It was morning in the Tsukushima residence. Shizuka was already up and making breakfast for herself and Marina, as well as some lunch for her guardian. As she cooked, she wondered about how she should spend her day off. Sure, Marina had talked to her into getting something new for her room, but she wasn't sure what to get exactly. Well, she could stock up on ingredients in the fridge, but other than that, she didn't know what to do.
She heard footsteps approaching the kitchen, followed by a yawn. "Good morning," Marina greeted, taking a seat at the dining table.
As soon as she sat down, Shizuka set breakfast in front of her. In front of the guardian was a sunny-side up egg and bacon, nestled on top of a baked potato. The aroma of the dish especially got Marina's appetite running.
"Itadakimasu," she prayed, taking her fork and dug into the dish. One bite, and Marina squealed at how delicious the meal tasted. "Mmm~! So good~! Shizuka, you're really a good cook."
Shizuka blushed at the compliment, as she took a bite of her own breakfast.
"So, what are you going to do for today?" Marina asked. "Today's your day off. If you want to do nothing but sleep, I have no complaints."
Shizuka took out her notepad and wrote her plans. "I'll buy something for my room, and tonight's dinner."
Marina sweatdropped at the written response, for those were only what they spoke about the night before, and a necessity.
"Anything else?" she asked.
Shizuka took a moment to think about it and wrote her additional response. "I'll think of ideas for the other bands' shows."
This made Marina sweat even more. 'Did her foster families never let her have a day to herself?' she wondered.
"Now that I think about it, we still haven't decided on a school to send you to. Today's a school day; how about you visit them? Of course, I understand if you don't want to," she then suggested.
Shizuka looked down in thought at those words. She knew she should be going to school, and that she should do as Marina suggested and check out some in the area, but... the girl shook her head in strong denial.
"I see... Well, if you ever change your mind, just send me a text so I can schedule a visit for you," Marina told her, in which her silent ward nodded to.
******
After breakfast, Shizuka handed Marina her bento and bid the woman farewell, as she headed off to work. As for the teen herself, she went to clean up the house first before going to shop. Once done with a few hours worth of cleaning, she had some simple lunch, and went shopping.
The mute was calmly walking her way to the mall. As she walked, Shizuka checked out the shops on the way, wondering if there was something she could buy from any of those stores instead. So far, nothing had caught her interest, per say. But even so, walking out here for a small, unimportant errand, a smile formed on Shizuka's face, as she calmly breathed in the air.
'How long has it been, since I last calmly walked out here...?' she wondered, feeling peaceful for the first time in years.
Her time of peace ended, when she bumped into someone.
"Ah, sorry about that," she heard.
Shizuka looked and saw a girl seemingly her age walking away from her. The girl had short brown hair and wore a black and white gingham shirt with an orange shirt underneath and a green vest over it, blue jeans that were ripped at the right knee, and brown combat boots.
(A/N: Pretend the bottom part of the pants are in the shoes, and that there is a rip on the right knee)
From how the girl was looking at her phone and then to her surroundings, Shizuka could only deduce that she was new to the area and may have gotten lost. The mute approached the girl and tapped her on the shoulder.
"Hm? What's up?" she asked.
"Are you lost?" Shizuka wrote to her.
"Not really. Just new to this part of Tokyo."
While slightly surprised that the girl didn't say anything about her muteness, Shizuka continued to write on her notepad. "Do you need help getting somewhere?"
"No. I have the map on my phone. Thanks anyway. Later." With that, the girl took her leave.
Shizuka stood conflicted. That was the first time someone declined her help. In fact, that was the first time someone didn't want her to help them. Not only that... but there was something familiar about that girl. But what?
Shizuka shook her head and continued making her way to the mall.
******
Once she had arrived at her destination, she saw Himari and Tsugumi there.
'Uehara-san? Hazawa-san?' she wondered. If it was any other person, they would call out to someone familiar to them. Unfortunately, Shizuka wasn't one of those people, and she only have Marina and PoPiPa's phone number. She could approach them, but all she was to them was a staff member of the live house they'll be performing for, an acquaintance. She wasn't sure if she should be seen overly familiar with them.
"Hm? Hey! Shizuka!" Shizuka heard a call for her and looked up to see the two Afterglow members waving at her. Taking it as a sign to approach, she returned the wave and walked over to the two. "What a crazy coincidence! Are you here to shop, too?" Himari asked.
The mute nodded in response and took out her notepad, turning the page to her shopping list, and showed it to the two Afterglow members.
"'Something for the room' and 'groceries'? That's kind of vague," Himari read.
"Groceries out of the way, what are you looking for for your room?" Tsugumi asked.
Shizuka simply shrugged her shoulders. Marina had only said she should get something to decorate her room, but the mute didn't know exactly what she should get.
"You don't know?" Himari questioned. "You don't know what to get for your room?"
"My room is looking bland. I want to look around to see if I can get something for it," Shizuka wrote. She couldn't tell them that Marina had told her to do the shopping; it could lead to questions she didn't want to answer.
