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Hayato Morikawa

"I can't guarantee your safety, especially when you start messing with us."

0 · 661 views · located in Unnamed City

a character in “Arc 4”, as played by DeathScythe386

Description

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Name || Hayato Morikawa

Age || 20

Gender || Male

Sexuality || Heterosexual

Appearance || Hayato spends most of his time slouched over- with a height of 6'0" though he seems to be slightly shorter thanks to his posture. He is always dressed in heavy clothing, preferably his brown coat and a beanie. His brown hair is hidden mostly behind his beanie and he has gray eyes and a steely look. Unlike the rest of Westside, he doesn't seem to be wearing any form of their identification on him.

Face Claim || Aragaki Shinjiro; Persona 3

Personality || The leader of the Westside Hounds is a man of few words. Despite being the big boss of the gang, Hayato does not always partake in his gang member's frequent raids and operations, instead preferring the solace of their main headquarters. Many have mentioned that Hayato cares more for the gang war and taking down Enigma rather than making their territory bigger.

It's implied he's moving out of a personal vendetta rather than on behalf of the Hounds.

Room Number || N/A

Roommate || N/A (Non-Dormer)

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Likes:

Dogs - There's a reason as to why the Westside Hounds are called the Hounds, and that's because Hayato has a hidden weakness in dogs. He even owns one named Hudson. He feels like they're the closest one can get to a non-verbal best friend.

Alcohol - Hayato doesn't exactly drink to excess, but he does, and occasionally takes a few swigs to calm his nerves before he has to go on anything important for the Hounds. In case they complete a nasty raid, though, he always treats his gang members to drinks.

Motorcycles - As a driver of one, Hayato has a fascination with motorcycles. Around midnight at Castle City, if someone stays out for long enough, one can usually see Hayato driving around almost aimlessly on his own.

Dislikes:

Being questioned - Hayato considers himself to be a lenient enough leader. Can't they at least show him a little respect and not question his orders, since they're almost always extremely few?

Losing - Hayato's a lenient person, but having his gang lose is a massive no for him. He seems to want to prove this by wanting to take down all the other big-named gangs in Castle City.

Enigma - He seems to have a personal vendetta against the entirety of the Enigma gang. Even his gang members don't know why, as he never talks about it. Nor anything.

History || Hayato doesn't like to remember much of his past. All he knows about his parents is that he was what people can easily call an accidental child, and was an orphan for most of his life. He was quickly adopted by a wealthy entrepreneur, though Hayato never got used to the rich and luxurious lifestyle.

He started the Westside around some time in high school due to his desire to go out and blow off some steam. It started first as a little get-together for rebels who simply wanted a little fun- and it's implied that around this time he met Enigma's own gang leader and that's where it started. Catching wind of his adoptive son's actions, his adoptive father had him move to Castle City in hopes that it would help his psyche.

What he didn't know was that the Hounds followed Hayato, and they seem to have a master plan for their brand new conquest...

Colors || Speech = Saddle Brown / Thought = Maroon

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So begins...

Hayato Morikawa's Story

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Kujo Nobuyuki Character Portrait: Nagisa Makinami Character Portrait: Kanade Takamine Character Portrait: Misaka Amamiya Character Portrait: Kirika Katsuragi Character Portrait: Genji Yukitora Character Portrait: Hayato Morikawa

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Black Rose Cafe - 6:25 AM

"Good morning..."

Genji found himself waking up rather early that day, but after he had made a small mistake in waiting for his younger sister's text message first before heading out, causing him to arrive slightly later than he would have liked. He huffed under his mask- unacceptable. He needed to keep a strict eye on time.

"Anything else that you might need help with?"




Kurogane Institute - 9:00 AM

"Ugh! What'd I say about getting on my turf, you fuckin' losers?! Get lost!"

Kujo brushed his hands off on his pants as a few glaring boys quickly scrambled out, muttering and sending glares over their shoulders at the spiky-haired man. Turning around, he grinned.

"We're all clear Makinami!"

"Was that necessary...? What's with you hanging out with me all the time anyway? Ichinose's worried I might be getting into gang stuff."

"You can tell Ichinose she worries too much! Come on, this is the comfiest place, AND you're safe from both Westside and Enigma!"

"I wouldn't call a small hideout with a couch and a shit laptop comfy."

"What a jokester!"

Kujo grinned and plopped down on his couch, opening up his laptop and his lunch while Nagisa took a seat next to him, somewhat bothered.

"Well..."

"Hey. Trust me when I say y'all are safe with me. Westside and Enigma wouldn't mess with me if their lives depended on it."

"I'm not so sure but...I'll take your word for it."

Kujo grinned a bit.

"Hey, Makinami? Y'know, a specific floor in this institute is said to be haunted..."

"Hmm...?"




St. Gabriel's Academy - 9:00 AM

Misaka yawned as she stepped off the bus, feeling a hand clamp down on her shoulder. Koga's grinning face met her as she looked over.

"Hey, Koga..."

"Sheesh, are you ignoring me now? Come on!"

"It's been a long night. For one, my roommate came back drunk."

"On your second day?"

Misaka slowed down her steps to let her friend walk beside her. Koga walked at her pace, grinning.

"I heard Yukitora-san's coming back."

"He already is. I think I saw him..."

"Heh! He's at your dorm right? Then you gotta talk to him sometime-- huh?"

Koga stopped, looking over his shoulder. Misaka looked over and caught a glimpse of a tall man in a brown coat glaring at the building before starting to walk away.

"That was..."

"Weird. Probably Hijikata's problem."

"Hijikata?'

Koga smiled awkwardly.

"Let's, uh...get to class."




Partisan Rose - 9:00 AM

"Takamine. Takamine!"

Kanade glanced up tiredly, drowsy eyes staring up at her professor. To be fair, he didn't seem mad- he just scratched the back of his neck.

"Do you have a headache or something?"

"Sorry sir...as you can see I'm--" She paused and yawned. "--Kanadead right now."

That at least got a few chuckles from the others in the class. She rubbed her eyes as she did.

"Won't happen again sir. Really."

Good thing classes ended a little after that- she found herself wandering outside, only to be met with a familiar figure. A familiar, towering figure.

"Takamine Kanade right?"

Shaggy brown hair, slouched over position and stern eyes. Kanade felt slightly worried for herself- she already knew who this guy was despite the lack of identification on him. Nevertheless, she put on her usual tough exterior.

"Yeah, yours truly. What's the big bad want from me?"

"Westside matters."

He lowered his voice. Hayato Morikawa was, by all means, someone to not be messed with.

"Everyone knows about 14th. What my crew is interested in, is getting as much input from others who know shit about Kurogane. And of course, nobody wants to talk to a Hound."

"And what's that got to do with me?"

"I know you're close to several Kurogane students. I need contacts."

Kanade's eyes narrowed.

"What the fuck do you want numbers for and why the fuck do you think would they help you?"

"Look. We're trying to get behind this murder as much as the whole city is. Think of it as vigilante justice."

"Look here..."

She heaved a sigh. Hayato raised an eyebrow.

"Kujo. You're better off asking Kujo."

She didn't want to put Nagisa in any danger of gang activity. Might as well drop the guy who was already in it.

"That's all?"

"Yeah. That's all you're getting from me."

"I suppose I gotta settle this our own way then...alright fine. Tell 'im I'm dropping by as soon as classes end. Later."

As Hayato walked away, Kanade cursed a bit under her breath.

"Tell him yourself, Mr. Tough Guy..."

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Makoto Itsuna Character Portrait: Hotaru Emirsdottir Character Portrait: Menou Koizumi Character Portrait: Akeno Furuya Character Portrait: Fuyumi Hirabayashi Character Portrait: Kazuya Tamashiro Character Portrait: Hayato Morikawa

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Hotaru shook her head with a happy grin.

"It's more like Mikoto-chan is too ill to really continue her classes. Stress and her don't really mix together..."

This caused the mousier girl to blush heavily.

"E-Emirsdottir-san, please don't say that so casually..."

Hotaru laughed a bit as Mikoto spoke up.

"Sorry, Mikoto-chan. Still, I'm not done with my classes yet. I just had a large break due to finishing up a test really early and I thought I would do a favor for a classmate. Thanks a lot for helping us, Makoto-kun!"


Kurogane Institute

Fuyumi happily hummed as she walked to Kurogane. She had heard that her friends mostly resided there and wanted to give them their boxed lunches so that they were able to get through the day with plenty of nutrition. Her day at St. Gabriels was rather short as it was mostly spent on introductions. Her classmates didn't seem to discriminate her due to her condition which to her was fantastic. She could become a successful chef despite her blindness and that ultimately cheered Fuyumi up more than anything.

"In any case, I should definitely see if Mr. Harumi is around. He'll need support now more than ever. Still, I hope Mr. Nobuyuki and Miss Makinami enjoy their nice surprises too..."

