a woman to be labelled as a pedophile, but she supposed it wasn't impossible. Perhaps it was best that she took her leave after all. She was about to, but she realized that she still had no idea where to go. She turned to face the man with Tamiko one last time.

"Can I just have...?" before she could complete her question, everything went white.

...

As her vision returned to her, Tsurushi noticed that she was now all alone, surrounded by glass as water cascaded down her exposed body. Her arm was still outstretched from what she remembered, and her index finger specifically had been raised slightly. It took her a moment to register that she was indecent, but even once she did, she never feel any urgency to try and recover her modesty. Tsurushi started to bring her arm down again as she came to, only to re-position it on the right side of her head as it sank low.

'Just a dream. Or was that my power going off again? Shit...'

Using her other hand, Tsurushi reached for the closest tap and turned it all the way to the right, continuing to do so until the water would no longer be running. She stepped outside of the glass box, dried herself with a nearby towel and got dressed before opening the door to another room... only to find said room in shambles. Papers were strewn on the floor. Streaming equipment had looked to be set up, but not put away again. The TV was left running, displaying what looked to be the main menu of a video game known as Splatoon. Trash from a fast food restaurant had littered the dining table. Tsurushi knew only one person who could leave a room in anywhere near this bad a state.

"Good grief, Zaketa; I'd have the impression that a hurricane had hit this place if... I didn't know any better..."

Sure enough, there Morino Zaketa was, her body entangled in bed sheets as her head lay, up-side down, over the end of the bed that she was sleeping in. She looked to be looking straight at Tsurushi, but with the gaze in her blood red eyes as blank as it was, along with the fact the irises were barely visible over those heavy eyelids of hers, it was hard to tell if her head was really there.

Perhaps the best thing for Tsurushi to do for Zaketa now was to let her sleep, in as awkward a position as she found her in. She went over to the dresser next to her own bed and collected her purse and her glasses. Putting the latter on and slinging the former over her shoulder, she checked her phone one last time. With a sigh, she pocketed her phone again and went outside.

"I'll be back at about... 3 or 4, I wanna say. Text me if you need anything while I'm out, OK?"

With that, Tsurushi flicked the sign over so that the "Do Not Disturb" side would be displayed, before closing the door and making her leave.

Ding dong.

"Welcome."

The words came out her mouth like a machine. Monotone. Perfect. But without life.

Mana maintained that cultural imposition of giving great service, no matter how soulless she truly felt about it. When someone stepped into the convenience store, she welcomed them -that was simply the requirement. The apathy latent in her voice battled with a forced friendliness, as if two voices came out of her at once.

But there was more to it today; a certain level of distraction came through as well, and her averted gaze from the customers, even as she turned her head to them, made it plain her attention was elsewhere. Mana was on autopilot. Across the street, gray beams of light silted onto the city as the dreary weathered held fast. It refrained from dropping rain for the time being, but she couldn't help but recall the smell up on that rooftop the day prior. The dampness in her clothes, and a worry that a cold would latch on through the drooping attire.

And... the girl. The weird girl. She knew of two students her age who had commit suicide, neither of which were close in any sense, so the reality of such a world was no stranger to Mana. But seeing it in person -nearly, anyways- had left far greater an impression. One which she couldn't shake from her thoughts. Just how casual could someone be about killing themselves? The girl expressed such little shock, such little regret.

A customer placing the basket of groceries onto the conveyor belt roused her temporarily. She made the exchange, never forgetting the final 'thank you', and quickly drifted off back into her thoughts. She'd had even worse sleep than usual, and something about the attempted suicide urged Mana not to use some sleeping pills the night before. Her eyes were dark and sullen, but her lips always managed to lift up that courteous smile.

When a hand suddenly planted itself on her shoulder, she jerked. Asahi was standing behind her, a mild smile on his face.

"You alright? You really don't look great," he asked. There were no customers in the store. Mana spoke plainly.

"I stopped a girl from killing herself yesterday," she replied in as composed a voice as humanly possible. Asahi's eyes looked stricken for the briefest second, but he kept up his unfettered demeanor like always.

"O-oh... Was she a friend?" he asked.

"No. I don't even know her name. I just saw her on top of a building and... I guess I had a hunch. Yanked her off just in time. She was fuckin' weird," Mana explained, turning around and leaning on the counter where the register sat. "I don't know what's wrong with her, I'm just... stunned."

Asahi smiled warmly at Mana.

