[IC] The True Self - Persona

[vancexentan]

Jace was about to make his way out of this conversation when the guy known as Matt came up to talk as well along with that Chi girl. When the girl asked for more seats it seemed he had somehow forced himself into a group by trying to get his phone and he was now included in it. Wonderful...Well he may as well try to get along. "Yeah that is pretty weird I have to say. Is this town used to transfer students? I'm only here because my dad's friend told me he could get me a spot in a Japanese school. I'm still getting use to not being able to graduate with my friends back in my own high school. You guys adjusting well?" Jace asked casually as he put his phone back into his pocket, this time the one without his other stuff in it, and tried his best to not look uncomfortable and he believe he succeeded in doing so but you never know really. He did feel a bit easier knowing that he had SOME common ground with these people. One other guy joined them but he supposed if he wanted to introduce himself he would have, "So I'm Chiaki's senpai, i THINK at least, what about you Matt? As I said I'm a third year curious to know what grade your in. If you don't want to tell no problem dude." Jace asked as he secretly got a kick out of being called Senpai by complete strangers.

[Cuco]

"Come back! This is ridiculous, quit running!" Sachiko kept calling out like that to the person ahead of her. It was all she could do, as this person was matched with her in terms of speed. They consistently kept ahead of her just enough to avoid Sachiko getting a good look at them, even from behind. When Sachiko tried sprinting, the other person seemed to speed up in kind. It really was quite baffling, almost as if their mind was in tune with her own. Eventually, Sachiko just had to take a break. Funnily enough, this was the only time the shadow didn't seem to act in unison with her, as it trailed off into the distance. Sachiko could care less at this point, as she needed a breather. She didn't stop entirely, but any forward movement was more of a slow walk. Taking in her surroundings, she realised she was near a familiar location once more. The park, where she, Kami and Kato had been not long before heading to the amusement park. This place was certainly like Warakuma, but Warakuma did NOT have glowing evil mirrors in the sky. Or maybe it did now, and something crazy had happened. Who knew? Certainly not Sachiko.

Rounding a corner, Sachiko would let out a gasp upon catching sight of Kami and someone else. More importantly, they both appeared to be waving weapons around. Sachiko did not like the idea of the first potentially friendly people she had encountered in this place dying before she could talk to them, let alone that one happened to be her good friend! "Hey! Let's all just put our weapons down! No one gains from anyone fighting here!" If she couldn't get them both to calm down, then she would have to get in the middle. Of course, even if she didn't want anyone getting hurt, she would have to take Kami's side here. She didn't know the other girl, but she did know Kami, and trusted him enough to assume he wasn't the aggressor here.

[Savo]

-Kaminari : Mirror World-
He stared the girl, taking in her descript features, and the way she spoke. He was afraid, and did his best not to show his fear show, and his baton hand began trembling a bit. A ball of sweat began to form in his temple region, and began to inch its way down his cheek. He was nervous, unknowing what other inexplicable action she might perform next. He had to diffuse the situation, but how? It took him a few seconds of thinking to realize that this was the girl he encountered the other day. She was a nervous mess the other day, and suddenly she goes full on murder mode... It wasn't then , until he heard her accusing him of hurting Akemi, and her brother.

"(What the, why would I hurt Akemi, and her brother?... Wait a minute, the voices!)"

Yes, that had to be the reason why she was so riled up. She probably heard voices like him and the others, except they sounded more like Akemi and her brother! He felt he got a better grip on the situation now that he felt that he understood what probably happened. He began lowering his baton, before hearing another voice near the two... That same soothing, but yet loud voice rang out, and it turned his attention away for a bit from the small girl. It was Sachiko! Wait a minute, if she got dragged here too...

"Sachiko, I'm glad to see you, but please stay back!.. And as for you missy..."

Kami began lowering his baton before pushing the thing downward, turning it back into a smallish cylinder that would protrude from his pocket. He pocketed the item, and turned his attention back to the dangerous girl wielding a boxcutter. His confidence was pumping through his blood as he approached her, his fear waning little by little. He was still afraid of what she might do, but due to his understanding of some of the events, he could coerce the girl into not trying to murder him. He was a few feet away from her, and stopped in his tracks to sort out the little situation with her.

