Discussion Thread/Information/Character Sheets: Link

Note: We will take on new RPers if they wish to join. However, they should post in the discussion thread if they wish to join.

Rules:
1) This is a level 3 roleplay and will be treated as such. Questions should be directed to the discussion thread. However, in character questions will be dealt with accordingly, the rules of in character questioning shall be different but it is most appreciative if the post is at least a paragraph or two when questioning NPCs and what not.
2) This RP will be directed by Raisurinu. Raisurinu will provide certain plot elements as the RP progresses. Raisurinu will act as the DM of the RP and thus can state whether or not your charcter dies at any certain time depending on your actions. But, the RP resets in five "days" anyways so you'll be back soon enough. Also, since he's the DM all NPCs are under his control.
3) RPers are expected to act in character at all times. And should not have information that is not known by the character.
5) Note that some information will be conveyed via PMs and you are allowed to withhold this information and not tell the other RPers (As in the characters). This would work as such if you make a post to investigate something by yourself or your character is the only one who sees this and I'll PM you with information on your search. You can inform other players IN CHARACTER if you wish.
6) Posts made by people who are not participants will be deleted.
7) Generic RP rules (No Godmodding, etc.)

And so the story begins...

Day: 1
Time: Dawn
Season: Late Fall
Weather: Slightly cloudy. No humidity. Breezy.

James stared off into space as he played around with the mug’s handle. The coffee inside it had already gone cold a long time ago. His gaze focused onto the desk in front of him.

Several sheets of paper were laid out in a messy fashion. Out of reflex, he lifted the cup to his lips and sipped the coffee as he scanned over the scribbles. There were lines and lines of text accompanied by arrows leaping from one line to another. His highlighter sat next to the papers without its cap. The tip had run out of ink sometime during the night. He took another sip of tasteless coffee before setting the mug down again.

How long did he take to write all that? Six hours? He glanced over at his wristwatch. No, seven. Seven hours. He crumpled the papers in an instant.

“Useless. What a waste of paper.” He threw it into the wastebasket next to his desk. “There wasn’t even a point in writing it.” But he was lying to himself. In fact, he absolutely had to write for those seven hours. Otherwise, he’d be asleep. And it would start all over again.

He pushed himself away from the desk and walked over to the window to draw the shades up. As he did, the faint rays of sunlight shot through the window, blinding him. Outside of the window was the quiet little town he was staying in. It was, for the lack of a better word, green. Unlike his hometown, this place looked like it was still part of nature. Maybe that was what he liked about it.

He turned his back on the sight and walked over to the kitchen to brew a new pot of coffee. The house he was staying in was small and on the outskirts of the town. It seems just as he arrived to town on business, someone just moved out. Since it was close by the ghost town, he immediately went to ask if he could temporarily stay there. He had little hopes of his request being granted, but to his surprise the village chief, an old man by the name of Kensei Furui, was gracious enough to let him stay.

As he finished getting the coffee maker ready, he yawned and stretched a little before turning back to take a look at the scenery. He checked his watch again. It was still early in the morning and his coffee wouldn’t be ready for a while. A perfect time for a walk. Maybe at this hour he’d be able to avoid the stares of everyone as he walked through the town.

He threw on his black blazer and stepped out of the door. After locking the door, he headed out on foot towards the town’s shopping district. Maybe a store would be open by the time he got there if he walked slowly.

It was the crack of dawn and yet the shopping district was as busy as it can be. People were walking around and talking and setting up their booths with their products. The ones lucky enough to have a little shop are simply relaxing outside their stores and talking since their wares are kept within. As for those with booths you see them carrying around boxes with their wares.

Shin yawned as he moved crops from the back of the truck he parked nearby. "We didn't have to start selling crops at the crack of dawn for crying out loud..." Shin started complaining as he begin putting the crops in order and making sure that none of them were damaged. Shin placed down the box and rotated his shoulders and spotted a woman with brown hair running around with a box in hand.

"Hey! Tsuki-san!" Shin yelled at the woman. She stopped and turned her head around looking for the person who yelled. "Ah! Shuu-san. What do you want? I'm busy at the moment." Shin pointed at the back of his truck, "Mind helping me move these later?" Tsuki was staring at Shin for awhile, "Er... You know what it's fine, nevermind." Tsuki grinned, "Lazy much~? Asking a frail lady like myself to help carry something as heavy as that?"

"Ugh..." Shin looked around to see people shaking their heads. As Tsuki began running again, he spotted the box in Tsuki's hands and saw what was written on it. The box was labeled "Classics".

"WAIT A MINUTE!" Shin yelled and pointed a finger at Tsuki, "How would a 'frail' lady such as yourself carry a box filled with books and run around with no effort!?" Tsuki stopped suddenly and looked back at Shin, "Uhh... Youmustbeimaginingthings. Imeanthisboxisfulloflittletrinketsandit'shardlyfull. Anyways,I'minahurrysoyea!" After rambling quickly, Tsuki took off as fast as she could. "Wait! You might as well help me!" Shin yelled with his hands extended towards her. The people around them who were able to hear the entire conversation laughed. Everyone was simply playing along with the flow of their conversation.

Shin laughed and began unpacking the cargo as fast as he could to get ready for the villagers who will come by and buy some last minute preparations for breakfast or the students who forgot to eat breakfast in the morning. Either way, his booth was done in ten minutes time. Shin wiped the swaet from his forehead and looked around. It seemed that everyone else was just walking around and talking to one another now.

