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[SeriousConcentrate]

"I know, right? Can't imagine trying to punch down. Way easier punching up at people."

"Anyway. Just gonna wolf down this tonkatsu real fast and then I'll be ready to go to the library."

[IamanElfCollaborator]

Akasaka Household
Yayoi and Ran stop in front of the Akasaka house. It is a rather normal place, all things considered; the only thing differentiating it from any house nearby is the board next to the front door, listing each family member of the Akasaka family. Yelena and her mother's names are listed both in katakana and Cyrillic, the main marker of their ancestry.

Ringing the doorbell, you hear footsteps heading towards you. Judging from the lack of shoes outside bar for one dainty pair of shoes, you suspect the only person at home is Yelena herself. It would be a good time to consider what you're going to ask her.
School Library
Kaya, Takeo and Minato arrive at the school library.

While it was the middle of the summer, the school was often open during this time for summer classes. Some students like Honma wold exploit that fact to enter the library and make use of its resources. As such, after a quick conversation with the guard outside, the trio are able to make their way in.

The library, given that it's the mdidle of a nice summer day, is rather empty. Only a few students doing some studying for classes can be seen on the desks, and one or two on the computers. Over in the corner, you can see Natsuo Honma, a stack of books with titles such as A History of Iwatodai and The Forgotten Gods of Japan next to him. A bunch of scribbled notes are also seen next to him; you can just about make out the words "Kaijin", "Abnormality" and a few others.

"...."
It would be a good time to consider what you need to ask Honma about.
Uncle Honda's Eatery
That of course, leaves Satoshi and Kogen with Kousei. And Hanako, though as far as either of the other two is concerned, she has remained silent, in keeping with her wish to avoid her brother for the moment.

Kogen-senpai. It's nice to see you again. How was Okinawa?

A good time to think about what you might want to ask Kousei, then.

[SirAston]

Kogen orders a big noodle dish for herself. She definitely was hungry.

"It's nice to see you again too, Kousei-kun. Nakijin is the same ol' place it was before I moved to Iwatodai, barely anything changed there. So you could say peaceful. Or boring, depending on your perspective, hehe."
"... It definitely was from my perspective. I missed y'all."

She points in Satoshi's direction and nods towards him.

"Thanks for welcoming me so much I got homesick at home, you uumaku, ahahaha!"

Another Okinawan word the group might remember her having said often, especially in context of Satoshi. It essentially means rascal.

"So yeah... For now I'm back for a long vacation. Gotta visit granpa and granma too, they're as much family as my parents..."
"... What I want to say is... I never could properly say goodbye to anyone here back then..."
"I'm sorry. That I didn't say bye. That I couldn't be there. So... Please allow me to start by sincerely saying: My condolences, Kousei-kun."

[notquitethere]

Kaya returns his stack of scripts and idles by the theatrical section, pretending to browse while really peering over at Honma.

_{"What did we wanna ask him about...?"} he whispers to Takeo and Minato. 

[Smoke Mirrors]

"Hey Honma," Minato said, getting the boy's attention, "We just met with Kousei. He asked us to head down and ask if you've figured anything out."

[Gaterhyme]

Ran glanced at Yayoi. For a moment she almost seemed to look past the other girl, frowning, before she refocused her gaze back towards the Akasakas' front door.

"Let's just ask about Kousei as soon as we can. That's what we're here for, isn't it?"

[SeriousConcentrate]

Takeo answered Kaya first.

"_{See if he knows anything about what's up with Kousei being speechless. Come on.}"

He walked over to Honma's other side and sat on the table, picking up the first book on the stack and looking at it.

"History, huh. Stuff like this happen much in the past?"

[IamanElfCollaborator]

Library
As Takeo walks over to Natsuo, he notes that he's on one of the computers. Briefly, you can see the website he's looking up; something about building up your confidence to confess your feelings.

And of course, more open tabs than the average millionaire has sports cars.

The second Minato and Takeo approach him, Natsuo switches tabs to the Wikipedia page on Iwatodai.

"Nagase-senpai, Date-senpai."

He adjusts his glasses. He speaks with the tone of a child trying to sound more formal than he actually is. But then, this has always been Natsuo Honma's way, trying to emphasise his smarts.

"Correct, Nagase-senpai. Iwatodai is a center for supernatural phenomena like Abnormalities. It is rather hard to find solid proof of such happenings, given that they are primarily comprised of reports on 2channel, bulletin boards and forums. Rather like Domains, only less harmful."

He nods.

"Interestingly enough, Iwatodai has never been known for Kaijin or Domain sightings, but is known for having many Abnormalities in the town proper or surrounding townships. My theory is that something about this town wards off Akuma, and creates Abnormalities in their place."

He turns to Minato.

"Kousei sent you? Intriguing. Here is what I know."

Natsuo whips out one of the sheets he was making notes on, eyes quickly scanning it.

