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2026-10-05: Float Up from Dream

2026-10-04T19:51:53Z

L: Created page with "*'''Cutscene: ''' Float Up from Dream *'''Cast:''' Isabeau Fontaine *'''Where:''' The Fontaine Penthouse --- ??? *'''OOC Date:''' 2026-10-05 *'''IC Date:''' Sat, Jan 19 2013 *'''Summary''': ''There was a terrible gas leak in Mikage-cho, years prior. Wasn't there?'' ---- Category:Cutscenes Category:Season 1 Category:Season 1, Episode 2 '''OST:''' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Jr7xw3NLx0 Akira Yamaoka - Float Up From Dream "What ki..."

*'''Cutscene: ''' Float Up from Dream
*'''Cast:''' [[Isabeau Fontaine]]
*'''Where:''' The Fontaine Penthouse --- ???
*'''OOC Date:''' 2026-10-05
*'''IC Date:''' Sat, Jan 19 2013
*'''Summary''': ''There was a terrible gas leak in Mikage-cho, years prior. Wasn't there?''

----

[[Category:Cutscenes]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

'''OST:''' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Jr7xw3NLx0 Akira Yamaoka - Float Up From Dream

"What kind of creepy monster is that?! Did you see it?!" 

"I barely made it into the classroom..." 

"You're so brave!" 

"Tchah... what brave about it? He only ''run.''" 

"Weirdo! What, are monsters normal in France?!" 

"This is not normal!" 

"Hey, I bet if those monsters ate her, they'd be full!" 

"Yeah! We'd be okay if they got full!" 

"What are you saying? Ate... you want to food me?!" 

"We're saying... get out!" 

"Yeah! Get out!!" 

"Do not push me--!!" 

"Sacrifice! Sacrifice! We'll offer a sacrifice...!" 

Isabeau wakes, a few hours past the Dark Hour, drenched in cold sweat. There -- bodies, clustered in a classroom in low light, the sensation of being ruled by flies. Fear, and anger, and...

And where did she learn that word? 'Sacrifice'? It's not like it was ever relevant to her life... but over and over again... a children's song, perhaps? That would explain the way it sticks in her head like a /chant./

"A nightmare," she concludes, in French, as she turns in her bed and pulls the covers up again. (She has a lovely fur throw on top to keep her warm; her father killed it /himself./) "No wonder I felt like I was speaking that damn language... bah."

Nightmares don't need to make sense. Not remembering a nightmare is perfectly normal.

Even if a lot of hers have been about school, lately... 

----
 
"Woooow! You're way way way up high! I didn't know humans could fly!" 

"I did not know monster can talk." 

"Hmph! I talk better than you, you know!" 

"You fly also better. I do not. I climb." 

"Really? But you're so big! Oh, I could just gobble you up!" 

"Do not food me! I will smack you like the fly!" 

"Like the... hahaha! You're so funny!" 

"Do not laugh at me!" 

"I can't help it! A cute human climbed all the way up here...! Did you think you'd escape just like that?" 

"I am good at climbing." 

"I'm good at eating! But not you, cutie. Come with me!" 

"-- ah!" 

Another nightmare, and this time, Isabeau can tell she really did cry out; this time, she's conscious enough to realise the way she calls, "I'm fine!", when her father raises his voice to inquire.

She doesn't scrutinise why ''he's'' up so late, as she sits up, blankets and fur pooling at her lap.

Rather, the feeling... the feeling, as it slips through her fingers, like fairydust. Was she dreaming of Mielikki...? She must have been; her Persona is the first thing she thinks of, when she thinks of fairies. Isabeau frowns, balling her fur beneath her grasping hands.

"But why am I dreaming about... middle school...? Bah."

She curses the thought, as she has it; surely it's just the stuff of nightmares because of how that Shinichi's ''recontextualised'' it. The scariest thing to happen ''there'' was the bloodied seat.

"It was a gas leak," she insists, to herself, and does not realise she can be heard through the door, as she turns over to sleep again.

She doesn't quite get to scrutinising why her mind goes to the gas leak, either.

Yua Ijuuin

2026-10-03T21:31:42Z

{| class="toccolours" style="width: 15%; float: right; margin-left:2em; margin-right:0em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align: left; font-size: %110" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#176067; border: 2px #0F4C53 solid; font size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Yua Ijuuin'''
|-
! colspan="2" align="center" | [[File:Yua_Profile.png|300px]]
|-
! style="background:#176067; border: 2px #0F4C53 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''IC Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Full Name:
| Yua Ijuuin, née Ooshiro (伊集院結愛, née 大城)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Arcana:
| The Empress
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Gender:
| Female
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Age (Birthdate):
| {{ICAge|1989|10|28}} (October 28 1989)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Hair Colour:
| Teal
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Eye Colour:
| Red
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Height:
| 5'0" /153 cm
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Residence:
| A Penthouse in Aoba Ward
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Workplace:
| A School Near You!
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Job:
| Part-time Dance Instructor (Physical Education)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Role:
| Nemesis
|-
! style="background:#176067; border: 2px #0F4C53 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''OOC Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Source:
| Persona 2 (OC)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Groups:
| [[New World Order]]
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Player:
| [[User:L]]
|-
|}

'''"I see you, Sybil! Tremble and quake!"'''

A now-wealthy Okinawan woman, Yua Ooshiro was a lost Seven Sisters alumnus who recently reappeared. A ballerina with training in several other styles, she works as a dance instructor to help disengaged students across several Tokyo campuses. She also runs after-school tutoring for individuals and small groups in her Aoba dance studio! She's a strange and theatrical woman, but she is caring, gentle, and generous towards the youth she instructs -- though she can be stubborn, pragmatic, easily flustered, and intolerant of laziness. Neither will she tolerate invasive questions, particularly about the mysteries surrounding her. Secretly, she was kidnapped by the New World Order to Blacksite Revelation for the Sibyl Project, forcing her Awakening through cruel experiments. A reluctantly valuable asset controlled by her handler-slash-partner, Miho Ijuuin, Yua is a talented Artificial Navigator specialising in remote interference. Her fearsome, angry capabilities are augmented by a strange Mark stamped across her blind left eye.

= Background =
Some things are known about Yua. She comes from Okinawa -- her habit of lapsing into the Okinawan pronoun 'wan' instead of her usual Japanese 'ware' has earned her the derisive nickname of Puppy-sensei by some of the students. She's materially well-off, because students have seen her being escorted to school grounds by a ''chauffeur.'' And she disappeared for a few years, because Miho Ijuuin declared to the cameras after the 2008 Olympics that she was going to ''find her''. She doesn't call attention to that last part, though, and sharply shuts down any attempts to explore it. Presently, she works as a part-time teacher, appearing once a week at Gekkoukan, Shujin, and Seven Sisters -- and twice a week at Kasugayama -- running dance classes mainly targeted towards students who have disengaged from PE or from school generally.

== Blacksite Revelation ==

A secret laboratory built into train tunnels under Narumi Ward, a site devastated by earthquakes in 2004 and quietly put aside and reserved for the construction of a building which began operation in 2008. Blacksite Revelation deals in human and demon experimentation, though the latter remains in early stages. The Blacksite's methods of Artificial Awakening and the cultivation of their APUs relied on engaging victims in their talents and drawing out their passions, whilst simultaneously administering drugs and psychological pressure until they were able to forcibly unveil a Persona via use of an Evoker. While torture and cruelty were perfectly acceptable tools, victims at the Blacksite were also nurtured to follow their passions in order to give power to their Persona and lend them some measure of psychological longevity in the wake of their experimentation. Each victim at the site, assigned to a specific Project, is given a Number and 'encouraged' to forget their real names.

Yua, one of the first, was "Number 22"... assigned to Project Sybil.

==Season 1, Episode 1==
Yua begins teaching across several campuses by the start of June, making a name for herself as the quirky part-time dance tutor. At the same time, the NWO begins to demand results from her, and she is compelled to begin tormenting innocents to complete their various missions. She disguises herself as the Bride, Yumi, in order to see to their demands without compromising her daylight identity; this hidden identity at times forces her to remain passive and allow others to be hurt so that she isn't identified.

Following encouragement from her friend Remi, Yua confesses her enduring love to Miho, and asks for the impossible: to be married to her, despite Japanese law prohibiting it. The two of them would go to great lengths to exploit Miho's wealth in order to find a way for them to start a family. At the same time, Yua supports Miho in the final days before they fly to London for the Olympics.

= Persona =
* Gretchen (Empress): A lovely maiden who Faust fell in love with, though she hated the Devil and was a good, God-fearing woman. She is loved by Earth, and affected by the Light. At the end of Goethe's Faust, she accepted her fate -- which is why Gretchen is mad at Faust, now, for dragging her out of the dungeons. She's also mad at ''Yua''. Jail bars driven through her arms allow her to imprison Yua whilst she's Navigating, protecting her from harm.

= Special Skills =
Yua's eye is Marked. This Mark is strange, however -- it is 'Silent', invoking no Demons into the space and leaving those affected with creeping feelings of unease rather than screaming horror. Yua is able to use it to summon her Persona into what would otherwise be a normal space in order to achieve acts of sabotage impossible in the Dark Hour. Whether the difference between her Mark and others has to do with its positioning or her history as a laboratory experiment is presently unclear, but it is reasonable to presume that the lack of respect she receives relative to other users of the Mark is connected to her inability to summon a Demon to eat anyone who spurns her.

Yua's Evoker is a ''Revolver'', accepting Skill Cartridges which she may use to power up her attacks with new tactics.

Yua is a remarkably talented Anti-Navigator, who also has strong Navigation abilities -- gained following a surgical procedure performed on her left eye which apparently blinded it. Her main talents lie in interference and sabotage. She has been seen to be able to create mazes out of her environment by confusing one's capacity to navigate (or Navigate) and disturbing or confusing her victims' perceptions of the space, though she is unable to alter the true physical properties of the area, and cannot create lasting changes in her victims' minds; her confusion lasts only until her trap fades. She has also been seen to teleport in supernatural spaces.

Yua has a strange wealth of information on Navigators, whomst she calls 'Sybils', and has been seen to offer them advice on the use of their abilities. Frequently, she does this whilst otherwise inflicting some evil deed they're attempting to thwart.

== Mark Suppressant ==

Yua was used to create a line of Mark Suppressants. These lower the output of one's Marked abilities in exchange for 'slowing the clock', allowing one to use their abilities more without being destroyed. And these were created and made available to those in the NWO as an afterthought to...

== Mark Enhancer ==

... Mark ''Enhancers'', which instead amplify one's Marked powers in exchange for whatever happens when one hits the ground faster. (Probably nothing. It's fine.) These drugs are, by necessity, extremely experimental, but they are available to those in the NWO brave enough to test them.

= Soundtrack =

; ''Main Theme'' ~ '''Moulin Rouge - The Show Must Go On''' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQKYFUDY_9g
: I'll top the bill / I'll own the kill / I have to find the will to carry on / On with the... / On with the... / On with the show!

; ''Resolution'' ~ '''Masashi Hamauzu - Believe''' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQmvO7O2C0Q
: ''(Instrumental)''

; ''Sparkly Helpful Dance Instructor'' ~ '''Rosalie Craig - Welcome To The Bay''' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKvo1WTFvvA
: Hello, hello, I see you're eyeing / My constant crying / It's not easy doing what I do / But I must go on, seeking all those sighing / The woeful, asking "why"-ing / I'll help them - let's move on!

; ''Miho's Loving Home'' ~ '''Vienna Teng - Harbor''' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ss7aFUbwzec
: You've got a journey to make / There's a horizon to chase / So go far beyond where we stand / No matter the distance, I'm holding your hand

; ''The True World'' ~ '''Halsey - Graveyard''' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPgaYeq9NvI
: Oh, 'cause I keep diggin' myself down deeper / I won't stop 'til I get where you are / I keep running when both my feet hurt / I won't stop 'til I get where you are / Oh, when you go down all your darkest roads / I woulda followed all the way to the graveyard

; ''Gilded Cage'' ~ '''Yuki Kajiura - It's Only The Fairy Tale''' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUFOdRYhDEg
: They're dancing in the shadow like whispers of love / Just dreaming of a place where they're free as dove / They've never been allowed to love in this cursed cage / It's only the fairy tale they believe

; ''The New World Order'' ~ '''CHVRCHES - How Not To Drown''' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7U_LhzgwJ4U
: You promised the world and brought me it hangin' from a string / Stuck it in my mouth, into my throat, told me to sing / That was the first time I knew you can't kill the king / And those who kiss the ring

; ''Unnatural Navigation'' ~ '''Halsey - Control''' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=so8V5dAli-Q
: I'm bigger than my body / I'm colder than this home / I'm meaner than my demons / I'm bigger than these bones / And all the kids cried out, "Please stop, you're scaring me!" / I can't help this awful energy / God damn right, you should be scared of me / Who is in control?

; ''Warning the Young'' ~ '''Three Days Grace - Get Out Alive''' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eE29TpRjPOE
: "This is my last time", she said / As she faded away / It's hard to imagine / But one day, you'll end up like me / Then she said, "If you wanna get out alive, oh, run for your life!"

=Relationships=

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: 75%; text-align: center;"
|-
! scope="col" | Name
! scope="col" | Address
! scope="col" | Arcana
! scope="col" | Association
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Starring Role
|-
|[[Miho Ijuuin]]
|Mimi, Memimi
|Emperor
|NWO
|Loving, devoted fiancee
|''"Mimi's my everything. I really believe in the world she sees... but I want to be with her in this world, too."''
|-
|[[Myunghon Yeo]]
|Myucchi
|Devil
|Cardboard Dragon
|True Companion (Conflicted)
|''"Myucchi helped save me. I know it was different, before... but this Myucchi's never wronged me!"''
|-
|[[Remi Ryuuja]]
|Recchi
|The Tower
|NWO
|True Companion (Concerned)
|''"I love Recchi as a dearest friend, but part of me worries. Is being a knight really fine with her?"''
|-
|[[Shiryuu Ryouhara]]
|Ryouhara-san
|The Chariot
|NWO
|A precious thing
|''"NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO"''
|-
|[[Masao Inaba]]
|Inaba-san
|The Chariot
|Adults
|The Enemy
|''"Forgive me, artist, I am no model for thee."''
|-
|[[Ulala Serizawa]]
|Serizawa-san
|The Star
|Adults
|The Enemy
|''"Hate me, rage against me, and think no more of me!"''
|-
|[[Katsuya Suou]]
|Suou-san
|Justice
|Adults
|The Enemy
|''"I am... sorry. He seems a good man..."''
|-
|[[Haru Okumura]]
|Okumura-kun
|Empress
|Shujin
|A Teacher
|''"Her garden is lovely. I'm sure her coffee beans will turn out great."''
|-
|[[Ichika Kawase]]
|Kawase-kun
|Temperance
|Kasugayama
|A Teacher
|''"I am glad for the Thorn Boss's support. Though... I wonder how I might better support her..."''
|-
|[[Jun Kashihara]]
|Kashihara-kun
|Fortune
|Kasugayama
|A Teacher
|''"Sometimes I think he knows more of teaching than I!"''
|-
|[[Shinobu Shimizu]]
|Shimizu-san
|Hanged Man
|Adults
|Complex Employer
|''"An odd jobswoman Mimi employs. She fights against me, sometimes, though she doesn't know. I am glad for it."''
|-
|[[Julian Marlowe]]
|Marlowe-san
|Fortune
|Adults
|Co-Worker
|''"He seems nice. I DON'T trust him."''
|-
|[[Ayame Watanabe]]
|Watanabe-san
|Death
|Adults
|Mistaken For Homewrecker
|''"I hope that she is able to find your happiness with him, now."''
|-
|[[So-young Park]]
|Park-san
|Sun
|Adults
|Surprised Supporter
|''"Myucchi has a sister...? She pries a little overmuch, but Mimi assures me she means no harm."''
|-
|[[Hyousuke Suzuki]]
|Suzuki-kun
|Chariot
|Kasugayama
|A Teacher
|''"He's a quiet student, but... I worry for what's beneath."''
|-
|}

= Significant NPCs =

== Tiger ==

'''Tiger''' (Fortune): A massive 20-pound Norwegian Forest Cat, with long, thick fur and enough size to entirely occupy Miho's lap or Yua's arms. He's extremely orange, and very affectionate. He makes a habit of jumping up onto the bed to join them in sleeping at night just as they were dozing off, and terrorises Yua's houseplants whenever she forgets to put out catnip for him.

== Family ==

[[Tyrrha Ijuuin]] (The Hierophant): A strange, lackadaisical robotic girl assigned to Yua's care by Natari. Bonded to her by blood, and probably not going to eat her because of it. Yua thinks she's cute as a button, despite getting alarmed by her bloodthirstiness at times.

'''Kimitake Ijuuin''' (The Magician): Yua's fiancé, a thirty year old man who presents himself as kind and gentle to Yua despite his imposing nobility. Secretly, he's also gay... but unlike his cousin Miho, he's been willing to pretend at heterosexuality all this time, and he even has an ex-wife to show for it. Yua's marriage to him was arranged by the Ijuuins in order to help cover for two of their queer children and ensure Yua's entry into the family... but Kimitake's hiding more secrets aside from his sexuality.

'''Yurika Ooshiro''' (High Priestess): The elderly Noro Priestess of Kukojima Shrine and a community leader in Kukojima, though her advice has more often fallen on deaf ears of late. She's deeply troubled by the direction Kukojima is taking, but she keeps her distance and allows members of the community to seek her shrine for advice themselves. She still wonders whether her granddaughter Yua was stolen away to the spirit world, during those years she was stolen.

'''Sessyu Ooshiro''' (Fool): Once a groundskeeper in Kukojima, Yua's grandfather passed away years ago. He was a foreigner to Kukojima, a Japanese man who fled there after a harrowing event... though he rarely spoke of the details. It's through him that the Ooshiro family started displaying autistic traits... such as his drive to name all his children with the sound 'Yu'. (He took Yurika's name, because the Ooshiros were a powerful family on the island.)

'''Hayu''' and '''Riyuko Ooshiro''' (Star and Sun): Yua's older aunts, who are both shrine attendants working under Yurika; Riyuko is destined to take over Yurika's Noro duties, and she's already a leader in her community, while Hayu believes strongly in Kukojima's cultural traditions... and doesn't approve of Yuna's husband at all. Riyuko has two children with her own husband Harutaka -- Miori and Yoshinori, both in their late twenties.

'''Yuna Ooshiro''' (Moon): The baby of the Ooshiro family, Yuna is quite sensitive and easily-overwhelmed, with what the previous generation deemed a 'nervous disposition' -- on top of her autism. Yurika kept her from the world of the priestesshood out of concern for her wellbeing, and she became educated as a teacher, instead, presently working at Kukojima's Elementary and Middle School. After Yua's disappearance, she moved with her youngest son back to Kukojima... where she got them enmeshed in a strange new social group which had formed there. Ever since, she's refused to leave the island...

'''Fukumi "Fuyu" Ooshiro''' (Temperance): A JSDF Sergeant who goes by the nickname his wife gave him, because he just loves her so much, you guys. Fuyu used to be a fisherman in Kukojima, but after his boat was sabotaged, he was forced to turn to the military for work; this choice left him remarkably unpopular back home, where most locals hate the American bases with a passion. A survivalist who always puts his family first, Fuyu is very close with his children, though his work in the defence force makes it difficult for him to be attentive all the time.

'''Yume Ooshiro''' (Lovers): A second-year high school student at Seven Sisters, Yume is a mean little firecracker who talks faster than she thinks. She loves going on dates, and she's an absolute star in English class, too! Don't bring up that her big sister is here once a week, though... she's so embarrassed, she'll DIE.

'''Yuken Ooshiro''' (Magician): In his seventh year at Kukojima Elementary and Middle School (the island's too small to have separate schools for each age group...), Yuken's always been a very kind boy; when Yua disappeared, he took it upon himself to take care of their mother, instead. Unfortunately, he's gotten wrapped up in the same social group his mother's part of, so he hasn't come back to visit her either. He thinks Miho is, just, the coolest, and wants to sword just as good as her when he grows up.

'''Takashi Ijuuin''' (The Hermit): The Head of the Ijuuin clan, and the man Yua calls Father, despite the fact that by marriage he's her cousin. Stern but fair, particularly to his favourite daughter Miho, and remarkably permissive of Yua's struggles with wealthy etiquette. Yua has particularly noted his love of the Hare of Inaba.

'''Nagaharu Ijuuin''' (The Hierophant): Yua's actual father-in-law, though, mysteriously, she feels less close to him. Thinks the world of his son; supportive to his family, but notably a strong adopter of gender roles and societal expectations. And the racism. Kimitake also got the racism from him, even though Nagaharu trends more towards exceptionalism and exoticism.

'''Natsumi Ijuuin''' (Wheel of Fortune): Takashi's husband, and the woman Yua calls Mother, even though she too is technically her cousin by law. Yua has a great amount of respect for Natsumi, and heeds her advice readily.

'''Chiyuki Ijuuin''' (Strength): Yua's actual mother-in-law, who Yua feels a little disconnected from on account of all her subtle pressure to not disclose what her son is really up to. An adept social player, she navigates around her son to make sure Yua retains access to the main branch of the family, too. Yua updates her on the household happenings every week, just as she does for all the women in the family.

'''Ema Ijuuin''' (The Tower): Yua's actual sister-in-law, Kimitake's sister is far more unlucky in life; her husband Momokazu is a bit of a bore, according to her, so she invests all her time into her children -- two boys, '''Donfun''' and '''Fueki''', and a girl, '''Kanna''' -- and her acting career.

'''Juuzou Ijuuin''' (The Emperor): The firstborn son of the Head of the Clan -- though that's not the only reason Yua calls him 'ani-ue'. She knows that he'll protect them, too; she speaks with him less often, but updates his wife '''Saya''' on events frequently.

'''Ritsuko Ijuuin''' (The Hierophant): Miho's sister, and someone Yua calls Sister, too. Despite Miho's struggles to connect with her, Yua has worked hard to help them rebuild their connection, and has found a confidant in Ritsuko herself -- particularly regarding matters of trauma, as Ritsuko holds her own secrets there. Instrumental in teaching Yua her new social role, though not all of her lessons have stuck. Yua isn't quite as connected with her husband, '''Okizumi''', but she maintains good relations with him regardless. Yua is fond of her two children.

'''Ito Ijuuin''' (The High Priestess): Takashi and Nagaharu's younger sister, who Yua calls 'Aunt'. She's reclusive, and never married, though it's not because of sexuality -- she simply lives with schizophrenia herself and prefers to keep her own company. She's a famous painter.

== Servants and Assistants ==

'''Sachie Chiba''' (Strength): A tall, broad-shouldered, heavily-tattooed nurse who used to be a yakuza, before he realised she'd rather pursue an alternate life path. (She heard a rumour that her old Boss was cool with that kinda thing.) She's a community health nurse with strong commitments to autonomy, rough and plain-spoken and physically capable, and she helps Miho and Yua navigate their health after their horrible experiences.

'''Eiko Ikeda''' (Empress): Miho's maid, Eiko is the same age as them, and almost shared Yua's fate, too. A warm-hearted and respectful woman, she takes care of all the household tasks of the Penthouse which Yua doesn't have the time or inclination to handle, though she receives help on many of these tasks from her, these days. Helpfully, Yua's always insisted Eiko not be economically disadvantaged from Miho acquiring a housewife, either. (She doesn't quite realise that Eiko's looking out for her...)

'''Seiji Sahashi''' (Chariot): Their primary chauffeur, and the man entrusted with shepherding ''Yua'' from place to place -- though he's very good at making sure she's able to get to the car, too. Seiji is a tall man with green eyes, and he's always been supportive of Yua and 'Ijuuin-sama', though he -- and his capabilities-- remain largely a mystery to her.

'''Dr. Himari Matsuhashi''' (The Hermit): Yua's doctor at her Rengedai fertility clinic, the woman overseeing her pregnancy. Dr. Matsuhashi serves a particularly wealthy clientele, and so is used to finding ways around the demands of Japanese society to suit those with the funds to secure alternate means. Whether that's arranging for fertility services before a wedding can be arranged in order to ensure it happens, or arranging for the care of lesbian couples, she's more concerned with ensuring people are able to achieve their dreams of having a family than with the methods by which it is made permissible.

== The New World Order ==

'''Fukashi Ura''' (The Emperor): The Director of Blacksite Revelation, and a mean tennis player, too. He is enmeshed in the deep mysteries of the conspiracy; it was his decision to present Yua to Gozen. His hands are black with blood, though he rarely has to act directly.

'''Tomomi Tani''' (Death): A sadistic doctor at Blacksite Revelation who engineered Pavlovian torture for her subjects, believing that any sacrifice -- of others, naturally -- is necessary in order to reach Paradise.

'''Natari Konishi''' (The Tower): A psychologist at Blacksite Revelation, Natari previously worked on Project Sybil before being transferred to Project Hemetheoi after sexually harassing Yua during their sessions together. She has a sick fascination with Yua and her orientation which has led her to further inappropriate gestures... against her coworkers, this time, because her victims aren't really suitable targets any more. Came back into Yua's life through Project Hemetheoi, when she was called back to the Institute to take care of a robot they had made. It was a bad time. She's since died, cut down by Miho and Remi opportunistically during a Strega raid on Blacksite Revelation, and stabbed by Yua twelve whole times.

'''Ume Sano''' (Hanged Man): A nurse at Blacksite Revelation who would rather be working anywhere else -- but unfortunately, the only employment opportunity she could secure was at the Blacksite. Assigned to Project Sybil, she does what she can to advocate for her victims; she was the one which convinced the team to allow Yua a picture of Miho in the form of an Olympic trading card, her sole prized possession.

'''Akira Yamaha''' (Hermit): A PhD student whose research serves as a convenient public smokescreen for Blacksite Revelation; in exchange for their backing, he works there to support the doctors in their work. He's willing to overlook his crimes against humanity, sure that he'll be able to do more good when he's a Doctor of Philosophy.

'''Rokuro Nishiyama''' (Justice): An NWO agent assigned to help manage Miho and her team's nighttime operations, Rokuro is constantly dour about how hazardous his job is. He believes that he is being fair, and in his mind, he's right... the problem is, his idea of justice is deeply conservative and misogynistic. He does, at least, have a policy of only sending his women on missions which are plausibly ''survivable.''

'''Fumihito "Para-Mind"' Shimada''' (Judgement): An NWO agent tasked with managing Yua's cover story as a teacher, Para-Mind is responsible for getting her quick information about how she should respond to her struggles in the classroom. A 'data analyst' who regularly hacks into systems for the NWO's benefit, he views everything in life as one big joke, ''especially'' the fact that Yua is an avatar of human misery.

'''Dr. Harry''' (The World): A... consultant...? Who works with Blacksite Revelation to grant them their Skill Cartridges. For some reason, no one connects this guy to the Time Count, despite their jobs and mannerisms being so similar.

= Logs and Cutscenes =

==Season 1==

===Logs===

As Yua Ooshiro:
{{#dpl:
|category = logs&season 1
|linksto = Yua Ooshiro
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 3
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
| addcategories = true
| mode = userformat
| format = ,,\n* [[%PAGE%]],
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}

As Yua Ijuuin:
{{#dpl:
|category = logs&season 1
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 3
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
| addcategories = true
| mode = userformat
| format = ,,\n* [[%PAGE%]],
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}

===Cutscenes===

As Yua Ooshiro:
{{#dpl:
|category = cutscenes&season 1
|linksto = Yua Ooshiro
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 3
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
| addcategories = true
| mode = userformat
| format = ,,\n* [[%PAGE%]],
|noresultsheader=There are no cutscenes on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}

As Yua Ijuuin:
{{#dpl:
|category = cutscenes&season 1
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 3
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
| addcategories = true
| mode = userformat
| format = ,,\n* [[%PAGE%]],
|noresultsheader=There are no cutscenes on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}

= Notes =

The author would like to acknowledge the work of Amakuma Ryukyu (https://amakuma.ryukyu/en/) as a frequent source in their efforts to portray an Okinawan character faithfully.

[[Category:Characters]]
[[Category:Gekkoukan High School]]
[[Category:Shujin Academy]]
[[Category:Kasugayama High School]]
[[Category:Seven Sisters High School]]
[[Category:New World Order]]
[[Category:Nemesis]]

2026-09-30: A Red Flower Blossoms

2026-10-03T20:25:03Z

L: just fixing your links from '' to / guv

*'''Log: 2026-09-30 Red Flowers Blossoming'''
*'''Cast:''' [[Makoto Niijima]], [[Yusuke Kitagawa]], [[Yoko Hirano]], [[Katsuya Suou]], [[Yanagi Nagisa]]
*'''Where:''' Shinichi Nagisa's Atelier
*'''OOC Date:''' October 02, 2026
*'''IC Date:''' January 18, 2013
*'''Summary''': ''Queen and Fox attempt to infiltrate Shinichi's Atelier for recon. Yoko attempts to meet her senpai's friend. Katsuya attempts to keep Yoko safe. Nobody quite succeeds. Yoko's resentment boils over.''

----

MONAD: A party led by Makoto Niijima has begun the event Shinichi's Atelier: Cinvat Mikage-Cho.

(|============= Monad - Shinichi's Atelier: Cinvat Mikage-Cho ==============|)

(|============================================================= Monad 1.2 ====|)
-==== Round 1 - Challenge Level 2 ===========================================-
| Card: In These Halls, Terror |
| Approach Options: Academics or Proficiency |
| Conditions: Ineptitude - Proficiency Down L2, Shuffle - Draw 1 Minor |
| Arcana., and Stupor - Academics Down L1 |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjYxvF-J7Fo

Drip.
Drip.
Drip.

You appear in what looks like a darkened school hallway. Shine some light on
a bulletin board though and you can see that this is actually Our Lady of
the Holy Stoat Middle School, in the town of Mikage-Cho.

But it looks like it's been abandoned for months. The only light on down the
hallway flickers pathetically every so often, the classroom doors won't
open, and even if forced open, one runs into a great barricade of debris
behind each of them.

With whispers and whimpers behind them, shushes and calls for quiet. One may
see why in short order. Flegmat Humors wander these halls, mumbling, their
forms taking the shape of huge sickly Oni with unkempt purple manes,
dragging clubs behind them. Dog-headed ones half their size flanking them.
They look like demons- demons from that time, but warped, as if to fit some
half-remembered watercolor of them.

If you listen to their mumbles long enough, you may pick out the words for
'Filial Piety' and 'Divine Punishment' at least, as they wander the
labyrinthine halls, eyes glassy. If one enters their field of vision, then
they freeze, then begin to charge, screaming expletives and swinging their
clubs wildly.

In order to get past them, you must expertly navigate these halls through
the occasionally posted, confusing floor plans, keeping out of sight.

Of course, you could just fight them, but that'd be an exhausting slog, and
energy you can't afford to expend here at the beginning.

(|=========================================================== Monad 1.2 ====|)

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
<poem>
Makoto Niijima has been under a lot of stress lately. More than usual, even. Morgana is missing, something about Ren's new relationship with Akechi is eating at her and most relevant to today, Makoto is currently the second name on a homunculus stalkers hitlist.

She's doing great.

That's possibly why she suggested the group meet at the net cafe in Iwatodai instead of entering the Atelier separately- Port Island is nowhere near the school and outside of Shinichi's stalking grounds, it's close for Yusuke and hardly out of the way for Ryuji, Ichika lives nearby just in case...

She's still looking over her shoulder every so often, despite having succesfully avoided the Homunculus so far. "We go in one at a time," she says to Yusuke- Ryuji has experience with Ateliers before, at least. "Just... click on the link the cursor is on."

Makoto steps into the rented booth, accessing the Atelier network and then, just as suddenly, the net cafe booth is open and ready for the next entrant. It's certainly not the sort of place that can comfortably hold three, after all.

-=-=-

Queen immediately regrets being the first one in. She's only going to be alone for a few seconds but it's dark. Cold. Abandoned. Haunted.

And full of whispering. Awful, constant whispers.

When Skull and Fox arrive, they may be surprised that Queen- of all people- is shaking, a hand pressed up against the wall she's crept up against. The armour of her heart is helping, but she's definitely not on her A game.

She relaxes- just a little- when she sees her teammates. "It... looks like a maze." She manages, after a moment. "We're going to have to work our way through- and avoid those shadows. I'm not sure what to expect going forward, we should treat this like an infiltration. Fox, can you take point? Skull and I will watch your back."

...Which would be fine, if they were the only ones entering today.
</poem>

MONAD: Makoto Niijima has acted with Study Guide toward In These Halls, Terror! Smarts and Patra!

<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.
<poem>After Makoto vanishes in front of them, Yusuke blinks, then glances to Ryuji. After a long moment, he shrugs, and leans in to click on the hyperlink --

=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Fox regards Queen carefully from under his kitsune mask, then steps closer. "We're with you," he reminds her, gloves creaking as he squeezes his fists tight. The whispering needles under even his stoic facade, but he does his best to maintain his composure.

"It's unsettling," he remarks, "but we'll have to do our best."

Moving to take up a position at the nearest corner, he frowns. "A maze formed of classrooms and corridors. Many foes. Without Mona or Oracle, I do not like our odds in a protracted fight. We'll have to be very careful."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Yoko Hirano has posed.
<poem>
'Curiosity killed the cat.'

Maybe that's true. Yoko has heard it many times, after all. Yoko has heard a lot of things, although she always sees more than she hears. Today, though, she'd only seen normal things. Like Kitagawa-senpai meeting a girl in another school's uniform at a net cafe. Is she an artist too? (It does not occur to Yoko that maybe it's a date because she's pretty sure Senpai isn't interested in girls except as models. Or anybody, except as models. Yoko is working from very limited information.)

She'd like to meet that girl, if she's an artist. Yoko turns away from the wandering skeleton she'd been following to follow Yusuke and Makoto, instead.

Maybe she should leave them alone. It's not too late, she can always just... leave...

Wait, aren't those booths... kind of too small for two people?! Is it a party booth? ...Do they have those? ...They left the door open... but there's nobody inside...

They ''were'' here, right? Her eyes rest on the monitor...

------

Another pair of shoes touches down inside of the Atelier's haunted halls. It's a girl in a Gekkoukan uniform, untidy hair black as ink and wide eyes green as acid. "??"

"Oh. A haunted school again," murmurs the decidedly un-transformed first year Yoko Hirano. At least she's quiet??? And quick to glance at Queen and Fox before... not acknowledging them or anything?! Just shuffling into a shadowy spot to observe the oni?!
</poem>

MONAD: Yoko Hirano has acted with Satisfaction Brought It Back toward In These Halls, Terror! Smarts and Patra!
MONAD: Yusuke Kitagawa has acted with Painter's Precision toward In These Halls, Terror! Specialty!

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
Tracking down the routine of one girl is a lot harder than it might seem, even for a cop. Especially for a cop who isn't supposed to be acting as a cop right now (they meant it when they put him on suspension). After the encounter with the grey-haired young operative, though...

Mostly, he supposes, he wants to make sure she's alright. It's not something he can speak to her parents about. He can't really even explain it to her. Maybe, with the others he can work to keep her safe, but...

As much as he knows that the well-being of one person isn't his priority right now with everything that's happening, it just feels wrong to let this go.
No, it's more that for some inexplicable reason he can't just let this go. It's almost as if he 'knows her', somehow. But that's ridiculous, they hadn't met before last year.

Maybe it's just his free-floating brotherly instinct clashing with his sense of duty. That, at least, makes sense.

Dressed for the weather even as he steps into the net cafe, he wears a deep tan overcoat atop a wine-red sweater and dark slacks, a grey scarf looped loosely around his neck. Glancing this way and that, he catches sight of the girl's tell-tale choice in fashion disappear into a booth. A passerby had seen her enter into here; fortunately, he hadn't been too late. Now, to ask her if she's--

She's not here. Instead, the familiar website on the screen tells him exactly what's just happened. His heart sinking into his stomach, Katsuya doesn't even hesitate.

----

...So, the rumor was true. Another Atelier had formed! He's been far too busy to check in on that, but--

But he's not the only one here, even accounting for Yoko.

"Hira--"

This is when he falls silent, noting the passage and tension of the wandering Flegmats. This isn't good.

Pressing up against a nearby wall, Katsuya pauses, watching the passage of the figures. There's too many of them to fight head-on. Between the Phantom Thieves and himself, they might be able to persevere, but... it doesn't take a genius to realize that could end badly. Especially with Yoko ''right there''. ...And she's continuing on. Calling out to her might draw the Flegmats' attention. This is bad. He'll have to proceed with caution, and hope the Thieves aren't acting foolishly. Have they realized they have a stowaway?

[PERCEPTION/]: Are those floor plans posted here?

So they are. They don't seem to be particular plain, though, Katsuya considers.

[LOGIC/]: Puzzling out the symbols on here will take a moment, but as they say, haste makes waste.

There's nothing else for it but to take it thoughtfully.
</poem>

MONAD: Katsuya Suou has acted with Academics toward In These Halls, Terror! Base!

(|============================ Monad - Results =============================|)
-==== In These Halls, Terror - Round 1 ======================================-
Katsuya Suou Academics Success
Academics Base Fatigue: 0 Morale: 1
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yusuke Kitagawa Proficiency Success
Painter's Precision Specialty Fatigue: 0 Morale: 2
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Makoto Niijima Academics Success
Study Guide Smarts and Patra Fatigue: 0 Morale: 1
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yoko Hirano Academics Failure
Satisfaction Brought Smarts and Patra Fatigue: 2 Morale: 0
-============================ Party Conditions: =============================-
Starting Conditions: Ineptitude-2, Shuffle: Wand-0, and Stupor-2
Final Conditions:
-====================================== Party Result: Success: Reach Up! ====-
-==== Reach: 1/6 |= | ===================================================-
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.2 ====|)

MONAD: Yoko Hirano has drawn a new Challenge!

(|============= Monad - Shinichi's Atelier: Cinvat Mikage-Cho ==============|)

(|============================================================= Monad 1.2 ====|)
-==== Round 2 - Challenge Level 2 ===========================================-
| Card: The Future Promise I Walked By, Missing |
| Approach Options: Academics or Charm |
| Conditions: Bothersome - Charm Down L1 and Stupor - Academics Down L1 |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-

Once out of the school, a little origami angel-spirit floats towards you to
get your attention. Those familiar will recognize it as a part of Peacock
Silk Navigator Yanagi Nagisa's Persona, Giselle. Once it has your attention,
it floats away, appearing and disappearing, to guide you in a certain
direction.

Soon enough, it brings you to Yanagi herself, resplendent in her
brilliantly-colored Transmutation with her rainbow skirts, sunset pink hair,
and peacock green eyes. She smiles at you as her needle-limbed Persona
pirouettes behind her, and points towards a particularly thick patch of fog.

"Over there is St. Hermelin High School. Use it for a secret passage to the
core of this Atelier," she tells you.

So you go... but the fog doesn't lighten any. In fact, it gets only thicker
and colder... until...

"HEE-HO!" "HEE-HO!" "HEE-HOHOHO, WE GOT 'EM NOW, BOYS!"

Several misshapen Jack Frost Humors leap up to surround your group and
freeze the ground beneath your feet solid!! The slick footing makes it near
impossible to fight back effectively as they swoop in to attack--but the
suddenness also means it's not an even freeze. If you can identify a solid
enough launching point, maybe you can use the ice in your favor to make a
hasty getaway. Otherwise, maybe you can (ahem) /snow/ these Frosts by
complimenting them on how sneaky their ambush was?

Either way, afterwards, one of those little origami spirits floats down
before you and unfolds into animation paper that displays the following
message:

/Sorry, the high school was a lie. Good luck! <3/

(|=========================================================== Monad 1.2 ====|)

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
<poem>
One might argue entering an atelier with only a light party would be reckless, maybe Katsuya is right.

Unfortunately, Queen meant it when she said she was watching Fox's back while he took point. She hears a voice mention a haunted school and another cut off shout. It's almost like she's hypervigilant for some reason.

Which means there are now two more people to worry about and one of them... Is she even a Persona user? At least she *has* seen Detective Suou before- even if there are some. Complex emotions there, Queen IS the Thief most positively disposed to cops.

(She's not sure if Akechi doesn't count as a cop, or if he's just the exception to the rule for Joker.)

"...We're not alone," she whispers to Fox, indicating Katsuya and Yoko to him. Two extra persona users might be a boon- assuming Katsuya doesn't try to arrest them.

She waits for the misshapen humours to pass, before she suddenly moves from one corner to the other in that swift, almost uncatchable way that the Thieves can. She leans out to peek ahead, then gives Fox the all clear to move.

"You can follow us your make your own way out, your choice." She hisses to the other two- but if they choose to follow Queen she won't abandon them.

But that doesn't mean there might not be a close call or two, especially for Yoko- and Fox the one best positioned to help. Artists have to look out for each other.

No, it's not until they're out of the School that Queen stops- and breathes, the trembling easing off now that they're outside. It's still dark, and foggy... but at least it's not haunted outside. Right...?

It's then she looks at Yoko and Katsuya, her black leathers blending into the dark.

"Alright, are you here to try and arrest us, Detective Suou? Because as far as my knowledge extends, nothing in the Criminal Code states that what we're doing right now is illegal. And if you're hoping to follow us around and catch us in some kind of act, you're out of luck. If you want to stop a stalker and a killer, though, maybe we can call a truce."

She pauses, eyes looking over Yoko- she has some idea of members of SEES, but she doesn't have one of their evokers, or the armband, or the uniform armour...

She blinks.

And then her eyes turn back to Katsuya, angrily. "Did you bring a ''civilian'' in here!? Into a place like this!?"

Of course she's assuming it's Katsuya's fault, he's the adult.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Yanagi Nagisa has posed.
<poem>
Whatever lecture and/or argument is about to break out is interrupted when a folded paper Christmas ornament of an angel bobs into view in front of Yoko and the others, then shivers and quivers until it gets their attention. Once they've zeroed in, it bobs away, fading out and into view, pausing every so often to make sure they can keep up. Before long, there is a short but brilliantly colorful figure, and behind her, a pirouetting Persona...

"Yoko, you made it!" Yanagi tells the young high schooler brightly. She looks over at Katsuya, Queen, and Fox thoughtfully; she doesn't know the Phantom Thieves, but she ''does'' know the cop. "I must say, this isn't who I thought you would have escort you in here. I suppose Tsumugi and the others must be busy with Kikuno, though." She looks back at Yoko with a cheery smile. "Be sure to awaken while you're here! Here, I'll give you a bit of help."

She points with her non-cane-holding hand towards a particularly thick patch of fog. "St. Hermelin High School is that way. If you cut through it, you'll find a shortcut to the core of this Atelier." She leans towards Yoko with an exaggerated, merry wink. "Don't get into too much danger~!"

Then she waves to ''Katsuya'' and the others. "Make sure she gets through it alive~! I think she'll be just ''fascinating'' as a Persona User!"
...
...
...

When, at the end of this entire rumpus, another one of those origami angels appears before them and unfolds into a certain message, who will be surprised and who will have gone ''I knew it''?
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Yoko Hirano has posed.
<poem>
Yoko would be much easier to track down if her favorite activities weren't 'wandering around wherever she pleases with unknown rhyme, reason, or range' and 'disappearing into the art room for hours'!! She doesn't hear Katsuya's voice, she's so focused on watching the oni. There's a pattern, isn't there? If she watches long enough, won't she discern it? Her fingers twist her bag's strap over and over between them--

A single high-pitched note startles out of her when a very solid, very real hand clasps her shoulder and ''pulls'' her into cover. ''That's not supposed to happen, figments aren't able to touch her, not for real.'' Her eyes are as round as dinnerplates when she looks again at Fox's hand on her arm, then the rest of him and Queen.

"...You've got the wrong idea," she frowns suddenly, tilting her head up to meet the biker girl's visored eyes. "But if you're real, then that means Officer Suou is too. ...probably," Yoko admits that last bit a little more quietly. But it's good that he's here too. They'll definitely get out of here all right now.

Once they've made their way out of the school, though... following the curious little paper angels... "Aa-- Yanagi-chan," she blurts out. She looks like a fairy, or a muse...! Radiant and beautiful and welcoming in the exact opposite way as her Persona. "It was an accident. I just wanted to talk to Senpai. But I found another haunted school instead. I wanted to awaken with everybody else..."

But that invigorating invitation... was a lie?! The ground underneath her loafers freezes over, and Yoko's instinct is to freeze. In place!! Her breath huffing out as clouds in the frosty air, and ice crystals climbing her socks! But they'd been able to talk to some of the demons in the last haunted school, so...!

"Oh no," she warbles, keeping her feet ''very still''. "You tricked us!"

...yeah she's on the back foot here.
</poem>

MONAD: Yoko Hirano has acted with Wax Poetic toward The Future Promise I Walked By, Missing! Friendliness and Focus!

<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.
<poem>Fox moves much like Queen does, but to different vantage points. It's a long-practiced strategy for maneuvering through cognitive spaces - usually each Thief covers another's six and 'leapfrogs' positions. In this case, though, Fox moves first consistently, understanding Queen's reluctance to lead the charge in this case.

The arrival of other explorers of this grim Atelier gives him pause as Queen brings Yoko to his attention. "Hirano-san!?" he hisses in alarm, and recalibrates his scouting to keep his kouhai in his watch as well. She seems to not have noticed them, but it's unclear if that's by accident or if she is deliberately ignoring them. Regardless, that places her in much more danger.

By the time they get out, Queen's fear has turned to anger directed at Katsuya, and Fox almost lays a hand on her shoulder to calm her. Fortunately, a vision of iridescent grace descends upon them with a playful greeting to the - fairly obviously - un-Awakened girl, and Fox watches her in awe.

"What magnificent coordination," he mutters, as Yanagi saunters off into the mists. And she seemed so at home in this space...

... Perhaps her unworried posture ought to have been more worthy of concern, he considers as the hee-horde surrounds them. The ground freezes under their feet, and he carefully slides himself closer to Yoko. "Stay close," he murmurs to the younger Gekkoukan student, reaching up to his mask in readiness, grey eyes flicking around the scene to track their enemies. He himself is not particularly concerned by the elemental dangers the Jacks Frost present, more their numbers. Best to bypass them completely.

Blue flame flickers across his mask as he tugs at it, a flash of light hiding his features. With the sound of a taiko drum, the fog in the air congeals with ink, hues shifting and blending until a spectral figure of a ronin wreathed in that same fire forms, towering over himself and Yoko. Goemon drops his gigantic pipe from his mouth, resting its head on the ground.

"Hold on," Fox mutters to Yoko, and steps backwards so his boots rest upon the pipe, crouching to center their weight. Tensing, Goemon issues a mighty heave, in an attempt to fling them both to safety!
</poem>

MONAD: Yusuke Kitagawa has acted with Artistic Wisdom toward The Future Promise I Walked By, Missing! Focus and
Diligence!

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
He can make his own way out or follow them, the one in the leather jacket (Queen, of course) hisses at him).

Katsuya shakes his head, mute as if in an attempt to avoid drawing the attention of the Flegmats. If he says too much here...

And he's going to have to say a lot to get his point across. It will have to wait until they get further in, which, unfortunately, also means that Yoko is going to be in more danger. Perhaps there's some way he can sneak back out again once they've sorted it all out.

But what does she mean by 'real'?

"Hirano-san," he says on the way out, "this may be difficult to believe, but this is all very real." They need to leave before this gets more dangerous, and then he can report this to the rest of his group, and then--

Of course, Queen makes her case to him before he can get that far.

Katsuya's immediate reaction is, apparently, to be taken aback.

"Arrest? No, even though you--" Makoto goes on, explaining how there's nothing in the criminal code that's explicitly illegal right now. "--Well, no, entering a place like this isn't... and I hadn't come here with any intent to," he continues, shaking his head, "arrest or follow you, or anything of the sort. I'm here because Hirano-san--"

He doesn't get a chance to explain himself, not immediately.

"--Brought her in here?" he stammers, stunned, glancing between her and Fox.

[AUTHORITY]: You need to say something to her ''now''. Something that will reassert yourself as the authority figure here.

[AUTHORITY: 2]
[LOW: 40%]
AUTHORITY: 2d6 (5) + 2 -1 = 6 vs. Formidable (13)
-1 Not technically a cop right now

FAILURE

""No, of course I didn't..." Katsuya says, still flat-footed.

DAMAGED MORALE: -1

Fortunately, such shame is not to last too long, for here is an oddity, bobbing and weaving through the fog. It leads them on a small but merry chase, until they find... Yanagi! He remembers her. She's that bright young woman from that store. Peacock Silk, wasn't it? He met a few of the other members again at a later date, one under unusual circumstances, and then later still at that Atelier, but... "Why are you here?" he asks, looking perhaps as befuddled as the others. "Does that mean that Peacock Silk is involved in this one as well?"

But she indicates where they can go, and tells Katsuya that...

"What are you talking about? Of course she can't-- she's only a child!" More child than the others here, in his estimate. "Hirano-san, we must get out of here--"

This is, alas, not going to work as well as he'd like.

However he slices the situation.

"Ah," he says, balanced carefully somewhere between mild surprise at the betrayal at all (he's just trusting like that) and the utter lack thereof (...considering Yanagi's Yanagi). "So... that is the sort of person she is..."

More pressingly, though, there is the matter of the Jack Frosts.

"Did she put you up to this?" he asks aloud of the demons. He's run into these before, unfortunately, and their strength is ''exactly'' his weakness. It would be better for him not to fight them. "Surely, this is a waste of your talents!" he calls out, knowing well that they'll be particularly interested in targetting Yoko and that dissuading them otherwise may be difficult. "That ambush was, er, far too skillful for the likes of us!"
</poem>

MONAD: Katsuya Suou has acted with Rehabilitate toward The Future Promise I Walked By, Missing! Friendliness and
Diligence!

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
<poem>
It's almost like the Niijima Sisters have many things in common. Being able to bulldoze people is one of them when- but Fox seems to know who Yoko is, and he adds her to the routine. And Yoko... doesn't seem to think they're real at all...?

The good news is, Fox is also there to help calm Queen down- especially given her anger is as much an outlet for her fear as anything else. She's doing a better job of it, but that tremble is still there, when Fox puts his hand on her shoulder she flinches a little- but not as pronounced as what happened on entering Futaba and Sojiro's house. And Yoko at least seems to say it's not Katsuya's fault. "...So you followed someone in here?" ...Great. She wasn't careful enough- or, well, Yusuke wasn't but it's her fault. And then, like a switch flipping, Queen turns to be on Katsuya's side??? "The Detective is right, these places are dangerous... We might have to change plans and focus on finding an exit..."

...She doesn't like that idea. She doesn't like the idea of running into Shinichi again. He's dangerous, and she's physically outmatched. And every day at school remains a risk- keeping to the 3rd Years Floors has helped with that.

But Queen gets to be embarrassed now, and possibly do more Morale damage. "Ah- you were coming after her to help her? ...Sorry."

And then, frankly, Queen is wowed by the sudden appearance of a very beautiful, radiant woman appearing from the fog. Even Queen is stunned, and it's a good thing her mask hides most of her blush.

And then Yanagi talks about Yoko awakening...? Like it was a plan. "Hang on, you want to awaken? You can't just force that sort of thing! ...Can you?" Oh no Queen is totally out of her depth and so she's looking to Katsuya and Fox for knowledge she doesn't have. They're also given a shortcut- and no one is going to complain about that. Yoko seems to trust her- even if Katsuya seems wary. "...It's our best lead right now. Thank you for your help."

Katsuya calls Yoko a child, and Makoto frowns. "...I'm pretty sure age doesn't determine whether someone can use a Persona..." But she still doesn't like the idea of someone walking into danger hoping to get powers. "But it's not something you should chase after- you don't know how high risk these are. And the Homunculus might be able to find out who you are- and he already has a hit list."

...Maybe it's too much protesting, which is why she's suddenly surrounded by Jack Frosts- and, surprisingly, Queen lets out a cry of surprise and stumbles back. Fox is moving already which leaves Makoto and Katsuya to... talk their way out?

"...R-right, a skillful ambush! You know, I bet if you did it again, it would fool us again! Right, Detective?" ...oh no. Oh no.

Makoto has to charm the Jack Frosts. Whatever calm, cool image Queen had might be getting devastated right now. "In fact, I bet you could have an even bigger effect if you changed up your hiding spots a little, like... approaching from there, and there... and if you let us approach from the other side, it'll be an even better ambush."

5tShe nudges Katsuya with an elbow, after laying out... an honestly pretty good ambush strategy. She's not the Phantoms advisor for no reason. "Isn't that right, Detective?"
</poem>

MONAD: Makoto Niijima has acted with Study Guide toward The Future Promise I Walked By, Missing! Smarts and Patra!

[OOC] Makoto Niijima says, "bluray- replace the 5t at the end with a tab"

(|============================ Monad - Results =============================|)
-==== The Future Promise I Walked By, Missing - Round 2 =====================-
Katsuya Suou Charm Success
Rehabilitate Friendliness and Diligence Fatigue: 0 Morale: 2
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yusuke Kitagawa Academics Success
Artistic Wisdom Focus and Diligence Fatigue: 0 Morale: 4
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Makoto Niijima Academics Success
Study Guide Smarts and Patra Fatigue: 0 Morale: 2
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yoko Hirano Charm Success
Wax Poetic Friendliness and Focus Fatigue: 2 Morale: 2
-============================ Party Conditions: =============================-
Starting Conditions: Bothersome-2 and Stupor-2
Final Conditions: Bothersome-1
-====================================== Party Result: Success: Reach Up! ====-
-==== Reach: 2/6 |== | ===================================================-
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.2 ====|)

MONAD: Katsuya Suou has drawn a new Challenge!

(|============= Monad - Shinichi's Atelier: Cinvat Mikage-Cho ==============|)

(|============================================================= Monad 1.2 ====|)
-==== Round 3 - Challenge Level 2 ===========================================-
| Card: With Self-Doubt Greater than Desire, I Falter |
| Approach Options: Guts or Understanding |
| Conditions: Bothersome - Charm Down L1, Checkpoint - Cleanse all negative |
| conditions., Chest - Add 2 Item/Money/Gear., Hard - Understanding Down L1, |
| and Terrifying - Guts Down L2 |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-

While traveling the cognitive Mikage-Cho, you pass through the Atelier's
version of the Joy Street Mall. The exterior is dilapidated, and within,
most of the stores have been looted and burned out. Around you, you hear
/something/ scurrying about--harried footfalls that race away as you
approach--and slow, languid /thump/. /thump/. /thump/s.

The reason why is clear before soon: several warped Nurse Melancs with long,
crooked limbs, faces engulfed by a mouth of sharp, chattering teeth, and
wielding wicked-looking syringes wander the mall with relentless
inevitability, hunting down Sanguins and dragging them off. Though the
Sanguins do their best to scurry to safety before they're caught, some have
bloated legs and can only crawl. These ones have long, wavy hair, too...

Those familiar with Ateliers know that Melancs and Sanguins are Humor
Shadows, natural residents of these cognitive worlds. While Sanguins are the
antibodies of an Atelier and can be convinced to help Persona Users fight
back against the invading Homunculus, Melancs have been fully taken over by
the supernatural invader and act as its lieutenants. The fact that these
Melancs are /hunting down/ Sanguins is a very bad sign--especially since
even one is a mid-boss fight in its own right.

You can either put everything on the line to fight off the Melancs to
protect the Sanguins, or you can play it safe and catch up to the Sanguins
first and kindly guide them to safety in the Yin & Yang Convenience Store,
one of the only mostly-intact stores left. The grateful Sanguins will reward
you with precious healing items either way, but if you lose or get caught,
the Melancs might carry /you/ off instead.

(|=========================================================== Monad 1.2 ====|)

<Pose Tracker> Yoko Hirano has posed.
<poem>
This is very real, Officer Suou assures her. Words that she's heard from several mouths, in several settings. None of them as unbelievable as this. "I know that ''now''..." The way the two costumed figures move was another point in favor of them being figments. That kind of dash, weaving so fluidly... it could never be real. Humans don't move like that, of course. Yoko knows that. It's ''too cool''.

'She's just a child.' And that rankles, even if it's true. She wants it to be true, right? A normal girl! Not a...

The taller one slides closer to her to protect her again, gathering her against his side-- there is a familiar woodblock clap, a drumbeat! Ink and brilliant color! Style and intent! Pro: she's too dazzled by Goemon to shriek about being yeeted.

"HEE-HEE-HO! That's right, we're the COOLEST!" boasts one of the Frosts, puffing out his round lack-of-a-chest. "Real frosty guys!" adds another. "Who? The rainbow lady? Snow way!!" "Good one!"

They're so proud of themselves! The Frosts are plenty happy to listen to Makoto's advice as long as everybody is buttering them up to avoid a battle. "Oh-HO, so if I went over there, and Jack went over there, and ''Jack'' went over ''there''...?"

They break to try the new formation, and now would be a great time to GO GO GO GO!
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
Just like that, Queen's on his side. It's a little bewildering, Katsuya must admit, but he'll take it. "--Yes," he says, suddenly recovering his balance here. "We must retreat and make sure that Hirano-san can leave here safely." It was one thing in Kasugayama: that had threats, but their collective presence had sufficed. But that had still been a real place, if marked by the supernatural. Here, by contrast...

...here there be lions, as the Romans would have put it. He doesn't know whose Atelier this is, let alone what threats could lie ahead. In a fully supernatural space, anything could happen, and a 'regular person' is in great danger.

But did Yoko come in here on purpose, or did Yanagi lure her in (did they both plan on it happening like this)?

He knows that Yoko is close to awakening. A nudge will do it. But.

"Well, no," he agrees, as Queen picks at his statement. He's just not used to women doing this (he's not good at standing up to women in general, honestly). "As it stands, though, she ''is'' younger than the rest of you. I don't think... I can't help what someone has ended up involved with," he attempts to argue, "and, of course, I appreciate the expertise," he glances again at her and Fox here, "--assuming, that is, it's applied towards just causes," he adds, shaking his head. "Nevertheless, this isn't..."

He trails off, staring at Queen. "A... hit list?"

Whose Atelier is this, anyway?

Of course, then there comes the situation with the ambush that Yanagi has sent them right into and the Jack Frosts and how readily they can get out of this mess. Queen gives them a better suggestion.
Katsuya looks appalled.
And then gets nudged by Queen. He's not ''that'' thick.

"Er, yes, but please try not to-- that is, that should be a good ambush..."

Hopefully, he hasn't caused a major problem for someone else. But he has to think about Yoko here: there's nothing else for it.

Fortunately, the Jack Frosts are more than pleased to oblige.

"Well, I suppose we should see if we can find a way out. There should be a shortcut here somewhere," he muses, glancing off towards the distant streets. "Perhaps, it might be more likely over there? I think that is the commercial district, though I'm not familiar with Mikage-cho's street layout," he admits.

It's not particularly promising when they ''do'' get there. Then, there is a strange sound.
A strange ''horrible'' sound, if one is to be more accurate.

Its source soon comes into view, whether the group wants it or not. The things are barely recognizable as nurses: only their tattered and twisted uniforms serve to highlight what they are. They're Melancs, he realizes, whispering to Fox and Queen (though Yoko will be able to pick up on it), "Those are dangerous. Do you see their bodies? As I recall, these are Melancs, and they're quite dangerous." He pauses, squinting. "They're hunting something. What is..."

He moves in closer only to freeze in his tracks as one of those nurses snatches up a figure with bloated legs but long, pale, wavy hair.

Not only is that a bad sign for this Atelier (as he recalls, having learned some details from Roger last year), but isn't that hair...? Aren't they...?

Another Sanguin is caught. It shrieks, before it's silenced in the Melanc's 'tender' embrace.

"Enough! Abduction is a crime!" He glances back at Yoko, and even this is a bark of an order: "Hirano-san! Stay where you are!"
Like she can't do anything but get in the way.

Even if they remind him of Yanagi somehow, some primal part of him can't just stand by, and some other primal part of him just has to wade into the thick of it. Touching his fingers to his sunglasses, he roars, counter entirely to his more measured approach from before. "Persona!"

Helios' flame makes his intention here crystal-clear.
</poem>

MONAD: Katsuya Suou has acted with You're Under Arrest! toward With Self-Doubt Greater than Desire, I Falter! Specialty!

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
<poem>
Queen is on the side of good sense and responsibility like ninety percent of the time! And she has tended to jump to wrong conclusions in the past. "It's not like we get a choice in awakening," Makoto says, in response to Katsuya. "But it's not something you should do just to see if you can, either!" She shoots quickly to Yoko who... isn't listening because presumably Yusuke is doing the coolest jump he can.

"Shinichi Nagisa," Queen says- because, honestly, it's better that they know now that they're here. "The Homunculus possessing him has been making advances towards and assaulting women, usually other students at his school. Apparently he has a collection of knives and a list of students he's planning to kill." Queen's voice is flat, a forced dispassion. Trying to step away from the fact that a boy at her school wants to kill her and she couldn't stop him there.

She hates it.

Getting past the Jack Frosts is, thankfully, easily done. "...If we're lucky they'll forget where we were. I'm more worried about another Persona user sending us into an ambush..." Peacock Silk, huh?

Katsuya gives her a reason to ask questions of her own. "...Mikage-cho?" She's not particularly familiar with the ward. "Is that what this Atelier is based on?" She frowns... It's honestly not what she expected. She thought it would be more... well, sexualized, based on the Homunculus' attitude toward women.

Joy Street Mall, however, definitely feels haunted. For some reason, the occasional barely flickering fluorescent light makes things worse, not better. Neither do the footsteps.

It might be easier for Fox to tell that Queen is on edge again, her eyes darting around, wide.

Afraid.

And then the horrifying sound echoes out, and it pushes Queen over the edge, letting out a screech as she grabs for someone-

For Katsuya, by chance. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, don't haunt me, I'm sorry, Sis... help..."

The cool strategist of the Phantom Thieves is suddenly not cool at all- she's panicking and terrifying and may need a shock to bring her back to reality.

How a child calling for her big sister will affect Katsuya, who can say?

For better or worse though, Katsuya explaining the monsters and help from others will get her to focus again. It's easier as Queen. Queen can fight back against darkness like this.

"...Th-they look like..."

Katsuya moves first, and orders the Melancs to halt. And Queen reaches for her mask, and tears it away. "JOHANNA!"

She leaps into the air, and her Persona arrives at speed, the motorcycle like persona skidding so Makoto can land perfectly. The good thing about fight or flight is sometimes it triggers to fight. "Fox- keep Hirano-san safe! I'm going on the offensive!"

Queen pumps the Accelerator, and Johanna lights up, nuclear flame spewing from her exhaust as she hurls herself into the fray, Johanna's green flame meeting Helios' red- ideally to leave the nurse melancs little more than a pile of ash.
</poem>

MONAD: Makoto Niijima has acted with Black Belt Talk toward With Self-Doubt Greater than Desire, I Falter! Bravery and
Empathy!

<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.
<poem>Fox glances over to Queen as they watch the Melanc humours hunting the eerily-familiar Sanguins. "Well... If that's bad, we ought to step in."

His mask flares with flame again, and he thrusts out an open hand. "Goemon! CUT THEM DOWN!"

This is a moment where the courage of those who subsist on radish tops makes itself known.

Staining into existence again, the towering ronin figure enters a ready stance wielding his massive kiseru like a katana as Fox matches the pose and begins to charge towards the Melanc humours. The two - Thief and Persona - move in sync, blade and pipe flashing in a series of elegant arcs, before Fox turns his back on the Humours and slowly sheathes his blade. With the ''click'' of tsuba meeting saya, black ichor sprays from the humours he struck, and they stagger backwards.
</poem>

MONAD: Yusuke Kitagawa has acted with Snacking Arts toward With Self-Doubt Greater than Desire, I Falter! Amrita!

<Pose Tracker> Yoko Hirano has posed.
<poem>
"I didn't follow anybody in here. I thought I saw Senpai but he..." and here her chain of logic skips a link or two, because the Will of Rebellion is more powerful than Yoko's half-Awakened senses, "But he disappeared. I didn't mean to be here, so don't--"

Don't treat me like I did it on purpose. I can't help that I'm going to ruin everything.

Yoko's mouth thins as Katsuya and Queen both admonish her, gaze tilted towards the ground. "I said I didn't mean to come here," she mumbles, but the present danger is more pressing than Yoko's old familiar resentment. They ''do'' need to get out of here, she knows! She wanted to figure this Persona thing out with Peacock Silk, who treated her as a potential colleague instead of a helpless child. Who were delighted that she could see their true selves, not upset with her. Who invited her to share their secret, rather than demanding that she stay out.

The empty mall is creepy, and the others are spooked, and then... and then she sees what was in here with them, maybe all along. She's no fan of syringes herself, but Yoko is very good at pretending she doesn't see anything. It's ingrained reflex at this point, and she just grits her teeth as the cowering Sanguin is snatched up. They'll have to pass on by, even if...

But the others don't. Officer Suou and Queen and Fox, ''they'' can stop the Nurse Melanc. ''They'' don't have to be afraid -- or ''stay'' afraid. Why can't Yoko be like that too?! "Don't you ever think about how scary it is for me?" she hears herself asking, although she doesn't expect them to listen. "To see things like this all the time and not be able to protect myself? How is that fair? Why do you get to decide that for me?!"

Her fingernails dig into the palms of her hands as she clenches them into fists at her sides. "I know about all this scary stuff and I can't even tell anybody about it and I always feel scared because it could ''get'' me!" She stomps a foot for lack of anything else she can ''do''. "I'm already part of whatever's going on and, and I know it's dangerous, I've ''known''! But if a boy has a ''hit list'' he should be stopped, and if I'm going to ruin everything by being here ''anyway'' then fine!"

The words are pouring out of her. "I just want to be able to ''do something'' instead of waiting for whatever awful thing is going to happen!"

And the Fabric of Reality hears her, and answers.

The petal-soft sound of silk fluttering, the rasp of brocade against itself. Several bands of brightly-painted silk, each thirteen inches across and endlessly long, unspool and gather around her, wrapping around and around and around into a formless shape, a riot of unspeakable colors.

I am thou, thou art I! 
Preening our whiskers, dancing at midnight!
 I am the yokai cat, Bakeneko!

A rumbling sound and a rush of heat. A reddish-yellow glow like embers begins to smolder between the overlaps of fabric, before they're rent open from within and Yoko bursts free, tottering on blackened, misshapen feet.

Her Gekkoukan uniform is gone, replaced by a florid kimono in wa-lolita style. A bright crimson obi in an elaborate, artful knot, an abbreviated box-pleated skirt that bares her legs for running. Yoko wipes at her teary face with her kosode sleeves, tail lashing furiously behind her and triangular ears airplaning so hard they nearly disappear into the wavy mess of her loose hair.

The rumble grows and grows. And between Yoko and the Nurse Melanc appears a housecat the size of a Great Dane that rares up on its hind legs, a cloth slipping off of its head. A wall of flame rolls in from the walls themselves, engulfing the Shadow in poisoned fire!

https://i.postimg.cc/022LXxG6/bakeneko_yoko.png
</poem>

MONAD: Yoko Hirano has acted with Guts toward With Self-Doubt Greater than Desire, I Falter! Base!

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
Shinichi Nagisa. "I see..." Katsuya mulls. Not a name he knows, and, unfortunately, it could be the case that there's more than one person who shares 'that name'. More alarming, though is that Queen clarifies further what she'd alluded to before: that the person he's become is outright a menace to society. "...What?" The look on Katsuya's face -- shock, disbelief, horror -- says it all. "So that's how far a Homunculus will go?"

And yet, a part of him also thinks, that's... deeply human behavior. Not that he thinks that the real person was necessarily like this. Rather, it's more the thought that the darkness that coils in the heart of man is not an unknown monster.

But that, alas, is a consideration that will have to wait until they're on the other side of this.

"Yes," he answers her, on the subject of Mikage-cho. "At least, that is my understanding. I haven't been there, but from the pictures I've seen..." There ''are'' certain landmarks that are the same, even if he has to account for the presence of demons and a distorted city and sky. "Did Nagisa-san live in Mikage-cho at one point?" It's the most logical thing he can think to ask.

Before logic flies out the window.

And Queen grabs onto him, spotting the same thing that he just has. She babbles like a frightened child, and he's most plainly reminded that under that mask and behind that Persona ''is'' someone who is probably still essentially a child...

She calls out for her sister. Her older sister, if he's any judge, as an older sibling himself.

Where ''is'' Tatsuya right now? Is he eating properly?

Though he's tensed under her grasp, he doesn't try to shake her off or touch her. "It's all right, miss," he says, before he tries to explain further the metaphysics (at least as far as he's learned). That is, until there's one acute stressor here that he can't ignore anymore.

His flame is joined with another flame soon enough. He's not the only one to think like this--

And flame is joined by twinned blades, as Fox and his own Persona converge on the Melanc.

Katsuya drops back, sparing a glance for Yoko as he goes for his gun. It'd be foolish think this is enough. "Hirano-san, stay--"

A cat, though, isn't particularly noted to 'stay'.

She, in this moment, rails at him and Queen alike. "But-- you can't," he starts to say, shaking his head even as he turns a glance back at the monstrosity and the two Phantom Thieves before his attention returns to Yoko. "You shouldn't have to get involved in any of this-- Hirano-san!"

She's had it, you see.

And she would most like to Change. Herself, her circumstances.
The world, too, if she can have it.

And so, even as his eyes are on her, Yoko ''Changes''.

"Is that--"

It's like the rest of the people of Peacock Silk, he thinks, reflecting on her appearance as she draws out her Persona.

It's also a cat, drawing flame after it as it hurtles at the Melanc.

Yoko, too, has become a bit of a cat, he realizes. So... so it can change that much about someone...

He's at a loss as he looks at her, as the Melanc is burned for the third time over.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.
<poem>'I thought I saw Senpai', Yoko says, and Fox's eyes flicker behind his mask. Not for the first time, he appreciates how his cognitive armour helps him maintain his stoic mien in such terrifying spaces, so that he can keep something of a poker face when his secret identity is at stake.

There will probably be a stern reprimand in his future from Makoto.

There's more to it, though - faced with the worry of people equipped and armoured for an Atelier, Yoko's frustrations are boiling over. As they rush in to push the Melancs back, she begins to vent - entirely fairly - and Fox has to step back to watch her.

Ah.

The way the space around them reacts to her... it's different, but it feels familiar. That moment of transformation and catharsis approaches...

... and it is spectacular.

As the light of Yoko's transformation dies down, and Bakeneko manifests to blast the Melancs in a tide of bilious flame, Fox smirks widely.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
<poem>
"They will. And they don't care what happens to their hosts bod in the process." Queen doesn't particularly want to remember how helpless she felt when she faced Shinichi in the real world- the sickening sound of it dislocating his shoulder to escape her grip.

Queen frowns. "...But why are the Melancs so similar to normal shadows, then?" It's another question Queen will have to be curious about later. Katsuya does his best to help at least.

But then she hears Yoko start to yell, and Queen wants to refute her points. Why wouldn't she be worried about someone without powers in a Monad? After all, she arrogantly thought she could have held her own against a shadow without one the first time she was taken into Kaneshiro's palace.

But when everying boils over, even Queen's attention is taken by the way the Fabric of Reality answers Yoko's call, and her eyes widen, Johanna skidding to a halt. A cocoon of silk giving way to a Persona user with... cat feet? And a tail...?

"N-no way... a bakeneko?"

...Well she definitely can't call Morgana that anymore.

Either way, it's an awe inspiring awakening to behold, even for one with as little aesthetic appreciation as Makoto.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Yanagi Nagisa has posed.
<poem>
Yoko is enrobed in cloth within the Atelier, and soon bursts forth Transmutated. Her Persona bounds forth to bring flame down on the Melancs. She may be disappointed that she couldn't have come here with Peacock Silk, the people who believed in and supported her. She may be disappointed in how Yanagi had deceived her earlier. But...

A little origami angel-spirit floats down and around until it bobs up against Yoko's cheek, then shakes and shimmies with delight. It unfolds into crumbled animation paper and projects a single, simple message:

"Congratulations! <3"

It came later than Yanagi had attempted to encourage her to do, but only a little later. It's still good!

Then it refolds itself, vanishes-and-reappears about a foot back, shimmies again, and then vanishes for real.
</poem>

(|============================ Monad - Results =============================|)
-==== With Self-Doubt Greater than Desire, I Falter - Round 3 ===============-
Katsuya Suou Guts Success
You're Under Arrest! Specialty Fatigue: 0 Morale: 4
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yusuke Kitagawa Guts Failure
Snacking Arts Amrita Fatigue: 2 Morale: 4
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Makoto Niijima Guts Success
Black Belt Talk Bravery and Empathy Fatigue: 0 Morale: 3
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yoko Hirano Guts Success
Guts Base Fatigue: 2 Morale: 3
-============================ Party Conditions: =============================-
Starting Conditions: Bothersome-1, Checkpoint-0, Chest-0, Hard-2, and
Terrifying-2
Final Conditions: Hard-1 and Terrifying-1
-====================================== Party Result: Success: Reach Up! ====-
-==== Reach: 3/6 |=== | ===================================================-
-==== Loot So Far: ==========================================================-
Items: 0, Money: 0, Gear: 2
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.2 ====|)

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
The Melanc is burned, and burned, and burned again. Blades cleave into its dark flesh and lock down the monstrosity while the fires serve to see it undone. Perhaps another time, there will be an answer for the logic of Melanc versus the other Humors. Today, though...

Katsuya, holstering his firearm, is silent a moment as he regards Yoko.

"Are you... feeling alright, Hirano-san? We can keep looking for the exit. Or..."

He glances ahead, at the place where the Melanc had been.

Or, they can continue, at least for now, and carve open a path for later.
</poem>

MONAD: Yusuke Kitagawa has drawn a new Challenge!

