2025-10-01: Getting Mark's Goat
- Log: Getting Mark's Goat
- Cast: Maki Sonomura, Masao Inaba, Yua Ooshiro, Remi Ryuuja
- Where: Seaside Mall, Konan Ward, Sumaru City
- OOC Date: October 1, 2025
- IC Date: Thu, Jul 19, 2012
- Summary: Yua and Remi are out shopping, and Mark and Maki both reunite and meet them! Unfortunately for mark, goat meat recipes ensue... As does the quiet marking of some Persona-users.
11025
<Pose Tracker> Maki Sonomura has posed.
The Seaside Mall is a lovely place close to the beach, with accordingly an oceanside view from some of its windows. But for Maki, the beachside view is not her objective today. Her objective today is getting off work, which she's just done, smiling to her boss and heading out with her bags. That is to say, a purse and a larger bag for the sketchbook she was working in.
She steps out of the fairytale forest and into the main atrium of the mall, looking around for the friend she'd arranged to meet after work today: one Masao Inaba.
Maki Sonomura is dressed in a light gray coat and white boots today, her short hair neat, her bags fashionable.
She's a little hungry... Maybe that's why the local grocer smells nice.
<Pose Tracker> Masao Inaba has posed.
Things have been looking... in some direction or another, with the Cardboard Dragon and the unusual work requests one Masao Inaba's gotten. Is a bit of extra spending money enough to get his mind off impending college exams? Uhhhhhh rain check on answering that question.
Especially when he gets a chance text from someone he hadn't seen in years! Masao himself is dressed in a lightweight dark gray hoodie and matching pants, but he's still got a distinctive bright yellow cap. (Not the same bright yellow cap, but he has owned that shade of yellow in his school years and by golly, that's a brand now.)
Years ago, there was a bit of awkwardness about certain feelings ultimately unrequited. But that was their high school years. While those high school years weren't all that long ago now...
"Hey hey! Maki~!" Masao 'Mark' Inaba calls just as he catches sight of Maki coming into his field of vision in the atrium.
Those years are, ultimately, in the past. But their friendship, built and rebuilt over quite the ordeal... that one's lasting.
He claps his hands once and does a little dance forward, a twirl and pivot with a flash of youthful enthusiasm and a sense of showing ID as if to say, 'hey, it me, former class clown.'
"How you been?!" He's very happy to see her. Why wouldn't he?
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
Why would Yua come all the way out to Konan ward? Easy -- there's a South Asian grocer around here which sells cuts of meat which the regular butchers don't often carry, like...
Goat.
Goat meat is eaten in Okinawa, but in Japan, they say it smells bad and it's chewy; that means it's always a struggle, for Yua, when she wants to cook a local dish that relies on goat meat. Luckily, grocers who focus on servicing other countries are more open to stocking something like goat meat, and so it's just up to Yua to travel and find them.
Luckily, she's brought a friend!! And she has a private car who can drive them out. That's lucky, too.
She has a nice cooler with which to store the bag her cuts of meat are in, which of course she's passed to Remi to carry on account of Remi having those strong fencing arms. (Now, if you want something kicked, ask Yua. Every day is leg day when you're a dancer.)
Just as Maki looks over to the grocer they're walking out of, though, the ballerina walking out of it looks up to meet her gaze, sharply intent for a moment. "Ah?" She wonders, at the feeling running down her spine. The way the afternoon light caught her, she kind of looked golden, for a moment...
But, no, look again, and it was just a trick of the light. (And to be sure, the light casts no tricks looking at her; she carefully keeps her own Resonance hidden.)
It's quite strange, though, seeing a woman in a black ballerina's leotard alerting to Maki out of nowhere. "I had a strange feeling," she explains, to Remi, still looking at Maki. "Perhaps I've seen her somewhere before...?"
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
Remi will not hesitate to try a goat dish. She is half-French, after all. She has dined on escargot and frog legs before. (Though it has, admittedly, been a while since she has had the opportunity.)