"Something similar happened in Shinjuku a few months ago. An aspiring singer suddenly lost the ability to speak. Something also happened in the Mishima District; one of the idols from Afternoon suddenly had her voice give out during a Live. The cases were resolved, but I am not sure how."
Eatery
At the mention of Hanako's death, Kousei's breath visibly catches in his throat. He recovers quickly, but it's clear Kogen might have struck a nerve.

It's fine, Kogen-senpai. You had somewhere else to be.

Akamatsu-senpai was here to take care of us anyway, so I don't want to think about the past.

A brush of wind behind Kogen's back, but no corresponding text from Hanako. Hanako wasn't kidding about wanting to remain hidden, so close and yet far from her brother.
Akasaka Residence
Before long, the door opens, greeting you with the dainty, small frame of Yelena Akasaka.

All things considered, she would stand out in a crowd anywhere, if she were but a little taller. Platinum-blonde, almost white hair and blue eyes with pale skin almost like a ghost's, Yelena had earned a few nicknames, with one in particular based on a popular show. It didn't quite help that she shared a similar personality, and bore herself in much the same fashion.

She bore them with characteristic good humor, however; of the trio of her, Kousei and Natsuo, she was probably the most sociable. However, it was still hard to make friends; being visibly foreign, both good and bad rumours found their way about her.

As she greets you, you notice her wearing a smock with splashes of paint in colors that don't quite complement each other. Red and purple, orange and green.

"Oh! Sasagawa-senpai! Shichimiya-senpai! Is there anything I can do for you? I was kinda busy. Actually, have you seen Kou-kun? I'm really worried about him."

[SeriousConcentrate]

"Take it you at least have an idea or two."

He got out a cigarette and was about to put it in his mouth when he remembered where he was. With a quiet 'tch' he put it back in the damaged box and stuffed it into a pocket.

"Can tell you, Kou's silence ain't the only weird thing going on. Ain't my place to say more - though, know anything about ghosts? Ones that you can't see but can move things?"

[Gaterhyme]

"That's actually why we're here." Ran placed one hand on her hip, or really her bag which rested on her hip. "I know we don't run in the same circles, but since I'm getting roped into helping Kousei out, do you mind telling us what's been going on with him?"

"You have to be worried about him for a reason."

[IamanElfCollaborator]

Library
Natsuo taps the side of his glasses, thinking carefully.

"No ghosts. It would not be beyond the realm of possibility if such things as Akuma or Abnormalities really exist, but nothing that I have seen in my research."
Akasaka Residence
"Uh, well, he uh....suddenly just stopped being able to talk when he was over at mine tutoring me in maths. He just stopped making sound mid-sentence. Is he okay?"

[SirAston]

"That is fair enough. Sorry it came out like that, it's... No, no past talk."
"Let's talk about the present. And the future."
"But step by step..."

Kogen's order arrives. She pays and gives her thanks, then turns back to Kousei, bowl in one hand, chopsticks in the other.

"Kuwachi sabida!"

No Okinawan person is complete without this saying before eating. The chopsticks weren't moving yet though.

"I've barely arrived here before everything got crazy and the gang got together, so I haven't had time to really walk through Iwatodai. Any cool stories lately? Did what's-his-name finally gather the courage to drag his crush under the Friendship Garden tree? Y'know, the tall one with square glasses who was crazy good at jubeat? Oh, and when's the Great Dream-Colored Festival again? I made sure to be on vacation for long enough that I would catch it no matter what, but I didn't check the actual date, ehehe..."

Kogen now begins eating.

[Smoke Mirrors]

"It may not be possible to confirm, but do the two cases seem to have any commonalities we could try to use to identify the cause or solution?" Minato asked, sitting down at the desk next to Natsuo, "Based only on what you've told us, there appears to be a connection where all three were singers, meaning that that likely plays into the cause, unless you've been specifically checking for singer related incidents? Not to doubt your research, it's just important that all matters are confirmed in order to avoid coming to any inaccurate conclusions."

Meanwhile, he planned to ask if Natsuo needed any help with... other matters later, when it was more private.

[IamanElfCollaborator]

Library
Natsuo thinks briefly.

"The singer was a woman by the name of....Minako Shirogane? Yes. Apparently, her mother had died a few months prior. As for the idol, I looked into her history. Rumour has it that a stalker broke into her house and stole valuables, including a keepsake from her father overseas. That one, I believe, was resolved by..."

He quickly switches tabs to show off an article titled "Stalker Found Unconscious In Front Of Police Station".

"Rumour suggests that her fellow unit member, a girl by the name of Azusa Kumon, recovered the keepsake. Coincidentally, after the valuables were recovered, she was able to sing again."
Eatery
Kousei half-heartedly raises his chopsticks in agreement.

Terasawa-senpai? I don't recall him being any good at jubeat, but he and Takeba-senpai are dating now. The festival's at the end of summer, in a few weeks.

[Smoke Mirrors]

"Loss of family or of a keepsake of them? …well that’s a clear enough parallel for Kousei." Minato replied, his voice turning a bit more morose, "Do you know if anything specific happened lately that might have… reopened old wounds?"