Shin Megami Tensei Persona: Reboot (ic)

[Saikotsu]

April 13th: Early morning: the first day of school
The sound of blaring loud music woke Ai from her slumber. In a small bowl next to her bed, her phones alarm was going off. She groans in irritation. She had been having the strangest dream, about a blue room of velvet, but she couldn't remember any details. Shrugging off the covers, she shut off the alarm and got herself ready.

30 minutes later, she descended down the stairs into the kitchen, where she quickly made herself a Western style breakfast of fruit and a bowl of cereal. She turns on the tv as she sits down at the table to eat. " ...cases of apathy syndrome are on the rise again after they mysteriously declined four years ago. Cultural analysts are worried this may signal another epidemic of cases. Our viewders are urged to be extra alert for signs of developing this mysterious condition," the news reporter states. "Ugh. Those apathy syndrome patients always creep me out," Ai remarks between spoonfuls. " on to our next story, third year student at Miyagi high, Madarame Yoshino is still missing. She has been missing for three days, and search teams are beginning to lose hope of finding her. Her dissaplearance marks the third in 5 weeks. Anyone who has any information about the disappearances is urged to call the authorities..."
"Shino-Chan...."
"I warned you about hanging around that girl Ai," her father says from the hallway, a stern look of dissapproval on his face.
"Glad to see you're worried about her too dad," Ai remarks sarcastically.
"Of course I'm worried about her. If her disappearance is linked to you in any way, my career will be in jeopardy. Now finish your breakfast and get yourself to school."
Ai eats the rest of her breakfast in a huff before rushing out the door.
Don't worry Shino, I'll find you! I'll check some of the other players on Legacy of Goettia, maybe they know something! In the days following Shino's disappearance, Ai had checked all over town and with Shino's other friends. The only place she hadn't investigated was the online game she and Shino occasionally played, "Legacy of Goettia".

[Mossberg]

Kylar's alarm woke him up with it's loud, annoying buzzing. Opening one light blue eye he reached his hand out from under the blanket and slapped at the top of the alarm clock until it shut off. Yawning deeply he sat up and rubbed at his eyes with his palms. Shoving his blanket to the side he got up from bed and went to the bathroom out in the hall. Relieving himself at the toilet he flushed it and went to the sink. Turning on the hot water he washed his hands and rinsed them off before turning on the cold water and splashing it on his face to help him wake up. Kylar hated mornings. Looking in the mirror at his short black hair that was disheveled from sleep he ran his fingers through it to try and straighten it out. It didn't do much but it helped some. Grabbing his things from the medicine cabinet he brushed his teeth. Spitting in the sink and rinsing his mouth and the sink out he went back to his room where he got dressed in clean underclothes and his new school uniform. Looking in his mirror he checked out the uniform and sighed. He didn't think the grey and red suited him very well but it wasn't as if he had a choice.

    Grabbing a few things from his dresser drawer he stuffed them in his various pockets. His music player went into his left hip pocket, his wallet in his back right, and he put an open pack of cigarettes with his lighter in his right pocket. Looking around his room he tried to remember is he had forgotten anything. Oh, my phone, he thought spotting it on his nightstand. Walking over to it he took it off the charger and put it in his inside jacket pocket. Leaving his room he shut the door and went down the hallway past his dad's room to the living room. As he came into the living room he spotted a note laying on the coffee table. Another day, another note. Kylar sighed softly and went over to the table to pick up the note. He barely glanced at it before crumpling it in his fist. That's when he saw the stack of paper that had been under the note. Kylar couldn't read the language that was on it but he knew it was money. Shaking his head he picked it up and stuffed it in his pocket. Planning on getting something to eat at school or on the way he just headed to the door and opened it. The early morning sunlight made him squint his eyes as he went out and locked the door behind him. Walking away from the house he turned down the road and went in the direction he had been told to go for school.

[TheHangedOne]

While many students had to deal with the blaring of alarms, from clocks or phones or other devices, their was maybe a handful of students who did not use or did not require such devices.

Suo was amongst this small few, as he was able to take some of the esoteric things he's learned from his uncle, and found practical applications of them. "Every-day Zen" as his uncle called it. It let you get away with doing stuff like having an accurate-to-the-minute biological clock.

It also helped when you wanted to literally spring out of bed, fully alert and ready to take on the world, which is exactly what he does. Years of getting rapped on the head by his uncle for sleeping in has also instilled this sort of discipline in him.

He was showered, dried off, and dressed in no more than thirty minutes; and that left him with nearly an hour to get to school, and pick up breakfast along the way. He would need that time; he's clocked himself before, in years past. It was thirty-five minutes to walk to school on average; more in inclement weather, more or less depending on foot and car traffic.

With his entire day seemingly already planned out in his mind's eye, he set off from the temple, with only a brief wave goodbye to his uncle, who was already preparing himself for his morning meditation. Every step of the way was even, smooth, planned, and saw him slipping and sliding in and around others, following the path of least resistance.

Along the way, he would stop at one of the many vending machines that overpopulated this part of the world. One which proclaimed that a hot, fresh meal was just five minutes away! And sure enough, after the machine had been fed the Yen it demanded, and his selection was made, five minutes would begin to pass, as the braised pork meat was... heated? Reconstituted? He did not know how the machine operated. In fact, this is one of the few times where he did not wish to know. It was relatively cheap, it was fast, filling, and an excellent source of protein.

He spent the time loitering around, and also, getting himself a bottle of water, so as to quench his thirst.

[Rayve13]

Her parents had selected the alarm, like everything else in the house, and like all of those other things it annoyed Chiasa beyond words. Reed flutes? Really? She had changed the sound effect dozens of times, and Mother always changed it back. It didn't seem to matter when Chiasa did it either, it was always the reed flutes waking her up in the morning. She sighed heavily as she got out of bed and saw her uniform laid out for her in its accustomed place.

"Thanks a fuckload, Mother!" she called down, saying the offensive word in English for extra spite, "Clearly I can't get my damn uniform out on my own."

