Toma Tanaka - April 26th, Late Afternoon | Amusement Park
The boy gave a small laugh and nod in response to Akane asking if she should've hit them harder. "Mm, next time. They'll have to learn eventually."
He blinked when she mentioned his wrist, briefly looking down at his bandaged up right one, before quickly realizing she was talking about the little slap he had received on his left.
"Oh," he said, smile returning to his face. "Yeah, I'll have to get this checked out. Look, he even scratched me with his fingernail a little. It's a miracle I'm not bleeding out right now."
Toma nodded in affirmation at Akane's next words, giving a quick wave as she set off.
"She's nice," he commented as he looked back towards Kotori. He opened his mouth, deciding to ask if she'd mind if he sat on the bench -- but was cut off by the voice he had tried to forget.
"There you are, Tooooomaaaaa-kuuunn!"
God damn it.
He looked over his shoulder towards the running Arata, with a forced smile plastered on his face. It quickly dropped when the other boy practically jumped him from behind, throwing his arm around Toma's neck, all while laughing away. As the red-haired boy struggled to keep his balanced, he glanced around the park, seeing that many passerby's were staring at the scene that was being made.
"Oh? Hello!" Arata said cheerfully, noticing Kotori. "I'm Kimura Arata from class 3-2, and I'm the captain of the Track Club, which pretty much makes me Toma-kun's boss!" he spouted off, leaning forward excitedly and dragging Toma with him, still holding his neck. The taller boy quickly moved to pull Arata off -- even he found the guy overwhelming, so he couldn't imagine Kotori enjoying his presence all too much. Add onto that the stares they were getting, and all Toma wanted to do was get Arata away.
"No, it doesn't," said a light but exasperated female voice. A moment later, Arata's rambling was cut off by a hand reaching up and pulling hard on the back of his collar. "At all."
"Gah! Tsuru-chan, stoppp!" he protested, though his bright smile was still there.
These people had zero clue how to not draw attention. Toma gave an annoyed sigh to collect himself from the sneak attack. Despite how much more appealing sitting with Kotori sounded than getting dragged around by the track members some more, he no longer had a choice.
"I'll see you around," he said with a tired smile as he glanced at Kotori. He turned back to Arata, placing his hand on the boy's shoulder as he walked, urging him away. "Come on, Kimura-kun, let's get back to the group."
"Ah, okay! Now that you've eaten, wanna go on the roller coaster?" the boy asked excitedly as the two walked away from the bench.
Toma paled a little again. "Uh, no, that's fine. I'm sure you guys don't want to wait in line for it again," he said quickly. "Let's, uh, go to the Haunted House instead -- no one's done that yet today."
Tsuruko stood near Kotori, glancing between the two receding boys and the girl on the bench. "Sorry about blondie. He doesn't know how annoying he is," she said suddenly, wearing a flighty smile. A flash of realization appeared on her face for a moment, before instantly reverting to her simple, unconcerned expression. "Oh, I'm Yamada Tsuruko, Class 1-2." She paused again, deciding she should get back to her group. "Well, goodbye," she said simply, giving a small wave as she turned and walked away calmly.
April 27th, Late Morning | Shopping District - Yoshida Book Café
Toma once again found himself in the old man's bookstore, unpacking and shelving books in order. The man had called him early in the morning, saying he had found a bunch more boxes that he had forgotten about, and asking if Toma'd like to help out for pay again. Of course, the boy had accepted and got himself ready for the day, making his way straight over.
He had been surprised to see that the store was already open for business, though no one had come in half-hour Toma had been there.
The boy looked around the quaint shop as he opened the next box. Though he had never been much of a reader, he found the place to be interesting. Every wall was lined with shelves of old-looking books, save for a portion of the back wall, which was where the counter and door to the backrooms were. Littering the floor were various sofas and chairs, and small tables. As the old man had explained, customers could order a drink, pick any book that interested them, and sit down to read it. And if they wanted to buy any of the books, they could.
The ringing of the door, signalling that someone had entered, brought Toma back. He glanced at the customer, an elderly woman, who moved to look at the shelves near the front of the store. After placing the books he was holding down, he moved to the backrooms, which served as both a storage area and the old man's living space.
"Yoshida-san," Toma called out. When that got no response, he poked his head into a room that couldn't be considered anything but a closet, and saw the man sound asleep on the futon he had laid out, out of the covers and fully clothed, like he had just passed out.
Wait. Was he dead? "Yoshida... san?" Toma asked quietly, staring hard at the unmoving body. After a tense moment, the man's chest rose up, and fell again -- a sure sign of breathing.
Toma let out a relieved sigh, and wondered why his mind had immediately feared that the guy had died. He was old, yeah, but still.
He looked out the door into the shop, and saw the customer seemed to have found a book that interested her. Not wanting to disturb Yoshida, he decided to try to hold down the fort until the old man woke up. Toma knew how to make coffee, and he was decent with people, so he figured it wouldn't be too difficult -- especially considering how few customers this place seemed to get. In fact, Yoshida had said that he ran the whole store alone.
Taking one last moment to steel himself, he stepped out behind the counter, wearing a welcoming smile.
