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Mayonaka Arena is a Shin Megami Tensei: Persona RPG based upon the Persona 3 and Persona 4 games, set two months after the events of Persona 4. In the town of Inaba, the fog has returned. The shadows are back. And on screen, a changed Teddie has a huge surprise for everyone.

The P-1 GRANDPRIX is soon to start, and the ratings are going to be killer.

A mysterious metallic box was stolen from the Kirijo family and stands as the prize for the P-1 Grandprix. It's now a race to win the box, a race to save Teddie, and a race to stop the shadows that have begun to manifest within the fog. This is Mayonaka Arena.
WARNING: Do not advertise in the C-Box!

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Idle hands... (Open!)
Topic Started: Feb 4 2012, 07:45 PM (944 Views)
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MAY 24TH, 2012 - 4:00 PM

Nothing helps get over heartbreak, be it from a long-term relationship ending or a crush gone awry in the ten or so minutes that it had been existence, quite like hard work... or, at least, that was what the adage was. At the moment, Rise would have agreed that it was true-- well, if it wasn't for how she was on the verge of tearing her hair out. A tanned fist slammed down on the counter beside the open book that she was looking down at, the Sudoku puzzle she had been working on almost completely filled in with rather girly-looking handwriting... but somewhere along the way, she'd put a number in the wrong slot. And now? Now she was going to have to start all over again.

Sigh.

"Dammit..."

That curse-word was muttered, softly, as she flipped her pencil around in her hands and began erasing, trying to have a light touch so she didn't obliterate the grid beneath it. That'd be the last thing she'd need-- to dig out a ruler and a pen to re-draw the lines she needed to fill out the puzzle in the first place. Shaking her head, she started filling in the numbers anew, occasionally glancing out the open door of Marukyu Tofu to watch it rain. She knew that something huge was on the horizon, something that put her in mind of risque music, of underground secret bases and 8-bit castles... of her eyes meeting the gray orbs of Akihiko for the first time.

Sighing to herself, she shoved the thought aside before she tucked the puzzle book away beneath the cash register. After a quick check to ensure that her work smock and hair kerchief were in order, she came out from behind the counter and retrieved the broom from its place in the corner. If there was time to lean, after all, then there was time to clean. She tried to link her negative emotions to the little bit of dirt and dust that she discovered, but so far? It wasn't working. What she needed was a customer to serve... or maybe just a friend to stop by and visit for a few minutes.

Anything, to get her mind off of the boy that had been so mean.
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Sarina Daiju
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She and her parents were visiting the department store, and together too; Sarina, at first, did not know why, but later she would learn. To put it bluntly, they had wanted a family outing, mostly to celebrate the fact that Sarina was being more social. Of course, they only based that on the fact that she was out more than she had been before; they had no way of knowing that she actually wanted to learn more about Shadows, Personas, and the bizarre world she had stumbled into.

Are you saying I'm bizarre? the voice of Alice questioned, indignant at being called so; Sarina did not dignify that with a response as she and her parents headed towards the exit of the department store, ice creams in hand. Of course...it then figured that terrible weather would prevent them from going outside and returning home. Well, it didn't really prevent them, but it might as well have; there was no way Sarina could just wander out there without a high chance of getting sick, like she usually did.

So her parents sought out a way to find out when the rain might stop so that they could return home, while Sarina watched a girl working on something, a sudoku puzzle by the looks of it. Funny, what was it that she was erasing? Had she made a mistake? A short while later, the female had put the book away and began to sweep the floor; ah, so it seemed she worked there, at the...tofu shop.

Tofu.

Who ate that kind of stuff anyway? True, Sarina probably should eat healthy considering her habit of getting sick, but she did not like healthy food that much at all; she wondered, should she go into the store? Maybe she would find something to do, such as that sudoku book. So it was on that thought that the young girl moved forward, towards the store, and before long, she was inside; she let her gaze shift to Rise as soon as she walked in.

"Excuse me, miss." she said politely; if anything, she was always polite. At least, at first; then she might not be polite.
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Yukimaru Kuroshuno
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It had been something of Sophie's choice earlier that day for Yukimaru. On one hand, he was rather bored. Not going to school all to often meant that all his time was basically free time. All his time being basically free time meant that "fun" things got repetitive. Repetitive meant boring, so Yukimaru was bored. On the other hand, it was raining, so Yukimaru truly did not want to leave the house. Eventually, Yukimaru sucked it up, and made his choice. Yukimaru flipped up his hood, zipped up his hoodie, shoved his hands deep into the pockets on the sides of his hoodie, then walked out the door.