She dresses slowly, not in any particular rush. The alarm was set to give her more than enough time to get to school, even if she decided to walk rather than be driven. The uniform went on, followed by her own personal additions. A black lace hair tie to hold back her ponytailed hair, a single black velvet forearm glove, a metal-studded belt, and a loosely-tied black necktie complete the look to her satisfaction. She allows herself a smile as she applies black lipstick before leaving her room, ignoring both her mother's squack of protest and the breakfast she has laid out as she leaves the house, shaking her head and grabbing her phone. It wasn't like she didn't have the money to buy her meals out, and she had no intention of sitting at breakfast and listening to Mother's complaints about her looks. Why wouldn't they just leave her alone? She kept her grades up, what more did they need from her?

She stopped by a corner stand for breakfast, grabbing a pastry and a cup of coffee before continuing on towards school.

[who149]

Kenji let out a loud cheer early in the morning. He had been leveling up his character in "Legacy of Goettia" the entire night and didn't get any sleep. When he saw the sun rising he looked down at this phone to see the time.

"Crap! I pulled another all nighter" he yawned "whatever, not anything important being taught in the class anyway." He said getting up and throwing on his clothes. As he left he called out "Dad i'm leaving..." No reply, must be nursing a hangover.  He sighed, and decided too see if he grab something to eat before he left. Opening his fridge and seeing it was practically empty besides a stick a couple bottles of condiments and some peanut butter, looks like he was skipping breakfast today. He let out another sigh, opening his door and leaving.

On his way too school he took his usual detour through the local park, stopping by the vending machine. Standing there, was a high school boy, sitting against one of the machines, saying nothing but sighing.

"Hey, Daisuke" he said with false enthusiasm "See your still doing good" he forced a grin. "Want me to get you something?"

The boy still sat there saying nothing. Kenji tried not too let if affect him, as he bought a couple bags of chips, one for him, and one for his friend "here dude..." he said handing the Apathy Victim the bag, "Y-you got to eat dude..." his lip quivered, it pained him to see this.. "I-I got to go, okay.. I-If you get better.. I'll be at school..See you, dude" he said waving his old friend off,  continuing his way to school.

[krakenknight]

Megumi blushed a little in her uniform as she walked to school by herself. She was a skittish little thing, moving like a deer caught in the headlights of a freight truck.
Everyone is looking at me everyone can see me, be small, be tiny
Megumi was a bit of a wreck around most people and today was no exception. The 17 year old ducked into the gate, and out towards school, inadvertantly attracting attention in her efforts to minimise it. She walked quickly, head ducked, body bent as she moved.
It was all too late that she saw the girl in strange gothic punk attire and it was all when she rammed into her with full kilter.
Way to go miss stealth
"Sorry," she whimpered looking up in amazement "I'm normally less clumsy,"

[Rayve13]

Chiasa was just lowering her coffee when she felt someone ram into her at more than full speed. She staggers forward, going to one knee but managing to keep from falling flat on her face. But, to keep from smacking her face on the ground, a sacrifice had to be made...

"Ahhhh, shit!" she yells as her cup falls and spills out on the sidewalk. She turns her head to see who it was, just in time to catch the other girl's whispered apology. "Well, I'd imagine so, or you wouldn't make it through much of the day without ending up in the hospital," Chiasa replies, her voice going down to a lower, more friendly tone. She's got nothing against the girl or anything, and it sure seems like an accident. "Are you okay?" she asks as she gets back to her feet, throwing the now-empty cup in a trash can.

[BlackestKnight]

A 90's-style black mercedes benz crept along a stretch of road outside the shizuoka prefectural city Hanamatsu, perhaps a bit of a cliche but nonetheless practical choice of vehicle for a foreign emissary to have been driven-in, since his arrival from the airport that morning, his first glimpse of Hanamatsu from his plane's window revealed a city overshadowed by the presence of fog. At first, It hadn't occurred as unusual enough to him, but as the day wore on, the fog seemed almost otherwordly to him. He could barely make out any of the city's landmarks. His shoffeur, an immigrant from Sengal recognized Amir immediately and was a fan of the sport although he hated Amir for knocking his home team out of the ivory coast block. The mans loathing was more of a half-joking sports type a playful thing, in person he was actually quite pleased to be in his presence even if he thought of him as a respectful rival to his favorite team.

He made small-talk during their ride. He would discuss things relating to the town, the disappearances and what not, as well  his experiences living in the city. Throughout the conversation, he attempted  an interest but consciously started to tune out when the man started going on about his personal life. Amir seemed a bit absorbed in his thoughts, reflecting on his life so-far, he realized some of the details of his childhood stood out to him for some reason, but he couldn't quite remember why, certain details were omitted or too vague for him to piece together.

"Hey Assassin, this is where I'm suppose to take you?  Miyagi High?" The Shoffeur speaking to Amir who had been spacing for quite some time. Amir having a visceral internal reaction to being referred to as Assassin until he realized that it was his soccer nickname.  He replied "Oh yeah, this is it...thank you" A hand reaching for the car door handle on his side before the man spoke to Amir once more.


"So  the host family you will be staying with while you're here in Japan..."

"The Ninamori's" Amir spoke firmly before setting himself outside the vehicle. The headlights from the mercedes benz flashing twice in the direction of the school, re-adjusting his tie and eye frames, he set forth. The mist began to subside with each step he made toward the entrance.

[krakenknight]

Megumi looked tense and nervous for a minute but quickly got to her feet and smiled in sheepish innocence.
"I'm fine, I landed on one of my softer areas, Sorry about your coffee, I kind of lose track of things when I'm nervous and new schools do that to me," she said rubbing her butt sympathetically "I'm Megumi, can I maybe buy you a canned coffee," she offered.

She burned in shame, but hoped that she might placate the stranger, Megumi hated to cause problems, she was such a bother after all.
She felt eyes on her and desperately wanted to vanish.

[TheHangedOne]

He ate and drank as he made the rest of his trip to school. With enough calories and protein to keep him going until lunch time, he was content.

He arrived with five minutes to spare before classes began. His pace slowed somewhat as he entered the school grounds, and though he seemed to constantly watch his surroundings, noticing each and every student that he passed by, or whom passed him by, he did not seem to truly look at anyone.

That is, until he caught sight of the stranger, the foreigner, to the school. Not that that was a bad thing; it did little good to gauge another man, or a woman, on their nationality, but until he knew what to call the man, 'the foreigner' seemed as apt as any thing to think of him as.

