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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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Excuse Me But... [Chou]
Topic Started: Mar 5 2012, 10:04 AM (270 Views)
Rio Iwasaki
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MAY 19th, 2012
04:20 PM


This morning was…interesting to say the least. In the end, she was grateful it ended without any incident. That boy was unusual, but she didn’t bother to dwell upon it for too long. When she got back home, she simply followed her normal routine without much incident. Breakfast was prepared for the family of two along with light discussion.

Rio was an ambitious girl who disliked doing nothing. Back in the city, during free days Rio trained to get better. And when her body needed resting, she spent time with friends trying to build her bonds of friendship. Being neglectful had made her friendship with Shinji feel awkward when she was around him. The awkward feeling got worse when he would talk of her tennis advisor. He preferred older women and while he wasn’t shy about such a thing, it made her feel uncomfortable. And eventually she got so uncomfortable that she didn’t want to be around him. If anything, she didn’t want such a thing to happen between her and Yuko.

But Yuko wasn’t around to chat with. Instead, she would need to make new friends if such a thing was even possible. Friendly relationship building was not Rio’s strong point. She wasn’t even sure how she was supposed to go about such a thing. She supposed a good way of figuring such a thing would be finding information about friendship. When learning tennis, she got all the information possible as well as practiced. She supposed the same logic would work with friendship. The first step would be to go back into town and find a library. ”…um, Mother,” she called out as she walked into the woman’s bedroom. It seemed she was sleep. That was fine. She could find directions from one of the locals…after some quick practice.

It was late in the afternoon before quick practice was over. She had washed and changed into something a bit more suitable for walking around town. She wore a gray short sleeved shirt, black jeans, and some blue tennis shoes as well as a blue cap. It wasn’t really all that fancy, but it was probably better than sweatpants and tank tops. Rio found herself in the shopping district utter lost. ”Tofu. Metalworks. Gas station,” she muttered as she looked around the south end. The dark haired girl frowned. None of those places would help her. She slowly strolled up the road feeling extremely out of place. She didn’t see anything that looked like it would be selling self-help books. Rio groaned.

”Maybe this wasn’t a good idea,” she moaned to herself lowly. She sighed then shook her head. If she wanted to do this, she needed to do this wholeheartedly. ”Excuse me," she said to a random person passing by. ”Can you tell me where the nearest library is?"
Edited by Rio Iwasaki, Mar 12 2012, 01:33 PM.
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Chou Inamine

Since her father's only day off was Sunday, Saturday was usually spent preparing for nice meals on Sunday. Buying groceries for the entire week was often accomplished during this time as well, so that she could dedicate time every other day to studying and schoolwork. So, to accommodate the anticipated load of groceries, Chou often pulled a large shopping bag on wheels - one of those things that were most popular with the older population. It was certainly useful, although it didn't quite help the girl's image look any more conventional.

Sometimes, though, she didn't care too much. Occasionally she would even dress up a little bit to go out, to at least give a positive spin to her slightly strange appearance. But today was not one of these days. Chou chose a rather simple and low-key outfit: short, light-wash denim overalls with a plain white t-shirt underneath and black sandals. It had taken her less than a minute to pull together, but she still felt it looked all right. It was befitting of the weather and season and that was good enough. Though, sometimes she realized it was okay not to care too much. A lot of people here weren't extremely fashion-conscious. But she supposed the downside to that was that the efforts she did make - when she made them - often went unappreciated.

Chou doubted things would be any different if this wasn't the case, though. So she shrugged it off and continued on. As she did, her mind moved along to other matters. More important things, such as what shops she needed to go to and in what order. While she strolled, the girl went through her shopping list in her head. She divided the items up by stores and planned a mental itinerary for herself. After a while she obtained a solid game plan, at which point she obtained her written list from her pocket and glanced through it. Just to be sure. It never hurt, and it could save her an extra trip.

Once the dark-haired girl had effectively double-checked it, she pocketed the small paper and launched into her shopping trip.

But after a couple of hours, once she had visited every store she planned to go to, Chou was glancing through the list again. Triple-checking didn't hurt either... even though she was pretty sure that she had gotten everything. The end result was the same in any case - she felt satisfied, accomplished, and rather cheerful. Perhaps it was a bit strange, but she liked this weekly trip. Since she often had regular places she visited, she had become somewhat acquainted with many of the store owners. A lot of them were older people, and apparently compassionate ones that were kind to her. Given her experiences at school, this was a welcome change.

The only sticky part was that people were often a bit too kind, and often tried asking about her condition a little too much. It was greatly appreciated, of course, but it was a little troublesome trying to come up with stories all the time. Lying never felt good either. Still, it was better than getting other people involved.

Thankfully, the necessity of lying only occurred sometimes. Today was not one of those times, and so Chou was left to return home in a chipper mood. As she strolled back, she glanced at her watch. It was inching towards 5 PM, and towards dinner time. What would she make today? Or would her father maybe bring back food? Biting her lip in contemplation, she eventually decided to fish to her cell phone to ask. However, before she could open up the device, a voice called to her: "Excuse me, can you tell me where the nearest library is?"

