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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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Grey Stuff (Rio)
Topic Started: Mar 9 2012, 08:09 PM (936 Views)
Kanji Tatsumi
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May 27rd, 12:00 PM

Sundays were definitely the best days of his life every week. Why? Because it meant no school, no idiot teachers, and no idiot students that were around to bug the crap out of him. He could sleep in as late as he want, stay in his room and sew, and not worry about the rest of the word for the most part. Some students use Sunday as a day to study extra for school or catchup on their homework. Kanji uses it as a day to just simply lounge around. There was a time when his Sundays were preoccupied with Shadow hunting and murder investigations but that time had passed and now he's free to do what he loved most: nothing. Absolutely nothing!

Of course, all things that are good are eventually ruined when his mother started asking for help in the store. Not wanting to work on a day that he has free to himself, he quickly came up with some excuse about needing to go out and left the store. He wasn't the type that helped with costumers, not yet. He would avoid that as much as possible so long as his mother is around. He had a lot of maturing and growing up to do before he'd be caught dead behind a counter. Locked in a private room and sewing? Yes. Costumer service? Hell no.

He had made no plans with his friends for today. So he walked around the district for a bit as he contemplated going over to the flood plains. It always had been his favorite spot to go; especially the hill top way out of the way. It was his place. At least in his mind it was his place. He could avoid the rest of the world there so long as no one else was up there. The cool breeze was always a nice charm as well.

He set his mind to go to that place and started heading toward that direction. On route he caught sight of a familiar face entering the local pharmacy. His hand immediately went to the pocket of his pants. He had been carrying a doll around for two days now on the off chance that he ran into Rio. He had contemplated just going to her place but she mentioned that she was taking care of her mother so he never wanted to bother her. He could have just dropped the doll off too but he never thought to do that till just now. Didn't matter, the girl was around.

Kanji made his way into the pharmacy and peeked around the store. When he found her, he approached her, "Rio-chan! How..." His question died at his lips as he got a good look at her, "Wow, you look like crap."
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Kanji Tatsumi
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Well at least she agreed with him on that people needed to do something in order to get the job done. Still, she seemed to think it was unusual for him to beat on the gangs. She thought he was doing it to play hero for the children. To be fair, he didn't really think of the kids at the time he did it. They were just making such a racket outside of his mother's store that he eventually grew tired of trying to ignore it and snapped. Still, it sounded better to say he did it because no one else around town was doing a damn thing and the gang was dangerous to have around town with kids running around. He never really looked out for anyone until that one kid lost his bunny. That was when he actually started to care a little bit.

"Probably." He agreed as she pointed out that it was probably due to his violence with gangs that the cops suspected him. "Then again, they thought I was in a gang. If they knew how to do their homework, they'd probably woulda jus' left me the hell alone. Rather then point fingers at any guy who has thrown a punch." There was a time when Kanji respected the police force and what they were doing. That was before his father died. Since then, Kanji grew bitter about everything. As a child, when his father was around, he had often wondered what it would be like to be a cop fighting crime-- being one of the good guys.

Nowadays he can't seem to think the cops ever get their thumbs out of their asses. He's aware that there are good members of the law enforcement. He has respect for Dojima-san, not that he would ever say it. He also has a respect for Naoto-kun for her abilities to deal with crime through her mind alone rather then dealing with brute strength like Kanji. Everyone else just seems to slack off at the station or not give two-shits about the people. He supposed people did what they could for a living, even if they weren't going to take their jobs seriously.

"If you're trainin' every day, an' your ma is sick that you need to take care of her..." He started off as he began to wonder, "How you guys live? I mean... do you guys have an income? Do you work or sumthin? Y'seem pretty busy to have a job."
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Rio Iwasaki
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He started asking about her mother and really her life. It was a bit odd and uncomfortable, but it was an easy enough answer. She supposed trying to dodge the question would be suspicious. She did tell him that she moved here to take care of her mother. It wasn’t like her mother was trying to hide having a stroke. It was a bit hard since half of her body was still somewhat paralyzed. But what she did specifically felt private. It was like he was looking to judge of how poor of a job she did as a substitute for her mother. Rio knew she wasn’t made to be a housewife. But it wasn’t like her family was so rich they could afford a live-in nurse as well as a maid. The logical answer for everything at the moment was Rio.

”I don’t have a job. I’d like a part-time job,” she said uneasy. ”Having a busy schedule makes time pass easier for me.”

A job would keep her distracted from all the things going on. Her life was out of whack. She wasn’t practicing tennis. She wasn’t in college. She wasn’t around familiar people. Even her home wasn’t really home. Everything was so foreign to her and she didn’t like it. The girl grabbed her right elbow with her left hand. ”Like I said, my dad’s rarely around but that’s due to work. So it’s not like I have to worry about income. Just other stuff.” She shook her head. She needed to remove the conversation from her, or at least this subject. She glanced over at him with a frown. She could just turn things around.