"Missy, or whatever your name is, listen... What makes you think I took Akemi? Both of us look up to her, however I wouldn't bring any harm to another student, one who I admire for her tendency to work hard... However, what I'm going to assume is that you probably heard was just a sounded illusion of sorts coming from the Mirror House... And ended up here in this place!" Kami looked up and the menacing sky, filled to the brim will glowing, reflective red mirrors. "I think I can understand why you're so jittery... You worry for the people you care about, the friends that you have... But we can't immediately jump to conclusions about what happened..."

Kami looked back at where thepeople ran, before returning his solemn gaze to Midori. "Besides, I'm also a police officers son, and I have a kind, but horrible soul due to what I did long ago... But that doesn't matter right now. We need to figure out what's going on, and why its happening... But by all means, I wouldn't harm anothersingle human being unless it was completely necessary... I promiss you that I'm not the perpetrator, however..." Kami grabbed her hand which was holding the boxcutter, and put it to his neck. His lips trembled as he did so, and he did his best not to lose his cool.

"I put my life on the line because I believe that you will see the light of things, and not be taken over by your instinct... Call me insane, but... I trust you." Kami, smiles weakly at the girl, awaiting her judgement. "So, can you please trust me?"

[VitaVitaAR]

Mirror World

It was possible that the boy felt the blade bite his skin, but fail to go deep enough to do any real harm as Midori pulled away, frantically, the moment he began to manipulate her hand. He was saying things there was this other girl... he said he didn't do it and maybe he didn't but... but... Midori fell onto her backside and clutched the boxcutter in both hands, trembling. Had... had the shadowy figure been the real kidnapper? Was it really just an illusion? Oh no... no, Shiki was alone, what if Akemi needed her what if what if... Midori shuddered and scooted backwards on the ground, her hands gripping so tightly on her boxcutter that they started to hurt. Why was she here? What was going on?

"... M-My... my... b-brother... he's alone..." Midori shook where she sat, "... Why... why... A-Akemi-sempai... I... I need Akemi-sempai..."

[Cuco]

Sachiko tensed up when Kami seemed to decide to try and diffuse the situation himself. Whoever this girl was, she had to be dangerous, given she just happened to have a makeshift weapon on hand in a situation like this. She knew why Kami did, but what was this girl's excuse? Whatever it was, it was a risk to approach her so casually. But Kami managed it. He didn't lose his cool, and it seemed that, even if he didn't manage to disarm her, he did diffuse the tension. When the girl sat down, Sachiko came closer. "Wow, you really are a born officer, aren't you, Kami?" She remarked. It was pretty impressive to see in person. Before continuing, she realised the girl still seemed pretty on edge. She was stammering out something too. She was talking about the Student Council President. Sachiko was sure she had heard a rumor about a creepy girl that was seen hanging around the Student Council room all the time. Was it this person? She sure seemed creepy, especially with that boxcutter on hand.

"Hey..." Sachiko began, kneeling down to talk with the girl, though keeping a slight distance from her all the while. "We might all be strangers, but the only way you will be able to find Akemi or your brother will be by figuring out what's going on here. What do you say, you want to help us out?" She added her softest smile to appear as sincere as possible. Truth be told, she wasn't entirely comfortable with this, though it wouldn't show on her face. Having this girl following them around this place might not be all that safe, but on the other hand, it might be worse if she was left alone to stew in her paranoia. Sachiko chose to hope that she wasn't quite as nuts as she appeared to be.