He would move towards Amir, calling out to him. "Hey," he started, his tone mostly dispassionate, but with a light sprinkling of guarded friendliness to it. "Are you new here? Need any help getting around?" He would offer. Suo spoke in fluent Japanese, but not that quickly, so Amir shouldn't have any trouble understanding him.

Amir might notice, that, even past the student's uniform he wore, Suo was very fit. No hulking muscles or the like, he was built very dexterously, and wiry. Deceptive, even. He did, however, only come up to Amir's shoulders.

[BlackestKnight]

"Are you new here? Need any help getting around?" An observant look darting to-and-fro admist the sea of faces who began to fill into the school much like rank and file fish swimming along a well-co-ordinated shoal, he of course was more like a catfish caught within a shuffle of tuna. Scanning about to the source that had beckoned him, his eyes eventually pinpointing to a fellow who stood only a few inches to his blind area. From the looks of it, he had short somewhat un-kept hair with crimson streaks littered throughout, he looked more like a character from a fighting game than any student he was use to seeing, although that statement could  easily apply to himself from the viewpoint of the other student. 

He was a bit taller than most students, but not unusually so, though less than he and he weighed about 30 or so lbs lighter. From his initial appraisal, Amir assumed he was most likely a 2nd or 3rd year, Like himself. Thinking carefully about his next few words, he spoke "Watashi wa amīru kara Uganda no gozen, Anata wa namae desu ka? His command of Japanese was surprisingly strong , his pronunciation sounded crisp and  natural though a slight accent lingered at the end of every sentence or so.  Amir would extend himself in a light bow toward the stranger, before turning gaze to Miyagi High.

"There is something you could help me with, perhaps if you're not too busy,  a tour of the school...Though I am a enrolled as a third year, this is actually my first day, you can probably tell ". A hand resting along his broad-like shoulder blade, massaging his neck muscles. He seemed a bit tightly wound.

[TheHangedOne]

"Well, Amir, my name is Suo. I might be able to show you around the school after classes, since they'll be starting pretty soon. Their's not enough time for a full tour." He would speak as he walked further towards the school, expecting that Amir would follow.

"I can get you over to the office, though. They'll likely want to speak to you first, and you can get your class schedule and such. I can take you to your class, too. "

He would open the door, and head inside, straight towards the office. His steps were evenly paced and spaced, very uniform and crisp. He walked almost like a soldier, Amir might note.  He also carried himself as if he was bigger than he really was, apparently having an abundance of self-confidence.

"You can relax. We don't really have any bullies at the school, but if anybody hassles you, I'll set them straight." He says, in what is likely to be an attempt at reassuring or easing the tightly wound foreigner. One could easily note, however, the hint of aggression in his voice. Evidently, Suo was quite displeased when people were bullies, and one may correctly assume that he has a way of dealing with them.

"You know, you look pretty strong. Maybe you'll consider joining us on the Kendo team? It's a great way to exercise, and good fun, though the others can be a bit rough around the edges. We're a competitive group, you know? We've also got a lot of other extra-curricular's, too, but Kendo's my thing."

[Mossberg]

    Kylar walked down the street looking all around him. It was all the same as back home yet completely different at the same time. It was certainly much cleaner and safer. He wouldn't have to worry about stepping on needles or bums asking him for money. Then again, every town had their bad side. Kylar figured it would be downtown. As he walked along thee sidewalk he kept an eye out for a store or something where he could get something to eat. When he came across the first vending machine he saw he stopped to look at it. There was a variety of things in it.

    Kylar heard someone behind him and looked over his shoulder to see a man in a suit standing there. Stepping to the side he motioned with his hand for the man to go ahead. Nodding his thank the man inserted some money and pressed a few buttons. A short time later he retrieved a hot sandwich from the dispenser and opened it up. The man started eating his hot sandwich and walked away. Looking at the things available in the machine Kylar decided to get a hot ham and cheese sandwich. Pulling out the money in his pocket he looked at it closer this time and realized that there were numbers on the bills and the things in the vending machine had numbers too. Pulling out some of the bills he slid them into the machine and pressed the right buttons to get his sandwich. Taking his change from the little slot he put that and the rest of the bills back in his pocket.

    After a minute or two his sandwich dropped into the bin and Kylar reached out to grab it. Once he had it in hand he walked a little distance to a trash can and unwrapped it then threw away the wrapper. Holding it in his two hands he took a bite and chewed on it for a moment. Swallowing his eyes lit up and he started devouring the sandwich, finishing it in just a couple minutes. Wiping his greasy fingertips on his pant legs he proceeded to go to the high school that was supposedly just down the road.

    About half an hour later he came to the school gates and walked through them. Going kind of slow he looked around at the people gathered here. From what Kylar remembered of what he had been told there were only three years of high school here. As he walked he saw a girl bump into another girl which made one of them, Kylar didn't see which, drop her coffee as they both went to the ground. He was going to go over and help them up but they both got to their feet pretty quickly. He was glad that hadn't been him. Not on his first day.

[who149]

Kenji had arrived to school, sighing to himself. Another day, another day at school. He seemed to have missed some drama between two girl's, lucky, he hated drama. He looked over to see a foreign looking boy he knew he didn't recognize, and he looked pretty confused.

He moved toward Kylar and extended his hand "Hey, my name is Kenji. I don't recognize you, welcome to Miyagi High" He said in Japanese. He saw right away that the boy didn't understand him real well, obviously he wasn't from around here. So he tried again.

"Greeting, My Name Is Kenji, This Is Miyagi High" He said in bad English. He wasn't so good at it, and spoke very slowly. It felt weird and he was worried that he might say something wrong.

[Rayve13]

"Eh, don't worry about it Megumi," Chiasa said, ignoring the occasional look that was directed there way. She was used to stares, mostly because of the way she dressed and spoke, so this was just another day. "It wasn't very good coffee anyway, and none of it spilled on my clothes or anything, so no harm done."

Seeing the other girl blushing, Chiasa feels bad for her. Poor kid's already having a rough time this year, and it's barely started yet, she thought. "I'm Chiasa," she said out loud, giving Megumi a friendly pat on the shoulder, "but we can do a formal introduction later. It's almost time for class to start. No reason for either of us to be on the shit-list on the first day."