(|============= Monad - Shinichi's Atelier: Cinvat Mikage-Cho ==============|)

(|============================================================= Monad 1.2 ====|)
-==== Round 4 - Challenge Level 3 ===========================================-
| Card: When Faced With What I'd Done, I Ran |
| Approach Options: Proficiency or Guts |
| Conditions: Clumsy - Proficiency Down L1, Curse - -1 to Group Roll (Per |
| Character), Hard - Understanding Down L1, Terrifying - Guts Down L2, and |
| Terrifying - Guts Down L2 |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-

Eventually you come to a towering hospital, shrouded in mist. A single
window on the third floor flickers with a glowing shade of crimson,
eternally lit in the night.

The hospital lobby looks welcoming, but perhaps a side entrance would be the
best approach.

Pushing through a half-cracked door, it begins to creak behind you. And who
should you see then, but the Homunculus, in a ball cap and faded coat, with
a hood draped over its top.

Right before he casually brings up an arm, and pulls the fire alarm, tearing
it out of the wall as he does so, letting it dangle on so many wires.

A horrendous ringing overhead occurs, as an announcement on the loudspeaker
cries out: "CODE RED! FIRST FLOOR HALL!" And countless howls answer it.

He then turns and begins to walk away, any attempt to come after him cut off
by countless doors bursting open.

Melanc Humors dressed as Orderlies in padded armor, wielding sticks the size
of people, numerous Coleric Humor Zombies swarm your way.

You can try to fight them all, but it will be an enormous slog with that
alarm still going off. Or you could always try to disable the alarm- or if
not that, then finding a place to hide until it's over.

The choice is yours

(|=========================================================== Monad 1.2 ====|)

<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.
<poem>Exploring this Atelier is very unlike a Palace, Fox thinks as they push through the Melanc horde. Where a Palace is a singular location coalesced around a warping desire, everything themed around the Ruler's perception and the Treasure that gives that desire form, this Atelier seems to be composed of distinct locations linked by thematic phenomena.

Is it emotional resonance, he wonders? Places that are important to the Host, that the Homunculus is parasitising?

His thougthful reverie as they step into the hospital is interrupted by the shrill peals of the fire alarm, and his head shoots up to glimpse the homunculus vanishing around a corner - and doors in every wing slamming open to disgorge a horde upon them.

He takes a look at the ruins of the wires trailing from the fire alarm, and grits his teeth, blade already in hand. "Queen, cover me while I try and disable the alarm!"

With that, he slips into the shadows, trying to aim a deft slash of his blade at the cable sending the alarm signal...
</poem>

MONAD: Yusuke Kitagawa has acted with Painter's Precision toward When Faced With What I'd Done, I Ran! Specialty!

<Pose Tracker> Yoko Hirano has posed.
<poem>
She finishes wiping her face, and pats down the front of her clothing. Just like they'd told her. It hadn't happened quite how Yoko had wanted it to, and she's still redfaced from her feelings getting the better of her, but she feels... better. No longer quite so helpless, even if she can feel her energy dipping. But she was warned about that, too, so it isn't as disorienting as if it were a surprise.

The little paper angel that pats her cheek and congratulates her lifts Yoko's spirits a bit, despite Yanagi's earlier apparent deception. She'll show Yanagi-chan when Yoko finds her next.

But does she want to leave or continue on? After a moment, prudence wins out. "If we find an exit, we ''should'' take it..." the implication being that they might ''not'' find one, and have to keep going regardless of their desires.

As they go on, Yoko fidgets with her clothes a little. The back bow is heavier than it should be, isn't it...?

"...the window," she mumbles, looking up at the one warm-lit window high above the ground floor. "The light's different there." Should they go there? Maybe that's where an exit could be. It seems as possible as any other place...

And despite having Awakened minutes ago and having Phenomenal Cognitive Power (itty bitty kitty committee), Yoko startles at the sound of the alarm blaring. POOF!!! And hugs the wall, the throngs of orderly Melancs threatening to send the last dregs of her determination down the drain. Was that a tiny whimper? Surely not.

But while Yoko stays still and silent, fabric rustles. And with a quiet 'tink', a translucent red rabbit sculpture wiggles out of her obi tie and to the floor. It moves like... well not ''quite'' like a real rabbit. But despite the lack of joints it's hopping just fine somehow, and strikes its foot several times against the tiles with a high pitched crystalline sound to get the Melancs attention. Bunny decoy!! Catch it if you can!

Yoko, meanwhile, stares after it with enormous eyes. Is it allowed to do that.
</poem>

MONAD: Yoko Hirano has acted with All Dolled Up toward When Faced With What I'd Done, I Ran! Diligence and Patra!

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
<poem>
Katsuya takes charge of checking on Yoko, so Queen focuses on the Sanguin humours- and Fox, checking if he needs healing and applying a Diarama if needed. Escorting the humours to the safety of a convenience store is fairly easy once the Melanc is down- but is that a gun rack behind the counter? Surely not...

"Summoning your Persona for the first time can take it out of you," Queen says, quickly. "If you don't think you can push on, now's the time to find an exit." Queen frowns. "...That said, I think we might not have much of a choice at this point. After that ambush and now this, I think we'd be fighting through just as much to get back out the way we came."

Looking up at the hospital, Queen feels another shiver. She doesn't like hospitals much, either. They were sterile, loud, unpleasant places. And they were the beginning of the end for her family being normal. Yoko points out a window- and Queen blinks. "Alright."

Still, as they enter- Queen might be the first to notice that. The cap, the coat, the hood...

"...That's him. The Homunculus." Queen's voice drops to a whisper as she ducks into cover. The good news is that she's not alone this time. The bad news is that it's still another thing to play on her increasingly frayed nerves. She got lucky, escaping into Mementos. There's no escaping here. "We should-"

And then the alarm explodes, and Queen lets out a fatigued grimace, as the Melancs and Colerics start swarming- and Queen's eyes go wide with terror again.

Thankfully, Fox gives her an order before she can give into panic again. "R-right!"

Queen pops out of cover, pistol manifesting in her hands. The science fiction looking gun gives off a chill of ice. "Stay back!" She shouts, as if it would help, before she starts firing precisely and carefully, despite the cowboyish nature of her firing style. The two move like a well oiled machine.

"Why would a hospital even *have* zombies?" Queen complains, under the noise of gunfire. "Does Nagisa-kun watch too many horror movies?"

Still, she has a task to do, and other Persona users to work with. That need to be responsible is keeping her focused right now.
</poem>

MONAD: Makoto Niijima has acted with Responsibility toward When Faced With What I'd Done, I Ran! Diligence and
Efficient!

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
He's silent, at first, when Yoko answers him. If they do, she says, and he understands at least this. "Yes," he says in response. "If we do..."

There might be nothing else but to continue on.

There are, as it happens, a few moments where it might be possible to call things 'peaceful'. As peaceful as it gets in a place like this, a distorted memory of a city that had been afflicted by some mysterious happening in the recent past. By now, Katsuya knows better than to trust any sense of peace in a supernatural space. It's possible there might be respite to be had.

It's also possible that it's the calm before the storm.

They reach the hospital, and already, he's slipped his hand inside his jacket as his gaze fixes on the figure in the cap, coat, and hood. He knows it before Queen even says as much.

[DECOR]: That's not a person. That's not even a cognition.
[HALF LIGHT]: Shoot it! Do it!

He's not fast enough to react more than that in the moment when the Homunculus rips the alarm out of the wall.

And after that, there's no room to react ''quite'' like that at all. It tripped the alarm, and now--

"Take care of the alarm! We'll handle them!" he assures Fox. He, instead of drawing his gun, brandishes his badge of all things.

"I am an officer of the law! Disperse, at once!"

...He's not actually supposed to be working as an officer right now, and these are zombies which aren't known for their law-abiding habits. Still, in a cognitive space...? Stranger things have happened.

Such as that rabbit sculpture that goes walking on by through the horde. Katsuya watches it go in abject silence. "..."
</poem>

MONAD: Katsuya Suou has acted with You're Under Arrest! toward When Faced With What I'd Done, I Ran! Specialty!

(|============================ Monad - Results =============================|)
-==== When Faced With What I'd Done, I Ran - Round 4 ========================-
Katsuya Suou Guts Success
You're Under Arrest! Specialty Fatigue: 0 Morale: 5
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yusuke Kitagawa Proficiency Success
Painter's Precision Specialty Fatigue: 2 Morale: 5
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Makoto Niijima Proficiency Failure
Responsibility Diligence and Efficient Fatigue: 2 Morale: 3
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yoko Hirano Proficiency Failure
All Dolled Up Diligence and Patra Fatigue: 4 Morale: 3
-============================ Party Conditions: =============================-
Starting Conditions: Clumsy-2, Curse-0, Hard-1, Terrifying-1, and
Terrifying-2
Final Conditions: Terrifying-1
-====================================== Party Result: Success: Reach Up! ====-
-==== Reach: 4/6 |==== | ===================================================-
-==== Loot So Far: ==========================================================-
Items: 0, Money: 0, Gear: 2
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.2 ====|)

<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.
<poem>The Melancs, in their undead guise, swarm. Yoko's bright bunny statuette is, somehow, lost in the throng, its hopeful ruby shimmer vanishing around a corner and leaving behind an even deeper sense of unease as none of the creatures in the Atelier seem to pay it any regard.

The ambient dread and the press of hostiles does not only thwart that; for all Makoto's desperado prowess, her trigger finger shakes and her aim is not as precise as she'd like, winging and grazing most of her targets to little ill effect.

In the end, it's Katsuya who steps up, brandishing his badge with such confidence despite his being on the outs with his own force, that stymies the onrushing horde. His will carries his voice, echoing even over the clamour of the alarm - and Fox, in the shadows, seizes this moment of confusion to strike. There is the flash of a glossy black blade in the dark, and the alarm is silenced before Katsuya has finished his command to 'Disperse'!

With the sound calling them to action gone, and such a powerful will before them, the Melancs, shuffling awkwardly and uncoordinated, do as they are commanded.

Fox emerges from the gloom, sheathing his blade and nodding to Katsuya, then addressing Yoko. "... It suits you," he says, taking in her new attire. "Well-observed, about the window. Hopefully, if we can find that room..."
</poem>

MONAD: Makoto Niijima has drawn a new Challenge!

(|============= Monad - Shinichi's Atelier: Cinvat Mikage-Cho ==============|)

Yoko, meanwhile, stares after it with enormous eyes. Is it allowed to do that.
-==== Round 5 - Challenge Level 3 ===========================================-
| Card: Before the Apathy of the World, I Shudder |
| Approach Options: Proficiency or Charm |
| Conditions: Annoying - Charm Down L2, Boss - Add 1 Fatigue on failure., |
| Ineptitude - Proficiency Down L2, and Terrifying - Guts Down L2 |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-

The elevator is out of order, forcing one to use the stairs to get up to the
third floor.

Once in the hallway, you can see the crimson glow of room 302 peering
through the cracks of the door.

Unfortunately, there's a Melanc Humor in the hallway, nearly three meters
tall, long spindly arms, holding a clipboard, and wearing a white coat- as
it stands over a Faceless Sanguine Nurse, still twitching upon the floor.

Upon his face is a perpetual, tired, apathetic look. "Time of Death, Fifteen
Thirty Two." As he casts Mudoon, and the Sanguine Nurse erupts, becoming a
pool of shapeless Ichor.

He then turns towards your group.

"So sad. So heart-breaking. I need to go on break... but I shouldn't. It's
so busy right now. So many patients are dying who need me to call them. So
little time. So little time."

He then moves forward, creeping on far too long legs, as his eyes glint with
the barest sliver of malice behind their sorrow, "Time of death, Fifteen
Thirty Three." And begins to cast Mudoon at one of you.

A direct fight is extremely dangerous, but unavoidable it would seem. Or is
it? There may be hope in convincing this Melanc Humor to go on break rather
than continue 'working'.

Of course, if you do fight it, it's not so much a matter of powering
through, as avoiding the dangerous Mudoon spell, cast repeatedly long enough
to score a decisive blow.

(|=========================================================== Monad 1.2 ====|)

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
<poem>
It's certainly not Queen's best showing- but Katsuya is capable of covering for her. It's very much needed.

"...It can't be much longer, can it?" Queen asks, sounding extremely worn out. She wasn't expecting somewhere exactly pleasant, but she was expecting more of a police procedural than a horror movie. She could have probably dealt with that better. She hopes she could have.

Even Yoko's rabbit gets little comment, but she does let out a little breath of relief when they're through everything. "...Thanks," she says, to the other three Persona users, once they're moving up.

Unfortunately, up means the final guardian- a Doctor. Of sorts.

"...what kind of doctor is this?" Queen mutters, from the cover of the corner. "They're supposed to help people, not-"

She does not go unnoticed, and the Mudoon comes for her, at the front of the group and she dives out of cover as not to instantly collapse from the murderous spell. "Hold on-" Queen shouts, standing in front of the horrific Doctor of Death now- her eyes looking to the ichorous puddle that was another familiarly shaped Sanguin.

"You need to stop this- don't doctors swear to do no harm? Isn't this just harming your patients? You're supposed to take care of people, not... 'take care' of them!"

It's misguided, but perhaps a plaintive cry to the doctor's duty of care might get through to him. Otherwise Queen is going to be trying to outdodge mudoons for a while yet.
</poem>

MONAD: Makoto Niijima has acted with Responsibility toward Before the Apathy of the World, I Shudder! Diligence and
Efficient!

<Pose Tracker> Yoko Hirano has posed.
<poem>
Resin Rabbit is allowed to do whatever it wants, possibly forever... It comes back to Yoko after the Humours disperse, settling at her feet. She scoops it up immediately, holding it securely against her chest as if that will keep it from wandering away again.

Yoko had to learn to use a vacuum pot to make a resin statue this large without any air bubbles! It was a lot of effort!!

"...Good job," she tells them all sincerely. Apparently she's done with outbursts now, and back to her more usual slightly stilted manner of speaking. "And thank you," is said to Fox in particular. It's not an outfit she would have chosen to fight in, but Yoko likes the brightness, the ''rightness'' of it. It's easy to move in despite the obi... the stiffened, layered fabric reminds her of a chestplate somehow.

Further up, however...

Yoko makes another uncomfortable noise when the 'doctor' decides time of death. Decides, not observes! Another Sanguin Humour is killed. Yoko doesn't have enough experience to wonder why the Sanguin Humours bear so much resemblance to Yanagi, if the Homunculus is parasitizing ''Shinichi'' Nagisa. And to be fair, everybody is a little preoccupied with trying not to be killed along with them.

She skitters away from the spell despite not being its target - yet - and puts the rabbit down on the floor again to free her clawed, ink(?)-blackened hands. On its own again, Yoko's creation bounds across the hallway, kicks off of a wall, and rams its heavy body into the back of the doctor's knee!
</poem>

MONAD: Yoko Hirano has acted with All Dolled Up toward Before the Apathy of the World, I Shudder! Diligence and Patra!

<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.
<poem>At the top of the stairs, Fox ducks into cover at the sight of the doctor-like Melanc, watching grimly as it pronounces its execution of the Sanguin.

They are watching a psyche devour itself, piece by piece... It makes his blood run cold.

Then the Humour turns its baleful attention to them, at that terrible shrieking skull flies towards them, blast after blast.

Queen throws herself aside, and Yoko deploys her rabbit statuette - he remembers a conversation he had with her months back about resin statue-making and smiles despite the severity of the situation - and he calls forth Goemon once more, who takes a deep pull from his pipe and then exhales a cloud of freezing mist, coating the floor of the hallway and making it difficult for the Humour to draw an accurate bead on them - as he makes a crouching lunge to slide down the hallway, ready to lean away from the Mudoon blasts and, at the right moment, cut.
</poem>

MONAD: Yusuke Kitagawa has acted with Proficiency toward Before the Apathy of the World, I Shudder! Base!

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
As long as they persevere, that's sufficient, to Katsuya's thinking.

Perhaps it's his whole-hearted belief in the law that does it. Maybe justice really is on his side. The horde parts before him like the sea and then, as ordered... disperses. With care, Katsuya looks over his own badge for a moment in silence, and then quietly tucks it away. Right now, he isn't an officer, in the eyes of the law of the city, but... a lawman's heart still beats in his chest.

With the alarm silenced and no hint of additional Humors come to harry their passage onwards, Katsuya turns back to the others. "We should be able to proceed from here. ...You saw a window before?"

He'd been so distracted by the Homunculus that he hadn't seen it. "If we can get up to it, then... perhaps we can find a way out." Or find ''something'' at least, something more than further horrors.

Speaking of further horrors!

"That's... another Melanc," Katsuya remarks, peering at the figure in the hallway ahead. "After fighting so many of them, is it wise to fight another..." he muses to himself. So far, the 'doctor' hasn't seen them yet, his attention fixed on...

"..." Katsuya exhales. He scarcely needs to say it as the doctor decides the time of death: one can see him thinking it. 'That's a crime'.

And then it turns towards them, marking their passage at last.

They could fight it, sure enough. But is that really a wise approach, even if this one is certainly guilty at least of malpractice, if not outright murder? "See if you can find another way," he remarks to Fox, his gaze traveling towards Yoko. "You, too, Hirano-san. I think..." he says, watching as Queen makes up her mind.

"Indeed, it isn't too late to change your ways. What you have been doing is a grave offense, but it's still possible for you to reform," he tells the dark doctor, spreading his hands as he tries to talk to him. "The same cut that kills can be used to cure. Or have you forgotten your oath as a doctor?"
</poem>

MONAD: Katsuya Suou has acted with Rehabilitate toward Before the Apathy of the World, I Shudder! Friendliness and
Diligence!

(|============================ Monad - Results =============================|)
-==== Before the Apathy of the World, I Shudder - Round 5 ===================-
Katsuya Suou Charm Success
Rehabilitate Friendliness and Diligence Fatigue: 1 Morale: 5
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yusuke Kitagawa Proficiency Success
Proficiency Base Fatigue: 3 Morale: 5
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Makoto Niijima Proficiency Success
Responsibility Diligence and Efficient Fatigue: 3 Morale: 5
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yoko Hirano Proficiency Success
All Dolled Up Diligence and Patra Fatigue: 5 Morale: 5
-============================ Party Conditions: =============================-
Starting Conditions: Annoying-2, Boss-0, Ineptitude-2, and Terrifying-1
Final Conditions: Ineptitude-1
-====================================== Party Result: Success: Reach Up! ====-
-==== Reach: 6/6 |=====| ===================================================-
-==== Loot So Far: ==========================================================-
Items: 0, Money: 0, Gear: 2
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.2 ====|)

(|============= Monad - Shinichi's Atelier: Cinvat Mikage-Cho ==============|)

She skitters away from the spell despite not being its target - yet - and puts the rabbit down on the floor again to free her clawed, ink(?)-blackened hands. On its own again, Yoko's creation bounds across the hallway, kicks off of a wall, and rams its heavy body into the back of the doctor's knee!
-==== Round 6 - Challenge Level 1 ===========================================-
| Card: To Move Forward is to Accept the Weight |
| Approach Options: None |
| Conditions: Revelation - The best result. |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-

The door knob of Room 302 is warm. A little too warm. Enough to make one
hesitate in worry that there's a fire behind it.

But as it opens, the red is revealed to be countless Higanbana, Red Spider
Lily flowers, lining the floor, the walls, the ceiling of a far too large
room. The walls move as if a sky full of clouds in animation, behind shadowy
bars and crimson blossoms.

In the middle of the room is a hospital bed, with a cocoon whose webbing is
stretched to encircle the bed from so many sides, like a restraint to keep
it there. A monitor floats in space above it, several wires connected to the
Cocoon, with an EKG tracing of beeps that are coming far, too slowly.

There isn't much time left.

A Sanguine Humor lays upon the floor, dying, a crimson blossom clutched in
her hand. Reaching towards you, she offers it, before expiring herself, as
crimson blossoms grow over her, consuming her in a rapid decay.

The Blossom itself will never decay, and has a faint shine to it that would
make any botanist in reality think it's fake, but it can be used for potent
cognitive alchemy to create equipment associated with Death or Rebirth, it's
always either red or white in color. So too can they be traded to the Velvet
Room and Time Castle for a set of powerful Skill Cards related to Light or
Dark.

The room itself shifts, vision narrowing. Now the room itself pulses out of
synch with the electronic beeps on the monitor, quickening. Like a predator
ready for the kill.

The Homunculus is here. Even if you can't see him.

Final Loot: 2 Pieces of Gear! That could be... Gear: Alchemy Weapon or Gear:
Death Accessory!
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.2 ====|)

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
<poem>
Fox and Yoko both go on a physical offensive- while Katsuya and Makoto apply the dual ideals of Duty and Responsibility. The dual approach 'Admonishment' has been unlocked!

For a moment, it seems like the Doctor is going to keep on with his work- especially after coming under physical attack- but instead he turns away. "Patients are uncooperative, two WW, one OAP, one FLK. Hopefully you will be more cooperative after I return from break."

With that, he turns and walks off, leaving the group free to do what they need to do.

"Let's move." Queen says, leading by example and moving towards what is hopefully the light Yoko saw.

Which leads them to a door that's all too hot.

"...I think this is it," Queen says, laying her gloved hand on the handle and pushing the door open with a slight wince. Inside... is another dying Sanguin, flower in her hand, and the cocoon on the bed. Queen kneels down, to check on the Sanguin-

Who is suddenly consumed by crimson blossoms, dying suddenly- and potentially, beautifully. Queen doesn't care for it though, stumbling back.

"...This is the heart, right? And that means... that's Nagisa-kun. The real one." She stares at the cocoon for a few moments longer, stepping away from the bloom that has fallen on the floor for one of the others to pick up. "...We can't do anything for him now, can we?" Queen asks, quietly-

When the presence of the Homonculus overwhelms her senses. It's here. It's watching.

"We need to go. Now. Right now. We're in no state for this fight."

...At least the way out from the core is close- and there's a beautiful flower for anyone who wants to take it. Queen's not eager to be carrying a death blossom herself.
</poem>

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

2026-09-26: Fragility and Strength

2026-09-26T19:58:30Z

L: Created page with "*'''Log: ''' Fragility and Strength *'''Cast:''' Yua Ijuuin, Hana Fukami *'''Where:''' Aoba General Hospital *'''OOC Date:''' Sat, Sep 26 2026 *'''IC Date:''' Wed, Jan 16 2013 (Forward-dated) *'''Summary''': ''Hana comes to visit Yua and Hiroki, after her rescue.'' ---- Category:Logs Category:Season 1 Category:Season 1, Episode 2 <Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed. <poem> Not every day has been roses and baby cuddles... especially now..."

*'''Log: ''' Fragility and Strength
*'''Cast:''' [[Yua Ijuuin]], [[Hana Fukami]]
*'''Where:''' Aoba General Hospital
*'''OOC Date:''' Sat, Sep 26 2026
*'''IC Date:''' Wed, Jan 16 2013 (Forward-dated)
*'''Summary''': ''Hana comes to visit Yua and Hiroki, after her rescue.''

----

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Not every day has been roses and baby cuddles... especially now Miho's had to go back to work, and can't advocate for Yua 24-7. Earlier today, the crash cart was in the room; Miho was informed that Yua's blood sugar levels had dropped to ''2'' mmols per litre, alarmingly low, and they had to rouse her from unconsciousness. When she insisted on her suppressants, when she woke up, the nurses had no choice but to comply -- Miho's already had ''words'' with the manager, so even if they feel weird about giving her access to a drug they don't understand, they have to do it.

Her hormones have been going wild ever since labour... and ''these'' doctors don't have the insight to know why. They don't understand that a human can be reduced to a number, the way Yua does.

Has an 'Artificial' Persona-User ever given birth before now...? ... there are people who would love that data. Indeed, she may well ''work'' for one of them... but Yua will trust those decisions to Miho.

Now that excitement has come and gone -- and Yua's assured Miho that she'll be okay and she can get back to work, incidentally -- the space is calm enough for visitors again. Two nurses in the hall, though, are discussing things in a low voice...

... how they feel sorry for her son, when his mother is an ''intravenous drug user,'' and it must be why her husband rarely visits.

That's them, though.

In her private room is ''Yua,'' looking quite run-down but much happier now Hiroki is at her breast again, IV medication running into both arms as her hands cradle the wrap which holds him steadily. Her usual bun is undone, braid trailing over her shoulder and into the bed; she's in a hospital gown, though it's presently undone and pooled around her waist to make room for the wrap. For once: no makeup.

She sings a low, sweet song, in her native Okinawan.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

Wednesday... Hana Fukami is still decompressing from her ordeal. She has a lot of things to talk about with her partners--but she also, thanks to Miyako, has a message. Yua is in hospital, after almost dying while Hana was away. ...For her own reasons, Hana feels a need to go see her. While Emisa in particular feels some reluctance to let her go...

Well, she's on sick leave from work to 'recover', so she has the time.

Besides; everyone but Hana has to go to ''work''.

Miho was here earlier; now...

Hana, in clothes that feel more like ''hers'' again, walks through the hall as she's been directed towards the room where she's to visit. That means she hears the nurses. She looks over at them--

And smiles, warmly. "Could you please tell me where to find Yua Ijuuin?"

...It's a cheap dig, to make them feel bad gossiping about the person Hana is here to visit, but Hana still feels enough spite after all that to give it. Spite... It makes her wonder, really. An experience like that, and instead of just feeling grateful to be alive...

She has a low-key anger, still, at the injustices of the world.

It feels good.

But eventually she knocks. "Yuarin?" Hana says, and doesn't come in until Yua gives her the cue. Once she does though...

"Your song is beautiful," she says. "...Hi."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Oh, ah... just in here, ma'am, Room 5." One of the nurses gestures, to her, looking a touch embarrassed. ("Do you think she heard us?", she can hear her whispering, as she walks on; "I hope not," is the reply, "that family is intense...")

There is no Room 4, as it happens; it goes straight from 3 to 5.

And there, the door, the knock --

"Come... in?"

Yua's voice rises, in query, as she hears her; her eye widens, as she looks up, and Hiroki stirs slightly to feel her stiffen beneath him. She's here? She's back?! She's --

"Koto...ba? You're... okay...?"

A beat, and then, as the door closes behind her --

"Hands!!" She yipes, and with no Miho beside her to translate, it's up to Yua to remember to explain in the next breath: "You've gotta clean your hands!! Germs are ''not allowed!!'' Uh-uh!!"

There's hand sanitiser on the wall, and on the end of the bed, and on the bedside table, it's everywhere.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

"Thank you very much."

Come in? Hana does. she smiles, when Yua seems so surprised. "I'm here," she confirms. The door closes, and before she can say anything else--

Ah. "No germs," Hana agrees, and chooses the sanitizer on the wall, carefully cleaning her hands, down to the long nails. Nails can gather a lot of things if you aren't careful with them!!

"Thanks for telling me," Hana says when she turns back to Yua. "Can I sit down?" she asks, and then--

"...Oh, he's beautiful," Hana says. "He's so small..."

She smiles at Yua again. "But yes. I'm sorry to have worried you. I'm afraid I don't remember everything," she lies smoothly.

...There are things she can't tell Yua. Not like this. And that doesn't feel wonderful...

But it'll help her ''help''.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Is that okay?" Yua asks, when she asks if she can sit down, and then -- "oh -- um -- okay!" ... like she thought she was making a demand on ''her'' and used the wrong social script.

But there is, indeed, a chair beside the bed; it's one of the ''nice'' chairs, too, designed for lounging, and it's at just the right angle to engage with Yua, so she luckily doesn't have to move to show her the dark little baby swaddled against her. (Moving is ''still'' agony, as it happens. She ''still'' has a hole in her gut.) "Look, look, see? He's got Mimi's eyes... and Mimi's hair!!" And Okinawan skin, as it happens, thanks to an anonymous donor... tellingly, he's ''darker'' than Yua, though not so much that it's inconceivable her baby just doubled down on his island roots.

(She doesn't like female nurses looking in on him when her chest is bared like this... but she can't imagine Hana being weird about it.)

"He's ten weeks early," Yua says, "but he can breathe all on his own!" It's not all on his own; she can ''see'' the oxygen tubing. That's probably not what Yua means when she brags on his behalf, though. "He can't quite eat yet, but they give him my milk through his garage tube so he still thinks he is... I'm empty right now, so he doesn't drown, which they said he can do since he doesn't know he can't eat right yet..."

(... garage... tube?)

If Hana can't tell Yua everything, though, perhaps in a way she can feel a little closer to her, knowing how ''Yua'' couldn't tell her or anyone so much about her life. Yua doesn't know enough to point out how funny that is, though; she's too busy feeling relieved that Hana ''did'' forget. "Oh... you lost your memory?" She asks, frowning. "That's too bad... but it's normal when it's that scary, you know...?"

She looks down; perhaps the sight of her baby can calm her, when she's feeling overwhelmed. "Those scary things... are normal for me, so... that's why I told you it was too much for you. I... I did... try to find you, but... but they threatened my baby, so I had to run away. Ever since then, even when I went back to check on Saga or Yakoaki or Teruda, I never could find that door again... even though nothing can hide from me when I'm really looking."

Yua pauses, and shakes her head. "Um... but that's not what made me go into labour!" She adds, concerned that she'd worry about it. "It was -- there were other bad things, and -- and mostly, I was stupid, I wanted to go on a nice forest walk even though everyone was ''busy.''"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

Social scripts! They're tricky.

Hana accepts this nice chair, and Yua shows off Hiroki, and Hana smiles to see. This is not her first baby to hang out with! ...Her first quite this small, though. "Oh! I see!!" Hana beams. She notices a lot of things... but no, she's not weird about it.

"That's wonderful," she says of the breathing. "He's really amazing." Pause. "...Garage tube?" Hana can't help but ask.

Hana gets it, that Yua can't tell her--but at the same time, it feels... different. "Mm. Also, they tell me that they may have drugged me," she says. "But..."

She gestures. But it is pretty scary. But those scary things...

"That's all right," Hana says, perhaps more gently than might be expected. "I came through okay. It was important that you protect your baby." Pause. "...I heard you checked in on them. Thank you..."

But nothing can hide... "It turned out all right," she says. "That's what matters most."

Yua is quick to reassure Hana, which Hana aprpeciates--but she had that worry herself, and was able to consider the timeline after. So...

"I see," Hana says, and looks sympathetic. "I don't think that's stupid. You probably felt really cooped up, didn't you?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Oh, um..." Yua looks around, as if expecting that someone would be here to explain for her. No one is, though, so she has to look back to Hana and say: "... it's 'gavage', how they say it, but... I don't like medical words. They're scary. They scare you too, don't they, bubba?" She asks Hiroki, her voice going to a higher register as she speaks to him. "Since they're so scary... I make them cute! When the words are cute, they can't hurt us!"

She frowns, though, hearing that Hana was ''drugged.'' "That's awful," she says, and can't even say it's a fabrication of her mind. The bird wasn't one of ''theirs,'' but no one ever said they were the only gang in town.

"... there was nothing I could do," she says, "but... I knew you'd be worried about them. I thought... I could make up for it, or... you know?" ... she sounds pretty hopeless about that, though, as if the very ''concept'' of making up for what she's done is impossible. "But... mm... I'm glad someone was able to help."

Even Remi put on her costume to venture out there, she heard, while Miho was still busy setting things up for her to stay here on her own... and while she wonders if it's all right to use their powers for themselves this way, her ''seishitsu'' assured her she'd thought of a cover story if she were to be questioned over it.

Still, Hana can figure out the reason immediately. "Mm-hm," Yua hums, nodding. "Like... we went to the park for a walk pretty much every day! Mimi and I, or Tykko and I, or Recchi and I, or even my home nurse, Sachie-san... oh, it's funny, you know?" She adds, as she thinks of it. "When I said I'd made friends with you, she actually recognised you... she said you were totally inspirational! And when I asked about that, it turns out her tattoos were ''ninkyou dantai'' tattoos," that's how Yakuza like to call ''themselves,'' "and she used to be part of the clan... but since you have to be a man, her boss let her go when she changed her name and stuff. I didn't know that!" Did Yua just assume that women were running around in the yakuza all the time? Well, the Order is arguably ''worse,'' and she's running around in ''there,'' so...

She pauses, for a moment, gazing down to Hiroki, with her warm and bubbly tone half for Hana and half to reassure ''him.'' Then, she blinks, looking back up to her.

"... oh! Right, what was I saying?"

Yua got totally side-tracked...

"... right, cooped up! So I wanted to go for a walk, but I was so bored of the park! I know the park inside out and upside-down! So I thought I'd go for a nice little trail walk... nothing hard or anything, but I wanted to see trees, you know? Trees! And rocks and stuff! It's not like I never did that either... mouuuu, but I should have known not to go on my own." She pouts, as she adds: "It's lucky my students were there to help... Hoshizora-kun and Fushihara-kun. If it wasn't for them... Hiro-tan might not have been okay."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

No one is there to explain! Except Yua. And Yua does, and Hana thinks about it. "I see," she says. "That makes sense."

But cute things can hurt. ...Hana doesn't contest it, though.

'Drugged' is a good cover story, and it helps sell that she doesn't remember everything. It's not true, exactly... Unless you consider all the mediocre coffee she had at the cafe to be drugs. Most people would not.

"I appreciate that," Hana insists. "They were really worried... and they couldn't do anything, either. Even though Teruo likes to be the hero--I have a story about that, if you'd like to hear it."

A lot of somebodies were able to help.

"Yes, I see," Hana says, and then listens--and after a moment's obvious surprise with a slight widening of her eyes, she smiles. "Really?" she asks. "Well, if I could inspire her, I'm happy. ...I want to inspire people like us," she says. "I can't hide... So I'd rather shine."

She is a little surprised to hear how well that worked out for Sachie, though. Is it really that easy...?

Well. Anyway.

"Yes, I see. I understand." She looks sympathetic, her face shifting to match. "I'm glad, then. He's too precious."

"...We have an awfully helpful set of youth, don't we?" she asks. "I think the new generation is going to be good."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Yua don't know how good Hana's psyche is at making cute things scary!!

She would contest that coffee is drugs, though. She had to monitor her caffeine intake while pregnant, alongside everything else, to make sure she didn't have ''too much...''

"Mm, mm," she nods, when Hana says she has a ''story.'' "Storytime! Storytime!"

And Yua smiles, when Hana smiles, too. "Sachie-san was really happy you had a show and stuff. She said it was tough to get a 'legit' job, since she looked scary... but Mimi didn't care how she looked, she cared whether she scared me! And she didn't talk like a doctor," she's not a doctor, Yua, not everyone doing health is a doctor, "so she wasn't as scary as the other people she brought in for me to meet. Ever since then, she's helped take care of me! Mimi asked her to come today, too, to be with me while she's at work now she had to go back, but... mouuu, my big emergency happened while everyone was still asleep." She pouts, as she adds: "I woke Mimi up..."

One presumes that Sachie has been employed to attend Yua for more than just ''one day,'' but Yua's taking everything one day at a time. After all, maybe the day after tomorrow she can go home...!

(... and it's ''not'' that easy to get out and be yourself, as it happens, but Sachie spread a Rumour, and her boss liked her to ''begin'' with, so she managed to get out of it alive. Sumaru's just kinda like that. ... does it mean a Rumour is what's keeping her safe, though...?)

"He's my beautiful baby boy," and Yua grows positively ''teary,'' saying that, but it's not because she's sad. "Everything about him is so perfect... that's right, Hiro-tan, you're my perfect baby boy!" There, again, that high register she lapses into to engage him.

"Mm, mm, my students, too... they're so responsible," Yua smiles, still gazing at her son. "Akechi-kun even brought me tea and rice cakes after I went out to bring Yakoaki some cookies, just because he saw I was tired... such a diligent young man. Oh, and young Ryouhara-kun, too... he made me tea after a terrible thing happened, he made sure I wouldn't need to be the one to make it... oh, they're all so kind!"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

Storytime! "Well, a while back, Ya-chan was having some trouble. Someone had gotten pictures of her at the wrong place, and was threatening to release them if she wouldn't pay them... it would've been bad, at the time. So Teruo found out who was doing it and confronted him himself. It wasn't ever a problem after that--the blackmailer just folded. ...But Teruo couldn't find and save ''me'', this time. I think it stressed him..."

Still, Sachie. Hana inclines her head. "It can be," she says. "But I'm glad she had a place with you two, then. ...I hope you can see her soon."

One assumes that, but...

Yua is teary, and Hana smiles. "Yes," she says. "He is."

But Yua's students! "Akechi-kun is so kind," Hana agrees. And not just kind; there's a still to him she can still appreciate. Her 'justice'...

Her 'justice' will see Yua freed, too.

"Well, good! That's lovely."

"...I've got some time off, too; I need to go back to the doctor to make sure everything is still fine before i can go back to work..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"He did sound stressed," Yua says, on Teruo. "I don't really understand men, but... I think it's really nice he cared a lot. I just said he should take care of Saga and Yakoaki, since they were stressed, too... though... you know, the trick is I said that to everyone, just in different ways?"

(It's not that no men in her life are caring -- or boys! She just described two! -- but it's still ''notable,'' in her mind, when most of the men she's encountered bear sharp suits and no empathy.)

Yua smiles, and adds: "Don't worry, she'll be here soon! At morning tea, I think...?"

And there -- the kind boys. "Mm, mm," Yua hums, warmly; she holds Akechi in great esteem, and has long-forgotten the insult of her business card.

"Ah, you do...?" She wonders, when Hana mentions seeing the ''doctor.'' "Um... will your show be okay? You know, after getting kidnapped... they're not gonna cancel you or anything, right?"

(Cancelling means something different, it's 2013, she's referring to Hana's ''show.'')

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

Hana has a better understanding of men than Yua, she'd say. And really, "He does, he cares a lot. ...I think that must've helped. It gave him something to do..." a pause. "Did you? ...Hmhm. I guess that's kind of how it works, isn't it?"

Hana has dealt with many caring men... and also Kimitake Ijuuin.

But, "Great."

But Hana will see the doctor and, "...Probably," she says. "Kiki was able to take over for a while as the main host; the official story is that I was out sick. Some people know I was actually 'missing', of course..." She shakes her head. "Either way, that shouldn't be a problem. Of course... When I confront Matsumoto-san, ''that'' could be an issue..."

"But if it happens, it happens. I'll move forward with my career either way."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

That's fair. Hana has personal experience, after all!

"Mm," she hums, when Hana asks. "Since Yakoaki felt like she wasn't doing anything, and so did Saga, and so did Teruda... so I said she should worry about their feelings, and give them lots of protective hugs, and make sure the sink was fixed in your new place before you got there...!"

If that's in order, that means she thought Teruo ought to fix something to demonstrate his care...

... well, at least she was trying to think of something that would help him ''specifically...''

She frowns, though, feeling concern as she hears that uncertainty. "Kiki was worried, too..." Because of course while visiting Hana's various partners to deliver them healing snacks, she can't have totally ''missed'' her co-host. "Mm... I hope he's not mean to you," she says, her brow knit. "I don't know if... I could talk to him, or anything... people like that find clan names impressive, right?"

Aww, look, Yua really is becoming a rich woman! She's starting to explore ''nepotism!''

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

All of them had things to do... "I see! You know, I can really appreciate Ya-chan's work there if I think about it..." Emisa, of course, is very protective--and Teruo, "Haha. He is pretty handy..."

It was an effort! They all were working on it.

"He will be," Hana says bluntly, without seeming too concerned. "But it's fine. I can be a little mean, too. If he wants to give me trouble, or release bad things about me..."

"I can mention how he fired an employee who was in the hospital for spurious reasons."

Clan names...

"I appreciate it, but I want to stand on my own for this one. It'll be fine."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Everyone felt powerless... I thought it was better if I encouraged them to do the stuff they really could do. Mm... like, me, too... I couldn't do anything, so I just kept baking stuff to bring to them... so they'd at least have some yummy cookies?"

Yua sounds sad, but it might be something of a glimmer of hope, really; even though Yua feels so trapped and thwarted, she's at least trying to exercise what little power she ''can'' grasp, in her chains.

She doesn't sound any ''happier'' hearing how the Producer is likely to react, though. "Mouuuu..." Yua pouts, at that blunt response. "That's so risky... but... if you're sure? You don't even want me to ask Mimi who the good lawyers are? Mm, then... good luck, Kotoba!"

She's doubtful about whether standing up to power will really work, but...

Well, it's Hana's life, right...?

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

"That's great," Hana says. "It's really good, in a situation like that, to focus on what you can do... I think you were kind." She smiles. "And I got to have a couple of the cookies that were left!"

Yua feels so sad.... Still--

"He doesn't even work at my network; he has contacts, but so do I. ...If I end up needing a lawyer, I may come back and ask," she assures Yua, "But..."

"Well, your Miho-san's lawyers might be out of my price range," she laughs.

"But it's important to me. Since then... I was always afraid."

"And I'm not going to let fear rule me."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Really? Then I'm happy!" Yua smiles, as if all it takes to snap her from one mood to the next is a compliment or an assurance that she enjoyed her cookies. "I'll cook you more yummy cookies, okay? As soon as I get out! I want to go home tomorrow... or at least by the weekend! Tykko loves weekend dinners, because I have lots of time to cook big things like roasts, I can't miss weekend dinner..."

She sighs, though, the reactiveness of her happiness shattering a moment later. "Mou... but these meaniehead hospital doctors keep saying I'll be here for a ''month...'' I told Dr. Matsuhashi to tell them to go away when she came to see me, but she said I keep ''decompensating'' and I might ''die!'' It's no ''fair!''" Her anger is plosive, and Hiroki, hearing it, stirs with a whining little cry --

-- as Yua gasps, and shushes him, hugging him tighter. "Sh-sh-sh, it's okay... it's okay, Hiro-tan, mama's not mad at you, it's okay... mama's fine, mama's fine..." ... and she only grows more teary, as she tries to insist to him that it's ''okay,'' but she somehow manages to struggle her voice back down anyway. He settles, at that reassurance... but he's already intuited that things are wrong when she's upset, hasn't he?

Her smile wobbles, a little, when she looks to Hana, but she tries to wear it anyway. "Oh... I forgot that our lawyers probably have really high fees... but make sure to get one, okay? I remember him saying that anyone representing themself has a fool for a client... and I don't really get how it's that complicated, but it must be, right?"

She shakes her head. "I think... you're a really brave person, Kotoba. Much braver than me... I really hope you win."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

"Sure!" Hana answers, and then... listens to Yua's hopes and the way those hopes are dashed. She doesn't really like being in here at all--which is fair. Hana doesn't either, frankly. Being on this side is at least tolerable, but...

"I'm sorry, Yua," Hana says, and she means it. "It's not fair..."

But she sees, with some worry, that Hiroki is having trouble with this, too. It's okay, but... is it really okay? Hana is quiet at that.

"I will," Hana assures Yua then. "Oh, it's very complicated--it's a whole field! But I'm sure Sa-chan knows a good one--she knows someone for everything!"

She smiles back. "...I have people behind me," she says modestly. "But I want to be. That's for sure."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

When a mother's under strain, her children feel it, too. Even though Kimitake has been kind thus far in his visits, watched by blood relatives... the tension in Yua's body and the emotions in her voice are already teaching Hiroki that there's something worth worrying about in this world.

What's worse, perhaps, is that she's ''trying...'' and the guilt in her eye is heavy as any shackle.

"I'm glad you're not alone," she says, softly. "It's hard to be brave when you're alone. I think... someone must be looking out for you, right? So... you'll be okay."

She really hopes she'll be okay.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

Hana sees it... and she can imagine what happens with Kimitake.

That guilt...

Hana smiles, and tries to be reassuring. "It is," Hana agrees. "...It really is."

"Mm," she says. "There is. ...There's a lot of people."

"So I will. ...You'll see."
</poem>

2026-09-23: The Trial of Trusting Tomoki

2026-09-26T10:19:57Z

L: Created page with "*'''Log: ''' The Trial of Trusting Tomoki *'''Cast:''' Yua Ijuuin, Miho Ijuuin, Tomoki Hasegawa *'''Where:''' Aoba General Hospital *'''OOC Date:''' 2026-09-23 *'''IC Date:''' Mon Jan 14 2013 *'''Summary''': ''Tomoki comes to visit Yua, and they discuss Coming of Age day as he gains more insight into her trafficking... and into the murder she committed.'' *'''Content warning''': References to trafficking, abuse, murder. ---- Category:Logs Category:Season..."

*'''Log: ''' The Trial of Trusting Tomoki
*'''Cast:''' [[Yua Ijuuin]], [[Miho Ijuuin]], Tomoki Hasegawa
*'''Where:''' Aoba General Hospital
*'''OOC Date:''' 2026-09-23
*'''IC Date:''' Mon Jan 14 2013
*'''Summary''': ''Tomoki comes to visit Yua, and they discuss Coming of Age day as he gains more insight into her trafficking... and into the murder she committed.''
*'''Content warning''': References to trafficking, abuse, murder.

----

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

The next day has dawned; it's Coming of Age day, but of course, Yua (and Miho!) are staying firmly ''in hospital.'' Luckily, Tatsuzou Sudou's speech was televised across the nation...

("He frightens me," Yua says, softly, as she and Miho watch it, and does not speak to the ritual which gave her that fear.)

The room is, at least, looking more homey for ''Yua.'' She has some flexible straw on her bed, where she is busy weaving one of her clever little baskets; there's a portable DVD player on the bedside table, with a stack of Destiny DVDs on it. You know, all the classics: Lady and the Scamp, the Lion Queen, Rose Red, Sleeping Princess...

Right now, though, it's the coverage of Coming of Age day playing on the courtesy television bolted to a swinging arm abovehead, for Yua and Miho and Hiroki, too.

(Hiroki, who is not in Yua's arms, right now, but ''Miho's.'')

There are more things Yua needs from home, though, and they've sent someone on a quest to bring Yua's ''weighted blanket'' here. That person, today... is Tomoki!!

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

The next day...

Miho inclines her head, and squeezes Yua's hand at that time. He is the enemy, after all.

Miho has done her best to make this place better. She remembers her own Coming of Age Day, of course, unlike Yua. It's... different.

Miho is holding Hiroki, and is happily doing so; she watches him, looking down his way as she continues to apply consistent pressure.

But soon...

Knock knock. "It's me!" Tomoki says, and steps inside. "I have the blanket," he reports proudly. He's in his usual--jacket and trousers and nice shirt.

"How's it going?" He asks. Then he pauses, and looks at the two of them, and Hiroki. "...Aww."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Yua can just about reach Miho on her chair beside the bed if she dangles her arm down, though... ''sitting up'' and ''reaching'' is still beyond her. Luckily, the bed tilts up to let her be upright without having to put all that effort in, so it's really just the ''reaching'' that's a struggle.

Luckily, Miho can reach over to ''her,'' instead. (And can, thanks to the innovation of ''baby wrap.'')

"Oh, Tomo-kun!" Yua chirps, as he enters. ("Hands!!", she reminds him, parenthetically. Miho may need to explain.) "-- come, come! Come and see!"

This will be the first time he ''will'' have seen Hiroki, after all; Yua and Hiroki were being stabilised for most of Saturday, and Sunday she was too weary to have many visitors. Assuredly, everyone ''wants'' to visit, but Miho has kept firm control of the outpouring to ensure her poor wife doesn't end up feeling like an ''exhibit.''

Hiroki, as it happens, has dark Okinawan skin but -- when Tomoki gets close enough to peek at the space between Miho's breast and the baby -- his fiancee's vivid hazel eyes; the few wisps of hair on his head are ''also'' green, though it's a little hard to tell. He's ''very'' small, and still has his own set of various lines and drains attached to him; the nurses placed him at Miho's breast, and they've been instructed that they shouldn't try to ''reposition'' him without help, though of course the wrap is loose enough that he can do a little exploring of his own. Right now, though, he's quite attached.

"Mimi's actually better for him right now, did you know?" Yua says, her voice warm. "He's so little, he doesn't know how to drink yet, so he'd forget to breathe and he'd drown... it's okay when I've pumped, but Mimi doesn't have to worry about that at all! He still thinks he's eating, though," she adds, "because they take my milk and feed it to him through that garage tube," gavage tube, "so he's learning how to have a full tummy!!"

She pauses, and hits her ''pain button,'' before she leans forward. "Blankie?" She asks, a touch piteously, and just hoping that he understands to put it over her ''shoulders.'' "They cut a big hole in me," she adds, holding her fingers about six inches apart. "Thiiiiiiiiiiiiis big. So moving hurts a whole lot..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Miho can, and will!

"You have to sanitize your hands," Miho explains to Tomoki. "Oh, right," he says. "Germs and all. You were telling me about that." So he does that ''before'' he comes over to see, and then... he does see! He gets close, and smiles. Miho smiles at him, too.

But Tomoki can see; "He looks like you," he remarks to Miho, "But I bet he'll have a lot of your personality," he offers Yua. His words are soft; quiet. Maybe it feels to him like if he's too loud he'll disturb just a little guy.

"I didn't," Tomoki answers.

"Gavage tube," Miho supplies, but Tomoki still doesn't know what it is. Tomoki says, "Well, as long as he's getting what he needs, that's great!"

Then he laughs, and moves to put the blanket over Yua's shoulders. "Here you go..."

"You two look really natural with him," he says after that. "It's perfect."

"...And he is really small," Tomoki agrees. but then, "Man, that's a big hole. Guess they had to get a whole baby out, though. Hope you heal soon."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Mm, mm," Yua smiles, when Tomoki connects the ''Hiroki dots.'' "Are you happy, Mimi?" This, she asks of him ''looking like her.'' She explains, then, to Tomoki: "It's because he came from Mimi's egg! But we found a donor from Okinawa, so his skin's darker, too... sometimes he gets fussy when I get upset, but Mimi's heartbeat is super slow, so he's always really calm when he's with her!"

(Miho, after all, is an Olympian; prime athletes tend to have ''lower'' resting heart rates than the people around them.)

Her own voice is peppy, but not ''particularly'' loud; she just can't stop from expressing ten emotions all at once.

"Thankyu~" She chirps, as she feels the comforting weight of that blanket over her shoulders. (Yua misses hugs. Hugs are SO hard right now.) She reaches down, for Miho's hand, when he compliments how they look with their baby. "Hear that, mama?" She asks Miho, bubbling with warmth.

"He's so small because he's ten weeks early," she adds, looking back to Hiroki. "But even if he was six weeks earlier than that, they'd still save him! Baby care on the mainland is really impressive!" Is the care as advanced or reliable in her home village, an island which even ''with'' its explosion of tourism is still struggling to count a thousand people? ... almost certainly not; Miho knows that Yua's mother lost two children of her own, out there.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"I am," Miho says, inclining her head and staying otherwise still in that particular way of hers that's very helpful in this situation.

She is an Olympian.

"I see..." Tomoki nods along. "Well, that's great. It's a good combo of features, too. He's already a handsome little guy." That's whwat you say about boys!

And Yua reaches for Miho's hand, and Miho takes it.

She squeezes.

"I do," Miho answers. "Thank you, Tomoki. I'm glad you think so."

Tomoki listens, though, to Yua's special interest. "I see... That ''is'' impressive. I'm glad. ...If something goes wrong, it's good that baby and mother can still have chances, both."

Yes, controversial opinion: living is good.

"Have you gotten pictures yet? I can take a few while I'm here, if you want."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"He's ''so'' handsome! He's gonna have Miho's cheeks, I just know it! My proper little nobleman...!!" Miho's sharp features are, of course, Yua's ''favourite,'' in the way that all things Miho are Yua's favourite.

(Yua's cheeks, as it happens, are rounder; far more ''heart shaped'' than severe and angular, which makes it easier for Yua to pull off such a high femme look... though it's a little more difficult right ''now;'' she can't wear her lipstick ''and'' smooch Hiroki, and so, for once, her dark skin is ''undecorated,'' and the braid tumbling down her side is only neat because Miho has spent the time she needs each day unspooling it all and carefully brushing it out.)

Yua smiles, squeezing Miho's hand. "It was really scary for poor Mimi, so you've gotta be nice to her," she says, dobbing her ''seishitsu'' in with only the ''best'' intentions. "Since they managed to cut Hiro-tan out before he stopped breathing, but then I was bleeding a whole lot, and for a long time... it happened after lunch, but I didn't get to see Mimi and Hiroki until late at night. But Mimi looked after Hiroki, after they fixed him up... even though Mimi had to wait when Mimi wasn't sure. Mou, since then, Mimi's been making sure no one does anything bad to me... you're really amazing, Mimi," and at some point she stopped talking to ''Tomoki'' and just started praising Miho to her ''face,'' but of course Yua is deeply, madly in love and one can't blame her for orienting to the person anchoring her to this world.

And then: "Yay! More pictures! More pictures!" Apparently, there's never ''enough'' of them. This time, the cheeses she lists are things like ''Gouda'' and ''mozzarella.'' It's only in the lacuna between one of those photos that a reporter adds more coverage on Coming of Age day... and Yua looks back up to the television, playing footage up there.

"Mou... Coming of Age day..." Yua sighs, her smile growing a touch sad. "... they didn't give us a speech or a party," she says, softly. "They just took my eye... or... was that the year after...? I'm not sure... but it was after they showed me the broadcast of Mimi at the Olympics, so... maybe that time." A light pause, as she adds: "We didn't get calendars, so..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Definitely," Tomoki agrees, though he is no expert at babies. It's important to encourage in this situation though.

Miho loves brushing out Yua's hair, as it happens.

"...It was," Miho admits. But Yua explains the details...

"Miho, you're very brave. ...Putting your feelings aside for Hiroki-tan there is very like you... But I'm glad you came through all right, Yua." He talks to to both of them. He knows Miho's gotta leave sooner or later...

"Great job, Miho!" Tomoki says, and grins. "You can tell me more about it later too, all right?"

"Yes," Miho answers Tomoki. She squeezes Yua's hand, too. "Don't worry, Yua. I'm doing well."

Pictures! Tomoki accepts the cheeses and prepares to get a cheese plate later. But after a few pictures...

Miho frowns, looking to Yua with concern. Her body stays calm, of course, but...

"That's terrible," Tomoki says. "...Say. Why don't you have your own, one of these days? Just a little celebration. I celebrated mine with a drink... when you can drink again, you can do the same, if you want."

Miho looks to Yua. "We could invite friends," she offers. "It's a community holiday, after all."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"It's scary in hospital," Yua admits, though she squeezes Miho's hand in turn, glad that Miho's bearing up all right under it all. "But Mimi's here with me. And, and she promised she'd come and visit all the time even when she needs to go back to work and stuff! You've gotta, okay? Hiro-tan needs Mimi time!!" Once more, effortlessly, she segues from talking to Tomoki to Miho midway through her sentence. Yua is ''terribly'' anxious about being alone in hospital, despite the thousand times Miho's reassured her...

... but perhaps that makes more sense, when Yua speaks on Coming of Age day.

"Oh, Yua-mama won't be drinking for a while yet," Yua smiles, to Tomoki. "Since it can get into breast milk... and I'll be feeding Hiro-tan! But... mm... I do like friends..." She tilts her head, looking to Miho, thoughtfully. "Maybe... maybe that would be good... mou, but what if everyone just calls me childish?"

You'd think Yua would be above those worries, with the stack of Destiny movies behind her, but apparently not.

"And it's hard to talk about why I didn't just go the first time, too..." ... though thanks to Kimitake, her history ''is'' in the public record, now.

Well, one version of it, anyway.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Scary...

"My older sister was stuck in the hospital a while back," Tomoki offers. "She didn't like it much, either. She doesn't exactly have the reasons you have... But I think anybody could relate to how confining it has to be, right?"

Miho is here! "I will," Miho assures Yua. And Tomoki smiles. "Hey, you can rely on that."

Yua won't be drinking for a while still! "Aaah, then I guess that part'll have to wait," he says, considering. But friends are good. As to childish--

"It's not like you're asking us to celebrate your seven-five-threes," Tomoki points out. "And a lot of people are aware you'd have missed yours, even if they don't know the full story. ...I think if anybody called you childish, Miho'd beat me to throwing them out about it."

Miho nods. "That's true, I am faster."

He grins. ...But the grin fades. "Then, we tell people not to ask," he says.

Miho looks thoughtfully at this solution. "...Direct," she concludes, "But perhaps that directness is warranted. We can ask such a thing of friends."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"I'm stuck," Yua agrees, holding up her free hand sadly. (The IV tubing dangles from it; bandages around her hand keep it securely in place, despite the way she can yank at it under pressure.) "Even when I stand up for exercises, Mimi needs to untangle me... like when Tiger gets into the Christmas tree!" Tiger is a truly massive cat; no tree can withstand him, no tinsel deny him.

(Even when he's a naughty kitten, though, he's still their boo-boo baby. Yua wonders how he'll adapt to a ''real'' boo-boo baby...)

But one again -- for the third time today, and who knows how many times since they ''got'' here, to the point that Miho once had to patiently explain to a nurse that Yua's anxiety was ''not'' a sign that she had new-onset confusion characterised by amnesia -- Miho assures Yua that she ''will'' visit, and Yua sighs, squeezing her hand. "Thankyu," she murmurs, softly. "It's weird... I know Mimi won't ever let me down, but... it's like I know and I don't know, when I get scared."

Yua doesn't quite have the language to talk about the gap between knowing and ''internalising'' something, when the scars of trauma have ripped those two concepts far apart, and it just leaves her feeling like she's ''needy.''

She does giggle, though, when Tomoki admits Miho is faster. "Mimi's the fastest!"

But then -- direct men have direct solutions, and Yua blinks, tilting her head. "... you can do that?" She asks, and the question mark above her head is audible. "I mean, I told my students to do that, or, uhhh, not do that, but... that's different, right? I'm like... their boss! If it's friends, isn't it bossy...?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"So you are," Tomoki agrees sadly. Then he grins. "That cat is amazing at tangling things up," he admits. It's not just the tree, even! He's just a very talented cat.

(He'll be fine. Miho has him disciplined, as cats go.)

Again... But it's all right. Miho doesn't mind. She squeezes Yua's hand back. "I won't," she says. "You can always count on me."

"The mind tends to forget things, when we're afraid," Tomoki says. "Things that are easy or solid in normal times just go right out the window when you're scared." He pauses. "That's why stunt performers are important, too--not every actor can put that aside."

Can he? Don't worry about it.

Miho ''is'' the fastest.

But indeed--it's a solution a polite woman might not think of. "You can," Tomoki says. "It's not bossy, it's just one of the rules of the party. You expect people not to put their feet on your couch, or take more wine than you're offering, right? Same kind of thing."

"Your house, your rules, and all." Miho's house, as the case may be, and he nods firmly to her.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"He's surprisingly acrobatic!" Yua grins. "That's why we have cat shelfs in the gym... he kept trying to climb the rowing machine before we gave him stuff to exercise with too!"

Tiger: always getting into everything. Luckily, Miho's trained him out of climbing around in their walk-in closet... Yua likes wearing black, you know?!

"Mimi saved me," Yua reminds herself -- and informs Tomoki, unwittingly, as she clasps Miho's hand. "Back when they broke me, so all I was good for was wearing that hood which made the sounds go away and the light go away and the smells go away... and it was like I wasn't even human any more..." ... without the context of the supernatural, that might sound dire for a different reason. Well... it was still a violation.

But... Tomoki knows a thing or two about stunt performers. "Oh... it is like that," she blinks, as she thinks of the stunt performer ''she'' was trying to help, lately. (Guilty conscience.) "Mm, mm... it's harder when I'm scared."

He speaks of ''rules,'' though, and Yua nods. "... oh, yeah! It's Mimi's rules! They can't break ''Mimi's rules!''" Miho's rules are Yua's rules, after all. "Mimi wouldn't let them! Mimi would ''crush them!'' Mm, mm! Mimi would make it okay."

Yua smiles, to Miho, though her gaze is still thoughtful. "Mm... hey, Tomo-kun...?" She starts, looking to him; and of course they've spoken about this already, agreed that ''Yua'' should get to be the one to decide if he hears about this, but there simply hasn't been a moment to ''tell'' him. "I guess I'm talking about stuff that happened back then, but... you remember how I told you how one of the people who kidnapped me came back to... do stuff that was bad? Um... well... she won't bother me any more," Yua says, her gaze darting away, a touch evasively. "She... died, so..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Is it a surprise, when a cat is acrobatic? Well, maybe it wouldn't be, if we didn't constantly tell cats in a surprised tone that they were cats.

Maybe.

"More gyms should have cat shelves," Tomoki thinks. He likes cats.

But Tomoki hears it--Miho saved her, and he always imagined something along those lines would be the case... one way or another. You don't attach to someone that hard without a reason. ...it is disturbing, though, hearing that. Tomoki grimaces. "It's good you're out of there."

But it is like that! "Yeah."

Mimi's rules... Tomoki smiles, looking at Miho. He could demand it too--but it ''is'' her house. "Sure would."

"Of course." Miho is pleased at this talk of Miho crushing.

But?

"I remember," Tomoki says seriously.

"Did she?" he asks, and without a moment's hesitation says, "Good."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Yua just wants to ask Tiger who a kitty baby is, is that so much to ask?!

(Maybe she can go home tomorrow...? ... the doctors said it probably won't be tomorrow.)

"I'm glad too," Yua says, quietly, of the horrors.

And, well, he ''could'' demand it, but he would risk bringing all the fury of Yua upon him, because Yua is ''quite'' sure that ''Miho'' is the boss. Listen to how satisfied she is to hear the tales of her conquest!! ... even if it's theoretical conquest and Yua's friends probably aren't mean enough to make Miho crush them.

"Mm," she hums affirmation, when Tomoki asks, and affirms... and with feelings like hers, perhaps it's no wonder she looks to ''Miho'' for guidance, hearing his firm reply. "Hey, Mimi...?"

She doesn't say what she's asking, but she just trusts Miho to ''know'' that she's trying to figure out whether she should tell him that ''she killed her.''

(That's her fiance, after all. Yua would feel... a ''little'' bad if she scared him off.)

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

The fury of Yua...!

It isn't necessary here. Not like it was there. But Miho, when Yua looks for guidance, looks back at Yua and inclines her head. "Yes," she says. "You can tell him."

Tomoki looks between the two of them, a question mark practically visible over his head.

It might not!

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Yua swallows, and gestures Tomoki to come closer to them. Her voice is low, though the door's closed, and there's not ''too'' much risk of them being overheard... though she has seen Miho searching for hidden bugs, and she knows from Miho what those bugs ''are'' and that they're just like her ''hair clip,'' too.

(The most horrifying thing was that there ''was'' one, stuck to the bottom of her food tray... and she has no idea who put it there, or ''when'' they would have done so. Luckily, Miho got rid of it right away!!)

"I killed her," she admits, then. "I -- I stabbed her twelve times -- after Mimi and my friend found her and cut her down. I know that sounds really bad... but it wasn't even just me she was hurting, Tomo-kun. And she wasn't someone the law could touch that easily, either... um, it's okay," she adds, shaking her head. "Mimi got rid of the body, so... we won't get in trouble, I don't think."

If their superiors were going to complain about it, they'd have done it already, right? ... unless they wanted them to twist in the wind...

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Tomoki does come close. As to the bugs, Miho has her suspicions, and will be digging further. But right now--

Tomoki's eyes widen in surprise. ...Admittedly, that's as much at the idea that a pregnant woman can stab someone that many times as that Yua did it at all, or as much as Yua's cute demeanor belies the iron within.

"Wow," he says, and Miho watches him carefully.

"...Well, if the law's not going to trouble you, good," he settles on. "If I thought the police could handle all your problems... Well, they'd have done it by now."

"Good," he says again. "This world could use some justice." He looks to Miho. "I'm not going to tell anyone," he says firmly.

Twelve times is a ''lot'', but from what she said that woman was doing...

"...I had a friend in university who something like that happened to. She ended up dropping out. I don't have contact with her these days..."

"But I think the people who do such things should get what's coming to them more often than they seem to."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"I only meant to do it once," Yua says, "but it didn't work, so I tried again... I'm not very good at stabbing people." That's -- that's a good thing, Yua. Don't sound sad when you say that. Not being good at stabbing people is so normal????

She sighs, and says: "... this is the sort of thing Kimi-san works on, but he couldn't do anything officially... I guess there are bad people in the force, too, so it's not as easy as saying something bad's happening."

Technically, every part of that sentence is true, but she still knows that the framing of the sentence -- and that 'too' -- make it into a ''functional'' lie.

She smiles, though -- a touch thin -- when Tomoki promises to keep it secret. "Thankyu... oh... it isn't strange for me to be cute when I've done something like that, right...?" Isn't it a ''super lie'' for her to be all cute and also a murderer??? That's not just lie jail, that's sending her straight to SUPER LIE JAIL!

"Mm... most of the time, no one does anything," Yua nods. "No one did anything to her when she was inappropriate, either... I knew she'd hurt me if she kept seeing me, and... I was right. It just took her longer to do it." She scowls, troubled. "I don't know how anyone could do something like that to someone like that... it makes me so mad."

Pause.

"Mimi, give me a prize," Yua says, a touch whining. "I want to yell about that, but I can't, because Hiro-tan's napping..."

Why does Yua get a prize for doing the bare minimum of emotional restraint when Miho is over here living her best restrained life??? Mostly because Yua's capacity to emotionally self-regulate is in tatters.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Tomoki does not ''quite'' have the stomach to imagine the murder in depth in bloody detail, but he's a good enough actor not to squirm. Still, he can't help but say, "Most people aren't, I think. Stabbing people's a skill that has to be taught."

Miho nods along, though she does keep track of Tomoki's comfort level...

Tomoki nods though, as how Kimitake couldn't do anything. Yeah. A lot of the time...

Tomoki shakes his head. "You are who you are," he settles with.

But most of the time... That seems true. But Tomoki shakes his head. "I don't like it either," he says.

Miho agrees, "...Not at all. There are some people the world is better off without."

Miho squeezes Yua's hand. "I'll give you a kiss when it's time for Hiroki to go," she assures her of the prize.

Yes, it makes sense.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

It's okay, Tomoki. Yua doesn't have the stomach to have PERFORMED the murder in bloody detail!

... except that she was the one holding the knife. You see her whole problem, here.

"I don't want to deceive anyone," Yua says, and perhaps that ''is'' who she is, even though 'wants' is -- once again -- doing ''so'' much heavy lifting.

But... the world ''is'' better off, without Natari. Yua nods, hearing Miho say that... and smiles, when she hears Miho promise a ''prize.'' "Yay! Hearing that, I'm happy...!"

When they gutted her emotional self-regulation they replaced it with emotional ''lability,'' but at least that makes Yua seem remarkably well-suited to bouncing back from horrors.

"And... I'm glad I could tell you," she adds, looking to Tomoki. "I didn't want Mimi to have to keep a bad secret... you'll talk to her about her feelings, right? You'd better promise!!"

That's right, Yua is enforcing Tomoki as Substitute Feelings Listener again now she's been knocked down for the count. She can do that! She's very powerful.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Indeed.

"...Yeah," Tomoki says, understanding that Yua doesn't want to. "People are... complex," he settles on, and perhaps he said that in a movie once. He means it, though.

Tomoki nods. "I appreciate it, then. We both know Miho tends to keep a lot to herself..."

MIho says, "I do. ...But I'll tell you about it. I have some feelings I want to sort out..."

Then Tomoki says, "I promise, Yua. Don't worry."

Miho smiles. "...See, Yua? It's all right."

"Case in point," Tomoki points out--and then grins.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

People ''are'' complex. For instance: there's a mean part of Yua terribly jealous that anyone else could take care of Miho, even if they can't do it as well as ''she'' can. This part of her exists irrespective of the fact that ''most'' of her is more concerned about whether Miho will be okay rather than about ''who'' helps her be okay. And that's on top of the fact that she's decided ''Tomoki'' is okay, but there's still an extremely NOT polyamorous part of her which insists ''no one'' is okay, and not even ''her'' marriage is okay, even though hers is a ''fake'' marriage built on ''lies'' and ''bullshit'' --

But of course Yua could never voice all of those thoughts, not in the least because few would believe that Yua could ever say the word 'bullshit' and not have it be completely incongruous, even though Yua ''knows'' swear words, she just usually only says 'fuck' when no one's around but Miho!

What? You've never heard Yua say 'fuck'? The camera must have just missed it. She's definitely said 'fuck'. Maybe it just wasn't covered in detail for some reason.

Luckily, despite Yua's struggles to self-regulate, Miho's care ''has'' made her better at it over the past year. She can sit with that ambiguity without sulking and ruining her attempts to take care of her wife, using a champion or ''otherwise!''

(... and if it sounds like she's feeling some ownership, well, there's a certain collorary to Yua insisting she's ''Miho's,'' which might even, on the whole, be more relieving than ''just'' talking like she belongs to Miho.)

"This isn't a safe place," she explains, instead, and if she sounds a little tense it must just be because she's talking about something very important to her. (Miho's feelings.) "People can listen in... and all kinds of people can walk in, too. Mimi needs safe places to talk best... and I won't be home for a long time, the doctors said." She can't hide being upset about ''that,'' though. She only has a certain threshold of not-showing-her-feelingsness before she starts wibbling. "I'm really happy Mimi wants to talk... but I know there's stuff I can't do here, even if it wasn't hard 'cause I'm really hurt."

She smiles, when Tomoki promises, and -- despite that ambiguity -- even manages to sparkle. "Okay! I'm counting on you!"

But Miho smiles, and Yua sighs, squeezing her hand. "Mimi's still taking care of me... I'm really lucky to have Mimi."

She's worried about her, but... Mimi's tough, right...?

</poem>

2026-09-22: Your Mark and Mine

2026-09-26T10:19:31Z

L: Created page with "*'''Log: ''' Your Mark and Mine *'''Cast:''' Yua Ijuuin, Miho Ijuuin *'''Where:''' Aoba General Hospital *'''OOC Date:''' 2026-09-22 *'''IC Date:''' Sun Jan 13 2013 *'''Summary''': ''Miho and Yua discuss their Marks as Yua struggles with her post-operative exercise.'' *'''Content warning''': References to medical abuse. ---- Category:Logs Category:Season 1 Category:Season 1, Episode 2 <Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed. <poem> Sleeping..."

*'''Log: ''' Your Mark and Mine
*'''Cast:''' [[Yua Ijuuin]], [[Miho Ijuuin]]
*'''Where:''' Aoba General Hospital
*'''OOC Date:''' 2026-09-22
*'''IC Date:''' Sun Jan 13 2013
*'''Summary''': ''Miho and Yua discuss their Marks as Yua struggles with her post-operative exercise.''
*'''Content warning''': References to medical abuse.

----

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Sleeping in hospital is tiring, but... at least they were able to get ''relatively'' solid sleep, aside from the nurses coming to check Yua in the night. But all too soon, the hospital is busting with activity again. The doctors say that Yua needs to ''get moving,'' even though Yua's still well and truly wired up to the bed. Miho was instrumental in helping Yua with the physiotherapist, as she showed her how to march in place beside her bed... but Yua wailed about it ''hurting,'' and cut off the appointment early.

No, it's not until later that morning that she says, meekly, to Miho: "Mouuu... I'll try again. ... Mimi help?"

Her IV poles (multiple!) at the head of the bed, Miho has to be on the ''other'' side; her hand clasps hers, as she sits at the side of the bed, trembling from the effort. But she ''pushes her pain button,'' and so, with Miho's help, stands; the oxygen tubing from the wall to her nose tugs a little, but Miho's able to detangle it from the side headboard so her head doesn't get ''yanked.'' March, and march, and march, and... by the fourth lift of her feet, Yua's panting with pain, and she sinks back down on the side of the bed. "Mimi, sit," she whines, tears dotting the edge of her eye for a ''different'' reason than usual. "Sit with me..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Sleep! It's important. Miho does not rest as well as she usually might, but it's enough for now. And Miho has stood up again, and has been helping Yua. Soon, Miho'll have to return to life outside the hospital...

But soon is not now.

Now, Miho is on the other side, holding Yua's hand. March, march, march...

"All right," Miho answers, and squeezes Yua's hand before she moves herself over to sit with Yua on the bed.

"Good job," she says. "You're doing well."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Yua's dreading that 'soon'... as much as she knows that they'll be in a bad position, if Miho isn't available for those wretched people and their plans. ... and Miho's planning a wedding, too...

Moouuuuu...

Yua tilts -- and yipes, quietly, as tilting tugs at her belly -- and so shifts her whole ''body'' to try and lean against Miho better. "They cut me," she sniffles, as she lifts the hem of her gown, to show her what they've done. Just above the indignity of a pad not unlike ''Hiroki's'' -- though hers, at least, is more for the ''bleeding,'' particularly right now, and in one of those events that cut into Miho's restful sleep, though they assure her it's ''normal'' -- there is a clear dressing pressed to the very bottom of her belly. A long cut runs almost from the join of one inner thigh to the next, horizontally; it is dark red, with off-white bands pressed across it under the dressing. Sutures.

No wonder she's in pain; that cut isn't merely ''superficial.''

Lowering her gown back down, Yua's shoulder sinks against Miho's chest, relying on her to keep her more or less upright. "Hey, Mimi..." Yua murmurs, as her hand reaches across herself to her, that IV tubing dangling as she goes, "... are people... being mean about your dreams?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

She is.

But Miho tries to accommodate the difficulty of Yua's current position, holding her there as she tilts. "I see," Miho says, and does look, frowning in concern. "...I suppose they needed to... but even so, it looks very painful."

Miho holds Yua there, and she is strong enough to keep her upright. But there, the question...

"Not as such," Miho says. "...Oh, there is the berserker boy," she says, "Who rages at everything he can."

"But no, not mean. That said... Some have brought up possibilities. The Oracle was deceived, they say--for all his knowledge of the True World, in the end he was abandoned by the forces that drove him."