"You're a good person to care enough to try," he said.

"Yea?" Mana hummed, unconvinced, "Wouldn't most anybody try?"

"You'd be surprised, I think, about how many would just say it's too late and shrug," Asahi said, mimicking the motion. "You know they say there's three types of people in a crisis situation." Asahi held up three fingers, "The first panics, and freezes up. They protect their brains by shutting down. The second kind remains firm and steady, but require leadership to act. They are prepared to act, but they subconsciously won't come to terms with their own ability to take charge. And the third-"

"Takes charge," Mana interrupted, grinning. Asahi lowered his hand and nodded. "I get it, I get it. I just wish the whole thing wasn't sticking to me like this. If I just knew why she decided to do that, I don't know... Maybe it'd be easier to process it and forget."

"Maybe you just need some more time. It's not a normal thing, being that close to something so alien. Just let me know if you need anything else to talk about, Mana, okay?" he asked tenderly. Mana nodded, pushing off of the counter. Another customer had walked in.

Ding dong.

"Welcome."

"Thanks," Marina told Kenshin, "you've been a great help."

With her hail-mary attempt to gather information a surprising success, she had left the hostess club feeling a bit better than she came in. She had left enough money to cover the bottle of sake, but didn't even bother to drink any more than that one glass. Back into the drizzling streets of the red light district, she pulled out her phone. It was cheap and obviously prepaid. In an attempt to see if what Kenshin had said was true, she searched up what he had told her. The Quartermasters, Galaxy, and everything else. He wasn't lying. While the pictures on the internet weren't conclusive, they were similar enough. She needed to confirm it was him. Face to face. Tapping a number into the phone, she held it up to her ear as it rang.

Then it clicked with a characteristic hello.

"Hey, Yasuo. Ever hear about a place called Galaxy?"

---

She needed supplies for her afternoon with Yasuo. After all, just walking and going to town on someone's torso with a knife wasn't a very effective strategy. Well, historically it was. The problem was that it worked just once. But that was besides the point. Her goals lied with revenge first and foremost. An incomplete revenge was better than no revenge, but total revenge was better than incomplete. So she entered a convenience store on her way to Tenoroshi North Park—the place where she would meet Yasuo.

From the stands of magazines and books, she chose two thick magazines without caring about the contents. She made sure that they were the cheapest magazines possible. Not out of any frugal desires. Rather, it was the result of needing a specific kind of paper. Paper made to hold colour and retain the quality of images were out. The paper was too waxy, plastic, or whatever they were coated with. The best choices—and the ones she took—were two of the same puzzle book. A book filled with Sudoku that was made for people who actually enjoyed filling in numbers.

To her surprise, she found a familiar brand of vodka in the drink cooler. It kind of brought back a few memories. It was the same brand that she and Yasuo had drank the night after they had graduated from middle school. They hid behind a concrete jump and took turns swigging it straight from the bottle. It tasted nasty and made them sick with alcohol poisoning from two kids swigging too much, but it was still something that brought a slight smile to Marina's face. She grabbed two bottles and prepared to check out.

At the cashier, she grabbed two cheap, disposable lighters from a small stand by the checkout. The cashier rung up the items and put them in a small bag. Marina paid the apathetic cashier, who didn't really care enough to card her, and headed down south to meet with Yasuo a bit early. He probably would have got a few kicks from swigging that terrible vodka again.

SOU MIYANE - Central District: Tamagakahara

---

Miyane forced her eyes open.

Sleep. Ah, when did she sleep last night? Was she doing anything today? She pulled her phone from beneath the pillow, blearily skimming over the clock. Still socially acceptable. Barely.

Her notifications feed had been scarce for a while. Company calendars, team schedules, upcoming shoots, they’d all trickled to a near-stop. Currently, the only messages of any importance were…

…

A selca from Daehyun. Ignored.

Hyejin meeting another studio. Maybe later.

And a message from her sister. Miori and the boys were going to be a bit late for weekly dinner tonight. Something about an accident delaying Sousuke’s karate tournament. Well, that worked for Miyane.

With a relaxed sigh, the former idol flopped back into the sheets.

SOU MIYANE - Central District: Tamagakahara

---

…Thump.

“<<Chaewon-ah! You don’t have to do that Godzilla impression every goddamn morning, you know?>>”

Thump. …Thump!

“<<6am is a bit much, even for her.>>”

Thump.