And besides, she likes Yua's cooking.
And she has, obligingly, accepted the responsibility of carrying the cooler.
She is a bit taller than the average Japanese woman at 5'6", with wavy honey blonde hair. And she's bundled up regardless of the weather: beret, turtleneck, skirt, tights, boots, and another long, flowy cardigan on top. She seems fine with all the layers, though.
She pauses instantly when Yua takes notice of Maki, casting her a curious look. She's relaxed, but alert, and she takes a quick glance at Maki. "Perhaps so," she says quietly. "... do you wish to investigate?" she offers, implicitly offering backup should the answer be 'yes'. Remi can't hide her own Resonance, but she doesn't exactly go around intentionally trying to broadcast Tsurugi's murderous intent, either.
<Pose Tracker> Maki Sonomura has posed.
Maki Sonomura, of course, lives in Konan! ...Her school isn't here, but her workplace is, and that's good enough. Besides, she's come to like Konan. But she notices a woman in a cute leotard looking at her for a moment, and that would be that, if not for a few facts that become evident in short order. One isn't Mark; she could easily focus on Mark as he walks up, and she smiles back at him. The friendship they've forged is important, and so--
"Mark!" she answers brightly. "I'm so sorry I couldn't catch you sooner! But now you're here!" A laugh, at the pivot, and she fingerguns back. "I'm great!" she says. "A little tired, since I just got off work, but I think I'm just hungry..."
"How about you?!" The order of the question and exclamation mark are relevant here. "You're in Sumaru for good for a while, right?"
But...
That woman is still looking at her. Maki is casual about it; she says to Mark, "There's somebody looking at me," she says. "And her friend's a Persona-user..."
Maki detects the splash of vibrant green that suggests that mark on Remi's spirit. "Let's be natural!"
She smiles, and starts to walk over. "Hi!" Maki says, waving brightly. "Do I know you, or do I just think anybody walking out of the grocer is great when I'm hungry?"
<Pose Tracker> Masao Inaba has posed.
"Heh! As if it'd be a surprise I'd be here, yeah?" A guileless grin, heedless of whoever might've been staring at his little display of dancin' en-route to a cherished friend. He puts a hand on his hip as he draws into more conventional conversational range. "But that's right, I moved back into Sumaru for... uh, well, the foreseeable future. But hey! I'll treat ya somewhere nice today!" Thanks, Myunghon! Just as he seems ready to just get on with a nice afternoon of reuniting with an old friend...
He blinks the once, about the same time Maki thinks - knows - someone's looking at her. "Huh... really?"
This better not be the same problem Eriko has-- wait, no, she explicitly informed her stalker was male. Yeah, never mind that...
Let's be natural, she says. The street artist rubs the back of his head. Right, natural, abruptly shifting in tone to a soft cautiousness as he follows from not far behind.
"...I mean, somethin' definitely smells... edible... that's for sure," he says, "yeah..."
He's slightly less hungry now, as he straightens up to size up the two of them. (Masao is of below average height by Japanese standards for a guy.)
Not liking the smell of goat meat is acting perfectly natural for him!!
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
They say that goat soup is too pungent, on the mainland, but the mainland doesn't appreciate them. Luckily, Remi does!!
(Hopefully she likes it, too, because soup makes for great leftovers to store and reheat later for lunch.)
"Maybe..." Yua wonders, to Remi, looking at Maki thoughtfully with her one scarlet eye. (The other, of course, is covered by that eyepatch.) But Maki ends up pre-empting her uncertainty entirely -- by approaching them.
"Oh! I was just wondering that!" Yua exclaims, when Maki asks if she knows her. "For some reason, I felt a sense of deja vu... isn't it strange when that happens?"
She lays a hand at her chest, showing off long, painted nails. "I'm Yua Ooshiro," she introduces herself, "I work part-time as a health and physical education teacher -- running a program for youth at risk of school refusal, I put in time at both Seven Sisters and Kasugayama, in Sumaru. Perhaps... I've seen you there, somewhere?"