"...I have my Mark, my power. But the Order has a similar power. I had concluded that the man in my dreams must be deceiving them to help us, in some way..."

"But I cannot deny that it is possible that something is wrong. My dreams are true, but..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Owie," Yua agrees, a touch miserably.

But at least, in expressing those owies, she ''hits the button again.'' She's been hitting it more since Miho encouraged her... the doctors assure them that it doesn't mean she's getting ''addicted,'' and in this year of our lord 2013, perhaps even with that language.

What's even more soothing than the strong pain relief through her body, though, is Miho's arms around it; her eye drifts closed, as she listens to her, head pressed to her chest, hands resting at her knee. (She leaves the button balancing there, too. You know. Just in case.)

"He's so energetic," Yua sighs, fondly, of the berserker boy, and with ''no'' regard for the hatred she's always seen him spit. Sorry, Hyousuke: mama hen would sooner roost on you. "Mm, but still... he was abandoned...?"

Yua bites at her lip, and wonders: "Hey, Mimi... how many 'forces' are there, do you think...?"

If Miho's dreams are true, and Sudou was deceived, Yua thinks -- surely that can only mean they were backed by ''different beings?''

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Yua deserves relief from her pain. That's what Miho says.

But she also continues to hold her. The button can remain. "He is," Miho answers, and she is less fond but it's very like Yua to be. "He was," Miho says. "That is what they say."

"...Who knows?" Miho asks. "It's possible that there are multiple 'entities' with an interest in the True World..."

"What we know is that the Oracle was empowered by something that wanted chaos and destruction. ...And we know that the Marks that we bear are similar--his and mine, that is." Not Yua's. "...Further, we know that my dreams have come true; that our destiny is real."

"...And that the power that saved my life can be granted to others, through 'Gozen'."

"We don't know enough," Miho decides. "I will not abandon what I have staked my life upon on supposition and worry. Do not concern yourself with that."

"...But I must gather data. I must understand."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Mmn..." Yua hums, thoughtfully. (And still with a little pain. That's just a constant backbeat, right now.)

"So, the Oracle's patron wanted chaos and destruction, but... is that really what that man's done for us, Mimi?" 'Us', of course, because he's Miho's patron but Yua is ''inherently'' along for the ride. She's a little jealous of how special Miho is to have some ancient spirit advising her, but... of course, ''mostly'' she just admires Miho for being that special!

"The power Gozen gave me... when I use it, it's different to when you use it, Mimi. It's not just that I'm quieter, I think... it's that I take us to a quiet place... mm, does that make sense?" She frowns, a touch concerned. "Mimi's power calls demons, and the demons are loud, they're alive..."

What could contrast that...?

"But... it's hard to tell that stuff," Yua admits. "Even for me... I'm powerful, but it's one thing to feel the borders between worlds, it's another to... to look at them? Sometimes, I'm really not sure what I'm seeing... if I see anything at all." She bites her lip, as she adds: "Ishigami-san's pretty interested in my gifts, though... I wonder what she knows. Since she's 'gifted', too..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Miho is gentle; she understands that the pain is there. ...It's not really the same as being shot in the arm at all, but there's enough there for empathy.

"No," Miho says. "...Or, well... not ''indiscriminate'' destruction, at least. Hmmm..." It's natural to be jealous. ...But Miho has never held it over Yua in that way.

"Yours is unusual compared to the others who have power from Gozen," Miho reflects. "Like Umie Akabane..."

"it does make sense, though."

Loud and alive...

"Hmm..."

"I don't entirely understand," she admits. "Seeing the borders between worlds... looking at them."

"But Ishigami-san may. I wonder, too. If we can get her to tell us more..."

"We'll need something to offer, for that. Something more."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Yua ''does'' wonder if it would feel like this if she were shot in the belly.

She does not want to be shot in the belly. :(

"But that's different, right? Chaos and destruction, that's... you know... random!" Yua struggles to try to get her head around it, scowling. "It's not like... needing to take care of something to move forward." Well, that's one way to phrase murder.

... she is grateful to Miho for her grace, amidst countless other things.

"Mm, but... I wonder why I'm different? They did those things to my eye... but... why is it that when he Marked it, it acted so weird...?" Yua scowls, thoughtfully. "... I wonder if my eye was sent to the spirit world, or something like that..."

(''Niraikanai,'' she says; it's a specifically ''Okinawan'' understanding of the land of the Gods.)

"But ever since then... I feel it, Mimi. When I 'cross over'... that I'm 'crossing over'. You know, how I get so tired, but... but I'm pretty good about going to Mementos and back without being wiped out?" It's the strange duality of Yua: she struggles with constant fatigue, but the spikes of fatigue Miho might ''expect'' from her own experiences just don't seem to hit Yua as badly. "I feel the change in the air... it feels normal, to me."

She hums, reaching a hand to Miho's. "... what if I told her... how I killed that woman? That... mm... Konishi," she manages to ''say her name,'' though it's strained. "T-there, I can say it! I managed to tell Nobumizu, too... I guess that was risky, but it's fine, right? She's dead!"

Luckily, the door to their private room closes, so Yua saying that oughtn't be an issue.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Miho doesn't want that either!!

"Yes," Miho agrees. "It's different." She leaves that there for now. Murder is murder and all, but...

Why? "It has to have been an interaction of something they did with his powers," Miho concludes. "...Unless, of course, there's some other explanation... But we don't have enough information even to speculate on what that might be."

"Send to the spirit world... that could be."

Yua feels it. "Hmm. Yes, that's true. Your experiences are different from mine in that way. I know you grow tired, but not in the ways that I do. ...Mementos ought to tire you, for instance."

But... Hmm.

"That's a start," Miho says. "But I'm not sure it would be something ''she'' would value. We might need... to do more searching of our own, for something she values."

"it's worth trying, though; it would give her insight."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Mm... there's lots we don't know." Yua frowns, a touch unsettled.

Like... just ''why'' she doesn't get tired, the same way Miho grows tired. "Mm... they must have done something... so that when Gozen gave them to me, it was different. I always thought... they were just thinking ahead, you know? Since -- since you weren't there, so I realised they lied, and I really, really wanted to destroy them, but I just got really hurt inside... I thought, if I could have summoned demons like you can, they definitely would have died after doing those awful things to me...!"

She sighs, though, shaking her head. "... but it can't just be that, right? Even if it would have been stupid for them to give demon-summoning powers to, to a... you know, a person they didn't look at like a person..." a Number, she means; "... it still would have been weird if they were giving it to someone like me without a bigger reason than staying safe then."

It can't ''just'' have been to save their hides. They think bigger than that.

"I think she would," Yua shakes her head, "since she first approached me when I was disagreeing with Kimi-san at a party... well, she didn't quite have the right idea," Yua lies, "but I think she likes it when women get one up on things. Though I guess it's not very 'useful' to her, either... mm... I'm sure we'll find something!"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

A great deal, indeed.

"...You're right. How would they think ahead in that way? How would they know how to do it? And if they did--why not do it that way with more of them?"

"...I'm sorry. If you had the power He gave me... you'd have been able to fight your way out there."

"It would have been strange."

But she would... "Hmm. So even if it's not ''useful'', it might be ''pleasing''. Yes, that's a good start, Yua. We'll go from there. I'll be on the lookout for more things, as well."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Mm... that's what I wonder," Yua frowns. "They had lots of people trapped down there... but they didn't have lots of people they gave the Mark. I had to do a lot of work with it, Mimi... like they were doing all the work with me... they were making those other suppressants, but there was this other drug, too, it made everything louder and more and bigger..."

She falls silent, for a moment. "... though, it's weird," she says, then. "Since... one day, they stopped bringing me aboveground to that office and telling me to call my power... just like that. I heard someone talking to his boss, and he was saying how I was, um, a 'precious resource', or something... I guess they were worried about how hard it was on me, even with the drugs they were making for it."

Yua does wish she could have fought... but she didn't. She was told not to.

She told Miho, once, that it was a dream of Miho herself which convinced her to shelter in place... though of course she was sure that was just her hiking knowledge, because that's what you're meant to ''do,'' if you get lost in the woods.

Yua smiles, though, when Miho realises it may well ''please'' their worldly patron. "Mm, mm," she nods, against her. "Mimi's sharp... you'll definitely find something... mm..."

Yua squeezes her hand, as she admits, "... I'm tired, Mimi. But I don't wanna move... I'm with Mimi..."

One way or another, she's sure that Miho will see her to her rest.

</poem>

2026-09-22: Remi Meets the Baby

2026-09-26T10:18:06Z

L: Created page with "*'''Log: ''' Remi Meets the Baby *'''Cast:''' Yua Ijuuin, Miho Ijuuin, Remi Ryuuja *'''Where:''' Aoba General Hospital *'''OOC Date:''' 2026-09-22 *'''IC Date:''' Sun Jan 13 2013 *'''Summary''': ''And learns that there are people who know who Yua and Miho are now, too.'' ---- Category:Logs Category:Season 1 Category:Season 1, Episode 2 <Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed. <poem> The private room Remi will find Yua and MIho in has Yua..."

*'''Log: ''' Remi Meets the Baby
*'''Cast:''' [[Yua Ijuuin]], [[Miho Ijuuin]], [[Remi Ryuuja]]
*'''Where:''' Aoba General Hospital
*'''OOC Date:''' 2026-09-22
*'''IC Date:''' Sun Jan 13 2013
*'''Summary''': ''And learns that there are people who know who Yua and Miho are now, too.''

----

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

The private room Remi will find Yua and MIho in has Yua's hospital bed, of course, but there's also a ''second'' mattress tucked in by the wall; Miho's evidently been staying over ''with'' her. There are several drains and lines in her, right now, like the oxygen prongs attached to the wall, and the IV lines which go into her the back of her hand and her wrist, associated with not one but ''two'' IV poles. (One has a bag of medication; the other, just one of those machines they use to program them. It's patient-controlled analgesia, actually.)

She already did all the exercise she could tolerate in the morning, so now she's firmly in bed again... but with her, attached to her chest with a wrap, is a dark-skinned baby with a few wisps of green hair. It's Hiroki! He's tiny! And he isn't ''really'' breastfeeding -- he gets his food through the gavage tube which is one of the tubes going to ''his'' nose, because he, too, is attached to various lines -- but the dry run is important ''practice'' for when he develops enough to figure out his coordination a little better.

It means Yua doesn't have a gown on, but between the wrap and a blanket Miho's made sure to tuck over her shoulders she's decent ''enough.'' ... her braid is also dangling down the bed, impossibly long, because it's too much effort to pin into a bun right now.

Miho is also here!

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Miho has no such drains or lines; she's been doing fine. She mentioned the situation to Remi, but Remi was not allowed back to see Yua until visitors in general were cleared. Miho's sitution is... unique.

Miho is seated, in ordinary clothes, next to the bed, marveling at her son. She is here!

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
<poem>

Remi has been, to put it mildly, ''greatly'' concerned. These are concerning times in general, of course, but Yua's health and well-being in particular is something that sets her on edge.

There are just some things she ''can't'' protect Yua from, no matter how much her conditioning might yell at her to try.

So she's done her best to distract herself (and Tyrrha, if necessary) while she waits for news and developments.

She came the instant she was allowed, however.

Remi pauses as she sees Yua in the hospital bed, sucking in a sharp breath as her eyes trace all the lines and tubes.

And then her eyes fall on that small, precious bundle.

She reaches to gently knock on the door and announce herself. "Yua-chan, Miho..." her voice is soft and hushed. "... and this must be your little one."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Tyrrha is a difficult proposition for a hospital; it's pretty risky to throw the robot girl in with a bunch of ''doctors.'' Thusly, Remi has been charged with her care.

"Oh, Recchi!" Yua chirps, brightly, hearing her voice; she notices the difference in honourifics between them, but the first thing she says is -- "Hands!!"

Miho, hopefully, will direct Remi to the hand sanitiser by the door, because Yua's hands are ''occupied'' and the doctor said he likes ''constant'' touch right now. There's more hand sanitiser, as it happens, on the end of the bed, ''and'' on the bedside table.

Germs are a big deal right now... and she expects Remi may, herself, want to ''touch baby.''

"Look, look," she urges her, voice gentle, once she's spiritually 'X'ed her into oblivion (her hands are full, she can't mime properly right now), and the side of the bed which is ''not'' crowded by IV poles may shortly be crowded by ''people.'' (And Miho's lounging chair, beside the bed.) "Isn't he so little..?"

He is, in fact, SO LITTLE, to the point of being ''undercooked.'' He's not even 29 weeks old yet.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Miho has been giving Remi updates, of course. When they released Yua from surgery; after she herself held Hiroki for a while. And, of course, when Remi was allowed...

"He is," Miho agrees, and then smiles. "Germs are a problem. You'll want to be very careful with touching anything ''except'' him while you have your hands clean from the sanitizer."

Then, when Remi has cleaned her hands, "He's ''so'' little," Miho agrees. "But he's breathing well, if with help. Hiroki-chan..." Because a baby gets to be a -chan. That's normal.

"I explained what happened before, but both Yua and Hiroki-chan are recovering well. ...As am I, as it happens. The power I used seems to have had no lasting ill effects."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
<poem>

Remi will, of course, play the role of doting aunt as best as she is able.

Hands! "Of course, dear." She will sanitize those hands. Though she pauses when Miho speaks of touching Hiroki. "Oh--well, naturally, dear, but I wouldn't presume-- is that safe?"

"Yes, yes, I can see that," Remi says of littleness. "So he is. How.... how is he doing...?" Breathing well, and both mother and child are recovering. "That is such a relief to hear." Remi is stepping closer, though keeping her hands to herself. "Hello, Hiroki-chan," she says delicately.

That power... Remi's expression grows more serious as she nods. "That is... also good to hear, Miho-chan. It was certainly... quite a display."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"They said it's okay so long as we're clean..." Yua pauses, and adds: "Oh, and no stinky perfumes and stuff, but I think that's just for me and Mimi? Since we're holding him! They call it 'Kangaroo Care!'" There's even a poster on the wall with parent education about it; apparently, it's important for preterm babies to have skin-to-skin contact with their parents for their health and development.

"They said Hiro-tan is pretty healthy, all things considered," Yua sparkles, and it's easy to imagine her saying it with more pep if she wasn't trying to ''stay calm for baby.'' "Since some girls helped me get here, they said... umm... what was it, Mimi? The placenta thingy?" She's talking about how the doctors told them that they were able to get her into surgery to cut him out before the placenta was completely unseated from the wall of the uterus -- the placenta, of course, being the membrane by which such vital things as ''oxygen'' are transported between child and mother before birth.

(Placenta praevia is the condition whereby that membrane attaches to the cervix and prevents vaginal birth; Yua's, luckily, was only ''partially'' covering it, so the damage wasn't as extreme.)

"... anyway, since that was okay, when they got him out, he was okay! Um... I wasn't so okay, though... they said I lost a lot of blood, so now I'm not allowed to stand up on my own, they're still worried I'll fall over. But it's okay, 'cause Mimi was here," Yua smiles, down to Hiroki. "Mimi took care of you, didn't she, sweetie? It's okay, baby, when you're done here it's Mimi time, okay? O-kaaay? We all love Mimi time! Mimi tiiime!"

Yua has, apparently, already developed her baby-talk voice. It's only ''after'' she's done baby-talking that she looks up to them, again. "Mimi told me," she says, to Remi. "It was really lucky... I needed her quick, and she made sure to get here right away!"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"It is safe," Miho confirms with Yua. "We cannot allow you to ''hold'' him yet, but to touch him would be fine. It would be welcome, even."

No perfumes... "Indeed. And I have avoided such." Not that she usually uses them all that much... Deoderant is typically sufficient for Miho, unless she has a specific something in mind.

'All things considered'. "The placenta," Miho agrees. "It became unseated from the uterine wall... It was a problem. But they were able to account for it."

Yua was ''not'' okay. "Indeed... We must be very careful with Yua for now." She smiles, then. "Yes, I did. It was a wonderful chance to spend time with Hiroki..."

She nods then to Remi. "Essentially, my emotions appear to have emopowered me," she says. "In my need to reach Yua, I was able to draw on the power to make it happen. I do not think it was luck--I think it is a sign."

"...But do not worry. I was not ruled by that fear--I am used to intense emotions that I must then control. ...It must have been startling to feel an emotion that was not yours, if only distantly."

She then smiles at Yua. "...I also like 'Yua time'."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
<poem>

"I shall bear that in mind, then," Remi says of the perfume. But Hiro-tan is healthy! "That is such a relief to hear." She nods to Miho, next, as she also confirms touching, but no holding. "Understood, dear."

Yua, though, lost a lot of blood. Remi frowns at that, but tries to stay calm. "Well--it is fortunate things went as they did, then. Please, do not push yourself to recover--we shall all pitch in, in your time of need."

But that power... "Mmm. I see. But a sign of what, then?" All these powers and forces... Remi is forced to interact with the supernatural, but does not always trust all of it.

A small shake of the head. "Forgive me for saying so, but my mind was more on the mission... as well as what I suspected the source of your distress to be, of course. But it was certainly... unexpected, yes."

She leans in to get a better look at Hiroki, while she can. "Tyrrha-chan is doing quite well. She's been asking after you and the baby, of course. Do not worry, I shall field them for you, so you can focus on recovering." Remi chuckles lightly. "But she is quite excited, all the same, and if you haven't yet, I do believe she would like a picture--when you are up for it, of course."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Miho knows these details!! "Mm, mm!" Yua hums, nodding to her, gratefully.

She sighs, and adds, "Yua-chan's delicate... mooouuuu..." ''Pout.'' Yua doesn't like being delicate and in hospital! "They say I gotta stay in here 'til I'm better," she pouts, to Remi. "It's no fair... I wanna go home! Mouuuu... but I guess if I'm stuck here, I can be a kangaroo mama all the time..." That's what she's trying to tell herself, anyway.

At least thinking of ''Miho'' is happier. "Mimi's the ''most'' in control! She's so cool!" Yua sparkles, smiling to Miho. (Yua, who has never controlled an emotion in her life, is very impressed.) "It's a sign that Mimi loves us thiiiiiis much!"

There is a beat of silence, Yua's hands still occupied with her son.

"Imagine I stretched my arms out real big," Yua says, then. "Mimi, Mimi, show her." This, she implores of her very serious wife with a big, mookie eye.

"Yua-time for Mimi," Yua agrees, sunnily. "For Mimi and baby! Mimi, baby, Mimi, baby..." Oh, no, she can make it all ''sing-song.'' "Let's take a picture, baby! You want your big sister to see, right? Photo baby, photo baby~ o''`" ... her hands are still full, though, so someone else will have to snap it.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"That's right," Miho says to Yua. "If you're here, you can spend time with Hiroki." She smiles--and then nods to Remi. "Good, good."

"Right," Miho says. "You have my support... but you also have Remi's, and that of many friends. Between us all, all shall be well."

"I imagine it," Miho says solemnly of Yua's hands, and stretches her own hands out very large, with a completely serious expression.

Sing-song...

But first, "It is fine," Miho says. "But a sign of what? That is a question. ...It is a sign that I will have the power I need for our means, I think. When we find out opportunity."

The questions... And--

"Yes," Miho agrees. "First, would you take one for us, Remi-chan?"

"I will get one of you and Yua and Hiroki next, of course. It will be a treasure to see. But I believe Tyrrha-chan would most like to see her parents and brother, first."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
<poem>

"I know, dear," Remi says sympathetically. "I do imagine it must get tiring to be confined to your bed, but right now it's what's best for both you and Hiroki-chan."

Remi chuckles as Yua explains how she ''would'' move her hands. "I quite get the picture, dear. There can certainly be no doubt of ''that'', assuredly."

The sing-song makes Remi glad to see that Yua is at least in good spirits, if not fully in good health yet.

But the questions about Miho's newfound pwoer, at least, will go unresolved, for the moment. "Mmm. Perhaps. There are certainly many challenges arrayed against us, are there not?"

"I would be delighted to," Remi says to Miho with a smile. She has her phone on hand, of course, and will wait for Miho, Yua, and Hiroki to be ready. "Say cheese," she calls and...

*snap!*

She turns her phone to show Miho and Yua. "Are you happy with that?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"And Mimi will come to visit, and so will everyone, so it's okay..." Yua tries to reassure herself, though she frowns, consternated. "It's not even as simple as staying in bed!" She pouts, to Remi. "They said if I stay in bed all the time, I'll ''decondition,'' and I won't be able to walk any more! So I gotta do ''exercises,'' but they really hurt...!"

Miho, of course, already helped her with those today.

And lo -- Miho stretches her arms out reaaal big. "Just like that!" Yua nods, to Miho, directing Remi's attention that way. Remi doesn't have to just get the picture she can SEE the picture that's very important!!!

"Mimi's real strong," she nods, and smiles, to Hiroki. "Isn't she? Isn't Mimama so so strong? She's so strong, she could pick us ''both'' up! You'll see, you'll see...!"

And so -- "Briiiiie!" Yua warbles, cheerfully, for the photo. "... oh, it's beautiful! Mimi, get a copy for me here, okay?"

She repeats the process with Remi, of course, though this time she chirps, "Cheddar!"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"It won't be as bad after you've had a chance to start healing," Miho reminds Yua, a little offering as much as she ''can'' do at the moment. Then she nods firmly to Remi. they all get the picture.

They see it!

Some questions are unresolved--but that can wait for later. "There are," Miho says. "And there are likely to be more.'"

Remi takes the photo! "Cheese," Miho says seriously, and then Yua of course is talking ''specific'' cheeses. Miho smiles at that. "I will," Miho assures Yua.

"I am pleased as well," she says, and she takes the second...

"Good."

"...I'll be relying on you a lot in the coming days," Miho says then to Remi. "I have many things that I have to do--including preparing for Hiroki's adoption." Which means, of course, making good on her ''engagement''.

"So please allow me to count on you a bit longer."

Then, she pauses. "...Camembert..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
<poem>

"Ahh, I see." There are ''exercises''. "Ma pauvre! It is a cruel fate, to be sure, but certainly, we want you to be in the best shape you can when you are permitted to go home, non?" But once Yua starts ''healing''. "Yes, that ''is'' rather important to bear in mind."

"Yes dear, I see," Remi reassures Yua, when Miho stretches her arms. "Quite magnificent."

Remi will, of course, take ''her'' position for the photo next--though she will dutifully sanitize her hands, now that she has touched her phone. Hygeine is important! "Mimolette!"

Okay, she can get in the spirit of naming specific cheeses, too.

"Splendid," she says of the second photo.

And then she looks to Miho, who asks for her support... "Certainly, dear. You scarcely have to ask. After everything the two of you have done for me... consider it done."

She wants to make clear this is a choice of gratitude and support. At least for this moment.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"I wanna be healed right nooooooow," Yua whines.

"Mm... like... how those girls know who we are now," Yua says, of the ''challenges.'' "But it really can't be helped... I had to summon Gretchen to get here quick enough, and Gretchen got mad at me, so if I'd been alone I would've got ''eaten.''"

But the photos are very good!!

"Mm, mm," Yua nods, looking to Remi. "I was helping Mimi get ready... but it'll be hard in hospital... mooouuu! I mean... I can still do stuff on your tablet...?" She says, looking to Miho. "You know, like ordering stuff... but there's all that stuff we need to see people for, and... I can't leave bed prison!" She wibbles with the horror of it. "So you'll help, right, Recchi?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

She wants to be healed now.. Miho smiles, but it's a little sadder. "I know. I want that, too."

Then, indeed. Magnificent! But as to the girls... "They do," Miho says. "That's something we must be wary of; they could choose to spread our identities farther, if they wished. You would not be directly affected, Remi-chan, but it could become... inconvenient." Pause. "However, because they were instrumental to saving Yua, removing them is not an option."

Just putting that out there. She smiles though, at Remi's support.

"You can," Miho says of her tablet. "I know. But I'll handle those things. There's much i still have to do, yet..."

At least it's not foot prisons!

"Of course, he'll want to see you when it's possible," Miho says. "Just to make sure you're all right for himself."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
<poem>

"Patience, dear," Remi says gently. "All things in due course." But Remi is still smiling a little at Yua's impatience.

Then she is very suddenly ''not'' smiling when Yua delivers that news. Her voice goes very flat. "... what." She takes a step back to pinch the bridge of her nose, taking a deep breath.

After a moment she says, "... well I am certainly glad you are not ''eaten''..." She glances to Miho. "'Inconvenient' is putting it mildly. But if that is your decision, then..."

She'll take that as an order, and take no action.

But will she help? "Of course, of course. That is one thing you do not have to trouble yourself over. And I have already told Tyrrha-chan that she should expect many changes and adjustments in the weeks to come."

She's 23 and she's already having to do aunting. What a strange world to be living in.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

They both want that...

Still, Yua sees Remi stepping back, and it's a different kind of sadness, across her eye. "... did I do the wrong thing?" She asks, looking down to Hiroki. "Mimi said it was okay I went for a walk... uu..." What a sad little 'uu' it is!

Tragically, Yua is ''also in feets prison.'' They're just tucked in under that hospital blanket!

"... mm, mm, bring Tomo-kun here! I want to see him!" Yua insists. "And Sister, and Mother and Father, and Papa, and Me-chan...! And Kimi-san," as if he were not an afterthought, "oh, and Shishi and Ryouhara-kun! And Nobumizu, and Ayawata, and Akechi-kun, too! Oh, but he might be terribly busy... you know he brought me tea and rice cakes just a few days ago? He's such a nice young man... ohhh, and I want to go home and see Tykko! Can't I just go hoooome?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Remi's voice is flat--but it is an order, if phrased gently; if not for it, Remi's conditioning might force her to go after those girls...

"It is our decision," Miho says. Theirs--hers and Yua's. "It is how it must be." She looks to Yua. "No. You didn't."

Oh noooo feets prison!

Tyrrha will be helped... and all those others.

"Hmm. Yes, we have a number of people we should bring by..." She considers that. "And yes, of course. My cousin." Kimitake would want to see, right?

Of course.

"I'm afraid you can't," Miho says. "But we can make this place a little more like it, I think... I'm sure they'd allow us a few touches..."
</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
<poem>

Remi suddenly feels very tense, and she gives a quick shake of her head. "No--no. Not at all, Yua-chan," she says quickly. "It is merely--a challenge, as has been said."

A challenge she has a complicated feelnig about. It is a matter that could compliate Yua's safety, after all. And her conditioning... Miho understands it well.

'Our' decision. Remi takes a long breath and lets it out slowly. "Very well, then."

But Yua wants to see a lot of people. "You may wish to space the visits out," she says, a touch playfully. "... but yes. I am certain there are many who will want to see you."

But as for touches. "... if there is anything you need from home, I shall be happy to bring it fo you, of course."
</poem>

2026-09-21: Dark Boon

2026-09-22T04:17:06Z

L: Created page with "*'''Log: ''' Dark Boon *'''Cast:''' Yua Ijuuin, Miho Ijuuin, Yuuki Hoshizora, Misato Fushihara *'''Where:''' Aoba General Hospital *'''OOC Date:''' Mon, Sep 21 2026 *'''IC Date:''' Sat Jan 12 2013 (Dark Hour) *'''Summary''': ''Yua invited Yuuki and Magus to come back during the Dark Hour, promising to explain everything... and she does, alongside her wife, Miho. For all their gratitude, they cannot stay their hand in battle... but Yua, at least, won't..."

*'''Log: ''' Dark Boon
*'''Cast:''' [[Yua Ijuuin]], [[Miho Ijuuin]], [[Yuuki Hoshizora]], [[Misato Fushihara]]
*'''Where:''' Aoba General Hospital
*'''OOC Date:''' Mon, Sep 21 2026
*'''IC Date:''' Sat Jan 12 2013 (Dark Hour)
*'''Summary''': ''Yua invited Yuuki and Magus to come back during the Dark Hour, promising to explain everything... and she does, alongside her wife, Miho. For all their gratitude, they cannot stay their hand in battle... but Yua, at least, won't be fighting anyone anytime soon.''

----

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

OST: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=am6rArVPip8 Florence + The Machine - What The Water Gave Me

Yua instructed Yuuki and Magus to return during the Dark Hour... but ''which'' Dark Hour?

Perhaps she meant this very night... as Saturday turns to Sunday.

Aoba General Hospital stands stark and imposing, against a backdrop of sick green air. Thankfully, without power, they're able to open the doors without needing ''key cards'' -- were they designed to make sure people could escape if the power failed? Through the halls are coffins, flat in beds and in front of computers on wheeled standing desks; as they get up the neonatal intensive care unit, disturbingly, there are a lot of ''baby coffins...''

The events of the day were so prolonged that it's not even ''strange,'' really, the way the head of Yua's bed is still elevated as if she were talking to someone. (There'll be no adjusting it until the lights come back on; the bed is powered.) Now that green light filters through everything, she must stay quite still; the pumps which were feeding medication into her body no longer function, though the passive drains at least do. And while, by and large, the metaphysics are forgiving towards that...

"Owww..."

... one may still be ''injured,'' in the Dark Hour, and Yua cannot help but suffer new insults even still as she is.

So explains the tall, shadowy figure, plague mask and coat obscuring her features, whose book of profane truths flutters as she invokes Dia down onto the woman in the bed. There -- that's Faust, the Persona of one of the Order's powerful agents--!

And Yua's voice, as she reaches for the woman by her bed, and says, "... thanks, Mimi..."

Mimi... Mi... Yu...?

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Miho is here, of course. She would be nowhere else, right now--but that's not an explanation for what she's doing, at the moment. She has dressed again, though in sleeping clothes, fancy pajamas for the night-time in green. Yua is injured...

Miho stands with mist about her, her Persona Faust being the one to invoke Dia below. Miho is the one summoning her.

And she does so intently. "Of course," Miho says to Yua, with a small smile.

"I would do no less."

...If one looks ''very'' closely, there's a pipe by the bed in roughly the same size as a sword.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yuuki Hoshizora has posed.
<poem>

Yuuki came as asked.

Time has made her worries about her teacher magnify. She managed to find Misato and ensure she was safe. But now, she has to wonder: what is Ijuuin-sensei wrapped up in? What is she doing? Why is she doing this? That shadowy group...

They've been nothing but trouble.

She was worried about Magus, too. Magus is a student of hers. Does that mean Yuuki knows her? Is--is she going to be upset with Yuuki, for her finding out that much?

She waits for Magus near the entrance. She lifts a hand in a small wave. "...H-Hi. I'm not sure what to expect. But..."

Her eyes close.

"Let's go."

Up they go -- past rooms with coffins, even baby coffins -- until they reach Yua's room. Yuuki knocks, once, on the door. Then she opens it up.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Misato Fushihara has posed.
<poem>
Yua had requested they see her in the Dark Hour, so that she could explain herself. Magus is still suspicious of her. ...But she's certain ''Yuuki'' will go to see her. So she is, in that case, obligated to go as well.

...Though even if she weren't, that all-consuming desire to know ''why'' may have drawn her here anyway.

She meets Yuuki at the front door of the hospital, and responds to that wave with a nod of acknowledgment. ...She doesn't ''seem'' upset, at least - but she might be holding it in, given everything.

"...I don't know either. But there's one way to find out." She replies.

She floats through the halls of Aoba General Hospital. It has a very different feeling, when the world has gone dark and the beds are filled with coffins of all sorts of shapes and concerning sizes.

She tries not to look.

And so, they arrive at Yua's room. Yuuki opens the door, and Magus enters.

"We've arrived, as requested." She announces - and looks between the occupants of the room. Yua is expected - but there's a familiar, shadowy figure... The Persona, Faust, belonging to the one known as the Groom, Miyu.

...And there's only one other person in the room.

Magus recognizes her immediately, of course. She's always been a fan of sports, even if her injury prevented her from competing seriously. Miho Ijuuin, the gold medalist fencer... Someone she respected from afar, in a way, even if she's never met her. 'Mimi', as Yua had called her.

"...Miho Ijuuin. Then, you are the Groom?" Magus asks. ...And pauses for a moment, to process this. "'Bride', and 'Groom'... I thought you were cousins."

She doesn't sound offended by this - only surprised.

She does notice the pipe. She doesn't take offense to its presence. It'd be foolish for her to go unarmed when meeting with an enemy.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Mimi's always taking care of me," Yua murmurs, squeezing her hand. That hand, in Miho's, has a needle and tubing coming out of her wrist; on her left hand, it's installed in the back of her hand.

A little scrutiny will reveal the source of the discrepency between them -- because there's a terrible ''burn'' on the back of her right hand.

"Ah, they're here...?" Yua wonders, as -- "nnh" -- she turns to the opening door. There, as it opens, they see them: Miho in her nightclothes, Yua in a hospital gown... Miho made ''sure'' she was tied up in back after the last time she got to hold him, of course, so she's still ''decent,'' though perhaps one had best not pull down the blankets on her bed.

"That's the story," Yua explains, softly, when Magus recognises ''Miho'' -- and what they say they are. "Since I was unable to join Mimi's family register the way we normally do... I married her cousin, and so took her name in this way. But Mimi is my ''seishitsu,''" her wife, but that's a word from the Edo period, the word which described his ''main'' wife, his official wife, his wife in ''court''... back when men would take several. "And Hiroki is her son and mine... I carried him, but it was her egg an a donor man from Okinawa who made him. This, we do beneath the law," because there ''is'' no sperm donor bank in Japan, "because our love is destined, without regard for the inequities of this world."

A breath, "... we are..." she starts, and then stops, with a wince, looking to Miho in the dark.

She'll have to explain.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"I always will." But--they are here, Yua understands, and Miho too turns towards the door. She sees yuuki and then Magus after that; an ordinary-seeming girl, and a warrior in plain sight. "That's correct," Miho answers Magus with a nod. Then she looks to Yua, first.

That is the story. She explains it well enough.

"Should you reveal us to the others, we ask that you keep the nature of our relationship to yourselves. ...it is better that way."

A pause. "But yes. Through my dreams, I have seen it; our love was destined, in some form or another... and to my fortune, Yua decided it would be a romantic love."

"This is our child. I will do anything to safeguard Yua and Hiroki..."

"...And as you have done so, I owe you a debt."

"What questions would you ask of us? That can be the beginning of my repayment. The basics..."

"Are that Yua was taken by a conspiracy, and in finding her, I cannot leave--for she cannot leave. Thus, I will oppose you and your friends, for her sake, until I find a way to overcome them completely."

"That is my 'truth'."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yuuki Hoshizora has posed.
<poem>

It's so hard to tell what Magus is thinking and feeling, with her mask. That mask keeps Yuuki from doing more than reading the hint of an expression by her lips and eyes. While she is better than she used to...

But she can't, right now. She practically radiates anxiety as they make their way onward.

"That's--''oh''."

Yuuki's eyes widen with surprise. She looks at Miho with some recognition -- the name came up in the Olympics and she followed it. And, when she was told to call 'Mimi,' that makes everything clearer. Her mouth opens, then closes.

She is also the Groom. Someone dangerous, who has also worked with Yua in their missions. Yuuki swallows.

"...Hi," she says.

She falls quiet as Yua explains. She looks from Yua to Miho, and her eyes widen a little. They're married. Something that... that isn't really possible, for someone like them -- or someone like Yuuki, either.

"D-Destined?" she asks. "I, um... I'm glad that you found each other. And... and, um. That Hiroki-kun is okay. ...He's okay, right?"

Yuuki swallows -- and she quiets, as Miho explains what her truth is. She lifts a hand, fingers balled into a fist, resting it over her heart. Bright blue hair sways with her head, as she looks at Miho, then at Yua.

"Why... why can't she leave?" Yuuki asks.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Misato Fushihara has posed.
<poem>
That's the story, Yua says... which means there's more to it than that. Magus listens how she explains - the channels they've gone through in order for Yua to take Miho's name, and to be able to have a child together.

They do it beneath the law, because their love is destined.

"...How fortunate, to have love destined for you." Magus remarks. She can't help a little jealousy creeping into her voice. That they've been able to find something that she feels excluded to her, through channels that would be unavailable to her...

...And a little frustrated, too, that the first adults she meets that are like her are also her enemy. There's a lot she'd want to ''ask'', but... it's not safe.

...That, and it'd be a little embarrassing with Yuuki ''right there''.

"...But. Very well - I'll speak no word of your connection. But I cannot promise they won't make the same conclusion I have." Magus says. It's as good as saying that she intends to inform people about this. Her word, at least, is true. She can offer that much respect, at least.

She does look toward Yuuki, though, as she asks about Hiroki.

"...Yes. How is he?" She asks.

Miho would do anything to safeguard Yua and Hiroki... and because they did, she owes them a debt. A debt she intends to repay in part by asking questions.

She looks toward Yuuki as she asks the question that was in her mind. Magus nod.

"...You are strong. I've seen your skill for myself. And you would not be able to make it this far if you weren't cunning, as well. What stops you?" Magus asks.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"A thing more secret than our horrors still... this wretched world," Yua scowls, though she doesn't argue ''against'' Miho urging them to keep their relationship secret. "Damn it all."

... does that mean there's a world where people like them can live freely? She hears the jealousy in Magus's voice, and looks to her with compassion.

But -- Hiroki! "Mm," Yua smiles, a touch pained, when Yuuki and Magus ask if Hiroki is okay. "Nn, he's..." She's reaching over to the photo they printed out for her, on one of those bedside tables which swings around ''onto'' the bed for lunch; Miho will have to be the one to actually retrieve it and step forward to show it to them, though.

There, the nurses took a photo of a tiny, tiny baby, against what must be Miho's breast, because the skin is imperially pale like ''hers'' rather than dark like his; he has Miho's eyes, though, pale vivid hazel, and the little bits of hair on his head are green like hers, too.

There are tubes and lines running into and out of him, but... he looks as healthy as a baby ''can'' look, when they come out ten weeks early.

"... when they took me, they ensured my dependence on a pair of substances only they can make," Yua explains, glancing down. "It is not... so different to the stories of any woman trafficked. Many times, they are forced into addiction, so they can be more easily controlled... the only difference for me is that it is nothing so pedestrian as ''heroin.'' You saw it, yes? When... Gretchen was angry. The situation overwhelmed me, so I needed more of that drug... in order to be any use at all. This one, and that one..."

She takes a breath, as she reaches up to her face. "... one forgives my sins, and the other cleanses my soul of those which pour in... through this entry," and she releases the tight clasp on the eyepatch, sliding it up to reveal a black ''Mark,'' pouring out from inside her eyesocket, inside her ''skull,'' black fingers and thumb grasping at the area around her eye. An eye -- with three ''pupils?!'' -- each black and inert, without the invocation of her Mark to incense them.

"They ensured I would receive this... and that I would be dependent on them for aid with it, for with me they have committed their most base transgressions, to carve and examine their gift. That's why I do not invoke sin as the Old Maid did... and it is why I cannot leave as he did, either."

Because of that freaky eye... she needs the Order's drugs...?

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Hello," Miho greets Yuuki somewhat more formally. "Thank you," she says. "And yes, destined. ...My dreams told me of the world in which we were together. In this world, it was possible it would be different... but not that we would part."

"He's all right." Miho reaches to Yua, rises, and moves to show the picture to the two. Then... She looks to Yua, and nods. "See?"

But 'destined'... "Yes. It is a rare privilege, such a destiny. Do not think I take it lightly."

Yua explains further. The reason she can't leave... And Miho waits through it, frowning. "What they did is unconscionable, and they have done similar to others. I have been able to free few, to take them under my wing. ...But a recent incident freed more. Not all, though."

She pauses. "I have a power that Yua does not--but I did not receive it as the others did. ...I do not know why it can be given..."

A shake of her head. "But yes, Magus. I am powerful, and I am cunning. But I lack the knowledge and skill to synthesize these medicines. ...If I were able to return this world to its true state, it would become unnecessary--but I do not know how."

"...and, of course, all of you would oppose it, regardless. The Old Maid tried to bring about the world's former shape through violence and chaos... And in failing, proved to me that it is not so simple as blood."

"Regardless," she says, "So long as Yua is trapped, I will not leave her. And thus far, my power is insufficient to conquer the entire Order."

"...But this is the Mark of my power." Miho rolls up her left sleeve, and dshows the sinuous shapes of dark 'ink' on her skin. It is elaborate... and unsettling to look on.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yuuki Hoshizora has posed.
<poem>

"Yuuki Hoshizora," Yuuki says, with a short bow.

Yuuki's bright green eyes drift towards Magus. She hears a hint of jealousy, and that -- that makes her wonder for a second. She swallows, before she looks back at the two adults. She can think of things she would ask...

But it would be revealing a lot about herself. And, besides, Magus is ''right'' here. And...

She can't really commit to something. Not with her parents in such danger.

Yua explains more. Hiroki is -- well, he's clearly born early. Yuuki doesn't know a lot about childbirth or pregnancy, but she knows that he looks considerably tiny. "Ah..." She trails off. "I'm so glad he's okay."

And then Yua explains how they control her. She nods, in regards to Gretchen. "I'd wondered, Ijuuin-sensei..." She trails off for a moment. And then she gasps, as the eye patch is pulled back -- showing grasping fingers. She feels her fingers tighten at her side.

She swallows, her neck thick. "How--how awful. That they've done such a thing."

Yuuki hesitates as Miho shows her Mark, too. She swallows, as she looks between the two of them. "The world's... true state?" she asks. "I--um. I... we do have to oppose you. We can't... can't let the things that we've seen happen. But..."

She frowns, as she considers. "...I wish I knew a way so you'd both be free of that. What they've done is unforgiveable."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Misato Fushihara has posed.
<poem>
Magus meets Yuuki's brief glance. She realises that even saying that much might be telling - has she guessed...?

...Well. For right now...

She's quiet, as Yua curses the world. More secret than their horrors... It says something, she thinks, that ''this'' is the most dangerous secret they must keep. This world is cruel, in some ways - Magus acknowledges that.

A frown crosses her face at Yua's pain smile. That isn't... the most encouraging response - but Miho assures them that he's alright, and shows them the picture.

She can't tell from looking, but he certainly ''looks'' alright...

"...Ah, I see." She remarks. Her tone becomes hesitant, but she does admit... "...Yes, I'm glad, too. I will... wish for his continued health."

She might be fighting his parents, but... she's not going to carry a grudge against a ''baby'', who's done nothing to deserve it.

As for why they are some bound to the conspiracy... Yua explains.

It's a more mundane explanation than she's expecting - even if the specific method is far from it. A pair of substances that only they can make, that Yua is dependent on. An understanding frown crosses her face, as Miho lays it on the table. For all her power and cunning, it is crucial knowledge and skill that she lacks... and those, I imagine, the ones responsible guard jealously.

"...I see. So any freedom you ''do'' find in the short-term would short-lived... If one could even call that freedom. I cannot say I understand what you mean by 'forgiving your sins', but... it's cruel, what they've done to you." She nods her agreement with Yuuki, folding her arms in front of her beneath her cloak. "Who did this to you?"

But it seems like it's what allows her to use her Persona. But also...

Magus stares, as Yua slides her eyepatch up and reveals a black Mark. Surprise crosses Magus's face.

The world's true state...

"We would." Magus confirms, as Yuuki does. "I don't know what you believe the 'true state' to be. But though we may share a common enemy in this Order - so long as you serve them, regardless of the reason, I shall do my utmost to crush their and your ambitions."

She casts a hand out of her cloak, clencing it tight to emphasize her words before drawing it back in.

"...What is this Mark you bear? It feels... ''wrong''. I feel ill just looking at it." Magus asks. She pauses and hesitates for a moment. She looks away, looking a little embarrassed. ...It feels a little childish to ask, but... "...Does it hurt?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Yua smiles, to hear them relieved to see Hiroki. "It's all right," she assures them, seeing a touch of scepticism -- though with Magus, she's somewhat guessing. (It's hard to tell, behind that mask.) "Agony wreathes me not for his soul, but the hole whence he came. He is well." ''She'' might not be, though...

"I am honoured to be bound to Mimi," Yua says, in turn, as she reaches for her hand. "No matter how many of these false worlds confuse us, always will I find her."

They ''have'' done it to others, though. Certainly, the Old Maid bore a Mark much like this. Though... did he receive it as Yua did, or...?

Her three-point gaze does soften -- at least on the side of her face which ''isn't'' profane, though it's difficult to look at the left side of her face and see anything but what cannot be seen -- to see the horror which crosses over the girls' faces, to see their Marks.

"My left eye sees the truth," she tries to explain, to Magus, "but in this way I am -- confused. What I speak does not always make sense... forgive me. At times what is true is too strong for the mind to inherit plain. That's why I must cover it when both my feet are planted firmly in our existence... to know what is, when it cannot be, is a curse that would shatter me."

She takes a breath, and names the source of her horrors, since Magus asked ''who:'' "The Powers that Be... those titans you call the 'New World Order'."

The very people she's fighting for, now... however unwillingly.

"To serve the 'New World' is anathema to me, who knows the goodness which has been covered by the lie of ''this'' world, let alone the ''next.'' Those such as me will never reach their heaven... my hands are choked with sin. Their ambitions do not lie with ours... but I can offer you no quarter, on the battlefield, even so. Become strong, and turn us aside, if you are able."

She shakes her head, though, looking to Miho, as Magus asks for an ''explanation'' of the Mark... as she, for her part, reaches up to grasp the clasp of her eyepatch and pull it back down, to fasten it over her eye again. Out of sight, out of mind, huh...?

"It's all right," she says, soothingly, instead. "It only hurts when I invoke it." ... is that really fine?

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"A pleasure to meet you," Miho replies politely to Yuuki. They clearly have ''some'' kind of connection, the two of them, deeper than having happened to have been at the same place at the same time. But what? She couldn't say, for now.

"Thank you," Miho says to Yuuki, and then Magus. "He has a long road ahead of him, but the doctors assure us he will walk it... so to speak." He won't be walking anytime soon. But eventually!!

"It is awful," she agrees. "And cruel." Yua explains; the New World Order. As for opposition...

"I respect it," Miho says simply. "The world in my dreams is one in which some of your friends may hve never been, or never met you; you have no way of knowing if it is better, or worse, than what you have now, what you wish to protect. ...And indeed, there are things in this world that I would try to protect..."

A pause. "Do your best," Miho says. "If you cannot defeat me, who wishes not your death, then you will not be able to defeat them, who would kill you and think nothing of it."

"I don't know a way either," she admits to Yuuki. "if I did, I would have seized it."

"...But it is as Yua says; I will forgive you if you have difficulty understanding her, for now. I will explain. First... there are three 'worlds' in play. The True World, that one in my dreams--the original form of our world, which is... different, from what it is now. Then there is our current world; changed, and in some ways for the worse. Then, there is ''their'' future, the World they would bring about... which has no place for you or me. These three are all distinct."

"...There are those who tell me that the True World may have been presented to me darkly, but I have never known my dreams to lie. ...It is difficult."

"As to the Mark... My own I received when I gained my Persona. It allows me to break the 'rules' of the world--to summon my Persona without a supernatural space. Or rather.. to force the world into such a supernatural state. Demons also appear with its use. It was given me by the man in my dreams, but..."

"There are others with similar Marks, given to them by the Order. I do not know why mine is the same. But mine is potent, indeed."

She reaches over to squeeze Yua's hand. "It does not hurt me, though it is... inconvenient, as anything resembling a tattoo would be. Not only the gifted can perceive it."

She stops and then adds, "...But Yua's mark is unique. It summons no demons; it does not seem to give her power, only insight. It is... quieter. Strange..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yuuki Hoshizora has posed.
<poem>

"I'm... I'm really glad for that," Yuuki says. "When he's ready, I--um--I'd like to meet him."

Did Yuuki guess about Magus's feelings? She meets Magus's glance -- but her expression reveals nothing. And, really, with the horrors that they're hearing about...

Yuuki is becoming preoccupied. She nods in agreement with Magus, at calling it cruel. She listens to Yua -- and some of it is hard to follow. Yuuki is a person of facts and figures; someone who likes things to be firmly true or false. What she describes...

She finds it hard to wrap her head around.

"I... I think I understand. And--and what you both want isn't this New World Order," she says. She hesitates. "But... but you were forced into those things. What someone does to you, that--that shouldn't define you, Ijuuin-sensei."

She doesn't look at Magus when she says it. She doesn't know.

She looks at Miho, then -- and she blinks her eyes. She feels a pang of something at the mention of the original form of the world. A 'true' world. She can't put her finger on why, but the idea bothers her on some level.

"I-I see," she says. "It's... it's hard to wrap my ahead around. Parallel worlds, almost."

When Magus asks if the Mark hurts, Yuuki blinks. She glances sideways -- and then, pointedly, at the ground. "I... um. I wondered too."

She swallows. "It... it did give me a strange feeling, to look at Ijuuin-sensei's Mark." She looks down. "A way that... that yours did, Ijuuin-san."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Misato Fushihara has posed.
<poem>
Yua assures them that it's alright. Magus studies her. She says, in a way, that he is well... and so does Miho. There's a long road ahead of him, but he will walk it.

"Good." She replies. ...Unlike Yuuki, she doesn't ask to see him. A part of her wants to... but she feels like she shouldn't. Even if she did, would she be able to meet with him? It's only safe for her here in the Dark Hour. And surely, only a coffin would be there to meet her.

Miho respects their decision, and speaks of the world in her dreams.

"...I see. Then I cannot allow that. For all its hardships, I have seized what I have in this world through my own strength. I cannot allow anyone to take that from me." Magus decides - and nods. "Then I will demonstrate my resolve, next we meet on the field of battle."

Yua explains her Mark. Her left eye sees the 'truth' - but the truth is overwhelming.

"...That explains it." She says, perhaps insensitively.

Yua names their foe - the Powers that Be, the New World Order...

The New World, it seems, is different from the true, original world they desire. Magus listens thoughtfully, then glances toward Yuuki as she admits that it's hard to wrap her head around.

"...Yes." Magus admits, too. "But I know enough to know that I must reject both of them."

Yuuki admits that she wondered if it hurts, too - and Magus feels a ''little'' relieved that it wasn't just her.

Miho explains her own Mark next, how it allows her to summon her Persona and causes demons to appear...

"You say a man gave it to you?" Magus questions. It doesn't hurt her, though. Inconvenient...

"These 'Marks'... I can only imagine whatever would grant such a thing could only mean you ill." She remarks. "It would seem they interfere with your life."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Come in the day, if you like," Yua smiles, to Yuuki. To Magus, she adds: "Ah... I'd invite you, but... you understand?" The mask, you see.

Miho says that there are things in this world she would protect, though, and... "... what is good in this world," Yua says, darkly, "I will bring with me to the truth, and damn the rest."

... Miho might be the scarier one, between them, but is ''Yua'' the one with more extreme views...?

"I received my Persona... another way," and perhaps that explains the difference, between Yua's revolver-like Evoker and Miho's sharp gestures. "At the border between life and death... when I saw it, then I knew. But there are many similarities between our Marks, though Mimi was gifted hers and mine was thrust upon me by the Order," she adds, recognising the similiarities Yuuki felt in how ''bad'' it feels to look upon them. "This is still true, though mine was profaned."

But they ''do'' interfere with her life... and even now, as Yua sags, against the bed. She holds on long enough for Miho to offer an explanation, but soon enough, she has to speak up... "mouuuu... Mimi... I'm tired..."

... and so, it falls to her ''seishitsu'' to see the children out, so Yua can rest.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

It's definitely more art than science, this foretelling of the True World. But then, that's Miho; she may seem only to care about the material, but there are other things...

"It's fair," she says. "To have difficulty. I know it well, because I have had these dreams since I was younger than you are now." But it felt strange, did it? Miho is thoughtful.

"Very well," Miho says again. "Then fight for what is yours. I will wait to see it."

But it explains it. The truth... yes.

"A man, who resembles me," Miho confirms. "As if I were him. ...He has been in my dreams, for these years."

Yua, though--Yua speaks darly, and Miho looks at her for a moment. Then--

They do interfere. "...Mine saved my life," Miho explains. "The Order's operatives sought to run me off the road, and then kill me with their guns. ...But instead, I summoned my Persona, and they burned."

"Then, the Mark allowed me to infiltrate the Order... and here we are today."

"But that is all for now," as Yua says she is tired. "Thank you again. I hope that this knowledge is of use to you. Come; let's go."
</poem>

2026-09-20: Miho's Precarious Hours

2026-09-22T04:16:31Z

L: Created page with "*'''Log: ''' Miho's Precarious Hours *'''Cast:''' Yua Ijuuin, Miho Ijuuin *'''Where:''' Aoba General Hospital *'''OOC Date:''' sep 20 2026 *'''IC Date:''' Sat Jan 12 2013 *'''Summary''': ''Miho rushes to Yua's side, at the birth of her son, and finds herself in the position of sheltering him while Yua hangs in the balance. By the end, though, she has both of them in hand... though Yua's still falling apart.'' ---- Category:Logs Category:Season 1 Categ..."

*'''Log: ''' Miho's Precarious Hours
*'''Cast:''' [[Yua Ijuuin]], [[Miho Ijuuin]]
*'''Where:''' Aoba General Hospital
*'''OOC Date:''' sep 20 2026
*'''IC Date:''' Sat Jan 12 2013
*'''Summary''': ''Miho rushes to Yua's side, at the birth of her son, and finds herself in the position of sheltering him while Yua hangs in the balance. By the end, though, she has both of them in hand... though Yua's still falling apart.''

----

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Kimitake was the person they called, despite Yua insisting on Mimi, Mimi, ''Mimi.'' It would shock her -- though, pointedly, it wouldn't be shocking to ''Miho'' -- to hear that he was actually ''helpful,'' indicating both her wish to survive and carry more children and the fact that her nominated next of kin was really her ''cousin,'' and he'd be leaving Yua's care to her. It meant that when Miho arrived at the hospital, there were no thorny questions about whether she was the one to ''ask,'' as they took Yua into emergency surgery.

With her unique health complications, things were even more fraught than Hiroki's placenta partially covering her cervix -- though luckily, the bleeding triggered from ''that'' didn't herald a complete separation. She was in surgery a long time, even after they successfully delivered him by caesarean...

... and as Hiroki was sent to the neonatal intensive care unit with Miho, someone else is holding her hand, as Yua rouses from surgery. (Really, she's roused several times, but anaesthesia is like that.)

"Nn... where's... Mimi? Mimi?! Hiroki!" Yua barks, as she looks around, wildly, clawing consciousness from the world. She feels someone squeezing her hand, and looks to find -- "... Sachie-san?"

"Hey," that broad, tattooed woman rumbles, as she clasps her hand firmly -- and ''carefully,'' mindful of the needle in the back of it. (On her right side, her scars denied them access; they've place that needle at her wrist, instead.) "You're okay. He's okay. Your Ijuuin-san's takin' care of him now. Take a breath for me, OK?"

"I want to see him!" Yua insists, still agitated. She calls, as if surely she can hear her: "Mimi?! Mimi!!"

"Hey, hey," Sachie squeezes her hand, as she starts wriggling, with a yelp of pain as she tugs on more than ''one'' needle feeding things into her. It's only when she looks to them, realises one is ''dark'' --

"What are you doing to me?!" Yua cries, and it's just a hand at her ''arm,'' too, that calls her attention back to Sachie and her calm voice.

"That's blood, Ijuuin-san. You lost a lot of blood, and they're still puttin' more back into you. Hey, you're OK... Ijuuin-san sent me to look out for you, so they wouldn't do anything bad. You know me, right?"

"Uh-huh," Yua says, with a bit of a sniffle.

"Am I good?" Sachie asks, patiently.

"... uh-huh," Yua nods, and Sachie puts a tissue into her hand, so she can dab at her eye.

"Okay. What I need from you right now is to lie still and not tug," Sachie asks, and the fight goes out of Yua, as she does. "I promise you'll see them soon... it's just that you're in a serious condition, Ijuuin-san. We can't take you to the ward they're in until we finish stabilisin' you."

"How long?" Yua asks, feeling miserable.

"I can't say for sure, but I'll be here with you," Sachie promises. "Okay?"

"Okay," Yua sniffles.

(Before Yua had a chance to wake, as it happens, Sachie had a version of this calming conversation with ''Miho'' to explain it all.)

Between another bag of blood, an alarming scare, and a panic attack, hours pass before they're comfortable moving Yua to the NICU; she catches snippets of conversation, between nurses caught between her constant requests to leave and the other ward's unwillingness to accept an unstable patient. As promised, at least, Sachie attends her throughout, translating her wishes to the people trying to keep her ''alive.''

When they wheel her into the private room Miho's in -- because of course their wealth has assured ''that'' -- the bed space is clear for her; Miho's been provided with a lounging chair beside it, and enough agonising hours have passed, between her surgery and stabilisation, that they've asked something of ''her.'' "Mimi!" Yua cries, looking up from the flat bed, only to see what's stopping her wife from ''getting up'' -- "Hiroki...?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Miho got a call, all right. it wouldn't shock Miho that the actual hospital would call Kimitake first, no. But she set aside her armor, set aside everything else, and went as soon as she had the opportunity--arriving at the hospital. No thorny questions...

It's for the best. But Miho worried. And waited. And worried. That initial spike of ''fear'' was gone, but only in intensity--it still gnawed at her stomach like an angry worm. So Miho waited...

Eventually, Hiroki was given to her, and Miho marvelled. He is so, so very small...

Miho's private room also prevents strange questions about the Mark on her left wrist and hand, which if anything is slightly more elaborate than it was before.

Miho is staring down at Hiroki when Yua arrives; she has been here for some time. The only coverage her upper body has is Hiroki himself and her hand about him. He has tubes, drains, various medical interventions about him, but still, he is tiny and wonderful, and Miho cannot say how long it has been since she has been entraned.

But then...

"Yua," Miho says quietly when she arrives. She does not get up.

"Yes," Miho says softly. "...I can't hand him to you," she says. "He's not to move for some time--required to stay in contact with someone for one, and we shouldn't move him with all the... tubes, and so forth."

"But he is here. You can see him. You're alive, and so is he."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"I want," Yua reaches for Hiroki, and that's a complete sentence for her, sometimes, but she manages to elaborate: "I want my baby..."

But when Miho says she ''can't,'' her hands drops. "Oh... um... is he okay...?"

"He's fine," the nurse -- the ''male'' nurse, between Miho and Sachie they've already been cautioned that Yua's likely to be terrified if a female nurse looks at her breasts -- informs her kindly, as he helps her inside. "Hiroki-kun just has a pattern. If we interrupt him in the middle, he'll get confused and upset. He'll be ready to move soon, okay?" Miho, at least, doesn't have to bear the burden of keeping Hiroki positioned properly ''alone;'' a wrap has been pulled across her chest, to secure him to her and offer her a little privacy.

Indeed, that positioning may have been of grave concern when they discussed ''kangaroo care,'' given the exposure in Japanese media of some cases of preterm death involving it; luckily, the medical team has ''already'' reassured Miho of the benefits and the safety planning to put her at ease.

"Oh... just like me, right...?" Yua sighs, reaching a hand over to Miho's lounge again. "Mounnnh... it's okay... my ''seishitsu's'' got him... like... when I got her to hold him before!" When she'd get Miho to cradle her belly, she means.

Now, that belly is much closer to flat again... though Miho will see the way pain lances through her face, every time she moves, every time she jostles that wound. She has the button beside her which delivers pain medication, but... she's not ''pressing'' it, even though they said Yua's the only one who ''can.''

"He's so little," she says, sounding close to tears. "Itty-bitty... mou... can he breathe okay? Is he okay?" Some of those tubes, as it happens, are for his nose and mouth, and ''one'' of them is all about that question.

"We need to help him," the nurse says, "but his lungs are big enough to breathe with help. Tell us if his lips go a strange colour, okay?"

"Okay," Yua sniffles, as she nods.

Rather than for the button, Yua reaches for Miho's hand, needle in her wrist, as she asks: "Mimi, you okay...?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

It is a complete sentence, but... Miho knew she would. The nurse explains, and that gives Miho relief; her mind is fractured from everything that's happened today, and she does not feel entirely confident in making that explanation herself. So she waits. "Yes," Miho says. "Soon." She appreciates the wrap more for the security than anything else. ...It's good.

Miho was greatly concerned, but she's done research on this and is inclined to trust her doctors, their doctors; it is a thing that is long inculcated with her.

"That's right," Miho says softly. "I do. And it is like that."

Miho notices the pain; she notices the wound. ...The button...

She does not insist, at this moment. It is Yua's choice. Besides; perhaps she just wants to be lucid, for her first times with Hiroki like this, out here.

"We'll tell you," Miho agres. And then Miho accepts Yua's hand, curls her fingers around hers.

"..."

Is she okay?

"...I don't know," she admits. "But I know that he's so small. I wonder at him. ...He is here, with us now. And that is good."

"...that's all I can think of, right now."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"I'll be nearby," that nurse advises them, as he sees Yua and Miho settling in. "Just press the button if you need me." The call button, that is -- it's on the arm of Miho's chair, right now. There's a little clip to secure it so it doesn't fall out of reach! For the moment, though, he and Sachie step outside, to give them a little more privacy... well, relatively. Miho, at least, will still notice someone ''glancing in'' regularly.

(Yua... does not trust doctors, as a rule, but she trusts ''Miho.'')

Her grip is weak, her hand still a little clammy; still, she holds to Miho's hand for dear life, as she looks to Hiroki from her headrest. (They put the head of the bed ''up,'' before they left, so she'd be able to see. ... that hurt, too, but Yua's not complaining.) "I was... so scared," Yua admits, slowly. "I just wanted to go on a walk... you know, a walk... like we do all the time?" Yua likes going on ''walks,'' and indeed, sometimes they're even gentle woodland walks... though they're usually with ''Miho,'' or Tyrrha, or Remi, or even Sachie, when they have their appointments.

"Everyone was busy, but I really felt fine... I thought..." She sniffles, biting at her lip. "I thought it'd be okay," she says, and sounds so ''hopeless.'' "But then, like I got stabbed, it really hurt... those poor girls... Mimi, they helped me, but... but I had to... Gretchen had to help me, even though she was really mad."

It's a little confused, as a story, but... it seems like Yua chose to summon her Persona and transport them here by magical means, rather than wait for help.

"Then... then they brought a wheelchair out, and... and everyone was yelling, and... and I realised they were preparing me for sacrifice, and...! T-they said, 'sign this', and I didn't want to, but they said I'd die... so I let them, and... and they made me sleep and... that's what they took, right? They took out Hiroki? I-I can still see, it wasn't my eye, it wasn't my tongue, it wasn't my ears..."

(They did, in fact, have to cut Hiroki from her belly; in different circumstances, they might have attempted a vaginal birth, but it wasn't ''just'' Yua's pregnancy complications making things so complicated. The good news, at least, is that they were able to avoid a post-partum hysterectomy... though it was a difficult maneuver to stop the bleeding while preserving it.)

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Thank you."

Miho does notice. She is not alarmed, but she does notice.

"...Yua..." A walk. A walk, of all things. She listens to the whole story. She was scared; but it hurt. And those girls--

"...i am glad she was able to help," Miho murmurs. That might have made the difference. But 'those girls'... "One of thsoe who called me, then?" she confirms.

'Sacrifice'. "Yes. They got Hiroki--they didn't take anything else. ...You lost a lot of blood, but that's not the same."

Pause. "They didn't take your uterus, either." Not, Miho imagines, that Yua will ''wish'' to use it again... but even so.

"All that matters is that you and he are healthy, all right? ...You can..."

She considers. "You can tell me about what happened there, if you want. Or we can just sit with Hiroki."

"...I love you, Yua. And him. I thought I knew how much, but... It is more than I thought, even."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Mm," Yua hums, with a little nod. "I asked one of them to run down the trail with my phone to call you, but... but then it got worse, and I screamed, and... and I realised that even if you got help, it was... I wouldn't get there in time. So... so I called Gretchen, and... and her, and my screaming... it scared poor Fushihara-kun so badly she even dropped my phone as she ran away." She takes a breath, and then another, and another; it's a little laborous, to talk, still. "... but one of our opponents was nearby. You remember the masked girl, Magus...? She even found my phone as she hurried in... she wanted to protect Hoshizora-kun -- from me, I suppose -- so I brought her along, too. I didn't... have enough time to explain..."

She is quiet, a moment, but for her breath, as she takes a moment's rest, squeezing Miho's hand to reassure her. Gazing to Hiroki, at least, is healing. "... I'm so glad you were here with him," she says, interrupting her thoughts, in the way one does when one's just come out from surgery.

"Mm... but... they told me about my blood... there was a big dark bag when I woke up, it scared me... I guess it was blood? Mm... I hope I don't get sick..." It was only eleven years ago, now, after all, that the 'Blood Law' which sought to reduce bloodborne transmissions from transfusions was established; while it was only hemophiliacs who were affected by the 'HIV-Tainted Blood Scandal', the lawsuit settlements in the mid-nineties left far ''more'' people afraid.

"But they didn't take bits out of me... that's good... what a relief..."

Yua's weariness carries forward, in that weary sentence, before she orients herself to Hiroki again. "Hiroki, baby... oh, look at him... it was so hard, mama didn't mean to make you fight this early, but look at you, you're right here..." Snif, snif. "Oh... I love you too, Mimi... look at our baby...!"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"I see..." Miho frowns in thought. So these girls are aware of their identities, she concludes. "...It's all right," Miho says to Yua. "You're more important. And if you scared her, then I'm sure she'll be all right." It is difficult to talk... An opponent. "I remember." She considers that. "So, those three..."

She smiles faintly. She accepts a squeezeof Yua's hand; she still isn't sure she, herself, is all right. But that doesn't matter to her right now. "I am, too. It's thanks to that girl's presence of mind that I came so quickly. I wouldn't have known, otherwise."

Blood. "I don't think you will," Miho says. "They seem to operate a very clean hospital."

They didn't. Miho squeezes Yua's hand, back.

"Yes," Miho says, with a wider smile. "Look at our baby. Hiroki..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Yua is quite sure she isn't all right, and she's pretty sure Miho isn't, either, but... it's enough work just existing, right now. She is, at least, reassured, when Miho reassures her.

"Hi, baby..." Yua murmurs, and Miho, surely, can feel the exhaustion in her hand; no wonder, perhaps, she falls into cooing silence for a while, admiring him. The nurse comes in, after a while, to brief Yua on ''pumping,'' and to help her do so; Hiroki, he says, hasn't quite figured out how to coordinate suckling and breathing properly yet, so he won't be able to feed 'properly' for a few weeks, but Yua's milk can still be fed ''to'' him through his nutrition tubing.

And, as it happens, once she's expressed that milk, there's something she ''can'' do when Hiroki rouses from his feeding-nap cycle -- something they describe to them as ''dry'' breastfeeding, letting him nurse now her milk's been exhausted so he won't drown.

(That, as it happens, is something Miho was naturally equipped to help him with from the ''start,'' since her body wasn't readying in the same way.)

It takes some coordination to transition him to ''Yua's'' chest -- and again she resists ''hitting the pain button'' as they're helping her get into a better gown arrangement for it -- but at length she finally gets to hold him, and just as Sachie advised her, she presses against him with her wired-up left hand with constant pressure rather than stroking.

Yua understands being overstimulated from being pet wrong; doesn't that just mean he's like her?

"Look, look," Yua urges Miho, as she looks to her, one hand left free for her wife thanks to that clever wrap. "He has your eyes, Mimi..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Hi," Miho agrees. She smiles at Yua and at Hiroki both; eventually the nurse comes back in, and miho quietly watches Hiroki while Yua is being helped. That's all she needs for the moment, absent listening--and she does listen. But once Hiroki rouses...

It's interesting, what they're helping with, how they're doing this. Miho did not imagine she would be involved in this part at all, and yet here she is.

Constant pressure...

"I see," Miho sees, and smiles. "...So I see. That is well."

"...Yua," Miho says quietly then.

"...Is there a reason you will not allow them to ease the pain?"

Pause. "It is fine, if you simply do not want it. But I have noticed; you hurt, and yet you stand through it."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Yua bites her lip, as she looks to Miho, beside her in her chair. "... I'm scared," she admits, her voice trembling a little. "What if they put something bad in there... and because I pushed the button, that's why they could do it to me...?" One may recall, the way she says it... how they manufactured her consent to appear before Gozen.

"What if it's bad? What if they're trying to hurt me? What if I got this far, and -- and then I disappeared again -- right when he needs me?" Her gaze returns to Hiroki, nuzzling at her breast, brow knit with her concern. "Or, or what if I drug him? Even if he's not drinking now, they put it through his tube, right? What if I hurt him? Sachie-san said that even when he's born, he can still get drunk if I have wine because it gets in my milk... what if I drug my baby?!"

(The doctors have already taken this into account; the medications they've given her ''don't'' cross into breastmilk as readily as the substances she's describing. But of course, Yua doesn't think of that...)

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Miho is sitting, now; she doesn't feel up to standing, after everything. ...She ''had'' been in combat just prior to all this, after all, her supercharged final round aside. "I see..." She's afraid. Miho squeezes her hand.

"I'm here this time," Miho says softly. "They're not trying to hurt you; it's not bad. They've taken the difficulties with Hiroki into account; these doctors... they want to help all three of us."

A pause. "...But if the medicine would distress you more than not having it does... I understand."

"Perhaps just take a little, and see. And if I see anything strange, I will take care of it."

"Does that sound good?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Miho's been through a lot, too...

Yua squeezes back, when Miho assures her she's ''here.'' "Stay?" She asks, her voice small. "I'm scared, Mimi..."

(In fact, there's ''already'' a spare mattress on the floor with hospital bedding atop, tucked against the wall to facilitate Miho staying over the night... and that's the reason she has one of the ''comfy'' chairs that recline properly, too.)

"Mm..." She hums, squeezing Miho's hand again, as she takes a deep breath. "'Kay... I... I'll try." She pulls her hand away, but just briefly, so she can carefully navigate ''to'' that button and press it; and it's a testament to the power of the medication inside that she sighs a moment later.

"Still hurts, but... it's better... better now... 'kay? I'm okay?" Yua asks, reaching for her hand again.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"I'll stay," Miho says. "I already had a word with the staff... It won't be an issue."

Miho smiles at the squeeze to her hand, and then--the try. Yua does press it, and Miho watches the entire time; she observes Yua's eyes, her motions, her temperature through her hand...

While Miho is confident things will be fine, she promised she'd look out. Therefore she will be sure.

"You're okay," Miho says, and her smile is small, but earnest.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Thanks... thanks, Mimi..." Seeing that smile, too, helps ''Yua'' to smile. "Haa... it is better..."

She quiets, for a few moments more -- even lifts her hand to press the button ''again,'' while she's recovering -- and at length lifts her gaze from Hiroki, who is learning that one of his perches has much different heartbeat to the other, back to Miho.

"Um... when I took those girls, Hoshizora-kun and Magus-kun... when I took them into Mementos, I dropped them? Um, I mean... Gretchen was getting really cross as my belly hurt more and more, and... and we ended up in the middle of Mementos. They protected me from the Shadows, Mimi... while I... I realised something was wrong, s-so I was able to get my suppressants before she started hitting me. Once I managed that, I could get us to the hospital exit... Hoshizora-kun ran ahead to call you, and Magus-kun helped me out, but she didn't come with me. Mou... I can't blame her... she's one of my students, I suppose, but even I never detected a hint of her."

She takes another breath, or three, as she recovers from ''that'' explanation. "I told her and Hoshizora-kun to come by during the Dark Hour, and I'd explain... it was the only way I could think of to let her visit like 'that' without using our powers."

Yua hums, as she rubs her thumb against the side of Miho's hand, looking up her arm. "Mou... you used yours, right...? Earlier...?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Good." That it's better. But when Yua eventually continues her story, Miho listens. She watches her with large eyes, though her gaze is relaxed.

...She made sure to bring her things, the locked medicine boxes included.

"Hmm..." Dropped them. "I see... So they were instrumental in your safety," she says. "And your suppressants were necessary..." She nods. "I suppose that makes sense."

She looks to Yua. "Very well. I will talk to them, as well. They deserve to have our thanks, and..."

"Whatever else happens is what happens."

She pauses, and nods. "Yes... more fiercely than usual. The fear I felt for you... It resounded, somehow. It made me very strong, but I do not wish to repeat the experience."

She looks thoughtful. "The things they said..."

"...Mm, we can discuss that later. But I have much to think on. I'll share with you, when we feel better."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"If I'd been alone... the Shadows would have eaten me before I could take my medicine," Yua says, fearful to admit it. "Even though I could call Gretchen..."

It wasn't the kind of problem she could face alone.

"Mou... did I do the right thing?" She wonders, and she is vulnerable, in the wondering. "Those powers aren't for me... but I was reckless, so I had to expose us... Mimi, are we gonna be okay...?"

Her frown deepens, as she goes on: "And... are you gonna be okay...? It must have been so scary, Mimi... I'm sorry I was stubborn!" Tears well in her eye, as it spills out, "I'm sorry I didn't just wait! Just because I felt cooped up, I made Mimi go through such an awful thing when you were already fighting everyone for me...!"

It's no surprise, perhaps, that when Yua cries, ''Hiroki'' cries. Hearing that, she gasps, looking down to him, struggling to get that breathing under control again. "No no no, you're okay, you're okay, baby, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, sweetie... mama's fine, mama's fine..."

Mama was not, in fact, fine.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Then I'm glad you weren't alone."

It wasn't a problem she could face alone; thus...

"You did," Miho says confidently. "You did what you had to do. That's all it was. We'll be fine. ...One way or another, we'll be fine. I will see to it."

Then she shakes her head. "I will also be fine. You had a good reason. ...It would be wrong, to force you to stay cooped up, unable to go out. It would be wrong to take away your freedom. Yes, I worried... But I have thought a lot about it, in the hours since I heard what happened, and that is how I feel. It was... 'unavoidable'."

It's easier for Miho to keep her cool.