Fuyumi didn't pay attention so she bumped into someone on the way over. She felt the coat first and it felt really coarse, like it had been worn constantly. She then felt how warm the person was underneath the coat. Were they just naturally hot? In any case, Fuyumi was just grateful not to have fallen over.

"Ah! Forgive me! I wasn't exactly paying attention to where I was going and I'm blind so I didn't exactly see you. U-Um, is there any chance that I could make it up to you if I damaged anything...?"

She wanted to feel to see who this person was but that was going to be extremely difficult since she didn't quite know if they were a male, female or even trans. All she knew was the coarse coat that they were wearing and that wasn't enough to pinpoint what this person looked like so she could make up the accident to them.


Menou sighed in relief as she finished. She had sewn together multiple spare patches of cloth and it turned out decently enough.

"Hopefully Asagi will be okay with my basic skills..."

She still felt tired and yawned.

"That really took a lot out of me... I'm not quite used to doing this much physical work... Ugh, I really should develop better sleeping habits..."

As that last thought crossed her mind, she fell asleep.


When classes ended at 2:30 PM, Akeno stretched.

"Great... Classes are over and done with."

She genuinely smiled to herself as she picked up her phone and bookbag to walk over to the meeting spot. She felt happy that their classes didn't end at too far apart a time. She only had to wait 30 minutes for her friend. At least, that's what the text said. When she made it over to the tree near the guardhouse and sat down underneath it. She was honestly surprised with how comforting it felt and leaned against the trunk of the tree while waiting.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Fuyumi Hirabayashi Character Portrait: Kirika Katsuragi Character Portrait: Genji Yukitora Character Portrait: Hayato Morikawa

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Genji blinked- this was an odd request. Then again, maybe it wasn't too bad, though there was one thing he had to clarify first.

"Well, yes. I do have a license."

He managed to keep in a sigh of relief behind his mask- good thing he always kept everything else apart from the pocket from which his wallet fell out of.

"However, since the car I have technically belongs to the Yukitora family, it is still at the residence which is... far from here. When provided a vehicle, I can probably drive you there."




Hayato found himself standing on the grounds of Kurogane Technical- it was a miracle he'd even gotten in. Normally he'd have been booted out long ago, which is why he had to wonder about his luck.

He had hardly taken a few steps more when someone already bumped into him. Glancing down, he saw a girl- immediately though, she backed off and apologized, asking if she could make it up to him if she broke anything.

Bullshit. Hayato thought he was unbreakable.

But a tiny barking near his leg wasn't.

Hudson snuggled close to his owner, seemingly a bit startled as he yipped up at the unknown girl.

"Nothing. Though, if you're blind, don't you have anyone to help you out? Or are you waiting for them?"

Might as well spend a little conversation. Nobuyuki wasn't anywhere near anyway.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Makoto Itsuna Character Portrait: Hotaru Emirsdottir Character Portrait: Akeno Furuya Character Portrait: Kirika Katsuragi Character Portrait: Genji Yukitora Character Portrait: Kazuya Tamashiro Character Portrait: Hayato Morikawa

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"Don't worry about the vehicle." Kirika assured Genji. "We'll be taking my car. Well, Mitsuru's to be exact."

Kirika led Genji to where her brother's Celica was parked. She handed him the keys while she sat herself on the passenger's seat on the side, taking out a small list of itineraries as she put on her seatbelt.

"First is the warehouse along the table warehouse along the seventh. It's right near Partisan Rose. You know how to get there right? In that case, let's get going."



Kurogane Technical - 9:00 AM

"Hmm? Hirabayashi-san?" Makoto wondered what Fuyumi was doing all the way out here around class time. She wasn't alone however. A rather shifty looking man stood beside her. He didn't seem to be a student of the school though. He reckons it was probably a visitor.

As they passed, he supposed he should bring the matter up. Turning to Hotaru and her friend, he asked.

"That was Hirabayashi-san wasn't it? Did you recognize the man she was with?" Makoto asked, feeling slightly concerned about this visitor.



Partisan Rose - 3:15 PM

"Akeno-chan! Sorry if I was a bit late!" From how he panted upon arriving at their meetup place, it was pretty apparent Kazuya had ran all the way there. "It's kind of a long story but the gist of it was--"

Apparently, they had a small laboratory work done by group when a girl in Kazuya's group accidentally smashed a couple of flasks and beakers. The professor got really mad which forced him to yell at the girl. Kazuya spoke up and yelled back, redirecting his professor's wrath to him and--

"...and now he wants me to buy and replace all the shattered flasks and beakers. It will only take a moment, I promise! We just need to make a couple of stops near the specialty goods shop three blocks from here and back and off we got to Blue Lotus!" Kazuya asked. Had his father been around, he was sure he would've grounded him for a week for talking back to authority and dragging others into his mess.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Makoto Itsuna Character Portrait: Hotaru Emirsdottir Character Portrait: Menou Koizumi Character Portrait: Akeno Furuya Character Portrait: Fuyumi Hirabayashi Character Portrait: Kazuya Tamashiro Character Portrait: Hayato Morikawa

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Hotaru heard Makoto's concerns about the strange man in a beanie and coat. Though he looked intimidating, there was a small puppy barking up at Fuyumi and Hotaru thought a bit before clapping her hands.

"It's obviously a secret boyfriend!"

"E-Eh...?"

Mikoto was confused as Hotaru grinned to herself.

"The two of them are forbidden lovers drawn apart by bad circumstances. He's a bad boy, she's a good girl and the two of them are brought together by coincidence after coincidence~ They can't deny the pull of each other and thus a star crossed lovers relationship is born!"

Mikoto weakly laughed.

"I-I don't think real life works like that..."

Hotaru laughed a bit.

"Nah, it really doesn't. I just felt like being silly. But, I don't really know who the guy is but we shouldn't really bother him."

She hummed.

"Mikoto-chan needs to get home quickly so that she doesn't have to worry so much anymore. If he's here when we come back, we can talk to him then, Makoto-kun~"

With that, Hotaru pushed Makoto and Mikoto away from the scene to get them out of there. Fuyumi had heard the commotion and was honestly a little embarrassed. The two had just met, how did Hotaru get so far ahead from just one glance at the two? Still, she supposed it had to do with Hotaru really liking romance. Shaking it aside, she heard the barking puppy and smiled gently.

"I'm terribly sorry for disturbing you, puppy... Here's a small gift."

She presented the puppy with a bone cut from a ribeye she had made. She was going to find a local pound to give the bone to but decided that she wanted to get on this puppy's good side. So, she gave him the bone instead. She heard the new man's question and sheepishly laughed.

"Honestly...? I don't. I didn't necessarily wish to trouble others around me by asking for help. I would have liked to have a guide dog."

She sighed heavily.

"But unfortunately, I don't quite know all the policies of the dorm I'm living in nor do I have any idea which type of dog I should adopt since all of them are great..."


Akeno listened to his story and sighed a little bit. It was nice that he defended a girl from being yelled at by her professor but the professor was a really awful man for him to dump all responsibilities on Kazuya. Still, the message did technically say that they would take some detours so...

"Yeah, I don't mind. Really sucks about what happened with the professor. Hopefully he'll be less of a jerk in the future."


Blue Lotus- 9:45 AM

Menou tossed and turned, groaning. Despite wanting to sleep, she just couldn't. Too much was on her mind at the moment and she just wanted to take a small break from her own mind. She sat up from bed and sighed, thinking about what Asagi had told her about the idol industry. She could do it, if she practiced... She peered over at her laptop and decided to practice right away. She remembered the opening to one of her favorite anime, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and decided to try to sing that.

"Nothing gets done when I'm a shut in, right...? I'll try to do something to get the strength in my hands back."

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Fuyumi Hirabayashi Character Portrait: Kirika Katsuragi Character Portrait: Genji Yukitora Character Portrait: Hayato Morikawa

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As Genji was led to the car, he couldn't help but feel a little admiration for it.

"The Katsuragis really are quite the wealthy family, huh?"

It wasn't like the Yukitoras weren't wealthy on their own, but vehicles were the least of his parents' priorities. And though he was the designated family driver, it wasn't everyday he got to drive something like this...

Giving a small nod in her direction, it didn't take long for them to get on the road. It was rather odd driving in silence- he'd always been used to the chatter of his family, and the closest he's ever got to silence was when he was alone with Aika.




Hudson sniffed at the bone and picked it up in his jaws, laying down and chewing on it. Hayato shook his head.

"Give him a ball and he'll wander off, give him a bone and he won't ever move."

He shook his head.

"Why don't you clarify with your landlord or something? And if he agrees, I can name a few places around Castle City that have a pretty good roster of dogs for adoption."

He shrugged.

"Only if you want to take help from a stranger though."

