Time: ~6pm | Date: 2025/09/13

As Haruki and Isuke met, two more people were about to be put on the same path.

"Miss Hanabusa, we think it would be safer to stay in your bedroom for the moment." A man dressed in black and white speaks, the words aimed to the lady sitting at a table just a few feets away.
She seems incredibly proper, even as she stirs her tea.

While she heard the man, in truth, she couldn't care to answer him yet, she knew he had more to say.

"I'm sure you've heard, Miss, but the virus outside is spreading fast and it seems to be creating chaos that you should not risk."

A hum. It sounds disappointed.
The woman humming, her name is Sumireko Hanabusa.
If you thought Isuke was rich, well Sumireko is quite literally living life similarly to a princess. She's a very rich and proper young lady, being referred to as near royalty regardless of the fact she does not have any actual royal blood.

"Thank you for the information, Deki." she says politely, only to lift her cup gently to her lips and take a sip once the words were done with.

"We know that after the accident you can-" Sumireko's face twisted with an emotion one could only deduce was an upset one of some kind, but just as she was about to interrupt Deki herself- another member of the mansion's staff barges in.

"Someone's hurt right at our door! What should we do, Miss Hanabusa?!" it seemed one of the staff responsible for security had rushed over, considering his heavy and exhausted breathing.

The words pondered in Sumireko's head for a few seconds.
A stranger hurt at their door...
With all this virus talk going around is the risk worth taking?
Well... She may as well, perhaps the person at the door could be spared or saved.

"Take them in and bring them to the guest room, send in Akira with them to look after any wounds and tell her I will be joining the both of them in only a few minutes." she waves her hand, dismissing the security guard who follows orders right away, rushing off.

"Miss Hanabusa, with all due respect are you certain-" Deki once more has no time to finish his sentence.

"I can make my own decisions." the words were icy, there was no debating them more.

While she may be a rich 'Oujo-sama', that does not exclude her from having a heart.
This may be the one chance at being saved this stranger has.
Plus, isn't this quite a thrilling and intriguing situation?
One that brings an air of mystery and thrill in some way?
She couldn't help feeling herself drawn to it, to the beauty of strangeness and the unknown.
Of risk, too.
Although fairly calculated.

"Alright, Miss Hanabusa. Excuse my stubborn attitude. I presume you want alone time to compose yourself and get ready to meet this stranger?" Deki asks politely, bowing slightly when he apologized.

"Yes, that would be appreciated. Thank you Deki."

On that, the door to Sumireko's room closed with a faint click.

!*!*!*!*!

About 15 minutes later, Sumireko felt ready to greet this new addition to the mansion.
Deki had been waiting not too far from her door, knowing to accompany her to the exact guest room that had been chosen for the hurt stranger.
The both of them walked for a few minutes, up until reaching the guest room.

A knock, followed by 5 seconds of silence, and then an open door.
Akira was the one to greet Sumireko with a slightly nervous smile and a whisper.

"She's asleep... I've already bandaged her wounds.. she should be alright. It was nothing more than a few scratches and cuts. She must have hurt herself running away or tripped or.. or maybe gotten stuck in a place where a struggle was needed... She should be okay"

The words were said quietly, wanting to let the other rest.

Sumireko paid attention to every single one of them that were spoken.
She.
Scratches and cuts.
Hurt due to running away, struggling, or tripping. Maybe all three.
She will be okay.

All the important information was taken in, and once processed, Sumireko wasted no time walking towards the bed to look over this strange guest she's welcomed into her home.

Silver, near white hair.
Was that natural?
Dyed?

But the most outstanding detail to Sumireko was the scars.
This stranger that looked so delicate sleeping on those soft silk sheets had many of them.
But one most definitely stood out.

"Her eye..." Sumireko speaks softly, her hand carefully tracing the scar down from her eye along her cheek.

"I-it was already like this Miss.." Akira responds, noticing the clear curiosity and interest Sumireko developed.

"I see." a light smile and hard to read expression as Sumireko brings her hand to her mouth to politely hide her giggles.

"Seems she's been in good hands with you, thank you Akira. I'll wait here for her to wake up, both of you leave.'' She waves away Deki and Akira, wanting privacy with the girl laying on the bed.