Shin took a folding chair from the back of his truck and opened it. He sat down and rested his legs on top of the booth as he leaned back. "I guess I'll rest for a bit now." The buyers will be coming in a little bit later so Shin figured that he would have some time to rest before they arrive.

Mei walks out her house and closes the door. She looks at the door thinking for a moment. Today seems so odd to her, as if it's important. She must be thinking about the package she received last week. She has yet to open it. It has not return address just a name that she's heard her father mumble a few times. She will not open it yet. It makes her feel like she did when her father died and everyone wanted her to move out of her house. She would never leave her home. It's the place she grew up and it's the only place she's truly comfortable. Her father may have died five years ago but it's her home. She wonders why they worries so much.

Most of the older people worry about her living alone. She's seventeen. She'll be a grown woman soon, they shouldn't worry so much. If their really worried they would tell her about her mother. No one speaks of her, what is the big secret. She found out that her mother worked at the clinic before she left. She went to investigate and she met him. That was seven years ago. She has the biggest crush on him. She wonders if he notices. Of course not. She's seventeen, the good doctor has no time to notice her. It's so horrible being in love with someone who can't see you.

She looks to see what time it is. She has to go she'll has work to do. She said she'd help the merchants set up their booths. She needs the money. She's paid all the bills but she needs some essentials. She walks slowly, the sun slowly rising. She had to get up early. She didn't want to be bothered with the people looking at her today. They don't do it as often as they use to but she doesn't like it. She wants to know what it's all about but they won't tell her. She's stopped asking. Her father just used to tell her that they were curious. Her mother was very popular.

She never hears much about the woman who gave birth to her and then abandoned her four years later. She has no memories of her mother to help her figure it out. Mei begins to braid her hair as she sees the shopping district in the distance. She does not want her hair in her face as she starts to work. She ties the end of the one braid with a blue ribbon one of her friends gave her.

She sees the first of the people starting to set up. She immediately starts to help. She is quiet as always. She does not even talk to the merchants. They are use to it and talk as if she is not there. She does not waste time. Once she is finish unloading for one booth she starts for another.

She smiles at the passing people as she works. Mei's stomach starts to growl. She had PB&J sandwich and that was much earlier. She looks to see some of the stores are open. Mei thinks if she should go get something to eat. She decides to go to another booth and continue her work. She can get her something after.

Mei thinks about what she has to do after this. She is going to help out at the clinic later. She can't wait to see him. He won't notice. He never really notices her much. That is her fault though. She runs around doing so much work. She doesn't talk to anyone really. She doesn't even greet people. Some see it as rude, she's just not a greeter.

She doesn't have to go to the school today. She rarely goes, just to get the week's assignments and to turn the previous week's work. She'll be done with her school work for good soon. She hasn't attended classes since she was fourteen. Her life is much more efficient this way. She gets her school work done the first two days of the week. She has the rest of the week for work and herself.

She works for another two hours and has successfully completed her tasks. She looks at the booths are set up. She is tired from unloading all the boxes. She looks for a place to rest. First she has to get something to eat. She runs into one of the shops and buys herself a sandwich.

She looks at the half of turkey and cheese sub as she walks out the shop. She begins to eat it. She is very hungry. She walks around looking as the merchants put up the last of their wares. She then sits in a secluded area. She is tired from all her hard work.

She looks to see Shin sitting with his feet on a booth. She just eats and looks at the resting man. She decides not to bother him. She looks as the people start to appear. She sees a few students looking for their breakfast or snacks they would eat during class. They love to sneak snacks into school. She eats her sandwich. "I wonder what Nii-san is doing?" She smirks. He's probably in the mines as usual. She eats in silence. She is expected at the clinic in an hour. She's going to be doing filing today.

That's good, she'll be under the radar. Sometimes she can see glimpses of the good doctor passing by. She really should say his name or at least think it. Well she's human, if only the others knew. She smirks as she eats.

OoC: Urk. I think I should've mentioned that all NPCs are under my control. Since having people use them would undermine some of the things I'm setting up. Sorry if I didn't make that explicitly clear. x: The only NPCs that aren't absolutely under my control would be generic ones such as other students or generic villagers. But even then they won't do anything that would be out of character from what I specified about the village unless I make it so. Sorry about that Jaria. x:

Ryuusuke stared at the computer screen, he just stared. His sky-blue pupils were sharp in the darkness of his room, scanning, waiting, analyzing. His pale fingers typed across the keyboard of his laptop with both accuracy and agility, the rest of his body hardly moving at all. It was as if he were in some kind of trance.

He was currently typing a short story that was going to pay for his next week's grocery bills. Still, you could hardly call him "focused" at this particular moving. It was more like his brain and hands were on auto-drive, and the main part of him trying very hard to do something that he knew was right up there next to world peace, AKA virtually impossible - he was trying to sleep. Even dozing off for a couple of seconds would be a relief. All he wanted was decent rest without those pills from the clinic that were almost certainly shortening his lifespan. Even with those, he could only get a certain prescribed amount and it wasn hardly enough to guarantee him three or four hours of sleep per day. He had had this problem ever since he was little - insomnia.

He grumbled, and adjusted his glasses so it wouldn't fall off. Sighing, he shut the laptop off and massaged his temples. A headache was gnawing away at him, almost laughing at the fact that he could do nothing about it because the medicine was all used up.

A visit to the clinic was required.