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Makoto Itsuna Character Portrait: Hotaru Emirsdottir Character Portrait: Fuyumi Hirabayashi Character Portrait: Kirika Katsuragi Character Portrait: Genji Yukitora Character Portrait: Hayato Morikawa

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(OOC: Kurogane Time Skip. I'll assume both Hotaru and Makoto already made it back to school since Makoto has a class at 1.)

Kurogane Technical Institute - 11:30 AM

"Perhaps because it's still morning, we managed to make it back without much incident." Makoto sighed in relief as he re-enters the gates of the school after dropping Mikoto off with Hotaru. From the corner of his eye, he noticed the stranger was still there along with Fuyumi with a dog? He wasn't sure but he did recall Kurogane having a policy on bringing pets inside.

"Well, I do have a class at 1 so I think I'll take a quick lunch at the cafeteria first. Do you want to come along?" He invites Hotaru for a quick break before they head back to their respective classes.



9:00 AM - 10:00 AM

Kirika kept quiet throughout the drive, passively leaning her head on the backrest and occasionally dozing off whenever the vehicle would stop at a red light or traffic. To her, driving was a very monotonous exercise and the sooner they finish the errands, the better.

She glanced at her assigned driver for the day. He didn't seem to be much of talker as he kept quiet and his mouth covered throughout the trip. Momentarily, she wondered if he had something contagious and if she should be riding with him. However, it was a request from Mitsuru and Kirika was obviously obliged to take up his offer.

After around half an hour of driving, Kirika espied a familiar warehouse on her peripheral. It wasn't their intended destination--but they would arrive here sooner or later so she motioned for Genji to stop the car in the establishment. Bag in hand, she got out and headed inside where she stayed for another half hour checking light fixtures. Finally, she walked back to the car not to the passenger's seat but to the driver's seat.

"Do you mind doing some lifting? I've got some heavy decorative pieces I need help with. We just have to pop it in the trunk real quick." She asks her temporary employee. "I understand if you can't or don't want to but think of it as an added task with a bonus on your paycheck."



Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Makoto Itsuna Character Portrait: Hotaru Emirsdottir Character Portrait: Menou Koizumi Character Portrait: Fuyumi Hirabayashi Character Portrait: Hayato Morikawa

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Hotaru energetically nodded at Makoto's offer.

"Oh, yeah! That sounds great, Makoto-kun."

She grinned at him.

"I got a bit of a paycheck for helping out with Black Rose so I'll buy some more bread~ It'll almost be like a celebration of sorts."

She stretched as they walked.

"What kind of bread do you want, Makoto-kun? I don't want to be stingy and keep the bread all to myself."



Fuyumi listened to the man's offer while kneeling down to feel for the puppy's head. Once she felt it, she gently pet the puppy in small and careful strokes.

"Hm..."

She stood up and smiled.

"I'd definitely be grateful for all the help. However, I'd like to know your name first. That way, we won't necessarily be strangers."

She extended a hand out to him. There were a couple of bandages on her fingers from cooking accidents today but she was alright with them.

"I'll go first. My name is Fuyumi Hirabayashi. Who might you be?"


Menou took a couple of deep breaths and sighed. It took her a couple of hours but she finally got together a product that she could like. She looked over at Google to see where she could upload her cover.

"StarStruck...?"

It was supposedly a new streaming site where up and comung singers upload covers or original songs to the world. People could view them and the more views a person's song got, the more money they would recieve. Getting certain numbers would include other bonuses as well, including having your cover play on the radio, a potential critique from a popular music critic and even a chance to perform live. Though, Menou took a closer look at the site. It had only been up for about a month ago and the amount of money you recieved for a cover of a song was cut down to about 3/4 of the amount of money you would get if you had chosen to upload a new song of your creation. Plus, the amount of numbers it took for you to get rewards is doubled. Menou winced.

"I guess people really don't want you to be unoriginal... Maybe next time I can try to make my own song. For now..."

She uploaded the song and sighed in relief.

"I just want to take my first step..."

She closed her laptop and yawned, feeling drained.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Kujo Nobuyuki Character Portrait: Nagisa Makinami Character Portrait: Fuyumi Hirabayashi Character Portrait: Kirika Katsuragi Character Portrait: Genji Yukitora Character Portrait: Hayato Morikawa

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"Lifting?"

Genji seemed to think for a little moment- but the moment Kirika mentioned a bonus to his paycheck, he was already on his way out of the car. He stretched a bit- he supposed he could still do some heavy lifting.

"Alright then. Lead the way."




Hayato hesitated for a moment- then feeling Hudson lightly tapping his leg with a paw, he reached out and gruffly shook the girl's hand.

"Hayato Morikawa."

He could feel the other students and such looking at him. Some wore expressions of recognition on their faces- he cursed a bit under his breath. They couldn't go rat him out. He lightly nudged Hudson, and turned back to Fuyumi.

"Listen, I gotta get going for now. Business calls. If you have any contact info, just give it over so I can message you some of the locations later--"

"What the fuck--? Hirabayashi?!"

Another voice cut in. Hudson ran back to his owner, barking and yipping as Kujo came barrelling down in their direction. Trailing behind him was Nagisa, who seemed a bit alarmed at his violent reaction.

"Hirabayashi right? I need to talk about something really quick. Please, come along."

The black-haired girl immediately led her away while Kujo and Hayato resumed glaring down.

"Look, I don't want any trouble. I just need a little more info on the cases happening."

Hayato growled under his breath, keeping his voice low though Kujo was quick to shoot him down.

"Tch, when's a Hound not looking for trouble? It's bad enough that you runts are sticking your noses into places they shouldn't be!"

"This is for the entire Westside. This guy fucks with us, we'll show him a bad time. If you'd cooperate just once--"

"I don't want none of that bullshit! When have you ever not stabbed anyone in the back?!"

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Makoto Itsuna Character Portrait: Hotaru Emirsdottir Character Portrait: Kujo Nobuyuki Character Portrait: Nagisa Makinami Character Portrait: Genji Yukitora Character Portrait: Kazuya Tamashiro Character Portrait: Hayato Morikawa

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Orange Blossom - 12:00 PM

With Genji's help, most of the lifting was over with though by the time they were able to finish, it was nearing lunchtime. As the warehouse wasn't exactly a place where they can grab some grub, Kirika had him pull over into one of the more popular cafes in that side of town.

"Feel free to order anything you want. Don't worry, it's not coming out of your pay." Kirika offers as part of the compensation to Genji. Besides, their expenses are to be deducted from Mitsuru anyway and somehow, she felt that it was her own little way of getting back at him.



Kurogane Technical Institute - 11:30 PM

"Hmm? Well if you insist..." Makoto cycled through the sandwich selections offered in the shop. "I'll have the mushroom cheese melt then. Thanks, Hotaru-san~" He opted for something rather light and inexpensive since he didn't want to feel too full that he becomes sleepy later on.

"Then I'll buy drinks instead. So everything's fair. Do you have any preferences?" As Makoto asked though, he espied Kujo and Nagisa leaving the building together. "It's quite rare I see those two together in school...Is something up?"

Makoto wondered about it. Considering Fuyumi was also outside earlier, it was clear something was going on. "Hotaru-chan, let's get our snacks to go and eat in the pavilion. I've got a feeling that I may have to do something there later on."



Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Makoto Itsuna Character Portrait: Hotaru Emirsdottir Character Portrait: Kujo Nobuyuki Character Portrait: Nagisa Makinami Character Portrait: Fuyumi Hirabayashi Character Portrait: Hayato Morikawa

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"A-Ah!"

Fuyumi was very confused as she got dragged away by Nagisa. She didn't quite understand what was going on. She was making friends with Hayato and he was going to recommend some places where she could get a seeing eye dog after she gave him her number. Then, Kujo called out her last name and started getting into an argument with Hayato. She felt upset for both of them. What happened to make them fight each other...?

"Ah, Makinami-san...? May I please ask what's going on? I just wanted to get a seeing eye dog..."

She was completely and utterly confused and just wanted some answers.



Hotaru happily grinned and bought a mushroom cheese melt, beef yakisoba and chocolate bread.

"No problem at all, Makoto-kun!"

When she heard he would buy the drinks, she felt really happy and decided to take him up on his offer.

"Hm... How about some green tea?"

Hotaru had been on a tea bender as of late. Mainly due to the recent brewing of a new type of tea flavor in her uncle's café. Supposedly, this tea would be a blend of white chocolate, strawberries and cinnamon. She heard Makoto ask about Kujo and Nagisa walking to school together. Hotaru hummed.

"I think they might have decided to walk to school together."

Even if she was a hopeless romantic, she'd be a dead person if she insinuated that Nagisa liked Kujo in any romantic sense. Still, it was curious to see the two of them together. It was even more curious to see Nagisa dragging Fuyumi away.

"Why is Nagisa-chan doing that to Fuyumi-chan?"

Shrugging it off for now, Hotaru nodded with a happy smile at Makoto's request.

"Yeah, the pavilion sounds nice~ Maybe you'll take a first step towards your destiny, Makoto-kun!"