Chou stopped, resting her cart down as she looked over at the person who had spoken. It was a pretty, black-haired girl, probably close to her age. I guess she's new here, the girl thought to herself. There was really only one library around after all. In any case, it was easy to give directions to - and, in fact, she could even walk her most of the way since it was close to her house. "It's not too far from here," Chou replied quietly but cheerfully. "It's a little down the road, and then a little to the east. If you want I can show you - it's on my way home."
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Rio Iwasaki
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She was a cute younger girl. She was frail looking, but most girls were frail looking. Girls were always so delicate and soft creatures. It was probably why she didn’t get along with most since being delicate or soft weren’t on her top ten list. Rio needed to be strong and dedicated. She needed to be able to take a beating physically at any time and be ready to continue. It was why she trained so much.

But the cute younger girl was nice enough to stop pushing her cart to give her pretty precise directions. And even after that, she still offered to show her the way. ”Really,” Rio said a bit surprised. The girl scratched the side of her cheek. Inaba seemed to have such hospitable residence. The people here were just as friendly three years ago when she was here. The teenage girl nodded. ”Oh yes! I would be so indebted to your kindness,” she pleaded with her hands clasped together. This was going well! She could get herself a book or two and go home and study them.

Though…

Right now seemed like a good opportunity to perhaps attempt to be friendly. Casual talk was never Rio’s strong department. Yelling at people to do harder was usually her forte. She was also pretty good at taking tennis and ways to improve backhand shots, but this wasn’t really the time or place. The girl in front of her didn’t look like someone who liked the physical education sessions required in school. ”I’m Iwasaki Rio,” she introduced herself. She bowed formally at the much smaller girl with the cart. She wondered if that was too formal but only after the fact. Rio wasn't too sure if things were more formal in smaller towns. Inaba did seem like a more relaxed atmosphere. The older girl smiled nervously as she rubbed the back of her head.

”And I’m sure that it’s very apparent, but I’m new here. But you're not...right?”
Edited by Rio Iwasaki, Mar 13 2012, 12:18 PM.
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Chou Inamine

The girl seemed a little surprised, scratching her cheek lightly upon receiving her offer. But it wasn't long before she received a nod and a very polite acceptance to it. It was almost a little too formal actually - not that she minded very much, but it was a bit unusual. If teenagers were exceptionally polite it was often only in the company of their elders that they had to impress or otherwise please. In any case, Chou nodded. It wasn't a bad thing to be polite, after all, and the girl seemed kind and pleasant enough in any case. "It's not a problem or anything. It's in the direction I'm going anyway," she assured her, taking her cart in her hand as she gave the girl a small smile. "I'd be happy to show you around, too."

Just as Chou was about to lead the way, she stopped as the girl introduced herself as Iwasaki Rio, and even bowed to her. Almost instantly, a light blush rose to Chou's face - the girl seemed a bit older and more mature than she did... not to mention she was bigger. IT was a bit embarrassing, getting such respect, but it still wasn't necessarily a bad thing. When she straightened up, Rio mentioned how she was new in Inaba and assumed that Chou wasn't. Apparently a little nervous as she spoke.

"Yes, I moved here a little while ago," the smaller girl replied with a small nod. "Inaba is pretty easy to navigate once you've been here a bit." Chou's hand fell from her cart as she returned the bow. "I'm Inamine Chou. Pleased to meet you, Iwasaki-san." Standing straight again, she took her cart once more and began to walk along. "Anyway, we should go. The library sometimes closes around early on Saturdays."

With that, the girl continued along her way, pulling her cart behind her. She walked slowly, not wanting to seem like she was getting too ahead of Rio or like she was in a rush. For a few moments she was silent as she walked, a little unsure of what to talk about. After all, she wasn't usually asked for directions. And she definitely wasn't usually in a situation where she could show someone around. Actually, in general, Chou never usually found herself in a place to make small talk with a stranger.

So... perhaps she just wouldn't.

"You don't have to be so polite. It's nice of you though." Chou looked over at Rio and smiled softly at her because, after all, she found the almost excessive respect to be quaint more than anything else. "But the only ones who care around here are the seniors, really... and some adults. People in school will think you're weird." Of course, she wasn't one to talk about being weird - since, well, she kinda was - but she hoped that Rio took her observation/advice as 'coming from an expert' rather than one of malice and hypocrisy.
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Rio Iwasaki
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She introduced herself as Inamine Chou. Chou was a cute name for a cute girl, though she didn't dare say something like that. That might have been too personal. Rio knew better than to act too personal with a stranger. Still, Chou-chan was a pretty cute name. And Chou was extremely nice. She was happy to show her even though she said it was in the same direction she was headed. Rio could only smile. Inaba was really a nice place full of nice people. Chou was an example of that even though she wasn't born here. She had moved here to this city and learned her way around since she claimed the town was easy to navigate through. Rio didn't doubt her. Inaba wasn't a huge place so there wasn't too many opportunities to get lost.