Typing the story had made him lose track of time. He was pretty sure he started around midnight, and as he opened the curtains, he came to realize that the sun was up. It was probably still too early, but the doctors and nurses would understand. After all, they'd treated him since he was young.

Brushing his teeth and ignoring the hollow feeling in his stomach, he locked the door and left to walk through the village. On the way, he noticed that he wasn't the only person up. Well, even the farmers and miners must have gotten more sleep than him last night, since he hadn't slept at all. Sometimes, Ryuusuke found himself resenting the world and how unfair things were. Why did he of all people have have this curse? Then he would remember about how many blessings he had. His smarter-than-average thought processes as well as his friends (though he didn't have many).

Ryuusuke spotted Tsuki running with a box labelled "Classics" and pursed his lips. Then he decided that he wouldn't chase her down right this minute. He'd visit the library after he finished getting medicine at the clinic if it was open. There were bound to be lots of big, thick, and hopefully boring books in that box and if it would helf him sleep, Ryuusuke was fully willing to read through them all.

As he neared the entrance of the clinic, he saw Mei, a quiet girl that he didn't really know, near as well. He opened the door and gestured for her to enter first. It was only polite.

“Yahhh…mmm,” Mitsunari Date let out a big yawn after near-magically waking up before dawn. He scratched his head and fluffed his hair as he got up on the left side of his rather small bed. As he wiped his eyes groggily, something out-of-the-ordinary caught his eye. A list. There was a list of chores and reminders scrawled onto a scrap of paper. The scrap of paper was sitting on a heap of other papers.

Mitsunari lazily tossed out his hand and grabbed the list. He began to read as he tried to recall the original need to make a list. “Hm, let’s take a lookie,” He mumbled, “Why is this here, anyways? Hmm… I’m pretty sure I wasn’t drunk last night… 1. Get fishing supplies from Masamune Furyuu early. 2. Go fishing. 3. Return supplies and give fish to Furyuu. 4. Return books to Emi-san. 5. Visit Kiri?” He smiled to himself when read the last chore. Kiri Hoshikage was a weird and very shy girl, but something about her attracted him. He brushed out thoughts of her as he left his house and turned towards the farms.

The world was dark, cool and quiet. Most people in the village were still sleeping. Mitsunari walked down the streets lined with other fairly small to medium houses until he reached the farmed owned by the old Masamune. He hopped over the wooden fence and over to the tool shed where the old man’s fishing supplies was stored. He grabbed them and headed towards the lake, taking a detour through the housing district.

Everyone was still sleeping, of course. The sun was peeking up behind the mountains but it was still mostly dark, the ideal time for fishing. He walked through the sleepy houses until he spotted the house that belonged to Kiri Hoshikage. He smiled to himself as he kept his gaze on her windows as he walked by. He continued on directly to the lake.

The sun was now noticeably coming up from the east when Mitusunari Date arrived at the dock and boat launch. He walked down the dock until he reached his late father’s boat, a small and meager rectangular boat built for two. He threw the fishing supplies in the front and untied the boat as he grabbed the oars and rowed off into the middle of the lake.

OoC:

Dawn, its quicksilver rays daunting the evening darkness, falling away in admission of its better, that intermission between the long-suffering hours of day and night. Here, little activity disturbed the cool isolation of the sleeping household—nary a disruption from the one. The elder, however… lay prone in her bed—not hers by her standards, but given her nevertheless. The master bedroom she now inhabited alone, where once her parents had dwelled in cherished harmony and musical delight. But such an era had passed from her lifetime, perhaps hers alone.

The soft murmur of shifting sheets, the heavier crinkle, then, of a thick blanket to weigh down those silken whispers of comfort. She had barely moved, yet lay there nevertheless, arm crooked and hand resting tangled idly in her own short locks, head turned away from the window altogether, gaze immobile upon the pale, slender lines of coming sun skewed languidly across the far wall and handsome dresser. So chill, the air remained, as it had. While Yoko lavished in its cool, irrevocable and yet distant nature, she was reminded of the purports of her younger sister, who adored most the summer, and longed for the time when she could frolic madly without the need of constricting clothes to burden her.

Slowly muscles tensed in preparation, ready for the long, slow haul of lifting a body up from the combined warmth of blankets and subtle chill of sheets. A whisper of a groan escaped her lips and she slid reluctantly, yet smoothly and against her will into motion. No pause after sitting up, her legs pulled from the burdening blankets to meet frigid air, bare against the cold, even as her arms. A hand ran through tousled hair, and the prelude to day began. Already, in her, a longing for the afternoon and setting of sun to come.

It was then, but half an hour later that she was adorned, a sweater pulled over her normal work attire, no care for flattery apparent, a thick mug of steaming coffee grasped preciously in hand as she shuffled into her younger sister’s room. Dipping her head down in an unabashedly greedy motion, inhaling deeply the unique, poignant aroma of her brew as though deprived, she stood in silence just past the doorway, relishing this fleeting moment of her day. Within minutes her sister would have to be woken, dressed, fed and then delivered with promptness to the school, though by no means did she have to be shown the way. Of all the inhabitants, that little child could find her way through the town even should the night be pitch black and it deserted.

Gazing silently a moment longer upon her slumbering sibling, Yoko let her mind run over the expectations for the day. The requirements of work, the errands to run, the engagement of Popi’s fleeting and boisterous interests, what meals would need preparation, and what end to her day would greet her. To remain busy was to remain placated. And once a full day of routine constructiveness and expected chaos had been dealt with, then to herself she would look again, and let relaxation take its part in her full day.