"Oh! Then can we help?" Himari asked. "You see, we're here to shop for some things, too. We would love to help you out!"
Shizuka made some gestures to deny their help, especially as the mini live was soon, and she did not wish to interrupt whatever lessons the two will have later.
"Don't be shy! Come on~!" Himari said, grabbing the mute by the wrist and dragged her in, with Tsugumi following.
******
When they went into the mall, the first place they went to was a toy store.
"Sometimes it's nice to have a cute plush in the room. It gives off a cute atmosphere," Himari explained to Shizuka, as they browse over the many dolls and plushies the place had.
"Some board games are also nice, if you want to invite some friends over," Tsugumi added.
"Yeah, that's true~! So, take your pick, Shizuka!" Himari said.
The mute looked around, unsure with the choices around her. In all honesty, this was the first time she entered a toy store. She had seen toys and dolls kids from her foster families had, but she never had one herself.
One doll took her attention. It was a pink stuffed rabbit pillow. Looking at it made her think back to what Tae said about her, how she was much like her rabbits.
"You want that rabbit?" Tsugumi asked, noticing her stare, in which Shizuka nodded to.
"Whoa, how cute~ It even has a red ribbon tied around its neck. You should definitely get it," Himari told her.
And that she did, as the mute picked up the toy and made her way to the cashier, when she was grabbed by the wrist.
"Hey, wait! Only that one?" Himari asked, she who grabbed Shizuka's wrist.
The mute looked to her in confusion and nodded.
"But... shouldn't you get more? You said your room is looking bland. I'm not sure if one stuffed animal is enough to change that," Himari said.
"Although you have a point, Himari-chan, you shouldn't force her," Tsugumi said. "Besides, she might want to get something else. How about some books?"
"Oh, good point! We can recommend to her some good manga!" Himari agreed.
Shizuka wanted to decline their offer, but one hand holding the toy, and the other was in Himari's grip, and thus, she was unable to write, much less make any gesture to deny their help.
******
And so, after purchasing the rabbit doll, the trio's next stop was a bookstore, where Himari had led Shizuka around to the manga section, followed by Tsugumi.
"These mangas are really good," the bassist of Afterglow recommended. "If you like romance manga, this series will tug your heart strings. If you like action, according to Tomoe and Moca, this series is especially a huge hit. What genre do you like?"
Shizuka had never read manga in her life. In fact, the only books she ever read were textbooks and cookbooks. As such, she did not know, per say, which to get. Since Himari was recommending both series to her, though, she figured they must be good in some way, and gestured to them both.
"You like them both? Neat!" Himari exclaimed. "Then, let's just get the first volume of both. These series are kind of long, and you also have to shop for groceries later, so it's best to start with a couple."
Shizuka nodded at those words, and got the first volume of both mangas.
"Tsugu, what are you getting?" Himari then asked her keyboardist friend.
"Ah. I'm thinking of getting some cookbooks," she answered.
This caught Shizuka's attention, as she looked over to the books Tsugumi was looking at.
'Oh. These are all books I have,' she realized, as the keyboardist picked up a few books.
"I guess I'll take these," she said, when Shizuka tapped her on the shoulder. "Hm? What's wrong, Shizuka-chan?"
"I have those cookbooks at home. If you like, I'll give them to you," she wrote on her notepad.
"Wait, really?!" Tsugumi asked after reading, in which the mute nodded to. "Wow! Thank you!"
"Hm? What's up?" Himari asked.
"Shizuka-chan has the cookbooks my mom wanted me to get."
"Really?! Wow! What a big coincidence!"
"I can bring the books tomorrow at CiRCLE," Shizuka then wrote.
"Oh, that would be great! Thank you!" Tsugumi thanked.
******
With her shopping done at the mall, Shizuka still stuck around Himari and Tsugumi upon the pair's insistence, especially the bassist's. Apparently, the two Afterglow members were also shopping for some clothes and bath bombs respectively, and had thought maybe the girl would like to buy some as well. Shizuka wanted to thank the pair for helping her shop and accepted the invite.
Once the two Afterglow members were officially done with their own shopping, Shizuka parted ways from them and went to buy some groceries. She noticed how late it was getting and rushed as fast as she could to a nearby market. As she ran, she noticed some police cars gathering at a convenience store on the other side of the street, causing her to come to a stop. The mute then saw people exiting out the store, consisting of policemen arresting some beaten and bruised thugs.
'They look like a very dangerous group...' she thought, committing the face of each criminal to memory, in case if at least one of them manages to escape captivity.
The next person walking out with an officer was a shocker to Shizuka, for it was the girl she had met just earlier today, who also had handcuffs on her wrists just like the rest of the thugs.
'Her, too?!' she gasped, as the girl got pushed into a car separate from the guys.
Shizuka may not have known anything about that girl, but there was one thing she did now. Whoever that person was was dangerous, and she was glad she didn't stick around to help her out earlier.