She laughed a bit at her small joke and waited for Makoto to pay for the drinks.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Makoto Itsuna Character Portrait: Hotaru Emirsdottir Character Portrait: Kujo Nobuyuki Character Portrait: Nagisa Makinami Character Portrait: Fuyumi Hirabayashi Character Portrait: Kirika Katsuragi Character Portrait: Genji Yukitora Character Portrait: Kazenari Tohsaka Character Portrait: Hayato Morikawa

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Orange Blossom - 12:20 PM

Kirika nodded upon hearing Genji's reasons for wearing his mask. According to him, he didn't have an illness or anything and was just worn out of preference. Nonetheless, she did find it a little weird. And maybe a bit creepy.

"I see. Or is it the other way around then? You wear it so you don't catch other people's disease." Kirika assumed as she dug into her order of Sunburst Cake and chocolate.

"The food here is really good. Something to take note of when we open..." Kirika murmured to herself as she waited for her companion to finish. "Mitsuru said you were a regular at the old shop right?"

"If I were to ask, what did and didn't you like at the old shop? And what kept you coming back?"



Kurogane Technical - 12:00 PM

"This is bad..." Makoto thought as he witnessed what appears to be a scuffle between Kujo and the other visitor. It was no secret that among students that Kujo Nobuyuki runs with some rather...questionable folk so the other guy must be related to that--if not a part of a gang himself. Makoto had brought Hotaru in one of the pavilions outside, allowing them to witness the scene up close though it would appear that they weren't the only ones who had that idea.

Multiple students had gathered; some were whispering to themselves while pointing at the two and some kept their viewing a lot more low-key by pretending to eat at the pavilions. A handful had their cameras out and was taking pictures and videos of the scene.

"Ikeda's going to kill me if I let something bad happen to Hotaru-san here." Makoto glanced at the growing number of people gathering around. Duty was calling him but he did remember what he and Cel talked about last night.

He was only an observer. Not an actor.

"Doesn't matter." He thought as he stood up. "Hotaru-san, I think I need to step in here. It might take a while so you can head back to class without me."

"You don't need to do that, historian." Kazenari suddenly cuts in as she arrived. "Leave this to me."

"Are you sure? They might not listen to you."

"Maybe. Only one way to find out." Kazenari gave him a slight smirk before walking towards the two.

"Oh, for God's--urgh..." Groaning, Makoto followed after her.

"If you're going to argue like dogs then can you please do it outside? You're causing quite the commotion and disrupting classes." Kazenari addressed the two in her usual icy voice. She turned to face Kujo first. "You're from here right? May I ask why you're not in class right now?"

Turning to the other guy, she met his glare with her own. "Outsiders aren't normally allowed in here unless it's important business. Tell me, for what purpose did you come here? From the looks of it, you don't seem like you're here to enroll or shift schools."

She noticed the dog he brought with him. Pets aren't normally allowed in their school but Kazenari decided against bringing up the matter for now. Makoto turns his attention on Kujo.

"Hey, where's Hirabayashi-san? Isn't she with you? And I don't think I've seen Aziz anywhere." He asked though it was more of a starter rather than an actual question. Though he reckons Aziz might've done a better job at calming them down than either he or Kazenari can.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Makoto Itsuna Character Portrait: Hotaru Emirsdottir Character Portrait: Kujo Nobuyuki Character Portrait: Nagisa Makinami Character Portrait: Fuyumi Hirabayashi Character Portrait: Kazenari Tohsaka Character Portrait: Hayato Morikawa

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Hotaru was somewhat afraid of the actions going on but decided to step in and offer some help of her own. She walked over to the two arguing males and the student council president to brightly smile.

"Hey, guys. I don't really think we should be fighting on school grounds. I can understand if it's stress or any grudges that you two might have but Kazenari-senpai is right. We shouldn't really do this on school grounds. You can settle your issues outside if need be. You might be scaring the little puppy here too."

She knelt down to gently pet Hudson, somewhat distracted with how cute he was but mainly to put emphasis on the tiny puppy being in the middle of the fight as well. She then heard footsteps and saw familiar grey locks and winced a bit. Noa Arai had entered the scene with a very deep frown on her face.

"Will all of you keep quiet? You're disrupting study hall, aggravating my already awful mood and just being general annoyances. Then again, I shouldn't have been surprised. The both of you have the general look of ruffians, so I should have expected you to have the intellect and temper to match."

Hotaru winced as she approached Noa.

"Noa-chan, they're already mad enough, I don't think you're helping them calm down by calling them all that..."

Noa focused her attention on Hotaru with her frown fading somewhat.

"If that was the case, then they'd shut up and leave the school when they're obviously not welcome here."

"But, Noa-chan, Kujo-kun goes to the school too-"

"Hah?"

She turned her glare towards the purple haired male.

"I cannot possibly believe that he would ever take school seriously with that unrefined image. Shouldn't he be ditching right about now? That's what foolish punks like him do after all."

Hotaru just whimpered a bit before regaining her confidence.

"Noa-chan, seriously. Calm down. Kazenari-senpai is working hard to stop this fight. I'm sure you're trying your best too but you don't know what you're getting into..."

Noa fell silent for a bit before huffing and walking away.

"Just get to class, mutt."

Hotaru shook her head.

"I don't know what's wrong with Noa-chan..."

She then turned her attention to Hayato and smiled a bit.

"Hi. You said you wanted some information, right?"

She wrote down her number and gave it to Hayato with a wide grin.

"I'm Hotaru Emirsdottir. I don't really know if I'll be able to help you out with whatever you need information on but I'm available as a listening ear."

Waving goodbye, she then turned her attention to Kujo.

"Kujo-kun, I don't think Fuyumi-chan knew about what was going on between you and that stranger. Please, don't get too mad at her..."


Fuyumi could hear a crowd suddenly chanting for a fight before hearing an unfamiliar woman's voice, Hotaru's voice and another unfamiliar woman's voice break it up. She sighed in relief.

"I believe someone already took care of that for you."

Fuyumi smiled a bit.

"In any case, I'm extremely grateful for your assistance in helping me with getting a seeing-eye dog, Miss Makinami."

She politely bowed in front of Nagisa and offered her a warm smile.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Hotaru Emirsdottir Character Portrait: Kujo Nobuyuki Character Portrait: Nagisa Makinami Character Portrait: Fuyumi Hirabayashi Character Portrait: Kirika Katsuragi Character Portrait: Genji Yukitora Character Portrait: Kazenari Tohsaka Character Portrait: Hayato Morikawa

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The fight was starting to get rather extreme before a familiar steely voice cut in. The crowds backed off a bit when the student council president showed up- Hayato grimaced, glaring at Kujo. This wouldn't have escalated this far had he not been such a damn loudmouth. And now that the student council was involved, he knew he didn't have a chance against administration.

"Just some business with this guy that couldn't wait," He growled under his breath. He affixed his stare on Kujo again, who he was fairly sure was looking more and more like a rabid dog with every passing second that was spent with him steaming.

A brunette who looked relatively friendly attempted to assist- but things really got bad when a white-haired girl came over and had some harsh words for them. Mostly directed at Kujo.

It surprised Hayato how quiet he was being, though his gritted teeth was saying something else. Finally, though, as the girl started walking away, he snapped.

"Well, what the fuck do you know, Miss FUCKING Know-it-All?! Rrgh--! Thinking you're better than everyone else just because you got high numbers on test papers?! Tough shit! Fuckin' walk away like a damn coward because you know nothing about this kind of business! Stay the fuck out!"

After yelling out, Kujo whirled around to seemingly charge Hayato, but surprisingly a few other students ran up.

"Kujo! Keep it together!"

"Get a grip!"

They seemed to be some of his more concerned friends. Hotaru immediately apologized on Fuyumi's behalf, but Kujo simply growled and pushed her out of his way.

"Yeah, Hirabayashi's got nothing to do with this. Emirsdottir, make like her and stay out of this. Keep Arai away from it too! Fuck!"

Hayato shoved the number in his pocket before clicking his tongue in annoyance at the escalated situation. This wasn't good, at least for Westside's reputation, and he didn't want to move this early and risk Enigma catching wind and attempting to hit them while they weren't looking.

"Tch...this situation's gotten too bad. Nobuyuki, we'll settle this somewhere else."

Hayato's glare hardened.

"And next time you won't have this much support, mark my words."

"Yeah, go on, you fuckin' backstabber. Fuck off! Get out!"




"Liked and disliked about the old cafe?"

Genji leaned back a little, thinking for a moment.

"Hmm...well, for one, the atmosphere had a pretty homely feel to it. Friendly staff made for a positive experience, plus that kind of demeanor around the place does a weary traveler good."

He lightly tapped his finger on his arm.

"Could say that the decor could use a little work though. It got a little bland to look at after a little while."

He rubbed his neck a bit.

