Shin Megami Tensei Persona: Dissonant Strain (Private RP)

[duckflesh]

(Fixing some problems, 11:24AM CST)

Isoroku snatched the schedule and finished the conversation halfheartedly before heading to class.

2-B was already crowded with students. Isoroku passed by the mound of gifts on Mizushima's desk and attempted carefully to hide his disdain, though he couldn't help his lip curling up into a sneer of disgust. He'd never interacted with Mizushima, but he tried to nurture a healthy hatred toward her on principle.

He found a seat and took a glance around. There were many faces he reconized, but few he cared about. He spotted Yamada. Him he knew well enough. Isoroku had passed him in the grade rankings last year. He allowed his gaze to linger until he thought Yamada noticed, then turned away.

At this point he noticed the foreigner, which startled him briefly. He'd have to keep an eye on him.

 

[ShadowFolk]

"Oh!" she jumped a little in her seat. "Oh, you're right. Thank you." she smiled at him before picking up all the packs of fruit and resting them on top of the other gifts. "You're...Ishikawa, right?" Kumiko could count on her fingers the times that she had exchanged words with Kojiro and it was somewhere between one and three. He was also so quite, aside from the occasional mutter. She offered up the kiwi "Do you want them? I always get to many. There's no way I could eat them all."

------

It was funny how many people pat him on the head like that. He bowed once more before departing from the boy surrounded by the flock of girls. Akinari went right back to his seat, set up shop, and stared out the window wondering when he could be out expending his energy in the fields.

 

[Rosen2012]

Kojiro eyed the offered fruit suspiciously. 'She's offering me...something, should I take it? Why is she offering it anyway? Kiwi's would be really good. She's giving me a hand out, it a pity hand out... I'm sure she knows. Ugh, ugh..' he reached out and took the fruit.

"Thank you, Mizushima..." He looked down at it and frowned. "You know, fruit has a very short shelf life, if you can't eat it all tell your admirers to get you something that will last." He turned his head and went back to looking out the window.

 

[PresqueVu]

Yamada frowned as soon as Yoshida entered the room. He appreciated his success, but had no idea how someone who seemed to have so much less drive than he did was doing better than he was. He saw that that same boy was already looking at him so he nodded politely, but couldn't hide his glare. He supposed that competition between students was healthy, but that didn't comfort him very much at all.

He turned to his books and started to immediately read the fourth chapter of it, having read the previous three in the past few days. He wanted to be fresh and ready for this term. He intended fully to win the first rank from the tall student. It seemed he was going to have another long night of studying ahead of him.

 

[ShadowFolk]

"Thank you. I'll...keep...that in mind..." she trailed off as Kojiro turned his attention the the window. She was unsure if he was being rude or just really interested in what was going on outside. She got to thinking about how they never really interacted. 'He couldn't be any less interested in me. Oh! No, he's just shy.' Kumiko tittered to herself.

There was a still a few minutes before the start of the class, so she opened her bag an retrieved a Gyaru magazine in search of the latest fashion trends.

 

[Daren58]

Rin ran her left hand quickly through her hair as she approached the school's gates. She was rather nervous about attending such a fancy school, since it hadn't even been her idea to come. She paused briefly as she finally reached the gate, before clutching her bag a little tighter to her chest and continuing on towards the school.

Rin carefully made her way through the courtyard she now found herself. Upon reaching the other side, she saw a girl sitting behind a desk handing out what appeared to be schedules. She made her way over. "Um Junsui Rin."

 

[Cinnonym]

Hikaru dropped the table again with a sigh of relief; she dug in the file a second time, rummaging around for the proper schedule. "Junsui, was it...? Here you are! Homeroom 2-B again. From what I see, you've got very bright classmates. Hurry, or you'll be late!"

She offered the shy girl a smile and hefted the table into the building and down the hall to the student council room.

 

[Daren58]

Rin nodded and forced a quick smile in return, before turning away. She quickly made her way towards her homeroom to avoid being late. As she entered the room, Rin quickly noticed how crowded it was. Being careful to avoid making eye contact with anyone, she carefully moved and seated herself in a chair at the back of the classroom.

 

[Cinnonym]

The class day proceeds as one would expect.