“<<I knowww. We don’t even have a comeback soon…>>”

“<<Miya-unnie, have you seen Sooyoung-ie anywhe—argh, she’s going to use all the hot water again!>>”

T H U M P .

---

A grizzly-like moan echoed through her bedroom, groggy and pained. Who the fuck was—

THUMP.

Upstairs. Why? Miyane flicked through her mental database, trying to remember anything about her neighbour. No result. Disappointing, though that wasn’t a surprise. Kaneko-san was the only person she regularly met on the elevators due to general lack of usage.

THUMP THUMP.

She tried waiting it out. A few minutes later and it was the same sporadic nightmare. God, if they were going to be an asshole then the least they could do was be rhythmically consistent about it. No other option then. Grumbling all the way, Miyane got dressed. She’d just have to wait it out in one of the nearby cafes.

Investigating the disruption herself wasn’t even an option that crossed her mind. Either way, the door refused to budge.

Miyane frowned and tried again. Pulled harder. Tried pushing it for good measure.

“Are you kidding me—” she hissed.

She grabbed her phone from her handbag and hit the quick dial for Hyejin.

"Can I help you with someth..." Mana stared at the man as he furiously approached, initially unperturbed. When the realization finally hit, she managed a quick, more friendly greeting before the slam startled her into recoiling away. She lifted up her hands in mock surrender, more playful than actually fearful. She lifted her brow high, shooting glances aside to Asahi and the other customers who, for the most part, were apathetic to the rabble-rouser.

"Kouta, what's u-" before she could finish he slammed again. He didn't seem specifically violent, so Mana remained cautious at most. "H-Hanami? I didn't see her, no. She not responding to your texts... again?" Mana asked, lowering her arms. "I don't know what to tell you man. Maybe get a drink and cool your head?" Mana said jokingly. She leaned, speaking quietly.

"Look Kouta, I can't have you barging in disrupting things like this. My boss will think I'm attracting trouble just by being me," she said, returning back over the counter. "I can help you look for her," she said in a normal voice, "I owe you one anyways, I suppose."

Marina chuckled when she heard Yasuo suggesting that Marina do some special forces type smash and grab. "As fun as that sounds, I'm not that nefarious. Not really that talented, either." Her chuckling had been replaced with a short, empty stare at nothing. "I do want to make sure that it is him, most importantly." She briefly shook her head to stop thinking for just a moment. To reset. "But I didn't just bring some sudoku."

From within a paper bag, she partially pulled out a bottle of vodka. Only enough so that, with the bag tilted and aimed directly at him, Yasuo could surmise the brand. "Saw this shit at the store. Felt pretty nostalgic to buy it and maybe day drink like when we were in high school."

After handing Yasuo one of the thick books with a pen attached to the cover, she pulled out her book. It had already started. She had filled in maybe half of a page of puzzles on the way over.

"Last one to finish is a rotten egg."

And she was off. Already, she was filling in numbers like a maniac. Most of them was wrong, but it was a race. She was bound to get a few actually correct, wasn't she?

A part of Tsurushi just wanted to have this therapy session she was supposed to attend over the phone. It would save her from having to go out at all today and risk getting completely lost. Then again, that was the whole reason she left so early in the first place; so that she could scour the whole city of Tenoroshi if she had to. She retraced her steps back to the park in which she found Tamiko.

This time, Tsurushi stuck to the outskirts of the park, and looked around for buildings that she hadn't come across before. She was determined to find that clinic that she needed to attend for this afternoon's session, and she wasn't going to give up on trying to find it. Tsurushi looked down to the map that was on her phone, just to ascertain that she was on the right track. She hadn't made any deviations from the path that was supposed to take her to said clinic, which in turn meant it wouldn't change on her and throw her off; so far, so good.

Tsurushi kept going down the highlighted path.

---

Location
Central District => Southern District

Interacting With
N/A

---

Staring up at the ceiling, it felt as if he was watching some YouTube videos at the lowest settings as the dull, almost monochromatic room slowly came into focus. The boy could barely stifle a yawn as reached over to grab his phone on what could be considered the most organized portion of his room aside from his desk - a plain nightstand with no real outstanding properties or design, aside from the lamp, glasses, contacts case, and of course, Marc's cellphone.

Had to go for the first important thing as the teen blinked, momentarily closing his eyes to avoid the blinding shine of the screen. Once he adjusted to the light, he swiped in his code, held the device as close as he could to his face and squinted, and checked up on the topic Ducking posted to see what had become of it.