"And some residents would play with the sound system a lot...but that's only the few things I could probably nitpick about."




"That's great. In any case--"

Nagisa thought briefly.

"Well, since I still have a few classes left- I'm on my break, after all-, you can go out and explore a little bit for a while. You could ask someone to accompany you if you wish, but let's meet up outside the school gates when I'm done at around...3:30? I'll go call Kanade to let her know you're coming."

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Makoto Itsuna Character Portrait: Hotaru Emirsdottir Character Portrait: Kujo Nobuyuki Character Portrait: Noa Arai Character Portrait: Kirika Katsuragi Character Portrait: Genji Yukitora Character Portrait: Kazenari Tohsaka Character Portrait: Hayato Morikawa

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Kurogane Technical Institute - 12:45 PM

"Nobuyuki-san! Calm down!" Makoto immediately tells Kujo off when he started yelling loudly at Hotaru and Noa. "We won't get anything by being hot-headed about it! Why don't step back and walk if off?!"

"Itsuna-kun is right. This situation's under the jurisdiction of the Student Council now. Any more interference and we might as well get the Board involved." Kazenari warns the rest. The Board makes most of the decisions when it comes to several matters. Including suspending students caught breaking the rules.

"You too Arai-san." Makoto turns to Noa as well. "I don't know what went on with you two but you can always talk things over back at the dorm."

Kazenari nodded, satisfied with the efforts of her own members. "Itsuna-kun get Nobuyuki-kun back to class. Arai-kun, get all these people out of here. That includes you, Hotaru-san." Through her authority, Kazenari orders the crowd to disperse and stick to their own business.

"Nobuyuki-san, let's go." Makoto gestures to Kujo to get going.

"And as for you--" With most of the bystanders gone, Kazenari can now turn her attention to whom Kujo referred to as a Hound: one of the more prominent gangs around Castle West Side. "You said you wanted information. Uncanny timing, we have questions we're trying to answer as well."

A West Side Hound just has to show up right at their doorstep. As much as the commotiuon it caused was rather unwelcome, it did get the ball rolling for Kazenari to put her plan in motion. In a way, she saw it a stroke of luck.

But--

WAAAAAHHHHH!!!!

A shrill scream echoed throughout campus, catching everyone's attention, including Kazenari.

"That sounded like it came from the HRM side!" Makoto muttered before he took off running in that direction.

"We'll continue this later--!" Breaking away for a moment, Kazenari followed a little after, so she could see what had just transpired.

Upon arriving, a crowd had already gathered near the orchard with several students and faculty peering from the windows and hallways. Cries of panic echoed through the halls.

"Call an ambulance quick!"

"What's going on?!" Kazenari finally managed to force through the crowd just in time for Makoto to rise up from the grassy floor.

"Fifth death in this school. Tatara Isuko." He managed to mutter. Ahead, another victim lay sprawled on the ground, blood dyeing the recently mowed lawn red.

From the wound on her head, it was obvious she had fallen from a great height. Kazenari looked up at the windows, trying to see which one. The only open windows however, were the ones with students peering out of it.

"Itsuna-kun, head to the security buildings quick! Arai-kun, go around those floors and ask if anyone saw where she fell or jumped from! On the double!"

"I'm on it!" Makoto nodded and immediately ran to the security office to check the footage from the security cameras.

"This is getting way out of hand..." Kazenari mutters to herself as the nearby medics finally arrived and started dispersing the crowd away to get Tatara's body out of there.



Orange Blossom - 1:00 PM

Kirika took note of every detail Genji had just told her. Certain things like decor certainly needed an overhaul. However, she was sure it shouldn't be too big a factor in turning people away. Still--for this man to keep on staying despite that. Surely there was something the old Black Rose had?

"Thank you." Kirika managed to say as she stood up. "For sticking with it. I can't guarantee the new one would be as nice but we will try."

"Got a little sidetracked a little so we now head to our original destination. Near Partisan Rose. Shouldn't be too hard to miss."

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Hotaru Emirsdottir Character Portrait: Kujo Nobuyuki Character Portrait: Nagisa Makinami Character Portrait: Fuyumi Hirabayashi Character Portrait: Kirika Katsuragi Character Portrait: Genji Yukitora Character Portrait: Kazenari Tohsaka Character Portrait: Hayato Morikawa

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At first Nagisa was rather confused by the sudden scream and Fuyumi running off, though she had to admit she was concerned by the sound. She ran over, about to catch up with the blind girl before she felt a pair of hands on her shoulders.

"Wha--?"

They were Akame's friends, and Nagisa's brow furrowed in confusion.

"Makinami...come with us. There's been another murder."

"H-Huh--? Who was it?"

"Tatara Isuko-san, from the other class..."




It didn't take long for Nagisa to run over to the scene. When she got there however, the medics were already moving the crowd along while they retrieved Tatara. Nagisa could make out Akame nearby, her eyes wide with shock.

"O-Oh my god...Isuko-san...was--"

"Ichinose!"

Akame fell a bit slack against Nagisa the moment the black-haired girl's hand touched her shoulder.

"S-She was from our class--! W-Why...?"

"What the hell?! This is out of hand!"

Kujo rushed over, followed by Hayato. Even the stern man seemed to have been fazed by the sudden murder.

"Did she jump?"

"Who the hell would do that?!"

"I-Isuko-san was p-perfectly fine...she wouldn't just end her life like that..."

"And I doubt she'd scream like that had she committed suicide."

"Where the hell did she fall from?"

Hayato looked up at the building, scowling.

"Nngh...that damn Hijikata made a mention about someone with that name before. Maybe this'll push Enigma to action..."

"Who gives a shit about Enigma right now? A murder just--! You know what?! I'm going up there!"

"Kujo, wait-!"

Kujo already took off running to get into the building. Nagisa grunted, and just focused on consoling her friend.

"Makinami...whoever it is k-killed someone from my class too...who's to say I'm not gonna be next? I-I don't wanna die!"

"You won't. We're not-- no one's going to die again Ichinose. We promise..."




Genji nodded, managing a small smile before pulling his mask back up and starting to walk out of the cafe.

"I'm surprised Mitsuru-san's lax enough to let others drive his car," He mumbled a bit as he went back to the car and got in.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Makoto Itsuna Character Portrait: Hotaru Emirsdottir Character Portrait: Akeno Furuya Character Portrait: Kujo Nobuyuki Character Portrait: Nagisa Makinami Character Portrait: Noa Arai Character Portrait: Fuyumi Hirabayashi Character Portrait: Kirika Katsuragi Character Portrait: Genji Yukitora Character Portrait: Kazuya Tamashiro Character Portrait: Kazenari Tohsaka Character Portrait: Hayato Morikawa

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Kurogane Technical Institute - 1:00 PM

Kurogane's Security Building was located on a separate building from the actual institute. It was disguised as a small, bungalow type building on campus that also doubles as a supply room and guard's quarters. Security personnel do not really supervise the cameras 24/7 but one only needs to ask for the footage from certain rooms and timeframes and they will gladly provide it.

Especially in cases of emergency.

Makoto was scouring through footage after footage--a task that was very difficult considering he had to check several rooms, hallways and floors. To narrow down the times, he started checking footage starting at around 10:00, considering almost all of them heard Tatara Isuko scream as she fell.

The rooms in the HRM building didn't show anything out of the ordinary. Occupied rooms had classes, unoccupied ones only had a few people mingling and taking advantage of the airconditioning units. All Makoto saw was regular routine until one of the cameras snagged the falling body of Tatara Isuko and the rest of the class went into disarray.

"Then, she must've fallen from the roof..." Makoto thought.

The problem was that there was no cameras on the rooftop itself. There was one on the 12th floor hallway but it doesn't peer into the staircase itself. However, the blind spot here is a little small so it can somehow see who was coming and going. It caught both him and the vice-president Taichi, heading up then down earlier in the morning but both of these occurred before Tatara Isuko fell. Tatara Isuko herself only went up around 12:00 PM--both he, the vice president and three other male students have already gone down then.

"Damn! No luck..." Makoto cursed under his breath. He doesn't have the mental capacity to think about this incident. The security personnel asked him if that was all he needed to see.

"Yeah. Ah, but can you prepare a copy of all the footage today? I'm sure the cops would want to see it as well."

His task done, Makoto leaves the Security Building.



Kurogane Technical Institute - 3:00 PM

Listening in to both gang members made Kazenari perk up. The ambulance had already arrived earlier along with the police. Regular classes were suspended for the day and the HRM students and faculty were all subjected to questioning and investigation.

After being questioned and redirecting the police to the Security Building, Kazenari was able to break away and approach both Kujo and Hayato.

"If it doesn't bother you, I would like to continue this conversation elsewhere. The Sagittarius. 3rd Floor in Emerald Gardens. I'll be there at 6 if you want to push through with your own investigation." Kazenari whispers to Hayato before disappearing among the crowd finished with questioning and headed home.