"...We'll discuss it more later," Miho suggests. "For now..."

"It's all right. We have him."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Mm... Mimi'll take care of me..." Yua is reassured, at least, to anchor to ''that.'' "Mimi's always taken care of me..."

And... mentally, too, not just ''physically.'' "I should have been more responsible," Yua sighs, though she's at least able to say it quieter, now she's busy cradling Hiroki to try to calm him. The nurses, of course, hurry in to check on him; Yua lays still, to let them work, though Miho can surely tell what an ''effort'' it is. "Even if I was all cooped... I'm sorry, Mimi..."

Of course it's wrong to take away her freedom, though.

"Is he okay?" She asks, nervously, to one of the nurses.

"He's all right," he assures her. "He's just depending on you for regulation, right now. You'll find you both become sensitive to each other's moods. Right now, he's likely just overwhelmed... can we rely on you to hold him again when he's calmed down?"

"Yeah," Yua nods, still feeling a touch choked. Has she already failed as a mother--? "But... it's Mimi who keeps me steady... uu..."

"We'll be relying on Ijuuin-san, too," and of course that's a touch confusing when there's ''two'' of them in the room, but with him talking to Yua, he can only mean ''Miho.'' "Don't worry. It's normal for babies to need to work up to a lot of contact. We'll do our best to take care of your treatment here with him, so you can hold him as much as he needs."

"My... treatment...?" Yua asks, feeling a pit in her stomach.

"There were some severe complications," the nurse says, trying to be soothing. "Do you remember seeing the doctor?"

"Mm... um, I think...?" Yua pauses, and shakes her head. "But I don't really remember..."

"... he said he's not comfortable seeing you discharged soon in your condition," the nurse reminds her.

"But..." Yua starts, as they lift Hiroki up.

"We can talk about it in a little while," the nurse assures her. "As soon as we've taken care of Hiroki-kun."

"... okay..." Yua, downcast, doesn't look at them as they leave.

Of course she wouldn't want to stay in hospital very long...

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

More responsible. "...It would be nice if someone had gone with you," she says. "...But given what happened, it may not have changed how desperate the situation became." It would've kept their identities secret, of course. But Miho is less concerned with that than with Yua's safety--with Hiroki's safety, too.

Miho smiles faintly. "See? He'll be all right."

And... well, yes, there are two of them, but, "I'll be here right now."

And Yua ofcourse...

"Yua," Miho says softly. "You're very injured. ...It will be all right. They only want to help you heal. ...You'll be with Hiroki."

A pause. "And..."

"They said to me that care like this--holding him--makes it more likely they can discharge ''him'' from the hospital sooner than they otherwise would. So at this rate.. You'll be able to come home together."

"...It's all right, Yua."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Mm... I'll try to be more careful..." Miho might not blame Yua for what happened... but ''Yua'' blames Yua, still.

Even after the suppressants pushed the issue aside.

(The pain of birth is only one type of pain; a Persona reacts to a different kind.)

But Miho is here to steady her, and Yua reaches for her, when the nurses leave. She squeezes her hand, as she listens to Miho urging her to put her trust in ''these'' doctors, and...

It's hard; there might not really ''be'' a harder thing on the planet. But Yua trusts ''Miho,'' and Miho says it's gonna be all right.

"And Mimi?" She asks, insistent in her fear, when Miho assures her she'll be with Hiroki.

But... Miho says he'll come home sooner, and... "... does that mean we can make him better?" Yua asks, still teary. "I want to make it better... I want to make up for messing it all up for him...! I tried so so ''hard,'' Mimi, even when they told us to stop with bedroom time, and, and giving up seafood, and everything else in the deli, and platypus light makeup," she means phthalate-containing makeup, "and no more wine, no more hot baths, and I didn't take my suppressants hardly ever those first three months, and no more ''dancing,'' and even being in the nursery while Mark-san was painting it... but because I was still so stressed, and I was stubborn, I still made him come out early! I'm a bad mamaaaaaa!"

... when you tally it all up, Yua's life has been nothing ''but'' restrictions, since she decided to have a baby. Society might judge her for having failed to bear her responsibilities calmly, but...

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"All right." Miho can't just wave her hand and have Yua not blame herself; it's not something she thinks is possible. But she does steady her as best she can...

Miho says it, though. "And me," Miho says. "I won't be able to spend all my time here... But I will be here as much of it as I'm able."

She then looks to Yua, and opens her mouth and closes it. "Yua..."

"Yua, yes, we can make him better. We can. I know you tried. You did your best--and it was enough. He's here--he's alive, and he's going to get better."

"...The stress wasn't your fault. It was theirs. And I will never forgive them for it."

"Yua... He's here, and he's beautiful. You did wonderfully."

"I promise that that's true."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Okay," Yua nods, when Miho assures her she'll be nearby. "So Mimi will notice if they make me disappear... Mimi won't let them hurt me... Mimi's here."

Yua's distrust is all the ''more'' notable, in a society which holds doctors in such esteem that most patients struggle even to ask questions of them. But then... what she experienced is far beyond the imagination of society, too.

(Though not beyond the ''capabilities'' of society. ... there is more here than is acknowledged in plain sight.)

But Miho assures her that it was ''enough,'' and she smiles, through her tears? "You -- you really think so? I did okay? Uu... Mimi... Mimi thinks I did a good job...!!"

Yua gulps, as her nose wrinkles, and she tugs at the prongs shoved into them to support her oxygen, because they're all ''tearlogged.'' ... the nurses already brought Miho a box of tissues, on the side table, there.

"Uu... you know what they say, Mimi? They say, uh, it doesn't even hurt if you did it right... if you were a good mama when you were growing him, it won't even hurt when you have him... but it hurts so much? It hurts so much, so I just thought, I must have done really really bad... it's silly, right...?"

... but that's another reason why Yua might be hesitant to take her pain medicine, even above and beyond her trauma.

To need analgesia is a mark of ''failure,'' on the mainland.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"I will. I am."

It's notable... but understandable to Miho. Very understandable.

"I do think so," Miho says. "You did. He's here, isn't he? Yes, he's early, but not beyond what medicine can care for. ...You did well."

Miho has had need of the tissues herself, though perhaps not so ''dramatically'' as Yua right now--it was a moving experience, sitting with her sin...

But what they say?

"I do not think that is true," Miho says dubiously. "I do not see how it ''can'' be true, either by vaginal birth or caesarean section. In either case it would seem somewhat inherent to the process that it would hurt."

A shake of her head. "But we know someone who we can ask, don't we? Sister. ...We'll ask her if that myth is true. And I am confident that she will say 'no', if only in private to us."

"...Besides; you were prepared to go without pain medication; you only relented because I asked you to. ...So that, too, is a factor."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"They said he can breathe," Yua sniffles, as she tries to clean up her face with those prongs in the way, "even with these horrible tubes...! Dr. Matsuhashi said... he only just learned how to do that, right...?" During their 28th week checkup, in fact -- the one she rolled into Yua's last ''emergency'' checkup, just a few days ago. Technically, he's still 28 weeks... though it's 28 weeks and ''5 days,'' which matters, at an age like this. "I at least got him far enough to breathe..."

... there was a time that Miho was alone, both her wife and son held in the balance, and no foe apparent which could possibly fall to her blade. Yua notes the manner in which the box of tissues is already open, as she takes more.

"Mm..." Yua sounds uncertain, though when Miho points out that her ''sister'' would know, she tilts her head. "She won't be disappointed...?" She wonders, nervously. "Okay... if you think so, Mimi."

She sighs, looking to that wretched ''pain button.'' "Mm... I guess I was worried about that, too... like I should be strong, too." She speaks as if Miho hasn't requested any pain medication of her own, despite such a tough fight...

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"They did, and I saw it myself." He can breathe! But the doctor... yes, she did say that. "You did," Miho says. "You got him far enough."

Miho does have feelings. ...As to her sister, "No. She will not."

But the button? "...Too?" Miho wonders. "I took something, myself, for the body ache, and that's to say nothing of the coffee I've had for the fatigue. ...You are not alone in this; it is efficient to take medication when it is required."

Miho nods firmly.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"They did, and I saw it myself." He can breathe! But the doctor... yes, she did say that. "You did," Miho says. "You got him far enough."

Miho does have feelings. ...As to her sister, "No. She will not."

But the button? "...Too?" Miho wonders. "I took something, myself, for the body ache, and that's to say nothing of the coffee I've had for the fatigue. ...You are not alone in this; it is efficient to take medication when it is required."

Miho nods firmly.
</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"He--he ''snuffles,'' Mimi, it's so cute..." Yua might be a mess of emotions, but ''some'' of them are much more positive and warm than overwhelming and horrible. If anything, the critical mix of them all, hodge-podge together, is even more destabilising than the sum of all their parts.

"Okay," she nods, a little more firmly, when Miho reassures her again. "Let's ask, Mimi." There'll be time for all her family to visit, later, of course...

Right now, though, it's just Miho and Yua. "Eh? Mimi too?" Yua asks, surprised to realise that the formidable ''Miho'' has already taken hers. On absorbing such a fact... Yua reaches over and hits the button again. "Okay," she says, as she does. "Then... I'll be efficient, Mimi...!"

Yua has never been efficient a day in her life where she could be extra instead, but hey, she can ''try.''
</poem>

2026-09-19: Born from a Wish

2026-09-22T04:16:08Z

L: Created page with "*'''Log: ''' Born from a Wish *'''Cast:''' Yua Ijuuin, Yuuki Hoshizora, Misato Fushihara *'''Where:''' Mt. Katatsumuri / Mementos *'''OOC Date:''' sep 19 2026 *'''IC Date:''' Sat Jan 12 2013 *'''Summary''': ''Yua goes on a walk by the base of Mt. Katatsumuri, bored of Aoba Park... but soon after she runs into Misato and Yuuki, labour pains kick in, and she realises she needs to help herself. With no options, she reveals herself to Yuuki -- and to Magus, who a..."

*'''Log: ''' Born from a Wish
*'''Cast:''' [[Yua Ijuuin]], [[Yuuki Hoshizora]], [[Misato Fushihara]]
*'''Where:''' Mt. Katatsumuri / Mementos
*'''OOC Date:''' sep 19 2026
*'''IC Date:''' Sat Jan 12 2013
*'''Summary''': ''Yua goes on a walk by the base of Mt. Katatsumuri, bored of Aoba Park... but soon after she runs into Misato and Yuuki, labour pains kick in, and she realises she needs to help herself. With no options, she reveals herself to Yuuki -- and to Magus, who appears on Gretchen's Summoning to protect her -- and teleports them through Mementos to get to the hospital... but she's interrupted on the way, and the children need to defend her from the Shadows of Mementos while she gets a grip on herself!''

----

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

OST: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7_-qdxVpZ4 Silent Hill f - Hougejaku

Ijuuin-sensei is on ''maternity leave,'' goes the gossip in Sevens... the teachers talk amongst themselves about how now she's reached her third trimester, she's scaling back her activity because she has a ''high-risk'' pregnancy.

Of course, that's not appropriate to say to students... but occasionally, things get overheard ''anyway.''

Yua isn't locked in a ''tower'' or anything, though. It's still good for her to get outside! Even when Tyrrha's getting more repairs from Para-Mind, and Miho and Remi are taking care of ''business...'' why, at times like this, it's all the more important to get out and get her mind off things!

That's what Yua is thinking, as she gets her things ready, making sure her key to Gretchen is hidden in the false panel at the bottom of her purse. It's not just her ''purse,'' though; she heads into ''her'' study, all packed with the things she's storing here because she doesn't really understand computers anyway, to put her ''pack'' together.

"Ah, Gentle Mistress... were you going to go to the park again today?" Eiko wonders, as she pauses, by the door.

"Nn, nn... I'm bored of the park," Yua pouts. "I go there all the time... I want ''out'' out! I'm going on a walk in the woods!"

"Won't you wait for the Young Mistress to be done downstairs?" Eiko asks, concern crossing over her brow. "You should have someone with you right now..."

"I really feel okay!" Yua insists, making sure she has everything for a nice safe stroll -- emergency locator beacon, shiny shiny heat-trapping blanket, one of those multitools which she's lucky to have a lawyer on retainer about. "I promise I won't go on a hard walk... I just don't want to city right now. Hey, hey, can you fill these up?" She lifts a couple of flasks of water, and Eiko hesitates, for a moment, before she takes them.

"Of course," Eiko nods, and does just that.

... even if she's worried about her, Yua's been hiking since she was a young child. Surely she'll be okay...?

Once her pack is lightly loaded up -- Yua can't carry ''heavy'' loads, right now -- she heads downstairs, where she's called their driver to the underground parking lot. Before she finds him, though, she goes to Para-Mind's ostentatious van, knocking on the door. "Yoo-hoo!!" She calls, which is only ''half'' her being cute; she also doesn't want a gun in her face.

It takes a moment for the door to open -- Para-Mind's in here alone with Tyrrha, who is running on reserve power while he sorts out some of the bugs from his recent fix. "Yo, mama!" She chirps, though of course she can't really ''move,'' right now.

"Hey, no helicopter parents," Para-Mind grouses. "If you wanna hover, you're gonna help."

"I'm sorry," Yua smiles, to him. "I don't mean to crowd you, Pami-Pami. I just wanted to let you know I'm going for a little walk on the trail," and this, she directs to someone who cares, ''Tyrrha.'' "I expect to be a couple of hours... don't worry, I'll go easy on it!"

"I'll come with ya!" Tyrrha volunteers, cheerfully, only for Para-Mind to emit the sound of a buzzer --

"Bzzzzlt. You're goin' ''nowhere'' 'til I figure out where the wire's crossed. Your voicebox goes all robo-Exterminator again when you're at school, we're busted. You're just ''lucky'' it happened at dinner that time."

"Oh, yeah, 'cuz I got my throat cut," Tyrrha says, and her pout is ''audible,'' if not presently ''visible.'' "But Hasegawa-san's reaction was so funny! He was like, 'are you chokin'???' He was soooo fussed!"

"He believed it was an artificial voice box," Yua assures Para-Mind, "so there's nothing to worry about." That's her ''first'' worry when Tomoki comes up around her 'associates', of course. "Mm... do you want me to stay until you're done, ''ucha...?''"

"Naw, naw, I'm cool," Tyrrha assures her. "Go walk, mama! Didn't the doctor say it's good for ya?"

"She did!" Yua smiles, sunnily.

Para-Mind does not care enough to point out that there are different qualities of 'walk.'

...---...

Seiji insists on staying at the base of Mt. Katatsumuri, when he brings Yua to the base of the trail, and instructs her to come right back if she's getting tired. Yua -- at this point ''quite'' tired of everyone thinking she can't even do a simple thing like a gentle walk up a trail when she knows for a ''fact'' that she can start a fire with ''ten times the amount of things around'' than he can and does he even KNOW the proper way to boil water for drinking?! YUA DOES! -- smiles and assures him she'll call him to leave if she feels funny, so he doesn't need to stay the whole time on ''her'' account.

She's just feeling a little crowded.

"Mooouuuuu," she huffs, grasping the straps of her pack with a big pout, once she's out of earshot. "Yua-chan is Yua-chan, you know!!"

... a pouty voice like hers does tend to ''echo'' through the trail, though, especially down here near its base where the incline isn't too punishing and the path is smooth and clearly marked. She's at least ''dressed'' in something more sensible for a walk in the woods -- sturdy maternity pants and a long-sleeved t-shirt, with a jacket over top, plus her ''hiking boots'' -- but that's unmistakably the voice of the dance instructor.

It might not even just be ''demons'' listening in for that, this afternoon after school...

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yuuki Hoshizora has posed.
<poem>

Yuuki is walking with Misato, along the trail at the base of Mt. Katatsumuri. The brown-haired girl has a dark blue jacket, lighter colored blue jeans, and boots on. She also has a comfy knitted hat on her head, which is a pleasant pale green color. Her hands are shoved into her pockets.

She invited Misato out for a nice winter hike. It seemed like a nice thing to do with a friend.

Alone.

And she has no idea this is also Magus, her rival-slash-comrade-slash-person she sometimes kisses. She walks next to Misato, a little closely -- but maybe that is only because it's a forest, it's a little shadowed, and it's a little chilly. "I-If we stayed until night time, we would be able to have a clear view of the stars! Especially out here."

A pause. "Of course, um, we'd have to find something to d--"

She blinks. She hears a familiar voice. She turns her head to Misato.

"Is... is that Ijuuin-sensei?" she asks. "It sounds like her voice..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Misato Fushihara has posed.
<poem>
Students aren't supposed to overhear rumors like that. ...But Misato tends to hear them anyway, because she's the nosey sort that keeps her ears alert for anything that might be useful information for her. Usually, though, it's just gossip.

She doesn't see it being ''that'' relevant today, though, because Yuuki has invited her out a nice winter hike! She said yes, of course.

And so, Misato strolls on alongside Yuuki. She walks alongside her with a delighted little bounce, hands clasped behind her back. It's nice to do something with her.

Misato, of course, knows ''exactly'' who she is. That's why the current situation is a little complex. But it's fine to do something with a friend.

"Really? I'm sure they'd be really pretty..." Misato comments thoughtfully. And then Yuuki starts to suggest that they'd have to find something to do -

- and she can ''not'' voice the first thought that comes to her mind. She looks away awkwardly, and she finds herself quite grateful for the sudden distraction.

"...You're right. I think it is..." Misato comments, surprised. "...This is a little far out, isn't it? Should she really be out here right now...?"

She frowns thoughtfully.

"...Should we go check on her?" She asks - and if there's no disagreement, starts to head that way.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Yua, if she knew, would surely not look so unkindly on Yuuki's ''special friend.'' But teachers aren't really meant to hear that sort of gossip... even if Misato hears more than ''she's'' meant to hear.

But they ''do'' hear her voice, and so, there they go -- to find her sitting in a little clearing, on a fallen log. "Oh! Hoshizora-kun, Fushihara-kun, hello! Are you going on a walk after school...?" She sees them, and calls to them, waving them over with a cheerfully flapping hand. "Did you remember to bring snacks? Oh, just a moment, I have some..."

She takes off her pack -- it at least doesn't seem like it's much of a struggle, even her ''geolocator'' is light-weight, money can't buy happiness but it ''can'' buy easier-to-carry equipment -- and opens up the satchel in front, to pull out some ''trail mix bars!!'' She holds one out for Yuuki, and then for Misato, and there's no fighting the brooding hen on this one. Eat your snacks, kids.

She takes a third bar for herself, and nibble nibbles at it, delicately. "Isn't it nice out here?" She bubbles, cheerfully. "Ahhh, you can really breathe...! I've been cooped up ''way'' too long!!"

Well, that explains why ''she's'' out here...

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yuuki Hoshizora has posed.
<poem>

"Right now?" Yuuki asks.

The rumors have gone around Sevens -- but Yuuki Hoshizora isn't the most tuned into the rumor mill. There is a blink, but then she notices that Misato seems concerned. (And that distracts her from the way that her friend seemed a little embarrassed for a second.)

She nods. "Let's do that."

When they find that it is indeed Yua, Yuuki smiles at her -- a little uncertainly, before she takes the offered trail mix bar. "Thank you, Ijuuin-sensei. We are, yes! I, um, wanted to see about seeing the stars. And we should have a great view of Jupiter. And it's practice for October, when we might be able to see Uranus without a telescope from the right spot, and--"

She flushes red and quiets down for a second, embarrassed as she catches herself.

"Y-You have been out lately... um, how are you doing?" she asks.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Misato Fushihara has posed.
<poem>
Misato looks at Yuuki as she raises a question. ...It looks like she doesn't know. ...That makes sense, actually, she shouldn't be surprised. No offense, Yuuki.

"Well, uh... ''I'' didn't say this, but she's supposedly ''super'' pregnant right now, and it sounds like it's been rough..." Misato explains.

They do, indeed, to go check on her.

"Hello, Ijuuin-sensei. Fancy meeting you out here!" Misato greets brightly. Snacks! She did, in fact, remember to bring some... but she finds a bar held out for her anyway, and it feels like it'd be rude to turn it down. And Ijuuin-sensei is one of a few teachers she actually ''likes''.

"Oh, thank you. It looks good!" Misato replies. Yuuki explains why they're here. Her eyes are squarely on her as she begins to gush about the stars.

...She doesn't know much about them herself, but she does like how much ''Yuuki'' is enthusiastic about them. She offers her an encouraging smile when she turns red, before looking back to Yua.

"It is! It's a nice day, isn't it?" Misato agrees. She's been cooped up too long... So ''that's'' why. "Yeah, how're you doing? We've been worried about you!"

Well, ''she'' has, she can't speak for anyone else.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Ah, beautiful!" Yua chirps, brightening, when Yuuki talks about ''stargazing.'' Even though she clamps up, Yua just claps her hands -- with one hand still curled around her trail bar it's a little awkward, but she's got the ''spirit.'' "I've got my sextant somewhere in my bag, too... you know, stargazing is very practical when you're at sea! Sometimes, it's the only way you can navigate at all! Did you know that back home in Okinawa, you can see the Southern Cross from mid-winter to early summer...? Oh, but you must go all the way down to the Yaeyama Islands sometime! You can see almost ''all'' the constellations from there!"

Oh, no.

''Yua does it too.''

But just as Misato says: she's ''super'' pregnant. Indeed, she's close to 29 weeks pregnant, now, which puts her ''officially'' in her ''third trimester,'' or: kind of obvious as to why she'd be sitting down despite the fact that things don't get really steep until further up the trail.

"Oh, but I haven't meant to worry you," she assures Misato, smiling, as she takes another nibble of her trail bar. (See?? She can even eat! ... thanks to the pills she's taking.) "My doctor recommended I go on leave a little early, but I haven't been put on bed rest or anything! A little exercise is just fine!" Other types of rest are a different story, but ''that's'' not a story for the youth. "Don't worry, I'll be back teaching again after my maternity leave... I'm not retiring or anything!" Which ''is'' a concern, for women in the workforce; ''many'' early-career women retire to become stay-home mothers, in Japan.

"How have you found your first week back?" She asks them, smiling. She feels a stab of anxiety, but surely she's just worried about worrying such a sweet girl as Misato? "It's your last semester of second year, isn't it? That's so exci--" her breath hitches, "so exciting --" and no, it's not just nerves, she realises, as her jaw sets.

"Ah-- s-something's --"

She fumbles for her pack, to pull out her phone, tap out a number -- "ah? No... service...? Even here?!" She yelps, as Miho's number hangs before it even rings through. She shoves her phone at Misato, a touch desperately, and says, "... can you run down the trail a little and call the number under Mimi? The unlock code's 9 12 13 9! Tell her... tell her I need help...!"

(That's the 9 kanji strokes of 'Mi', the 12 kanji strokes of 'Yu', the 13 kanji strokes of 'a', and the 9 kanji strokes of 'ho'...)

There, she leaves Misato to run off, as she doubles over, clutching her belly. "Ah...! Why... why'd I send Seiji-san away...?! Ah--aaahh!!"

And ''that's'' a cry that rings through the forest, loud enough for Misato to hear even if she's started off down the path already...

"... ah... Hoshizora-kun... I'll explain everything, I promise... just... stay with me, and... tell them I'm at the bus stop and need help, please..."

... the... bus stop...?

There -- her fumbling hands reach into her handbag, to lift that false panel, to pull out --

-- it's ''like'' an Evoker, but it's heavier, bulkier, more a revolver than a pistol.

As she places it to the eyepatch slung over her left eye...

... and whispers, voice thin and taut...

"... Persona."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yuuki Hoshizora has posed.
<poem>

"O-oh... wow," Yuuki says. "We should definitely check on her, then."

And indeed, they do find Yua.

When Misato gives her that encouraging smile, she stops clamming up quite as much and looks back at Yua. It's a little wide-eyed; sharing her interests is, sometimes, rather fraught for her.

But, Ijuuin-sensei is interested! A-And... knowledgable, too. "Really...? I've never gotten to see the Southern Cross! Aah, I'll have to go some day..."

She tilts her head for a second, then. There is a nod, and she looks relieved, to hear that she won't be leaving. Just when her maternity leave ends--

Yuuki looks confused, at first. Then, though, the dawning realization kicks in. Her maternity leave starts today, she realizes. "Th-the bus stop?" Yuuki asks. "I--um--I won't go anywhere, just--"

She looks at Misato, wide-eyed, and nods. She looks like she is about to panic; her voice is bordering on a squeak. But she is trying to keep calm. "I'll stay with her, just--just give them a call, and--"

She looks back at Yua. She has heard of Evokers; she hasn't seen one. But she realizes, after a moment of panic at seeing a gun in the first place, what that might be. And then she calls out that fateful word. Her back goes rigid.

Her green eyes go wide.

"I-Ijuuin-sensei?" she asks. "Y-You're--"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Misato Fushihara has posed.
<poem>
It ''does'' please Misato to see Yuuki stop clamming up as much. Then she looks back toward Yua... and finds herself surprised as she echoes Yuuki's enthusiasm about the stars with equal encouragement.

"Oh, that sounds lovely..." She comments. ...Both of them know ''way'' more about this subject than she does, so she can only express interest in ''their'' interest.

Yua assures her that she hasn't meant to worry them.

"I see..." Misato replies with a thoughtful nod, as Yua explains that she isn't on bed rest and exercise is just well. "Well, as long as the doctor says it's okay... I'm glad to hear you'll be back, though. I'd miss your dance classes!"

She starts to ask them about their first week back - but then she's interrupted.

"Ah, Ijuuin-sensei, is everything okay...?" Misato asks, concerned. She takes a step toward her, reaching out... and then, she finds a phone shoved into her hands.

"Ah -" Misato starts. But Yua gives her a mission - and her light, cheery expression shifts into a more serious one.

"Unlock code 9 12 13 9. Call the number under 'Mimi'. Got it." Misato repeats. She nods toward Yuuki, then. "I will. Take care of her, Yuuki-chan!"

Misato breaks off into a run. She ''is'' a good runner, even if she isn't as capable as she used to be.

And so, Misato breaks into a run. She keeps a steady eye on the phone, waiting for the moment it finally gets signal -

- and then she hears a cry echoing through the forest. Misato stops dead in her tracks. Did something happen? Demons ''have'' been spotted in this area before...

...This place. She can feel the hostility suffused into it. If that's the case, maybe she can...

She reaches for that feeling - and her voluminous hooded cloak, purple with gold trim, settles over her form, a mask appearing on her face.

She hurries back.

With a flourish, Magus returns - no, she appears, because she was never there at all, of course - skidding to a stop.

"I heard a scream, and I saw a girl running as if someone's life depended on it. Is there trouble?" She asks. ...She still has the phone in her hand, so she clarifies, "In her haste, it appears as if she dropped this."

And then she looks toward Yua.

Her eyes settled on that Evoker. Heavier, bulkier than the usual model.

"...A Persona user." Magus finishes for Yuuki.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"It's so beautiful!" Yua enthuses, genuinely, to Yuuki. "Oh, I should see if I can convince my seniors to take you on a class trip sometime... there's a whole ''Dark Sky'' National Park in the Yaeyama Islands, you really get lost in the stars..."

Oh, Yua might not have stars as a ''primary'' interest like Yuuki does, but that doesn't mean they're not ''still very interesting.'' Her primary special interest, as it happens, is -- "Oh, I'd miss dance classes with you all far too much to stop for long, myself!" She assures Misato, sunnily. "I really wanted to help you guys learn to dance...!"

If only she could sit here and talk about dancing and the stars forever...

There aren't any bus stops nearby; they're on a trail in the woods.

No -- to get to a bus stop, the quickest way which doesn't involve walking back out is to --

What rises in red flame and shattered glass, around Yua and Yuuki, is a woman; clad in a white gown, her hipline is as high as their heads, twice the size of them as she towers above. Glittering diamonds hang from silvery pendants hanging from her neck, slung around her waist, hanging from her arms... arms which have ''prison bars'' forced through them, creating a cage she can close simply by grasping her hands before her in penance. A mask like a habit or a satellite dish covers her face, and she makes no sound, but the ''presence'' she exudes is strangely...

Drip, drip...

Stillwater drips, forgotten and stale as the air, cold on the skin. Chthonic, there are things locked away and forgotten...

... this must be Yua's Resonance, but why is there a threatening backbeat to it, as if some great monster were bound deep below?

"There's -- no time," she rasps, as Magus enters the scene. "Come to me -- if you would guarantee her safety -- but this is no -- ahh!" Yua doubles over, again, crying in pain, and there, again -- another red ''THRUM,'' as Gretchen silently howls, arms stretching wide as if a swan preparing to beat a man's limbs broken. "No -- trick! I must -- get to hospital -- something is wrong!"

Where she staggers standing, there is blood, on the log, where she sat; blood, streaking down her legs. Isn't the phrase 'water of the womb'? Those aren't supposed to be... bloody, right...?

... Yua's too preoccupied to explain the details of how a placenta can attach itself by the cervix where a baby ought to make its ''exit,'' how the interplay of forces can cause bleeding where it oughtn't be. "Come!" She barks, again, one hand still grasping tightly to that Evoker, her backpack forgotten as she struggles with her Persona until Gretchen curls her arms around them -- if they gather with her, trapping them ''all'' in that cage. It's a different perspective, looking out from within...

"Gretchen!" Yua demands, as that towering Persona takes them from the myth-laden tracks of the forest into ''another'' spiritual zone... Mementos. This is what the teleportation they've seen her perform is like...?

No -- it can't be -- because Yua cries out, and another ''thrum'' of red breaks the spell, and they're dumped not at the ''entrance'' to Mementos... but deep in the realm of Aiyatsbus.

And Angel and Archangel, Shadows of Mementos, have ''heard'' their entry -- and swarm in to attack with holy powers, as Gretchen seizes behind them, and Yua sinks to the ground.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yuuki Hoshizora has posed.
<poem>

Yuuki takes a step backward, nervously.

She hasn't changed yet. It's a blurring of the usual lines; it's a brown-haired, mundane-looking Yuuki that looks back to Magus, instead of how she looks when she uses her Transmutation. "I... I had no idea," she says, before she looks back at Yua.

She swallows.

There is a woman rising above her -- a Persona, Gretchen, who she has seen once before. She steps back with a wide eyed stare. She almost bumps into Magus. She looks back at her, terrified, and then back at Yua.

"Hold on," she says. "We'll... we'll keep you safe." She sucks a breath in, then closes her eyes. Her brown hair floats up; there is a gleam, and then it turns a bright blue. When her eyes open, they're a bright and shining green.

She is clad in light -- and then in a sleeveless, short black shirt, and a skirt. Her hand, outstretched, has a rapier drop into it.

She looks at the Archangel -- and then makes a wave of gravitational force try to throw it backward.

She glances at Magus. "The--the girl who was running away," Yuuki says. "She's okay? Did you see?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Misato Fushihara has posed.
<poem>
A... Dark Sky National Park? Misato doesn't know what that is off the top of her head - but she ''can'' guess. She smiles as they chat, and nods when Yua assures him.

"I'm glad to hear it! I wanna learn from you, too!" Misato agrees.

...If only. If only that was where it ended.

But Misato exists and Magus arrives, meeting Yuuki's terrified glance just briefly, to see a familiar Persona materialize around Yua.

"You... You're... the one they call the Bride, Yua Ijuuin...!!" Magus almost shouts. Such fury might be a surprise from her - almost as much as the fact that she knows her by ''name'' - but for ''Misato''...

She's just realised that the dance teacher she respects is also among those masked agents she's fought time and time again...

The stab of betrayal runs through her - but Yua's insistence that there's no time, that there's something ''wrong''... Magus grits her teeth.

...As she says, she has to guarantee her safety. And even more than that... given what she ''knows'', something like this happening can't meant anything good.

...Even she can't direct her anger at her directly when she's like this.

"...Fine." She exhales.

They're whisked away into Mementos and Magus can feel her stomach lurch - but with a cry from Yua, they find themselves dumped deeper in.

"...We will. Stay behind us. And don't ''do'' anything to exacerbate your condition." Magus insists. "Nitocris! Obscure her!"

The regal woman materializes behind her, casting her eyes toward Yua. Magus draws upon her power of presenting false fronts - to make Yua look less appealing in the eyes of the Shadows, and Magus herself ''more''.

...But there's blood in the water - the air - and the sharks have come running. How long can she expect to conceal her...?

She draws her sabre and parrying dagger from her cloaking, leaping toward the Angel with a paired stab.

She looks toward Yuuki only briefly.

...Even in a situation like this, she's worrying about her.

"...She seemed out of breath, but unharmed." Magus explains. "...Though I quite imagine she will be kicking herself when she realises her error, if ''this'' is what she was fleeing from."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"I... I am," Yua pants, to Magus's betrayal. "Though -- I never wished to be. My wish... was corrupted, and so... I have done you harm in the evenings, and... seen your weariness as you came to class the next day."

... it's not just her growing pain, but the effort it takes to remain ''coherent,'' as she's calling on her powers.

"I'll -- ah! -- I'll be still," Yua promises Magus, though she looks up with sorrow, behind them, as the matter goes to Misato. "Oh... did I... frighten her...? No, Fushihara-kun... she must be all right...!"

Angel and Archangel throw the weight of Hama and Kouha at Magus, as she draws their ire -- but ''Yuuki'' throws ''them'' back, into each other, and they're unable to escape before Magus sets on them with her dagger and sabre. If it was just the Shadows, surely it would be fine, but --

There, again -- the THRUM -- that red flame, coursing over Gretchen, as she jerks and seizes like a marionette jerked by some unknown hand. Yua fumbles for her handbag, breath sharp and laboured, and draws from that secret compartment a safety syringe. Ever seen one of those pens which classmates with allergies carry around for their safety? Or an insulin pen from a classmate with diabetes?

In this, like those, she slams the pen into her arm -- and only ''then'' does the sinister, violent sensations emanating from that Persona quiet. "Forgive me," Yua says, her voice rasping, as she tucks the spent pen into her handbag and drags herself up by Gretchen's skirts. "I can... now get us through. The pain -- was maddening -- I'll not hurt you. Come..."

''This'' time, when Gretchen whisks them away, she takes them to the entrance of Mementos -- and they can sense that just beyond is the bus stop in front of Aoba General Hospital.

"You have... my phone...? Please... call her... call Mimi..." ... but normal phones don't work at all, in Mementos, so they'll need to ring when they're back in ''normal'' space.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yuuki Hoshizora has posed.
<poem>

"You--you know her?" Yuuki asks, with a surprised blink in Magus's direction. How could she know her? She bites her lip, trying to keep her panic to a minimum. Being in Mementos, suddenly, is horrifying; she has displaced most of that panic.

"She... she's my teacher," Yuuki says. "I... I never imagined... but still." She exchales; she shakes her head, then, and looks after Magus as she leaps into the fray.

How does she know Yua Ijuuin, though...?

Working together, Magus and Yuuki push the Shadows back. But it might not be enough.

She looks at Yua. She hesitates on the subject of Misato -- out of worry -- but then she nods. "I'll find her after we get you to safety," she says. "I promise. She's--she's my best friend."

She winces, though, as Gretchen jerks. This was something forced onto Yua. A wish that was corrupted. Something she never wanted. Her eyes widen, as the flame rolls up.

And Yua has to use... a pen, of some sort, to stop herself.

Yuuki swallows as they're teleported away again. They appear near the familiar entrance, and then she quickly nods. "I will," she says. "I--I'm going to have to step out. Magus, can you get her up to the entrance and--um, help her get past it? You don't have to follow."

She runs up the escalator that leads to the real world. As she does, her hair turns back to brown. Yuuki's memory is quite good; she quickly does the unlock code, having heard Yua say it to Misato earlier. Then, she starts calling.

And the moment someone picks up, she is standing in the middle of a train station with a crowd, and cries out into the phone: "Y-Your friend Yua Ijuuin-san is having a baby ''RIGHT'' ''NOW'' and she's going to the h-hospital! We've gotta go fast goodbye stranger whose name is Mimi!"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Misato Fushihara has posed.
<poem>
Magus meets Yuuki's surprised glance - and it might be only now that she realised what she said. She grimaces.

"...I do." Magus confirms after a moment of hesitation. There's no point in lying. "I am... in one of her classes, as well."

Yua goes to a lot of different schools and sees a lot of different students. It's... probably safe to admit that much, right? That doesn't really narrow it down.

Yua confirms Magus's fears. That she is who she thought she was. Her wish was 'corrupted'... and so, they fought in the evenings, even as she saw their weariness the next day.

"Your ''wish''..." Magus repeats with a shake of her head. "And now you break others'."

Yua promises she'll be still, and that, at least, should make it easier.

Did she frighten Misato...?

...Yes, she did - even if she would never, ''could'' never, admit it.

Light spells are thrown at her, as she draws her enemies' ire - but she trusts her rival to have her back in a fight, and gravity forces the heavenly demons back so that she can capitalize on the moment of weakness.

There's a thrum of red flame and Magus ''whirls'', a sharp word on her tongue - but she bites it back as she sees Yua fumbling for something. One of those pens - some sort of treatment...

...Even ''she'd'' feel awful for yelling at someone for seeing to their medical needs.

"...Very well." Magus says. She pointedly does not say whether or not she forgives her. But the pain was maddening... So that's why. They're whisked away again - and this time, they ''do'' end up at the entrance to Mementos. She looks toward Yuuki... and when she asks like that, she can hardly say no.

"...I can do this, Yuuki Hoshizora." Magus decides reluctantly. She looks toward Yua, then.

"...Come then, Yua Ijuuin. I will support you ''that'' far." Magus says, looking her way. ...She's still doing the 'full first name-last name' thing even after acknowledging that she's her teacher...

"...Now. I trust you with Yuuki Hoshizora. Do nothing to harm her." Magus insists. She doesn't expect Yua can do ''much'', in her condition... but it's the statement that matters. And she steps back, and back -

- until she's on the other side of a set of Mementos's train tracks. When one of those many Shadow-bearing trains races in front of her, she's gone by the time it passes.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"I am," Yua confirms, when Yuuki says she's her ''teacher.'' "As -- I must be." She doesn't recognise Magus... but she is a young woman who knows her name, so what other explanation could there ''be?''

Magus confirms it herself, in a fashion -- and Yua says, through grit teeth which have nothing to do with fury today: "Your Resonance shrouding... even more impressive than mine. I reckon you not. You were not... shaped?"

She thinks she's being clear, in why she's so afraid to ask such a thing.

"For this do I trap and torture," Yua says, and perhaps the way that injection pen is in her hand as she answers Magus seems ''coincidental.'' "I am bathed in 'Sin'... I won't reach heaven with the things I've done. I'm sorry... I never wanted you to see me this way. Don't you see? Gretchen can barely stand my wickedness..." But Gretchen is ''her'' Persona, isn't she?

... does she mean ''she'' hates what she's done?

Well, that's also true.

"You're a good girl," she says, to Yuuki, when she promises to find Misato, and for a moment she still sounds so -- ''normal.'' But what ''is'' normal? This strange cadence, melodic and pressured and confused? Or their dance teacher's bubbly cheer...?

She reaches out to grasp Magus, rather than her own Persona -- and have either of them ever ''seen'' someone grasping their own Persona that way, disregarding the polite fiction that they're untouchable entirely? -- and Gretchen fades, as she trusts herself to her sworn foe, instead. Her face is twisted in the pain she's bearing, and her legs tremble; it's hard to imagine her harming anyone, in the state she's in.

... even so, Magus has seen her enable that misery with her own eyes.

"Thank you," she says, quietly, to the mysterious masked girl. "... I'm sorry. Come to the hospital... during the Dark Hour, and... and we'll explain... I owe you that much."

A visit like that is one she'll want a friend for, surely...

... luckily, Yua will make sure to repeat the invitation to Yuuki, quietly, as she crosses the threshold and relies on ''her'' to help her to sit on the seat of the bus stop while she runs off to fetch help from the hospital.

"Mimi..." Yua murmurs, clutching her midsection in braced pain.

"... what have I done...?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yuuki Hoshizora has posed.
<poem>

"I... I see," Yuuki says to Magus. Does she--could she possibly know Magus? Will she be looking at everyone, now, trying to figure it out?

If only it were that simple.

Yua's torment is striking and terrifying. She can't control Gretchen -- something her parents never encountered, never told her about. She stares at her for a second, blinking in confusion when she is told she is a good girl.

"R-Right..."

She hesitates, as she looks back at Magus. There is a blink -- at hearing Magus be protective of her. She didn't expect that. She doesn't need that, either. But...

It doesn't feel all bad, either.

"I'll be okay," she promises, quietly. Then, she is off.

And a moment later, Yua is through -- and Yuuki nods, quickly, to her. "I... I'll get help. I'll be back soon, I promise!"

And, once again, she is off.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Misato Fushihara has posed.
<poem>
Yua comments on her talents. But, 'shaped'... That word choice seems very particular. She doesn't understand the depths of it, though.

"I hone my skills as I must. I cannot afford weakness. ...But I became what I am by own will." She answers.

Yua speaks... and says that she is bathed in Sin. Even Gretchen can barely stand her wickedness.

"...I... was not aware that could happen." She admits, taken briefly off-guard. Can one turn so against their path that their own Persona rebels against them...?

It's a misinterpretation - but now that thought is in her head.

Yua grasps her, and thanks her - and Magus doesn't respond to the thanks. She does nod, however, as she asks her to come to the hospital during the Dark Hour.

"...Very well." She relents. And once she's seen her through Mementos's threshold... She's gone as well.

She's going to have a lot to think about - but for starters, she should probably return to where Yuuki will expect to find her...

</poem>

2026-09-16: Mama Murderer

2026-09-22T04:15:42Z

L: Created page with "*'''Log: ''' Mama Murderer *'''Cast:''' Yua Ijuuin, Shinobu Shimizu *'''Where:''' Aoba - Penthouse *'''OOC Date:''' 2026-09-16 *'''IC Date:''' Thu Jan 10 2013 *'''Summary''': ''Yua invites Shinobu over after realising she's too tired to stay out... but amidst the cookies she's gotten for her, she ends up cracking and confessing to the murder of Natari, alongside managing to say her name for the first time. Shinobu can't find it in herself to condemn it, when she..."

*'''Log: ''' Mama Murderer
*'''Cast:''' [[Yua Ijuuin]], [[Shinobu Shimizu]]
*'''Where:''' Aoba - Penthouse
*'''OOC Date:''' 2026-09-16
*'''IC Date:''' Thu Jan 10 2013
*'''Summary''': ''Yua invites Shinobu over after realising she's too tired to stay out... but amidst the cookies she's gotten for her, she ends up cracking and confessing to the murder of Natari, alongside managing to say her name for the first time. Shinobu can't find it in herself to condemn it, when she hears just what Natari DID.''
*'''Content warning:''' Discussion of rape, murder

----

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

This morning, a transmission...

> Do you want to get afternoon tea later??? I got you cookies!!

... and around lunchtime, another transmission...

> The Yua became tired... do you want to visit me at home instead? The cookies also came home!

... and so, we come to the ''penthouse.'' The top floor of Pyramid Plaza is occupied by a single home -- plus or minus Eiko's apartment, which was refurbished into a separate living space and is technically indicated by a 'b' in the mailing address so she can receive her own mail -- sprawling out over the tip of the pointed building. There's an outdoor garden with its very own ''beehive'' because there aren't many insects ten stories up; there's also a ''pool'' on the upper deck. It's ''rich'' rich.

And there, Shinobu is greeted not by Miss Rose at the door -- wait hang on wrong track. (There ''is'' a nameplate with both <3 Yua Ijuuin <3 and Miho Ijuuin out front, though.) It's ''Eiko Ikeda'' who receives her, who is dressed in a maid's uniform, but a ''modern'' one: a sensible uniform polo shirt and slacks, thank you, ''much'' easier to move around in. "Welcome," Eiko smiles, as she reaches out. "The Gentle Mistress is expecting you, Shimizu-san. I'll fetch her now. Shall I take your coat..?"

Yua ''isn't'' out to greet her, as it happens, though...

"Hey! Shimizu-san! How's it hangin'?!"

There's a dark-skinned girl with a ''ferocious'' grin venturing in from the sliding glass door leading to the balcony, instead. "C'mere!" She beckons her, with a waving hand. "I wanna show you my ''fish!''"

THEY INSTALLED A KOI POND ALONGSIDE THE POOL HOW RICH ARE THESE PEOPLE

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>
A transmission! Shinobu usually gets up pretty early, so it catches her as she getting ready for the day - and, conveniently, before she's made any plans.

> hard to say no to cookies. sounds good! i'll be there.

And then later...

> yeah, i'm good with that. don't work yourself too hard, you hear?

And so, Shinobu arrives at the penthouse. ...Coming here is intimidating every time. She's made many deliveries to this place, and this isn't even her first time going inside rather than dropping something off... but there's still a part of her that feels ''very'' out of place in a place that screams 'money' like this.

You could probably fit her own apartment in this place with plenty of room to spare...

She arrives at the door, and Eiko greets her. This isn't unexpected. ...It's still wild to her that they're rich enough to hire a live-in maid.

"Hey, Ikeda-san." Shinobu greets, offering her a smile back. Eiko reaches out and Shinobu nods back, shedding her winter coat and handing it over to her. "Cool. And, thanks, I appreciate it."

She enters. She is, indeed, expecting Yua - but instead...

"Hey, Tyrrha-chan." Shinobu replies, with a wave. She nods casually. "Not too bad, not too bad. How about you? School starts up again for you soon, right? ...Or has it started already?"

Her eyebrow raises at the mention of 'fish'. That is, indeed, the question that runs through her mind.

"Sure. Lead the way." Shinobu replies, moving to follow as she beckons her.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Oh yeah, it's started! But I fell off my bike," that's not a very nice thing to call Noriaki, "so I got to stay home!" She sounds pretty jazzed about it. To be fair, Tyrrha sounds pretty jazzed about ''most'' things...

She was definitely coached on how to explain her absence from school, though. 'I got super-mega-stabbed in this big fight', while secretly amusing to Miho and making Yua giggle a little more openly, is unfortunately not an appropriate explanation for most people.

Even if Noriaki is SO COOL, YOU GUYS, HEY MAMA CAN I HAVE A MACHETE --

(Tyrrha is not allowed to have a machete. It's part of her operating instructions.)

Up the stairs to the upper deck of the balcony, and there's the pool, and the deck chairs, and then... a koi pond running along the edge of the fence! It has an ''artificial waterfall'' and they're growing ''water lilies'' and stuff. "I'm teachin' 'em how to do tricks!" Tyrrha enthuses, as she taps the water, and the koi swarm up to investigate. "See? Oh, but now I gotta give them another snack..."

Luckily, Tyrrha is definitely motormouthed (wait a sec every part of Tyrrha is motor powered) enough to occupy Shinobu while Yua picks herself up out of bed and wriggles into people clothes and heads on out. (The blouse she puts on is much more modest than ''some'' of her inside blouses, with a cardigan on top, presumably to ward the chill; the black tights she's wearing beneath her knee-length skirt, though, are ''definitely'' the same dancer's tights she wears with her outdoor clothes. YOU DIDN'T EVEN GET UNDRESSED PROPERLY BEFORE UNCEREMONIOUSLY COLLAPSING DID YOU YUA.)

It's a few minutes until --

"Shimizu-san...?" Yua calls, from the lower balcony, by her roses. Strangely, for once, her hair ''isn't'' up in a tight bun -- instead, her teal hair falls down to mid-''thigh'' in an excessively long braid which raises questions as to what kind of magic she uses to compress it every morning. "Tykko, are you up there?"

"Yeah, mama! I'm showin' Shimizu-san the ''fish!''" Tyrrha grins, as she comes up to the fence fencing the pool in. (Safety first!)

"That's great, sweetie," Yua smiles, and... does ''not'' try to climb the stairs up, tellingly. "Can I borrow her for a bit?"

"Sure, sure! But I gotta keep workin' on these fish!" Tyrrha calls back.

"Remember to be gentle, okay, ''ucha?''" That's ''also'' the word for cookie... in Okinawan!

"Right, right~!" Tyrrha salutes, merrily, as she returns her attention to ''training the fish.'' "Okay, fishies! It's all about DISCIPLINE...!"

Good kid. Bit weird.

Yua smiles, as she beckons Shinobu back inside. "Thankyu for your waitie-wait!" She says, as she reveals that she's fetched her nice little ''basket of cookies'' for Shinobu (a hand-made basket, as it happens, they're one of her favourite new craft projects). She didn't fetch the filtered, chilled water in two cups on the coffee table, though, ''or'' the jug filled with it plus a few fresh lemon slices -- that's all ''Eiko,'' who effortlessly helps Yua to sit down, steadying her as if it were second nature. "Thankyu~!" She chirps, to Eiko, too, smiling up to her as she settles down. "We'll be okay, so don't worry too much about us!"

"Of course," Eiko smiles. "Just call if you need anything."

".... I really did want to thank you," Yua adds, as she turns her attention to Shinobu again, leaning forward to grasp that basket and offer it to her. "I think I was so overwhelmed I imagined some stuff, but I definitely remember you helped Mimi rescue me the other day...!"

Yua, as it happens, still has no Resonance... even if Shinobu might have gotten a spark of something from ''Tyrrha,'' up there, while she was excitedly dumping Fish Facts on her. (Fish fact #1: Tyrrha loves fish. It's okay to hunt them! But not these fish. These fish are PETS. You can't hunt pets, Shimizu-san. Did you know that?)

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>
Tyrrha explains that she fell off her bike, and Shinobu winces sympathetically. Nothing seems off about that explanation to her - she takes it at face value.

"That sucks. You healing up alright?" She asks. ...Then again, with how cheery she sounds, maybe she's just happy to have an excuse to take the day off of school...

She follows her up the stairs to the balcony... and, indeed - there's a pool and ''also'' a koi pond. It's a nice little koi pond, too - Shinobu appreciates

"You can do that? I didn' t know you could teach 'em stuff." Shinobu replies, impressed. She watches as the koi swarm up to investigate the tapping on the water, and she's happy to watch the fish and be engaged with Fish Facts and ask questions about them in turn until she hears Yua calling for her.

"Oh, there's your mama." Shinobu acknowledges, looking back. Yua and Tyrrha call back and forth and Shinobu stands back. She nods toward Tyrrha, then. "Alright then. Good luck with the fish, Tyrrha-chan."

With a wave she turns to head back down the stairs.

"Hey, Yua-chan." Shinobu greets, once she's come into view. ...And she's struck, briefly, by just how ''long'' Yua's hair is. She doesn't think she's seen it outside of a bun before... She knew it was long, but that long...? She wonders just how much effort goes into maintaining it. She shakes her head as Yua thanks her for waiting, though. "It's all good. That's a nice little pond you've got. Tyrrha-chan seems pretty taken with the koi."

Thankfully, Eiko is here to help Yua settle in. Shinobu sends her a grateful nod, too, and it's only once she's sure that Yua is situated that she takes a seat, too.

And Yua thanks her again - this time, it seems, for the other day... She says she was 'overwhelmed'.

"Hey, no problem. I wasn't going to stand around if there was something I could do about it." Shinobu assures. "How are you and Ijuuin-san holding up? That must've been pretty stressful for both of you."

She isn't sure how much either of them remember... She's sensed Resonance on Miho before - and it seems ''Tyrrha'' has something, too - but she, as far as she knows, doesn't have a Persona... and neither does Yua.

And Yua offers the basket, which Shinobu gratefully accepts - and takes a peek inside.

"Hey, these look great, Yua-san. I'm looking forward to 'em." She says with a smile. "This basket's pretty nice, too - did you make this?"

She didn't see a label or anything on it while she was looking.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Yup yup!" Tyrrha answered that question with more cheer. "Dandy man fixed me up real good!" ... perhaps one must presume Tyrrha's pediatrician is one of those young, hip, ''modern'' doctors...

Definitely not the world's gayest hacker.

''Definitely not.''

Tyrrha's idea of tricks, at least, seem to ''largely'' be getting the fish to come when she plays with the water... but who knows? Maybe that's just stage one of her master plan, and eventually she'll have them swimming through ''hoops!''

(The secret to maintaining Yua's hair, meanwhile, is that it's a ''two-person job.'')

"Ahhh, aren't they so pretty?!" Yua bubbles, when Shinobu compliments her pond. "After a bad thing happened, Mimi got them for us...! Did you see the gold fish?! She's gold like a medal!!" Indeed, one of the fish ''was'' solid gold -- and another one was solid, glittery ''black...''

There are, of course, also the ''classical'' three-point koi, orange and white and black and dating back to the samurai era.

"Mimi was really tired," Yua shares, "but I was too, so we went to sleep early that night. Oh, but we went to Dr. Matsuhashi's office first! She's Hiroki's doctor," Yua adds, informatively. "But it seemed like I was okay... luckily, it wasn't too hard on me! Mimi's doctor said she was okay, too," Yua adds, because of course it wasn't ''just'' her and Hiroki who needed a check-up.

"It was really stressful, though, yeah," Yua sighs, glancing down at her knees as they press together. "I was scared I was going to disappear again... ohhh, but when I realised that horrible little man wanted to get to Mimi, I was so mad!! Then he put me in a ''basket,'' which is ''no fair!''"

And lo -- cookies! Tyrrha and Eiko have assured Yua that they are ''very good.'' And speaking of baskets, the reason why that might have offended her is revealed when she regains her cheer to chirp: "Mmhm! I picked it up pretty recently.. it's like weaving, but different! I like doing it when I'm watching cartoons or shows or movies when I'm here on my own! And sometimes it's nice to have something to really focus on... plus, everyone's so impressed when they get snacks in a special basket! When they smile, I'm happy, too!"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>
"Cool, glad to hear it." Shinobu replied with a nod. ...She hasn't heard anyone refer to their doctor quite that way before, but they must be on pretty good terms, she figures.

"They really are." Shinobu agrees with a nod as Yua enthuses. "Oh, yeah, I saw that one... I didn't even know some of them could be gold like that. Or so ''shiny'', too."

Miho was tired, Yua shares, and Shinobu nods in understanding. Anyone would be, after that.

"Oh, good... That's a relief. I was worried about you." Shinobu says with a sigh. "Ijuuin-san, too. I'm glad you're all alright."

She nods again, in sympathy, as Yua says that it was stressful. She was scared she was going to disappear again...

"...I'm sorry." Shinobu offers, massaging the back of her neck. "Sounds like it hit close to home... I'm glad that didn't happen, even if it sucks he used you against her like that."

She seems pretty mad about the basket thing... but it does make sense when she explains. Using her hobbies against her... For shame.

"Oh yeah?" Shinobu remarks with interest. She nods along as she explains - and smiles, when she says that she's happy too when others smile. That certainly sounds like her. "That's a nice thought. I like that."

She leans back, setting the basket back on the coffee table for now.

"It's nice, isn't it? Having something to keep your hands busy... or your mind, if that's what you need." She comments. "I do some woodcarving, and it's kinda like that, too."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"The breeder told us that a lot of times, people try to get really vibrant colours in their koi too early, so when they grow up they end up dull," Yua says, because apparently Fish Facts run in the family. "But he was really patient with his fish, so he had beautiful, sparkling adult koi! I think they cost a lot of money, though..."

It was assuredly more than Yua is even envisioning, but since it made her and Tyrrha happy, it was surely worth every yen.

"Mimi's so strong," Yua sighs, smiling, "I was so impressed...! But she said that even though she's that strong, she wouldn't have been able to win if you hadn't been helping her... I'm impressed! You must be really, really strong!" Yua sparkles, as she compliments her, and from a certain perspective -- she's comparing the courier Shinobu's street strength to ''an actual gold medalist Olympian,'' so of course it makes sense to see Shinobu's strength in the context of ''Miho's...''

She must not have been able to remember the actual magic power ghosts that meant Shinobu would come out on top against a normal person, huh?

"Mm," Yua hums, contemplating Shinobu's apology. "I got disappeared once before... and for a long, long time... and I'm scared my friend's been disappeared now, too." The language is kind of cutesy, but... what she's really describing is...

Oh yeah, basket! Yua likes talking about basket. Nice, safe basket. And from basket, there is -- "Oh! You ''whittle!''" Yua chirps, brightening up, as she leans forward to take her glass of water. See, she's hydrating!! Don't worry Mimi!!! (Does Yua think she can psychically beam reassurance to Miho while she's out? I mean, probably, yeah.) "There was an ''obaa'' back home who loved whittling driftwood! She made the most beautiful things! Dolphins dancing through the water, and fishies, and clams half open, and all sorts of things! She said the driftwood was softer under her knife, because it was a little bit like water after spending so long in the sea... hey, hey, what kind of wood do you like carving most?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>
Shinobu listens thoughtfully as Yua explains, picking up her own glass and taking a sip of it.

"That makes sense... You can't always rush things. You gotta give it time." She considers with a nod. Costing a lot of money, though... "Yyyeah, I can imagine..."

...She probably shouldn't think too hard about it, though.

A smile crosses Shinobu's face, as Yua sighs about how strong she is... but she's surprised when Yua turns around and compliments ''her''.

"Ah, well..." Shinobu starts awkwardly, massaging the back of her neck. "I live on my own, so I've gotta know how to look after myself, y'know? Just in case something happens."

It's not even a ''lie'', but that's really the only half of the story she can actually tell...

"But, yeah, Ijuuin-san's really something. I mean, I knew she had to be skilled, but it's another thing to see it up ''close'', you know?" Shinobu comments.

Her expression softens as Yua says she got disappeared once, for a long, long time... She says 'disappeared', but she can tell it's hiding something much heavier than that.

"That's... horrible. I'm sorry, Yua-chan." Shinobu offers. ...And she's scared for a friend. "...What happened?"

Whittling, at least, is a safer, nicer topic to talk about.

"Mm-hm." Shinobu confirms with a nod. She listen as Yua recounts the story of the ''obaa'' and her creations...

"Yeah, I bet she was able to make some real nice things out of that... Driftwood's handy like that - there's a lot you can do with it." Shinobu replies. What kind of wood does ''she'' like carving the most? "Well, let's see..."

She 'hm's to herself thoughtfully.

"Something easy to work with is usually pretty nice... but I think the wood I ''really'' like are the ones that are kind of stubborn and hard to work with, but have ''really'' nice patterns on the inside. Kind of feels like a reward for keeping at it, you know?" Shinobu replies. "I like a good challenge."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

It's okay, Shinobu. Yua also gets dizzy when she thinks about the dollar amounts she's living with these days. She still has to get Miho's help to figure out what a good price to pay for nice steaks is, because ''Yua's'' idea of a good deal on nice steaks really doesn't apply to the kind of nice steaks they eat ''now''...

"Ahh, you're being modest!" Yua insists, when Shinobu brushes off her strength. "I bet Mimi would say you were amazing, too! Clap clap! Eep --" Yua realises she's holding water midway through going to clap, finishes having a drink, puts the water down, ''then'' claps. "... clap clap!!"

Is it really that important to narrate it like that...?

"Mm, mm, Mimi's really special," Yua smiles, all warmth and heart bubbles. "Did you know she can pick me up really easily, even now Hiroki's this big? See, ''that's'' a good up!" Yua is very discerning about her ups. Not all up is created equal.

It's also so saccharine that even the ''performance'' seems turned to eleven, but... maybe there's something dark all that cheer is covering up. "Kotoba... um, Hana Fukami, the TV woman?" Hana...kotoba. Flower Talk. YUA -- "Did you hear the terrorists took her when they attacked the TV station?" It wasn't terrorists, but never mind that. "They... they found her because we got into an argument hiding in the bathroom," Yua admits, slowly. (It's almost the truth, if you tilt your head and squint. A lot.) "I tried to follow them and see where they were taking her, but they said they'd hurt my baby... so I had to run away, you see? I had to! Since then, she's been totally, one hundred percent, completely gone... and I'm just really worried, um... what if she's gone for years and years? I don't want her to know what that's like..."

It's just -- the strange thing about Yua's sad concern, there, is that she's talking like ''she'' knows what that's like. There are rumours, floating around, that she was a victim of trafficking herself...

Yua is, at least, much happier to talk about ''wood.'' It's better than bad, it's good!

"Oh!" Yua exclaims, as she hears about Shinobu's wood feelings. "Like ''kabazaiku!''" That's the art of fashioning woodworks like tea boxes out of cherry wood -- which is rather hard -- though the name ''literally'' means 'birch craftsmanship'. Perhaps it's not surprising to hear Yua anchor onto that angle of understanding it, given how kabazaiku is an old, traditional art... "Oooh, that gives me an idea!" She chirps, excitement building. "Do you take ''commissions,'' like Mark-san?" Is that the one way to defeat Yua? By ''already'' having a cute nickname???

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>
Just one of those nice steaks probably costs more than her entire food budget for the month. The rich really do live a different life...

Shinobu laughs sheepishly as Yua insists that she's being modest. She massages the back of her neck as Yua applauds, complete with narration.

"Ah, well... Thanks." She offers. "We'll say we were all pretty amazing."

She can't forget that she had help, after all.

Shinobu smiles, as Yua agrees that Miho is special. ...She has, in fact, heard that Miho can pick her up really easily... but, like, who could blame her for bragging about that?? Shinobu sure couldn't.

"Damn. That's mighty impressive." Shinobu remarks. "You're ''real'' lucky... A good up for sure."

But Yua starts to explain, and Shinobu listens. ...It'll only be later when Hana's nickname clicks for her and she does a double-take. For now, she's too focused...

She didn't know she knew Hana. 'Terrorists', though... That's right, that's the story going around.

"Yeah, I heard about Fukami-san... but, shit, you were there?" Shinobu replies. That's a surprise - she didn't see her among the people the Legionnaires had abducted. And they were arguing... It's - a little surprising to hear ''that'', too - especially arguing loud enough to attract attention. Just what happened between them...? It feels a little rude to ask that right now, though. And the 'them' she's referring to - the Legionnaires? She's surprised they let her go...

Shinobu frowns - a deep, thoughtful expression crossing her face. Yua does seem really worried - but it's not like she can tell her that Hana is still there, actually, just stuck in another world beyond a door most people can't see, without her memory...

"Hey, Yua-chan..." Shinobu starts hesitantly. "I'm sure... Fukami-san will be just fine. It was pretty public, so... I'm sure people are doing everything they can to find her and get her back."

...'People', of course, being herself and people like her rather than the authorities, but it's easier to put it like that.

"I'm sure she's going through some tough battles of her own right now, though, so... she's gonna need people there to support her when she gets back." Shinobu says. "I don't know what happened between you two, but... can you do that?"

On a brighter note, though, woodworking!

"Yeah, something like that." Shinobu confirms with a nod. "I mostly do figures and stuff rather than containers... but that's basically it."

And Yua has an idea! 'Mark'... That's not a ''super'' common name, so there's only one Mark that comes immediately for her. Commissions... Shinobu is torn. On one hand, that'd probably pay pretty well, but on the other...

"Ah, well... I'm not a pro like Inaba, so I usually don't? I don't want to put myself into the position of making something I do for fun feel like a job." Shinobu explains. "...I don't mind doing things for friends, though, if there was something you were looking for."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

THEY'RE REALLY EXPENSIVE STEAKS, NOBUMIZU! A LOT'S AT STAKE CHOOSING THOSE STEAKS!!

"Mm, mm!" Yua adds, brightly. "There was Takeba-kun, too... she's so strong for a young lady! Oh, and that scary lady I'd never met before... I guess she just wanted that mean guy's sword, but she still helped!" It's okay, Remi. Yua will ''sell your cover story.''

She giggles, when Shinobu affirms Miho's strength as a ''good up.'' "Yup yup!" That must be where Tyrrha got it from...

"Mm... I know the police are looking and stuff," or at least that would be the ''story,'' though she at least knows Akechi is looking into the ''cockatoo,'' "just... what if no one knew who'd really taken her, and..."

Yua swallows, and leans over, cupping her hand to whisper: "They weren't really terrorists, I think. They weren't scary like humans are scary. Maybe... she got spirited away...? By a scary galah..."

That's the kind of pink cockatoo Akechi said he was looking for, and why would Yua disbelieve him??? He's a nice young man!

... but if she tells Shinobu, maybe she'll figure out what to look for, and... and no one can blame her for that! Jerri's not one of ''theirs!'' She doesn't need to protect her, not one bit!!

"Mm... well... she was right," Yua says, of what ''happened.'' "But it's the kind of thing where even though she's right, I still can't make it right... some of it's honour, and some of it's stuff I can't live without, and some of it's that I'm a wicked woman, so..." She shakes her head, sadly. "... I don't know if she'll want to see me if she gets back to normal life, but... I don't want her to hurt. I don't know if there's anything I can do... but maybe there's something? Mou... she has special friends that work at TV Tokyo, you know? Emisa Higa and Miyako Akimoto... and her boyfriend, Teruo Shinoda, too. I was bringing them cakes and stuff... you know, like cookies? I gave Yakoaki some of today's batch, even... that's kinda what tired me out this morning."

Kinda. The horrible ordeals ''before'' the cookies certainly contributed.

"Oh, that makes sense!" Yua nods, when Shinobu shares why she doesn't want to get paid for her passions. "Mm, mm... I heard that a lot from artists! But I was just thinking, you know... it would be really nice to give Father a tea box made by the woman who rescued me!" Yes, she really does call her clan-father ''chichi-ue,'' like she's in some kind of old-fashioned samurai movie, ''who talks like that.'' "It's like... it's art, but it's also a testament to the strength of my friends! I feel like he'd like something like that... and Mimi thinks it's really important to patronise the arts, she's been doing that ever since we were kids! So that's why I thought of a commission!"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>
"Yeah, I wasn't expecting to see her there, but I'm glad she was. Takeba's pretty reliable. Kid's got a good head on her shoulders." Shinobu agrees with a nod. She can't exactly say that she counts on Yukari's magic healing powers, but things might've gone pretty differently without them. As for Tsurugi... a complicated look crosses Shinobu's face, but she nods. "Yeah. Can't really trust her further than I can throw her, but... it would've been rough if she didn't show up."

She grins, at Yua's enthusiastic agreement.

Yua knows the police are looking, but it seems like she has another suspicion. Shinobu frowns - and leans over as Yua whispers.

...Does she remember it, then? At least, part of it. But what's more, a galah...

She doesn't know a whole lot about birds - but that ''is'' a type of bird, she's pretty sure. A pretty specific type of bird. It's hard to imagine she'd just pick that randomly...

"You think so? That sounds pretty serious..." Shinobu asks. "Well... I know some people. I'll ask them to keep an eye out. They might be able to think of some things the police won't."

It could sound like she's just humoring her, but... she takes it very seriously.

Yua does explain, at least a little. Hana was right about what they were arguing, it seems... but it's more complicated than that. Shinobu listens, frowning.

"'Wicked' is kind of a strong word to use for yourself..." Shinobu says gently. She remembers some of the concerns she voiced before... are they weighing on her that heavily? Or is this about something else? But Yua continues and Shinobu listens. About how she doesn't know if Hana will want to see her, but she doesn't want her to hurt... and about Hana's 'special friends'.

She's met Emisa Higa already, but the others... they work at the studio, too? That... feels like it might be a relevant piece of information to keep in mind.

"I think... that's a good start." Shinobu offers. "They must be worried sick about her. Having someone to think them and make sure they're still taking care of them might be the best thing you can do for Fukami-san right now."

Yua says it makes sense that she doesn't take commissions... but then she explains what she wanted. A tea box, for Father...

...It's kind of an intimidating prospect - making a gift for the head of a traditional family like that... But the ''idea'' behind it makes sense, though. Shinobu frowns thoughtfully, and nodding...

"Hm... I've never tackled something like that before, but... I might be able to do that." She considers. "What does he like? Any particular designs or colors? Things that'd really wow him."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"It's probably nothing," Yua demures, on the bird, though it's certainly not nothing.

... but when Shinobu says wicked is a strong word, and tries to support what she ''can'' do, Yua shakes her head. "I... I'm worse than you think I am," she says, quietly. "Even trying to help Kotoba's friends today, I... just a few days before, I'd... mm," she shakes her head, and she is afraid.

For a moment, at least -- she tries to focus on Father, instead. "... he likes traditional things," she volunteers, uncoiling a little. "His favourite is the ''Kojiki'' and the ''Nihon Shoki,''" these being the two oldest historical-mythological accounts of Japan, "and all the art people have made about them... oh, and he's got a lot of art of the White Hare of Inaba, too! I asked him once... he said his mother lived in Inaba, so... oh, and his favourite colour is purple!"

She smiles, though it's still a touch strained. "Sorry, Ayawata did tell me a couple of things, so I guess it must sound weird for me to be so fond of an authoritarian man... but he's just stern, you know? He's not cruel... even when he couldn't adopt me onto the register, it was just because he has to think of their reputation and everything... he still worked out a way for me to take Mimi's name, even if it wasn't Mimi. And that's... pretty normal, for me, you know? My Grandmother's the priestess for our village... everyone looks to her for advice, so of course she's the one who decides what happens for my mother's family. And Father's an understanding man... he can see that I respect him in my heart, so even if the words I say don't match his tradition, he's always been very permissive with me. Oh, I guess that sounds bad, too...? But it's more stuff he has to balance, with how everyone sees him and stuff..."

She sighs, as she looks down at her hands. "I wonder what he'd think of how dirty my hands are... mm... well, maybe it would be okay, since I faced it..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>
Yua insists that she's worse than she think she is. Shinobu looks at her consideringly. Just a few days before, she... doesn't elaborate. Shinobu leaves it at that - for now - as Yua tries to focus on the other topic at hand. She nods consideringly as she lists out the things he likes. Mythological figures... and the color purple.

"Let's see... I think I can work with that. I'll sketch out some ideas out and text 'em to you, see what you think. Show 'em to Ijuuin-san-" She pauses, then clarifies, "Miho-san, too."

Yua smiles - and Shinobu laughs sheepishly, as she comments on how it must sound weird for her to be so fond of him. So Ayame told her a bit about their parents...

"Ah, well... Yeah, I can't say I get it," Shinobu admits, massaging the back of her neck. She'd probably hate him if she met him. He sounds like the kind of person that'd rile her up pretty quickly - but 'tradition' is something that has never really set well with her. ...Maybe it's because it feels like there usually isn't a place for her and people like her in it. "...But it sounds like he's done a lot for ''you'', and that's what matters."

Shinobu looks at her quietly, then, her expression softened. She'd kind of glossed over it before, but... She feels like she has to ask, when it's clearly weighing so heavily on her.

"...What happened, Yua-chan?" Shinobu asks.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

And is there a place for Yua, in that tradition? In ''her'' tradition, certainly... but the mainland's customs are not theirs, despite efforts to assimilate.

... even so, she's tried her best to fit into Miho's life, and Miho has made every effort to carve space for her in turn.

But there are things she could say, about ''Kimitake's'' view of her position...

She could. She will not.

Instead: she is glad, to include Miho, though her wordless noises shift sympathetic with that awkward hand at the back of Shinobu's shoulder. "I'm really speaking French to you, huh? ''Ce n'est pas ma tasse de thé!''" ... her pronouciation of that French is remarkably good. "You know, 'it's not my cup of tea'... they say that in the West when they don't like something! Don't worry," she assures her, then, having intuited her discomfort from her body language alongside those easygoing words. "He's not the kind of man you'd run into, I don't think."

''Takashi'' isn't embroiled in that dark conspiracy, after all. It's really a matter of contention in the ranks of evil -- they're a powerful, old family, and they ''haven't'' been properly subverted yet?

That just can't stand. Between Miho and Kimitake, it won't.

(And Yua? Yua's the object of the sentence, not the subject.)

But that conspiracy still weighs on her, even if she's a piece more than a player. She falls quiet, again, as she looks at her hands. Can Shinobu tell they're dirty...? She's sure she can...

'... what happened, Yua-chan?' She hears, without looking up.

And she hears, with a slightly more pointed cadence -- though ''Shinobu'' won't hear a thing -- what sounds to her so naturally like the next sentence out of Shinobu's mouth: 'What have you done?'

"Ah--!" Yua gasps, as she looks up to her, then, eye widening. "You can tell...? Oh... of course you can," she shakes her head, those hands lacing together. "I don't know how to wear it like -- like some people, I've never, um..."

She takes another breath, as her shoulders sink. "... a woman was injured in front of me," she relates, her tone going a touch dull. "She fell down, and cried for help, and so... I took my knife... and slammed it into her chest... and it didn't work, a lot of times it didn't work, it was too tough, but her belly wasn't as tough, and then... the twelfth time, when my arms were getting tired... it glanced off her chest, into her throat, and I guess that's how it would work, that's how we're supposed to put the ''kaiken'' in if we're dishonoured... but it wasn't in my neck, it was hers, and... there was a lot of blood, and... she died."

Yua swallows; her whole body has gone rigid.

"... she really, really deserved it," she says, quietly. "But I still... with my hands... I'd never, not once. Not even when they stole me... when I met her there... now she's dead. She has her own children... and she's dead..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>
Yua comments about speaking French - and then ''actually'' speaks French, quite impressively. Come to think of it, she and Remi ''are'' friends... Shinobu looks impressed - and then she laughs, as Yua explains what it means.

"Yeah, that's a good way to sum it up..." She replies with a nod. She's a ''little'' relieved that she doesn't take offense to it. She nods again, when she says he isn't the kind of man she'd run into. "Yeah, I mean... he's probably got, like, ''legions'' of guys on hand he can call if he has anything he needs done. He doesn't need to hire someone like me."

She says it matter-of-factly, and doesn't seem offended - because it ''is'' true - but she seems to have taken it differently than might have been intended...

Shinobu is briefly surprised by Yua's sudden reaction to her question. 'She can tell'? She isn't sure what it is she's supposed to have been able to tell - and then Yua talks about not knowing how to 'wear it' like some people...

...And then she explains what happened, in a lot more detail than Shinobu expected.