[Mossberg]

    Kylar saw a boy with fiery red hair that looked to be about the same age as him come over to him. When he stuck his hand out and proceeded to speak in what Kylar could only assume was Japanese he took the boys hand automatically and shook it up and down a few times before letting go. The boy must have realized from Kylar's expression that he didn't understand a word of what he said because he spoke again in broken English. "Oh. Greetings. I am Kylar. Thank you."

    Seeing some students start going into the school Kylar figured it was close to time for class to start. Getting an idea he pulled the schedule of his classes out of his pocket and unfolded it showing it to Kenji. Speaking kind of slowly so the boy would have an easier time understanding him Kylar asked, "Could you show me where my class is?"

[Saikotsu]

Ai arrived just after everyone else had shown up.  Various students from the school were filtering in. She could tell the first years from the second and third years, just by how they acted. The first years looked jittery and excited, many looking for familiar faces within the crowd.  The second years were mostly in small clusters, talking with their friends that they might not have seen over the break, meanwhile, the third years looked satisfied. They had finally made it, their final year of school!

However, Ai noticed that several people in the crowd stood out like sore thumbs.  A timid looking girl who seemd to want to disappear was talking with a gothic girl who looked to be about her age. Ai immediately wanted to talk to them, they looked to be about her age, so they were probably in her class. Most of her friends had graduated last year, so she was looking forward to meeting some new people. She just hoped she could find Shino-chan so they could all hang out together!
She also noticed Amir speaking with Suo.  It took her a moment to realize that Amir must be the transfer student who was going to be staying with her family. She'd have to make a point of introducing herself to him, probably sooner rather than later.  She picked up her pace to meet up with him and Suo. However, on her way to speak with him, she noticed a small blue butterfly circling around Kenji and Kylar before it fluttered around her. She stared at it, transfixed as it flew over to Chiasa and Megumi, and then fluttered over to Suo and Amir.  She shook her head, realizing that Suo was about to lead Amir off somewhere, and once again picked up her pace to introduce herself.   Meanwhile, the butterfly meandered away from the rest of the group, off to parts unknown.

At about that time, Kenji's phone buzzed with a text message. It was from Ryu54, one of his online gaming buddies.  A couple of girls near Chiasa and Megumi started conversing in hushed tones, "So you heard about Madarme?"
"Yeah, isn't it terrible?"
"I know, right? To think, one of our classmates went missing three days ago.  I hope she doesn't turn up like the other ones."
"Yeah. She was always so quiet, I wish I had gotten to know her a bit better."
Ai stiffens as she walks past, their dialog obviously bothering her.  She shakes her head and presses forward through the crowd toward Amir and Suo.

[who149]

Kenji looked at the schedule. Normally he didn't associate with many people in this school, but mostly because the majority of them were dicks in his opinion. He scanned the schedule and smiled. "You're in luck, we got the same Homeroom. Just follow me to my cla-" He phone buzzed. "Wait a moment, I have to check this"

He opened his phone and read the message.  A confused look on his face. His friend Ryu54 just said someone spotted Madarme's character in the game. He said he would get more info and talk later. He closed the phone. It was probably just a member of her family snooping on the account. But it could be possible that wherever she was she had internet access... But if she was in trouble then she would have tried to contract help.

Realizing he had been a bit distant he looked back at Kylar, putting his grin back on his face. He'll have to worry about that later. "Sorry about that..." he said scratching his head. "Anyway, you're in Class 2C with me. Watanabe Class" He said in his broken English..He had to be sure to practice that now. 

[BlackestKnight]

"Very well then..." His initial impression of the fellow named Suo was one that was positive, though he hadn't known much about him since  having just met, he seemed like someone who could be relied upon for things, though he was not very fond of being dependent on others when he could just as well do. Though a bit hammy, Suo was definitely a "true red" . Whereas Amir thought of himself mostly as blue. Colors he felt accurately described core personality traits.


As Suo began to talk to him  in greater depth about the school, leading him to what he believed to be the school's registar office , he would nod observantly taking in whatever kernels of wisdom Suo felt worth mentioning, though much of it seemed intuitive. Admittedly, bullying wasn't much of  a concern of his. Though the dynamics were probably a bit different here than there, he assumed that a similar social hierarchy mostly likely existed at Miyagi High. Things might have been more challenging if not for his social skills or athletic talents, though he was fully aware of social benefits both of which wielded, though he was not naive enough to think himself a true Japanese like many gaijin unfortunately do. Despite this he was very much confident in his ability to make friends cross-culturally , he was sociable though less outwardly than say Suo but he possessed a passive charm.

Upon mention of the kendo club, Amir felt his interest pique a bit. Perhaps because it had reminded him of Samurai."It's a great way to exercise, and good fun, though the others can be a bit rough around the edges. We're a competitive group, you know? We've also got a lot of other extra-curricular's, too, but Kendo's my thing." "Kendo eh...can't say I have much experience with kendo swords, though
I've been meaning to apply myself in sports other than soccer. If you're willing to have me, I'll come by whenever you're having tryouts. I guess this is where my stop is, hopefully I'll see you around."

[TheHangedOne]

"Sure thing. Kendo meets Monday and Friday, though some times me and the boys will get together Wednesday and do some off-the-cuff training over at my uncle's temple. Their's a lot of open space, and we've all got our own wooden swords to practice with. Just swing on into the gym  some time, the coach'll have some paperwork for you... you know, stuff about how you won't sue the school if you get injured during practice."

He would, surely enough, lead Amir to the school office, for him to get registered and handle all of that... well, Suo thought of it as bureaucratic nonsense, but he also knew that the record keeping was important.

True to his earlier word, he'd just patiently wait outside for Amir to finish, and then offer to escort him to his class. Since they were both third years, they were likely to be seeing a heck of a lot of each other in classes.

[Mossberg]

    Kylar smiled a little at Kenji's help. He wasn't the kind to ask for help, however when offered Kylar would accept it if he needed help. Add to it the fact that he was in a new country surrounded by people who spoke a different language and Kylar was relieved indeed. It appeared that Kenji was about to show him to the homeroom until his phone started going off. Kylar wondered what the confused look on Kenji's face was about but he figured it was private business so he didn't pry.

