She dropped the cardboard box (containing an assortment of scattered forks, spoons and, for some reason, a yellow ribbon) onto the wooden floor and collapsed onto the stairs, wiping a few drops of sweat off of her brow. "Papa," Mio calls out, hearing him chatter outside the doorway to the neighbour, "Papa, is that the last of them?"

He gives a hearty laugh before his voice cuts out. "Eh, what was that Mio?"

"I said-!" Mio huffs. He says something indiscernible. "I said! Is that the last box, papa?!"

"Yup!"

With exhaustion heavy in her bones and sleep deprivation from the three hour trip, she contemplated falling asleep then and there on the staircase. 'A lazy girl is an unhappy one.' She recites from memory, reluctantly climbing to her feet. The kitchen smells old; given that they'd brought it from a man who lived 'til the quiet age of ninety-three, it seems fitting. Mio wrinkles her nose at the acrid scent and pops open the fridge- nope. Empty.

Papa pokes his head through the door frame, before the rest of his body follows suit. He had been an international woodchopping champion at one stage, though it's become harder to tell as his muscle has been replaced with the slight pudge of a comfortable lifestyle. She loves him, don't get her wrong, but Papa looks like a bear that never quite left hibernation; rounded face, beady eyes and a thick, black moustache that doesn't quite hide a near-permanent grin of pearled teeth.

"Papa, is the bow in storage?" She hopes Jikangai has an archery club. Ten years, going on strong and she's not ready to cut her training out now.

He clicks his tongue. "Should be. It's too late to set up the bullseye though," he coughs, "I still haven't, uh, checked the laws on that. Anywhom! Why don't you go for a walk? Get a good feel for the town before you start tomorrow?"

"But it's hot outside!"

"It is not!" He laughs. "Go on, shoo. You don't want to get lost on your way there, do you?"

Mio pouts, as if hoping it'll change his mind. It doesn't. He's too used to it by now, he simply pouts back with an exaggerated exhale and folded arms. After a few seconds, she relents. "Fiiiine. If I get abducted and killed, you know whose conscience it's on!"

Jikangai is definitely on the smaller side of anything, really. A quiet series of interlocked suburbs, offset by towering trees and winding roads into long, dim alleyways. It's serene, in the way that Shibuya wasn't- like a world inside a dome, cut off from the rest of humanity. She only sees a few people in her trip; an elderly woman, a child on a bicycle looking over a lake, and-

Mio pauses and tilts her head.

A missing persons poster on the stone wall, depicting a girl no older than fourteen- pale blonde, with wide eyes grinning out into an imaginary audience.

She peels the laminated parchment off and stares at the photograph. It's faded somewhat, a result of time it seems, given that parts of where her hair ends are starting to pull off the paper.

(Hanako Mizumi… last seen on the third of February… report all information to the North Jikangai Police Station as soon as possible…)

Out of the corner of her eye, a speck of white fur disappears into the alley.

Tomorrow's another day. Mio clicks the television on, lifting her head up from where it had rested on a pillowcase (still wrapped in plastic- lazy!) and examines the weather from where a middle aged man gestures to cute drawings of little suns and the numbers underneath them.

"You ready to go, Mio?" Papa calls.

She gets to her feet.

Hey all! This is a Persona SYOC I've been inspired to make. The template for submission can be found on my Profile Page. At this current moment in time, there's no deadline. I hope to see some interesting characters!