They took no time in following orders, hence leaving Sumireko alone with the unconscious girl.

"I wonder what happened to you... pain has a way of creating the most interesting of stories... I wonder what yours is" the words were said in a near analytical way, as if someone was observing an art exhibition and pondering it's meaning.

Quite a lot of time would have passed, about three hours to be exact, for this stranger to wake.
Yet, Sumireko still sat there as the other woke up.
She was reading a book, legs crossed in her chair.
The only reason her attention was taken away from it, was due to the other's grunts and slurred words.

"What the hell... fuck.."

Fuck. Migraine.

The room's light isn't too bright at least...

Fuck.

Confusion.
Ungrounded.
Dissociated.
What time was it? How long had it been? Had they gotten away?
Had he just been completely out of front for a bit?
Was Mahiru co-conscious at the moment?
Who was even actually front?
Confusion.
Ungrounded.
Dissociated.

Banba stood there, confused and trying to figure out what happened.
What time was it?
Where were they?
Who was front?

The answer that felt right to that last question was Shin'ya.

Before Banba could try and ground and figure things out more, someone spoke and broke their waking ritual.

"My my, it seems you've woken up... are you quite alright?" Sumireko asks, curious. She honestly was fairly taken aback by how deep and near aggressive the other's voice was.
Such a delicate figure and yet...

But the voice wasn't the only thing that grasped Sumireko's attention.

She imagines they must be disoriented, considering that this person must have ran away only to collapse at her door.
But this person seemed a lot more confused than you'd think appropriate for such a situation.

On Banba's end, no time was wasted on trying to figure out who truly was front, what felt right was Shin'ya and the overwhelming urge to protect and shield Mahiru and the body from whoever this stranger speaking was only solidified this feeling.

He wasted no time glaring and near jolting back out of bed.

"Who the fuck are you. Where the fuck am I" the questions were asked harshly, the tone of voice indicating Shin'ya wasn't messing around.

It took Sumireko aback, she wasn't expecting such a strong reaction and, if for only a second, she debated calling security.
Although, after giving it more than 2 seconds of thought, she realized that after all the stress of running away, perhaps the sense of danger this individual had felt carried over their wake.

Carefully, she tried to maintain a calm composure and answer Banba's questions.

"You are in the Hanabusa Mansion, my mansion. You were found by security at my doorstep, hurt and collapsed. I agreed to take you in and look over your wounds, hence the bandages. You have no need for such aggression, I'm not the enemy."

While Sumireko kept calm and her tone soft, it was also clear that her words meant business and that the aggression was far from welcomed here.

Shin'ya observed the mannerism and processed the words, quickly looking around and then looking at the visible bandages on their arm.

Shit.
It all comes back to him now, how Mahiru was getting chased by all these freaks trying to harm her.
The pure stress and fear had triggered a sudden switch and all Shin'ya could do with the body's exhaustion and wounds was bolt to the nearest building he saw in the distance.

Those were the last memories.
Mahiru mustn't be around front after all that.
Although... Considering how the night's darkness is engulfing the horizon out the window, maybe it's for the best that Mahiru wasn't the one to wake up.
She doesn't like the night, the dark at all for that matter.

Eyeing Sumireko with a suspicious gaze, Shin'ya speaks once more.

"So ya got me in yer home and expect what from me exactly? I ain't repaying favors I didn't ask for." he couldn't help being on edge. Considering their history, he just couldn't help being on guard and suspicious of anyone's intentions.

Although, the young lady's response was a surprise.

"I don't desire anything but your name. It would be a simple courtesy to introduce yourself, that is all I'll ask of you." Sumireko could tell there was quite a lot of difficulty with trust, and she couldn't bring herself to feel offense over it.

There seemed to be reasons for that, and in truth, she held her own doubts and suspicions over people.

Shin'ya meanwhile, debated whether or not he should follow along.
Should he?

Looking over to the bandages, then once more outside the window, he decides maybe complying isn't too bad of an idea.

Reaching his hand over for a handshake, he gives the other a smirk.

"Name's Shin'ya. Shin'ya Banba."

Sumireko, pleasantly surprised with the compliance, extends her hand in return to grasp Shin'ya's.

"Sumireko Hanabusa, pleased to meet you."