Akinari, Eber: In Class 1-D, you and the other first years have it fairly easy. The homeroom teacher welcomes you to Akaito and goes over the rules and regulations of the school as well as expectations that the school's illustrious reputation has set for you. The rest of the instructors who file in and out of the room provide you with generous introductions of themselves, plus a syllabus for the term.

Yukimura, Rin, Kumiko, Kojiro, Isoroku: In 2-B, you're not as lucky. The curriculum hits the ground running and each teacher is more fierce than the last. You can't believe the intensity of the lectures, and scribble your notes furiously to keep up. Tonight's homework, you hope, will be forgiving.

The lunch bell rings, signaling the lunch hour. Everyone breathes a sigh of relief and jumps up out of their chair to get their various meals. Many eat in the classroom, but a few wander out to the courtyard or the hallways instead.

One girl bursts in and shouts, "Come and see these fliers that are downstairs!" A few of the more fashionable girls squeal and run out to follow.

A few students in 2-B congregate towards the front of the classroom, talking amongst themselves.

"Did you hear about the tracks they closed down for the subway? A bunch of kids were down in the tunnels and apparently got hurt really bad. Scary!"

"They were probably following that stupid rumor--the one about the ghost train that grants your wish? Yeah, I heard that at midnight on a full moon, it pulls up to the platform down there, the broken-down one... And you ride it, and when you get off you're supposed to get whatever you want."

Hikaru, putting a pile of papers down on the teacher's desk, laughs nervously, "But that doesn't even make any sense... What kind of train ride gives you gifts? Besides, it sounds really dangerous. Don't put any thought into those stories you hear, they come around when students spend too little time studying!" She nods to assert her own point before leaving again.

You are free to enjoy the lunch period.

 

[ShadowFolk]

Kumiko didn't move from her seat, not because she didn't want to get up and enjoy lunch, because she was unable to. There were boys asking her if she would like to share their lunch with them. She didn't, but found it rude to decline all of them. Something else caught her attention; She was trying to peak over their shoulders at the gossipers. 'Ghost train? ...That's...'

------

Akinari had been waiting for lunch. With all the energy he spent, he had to fuel up again. He pulled out his multi layered bento and uncovered it. The face character onigiri brought the attention of moe loving girls around him. There were shrills of 'How cute!' here and there. It made him very proud that his hard work could make the girls happy, so he happily shared with them, handing out the animal shaped rice balls. He even shared his pink sakura blossom wagashi with anyone who asked. "There's plenty!"
Akinari glanced over at Eber, 'I must welcome new friends!'. He put a cinnamoroll rice ball on a napkin along with a plump wagashi and carried them over to the German. Of course he had an entire speech planned out about budding friendships, but by the time he got in front of him, Akinari had forgotten it all. "Um...please accept these!" was all her could muster. He bowed, thrusting the food forward.

 

[Rosen2012]

Kojiro didn't bother to leave his desk for lunch. He pulled out his meal and started to eat, occasionally he would twist his hand to loosen up the cramps in it. He sat in silence listening to the students gossip and to the boys drool over Mizushima. He had started to tune everyone out until he heard someone mention a train.

His eyes looked up suddenly from where they had been burrowing a hole through his desk. a ghost train that grants wishes...wishes were like things between sleep and reality. Maybe his strange dream as a good omen? Or maybe it was just rubbish from a bunch of giggling girls...

"But if I go, and its true...." he smiled to himself. Anything he wanted, anything at all. There were too many problems in his life to not try. And if it was nothing, he lost nothing! After all, who would be out there at midnight with him? "Its worth it!"

He covered his mouth, realizing he had shouted. He smirked to himself behind his hand, "You will judge the world, huh?"

 

[duckflesh]

((Apparently I saw a foreigner other than Eber in my homeroom. Yes. I'm going with that.))

Isoroku felt hot; nearly feverish. As the teacher blathered on, his eyes followed her lesson plan book, and he began constructing convoluted schemes by which to snatch it up. He dismissed each one almost immediately as unreasonable.

He was severely startled when the lunch bell rang, and quickly looked around to see whether anyone had noticed. His eyes flickered down to his notebook-- nearly empty. He wasn't used to bothering with notes, and his mind had certainly not been on the lesson. He realized with growing dread that if he couldn't manage to get new access to the teacher's answers, he'd have to--god forbid--actually try to learn whatever was being taught today.