...How is someone supposed to react when a friend tells you they killed someone? Not just killed them - but stabbed them, repeatedly, at least twelve times? It... provides a lot of context to the way she's been acting, the way she's been thinking about herself.

Shinobu's been through a lot - but that's one of those things life usually doesn't prepare you for. Surprise and disbelief crosses her face.

"I... ''Shit'', Yua-chan... God, that's..." Shinobu starts, fumbling for her words, a hand going to her forehead. "Are you... No, I guess you wouldn't be okay, huh... Does anyone else know? What... what even ''happened''?"

...She stabbed her twelve times. What could she have done to make ''Yua'' think she deserved it?

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"You'd be reliable if he did!" Yua encourages Shinobu. "But don't worry... it's just Mimi and I relying on your work!!"

The things they ask Shinobu to deliver to and fro, as it happens, are all ''legal and above-board;'' Miho's expressed before how good help is too valuable to set up for failure.

Yua, it seems, has enough failure all on her own.

"Mimi knows," Yua says, sadly. "Recchi knows. And, um... Ryouhara-kun, too, so... Shishi probably heard." If she's talking about him like he's one of her students, she must mean ''Kurou,'' which would make 'Shishi'... Shiryuu?

"She..." Yua takes a shuddering breath, shaking her head. "... she was raping me," she says, in a continuous tense which suggests something more than a single event. "And not just me... she said she'd hurt other women, too. She... she was a doctor, or something," a psychologist, but Yua's not good at keeping track of that sort of thing, "so she said she was fixing our ''deviance,'' but... she wasn't fixing anything. When she got hurt, I... I mean, I heard her calling out and, and I really did go to her to help her, but... but then I saw her there, and... and I'm not strong, Nobumizu, I couldn't do it without taking advantage of something, and I realised that was 'something', so I just..."

She trails off, but she's already said what she ''just'' did, didn't she?

Twelve times...

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>
"Thanks. I don't mind having dedicated customers." Shinobu replies with a small laugh. She definitely appreciates having consistent above-board work, too. She does ''try'' to vet her jobs - the last thing she needs is legal troubles.

Yua explains who all knows. Miho, Remi, and... Ryouhara-kun? That's a surprising name - and so is 'Shishi'... Shinobu nods - and then, with some effort, Yua explains.

...She was raping her. And not just her - other women, too, claiming to be fixing their 'deviance'. She catches the implication - that this was an ongoing thing..

Shinobu's expression shifts - surprise and disbelief giving way to anger and disgust. She clasps a hand over her mouth, briefly.

"That's... ''disgusting''." Shinobu replies with a shake of her head. Her hands settle back onto the table, clenching into fists. "Nothin' about you needs 'fixing'... the hell kind of doctor was she?"

It's... a pretty stark reminder of the way some people think about them. Shinobu shuts her eyes and exhales, looking at Yua again.

"That's... I think ''anyone'd'' see red, if they went through that." She replies quietly, shaking her head. "I don't think... it's a matter of 'strength'."

Should she say that she shouldn't have done it? That she shouldn't have killed someone who was calling for help? ...Maybe she should have - but she's always had a tendency to give into her own anger. And when that someone's been hurting you, hurting who knows how many unknown people...

...'Right' and 'wrong' go out the window.

"Just... God, Yua-chan... You didn't deserve any of that." Shinobu shakes her head.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

At this point, if Shinobu had legal problems, she could probably call Miho and Yua and get them ''sorted out...''

... though, is that something of a deal with the devil?

Yua might not ''look'' like a demon, but...

"A talking doctor," Yua says, miserably. "Even before she was able to hurt me like this... she made me tell her all about my relationship. She kept telling me to add more details... um... I think that's when she really got obsessed with me. She said that I was the one who showed her this sort of thing was even possible... like it was my fault she was awful."

Yua swallows, as she supposes: "But... if I was the one who inspired her... it means it was my responsibility, and... I had to stop her. That's the kind of thing I thought, I guess... though I wasn't thinking too much at all, just... that she was in pain, and I hoped she'd be in more pain, I wanted her to be in pain..." ... 'right' and 'wrong', right out the window, huh?

"Mimi says it's not my fault," she adds, "but I keep thinking about it. How it was really hard, but when I slipped into the way to do it, it was actually very easy... how Mimi helped me get rid of the body... how I'm different now. I killed another human... even if she was a bad person, that's not supposed to happen, right...? But I couldn't go to the police, um... she wasn't someone they'd investigate fairly, even ''if'' Kimi-san really tried, so..."

'Even ''if'' Kimi-san really tried' is doing ''so'' much heavy lifting in that sentence.

"T-thank you," she says, with a touch of a sniffle. "I'm sorry... it's too much to hear about someone, right? If you need to tell the police, I understand... but I think Kimi-san will probably make sure that investigation's dropped before I bring more shame on everyone. I just... I hope you won't be afraid of the cookies," and her voice crumbles, a little, as she speaks on them. "They're really fine, they're not poisoned or anything, I don't just kill people, I'm not a murderer! I'm not! I -- uh -- I don't ''want'' to be," because of course she ''is,'' "I never wanted to be this sort of person...!"

(She's right, as it happens. The cookies are ''so'' not poisoned, they in fact ''restore 20 HP a pop.'')

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>
A 'talking doctor'... Shinobu grimaces. It's awful to think of someone like that taking advantage of their position. It only deepens when Yua continues.

"...It wasn't ''your'' fault." Shinobu insists. "Of course she'd frame it like you were responsible... She'd do everything to pin the fault on everyone but herself, to make it seem like she was right."

...And ultimately, that pinning of blame lead to her death. Shinobu sure isn't going to mourn her.

"...Well. She got what was coming to her." Shinobu exhales, shaking her head. "Just wish you didn't have to be the one to do it... but I'm not gonna blame you for taking your shot."

In her shoes... She probably would've done the same.

It is... a little chilling, though... to hear the way she talks about it. How Miho helped her get rid of the body, and how Kimitake would shut down any investigations that arose because of it. Is it just because she's, on paper, his wife? Or was there something more to it? It feels like ''something's'' going on here... but she can hardly ask for answers right now.

"...It's not supposed to. But... what happened to you isn't supposed to, either. It's just... all messed up all around." Shinobu replies, shaking her head. She studies Yua for a moment.

"No, look, it's... fine." She says. ...Well, it isn't fine, nothing about the situation is fine, but it is 'fine' in the sense that she's going to tell her she shouldn't have said it. "...I'm not gonna go to the police. Don't worry."

...Like she says - Kimitake would make sure the investigation got dropped, and Shinobu isn't exactly the most trusting of the police right now, anyway... It'd likely just be painting a target on her own back if she did.

There's other people she'd go to, first.

And then Yua says she hopes she won't be afraid of the cookies, assuring her they're fine - that she's not a murderer, she doesn't just kill people - or she doesn't want to be, and that hurts her heart a little.

"...Hey, it's okay. I'm not afraid of the cookies." Shinobu assures her. "...No, I don't think you did. ...It sucks that's how things ended up."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Mm..." Yua hums, and repeats, slowly: "It... wasn't my fault. When... when... Natari Konishi did those things..." It's the first time she's ''said her name'' since she began her assaults, and in the struggle of naming her Yua isn't really thinking ''deeply'' about the potential ramifications of Shinobu having that information, "it's 'cause... she wanted to. Mou... saying that feels weird, but... b-but I should practice, I guess...?"

She takes a breath, and affirms: "She got what she deserved."

Still, that's a very... particular way of expressing that sentiment.

She nods, mutely, when Shinobu says it's ''messed up,'' and looks to her when she assures her not to worry. "O--okay. Thanks..." ... if Kimitake ''did'' have to hush up an investigation, she'd probably regret it, she thinks.

But she can't say that.

"It really sucks," she sniffles, reaching over to grab a tissue from the table and dabbing at her eyes. "And -- and it sucks more 'cause -- I got these stupid baby emotions -- and I cry even when nothing is sad and this is ''super'' sad!" It is, at least, a bit of a return to her normal way of speaking...

... and it reminds her, in turn, of baby. (Getting kicked in the stomach helps.) "Mouuu, but I don't want to invite you over just to be sad," Yua insists, tucking the tissue away. "Hey, hey... I told you we commissioned Mark-san, right? Do you wanna come and see what he did for us?"

She'll take Shinobu's help getting ''up,'' and so lead her to...

... the nursery! With sea creatures and a happy beach scene splayed across the walls, all in Mark's cheerful style! By ''now,'' there's a bunch of equipment in the nursery, too, and Yua's mood brightens as she shows Shinobu all the cool toys and gadgets they've prepared for Hiroki.

She shares, as well, that she's scheduled to go into hospital for monitoring soon...

... but if all these terrifying things are happening to her out here, maybe in hospital is the safest place for Yua to be right now?

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>
'Natari Konishi'... Shinobu will remember that name. She won't repeat it here, though.

It takes Yua some effort - but she's able to say that it wasn't her fault. That she did it because she wanted to.

"That's right. It's not your fault." Shinobu assures. Yua says she should practice, and what she practices saying is... 'she got what she deserved'.

...That definitely has a different vibe. She wonders if she should be worried about that...

She nods back when Yua thanks her - and again, when she agrees that it really sucks. But, ah, baby emotions... She knows a little about ''that'' from her sister. Shinobu offers a small, sympathetic laugh.

But, she doesn't want to invite her over just to be sad.

"...Sometimes you just gotta be sad." Shinobu offers. "But I'm not gonna say no to that. Let's go take a look, huh?"

She will indeed help her up, and let her lead her to the nursery.

It's very cute - and when she points out all of the cool things they got for Hiroki, Shinobu will ask questions! And, when she finally shares that last bit of information, wishes her a safe trip.

...It probably is the safest place for her right now - even if it might be difficult for her.

</poem>

2026-09-16: Tea and Rice Cakes

2026-09-22T04:14:50Z

L: Created page with "*'''Log: ''' Tea and Rice Cakes *'''Cast:''' Yua Ijuuin, Goro Akechi *'''Where:''' Tokyo TV *'''OOC Date:''' 2026-09-16 *'''IC Date:''' Thu Jan 10 2013 *'''Summary''': ''Akechi brings Yua tea and rice cakes while checking in on her... and, surreptitiously, her experiences with the Kingdom.'' ---- Category:Logs Category:Season 1 Category:Season 1, Episode 2 <Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed. <poem> Yua is at Tokyo TV -- the scene of the..."

*'''Log: ''' Tea and Rice Cakes
*'''Cast:''' [[Yua Ijuuin]], [[Goro Akechi]]
*'''Where:''' Tokyo TV
*'''OOC Date:''' 2026-09-16
*'''IC Date:''' Thu Jan 10 2013
*'''Summary''': ''Akechi brings Yua tea and rice cakes while checking in on her... and, surreptitiously, her experiences with the Kingdom.''

----

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Yua is at Tokyo TV -- the scene of the crime, as it happens, because Miho's unit was called to extract a man with Yua's subtler powers here just recently. (That's the true source of the blackout... and the 'terrorists' who supposedly kidnapped Hana, who in fact were incited through that strange power. Sadly, they didn't manage to extract the ''true'' target.) Of course, she's here as ''Yua,'' today -- as she has been a few other times, between then and now, when she's visited to deliver baked goods to Hana's loved ones.

... the difference ''today,'' of course, is that this is the first time Yua's ventured outside since the catastrophic assault on Blacksite Revelation. She's in her usual outside clothes, of course -- which are now a ''long-sleeved'' leotard and black ''tights'' to match, beneath that sheer skirt; her long hair is wrapped up in that tight bun, her makeup's all neatly done -- if, to a keen eye, ''recently touched up.''

Despite the effort she's put in, she looks particularly tired, as she takes a seat on a bench at a quiet corner of the street outside and pulls out her phone... perhaps her recent misadventures are ''why.''

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
<poem>

People come and people go down the street. Of course most people wouldn't recognize a pregnant woman. And most men would think better of making a pass at one, especially one ''this'' pregnant.

Perhaps, Yua thinks sitting here will prevent her from being bothered.

Perhaps.

Footsteps stop in front of her, and Yua sees- "You look like you could use this more than I." -a tea latte of some sort, with a stopper indicating it hasn't been drank from yet.

"It's said that anything beneath two hundred milligrams is safe in pregnancy."

What kind of a man just knows these things? Well, more a boy really, or a young man. It's Goro Akechi, of course- he's going to make some wife very happy one day, being this knowledgeable and engaged in her pregnancy.

"This as well. I insist."

And in his hand is a small bag of rice cakes.

"Seeing as your husband isn't around, I feel it's only natural that I make certain your needs are taken care of, sensei."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Yua taps out some messages -- first to Shinobu, of course, because she'd wanted to go out to afternoon tea with her but she was ''far'' too ambitious with her outside plans and she really just needs to go back ''home,'' and then...

... but before she can finish contacting her ''driver,'' a latte appears in her reduced field of view. Yua blinks, looking up from her phone, to the tea, to -- "Oh! Akechi-kun!" Her expression brightens, when she sees him. "Ahh, did you get that for me? Really, I couldn't -- ah, you're sure? Mm, okay!" She tucks her phone away in her handbag (suspiciously large enough to hold some bulky items, though there's surely ''not'' a revolver evoker hidden beneath a false panel at the bottom), to free up her hands to receive ''rice cakes and tea.'' "You're such a thoughtful young man...!"

She smiles, as she pops the bag on her lap to open up the tea. "Please, sit with me!" She invites him, and of course it's not improper because he's still a ''young'' man and Yua would sooner kidnap him to her nest to roost on him like a broody hen. (More to the point, he's not an ''assertive'' lesbian.) "Ah, Kimi-san's very busy with work right now, so I was coming to visit Yakoaki myself... her friend was kidnapped back during that awful business, so I ought to make sure she's okay, you know...?"

She sips the tea, and -- "It's delicious," Yua smiles, to him. "Don't worry, thanks to my medicines, eating's not so bad now!" She's downplaying it a lot; when it was ''so bad,'' she was having to get ''needles'' put in her to put ''food'' in her ''blood,'' so her present state of not being able to try her baked goods this morning because her stomach insisted on ''bland foods only'' really seems fine in ''comparison.''

... but it is at least ''easier to manage'' now they've figured out what balance of medications work to mitigate it.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
<poem>

"For myself, actually. I just got out of an interview at the Station. It just happened to be coincidence that I was heading in a direction that took me just past you."

He smiles affably, because while certainly he could take credit- that would mean he was spying on her, and that sounds creepy.

Even as a Detective, there's something that goes 'Maybe not' on the inside when it comes to admitting to following a pregnant woman.

"Oh? Well if you're certain." He says, before putting his briefcase down, and sitting down beside her, gloved hands folding in front of him.

"Ah yes, during that terrible affair..." He looks off distantly, before resting a hand on his chin, like he's contemplating Kingdoms in general, including them appearing in the real world.

"Is that so? I'm glad to hear it. I'm told nausea isn't quite as large a factor after the first trimester, but I imagine it's always still a concern."

Which is in part why the rice cakes, because it's easy on the stomach without being too bland.

"From what I understand for some women it can be quite tricky, including frequent hospitalizations during that time."

Which he brings up, only to poke right at that time when Yua was 'being treated'- because he's bit of an ass. Just a smidge.

"On that note... might I ask if you've seen a Pink Cockatoo about?" He manages a smile and a chuckle, "An odd question- but I've been hired to try and recapture her by her trainers. You see, she escaped from a TV set here during filming..."

A lie of course, but it's the kind of white lie one can attribute to just 'not wanting to talk about Fight Club' ie. the Supernatural.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Oh!" Yua gasps. "Of course, you appear here quite a bit, don't you? You're such a busy bee...!"

But so long as he doesn't ''admit'' to following her, that's fine, isn't it?

"Please," Yua invites him, again, smiling. (It sounds so different to the pleas she issued, when the Black Mask broke into their home... though, is it really ''that'' different...?) "I was just about to call my driver... but I'd love to chat! I don't get out as much as I used to... oh, on that, I'm sorry we had to pause lessons," she adds, kindly. "My doctor says that the third trimester could be the toughest time for me... so I had to put in leave a little early. I'm afraid it's getting a little too difficult to dance in my condition..."

She sounds a little sad, to say it, but that's something else understated.

Still -- it's just a little while. Just a few months. She can make up for the training deficit of a few months, right...?

Speaking of things which are terrible: Hana's kidnapping. "It was awful," she agrees, softly. "I can't believe terrorists would be so bold as to attack a broadcaster like that... mouuu, but Kimi-san does tell me the world outside Japan is getting rather frightening."

She smiles, though, when Akechi speaks on his knowledge of nausea. "I'm afraid I'm kind of... a hypernemesis gravitas!" Hyperemesis gravidarum. Why does she need to make her medical conditions cute. "So the sickness didn't really go away for me... I've had to get treatments, and even go to hospital, mm. It can be a little scary," she admits, downcast, "but I have a lot of people supporting me, so I'm okay."

She sips at her tea, and nibbles at a rice cake, and is taken entirely off course by -- "Eh?" Yua blinks, her eye widening as she looks to Akechi. "I-I, um -- oh! But aren't cockies white? I saw one at the zoo once, it was all white... with a big yellow crest! I... I'm sure I'd remember if I saw a special pink cockatoo!" Yua laughs it off, nervously.

She has, of course, seen a special pink cockatoo.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
<poem>

Exactly. Plausible Deniability is important- it's also what makes him an asshole.

"Haha, well- you're not wrong that my schedule is quite packed." He says with a chuckle. His expression changes with the 'Please' just subtly, before he sits down, trying to keep his feelings on that phrasing of invitation neutral.

He nods at that, "No no- there's nothing to apologize for. Doing what's best for your unborn child is what truly matters."

It is an incontrovertible fact about most women, in Goro Akechi's mind. Enough that a woman who wouldn't- has something broken about them.

Placing sentiment for a child above all else, no matter the consequences... is simply the way of the world.

"Yes, well... I certainly have my own theories on the nature of her captors. You see... I don't believe they were terrorists from outside this country at all." He laces his fingers together, "It's no secret that our nation has had a greater shift towards traditionalism in recent years. To the point where even a trans-woman who was acting as expected of her, might just be targeted by such elements."

Akechi says it with a troubled expression, "It might have been merely to 'send a message' so to speak, on the fate of those whose presence challenges our new... 'status quo'."

Her misspeaking the word causes a smile from him, "Well it is true that you do not lack for 'gravitas'." He says with a light tease in his tone. "Even when vomiting uncontrollably, I suspect."

Apparently he does find it cute, but he's gotta poke fun at it. "Yes, I can imagine so, even with modern medicine- it wasn't so long ago that such conditions could be a death sentence. The things that can happen with certain electrolyte imbalances are frightening enough... and in our country such things are rarely taken so seriously."

He looks sideways towards Yua, smirking, "If I'm ever mildly 'upset' at one of my colleagues, its common enough that I'm told that I must lack calcium in my diet... due to past pseudoscience that's accepted currently as fact. Still- I'm glad you're getting the support you need."

As Yua gets taken off guard, he does chuckle again, "Well, yes, most are. This one is a variant of the Australian Galah Cockatoo, where pink plumage is common."

Her nervousness causes the smile to vanish off his face and-

"My my. Is everything alright? You suddenly seem quite nervous, over such a mundane thing. Could it be that you've actually seen one after all and aren't being exactly forthright?"

...
...
...
...

"Just kidding." He says with a wide grin, "Haha...! I'm only pulling your leg. The question's almost ask themselves. Call it 'Detective's Habit.'"

Jerk.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Say it isn't so! He's a ''nice young man!!''

"That's right," Yua smiles, when Akechi mentions Hiroki's safety. "It's all for Hiroki, after all!"

That's a little more complicated, when you're actually carrying the weight, but... even if Yua wouldn't give her life for him to be born, she's still giving up an awful lot. Even with Miho...

Yua frowns, though, as Akechi talks about a different story, too. "But the police said they were terrorists," she points out, gently. "Surely if it was something coming from inside the country, they'd have said so...? Really... I'm really sure that the conservatives didn't have anything to do with this." Is she just saying that as a conservative policeman's wife...?

... well, it's not as if she can tell a normal boy like Akechi that she's never had dealings with such an odious cockatoo, and she's sure she'd remember her being mentioned at one of thier function dinners.

The boot of the nation can't be working with a ''bird.''

She does blush, though, when Akechi talks about vomiting so ''bluntly.'' "E-eh-- y--yes," she stammers, looking down at her rice cake. "If I don't eat enough, I need to have these awful milkshakes to make up for it... s-so don't worry, I'm still healthy!"

And then -- ''galah!'' "Oh, that's a silly word!" Yua giggles, unwittingly comprehending the slang of far off shores in the process. "What a silly-billy bird that must be..."

Except, of course, her efforts to be cute are interrupted ''rudely'' by Akechi's incisiveness. "--eh? I was nervous? No, just -- um --" Would she have spit it out?! Luckily, Akechi assures her he's ''joking'' before she can, and her cheeks puff up. "Mooouuu! Meanie!!"

Even when she's mad, she's so cute...

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> The Lovable Akechi-kun has posed.
<poem>

Yes. *wink* He's such a nice *wink wink* young man.

"Did they now?" Akechi asks, as if to raise skepticism towards that account. "Not if they prize public order, as a greater good than safety."

He remarks, "Though forgive me, I do forget you're married to a police officer... you see, the police and I have often been at odds over the various corruption scandals I've uncovered within their departments." Though he then adds, "No I wouldn't say that the Conservatives are... necessarily behind this."

A beat.

"Though that does not mean their policies have nothing to do with such acts." He has a theory as to what force is behind Kingdoms, but he doesn't actually have enough evidence to connect it.

If the Metaverse is the result of Distorted Desire- then Kingdoms must be something else... still, he's getting ahead of himself.

Correction. The Boot of the nation does not ''know'' they're working with a bird.

"Ah, my sympathies, they do sound truly horrendous." As he remarks on the milkshakes, "Still the things one does for love..."

That's not necessarily connected, but he still says it anyway, given what his mind is focused upon. "I'm glad to hear you're doing well, nevertheless."

What a silly-billy bird?

Akechi does arch an eyebrow, "Well, the crew did say she was quite the mischievous character..." As he recalls his past encounter with this bird, glowering some.

As she calls him a meanie though, he all but cackles in the moment, "Ahahaha-! You're so cute when you're teased, it's quite the incentive to keep doing it, even if it's rather awful of me."

Well at least she's certain he's not hitting on her when he's calling her cute.

"Still, if you do happen to see one- you can always give me a call." As he hands her a business card that he slides out of his pocket, "I intend to see this case through, no matter what."

He's gonna KILL that bird if it's the LAST THING HE DOES!

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"But Kotoba wasn't doing anything wrong," Yua protests, which gives lie to the idea that she agrees with her husband in all things despite never having spoken an ill word against him. When it comes time for ''that,'' though -- Yua shakes her head. "Kimi-san is an honourable man," she lies. "He'd never do anything corrupt!"

Just recently, he helped do terrible things to Katsuya's career... and thanks to his bragging, she knows all about it.

But she can't be such a liar about the ''impacts.'' "Mm, it does... make it easier for things to be harder for her," Yua allows, delicately. "Maybe if the state got involved, it would make things even worse, too..."

... because it's true, isn't it? Yua isn't quite sure why Jerri was so upset at her, but it had ''something'' to do with her powers.

What if that means... there's really no hope for Hana, even if people realise she's missing like 'that'...?

"Don't worry," Yua smiles, to Akechi, when he sympathises over her awful yucky milkshakes. "Moms are tough!"

Don't give her a gun don't give her a gun don't give her a -- WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE SUMMONS HER PERSONA WITH A GUN

"Mm, I'm... sure it's like that," and Yua's cheer falters, a little, as she insists Jerri ''must'' be mischevious, but she's at least a good enough actor to ''mostly'' pretend.

But he teases her, and she pouts, "Mooouuuuu..."

Akechi gives her a business card, though, and Yua -- looks a little baffled, for a moment, before she takes it with her tealess hand. (THAT'S STILL WRONG!) "Do you... talk to a lot of people your age about your cases...?" She wonders, quietly, as she tucks it away in her bag.

It's not impossible some of Akechi's friends have Persona... Miho and Remi weren't able to find Hana, but what if...?

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> The Lovable Akechi-kun has posed.
<poem>

"Would politicians even label prizing public order over safety as corrupt... if the truth would result in a panic that might cost more lives?" He prompts, "Even the common man might argue over whether such a thing is corrupt or not. We live in a different world from the politicians who exert control over our fates."

That part is true, he knows it well from hanging around his Father all the time. "Yes, just so." He agrees to what she allows.

Akechi suddenly has an urge to hand Yua over his gun, huh. He's quite strong in the schadenfreude.

"I'm not so certain of that myself, by accounts I've received so far." He says mildly, of Jerri being mischievous. "The crew has affection for their animal- but it seems most do not share their opinion."

He's still grinning over the tease, when she asks him a question, "Not so much, truly. However... it is in the case that I am often hired by individuals of my age group for... smaller things. To see if a boyfriend is faithful, to find a lost pet- to determine the responsibility for certain incidents in our schools."

There is a shrug, like it's no big thing, "Most cases are... tedious to be perfectly honest, but that is the majority of Detective Work. Still, it does give me the chance to sometimes speak of my work to others."

In essence... Akechi's friends? BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA YOU PUT A PLURAL ON IT!

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"It is a different world," Yua agrees, mildly.

It's better, she thinks, if he doesn't know how much.

"Birds can be very rude," she allows, of Jerri's temperament. "I think it's because they're so smart...? Or just bossy... a seagull once stole my sandwich right out from my hand!" Yua huffs, before she pauses, thoughtfully.

"... but I like geese," she decides, at length. "And swans. They're very fierce! Hmm... I guess that means I like ducks, too...? Even though a simple duck is much gentler... oh, and crows are smart, but they're very cute! Did you know that if you make friends with a crow, he won't swoop you?"

Yua's thoughtfulness turns to ''concern,'' hearing Akechi downplay his social circle. "Ah, Akechi-kun... I know you're very busy, but try to make some time to see your friends, okay...? A little gossip is normal for a teenager. If you go through life so seriously, you'll forget you're young at all..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> The Lovable Akechi-kun has posed.
<poem>

It's better, he thinks, if she doesn't know how much he actually knows.

"A whole sandwich? Remarkable... usually one thinks of Seagulls as going for much smaller targets, but as your own experiences tell us- that's not quite true. There's nothing they would not snatch, with the right opportunity..."

She speaks of Geese, and Swans, and Ducks. "Ah yes, fierce is actually something of an understatement I'd say. There are accounts of Swans breaking grown men's arms in two. And a whole gaggle of Geese... well... I hesitate to say in current company."

As if he were merely being considerate of Yua's condition. "Haha... I did. Actually, would you believe I had a recent case I solved involving a crow?" He grins, "A woman thought she was being stalked by an ex-boyfriend, as she kept finding sharp pieces of metal on her doorstep. Well- it turns out, she befriended a Crow, and did not realize it was giving her gifts."

Technically HE HAS NOT ACTUALLY TOLD THAT WOMAN YET, he's left her on the hook- but Yua doesn't need to know that.

He's solved it, that's what is important!

Then Yua tells him he should take time to see his friends, a little gossip being 'normal' for a teenager. And well, he doesn't quite smile at the thoughtfulness behind the gesture.

"I am making more time for socializing... as of late, but..." He hesitates, then finally says, "... well, let us just say it is difficult to find friends that do not wish to take advantage of my status."

It's not quite the truth, but not a lie either- so too does it circle back to how they met, with his accusation that she might be doing the same as a teacher.

"As it stands I only have, ah- a singular friend, I'm embarrassed to admit." And it's more that he's their 'boyfriend' than friends in that way.

"And even then there's only so much I can say about certain cases and remain professional."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Yua isn't telling him that it was a sandwich cut into ''quarters'' with the ''crusts'' cut off, of course, but that's just because she thinks that's the normal way sandwiches should be configured. "I think seagulls would steal the whole eatery if they could," Yua declares, boldly. "Though... I don't know why they like chips so much. Eeegh, they're so greasy... and chewy when they're not supposed to be, and then too sharp, and then sometimes chewy AND sharp in the same chip... it's wrong!"

YUA DOESN'T LIKE HOT CHIP?!

Okay so THAT'S why she's a villain.

"Mm, mm, that's right! With a single sweep of their wings...!" Yua waves a hand, merrily, as she describes the qualities of the ''swan.'' "Swans are so graceful and strong and big... just like Mimi!" Big is also a positive qualifier, to Yua. How mysterious...

But Akechi talks about solving a Crow Mystery, and Yua's legs swing, under the bench, as she nibbles a rice cake and listens. "Oh, that sounds scary... but I'm sure the crow was trying to be nice! Hmm, hmm... I wonder if crows are smart enough to understand if you tell them you'd like a different gift...? Maybe if you were really happy when you got something you liked better..."

Yua doesn't even ''think'' that Akechi would leave that poor woman on the hook, as it happens. She ''definitely'' doesn't know how much he knows. She trusts him! He's a lovely young man!!

But... an isolated one, too. "Mouuu..." Yua says, sadly, grasping her tea in both hands for a moment. "It's really not fair on you to make you have to think about that stuff when you're young, and keeping secrets, and stuff... but it's hard, right? Mimi told me about how it was having lots of fans and not many friends... I don't really know about it myself, but I heard it's hard. Hey!" She realises, straightening up. "I bet ''Mimi'' would know what to say, though! Mm, mm... you should talk to Mimi about that stuff, Akechi-kun! Yeah, that's a great idea!"

How does she just -- emit a little shining sun as she speaks? Okay, it's a figurative portrait, but that's still got to be illegal somehow.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> The Lovable Akechi-kun has posed.
<poem>

"May I share something with you?"

Akechi leans over as if to confide a singular fact.

"I'm not the biggest fan of fries either."

He'll eat it, because he'll eat most things. He's just not a big foodie in reality, and he hides this from everyone out there as he'd just seem like weird.

This is how you know he TOO is the villain.

"It does make sense that you'd find them graceful- their imagery is oft associated with ballet, after all."

He does put a hand to his chin, "Perhaps the two of you should dance a Pas de Deux... together one day. Though, what am I saying?" He chuckles as he peels the hand from his chin, "I do know that it's done by two men on occasion but- two women would be looked upon with disfavor by most audiences."

He nods with a smile, "Indeed, I'm certain of the same. The crow simply does not understand how such an act might look, unless they were seen placing their gifts there in the first place."

He does consider the question, then... "I think perhaps with enough prompting. They are smart creatures, and do seem in tune with at least the positive or negative emotions of those around them. Still- it would be challenging."

Her mourning of him having to consider such things, well- there's something of a thin smile on his face, as he looks away.

"It's a lesson I learned long before I was a celebrity, Ijuuin-sensei. As you may know- I grew up in Foster Care. You learn quickly that most of your caregivers care little about you beyond the paycheck."

There's an odd look that he gives Yua's way, before he leans back, crossing his arms, "Oh? And she has a great many friends? By all accounts I would expect she faced the same problems..."

And more besides, given some other facets of who she is.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Oh, thank goodness! Someone finally understands...!" Yua ''thinks'' Akechi does, anyway. ... she really ''did'' love food, you know? Before... well, everything.

"But Mimi dances with me all the time," Yua protests, when her hopes of a ''pas de deux'' are squashed by ''social norms.'' "It's not that weird... it's just dancing!"

Well, sure, technically speaking.

"Then I hope she's able to meet her crow! Maybe she could put on a performance... 'I Want To Be Your Crow'! Mm, that would surely call it out!" Yua, those tickets are fake. "Then, she can tell it how she feels!"

Still... Akechi didn't have a crow, did he. "Mm..." Yua hums, frowning with concern. "I can't imagine how difficult that must have been for you, Akechi-kun. But... you survived, and so long as you're alive, you can find people who matter to you," she urges him, gently.

"Mimi's got friends from searching, and from her team and stuff... but that's what I mean!" She goes on, shaking her head. "Mimi knows how hard it is... so I bet Mimi could say much smarter stuff! My head's all full of cotton balls, so I'm not sure..."

She pauses, biting her lip. "Oh," she realises, as she actually stops to take ''inventory'' of herself. "Oh, I'm really feeling rather faint... I'm sorry, dear, but I think I had ought to summon my car and head back home." Her smile is a touch strained, as she dips her head in apology. "I should really be able to help you more, but my health's been a little poor... please excuse me, Akechi-kun."

If he wants to help her ''to'' the car, of course, she won't protest; he's a very responsible young man, after all.

And the Yua has become tired... just like she said in her text message.

</poem>

2026-09-14: They Always Return to the Scene of the Crime

2026-09-15T07:43:22Z

L: Created page with "*'''Log: ''' They Always Return to the Scene of the Crime *'''Cast:''' Yua Ijuuin, Hana Fukami's partner, Miyako Akimoto *'''Where:''' TV Tokyo *'''OOC Date:''' 2026-09-14 *'''IC Date:''' Thu, Jan 10 2013 *'''Summary''': ''Yua's been ferrying baked goods to Hana's partners, and this time, Miyako learns why... in a fashion.'' ---- Category:Logs Category:Season 1 Category:Season 1, Episode 2 <Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed. <poem> Yua i..."

*'''Log: ''' They Always Return to the Scene of the Crime
*'''Cast:''' [[Yua Ijuuin]], [[Hana Fukami]]'s partner, Miyako Akimoto
*'''Where:''' TV Tokyo
*'''OOC Date:''' 2026-09-14
*'''IC Date:''' Thu, Jan 10 2013
*'''Summary''': ''Yua's been ferrying baked goods to Hana's partners, and this time, Miyako learns why... in a fashion.''

----

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Yua insisted she couldn't just ''lay about,'' after her terrible ordeal. She's gotten herself up, gotten herself baking... and she's made a delicious batch of chocolate cookies! Some of these she's packaged up in one of her little hand-woven baskets -- they're good for keeping her hands busy -- to take with her on an outing... off to Tokyo TV, again.

"Um, I'm looking for Miyako Akimoto...!" She says, at reception; and they know she's ''rich,'' and they ''know'' her, and that does wonders for getting her a guest pass even though she shouldn't ''really'' be here.

When she's able to bustle in and find her, it involves kind of standing to the side and ''waiting'' until she's done with her work -- luckily, someone finds a chair for her pretty quickly, so she's at no risk of ''falling.''

She receives a phone call, while she's waiting; her expression is strained, as she murmurs her reply. ... as she thought, Kimitake accepts Miho killing Natari much easier, though he's furious his pliable contact was killed. Really, being in public is the best argument she has to cut him short...

When they're released for lunch, Yua waves her down with a much warmer expression -- though Miyako might need to help her stand up. "Yakoaki! Hi!"

"Are you busy for lunch...?" She wonders, a touch meekly. ('Guilty' rhymes, did you know?) "I -- I brought cookies!"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

Tokyo TV! ...As it happens, those without Personas can't see that door. So there's not a lot to be done. ...And, of course, one still has to go to work.

Miyako does, that much is sure. Teruo assured her ''someone'' was working on it--assured Emisa, too--But Miyako Akimoto still worries over her... friend? Girlfriend?

Whatever their actual relationship, she worries, and she has resolved to put that aside and put her all into her work instead; stuntwork can be dangerous if you're distracted.

Eventually she does finish though--and when she does--

"Oh, Yua-chan." She's gotten on a first-name basis with the adorable woman somehow. "Here, let me help," she says, and does indeed offer. But first--

"...Sure, I can have lunch with you," she settles on. "I was just going to take it alone otherwise."

...She does like cookies.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

It helps that Yua's given them all nicknames already, despite having only ''met'' Hana's special friends a couple of times. (They're not friends, but Yua has to pretend certain things, in public.)

"It's better to have lunch with friends!" Yua encourages Miyako, sunnily. She'll let Miyako lead her to a ''place'' to eat it, though; she's visited a good few times, now, but she's still firmly a ''visitor.'' She doesn't know where the quiet nooks are!

Once Miyako's found them somewhere, though, Yua will be quick to take a seat on whatever seating happens to be available. "Phew," she sighs, with a little effort; but she doesn't call attention to the extra weight she's carrying, as she looks to Miyako.

"Hey, hey... how are you doing...?" She wonders, with compassion. "Have you had any news...?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

It does help.

"That's... true?" Miyako is not entirely equipped to deal with how sunny Yua is, so it becomes easy to nudge her into going with it. Besides; she's not going to say no to cookies, or send Yua packing on her own.

Miyako finds a nice little nook that serves as a breakroom that few people use. There are chairs and a couple of tables, but no one else is here; indeed, even the door loses.

"You all right?" Miyako confirms.

Then... The blue-haired stuntwoman sighs in answer. "I'm fine," she says. "Work's going fine."

"...Except for that." Pause. "No news. Supposedly there are people working on it, but..."

"They're both frustrated they can't help much. And so am I. I can't fight things like those ''creatures'', but I could at least be looking."

So, she ''does'' remember.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Eh? Creatures?" Yua frowns, tilting her head. She sounds more puzzled than she really is; she ''knows'' the thing that took Hana wasn't human, and she saw them rampaging, too. "Ah... but they were terrorists, right?" She asks, a touch more nervous. "Right? Like, the people I saw... maybe they were kind of weird, but normal people don't do terrorism, right...?"

It's safer if Miyako thinks they were human instead of ''things,'' right?

But... in trying to reassure her...

Yua's accidentally placed herself at the event.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

"...Right," Miyako answers, "You'd have heard about terrorists... I guess that is the story. But I've never seen bodybuilder terrorists like that. They didn't ''move'' like normal people." Pause. "...But i shouldn't scare you with wild stories. Regardless, Na-chan's still missing."

Pause. "...wait. That means--"

"That's way too dangerous!" she says. "You were here?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"I-I'm sure they were just, you know, on drugs or something, right?" Yua tries another explanation, still sounding nervous.

But then --

WHY IS SHE SO NERVOUS?!

"Ah!" Yua gasps, pulling back, her fingers veiling over her lips all shaped to a fine 'O'. "I-I mean -- I wasn't really, um --!"

Tragically, there is not a gate which can be kept nearly hard enough to stop that horse from having bolted, and Yua sighs, looking down at her hands in her lap. "... mm," she nods, after a moment. "I had some business to attend to, so I saw Kotoba while I was here, like I do sometimes? Just... there was a black-out, and... and we kind of had a little bit of an argument, I guess, about... you know, my duties as Kimi-san's wife..." It's close ''enough'' to the truth, Yua thinks.

(She does not think about how it's closer still than Hana yet knows, if she somehow gets rescued...)

"But... since we were arguing... someone scary found us where we were hiding in the bathroom... and took Kotoba away," Yua says, still not quite able to meet her eyes. "I couldn't find her... I couldn't do anything. Mou... I just ran away while all those scary men were here... um, I know Kimi-san and the police are working hard, but I still feel like I did something really bad. So--! So I wanted to make sure someone was checking in on you, and, and on Saga, and on Terudo, too!"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

"Right." Miyako won't argue. She knows what she saw... but it's scarier for Yua if it's 'creatures', isn't it?

And Yua tries to argue the point--until--

"I see..." She saw her. And the blackout, and, her 'duties'... "Mm. So she pressed it..." That's her guess, anyway.

"Oh." Someone found them. And--

"Yua-chan..."

She sighs, and looks down, thinking about it. "...Nobody would expect you to be able to rescue or find someone in your shoes right now," Miyako settles on. "You have to focus on growing your baby--and protecting him. Not to mention... I don't think running around searching for someone is in your wheelhouse at the moment. Sorry to be blunt."

She says, "But... it's nice of you, to check. I've been trying to support those two, because they're both really close with her..."

"But I'm worried, too."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"I wasn't very good at it, but -- but I did try," Yua says, for what it's worth, her shoulders sinking. "I followed them to try and see where they were taking her, but... they noticed me, and... they threatened my baby," she sniffs, her hands crossing over her belly protectively. "So I just couldn't go on... oh, but listen to me," she chides herself, shaking her head, as she screws another smile on. "I came here to listen to ''you!''"

She frowns, though, hearing Miyako's own efforts. "Mm... you're a kind girl," Miyako is older than ''she'' is, "so I'm not surprised you've been thinking of them... but there's people checking on you, too, right? Right? You're hurting, too!"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

"Oh. That's more than I would've asked," she says, but... "Ah. That's rough." Before she can say too much more though, Yua admonishes herself, and so Miyako is willing to move the subject to herself for the moment, if only so as not to distress her.

"Of course, they both still check in with me, too," she says, "But... I just feel like they need more, at the moment."

"...That's true though. I wish I could be doing something. She's so... sweet. But she's the sort of woman you kind of want to protect, if that makes sense. I feel bad to think of what she might be experiencing..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"I think... if it's really bad, she probably won't remember it," Yua offers, delicately. Though... can she be sure of that, when ''Miyako'' hasn't forgotten the strange event that happened? What if her sick powers will leave ''everyone'' remembering what really happened? What if Hana's left with those awful memories, even if people like Shinobu rescue her...?

"That--that's usually how it works," she insists, and she's trying to convince herself as much as Miyako.

Yua chuckles, with a warm -- if somewhat vague -- smile, as she thinks on Miyako's feelings towards Hana. "You should talk to my special friend," she says, quietly. Yes, Yua really ''does'' call them special friends. "Mimi's been protecting me since we were kids... well, I mostly get protected, but there's some things I can protect her about, too."

She shakes her head, as she adds: "Mm, but when something really bad happened to me, I couldn't protect Mimi's feelings as good... that's when I needed to get her fiance to take care of her! Because even if someone's the one who's helping, that doesn't mean they don't also need help," she says. "Someone else needing more doesn't mean you need nothing... just maybe that you ask someone who isn't really hurt!"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

"...I'm not so sure that's true," Miyako admits. She's more sure of herself than some; she's willing to disagree with people, even when it's not convenient. Maybe that's why she does work mostly behind-the-scenes... "She didn't forget when--"

"...I don't know if she's told you about that. It might not be my place to say..."

But she smiles back. "Yours, huh?" she asks. "...You wouldn't mind that?" Since... Well. "Hmm... I could see that. The 'protector' kind of needs protecting too, sometimes."

Pause. "...Which is wht you're saying, huh. I guess... when you put it that way..."

Fiance. Hmm.

"That makes sense," Miyako answers. "Then... Yes. I can tell you at least; I'm not... happy, to be waiting. Things are... different, without her. In a bad way."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Mm... the attack, right?" Yua asks, glancing down. "Yeah... that was really bad, but... mm, I guess I'm thinking more about the stuff I saw," she says, a touch evasive. "The... um... trafficking stuff...? Sometimes I'd see someone after a while, when I was going through that, and they didn't even remember who I was... I think I probably forgot a lot of bad stuff, too. So... when you 'disappear'... sometimes your memories do, too? You know, if it was too hard or too awful to think about, just... poof!"

'Poof!' is not the kind of cutesy sound effect one expects to hear when discussing amnesia secondary to states of extreme stress, but Yua's a strange woman.

Yua actually has to laugh, though, when Miyako asks if it would be ''proper'' for her to speak to Miho. "Ahaha... it looks a little 'suss', right? That's what the kids call things that are suspicious these days!" A teacher using slang just isn't cool... "But Mimi trusts me to talk to assertive women, so... I trust Mimi, too!"

How does she just emote a heart bubble like that. Is she real. She was just talking about human trafficking a minute ago. What is wrong with this woman.

"Mm, mm," Yua nods, leaning forward into her knees, when Miyako puts it together. "You're protecting everyone's feelings, Yakoaki! But you've got feelings, too..."

And so -- Miyako discloses her own feelings, and Yua reaches out, with a hand, towards hers. "Waiting is really hard," she says, with that same compassion. (It's not a lie; she's just not telling the ''whole truth,'' that's all.) "And when someone who was supposed to be there isn't here, everyone else falls apart around the hole. Kidnapping hurts everyone... because it's not just the person who was taken, it's everyone who wasn't, too." She can hold that in one hand as she dooms the Joker Monsters to oblivion with the other; she'd consider it worse if she ''didn't'' appreciate just how grievous the sin was.

"I'm sure the police won't give up on finding her, but it's hard to not be able to help, right? Even if you only act like you're fighting... you're still strong! So I bet you're thinking you should be able to do something, right?" Yua smiles, sadly. "But sometimes, even when we really want to fight... we can't. The only battle we can fight, then, it's making sure people have something yummy to eat for dinner, and helping them to not fall apart because they can't find their outfit for tomorrow... all those normal things. I really hope they'll find her... but I know all I can do is bake things for you to take back home. You know? I can't take care of her... but I can help take care of you!"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

The attack. "Ah, so she did tell you." Pause. ...the stuff she saw? "Oh." The trafficking. Hm... "I see," Miyako says. "I wonder about that..." Is it for the best? Or is it a problem, to lose your memories?

She doesn't really know; she hasn't been there in the same way.

"It does a little," Miyako says with a laugh. "I mean, I don't seem like it day to day, but..." She is. A teacher using slang.... it's fine. "All right."

But she's protecting everyone's feelings? That's true. ...Maybe not as much as someone who can make a ''heart bubble'' though. Emisa has that power, but not Miyako.

Miyako doesn't take Yua's hand at first--but then she does, after a few moments, after she says a little more. "...Mm," she answers. "Right..."

The 'police'. Miyako makes a sort of uncomfortable expression at that, but she doesn't want to voice it to Yua--she's married to a police officer, after all. "...Yes, I do think that way."

"...Hm..."

"I guess I am doing something then," she says. "Thanks, Yua-chan."

"...And for these, too."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Well... since I was stolen, too... I'll suggest you go along with what she says about it, okay?" Yua suggests, kindly. "If there's stuff she can't face... it's probably because it's too scary. It's okay to put scary stuff in a box for later! It doesn't mean she doesn't trust you, just... box is safe! I love box!"

She pauses, and adds: "Mm, but I hope Kotoba doesn't get stolen as long as I did..."

... they say Yua went missing for four years, after all.

And you know what they say about ''police officers,'' but maybe that's why Yua has to be on Team Cops? ... well, that and pointing out that most of these problems are solved by rag-tag groups of teenagers will only put Miyako in ''more'' danger.

"It must be really hard," Yua sympathises, squeezing Miyako's hand. "But you ''are'' doing stuff, Yakoaki. You're doing really important stuff! Even for Kotoba, too... she'd be really worried about you guys, even when she's in trouble, right? So everything you're doing to keep everyone going... it's going to make things easier for Kotoba when she gets back!" That's a lie, of course; Yua doesn't ''know'' Hana will come back. She suspects she never ''will,'' because no one even saw her get ''taken,'' and Yua certainly hasn't spread the word.

But sometimes you need to lie to be kind, even if Yua prefers showing kindness in different ways. "Mm!" She hums, looking to her cookies. "I really hope you all like them...! Just remember to have dinner first, okay? No dessert cheating!!"
</poem>

2026-09-12: The Mysterious Fencer

2026-09-15T07:38:35Z

*'''Log: The Mysterious Fencer'''
*'''Cast:''' [[Yua Ijuuin]], [[Miho Ijuuin]], [[Shinobu Shimizu]], [[Yukari Takeba]], [[Remi Ryuuja]]
*'''Where:''' Aoba - Main
*'''OOC Date:''' September 09, 2026
*'''IC Date:''' January 07, 2013
*'''Summary''': ''Rumours have been spreading like wildfire about the mysterious fencer with a katana who came to duel Miho Ijuuin, only to be thwarted by /conversation./ He's hungry to face her, apparently! Ravenous! Starving! And what does everyone know about Miho, the Olympian fencer? Why, her dedication to finding Yua, of course! That's why the Rumour Demon, The Mysterious Fencer, is kidnapping her to draw Miho out!''

''But can a normal woman -- who has Resonance, but no apparent Persona, as if she hasn't yet Awakened all the way -- possibly stand up to a Demon? It's up to the heroes to protect her as she tries to save her cousin*!''

''*We're pretty sure the dub wouldn't change this detail for some bizarre reason.''

----

(|=============================== Aoba - Main ================================|)
-=================================================== Sumaru City/Aoba Ward ====-
To Sumaru's east is Aoba Ward, where fashion and commerce abound. The city's
fire department headquarters is based here too. Ample shopping can be found at
the stores that dot Aoba Way. Past it, Aoba Park is a popular place to walk
around and relax, especially since there's an outdoor concert hall located
deeper within where one might catch a live concert.

Various programs are filmed at Sumaru TV, where famous stars like veteran
actress Junko Kurosu, talk show host Hidehiko "Brown" Uesugi, and popular model
Eriko "Elly" Kirishima might be spotted. Along the way, one will pass Kismet
Publishing, where popular publications like hot teen magazine Coolest are made.

AS: Miho Ijuuin has readied for combat as Faust! She is now fully healed!

AS: Shinobu Shimizu has readied for combat as Lachesis! She is now fully healed!

<Pose Tracker> Crossroads Fencer has posed.
<poem>
OST: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mYkITL4rIY Yuki Kajiura - Toki-iro no Mai

"Say," a woman says, as she pushes a pram down Aoba Park, "did you hear about that mysterious fencer...?"

"Oh!" A woman carrying ''her'' little one in a sling behind her exclaims. "Right, right, the one who went to face that gold medallist! Miho Ijuuin, right? Hey, isn't that a good family...?"

Cast in the shadow of the setting sun, their gossip reaches wide.

"Yes, my brother knows them -- he works in real estate. But you know what I heard? When he came to the fencing hall, she wouldn't fight him! They just had a tense conversation!"

"Oh, what did they say?"

"I didn't hear anything about that... but it must have been serious! Apparently, he just dropped a handkerchief in front of her and ''left''..."

"An insult?!"

"He must really want to fight her! But if she refused... what could he do?"

"I wonder..."

"You wonder, you wonder?"

"Don't you remember that woman she was looking for, in the first Olympics? That woman, Yua... they say she's her best friend, and close enough to the family that she married in, even though she's ''country!'' Oh, it's terrible to think of... what if that fencer did something terrible to provoke her!"

"Something outrageous!"

"Something impossible to ignore!"

... it's the kind of gossip which reaches the ears of Yua and Tyrrha, on an afternoon stroll in Aoba Park.

"They've gotta be kiddin'," Tyrrha insists, folding her arms. "If there was a threat, it would never sail over my head --"

Woosh! Something like a rope dart sails merrily overhead -- and indeed, Tyrrha captures it. "... eh?"

Before she can realise what it ''is'', seven more lash out, to bind the robot's arms and legs to her trunk. "Eeeeh?!" Tyrrha yelps, inchworm-like as she falls to the ground and wriggles. But she can't wriggle free... it's ''steel'' rope, not hemp.

On realising this, Tyrrha yelps, "Mama, run--!"

But Yua's already sunk to her knees to try and ''free'' her. A deep shadow, cast by the low sun, falls over them both.

"Heeeeelp!", the dance teacher cries, her voice echoing through Mementos.

Then, there --

Aoba Hall, carved from off-white stone. The place where Miho hones her mastery against her foes doesn't ''appear'' ridiculously wealthy -- and indeed, many practice here through ''merit,'' even if they wouldn't associate with the old nobility otherwise. Miho is not the only Olympian who practices here. Any of these opponents would offer marvellous competition, though few would dare to ''interrupt'' the peerless Miho. Unfortunately...

... the sport of combat ill-prepares them for the real thing.

And that's how the Mysterious Fencer was able to string a ''basket'' to the ceiling, hanging from a rafter. Between the woven bamboo, like bars of a cage, there swings -- "Heeeeelp!!" -- Yua Ijuuin, the totally normal and ''very pregnant'' dance teacher, teal hair done up in a bun. She's wearing a long and ''voluminous'' pink maternity dress, with puffy sleeves and long white gloves. Her left red eye is covered with an eyepatch, and the right looks quite terrified. "Mimi, heeeeelp...!"

Any who try to find a way up to the rafters -- either through the precarious metal ladder bolted to the side of the hall, or through other means -- are blocked by a demonic figure, appearance obscured beneath a billowing haori.

"You are not Ijuuin," the heroes are told. "I will not fight until I'm brought ''Ijuuin!''"

But Miho Ijuuin... doesn't have a Persona, right? She does have ''Resonance,'' but... are there other reasons someone could have an imposing aura? If she's stuck in the half-light between sleep and waking... fighting alone against a threat with Supernatural darkness wafting from beneath his hood could be terribly dangerous.

Even so, there's no question she'll come... and who will come ''with'' her?

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>
Today... is not a good day for Miho Ijuuin.

She would fight most comers, of course. It isn't ''necessary'' to kidnap Yua to make that happen. But that has been done. And now...

Aoba Hall. Miho does not expect that her students and colleagues will be able to fight off a rumored mysterious Fencer. it is not that she lacks faith in their abilities; it is more...

Rumors are bullshit, and real combat is different from sport.

Mostly, rumors are bullshit.

So Miho Ijuuin--a statuesque woman of six feet, with short, slightly shaggy green hair and piercing eyes--stalks up the walkway towards the Hall's entrance. She has a sword in hand--not her favorite sword, but a sword--and enters, looking up at the mysterious fencer from her position below.

"Ijuuin is here," she says.

"But soon... you will not be."

She adopts a ready stance.

Not that she can use her Persona, but she's mad enough. Maybe it'll still work out?
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Crossroads Fencer has posed.
<poem>
"That's it! That's her! Miho Ijuuin...! I've come to defeat you!"

The mysterious fencer throws off his haori, to reveal --

-- a magnificent --

-- cat?!

Cait Sith bounces on his paws, a majestic feathered hat perched skew across his head, the size of a dog but unmistakably a ''cat.'' (That haori made him look much taller...) A red cape matches his hat -- and so, too, his magnificent greaves. He wields a saber in his pawlike hand, fur purple to black, eyes green and slit eagerly.

"En garde!" He declares, as power flares around him. "Prêts? Allez!"

It's the traditional beginning of a fencing bout -- and of course the ''rumour'' would have him be a ''fencer.'' (Ninjas aren't real...) He lunges forward, his blade lashing out, the shockwave from his swing rocking out with an enraging snap -- and he's a ''demon,'' so surely he'll carve her in ''half,'' won't he?

Except... he came to defeat Miho.

Perhaps that's why his saber ''meets'' hers, instead, in a frightening clash of steel.

But if rumours are bullshit, how long will it protect her?

"Mimi!" Yua calls, up above, as that basket swings precariously. "Mimi, I'm here! Aaaaaauuuuuu it's so high up...!!" As always, there's no Resonance which can be detected, up there, where she's trapped; she's a perfectly normal young mother-to-be, kidnapped away in a basket hanging from the ceiling.

It might be possible to try and sneak up there while Cait Sith is busy fighting everyone...

</poem>
AS: Crossroads Fencer has readied for combat as The Mewsterious Fencer! They is now fully healed! Ready for 4 opponents!

AS: Persona! Crossroads Fencer has used the Recovery skill Dance of Bravery on Crossroads Fencer!
| Pressure: Crossroads Fencer gains 1 Limit!

AS: Take! Crossroads Fencer takes 0 Recovery healing from Crossroads Fencer's Dance of Bravery.
| Atk_Up (Damage Up!) and Crt_Up (Critical Up!) added!

AS: Persona! Crossroads Fencer has used the Recovery skill Tetrakarn on Crossroads Fencer!
AS: Take! Crossroads Fencer takes 0 Recovery healing from Crossroads Fencer's Tetrakarn.
| Reflect_Phys (Phys Counter Improved!) added!

AS: Weapon! Crossroads Fencer has used the Slash skill Demon Clash on Miho Ijuuin! 2 Hits!
AS: Persona! Crossroads Fencer has used the Almighty skill Valiant Dance on Miho Ijuuin, Remi Ryuuja, Yukari Takeba, and
Shinobu Shimizu!
AS: Block Worst! Shinobu Shimizu takes 0 Almighty damage from Crossroads Fencer's Valiant Dance.
| Rage (Weapon Attack and Incoming Damage Up!) added!

AS: Avoid Neutral! Miho Ijuuin takes 39 Slash damage from Crossroads Fencer's Demon Clash. Critical Hit! Resist!
AS: Avoid Neutral! Miho Ijuuin takes 39 Slash damage from Crossroads Fencer's Demon Clash. Critical Hit! Resist!
AS: You have 1 more attack in queue!
AS: Avoid Worst! Miho Ijuuin takes 0 Almighty damage from Crossroads Fencer's Valiant Dance.
| Rage (Weapon Attack and Incoming Damage Up!) added!

AS: Take! Yukari Takeba takes 0 Almighty damage from Crossroads Fencer's Valiant Dance.
| Rage (Weapon Attack and Incoming Damage Up!) added!

AS: Take! Remi Ryuuja takes 0 Almighty damage from Crossroads Fencer's Valiant Dance.

<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>A cry for help echoes through Mementos. That's not the kind of thing that Shinobu can easily ignore - even if it means having to call ahead and let her current employer know she's going to be a little late for work.

One traipse through Mementos later, Shinobu finds herself at Aoba Hall. She barges through the doors - and finds herself momentarily halted by the sight of a basket hanging from the ceiling. It's a strange sight - but the sight of Yua beyond the 'bars' fixes her attention on what's important.

"Hold on! We're here to help!" Shinobu calls out. She does race for that ladder. She's not going to let precarious heights stop her...

...The haori-wearing demon that appears, though, does a good enough job of that. Shinobu backs away with a grimace. She's inclined to just try and clobber him - but if she starts something, there's no telling what he'll do to Yua in retaliation...

"You don't want this, man, seriously. Just let her go." Shinobu urges. Is the demon expecting some kind of grand clash? But even if she can sense some kind of Resonance from her, the fact remains that as far as she's aware, Miho doesn't have a Persona.

...But despite that, she arrives anyway.

...She has to admit, that's a ''very'' cool opening line. Between that and the imposing silhouette she cuts in the doorframe, Yua is a very lucky woman.

"Ijuuin-san. Be careful. This guy's more dangerous than he seems. He's a -"

...She was about to say 'demon', but then he throws off his haori to reveal...

"...Cat??" Shinobu finishes, bafflement in her voice. Cait Sith lunges and Shinobu starts forward. "Watch out!"

Miho and Cait Sith's blades meet - and somehow, Miho's blade holds. She doesn't doubt her skill, but... a demon's strength is something else. How long can any normal human hold out?

...Fortunately, she's not the kind of person who believes in honor duels in anything except fiction.

Shinobu charges in with a flying kick, before drawing her staff and sweeping it out to Cait Sith to try and knock him away from Miho.
</poem>

AS: Weapon! Shinobu Shimizu has used the Strike skill Sweeping Strike on Crossroads Fencer! 2 Hits!
| Aggression: Shinobu Shimizu gains 1 Limit!

AS: Counter Neutral! Crossroads Fencer takes 51 Strike damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Sweeping Strike. Critical Hit!
| COUNTER! Reflect Phys! Shinobu Shimizu takes 134 Strike damage in return for her attack!

AS: Counter Neutral! Crossroads Fencer takes 32 Strike damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Sweeping Strike.
| COUNTER! Reflect Phys! Shinobu Shimizu takes 84 Strike damage in return for her attack!

<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
<poem>
It's Winter Break, and Yukari is having a fine enough day in Iwatodai City, just strolling around, enjoying the atmosphere. Sure she's doing it with her Yumibukuro- but- well, it's not that weird right?

She hopes.

It's just when she hits the station that she hears-

'Heeeeelp!'

"Eh?" Yukari looks up, then has to clear the spots in her eyes at the ephemeral effect of something supernatural bleeding into this place of transit.

"That sounded like our dance teacher- haha- there's no way though right? She's not the type to try something like the Mementos Rumor or anything..."

A beat.

"... Right?"

-=-=-

Good news Yukari! Yua did NOT try the Mementos rumor, so you're not stuck searching through Icky Train Hell for her.

The bad news?

Her Dance Teacher is actually in trouble.

"What- Sensei- how did you- how did you even get up there!?" She asks, aghast, with her bow in her hand, "Who would even do this!? She's pregnant!"

Yukari says, now- more than a touch upset. When along comes- a mysterious Fencer Demon.

"Uh, sorry- but- you think we're just going to walk away when you're keeping our teacher hostage!?"

And so then does Miho Ijuuin come and- the Mysterious Fencer reveals itself to be-

-a cat demon-

And as he engages an Olympic Fencer- "Hey watch out! I'm not sure you can even hurt this-"

-with an enraging snap-

"-worthless noisy cat!"

Yukari Takeba says, with a sudden venom to her words, as she strings an arrow, and lines up a shot rapidly, drawing the bow back further than it's max draw strength should allow.

Followed by releasing an arrow right at it's majestic feathered hat.

"This is why I prefer DOGS! Koro-chan would NEVER do their business indoors!"

</poem>
AS: Weapon! Yukari Takeba has used the Pierce skill Issha Zetsumei on Crossroads Fencer!

<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>
Be careful, Shinobu says. If only she knew.

"You will not," Miho says of defeating her--but even she has to lift an eyebrow when he's a magnificent cat. He comes at her--

Miho almost effortlessly brings her blade up to parry--but 'almost' does a lot of work, because the sheer strength of Cait Sith's blows nearly knocks her sword out of her hands outright without the full protection of her Persona. "Gh--"

"Yua! I'm coming!"

"Cats are ''not'' meant to wield swords," Miho says firmly to Shinobu and Cait Sith both. Then she pauses. "..." She considers. An honor duel...

Nah. Fuck that. Miho RAGE. With a sudden fury, Miho rushes--and starts hacking at Cait Sith's hands and arms to forestall his attacks first, because even when she's angry she's good at this.

"THIS IS A VERY BAD CAT," Miho intones calmly(?) yet at great volume to Yukari.
</poem>

AS: Weapon! Miho Ijuuin has used the Slash skill Sabre Precision on Crossroads Fencer! 2 Hits!
| Defense: Miho Ijuuin gains 1 Limit!

<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
<poem>
Remi has been known to keep her ears out for rumors. (She has worked for a Rumormonger in the past, in fact, though most would know her as 'Ariel.') And she didn't like hearing the signs of this rumor.

She is also, for various reasons, very protective of Yua, miho, and Tyrrha (in roughly that order; sorry, Tyrrha.) And when she heard a challenger had appeared, with Yua in tow, she had made herself scarce.

Some time later a woman in a black fencing suit and streaming wind behind her bursts in throw a window of the fencing hall, throwing herself up the ladder and rafters until she is blocked the mysterious Haori'd figure.

'I will not fight until I'm brought ''Ijuuin!'''

Tsurugi's voice is normally stoic, but in this moment it ''seethes''. "You will die by ''my'' hand, demon." She'd spit the word, but the black fencing mask would make that messy. Her own Resonance flares, as her anger boils (though she somehow manages to keep a lid on it, despite a supernatural provocation.)

Her head whips around as she sees Miho enter. Not ideal. She can't afford to summon her Persona in this situation... and neither can Yua. She doesn't bother calling out to warn Miho.

She gives Yua-chan a brief look, then draws her rapier and main gauche. They're new, with an ice-themed design (which matches a new design on the chest of her black fencing suit, for that matter.) With a shout she leaps down, driving both of them downwards at the demon as she falls. "DIE!"
</poem>

AS: Weapon! Remi Ryuuja has used the Pierce skill Balestra on Crossroads Fencer! 2 Hits!
| Aggression: Remi Ryuuja gains 1 Limit!

AS: Counter Worst! Crossroads Fencer takes 111 Pierce damage from Yukari Takeba's Issha Zetsumei.
| COUNTER! Reflect Phys! Yukari Takeba takes 180 Pierce damage in return for her attack!

AS: Counter Worst! Crossroads Fencer takes 84 Slash damage from Miho Ijuuin's Sabre Precision. Critical Hit!
| Paralyze (Physical and Avoid Penalized!) added!
| COUNTER! Reflect Phys! Miho Ijuuin takes 105 Slash damage in return for her attack! Resist!

AS: Counter Neutral! Crossroads Fencer takes 52 Slash damage from Miho Ijuuin's Sabre Precision. Critical Hit!
| COUNTER! Reflect Phys! Miho Ijuuin takes 120 Slash damage in return for her attack! Resist!

AS: Counter Worst! Crossroads Fencer takes 71 Pierce damage from Remi Ryuuja's Balestra. Critical Hit!
| COUNTER! Reflect Phys! Remi Ryuuja takes 116 Pierce damage in return for her attack!

AS: Counter Neutral! Crossroads Fencer takes 44 Pierce damage from Remi Ryuuja's Balestra. Critical Hit!
| COUNTER! Reflect Phys! Remi Ryuuja takes 128 Pierce damage in return for her attack!

<Pose Tracker> Crossroads Fencer has posed.
<poem>
"Nobumizuuu! I don't wanna be a basket kittyyyy!" Yua wails, which either makes no or ''perfect'' sense, depending on how one looks at it. But the Mysterious Fencer knocks her back, and she yelps, "eek! H--hey! Leave her alone!!"

"That's it! Cry more! Wail more!" The Fencer replies. "Call her here to me...!!"

Yukari bursts in, too, and Yua wails from behind those bamboo bars: "He stole meeeeee...!" Who's 'he'? That Mysterious Fencer in that haori, of course.

"Well, I'm not a ''monster,''" the demon insists, when Yukari points out that she's ''pregnant.'' "That's why I put her up ''there.''"

"I don't wanna be up! No more up! Aaaa!"

"She'll be fine!" The demon insists, over the top of Yua wailing.

"I was born to defeat Ijuuin," the Fencer huffs, to the ''other'' Mysterious Fencer who's arrived. "Your blade could never be as sharp! I heard that as soon as she could walk, she was holding a blade...!"

"Eeeaaa! A scary woman arrived, too!!" Yua knows very well that Tsurugi is the ''least'' scary woman, as far as she's concerned, but she's not ''supposed'' to know that when she's not in her veils. It's okay; this isn't the first time they've performed on stage together.

And there... the woman of the hour!!

"MM, MM! BAD KITTY! DROP IT!!" Yua yells, down at Cait Sith, when Miho declares that cats shouldn't ''hold'' swords. Terrifyingly, he does ''not'' drop it, even as Miho carves a long gash through his arm. (Don't worry, the fur obscures the blood.)

He switches his grip to his left paw, the other held to his body, as he crows: "Ha! I'm left-handed...!"

'DIE!'

"FIEND!" He cries, as he brings his sword up, to deflect Tsurugi away from his core, giving her a good stab of his own in the process. And then -- ARROW! --

-- which he catches in his teeth like a rose, before picking it up in his injured paw and ''flinging'' it back at Yukari, just in time to get kicked in the face. He rolls on the ground, kicking her right back with those oversized boots of his!

"Ha! Just as Ijuuin has trained every day, I have trained every ''hour!'' I will prove, once and for all, that I am the strongest fencer of all...!" He slices his sabre in the air, the intricate weaving causing shockwaves of power to echo through the hall -- before he rushes Miho with that blade!

"STAND!"

</poem>
AS: Persona! Crossroads Fencer has used the Slash skill Gale Slash on Remi Ryuuja, Shinobu Shimizu, and Yukari Takeba!
| Pressure: Crossroads Fencer gains 1 Limit!

AS: Weapon! Crossroads Fencer has used the Slash skill Demon Rush on Miho Ijuuin! 2 Hits!
AS: Block Worst! Shinobu Shimizu takes 114 Slash damage from Crossroads Fencer's Gale Slash. Critical Hit!
AS: Block Worst! Miho Ijuuin takes 47 Slash damage from Crossroads Fencer's Demon Rush. Critical Hit! Resist!
AS: You have 1 more attack in queue!
AS: Avoid Best! Miho Ijuuin takes 0 Slash damage from Crossroads Fencer's Demon Rush. Resist!
AS: Avoid Best! Remi Ryuuja takes 27 Slash damage from Crossroads Fencer's Gale Slash. Critical Hit! Resist!
AS: Counter Worst! Yukari Takeba takes 191 Slash damage from Crossroads Fencer's Gale Slash. Critical Hit!
| COUNTER! Crossroads Fencer takes 27 Slash damage in return for their attack!

<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>Basket kitty??

"Don't worry! We'll get you down!" Shinobu assures, as Yua calls out to her. She isn't the only one who heard the call for help. Shinobu glances toward the side, spotting Yukari.

"Takeba. Good to see you." She offers with a nod. She looks toward Miho, then. "''That's'' for sure. They're good enough at causin' trouble even ''without'' swords."

Not that that's a bad thing, except when 'trouble' means kidnapping people...

There's a face - or a mask - she didn't expect to see here, though.

"What're ''you'' doing here?" Shinobu asks, glancing toward Tsurugi. "This isn't one of yours, is it?"

She grimaces, but they ''do'' need the help... especially when Cait Sith manages to knock them all flat. He expertly defends against her strike - and then a shockwave of power bowls her over!!

"Okay. That sucked." Shinobu grimaces, from her position on the floor. At least her head's a little more clear, now...

"You've got a ''real'' dedicated fan, here. Think if you autographed his hat he might be willing to back off?" Shinobu asks, glancing toward Miho, before discarding the idea. "...Nah. Wishful thinking."

Even if he wants to fight her, he's still talking her up...

She shakes her head.

"New plan. Takeba, I'll cover you!" Shinobu calls over to her. She's fought alongside her along enough to know that they can count on her to keep them standing.

"Lachesis, light him up!" Shinobu calls out. Lachesis appears behind her. With a wave of her hand, three points of light appear around Cait Sith and explode one after another!
</poem>

AS: Persona! Shinobu Shimizu has used the Light skill Multi-Kouha on Crossroads Fencer! 3 Hits!
AS: Shinobu Shimizu spends Limit on Shift! Yukari Takeba can use another Weak skill this round!#-1 FUNCTION (IF) EXPECTS
2 OR 3 ARGUMENTS BUT GOT 1

<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
<poem>
"Stole you!? ... You mean kidnapped right?" Yukari says, not because she's trying to get into semantics, but because she wants to clarify that phrasing. Did something WEIRD happen here? "Yeah for real." She tells Shinobu, "This whole scenario is creeping me out..."

"You kind of ARE?" Yukari replied with some heat to the Cait Sith. "Like- what happens if you put her into early labor by stressing her out!?"

"SERIOUSLY!" For once in their lives, Miho and Yukari agree, even if Yukari hardly realizes this fact. "When this is over you're going in a kennel! See how you like it!"

The one thing a cat cannot abide... the ''kennel''.

But- it also catches her arrow in its mouth, "You- Baka cat! BAKA BAKA BAKA!" She says before yelping as she's kicked over.

And as he weaves a shockwave of power that flings her against a wall of the hall again, she still tries to draw an arrow and fire it, only managing a grazing shot.

However, this also knocks sense into her, finally.

"Wait, what am I even doing!?" As she then draws her Evoker, "Right! Nes plan!" She says to Shinobu, chagrined and embarrassed, "Uhhh sensei maybe don't look my way for a second-!" And puts it to her head, pulling the trigger, as Io appears.

And the fey girl resting upon her bovine coffin raises her arms skyward, and sends a healing breeze- with the fresh scent of a battling brook across Miho, Shinobu and herself.

Tsurugi however, being openly a foe in the past that helped you know- do murders, gets no such courtesy.

"As for ''you''-" She says towards Tsurugi, "-find your own cover."

Despite her actions, she has no idea if she's here to kill Yua or for some otherwise fiendish plot. Like you do, when you're in the New World Order.

</poem>
AS: Persona! Yukari Takeba has used the Recovery skill Naiad Mediarama on Miho Ijuuin, Shinobu Shimizu, and Yukari
Takeba!
| Support: Yukari Takeba gains 1 Limit!

AS: Take! Shinobu Shimizu takes 165 Recovery healing from Yukari Takeba's Naiad Mediarama.
AS: Take! Yukari Takeba takes 161 Recovery healing from Yukari Takeba's Naiad Mediarama.

AS: Take! Miho Ijuuin takes 189 Recovery healing from Yukari Takeba's Naiad Mediarama.
AS: Persona! Yukari Takeba has used the Recovery skill Media on Shinobu Shimizu!
AS: Take! Shinobu Shimizu takes 121 Recovery healing from Yukari Takeba's Media.

<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>
Ah, so Remi is here! Miho is less concerned that the demon may escape despite her inability to summon Faust in this situation. Well, 'inability'. it would just be a ''very'' bad idea.

"Are you now? Then let us see how you do with your left hand."

Bad kitty indeed. "I am still on my way, Yua!"

Ijuuin trained every day... but he trined every hour. Hmm.

"You are not the first to challenge me with such a hope," Miho says to Cait Sith. "...Nor will you be the last."

The first strike Miho attempts to ''block'' again, but this time it batters her guard hard enough that it drags up her sleeve, cutting through fabric and coming away with a small but vibrant amount of block. The next she simply sidesteps outright. Those ripostes, on the other hand, keep ''jarring'' her arms entirely, dealing a great deal of damage the whole time. ...Miho can't keep this up forever, can she?

"I like cats," Miho says. "This is not a good cat."

"...I will autograph his corpse," Miho decides to Shinobu.

She can say nothing to 'Tsurugi', so she doesn't. Instead--

Yukari heals her. Miho is not sure she's supposed to be able to heal her. ...It's fine.

"I won't look," Miho offers Yukari, "if it's so important to you. This is more important, in any case."

She ''lunges'' this time, and goes for an aggressive approach that will theoretically exhaust her opponent by having to deal with so manys trikes--

Or maybe she'll just cut a tendon. It's fine. Either way, this is a very unlucky attack...
</poem>

AS: Weapon! Miho Ijuuin has used the Slash skill Blade of Joka on Crossroads Fencer! 2 Hits!
AS: Avoid Neutral! Crossroads Fencer takes 26 Light damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Multi-Kouha.
AS: Avoid Neutral! Crossroads Fencer takes 26 Light damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Multi-Kouha.
AS: Avoid Neutral! Crossroads Fencer takes 26 Light damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Multi-Kouha.
AS: Counter Best! Crossroads Fencer takes 27 Slash damage from Miho Ijuuin's Blade of Joka.
| COUNTER! Reflect Phys! Miho Ijuuin takes 123 Slash damage in return for her attack! Resist!