    At Kenji's apology Kylar shook his head and spoke slowly, "No problem." At least I now know someone who can show me around the school, he thought to himself. "Okay. Whenever you are ready to go I am." Looking around Kylar waited patiently next to Kenji.

(Sorry for the short post)

[Saikotsu]

By the time Ai caught up with them, Amir had entered the faculty office. She waved hello to Suo before she sat down to wait.  The 5 minute bell rang throughout the building indicating classes were going to start soon. At the front desk, a receptionist looked up from her paperwork and greeted Amir  "Good morning, how can I help you today?"

(We will move on once everyone is in class.)

[BlackestKnight]

     To his surprise, he found a mostly vacant office space which he assumed was the result of classes all ready being in session or close enough to that point. Striding himself to the front desk of the offices receptionist, a finger pressed along the bridge of his frames, readjusting the pair to his face. The receptionist aware of his presence responded."Good morning, how can I help you today?" Having dealt with office people beforehand, he found that a curteous smile often helped  expediate the process. To that he replied " Konnichiwa...There is a matter I need looking into about my block schedule. I will be starting as third year, first name is Amir. A printed outline of my credits is appreciated."

[krakenknight]

Megumi nodded and smiled shyly
"Ok," she mumbled holding her books to her chest but this time looking up at Chiasa to shake her dandelion hair.
"I'm in 2B how about you?" She asked walking with Chiasa towards the classrooms her face pale and biting back the terror of being in a crowd.
she misse her old school, only 6 students and 5 of them female, but at least she'd been at ease.
It would no doubt be a surprise to find out that Megumi was a second year, she looked a lot younger than that.

[Rayve13]

Chiasa shakes her head, "Close, but not quite. I'm in 2C, with Watanabe sensei," she says with a small, almost relieved sigh. Watanabe was known to be a pretty good teacher, or at least she wasn't known to have a huge stick shoved up her ass like some of the other teachers, though she had her quirks. At least that was what she had heard.

Chiasa pauses for a moment as the two girls near the door, noticing how pale and drawn Megumi is. "Are you okay?" she asks, a look of concern on her face. "If it's about the coffee, really, it was nothing."

[who149]

Kenji gave a confident smirk and led his fellow classmate into the school. "So, as said welcome to Miyagi High. Nothing much happens here." he said as he walked through the door way. They passed the hall to the gym and Kenji gave out a chuckle. "If your interested in a club, I know the track team is looking for new members. Its best runner recently got kicked for beating up some other guy. Its usually open Monday and Friday. Same day as Kendo and Swimming, but I don't know about any of those "

They reached the door to the class and he smiled "And this is where you'll be spending the rest of your year.  The instructor is nice, but she can be..." he paused for a bit and pulled out his cell phone. After a few moments he responds "Odd..Weird...abnorm-abnormal?" He wondered if these were the right words.

[Mossberg]

    Kylar followed Kenji into the school listening to his words. If he said that not much happened here Kylar figured it was either a really quiet town or Kenji just wasn't linked into the more darker side of high schools. There were always drugs, parties or at least fights in school to Kylar's experience. Then again it's a whole different country, he reminded himself. Track team? Kendo and swimming? None of those sounded particularly interesting until he remembered what kendo was. That might be fun. Or at the least a good stress reliever. "I don't think track would be a good one for me. Thank you though. I'll just wait to see what clubs there are before making a decision."

    About this time they were just outside the classroom according to Kenji. "Abnormal?" Giving Kenji an odd look he turned his head to the door and wondered how weird she would be. There was only two things that mattered to Kylar right now though and he asked Kenji. "Does she giv out a lot of homework?" Looking in either direction down the hall he made sure there was nobody close enough to hear and he leaned a little closer to Kenji speaking in a low pitch. "Is she hot?" Realizing that he might not know the word the way he would use it Kylar shook his head a little and rephrased his question. "Does she look good?"

[Saikotsu]

     To his surprise, he found a mostly vacant office space which he assumed was the result of classes all ready being in session or close enough to that point. Striding himself to the front desk of the offices receptionist, a finger pressed along the bridge of his frames, readjusting the pair to his face. The receptionist aware of his presence responded."Good morning, how can I help you today?" Having dealt with office people beforehand, he found that a curteous smile often helped  expediate the process. To that he replied " Konnichiwa...There is a matter I need looking into about my block schedule. I will be starting as third year, first name is Amir. A printed outline of my credits is appreciated."

The receptionist smiles, "of course. let me just print you out a copy." Her fingers deftly maneuver across the keyboard as she pulls up the appropriate records. "There you go, it should print out in a moment. I see you are to be staying with councilman Ninamori. Have you had a chance to meet him or his daughter? She's a second year student at this school. "

[krakenknight]

Megumi smiled unconvincingly.
"It's not that," she said apologetically "I'm just not used to this many people, I'm from a pretty out of the way little town so I've never really been in a crowd before."
She left Chiasa with a wave and entered class 2b hoping not to faint being this close to so many people.
"Do not stand out, be discreet," she thought seeking a seat far away from the rest of the class. The little oyster hiding in her shell.

[Saikotsu]

Students begin to file into class 2B, quickly taking their seats. A young man with messy brown hair and a wrinkled uniform saunters over to the desk next to Megumi. He walks with a bit of a slouch and his earphones can be heard clearly across the room. As he nears his desk, he nods to megumi and gives here a seemingly half hearted wave. "Yo." The other students look at him disapprovingly but he either doesnt care or doesn't notice. He slumps into his seat and leans back, putting his feet up on the desk. He blows a bubble with the gum he's been chewing, before speaking up, just loud enough for Megumi to hear.  "Relax, it's tough being the new kid, but you'll do fine here. If ya need somethin, just ask me, kay?"

At that moment a man enters the room. He is wearing a typical suit and his black hair is starting to show signs of age. He has a kindly face, and has many laugh lines. "Good mornin, class. I'm Mr. Yamada, your new home room teacher. We've got an assembly this morning, so I'm afraid the introductions will have to be brief. We'll have a chance to get to know one another once its over. Woof!"
The majority of the class looks at him bewildered, and he looks back at them equally bewildered. "Did I say something funny?"
Next to megumi, the young man whispers with a grin, " a stage hypnotist visited our school a few years back. Yamada sensei randomly makes animal noises without realizing it."