They walked in silence for a moment before Chou insisted that she didn't have to be so polite and formal. In fact, people in school might think she was weird for her formality. Rio nodded and giggled a little. "Then I am lucky I won't have to go to school," she explained. Though if her formal behavior was making her uncomfortable, than she needed to stop. Rio didn't want to make her tour guide so uncomfortable. Rio did fail to make a good impression on the first person she meet in Inaba. She was rather loud and brash with him. Now she was being too formal and uptight to the point it might be seen as weird. She supposed she was never good at finding a middle ground.

"But I wasn't my intentions to make you feel weirded-out or uncomfortable. Please accept my deepest apology."

She once again bowed formally, completely going against what she set out to do. Rio sighed. She wasn't good with socializing it seemed in a casual setting. She supposed she already knew that. That was why she was heading out to the library in hopes of finding something to help her out. She rubbed the back of her neck. "I supposed it's going to take me a while to fit in at this rate." Then again, she never really fitted in her own school. Though it wasn't because she was too formal. Well, her serious attitude probably could have been considered to be too formal. Either way, she didn't relate to others well.

"But thank you for telling me. Hopefully I can improve on being more...casual?"

Did she need to be more casual? Perhaps it was just her rigidness that made her hard to relate to. Or maybe it was her inability to understand proper social settings. It wasn't like she was blind and couldn't sense the mood of things. She just never understood it. For instance, there wasn't any tension or ill feelings between her and Chou but it didn't mean she knew how to turn that into an instant bonding situation. And when there was tension, she didn't know how to resolve it. Rio was just inept at these types of things.
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Chou Inamine

[ooc| gahh!! sorry for the lateness! >__<;;]

She wouldn't have to go to school? Chou tilted her head slightly, wondering why this was so. Maybe the girl was even older than she originally thought? Or was there another underlying reason for why she didn't need to? The questions circulated idly in her head for a moment but the girl brushed them off for the time being. While she was a little curious as to what her reasons were, she figured it would be something better asked a little later on. If at all. While Chou was a blunt person, she did feel a little uncomfortable prying into people's business unasked.

She was distracted form the thought in any case, as the taller girl offered an even greater display of formality to her, apologizing and bowing for making her uncomfortable. Chou had been a little embarrassed with Rio's earlier extraneous courtesy, but now she only found it a little amusing. Even kind of charming, in a funny way - especially since she had just offered some advice against such a degree of politeness. Nonetheless, she still didn't find it a bad thing. Rio, however, seemed to express the slightest exasperation at her own actions.

"I accept your apology," Chou replied, a small grin across her lips. "But you don't need to apologize. It's actually pretty hard to weird me out." She idly toyed with one of her braids with her free hand, while the other still pulled along her cart full of groceries. "Anyway, I'm sure you can improve if you want... but actually, even if people think you're weird, I doubt anyone would hassle you for being overly polite." One of her shoulders raised and fell rather limply. "If you don't go to school it's all easier, too."

At this point, Chou glanced from the path ahead of her to Rio. There was a glimmer of curiosity in her exposed eye as her ponderings from earlier resurfaced in her head. Then, without thinking, she asked Rio quite plainly: "Why don't you have to, anyway?"

But then, within moments, she realized that she was beginning to pry. She bit her lower lip gently, her gaze shooting back to the road again. "I mean, if you don't mind me asking. Sorry if it's personal."
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Rio Iwasaki
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She looked like she wanted to laugh. Her polite nature was funny? Rio supposed it was better to be amusing than offensive. Still, she should strive to be friendly rather than some goofy formal girl. Chou did accept her apology, which was a good thing. But she claimed there was no need for so many apologies since it made her feel weird. In fact, people would soon think Rio was weird. It wasn’t the first time such a label was placed on her. She didn’t really care for the label, but it wasn’t something unexpected. She would need to strive to be polite without the weird. Rio just wasn’t sure how that would work. Perhaps Inaba was extremely relaxed and she was too rigid…

”Being hassled was never one of my worries, admittedly,” she commented with a nervous smile. She wouldn’t expect to ever get bullied for being nice. And she had no fears of being taken advantage of. She could see lazy and greed quite plainly. She dealt with it during her high school days. There were too many teenagers always hoping someone else would do things for them without having to work in return.

The subject changed as Choi seemed to be curious as to why she didn’t have to go to school. ”I don’t mind,” she said with a smile. But wasn’t it obvious? Rio thought it would be. Graduation was two years ago back in twenty-ten. ”I am well past the age for high school. I will be turning twenty in a few months…” It was funny to think she still looked the same as she did in high school. She supposed not much had changed so it was an easy mistake. She hadn’t gotten any taller. Her muscles weren’t as definite as some of those professional players. Still, it was funny to think two years later, she could still be a third year in the eyes of a teenager. Hopefully that meant some child wouldn’t feel inclined to start calling her an old lady.

”I was a second year in university, but my mom got ill so I was forced to take a break.”

That was essentially the whole story. She now lived in Inaba not but choice, but because she needed to be a good daughter and put her mother first. It was depressing even though she had nothing against the small town. It was a nice town with nice people. The circumstances were just bothersome. ”…so I may stick out like a sore thumb, but it won’t be at a high school. Not unless I can get a part-job there as personal coach or something,” she explained. It would be nice to become a coach for a high school. But that required qualifications she just didn’t have.

”Surprised?”
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