AS: Counter Best! Crossroads Fencer takes 38 Slash damage from Miho Ijuuin's Blade of Joka. Critical Hit!
| COUNTER! Reflect Phys! Miho Ijuuin takes 175 Slash damage in return for her attack! Resist!

<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
<poem>
Remi knows full well why Yua is wailing at the sight of ''her'', and is more than willing to play along with it, to help sell the facade. "SilenceDo not try my ire," she warns.

But despite her savage attack she is rebuked, and Tsurugi grunts as she is repelled, cluching her chest as she goes flying and has to catch herself. (She does this by stabbing a weapon into the floor to halt her movement; Sorry, Miho, but you're good for it, right?)

"You are nothing but an upstart!" scowls Tsurugi to the Cait Sith's boasts. ... What's her interest in this, again? Shinobu asks, and Tsurugi glances at her. "No. But he has taken something precious."

Definitely not the woman in the basket.

Tsurugi is ''snubbed'' by a teenage girl. That's fine. "I do not ''need'' cover, archer," she retorts.

(She does not, however, take Miho's silence towards her as a snub. For reasons.)

A wave of force comes for her, and Tsurugi throws herself forward only to slide under it--it's a move she knows well, fortunately. As she comes up she is already pulling her own Evoker free from her thigh, without a warning. "Loading Skill Cartridge," she intones. She lifts the Evoker to her head and fires. "La Maupin!"

La Maupin forms behind her and immdiately gestures. A fast, sharp wind bursts from its hand for the demon, trying to track its movements. "Now, Maukukaja," she says as she slides her Evoker away.

Shinobu, Miho, Tsurugi, ''and'' Yukari will have winds explode from their feet to wrap around them and increase their movement speed so they can more easily dodge.
</poem>

AS: Remi Ryuuja spends Limit on Exploit! Remi Ryuuja can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Persona! Remi Ryuuja has used the Wind skill Pneuma Rush on Crossroads Fencer! 2 Hits!
| Aggression: Remi Ryuuja gains 1 Limit!

AS: Persona! Remi Ryuuja has used the Recovery skill Masukukaja on Shinobu Shimizu, Miho Ijuuin, Remi Ryuuja, and Yukari
Takeba!
AS: Take! Remi Ryuuja takes 0 Recovery healing from Remi Ryuuja's Masukukaja.
| Spd_Up (Avoid Improved!) added!

AS: Take! Shinobu Shimizu takes 0 Recovery healing from Remi Ryuuja's Masukukaja.
| Spd_Up (Avoid Improved!) added!

AS: Take! Miho Ijuuin takes 0 Recovery healing from Remi Ryuuja's Masukukaja.
| Spd_Up (Avoid Improved!) added!

AS: Take! Yukari Takeba takes 0 Recovery healing from Remi Ryuuja's Masukukaja.
| Spd_Up (Avoid Improved!) added!

AS: Avoid Neutral! Crossroads Fencer takes 120 Wind damage from Remi Ryuuja's Pneuma Rush. Weak!
AS: Avoid Best! Crossroads Fencer takes 105 Wind damage from Remi Ryuuja's Pneuma Rush. Critical Hit! Weak!

<Pose Tracker> Crossroads Fencer has posed.
<poem>
"Mm-hm! Down please! Down please!" Yua sniffles, to Shinobu. (Even when she's in peril, she's adorable...) To Yukari, she wails: "T-that's right! I was Yuanapped! I don't want a weird boy cat doing thaaaat!!!" Tsurugi tells her to be silent, and Yua cries: "Can't! Too scared!!"

(Something precious... is the NWO targeting poor, sweet, innocent Yua?!)

"It's entirely because I can hold a blade that I'm here!" Cait Sith boasts, to Shinobu, in turn... and that may well be true. "No autograph nor photograph will soothe me! Only the sweet taste of VICTORY! ... but if I die, you must autograph my corpse!" He adds, to Miho. "This, I insist!"

It's a good thing, perhaps, because neither Tsurugi ''nor'' Miho is likely to let him walk.

"Eh?" He pauses, ears flicking in his hat, as he looks to Yukari. "How is she supposed to do any work in a basket?" He's thinking of the wrong type of labour...

And then -- "FSSSST! YOU'LL NEVER KENNEL ME!" All his hair raises, as he prickles against Yukari's insult.

"Huh?" Yua asks, as she, of course, looks, and -- and of course she's not supposed to ''know,'' so she wails, "DON'T DO IT, TAKEBA-KUN! ... huh? She's okay...? Aaah," she cries, as Tsurugi fires on herself too, "I'm delirious with panic! That's what this is! Bad bad bad bad bad!!"

Shinobu lights it up like shooting stars, which slam down, one, two, three -- "THIS IS NOT GLORIOUS COMBAT!" Cait Sith cries, as he leaps back, one, two, three, and the explosions send his hat spiralling away, but he ''catches it'' and plants it back on his head. "Magic is a woman's weapon! Face me with the blade!!" He points his blade at Tsurugi and Yukari, in turn

"MIMI'S A WOMAN!" Yua yells, deeply offended, from her perch.

Tsurugi proves that magic can still knock him down, though, when she blows him over with her rushing winds. This time, his hat ''does'' go sailing away, jamming up into the bamboo bars of Yua's cage. "JERK!" She yells, down to him. "I'm stealing your ''hat!'' Meanie!"

"Noooooooooooooo!!" Cait Sith wails, as he grasps at his kitty head, now sans hat. "My ''hat!''"

Miho takes ruthless advantage of his distraction -- moving in with a powerfully unlucky blow! Perhaps he's in his time of Joka, because even though his saber meets hers in a powerful, rattling blow, and then another, she ''still'' slips her blade in past his to give him some more marks.

"... hey!" Yua barks, as she investigates that hat. "There were medicine bottles in here...! Who keeps medicine in his hat?! Weird cat! ... hey, would these help? Here! Here!!" She tosses the medicine down onto her rescuers, and apparently, she doesn't know the dangers of the New World Order enough ''not'' to toss one at Tsurugi too.

"Foul! Damsels can't ''help!''" Cait Sith gasps, and brandishes his blade. "That's it! I'll show you my greatest technique! To defeat you all at once...!!"

His greatest technique, it turns out, is jumping all around the room, rapid-fire, to slash his sabre at ''everyone.'' Everyone gets stabs! ''Everyone!'' And the Persona-Users may be relieved, in fact, to realise that ''they'' receive his most Demonic-empowered assaults, because...

Miho, as it happens, he saves for last -- and for ''her,'' he brings his sword to bear with no magic burning behind it at all.

"I WILL TRIUMPH!!"

</poem>
AS: Crossroads Fencer spends Limit on Break!
AS: Crossroads Fencer spends Limit on Medicine! +75 HP to Miho Ijuuin!

AS: Crossroads Fencer spends Limit on Medicine! +75 HP to Remi Ryuuja!
AS: Crossroads Fencer spends Limit on Medicine! +31 HP to Shinobu Shimizu!

AS: Crossroads Fencer spends Limit on Medicine! +75 HP to Yukari Takeba!
AS: Persona! Crossroads Fencer has used the Slash skill Straight Slash on Yukari Takeba!
| Pressure: Crossroads Fencer gains 1 Limit!

AS: Persona! Crossroads Fencer has used the Slash skill Mighty Swing on Shinobu Shimizu!
AS: Persona! Crossroads Fencer has used the Slash skill Cleave on Remi Ryuuja!
AS: Weapon! Crossroads Fencer has used the Slash skill I Was Born To Defeat You! on Miho Ijuuin! 3 Hits!
AS: Crossroads Fencer's turn has ended. It's time for an All-Out Attack!
| Crossroads Fencer: Atk_Up, Break, and Reflect_Phys removed!

AS: Avoid Worst! Miho Ijuuin takes 58 Slash damage from Crossroads Fencer's I Was Born To Defeat You!. Critical Hit!
Resist!
AS: Nemesis! Miho Ijuuin can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Avoid Best! Miho Ijuuin takes 0 Slash damage from Crossroads Fencer's I Was Born To Defeat You!. Resist!
AS: You have 1 more attack in queue!
AS: Avoid Neutral! Miho Ijuuin takes 21 Slash damage from Crossroads Fencer's I Was Born To Defeat You!. Critical Hit!
Resist!
AS: Avoid Worst! Yukari Takeba takes 164 Slash damage from Crossroads Fencer's Straight Slash. Critical Hit!
| Paralyze (Physical and Avoid Penalized!) added!

AS: Nemesis! Yukari Takeba can take another Weak action this round!

AS: Avoid Worst! Shinobu Shimizu takes 161 Slash damage from Crossroads Fencer's Mighty Swing.
AS: Nemesis! Shinobu Shimizu can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Counter Worst! Remi Ryuuja takes 102 Slash damage from Crossroads Fencer's Cleave. Resist!
| COUNTER! Crossroads Fencer takes 54 Slash damage in return for their attack!

AS: Nemesis! Remi Ryuuja can take another Weak action this round!

<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>"Just hang in there." Shinobu assures Yua - and then pauses, realising what she said. Maybe not the ''best'' thing to say in her current position... "Uh, I mean... be strong, Yua-chan."

She remembered her request, at least...

"Seriously." Shinobu agrees with Yukari. She has a good point about how stressful this must be for Yua, too. ...Not that she really expects a demon to know how that works.

Miho states that she'll autograph Cait Sith's corpse.

"Dark. But fair." Shinobu replies. ...But this only seems to encourage Cait Sith ''further'', as he insists on it. "...Well, okay."

It's entirely because he can hold a blade that he's here...

"Is this kind of thing all your blade is good for, then?" Shinobu asks.

Tsurugi, though... she states that he's taken something precious. But what could that 'something precious' be? Could it be Yua herself? And with that warning to her... This must be serious. She'll have to keep an eye on her to make sure she isn't planning anything. But even so... "He's really aggroing all the fencers around here, huh..."

Yukari heals, and Shinobu feels the pain subside. She rolls her shoulder.

"Alright... Second wind. Let's do this." She says, offering Yukari a nod of thanks. But Tsurugi ''also'' offers support - with that familiar burst of wind enhancing her speed. She grimaces at accepting help from her, but... they kind of really need it right now.
Cait Sith complains about her use of magic.

"Sorry, I don't do 'glorious'. That went out the window when you kidnapped someone." Shinobu replies. ...And when he kicked her ass, but she isn't going to admit ''that''. She does frown at his insistence, though. Magic is a woman's weapon, huh... "...Oh, now I'm ''definitely'' gonna do it again."

Yua ''steals his hat'' - and finds medicine, thankfully!

"Thanks!" Shinobu replies, catching the thrown medicine before glancing toward Cait Sith. "Hey, damsels throw out power-ups in battle all the time. Maybe put down the sword and pick up a controller sometime? You could use a new hobby."

That still isn't good enough, though - because now he's pulling out all the stops...! And he's ''fast'' - Shinobu braces herself with a grimace as he leaps across the room. Tsurugi's Masukukaja helps her keep up with him - but even that isn't enough to avoid the flurry completely, pressuring her and forcing her back. Good thing she has that medicine Yua threw them...

"He's ''fast''... Ijuuin-san, everyone, you alright?" Shinobu calls out, then focuses back on Cait Sith. "You asked for it - Lachesis!"

At her word, Lachesis raises her measuring rod up to the ceiling - and heavenly purifying light shines down on Cait Sith!

The light may be blinding - and Shinobu takes advantage of that, racing in.

"Unfortunately for ''you''... you picked a fight with someone who doesn't mind fighting dirty." And then her staff swings.
</poem>

AS: Shinobu Shimizu spends Limit on Psych!
AS: Persona! Shinobu Shimizu has used the Light skill Nirvana on Crossroads Fencer! 3 Hits!
| Aggression: Shinobu Shimizu gains 1 Limit!

AS: Weapon! Shinobu Shimizu has used the Strike skill Spinning Staff on Crossroads Fencer! 3 Hits!

<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
<poem>
"Y-Yuanapped?" Yukari echoes, like she doesn't expect this from her teacher, "Hey hey- it'll be okay. We're gonna get you out of there..."

She never expected to be consoling a teacher but hey- she's pregnant and in an emotional situation.

"That weird boy cat isn't going to do anything else to you, not while we're around."

Unfortunately- Yua looked- "H-Hey I told you not to look! Come on-! Do you realy think I'm the type to do that?!"

Please don't answer that, she honestly does not want to know if someone thinks she is truly that type.

'Magic is a woman's weapon! Face me with the blade!!'

Yukari just raises an eyebrow at the Demonic cat, "Really? We're going there? It's not like I can help my Persona being what it is?"

She sighs deeply, "But sure, I'll face you with my bow." Her eyes glint with a certain malice, "Be careful what you wish for."

"True." She replies to Tsurugi saying she doesn't ''need'' cover, "What you really need is an actual personality."

Not just snubbed, ''dragged''.

And yet, they still use a spell to speed them up? Causing her to give them a suspicious look, "What is that about? Ugh- whatever."

And then the Demon Cat leaps! "Hey! DOWN! GET DOWN!" And stabs and stabs and stabs, "OFF! GET OFF ME!" Yeah she got stabbed a time or four.

The fact that her winter dress got a few tears in it is ''definitely'' not ideal.

Once she has her bearings again from the dizzying swordplay, she catches the bottle of medicine-

"Wait it was in his hat?" She peers at it, "You're sure it's safe for people? And not like- some deworming thing from the vet?"

In the end, she does take it though, feeling the relief slides a clip into the bottom of her Evoker, causing it to glow red.

As red as her eyes become, when she presses the Evoker to her forehead and pulls the trigger, Io erupting out of her and forming up behind her in a synchronized pose.

Taking a knee, she begins firing arrows one after another- which Io speeds up using Wind Magic in her quick draw and shoot rhythm.

Right before the winds pick up, spinning her end over end in an aerial flip, as she gets a diagonal bead upon the Demon, tip of her arrow gleaming.

"Hey guess what? A woman's weapon just beat you."

Even if it's not her in particular- all the people fighting it are women. It'll work out!

The gleaming arrow descends, detonating into a riotous pressure wave of Wind that rises as a column out of their position.

</poem>
AS: Tandem! Theurgy! Yukari Takeba has used the Wind skill Cyclone Arrow on Crossroads Fencer!

<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>
Yuanapped...

"Do not tell her to be silent," Miho grumps at Tsurugi, seemingly unafraid of the strange operative. However...

"Very well," Miho says. "I will do this."

Mimi ''is'' indeed a woman. She frowns at the matter of magic. "A blade can also be a woman's weapon. You didn't fail to notice, did you?"

Yua takes his hat. ...Miho smiles.

Medicine in his hat. Miho takes a medicine bottle and ''chugs'' it, despite the taste.

But that last assualt--

"You--"

Miho taakes a terrible blow, slashed at the side which cuts through her fencing armor, then she ''completely'' parries the second, and the third--

Barely, at the last second, she ''batters'' his blade away! "Will NOT!"

"...Demons do not go to the vet," Miho says after she rises, for YUkari's benefit. And then, as Yukari uses her arrows, one after another, Miho looks--and looks impressed.

She watches Shinobu, too--though she must avert her eyes from the light. "Dirty..."

Miho decides, "When we rescue Yua, bill your clothing damage for my tailor to fix."

Then she narrows her eyes. "I think I'll need a taxidermist."

She suddenly ''leaps'' upon Cait Sith, and slashes, slashes, slashes, with expert timing and demonic ferocity!
</poem>

AS: Miho Ijuuin spends Limit on Psych!
AS: Weapon! Miho Ijuuin has used the Slash skill Dragon Clash on Crossroads Fencer! 3 Hits!
| Defense: Miho Ijuuin gains 1 Limit!

AS: Weapon! Miho Ijuuin has used the Slash skill Sabre Rush on Crossroads Fencer! 3 Hits!

<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
<poem>
At Miho's comment of them not going to the vet:

"... They don't? Welllll they're scared enough of the kennel..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
<poem>
Yua can't stay silent, and Tsurugi wishes in the moment she didn't need to keep the act up. But at least she won't 'threaten' her any further. "I will do as I please," she retorts coldly to Miho. Plese just play along, she can't give you two any special treatment considering the circumstances.

Tsurugi is ''definitely'' not going to let the Cait Sith walk. Even if Miho, somehow, did.

Magic, apparently, is a woman's weapon. "While you were studying the blade, ''I'' studied multiple forms of combat," Tsurugi intones darkly, (and with some grim satisfaction at one-upping the demon.)

And her spell works, to her satisfaction.

She reaches an arm without looking to snag the bottle of medicine. And she uses it by having the camera cut away so nobody can see how she got it under her fencing mask. "... you will be spared my ire," she declares. That's... good, right?

Damsels can't help. "Your mistake was underestimating the power of a woman. Thrice over."

She tracks the Cait Sith as he jumps around the room, and when it comes tiome to slash at her she attempts to deflect the blow with her main gacuhe and riposte with her rapier--but she takes the worse end of the exchange, a deep gouge across her torso as she gets thrown bag. "Guh." She clutches her chest, but doesn't seem to cry out in pain.

Cait sith is aggroing the fencers. "Yes," Tsurugi agrees tersely. It only serves Tsurugi's purposes to offer her allies of convenience assistance. But of course, she won't ''admit'' what those purposes are.

Tsurugi doesn't seem bothered the insult Yukari levels. But when she asks what the buff is about, Tsurugi only says, "It is about ensuring you do not fall before I have secured what is mine."

'I WILL TRIUMPH!'

"You will ''perish''," Tsurugi snarls. She reaches into her pouch. "Loading Theurgy Cartridge.," she announces. She brings her Evoker to her head in a smooth motion and pulls the trigger.

La Maupin ''surges'' with power, and User and Persona both take up their respective rapiers. "Tempête Fatale!" she shouts. With a burst of speed both ''blur'' into motion in an X-shaped pattern, each slashing for the Cait Sith in tandem.

But in the blink of an eye they're back where they started, and the cuts suddenly ''explode'' with a furious chaotic explosion of wind to try and end the Cait Sith's threat permanently.
</poem>

AS: Tandem! Theurgy! Remi Ryuuja has used the Wind skill Tempête Fatale on Crossroads Fencer! 2 Hits!
| Aggression: Remi Ryuuja gains 1 Limit!

AS: Avoid Worst! Crossroads Fencer takes 96 Light damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Nirvana.

AS: Miho Ijuuin spends Limit on Medicine! +75 HP to Miho Ijuuin!
AS: Counter Worst! Crossroads Fencer takes 265 Wind damage from Remi Ryuuja's Tempête Fatale. Critical Hit! Weak!
| COUNTER! Remi Ryuuja takes 132 Wind damage in return for her attack!

AS: Counter Worst! Crossroads Fencer takes 217 Wind damage from Remi Ryuuja's Tempête Fatale. Weak!
| COUNTER! Remi Ryuuja takes 108 Wind damage in return for her attack!
| Remi Ryuuja is unable to continue fighting!

AS: Avoid Worst! Crossroads Fencer takes 117 Light damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Nirvana. Critical Hit!
AS: Avoid Worst! Crossroads Fencer takes 117 Light damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Nirvana. Critical Hit!
AS: Counter Worst! Crossroads Fencer takes 78 Strike damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Spinning Staff.
| COUNTER! Shinobu Shimizu takes 43 Strike damage in return for her attack!
| Crossroads Fencer is unable to continue fighting!

AS: Counter Worst! Crossroads Fencer takes 115 Strike damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Spinning Staff. Critical Hit!
| COUNTER! Shinobu Shimizu takes 64 Strike damage in return for her attack!
| Crossroads Fencer is unable to continue fighting!

AS: Counter Worst! Crossroads Fencer takes 115 Strike damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Spinning Staff. Critical Hit!
| COUNTER! Shinobu Shimizu takes 64 Strike damage in return for her attack!
| Crossroads Fencer is unable to continue fighting!

AS: Avoid Worst! Crossroads Fencer takes 348 Wind damage from Yukari Takeba's Cyclone Arrow. Critical Hit! Weak!
| Crossroads Fencer is unable to continue fighting!

AS: Counter Worst! Crossroads Fencer takes 107 Slash damage from Miho Ijuuin's Dragon Clash.
| COUNTER! Miho Ijuuin takes 36 Slash damage in return for her attack! Resist!
| Crossroads Fencer is unable to continue fighting!

AS: Counter Worst! Crossroads Fencer takes 107 Slash damage from Miho Ijuuin's Dragon Clash.
| COUNTER! Miho Ijuuin takes 36 Slash damage in return for her attack! Resist!
| Crossroads Fencer is unable to continue fighting!

AS: Counter Worst! Crossroads Fencer takes 107 Slash damage from Miho Ijuuin's Dragon Clash.
| COUNTER! Miho Ijuuin takes 36 Slash damage in return for her attack! Resist!
| Crossroads Fencer is unable to continue fighting!

AS: Counter Worst! Crossroads Fencer takes 79 Slash damage from Miho Ijuuin's Sabre Rush.
| COUNTER! Miho Ijuuin takes 27 Slash damage in return for her attack! Resist!
| Crossroads Fencer is unable to continue fighting!

AS: Counter Worst! Crossroads Fencer takes 118 Slash damage from Miho Ijuuin's Sabre Rush. Critical Hit!
| COUNTER! Miho Ijuuin takes 39 Slash damage in return for her attack! Resist!
| Crossroads Fencer is unable to continue fighting!
| Miho Ijuuin is unable to continue fighting!

AS: Counter Worst! Crossroads Fencer takes 79 Slash damage from Miho Ijuuin's Sabre Rush.
| COUNTER! Miho Ijuuin takes 27 Slash damage in return for her attack! Resist!
| Crossroads Fencer is unable to continue fighting!
| Miho Ijuuin is unable to continue fighting!

<Pose Tracker> Crossroads Fencer has posed.
<poem>
"Eeek!" Yua wails, when Shinobu points out she's hanging in here!! "O-okay... I-I'll try...!" She calls to Yukari, too, and she's certainly... not this much ''this much'' when she's teaching.

Though... there were signs.

''there were signs.''

("Now we're going to turn our feets out and step to the right...! And while we're bringing our legs across, we clap! Clap, clap!!")

"I really don't know what to think!" Yua sniffles, rather than answer Yukari's question about her risk profile directly. "The cat is talking...!"

Weirdly, the demon seems entirely on the same wavelength as Tsurugi and Miho's dialogue... though when Yukari insists she can't help her Persona, Cait Sith points his blade at her again. "Only a girl without discipline would claim she has no control!!" What does he know, anyway??? "And a warrior is not careful! He is BOLD!"

Did he miss that look in Yukari's eyes...

"... oh! Like in the arcade games!" Yua sounds so proud of herself for recognising what Shinobu is saying... "I like the arcade game where you dance! What's it called... oh! Dance Dance Rebellion!"

(Please don't target Dance Dance Rebellion to the whole group at once. That's a copyright whippin' right there.)

But when Yukari asks whether the medicine is dewormer, Yua blinks, looking at one of the bottles. "It just says 'MEDICINE'... ummmm... is that okay?!"

"Ah, that's true -- you're the world's strongest fencer!" Cait Sith declares. He reflects the perceptions of the world, as he declares: "You've adopted a man's weapons and mastered them yourself! No wonder they say a ''woman'' is your greatest weakness!"

"Huh?" Yua blinks, pointing at herself. "Me? ... hey! Don't say weird things about Mimi!!"

"Then prove yourself!" He challenges Tsurugi, as he dives -- into her Theurgy Cartridge, which sends him flying! His sword swings up in the air in a wide arc...

... before he grabs it, as he rises, one paw to the ground.

"GLORIOUS COMBAT...!!" He howls, as he leaps away from the magical blows, and leaps ''into'' the physical ones, slash, strike, bam! Despite the terrible violence, he's smiling...

This terrible rumour is being fulfilled...!

Particularly as he comes to meet ''Miho's'' blade, at the end of it all, and meets every titanic, Olympian blow! The blades clash, with showers of sparks, and in the end --

-- in the end --

-- it's ''Miho'' who cuts through his guard, to send her sabre right through his heart, leaving a hole in his cape behind him as he gasps.

"Ijuuin... I died to defeat you..."

He falls, but the exhaustion he's set into Miho's bones, responding to such demonic strength, will surely not leave her standing much longer.

Luckily, Yukari and Shinobu are there to help Yua down... while Cait Sith's ''sword,'' which flew out of his hands in that final parry, is left undefended for Tsurugi to claim.

"Mimi, Mimi!" Yua calls, as she scrambles out of the basket once it's safely back down to earth, running over to her. "Mimi, are you okay?!"

''Is'' she okay, after facing down a demon without a Persona of her own...?

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>
...It's true. The demon is scared of the kennel.

There were signs. But now, as a bold warrior fights with Miho, Miho bends all her concentration to the battle. And--

"A man's weapons, is it...?" She grits her teeth. "Yua is not a weakness!"

She is angry. She is mad! And--

Indeed, they are in glorious combat. But in the end--

"The dead..."

Miho coughs, and ''wrenches'' her blade free of Cait Sith's chest. "...Defeat no one!"

But after that, she falls to one knee, barely holding onto her weapon.

"I'm..."

She's ''very'' tired, actually.

She considers her answer.

"I..."

"Have been better."

Pause. "I'm still going to have that thing stuffed." She is not standing up under her own power anytime soon. Also she's bleeding!
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
<poem>
"You think saying stuff like that makes you seem any more trustworthy? I'll fight you too after this if you pull anything funny-!"

She snaps at Tsurugi, worried now that she's trying to kidnap the ''pregnant dance teacher'' herself.

The cat is talking.

"Yeahhhh uhhhhh-.... animatronics?"

Look she's got nothing here.

Medicine- she really hopes it's not some weird animal parasite thing.

The Fencer 'died to defeat you'- and Yukari looks in alarm, but she doesn't seem to be immediately like- dying or anything, giving Shinobu a grateful look, "I'm so glad you were here for the backup..." She says, still giving Tsurugi a distrustful look.

Indeed, she does help Shinobu get Yua down but- then she walks over to Miho, "She doesn't look okay. Here uh. If she could kill a demon then- maybe."

She puts her Evoker to her forehead, pulling the trigger as Io appears- sending out another focused healing spell right to Miho.

"Oh there we go."

Pause.

"What kind of... taxidermist do you know who will- do that..." Another prolonged pause, "...on that definitely animatronic cat?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>''Ouch''. Shinobu can feel Yukari's burn to Tsurugi from here. She winces. ...She won't come to her defense, though. Sorry, Tsurugi.

Miho responds to her commenting about fighting dirty, and Shinobu pauses.

"That's not ''quite'' what I... y'know what, never mind." She replies. ...She'll accept the offer because she could really use it.

Yua recognizes what she's saying! That's good enough for Shinobu.

"Yeah, exactly." She confirms with a nod. Dance Dance Rebellion... "Yeah, that seems up your alley."

Cait Sith speaks of a man's weapons - and says that a woman is Miho's greatest weakness. Shinobu doesn't blame her for getting angry at that one.

They all fight their hardest, and Cait Sith gives as good as he gets... but in the end, he falls. Shinobu exhales - she's concerned, but it looks like Miho is still ''alive'', even if she's hurt...

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
<poem>
Yukari casts another healing spell, this time on herself and Shinobu.

"Three rounds, actually." She corrects, with her implicit backup.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
<poem>
"You should not trust me," Tsurugi replies to Yukari. So she's just admitting it. "But today we do not work at cross purposes." They're actually working at the ''same'' purpose, though Tsurugi can't explain that without drawing suspicion to Yua and potentially Miho.

It's okay, Shinobu. This, too, Tsurugi will bear.

Tsurugi will spare no further words when challenged to 'prove it'. She will, instead, let her actions speak for her. When he lashes back, La Maupin steps in to fend off the titanic blows, but shatters in the process, sending Tsurugi to her knee. By the heaving of her chest she is breathing hard, and she's pretty still, but yet she doesn't cry out. And she, too, has a great big gash cutting across her chest that might still be bleeding.

Does she just take being stoic to the extreme?

She will take some grim satisfaction in seeing Miho's blade skewer the beast to through the torso. "Good riddance," she scowls.

The rest she knows she can leave to the others. But ''she'll'' have to get out of here before the supernatural space completely collapses. Or before someone tries to take a shot at her. Bracing herself against her knee, she slowly pushes herself upright. She looks unsteady, as she sheathes rapier and dagger. Then she staggers over to the dropped sword.

"... You have gotten what you deserve, for taking what it is ours." And by 'taking' she definitely means the sword and by 'ours' she definitely means the NWO and not anything else. She slowly bends over to pick it up. "... let this be a warning to all else who would dare."

Hopefully that should provide a convenient enough cover to explain her presence here.

Shinobu delivers her thanks and warning, and Yukari backs it up. Tsurugi shakes her head. "There is no need. I have my satisfaction."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
<poem>
"Wait so securing what was yours was just about some crummy demon's sword?"

...
...
...
...
...

Yukari begins to sparkle with drifting motes of light, because her time here is short before she'll be sent back to Iwatodai.

"You are so weird."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
<poem>
Tsurugi looks at Yukari and one might get the sense she is arching an eyebrow, even if it can't be seen behind her fencer's mask. "... Yes. What did you think I meant?"
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>
"...."

"I seek a taxidermist with enough money to override his good sense," she settles on.

"Perhaps... my doctor." As to who to call.

"Thank you for your assistance."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
<poem>
"... Pretty sure you can make that happen." Yukari says, knowing at least that Miho and Yua were pretty loaded.

What did she think Tsurugi meant?

"How should I know? Maybe you thought you were entitled to her firstborn or something because she passed you in the street once."

As she gestures towards Yua.

"Every time you show up, it means you're helping murder someone- or steal something- or whatever you feel like doing."

Then finally, "You're welcome. Uhhh take care of yourselves, because... now you see me?"

Now you don't, as she disappears back.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Crossroads Fencer has posed.
<poem>
"Oop," Yua says, as she's let out of the basket. She comes with sound effects!

Like this one: "Uuu... Mimi, you're bleeding!" It takes Yua a little longer to get on her knees -- she ''must'' be almost to her third trimester, by now, she's carrying a ''lot'' more weight -- but she does, so that she can take the hem of her dress and press it to Miho's arm. "You fought so hard... you really are the strongest, Mimi!"

She looks up, to the others. "I don't really understand what you were doing," she lies, "but... you're really strong too, right? And not just with a sword... thank you very much!" She bows, though it's a touch awkward, because she's ''still'' holding onto Miho's arm to try and stem that bleeding.

After Yukari's spell, though, she has a peek... "Oh, putting pressure on it really worked!" She exclaims, with relief, as if it was the hem of Yua's dress which helped Miho's bleeding.

But then -- ''Tsurugi.'' Who Yua looks appropriately terrified by, given what Yukari says. "Um... d-did he... did he steal that from you, or something...?" Yua wonders, as if terrified by ''this'' mysterious fencer's visage. "Please take it!" She urges her, with another one of those awkward, kneeling bows. "Please, just take it back, don't hurt them!"

And the Oscar goes to...!

"You would fight her, too, though, wouldn't you?" She wonders, looking from Shinobu to the flickering Yukari. "Thank you very much!" But Yukari must return to her home planet...

... and Yua, shocked, remembers: "Ah! Tykko! She's still tied up--!! Nobumizu, can-- can you help us...?"

Lo, Shinobu, in helping Miho and Yua get to their doctor and retrieve their ''daughter,'' will be gifted with the world's funniest sight:

Tyrrha, angrily inchworming across the grass in Aoba Park, all tied up.

"I'LL BITE YOUR ANKLES OFF!!", is the kind of thing she's yowling, toothily.

Don't worry -- she'll feel better when Miho reveals why she's carrying around a dead cat.

(It actually ''is'' an answer to a quest...)

</poem>

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

2026-09-12: Overbalanced

2026-09-14T08:18:50Z

L: Created page with "*'''Log: ''' Overbalanced *'''Cast:''' Isabeau Fontaine, Shinichi Nagisa *'''Where:''' Shujin Academy - Rooftop *'''OOC Date:''' 2026-09-12 *'''IC Date:''' Tue, Jan 08 2013 *'''Summary''': ''Isabeau's keeping an eye on the false Shinichi, because some of his targets can't defend themselves... but Shinichi, driven to the depths of paranoia by the theft he's suffered, is watching her just as closely. He threatens to drop her off the rooftop -- but she gets away wit..."

*'''Log: ''' Overbalanced
*'''Cast:''' [[Isabeau Fontaine]], [[Shinichi Nagisa]]
*'''Where:''' Shujin Academy - Rooftop
*'''OOC Date:''' 2026-09-12
*'''IC Date:''' Tue, Jan 08 2013
*'''Summary''': ''Isabeau's keeping an eye on the false Shinichi, because some of his targets can't defend themselves... but Shinichi, driven to the depths of paranoia by the theft he's suffered, is watching her just as closely. He threatens to drop her off the rooftop -- but she gets away with just a little physical abuse for now.''

----

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

<Pose Tracker> Shinichi Nagisa has posed.
<poem>

Shinichi Nagisa has been more paranoid today at school. He reacted once to someone on his team coming up behind him with a surprise on the back of camaraderie in the hall, by putting them in an arm bar and shoving them up against the hallway lockers.

He realized his mistake, quickly enough and brushed it off. "You shouldn't just walk up on a guy like that." He says, with an affable grin that hid a taut look in his eyes.

Girl after girl has been trying to talk to him today to 'put themselves on the list'. No, not the hit list, but the 'keep me in mind when Kanae doesn't work out' with the implied 'Foreign Girls rarely work out.'

They're just being friendly, naturally. Just, friendly.

But his patience has been short with them too. He's terse with even them, as they walk away disappointed.

Any one of them might be a Hunter. Any one of them. And he's-

-he's Shinichi Nagisa.

It's lunch time now.

And Shinichi Nagisa has no lunch in hand. Yet he's walking up the stairs to the roof, two at a time, in that long-legged, tall person kind of way.

The rooftop is supposed to be 'off limits'- and with no lunch, that means he's not eating alone, right?

The door isn't chained up today, the chain sagging over a handle as he pushes the door open- and heads onto the roof.

But when anyone looks onto the roof- there's nobody there.

What's going on? Where'd he go?

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Isabeau Fontaine has posed.
<poem>

OST: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uoey4W_3bos Taylor Swift - Vigilante Shit

Any one of them might be a Hunter, spear in hand, drawing the angle, arm pulling back...

There's no spear in Isabeau Fontaine's hand, today, and yet she's somehow in all those background shots of Shinichi in the halls. Watching him throw that teammate into an armbar... watching him reject those girls.

(What did he do to --)

She must be interested, even though she's still seeing Yasushi, right? That's got to be why she keeps... coincidentally... being in the same hallway as him. Well, you know what they say about French girls...

... but then it gets to lunchtime, and he doesn't have anything to eat, which must mean he's got something else in mind.

Isabeau can think of more than one normal girl who'd be in trouble; really, she can't ''not'' think of that blood.

She's quite tall herself, for a girl in Japan, at five-foot-six; it's no trouble at all for her to take those stairs quickly enough for no one to realise she's breaking the rules.

She slows, though, when she reaches the rooftop exit; deliberately, she takes out an apple, as she steps over the threshold.

Where is she is the first question; ''who'' is she comes second.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shinichi Nagisa has posed.
<poem>

You don't fear the hunter that comes at you with a spear in hand. At least, that's the theory. It's what Kikuno did. And some part of him fears her more than anyone else.

You're supposed to fear the hunter that stays concealed smiling to your face, then stabs you in the back.

It's gone. The object that's tied to this boy's mind. And he has no idea who took it to begin with.

Indeed, Isabeau slows- then steps over the threshold. Step.

Step.

Then a shape, looming above her lets its legs fall from where they're braced up against the wall of the school. Lowering itself down silently with a one armed pull up behind her.

The other arm, has already shut the door.

It sliding into the frame and clicking into place is likely the first sound she hears.

An Abuser - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eBXe2EqTik

"Hey, Fontaine-chan." He says, without a single ounce of friendliness, not in his smile or his eyes. "Looking around for the latest hot goss? Or maybe you just wanted to eat lunch with me...?"

He stands between her and the only exit off the roof.

Well... the only easy one.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Isabeau Fontaine has posed.
<poem>

Green eyes narrow --

-- only to smile, when she turns around. "Oh, Nagisa-san!" She says, and if the honourific sounds a little stilted, well -- she's ''still learning how to use them.'' "You already are up here? How good," she means 'fortunate', but she can't get bogged down in vocabulary right now. "Why do we not combine them both!"

She takes a few steps back, to perch on one of the discarded desks, up here, gesturing with her apple. "How was your holiday?" She asks, as if he hadn't beaten her publically.

As if it's normal.

As if she doesn't hate forcing her mouth into a smile with every passing moment.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shinichi Nagisa has posed.
<poem>

He doesn't respond to her suggestion at first, staying silent up until she asks the question about his Holiday.

"Had a break-in at my place. Something of mine was taken. So I'm in kind of a bad mood."

An intensity to his gaze, to his posture, it's almost palpable to her resonance. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that... huh?"

He doesn't directly accuse her of course, but that's as direct an accusation as it comes in Japan- land of infamous indirectness.

Of course, he doesn't know for certain, but in his paranoia- anyone following him around must be involved.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Isabeau Fontaine has posed.
<poem>

"Oh, no," Isabeau says, and give her ''some'' credit -- she manages to ''sound'' upset for him. "That is, ''comment dire''... very frightening!" She does remember Kazusa's grief, of course -- but what does the girl expect her to do, leave him to assault however many girls until they conquer his Atelier?!

She has to keep an eye on him. Most of these girls... they don't even have Persona, and some of them are already marked for death.

As she's expressing 'sympathy' for him, then, she's casting a subtle glance back to the back half of the rooftop -- scanning for girls he's chased up here.

She can't see anyone...

"I do not even know where you live," she assures him, when her gaze finds him again. "I have been too busy with Yasushi-kun to bother anyone like that!" And indeed, that ''is'' the rumour, they've been getting closer... "Here," she offers, and this, too, is a touch stilted, but perhaps it's just her poor grasp of the language, as she straightens up and starts walking to the door. "I will ask him if he has heard anything..."

If there's no one up here, it should be as simple as warning anyone else from climbing the stairs.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shinichi Nagisa has posed.
<poem>

"Annoying really." He corrects on the 'very frightening' part- as if to imply he's not scared at all.

"It's a minor inconvenience. But- someone taking what's mine. Well. I can't let that slide."

She's backing up, he's standing in place, there's no wasted movement there. Like a very efficient predator. Even if another target passed in front of him right now, he wouldn't stop his pursuit of this prey.

"Doesn't mean you haven't heard something about it." He notes, at the idea that she has no idea where he lived. It's when she tries to move on by, that his hand grips her upper arm like a vice.

It's like in any Japanese media, if a man grabs your arm as a woman, you must -stop-. Except there's more physical force behind it.

"Let's not bother him with this." He suggests, "I think that'd be better for everyone, don't you?"

And he does not let go.

"In Sumaru City they have their rumormongers. Here? Well... even if you're just some big fat gossip, I bet you still have something you can tell me."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Isabeau Fontaine has posed.
<poem>

"Of course," Isabeau allows, "you would not be scared." And what does that say about ''her?'' About ''girls?''

She starts to say, as she passes, "I have not --"

Until -- too close! Wasn't she skirting him well enough?! How did he just reach out and -- "You are hurting me!" Isabeau yelps, and ''that'' fear and concern is an entirely different beast to her faux sympathy. "Wh--why should I not bother him?!"

With Shinichi's problem? With Shinichi's ''manhandling,'' more like.

Her face flushes with anger as he insults her weight, and she jerks her arm, again. "I have not heard anything!" She insists, hotly, a thread of panic working its way through her. "I bet you just -- just ''left your window open,'' you arrogant oaf--!"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shinichi Nagisa has posed.
<poem>

"Good." Is his terse answer to the idea he's hurting her. "Because this is between you and me." He adds on why not him.

"And I don't want to have to cave his face in because his girl is a rotten little sneak."

But then, as she jerks her arm again and insists she hasn't heard anything, his grip tightens, right before-

-just ''left your window open''-

And his gaze sharpens with a certain anger. "No, not mine. The balcony door. You wouldn't think living on the second floor that you'd need to worry about panty thieves. Especially since the only ones are my moms."

As he then begins to pull her with an easy strength. Certainly she has muscle. Quite a lot of it as an athlete. But there's a rawness to his own. Like it's not even a teenage boy's- it's a teenage boy's without the limitations they place upon themselves to function in society.

And so, he hauls her to the chain link fence then in front of him, pressing her back up against the cold metal of the fence in January as he stares her right in the eye.

"You know I would have thought a fatass like you would be more afraid of heights... All that weight, when you fall, I bet it's that much worse, right? Maybe I underestimated you a little."

A beat.

"... Hunter. But only a little. Even if you're not afraid of climbing up to balconies." There's no vicious grin, no self-satisfaction in a smirk, no- nothing. Just an entirely flat affect.

An emptiness to his wrath, "I bet- you're still afraid of the fall."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Isabeau Fontaine has posed.
<poem>

"Leave him alone!" Isabeau barks. She's on edge enough that she even spills out ''why:'' "He's -- he's nice to me."

It feels so pathetic when she says it like that -- someone who isn't laughing at her when Shinichi grabs her this way, who doesn't claim she ''deserves it.''

Not to her face... anyway.

But Isabeau says more than she meant to, feeling too keenly the threat in Shinichi's fingertips. Her eyes widen, when he talks about the ''balcony'' door, and she bites out: "H--how would I know that!"

Isabeau, as it happens, ''is'' strong. Let alone swinging that racket for hours a day -- she ''does'' the kind of climbing that lets her get into second-floor windows so easily. Overhead lifts are just ''normal,'' to her. But even with those muscles beneath those layers of fat... a homunculus is something else entirely.

He hauls her into the fence, and she grabs his arms, lips twisting in a snarl which only spreads when he ''names'' her.

"Bah! It took you this long to figure it out? That is ''right,'' monster. I am a ''Hunter.'' Why do you not tell me where you live? I would love to visit you at night! Crush a bronze vial, and plunge my spear straight through your heart!"

We note, here, that Isabeau did ''not'' hear Yanagi's warning about a Homunculus's abilities with their coffin.

"You want to drop me? I will drag you to Hell with me, creature. And when you rise unbroken as I bleed, everyone... will... ''know,''" she spits out each word with venom, her voice lowering dangerously.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shinichi Nagisa has posed.
<poem>

"More than a bitch like you deserves." He points out, of a man who's nice to her face. But no guy out there doesn't say more in private, things he'd never say in front of her- at least, in the Homunculus' mind.

'H--how would I know that!'

He doesn't say anything on that remark, he's said enough of what he thinks, even if it's half paranoia.

Expressionless, he stares at her as she boasts of how long it took him to figure things out. That she's a hunter. Her threat.

"But right now." He leans in whispering beside her ear, "You're just a dumb, fat bitch who got caught stalking her prey. ... When she's no hunter, just a dumb, fat bitch."

One hand reaches out to old chain links, rusted from the elements, and pulls. And PULLS-! And there's give, as several points where they connect to the poles come off, curling some as the warped metal attaches to nothing else.

Promise (Reprise) - You Know It. You Love It. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwLvcaDMhU8

"Is that how it'll go?" He asks, as he leans back while still gripping hold of her. "Even if you managed to pull me over with you- all I have to say is you were trying to jump- and I tried to stop you."

His head tilts in a strange way, even as he still looks her in the eyes, "I'll be a hero. Because I tried to keep a tragedy like Suzui-san from happening again. The school will be buy it- because it's so- ''very'' easy- to believe a fat bitch like you snapped- and decided to end it all. After all- nobody likes you, Fontaine-chan."

Her shoulder, he pins against the chain link fence, but her opposite can feel no fence behind her.

"It must be so- ''very'' lonely being such a rotten bitch all the time. Telling yourself that it makes you better than everyone else because you are. No... I don't think even Yasushi-kun will shed a tear for you. He'll man up... and realize, it was only a matter of time."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Isabeau Fontaine has posed.
<poem>

The injury of being called a ''bitch'' is one which Isabeau wears silently; even so, there's no mistaking that grimace, her sharp intake of breath.

"D--do not lean in so closely to me!" She breaks that silence to snap at him, jerking back against the fence as she feels his breath at her ear. "If you think I am helpless, you are mistaken! I --"

There -- the rattling -- the ''whine,'' as Shinichi shows off his strength, and not even Isabeau is brave enough not to say, "Stop--!!"

He might lean back, but she's still grasping him tightly, and the fear in her eyes is something she covers with her anger. "Do you think they will believe that -- when you walk away as if nothing did happened?! Do you think they will not be ''suspicious'' that you are not ''dead!''"

It's easy for her to believe what he's saying, though.

It's true, isn't it?

No one likes her.

She's never needed anyone to ''like'' her, she insists, hotly, in her heart, but of course that's a lie. If that were true, she wouldn't have a boyfriend... and even ''he,'' Shinichi insists, won't ''care.''

She catches a glance behind her, calculates the distance, the velocity, points of arrest...

She feels terribly cold, in the wind up here.

He might really kill her, she thinks, as her stomach knots. She hisses, on the heels of it: "What do you want, thing?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shinichi Nagisa has posed.
<poem>

"That's really what you're worried about?" As he leans in, looking her right in the eye, "Let me tell you something... there's nothing sexual about this. Even if you were a looker- rather than some fat pig, I still wouldn't do anything like that to you."

There's no smile, no smirk, no chuckle, no nothing.

"It's about who I am... Shinichi Nagisa. I'm a looker- a man's man. I don't need to rape anybody to get some."

Do you think they will believe that -- when you walk away as if nothing did happen?

"Of course they will. Your fat ass cushioned my fall. People will believe that shit any day of the week."

Because media makes people believe such things are truly possible. That miracles can happen.

They'll hope a miracle occurred here on this roof-

-but of course, none ever did.

His hand pins her for a time longer, as she hisses asking what he wants. And he looks down below, as if assessing his chances.

"What do I want? ... to drop you."

And there's a tense moment, where it might seem like he actually might do it. "To see the look in your eyes as you realize how helpless you are to stop the inevitable. That's what I want."

But then... his grip relaxes, but he doesn't let go. "But there are too many people right now who might see, if I did that. Enough that maybe- I wouldn't get away with it."

So instead, he gives her that flat, cold look, "So I want you instead to tell all the hunters out there- there's only one way I'll make peace. That I'll let it all slide."

And now his grip instead shifts to her hair, as he grabs a whole mass of it and twists it painfully. As he looms so close that the tip of his nose almost touches hers.

"''RETURN IT.'' Then walk away. Or I will kill- ''ALL OF YOU''- not while you're Hunters- but while you're dumb fat bitches sleeping helplessly in your beds. Do you ''UNDERSTAND'' me?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Isabeau Fontaine has posed.
<poem>

'That's really what you're worried about?', he asks, as if every girl wouldn't worry about something like this. "You think you are so ''big!''" She snaps, bile in her throat. "You do not understand human feelings at all! Or... am I giving you too much ''credit,'' monster?" The possibility just makes her more incensed. "Of course. Men always say it is not ''rape'' when they do not care to ''count'' it."

Maybe, Isabeau thinks, he knows ''just'' what he's doing to Kanae.

She'll kill him for that.

"Do not count on landing on top of me so easily!" She snaps, but even as she does, she's running through the possibilities. She probably orients in freefall better than him -- but he's not ''human'' --

He says he wants to drop her, and she feels sick; and try as she might to keep it from her eyes, it's right there, writ large across them.

She is human; she is afraid.

When his grip relaxes, she jerks to the side -- trying to get away from that hole in the fence. "You will not get away with it," she says, with venom. "I promise you that."

Tell the Hunters, he says -- and she wonders, with a stab of panic, whether her allies have ''encountered'' him already. It's just as she realises he must not be referring to the class of Persona-Users that --

"Eeeyowh!" --

-- he FISTS HER HAIR, her neck wrenching painfully as she's yanked. "Do I look like I have anything you want?!" Her voice raises, as she shoves at him. "Let me go, you wretched thing! Ow! All right, all right! Whatever it is, I will let myself know, just let me ''go!''"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shinichi Nagisa has posed.
<poem>

It stings, her words. Even if he doesn't physically react. So he draws from a memory of Shinichi Nagisa, years ago- while he was...

"I understand enough that you're trying your damndest not to cry in front of me right now. To put on a brave face because you don't want even something like me to see it."

He prods.

"But even if you don't. I'll know some part of you really ''wants'' to. To collapse. To be weak. To be protected."

He whispers to her, "All girls do. And you're no different from them. But shhh." He puts a finger to his lips, "It'll be our little secret. Hey- that'll be my way as a guy, of protecting you too."

Even his insight into humans, he uses only for violence, to twist the knife.

"Won't I?" He whispers again, to getting away with it, "... Won't I?" He echoes it again.

But as she raises her voice, and shoves at him, demanding he let her go, "No. Since I can't drop you... there's only one thing you have that I want."

He says with an almost clinical tone now, despite the anger still present in his tone, "Make the smart decision. You say 'myself'... as if you're the only one..."

Letting go of her hair abruptly, he shoves her, trying to push her off-balance to the concrete of the rooftop as he alights on the gap he's created int he fence, "... but you're not the only one I know of, Fontaine-chan. You'd do well to remember that."

Then, without any warning, he grips the edge of the ledge, and swings over it down to a third floor classroom window, sliding it open, and ducking inside.

"-whoa! Did you actually climb the school? Dude that's badass-" Isabeau can hear a male voice.

Before another female voice pipes up. "That's so reckless! It has to be against the rules!"

Another girl's voice, "So cool though-"

The window slides shut, leaving Isabeau alone on the roof, while the monster receives accolades from his underclassmen.

Underclassmen who would not desire to speak to Isabeau- their senpai, if they could help it.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Isabeau Fontaine has posed.
<poem>

"Shut up!" Isabeau snaps, but she might as well have told him he's ''right'' -- even as she insists to herself that she's not going to cry, ''she won't cry.''

Her face is hot for -- for normal reasons -- she's angry, okay?! Shut up!

"You... you do not know ''anything!''", Isabeau lies, as easily as she breathes. Of course he's wrong! She tells herself, sternly. She's ''strong!'' She doesn't need ''anyone!'' And this monster -- is just -- "Do not do me any ''favours!''"

Her face twists, as she insists: "I will make ''sure'' you do not!"

But yanking her like that, there's little she can do to avoid being thrown to the ground -- though at least she knows how to ''fall'' well.

'Don't interrupt the enemy when he's making an error', was it? That sounds like something her father would say... if the fake Shinichi thinks all Persona-Users are Hunters, all the ''better,'' right? Still, her hands curl, against the concrete. "Sure," she says, and her throat feels dry.

As he swings over the edge, and everyone ''celebrates'' him for the same habits which get ''her'' maligned as a Witch...

"S-shut up," Isabeau chokes out, in French, shifting to her knees as she rubs her damp eyes with her fall-reddened hands.

"I'm not... crying."

Snf...
</poem>

2026-09-12: Shallow Stabs, Deep Wounds

2026-09-14T08:18:30Z

L: Created page with "*'''Log: ''' Shallow Stabs, Deep Wounds *'''Cast:''' Yua Ijuuin, Miho Ijuuin, Kurou Ryouhara *'''Where:''' Aoba - Penthouse *'''OOC Date:''' 2026-09-12 *'''IC Date:''' Tue, Jan 08 2013 *'''Summary''': ''Kurou learns the truth of why sweet, motherly Yua was driven to drive a knife into Natari's wounded body a dozen times... and while he doesn't quite understand why Yua and Miho hold him in esteem, he does understand that he ought to be the one to get Yua tea r..."

*'''Log: ''' Shallow Stabs, Deep Wounds
*'''Cast:''' [[Yua Ijuuin]], [[Miho Ijuuin]], [[Kurou Ryouhara]]
*'''Where:''' Aoba - Penthouse
*'''OOC Date:''' 2026-09-12
*'''IC Date:''' Tue, Jan 08 2013
*'''Summary''': ''Kurou learns the truth of why sweet, motherly Yua was driven to drive a knife into Natari's wounded body a dozen times... and while he doesn't quite understand why Yua and Miho hold him in esteem, he does understand that he ought to be the one to get Yua tea right now, rather than the other way around.''
*'''Content warning''': Discussion of rape, flashbacks

----

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

They kept Yumi on, at the Blacksite, for two hours after Strega left -- trapping the site with her powers, keeping the remaining victims locked inside while the scientists scrambled to secure everyone. Miyu finally managed to argue them to letting them leave once they had everyone locked down and Evokers removed... but it will take days yet for the cognitive shielding to be completely repaired, barring psychic entry or exit.

Miyu was not willing to let them detain Yumi as long as that would take.

After that was the doctor's visit, of course -- as ever, after any of these terrible events. Yumi insists she doesn't want to go to hospital, stringently; it means she gets stuck being ''monitored'' for hours by her home health nurse, Sachie Chiba, instead.

And Sachie recognises the shallow-breathed frozen vagueness of a flashback perfectly well -- but she's better at handling these things than many of the nurses in ''hospital.''

No, it's only after that... after that, when they're finally alone...

... Yua rises, unsteadily, from the couch, now in a stylish little house frock and cardigan rather than her ominous combat uniform.

"I'm all right," she insists, her tone shallow. "I just... need some air..."

Miho is the one who can take her by the hand and steady her as she heads out there -- Tyrrha's already been set to charging, after all.

And out here, on the deck... there are so many plants. There's even a beehive, and a little greenhouse, where Miho keeps all her ''poisonous'' things safely away from the cat... and on the upper deck, behind a gate, a ''pool'' and a ''koi pond.''

It's the perfect place for a ninja to hide!

Does it count as hiding if they let him in...?

It counts as hiding because Yua can't ''see'' him. Though, as she's helped to a bench -- with a ''backrest,'' Miho's rich enough to spring for the ''nice'' garden benches -- she looks up, past her many rosebushes, to try and find him.

"Ryouhara-kun...? Ah... did he go home, already...?"

Some of their bonsai trees, one notes, are surprisingly ''large'' -- Imperial bonsai and ''hachi-uye,'' eighty and sixty inches at their highest boughs, with bark which has been scraped as if ''harvested.''

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Miho is dressed more masc, of course; trousers and a long-sleeved, buttonless shirt. It's the sort of thing one might wear in the house in winter.

She is not dressed for combat... but she ''feels'' ready for combat still, after all the adrenaline--not just from the battle, but from after, when Miho had to insist that they not detain 'Yumi' much further. Yua will not go to hospital yet...

But Sachie has been monitoring her. There is that, at least.

Miho helps Yua to the bench and then takes a seat herself. "is he here?" she asks, because if Yua is looking for him he must be.

...Though maybe not.

She has a sword hidden nearby. ...She's just a little paranoid.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Kurou Ryouhara has posed.
<poem>

Kurou was still on Yua guard duty, and Kurou is not one to be prevented from his duty. If he is not permitted within certain areas, he remains near as he can. He watches. He waits. He guards the perimeter of his target if he cannot guard his target.

... But how do you guard when the attacks are coming from within? The thoughts prick uncomfortably as Kurou waits in the garden deck, among the nostalgic comfort of poisonous plants and the fascination of buzzing insects. It is not as if Kurou would not have suspected it -- he has his own experiences with such things -- but now that the reality is tangible, he finds himself without tools to address it that aren't scorched earth tactics.

He didn't have a family to protect back then, as Yua does.

When she calls for him, he steps from shadows, bowing his head in greeting and deference. "Ijuuin-san." And then, again, to Miho.

"... Are you all right? And Tyrrha-san?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"I'm not..." Yua starts, for Miho, and that's as far as she gets before she sees Kurou stepping from the shadows. "Oh! You are here...! Dear, it's not too cold out here, is it? The visitors have gone, you don't need to worry..."

(If you're cold, they're cold! Bring your ninjas inside!!!!)

She quiets, though, when she thinks of Kurou's ''question,'' looking at her hands as they fold in her lap. (It is cold out here, at night in the dead of Winter, but she felt like she couldn't breathe in there...) "Tykko's okay," she settles on the easier question, first, with a wan smile. "She told me... she wasn't surprised when it was that woman they -- we were attacking, because... I'd always been so sad when I came back from that place." She pauses, delicately. "Tykko's more perceptive than she thinks she is," Yua settles on, after a moment.

Can Miho draw a sword out of the rosebush? Hey, at least she's not hiding her swords in ''Yua...''

"And... um, I..."

Yua's hands ball, in her skirt. "... mm... did Shishi tell you about that...?" She wonders, hesitantly. "I'm not sure if... well, it might not be appropriate for a young man..." ... what could be inappropriate for Kurou, who just hours ago instructed Yua on how to hold a dagger to plunge it into someone's heart, even if she could only manage it glancing off of her collarbone and up into her throat?

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Miho has a family to protect; her life is very different from how it was two years ago, still searching for Yua...

"Ryouhara-kun," she greets back, looking to Yua again. It's cold...

"And more perceptive than even we realize sometimes," Miho says of Tyrrha. "...I am glad she chose you, over that woman."

But Yua...

But is Yua all right?

"...That woman injured Yua in ways that do not always show on the skin," Miho explains, though it is euphemizing. "It is up to her if she wants to share the nature of those injuries... But they were grave indeed."

"I appreciate that you were able to guide her, then, Ryouhara-kun. ...I feel better knowing that she had a part in ending that."

A look to Yua, then. "While I would do anything for you... I feel that if you left it to only me and Remi, that you might regret it."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Kurou Ryouhara has posed.
<poem>

Is it too cold...? Kurou blinks once at this, but has since learned that Yua is a very difficult person to disobey or argue with, even if he were the type to think to argue.

He acquiesces, and some of the tension in his shoulders eases to know Tyrrha's all right. She ''sounded'' all right -- chipper, even -- but the damage was alarming. t is probably a relief to Yua and Miho as well, but... Kurou's eyes stay steady on Yua, waiting for the rest of her answer, even as he speaks to let her have more time processing it.

"She is a fine combatant. That requires strong awareness of her surroundings."

Kurou glances down. That woman... someone who made Yua sad whenever she went there...

He shakes his head slowly, for Shiryuu never explained Yua's situation, and realizes the question he's asked is one much more complicated than he intended. Miho explains further, by a hair.

"... I... do not mean to make you relive your pain, Ijuuin-san." He glances to Miho. "Either of you. If it is a story you wish to share, I will listen. But I do not need to know it to understand what had to be done."

Kurou nods to Miho and looks back to Yua. "... And I hope that you are able to remember that it is over now, because you felt it end yourself."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Yua is ''very'' persuasive. And chilly, but perhaps that's why she leans against Miho? One of the reasons, certainly.

"Oh! Don't worry about the combat damage, either," Yua adds, when Kurou comments on Tyrrha's aptitude. "Her core stayed protected, so she's just fine... Para-Mind will come tomorrow to fix her up. Oh, she might miss a day of school, though... haa, she's just like me..." Yua's on ''maternity leave,'' even now school has started up again; she's rich enough that she doesn't ''have'' to work through her last trimester.

She looks down, at her hands, as she drapes them in ''Miho's'' lap to tangle in the bottom of her shirt instead. "I... I... I mean, I must have been thinking, mustn't I? I drew the-- the knife, I asked, um..." She quiets, for a moment, and looks vaguely ''ill.'' "I just... wanted her to feel it," she says, at length. "How much it hurt... does that make me a bad person...? I -- I'm sick with it," she shakes her head, vigorously.

"Because -- even when you were taking my armour off -- like the kimono -- and the fire alarm light, it was just like a camera, and -- and it wasn't over, my daymares feel like I never left... but it must be, right? She burned! She burned to ash! She -- oh!" Her voice hitches in a sob; for a time, she cries.

"... I'm sorry," she sniffles, at length. "I'm all right, really, just... just..." She looks to Kurou, and then down, to the ground. "... you know the reason a wife's given her ''kaiken,'' don't you?" For self-defence -- and for ritual suicide, should she face dishonour. And dishonour, for a woman, was... "... that woman... she ruined me. Laid with me, though I had no choice... and by force. She said... the more I didn't want it, the more she did... she said I was ''perverted,'' loving women, and she would ''fix'' me. She said... she was ''obsessed'' with me... I'd shown her this debauchery, and... but I had no choice but to answer her when she asked those sick questions! When she interrogated even my love for Mimi!"

Her hands lift, to bury her face in them. "I laid there, and I thought... I'll kill you, I'll kill you... but even when she was vulnerable, I never could. I was so afraid... I couldn't do it... they always said I couldn't do it! Oh, I think I must have killed a demon, once, but that didn't feel so impossible, not like, not like when Dr. Tani gave me that gun and dared me to shoot..."

But it seems they were wrong, about Yua's killing power.

She ''can.''

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Yua's hands fall into Miho's lap, and Miho curls her own around Yua's fingers. She'll keep those warm, keep Yua aware of her in the moment.

"It does," Miho agrees with Kurou. "...Yes. What had to be done. I appreciate your role. ...And I hope the same. Still..."

She wanted her to feel it. "No, that doesn't make you a bad person. ...She hurt you; it is not 'bad' to wish to see her feel that pain herself."

A pause. But...

"...Yua," Miho says gently. She knows these things, of course. Yua told her. But...

"You fought for your honor, instead. She's gone, now. ...But..."

"...During battle, we ignore pain. We look away from that which troubles us, and focus only on the battle. But when the battle is over, those pains and wounds and fears can all return to us; now that it is done, we have the time to process those feelings..."

"It is unfair. It is not kind. ...But it is normal, i think, that you would still have troubles, especially so soon after."

"It is done, now--but you must still heal. She is gone, but the injury remains."

"I do not blame you. I blame her. And she has been rewarded for her perfidy."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Kurou Ryouhara has posed.
<poem>

"It was... important," Kurou says to Miho. Even if he did not know, he could feel that, deeply and keenly, through the way they both acted.

Where Kurou's face refuses to change, it makes the subtle shift in the way his stance becomes less rigid more obvious by contrast. He does not know how to offer reassurances in such vulnerable times, because he does not know many things about a future that turns out brightly. But... school is now something he can understand, at least a little.

"I have missed many days of school, but... I have been able to do well, with the shihaisha's support. Tyrrha will surely manage, as well."

Because she has support, too.

It hurts. Not as much as Yua hurts. But there is something that coils inside his heart, like a rising, bolstering structure, to see her take comfort in Miho, and for Miho to give it. It's a similar sense when he sees Shiryuu with Umie. There are things that are difficult to reach, but some people find a way.

But that hope dims as he listens, his fingers curling into his palms, and his gaze unfocusing as Yua's words wash over him. It's the kind of thing he's only starting to realize, much to his own shame... That some roles in this life are chosen early, based on strange, superficial reasons. He's beginning to understand why his mother taught him how to wear his hair and paint his face and dress to be seen differently, but with the warning that it could bring more attention, and not less.

"... I do not know what it means to be 'bad person' or a 'good person' for that matter. But... there was something she did not understand... something she needed to understand." Kurou's eyes are clear as he looks directly at Yua. "You communicated it to her through the rules she set."

To live by the sword is to die by the sword: take by force, and be answered with it.

Miho's words send Kurou's gaze back to the ground. Ignoring pain in battle, with wounds that must heal...

"... Some pain... remains for a long time." Or is it his own weakness? "... But, even so... there's still tea and hot pot, or learning new things, or dancing and making cupcakes..."

He hesitates a glance to both of them, and is sure it would not be polite to look directly at Yua's belly. "There is still family."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Just remember that school's important too, okay, sweetie?" Yua tries to smile, to Kurou, though it's strained. "You're still young, even with all these responsibilities..." And is it worse, that she fusses over him like a mother, even though she's not ''his?''

These things... they're too heavy for Kurou, Yua thinks, and on any other night she would have just assured him she'd tell him when he was ''older.''

But here -- now -- she cannot see to the youth when she is still bloodied, though the ''superficial'' blood has all washed off. (Sachie, as it happens, is an ex-Yakuza woman -- yes, that's a marked impossibility, but you'd be surprised what kind of honourable discharge you can earn when your Boss is ''open-minded'' -- so when Yua started rambling about the blood on her hands, she rolled with those punches remarkably well. No one was willing to hire her thanks to her tattoos, but ''Miho'' could see past all that...)

"The rules... if it was her rules, I'd just lie there," Yua supposes, miserably. "They moved her away from Project Sybil after they realised she'd been interrogating me in such a lurid manner... and she blamed ''me'' for messing her job up. Uu, but... can I really get my honour back after something like that...?"

Looking to Miho, as she does after that question, she can see the way her heels metaphorically dig in. "I don't want to process them," Yua insists, looking to Miho with a knit brow, and if anything she's a touch ''petulant.'' "I just -- want them to go away! Every time I have a bad dream, even when I'm awake, it's like she's ''touching'' me again! I don't want iiiit! No fair, no fair, no fair!!!"

Her hands wave, under Miho's, as she tries to vent off the energy that's poisoning her beneath her skin, but even ''stimming'' can't soothe her.

... but of course, Miho ''said'' it was unfair, and after a few moments of losing her cool Yua sinks against her again. "I hope she burns in her Hell," she grouses, and of course she's just assuming that the Russian woman is Christian because ''all'' foreign blondes are, but never mind that, sometimes the conservative tradwife is xenophobic, that's not exactly news at 9. "Forever and ever and ever and ''ever!'' Uuu..."

Sniff, sniff, Yua turns her face against Miho's shoulder, as she looks to Kurou again. "Mm... you're right," she nods, sniffling again. "I... I can still... bake y-you a yummy cake, or... oh, dancing's hard right now, but I could make you some nice tea! A-and soon... soon Hiroki will be here, and... and then Mimi will adopt him, just as soon as she can, and... and I'm sure you'll teach him lots of good things too, right, Ryouhara-kun?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"It was." Important, that is. But Kurou... Kurou is doing well, despite missing days. "Even if you will not go on to university," Miho says, "The experiences you can have in school are important as well as the knowledge you may gain. ...There are many things one can come to understand in this way, and all have value."

Miho can see past many things.

"...'bad' and 'good' people... It is not something I care to consider. But as you say, Ryouhara-kun. She lived by force, and she died by force."

Miho has known much of this. But...

It's not fair. She does not know, of course, what will become of Natari's 'spirit', if anything. Unlike the witch from a storybook, she has no power to see her punished in death as well as in life. ...But she is gone from Yua's life; that will have to be enough.

"It does," Miho agrees with Kurou then. "...But there are those things. I have to remember that sometimes, too."

"We'll all have a great time welcoming Hiroki into this world," Miho says gently. "We will."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Kurou Ryouhara has posed.
<poem>

The way Yua fusses over Kurou is quite unlike the way his own mother ever did. But there is something similar in the warmth of it... in the desire to see one be healthy, and to grow up well. There's a sting at its brush, like the way the first contact with hot water burns even if it isn't boiling.

For all these things may be too heavy for Kurou, it is only because they are too heavy for ''anyone''. Yet that does not stop them from being so.

Kurou's gaze darkens again, to hear of how these rules were set, how Yua was treated in them. Perhaps he does not fully grasp it. Perhaps he is too young and too inexperienced in certain things to ''get'' it, truly. All he has instead is the burn of bile in his throat and a sick twist in his gut brought on by a simple animal instinct.

"... It should not happen." It comes out with more voice than Kurou's gentle voice tends to introduce itself with. "When 'should' did not stop it, you did."

Is that too simple a worldview? But it is Kurou's.

"Her ''rules'' were status and strength could be leveraged to hurt another if it pleased her. Her ''rules'' were that pain inflicted on others was not to be mourned. I will not mourn hers."

He will not say that he now thinks Yua did not stab her enough, for there is nothing left to stab to rectify it. If Yua thinks ''she'' is a bad person, for wanting it to hurt, then Kurou will be bad ''with'' her, and maybe that is something less lonely... But Miho, he is sure, does not mourn it either.

A bad dream, happening again... Kurou brings a hand to his own arm, squeezing as Yua complains of it. It's... really not fair. But those things that he wants her to remember, that he tries to remember, and Miho, too, even needs to remember.

"... It is remembering 'purpose'."

Why one fights. Why one wakes up in the morning.

Yua offers many nice things ''for'' Kurou, and his own simmering rage cracks. "Ijuuin-san, it... may be better if I made you tea, for a little while..."

If Yua could rest, if Yua could be taken care of, if Yua could have a moment where she did not have to be used or of use. But to teach Hiroki lots of good things? Kurou straightens, as if ''startled''. He blinks back at Yua for several beats of stunned silence.

"... If that is your wish," he says. It is not a response of reluctance, but one of an uncertain, perhaps ''shy'' kind of hope.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Mm, mm," Yua hums, nodding to Kurou, as she leans on the woman beside her. "I met Mimi in highschool, you know...!"

Yua, your romance standards aren't exactly ''attainable,'' Kurou ''probably'' doesn't have a Fated Partner waiting for him in second year...

"I'm not very forceful," Yua admits, "but... I did my best to stop it, even though I think Mimi and Recchi did most of the work. It wasn't like stabbing a pie at all... it was like I was hitting a wall," she's talking about her bones and muscles, "every time... mouuu, my arms were so ''tired...''" ... perhaps twelve was the limit of Yua's ''ability'' to stab, then, though Kurou is too kind to voice his thoughts. She's not trained, like Miho is; she isn't a killer, like Kurou is. She's just... Yua!

Yua, who has always done better with nourishing and nurturing than tearing down... even though her Persona's powers are greatest in detention and torture, which suggest something rather much ''darker'' to the hidden reaches of her psyche.

What is Yua's purpose?

The purpose she's chosen, at least, is...

"Oh," Yua smiles, looking to Kurou, gently. "You're such a kind boy. Would you...? I like tea... nice, sweet tea, with lots of honey..." She trails off, and takes a breath, looking to Miho for a moment as she expresses ''her'' wishes too. "Mm, mm," she adds, looking to Kurou, still making that attempt to smile. "I hope you'll look out for Hiroki for a long time! You're a good boy, Ryouhara-kun... I'm sure you won't grow up into a cruel or thoughtless man!"

You know -- unlike ''most'' men.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"We did meet in high school," Miho remembers fondly. But...

"I agree." Should... "...Should often does not stop what should not happen." The rules, though--Kurou sees it. What he says, Miho sees as well. "You did your best. ...You were part of it. Indeed, the human body is ''difficult'' to harm in some respects; while life is fragile, the body is sometimes hard. ...Especially when striking places that are not as vulnerable."

Violence lessons? Don't worry about it.

"'Purpose', though.." Miho considers it. "Yes. I understand. To remember what is painful, it clarifies the world. ...It is not kind or fair, but sometimes, we must be unkind and unfair, in order to survive and thrive."

But purpose... "I would find that amenable," Miho says of Kurou coming to make tea. But that startlement--

"I believe that you have more to give than 'death', Ryouhara-kun. 'Security' for those who need it is only one thing you can do. ...I believe the same for the shihaisha, but he will not hear of it. Perhaps one day we can test each other again, and I can convince him."

She smiles, then. "Yes. Do your best, Ryouhara-kun." She squeezes Yua's hands. "...I hope that both of us get to see the man you become."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Kurou Ryouhara has posed.
<poem>

School is important for learning, but for ''partnership''... Kurou had not considered that possibility. He tilts his head to the side, turning the thoughts behind his brow, but let's be honest: he will forget about this thought as soon as it's not in front of him. There simply isn't anyone at school Kurou sees that way.

Does Kurou see ''anyone'' 'that way'? Well, Kurou's definition of 'that way' is probably its own unique subject... ('Isn't it for everyone?' he would think.)

"No, you are not," Kurou agrees of Yua's nature. "She knew this, and did not think she would be subject to her own rules." There are many such people in the world. Kurou has met them, and he has killed some of them. "... But she is gone. You can rest your arms."

Life is fragile, and bodies hard, Kurou nods with this. Miho has a way of putting to words much of what he's experienced. It's strange, how the words make the pictures clearer...

But these words are foreign and tenuous. It is Miho's parallels to his own thoughts that makes him try to cling to them, though: someone who has seen what he sees, but understands it a little better. More than death.

"Security..." he says, like it's a precious idea he needs to etch somewhere in his memory. He nods of her assessment of Shiryuu. "There... should have been four cups."

A nonsensical thing to say, but a memory that sticks out all the same. Shiryuu did not stay for tea, because Shiryuu did not think he was meant for it. Does Kurou have room to judge such a thing, when he himself does not know how to process being called 'kind'?

Looking at the two mothers who smile with hope for a future pins Kurou to the spot. Again, he is silent for moments too long to be appropriate in most company, but perhaps they both understand.

"... I will do my best," Kurou finally promises.

"For now... please rest. I will serve tea."

Sweet with honey, just as Yua requests.

</poem>

2026-09-13: Be Strong For Her

2026-09-14T08:18:11Z

L: Created page with "*'''Log: ''' Be Strong For Her *'''Cast:''' Yua Ijuuin, Miho Ijuuin *'''Where:''' Aoba - Penthouse *'''OOC Date:''' 2026-09-13 *'''IC Date:''' Wed, Jan 09 2013 *'''Summary''': ''Miho wakes, in the early hours of the morning to find Yua wriggling away... for an ill-thought-out bath in the middle of the night. She feels like she's dirty -- not just from her rape, but from her violence. This isn't the first time tonight that Miho has had to ground her, drawing on he..."