Meanwhile, outside of 2C, a woman approaches kenji and kylar. She strikes an interesting first impression because she is dressed much like the students. However, instead of the grey and red adorning the students, she is wearing grey and teal. Knee high boots lead up to a miniskirt which leads up to a sleeveless blouse. One her hands, she is wearing long sleeves that goe up to her elbows, and on the sleeves appear to be fake keyboards. She is also wearing a long, teal tie. Atop her head is a teal wig that has ponytails cascading down to her waist on either side. Apparently, Ms. Watanabe is cosplaying as the virtual pop diva and vocaloid, Hatsune Miku.

"Good morning, you should get to class, we're about to start," she says first in English, then in Japanese. Which makes sense, considering she is the English teacher for second years.

[Rayve13]

Chiasa returned the wave with one of her own, an eyebrow arched. She couldn't really understand crowds being a problem. Still, everyone's got things to deal with. Still...ah well, no time to worry about it now. She started towards her own classroom, which wasn't much of a walk considering it was right next door. She stopped, though, because the door was blocked by a couple of her new classmates (at least she figured they were, what other reason could they be standing in front of the door?). There was also an older woman wearing a costume. Chiasa shook her head to herself as she walked closer, catching the woman, apparently the teacher's, last statement. Are there no normal teachers anywhere in this town? she thought, but she decided not to say that part out loud. Instead she said, "Yes, we should get to class. Now, if only the door wasn't blocked by a few people, maybe we could start doing just that," in a voice dripping sarcasm.

[krakenknight]

In 2B Megumi drew her reasonably long legs to her torso and tried to slow her breathing, she was a good student and she was in a classroom, a crowded classroom full of people judging her, calling her names behind her back... No that's not true, she had to calm down.
She jumped when her neighbour mentioned the teacher's quirks she was OK with talking to boys, but the discomfort was noticable in her small oval face.

"Thanks," she said in her softest most demure voice, hoping that her Hokkaido accent wasn't too pronounced in her speech. She tried to smile back but it likely came across as a grimace, before she ducked behind her knees again.
The teacher seemed nice if a little odd, Megumi's last teacher, Mistato Senpai had been the entire faculty of the high school aside from English that had been handled by the Gaijin JET had also been a strange one although with her it was a weird fixation on cows.
" 'm Ayanami" she mumbled studying knee again.

[TheHangedOne]

Well, as much as he wanted to wait around and help Amir get to class, the boy ended up spending quite some time in that office, and Suo did not feel like being late on his first day. It would be a lot easier for Amir, but for him? It'd be months before people got done ribbing Suo for it.

He went off to class, and managed to get in mere seconds before the bell rung; a close call, to be sure. But, he made it, and in the end, that's what matters. He sees a few other kids from the Kendo club, and gives them small salutes as he makes his way to his seat, and settles down into it.

Having come here so many times before, he was well aware their'd be an assembly today, and he probably could have gotten off just waiting around the assembly hall. But, that just wasn't like him. When it came time for them to get going, Suo would find himself bringing up the rear of the class.

[Saikotsu]

"Ayaname eh? Nice name. Matsuoka Ritoyu," he says with a cocky grin.

Meanwhile outside 2C, the Watanabe sensei puts on a cheerful smile. "Oh, that's right. Here in Japan, we introduce our exchange students. If you'll be so kind to come in with me, I'll introduce you to the class," she says in English to Kylar. To the rest of the students, she says in Japanese. " please take your seats, it's time for class. You'll have the rest of the year to chat with your friends." And with that she abruptly enters class. After all, it wouldnt do for a teacher to be late to her own class.

As suo leaves for class, Ai enters the office. "Ohaio, good morning" she says to Amir. "I'm Ninamori Ai. Are you Amir?" She asks, slightly apprehensive.
"Speak of the devil, here she is," the receptionist remarks.

[Rayve13]

Chiasa rolls her eyes as she slips in behind the teacher. Oh boy, a scatterbrained idiot who doesn't even bother to acknowledge me. It's like Mom got a teaching license she thinks as she takes her seat in the back, slumping down in the chair and toying with her hair as Watanabe sensei prepared to introduce the exchange student.

[Chiidori]

Mieko rolled around in her bed, getting wrapped up in her blue silk sheets. She moaned softly with annoyance feeling hot due to her uncomfortable position in her bed, as she laid on her back. Her body covered in small beads of sweat that moistened her skin, as she reached her right arm to her nightstand, eyes still closed as she scrambled to find her glasses. " Mmm..." she sighed, lazily dragging herself from bed, ending her peaceful slumber as she managed to put on her glasses. Getting out of bed seemed to be quite a chore at the moment. After breaking free from the sheets, one foot hit the floor, flowed by another, as she reached her arms up in the air bringing them together stretching as she yawned. "Mieko are you ever going to come downstairs, Breakfast is getting cold and your going to be late.....You stayed up playing that game didn't you come down and grab a bite to eat  then hurry to school. You can't be late you were supposed to leave out with me remember?...*sigh* "You know better....I'm off to work have a good day sweety..." Her father yelled loudly whining while,scolding her a tad as he grabbed his cup of coffee and brief case exiting their home. Mieko had finally gotten her hands on "Legacy of Goettia"  after she finally gathered up the money to purchase it. Her room still dark, the only light being emitted was from her laptop which was open. Realizing she must have logged out even in her zombie like state of sleepiness that took over after 4 hours of gameplay which she managed to reject until her body just crashed. She just shook her head as her father barked at her a bit, hearing the door slam. She sat with her silky brown hair loose around her, with her head tilted down. She let out a sigh, and walked to her laptop closing it as she placed it in her book bag. Today was going to be different, time for playing was over. Mieko felt she had been having a pretty decent break but it was time to get back to business, after all it was the first day of school. She walked to her bathroom and started running hot water, reaching her slinder fingers around the knob of the shower turning it on. Jets of water streamed as steam begain to accumulate. The young female started to undress herself. Running a bit late yet, not seeming to be that alarmed about it. " I don't...really ....want to ...go ...to...school..today...need more sleep......" she mumbled softly her eyes locked on the mirrow as she looked at herself almost in a daydream like state for a moment as she struggled to keep her eyes open. She never had any problem staying late, but it couldn't be helped. Meiko felt exausted to a degree. She soon... brushed her teeth and flossed, used the toilet as steam continued to fog up the bathroom. She finally stepped into the tub, the hot water hitting her soft delicate skin. It made her more alert, knowing she would be at full attention soon. After bathing she hopped out and suddenly got a tad nervous that she was running late, after she glanced at her phone...seeing the time. " Oh, my" she said putting on her school uniform. Scrambling around the room grabbing her pen and notepad, placing her phone in her bookbag. After cleaning up really quick she ran downstairs. Seeing her father made her a plate for breakfast the room smelled like bacon and eggs it made her stomach growl she felt dissapointed that she would have to just leave out starving, Her food was cold and her milk was warm. She took a sip spitting it back into the cup as she frowned her lips up with discust as she put the plate in the fridge , rinsed out the cup and grabbed herself a coffee. Nothing about Mieko's morning was relaxing. She suddenly felt rush, and then deep down she seemed just not to care as much as she normally would. Today just didn't seem exciting and Mieko felt a bit off. She left for school, grabbing her bike putting her coffee in the cup holder after gulping a few big sips, then taking off..racing out of her yard like a bolt of lightning on her way to school.