Scrolling down, he clicked onto the next page after not finding said topic only to look at the locked symbol by the side of the title. "They really need thicker walls," he mumbled to himself nonchalantly before rolling off the side of the bed.

Eh, he would give this one a 4/10, his heart really wasn't into it as he sat up, cracked his neck, and stretched his arms up, yawning once again before grabbing his current set of contacts and popping them in. Making up his bed, the only thing he really cleaned up outside of his desk, he disappeared into his small closet before coming out with duds like a tank-top, a light jacket with a hood, some jeans, etc.

Dumping them onto his bed, he cruised outside, eyeing one of the two doors adjacent to his bedroom as he passed on by. The lone couch and chairs always looked out of place in the living room since it was only really him and his mom living here. Instead, his first, albeit brief stop was by the living room as he snatched up the remote, before taking one step into the kitchen.

Between flipping on the tv and surfing the channels until he got to the news station, he was digging through the cabinet and fridge for particular items, always peaking out to get a good look of what was being showcased before going back to his business.

...

...

Thirty minutes went on by as Marc had devoured natto, an egg, and was just getting through a bowl of miso soup as he leaned over the counter, eyes peeled and ears on high alert to see if there was any reports about that one man he had encountered or if there was any areas here that was a hotbed of activity, only to get the same old reports, much to the boys chagrin. "Same old shit as usual..."

With a scowl, he powered down the tv and lightly tossed the remote back onto the couch before cleaning up, only to get out another set of utensils, plates, and so on and made another set of natto and an egg. Leaving those two on the counter, he opened up a drawer and left what looked to be a paper stained with soy sauce, egg yolk, and other types of food with the words "4 u" written neatly on it.

With that said, the rest of the morning was basically a chore, with him doing the usual of showering, brushing his teeth, getting dressed up, and opening the blinds up, giving a decent look at the higher buildings, as well as the streets below.

And that was that. Another dull morning before the arrival of the storm that was known as "the rest of the day." Once dressed, he mentally checked off a list of everything he had - cellphone, wallet, other thing, gray thing, red thing, glasses, something something, eh, he was good to go.

The biggest question remained though - what district would he explore today?

---

Honestly, if the sky was a face it would be on the verge on the tears right now, but it was nice to say the least.

A smirk followed as he trudged down one of the sidewalks he was on after arriving about five minutes ago, often keeping an eye on the vicinity. Even in spite the happy-go-lucky smirk and glassy, lax eyes that was distracted at any tumultuous events, he was constantly vigilant. Spying down alleys, identifying people who passed his way, and even charting some of the buildings, he did it all, though he did come to one conclusion.

He had no idea where he was going. No, he wasn't lost, the graffiti around here make it look like a delinquents are exhibit; they all stood out from the rest, there wasn't one like the other.

Well, aside from that lizard being curled around a fish, and that kanji that said pride. It was pride, right?

Anyways, for living in Tenoroshi, he seemed almost like a tourist in a foreign land, opting to swiftly pull out his phone as a means of escape. On some cue, he began incessantly scrolling through the website once more to see if there had been any updates; who knows, there could be some mysterious urban legend he had never heard of about this place!

Though, after five minutes of wandering around in a circle, he found himself unsuccessful in his endeavors; no updates, no new 'real' posts that piqued his interest. Shoving his phone into a side pocket, Marc pushed his glasses up onto the bridge before pocketing his own hands as well, leisurely strolling through another block with the same grin he had on his face as before.

SOU MIYANE - Central District: Takamagahara
Collab with @Erode

---

“<<Morning, Miya-ssi! Slept well? Are Miori-ssi and her kids over yet?>>”

"<<No, they're-->>" Geez, what time was it now? Miyane grimaced as more thumps sounded through. "<<No, not yet.>>"

"<<Oh, what's up then?>>" There was silence for a moment, as if Hyejin were straining her ears. "<<Are you...cooking?>>"

"<<...No.>>" How the hell did she get cooking? "<<Something's wrong with the door. Keypad must have fried.>>"

"<<Keypad? Weren't those supposed to unlock when broken? Did you call security about it?>>"

Miyane blinked. That... no, that couldn't be right.

Her voice remained level. "Can you give me their number?"