*'''Log: ''' Be Strong For Her
*'''Cast:''' [[Yua Ijuuin]], [[Miho Ijuuin]]
*'''Where:''' Aoba - Penthouse
*'''OOC Date:''' 2026-09-13
*'''IC Date:''' Wed, Jan 09 2013
*'''Summary''': ''Miho wakes, in the early hours of the morning to find Yua wriggling away... for an ill-thought-out bath in the middle of the night. She feels like she's dirty -- not just from her rape, but from her violence. This isn't the first time tonight that Miho has had to ground her, drawing on her own wellspring of strength to help her crumbling wife through the night. Perhaps, in some ways, she's authoritative, but it's all for Yua's safety...''
*'''Content warning:''' Discussion of rape, depiction of coping strategies after rape, mild themes of self-injury, discussion of torture, reference to domestic violence.

----

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Yua didn't settle for sleep for a long time. Even when she does, she's prone to waking -- the worst of which is during the ''Dark Hour,'' when her panicked cries are only sharpened by the sick green light outside.

It's at least some hours ''past'' the Dark Hour -- on a normal day, it would be closer to their ''wake-up'' time -- when Yua stirs again. "Bathroom," she mumbles, indistinct, though the ''first'' clue Miho has that something's awry is the way she ''skips'' their ensuite on the way to the main bathroom.

Ten minutes later, she's still not back...

... and if Miho steps into the hall, she'll hear a muffled, "scrub scrub, scrub scrub..."

... because Yua went to their big, fancy tub and filled it with water, distressed that the hot water tap only dispenses ''lukewarm'' water now. (Nothing's broken -- it's for Yua's safety, as hot baths could trigger her labour early.) It at least ''feels'' a lot hotter to Yua than it really is, and she at least has plenty of ''soap.'' The water is sudsy and blotted with it, obscuring her body beneath the water despite the fact she's tucked her massive waterfall of hair into a shower cap to keep it dry. "Scrub scrub, scrub scrub," she says, to herself, again, as she rubs her washcloth roughly against dark skin that's saturated and flush from having so many old layers scoured off with such focused intent.

She's repeating herself so she doesn't forget what she's doing... why she's exposing her ruined body to the air.

She still feels so ''dirty...''

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Miho, thus, did not sleep much either. She has to watch over Yua...

But she can adapt. It'll be fine. ...She has slept ''some'', by virtue of her medications, but...

Yua stirs, and Miho stirs. And then she waits. ...And waits.

Eventually, Miho stands, semi-dressing in her pajamas in order to be decent to walk around. She is the one who adjusted the hot water, with Yua's knowledge. ...And now, as it happens, Yua is scrubbing and scrubby and scrubbing...

"Yua," Miho says gently, from the doorway.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Yua didn't bother closing the door properly; Tyrrha's charging, Eiko's clocked out for the day, and Miho's asleep, so there's no reason why she should remind herself of being locked away.

She's still surprised, when Miho ''appears'' there. "Oh!" She exclaims, turning to face her. The jets aren't going, even though Yua loves the water jets; it's just... sad, lukewarm water with too much soap in it. "Mimi..."

Yua's gaze falls forward, again, a hand reaching up to grasp at the railing. (Of course Miho had railings installed. Safety first!!) "Did I take too long...?" ... which means she doesn't have much perception for the passage of ''time,'' right now.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Miho is there!

"No," Miho clarifies. "You didn't. But I noticed you were gone for a while, and I thought I'd come check on you. ...I hadn't been aware you'd opted for a bath at this hour."

Pause. "But that's fine."

Miho walks over, her steps silent on the tiles.

"...Do you want to talk?"

Her dark eyes are on Yua's face, now; her green hair is... a little messy. But her expression is concerned, if only slightly to look at her.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Dirty," Yua explains, as she tries to haul herself up. There, once hidden beneath the water -- more scoured skin, saturated with the blood that's risen closer to the surface. Particularly in some places... there's even the prickling of blood ''past'' the surface, where the skin's been rubbed raw. "I made Hiroki dirty, too..."

... she'll need steadying, even with the ''safety railings,'' but that's pretty normal for her by now. Yua hasn't been able to dance for a little while, now...

"I -- I just..." and here, a pause, and half of it is stepping out of the tub and half of it is the distress of addressing it. Luckily, Eiko makes sure to leave out nice, fluffy towels before she leaves for the night, and there's enough to wrap around her even ''after'' she's dried off. (All the better; she's shivering, a little.)

"She was gentle with me, she said, since I has a baby... but I was still bleeding. Not like my, um, my placenta preview," placenta previa, she means, "just because I didn't want it... I just remember thinking... I want her to bleed too! I want her to hurt, too! I just wish she'd woke up for it... and for weeks... and it never really stopped, did it?" The pain, she means, not the bleeding. "It's unclean... I thought she did it again somehow, so... so I had to... I'm dirty," she insists, again, and it's as much from the association with death as her present state.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Yua explains... but Miho sees it; she sees what Yua thinks, yes, but it worries her immediately. "..." Her instinct, of course, is to deny it--to tell Yua that she is wrong about that. But she doesn't; she instead moves to help Yua up, and help her out of the tub, and help her to the towels...

"She lied," Miho says. "If you bled, she was not gentle. ...she might've told herself that to further her idea of 'fixing', but what she said to me was her true feelings--that she thought she had 'taken' you from me."

"...She did not."

Miho's words are gentle but intent--intense.

"...You'll hurt yourself like this," she says. "I don't think..."

She sighs. "She can make you nothing else, now. She's gone. ...There is only dealing with what remains. That pain that hasn't gone away."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"She said..." Yua stops, face ashen in contrast to her ''body,'' with a little shake of her head.

It takes a few more moments -- where Miho will have to help her, because ''bending'' is a problem right now, too, revealing how short-sighted her bath plans really ''were'' -- before she's able to voice it: "... she was obsessed, Mimi. Saying I was hers, she loved me more... how I was more important to her, since I showed her the depths of human ''depravity,'' and... she was the only one who could fix me. She made me say I was hers, Mimi... that's... that's why I was so..."

It's not as if Yua hasn't been constructing her identity as Miho's Wife since she was a teenager, but there's been a definite ''uptick'' in her insisting she was Miho's alone, despite Miho's efforts to get Yua to engage with the entire matrix of her familial ties.

"... mm... it hurts? It all hurts right now, Mimi... I can't really tell... okay." Yua will just have to trust what Miho's seeing; nothing's right, in her head.

Of course, putting on her nightgown after it's been on the ''bathroom floor'' is a non-starter; Miho's having to be ''extra'' vigilant against infection, now Yua's in her third trimester, because it's one of the ways her health can be ''compromised.'' Luckily, they're rich, so there's more than enough fluffy towels to wrap her up on the way back to their room.

(Obviously, they can't talk here; there's water dripped on the floor. That's a ''falling hazard.'')

"It hurts," she says, again, as they walk.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Miho keeps helping. And she listens. That obsession...

"...Despicable," Miho says. "Such a thing... The arrogance, the cruelty. I am glad she is dead."

But that's why. It makes sense.

"...Injure, then." Not hurt. "Trust me, for now."

Miho indeed is very careful about infection; there are fluffy towels, and there are miho's arms, and eventually, as they walk, they will reach their room.

"...It does," Miho agrees. "It does."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"I am, too... she said she'd done it to other women, Mimi... so I guess she wouldn't stop just because she got me. But... but even though I feel like that, I... uuu..."

For a few moments, Yua can't continue that thought. Instead she nods, to the idea that she's ''injured'' herself, though it takes her a moment to ask: "... does that mean I'm a bad mama...?"

She has to take care of herself, since it's not just herself, after all.

Yua will take Miho's help to get to their walk-in closet; to pull on another of her nightgowns, too. (The kind without sleeves beyond a few straps; they're easier to help her into.) She takes a seat, gingerly, at the edge of the bed, and Miho can help scoop her ''shins'' up to tuck her into bed, too.

"Fluffy..." She remarks, of the blanket, when Miho pulls it up for her. "... it's too nice for me..."

... it wouldn't be the first time Yua's mood has gotten so low, but that doesn't make it any easier to hear. "Really... really!" She insists, shaking her head. "I'm disgusting, Mimi... she called for help, and I went to her. Even if I disobeyed... it was only before I did what I was told! I even trapped everyone inside, just like I used to... before they made it more secure." The cognitive shielding they've employed may, in fact, be directly correlated with such a powerful Anti-Navigator shifting her operational focus. ... they still can't ''induce'' specific powers, outside of a few non-reproducible results like Yua's surgery, so the fact they had Yua to keep everyone in line was really more of a random blessing.

"They just... they rang the bells, Mimi... through the speakers... it hurt so bad. They hurt us... because people escaped, and... they said it was our fault, Mimi!" It's not just that, either -- her urging ''Remi'' to behave speaks to communal punishment even between ''Projects'' -- but the control they pushed on her was ''specific.''

"But I couldn't clean that off, either..." And one of those particularly-scoured parts of her is, indeed -- the back of her right ''hand.''

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Likely," Miho says. "She would have gone on. ...You stopped that."

But, Miho shakes her head at the next. "No. It does not."

Simple, authoritative; she doesn't present arguments, simply her own certainty.

The nightgown next, and the blanket... "It is not," Miho gently corrects. But...

It is hard to hear. And as Yua insists...

"It is complex," Miho says. "They tortured you--forced you. ...To rebel against one is not the same as to rebel against all; in time, we will make them all pay, but..."

She sighs, and her fingers curl into a fist. "I heard," she says. "I want to destroy those recordings, destroy every single one who uses them."

"...You cannot clean from the skin what is a problem in the heart," Miho says.

"...I'm sorry."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Nn... Mimi and Recchi did the work... if it was just Yua-chan, I couldn't have done it," Yua shakes her head, sadly.

Miho's certainty is a steadying force, when everything in her head is a whirlwind; she nods, and hums, when Miho says it ''doesn't'' make her a bad mama. "'Kay..."

Miho says the blanket's nice enough for her, too. "Mm... you think so?" Yua asks, reaching for her, in the half-light after the bedside lamp's extinguished again. (They have a night light; Yua doesn't like the dark.)

"I can't fight back against that," Yua murmurs, then, to speak of her torture. "They talk about 'resisting torture' in stories and stuff... but it really hurts, Mimi. Every time they put a new bandage on, they were ringing that awful bell... so I just remember how it feels, and, and...!"

She chokes on her memories, tears welling in her eye again. "My ''heart's'' dirty," she sniffles, then. "Broken, ruined... desecrated! How can I give you such an ugly heart?! I let her hurt me... I let her do it! I'm the one who should say sorry...!"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"But you were part of it. You ended it." Miho believes that. "...What we achieve with help, we still achieve."

But... "I do think so."

"They do talk about it in stories. But even there, it is a specific skill, learned and trained--you were an ordinary young woman. ...You had no chance against the things they did to you. The cruel, and terrible things they did."

She pauses. "...I don't think so," Miho says. "I still want it. I still want you."

"...I do not accept the idea that you are at fault at all."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Yua sniffs, as she pulls herself in against Miho, to hide herself against her side; her legs curl around hers, steadying herself as she turns on her side. "I still did it...?" She wonders, there, a touch muffled by her flannel. "Mm... 'kay..."

... Yua's terribly suggestible, at a time like this, too.

"Maybe if they really put me in the military," Yua mumbles, "I could have did it... but I guess they're in on it, too..."

But Miho says she still wants her, and Yua unburies herself at least enough to lift her head and ''look'' to her, still all teary. "Even--even though I'm dirty?" Yua sniffles, delicately. "Even though I'm sick with ''kegare?'' Even though I said something awful? Even though I did something awful... too...?"

Perhaps it's more like looking ''towards'' Miho, with how tearstained her eye still is. "Is it still okay? Am I still okay? Mimi... when you say things, they make sense... but I'm so scared!"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Maybe it would be better for Miho not to insist so, but she is certain of the things she says as she holds onto Yua. She remains there, listening. "Yes."

"...Maybe," she says. "But we cannot know. It isn't something that's 'now'."

Miho looks down at Yua, too. "...These things you feel... I don't see them at all," Miho says. "They do not make you less. They do not make you someone I do not want."

"To me, you are more than okay. ...These things... I know you feel them. But you are still my Yua, too."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Now... now's real bad," Yua admits, all a-sniffle.

She looks up to Miho, laid on the bed beside her, hands tangled in her nightshirt as she listens to what ''Miho'' can see. So many times she has told Miho what she sees; she recognises the shape of it, here, plagued as she is.

Her expression shifts, the grief fixing it into such harsh alarm softening; she feels forgiven, except, of course, Miho said she didn't ''accept'' her being at fault, didn't she? But even if it's not like that, Yua thinks, she still feels... so warm.

"Mimi... mm... that's me! I'm your Yua! I always was! Even -- even when I had to lie! I don't like lying, but I had to, I had to keep her happy, Hiroki wouldn't have been safe if she wasn't happy... so I did those awful things... i-it was for Hiroki, right? So it's okay! If it's for Hiroki, it has to be okay!"

She gulps, pressing her head close to Miho's. "Mimi wants me... I'm still Mimi's... I'm still good. I'm still good..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"...It is." Miho feels that ache, of seeing Yua this way. But Miho sees...

Maybe it would be kinder, to go along; to forgive by accepting that there was a wrong done by yua in the first place. ...But that's not Miho's way. It is not how she is doing it. It's...

"That's right," Miho agrees. "You protected Hiroki as best you could. ...I know you hate lies, but it was necessary."

"It's all right."

"I do. And you are. ...You're still good."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

As much as Yua feels she's done wrong, right now, she'd surely feel ''worse'' if Miho compromised her Miho-ness to assuage it. Miho is quintessentially Miho, and that's the Miho Yua loves.

"It was for Hiroki," Yua says, again, "and... and so I'd be safe, even when you couldn't protect me... mm. Mimi would feel bad if Yua-mama got hurt when you couldn't do anything, right...? So I gotta... I gotta do what I have to..."

She feels a pit, in her stomach, as she wonders how Kimitake will react... now his ''contact'' which is so easily won over with her body is ''dead.''

She knows, equally, that she must tell him ''Miho'' killed her, when it comes time for it.

... even if she's been bad at keeping herself safe from him, she understands just how dangerous it is to let him know she was able to hurt her abuser, just how much further he might escalate if he realises he might really be in ''danger.''

She shakes her head to shake that dread off, tucking herself under Miho's chin.

"So long as I'm Mimi's... I'll be okay," she decides, slowly. "Mm... that awful woman can't touch me again... just Mimi. Just Mimi..."

She's silent, for a moment, as she trails off, before her face shifts beneath Miho's chin. "... can you pet my hair?" She asks, shyly; it was freed from the shower cap back in the bathroom, after all, to pool around them in the bed as the ancestors intended.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"...Yes, I would," Miho answers. She does. The evidence is clear; but she doesn't know about Kimitake. She doesn't know the dance Yua needs to dance in order to stay safe from him, to perhaps one day turn the tables. ...And that's by design.

"You are," Miho says. "Good. ...She can't. So she won't."

She pauses. "...Yes," Miho says. "I can. I'd like to. I will."

Miho does so, gently, gathering a bit up and letting it splay from her fingers before she strokes along Yua's head, down.

"Yua..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"I'll survive... as long as I can, okay? I want to sleep with Mimi lots more nights! Even though we haven't slept too much tonight... mouuuu... can we sleep in?" Yua asks, a touch piteous. "I'm gonna be so tired, Mimi..."

She nods, when Miho confirms that Natari won't be touching anything. "Mm, mm, that's right... Mimi burned her up and burned her up, 'til there wasn't any of her left. And Mimi stabbed her before she could touch me, too... Mimi kept her away from me... Mimi hurt her really bad... Mimi protected me... Mimi, Miimimi... even if I said thank you a thousand times, I wouldn't have said it enough..."

Yua sighs, head tilting into the pillows as she feels Miho's fingertips, as if they're grounding her to the earth. "I want that, too," she murmurs, soothed not just by her words and deeds but her hands. "I like it when Mimi touches me gently... I feel like it's all okay. Maybe... maybe I can sleep, if Mimi's stroking my hair...?"

She nuzzles her face in against her, experimentally humming, "mm..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Yes," MIho says, though she hears that 'as long as I can', and remembers that they still haven't found a solution. ...Still. "Sure," Miho says. "We can." She's tired, too, after all.

"That's right," Miho says. "...I want to protect you. So thanking me... is for something I want to do, too."

But Miho tries to ground Yua, anyway; her hands continue to touch gently. "Then let's do that," Miho says, her voice slow, deep. "...I will."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"'Kay," Yua murmurs, and finds her thousandth and one, "thanks."

... it's pretty weird for them to ''not'' wake up at five in the morning. Why, when Miho was readying for the Olympics, they got up at ''four!''

Hearing what Miho wants makes Yua smile, nestled in beside her. "Mimi loves me so much... I'm happy," Yua murmurs, her own voice slowing. "I love you too, Mimi..."

... she doesn't need to hear the words to know it's true, feeling Miho's fingertips and the rumble in her chest as she assures her.
</poem>

2026-09-10: Rest and Reflect

2026-09-11T07:07:06Z

L: Created page with "*'''Log: ''' Rest and Reflect *'''Cast:''' Yua Ijuuin, Miho Ijuuin *'''Where:''' Aoba - Penthouse *'''OOC Date:''' 2026-09-10 *'''IC Date:''' Mon, Jan 07 2013 *'''Summary''': ''Yua and Miho steathily convince their wife to lie down and rest after harrowing kidnapping experiences. (Who tricked who? Well, Yua will certainly take credit for it.) Yua considers how her Persona is strengthening her against stress which would normally be toxic in her pregnancy, while Mi..."

*'''Log: ''' Rest and Reflect
*'''Cast:''' [[Yua Ijuuin]], [[Miho Ijuuin]]
*'''Where:''' Aoba - Penthouse
*'''OOC Date:''' 2026-09-10
*'''IC Date:''' Mon, Jan 07 2013
*'''Summary''': ''Yua and Miho steathily convince their wife to lie down and rest after harrowing kidnapping experiences. (Who tricked who? Well, Yua will certainly take credit for it.) Yua considers how her Persona is strengthening her against stress which would normally be toxic in her pregnancy, while Miho shares her self-restraint regarding her own jealousy. They reflect on the people who helped Miho rescue Yua, decide Cait Sith's fate in death, and flirt relentlessly, proving that Yua has not been destroyed today...''

----

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

After seeing Miho's doctor -- and Yua's! -- and reassuring Tyrrha that Yua is still just fine (Tyrrha did ''not'' come with them to the doctors on account of how hard it would be to explain away the metal), it's time to come back home to rest...

... but with Eiko handling dinner, there was only one way Yua was going to accept ''lying down before bedtime'' like some kind of ''lazy woman,'' and that's how she's conned Miho into resting in bed ''with'' her.

"Moouuu... Dr. Matsuhashi said that she didn't know how I was so 'resilient' when I'm so likely to have an early birth, but... it's Gretchen, right?" Yua supposes, all burrowed under the blanket and against Miho on her side. "All that stress and stuff... I can take it 'cause I've got a Persona, don't you think?"

Yukari isn't the only one who worries about it, apparently.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Miho did not specify that the mysterious fencer was a demon. That just wasn't necessary.

...But Miho could probably use the rest, in any case; she's ''tired'' even if thanks to Persona and healing she isn't injured. So bed is fine.

"I don't know," Miho admits. "Some of it at least, is assuredly our Personas." Miho is thoughtful, slow in her words this time. "Whether it's all, I do not know."

She frowns. "...I do not like that you were endangered so."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"It was so scary...!" Yua wibbles, head tucking in under Miho's chin. "Since I dropped my handbag, I couldn't reach Gretchen... I couldn't do anything. I couldn't even help Tykko..." Tyrrha has, of course, already ''dobbed on Yua'' regarding the way she tried to untie her instead of running away.

Then again: Yua has to go in an S-shape to lie with her wife here these days, she's carrying way too much to ''run'' these days. Why, tomorrow, she'll be 28 weeks along... officially into her third trimester!

"But Mimi was so brave," Yua smiles, as she unburrows herself enough to actually ''look'' at Miho again. "Even though you had to hold yourself back so much... you really showed that bad cat what ''for,'' Mimi! Hee hee, the taxidermist was so surprised when you said he should be stuffed standing up in people clothes..." Because, of course, Cait Sith to a normal man is just -- ''a cat.''

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Very scary. "It's all right," Miho says. "Sometimes, we have to rely on others. ...I had to, too."

Officially there...

"Heh. ...Perhaps I could've done it alone, if i had the opportunity to use my Persona--but perhaps not. The demon was very good at blocking... My hellfire is somewhat less vital than my slashing attacks."

A pause. "I had to rely on the others, regardless of what 'would have been'."

She does smile, though. "And I signed it," she says. "As I promised."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"They would have been pretty surprised if they realised Recchi and us were the same, right?" Yua wonders, thoughtfully. "Well, Takeba-kun is a good girl, she's one of my students... I'm sure she'd say, 'it's very irresponsible to make a woman do crimes when she's pregnant! And how could you fight while you're pregnant, even if they told you to!'" She's imagining Yukari's chastisement, but she's smiling, anyway. "She's such a responsible young woman... she can't help but take serious things seriously, no matter what!"

Yukari... ''is so cute.''

This is the decree of Yua 'Mom-Brain' Ijuuin.

"Ahh, I wonder if the sword Recchi stole will be of any use... hopefully, they think she was just after the sword, I did try to ham it up!" In the theatrical sense, she means, as ''important.'' "Mm, ham... let's have Sham for breakfast tomorrow, Mimi!"

Mom brain also means that there's a layer of cognitive fog inside Yua's head to begin with...

"But it must have been especially surprising to fight beside Nobumizu, right? That's not even the first time she's protected me when she thought I was a normal woman getting wrapped up in stuff... remember when Sudou-san attacked Sevens, Mimi? She was there, too!" Back ''then,'' Yua actually jumped in the ''way'' of an attack... though she wasn't pregnant, then.

She giggles, a hand brushing at Miho's chest. "Hee hee... you did! You did sign him! Does that mean he's a collector's item now, Mimi? Oh, we should put a lamp on him...! That way he can be useful!"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"They would have. ...surprised, and likely bothered." To say the least. "Hmm. She is very responsible," Miho agrees. "I wonder what happens to make a girl like that so dutiful in the face of the supernatural? She seems... aggressively normal, about it."

Mom-Brain...

"I hope that it will. It is a useful-looking weapon. I'd claim it myself, except that I already have a fine sword..."

Hamming it up. "Yes, let's."

"It was," Miho agrees. "She is a strong warrior. ...And I respect her sense of what needs doing. If circumstances were different, I would be proud to fight with her more often."

But then, "...Heh. Yes, he is. Perhaps we could..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"I wonder if they would have thought it was all some evil plot... hou, I'm not sure I'm that good of an actor, though!" Yua says, with a little huff. "I don't like getting kidnapped like that... hauuu, but if it was Mimi..." Thoughtfully, thoughtfully, "... then I could pretend!"

She frowns, thoughtful in another fashion, as she thinks on Yukari. "Something bad happened to her when she was younger," she says. "If you compare what we know about a lot of those children in SEES... there's an awful lot of tragedies. In Takeba-kun's case, she's the daughter of a man who's much reviled on Port Island... they say he's to blame for the accident that happened there, ten years ago. So... you can imagine a girl who's grown up with that family reputation..."

Yua, of course, doesn't know the deep history of it all... but she knows what they ''say.'' Oh, she even heard it from a couple of the ''teachers...''

"Mimi's sword is very nice," Yua smiles, then. "All Mimi's swords are nice! Mimi is a nice sword!!" And if that has a double meaning, that's fine.

She tilts her head, as she adds: "I wonder if Nobumizu's a sword lady, too... I wouldn't want anyone to get the wrong impression..." They say, after all, that it's ''improper'' to associate with sword women ''other'' than your girlfriend... at least in some of the more traditional bian circles. "... but she is super respectable, right? She's a good person!"

Yua giggles, as she says: "Maybe he can hold up a lamp and not a sword when he's stuffed..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Hmmm." Miho nudges Yua with a faint laugh. "I'd be much better at it," she assures Yua. "Much better."

But, "I see... A family disgrace is difficult to bear." Is it true? Well, why wouldn't it be? There's little reason to imagine otherwise.

Still, "Heh. ...I do insist on quality..."

But, "Hmm. It wouldn't surprise me, but you never know; one cannot account for one's preferences that may differ from outward presentation." She considers. "But it is not so improper; I am not ''that'' jealous. ...And she is respectable. I trust her on that front."

Miho smiles. "Yes. Yes, that would do."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Yua giggles, as Miho nudges her, her face flushing with ''illicit thoughts.'' "If it's Mimi, it's good!"

What's less good is Yukari's disgrace, and Yua frowns when she thinks of it. "Poor Takeba-kun... she works hard." She wonders, for a moment, how Yukari would ''feel'' about the villains worrying over her... but none of her crimes have stopped her from being a mother!

''Or'' from being a ''lesbian mama,'' and Yua giggles, again, when Miho insists on ''quality.'' "That's true," she adds, when Miho points out that looks can be deceiving. "Hmm... you can be a ''little'' jealous," she says, a touch of teasing to her own voice and smile, as she smooths out Miho's houseclothes against her collarbone. "But if you think it's okay, Mimi... then I won't worry about what it looks like too much! You're right, I'd trust her, too!"

And so, Cait Sith's fate is sealed...

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"My Yua is also very good..."

It isn't good, though, what's going on with Yukari. Yukari might not appreciate it, but Miho reflects on it all the same. "Nevertheless, we cannot underestimate her--that just means she'll work all the harder."

But, "A little jealous," she agrees. "I keep it quiet because I want you to have your freedom... But if I ''didn't'' trust that woman, I'd be much more concerned."

It is okay.

Cait Sith... he should've known.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Ee," Yua squeaks, happily, hearing Miho call her ''her'' Yua.

"Mm, mm," she hums, hearing Miho's reflections. "You're right... she's tough!" Does that mean she'll make a good mom, someday?? Well, according to ''Yua,'' it does.

Yua smiles, though, hearing Miho admit a ''little'' jealousy. "I want Mimi to be able to trust my friends," she insists, "because I trust Mimi's instincts, too! Besides... a little jealousy reminds me I'm wanted," she adds, rubbing at Miho's arm. "I don't think it's always such a bad thing... jealousy just means someone's really, really important. And Yua-chan likes being your most important person..."

... besides, if Yua condemns jealousy, she has to condemn ''herself.''

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Miho smiles.

She is tough. And, well... Maybe she will, maybe she won't. Miho doesn't know what Yukari wants, and clearly that's relevant. But...

When Yua smiles, she nods back. "...Mm, yes. My instincts... I understand." Then she strokes Yua's hair. "That's true. ...it does mean that. And you are."

"No, I keep it to myself for the reason I mentioned... But I want you to have eyes for me. Not them."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Yua sighs happily, feeling Miho's fingers through her hair, unbound for her. "Mimi's so thoughtful," she murmurs, warmly, hearing the way she restrains her jealousy to ensure Yua's freedom. "But I like all Mimi's feelings... and if you tell me, I can reassure you, you know? Like you did for me!"

Her gaze is just as warm, as she looks to her; and lying on her right side, Miho really ''does'' fill her whole field of vision. "It's always been you, Mimi," she assures her, softly. "Always you... only you. I don't even want to imagine anyone else..." She giggles, again, as she squeezes Miho's arm, gently. "... though, if it's imagining ''Mimi'' differently, that's different! I like your vampire cape too, Mimi..."

What? Doesn't ''your'' partner like dressing up as a vampire??? You're missing out, Miho is the world's ''hottest'' vampire.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Miho does try to be thoughtful... "Mm... Yes. If it gets bad, I'll tell you. For now... It just makes me want to see you more."

Miho is a good way to fill one's field of vision especially when one is Yua. There's a lot of her! "...Yes." She does imagine someone else... but it's clear the one she fights for hardest.

"Heh..." Her vampire cape. "We can imagine all we like. ...But we don't have to ''only'' imagine..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Then... see me all the time, Mimi! More and more! And I'll be so pretty for you! Mm, I'm happiest when I'm here!" Yua chirps, and surely she means ''beside her,'' if not literally laying together.

Well, ''also'' laying together, if the way Yua lifts her chin to press her lips to Miho is any indication. "I'd really like that," she says, quietly, and so --

-- any plans forthwith are instead on the ''reader'' to imagine.
</poem>

2026-09-07: Shit Timing

2026-09-08T10:06:13Z

*'''Log: ''' Shit Timing
*'''Cast:''' [[Tsubasa Seki]], [[Ichika Kawase]]
*'''Where:''' Hirasaka - Third-Floor Apartment
*'''OOC Date:''' 2026-09-07
*'''IC Date:''' Sun, Jan 06 2013
*'''Summary''': ''Tsubasa's mother was kidnapped -- or worse? -- just a few days before college entrance exams, and once again, they end up underperforming thanks to a personal crisis. Ichika comes to find them, though -- and to remind them that they're worth more than their family claims, though she finds herself struggling with her feelings over the awful situation, too.''

----

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>

In the end, you gotta ask yourself: what's really important?

'All I ever wanted was my Tsubaki back...'

> Sketch the parametric curve for the following set of parametric equations. Clearly indicate direction of motion.

'... please give her back to me.'

> x = 5cos(3t) y =2sin (3t) 0 < t < 2pi

'Tsubaki. I'm calling to inform you that thanks to your delinquency, your mother's finally suffered a nervous breakdown. I've secured a place for her at a long-term inpatient unit. ... yes, hospital. She won't be receiving visitors. I heard you saw her outburst yesterday... reflect on what you've done before you destroy this family entirely. Good day.'

Eliminate the parameter... and then, that's... clockwise, Tsubasa thinks, and it's because they're relying on sketching out a ''table'' to plot the points, because their brain's operating like sludge.

It's not going clockwise.

It's just one example of how things go wrong, as they go through their entrance exams. Messing up the questions on things like ''advanced'' maths, at least, makes a certain kind of statement about their capacity; they haven't screwed it up ''entirely.''

But... they won't be headed to Tokyo University, like Marlowe-sensei or Jun might have suggested they could accomplish, despite disappearing to cram on Saturday -- plus or minus the time they had to spend falling apart after their father rang. (They'd told their friends to focus on their exams, too; this can wait, they said.)

When entrance exams are done, they shoot through... but it's not hard to guess they've gone home.

Ichika will find them in their room -- binder off, but we'll pretend the tanktop counts -- hugging their dog. Room's a mess, obviously; clothes just strewn wherever on the floor, a bunch of books shoved haphazardly around, a bunch of stencils half-carved into cardboard just lying right out there.

"It's whatever," Tsubasa's saying, to Lance. "Who cares?"

"Rooooo..." Lance whines, licking their hand.

''Lance'' cares.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
<poem>

Ichika reported what she saw, of course. A phone call, after it was 'done'. ...He barely seemed to blink. couldn't hear wht he said, but combined with what he said to Tsubasa later...

It made her angry. Not even that woman's pain could be her own--she had to have it used by her 'man'. Ichika hated Tsubasa's mother... but she hates Hanzou more.

But exams came, and she did her best. Literature had sections Jun had specifically coached her on; math, she was able to relate to budgeting, which she is pretty decent at. She's had all this drilled into her--and wants to succeed.

In the end, Ichika will do well--far better than she imagined she could've a year ago. ...Maybe not the ''best'' possible, but enough to get into a school that's good enough for her.

But now...

Ichika found a place to park; she's already moving things back to the dorms in prepration for the third semester. And now...

"I care," Ichika says, standing by the door at first where she looks in on Tsubasa. She says it firmly.

"Hey Lance," Ichika says, and then looks to Tsubasa. "Mind if I come in?"

She's still dressed, of course. She dressed up nicely for the exams; a pale blue dress under a black jacket. No spikes this time, but leggings.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>

Tsubasa's head snaps up with suspicion as they hear the door sliding back -- only for that wariness to stand down when they realise who it ''is.'' "... hey," Tsubasa says, as Lance hops off the bed to bound up and greet her, tail wagging. Tsubasa doesn't get up, but just kind of spreads an arm to indicate ''she'' can come sit down, instead. "How'd ya go?"

They know she worked hard... and they're ''really'' hoping they didn't screw up ''her'' chances, too.

(They did not dress up particularly smartly. Hoodie over a tank top, cargo pants... they looked as much the punk as ever.)

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
<poem>

Lance!! Lance is here. Ichika kneels down to pet Lance for a moment, giving her some scritches before she stands again to come over to Tsubasa. Her coat's on her arm; she sets it down before she takes a seat.

"I think it went OK," Ichika says. "I felt like I knew what I was doing, even if I didn't know everything. Keep calm and go with what you can do, right?"

Ichika has... thoughts, on the matter for herself.

She reaches out for Tsubasa's hand. "...How about you?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>

"Good," Tsubasa says, nodding firmly, as a hand comes around her back to rest at her opposite arm. "You practiced. You'll do great."

They look at that scarred hand of theirs, as it slips into Ichika's. They didn't bother slapping concealer on their arms; it's too fucking cold out there to lose the hoodie, and probably the only reason why they have ''now'' was to let them breathe a bit. It makes the scars on their arms stand out, stark and pale against their artificially tanned skin.

"Uh, me... not so much. Couldn't focus. But it's whatever," they shake their head. "Wasn't really tryin' anyway."

Ichika can ''see'' the calculus textbook they've haphazardly tried to shove back into their closet she ''knows'' that's not true.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
<poem>

"Thanks," Ichika answers. She did practice.

Ichika doesn't flinch or blink at Tsubasa's scars; they're normal to her by now, just part of Tsubasa. She holds Tsubasa's hand, curling her fingers around theirs for warmth, temperature and otherwise.

"..."

"Tsubasa..."

She sighs. "I can get why you couldn't focus. ...World has shit timing, huh...?"

"Hey. ...It's OK, to be fucked up about it."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>

"Eh... I'm used to it," Tsubasa tries to insist, bravely. They're fine, they're ''fine,'' they're ''not'' covered in scars and bleeding out emotionally, everything is ''cool'' -- "Heh, like... remember when I was too busy gettin' fucked up by cops for finals? Y'know... shit like that... hell, even before I came here, Akiyama's finals got fucked up, too... guess who everyone was lookin' at after that went up in flames," and they're smiling like it's funny, but it's not very funny.

"It's cool, I'll figure somethin' out..."

Unfortunately, rather than sounding cool, they really just sound kind of ''desperate,'' particularly when their breath hitches and shudders on the intake. It's not like they can't hear themself, they just --

They're just like --

"Me, uh, me father called yesterday," Tsubasa admits, head coming to rest by the side of Ichika's, tangling dyed and fake hair. "Story's that she had a nervous breakdown, got shipped off to a mental ward... reckoned it was my fault. Means she's gotta still be alive, somewhere... so..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
<poem>

Used to it. Fine. "I remember," Ichika says. It's not funny, no. They'll 'figure it out'...

"Tsubasa," Ichika says, and there's a note of concern in it--concern, and not being fooled.

However...

She can't help but scowl about Tsubasa's father, though perhaps Tsubasa can't see it. Ichika puts an arm around Tsubasa. "...Mm," she says. "He got some phone call, when I was watching him..."

She's not sure it means that at all.

"But it wasn't your fault. It wasn't your fault at all. ...None of it was."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>

Ichika's not fooled, no. So why is Tsubasa still fronting?

It's just... hard to turn it off.

"'Bout what time?" They wonder, analytically, their mind still spinning. "... yeah, jus'... she said it was," and that, at least, is a little more about what happened to them and less about what they need to ''do.'' "Kept sayin' me and father was th' same... sayin' she'd kill everyone 'til I came back... she jus' wanted me back, man. Even said... somethin' 'bout girl gangs back in her day... kinda reckon she was no good too, y'know? Jus'... she was talkin' 'bout settlin' down wit' the wrong guy, an'... guess that's him," they say, quietly.

"Guess he was beatin' her up 'bout it... 'bout me bein' stubborn. I, uh..." Their voice shakes, a moment, and they fall quiet when they hear it. "Hope me brother's okay," they finish the thought, but only after that pause.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
<poem>

"After the fight died down," Ichika says. "According to what you told me, anyway. ...A while after that."

But...

"She couldn't face it," Ichika reflects. "...I thought... I just hated her," she says. "That I couldn't feel anything but that for a woman who'd call the Joker on her own child. ...who'd let her children be hurt."

"Maybe she was no good, back then. But like..."

Ichika squeezes Tsubasa. "That's on him. That's what he did. And her... It's easy to say she could've left. But I think that was the only thing she could've done, to avoid... him."

"I hope he's ok too," she says quietly. "But..."

"She couldn't keep up with the world as it was. That sucks."

"...Like I said, i thought I could only hate her,but..."

"It makes me so mad, thinking of him using her pain against you. The pain ''he'' caused. ...I'm sorry, Tsubasa. I wish we could've done better."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>

"So they told him right away, huh... guess he coulda been actin' like a normal business call was like that, but not even he can be that up himself." Tsubasa can, at least, describe their father as ''up himself.'' "He's well-connected, huh... ch."

Their head tilts against Ichika, eyes closing. "... told her she shoulda left. She couldn't... even get her head 'round it. Kept jus' sayin' I shoulda been a better... y'know, kid." That's probably not the word Etsuko used.

"He was always fine," Tsubasa says, of their brother. "Fuckin'... golden boy couldn't never do no wrong. Jus'... with mom gone, uh... I dunno," there's a little shake of their head, against hers. "It's prolly nothin'."

Tsubasa has better instincts than they think.

"... I can't hate her," they admit, and their throat feels dry as they say it. "Even turnin' into that thing... she wanted to kill me, but... I can't fuckin' hate her, man. Fuck, I oughta hate ''him,'' but..." They take a breath. If it's a little sniffly, don't worry about it.

"... ain't your fault neither," they insist, a touch choked up. "Whole bunch a people showed up for my ass, like, not even jus' th' team... it jus' still... we were up 'gainst one a their worst fuckin' enforcers, I reckon. An' that's ''before'' Ruin showed up keepin' an eye on Akabane-san, when... uh... uh, she pulled some evil powers shit, like... you know how th' Old Maid would summon demons an' make everythin' shit?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
<poem>

"Mm..."

Tsubasa told her. "...Yeah. I guess it makes sense. If she could wrap her head around leaving... she'd have done it."

Kid.

"Mm. Nobody else to take the shit, huh? ...I hope you're right, though."

And Tsubasa can't hate her. "That's OK," Ichika says. "You don't have to. I wanted to... But I'm just sad, instead." She gives Tsubasa another squeeze. "...Maybe you can work up to hating him."

But it isn't her fault... and a lot of people went up. "Mm... Yeah, they've got powerful people and--"

Akabane did that? "Wait, what?" Ichika asks. "Why would she do that? ...How would she do that?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>

"If she'd just left... eh, if wishes were fishes."

(They'd all be having fish dinner, Tsubasa can't quite muster the energy to complete blowing it off.)

... but Kiyoshi will be fine, right? He's always been the one he was ''happy'' with...

Ichika squeezes them, though, and Tsubasa leans into her. (They're getting heavier, but it's not necessarily on account of getting ''fatter.'') "... yeah," they say, quietly. "... I'm sad, too."

But... Umie. "That Order woman was really pushin' her," they relate, still overcast. "So, she... I dunno. Maybe she always had a power like that...? Sudou-san... he was tied to the Order, too... maybe it's jus' somethin' those pricks can do. So... she mighta picked it up when she was with them, I dunno. Wonder if I'd be able to do that shit if me father had gotten attention quicker... but jus'... fuck, she flooded th' joint with demons, an' that enforcer didn't even blink, jus' said she'd make use of 'em an' escaped while fuckin' Mothman was chewin' on a guy's leg."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
<poem>

"...Yeah."

They have a lot of wishes. Ichika does, too.

A little weight doesn't bug Ichika, especially not the kind Tsubasa is putting on. She still likes how their body is adjusting to the hormones--is happy that Tsubasa is happy, too. But... nobody's happy just now.

"Mm," Ichika says. "Guess it's not easy to leave..." She might've had it. "I guess it could be," Ichika says. "Fucked up though."

"MIght be able to. But... I think it's better you can't. It doesn't sound like the kind of thing that would.. help, you know? Like, it doesn't sound like it helped you guys out much there."

She looks down. "...Guess they've seen some shit."

"That sucks."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>

It is, at least, a manner of not being happy which is easier with Tsubasa's arm around Ichika... and vice versa, too.

"... reckon it's pre' fucked, yeah," they murmur, when Ichika extends that difficulty leaving to the whole ''Order.'' "An'... yeah. Fucked up shit. Stomach churned... it's sick. Hard not to think... Akabane-san's why we couldn't save her. But I guess she jus'... got tricked, or somethin'... I dunno."

It's hard enough for them to trust people at baseline -- let alone in a situation like this.

"... yeah," they sigh, at length, shoulders sinking. "Wonder if me father's like that, too... but I guess you gotta have a Persona to summon demons, right?" They're guessing, but it's based on the evidence they've ''seen'' so far. "Ugh... even if he could, I wouldn't wanna ''know''... he's bad enough, man."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
<poem>

"Yeah..." But, "Mm. ...We can't know what would've happened if stuff was different. Kind of a trap, right? You wonder, and wonder... And in the end, it makes you lose sight of what's next."

It's the best she can offer, anyway. She doesn't know. Maybe she was tricked... But it sure didn't help.

Ichika gives Tsubasa another squeeze. "I mean, demons don't exactly listen on the best days. So I guess so?" She pauses. "...Yeah. Even without supernatural whatever..."

"He's as bad as they get."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>

"... yeah, guess I do that," Tsubasa sighs, and does ''not'' look at their closet, where they've constructed an ever more increasing web of suspects.

It's not paranoid if they're really out to get you, okay?!

(It's still pretty paranoid, but perhaps it's easy to excuse them ''wondering'' so much.)

"Fuckin' demons, man... you know this Jack Frost was tryin' to lob a kid like a ball?" Tsubasa grouses, scowling. "An' that fuckin' Unicorn... pissed me off." But what's ''worse'' than a demon?

The Devil himself, of course.

"He's... he's the worst, man," Tsubasa says, their grip stiffening as they say it. "Worst part is -- it's hard -- it's hard to blame him, y'know? 'Course I fuckin' do, but... if I don't stay mad 'bout it... falls through me hands, y'know? Like... like it always did."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
<poem>

Ichika knows. She tries to discourage it, but... Well, paranoia doesn't just go away because someone says some nice words about it.

"Ugh," Ichika says. "Fucking Jack Frost." Unicorn, too. "...Sucks that Unicorn's a demon. The stories are always nicer."

But, "Yeah. I get it," she says. "It makes sense. If it were easy... it'd be easy, right?"

She puts both arms around Tsubasa now. "But when you forget, I can remind you. You deserve better. You know?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>

... yeah, Ichika's the one who helps them keep sight of what matters, in the end.

"Ch, yeah... that pisses me off, too. You oughta get ta like somethin' without, fuckin'... every girl's secret My Mini Pony collection ends up creatin' a monster in an alley." Tsubasa never had one, but, like, they had female friends growing up. They ''know'' about My Mini Pony. "An' fuck, man, that mean fuckin' Jack Frost came up 'cuz people liked their teddies too much or some shit? ... nah, fuck that." Teddy bears don't become demons when people talk about them enough. Jack Frost is just a jerk!

"... yeah," they sigh, their weight sinking. "You get it... I get it. Shithouse men jus'... be like that." Even when they're still boys, sometimes. Ichika embraces them, and they bury their head against her shoulder, as they shift to wrap both arms around her, too. "Th--thanks," they say, and it's embarrassing, you know? When you choke in the middle of a word like that. "Sorry, I'm so..."

What's the difference, Tsubasa wonders, between ''them'' and those shithouse men?

But they shake their head, against Ichika's shoulder, and say, instead: "Countin' on ya."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
<poem>

"Yeah," Ichika agrees. "But like, whatever. Demons are demons. Who knows why they look like what they do?" She shakes her head. "Tch..." She obviously had mini ponies. Obviously. "Fuck Jack Frost," Ichika says again, not for the first time.

But Ichika holds onto Tsubasa, supporting them herself. She's not exactly insubstantial, with a body like hers. "They do." Then, "You're welcome. And it's OK," Ichika says.

"If I only wanted you around during the good times... I wouldn't have told you where I live," she quips.

A little humor might help.

Ichika, of course, knows the difference. "You can. ...You can count on me."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>

"Like... 'cuz a rumours an' junk, right? The shit people say." Demons certainly ''appear'' when rumours spread... so why wouldn't rumours be what causes demons?!

"Fuck Jack Frost," they agree. "Chopped th' little shit in half, not like he won't show up again tomorrow." Tsubasa may not have absorbed that the Jack Frost who'll show up tomorrow is ''another Jack Frost entirely,'' on account of ''that'' Jack Frost being very dead.

Thankfully, that at least means they don't have to grapple with the ethics of killing demons today.

... but for all the bedroom dynamics, Ichika's still the Boss. Tsubasa knows she can pick ''them'' up just as well. They snerk, into her shoulder, as she points out that they know where she lives. "Yeah, you're serious, huh... heh, shit sucks out there, but you did better by me. Y'know? Be way more fucked on me own."

They take a breath, and suppose: "Maybe... I didn't totally fuck up th' exams an' shit. Jus'... y'know... kinda. Maybe I can still work with kinda?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
<poem>

"Guess so." Ichika doesn't have a better explanation, and Tsubasa is good at smart people stuff. Maybe they'd know.

"Good," Ichika says. "We'll chop the next one, too."

It's fine!

Ichika laughs when she finally gets something like one out of Tsubasa, and smiles at them. "It does," she says. "But I am serious. ...And you're not on your own, as long as I have anything to say about it."

"...Hope you can," Ichika says. "I mean, you're really smart. 'Bad' for you might still be pretty good."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>

Let's be fair, of the gang, it's probably ''Hibari'' who knows...

But Tsubasa, at least, knows ''sword,'' and they nod firmly when Ichika voices her continuing enmity towards Jack Frost.

... Jack Frost kinda creeps them out, honestly, though they have no real clue ''why,'' so they have zero problem beating them up for the Boss.

"You will," Tsubasa says, then. "You're the Boss... what you say goes."

And they can, at least, get to: "Maybe... yeah, maybe."

</poem>

2026-09-07: Shit Timing

2026-09-08T10:04:38Z

L: Created page with "*'''Log: ''' Shit Timing *'''Cast:''' Tsubasa Seki, Ichika Kawase *'''Where:''' Hirasaka - Third-Floor Apartment *'''OOC Date:''' 2026-09-07 *'''IC Date:''' Sun, Jan 06 2013 *'''Summary''': ''Tsubasa's mother was kidnapped -- or worse? -- just a few days before college entrance exams, and once again, they end up underperforming thanks to a personal crisis. Ichika comes to find them, though -- and to remind them that they're worth more than their family claims, th..."

*'''Log: ''' Shit Timing
*'''Cast:''' [[Tsubasa Seki]], [[Ichika Kawase]]
*'''Where:''' Hirasaka - Third-Floor Apartment
*'''OOC Date:''' 2026-09-07
*'''IC Date:''' Sun, Jan 06 2013
*'''Summary''': ''Tsubasa's mother was kidnapped -- or worse? -- just a few days before college entrance exams, and once again, they end up underperforming thanks to a personal crisis. Ichika comes to find them, though -- and to remind them that they're worth more than their family claims, though she finds herself struggling with her feelings over the awful situation, too.''

----

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>

In the end, you gotta ask yourself: what's really important?

'All I ever wanted was my Tsubaki back...'

> Sketch the parametric curve for the following set of parametric equations. Clearly indicate direction of motion.

'... please give her back to me.'

> x = 5cos(3t) y =2sin (3t) 0 < t < 2pi

'Tsubaki. I'm calling to inform you that thanks to your delinquency, your mother's finally suffered a nervous breakdown. I've secured a place for her at a long-term inpatient unit. ... yes, hospital. She won't be receiving visitors. I heard you saw her outburst yesterday... reflect on what you've done before you destroy this family entirely. Good day.'

Eliminate the parameter... and then, that's... clockwise, Tsubasa thinks, and it's because they're relying on sketching out a ''table'' to plot the points, because their brain's operating like sludge.

It's not going clockwise.

It's just one example of how things go wrong, as they go through their entrance exams. Messing up the questions on things like ''advanced'' maths, at least, makes a certain kind of statement about their capacity; they haven't screwed it up ''entirely.''

But... they won't be headed to Tokyo University, like Marlowe-sensei or Jun might have suggested they could accomplish, despite disappearing to cram on Saturday -- plus or minus the time they had to spend falling apart after their father rang. (They'd told their friends to focus on their exams, too; this can wait, they said.)

When entrance exams are done, they shoot through... but it's not hard to guess they've gone home.

Ichika will find them in their room -- binder off, but we'll pretend the tanktop counts -- hugging their dog. Room's a mess, obviously; clothes just strewn wherever on the floor, a bunch of books shoved haphazardly around, a bunch of stencils half-carved into cardboard just lying right out there.

"It's whatever," Tsubasa's saying, to Lance. "Who cares?"

"Rooooo..." Lance whines, licking their hand.

''Lance'' cares.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
<poem>

Ichika reported what she saw, of course. A phone call, after it was 'done'. ...He barely seemed to blink. couldn't hear wht he said, but combined with what he said to Tsubasa later...

It made her angry. Not even that woman's pain could be her own--she had to have it used by her 'man'. Ichika hated Tsubasa's mother... but she hates Hanzou more.

But exams came, and she did her best. Literature had sections Jun had specifically coached her on; math, she was able to relate to budgeting, which she is pretty decent at. She's had all this drilled into her--and wants to succeed.

In the end, Ichika will do well--far better than she imagined she could've a year ago. ...Maybe not the ''best'' possible, but enough to get into a school that's good enough for her.

But now...

Ichika found a place to park; she's already moving things back to the dorms in prepration for the third semester. And now...

"I care," Ichika says, standing by the door at first where she looks in on Tsubasa. She says it firmly.

"Hey Lance," Ichika says, and then looks to Tsubasa. "Mind if I come in?"

She's still dressed, of course. She dressed up nicely for the exams; a pale blue dress under a black jacket. No spikes this time, but leggings.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>

Tsubasa's head snaps up with suspicion as they hear the door sliding back -- only for that wariness to stand down when they realise who it ''is.'' "... hey," Tsubasa says, as Lance hops off the bed to bound up and greet her, tail wagging. Tsubasa doesn't get up, but just kind of spreads an arm to indicate ''she'' can come sit down, instead. "How'd ya go?"

They know she worked hard... and they're ''really'' hoping they didn't screw up ''her'' chances, too.

(They did not dress up particularly smartly. Hoodie over a tank top, cargo pants... they looked as much the punk as ever.)

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
<poem>

Lance!! Lance is here. Ichika kneels down to pet Lance for a moment, giving her some scritches before she stands again to come over to Tsubasa. Her coat's on her arm; she sets it down before she takes a seat.

"I think it went OK," Ichika says. "I felt like I knew what I was doing, even if I didn't know everything. Keep calm and go with what you can do, right?"

Ichika has... thoughts, on the matter for herself.

She reaches out for Tsubasa's hand. "...How about you?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>

"Good," Tsubasa says, nodding firmly, as a hand comes around her back to rest at her opposite arm. "You practiced. You'll do great."

They look at that scarred hand of theirs, as it slips into Ichika's. They didn't bother slapping concealer on their arms; it's too fucking cold out there to lose the hoodie, and probably the only reason why they have ''now'' was to let them breathe a bit. It makes the scars on their arms stand out, stark and pale against their artificially tanned skin.

"Uh, me... not so much. Couldn't focus. But it's whatever," they shake their head. "Wasn't really tryin' anyway."

Ichika can ''see'' the calculus textbook they've haphazardly tried to shove back into their closet she ''knows'' that's not true.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
<poem>

"Thanks," Ichika answers. She did practice.

Ichika doesn't flinch or blink at Tsubasa's scars; they're normal to her by now, just part of Tsubasa. She holds Tsubasa's hand, curling her fingers around theirs for warmth, temperature and otherwise.

"..."

"Tsubasa..."

She sighs. "I can get why you couldn't focus. ...World has shit timing, huh...?"

"Hey. ...It's OK, to be fucked up about it."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>

"Eh... I'm used to it," Tsubasa tries to insist, bravely. They're fine, they're ''fine,'' they're ''not'' covered in scars and bleeding out emotionally, everything is ''cool'' -- "Heh, like... remember when I was too busy gettin' fucked up by cops for finals? Y'know... shit like that... hell, even before I came here, Akiyama's finals got fucked up, too... guess who everyone was lookin' at after that went up in flames," and they're smiling like it's funny, but it's not very funny.

"It's cool, I'll figure somethin' out..."

Unfortunately, rather than sounding cool, they really just sound kind of ''desperate,'' particularly when their breath hitches and shudders on the intake. It's not like they can't hear themself, they just --

They're just like --

"Me, uh, me father called yesterday," Tsubasa admits, head coming to rest by the side of Ichika's, tangling dyed and fake hair. "Story's that she had a nervous breakdown, got shipped off to a mental ward... reckoned it was my fault. Means she's gotta still be alive, somewhere... so..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
<poem>

Used to it. Fine. "I remember," Ichika says. It's not funny, no. They'll 'figure it out'...

"Tsubasa," Ichika says, and there's a note of concern in it--concern, and not being fooled.

However...

She can't help but scowl about Tsubasa's father, though perhaps Tsubasa can't see it. Ichika puts an arm around Tsubasa. "...Mm," she says. "He got some phone call, when I was watching him..."

She's not sure it means that at all.

"But it wasn't your fault. It wasn't your fault at all. ...None of it was."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>

Ichika's not fooled, no. So why is Tsubasa still fronting?

It's just... hard to turn it off.

"'Bout what time?" They wonder, analytically, their mind still spinning. "... yeah, jus'... she said it was," and that, at least, is a little more about what happened to them and less about what they need to ''do.'' "Kept sayin' me and father was th' same... sayin' she'd kill everyone 'til I came back... she jus' wanted me back, man. Even said... somethin' 'bout girl gangs back in her day... kinda reckon she was no good too, y'know? Jus'... she was talkin' 'bout settlin' down wit' the wrong guy, an'... guess that's him," they say, quietly.

"Guess he was beatin' her up 'bout it... 'bout me bein' stubborn. I, uh..." Their voice shakes, a moment, and they fall quiet when they hear it. "Hope me brother's okay," they finish the thought, but only after that pause.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
<poem>

"After the fight died down," Ichika says. "According to what you told me, anyway. ...A while after that."

But...

"She couldn't face it," Ichika reflects. "...I thought... I just hated her," she says. "That I couldn't feel anything but that for a woman who'd call the Joker on her own child. ...who'd let her children be hurt."

"Maybe she was no good, back then. But like..."

Ichika squeezes Tsubasa. "That's on him. That's what he did. And her... It's easy to say she could've left. But I think that was the only thing she could've done, to avoid... him."

"I hope he's ok too," she says quietly. "But..."

"She couldn't keep up with the world as it was. That sucks."

"...Like I said, i thought I could only hate her,but..."

"It makes me so mad, thinking of him using her pain against you. The pain ''he'' caused. ...I'm sorry, Tsubasa. I wish we could've done better."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>

"So they told him right away, huh... guess he coulda been actin' like a normal business call was like that, but not even he can be that up himself." Tsubasa can, at least, describe their father as ''up himself.'' "He's well-connected, huh... ch."

Their head tilts against Ichika, eyes closing. "... told her she shoulda left. She couldn't... even get her head 'round it. Kept jus' sayin' I shoulda been a better... y'know, kid." That's probably not the word Etsuko used.

"He was always fine," Tsubasa says, of their brother. "Fuckin'... golden boy couldn't never do no wrong. Jus'... with mom gone, uh... I dunno," there's a little shake of their head, against hers. "It's prolly nothin'."

Tsubasa has better instincts than they think.

"... I can't hate her," they admit, and their throat feels dry as they say it. "Even turnin' into that thing... she wanted to kill me, but... I can't fuckin' hate her, man. Fuck, I oughta hate ''him,'' but..." They take a breath. If it's a little sniffly, don't worry about it.

"... ain't your fault neither," they insist, a touch choked up. "Whole bunch a people showed up for my ass, like, not even jus' th' team... it jus' still... we were up 'gainst one a their worst fuckin' enforcers, I reckon. An' that's ''before'' Ruin showed up keepin' an eye on Akabane-san, when... uh... uh, she pulled some evil powers shit, like... you know how th' Old Maid would summon demons an' make everythin' shit?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
<poem>

"Mm..."

Tsubasa told her. "...Yeah. I guess it makes sense. If she could wrap her head around leaving... she'd have done it."

Kid.

"Mm. Nobody else to take the shit, huh? ...I hope you're right, though."

And Tsubasa can't hate her. "That's OK," Ichika says. "You don't have to. I wanted to... But I'm just sad, instead." She gives Tsubasa another squeeze. "...Maybe you can work up to hating him."

But it isn't her fault... and a lot of people went up. "Mm... Yeah, they've got powerful people and--"

Akabane did that? "Wait, what?" Ichika asks. "Why would she do that? ...How would she do that?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>

"If she'd just left... eh, if wishes were fishes."

(They'd all be having fish dinner, Tsubasa can't quite muster the energy to complete blowing it off.)

... but Kiyoshi will be fine, right? He's always been the one he was ''happy'' with...

Ichika squeezes them, though, and Tsubasa leans into her. (They're getting heavier, but it's not necessarily on account of getting ''fatter.'') "... yeah," they say, quietly. "... I'm sad, too."

But... Umie. "That Order woman was really pushin' her," they relate, still overcast. "So, she... I dunno. Maybe she always had a power like that...? Sudou-san... he was tied to the Order, too... maybe it's jus' somethin' those pricks can do. So... she mighta picked it up when she was with them, I dunno. Wonder if I'd be able to do that shit if me father had gotten attention quicker... but jus'... fuck, she flooded th' joint with demons, an' that enforcer didn't even blink, jus' said she'd make use of 'em an' escaped while fuckin' Mothman was chewin' on a guy's leg."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
<poem>

"...Yeah."

They have a lot of wishes. Ichika does, too.

A little weight doesn't bug Ichika, especially not the kind Tsubasa is putting on. She still likes how their body is adjusting to the hormones--is happy that Tsubasa is happy, too. But... nobody's happy just now.

"Mm," Ichika says. "Guess it's not easy to leave..." She might've had it. "I guess it could be," Ichika says. "Fucked up though."

"MIght be able to. But... I think it's better you can't. It doesn't sound like the kind of thing that would.. help, you know? Like, it doesn't sound like it helped you guys out much there."

She looks down. "...Guess they've seen some shit."

"That sucks."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>

It is, at least, a manner of not being happy which is easier with Tsubasa's arm around Ichika... and vice versa, too.

"... reckon it's pre' fucked, yeah," they murmur, when Ichika extends that difficulty leaving to the whole ''Order.'' "An'... yeah. Fucked up shit. Stomach churned... it's sick. Hard not to think... Akabane-san's why we couldn't save her. But I guess she jus'... got tricked, or somethin'... I dunno."

It's hard enough for them to trust people at baseline -- let alone in a situation like this.

"... yeah," they sigh, at length, shoulders sinking. "Wonder if me father's like that, too... but I guess you gotta have a Persona to summon demons, right?" They're guessing, but it's based on the evidence they've ''seen'' so far. "Ugh... even if he could, I wouldn't wanna ''know''... he's bad enough, man."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
<poem>

"Yeah..." But, "Mm. ...We can't know what would've happened if stuff was different. Kind of a trap, right? You wonder, and wonder... And in the end, it makes you lose sight of what's next."

It's the best she can offer, anyway. She doesn't know. Maybe she was tricked... But it sure didn't help.

Ichika gives Tsubasa another squeeze. "I mean, demons don't exactly listen on the best days. So I guess so?" She pauses. "...Yeah. Even without supernatural whatever..."

"He's as bad as they get."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>

"... yeah, guess I do that," Tsubasa sighs, and does ''not'' look at their closet, where they've constructed an ever more increasing web of suspects.

It's not paranoid if they're really out to get you, okay?!

(It's still pretty paranoid, but perhaps it's easy to excuse them ''wondering'' so much.)

"Fuckin' demons, man... you know this Jack Frost was tryin' to lob a kid like a ball?" Tsubasa grouses, scowling. "An' that fuckin' Unicorn... pissed me off." But what's ''worse'' than a demon?

The Devil himself, of course.

"He's... he's the worst, man," Tsubasa says, their grip stiffening as they say it. "Worst part is -- it's hard -- it's hard to blame him, y'know? 'Course I fuckin' do, but... if I don't stay mad 'bout it... falls through me hands, y'know? Like... like it always did."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
<poem>

Ichika knows. She tries to discourage it, but... Well, paranoia doesn't just go away because someone says some nice words about it.

"Ugh," Ichika says. "Fucking Jack Frost." Unicorn, too. "...Sucks that Unicorn's a demon. The stories are always nicer."

But, "Yeah. I get it," she says. "It makes sense. If it were easy... it'd be easy, right?"

She puts both arms around Tsubasa now. "But when you forget, I can remind you. You deserve better. You know?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>

... yeah, Ichika's the one who helps them keep sight of what matters, in the end.

"Ch, yeah... that pisses me off, too. You oughta get ta like somethin' without, fuckin'... every girl's secret My Mini Pony collection ends up creatin' a monster in an alley." Tsubasa never had one, but, like, they had female friends growing up. They ''know'' about My Mini Pony. "An' fuck, man, that mean fuckin' Jack Frost came up 'cuz people liked their teddies too much or some shit? ... nah, fuck that." Teddy bears don't become demons when people talk about them enough. Jack Frost is just a jerk!

"... yeah," they sigh, their weight sinking. "You get it... I get it. Shithouse men jus'... be like that." Even when they're still boys, sometimes. Ichika embraces them, and they bury their head against her shoulder, as they shift to wrap both arms around her, too. "Th--thanks," they say, and it's embarrassing, you know? When you choke in the middle of a word like that. "Sorry, I'm so..."

What's the difference, Tsubasa wonders, between ''them'' and those shithouse men?

But they shake their head, against Ichika's shoulder, and say, instead: "Countin' on ya."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
<poem>

"Yeah," Ichika agrees. "But like, whatever. Demons are demons. Who knows why they look like what they do?" She shakes her head. "Tch..." She obviously had mini ponies. Obviously. "Fuck Jack Frost," Ichika says again, not for the first time.

But Ichika holds onto Tsubasa, supporting them herself. She's not exactly insubstantial, with a body like hers. "They do." Then, "You're welcome. And it's OK," Ichika says.

"If I only wanted you around during the good times... I wouldn't have told you where I live," she quips.

A little humor might help.

Ichika, of course, knows the difference. "You can. ...You can count on me."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>

"Like... 'cuz a rumours an' junk, right? The shit people say." Demons certainly ''appear'' when rumours spread... so why wouldn't rumours be what causes demons?!

"Fuck Jack Frost," they agree. "Chopped th' little shit in half, not like he won't show up again tomorrow." Tsubasa may not have absorbed that the Jack Frost who'll show up tomorrow is ''another Jack Frost entirely,'' on account of ''that'' Jack Frost being very dead.

Thankfully, that at least means they don't have to grapple with the ethics of killing demons today.

... but for all the bedroom dynamics, Ichika's still the Boss. Tsubasa knows she can pick ''them'' up just as well. They snerk, into her shoulder, as she points out that they know where she lives. "Yeah, you're serious, huh... heh, shit sucks out there, but you did better by me. Y'know? Be way more fucked on me own."

They take a breath, and suppose: "Maybe... I didn't totally fuck up th' exams an' shit. Jus'... y'know... kinda. Maybe I can still work with kinda?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
<poem>

"Guess so." Ichika doesn't have a better explanation, and Tsubasa is good at smart people stuff. Maybe they'd know.

"Good," Ichika says. "We'll chop the next one, too."

It's fine!

Ichika laughs when she finally gets something like one out of Tsubasa, and smiles at them. "It does," she says. "But I am serious. ...And you're not on your own, as long as I have anything to say about it."

"...Hope you can," Ichika says. "I mean, you're really smart. 'Bad' for you might still be pretty good."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>

Let's be fair, of the gang, it's probably ''Hibari'' who knows...

But Tsubasa, at least, knows ''sword,'' and they nod firmly when Ichika voices her continuing enmity towards Jack Frost.

... Jack Frost kinda creeps them out, honestly, though they have no real clue ''why,'' so they have zero problem beating them up for the Boss.

"You will," Tsubasa says, then. "You're the Boss... what you say goes."

And they can, at least, get to: "Maybe... yeah, maybe."

</poem>

2026-09-06: Miho's Truth, Miho's Beauty

2026-09-08T10:00:31Z

L: Created page with "*'''Log: ''' Miho's Truth, Miho's Beauty *'''Cast:''' Yua Ijuuin, Miho Ijuuin *'''Where:''' Aoba - Penthouse *'''OOC Date:''' 2026-09-06 *'''IC Date:''' Sat Jan 05 2013 *'''Summary''': ''Miho comes home after a successful mission to tend to her wife, who has been increasingly beleagured by even her limited participation in the Order's peace... particularly her experiences in Hana's Kingdom. Miho is exhausted, but Yua's affection is bound to restore her... and Mih..."

*'''Log: ''' Miho's Truth, Miho's Beauty
*'''Cast:''' [[Yua Ijuuin]], [[Miho Ijuuin]]
*'''Where:''' Aoba - Penthouse
*'''OOC Date:''' 2026-09-06
*'''IC Date:''' Sat Jan 05 2013
*'''Summary''': ''Miho comes home after a successful mission to tend to her wife, who has been increasingly beleagured by even her limited participation in the Order's peace... particularly her experiences in Hana's Kingdom. Miho is exhausted, but Yua's affection is bound to restore her... and Miho's concern, in turn, convinces Yua she needs to step back even further.''

----

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"I felt like I was losing my baby... like I was really losing my baby! That horrible pink cockatoo, I never want to see her again! I can't go back there, I can't, I ''won't''! Hiroki, he's Hiroki, his name's Hiroki..!!"

That was the state Yua fled in, yesterday; what was supposed to be a quiet mission blew up in her face, and she didn't even retrieve the victim. Chizuru Ishigami, at least, was ''very'' intrigued by Welwetes' recordings...

(When she'd ''calmed down'' a little, Yua had more to say: "... mouuu... but I am sorry I left Recchi there all alone... I know she volunteered, but... I was a coward.")

Perhaps it's no wonder, then, that for ''today's'' mission Miho gently directed Yua to stay ''home'' and ''rest.'' Tyrrha stayed with her, just in case that pink cockatoo(???) showed up again. And that's why, when Miho comes back, they're in the kitchen...!

Yua, of course, bustles out as soon as she hears Eiko receiving her. "Mimi!" Yua chirps, and she's a bit ''slower'' to get over to her these days, but she ''does,'' arms slinging up over her head to sling around her neck and shoulders as she lifts up on her tippy-toes. "Welcome home~! Kiss?" She has to ask, of course, because Miho's ''very'' tall, and even on her tippiest of toes Yua's just not tall enough without one of those handy ''boxes.''

Design her height disadvantage, though, she's smiling brightly. Giving Miho a warm welcome makes her happy, too...!

"Yo, Mimama!" Tyrrha salutes her, slower out of the kitchen. "I'm learnin' ''quiche!''"

"Tykko is my champion kneader!" Yua giggles, smiling warmly. "Come, come! Come and see...!"

And so, Miho learns that Tyrrha went a little heavy on the eggs... but the quiches ''are'' pretty good. It seems as though Yua's had some success teaching their most ferocious daughter, while Miho was out working... it's all very traditional!

Once the family time of ''quiche'' is over, Yua and Miho head up to the koi pond to relax; luckily, their deck chairs are designed to be sturdy enough for two, because Miho ''knows'' Yua gravitates to her lap. Like now!

The koi pond stretches along the longer side of their upper deck; it begins with a tall pond filled with poisonous water-plants, before the water tumbles down an artificial waterfall into a long, deep pond with ''fish-safe'' plants growing in the water. Their koi are brilliant, orange and black and white; one, their dragon, is strikingly solid ''black,'' and another is gold as Miho's medals. On their other side is the ''pool,'' which explains why Yua's in her ''home'' bikini... just in case she feels like being a fish, too.

Right now, though, she has a coat draped over the top of it, because their ''pool'' might be expertly filtered and heated but the winter ''air'' is another thing entirely. (Though they do, obviously, have an ''outdoor heater'' for the deck.) Someone else might never think of swimming in this weather... but Yua knows the sea is for ''every'' season. In her case, it's not just discipline... it's passion!

It helps that when her own waterfall of hair is loose it keeps her warm, too.

"The fish are so pretty," Yua sighs, supported by the arm of the chair and ''Miho's'' arm, all stretched out on the deck chair as she tilts on her side to admire the fish. "Look at Gold-chan, nibbling at that leaf... she's so majestic." Of course Yua has decided the fish are girls. Tiger is a boy, and Welwetes is a boy... so the fish are girls!

"... mm... thank you for handling it," it's a new topic, as Yua looks from the fish to her wife, with gratitude. "Secret work's getting harder, lately... ahh, even getting into my armour..." She was issued new body armour with a curve to the belly, but that belly is ''bigger'' than it once was, too. "... it'll just be a few more months, but it feels like I can't do much at all... if Mimi wasn't here, I'd really be in trouble. You're always saving your Yua-mama..." ... hey, -mama isn't an honourific, Yua!!

(At least she isn't Yua-channing herself, which is a thing she does sometimes. Apparently being mama is even cuter, according to Yua.)

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"It's all right," Miho had said soothingly, sitting with Yua as long as it took. But when she calmed down--

("Remi would have supported your decision. You know that's true.")

Indeed, though. Miho handled this mission herself--that was what she intended, and she was able to fight all the harder knowing she had kept Yua safe today. Miho returns, then, and...

She is ''bone'' tired, but victorious. "Kiss," Miho agrees, and kisses Yua as she returns. She smiles, too. It's the best thing, to come home and see Yua... and Tyrrha, too. She has grown awfully attached.

Quiche is a fine food--light for her moment. "You're doing well," Miho had told Tyrrha then. "I see, I see..."

The koi pond. Miho is likewise in a swimsuit, albeit a more athletic-designed one than a bikini, because that's the sort of swimsuit she prefers. She might get in the pool later herself; it would be a very good way to soothe her muscles.

For now though, she watches the pond...

"They are," Miho agrees, stroking Yua's arm. "She is. I'm pleased."

But... new topic. "You are welcome," Miho says. "It was not easy, but it may be the key to what we require."

"...Well, good thing I'm here, isn't it?" she asks. "I don't want to see you on any more of those missions until after, if I can help it."

"...Not that I want to lock you up and stop you doing ''anything''," she adds. "I know you can't just stay locked away..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Indeed, Remi supported Yua, back then -- just as Miho does, once she's escaped. Tyrrha, for her part, helped make sure Yua got ''back'' safe, and is ''very'' proud about how she did the ''right thing'' escorting her back instead of getting distracted fighting those weird guys or grabbing that one dude.

Just as she's proud now, as she speaks on quiche -- "Crackin' eggs is ''fun,'' but don't worry, I know not to go around crackin' ones I find outside. Yumama says they got babies in them, so we can't be doin' that... but market eggs are special!"

And, well, she might need to have the morality of it all explained to her, but Tyrrha is at least an apt ''student.'' Even if she doesn't intrinsically 'get' it... she ''does'' get listening to her mothers!

Yua can tell how tired Miho is, though; she can feel it in the tension of her muscles as she supports herself on Miho for that kiss, in the appreciation she has for their light dinner, in those slight delays in one's movement which come about when it's time to collapse back home after a long day. Well, Miho might be far too graceful to ''collapse''... but Yua can still tell!

And Yua loves the fish -- she's talked Miho's ear off about them for a while, in fact -- but once they're all nice and comfy, it's time for something a little more serious. ... even if she's still happy to feel Miho's hand, against her arm.

(Her muscles aren't nearly as strong or well-defined as Miho's, but that doesn't mean they're ''absent.'' She's not very strong -- indeed, much ''less'' strong than her weight class would normally suggest, thanks to the deleterious effects of those experiments -- but she is, at least, ''athletic.'' Even though she has to do less in the gym in the morning these days... though, as it happens, ''swimming'' is one of the safest ways she can keep fit!)

"Mm... I think... I think you're right," Yua says, deliberating over it for a moment. "Mouuu... I feel bad leaving you and Tykko and Recchi to do all the work, but... but I guess you'd say I'm doing other work, right?" Carrying a baby is ''itself'' work, by the cultural mores of Japan; it's not viewed as a passive process. "Something unexpected happened, yesterday, and... I ended up stuck in a fight on my own, and... and I was too scared to even fight back, because what if they hit me while I was attacking? Gretchen's really good at protecting me, but she has to open up when she's hurting people... but I really don't think I can even be hit once right now. I get so worried... mm, you do too, right, Mimi?"

Yua takes a breath, resting her head against Miho's shoulder as she looks up to her. "Not locked up," she agrees. "I don't want to be locked up any more. But can you take care of Tykko for a couple of months, on missions...? I don't want her to go out alone... even if she's a robot, she's still a baby!"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

It was the right thing.

"Heh," Miho actually expresses. "Good. They do--and those that are market eggs tht don't ''belong'' to you are also inappropriate to crack."

Pause. "...The ones with babies inside tend not to be good for eating, regardless."

Still--Yua is perceptive. These traits are true of Miho's tiredness, which is not ''quite'' exhaustion but is getting close. She won't collapse... but she is glad to be seated, not exerting herself for the moment.

The fish are lovely. Miho notes some of her favorites, too.