[Saikotsu]

The trip to school is rather uneventful for Mieko, though she does spot a few people with apathy syndrome on her route. Unfortunately, they have closed the gate to the school and it locked tight. Standing in front of the gate is a little kid. He appears to be an elementary student. He just stares at the school, seemingly lost in thought.

[Chiidori]

Apathy Syndrome gave Mieko the creeps. On her uneventful rush to school she passed a few who clearly were infected and it caused her to cringe. " Gezz, You think they would help those poor people, ..sad.." She said to herself shaking her head. She continued on her way to school riding her bike with passion, Hoping that if she speed up a bit she might have a chance to make it. Moving as fast as her feet would carry her, worrying that she would be locked out of the school if she didn't speed up even more. As she arrived she swirved her bike as she rounded the path leading to the school gate. Dust popping up wildly below the tires as she slid roughly trying to break almost crashing clumsily into the gate .... she finally came to a abrupt stop by putting her shoes on the ground trying to gain control.

Speaking to soon she yelled out "Made it...! " Cheerfully hopping off, letting the bike fall to the ground. Sweating a tad made her feel gross, catching her breath as she took off her glasses wiping them off with her skirt. Pushing herself to hard to make it, and failing regardless.
No other highschool students or teachers were around. The area quiet,

The school gates shut tight.

Mieko put her glasses on and whined to herself shaking her head. " Ughhhhhhh......! Noooooooo....Nooooooo. Not today, What am I going to do? Not the first day.." Meiko knew that once the gates were locked that was pretty much it, feeling completely disapointed in herself. " What do I do now?...No  way am I going to be able to get in ..." She sighed. Picking her bike up  setting it against the gate.
Then she spotted something out of the ordinary.

A young male stood at the gate, she didn't spot him at first and wondered where he came from. The male looking lost in though. The closest elementary school was almost 5 miles away Meiko felt a bit concerned for him.

" Err......Um...Hello little boy. Are you lost? " The boy just stood at the gate not saying a word. The situation seemed strange. Not everyday you see some kid hanging out at a highschool with no adult around or anything. Meiko tapped him on his shoulder. " Hey, do you hear me?"

[Saikotsu]

The boy turns and smiles. "Hello.  I'm not lost....though a girl who goes to this school is. I was just thinking about her," he says quietly. He puts his hands in his pockets and looks to be fishing something out of them.  "Fortunately, you're just in time."

[Saikotsu]

Fortunately for Mieko, the boy pulls out the key to the gate and opens it up for her. "Hurry, or you'll be late," he encourages before walking down the road.

The rest of the school day passes without incident. The students get to meet the rest of their classmates and teachers. Not much homework is assigned, a typical first day of school. It wasn't until after school activities that anything...unusual would happen.
------------------------------
After School

___________________
The rest of the students file out of the classroom as the school day ends. Ai sits alone for a moment before gathering her stuff. She looks preoccupied as she makes her way to the computer lab used for the Online Gaming club. The club had a rocky start the previous year, but she and Yoshino had convinced the school to fund the club because it encouraged "socializing with others and cooperative spirit. " Ai was the assistant captain of the club, so no one second guessed her as she entered the room.  With the flick of a light switch, the room was illuminated. Ai took her seat at her usual computer and was delighted her old log in credentials still worked.
She pulls up Legacy of Goettia and begins sifting through her messages. Nothing from Yoshino. Big surprise there. But one message catches her interest. One sent moments ago. "I know where your friend is."  She immediately opened the log and replied "where, please tell me?!"
Moments later another message popped up. "Very well, but on one condition. You must agree to carefully consider your choices. You can do anything you want, so long as you're ready to accept the consequences of those actions. Do we have a deal?"
She didn't care, she needed to find Yoshino. "Of course. Just tell me where she is!"
"The doorway has opened. There is no turning back." Suddenly her monitor went blank. Red lines began to form, then swirl around on the blank screen. "Some kind of virus," she asks to no one in particular. Suddenly a black shadowy hand leaps out of the screen and grabs her by the throat.
It begins squeezing hard, choking her. Out of fear and desperation she tries to struggle but can't break free. The arm is followed by another one, and then a black head covered in a mask emerges. If it weren't choking her, she probably would have screamed.  The rest of the shadowy mass exits the computer, still holding her in it's grasp. She lashes out with her foot and manages to connect with the creatures head.  Out of shock or surprise, the shadow lets her go and she desperately attempts to fill her lungs.  The shadow starts approaching her, so she runs to her bag, desperate to find something to defend herself with.  All she can come up with is a yard stick. "I'm warning you, stay back," she rasps, her voice coming out raw. Undeterred, the creature lunges forward, claws reaching out for her.

[Rayve13]

For Chiasa, the day couldn't end soon enough. None of her classmates seemed particularly offensive yet, but it was only the first day, and the teacher more than made up for it. Between the affected voice she used and the general ditziness she exhibited, Chiasa could tell it was going to be a long year as far as homeroom went. At least the exchange student might prove interesting, at least in providing a different perspective.

