Monday 20th April, 2015: After School
Leiko Hamada: Warakuma- On the Outskirts of Town
Leiko always chose one particular place for their meetups, for innumerable reasons. Namely, the quiet, refined cafe of her choice gave them both the peace of mind to speak openly with one another without any fear of being overheard by nosy high schoolers. Additionally, the quality of tea that they serviced was simply to die for, so much so that Leiko hadn't even brought any of her friends there, fearing it was a little rich for their tastes.
That, and the place just felt like...theirs.
"How is your studying coming along?" Leiko finally broke the silence as she finished taking a sip of her herbal tea, peering over the rim of the cup at the person before her. "Not getting in the way of your writing, I hope?"
The handsome male cracked a grin as he shook his head in response, his bangs falling into his eyes before he swept them away with a fluid, delicate motion. "My grades are holding up fine. As for the writing...well, nothing can get in the way of that. Not even my parents, although they are quick to encourage me towards something more solid...like teaching or med school." The skin on his nose wrinkled as he spoke of them, leaning back in his seat lazily as he eyed Leiko with a friendly smirk. "And what about you, Miss President? How is your little club coming along?"
He always had that annoying habit of teasing her, and it only managed to make her even more irritated as the auburn haired girl shot him a surly look. "Drama is going quite well. There are a few people I have my eye on for the leading roles this year already." At the thought of her responsibilities, a smile managed to warm her face. "Being President feels...good. I like being in control. I call the shots, and no one tells me what to do. Well, besides that irksome Masatomo idiot." She voiced his name with a hint of disgust. "But I can manage characters like him."
"I'm certain you can," the boy laughed, the sound of his laughter so infectious that it caused Leiko to follow suit. "You've always been so bossy. I'm surprised that you let the teachers teach you and not the other way around."
"Oh, I'm not that bad," Leiko rolled her eyes, tutting quietly as she began to pick apart her velvet cake. "Anyway...this might sound a little strange to you, but have you heard anything about the recent disappearings in Warakuma?"
The surprise was evident on the boy's face, and he followed quickly with a small nod. "Yeah. I heard that two high school students disappeared from your school this month. They were found though, right?"
"Yeah." Leiko's teeth began to bite into her bottom lip before she continued. "One them was a senior...and the other was a member of my club. I don't know him very well or anything but..." She broke off her sentence with a solemn shake of her head. "It's starting to bother me a little. I haven't told any of my friends or anything but...I have a terrible feeling that it's not going to stop."
"Leiko." The boy uttered her name with the utmost sincerity, akin to that of an older brother. "It's going to be fine. Just promise me that you'll take care of yourself...and don't put yourself in harm's way, alright? Try not to walk home alone if you can help it. At least until the police find out what's happening."
A sudden warmth enveloped Leiko's hand as the boy placed his over hers, and Leiko's worried frown immediately melted away into an easy smile. "Don't worry Rin. I'll be fine."
Saya Ueno: Warakuma High: Class 2-1 - Archery Range
Saya was in an undeniably good mood that day, so much so that even her closest friends had commented on her unusual glow. She sailed through the day with a cheery smile and an uncharacteristic enthusiasm for the day ahead as she worked diligently and laughed with her fellow classmates without a care. Only a few could really guess the real reason for her high, (and that reason beginning with a capital R), and it wasn't until the bell rang for the beginning of clubs that Saya began to show signs of deflating.
"What's the matter Saya-chan? I thought you were dosed up on the love bug." One of her friends grinned at her as Saya began to gather her things with a slight frown. "Shouldn't you be excited about seeing your special someone?"
"Can you be quiet?" Saya moaned self-consciously, eyes fluttering strangely to the door as a blush painted her cheeks. "I'm kinda nervous about Archery right now actually. I didn't go on Friday...and I haven't really practiced or anything since I had that mad moment of luck..." Should she bail again? It wouldn't look particularly good for her if she did, but making a fool of herself seemed worse too...
"Well, you can always come shopping with us instead?" Her friend suggested sympathetically, but that only caused Saya to remember that she had barely any money left after her outing with Rokoru the day before. Not only had she splurged on more clothes than she could fit in her room, but she had treated him to the occassional snack and beverage, if only to help him tolerate the trip. If she spent any more any time soon, she would have to start working more regularly at her parents' place, and Saya felt like she had little free time as it stood.
"No, it's fine. I'll suck it up and go," Saya shot her friend a weary smile and a thumbs up. "Wish me luck!"
When Saya arrived at the range, she couldn't help but notice that some of the seniors were starting some kind of tournament amongst themselves, albeit with a more laidback feeling than the one that was held the previous Wednesday. Having had her fair share of such excitement, the girl walked over to the lockers to retrieve her equipment before finding a good spot to practice. Deciding on her usual lane (hey, familiarity was good, right?), she picked a bow from her quiver and assumed her shooting stance, making an extra effort to beat down her nerves and stop looking so darn worried about shooting a target. Just as she pulled the string taut however, she noticed her neighbour land a clean, impressive hit on their own target. Letting out a low whistle at the impressive shot, Saya looked over to compliment the person in an attempt to become more friendly with her clubmates. "Wow, that was really good. How did you get it to go so straight like that, umm...?"
It took Saya a moment too late to realize who she was speaking to as she finally caught the face of her neighbour. Oh. Oh no.
Akira.
"Ahh...umm..." Crap. Crap crap crap crap cra- "Yeah! That wasn't bad, Kiragakure-san," she laughed unsettingly, before sharply looking away and desperately focusing herself back on, well, anything.