Just as Kazenari left, Makoto returned after his long absence. Tatara's body was already wheeled away and from the looks of it, the rest were allowed to head home. He saw Nagisa, Kujo and Hotaru and immediately went over to them.

"Anyone see Arai-san? Cops wants us to clear the place once questioning is done. We should all head home for now."

He noticed something peculiar upon seeing Nagisa and Kujo though.

"Nobuyuki-san, Makinami-san...where's Hirabayashi-san?" Makoto asks, looking for their visiting resident.



8th Street - 3:15 PM

"Yay! Glad that's all over with!" Kazuya breathed a sigh of relief as he and Akeno walked out of the school. The whole chore thankfully didn't take too long and they were soon walking on their way back to the dorm. En route, Kazuya espied an arcade that had recently opened near the edge of school.

"Whoah! Akeno-chan look!" Kazuya pointed at the arcade. "Bet there's a lot of cool prizes to win over there! Ah! That crane game looks like it has great offerings!" He took Akeno's hand and practically led her inside.

"Hey, do you have anything you want? Believe it or not, I'm quite handy with these kinds of consoles!" Kazuya proudly steps up to the machine.



8th Street - 3:00 PM

"I'm not that surprised at all considering this is the cheapest car among the five he owns. Technically, this was to be given to me but as you can see, I'm no driver." Kirika explains, unintentionally declaring a fraction of their wealth to their temporary helper.

They arrived at the warehouse Kirika pointed at. It wasn't hard to find considering the other establishments were all new and chic places while it remained looking rather old with some paint peeling off the gates and walls.

"Let's go. It shouldn't take too long."

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Makoto Itsuna Character Portrait: Hotaru Emirsdottir Character Portrait: Kujo Nobuyuki Character Portrait: Nagisa Makinami Character Portrait: Noa Arai Character Portrait: Kanade Takamine Character Portrait: Fuyumi Hirabayashi Character Portrait: Kirika Katsuragi Character Portrait: Genji Yukitora Character Portrait: Hayato Morikawa

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"Sagittarius. Women sure love fancy places."

Hayato mumbled as the student council president left. Kujo glanced over at him.

"You plan on going?"

"I need the info for the Hounds."

"Then I ain't."

Just as Kujo declined, Arai herself came to them. Nagisa noticed the furrow in Kujo's brow as he noticed her, and the moment someone brought up getting Fuyumi back, he immediately leapt at the chance.

"I'll get 'er."

Kujo spoke up gruffly, adjusting the jacket on his shoulders. Nagisa glanced over at his quickly retreating figure.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, it'll be no sweat. Plus--"

Kujo raised a small boxed lunch in his hands. Nagisa glanced down at the ones she was carrying and was genuinely surprised that the rough man had managed to get his without her noticing.

"Gotta thank her for this."

"That, and he just wants to get away from Arai probably."

Hayato lightly tapped his coat and adjusted his beanie before turning away from the others.

"Nngh. If the rest of you are done, I'm getting out of here."

The moment he was out of school grounds, he immediately started walking away. Hudson followed at his heel.

Looking at her friend, Nagisa noticed Akame was still rather shaken. The black-haired girl lightly rubbed her neck again.

"Hey, uh...Ichinose. If it helps, we'll walk you back to your dorm."

"H-Huh? We?"

Nagisa nodded stiffly, cracking a wry smile and reaching for her phone. She quickly dialed a number she knew by heart.

"Yeah. We. I doubt you'd be going to be any comfortable without someone you're at least familiar with."

The answer came soon enough.

"Fuck off, I'm working."

The joking tone caused Akame to smile a little.

"I know you're not. Get over here, we need to get Akame home."

"The fuck am I, a bodyguard? I'm buying clothes."

"You're not a fashion person. Come on, just hurry up and get here."

There was a sound of rifling on the other end.

"Can't find 'em."

"What do you mean you can't find them?"

"There's only soup."

"Kanade, stop fucking around. I can see you on the other side of the street."

She heard a laugh.

"Yeah, sure. I'm heading there."

"Thanks."

Nagisa hung up, gently gripping Akame's shoulder. She turned to Hotaru and the others.

"I'm just gonna escort Akame home now if you guys don't mind. If you could tell Fuyumi why I suddenly left that'd be nice. See you around."

She waved a bit before leaving to meet up with her cousin.




"Seems like a place out of a bad drama show. The place every protagonist needs to be kidnapped in."

Genji nodded as they arrived. He started to get out once they were parked.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Kujo Nobuyuki Character Portrait: Fuyumi Hirabayashi Character Portrait: Kirika Katsuragi Character Portrait: Genji Yukitora Character Portrait: Hayato Morikawa

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"Yeah. Uh, listen, if ya-- oh, whatever."

Kujo walked over and gently grabbed Fuyumi's arm.

"Here, c'mon. Lemme help you."




"I see. I'll be back on Friday then."

Genji nodded a bit and accepted the envelope, gently tucking it into a pocket- thankfully, not the damaged one- before he got ready to drive back home.




"Hudson-- really. Stay."

While he had been on his way out, contacting some of his senior members to watch out for the others just in case, Hayato found a certain small companion of his trying to follow.

"Hudson, I won't be long, I promise."

He paused awkwardly- the puppy stared up at him from the floor, chewing on the bone. He dropped it and whined.

"Come on. You can stay here with all your...toys."

Hayato scratched the back of his neck as the puppy's ears drooped.

Looks like he was gonna be late a few minutes.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Hotaru Emirsdottir Character Portrait: Kujo Nobuyuki Character Portrait: Misaka Amamiya Character Portrait: Fuyumi Hirabayashi Character Portrait: Kazenari Tohsaka Character Portrait: Hayato Morikawa

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"A'ight! Let's go!"

Kujo helped her up and started to head to the nearest bus stop to catch a ride back to Blue Lotus.




Blue Lotus Dormitory - 5:40 PM

"Sheesh! I didn't think it would take that long. In any case, Hirabayashi, I'm just gonna hang in my room for the rest of the day. Mind giving me a holler in case Bro comes around?"

He turned to Fuyumi, slapping his hands together and grinning sheepishly.




"I'm really glad..."

Misaka beamed, and nodded vigorously.

"Alright! We'll try a new song then! I hope you'll be there still cheering for us Hotaru-chan."

She paused, and scratched at her neck.

"Ahahah...I still remember the Battle of the Bands. Yu-chan and you were in the Star Section but we were all in Reserve, so we didn't know who you guys were cheering for...Eheheh!"




The Sagittarius - 5:50 PM

"Finally. Now how am I to explain that I took a bit longer because I was dealing with a puppy?"

Hayato stuck out like a sore thumb in Emerald Gardens, and he knew it. He adjusted his beanie and shoved his hands into his pockets. It was a habit of him to show up to meetings that weren't with his gang early, but after attempting to pry Hudson off of his leg, and after the puppy had retaliated by sleeping on his boots (and try as he might, Hayato didn't have the heart to disturb his sleep), he finally reached the area.

Despite his getup, he managed to heave a sigh of relief. Though anyone who knew and dug up a lot of information on the gangs of Castle City would know about him- even a little-, he prided himself on the fact that at first glance, no one would be able to tell that he was a Hound, much less its leader. Unlike his members, he didn't wear any of their insignias on him.

Was that blasphemy? As a leader? It was one thing he didn't like to think about.

It took him only a little more time to find the restaurant in question- and though he's definitely heard that it was fancy, he didn't think it was this fancy. And dare he say it, he almost felt awkward being there. Everyone was all dolled up, and only for a dinner at a cruise ship-looking restaurant.

Though the receptionist gave him an odd look when he showed up, it lightened his mood slightly to see that the person he was supposed to be meeting with was dressed casually. It was fairly easy to pick out the girl from only six tables of a crowd.

"Nordic, huh? People sure do love attempting all the strangest themes in restaurants nowadays."

The half-hearted comment was mostly to show that he had arrived. Taking a seat just across from her, he lowered his voice so that only they could hear.

"I'll come out and say it. The Hounds are an impatient bunch. More than half already want to launch a full-on raid on every place in Knight's Sector. We need a lead and info soon, or- I'm sure- the Hounds start raiding and cause more trouble than it's worth, interrupting the investigations even more. And that's not even throwing Enigma into the mix."

Honestly, Hayato's concerns lay more in the fact that he hadn't heard from Enigma in a while. The only time Hijikata Reiji was silent was when he was planning. But the Hounds wanted to find more territory, and some of his senior members were the ones that lost certain people to the killer, and Hayato knew he had to address it lest Enigma catches them off their guard.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Laeticia "Cel" Concepcion Character Portrait: Makoto Itsuna Character Portrait: Yoite Arakaki Character Portrait: Akeno Furuya Character Portrait: Noa Arai Character Portrait: Kirika Katsuragi Character Portrait: Tadakatsu Fukui Character Portrait: Kazuya Tamashiro Character Portrait: Kazenari Tohsaka Character Portrait: Hayato Morikawa

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Old Black Rose - 5:20 PM

Kazuya listened in attentively to Akeno's tale. The girl confessed to having a difficult family life with a very strict mother, and about having to live up to expectations so that other families may look up to them. He also felt bad about nonchalantly asking about her family without knowing the full story.