”I suppose your family is supported by your family owned business that you’ll take over. That must be nice.”
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Kanji Tatsumi
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That's right, she did mention something about her dad never being around because of work. Kanji supposed it made sense that her dad would ship off money to home in order to help with the income and finances. Common sense really, but Kanji lacked common sense in most regards. He simply nodded once and accepted the answer at face value. It sounded like Rio didn't even need to work to help around the house with her father off at work. That was good at least. It must be nice to have the household taken care of financially. Then again, it meant she hardly ever gets to see her dad so, in a way, it's also a bummer.

"Probably not." Kanji responded when she mentioned that he'd take over the family business. "I ain't much for running business. Ain't a people's person neither. That kind of thing involves lots of work and smarts that I won't never have." He always knew that when it comes time for his mom to retire, Kanji wouldn't be the one taking over the shop. No, they'd likely sell it to someone who is interested while Kanji went and did whatever for an income. He really isn't the type that could run a business or even work. The only job he'd be qualified for is retail but that would require a good 'people's person' personality that he sourly lacked.

"No point in thinkin' about stuff like that though. Ain't like it'll happen anytime soon."
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Rio Iwasaki
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The subject jumped off of her, much to her relief. It went back to Kanji and his…inabilities. He wasn’t good with school and he blamed teachers. He wasn’t good with people and he blamed rumors. And he wasn’t good with business. But he would eventually need to be good with all these things. He would have to run a business. ”Are you going to marry some smart, people person type of girl?” she asked bluntly. Unless he had someone there to make up for all the traits he lacked, things weren’t going to work out. She had no idea what type of females he liked. He had a crush on someone, but he rather never talk about it or confess to that person, or even think about it. Unless that girl was a delightful person with great business sense, Kanji was going to need to work on himself.

”You should always think about the future. It helps you plan ahead. You should probably try to improve either your business sense or hospitality since one day they will be your responsibilities.”

She shrugged, still holding her arm in a nervous position. That would be her actions if she was in such a position. But her future was uncertain. She wasn’t inheriting any job from her parents. She wanted to create her own future, but that wasn’t really going all that well. Rio sighed unhappily.
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Kanji Tatsumi
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"I ain't marrying nobody." He exclaimed. He wasn't interested in that kind of stuff; not to mention that would imply that he actually would get in a relationship somewhere down the line. He couldn't picture himself in any sort of relationship with anybody. The closest he'd ever be would be what some people call 'friend zone'. The friend zone is where he will comfortably live. Hell, he wouldn't even know what to do with himself if he was in a relationship. He didn't know what was acceptable things to do. He's completely naive in that respect. Yes, it would be safest for him to just avoid the whole thing completely, relationships, marriage, all of it.

"I'm too young to worry 'bout the future." He started, "That kind of stuff is what old people worry 'bout. I ain't got nothing planned ahead and it'll stay that way. Sides, s'not like I got anything going for me anyway. I'll probably jus' end up in a ditch somewhere." It was a joke... sort of. He couldn't really see himself making a living making dolls for children. There were only so many kids in Inaba and eventually they'll grow up. True, new children would be around but he couldn't really see dolls being something so grand to have in the future. He just couldn't see how making dolls would get him enough money to live out on his own. He isn't much good for anything else either so he's under the belief that he's pretty much screwed once his mom kicks the bucket.
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Rio Iwasaki
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She stopped walking and glared at him upset. What did he say?! Why would he even say such a terrible thing?! Rio folded her arms. "You're never too young to think ahead," she said in an irritated tone. Thinking ahead helped plan for the future. Preparation was always a good thing. It was why she trained. It was helpful. It made sure she didn't feel overwhelmed or anything like that.

But that aside, she couldn't believe he would dare say something like that. It was like he given up on himself. She felt herself wanting to hit him in frustration. That wouldn't really help the situation however. Still...she couldn't hold herself back. She grabbed him by the ear and jerked him down to her level. "You're such an idiot to say something like that," she scolded. "There's no reason to think you'd have such a grim future." She stared at him with a soured expression for a long time. It didn't matter if he was joking or serious. He shouldn't ever think of things like that. She finally let go of him and groaned upset.