Today, simply wandering about took Yukimaru to the shopping district of all places. It was something of an oddity, simply becasue if Yukimaru shopped, it was typically at Junes, and typically for household things, not for the stuff you'd find in the shopping center. He walked through the streets, his boots making a wet slapping sound against the asphalt as his hoodie became drenched with rain. Better the hoodie than him.

It eventually dawned on Yukimaru that he was hungry. He looked around, and his eyes caught the Marukyu Tofu shop. Yukimaru fumbled around his pants pocket and brushed along the money. He at least had a few couple hundred yen notes. That should at least get him something to eat. He wasn't sure if a tofu shop of all places would have anything sweet to eat, but it wasn't the end of the world if Yukimaru had to eat something that wasn't particularly sweet or even, god forbid, healthy. Yukimaru cracked his neck and walked into the shop, hoping quite sincerely that it wasn't crowded. Yukimaru abhorred large groups of people.

Yukimaru stepped into line behind Sarina. The plan was simple, ask if they had anything sweet, by the food, get out, and most definitely not sexually harass any female employees or clientele. In all honesty the last item on that list likely was the most difficult one to follow. Meanwhile, it might be a good idea to try and ignore the fact that Rise Kujikawa was working in the store. More specifically, the fact that a local celebrity and someone he'd seen on the Midnight Channel while he had watched it was working in a tofu shop.
Edited by Yukimaru Kuroshuno, Feb 4 2012, 10:22 PM.
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Oh, if only life were so simple... that one could just erase a mistake and put in something fresh, as people often did with puzzles. Maybe then she could've had a do-over at that disastrous first impressio-- no, no, she wasn't going to go down that road. It was pointless, she'd told herself time and time... and time and time again. Her rebellious brain, of course, didn't obey her demands to think about something else-- although the sound of approaching footsteps was enough to begin tugging her attenton in a more healthy direction. Even if it was a bad idea to just ignore the break instead of actively trying to fix it, she was on the clock... which meant slipping into the role of the dutiful shop clerk. Add her unpleasant mood to the sudden ping in the back of her mind that alerted her of Sarina being a Persona user?

This was definitely one of those days where her acting chops came in handy.

An easy, friendly smile made its way onto her lips that managed to reach her eyes without looking too fake as she looked up from the floor, her gaze meeting Sarina's. She nodded faintly in greeting before she began to speak, her tone friendly and cordial.

"Hi there, and welcome to Marukyu Tofu! How can I help you today?"

It wasn't long after Sarina walked into the shop that Yukimaru followed... and again, there was that ping in the back of her mind. Holy mother of Prada, there were so many new Persona users in town these days. She knew that the Midnight Channel had become active again, that the fog was moving in this world as well as the TV World... could that be why? She truly hoped Teddie was okay-- Not now, Rise. Working! A faint shake of her head and she was back on her game, acting like there wasn't a care or a problem in the world... when it was the opposite that was true. Really, she deserved an Oscar for how well she's managing to not fall apart over some... some boy. Before her mind could seize onto that subject again, she forced herself back into the subject of tofu.

"Right now, we've got a special on silken tofu-- it's just 200 yen, and it's perfect for making pudding with! I know it sounds weird, but it's super simple."

Leaning the broom against the wall where she'd retrieved it, she headed behind the counter before turning to wait for the younger girl to order. As for Yukimaru, he got a friendly smile and a wave of greeting-- she didn't want to talk over the customer that was at the front of the line, after all.
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Kumiko Nagasaki

Kumiko walked into Marukyu Tofu, excited and ready for a new day. Though yesterday's events were shocking, she had found her persona, Alranue. This made her see life in a new way as she was asked by her mom to get tofu. Plus, Rise was working there, her idol! She was excited to meet her in person and to be able to talk to her that she could barely contain herself.

As soon as she walked into the store and stood behind the guy, Alranue spoke to her. My. This is interesting. She said with mild interest, catching Kumiko's attention and causing her to think back to her.

What is it Alranue?