[itano123]

Matt || Warakuma Shopping Complex food court
Matt decided it was probably best not to push on Noboru when he replied, he seemed to in a bad mood now… did something happen when he went off? Matt didn’t dwell on it and tuned back into the conversation.
"So I'm Chiaki's senpai, i THINK at least, what about you Matt? As I said I'm a third year curious to know what grade you're in. If you don't want to tell no problem dude.”
“Oh? I’m a third year too, thats a mighty scary coincidence we have here” Matt replied with a laugh. “also I’m adjusting fine, it’s mostly the same as the time I left the countryside to go to the city, just gotta understand the city lingo…. only this time no one call’s me Matt, oh and the uniforms are actually kinda cool, not the stupid baggy clothes with a dull tie and thick heavy blazer.” Matt continued in reply to one of the questions Jace laid on them but stopped as he noticed he was starting to go off track.
“well I might as well keep the questions rolling, if it’s not too personal why did you guys transfer? I kinda just landed an exchange program from acing Japanese exams and jumped at the chance, I love new places”
Matt lightly asked a question with a bright smile…. hoping he wasn’t hitting on any landmines…. oh who is he kidding himself he doesn’t have enough understanding to refrain from such questions.

[Sho Minazuki]

Rui Shinichi | Mirror World

As Rui continued to follow the shadowy figure, he began to notice that it wasn't just the arcade, but this little town was... Well, it was Warakuma, though details were off, and some signs were completely mirrored, not to mention the creepy atmosphere and discoloration, nothing here looked natural at all. As he followed onwards, the suburb began to become more and more scarce, and the ferris wheel from the amusement park became larger in view... He never really liked amusement parks in this kind of setting, nor was he fond of them in the first place. He stood there for a bit longer, looking around to make sure he recognized this area, but after some time he noticed that the shadowy figure he had been following was gone... Instead, he heard voices. Natural spoken voices, not too far away. He didn't recognize the voices, but they weren't exactly part of the atmosphere...

He began to walk in their direction, and began to be able to make out some of the conversation. Sounded like they were in the same situation as he was, as he walked towards them, he was relieved to recognize it was just normal people. One seemed to be keeling over her own problems, the other was trying to help.

"... M-My... my... b-brother... he's alone..." Midori shook where she sat, "... Why... why... A-Akemi-sempai... I... I need Akemi-sempai..."

"Who're you two...?", he asked simply.

[Haru Nyan]

Ayano: Warakuma Amusement Park
Before Ayano could even get inside the Mirror House a towering man suddenly obscured her view and impeded her progress. She looked up at him with a frightened look on her eyes and thought to herself this might be the end of the world for her...Much to her relief though, the man merely wanted her out of the attraction. Maybe even deliberately. The girl simply responded with a scared "O-Okay..." before scurrying off to another nearby bench.

In that moment, Ayano didn't know what to do...Despite that guard telling her they're probably in the park or at a ride somewhere, she's practically been through the place more than once in search of them and right now, the only thing she could wanted was to rest. Or at least for the gods above to give her a sign or something that they're still alive. "Come on, Kami...You're making my efforts go to waste!" she said while scratching the back of her head. The girl lowered her head in a disappointment and just sighed heavily, maybe this wasn't worth it...That was when her cellphone played her ringtone again. Ayano's face lit up and she thought she finally got in touch of the three. All of that was just a fantasy though, as it was actually from her brother...

"Hey sis, did you get your gift or whatever to your friend, or boyfriend, or whoever it was for? Also, who is the guy, you never told us who he was."
She was quite irritated at the stubbornness of Yaku, but that's pretty much a given...She replied back saying,
"No, I haven't. I'm thinking of giving it another day, I'm beat...You guys in the Shopping Complex by any chance? If you are, where?"
Ayano pressed the button to send the message and began walking out of the Amusement Park. She's had enough for today and simply went back to the Shopping Complex, hoping both Chiaki and Yaku were there. At least they wouldn't vanish from thin air.

[vancexentan]

"I would rather not get to deep into why i'm here exactly. Less said the more and the reason being that my dad and I have differing opinions on my future. I came here with a mutual friend and he got me set up here. He's not a big name in the city but he's got connections which made it easy." Jace commented plainly as he tapped his foot against his chair. "Really this city wouldn't be my first pick in transfers and as for the uniforms...well they're OK but the states let us wear normal colors and I dislike not being able to see what kind a person is based on the style of their clothes unless I see'em outside of school. Could end up awkwardly if I end up running into a person who's the direct opposite of myself. Know what I'm talkin' about?" asked Jace to everyone in general.