A shake of the head. And then, once more, things were set in motion.

“Popi,” she said aloud as she walked towards her sister’s bed, watching the child’s eyes stir beneath their lenses in waking. “Come on, Popi. It’s time to get up. You have to get dressed and ready so we can cook breakfast before you leave for school.” Leaning over, the mug now held in one hand, she reached out with the other to brush the long, tangled locks of her sister’s hair from her face, frowning a bit at their messiness but unable to maintain the expression for long when the large dark eyes of her sister’s face opened up blearily to her. A warm smile then, to greet such a face, the little angel breaking into a yawn as Yoko gently rubbed the younger girl’s shoulder. “You awake, Popi?”

“Mm… Ah, mmhmm…,” came the moaned response from the smaller girl.

“Good,” Yoko said, still rubbing her sister’s shoulder. “Now sit up. Sit up, Popi. And I’ll know you’re really awake.” Such was the process. Gently, through much coaxing the child eventually sat up, rubbed her eyes and thumped down onto her feet, toddling away sleepily into the bathroom under Yoko’s watchful and encouraging presence. The process of every day before was repeated. Popi was dressed and then breakfast cooked. Once they’d sat down to eat, Yoko spent most of her time fixing up Popi’s hair according to the younger’s instructions, the child now fully awake and chattering with her characteristic excitement about a dream she’d had, the colors she wanted to draw with, how she didn’t understand why some of the boys wouldn’t let her in their tree house, how she had learned to hop on one foot the other day at school. And on the conversation went. Little different in gusto from the others days, though the topics were as broad and fresh as the incessant, but pleasant breeze.

“Alright, you little breeze,” Yoko cut into the food-obstructed mouthful of babbling her sister had been doing as an impersonation of a fellow classmate. “Let’s get you dropped off at school.”

They lived far from the greater congregation of homes, closer to the farms of their small town than anywhere else. The walk to the school was not as long as others they two had made. Popi’s bountiful energy meant that she could easily surpass the endurance of those many times her age, and there was nothing she loved more than coaxing her sister into taking new paths towards the school. Yet every morning, at least, Yoko convinced her sister to walk with her the one path she knew. So, bundled up, she allowed Popi to dash ahead of the familiar path next to the fields already being harvested, while some still remained thick with produce yet to ripen. Past the library and into the shopping district.

It was only during this time of day that Yoko made any sort of appearance to the town’s populace. She had no need to socialize and kept greatly to herself, finding the few people she did interact with to be plentiful enough a necessity towards her socializing. With a stoic expression she usually made her way back from the school after dropping off her younger sister, but on the way there, constantly distracted by the younger’s antics, her expression was light and relaxed—a fleeting thing by all means.

Popi was the type of child who went up to everyone she knew and did not know and said hello to them. So with Yoko walking a straight, slow path through the shopping district, she merely kept an eye on Popi as the child, adorned in a blushing pink overcoat delightfully skipped and hopped to a stop in front of the stands of others.

“Shin-chan! Shiiiiiiiin-chan! You’re not supposed to be sleeping! It’s mornin’, Shin-chan!” came the boisterous, delighted cries of Popi as she slapped the palm of her open hand against the side of the man’s face in time with her words. Yet then the overflow of goodies above her head caught her attention and her eyes opened wide in silent awe. “Shin-chan! You has goodies? Are they sweet? Can I have some?” She wiggled in place and then hopped in an about-face, waving to her sister. “Onee-chan! Can I have some of Shin-chan’s sweety food snacks?”

With a smile and a groan that could be made out from the distance, Yoko shook her head at her sister, calling out as she approached the stand her younger sibling had stopped in front of. “You already had a big breakfast! If you try to fit anymore in there you’ll pop out of your coat, Popi!”

“Awwwwww! But onee-chan! I can eat them in lunch?” She gazed hopeful eyes at her sister and then looked over to Shin with watery, hopeful eyes. “Right, Shin-chan? I can eat them?”

Shin groggily opened his eyes with a the feel of a small hand slapping his face, "Wha... But the market isn't even opened ye-" Shin took a quick glance at Popi and then around him, "How long have you been standing there Popi-chan? Wait, you just slapped my face so it shouldn't have been opened for long. Good, good."

Shin took his feet off the booth and planted his feet on the ground and stood up stretching his arms. Popi continued talking as he was stretching and asked him what kind of stuff he had for sale. But, before he could reply Popi asked her sister if she can get something from the booth. After being told that she had enough during breakfast time Popi looked back at Shin and asked if she can still get something.

Shin smiled at Popi, "You're as energetic as always aren't you? And since you woke me up before the market opened I'll give you something to eat during lunch." Shin looked at what produce he had to sell. "Hm, sweet stuff. Sweet stuff. Ah!" Shin spotted the box of persimmons he had. He scrounged around and found a decent sized fruit with no blemishes and was firm yet supple. "Here you go, Popi-chan."

Shin handed her the fruit and smiled, "Promise me that you won't eat it until lunch okay? Or else your sister might get mad at me for being too kind to you." Shin took a glance at Yoko's expression while he spoke to Popi. "Ah! I just remembered. When you eat the persimmon, and if it's not a problem for you, can you keep the seeds and give them to me? I'll show you something interesting with them if you do."

Shin patted Popi's head and motioned for her to run back to her sister.