She wandered towards the door, glad that she didn't have any club meetings or anything to keep her here. Though maybe I should consider it this year, she thought, as long as I can find a club that will piss Mom and Dad off. It'll be funny telling them I'm in a club, like a good girl, and then revealing that it isn't symphonic band or some bullshit like that. She chuckles at the idea for a moment before she hears someone say...something. She doesn't know the voice, since no one would normally sound like that, and she turned towards the room where it seemed to come from. "Everything alright in there?" she called as she walked closer.

[krakenknight]

Megumi looked around hiding a little inside herself as the day progressed. at lunch she ate her bento alone cowering a little as the moving people scared the teenager a bit. She missed Miki-chan and Kana-chan her classmates from the old days and the old school intimacy.

After school she spotted the girl she'd met this morning and in a desperate attempt to strike out despite her fear she followed. She wanted to talk to her but she seemed busy.

Cmon talk to her, don't be such a moron
No no someone might look at her...

She moved like a ghost hearing the sound that had drawn Chiasa and started to blink curiosity and her desire to speak won out.
"Is something wrong Chiasa-san? she asked.

[Saikotsu]

Ai raises the yard stick into the air to whack creature, but she knows right off the bat that Relentless Maya are immune to blunt attacks, but she had no idea why she knew that or how she knew what it was called. Distracted by the flood of information she only managed to avoid serious injury, though one of the Maya's claws raked her arm. She let out a small cry of pain despite herself.
"Everything alright in there?"
"Oh no, other students," she hissed. This thing was dangerous, she had to lead it away from everyone else. Perhaps she could trap it on the roof?
"Come on you nasty creature, if you want me so bad, try and catch me," she declared defiantly as she burst through the door. For a brief moment, she caught a quick glimpse of Megumi and Chiasa."get out of here, hurry!" Before they could ask why, the shadow burst out into the corridor, intent on catching its prey. "Yeah thats right,  I'm the one you want!" Ai tore down the hallway, pursued by the creature. At the same time, all three girls felt something within them stirring.

[Rayve13]

Before she made it to the room, Chiasa heard the girl from the morning calling to her. She turned her head to respond when a student burst out of the computer lab, yelling at them both to get out. Before Chiasa could even reply some...thing burst out of the room in hot pursuit of the girl. "What the fuck?!?!?" Chiasa yelled as the shadowy form rushed into the hall, it's mask-face looking back and forth before following after the girl from the computer lab, writhing forward more quickly than Chiasa would have thought possible. Her first thought was to get out of there, and fast. After all, what could she do?

But she found herself moving forward, drawn towards the monstrosity. Her body moved almost of its own accord as she felt a tingling in her brain and her left hand, an unfamiliar word hovering at the edge of her mind. "We...we should help her...." she said to Megumi as she went after the beast.

[krakenknight]

Megumi was scared, but this was different, she was a rural girl but this was the kind of stuff she was used to.
She nodded her head and started moving to the wall grasping and pulling the fire alarm.
I don't know what is happening, but this is a chance to do something worthwhile she thought,
She put her hand in her pocket and fingered her lucky charm from her home shrine.
"I don't know what that is, but we can't let it hurt her, maybe we can distract it," she said nodding.

[Saikotsu]

The few students still lingering in the building quickly cleared out as the fire alarm went off. Ai had a moment to catch her breath as the noise startled the shadow.  smart move, pulling the fire alarm she thought to herself. The Relentless Maya managed to gain its bearings after a moment, and it resumed its chase.  Ai was halfway up the stairway to the rooftop by then. She just hoped no students had decided to hang out on the rooftop after school.  More than that, she hoped the door wasn't locked because that would mean the end of the line for her.  With the shadow in hot pursuit, she only had a few moments to get through the doorway and onto the rooftop.  Fortunately, the rooftop was deserted, so she ran out close to the middle of the roof so she could lure it outside. However, she was surprised when it didn't emerge from the doorway. is it trying to lure me back inside?
A loud gurgling noise emanated from the ground behind her just before a large blast of air sent her flying back towards the door.  As she crashed into the ground, she was surprised to see the shadow was emerging from the ground behind where she had been standing.  sneaky little bastard!
"comehere"
"It's...it's talking in my head!"
"comehere!"
Suddenly Ai found herself drawn towards the creature, like a moth to a flame. Consciously, she knew she had to run away, and yet she felt like she had to get closer to it.
"no.....gotta....fight it!"

[Rayve13]

Chiasa shook her head as the alarm sounded, giving Megumi a quick smile before the urging drew her after the monster again, guiding her unerringly in it's path towards the roof. As she got through the doors, she saw the girl from the classroom heading towards it. "Hey!" she yelled, picking up a loose bit of debris on the roof and throwing it at the...the thing. "Leave her alone asshole!" she continued, advancing warily.

[krakenknight]

"lo... Look out!" screamed Megumi as she finally mustered her courage. Exhibiting courage beyond her usual mousyness the farm girl from Hokkaido grabbed the fire extinguisher. Swallowing hard and holding her breath she let it go, blasting the monster and by proxy Maya with the choking fire killing foam.
The white dust blew up around her as the extinguisher pushed the choking cloud onto the monster, she really hoped that this would work.
That's it, take it out, kill it, said her inner voice as she dusted it.

[Saikotsu]

The combined efforts of the other students manages to break the shadows hold over Ai, who covers face to avoid breathing in the poisonous fumes.  The shadow begins writhing in pain, as the debris and extinguisher gas hits it.  Ai bolts behind the girls and watches in horror as the shadow continues to advance, despite everything.  Call out to me, a womans voice says to Ai. Deep down, she feels the stirring sensation of something eager to be unleashed. CALL OUT TO ME!
Slowly, Ai's eyelids close, as she reaches deep within towards this strange sensation.  "Per....so....na!"
Her eyes snap open, illuminated from within by a soft glow. Blue energy pours out from her, solidifying behind her as her Persona.  "THOU ART I, AND I ART THOU! I AM YOUR OTHER SELF, A REFLECTION OF YOUR SOUL, I AM VERDANDI!"
Ai's persona puts her hands on Ai's shoulders and immediately a flood of information overwhelms her senses. Meanwhile, Megumi and Chiasa both feel their persona's awaken from within, in much the same manner.