She wrinkles her nose when hearing Mark's complaints, with a bit of a sigh as she tries to excuse his discomfort. "You haven't visited Okinawa, I guess... mainlanders do struggle with goat meat. Don't worry, that's quite common..."
(Ooshiro, as it happens, is a common Okinawan name.)
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
Remi does, in fact, appreciate the goat soup. She had it as a teenager, after all. It takes some getting used to, but she finds the texture and the flavor profile interesting.
Remi is content to offer Yua the support and let her make the decision, but then Maki approaches them. Remi turns and offers an easy, relaxed smile. Yua explains she was also wondering about the connection, and then offers an introduction, so Remi also introduces herself.
"Remi Ryuuja. I mainly work at a store called the Cardboard Dragon, though I do handle some odds and ends, here and there. It's a pleasure to meet you, dear."
Anyone invested in the world of international pastry corporations might recognize the name, but that admittedly might also be a bit niche for a Knowledge check.
Remi looks to Mark and holds up the cooler to indicate it. "Wonderfully edible, dear, when prepared properly."
<Pose Tracker> Maki Sonomura has posed.
"It surprised me when I found out I'd missed you were in town!" Maki answers. But it's true that he's never let her down. He's reliable! "Great! I'm starving. You can tell me all about it over dinner!" She smiles, and that would be that... but...
It's not a stalker, Maki is pretty sure. She doesn't have one of those last she checked.
Edible, he calls it, and Maki laughs a little. Deja vu, though? Hmm. "It is!" Maki agrees amiably. "Nice to meet you, Ooshiro-sensei," Maki says politely, since she claims she's a teacher. "Hmm... I don't think so, but if you come here, you've probably seen me around; I work and live around here." In the mall!
But nose wrinkling...
"Oh, it's goat?" she wonders. "I like goat! It's a pretty strong flavor, but that makes it good. ...I had to deal with a lot of bland food for a while," she admits, but she doesn'tget into that. Instead she smiles at Remi. "Ryuuja-san, then? The Cardboard Dragon... That sounds fun, doesn't it?"
<Pose Tracker> Masao Inaba has posed.
Masao's letting Maki take the lead in the niceties, but some of that is just olfactory shock. That smell..
"...That's goat meat," he echoes. Wow, now that smell is somehow even more prominent. ...And Maki mentions she likes it. Oh, crap! That's a foot in the door on that front already, isn't it, and that cooler is being held closer to him than he'd like.
But then!
"Wait, hold up, you work at the Cardboard Dragon?" Masao speaks up. "I'd been doing some commission work for the owner there..." That place attracts all sorts of colorful people and it feels like he keeps missing them. Or do they miss him? (This has been a recurring issue lately!)
"Oh, uh, right. I'm Masao Inaba - y'might know some of my street art under 'Mark.' Art student!" He smiles, as if proud to say that and to try to make the whole of this a touch less awkward in the moment. "And, uh... more goat for all of you, then, haha."
He asides to Maki. "The Cardboard Dragon's over in Hirasaka, kinda out of the way. Mostly does books, collectible card games, that sorta thing..."
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
"I do," Remi confirms to Masao. And then she brightens. "Oh! So you're doing work for Myunghon, then? I'm terribly sorry, we must just keep missing each other, but it is a pleasure to finally make your aquaintance."
"Masao Inaba-- Mark. I see. I shall simply have to keep an eye out for your work, then. I look forward to seeing what your creative vision brings to life for the store."
Remi smiles at Maki and nods. "Quite fun, in fact." Mark explains what the store does, and Remi nods to him. "He is quite right. We provide a space for our clientele to play those games, in fact. Though I, of course, am rather partial to the books we carry."
<Pose Tracker> Maki Sonomura has posed.
Maki likes a lot of things that aren't hospital food.
"Right!" Maki says. "Just part-time; mostly I'm a student at Sumaru University." A smile. "I'd love the recipe; I'm not a great cook, but it's nice to try new things, right?"