When he arrived at the shopping district, James was surprised to find people already there. In fact, a great number of people had already arrived before him. He looked around with a new sense of respect. Back home, it was pretty rare for people to be up this early.

Now that he realized how many people there were, he felt it was extremely ironic how he had come here thinking no one would be awake yet. But this unexpected surprise was a good thing. He was starting to run out of writing supplies anyways, and needed to restock on them.

However, being a newcomer, he didn't yet know where the stores were. Just then he spotted a young man resting in a chair nearby. As he moved to ask the boy where he would be able to buy what he needed, he was cut off by a little girl and her sister.

James stopped and watched the exchange between them with a friendly smile. He wasn't used to dealing with children. He didn't hate them, he just didn't know what to do around one.

From time to time, he had considered the idea of having a child, but those daydreams never lasted long. His job didn't allow him to raise a kid properly anyways. More importantly though, there wasn't anyone James was interested in. Maybe he'd find someone in the village, James mused. He laughed at the idea inside his head. There was no chance that would happen.

James waited until the boy was done playing along with the little girl to speak up.

"Hello there, young man."

Mei makes it to the clinic with a few minutes to spare. She is very happy about that. She might get to even wave to him today. She hates it when she acts like a girl with crush. She looks to see someone walking to the Clinic as well. She wonders what he's doing here so early. He opens the door for her and she walks in, saying a low thank you as she passes him. She looks around and wonders if anyone is in yet. Probably but they're setting up. It is early.

Mei shrugs and decides to get to work. She'll start on the medical charts first. They're always the hardest to do so she like to get them over with. As much as she helps out, she should consider becoming a nurse or doctor or medical assistant. She has the experience. She looks to see who let her in. She looks at him and bows slightly. She then smirks. "Another Headache Ryusuke?" She asks and then turns to go to the desk. "All nighters are not good for you." She says. She considers Ryusuke one of her friends but she's not sure if he considers her one. She can't blame him if he doesn't. It's not like she really opens up to anyone.

"Well just have a seat." She says and makes her way to the desk with the computer. A small Clinic with one computer. She sighs a little and it's an old model. She tells them they need to invest in a newer one, when she does talk, but she is under the impression that it has to actually crash for that to happen. She hopes it doesn't, although she backs up everything on floppy disk just in case. She looks for the boxes that has been set aside for her. They always do it the day before. She sees they are on the table near the window.

Mei says nothing and goes to pick up a box of charts. Heavy box. She struggles a little because she is tired from her earlier job. Once she is at the desk. She gets to work. She can see this will take her a long time.

It turned out that he was a little early after all, but that was alright, he'd been half-expecting it. Still, he wished that he hadn't rushed out of his apartment, without bothering to take a book or his laptop - now he had absolutely nothing to do while sitting and waiting for one of the doctors or nurses to come. Nothing, that is, other than watching Mei working on the medical charts. Ryuusuke had never had much time to really get to know her, and now he wondered about this solitary member of the village.

He tried to sum up all the information he knew about her and knew that it wasn't much. She lived in a house alone, her father having died when she was little and the whereabouts of her mother unknown. Ryuusuke adjusted his glasses, and shifted in his seat, wondering if he should make conversation.

Making conversation had never and probably would never be one of his strong points. Especially when it was with someone he didn't really know all that well. What did they have in common? Would she be irritated at him interrupting her work just to chit-chat? She did seem like the serious type.

Deciding that he had to do something with his time, he stood up and walked over to her, "Is it okay if I help you with this? I have nothing better to do anyway..."

((PLEASE SAY YES!!!))

She'd been up since midnight. Her mind was cluttered with thoughts she didn't want lingering. Bonta thought she'd be able to finally sleep well after the day's work and shutting her eyes for a good hour. However, visions of her parents came to haunt her once again and when she woke up she wasn't able to fall asleep again. It always happened like this. In the climax of the dream, she always wakes up. Every dream becomes creepier and creepier.

It was six hours before the sun would wake up and rise, but Bonta was restless. For a good portion of that time, she went for a run. Cardiovascular activity tends to help free her mind a bit. At the crack of dawn, she headed back to the house. Oka was no where to be found, but Bonta knew not to worry about her. She was probably around somewhere conversing with fellow villagers. After a nice shower, Bonta grabbed Flowers for Algernon and went into the shopping district. It was empty when she first arrived so she sat on an empty bench nearby and began to read.

The more she got into her book, the brighter the day became. Time moved a little faster when she read. People began to disperse into the district and the town was waking up. And still, Bonta's nose stuck to the book as her ears caught the on-goings of people coming in and out of the district.

((Ugh, intro's are so hard. I know this is sooo late, been a bit caught up in things. Sorry for the crappiness, but I had to make an appearance in town at least. ))

There was a whisper of a smile on Yoko’s face as she watched the exchange between her sister and Shuutoku, not for the man’s part—but because of everyone, her sister alone elicited such responses in her. The flustered excitement and mingled awe on Popi’s face was alone enough to make her almost laugh, though she masked the want swiftly and allowed a quiet chuckle instead to pass her lips. Hopefully, no one had picked up on it.

For Popi’s part, a large intake of breath in the manner of a lengthy and profound gasp had taken her over, as Shin righted himself and pleasantly engaged the little girl in conversation. “Yup, I—,” and that was where the gasp came into play, as the child cut herself off in the midst of some certain rambling tale she would have spun off for Shin, if only he hadn’t proceeded in his graciousness and conceded to her whimsical beseeching for goodies.