[Pudding]

Chiaki was eating her noodles while the others talked about themselves. They started talking about who was her Senpai, Jace the American, or Harib. It turned out to be both, what joy. She stirred her food around abit and looked at Noboru. He seemed mad at something. She wanted ask why but she didn't want to draw attention, when she came up with plan.

In response to a question, she began to discuss why she transfered.
"Well, I'm on an offical hiatus from my modelling career. Usually I'd be staying in a luxuary hotel by the beach side. But here I am." Pulling a magazine from out of her pocket, she threw it to the boys. "Well Senpai you can read all about it in this, I did an interview and some swimwear shots." Whilst the boys were distracted by the magazine, Chiaki moved closer to Noboru. She whispered softly; "Are you, okay? Do you want to talk about it?" She showed her concern for her new friend. After all, he has just been poking and stirring his food, no actual consumption.

[vancexentan]

"Well I don't know if I'll be checkin' this out but thanks for bringing that up. I'm sure Matt has 'research' he needs to get busy with." Jace said chuckling to himself with a grin. He couldn't help but take that jab. It would be criminal not to no matter the situation. It was part of the unspoken code of teenagers to take the most childish jab possible at another guy whenever possible. However his thoughts went back to when she told them that she was used to luxurious hotels and stuff. "Well freak, I didn't know I was in the presence of a rich girl. I'm just a guy from America didn't expect to see a girl like you out in the middle of a place like this." Jace as he grinned at Matt waiting for his no doubt he was preparing to make childish retort towards Jace. Probably a knock at him being a fat American or some sterotypical crap.

[Savo]

-Kaminari : Mirror World-
The girl fell onto her back, and Kami let out a mentql sigh of relief. He was glad that the situation didn't go south, and that he became a person choking to death on this own blood. The girl was scared and frighten by what might of happened to her brother, and sempai. Kami ruffled his hair as he stared down at the initial route those two strange people ran. Maybe they were the perpetrators behind this whole thing, but Kami wasn't sure. He turned back to the two girls as Sachiko complimented him that he was a natural born police officer of sorts. He amiled confidently and Sachiko, as she went over to the girl to comfort her. He kneeled down beside the girl, and let Sachiko comfort her before she spoke.

"Look, I promise that I won't let anything happen to your brother, or Akemi, I swear on my name.... However, the only leads we got are those strange people who fled from us... I'll be sure to do some thorough interogating when questioning those two."

As he spoke to the girl, he heard a familiar voice pierce the air around him, and he turned his head slightly to the male voice. He would of jumped up immediately, if not for the familiar face seen. Kami looked at him, surprised to see that face in the general area of this horrid world... There was something nagging at his back, like they were missing someone. He did eventualy get up, and turn to the boy, waving to him.

"Well, what a strange, and yet pleasant surprise to see you Rui, getting dragged into this..... Place too I guess... Anyways, its best we figure out what the heck is going on, and why its going on... But first." Kami pivoted around back to the younger girl, and extended a hand to help her up, smiling as he did. "Here, let me help you up."

[SwordfishKnight]

Noboru shook his head at Chiaki's suggestion. "No. No i'm alright. I'm perfectly fine." He pushed a smile outwards, and forced the anger from his mind. It wasn't a good idea to get angry around a group of friends, especially with how large his anger outbursts were. He wanted to spill his mind in truth, but he felt like this wasn't was a good place to, or with people he barely knew. He ate a small amount of his food and turned to her again, this time with a genuine smile on his face. "Thanks for the thought though, glad to see someone is nice around here."

[Pudding]

Once Nobrou answered her, she could hear a tinge of anger in his voice, but he pulled a smile. Butche turned to her again and thanked her for her concern, with a genuine smile this time. Chiaki nodded. "Of course, its' what froends are for, no?" She quietly giggled and returned her attention to Jace.

