(Pre-Show) The Recreation Dome

[Mami Tomoe]

As the door shut behind Mami, she crumpled to the floor and let out a deep sigh. She wasn't one to curse, ever, but that was her own personal hell. What met her eyes now was not, however. Everyone in the area seemed calm, which was a great starting point. To the place's benefit further, there was food. Mami couldn't remember when she last ate, or more importantly when she had last ate well. Her eyes lit up and sparkled with joy as she looked about for somewhere to eat. Where would she go first...?

First? How much was she planning to eat? Mami stopped herself. She had to restrain herself if she was to get used to the meager conditions she assumed she would be under while in the Abyss. I'll allow myself to have a little fun, but I'm not going to go too far, she thought. "Oh, I wonder what's in there?" she ran over to a cute little bakery dug into a wall, with a little pink sign over top titled DANTE'S BAKERY. Its window revealed a number of cakes and pastries, much higher in quality even than her own. She was, for the first in a very long time, giddy as a schoolgirl, and she couldn't be happier about it. Without a second thought, she ran through the door, which when opened was alerted with a little ding-a-ling.

The interior of the bakery was, for lack of a better word, adorable. The floor, walls and the majority of the bottom of most furniture had a brownish, fluffy-cake like quality to it, making the entire building look like a pastry in itself. The tops of chairs and tables, where one could sit and eat, were covered in frosting and sprinkles, though Mami assumed they were not edible. The carpets took on the same icing-like appearance, making the whole building look overwhelmingly like... Yes, this was familiar. But where had she seen such decor before? Mami let that idea slip as she dashed along the surprisingly solid floor to the lowest point of the counter, where a cookie-like cash register sat facing away from her to her right.

"And what can I get for you, miss?" A tall man of dark skin wearing mainly white looked down at her with a smile over the counter. "I'd like... Um..." she tilted a bit to the left, where she saw a number of different baked goods on racks behind glass, which was probably the only non-stylized material in the building. She found something she thought was interesting after only a few moments of letting her eyes wander - A little angel food cake slice, big and thick with a long and wide line of icing piercing the center. The top had a yellow M, which caught her eye shortly after. "That one! The one with the M on it," she pointed and hoped he would know which one she meant. He nodded and took the slice out, putting it onto a plate which he offered to her alongside a fork. Her eyes wandered to the cash register again, and she realized she had no money.

"Erm... How much do I owe you...?" she asked rather nervously, uncharacteristically so compared to the typical Mami that showed.

"You're going into the Abyss, aren't you? No charge," he chimed. "If you're going in there, I can't ask anything of you. Besides, it's not like I could charge you either way!" he laughed and Mami laughed a bit as well. "Feel free to sit down wherever you want while you have that. We're a bit quiet today, but I hope you can get comfortable here." As Mami walked over to one of the tables, she remarked, "Quiet's exactly what I want after being in the lobby. It's awful in there!".

Comfortably Mami sat down on one of the frosting-chairs, took off a little piece of the cake slice she had gotten with her fork and slipped it gently into her mouth. The fluffiness, the soft, mild sweetness, washed over her and she let herself relax. Maybe she could let herself just have a little fun before things inevitably went bad...