[h3]Shizuka Otonashi || ??? || June 29 MON[/h3]
Opening her eyes to an unfamiliar scene, Shizuka blinked at the beautiful and elegant decors of the room she was in before noticing the black silhouettes of other people seated at the long table. Looking carefully along the table, she noticed that there were two people who were not mere black silhouettes and recognized them both. Mako, a loyal customer to the cosplay cafe, and Masahide, an upperclassman of hers, were seated at the table wearing fanciful outfits that varied from the others. If she stared long enough, she could notice a silhouette that resembled Matt's but it seemed as if he was not physically present at the moment, who also wore something he would normally not wear without an occasion.

A moment afterwards, Shizuka felt something atop her lap, what appeared to be a lacy blue and black parasol and as her gaze went downward from inspecting the umbrella, her eyes sparkled from how fabulous her current outfit was. It resembled a gothic lolita fashion but it leaned towards a formal theme as well. Each intricate and elegant detail on the gloves, the flow of the dress, the lacing pattern, Shizuka scanned through them with a seamstress' eyes as if it had given inspiration to tailor dresses of this theme.

A sudden voice caused the maiden to shift her gaze towards... what appeared to be a strange man with a long nose. Shaking her head to cease herself from being distracted from the strange appearance of the man, Shizuka listened carefully to what he had to say. A contract? She could only recall one situation where she might have, but wasn't that only from a dream?

Being told that she had drawn the Temperance Arcana, she stared down at the symbol she couldn't figure out what it had meant and nodded her head slowly in understanding as he explained what meaning it held. The teen looked back at how her life was recently, and he was certainly right about the loss of balance in her activities. Being told such made her a little conscious, but after facing herself at the strange dungeon, she had decided to be more truthful about her habit and perhaps tone it down to make time for other activities as well.

After receiving the key from the lady in blue, everything went dark once more.

[h3]Shizuka Otonashi || Warakuma Hospital || June 29 MON: After School[/h3]
When Shizuka came to, what her eyes first saw was a white ceiling. Where was she now?  While attempting to sit up, she noticed how immaculate white the room was and realized she was in a hospital room. Before the patient could react to the situation, a familiar female voice screamed her name, [b]"Shizuka! Thank goodness, you're finally awake!"[/b], and a sudden hug just as she straightened up. It was her mother. Astonished by the appearance of her mother, her eyes widened and as she quickly scanned through the room, Shizuka noticed that her father, dressed in his doctor's uniform, was seated by her bedside as well.

[color=violet]"Mo-Mother...? Father...? W-What happened?"[/color] While she was surprised by the presence of her two always-too-busy-to-spend-time-with-her parents, it was more of a pleasant surprise to her. But how did she end up in the hospital after the whole crazy ordeal back at the fantasy stage place?

[b]"A boy from your school brought you here at the middle of the night yesterday, claiming to have found you unconscious somewhere."[/b], her father spoke in his ever solemn tone. [b]"He seemed to have been hiding [i]something[/i] but rest assured, we found no injuries of any sort when you were brought here."[/b] He adjusted his glasses with a cold yet menacing look in his eyes as if he was ready to stab any boy who neared her daughter.

[b]"Oh Shizuka, we were worried sick when the police first informed us of your kidnapping in a horrifying gang incident! It's all both of our fault for not keeping a close eye on you despite all the rumors of the kidnappings in your school! We're sorry, Shizuka... *Sob* It's all our fault..."[/b] The embrace from her mother tightened as she felt warm tears drop along her back, her arms raised themselves to return the embrace, tears rolling down her cheeks at how sincerely worried they must have been for her.

[color=violet]"I... I... was lonely every time you a-and father left me to myself... I-I just kept it to myself be-because I wanted to be an obedient c-child... Bu-But mother, father, please... do-don't leave me alone."[/color] The tears she held back all those years started streaming down as Shizuka kept sobbing and crying. Hearing this, her mother's hand gently rubbed her daughter's back as her sobs became louder at the realization of their neglect. They both must've known this but had they failed to notice this due to Shizuka not saying anything?

[b]"We should've known you've always felt this way but... This should not be an excuse and we're both deeply sorry about it but your mother and I have been working harder recently to work on this."[/b] Shizuka's father held out a clear file filled with sketches of different dresses and outfits, but they all had one similarity: the model of the sketches was Shizuka. Her mother released Shizuka from her embrace so that she may scan through the papers properly and once she reached the back area, there were several blueprints of a runway stage and a party hall.

[color=violet]"W-What is all this...?"[/color] What were they preparing for, to be this grand? Was their any occasion close by? There weren't any that Shizuka could recall. [b]"It might be too early but these are drafts for your 20th birthday, dear. We... just wanted to celebrate your coming of age with the best of our abilities but we neglected you in doing so... We're truly sorry for being bad parents to you, Shizuka."[/b]

Shizuka's mother flashed a melancholic smile and Shizuka responded to their apology with a shake of her head with a soft yet genuine smile. [color=violet]"You're not terrible, mother, father. In the end, you were doing all of this for me and I appreciate all the effort and work you've done for my coming of age. But... It would be delightful if we had more time to spend together. If both of you are off work any time this summer holidays, could we have a trip to Tokyo, please?"[/color]

This was the first time Shizuka asked her parents in a childish manner and the two of them couldn't help but smile and give in to her request. After settling down a little, Shizuka started to sketch the fanciful dress in her dream and explained her hobby that she had kept from her mother and father. Her mother didn't particularly   mind, in fact, she was happy that Shizuka was able to expand her tailoring skills more by this hobby. Her father was not totally against it but was worried by the fact that his daughter could fall victim to molestors because of the outfits she would wear and the two could feel the murderous intent from the worrywart father.

A nurse had dropped in quickly just to give Shizuka something they had received from a visitor. The maiden wondered who it was from and read "From Akane Hanazawa" on the sticky note. I-It's from the president of the manga club! Her memory might be blurry but if she remembered right, was the lone girl from her rescue team that same upperclassman? She wasn't sure but Shizuka couldn't wait to go back to school and finally enter the club room with her new found courage! The manga the upperclassman seems to have given her was something she recognized, but had yet to read. Was it something about a love triangle between a princess, prince and a servant? She couldn't really remember but at least she had something to pass the time by while her stay at the hospital.