"<<Mm...not off the top of my head,>>" Hyejin replied, "<<Maybe it's in the Welcome packet you got when you moved in?>>"

"<<Urgh, fine.>>"

She kept Hyejin on the phone as she moved back to the bedroom and rummaged through her drawers. It was buried under a pile of mementos from the girls. Things she wasn't meant to reflect on. She closed the drawer hastily and dialed the number.

"Hello, Takamagahara security? Sou Miyane from Building 3. Fifth floor. There's a problem with the door, the keypad is broken and it won't open."

The ruckus upstairs continued. Miyane's expression soured.

"I'd also like to make a complaint about the occupant of the sixth floor."

---

"The hell could I not find this place earlier?" Tsurushi rolled her eyes as she muttered this aloud, "Ugh, I really am hopeless..."

There it was; the clinic that she was after, in what to be the third floor of the building that was dead ahead of her. And she found it with an hour to spare. A part of her wanted to just go inside and get the session over with already. The sign did say that drop-in sessions were perfectly acceptable. Tsurushi observed her surroundings, however, wondering if there was an alternate way to make use of that hour.

Over to her left were that bunch of teenagers that had whistled at her and made cat calls towards her and the like. Oddly enough, that reminded Tsurushi of a particularly embarrassing incident where she got a call to see to a couple of horny teenagers... and wound up taking the virginity of one of them. She shuddered and shook her head; she was done with that life, and never wanted to go back there again.

Two more persons caught Tsurushi's eye; they looked to be trying to solve Sudoku puzzles whilst they were drinking. At first, Tsurushi dismissed the weird couple, but then she recognized the male of the two as the guy that was with Tamiko that Friday. That guy had quite the odd choice of friends, that was for sure. In any case, Tsurushi made her approach towards the estranged couple.

"Hey; I just wanted to thank you for looking after Suzukaze-kun the other day. I..." Tsurushi paused and steered away for a moment, before slowly, and awkwardly, returning to make eye contact, "Come to think of it, I never got your name..."

Mana absently rang up the pack of gum, her eyes still quite drawn to the young man's dilapidated downgrade of an appearance. A few button presses, a 'kaching' of the register, and she cupped some change for him with curled fingers, dropping it into his hands as he continued to speak. She hummed intrigued by his situation. She knew Hanami had a tendency to just drop Kouta each and every fight they had, but always came back. It was unusual to hear about her being missing for this long, and with a total lack of contact to seemingly anyone.

"A-!" Mana stopped, feeling Asahi's hand. She blinked, and moved aside, silently ushering Kouta out of the way of the confined convenience store. "Are you sure she didn't... book it out of town or something? Maybe her parents spirited her away, y'know? How'd they feel about you? Did you check her house?" Mana questioned Kouta in a hushed voice. Her hand slid into a hoodie pocket beneath her apron, touching at the pack of cigarettes resting half-empty inside.

"I know it's not ideal but... I mean you could report it to the cops, right? Surely it's not completely pointless, 'specially if you're that worried." Mana tried her best to comfort Kouta with a reassuring tone. She'd dealt with missing acquaintances before, but they almost always turned up, or turned out to have simply moved out of Tenoroshi. Sometimes the panhandling wasn't enough, and they had to ingratiate themselves before a relative for shelter outside the city. Other times their families simply took them with them. It didn't seem all that likely Hanami would have left Kouta without a word, unless the perfect storm of circumstances prevented her from doing so. Mana began to worry herself, by then, but kept up appearances.

"I'll help you look for her, if you can give me some suggestions where to start. I might know some folks who're familiar with her too."

"More or less, see if he's the one I'm looking for and just go from there. Not really much to say abo-"

Marina had been interrupted by some short woman with large breasts. She was talking about a Suzekaze, but Marina had no idea who that was. Frankly, she didn't care, but judging by that name and Yasuo looking after her, Marina could guess that Yasuo played babysitter for a while. Well, not that it really mattered too much. The race was ruined by a third party. Well, not that it really mattered. It was just brainless nostalgia. Really, she wanted for this random third party to leave them. Not out of malice, though. It was more Marina just not wanting to meaninglessly talk to strangers. With Marina now standing up, it was apparent how much taller she was.

"Well wouldn't you like to know?"

Off the bat, Marina was hostile to this woman. Though, her aggressive tone was half-hearted. It wasn't really because she hated this stranger or that she was some angry sociopath. It was more of an effort of just scaring her off so Marina wouldn't have to talk to her. After all, someone who approached two people day drinking was obviously either going to start shit or be a moral crusader.