He made a quick decision, but upon looking around he realized that he could never swallow the shame involved in admitting to any of the others that he needed assistance. It was especially important to keep Yamada from finding out.

He remembered suddenly that he'd seen a new face, and he stood, scanning the room for it. He located her quickly-- a quiet, nervous looking girl. He quickly sped to intercept her before she could get away.

"Hello," he said, moving himself bodily in front of Rin, "I am Isoroku."

He found himself unsure of what to say next, as typically he made it a policy to avoid conversation.

 

[Daren58]

Rin gave a small sigh of relief as the lunch bell chimed. She quickly decided against walking around, and instead chose to eat her lunch at her desk. As she was reaching for her bag, she saw someone stop in front of her desk. Rin became somewhat nervous as the student quickly introduced himself. "Um, I'm Junsui Rin." she said after a moment of hesitation.

 

[duckflesh]

Emboldened by his success, Isoroku wracked his brain for the kind of small talk that was expected of him.

"Rin, yes, how about that. I do not think I saw you last year--you're new, then? You don't know anyone?"

 

[PresqueVu]

Yamada had been beyond thrilled with the lessons of the day and was absolutely eating it up. He had pages and pages of notes, barely giving the ink time to dry before starting on the next page. He didn't even glance anywhere in the room except at the teacher and down at his own materials until lunch. He felt rather satisfied by the time lunch was announced and eager for more.

He gathered up his notes and such and tuck them, very carefully, away in his bag. He then produced his bento and set straight to eating it. It wasn't very interesting, but it was very nutritious. He'd made it himself the night before. It was pretty much the same meal he had every day.

Overhearing the other students wasn't intentional, but when he did their words made him pause. He considered their rumor for just a moment, mulling it over, then shook his head. That was impossible, it was merely coincidental. There was no way that there was, of all things, a ghost train that granted wishes. Wishes aren't even granted in the first place. If you want something you have to work for it as diligently as you can. The only way wishes were granted was by doing it yourself.

The dream had been a stupid delusion from having eaten just before bed and nothing more. He decided to put it from his mind, but was very upset to notice that he was having a difficult time just eating his meal and going back over the lecture. This was not what he needed, and had no idea why he found himself noticing their babble in the first place.

Kojiro's outburst made him turn his head to see what happened, but all he noticed was Yoshida making a new friend. He started to go to his bento box again, but then realized just how odd Yoshida introducing himself to anyone was, and in such an informal manner! He scowled and turned away, but made a note of the girl, wondering if she was going to be more competition for grades. He pulled out one of his books and started reading it just to avoid the voices of everyone else. He had to stop a few more times to entertain a few of his admirers, and found himself wishing lunch would end early.

 

[Daren58]

Rin glanced down at her desk. "Um yes, this is my first day." Shifting slightly in her seat, she glanced back up at him. "Did you um want something Isoroku?"

 

[duckflesh]

He breathed a sigh of relief. She wanted out of the conversation, too. Thank God.

"Yeah. I need to copy your notes. I'll give them back to you at the end of lunch."

He held out his hand.

 

[Daren58]

"Oh, um of course." She quickly handed him her notes. "So I'll see you at the end of lunch then."

 

[Cinnonym]

"This Akaito coach was not particularly pleased with the tennis budg--" Eber paused, the second time that day, to look at the bizarre boy bowed in front of him. This kind of attention was normal from females, but this was the first time he'd received... received... well, whatever those things on the napkin were, he'd never seen them before in his life. The boys he was speaking to sniggered as the German cleared his throat to speak up, "Ah. What is that, exactly...?"

------

Kumiko, one of your suitors clasps your hand in his, "The midnight train? Oh, Mizushima, I'll take you if you like--A long, quiet ride in an empty car, and at the end, a wish..."

A girl sitting nearby, furiously texting on her mobile, snorts, nose upturned though her eyes don't leave the screen, "It isn't a wish, Ichirou, you sycophant... There's a conductor, and he's supposed to take away all your bad thoughts. You are most peoples' 'bad thoughts'..."

"Sh-Shut up...!"

 

[duckflesh]

"Great."

He walked away with her notes and returned to his desk, copying everything she'd written as quickly as he could into his own notebook. As he judged the difficulty of the lesson, he quickly became depressed. The semester was off to bad start.

His stomach rumbled quite audibly, and he remembered that he hadn't brought a lunch.

God... fucking... dammit.