It seems that Rise, that little girl and the guy are all persona users. I can sense their personas. She said to Kumiko, causing Kumiko's eyes to widen in shock. Looking around, she saw that Sarina was in the shop as well. She was a persona user!?

Are you sure Alranue? She asked hesitantly, hoping that Alranue wasn't pulling her leg. There was no way that Sarina or Rise could house a persona. That didn't seem to be possible at all.

I would never lie to you Kumiko. For I am thou and thou art I. Alranue said honestly to Kumiko, causing her to lose focus of the world around her for a moment. So many persona users. This revelation shocked Kumiko as she couldn't really think about what to say. Her mouth frowned a little as she began to wonder just how many people out there are persona users. The prospect frightened her a little as she wondered just what in the world was going on.
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Sarina Daiju
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Another person, a boy had entered the shop; Sarina resisted the urge to sigh. She disliked people, and three...well, as they said, it was a crowd, and that was something she did not like in the slightest. Crowds were too...big and massive; they scared her to be quite honest, because anything could happen in them.

Heck, she might fall and get crushed by a horde of people one of these days; she was frail enough to easily be knocked over, and small enough that she wouldn't be noticed. But she tried her best to not let her thoughts enter onto her face; no need to get the people nearby interested, after all.

That was when she noticed something...strange, how had she not noticed it before? The woman before her was Rise, an idol on TV, and obviously famous; but Sarina did not care about that. Famous people were still people, after all; they could still be horrible, rotten, good, or whatever. What she cared about was why an idol like her was working in such a shop...tofu was not the best food in the world, even people who could tolerate it had to agree with that, so what was she doing working here?

Then the girl shook her head a little bit; curious, what had she been thinking about? Sarina pushed that out of her mind, however, and concentrated on what the woman had just said.

"Actually...I'm far more interested in the Sudoku puzzle you just put away. You see, me and my family are stuck inside due to the rain; I'm more prone to sickness than other people are. Might I be able to take a look at it?" Sarina asked, and then, she heard the door open yet another time; how many people wanted tofu!? Sarina cast a glance behind herself and spotted someone, the woman from the other day, Kumiko; Sarina smiled at her.

"Hi, Kumi-chan." Sarina said sweetly to the girl, no falseness in her voice; she truly liked the older girl, which was a rare thing. Her liking someone, that is; she usually detested people, hence why she usually chose to use them.
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Yukimaru Kuroshuno
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Rise piped up, apparently speaking to the girl ahead of him in line. Yukimaru somewhat awkwardly waved back in reply to Rise's wave and smile. Now that Yukimaru thought about it though, maybe some pudding would be nice. Sure, pudding didn't quite seem like a normal ingredient, but 200 yen wasn't a bad price. Maybe he could freeze it and make something similar to ice cream. It wasn't like Yukimaru had much of anything better to do than experiment with how Tofu could be applied as an ingredient for dessert. He'd been hoping for something that was already made and such, but home made dessert was probably more cost effective than buying one that someone else had made. Possibly better for his health too.

Great, now things were crowding up. Yukimaru thought that that was just his luck. He walked into this shop because it wasn't crowded and there was food, but now people were entering. Yukimaru shifted uncomfortably. If any more people entered he'd have to leave for sure. He raised an eye brow at the young girl's request, not for food, but for a puzzle that she had apparently seen Rise working on. Yukimaru stiffened up a little when he realized that it was now his turn in line. The small talk between Kumi and Sarina didn't interest him in the least. "Er, I'd like some of the silken tofu," Yukimaru said, "also, you wouldn't happen to have anything sweet, would you?" Yukimaru felt like an idiot after the question. He was asking for sweets in a tofu shop of all places. Yukimaru was a little bit tense, socializing was not his forte in the slightest.
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As Kumiko-- a girl that Rise thought she'd seen around before-- entered the tofu shop, that familiar ping went off in the back of Rise's mind. Another one?! Jeesh, other Persona users were coming right out of the woodwork, weren't they? It was enough to make her want to shake her head... although her bemusement turned into surprise when she felt Kanzeon stir enough in her mind to actually communicate with her.

Her Persona is based in analysis, like one.

Really?! No way!


Rise's eyes widened subtly at that, a gasp escaping herself that she quickly covered up by feigning a cough and bringing her arm up over her mouth to do so into the crook of her elbow. She'd been taught to do that ever since she was big enough to see into the tofu vats. Her composure regained, the former idol canted her head faintly to one side. That was certainly an odd request, one that she mulled over as she responded aloud.