Chiaki was unsure as to how she should reply.
"Right... I agree with you that there isn't very much in the town.." She quickly glanced around.
"But the people are nice. So thats a plus Senpai. It's not often you meet good people, I remember alot of the other models had it out for me because I was getting more bussiness then them. But, maybe it was my fault..." She shook her head, she was getting off track.

The waiter brought out Matthews food.
"I wonder what Aya-chan is upto.. Maybe I'll text her... No she'll probably think I'm anoying if I do that." She pulled out her phone and had a look at the time.

[Sen]

Sato Hashimoto // Warakuma Shopping Complex

“So,” Ryouta said through a few slurps of noodles, “what’s the plan? Why are we meeting here?” Seeing the small cup of noodles reminded Sato of how he hadn’t eaten literally anything the entire day. He was gonna get something at the fair, but once everything started happening he had totally forgotten to do so.

Sato looked around a bit for little reason; he had been to the mall in Warakuma plenty of times before. Before he got to know anyone. “Do you know Akiko personally or does she know you at all?” It sounded better in his head, but it was exactly what he meant to say.

Ryouta hesitated a bit before responding, looking upwards as if the answer was on the roof. “I don’t. We’re in different classes so she probably only knows my face.” Sato covered his mouth with his hand so he could bite his lip without showing it. All he wanted to believe was that this girl was super shy and crazy about him, but it didn’t make sense to him. No normal person or shy person or whatever would ever act the way Akiko had been acting for the past several days. In class she had been her usual self (as far as Sato could tell) but anytime anyone had ever seen her around time she always seemed to act in a way that was a mixture of fear and confusion. Sato finally realized he needed to elaborate when he looked up to see the face Ryouta was making at him through the cup of noodles he was consuming. “I need you to follow her after she leaves.”

Ryouta almost spat out the mouthful of noodles he had, but forced himself to swallow before talking. “Wait,” he chuckled to himself in a nervous way, “so you want me to stalk this girl that I don’t even know? Do you get how stupid that sounds?” Sato’s face sunk in. He did not want to bother with explaining what was going on and the weird thoughts he had about it, especially to the guy who’d probably die from laughing on noodles if he heard it. Then again, Sato was hardly any closer with anyone else, and he’d at least be able to trust that Ryouta would tell everyone. While he was one to love rumors, he wasn’t one who loved spreading rumors.

“Look, you really don’t get it.” There a pause of weakness where Sato had to quickly figure out how to word what he was going to say without sounding like a total freak. “She’s not herself around people--- or maybe just me--- but either way I have this thought in the back of my mind that maybe she’s just acting like this around people at school. I want you to tail her and see if I’m right. Please?” Ryouta cocked his head to the side and shot his eyes at Sato with a you-know-what-I want kind of look. And he was right. He knew exactly what kind of incentive he’d need.

A two-thousand yen gift card usable in any of the food stores in the food court. While it pained him to part with it, Sato knew it was going towards a greater cause, and as soon as he pulled it out of his pocket, Ryouta snatched it out of his hand.

“You can read me like a book, Sato,” Ryouta slapped Sato on the back as he walked past, “and you can rest assured I’ll be creeping behind this girl the whole way home!” Sato watched as his friend made his way over to an unoccupied table in the middle of the food court, positioned in a way so that he could keep a good eye on the area Sato was going to meet the girl. Though, with over twenty minutes left before the meeting time agreed upon, Sato quickly made his way over to the noodle shop beside him to grab something to eat.