"Seriously. Why would you ever think like that? You should think you have a bright future regardless of how others think of you. Why would you ever think that?"
Edited by Rio Iwasaki, Mar 24 2012, 03:49 PM.
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Kanji Tatsumi
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A person may never be too young to think ahead but he was too young to care about such things. What teenager his age honestly gave a hoot about the future? The crazy sheltered from the world people who are being crushed by the pressures of their parents, that's who! He didn't get a chance to say such a thing; however, because in an instant Rio was yanking on his ear and forcing him to bend over to accommodate, that or get his ear ripped off. It was a strange sense of deja vu from the situation. Was this going to be a common occurrence in their strange friendship? Maybe he should start wearing ear muffs if they were going to hang out often.

When she was done giving him an earful, he rubbed at his ear to ease the pain away. Why the hell did it hurt so much to get an ear pulled anyway? Such a useless body part in his mind. "Jesus, stop doing that." He complained upset. "Shit, I dunno. I know nothing, it ain't going to get me anywhere. Ain't like making dolls for a few brats is going to hold me over and I ain't much for getting a job." Why the hell did it matter anyway? He wasn't thinking he'd end up in a ditch because of other people, he felt like he was going to end up in a ditch because of himself. That's where he pictures himself down the line. Sure, this realization would bring someone to change things about themselves, but Kanji just didn't have the heart to really... give a shit.

"May not look like it, but I'm jus' a kid. Ain't nothin odd about that kind of thinkin' from people my age." Not that he would know. His knowledge of how others think is extremely limited.
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Rio Iwasaki
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He complained but she ignored it. Pulling his ear was a better alternative than trying to punch him or slap him. It was something that got her point across. Then again, she failed at doing something like that. Kanji was so thick skulled! It seemed like the best answer for dealing with him was to yell for hours until he got the point, but she couldn't do that. Rio was pretty sure her voice would go hoarse before he realized what the hell she was telling him.

"Doll making can be a lucrative career. Children alway play with dolls. I had some when I was a child. All girls like dolls and cute things. While Inaba isn't really a big place with many children, but they could sell well at big cities. Or online. I knew girls addicted to shopping they'd buy things on their phones in class..."

She explained things through she sounded amazingly bored. Talking about the future with Kanji was like talking to a wall. It was a wall that was about six feet tall, but it was still a wall. Rio sighed. "But forget it. Hopefully when you grow up and you're not a kid anymore...you'll finally understand things," she groaned. She wondered how Kanji saw the world. It seemed really despressive from what she could tell.
Edited by Rio Iwasaki, Mar 25 2012, 01:27 PM.
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Kanji Tatsumi
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'All girls like dolls and cute things...'

And that's where Kanji's attention stopped as he thought about that statement. Was it odd for him to wonder exactly how far that statement carried over as a universal concept? For some reason he couldn't really picture all his friends liking dolls. Rise would probably like a doll that he made. Yukiko seems like the type that would stare at it and not know what to do with such a thing. Naoto would likely stare at him if he attempted to give it to her and not accept such a useless item. Probably wouldn't take anything unless it had some sort of use that would help with a case. That's basically where Kanji's mind wandered as his eyes glazed over and he stared blankly at Rio while he didn't pay attention to her.

Maybe he should try sewing something other then dolls. Dolls were sort of easy for him to make, but he never really did do anything else unless it was for himself. Granted, he never had the nerve to sew something for someone else to actually wear. It would give him reason to try some other styles of stitching. Naturally, due to the fact that Kanji has a tendency to doze off in the middle of someone trying to tell him something important, his response is generally not in relation to the conversation.

"Did y'know that most people only know of five common hand stitches and only know how to use three of 'em? I know and can use twenty-seven of 'em. I use seven of 'em in the dolls alone." If there's something he's good at and proud of, it would be his work with a needle and thread. He supposed he wouldn't be good at anything if his mother hadn't been running a textile shop his entire life.
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Rio Iwasaki
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Dealing with Kanji was frustrating. She wondered how his mother survived so many years with him. He had to be almost eighteen. She had never asked his age or told her age, but she assumed they were close in age considering his height. That made his I’m just a kid statements a bit annoying considering he should have been acting like an adult at his age. He couldn’t have been a first year. There was no way someone his size was just fifteen…

But there was really not much she could do in this situation. Regardless of how good of advice she gave him, Kanji seemed to always seem to ignore it. She wasn’t even sure if it was intentional or not. Regardless of how annoyed she was, she was still determined to help. ”I did not know. Did you know about seventy percent of the world is covered in water but only less than one percent of that water is drinkable,” she replied since he seemed to be spewing out random facts. She could do the same.

”Did you know the fastest served ball was last year at a Davis Cup? It was two hundred fifty-one kilometers…”

She could probably spew random things she remembered all day. Rio wasn’t sure what good that would do. It wasn’t like he’d remember anything. And it wouldn’t be too helpful if he did. Just like stitching was of no use to her. Then again, he might have shared that because he thought he was sharing something interesting. ”So why do you like sewing?”
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