"Sorry." Kazuya started with an apology once Akeno finished her tale. "I didn't know and I just kept asking." He patted her on the shoulder. "Hey! I bet they'll be surprised once they see you on Friday! You can make sandwiches that are as good as mine (clearly, he did not agree with Kirika's assessment XD) and have a renewed, modern fashion sense! All of it the result of your experiences in this place. And not to brag but you also have me as a new friend so your circle of friends have just grown by one! That's good progress isn't it?" Kazuya asks her with a smile.

Still, he wondered about the mindset they took with regards to their family. Why the Brits of all people? The culture between the two were too far apart. Second, he couldn't exactly get the whole "perfect" daughter part. How would they expect people to see Akeno more if she can't be exposed to things that could develop her skills? Akeno also expressed concern with regards to the distance between her and Kazuya and seemed rather upset about it.

"Hmm...well your cousin seems like the distant, quiet sort..." Kazuya thought of what they can do to bond and get closer again. "Ah! How about you do a Seven Mysteries thing!"

Kazuya looked back at her to see if she was still following. "Back from where I came from, almost every place has mysteries associated with it, with seven being the most common. I'm sure there are some in here too! Yep, I think it's the perfect past time to share with that quiet guy! Yep!"

Kazuya crossed his arms, looking rather proud. Had his father been around, he was sure he would praise him for that idea. "So...don't feel too bad now okay? I'm always around to talk if you need me. Except maybe at 12 midnight to 6 in the morning since I'll be asleep hehe!"


Blue Lotus Lobby - 5:10 PM

Surprisingly, Tadakatsu didn't ask about things related to the dorm. Rather, his questions were about her mention of Kazuya and Akeno having fun. He thought she saw them walking home together and that was probably what she referred to. Admittedly, she didn't like the boy's tone and his choice of words. It was almost like he was accusing her of something.

"And? What if I did?" Nonetheless, Kirika asks in her usual uninterested tone of voice. "Does it concern or bother you in any way?"



Uzamaki Ramen Hut - 5:20 PM

"Hmm...getting to the bottom of this by tracking the website's domain isn't easy..." Makoto expresses his thoughts about Noa's idea. "First off, this forum site's pretty big with multiple threads dealing with a variety of subjects. The site may as well be located abroad."

"Yeah. Besides, the whole thing started with a simple discussion of "Do you have stories about people you hate at school?". Kind of like a chain letter. Once someone revs it up, it just gets going and going as people started talking. Pretty soon, everyone is explicitly mentioning names and other stuff." Taichi added.

"As far as everything's concerned, the site nor the site owner's not the problem. Rather, it's the ones sharing stories."

"Which is practically 75% of the student body from all three universities--even more."

Next thing Noa expressed her concern about is whether or not her name has popped up in the lists. Makoto turns to Taichi about this, given that he was the one who found the site first. It is also where his next concern lay.

"I haven't had the time to give the threads an in-depth look. The only reason I brought this up was because Tatara, Wakaba, Akiyama and Harada were explicitly named. It is possible they've been discussing you anonymously..." Taichi smirked again. "But yes, I think I've found your name dropped at a thread just before I stumbled into Wakaba's thread."

"Seriously?" Even Makoto was surprised.

"Yes. And so is my name and Tohsaka's. It's a venting site Itsuna-kun, what do you expect?" Taichi explained. "Well is that it? I'll need more time if I am to check this out any further. Most importantly, I've yet to bring it up with Tohsaka--

"I have one." Makoto finally speaks up his doubts. "How did you stumble upon this site Shirazumi-san? I don't think this would've popped up normally when you look it up. Is it possible that you've been posting here as well?"

"Of course not. I don't have anyone I hate in particular." Taichi sighed though he grinned again when he glanced at Noa. "Well maybe one or two but I have enough balls to tell it to their faces. No, I stumbled upon this the old fashioned way. I asked people."

"Asked which people?"

"You know who. The ones in that 'other place'? The one place we are never welcomed fondly?" Taichi's words immediately sunk in once Makoto realized what he was talking about.

"No way."

Taichi just chuckled. "You guys need to get your heads out of the books and explore the real world. You'd be astonished at what you'll find. Well, I reckon you know it now so I'll be taking my leave. Good night!"

And with that, Taichi Shirazumi disappeared into the night.

"In this city, there is one such place as what Taichi described." Makoto muttered within Noa's earshot. "A place where Kurogane students like ourselves aren't welcomed with open arms. Do you know what it is Arai-san?"



The Sagittarius - 5:50 PM

"Ah, there you are. I ordered for us if you don't mind. And don't worry, let me foot the bill for this night." Kazenari greeted the man from earlier. Like her, he had come to that place dressed casually and as far as Kazenari's eye could tell, nothing to declare that he was a member of a gang in the city. He arrived early as well.

A good first impression overall. Likewise, the man immediately got straight to the point by telling her how the Hounds have gotten riled up over the deaths. Knight's Sector is also the belt where most of the schools are located so the potential for the chaos to spiral out of control was very high.

"Yes. However, everything has a process by which it must be done. I'm sure you'll agree with me here. So first off--" On her side, Kazenari wanted to confirm a nagging suspicion she held the first time she saw the man and now that he has arrived to meet her here.

"You are...the leader of the Westside Hounds correct?"

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Hotaru Emirsdottir Character Portrait: Misaka Amamiya Character Portrait: Kazenari Tohsaka Character Portrait: Hayato Morikawa

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"Yeah! Maybe, when all three schools get together, they can hold like a big music competition. Or, just a music event in general. Hotaru-chan, you should participate too!"

Misaka's eyes sparkled a bit as she spoke, smiling brightly.

"We'll be there to help you all the way!"




"Ngh--!"

Hayato grunted, somewhat surprised that the girl already knew that he was Westside's leader. He fell quiet fora little bit- thinking back. Perhaps she saw him? Maybe at one point, she guessed that he was the leader? Was it because of Nobuyuki's reckless dialogue? Maybe his own?

Nevertheless, it seemed like that was the only reasonable thing to do if he wanted to find out how she knew.

"How did you--"

Nope, hardly the reaction of a respectable gang leader. He cleared his throat.

"But, yes. I do happen to be the Hounds' leader. How did you figure that out?"

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Laeticia "Cel" Concepcion Character Portrait: Makoto Itsuna Character Portrait: Yoite Arakaki Character Portrait: Akeno Furuya Character Portrait: Noa Arai Character Portrait: Kirika Katsuragi Character Portrait: Tadakatsu Fukui Character Portrait: Kazuya Tamashiro Character Portrait: Kazenari Tohsaka Character Portrait: Hayato Morikawa

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Old Black Rose - 5:30 PM

"Hey, we won't know until we try so don't be too worried about it!" Kazuya assures Akeno once he heard her concerns about her mother not liking anything she has done so far. "Of you think about things too much then you'll never be able to cross that bridge when you get there. Sometimes, it's nice to make sudden decisions. Sure, we may make mistakes but that's part of learning too!"

"Just don't make the mistake of putting playdough in a microwave haha!!!"

It seemed the girl is looking up somehow so Kazuya felt it was alright to take it easy. Before he knew it, she hugged him gently before asking about the other things he had in mind. The act caught him off guard so he felt a little flustered.

"H-Huh? Oh, the menu...hmm..." Kazuya thought for a bit. "I wanted to do some rice dishes as well but if Kirika-san says she doesn't want me to do the menu then this probably concludes my business here."

Kazuya sighed as he sat down, thinking. "Ah! What about you Akeno-chan? Do you have something you want to try making but can't? Tell me and I'll try to help out. Let's see...how about making something for Tadakatsu-san? Something he might like?"



Blue Lotus Lobby - 5:15 PM

Surprisingly, the conversation went from slightly confronting to awkward fast with Tadakatsu admitting that socializing isn't his strong suit. Kirika relaxed. She heard him suggest joining in for a win-win situation. Kirika just sighed.

"I was driving in the car while they were in the arcade. Considering I've put my driver through enough detours as it is, I wouldn't want to keep him waiting any longer. That's all." Kirika explained.

"So are you done? Or do you have other concerns you want to talk about?"



Uzuamaki Ramen Hut - 5:30 PM

Makoto nodded when Noa brought up the other school. "Exactly. Outside of academics and university pride, St. Gabriel's and Kurogane Technical have long been hostile towards each other for an entirely different reason. We get along fine with the St. Gabriel students from the dorm but point is, it isn't exactly a place we can expect to just visit casually. It's not our territory after all."