[itano123]

Matt || Warakuma Shopping Complex food court

Looking at the magazine whistled just before Jace took a jab, for a split moment Matt’s smile froze before he started up again after hearing about living in luxury hotels.
“Jace is right, who knew we were in the presence of a Ojou-sama” Matt grinned as he had always wanted to call someone that, he then turned back to Jace.
“I feel sorry for you after hearing that man, you don’t understand the beauty of uniforms, what is good about seeing people in casual clothes all the time? at school girls wear uniforms and it leaves something to the imagination, which leads to when you see them outside of school where they are wearing something completely different, sometimes you are even blown away” Matt decided to play along with Jace’s jab…. yes ‘play along’ he totally wasn't letting any perverseness leak out.
then Matt’s food came, and it was time for people to be amazed at his near inhumane eating speed, by the time Chiaki had finished mumbling and checked the time on her phone the first bowl was practically finished. Matt then drank what was left in the bowl and placed it down.
“mmmm the noodles here are damn good” Matt said while switching bowls.

[Pudding]

Warakuma Shopping Complex - Noodle Store
"Mmm... You made such a mess of yourself! You really are some form of stupid." Chiaki giggled.
Pulling out a white handkerchief from her dress pocket, she gave it to Matthew. "Here. Clean yourself up" She looked again at the time on her phone. Deciding she had spent enough time at the mall, Chiaki decided to visit the town shrine. She had heard about it from her Aunt and Uncle.

Turning to Noboru she gave him a hug, stealthily sliding a note into the pocket on his vest. She wrote it whilst nobody was watching. Rising from her chair she picked up her several shopping bags and began to leave, before saying goodbye. "I'm feeling rather full... Farewell senpai, I'll see you all at school tomorrow." She left for home.

Warakuma Shrine

Chiaki left her bags back at the house. She was waiting beside the spirit shrine for a certain person to arrive. The shrine was beautiful. Very arcitectual, it had an olden aura that really made it feel... 'Spiritual'. The cherry blossom trees really added a nice touch to the environment. "Hmm, maybe he's not coming... I'll just pray by myself." She waited a few more moments before doing anything.

[vancexentan]

"You just like up skirt moments like in those anime shows I've heard about. I heard a lot of anime have shots like those maybe that's why you're so into those uniforms." Jace told Matt with a sly grin. It was a low blow but the guy left himself wide open and it would be sin not to take that shot. When Chi gave Matt the cloth to clean himself up with and got up to leave Jace shrugged, "Well I guess that I'll be heading my own way as well I suppose. Well guys I'll be seeing you in school. If not then I'll see you around this small town of ours." Jace said unsure about how these sort of engagements ended. He got his stuff all in check and double checked for his phone before casually walking away. While he was glad he knew some people around here now he was more glad he was away from them. He wasn't big on socializing; He never was. When he got home he would get a nap in before doing some studying maybe he would take a quick shower. Whatever he did it would be just another mark down on what he was sure would be his daily ritual.

[SwordfishKnight]

Noboru was surprised to be given a hug, by a person he didn't know very well no less. He realized the true intentions though when she slipped a note into his pocket. He quickly said goodbye to the others before going outside, as if to take a phone call. Looking at the note, he read through it. It said something about the shrine and meeting there. He took off running, just now realizing how hard it was to run in his new clothes.

Noboru-Shrine
Huffing and out of breath, Noboru reached the shrine and approached Chiaki. She looked as if she was about to pray. "Oh i'm sorry. Was I interrupting something? I can leave if you like."

[Pudding]

Warakuma Shrine

"Oh Gra- Eeep!" Chiaki jumped, really surprised by Noboru's sudden appearance. She took a few deep breaths and reclaimed her posture and calm demeanour. "Nonono, its fine, I hadn't prayed for anything yet."
There was an eerie silence.

"Well, lets get to praying then! ... That felt... Rather strange to say to be perfectly honest." The two walked over to the light blue wooden offertory box. There were wishes and dreams hung around the shrine. Chiaki turned to Noboru. "I'm going to be frank with you." She said pulling a straight face. "I want to know what made you so upset , you were enjoying yourself, but then you turned into a total grump." Chiaki was trying to show her concern once more, hopefully he'd open up to her.

"Look, I know we just met... You probably don't trust me at all because I'm a complete stranger..."
She turned around, her head bent looking at the offering box. Her drills flowed down to join her lowered head.
"If you don't want to talk about it... Lets just pray and forget that I ever brought it up again."