Even as Popi lifted her arms up, hands cupped together in anticipation of the present Shin had conceded her, there was a bedazzling joy and astonishment upon her face, as though she’d never known such kindness. Which was probably then also the reason that most of the townspeople ever so swiftly gave in to her usual dramatics—for her honesty. As Shin lifted out a persimmon for her, placing it into her open palms, she clutched at it in her delicate fingers and swirled her hands over its surface, bringing it to her mouth as though to taste it—already forgetting the promise she had made if she obtained such.

Yet Shin’s words intruded upon her action, and she stared up at him wide-eyed and still, blinking as she processed what he was saying. “Promise me that you won’t eat it until lunch okay?” he asked. “Or else your sister might get mad at me for being too kind to you.” Chirruping in concordance, Popi dropped her hands from her mouth and gave Shin a big smile, chiming, “Okay Shin-chan! I promise!” She turned around, ready to run off, before he once more spoke up. So she twirled ‘round in a circle, making a rumbling noise and throwing out her arms like a plane before running right up to him again, looking up into his face with expectation. “Yah?” she chirped.

“I just remembered. When you eat the persimmon—,” “Aha?” “…and if it’s not a problem for you—,” “Yah?” “…can you keep the seeds and give them to me?” he concluded. Popi’s mouth opened wide as though she was about to gather her breath to shout out a response before Shin continued once more. “I’ll show you something interesting with them if you do.”

Immediately the about-to-be-shouted words turned completely around into a cry of delight and excitement, Popi hopping up to Shin and holding up the persimmon into his face, chattering jubilantly. “You gonna show me magic trick, Shin-chan? Ooh, oooohhh! What is it? What is it you’s gonna show me? Show me now! Show me, show me, Shin-chan!” she beseeched, bumping and rubbing the persimmon against Shin in an attempt to make him take it from her and reveal just what it was he had up his sleeves.

However, at that moment another hand reached out and stole the fruit from the child’s hands, and as Popi looked up, making a noise of angry protest, she saw that it was her elder sister standing right over her. With a gentle squeeze of affectionate apology to Popi’s shoulder, Yoko gazed at her younger sibling, speaking gently to her—clearly not in the least bothered by her sister’s actions, but feeling the need to interfere regardless. “Popi,” she expressed with a quiet note of suggestion. “Shuutoku was kind enough to give you this persimmon upon you asking, and you never even said thank you to him.” Her younger sister looked up at her blankly, mouth slightly ajar in an expression of thoughtfulness. “Now what do you say to someone when they give you something?” Yoko coaxed.

After thinking about it for a moment, Popi spun around, grasping the edge of Shin’s shirt and intoned a forceful, but meaningful, “T’ank you, Shin-chan! I like da pahsimmom,” she said with an effort, clamping her mouth open and shut repeatedly as she attempted to say the word ‘persimmon’ as she’d heard it.

“Very good,” Yoko crooned and flashed an unreadable look towards Shuutoku as she reached for Popi’s hand. “Now come on, Popi. You’re going to be late for school.”

“School!” came the exuberant cry from the little girl as she dropped Shin’s shirt and clutched on to her big sister’s hand, racing around the stand and tugging Yoko along after her. “Come on, come on, come on, sister! We’m be late! I don wanna be late!” she shouted, so that the entire marketplace knew their business—which was the usual thing whenever Popi was about.

Yoko glanced over her shoulder at Shuutoku with a look of mild concern and frustration, shouting out to him just as another man walked up to his stand. “I’ll pay for the persimmon on my way back, Shuutoku! Let me just get her to school,” she ended quieter on the last half, with a sigh of exasperation. And then she raced after Popi, who had let go of her hand and was running off at full speed down the familiar road towards her school. Such is how things always were with Popi involved. The child forced her sister to socialize in ways that practically mortified Yoko. But such is what she would put up with, nonetheless, to see her sister happy.

Upon arriving at the school, it was simple enough for things to proceed as normal. Popi ran inside and directly to where her teacher, Yuuki Ono stood. Yoko, for her part, had long given up on chasing after her excitable sibling and walked up to the elementary class teacher, smiling almost wryly as she inclined her head in respect to the woman only a few years older than her. “Good morning, Yuuki Sensei,” she said politely. “I am late for being early,” she sighed with a faint smile and lifted up the persimmon she’d carried all this way for Popi. “Because of this.” With a wry look she called out to her sister, placing it in her hands and ushering her off again to step into the chaotic routine she always engaged in whilst at school.

“Will classes run their normal length today, Sensei?” she queried once her sister had rushed off again. “If they do, I’m not certain if I’ll come to get Popi. Though should that happen, release her as usual and she’ll find her way home without a hitch.” She ended it with a smiling shake of the head. It was how things usually went. Just another day. Nothing else.

OOC:

Shin Shuutoku

Popi's reaction after his mention of something interesting was quite amusing, she truly was an energetic child. However, Shin was unable to answer Popi's curiousity just yet. Besides, it's not even lunchtime yet, so she wouldn't be able to give him the seeds. Soon, Yoko calmed Popi down and had her thank him.

Shin waved his hand at them as they left. Yoko then mentioned how she would pay him back for the persimmon, but before Shin could object and mention how she doesn't need to pay him for it she ran after Popi. Shin sighed as he looked back at his booth until he heard someone greet him.