The Cardboard Dragon! And apparently it's known to everyone, as is Mark. And, "Oh, yeah, she really does her best. I think she switched to Wang Long?"
Evocative work, and... "Oh, nice! I haven't tried that kind of game," Maki admits. "But books? Hmmm..."
"Oh, I didn't introduce myself!" she realizes, and steps towards a bench so that they're not standing in the middle of the way. "I'm Maki Sonomura. Small world, huh?"
<Pose Tracker> Masao Inaba has posed.
"Heh... well! Yeah, I pour my soul out in my art when I gotta put it out there!" He eases up, gradually, despite the tense initiation to this conversation. He nods along to Remi's realization that somehow, the two really are missing one another despite everything.
"Wang Long really has caught on here, huh," he asides, "does seem like it's one of the only things people talk about..."
(he still doesn't get it)
He follows over to the bench too.
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
"I have made an effort to understand these games," Yua adds, on the heels of Remi explaining the Cardboard Dragon's vibe, "and they're really quite complex! You might play them 'face down', or in 'defense', or in 'offense'... and a card which is not very strong may become quite strong indeed when combined with its fellows?"
But Yua smiles, when Maki says she's a university student. "Oh, that's wonderful! Part-time work is much easier to fit around one's responsibilities, yes?" It's not hard to imagine a young woman shares the obligations of housekeeping alongside commercial work; that's how it usually goes.
"Yes! Wang Long, that's it!" Yua agrees, brightly. "It's all very fun. Dragons are delightful!"
Except for... that dragon. You know the one.
Yua perches down on that bench, and pulls a little notebook out of her purse. "Just a moment," she assures Maki, "I'll write the recipe down..."
She just remembers her recipes off the top of her head?!
(Well, she does when it's the stuff her mother passed down how to make.)
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
Remi's not much of a fan of hospitals in general, but that's neither here nor there...
"Wang Long certainly does seem to be a tour de force, oui? I haven't had much time to look into it myself..." Remi smiles at Maki. "To be quite honest, the games may be a bit beyond me... but the books we stock are older works of literature. So if you are a fan of the classics, it may be worth your time to check out."
She'll also step out of the way of the door. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Sonomura-san."
"Yes, it is as Yua-chan says, the games can be quite complex indeed. I do find a certain intrigue in them for the stories and the chracters they present, at least."
She sits the cooler down on the bench, though, and rubs her left forearm for just a moment. Best not to overtax it.
<Pose Tracker> Maki Sonomura has posed.
"That's the way," Maki agrees with Mark, and smiles. "He's really good. It looks like your shop already found that out, though!"
But the games... Hmmm. Maki tilts her head. "Yeah?" she asks. "Well, if people are into them, maybe..."
Dragons, and Wang Long. "It really has," Maki says. "A lot of people are into it. I'm not big on fortune-telling overall--I kind of want to be surprised by the future, you know? ...But it's hard not to see how much people like it."
The recipe! Maki doesn't have those 'other responsibilities', but she does smile at Yua as she says it's wonderful. "I'm still a while out from graduating, but it's been really rewarding."
She smiles at Remi. "I'll definitely have to look!"
Stories and characters? "...It's always something, when you can bring a world to life like that."
<Pose Tracker> Masao Inaba has posed.
"I don't really follow the card game stuff these days," Masao waves a hand, "but I always appreciate the art on 'em." Why wouldn't he? He's rubbing the back of his head as Maki praises his artwork. Coming from her...
...He'll leave it up to her to decide if she wants to share her artistry at large, given the personal nature of it.
"I kinda just forge my own way in life, yeah? I'm an artist, and that's just how I roll!" He smiles that silly wide smile he's always had. "I sometimes do some work at my family's place... they moved to Hirasaka too. Inaba Dry Cleaners," he waves another hand as if dismissive. "Been tough gettin' the commissions goin' at all, sometimes, and college still kickin' my behind."
