[b]Toma Tanaka - June 1st | Before Dawn[/b]

[i]Useless. Useless, useless, useless.[/i]

Toma punched a streetlight as he walked by it, numb to the pain that he should have felt. His dead, heavy eyes fought to scan the area, the effort of moving his head and neck too great to manage.

[i]I'm not good enough. I don't know how to fix this.

[color=f26522]Be better.[/color][/i]

The boy clenched his hands tightly, digging his nails into his palms as he continued to drag his feet.

[i]And if I can't?

[color=f26522]Try harder.[/color][/i]

Toma had no idea how, but he was getting even more frustrated in his sleep-deprived state than he had been before.

[i]I[/i] am [i]trying.

[color=f26522]Keep trying. Until the end.[/color][/i]

Try until you die, or fix the problem.

[i]But I can't die. Not yet. Not before my parents.

[color=f26522]Then fix the problem.[/color][/i]

Of course. He wouldn't die. It would take far more than this to put him down. And pain was no issue. In fact, it was necessary. It was a part of his sentence.

[i][color=f26522]Stay awake![/color][/i]

The boy's drooping eyes snapped open as he dug his nails harder into his palms and bit down on his tongue.

[i][color=f26522]See it through.[/color][/i]

[hr]
[b]Toma Tanaka - June 1st | Warakuma High Main Entrance, Noon[/b]

Toma found himself heading towards school, having skipped out on the morning classes. He still wasn't planning on attending any classes -- instead, he wanted to just question everyone he saw about Kotori, hoping one of them could tell him where she was last or some other peice of information that would be even remotely useful. Though he knew the odds of that were low.

Those plans were put to a quick stop upon the reply of the first person he pulled over. Toma didn't even know what he had asked exactly, but the younger students wide eyes and shrinking frame were clues that he hadn't exactly been polite about it -- also, he looked like hell, which probably wasn't helping.

"Sh-shirohane-san was found earlier today, I think she's at the hospital now!" he said quickly, wanting to be anywhere else.

Toma's scrunched face immediately relaxed as the other student's words registered -- words that he could hardly believe.

[color=f26522]"Eh?"[/color] was all that came out of his agape mouth, a moment before he turned to leave for his new destination.

[hr]
Toma approached the hospital's front desk, the receptionist giving him a bit of a strange look but quickly replacing it with a fake smile.

"Hello there, how may I help you?" she asked.

[color=f26522]"Oh. Is... is Shirohane Kotori here?"[/color] The boy struggled to vocalise his thoughts, mind running on empty. [color=f26522]"Here in a room, I mean."[/color]

The secretary's big, plastered-on smile faded for a moment, before coming back more genuine.

"Yes, Shirohane-san is here, and she's doing well. She can't take visitors for a few hours, though. Police questioning and the like."

[color=f26522]"Oh, right..."[/color] Toma looked around for a moment and spotted the many chairs available. Turning back to the woman, he gave a small nod. [color=f26522]"Thank you."[/color]

The boy made his way to the corner of the waiting area, and sat down heavily in a chair, his exhaustion crashing down on him as he felt the relief of not being on his feet for the first time in almost three days.

He went to blink...

[hr]
...and when he opened his eyes again, he found himself on his side and taking up two seats, the receptionist gently shaking him awake.

Toma held his pounding head as he sat up, glancing at a clock on the wall and seeing that he had slept for about two-and-a-half hours, though he didn't really feel much better.

"You're free to visit Shirohane-san now, if you'd like," the woman said with a sincere smile.

The red-haired boy blinked, his eyes feeling a little lighter than they had before. Maybe the nap had done him a little bit of good. Nodding his thanks to the woman, he stood up slowly, stretching his limbs out at the same time before beginning to make his way to Kotori's room.

The walk was a struggle, Toma having a hard time not dragging his feet. The little sleep had helped, but considering how long he had stayed awake and on his feet, it obviously wasn't enough to get him back up to speed. That could come later.

Toma paused in front of the door, confirming he had the right room, and moved to raise his arm and knock on it, but stopped himself short when he saw the state his hand was in.

Dirt all over, cracked and bruised knuckles, and four small cuts in his palm from his fingernails. Huh. A quick glance down at his left hand showed that it was the same. He clenched and unclenched them, trying to confirm that nothing was broken.

With that checked, the boy knocked lightly on the door, wincing from the pain before quickly tucking his hands away into his jacket pockets.