"My puzzle book..? Oh!"

Pulling the aforementioned puzzle book out from beneath the register, she flipped it open to a couple of pages beyond the one she had been working on before carefully tearing out a few pages-- six puzzles, in total. She held them out to Sarina with a bit of a smile.

"Here y'go-- on the house. I know how it is to be stuck without anything to do, eheh. Do you need a pencil? I've got a couple of spares kicking around here somewhere, I'm sure."

Ah, the fuzzy-warm feeling of doing something good for someone else... it was exactly what the doctor ordered, she decided. Turning her attention to Yukimaru, she smiled at how he quickly just said what he wanted. It spared her the greeting she'd already used when he was walking into the store, after all, and repetition was one of those things that she despised. His request for silken tofu got a nod, the pigtailed girl reaching into the cooler to pull out one of the 200-yen portions.

"There's your tofu, and... something sweet? Well, let's see. I think we might still have..."

Turning her back on Yukimaru, she ended up bending over slightly at the waist after opening the cooler door, the former idol humming softly to herself as she looked through the pre-prepared items that her grandmother put together every morning. She wasn't sure if there was anything dessert-y... but she'd check the best she could, even if it would take a minute.
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Kumiko Nagasaki

She knows. Alraune stated bluntly, sounding annoyed and nervous. Kumiko guessed that she had never been in a situation like this before.

Who knows? Kumiko asked Alranue, curious and anxious about what Alranue was telling her.

Rise Kujikawa. Her persona has similar abilities to me. However, she knows more. Alranue briefed Kumiko, causing her eyes to widen again in surprise.

What do you mean she knows more? What can you do? Kumiko asked, getting more surprised with each revelation that Alranue made.

Me? Do you not know of my powers? I can tell secrets as to those who tend me. But since you are me, you are already tending to me. Alranue explained to Kumiko.

Wow. I did not know that. So you think she's hiding something? Kumiko asked slowly, making she understood what she was saying.

I don't think. I know. Give me a second. I need to learn of her secrets. Alranue said as her presence momentary disappeared. Kumiko wondered just what secrets Rise had to keep and part of her hoped that Alranue would return safely.

As she was thinking, a familiar voice dragged her back into reality.

"Hi Sarina-chan!" She said happily, smiling widely at her as she stooped down to her level while keeping in line. "What are you doing here? Are you buying tofu for your mum and dad?" She asked animatedly, hoping that Sarina wouldn't notice something was up. She couldn't tell her. Not yet.
Edited by Kumiko Nagasaki, Feb 5 2012, 02:17 AM.
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Sarina Daiju
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Well, despite being an idol, it seemed as if this Rise was not that bad a person after all; she was willing to just hand over the puzzle book after all. However, Sarina couldn't help but frown as the older woman ripped the pages out of the puzzle book; true, it was just a puzzle book, and the pages puzzles, but still...it seemed so pointless. Why couldn't she have handed the whole book over?

It wasn't as if Sarina could run off with it, after all; she didn't have nearly the strength for that kind of physical exercise. Now that she thought about it, might that be why she was a big eater? Her frequent illnesses typically kept her weight down, owing either to their nature or the fact that they caused vomiting, either one worked; then her thoughts were broken.

The next person, a boy, wanted to get some tofu, and she excused herself from the line, puzzle pages in hand; at the same time she stepped out of the line, Kumiko spoke up, causing Sarina to shake her head a little bit.

"No, not really. Mama and Papa are trying to figure out when this rain might end," Sarina explained, letting the facade she had shown to the other people drop; in short, she let her emotions show on her face as she spoke.

"As you know, I tend to get sick...and especially so in rain, so I'm kinda stuck here," she added, before glancing down to the puzzles she held in her hand; Sudoku was difficult, but it was also fun at the same time. Maybe that was why she enjoyed it? The challenge of it? After all, if there was no challenge in anything, would people really be willing to go out and face the day every day, all days?

"And as for why here specifically, I saw that idol, Rise, with a puzzle book and figured doing it would give me something to do for the day," Sarina finished, before letting herself frown a little bit as she peered into Kumiko's eyes.

"Kumi-chan, how come you're here?" she questioned.
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