He sees recipes being written, and he's just gonna have to brace for the worst when it comes to the feasting of goat meat, isn't he... oh well.
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
Don't worry, Mark. Goat meat is good, once you get used to it!
Hospitals, a little less so.
"Our Guardian Dragon is the Silver Dragon, Recchi!" Yua informs her, brightly. "It protects moderation!" Her bright smile turns to Maki, as she adds: "It's really just a way to reflect on yourself, but that's fine, isn't it?"
She is a little concerned for Remi, seeing her rub her arm like that, though... she'd wanted to let her feel like nothing was all that different, but maybe she'd ought to carry the cooler the rest of the way.
"University is hard," she adds, sympathetically, to Maki. "I wasn't... er, I completed an accelerated program," she remembers her cover story just in time to avoid admitting that she wasn't even able to get in, "but even doing it the normal way is so stressful!"
Still... Masao has his own part-time work, too. "Oh, commission work can be very feast and famine," Yua sympathises, with a light frown. "But I've been working on producing some educational hand-outs for the children... engaging visuals really do help them absorb things, so perhaps I could engage your services to design some?"
She finishes writing up that recipe, tearing off the page, and hands her notebook over to Masao -- "If I could just get your details? I know I can ask Myucchi, but you are right here!" -- before she hands the loose page over to Maki. "It's just as my mother used to make it," Yua shares with her, warmly, "so I do hope you like it, Sonomura-san."
(Her handwriting, it's... it's... IT'S SO CUTE.)
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
"If you have the interest, dear, I'm quite certain you might find someone willing to help teach you the rules. It's always nice to have new players to compete against, yes? If not, the store also has Baestation set up now, but I am afraid that is quite beyond me."
"It certainly does seem like this Wang Long fortunetelling popped up overnight. At least, that's how it feels to me." She wasn't exactly in the loop for a few years, after all.
Those few years are also why she has complicated feelings about college, and won't go into that topic.
Worlds and characters! "It certainly is, though I will admit, I am used to doing so upon a stage. The play's the thing, as you know."
Remi smiles to Mark. "The art really is quite imaginative. That part I can appreciate, at least."
"A dry cleaners, hmm? I shall have to remember that. Since I work nearby, that may be advantageous."
But Remi smiles at Yua as she explains. "I see, the Silver Dragon... well, I suppose I have always been a little partial to silver." She taps her chin thoughtfully. "Moderation... mmm. That can be a tricky thing to grap, sometimes."
She looks to Maki and Masao. "We share a birthday, you see. So naturally, it seems we also share a Dragon."
Remi isn't complaining about the cooler, and she rests her right hand back on it after a moment, as if ready to pick it up again. Her forearm really is coming along, she's just taking extra care...
... it's not like she can notice when she overexerts, sometimes.
<Pose Tracker> Maki Sonomura has posed.
"For sure," Maki says of the art on the cards. But yes, coming from Maki, who is a noted artist, her compliment has more than just empty affection behind it. Though she does want to support her friend. ...She doesn't share her own art, for now; it would just feel like bragging to aggrandize herself that way. Besides, the sketchbook-shaped bag can suggest her interest in art.
"Keep at it," Maki says to Mark with a smile. Unfortunately for Mark, he has goat meat in his future. Fortunately, it's because his friend Maki is going to invite him over to hang out soon!
The Silver Dragon... Hmmm. "Moderation, huh? That's cool." A smile. "Yeah. That kind of thing is fun. I used to be more into it."
SHe noticed Remir ubbing her arm, but... .it's not really her business.
"It kinda did," Maki says of the Wang Long. "But that's Sumaru for you. It's interesting that it's stayed popular. I thought it was just a fad, at first."
An accelerated program... Hm! "It is," Maki agrees, "But it's worth it. The chance to expand your world... it means a lot."
They share a birthday! That's cool. Maki smiles. "Nice."
But, "...Thanks for the recipe!" she says. "I appreciate it. I'll make Mark try it," she laughs. "But I should let you get home, and I'm starving. ...It was nice to meet you two. I'll drop by the Cardboard Dragon, and maybe I'll see you again?"