He supposed Noa already knew the reason why so he decided to just leave it at that as well. "So for Taichi to actually get information from the other side...you have to hand it to him, his sneakiness and smooth-talking has its purposes."

He realized he had kept Cel waiting inside for quite some time and with Taichi gone well...there wasn't much reason to stay outside any longer. Yoite was waiting inside as well.

"Well, we'll know more tomorrow. I think. Let's go back."

(OOC: Will upload Kurogane - St. Gabriel Black History in the Library Files later so Kurogane characters will have that shared knowledge.)



The Sagittarius - 6:00 PM

Kazenari managed a slight smile when she caught this man off-guard upon confessing she believed him to be the Hound's leader. He asked her how she found out and he did confirm her suspicions. Still, the man could easily be lying but nonetheless, Kazenari felt her intuition was right on the money.

"Three things: First was the school visit and Nobuyuki-kun's earlier outburst. It was the way he recognized you. If I am to give an example...you cannot recognize the faces of everyone in the diet but you can at least recognize the Prime Minister's face. For him to recognize you that way means you're an active member of your gang seen regularly by those they come into conflict with. You must be the leader or at least, someone close to them."

The waiter soon arrived, pouring them each a glass of white wine. Kazenari takes a sip from hers, complimenting the drink. Once the waiter was off, she continued.

"The second is this, meeting me personally out here. For all you know, I could be someone from the other factions. There's a risk of sending someone who can turn traitor and leak your secrets. Given how odd all these circumstances are, the person sent should be someone well-respected and trusted within the group. Perhaps even the leader himself."

She paused for a while to see if he was still following.

"The last thing was simply, a gamble. When I initially asked, I had nothing backing up my suspicions aside from the previous assumptions. Your reaction prior to your confession gave it away for me. Besides, I don't think you're a good enough actor to fake your expressions."

Kazenari laid each one out in detail so there's no room for confusion. Appetizers were brought out first, consisting of prawns and egg over rye bread. Quite a simple start.

"Well, we're not going to get anywhere unless the facts are clear for both of us so let me start with this: Kyoko Akiyama, Marie Kosuki, Megumi Harada, Wakaba Mutsu, Tatara Isuko..." Kazenari enumerated the five victims in order starting from the first up to the most recent one. "Any of these names sound familiar? I believe some of them were affiliated with your group at some point. Possibly as a lover or a relative."

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Hotaru Emirsdottir Character Portrait: Misaka Amamiya Character Portrait: Kazenari Tohsaka Character Portrait: Hayato Morikawa

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"Yeah, but-- the stages looked great at that one. You really did a good job."

Misaka grinned up at her friend.

"Hey, Hotaru-chan? Has anything noteworthy happened at the dorm? I really wanna hear about the stories here..."




Hayato listened intently, staring blankly at the glass of white wine. When she made a comment about him being a rather bad actor, he just gave a half-hearted shrug.

"True."

Then the topic of the five victims and who they had been affiliated with was brought up. Hayato only needed to wrack his brain for a little while before he remembered.

"Well, Marie Kosuki was the sister of one of my senior members, Rinto Kosuki. Knowing Rinto, Marie probably had an idea as to what was going on with her brother but chose not to tell."

There was another one, though not from his gang. He cleared his throat a bit.

"I suppose...Wakaba Mutsu, was it? She was very good friends with that guy named Harumi, some guy Nobuyuki refers to as his 'Bro'. It seems Nobuyuki knew her as well."

He glanced back up from when he had been looking at his fingers.

"I don't think the Hounds have ever brought up the other three victims unless they're talking about the killer. I don't know if any of them were affiliated with Enigma, but as far as I know, Mutsu and Kosuki are the only ones being caught up in possible gang activity."

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Laeticia "Cel" Concepcion Character Portrait: Makoto Itsuna Character Portrait: Akeno Furuya Character Portrait: Kirika Katsuragi Character Portrait: Tadakatsu Fukui Character Portrait: Kazuya Tamashiro Character Portrait: Kazenari Tohsaka Character Portrait: Hayato Morikawa

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Old Black Rose - 5:30 PM

"Strawberry cake huh? Hmm..." Kazuya thought about it for a bit. Truth is he has never really made a cake before and so he doesn't exactly know how it's done. He's tried baking other stuff but for now, cake was a little out of the question.

"Maybe I should practice at home?" Kazuya thought. Only a couple more days til the parent meeting and he wanted to show it off there too. He wondered if he could learn the recipe in time to also teach Akeno how.

"Alright! Let's do it! Ah, but probably tomorrow since this place doesn't have any ingredients for pastries nor strawberries for that matter." Kazuya beamed proudly as he takes her up on it. "The strip mall down at Queen's is a nice place to get fresh ingredients. I wonder if strawberries will be in season though?"

Kazuya makes a mental note to head over there tomorrow. Hopefully, he remembers this plan.



Blue Lotus Lobby - 5:20 PM

"Yeah, everyone does." Kirika muttered as Tadakatsu left. Making friends wasn't exactly her strongest point especially--

No, it wasn't right to think about it like that. She could hear the two indistinctively talking upstairs. As she said, the two seemed to be having fun. Honestly, it should be a relief to her that Kazuya could somehow laugh, smile and joke around again. However--

"Gah! Why does this all feel so frustrating?" Feeling frustrated for some reason, Kirika marches up to her room. She needed both the quiet and the space to cool off. As her head fell on the pillows, her thoughts soon started to dim until she fell asleep.




Uzamaki Ramen Hut - 5:35 PM

"You sure took your sweet time talking." Cel greeted Makoto as he rejoins her at the table. Their ramen had already been served though Cel hadn't touched hers yet.

"Sorry. You should've gone ahead and eaten without me."

"No can do! Family principle says we all eat together at the table. Besides, if I finish up before you and clean up while you're eating, you'll grow old a bachelor!"

"Ugh! Is that how it happens?"

"Maybe. It's an old superstition from where I was from."

"Superstitions do not really have--"

"--scientific basis I know. I take up engineering remember?"

"Your field isn't exactly hard science though."

The two got to eating their ramen first, slurping it down as per usual ramen etiquette, finishing up in just a few minutes partly due to the fact that it had already cooled down. Makoto finished up first and waited for Cel to finish hers before putting the bowls away.

"Thank you for the meal." Makoto thanks the chef and turns back to Cel.

"Tough day huh? Must've been nasty to see." The look of Cel's eyes already screamed "I know" at Makoto.

"You looked it up?"

"While you chatted outside. Should I not have done that?" Cel asked. As per Makoto's earlier request though, she tried to keep it down as much as possible.

"Well...it can't be helped now that you know about it now. But--" Makoto's voice dropped a little. "Don't tell this to the others okay? It might hurt the school's reputation."

"Sure thing." Cel assured him. Given that it was Cel, Makoto didn't find it difficult to believe her words.

"Thanks."

"Why are you so concerned about the school's repuation anyway? Is that the only reason why you don't want this to get out? Just to avoid blowing up the topic?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, being a Kurogane student's one thing I actually take pride in you know? No. Perhaps it's the only thing I actually take pride in. So if the school's reputation goes down, I go down with it. Shirazumi-san and Harumi-kun don't understand that."

Hearing that, Cel takes the boy's hand in hers. Somehow, she could understand how he feels--having only the prestige of your school to hang on to. She feels that, though he may not say so directly...perhaps, he really likes studying in that school.

"Hey, want to take a small detour somewhere? Just before we go home." Cel suddenly asked.

"Well, I'm not in any rush. But why?"

"Nothing. So, are you up for it?"

Makoto thought for a bit. Honestly, he was feeling a little tired walking around left and right. However, he can't deny he wanted to spend a bit more time with Cel. After all, she was leaving tomorrow. Not that she won't be back but seeing as how busy the next week is going to be, he might as well make the most of this night.

"Alright. Where are we going?"

Cel just smiled. "You'll see."



The Sagittarius - 6:00 PM

Kazenari listened in attentively to the man discussing the victims he knew in-between light bites of the appetizer and some water. Of the five mentioned, only two seemed to be related with gang activity and even between the two, only one was directly involved with Westside. Whether others would've been involved with Enigma, even the man doesn't seem to know.

"I see. So based on what you said, this can possibly still be related to your ongoing power struggle." Kazenari thought for a bit. It's possible that the other girls were killed by Westside should they be revealed to be involved with Enigma.

"Yet something still seems off..." Kazenari thought as she glanced back at the man across the table.

"Quid pro quo. I believe you also have questions to ask of your own, correct? It's why you came to school in the first place after all." Before proceeding any further, Kazenari gives the opportunity for the man to ask his own questions. The main course also arrived just in time, with the elderly waiter setting their dishes in front of them: Beef Stroganoff for the man and a fried herring for Kazenari.

"Feel free to dig in first if you please--umm..." It was only then that Kazenari realized they haven't introduced themselves to each other yet.