"Hmmm?" Shin turned to face the person who was talking to him. It was James Richardson, someone who recently moved into the village. "Ah! Richardson-san, what a pleasant surprise to see you awake so early in the morning. Hopefully, our village is energetic enough for you?" Shin smiled, "Anyways, what do you need?"

Yuuki Ono

Yuuki was taking down the attendance of all of the children running about the room, all of them full of youthful vigor. Yuuki was smiling as she watched them run about without a care in the world. Such are the joys of childhood. As she stood there continuing writing down who was present, Yoko had came into the room to drop off Popi, an extremely energetic girl.

"Ah, Yoko-san. Good morning." Yuuki bowed slightly, "It's still a bit early to be late though." Yuuki smiled as she said that. Yoko showed her a persimmon as the object as which kept them from arriving earlier, but there was no explanation as to why. But, there was no need to pry into it. There was only a few stands opened today that was selling persimmons. If Yuuki was curious enough she would be able to figure out where she got it from.

Yoko had asked whether or not the class would run on schedule and Yuuki nodded in response. "Don't worry, I'm sure one of the children here would be kind enough to go home with her if the need arises."

Souichiro Hanagami

Souichiro was sitting at his office in the clinic, writing down something on several of pieces of paper in a span of several of minutes. He was looking at his computer as he wrote. The clinic was quiet except for the few people who come in here early now a days to help with things or for an early check up. Nothing out of the ordinary.

The clinic was a humble place, it wasn't very large and they only have three computers. One at the reception area, one here in his office, and another in Chiie Daizen's office. Souichiro stopped jotting down whatever he was writing and stood up and stretched.

He yawned slightly since he was here quite early to do things. Cracking his hands he walked out of his office and into the hallway. The hallway was directly connected to the reception area and he could see then entrance from where he stood and part of the reception area. However, whoever was behind the reception desk wouldn't be ab;e to see him nor would he see them for here.

"Ah." Souichiro spotted somneone, Ryuusuke, standing at the reception desk talking to the person sitting behind it. Souichiro wasn't sure who Ryuusuke was talking to but since Ryuusuke didn't work here, that would mean he came for a check up. "Ryuusuke-san, you're sure up early. If you're here for a diagnosis then please come into my office and I can have a look at what your problem is. Unless, you're preoccupied currently?"

Oka Meppou

Oka walked slowly back to the village, back from her trip to the burial grounds to see if everthing was well. Her cane tapped softly against the paved road and she reached the shopping district which was now as lively as it can be. The liveliness of the shopping district won't die out until it is time to close down their booths or shops. Oka smiled as she began conversing with another villager. It would seem that Kensei Furui is roaming about the shopping district as well since she spoke with him for a bit.

Oka continued walking around slowly until she spotted Bonta. Oka smiled as she spotted the young woman reading her book, she was engrossed in the book. Oka walked slowly towards Bonta, her cane tapped softly against the ground as she approached Bonta.

"Bonta-kun." Oka spoke clearly, "I know you like to read and all, but its getting quite busy here. I'm sure it was alot more quiet in the early morning."

Mei looks at the charts. She has helped at this clinic so much she can tell everyone's handwriting. It's good because someone's handwriting is very sloppy and it seems she is the only one that comes to help that can read it. The other volunteers have trouble with it. Or so she hears. She comes here a lot. She wonders if anyone knows it's because of her crush. She'd do just about anything Doctor Souichiro Hanagami if it means she could get a get a glimpse of him. Even thinking his name makes her slightly blush. She's so glad no one can see her.

Mei sighs and puts on her glasses. She needs to to read the charts. Sometimes she needs them to read books when the writing is too small. Someone has small writing. She begins her task of data input, as she calls it for lack of a better term. This is one of her easier tasks. She needs it after this morning. No one really bothers her. She's self sufficient and knows what she is doing. She's been helping out here for years. She even when Souichiro isn't here, she likes to help. It's a nice atmosphere here.

She works of a little before she hears someone walk over to the desk. She hears people walk all the time in here. She usually pays them no mind. "Is it okay if I help you with this? I have nothing better to do anyway..." Mei looks up at Ryuusuke for a moment and then nods. She looks at the two boxes on the table to the left at her. "Could you get those for me?" She asks politely and smiles at him. She knows quite a lot about everyone from their medical charts. She knows he has headaches, a lot of them. She'd never tell anyone about the stuff on the charts. She has a good work ethic. "Thanks for the help." She says.

No one usually helps her. She's use to working by herself. It's not like she's really that friendly. She's not antisocial either. She just isn't good with others. It's hard for her to get close to people. Trust issues, she knows why she has them and they're hard to overcome. She deals with them. She is glad for the help. She's very tired from the heavy lifting she has done this morning.

She is about to ask Ryuusuke when she hears Dr, Hanagami call to him. She can feel the blush coming. He's here already. Of course he is, he works here. She looks down for a moment. She hopes Ryuusuke didn't see her blush. She looks back at the screen. She tries not to let is show as Hanagami talks to Ryuusuke.

"I'll be right there. But I need to help carry these boxes first." Ryosuke answered. He was a man of his word and if he offered to help, then he would do so. Besides, Mei looked like she was tired and in no condition for carrying heavy loads.

As he carries one box to where it was supposed to go, Ryosuke yawned. Just making conversation he commented, "Hey, doc, miss me? I haven't been here in a while. Ran outta meds, but tried to live without them. Didn't end up very well, y'know..." His words were slurring together now, and Ryosuke started panicking. No way, right? No way...