<Pose Tracker> Masao Inaba has posed.
An accelerated program... Masao can only wonder if that was the sort of thing Kei went through prior to having gone to high school. (Yua does seem exceptionally more personable in comparison at least...)
"Y-Yeah, I'll say, if what the two of us are goin' through is 'normal...' hoooooo boy." Masao exhales, but slacks back on the bench. "But, can't squander the opportunity. Not after how tough it was to get there in the first place, heh," and he's already dreading the cramming he's got to do.
Another offer to do some stuff up... "All right, I like the sound of that. When you were sayin' 'feast and famine,' right now - I mean just, right now - I'm comin' pretty close to not bein' able to eat another bite - but I'll hear you out, sure."
"An actress, huh," he muses on Remi's craft and passion. "I don't think I'd been to any stage plays in a long while..." There's probably a good reason for that, among those in the know.
Still. He has goat meat in his future. The experience will not be the greatest of all time. But he just kinda smiles it along, yeah, sure, it's still a childhood friend. Like Maki, he takes a look at how Remi's handling her arm... but he notices she's got help for carrying groceries already. But he sure is moments away from offering - he's always been like that, despite how he's carried himself socially back then.
"That makes the two of us," he says to Maki, even if he's now just... slightly... less hungry for the goat meat scent. ...they're gonna find a place that's serving it by chance, aren't they, and somehow Brown will show up and it'll just become a thing because that always happens when he shows up...
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
"As to me!" Yua agrees, with Remi, on the topic of Wang Long. "Just like how different phones became...! But it's not so bad to embrace the innovations of tomorrow, is it?" Wait, if Yua is confused by new phones...
JUST HOW INTENSIVE IS AN INTENSIVE PROGRAM?!
Still... Mark says he's not able to eat another bite, and Yua exclaims, with concern: "Oh, my! Your financial situation is so dire?!" She's just about reached for her handbag before she realises -- perhaps with a little nudge from Remi -- that he means he's feeling queasy from the smell of goat meat, not that he can't afford anything to eat. "E--er... moouuuuu, really, it isn't that bad!" Yua pouts at Mark, clearly put out.
But as for the stage, "Mm-hmm! Mm-hmm!" Yua nods, cheerfully. "One must always expand one's horizons! Whether in performance, or in life...!" Of course Remi and Yua are a couple of dirty thespians. You can tell by how much they're chewing the scenery.
Yua giggles, when Maki promises to make Mark try her soup. "Really, give it a try," she encourages him, gently, despite the scare he just gave her. "You might be surprised! It was lovely to meet the both of you," she adds, smiling to both Maki and Masao. "We'll rest here a little while, but take care, all right?"
That's right, Remi. Yua's enforcing a period of rest on you before you can even think about carrying those groceries to the car.
Yua is a tyrant.
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
"That is Sumaru for you... it's always surprising the things that catch on, isn't it?"
She says this like it is a perfectly normal thing. (Well, she's used to it, anyway.)
"And I do wish you bot the best of luck in your studies," she adds.
She smiles at Mark. "Yes, well... to be fairm, it has been quite a bit since I have performed in one."
Yua speaks of phones. "Quite right, dear. The technology seems to move at a startling pace, thee days." Remi hopefully provides some validation for Yua and phones?
Yua misinterprets Mark's comment, and Remi clears her throat quietly. "Dear," she says under her breath.
"Well, they do say all the world's a stage, do they not, Yua-chan?" Remi might be getting into the spirit of the stage, letting a bit of a theatrical lilt enter her voice.
Yua enforces her tyrant-like will, and Remi just smiles and takes a seat on the bench next to her. "A rest would be lovely, dear."
"It was lovely meeting you as well, dears," Remi says to Maki with a warm smile. "And yes, please do stop by. We would love to have you. Oh, but I should tell you--the entrance to the store is outside. Take the fire escape up."