[b]Kotori Shirohane - Crypt of Hopes and Dreams: Empress' Tomb | Saturday, June 13 2015 - After School[/b]

The rest following Alexei's acceptance of his other self was a brief one - unsurprisingly, given that he seemed rather anxious to go after his sister and because no one was quite sure if he'd hold on for that long. The latter of those concerns would turn out to be unfounded - whilst the former was quickly alleviated when the group carried on; guided once again by Ayano along the shortest path. Much like before, the shadows didn't seem very numerous or dangerous - not that Kotori would complain about that of course. Instead, she was far more preoccupied with the increasingly bleak setting that the dungeon was taking on - where previously at least some colour had been sprinkled about, the final stretch was devoid of all that and managed to still feel unsettling despite its tackiness.

The attention would quickly shift elsewhere as they reached the final room - wherein they finally managed to catch up to the kidnappers. Kotori's steps slowed for a moment when she recoginsed them - not the cultists themselves, but rather their clothing's general appearance - being the same as the ones responsible for her own kidnapping. However, she quickly caught herself again as she saw one of them carrying Elena in his arms. With a weak voice, one of the kidnappers warned them to stay back - an order summarily ignored by Alexei who pressed on unabatedly - whilst at the same time they seemed quite unnerved. It wasn't until one started to ask where this place was that it became apparent that they were rather confused - something which, in turn, confused Kotori who'd expected these kidnappers to know exactly what they were doing.

A moment later, she flinched when a sudden cry interrupted the man's questioning - as a shadow poured out from his body before their eyes. His partner was a lot more horrified than the rescue team - including Kotori, who, whilst she hadn't actually seen a shadow emerge from a person, likewise knew that such a thing seemed to be commonplace for anyone caught in this world. However, there was little time for any analysis - such things could be left for Ayano now or everyone later while they dealt with the immediate threat. [color=green]"Ki..."[/color] Kotori started - but before she got any further, Alexei slammed the shadow into the group; leaving it an easy victim for the others to quickly dispatch. With the other cultist falling to his knees at the overwhelming confusion at what was unfolding before him, the fight came to a rather rapid conclusion as Alexei wasted no time in picking up his sister.

Despite the rather strange circumstances, Kotori was still relieved to see that things seemed to have turned out well after all.

[b]Kotori Shirohane - Abandoned Warehouse | Saturday, June 13 2015 - After School[/b]

With Alexei taking care of his sister and Rui and Kaminari delivering the cultists to the police, they'd agreed to return to the warehouse - leaving a not unwelcome break for Kotori as they waited for the others to return. Though it had been an easier dungeon - perhaps due to its very recent formation - she still had to catch her breath once the pressure and anxiety she'd felt inside washed away. It did leave some time though to think about the events that had just transpired - in particular the rather strange way the cultists had reacted to the other realm. They placed the kidnappees there, so why would they be surprised at it?

Unfortunately, she didn't have any answers before Rui and Kaminari returned - bringing news that Alexei had dropped his sister off at the hospital and himself dropped just a moment later. Those present discussed the same events Kotori had just pondered - but no one seemed to be able to make any sense of it either. Soon enough, they concluded that there was little use in trying to brood about something they knew too little about and decided to end things here for today; Kaminari promising to look for leads whilst Megumi and Kazuki would keep an eye on the Mirror World.

With that done, the group disbanded as everyone headed off in their respective directions - home, in Kotori's case. The oddness surrounding the day's events still lingered in her thoughts even once she'd arrived. Once she'd placated her mother's interest in these friends of hers and returned to her room, she found her school bag laying atop her bed where she'd hastily placed it when she'd received the message about a new kidnappe just after school - left there precisely to remind her that she still had her homework to do after all. She'd almost forgotten about that in all the rush - but thankfully, her note-keeping made doing said homework quite a simple affair.

[b]Kotori Shirohane - Warakuma Hospital | Sunday, June 14 2015 - Afternoon[/b]

As ever, Kotori felt somewhat uneasy as she walked down one of the hospital hallways. She was of half a mind to turn around and leave - but quickly shook her head at the thought. After all, it's not like a hospital was something bad, so there was no reason to dislike it - at least that's what she told herself, but to little avail. Looking over the room numbers, she was getting closer to the one she was lookign for; as per the instructions of the lady at the reception. She'd seemed rather surprised to see Kotori - and even recognised her, but was quickly dissuaded from any worries about sudden emergencies when she saw the flowers she was carrying.

These same flowers - two small bouquets of a few pale green peonies and blue hydrangea as get well gifts - were carefully moved over to one arm as Kotori used the other to raise a hand to the door in front of her - though she hesitated to knock. Much as she had about even coming here in the first place rather than just asking her mother to deliver the flowers, Kotori mulled over whether she really should go - wouldn't just showing up unannounced with flowers in hand be somewhat awkward when the one doing so wasn't even more than a fellow student?

However, much like before, Kotori once again shook her head to get rid of those thoughts - after all, she'd been somewhat surprised but ultimately glad to have received as many visitors as she had during her stay in the hospital after her kidnapping ordeal. With that thought in mind, she gave a faint knock - it was doubtful as to whether it would even be heard on the other side - before waiting for a second or ten and then slowly opening the door. Peering inside, she saw that the room was a double room with two beds - upon each of which one of the Dragunov siblings lay.

Stepping inside, Kotori quickly gave a bow in greeting - which turned out a little difficult to do while carrying the flowers in her hands; all the while giving a strange feeling of déjàvu, except with the roles of patient and visitor reversed. [color=green]"Uhm, g-good afternoon,"[/color] she quickly said in her usual quiet voice; a little unsure about what to do at that point - whilst she'd been to the hospital a few times, she'd never been here as a visitor before. [color=green]"Uhm..."[/color] Kotori went, eyes quickly glancing about the room behind her glasses before coming to rest on a small cupboard - a likely place for a vase of sorts. [color=green]"I-I brought some flowers,"[/color] she said, slightly lifting the mix of blues and greens for emphasis - realising a moment later that she was merely stating the rather obvious; leaving a wry half-smile on her face at that.

[color=green]"Ah, unless it's bother?"[/color] Kotori asked, as it occured to her halfway to the cupboard that perhaps neither of the two might actually want any flowers by their bedside, seeing as no one had actually asked for them - just because she liked them didn't necessarily mean the same for everyone else after all.