Now of all times?

Suddenly, he felt his eyelids droop and he fell into a deep slumber. Both the box and him fell hard onto the tiled floor of the clinic.

Everything was dark, then bright red stains began appearing, bodies littered all around. Green, blue, yellow... Colours randomly danced on the people's bodies. Ryosuke knew this was all just one sick dream, but couldn't help feeling dread creep up into every inch of his body, goosebumps rising up on his arms. It was so damn real and so damn scary...

He recognized every single one of the bodies as the ones from the village. They weren't breathing. Not one bit. Incapable of moving his legs, Ryosuke looked down at his arms, wondering why he couldn't move them either and screamed. His left arm was gone, only a stump left, and his right arm was moldy, with dozens of holes in it. Worms wiggling in his flesh, taking big bites right out. Utterly repulsed, Ryosuke found that he couldn't do anything at all, but close his eyes and wish for this horrid nightmare to be over.

Suddenly, he found himself engulfed in flame, then drowning in water. He seemed to hear whispering, but couldn't quite make out the words. All he was sure of was that there was an awful lot of screaming. He then realized that he was the one screaming. No matter how much he struggled, he could not wake up. What kind of nightmare was this?!

"Please," He begged, "Please let me wake up..."

"Please let me wake up..." He could feel his own tears streaking down his face, and the pain no longer torturing him. Tentatively, he opened his eyes, to see Doctor Hanagami and Mei looking at him with concern. Still feeling kind of on edge from the far-too-realistic dream and not wanting to talk about it, not to mention slightly ashamed to have the girl see him cry, Ryosuke jumped up, realized that he was still kind of weak, and collapsed again.

Before they could say any comforting words, or give him any pitying looks, Ryosuke jumped up again, this time actually managing to stay up. While they were still stunned, he ran outside the clinic at full speed, though still shaken by the dream.

Telling himself again and again that it was just a dream, Ryosuke decided that he'd visit the clinic again later. At the moment, he'd go to the library, get himself a book, and stop thinking about dreaming altogether. The problem was that the new classic books he'd seen Tsuki carrying around had only been interesting because they were thick, large, and mostly boring, sure to make him fall asleep. Falling asleep was the last thing he wanted to do right now.

He could still go and talk to Emi though, she'd listen to his dream and believe.

That sounded like a good course of action so Ryosuke headed for the library, not realizing that anybody who crossed his path and saw his overly-pale face and hair plastered to his face with sweat would automatically assume something was wrong.

She could see someone approach her within her peripheral. Bonta set the book down when she heard the cane tapping on the ground. To her delight, her eyes fell upon Oka. "Bonta-kun." Oka spoke clearly, "I know you like to read and all, but its getting quite busy here. I'm sure it was alot more quiet in the early morning." Bonta couldn't help but crack a small smirk. Reading wasn't hard for her, even buried in the buzz of the village.

"Morning Oka-san. Have anything for me to do today?"

Still, despite slightly over hearing things that were going on in her proximity, Bonta hadn't realized how busy it was actually getting. With her nose out of her book, she could actually observe what was going on. The shopping district was awake and vibrant. Villagers conversed with one another and shopped for groceries. Bonta's eyes and head wandered as Oka stood before her.

"Wow...I didn't realize how busy it got." She rose from the bench and stood beside Oka ready to walk with her where ever she needed her. "I'll walk with you." The book was placed inside of a bag that hung across Bonta's shoulder. People that passed by took a quick moment to say 'hello' to Oka and Bonta. She was such an accomplished woman in this village and Bonta was very grateful to her for raising her. "People never seem to ignore you Oka-san." It was a good thing too.

The surprisingly energetic and refreshing reply was not far from what James expected, but nevertheless he found himself surprised. He didn't expect anyone to know him yet in the village. But somehow it helped cheer him up a little, and it was almost enough to make him forget about the nightmares.

He cleared his throat. His Japanese wasn't the best in the world, but he shouldn't have any problems communicating with the boy. Or so he hoped.

"Hello there," he repeated, feeling a bit silly as he did so. "I was wondering where I could buy writing supplies. Pencils, pens, paper..." Surrounded by the locals here, James could feel how awkward and clumsy his Japanese must've sounded.

He finished there, hoping his message had been clearly conveyed.

Kiri stared out of the window with half-open eyes, considering what to do today.

She sat at a desk, tapping it with all fingers to help her think. She sighed, then slowly got up to check on her grandparents.
She walked lightly on the floorboards, to be sure they wouldn't creak, and wake them up. Opening the door carefully, she peered inside and smiled quietly to herself. Still asleep.
Kiri closed the door behind her and walked to the front door, throwing on her coat and a pair of sandals.

She looked all around her as she walked down the road, hoping to meet someone so she could at least talk to them, but as usual, there was no-one. It was her eighteenth birthday soon, but somehow, the idea didn't seem as exciting as it used to be. She would get a gift from her grandparents, maybe from a few of her friends, they would have some sort of celebration, and that would be it. Not only that, she had a bad feeling about it. Maybe because she was getting older. Maybe she was a little lonely.

As she neared closer to the town, she could tell it was going to be a busy day. The town itself seemed to emit noise, people were rushing around shops, and traffic was rushing all around. She felt around her pockets, looking for some money for groceries and other stuff. Finding her wallet, she sighed in relief and placed it back in her left coat pocket.
She headed towards the chemist first, to fetch her grandparents medication. She might as well, since it was closest to her.