She likes Yua's muscles, as it happens.

"Indeed, you are doing hard work as well. Work that is for me and you and Hiroki, especially--I'd rather you put that energy to us than them, in any case." Pause. But unexpected...

"I think it's best to avoid that," Miho agrees. "I ''do'' worry."

She smiles, gently. "I can do that," she says. "I'll go with her. She'll consider it enlightening, I think."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Tyrrha is learning...!

And when it comes time for Yua to learn more about Miho's ''thoughts,'' she nods, considering where she's putting her energy. "It's hard for me to say no," she admits, "but you're right... mm... maybe they'd listen to you? Whether they like it or not, they have to respect you now..."

... they don't respect ''Yua,'' so much, but she's always been the object of the sentence in the Order's eyes.

"There was... that awful bird, and... she stole a friend of mine away," Yua shares, thinking back to yesterday. "It was... a different place, mm... like... like Mementos is a different place, you know? It definitely wasn't normal... I could see properly. But the Shadows in there were smart, Mimi... they were using tactics and stuff, not like the ones in the Dark Hour at all. They almost got through Gretchen's defenses when I cast a spell... so all I could do was huddle up, uu..."

She frowns. "Then... that bird, she... she didn't want me around because of my powers... she said she'd crack my baby!" ... so ''that's'' why Yua was so preoccupied with making sure Tyrrha wouldn't crack any eggs in the wild. "But it wasn't just what she said, it -- it felt so bad, Mimi. Like..." Yua pauses, for a moment. "... like... when they put the hood on me, and I couldn't see anything, or hear anything, or smell anything. It wasn't... exactly that, but... it was scary like that."

Yua shakes her head. "When I got out, Tykko said she'd been seeing strange men, too... those smart Shadows chased me outside, and I guess stuff had been happening while I was in there. Mm... I left her alone... I shouldn't have gone into a weird place like that," she glances aside, to the koi pond, troubled. "It was too reckless... wasn't it...? Maybe baby brain makes it harder to think out there, too... so... Tykko will be safer going with Mimi, anyway."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"It is," Miho remembers, "But I can make them listen on this much, I think." She is no longer as certain in her ability to just destroy all of them, for all the power she's attained--but still, she ''has'' attained some power.

"I see..." The bird. And a different place. "How strange," she remarks of the Shadows. She frowns, as Yua relates what happened with Gretchen.

"...It may be that that bird had some sort of power in that place," Miho reflects. "To harm you. Or at least, to scare you."

"You shouldn't have," Miho agrees, "But in your position I can't say I wouldn't have done the same. It is natural, honorable, to try to protect a friend. ...But you have to protect yourself and Hiroki, now."

Tyrrha will be safer..

"Maybe so. But I will tell you this: I cannot guarantee that I can save your friend, but I will investigate this place, and see what I can find. I will go with Remi-chan. Perhaps others."

"If nothing else, I want to be sure they cannot follow you any longer."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Mm... Mimi's strong. At least they're noticing that, by now..."

... destroying the entire Order means destroying ''Kandori,'' and not even Yua can feel certain Miho would win that fight, but she can't give up hope while Miho still thinks there's some left. Even if things seem hopeless to Yua... she can at least believe in Miho.

"I... think so," she says, of the mysterious Jerri. "She just looks like a bird, but she's worse than that, Mimi... she's a ''bad bird.''"

Yua's head sinks against Miho's shoulder, as her fingers play across her opposite arm. "Mm... I didn't think things through. I just... I heard her crying for help, and... and I think it's my fault that bird caught her, and... I felt so bad, Mimi. I know I can get in trouble if I use those powers for myself, but... but I'm the only one who saw her go... and that's just because I was trapping everyone in the studio."

Yua felt responsible, huh? ... the situation is probably more complicated than it just being her fault, though.

She nods, against Miho. "Ishigami-san will be happy if you can find out what that was, I think... she thought it was really interesting, when I told her what happened. She thought it probably wasn't safe for Yua-chan to go back, though... but if it's Mimi, maybe it'd be okay!"

Yua's hand rubs at Miho's arm, as she looks up to her. "Hey, Mimi... about that kinda thing... how was it today? You seem tired... was it really hard? Or... did something happen?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

No, but Miho wonders ''why'' Kandori works with the Order. If she can figure that out, then maybe...

"Mm. A very bad bird," Miho says seriously.

Miho strokes Yua's shoulder. "That makes sense," Miho says. "As I said... it's not a bad impulse, to want to help your friend--especially if you were part of what happened, though of course... I'm not ''certain'' that's true." Yua might be feeling responsible for something that isn't her fault. Still--

Chizuru is interested. "Hm. Well, that's another reason to go. It benefits us, and also our patron in this wretched Order."

But about that kind of thing...

"Mostly it was tiring," Miho says. "I fought a great many people, and it was difficult to do. I had to draw on reserves that I do not always use..." 'Theurgy', it is called by Persona-users.

"...But it is not ''only'' that," she admits. "My target was a mother. ...A mother who had called the Joker Curse down upon her own child."

"So you can imagine there were complex feelings all around."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"I think it is," Yua says, softly, on her bad influence being truth.

Still, she doesn't protest it more than that; and she nods, when Miho identifies another reason to investigate, against Miho's shoulder. She listens, looking up to her, as she relates ''her'' mission...

"Mimi... you had to go all out, huh...?" Yua reaches up, to cup her cheek. "Mm, I guess you have to fight harder when I'm not there to support you... I'm really grateful, Mimi. And against a difficult target like that, too..."

She tilts her head, thumb tracing Miho's jawline. "Moouuu, Mimi... are you okay...? If I'd met a woman who tried to kill her own child... I would have been so ''mad.'' I bet you had a lot of big feelings, too... right?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Miho gives Yua a squeeze at that protest. Whether or not it is true, she is here; Yua is with Miho. and Miho is with Yua.

"I did," Miho says. "...But I'm glad to do it, knowing that you stay safe. I will fight for you, Yua. Even against difficult targets."

Miho turns her face towrds Yua at the contact. "I am," she says.

"...I did have big feelings, as you say. But those feelings made me stronger today, not weaker. I am certain of what I must do."

"...There are things in this world that are good, but there are many things that are evil. Whether in this world, through the Jokers and Takahisa Kandori, or in the True World, I ''will'' find a way to save you, Yua."

"...It's strange. I remember so many of them, from my dreams. But they have no idea."

"They fight for their 'truth' and for their 'beauty'," she says. "...But I fight for mine."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"You've always protected me," Yua smiles, to Miho. "I know I can count on you, Mimi."

And there, her big feelings... Yua listens to them, and to the spaces between them, too. "It's hard to fight everyone all on your own... isn't it?" She wonders, her head tilting with her sympathy. "Mimi's really strong, being able to hear everyone argue and still knowing what to do... when Mimi says Yua-chan won't die, I really think I'll be okay."

She pauses, for a moment. "Mm, like... was Nobumizu there? She usually is, when something is wrong... I remember you telling me about her, in your dreams. Like... how she was fighting us, and stuff. It must be so weird to remember everyone, when they don't remember you..."

Yua smiles, then. "I'm beautiful for you, Mimi!" She declares, and, indeed, she's in the swimsuit that's just for ''Miho,'' right now. "I can't say what's true for Mimi, just what I see," which echoes the way she anchors her in reality, when Miho's truth isn't quite so clear, "but if I can make Mimi's life more beautiful... I'm happy about that."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Good," Miho answers Yua, and smiles back. "That's what I want. For you to rely on me."

"It can be," Miho says. "...One must have iron certainty, in order to avoid being swayed by the passionate arguments of those who would oppose our aims. Indeed, in many things they are right--but they do not realize that I care only for one 'truth', when all is brought to bear. ...The truth that I love you."

She nods then. "Thank you. Please trust me a little longer."

"She was," Miho confirms. "I can respect her opposition; she believes in what she sees, and she wants to keep her own world safe. Nevertheless, we fight."

"...It's a bit strange," she admits.

But she smiles. "...You are." Just what she sees, "..You do. You very much do."

"Always."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Mimi's the most reliable," Yua insists. "Mm, mm! When you look it up in the dictionary, there's a picture of your face!"

(EDITOR'S NOTE: this is actually true. Yua stuck a passport photo of Miho next to the entry for 'reliable' in their home dictionary. This is only one of several little additions and annotation she has made to the text. ... most of which celebrate Miho in some way.)

Her expression softens more, as Miho reveals her truth. It's not like it was a ''secret'' to her, or anything... but that doesn't mean she ever gets tired of ''hearing'' it. "I like that truth," she says, softly. "It makes me feel warm inside, but not like how I'm always cooking. Nn, like... like how it used to feel when it was Spring, and the sun wasn't too punishing yet, so if you sat in a sunbeam in the morning you felt like you were getting all charged up... even when everything was super bad the worst horrible, knowing you loved me helped me get through those days. I love you, too, Mimi... I'll keep believing in you," she promises, "no matter what."

Even though everyone's standing against them...

"In this world, I'm dying," Yua says, her eye closing, for a moment. "... and I really don't want to die, Mimi. When I think about dying... when I think about leaving you... my heart hurts. I can't do it... I can't let everyone move forward when I can't come, too! But... maybe there's a way to save me in this world...? If it was like that, maybe I could learn to live in this place..."

Miho was right, to say Yua wouldn't sacrifice herself for the world.

After all, even if all the world rejoiced... Miho would be crying!

And Yua wouldn't be anything... because she'd be dead. No more Yua, ever. No more seeing Miho's face, ever. Maybe it's all like it is under the hood -- seeing nothing, hearing nothing, smelling nothing...

There's nothing more terrifying than nothing.

But so long as she's alive, she can still touch Miho's face. She can see see Miho's expression, as she smiles to see hers. So long as she's alive --

"That makes me really happy!" She chirps, sparkly, hearing her declare it's ''always'' so. "And I love seeing how you look at me when I'm making life lovelier for you, too!"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"...Hmmmm." Miho knows about the dictionary.

But, "I'm glad. ..Yes. The spring... I remember how it felt, when we were together, back then. ...I remember. And I'm glad, that you could get through that way. ...Thank you."

Yes, everyone stands against them. "I do not know how to bring about the True World. I do not know yet how to save you. ...but i feel the same. I cannot lose you. So if I find it in this world, I will preserve this world. If I find a way to the True World, where you can live already... then that, too, I will take."

Knowing what it could cost.

"I will not ask you to sacrifice yourself for a world. ...Never."

Despite having been tired, Miho feels stronger, now. ...She knows Yua worries; she has some of the same concerns. Perhaps it is true that they would meet again, in another place, or another life.

But in ''this'' life, Miho has Yua. Why should she settle for some far-off maybe?

"I love looking at you, when you see it," Miho says. "...And you are beautiful. I feel I could sit and rest and live just on beauty, with you... Like a plant in that sunbeam."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"I was so hopeful, back then... mm... I guess I'm gloomier now, huh? But... maybe that just means I need to lean on Mimi's hope, instead. A strong hope... a strong and steady hope," she repeats, with a little more nuance, as she strokes Miho's cheek. "Thank ''you,'' Mimi... I'd really be lost without you."

Even if they don't know how to call the True World back to them... at least, in this, they're lost ''together.'' "I know Mimi won't ever give up," Yua says. "Never ever ever ever ''ever!''"

Be thankful that Yua did not add ten more 'evers' to that statement. ''She'd do it.''

Miho in the next life has Yua in the next life -- but Yua ''now'' has Miho ''now,'' and she's not about to ''lose'' her.

Her cheeks flush, with that same beauty, hearing Miho elucidate ''her'' feelings; it's all the more meaningful, from Miho, who is usually so guarded. "Oh, Mimi," she sighs, lovingly, and her hand drops from her cheek to support her at her shoulder instead -- so that she can lift her head from where she'd laid.

"Kiss...?"

It's somewhat of a different invitation to welcoming her home, but the warmth behind it is the same.
</poem>

2026-09-03: A Kingdom Risen in the Dark

2026-09-04T22:07:28Z

L: Created page with "*'''Log: ''' A Kingdom Risen in the Dark *'''Cast:''' Yua Ijuuin, Hana Fukami, Jerri, Tyrrha Ijuuin *'''Where:''' Tokyo TV, Shinjuku *'''OOC Date:''' 2026-09-03 *'''IC Date:''' Fri, Jan 04 2013 *'''Summary''': ''The Bride and Scion are on a retrieval mission which drives the former to use her Mark, in order to create a Supernatural Space which she can thus entrap. But Hana was in the womens' room she was hiding in... and she knows what she's doing is wron..."

*'''Log: ''' A Kingdom Risen in the Dark
*'''Cast:''' [[Yua Ijuuin]], [[Hana Fukami]], [[Jerri]], [[Tyrrha Ijuuin]]
*'''Where:''' Tokyo TV, Shinjuku
*'''OOC Date:''' 2026-09-03
*'''IC Date:''' Fri, Jan 04 2013
*'''Summary''': ''The Bride and Scion are on a retrieval mission which drives the former to use her Mark, in order to create a Supernatural Space which she can thus entrap. But Hana was in the womens' room she was hiding in... and she knows what she's doing is wrong, and not something Yua wants to do, either. Before she can decide to do something about it, Jerri appears to whisk her away -- and Yua tries to follow, only to find herself unable to stand against the Sovereign's forces and Jerri's dire threats alone. She flees... but the Sovereign's forces follow her.''
*'''Content warning:''' Misgendering/transphobia, threats/violence against pregnant women

----

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

OST: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6IxMKZAq0g The Birthday Massacre - Faces

Sometimes, you need a scalpel.

That's why they've sent Yua, today, to retrieve a person of interest.

Or, rather...

The Bride who steps into a bathroom stall might have been dressed up for any number of stage sets, running here at Tokyo TV. In many ways, it's a track repeating: she's attacked Sumaru TV in just this way, before.

All the horrors pour in, with a clatter and a cry, but the injection stops them from sweeping her away.

It can't stop her from coughing red-flecks, splattering onto the stall door, as she forces herself standing.

As the cheerful morning light fades to something dark and mired, the familiar halls becoming strange, foreign, and frightening in their rust and disuse.

"Seven by two third degrees," the Bride croaks, as she stumbles to the line of sinks. "Down the hall, he lies sinister..."

A light pause.

"Yes," she says, as if to herself. "The left, what is left, the Devil's sign is come."

She opens the faucet; what pours out is black as sin, and she washes her mouth with it, anyway.

"Make haste," she hisses, her voice strained.

But here, in the women's...

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

A scalpel, for a delicate operation. But there is always the potential for complications; always, there is the chance for something unexpected to happen during the operation, be it a surgical one or one like this.

In this case, the problem is someone who was already here in the women's; she doesn't notice at first that anything is wrong, because why would the sounds of someone in costume grab Hana Fukami's attention today?

It is a frightening place all of a sudden, but Hana emerges from what is now a hiding-place, turning to look around. "What...?"

There, a Bride, speaking of the Devil's sign. So many things in Hana shout that she should leave immediately--but where would she go?

So many things should that she should do something. ...Do something about the obvious source of the problem. If she holds the power to act, is horror truly horror?

and yet...

The black water.

And--

"Yuarin," Hana says, firmly.

She is standing across, in the mirror now, her jaw set.

...No. The Bride is not the source.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Black -- blackened -- dark to dreaming --" The Bride at the sink says, without looking up. "Black -- blackout. Just... a blackout."

If it's just a blackout, why does it feel like it took her real effort to say something as normal as that? Why does her breath rasp past her lips, chin red with her own blood as black water runs trails through te flecks?

Then -- she hears her name -- looks up, into the mirror.

Her eyes are hidden by a half-dozen veils and fascinators, equal parts wedding and mourning; her ruby-red lips, though, can be seen behind but one, as she shakes her head. "Why?" She wonders, then.

At length, she turns. Her hands tremble, beneath her gloves; her body armour has been adapted to fit her ''belly.''

"Go back to sleep," she urges her, desperately.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

It is not just a blackout. Yua's chin is red with blood. ...There is black water. And there--

Hana stands resolute. "I don't know," she says. "...And I don't know what it is that you're doing."

'Go back to sleep'.

"...Are you after someone in the studio?" she wonders. "One of my co-workers?"

"A guest who happens to be here today?"

"...I told you before... That I'm not the type... to do something."

Hana steps forward, her heels clicking on the strange-made floor, until she reaches Yua, turns towards her and not just her reflection.

"And maybe there's nothing I can do, but..."

She stiffens. "They're making you do this, aren't they!? Whatever it is you're doing--"

"They're making you! And that's wrong!"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"You can't know that," the Bride -- Yua -- hisses, as she grasps the sink. "Don't ''ask'' that. The poison seeps in on the reading, and for the ignorant, bliss! Just step aside. You will ''forget,'' all well..."

She wears boots, in this costume, all the better to walk over...

"You must do nothing," she insists, again. "Or I -- I --" her voice cracks, with the weight of it.

They're making her...

The Bride slips a hand beneath her veils, eyes closing, as she lifts them up to rest on her crown. As it becomes clear that her eyepatch is opened --

-- as the fingers of an awful black hand can be seen, as if crawling out from inside her skull --

-- as her eyes open;

<code>(·) (:·)</code>

Her right side is garnet-sighted, as it ever was. On the left, three pitch-black pupils are drowned by sick golden light, the pulsing signifier of Yua's active Mark.

"I am broken," she says, again.

"I cannot be fixed."

She reaches behind herself, to that bench -- to grasp a ''gun,'' a heavy revolver, which she lifts to press against that horrific eye she's kept hidden all this time.

"Do not follow me, Koto...dama...ba."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

Don't ask. "...That's not what's important to me right now anyway," Hana admits. Kindness, protection... They aren't what call to her in this moment. They aren't the embers that threaten to burst into flames.

She must... do nothing. Or else--Yua will be forced to deal with 'her', too.

Until that eye--

Hana's eyes widen. It is horrific; it is disturbing; it is--"What did they ''do'' to you?" she whispers.

Yua says she is broken, and Hana can certainly feel it. It's only a certain protection that allows her to resist, a certain flame starting to burn.

"Don't follow," Hana says. "...Don't care. Don't change. Don't do anything but what you're supposed to do. Just accept that this is how the world is, and don't try to rock the boat."

"...For what? For another safe day!?"

She's starting to say something else--to say what she'll ''do''. But--

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Jerri Bar has posed.
<poem>

The Bride's words are stolen from her mouth. To wit:

"Follow ''you?'' Oh, no, no, no." A woman's voice cuts in, between the two of them. Look up -- and there's a pink ''cockatoo,'' perched on the stall door. "The situation is very much reversed, pretty doll! ''You'' won't be following ''her.''"

"What--?!" The Bride barks, her gaze jerking up, that -- gun? -- lowering from her eye.

"Don't expect me to hand it to you," Jerri sniffs, haughtily, through her beak, which somehow she manages to talk down at Yua from regardless. "You've made a ''horrible'' mess of the place. But as for ''you,'' my dear!" Her feathers fluff, as she hops on the stall, turning to Hana. "Hold that pose -- right there! That very notion! It's perfect!"

Her wings flap, as she declares: "Come, now! We'll be going...!"

As Jerri takes to wing, it's Hana she's overshadowing --

-- and the depths of Hana's entrapment are a thing Yua can sense only the edges of, even close as she is.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

A... pink cockatoo? The fury Hana was beginning to feel is interrupted by plain confusion. "What?" she asks, in tune with the Bride.

But the bird turns to ''her'', and Hana blinks. "You're--"

It's gone. It's gone, and Hana finds herself in a locked office. It's a corner office, at least. With brown and off-white for walls, it's the office of one of the studio facilities outside the main building, with a door that leads Out guarded by people within.

Hana is back at a desk, dressed as she was before, with accounting work in front of her. There's a closet and a mirror, of all things, right here.

She finds herself there, and forgets the injustices that led up to this final injustice; the way she didn't press charges against her attacker. The way she was fired for being attacked. ...The way pregnant Yua is forced into terrible things that make her cry. More than that, a thousand small things that all added up--

instead, she looks dully at the paper before her. "...?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Kotoba?! Kotoba--!"

The Bride is a force unto herself, when it comes to Navigation; not for nothing is she the New World Order's precious jewel. She fires on herself, but rather than a bullet, it's red glass which shatters behind her. "''Gretchen!''"

Within Hana's office, a page comes through on the phone: "Everything's just fine, dear," and Jerri's voice is ''familiar,'' and more than that... it's so ''normal.'' "Can you get those reports to your boss by the end of the day? Thanks, sweetie!"

Everything's fine in the office, but...

Out here, in the dark and gloom the Bride has brought to the real world...

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

Of course, it's really ''Teruo's'' office. Someone will be along to tell her what's wht soon enough. But for now, it's best to get her working quickly, not thinking about all of this. It's a prison, but there are no obvious bars.

"Oh, of course," Hana answers. "I won't let you down." She sounds... depressed, if anything.

However... outside that...

Out in the gloom--

"Help!" a feminine voice comes. It's Hana's. "Help me!"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

The Bride sifts through three dozen beating hearts, gripped with fear and uncertainty, searching --

'Help me!'

-- and it is not until she hears the call that she finds the way. She hesitates, for a moment, looking to the 'mess'... and closes her left eye. When it blinks open again, her white sclera between those three pupils is restored; the unsettling feeling she's brought to Tokyo TV begins to fade, though it lingers, clinging to the studio's bones in a manner aberrant to Power.

"Work quickly," she says, to someone far from her side. "I must go."

She steps forward, across, between, and she is so intent she does not even remember to close her eyepatch -- but luckily, her exposed Eye is not assaulted by the horrors of words she can't say. (Equally lucky, perhaps, is her forethought in dismissing her Mark before she gave chase.)

"Kotoba?" The Bride calls, as she grasps her Evoker tightly, stepping into a salarywoman's existence. "I'm here--!"

But it's the kind of ruckus which doesn't carry between the walls of an office building like this.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

It's lucky, all right. Well, mostly lucky.

Until a few salaryman-Cognition shadow-men look up and around the Bride, blinking as she appears in the building; the office is nearby, but it is locked, with a ''big'' Cognition Shadow-man in front of it, muscular and dressed in a nice suit.

"What are you doing dressed like that?" one of the little guys says, in shirtsleeves, suspenders, and short 'hair'. Another says, "Is there something in your eye?"

"Yes, yes, you're here, go get me some coffee."

"Should the secretary be out here doing nothing...?"

The suspicion level is rising.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

She called for help, but...

The Bride staggers, when she arrives in a place which reminds her so much of ferrying forgotten lunch into Katou Corp. She hears that little guy ask about her eye, and so flips her veils back over her face, scowling. "It's nothing," she says, suspiciously.

"Kotoba... where's Kotoba?" She presses, taking a shaky step forward, grasping onto the side of a water cooler. "I'm not a secretary, I'm -- I'm her friend! I didn't mean for this to happen! Kotoba...!"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

A manager Cognition puffs on his cigar as he comes out of another office. "Kotoba...?"

He frowns. "If you're not a secretary, what are you doing here? We've got work to do!"

Kotoba...

"Is that what the prisoner was calling himself?" another wonders. "Oh, I don't remember. Whatever."

The one iwth the cigar points it at the Bride.

"If you're not here as a worker, then you're here as a distraction!"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

... this is so much like Katou Corp, Yua thinks, as the Bride grows ashen beneath her veils.

A 'distraction'...

"Kotoba -- Hana Fukami," she insists, taking a step back. "You're saying she's a prisoner? Then -- then where did you take her! I'll--!!"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

It's ''very'' much like it, but even more rigid and old-fashioned.

And here, "Hana Fukami..." Another guy pipes up, "Did the prisoner have a wife?" he wonders.

"Nah, if he settled down properly he wouldn't have to be a prisoner!"

"Whoa, she seems agitated..."

"Security!"

Huge, heavily muscled 'men' in suits start to walk up, right towards the Bride.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"It's not like that!" The Bride snaps. "We're just friends! We're both cats, it's not suspicious! I'm allowed to have friends!" But her alarm over being misconstrued is, if anything, even ''more'' agitated --

''Security?!''

The Bride takes another step back, and lifts her Evoker, to her eye, firing on herself. "Gretchen! Save me!" She cries, as that massive woman in white encircles her arms around the Bride, trapping her in the bars.

But she's still perfectly visible, in there.

And the cage ''rattles,'' as security batters it.

"Stop it! Stop it!" The Bride cries, within those bars. "Gretchen--!"

Gretchen spreads her arms to summon diamonds down in a shower, onto one of those muscled men -- but the threat of three more diving onto her soon has her shrieking, clutching her Persona's dress-skirt, calling her back to focus on her defence. She could fight back... but one of them might be able to hit her, if she did, in those moments where her psyche focuses on hurting ''them'' instead of stopping them from hurting ''her.''

"I'm scared!" She yelps, despite herself. "Just -- just let me see her!"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

Security arrives, and people are no longer answering the Bride's questions.

Gretchen appears, a powerful Persona, and security batters againsst hr bars at first unworkably. But soon...

"Form up!" whistles a third Security member. "If we can't get through the cage with normal attacks, we'll batter it down as one!"

That's right: not only are these Cognitions big and muscular... but they can use tactics far beyond Shadows in general.

The one that was diamonded narrows his eyes. "I got her," he says.

"Women should just go HOME!"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Jerri Bar has posed.
<poem>

Women should just go home, those vengeful Shadows declare, and the Bride hides her face against her Persona. "No!" She cries --

Only to hear --

"I ''warned'' you, didn't I? Oh, no, don't listen to Jerri, she's just talking to waste her breath! That's ''you,'' that's how ''dumb'' you sound." The droll tone of that pink cockatoo cuts in between security's blows, as the bird alights on a fake fern brightening the just-as-droll hallway.

"Oh, don't give me that snivelling look," Jerri goes on, seeing the Bride look to her. "I can tell you're pathetic, even under that ridiculous disguise. You must think you're ''so'' clever playing pretend with those powers of yours! I'll tell you what, girlie: I see through ''you'' perfectly well. This isn't a play-pen for your little Order, how about you get that through that thick little head of yours? There's no help ''coming'' for you. And ''you'' can't very well fight without it, can you?" Jerri laughs, acidic, as she fluffs her feathers up cozily. "Oh, I'm sure you're a ''magnificent'' doll, but let's not kid ourselves... all alone, you're about to die!"

"No!" The Bride's voice cracks, as she trembles, against Gretchen. "I... I'm strong! I --"

"Oh, what can you ''do,'' stupid girl?" Jerri sighs, exasperated. "You can't keep up this aegis and attack in the same breath, clearly. Or are you enough of an idiot to get hit when you're carrying that egg around? Ha ha, unless... do you not ''care?''"

"That's not true!" The Bride cries.

"The next time you come here with those pesky powers of yours," Jerri promises her, "I'll make sure you ''crack.''"

"No! I don't want to! I -- Gretchen! Gretchen, let's ''go!''" In a flash of light, they disappear, as Gretchen takes Yua to the outskirts of the Kingdom -- and the Bride rushes through the door, panting. She will not give that Devil-bird a chance to fulfil her promise; friend or no, she can't go back there again.

"-- hey! Mama! Where you at?! Mama!"

Only to realise Scion's calling for her, in the lingering gloom.

"Ah... T -- Scion," the Bride's breath shudders, as she grasps onto her, tightly. "The target...?"

"Who cares! You disappeared, mama! Where'd you go?!" Tyrrha asks, clearly disturbed.

The Bride straightens, looking behind her. "There was... a door...?"

"Nothin's there, mama," Scion says, and the Bride is forced to agree, as her eyes trace the space around them only to find nothing at all. "But these weird guys started showin' up..."

"Strange... men?" The Bride asks, numbly, as she turns --

-- and a muscular Legionnaire busts into the women's room. "We heard there were ''men'' using this room," he growls. "You wouldn't know anything about ''that,'' would you?"

"But -- you followed me?!" The Bride yelps, her eyes widening, as she grasps Scion tightly. "Gretchen--!"

Through Mementos, and to other places, they go.

... and what they leave behind is a blackout which only veils the Legionnaires who pour forth.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

Back in the office...

A secretary comes through the door, in a red skirtsuit. She's a little Cognition like all the others, with a 'hairdo' that serves as most of hr head. She places some papers on the desk Hana is using. "Ah, sir..." Her cute little voice is hesitant.

"Yes?" Hana asks.

"Ah, what you're wearing..." She looks at Hana's pink dress.

"...Oh," Hana says. "No good...?"

"If you want to go on the comedy shows it's fine!" the Cognition says. "But since you're here to work..."

Pause. The Secretary continues, "Well, the closet right there has suitable changes for you, sir. It's fine; I won't tell anyone it was an issue."

"...Ah." Hana--Teruo--looks down. "I see..."

But she doesn't remember why she was so sure of herself, when she picked out this outfit.

She doesn't remember why it was so important.

And she doesn't know her 'self' is still calling for help out there at the studio in the 'real' world...
</poem>

2026-09-02: Bein' Bian

2026-09-04T10:08:08Z

L: Created page with "*'''Log: ''' Bein' Bian *'''Cast:''' Yua Ijuuin, Miho Ijuuin, Tyrrha Ijuuin *'''Where:''' Aoba - Penthouse *'''OOC Date:''' 2026-09-02 *'''IC Date:''' Thu Jan 03 2013 *'''Summary''': ''Yua comes home to find Tyrrha unsuccessfully (successfully????) learning how to care for bonsai, to Miho's harried fondness. Once that's settled, she's able to tell Miho about maybe-sorta-kinda outing them both to Shinobu, a woman Miho respects... and to get a little more hones..."

*'''Log: ''' Bein' Bian
*'''Cast:''' [[Yua Ijuuin]], [[Miho Ijuuin]], [[Tyrrha Ijuuin]]
*'''Where:''' Aoba - Penthouse
*'''OOC Date:''' 2026-09-02
*'''IC Date:''' Thu Jan 03 2013
*'''Summary''': ''Yua comes home to find Tyrrha unsuccessfully (successfully????) learning how to care for bonsai, to Miho's harried fondness. Once that's settled, she's able to tell Miho about maybe-sorta-kinda outing them both to Shinobu, a woman Miho respects... and to get a little more honest than she normally can about the strain Kimitake and Natari place on her, through the magic of hypotheticals.''

----

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"I got it!" Tyrrha declares, as she examines the ''komono'' bonsai tree in front of her. It's all of eight inches tall... and perhaps it ''ought'' to quiver, as she holds up her shears. "So if I go like this --"

SNIP--!!

"-- I'm ''master of all bonsai!'' Hahaha!" Tyrrha laughs, merrily, as one of the tiny tree's boughs falls to the table, with ''zero'' appreciation for how long it took the poor thing to grow that. Welwetes chomps on the fallen bough, as if it were a stick he was fetching, wagging his tail. (What we didn't see was the 'please explain' call Miho had to field, wherein she defended her right to not be surveiled in her own home and her capacity to transmit its combat data during operations by her ''own'' power.)

Miho has been trying to teach Tyrrha this patient art for some time.

It's against that backdrop of ''patience'' that Yua's voice rings out, "I'm home~!", causing Tyrrha to leap from the table and go pester her as Eiko (now back from her vacation!) takes her coat and helps her get her shoes off.

"Hey, Yumama! Check it out! I've been doin' ''bonsai!'' Mimama's teachin' me, right?!" She asks, tugging Yua back to the dining room to examine the trees on the table with a big, terrible grin.

"Ah... T-Tykko..." Yua stares, for a moment, at the merciless hack job, before she puts her smile back on to give Tyrrha a hug. "... you're really learning a lot!"

(HER PLANTS--!!)

A short explanation and a homework assignment later, Tyrrha and Welwetes have retreated back to her room to study a book on bonsai care, while Yua sits herself down, plonk, ''right'' on Miho's lap on the lounge.

"She's really giving it her all, huh...?" Yua wonders, looking towards the hall which leads down into their personal rooms. "Haa, branches grow back..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Indeed, perhaps it should have worried...

Welwetes at least is chomping. He's acceptable again, now that they've done away with his original purpose.

But patience... "Tyrrha-chan," Miho starts, a drop of sweat metaphorically falling from her brow, "The object is not to achieve victory--"

Yua is home. And Eiko is back! Tyrrha may be grinning, but Miho's expression is slightly harried instead--until she smiles despite that at seeing Yua and Tyrrha together.

"It is a work in progress," she says.

Explanations happen. Books happen. And Yua--

"She is," Miho says. "She must learn much more. ...But they do, they do."

"It is good that she has the chance to try."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Tyrrha is truly mighty, that she can shake even the stoic ''Miho.''

Being a mom sure is tough... luckily, Miho has a very logical solution to Tyrrha's misunderstandings!

(There are strengths to both Yua and Miho's approaches to Tyrrha, but Yua certainly is learning steadiness in the face of her daughter's learning processes from her ''seishitsu.'')

Luckily, Eiko can handle cleaning up the bonsai mutilation ("Thankyu~!", all a-sparkled), so Yua can focus on the more important things --

-- like leaning back against Miho, smiling up to her. "I think Tykko likes learning new things with Mimama most of all!" She says, smiling. "She really lights up...! Though do you know how she described a book to me the other day? That the author 'trapped all those lives in there'! I wonder if that's why she doesn't mind going off to read...?"

Yua shakes her head, still smiling warmly. "Mimiiii," she coos, "can you hold Hiroki?" It's her usual invitation, to ''let'' Miho feel her belly. "He's so rowdy..." At twenty-seven weeks, he ''has'' begun kicking a lot more than he used to.

"Ahh, but somehow, we got home...! Don't worry, Seiji-san took care of us!" Yua adds, leaning back against her wife. "It was fun... we got to watch a musical! You know, one of those low-tech ones? I like that kind, too..." Because of course she ''also'' likes the fancy operas and traditional theatres ''Miho'' tends to take her out to see.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Tyrrha... is very special. To Miho.

Miho holds Yua, at first. She smiles back, though it's a small expression. "Do you think so?" she wonders. "it is... fun, to teach her. Even if sometimes the lesson requires an extra try or two." Pause. Trapped those lives... "Hmm. Well, if it makes her enjoy reading, then it is good. It is right, in its way; there is much in a book that can only escape when it is read..."

Miho takes the invitation, and holds onto Yua's belly, feeling. Rowdy...

Miho smiles a little wider this time.

"Good," Miho says. "..Hmm, yes?" she asks. "That's good. Yes, I understand.. There's many ways to enjoy the arts..."

Miho goes for the traditional ones usually, but she is aware that there are other efforts.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

She's the daughter they chose, and that matters.

Miho's smile, too, matters to Yua; small as it is, Yua knows the depths behind it. "Hee hee... Mimi's shining, too!" She giggles, merrily. "Mm, mm, don't you think? Authors capture a snapshot of a moment in time...! Even if that time is imaginary sometimes..."

Indeed, Miho will feel it, as she holds her wife and son: he's quite active, in his cavern, trying out his muscles before he's ever expected to use them. Even before he's born, ''he's'' learning, too.

"Mm, mm," Yua nods, reaching back to rub at Miho's strong arm. "And I was talking to Nobumizu after, too... well, I admitted being a mom was kind of tough, and she ended up telling me how she didn't really want to find a man and settle down. You know... I got the idea that maybe it was because of 'that', and one thing led to another, and... umm, I kind of told her how it was a bad idea to marry a man if she didn't want to? And... I maybe said how I knew why she shouldn't rock the boat?"

Yua glances aside, as she adds: "Well, I say it was me, but I didn't really say it was me, I was talking about someone who had done that to cover up, but I was really just talking about me, and I remember Sister saying how when they say there's a hypothetical person that the hypothetical person is usually just them."

That is neither the first nor the last autistic misunderstanding Ritsuko has had to clear up, knowing Yua.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Miho is shining, is she? Miho nods shallowly to Yua, accepting this. As to the authors, well, "Yes, I do. ...A little picture, some instants in time..." She quiets, though, feeling those kicks from her hand. Miho smiles.

But Shinobu... Hmmm. "I see..."

"Many women don't," Miho says of not wanting to settle down--it doesn't necessarily mean anything more than a preference. Nonetheless...

There is more than that.

"I see," Miho says. "...She's a discreet woman," she says. "So I don't think that's a problem."

"...Because Sister is right; 'hypothetical' someones usually aren't very hypothetical."

"Mm... I'm sorry it's been difficult," she says, of marrying a man. "But that's true. For people who aren't in a family like ours, too."

Maybe if not for that... No, that's not a fair thought to have.

"What did she say to that?" Miho wonders.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"If we write this down," Yua asks, softly, "can we keep it forever?"

It's in moments like these... she's really happy.

Still -- many women don't want to settle down. "But they can't say it like that," Yua points out, thoughtfully. "Not unless they want to be called parasites..." Parasite singles are what one calls the single women who keep on living with their parents -- and quite derisively, in a society where motherhood is seen as a woman's only end.

"Mm... I hope so," Yua sighs. "I said how you were supporting me, and... I don't think that's a very well-hidden conclusion. Even if I didn't say it was you, you know...?" Because Ritsuko is wise to the demands of neurotypical socialisation, after all.

"It's -- it's okay," though Yua's voice trips on her words, a little, as she lies, "Kimi-san isn't bad or anything! Just... it's a lie," more plainly than she can express, "and it's hard to pretend... so. So I thought... if she was feeling pressure... I wanted her to know what it was like?"

Yua bites at the inside of her cheek, thoughtfully, as she looks up to Miho. "Well, I tried to laugh it off, but she said she wouldn't use the word funny... she said she thought it was sad that woman had to jump through hoops and put on acts just to have a family and be with the person she loves. And she said it wasn't the life she wanted to live, even if it'd make things easier for her, but she wasn't going to blame anyone who ended up like that. She didn't want to look down on the hypothetical woman who was me, since she knew stuff got complicated, and... and she was hoping someone would support her, and she couldn't blame her for wanting a family, and... and then we started talking about music, and that was nice!"

Yua definitely infodumped about her boombox at the drop of a hat. That's just a factual statement about Yua.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Yes," Miho says, looking into Yua's eye. "Yes, I think we can."

But, "True," Miho says. "Even I'd face some censure for that..." And she's rich! "But still, for all that it's not accepted, it is still not uncommon. I think that should matter..."

But Yua hopes so. "No, it is obvious to those with eyes to see," Miho reflects. "...The people who don't see it largely don't want to."

Miho gets it.

But, "Still... even if he's fine, it's not an ideal situation," Miho says. "And I know that you hate lies."

"Hmm... I see. So she's kind as well as reliable. Or at least, sympathetic. I suspect she's another like us..."

'Us', she says, though Miho ''can'' get by with men. There is Tomoki. He represents a whole different world, in some respects...

But she gets lonely for Yua's world, eventually.

"Yes," she says. "it is sad. ...I can respect her. I've spoken with her, myself--not about that, but about when i was thinking of quitting that job..."

"She believes in acting sincerely. I respect that, too."

"...I don't look down on that hypothetical woman, either. I know how much she's sacrificed, for the ones she loves."

No, she doesn't. And isn't that all the worse?

"Music though... Music is nice."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Miimimi," Yua sighs, lovingly.

She looks sadder, though, when she thinks of the women out there. "I guess society isn't very nice even if you are normal," she says, a touch melancholy, and she can't help but live in a society ''herself'' as she says it. "All the girls at flower arranging club and the baking circle and everything, they're always talking about how they never see their husbands... Kaon-chan even stopped coming after her husband ended up ''karoshi''... mouuu, I hope she and her girls are okay..."

(''Karoshi,'' death from overwork, is what many Japanese wives view as the inevitable end of society's pressures: heart attack, suicide, stroke... all things which the men working are reluctant to face directly themselves.)

"Mimi said you'd save me!" Yua says, of them ''seeing;'' during the first Olympics, she must mean. "You told everyone! And since you told everyone, I could hear it, too... I bet they didn't mean for me to hear it, but they couldn't take back being nice after they let me watch."

She nods, though, as Miho notes how she hates lies. "More than anything," she says, and looks sad to say it, perhaps for obvious reasons.

Well, for the obvious reasons, too.

"I think she is kind," Yua speaks up for Shinobu, then. "And I think... she is like us, mm." Miho is like her, even if she also likes men! Why ''wouldn't'' Miho and Yua be an 'us'? That's just science.

"Nobumizu helped? That's great, Mimi!" Yua chirps, hearing how Shinobu helped Miho, too. "I was worried Mimi would end up ''karoshi'' too... that job was too much! I'm much happier now Mimi's in charge of Mimi!" Yua turns her cheek, to nuzzle against Miho, affectionately. "Mm, mm, Nobumizu's good. She'll definitely fight us when we're working at the other stuff, but that's okay. She's a good person, Mimi."

But Miho speaks about the hypothetical woman who is Yua, and Yua looks down, at Miho's hands, before she reaches around to trail her fingers over them and invite Miho to grasp ''her,'' too. "... sometimes she has to do bad things," Yua says, quietly. "Things which make her really sad... which make her soul sick, until Mimi has to say 'mabuya, mabuya'." The Ryukyuan invocation to keep her soul seated in her body, that is. "And a lot of the time... she can't even say what's going on... it's a bad secret inside her, and she's always scared that it will hurt her baby, since he's inside her too. And she's scared it'll hurt her daughter... and she's scared it'll hurt her ''seishitsu...'' it's a big hurt, it hurts everyone..."

Music is nice, but there's not much melody to Yua's hitching voice, as she struggles with the weight of it.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

'Normal'... Miho has never thought of herself that way. Her dreams, her training, her life--none of these things are normal. She doesn't imagine it. "I see..." To never see one's spouse--Miho knew the opposite side of that. Many of the men at her previous workplace rarely saw their wives. ...They would often find different company, instead. It disgusted her.

Is that different...?

"I hope so as well," Miho says of Kaon and her girls.

Miho did say that. She smiles back. "I did," she says. "I'm so glad you heard."

....But the reasons are obvious, aren't they?

"Yes," Miho agrees on Shinobu.

"She did." Pause. Karoshi... And Miho. Miho shakes her head. "I will not fall to such a thing," Miho assures Yua. "I'm happier too, though. And... yes, she is. She will. And that's for the best."

That hypohtetical woman... Yua's hands are taken in Miho's.

"I know," Miho says quietly. "...These hurts, they are awful. But so long as you live, I'm happy. ...Together, we can voercome them."

"It's better, together, than it would be apart."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Yua's next to normal, at best. ... she'd really rather not be dealing with a psychologist, though.

As for the long days Miho spent at work... well, there's a reason why she tried to help one of her coworkers get back to his family a little quicker.

... so long as Miho came home to her, she was happy, but it was hard when she had to work a lot of overtime.

But it's hard to reach out, too, which might be why she just nods and hums, "mm," in vague affirmation when Miho hopes Kaon's okay.

Still, Yua smiles, when she thinks of the hope Miho gave her. And when Miho insists that she won't fall to Karoshi, her smile widens a little more. "Mm, mm! Mimi's strong, but this is better!" Some things can be better, even if some things are worse. That's still good, even if Yua gets sad, sometimes.

"I want you to be happy," Yua says, her weight sinking into Miho as she's soothed by the feeling of her hands over hers, and the knowledge that Hiroki's growing strong for all they've done. "More than anything... so... I'll keep holding on, Mimi. Together... we're strong! We're the strongest, Mimi! So I'll be strong too, okay? I... I'll be strong too," she promises, a touch quieter.

"I never want to be apart from Mimi," she says, a moment later. "Never, never ever... when I think about leaving Mimi alone, my heart hurts, really deep inside it..."

She doesn't know what she's forgotten, but she knows she loves Miho.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Miho doesn't have much option there; without the medication things are... harder.

It is hard to reach out. Miho will stew on some of these questions more. But for now, instead, Miho smiles at Yua, because she's acknowledged her strength but also her wisdom--this ''is'' better. That company...

"That company was a problem," Miho settles on.

"Thank you," miho says first. "...I know. Just do your best, all right? And I'll support you as well as I can. ...We're strong ''together'', so don't feel you have to do it alone, all right?"

Then...

Miho's eyes cloud.

"I feel the same," she says quietly. "Just the same."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Yua learned a lot about how medications aren't always bad from Miho; it's entirely due to her wife that she's been able to take her anti-emetics and anti-hypertensives and vitamins and everything else she needs to take to get through her difficult pregnancy, given the associations ''Yua'' has with meds.

Miho is, indeed, deeply wise, and Yua leans on that wisdom as much as on her strength.

She has no lost love for Katou Corp -- and no ''lost'' love for Miho, but only because Miho ''found'' her already so all her love is ''found love'' now, blooming over her face like those plants Tyrrha still treats too roughly, smiling as Miho thanks her, urges her to try. "When Mimi encourages me so kindly... I can try real hard!" She declares, finding firmness for her words again. "And Mimi's holding us right now," she adds, entirely relaxed against her. "I feel so safe here..."

With Miho, whose heart aches, just like hers.

"I love you," Yua murmurs, and it's one half of a reflection which Miho fulfils.
</poem>

2026-09-01: Let's Say There's A Hypothetically Doomed Woman

2026-09-04T10:04:14Z

L: Created page with "*'''Log: ''' Let's Say There's A Hypothetically Doomed Woman *'''Cast:''' Yua Ijuuin, Shinobu Shimizu *'''Where:''' Rengedai Community Theatre *'''OOC Date:''' 2026-09-01 *'''IC Date:''' Thu Jan 03 2013 *'''Summary''': ''Yua and Shinobu go to see the community theatre again, and one thing leads to another, and they end up talking about the hidden difficulties of childbirth -- and Shinobu's lack of interest in finding a man and settling down. Yua gives her some ad..."

*'''Log: ''' Let's Say There's A Hypothetically Doomed Woman
*'''Cast:''' [[Yua Ijuuin]], [[Shinobu Shimizu]]
*'''Where:''' Rengedai Community Theatre
*'''OOC Date:''' 2026-09-01
*'''IC Date:''' Thu Jan 03 2013
*'''Summary''': ''Yua and Shinobu go to see the community theatre again, and one thing leads to another, and they end up talking about the hidden difficulties of childbirth -- and Shinobu's lack of interest in finding a man and settling down. Yua gives her some advice on the perils of acquiring a beard... but of course, she launders it all through hypotheticals, so it's totally okay! Right? Also: a discussion of love for music and care for old things.''

----

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Yua wants to go to the ''community theatre.'' Unlike the fancy-pantsy stuff, Rengedai Community Theatre is a single hall with a single stage; the seating are ''benches'' rising up with stairs to access the higher seating. It's a good place to start out, and there have been plenty of instances of someone ''getting into'' serious acting from their hobby acting here... but there are also plenty of people who are just in it for the love of the game, like Granny Watami, who's been doing work with lights for the past fifty years with no signs of slowing.

Today, they're presenting ''DNA Seller Opera,'' a musical about a far-flung future where designer organs can be commissioned and implanted... and repossessed, when they're not able to make their payments any more. It's the kind of off-beat thing one might expect a community theatre to present, given this property is much more popular as the ''movie'' which came out afterwards.

Yua -- who has arrived in a long-sleeved leotard, which at this point is ''definitely'' a maternity leotard, she's 27 weeks along -- is sitting at the end of the front row with Shinobu, because, like, when you're approaching your third trimester the idea of clambering up stairs and shimmying into a pew is just the least appealing thing in the world. Luckily, someone's scared up an actual chair with a backrest for her to plant herself in. (Granny Watami had five kids, man. She knows what's up.)

The presentation is charmingly hacked together; it's in no ways an expert showing. But everyone really ''wants'' to be there, and that's what shines through; Shinobu may catch Yua clapping along to musical numbers, quite enamoured with it all.

It's also hard to miss her, "yaaaaaaaaay!!", as everyone claps at the end of proceedings.

Even though the subject matter was kind of grim, she had fun, huh?

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>
This kind of place, as they discussed that day at the park, is far more Shinobu's scene than the bigger, fancier theaters. She appreciates the general vibe of people just doing what they love and making the best of what they have to put on a good show. That's something she can sympathise with.

She initially arrived here in a winter coat, but that has since been removed and set aside. Underneath was a T-shirt with some manner of wild logo belonging to a rock band she likes.

She did her best to help Yua along, but thankfully the crew have seen it all before and were able to provide her with a chair. Shinobu sure doesn't mind being up this close to the stage, seated at the end of the bench next to Yua's chair.

She did indeed catch her clapping. It's cute - even, or perhaps especially, when contrasted with the grim subject matter of the ongoing play. Fortunately, that kind of thing was right up her own alley, too.

And when the theater erupts with applause, Shinobu claps right along with them. She does not emit a loud 'yay' - she'll let Yua express that enthusiasm for the both of them.

"Thanks for inviting me, Ijuuin-san. That was a pretty good show, huh? Everyone really gave it their all." She says, looking to the side.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Mm, mm!" Yua hums, cheerfully, and if Shinobu happens to offer her help to get up, she'll definitely ''take'' it. "Everyone really gave it their all! The repo man's daughter had a marvellous comeback during her song, too...!" She looked like she'd ''forgotten her lines'' at the end, for a moment, before unleashing a stirring monologue which may or may not have been entirely ad-libbed.

"Thank you so much," she smiles, to the usher, as he comes by to take the chair and put it back in the cafe area. "You were a big help!"

"No problem, ma'am," he smiles, back to her.

Yua watches him heading off to the eatery, and looks back to clasp her hands together and urge Shinobu, "Come, come! Let's get something to nibble!"

It's just one of those little cafes that operate beside these places -- they do ''great'' numbers in intermissions, but there's money to be had for people dropping in for something to eat before or after a play, too. Yua orders some juice and biscuits, and of course covers ''Shinobu's'' snacks... and she'll have already heard her asking her not to order black coffee from those earlier snacktimes.

(The smell is just much too much these days...)

"Haa," Yua sighs, with relief, when she sits down again at a table with her ''snacks.'' "I really did like how we followed that man repossessing people... we got to see how he really did care about his daughter, even though he had to do an awful job. You know, I think a lot of people who have work like that, they're probably not very happy about it...?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>
Shinobu does, indeed, offer to help Yua up. And as she does, she listens to Yua enthuse about the repo man's daughter's performance.

"Yeah, she really knew how to roll with it. And comin' up with a speech like that..." Shinobu massages the back of her neck with a small laugh. "It was pretty moving."

"Thanks, man." Shinobu adds, nodding her thanks to the usher too as he comes by to retrieve the chair. She looks back to Yua, then, who suggests grabbing something to eat. It's hard to turn it down when she asks like that...

"Sure. I could use a bit." She agrees. They go out to the cafe nearby. She remembers Yua's request and respects that now, instead following her example in getting some juice alongside a big muffin.

Shinobu sits down across from Yua as they take their seat, and she thinks back to the play as Yua comments on it. A man with an awful job who nonetheless loves his daughter...

"...Yeah." Shinobu agrees with a nod, after a moment of thought. "Some of us have jobs that suck, but... we're all still people. Life's more complicated than saying someone's outright good or bad and leaving it there."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"We're lucky she's performing here!" Yua declares, all sparkles. And Yua, too, has a glorious performance -- the performance of ''cuteness.''

(She might feel a little more embarrassed about that cuteness if she figured out certain things about Shinobu, but really, that all depends on whether she's more like her or more like ''Miho...'')

"I've, ahhh... known some people like that," Yua admits, scratching at her cheek, "so maybe I'm a little biased...? But I think... even if you're in a position where your boss is asking you to make a company acquisition that will lay off a lot of people," because of course it's that kind of ''normal'' sucky job, "or something like that... well, sometimes a man like that is supporting a new baby himself, and he has to think about his family, you know? It can be like that."

She sighs, as she adds: "But thinking about being blind because someone came to take my eyes is really spooky! I only have the one left, you know?" You know, on account of her ''left'' eye being covered in that omnipresent eye patch. "Like... what's the thing you'd most hate to lose, Nobumizu?" ''even her nicknames are cute''

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>
Shinobu laughs.

"Yeah, we are." She agrees.

Yua admits to knowing people like that - people who work jobs that suck. Shinobu wonders what kind of people she knows... but she guesses that's probably something that just happens naturally when you get involved with a rich, important family.

"...Yeah." She admits after a moment. "It's never easy when you've gotta weigh your family against countless other people... Hope ''I'm'' never put into a situation like that."

She takes a sip of her drink, looking at Yua over the top as she continues.

"That ''would'' be spooky." She agrees and frowns thoughtfully. She does smirk a little, at the cute nickname even in the middle of this somber conversation. "...That's a good question..."

She leans back in her chair a little, 'hm'ing thoughtfully.

"Like, losing an arm or a leg would suck, and I wouldn't like to lose my eyes, either..." She considers. She taps a finger against her chin. "...Oh, maybe my tongue. Does that count? At least if I lose the other things I'd still be able to talk. Not that there aren't other ways of communicating, but... it'd be harder."

She picks up her muffin from the table, tossing it up lightly and catching it on the way down.

"...And I wouldn't be able to ''taste'', either, and that'd be real miserable." She adds.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"You're more like the kind of person who'd protect people from stuff like that, aren't you?" Yua asks, tilting her head. "Not that I could tell you why I think that... nothing's ever happened, after all."

Specifically: nothing happened, in Sevens, that day when Ikkaku's life was threatened and a normal teacher called Yua Ooshiro got between him and a hellhound's claws.

It never happened, so the school was repaired in an eyeblink... and since Yua's never given off any hint of Resonance, even if ''Miho'' has, she's perfectly susceptible to being taken in by Rumours like that.

But of course, during that event which never happened, Yua had the opportunity to see Shinobu fighting, even though she's not capable of anything...

"Oh, that would be awful!" Yua gasps, a hand clapping to her own mouth. "You wouldn't be able to talk, or taste, or--!" Whatever that third thing is, though, she cuts herself off before it can be revealed. It will have to be an ''unspoken'' horror.

"Haa, but you're kind of lucky you're not having a little one of your own, you know?" Yua sighs, hand lowering. "It makes you smell things really good, but that also means you get sicker a lot easier... and if you're not lucky, you can end up really struggling to eat at all. I'm lucky, they eventually figured out medicines for me, but... if I didn't take my pills, these bikkies would betray me," she says, sadly, holding up a biscuit with a wibble.

Apparently the cuteness is just a free action for her, even when she's talking about morning sickness.

"Oh, though that's not to scare you off, of course... if you'd like to have one, most people don't have these problems!" Yua adds, quickly.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>
'Nothing's ever happened'. It's a good reminder. It's easy to forget, sometimes, the way people forget when things like that happen. All's it takes is a Rumor that nothing happened at Sevens... and even someone who threw herself in front of a demon to protect someone else can forget.

"You think so?" Shinobu replies with a small laugh. "I'd like to think I am, anyway... so if that's the vibe I give off, then I must be doing something right."

Yua agrees that that ''would'' be awful, not being able to talk, or taste, or a secret third thing.

"Right?" Shinobu agrees. And then Yua sighs, talking about some of the difficulties she's been having. Shinobu nods along sympathetically. She shakes her head at the hypothetical betrayal of the biscuit. "That'd be cruel..."

Yua hurries to assure her that most people don't have these problems, and Shinobu laughs good-naturedly.

"It's cool, it's cool." Shinobu assures. "Everyone's different, right? Sounds like it's been rough on you... Hang in there, alright?"

She's been with Ayame through some of her experiences, so she knows how it can vary. She shrugs, then.

"...I don't plan on it, myself, anyway." She says.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Hee hee... you're right! It's the ''vibes,'' man! The viiiibes!" Yua tries to affect the speech habits of a Californian surfer... but she's still being insufferably cute about it, so it can only really work so well.

"Don't worry, I'm hanging in just like the kitty!" The kitty on the poster which urges students to hang in there on every library's wall, she means. You know the one: dangling from a tree branch by two paws, with an expression as if the Reaper is approaching... Yua demonstrates her dedication to this by ''nomming her biscuit.'' Chomp! "See? Thanks to my vitamins and stuff, I'm okay!"

(That'll be vitamin B6... and 'stuff' is doing a lot of heavy lifting, in that sentence.)

But then -- the very space of ''if'' is a subtle indication that Yua's a little more progressive on the matters of women's work than her traditional trappings suggest. Tradition demands a woman marry a man, have children, and raise them -- often alone, while the man deals with gruelling overwork in the field. But when Shinobu shares that she's not planning on it, Yua smiles, to her. "That's okay," she says, gently. "Having kids is really a lot to ask from a woman, you know? I think there's a lot of things you can do with your life which would make it hard to have them. Like... Mimi's an Olympian, you know? If she had to have a baby, all her work on her perfect body would be crushed!"

Yua quiets, glancing aside. "Actually... if I knew how hard this would be... sometimes I think I would have made a different decision," she relates, quietly. "Ahh, that's not really the sort of thing a new mother should say, right...? But it has been... very rough. So... so, it's not just because I know some ladies have different careers, you know? I think... it's unfair to just assume everyone will do this stuff."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>
Shinobu laughs as Yua puts on a surfer act. It might not have the ''intended'' effect... but it's still pretty effective in its own right.

Yua assures her that she's hanging in there just like the kitty - which gets a small chuckle out of Shinobu - and that she's okay thanks to her vitamins 'and stuff'. Shinobu nods.

"That's good." She replies.

She appreciates that 'if'. She appreciates, too, the way Yua assures her that it's okay. She nods as Yua continues.

"Yeah, it's... hard on you." Shinobu agrees. "I'm no Olympian, but... most of the work I do is pretty physical, so it'd put me in a pretty rough spot."

She sees the way Yua glances to the side - and then admits that if she knew how hard it'd be, she thinks she would have made a different decision.

Shinobu shakes her head, though, when she says it isn't the sort of thing a new mother should say.

"No, it's alright. I think... it's better to voice it than to bottle it up, you know? No one's gonna expect you to be happy every step of the way - or at least they ''shouldn't''." Shinobu assures with a small smile. "...But, yeah. It's unfair. People look at me and ask when I'm going to find a guy and settle down, especially since I'm pushing thirty," Her parents have probably been no small source of this. "But I don't ''want'' that. If someone does it it should be because they ''want'' to, not 'cause they feel they ''have'' to, right? That's not fair to them or the hypothetical kid."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Yua would probably be a ''pretty good surfer,'' in fact, considering Okinawan beaches...

... maybe not when she's this round, though.

One can imagine that being this round would make the kind of courier work Shinobu engages in pretty hard, too... "You shouldn't have to give up your work just to do what they say you're supposed to do," Yua insists, shaking her head.

(Someone else with jewellery that fancy might have suggested that Shinobu's work was ''unskilled'' and that she'd be losing nothing if she took some years off to ''be proper,'' but Yua, traditionally, has had to dig in her heels and fight ''against'' that point of view... or, well, pout and say it's not that ''simple,'' getting away with her disagreement by virtue of her cuteness and newness to her position, and notably ''without'' putting up much ''significant'' pushback...)

"Thanks," Yua smiles. "Some of these things... even fighting hard for him, there are decisions I needed to make which aren't very motherlike." She tilts her head and listens to Shinobu's perspective, in turn. (With a small stab of surprise, as she realises how old Shinobu is.)

"You definitely shouldn't marry a man because you're obligated to," Yua says, firmly. "That's the most vulnerable position a woman can be in... if she's not even in a loving relationship." If she's speaking from experience, she doesn't say so ''directly.'' "At least if he loves you, he'll have some reason not to be awful. If you don't want to find a guy... it's definitely a bad decision to force it! In a situation like that...!"

Yua pauses, glancing down to her plate. "Well... you'd need to do extra work to make sure your child was okay, I think."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>
"Definitely." Shinobu agrees with a nod to Yua's insistence. If Yua was the type of person who would look down on her for the type of work she does... Shinobu imagines they wouldn't be sitting here eating snacks together right now.

"Yeah... I bet." Shinobu murmurs sympathetically. She can't know exactly what sort of not-motherlike decisions Yua has had to make... but she can at least offer that sympathy.

Yua agrees that she shouldn't marry a man out of obligation - and Shinobu is surprised at how intense she gets about it. She doesn't ''say'' she's speaking from experience, but...

Shinobu can make a few guesses.

"Yeah. That's... not the kind of relationship I want. Maybe it'd make life easier in some ways... but it's not a life I'd want to live." Shinobu agrees. She considers Yua for a moment. "...I'm not gonna blame anyone who ''does'' end up in that situation, though, or look down on her. I know things sometimes get more... complicated, than that."

She looks down at her drink for a moment.

"...I'd just hope she's got someone to support her."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Some of those decisions are secret, and dire... but what Yua thinks of, when she says that, is deciding who the surgeons should save if the birth goes wrong.

Which is secret and dire in its own way -- but one far more universal amongst the housewives' network.

"It can get... very complicated," Yua says, holding her juice in both hands. "Even if it begins very simply, you know... if someone was really important to you, and you wanted... to support her... and be there when she comes home." Yua, as it happens, is still living in ''Miho's'' home. "You can just think... oh, there's no way she could have a son... but I could! And we could be together! But of course, that's not how it works... society won't accept that... so you're given to a man. And he's... fine, really..." Yua's smile grows a touch more fixed, "... but you don't love him, you can't... so you end up living a lie to save face. But that woman would never give up on you," she adds, shaking her head. "Not for a second, so... even if things were very hard, you'd be okay."

Yua takes a moment, here, to sip her juice.

"Just... maybe you'd want to turn back time and go back to not asking too much of the world... you know?" She asks, distantly, still looking at the juice rather than Shinobu. Until --

"Ahahaha," Yua laughs, looking to her as she smiles. "I do make up these funny stories, don't I? Don't mind me, really! They say it's hormones!"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>
It can get very complicated, Yua says - and Shinobu listens as she tells a story. Someone important to her, someone you wanted to support and be there for when she comes home...

It doesn't escape her. Shinobu's expression softens as she listens. It's quite the tale Yua spins... and though Yua tries to play it off as just a funny story due to hormones, Shinobu isn't laughing.

No - the story makes her heart hurt. It's all too painfully real. Too real for her to be able to just play along and laugh it off.

"...Funny's not the word I'd use, Ijuuin-san." Shinobu comments quietly. "I think it's... sad, that someone has to jump through hoops and put on an act, even if it hurts her, just to have a family and be with the person she really loves."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"I just, you know... I think that if there was someone in that position... if things were like that, I'd want her to know it was a lot of trouble, you know? Especially if she was in a place she liked already... sometimes it's better not to want too much," Yua says, her gaze dropping, again.

"And that's for people who really, really wanted it... if it's not even like that... you know?" She ventures, quietly, as she recognises the differences in Shinobu's approach and hers just the same. "... but sometimes it would be very sad, I suppose. There'd be a lot of pressure... even if everyone was very welcoming... it would be hard to fit in."

She shakes her head, trying to smile, again. "But you know what I'd tell someone like that? I'd say... going to community theatre is good for the soul! If you have to act all the time, sometimes, it's the stage where you can be the most honest, you know?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>
Shinobu looks back up at Yua, watching her even as Yua's gaze drops again. It was a lot of trouble. Sometimes it's better not to want too much... There's something sad about that statement, too.

"I couldn't blame her for wanting it, though." She comments.

The pressure, though - and finding it hard to fit in, even if everyone is welcoming...

"...Yeah. That's true, I bet." She admits. She glances away for a moment - and by the time she looks back Yua is smiling, or at least trying to.

"You would, huh? I suppose if there's one place you could bare your heart, it'd be that." She comments, with a hint of a smile of her own. "...That, and music."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"It's really hard to want something you can't have... so I'm sure a woman like that would be happy if you didn't blame her."

If anything, Yua's demure language is in overdrive, speaking of such pure hypotheticals as this; very indirect, very polite, very moderated. But then... she's talking about herself, isn't she? A rich woman like Yua... it must be frightening to be honest about her romantic feelings, when she demonstrably ''has'' appeared in tabloids at least once before over her emotional outbursts, most notably when she got upset about being blocked from seeing Miho after a tournament in Hawaii.

(She had to go on Flower Talk and smooth over her image...)

"Mm, mm!" Yua hums, smiling, as Shinobu picks up on the meaning of the ''stage.'' "Music is really good, too! Haa, I miss dancing... these days, I'm not sure I could even go ''en pointe''... but without music, there can be no dancing, you know? I have a ''boom box'' I bring to class and to the studio and stuff, it's ''old school!'' Well, kind of," she adds, "it ''does'' have a slot to plug MP3 players into, so I guess it's not that old... but it reminds me of the old ones a lot! When I get to play a CD in there, I'm really happy!"

So there are still things which make her happy, huh?

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>
"It is." Shinobu agrees with a nod, and then offers her a slight smile. She would be happy, huh... "I hope so."

It's an indirect conversation, but Shinobu understands how frightening it must be. It's difficult even for ''her'', and she doesn't have countless eyes on her waiting for her to make a wrong move.

Yua agrees enthusiastically about music, though laments the inability to dance...

"That sucks." Shinobu sympathises, but listens intently as she continues.

"That's true. Even if you don't have a backing track, you probably have ''some'' kind of beat in your mind." Shinobu agrees. The mention of a boom box gets an appreciative whistle.

"Really? Nice. I've still got my old one back at home." She replies, and nods as she enthuses on CDs. "I get you there. MP3s are convenient and everything, but there's just something about CDs, yeah? It's nice to just pop it in and let the music go. I guess something that can do both would be the best of both worlds..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Well, as soon as Yua heard that Shinobu wasn't interested in finding a fella... at least on top of everything else... she could make a couple of guesses, in her head. If she wants it to be okay to be like this, she should reach out to people like this, right...?

Besides! It's fine! If she's wrong, it was all hypothetical and no face got lost anyway!! Man, hypotheticals are magic!

"That's right! I'd really like to see the woman who can waltz without counting one-two-three!" Yua might be dressed like a ballerina, but apparently, that's not the ''only'' dance she's capable of. "Oh, oh, and you have your old one, still?! I'm impressed! My old one is back home out at Kukojima Island with mama..." Who gets a much more casual and familiar term than the archaic samurai references she makes to her ''in-laws.''

"But the CDs are definitely best," Yua says, her tone bright and bubbly again. (Maybe it's not ''just'' a mask... moms can have many facets.) "Because the artists arrange the tracks just ''so,'' and when you listen to them in order, you can tell what they wanted to say! Oh, though sometimes I like just looping ''one'' song over and over... if I've got a favourite, I really like just listening to my favourite... hey, hey, what about you, Nobumizu? Do you like listening through every track in order, or just listening to one over and over? Or -- or are you some kind of ''anarchist'' who hits the ''shuffle button?!''" She looks aghast at the very notion.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>
She isn't wrong. But Shinobu's happy to help ease her into it rather than dropping it all on her at once.

"Right?" Shinobu agrees about the waltz with a small laugh- and nods, as Yua asks about her old boom box. "Yeah, I took mine with me when I moved out. It still plays music well enough, even if I've had to get it fixed up a time or two, so it feels like a waste to just replace it outright, you know?"

Maybe she'd appreciate a nicer, newer one too... but those cost money that she doesn't have. So she might as well keep using the one she has for as long as it lasts. It also helps that she has an older sister who's handy with electronics.

"It's back home, huh?" Shinobu considers. She takes note of the more familiar term. "Well... I'm sure she's taking good care of it. It'll be waiting for you when you get back, yeah?"

With that bright and bubbly tone, Shinobu can't help but smile.

The specific arrangement of tracks... Shinobu thinks about this - and the deathly seriousness at which she brings up the shuffle button gets a small laugh out of her.

"Sometimes if I'm in the mood I'll repeat a favorite... but usually I just like to let it play out, you know? Really immerse myself in the sound, or let it accompany me while I'm doing something else." She replies.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

It at least means they can ''suspect'' she's a friend... 'they', of course, because Yua will have to pass on how she kind of hypothetically outted ''Miho'' later, too.

"Fixing things is important," Yua says. "They're alive too, you know? If you care for your things, they'll work really hard for you... but if you just throw them out, you'll get a ''bad reputation!''" That sounds like Shinto thinking -- and in broad strokes, at least, Yua's brand is ''similar.'' "It used to be that we'd fix everything ourselves growing up, but now, whenever I want to fix something I can hire a professional... I hope my things don't get offended I'm asking for help," she wonders, looking up, thoughtfully, as she taps a finger to her lip.

(Which is really just another of those aspects of Yua not viewing wealth as obviously ''better'' which marks her as ''new money.'' Even if she knows people who are foreclosing hundreds of jobs to save their families, surely ''she'' could never do something so terrible... right...?)

"Mm, mm!" Yua hums, brightly. "I'm gonna see her for the Purification at the Beach," which isn't Japanese, though it ''does'' sound close, "real soon... we all get together to make offerings to our ancestors for the new year, so of course we need to go back home!" She's so excited...

Getting Shinobu to laugh makes her smile, though of course if she asked she would insist the shuffle track was HIGH TREASON. Luckily, Shinobu is ''not'' that much of an anarchist, so Yua's smile remains bright. "Mm, mmhm! That's a good way to be! Dive into the music just like it's the sea!"

Yua pauses, and then giggles: "Hey, I'm a poet~! o''`"

Somehow, she manages to pronounce the musical note perfectly.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>
Yua agrees that fixing things is important, and Shinobu nods. Caring for one's things is certainly something she can understand - she has to be mindful of how much she's spending, so she can't afford to be wasteful.

"Yeah, it's important to take good care of 'em." She agrees. Fixing everything themselves, though... Shinobu thinks on it for a moment. "I can do some of it on my own... but sometimes it's easiest to just go to someone who knows what they're doing."

She shrugs.

"Maybe they appreciate that you're going to an expert?" She offers.

Yua agrees that her old boom box is waiting for her - and also says that she'll see her mother for the Purification at the Beach. It's not something she recognizes off the top of her head, though she can make assumptions based on what Yua says next. And especially with how excited she sounds...

"I don't think I'm familiar with the Purification at the Beach... That sounds like fun, though. Have a good, safe trip, you hear?" She encourages. It's nice to get together with family... at least, the ones you like.

Yua agrees with her, too about her music-listening technique, and Shinobu laughs when she points out her own rhyme(marveling briefly at her ability to pronounce music notes).

"Well said, Ijuuin-san."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Yua doesn't have the pressures of not being able to ''afford'' to waste things any more -- but she at least still has ''moral'' qualms about wastefulness. Besides, she's sure Father would disapprove! Doesn't he teach his family to be thoughtful stewards?

"Hmm... that's true! I'm doing the best with what I have!" Yua sparkles, as she adds: "But I don't think your things would be offended if you do it yourself, either, Nobumizu! You're doing your best, too!" Yua would be ''aghast'' if the spirits were ''classist.''

"The Purification at the Beach is an island thing," Yua explains, smiling. "I follow Ryukyu Shinto, so it's a bit different! Mm, mm, but don't worry, I'll make sure to wear my foot prisons and get up on the plane and do all the things so I won't get sick... mooouuu, I wish I could take a ''boat,'' but it does take a long time by boat..."

Yua, at least, sounds terribly fond of her family. Even the in-laws she talks about like they're actual goddamn Samurai.

... except for her husband, but, well, perhaps her distance with him is ''respectful?''

"Mooouuuuu," Yua pouts, again, "we've watched a musical together, and we've eaten, and we've talked! So... it's Yua-chan!" She declares, clapping her hands together. "Okay?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>
"Right." Shinobu encourages - and then Yua turns it right back around on her. She laughs lightly. "''That's'' good. I trust my best to take care of 'em, anyhow... I'm sure that comes through."

Yua explains, then, the Purification at the Beach. It's an island thing, and she follows Ryukyu Shinto... Shinobu nods thoughtfully.

"Huh, that makes sense. That's cool." She replies. Yua assures her, then, that she'll do all the things necessary to keep herself safe, and Shinobu nods. "Good. You wanna be in good health for it, right?"

A boat, though... she nods sympathetically. She's heard before how much she likes the water.

"Guess you gotta take the pros and the cons..." She replies.

But - Yua ''pouts'', when she calls her Ijuuin-san, and declares that it's Yua-chan. Even for Shinobu, who tends to be casually informal with the people she meets, it feels strange to refer to someone who's paying her that way...

...But it's true that they're not just acquaintances, now. They have, in fact, been hanging out. And since she asked for it...

"That's a good point..." She concedes, and then offers her a smile. "Yua-chan, then."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"It really does!" Yua says, all a-sparkle. "You're a really caring woman, Nobumizu!"

Is it weird to say that of her when she's more gung-ho than her sisters? Yua doesn't think so. Surely even Shinobu's righteous anger is an expression of her care!

To wit: her concern over Yua's health. "Mm, mm!" Yua nods, cheerfully. "I have to take good care of myself! If I don't, that's bad for Hiroki, too! And Mimi will worry! And it will be a bad example for Tykko...!"

(Do young women learn about getting sick from their mothers? ... honestly, in more ways than one, Yua's quite sure.)

"Don't worry," Yua assures her, "we'll get boat time some other time!"

And lo -- Yua's casual intimacy strikes. It's capped off with her adorable, "Yay~!", plus some ''happy hand flapping'' which she at least realises she's doing a moment later only to shove her hands in her lap with an embarrassed look. Still, she smiles, to Shinobu. "Mmhm, mmhm, we're friends! Let's go see lots more theatre shows later, Nobumizu...! Oh, but just as friends, remember! I'm married, you know!" Her husband isn't really an operative factor here, of course... but perhaps one day Shinobu will learn that there's more than one way to skin a marriage ceremony.

Her fate... is sealed.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>
"You think so?" Shinobu replies with a sheepish laugh, massaging the back of her neck. That's not the kind of thing she hears all that often.

Yua assures her that she'll take good care of herself, and how it'd be bad for the others, and Shinobu nods.

"Good." She replies - and nods, too, about getting boat time some other time. "Glad to hear it."

She smiles at the enthusiam with which Yua replies to her accepting of 'Yua-chan', and doesn't seem to mind the happy hand flapping.

"Friends... Yeah, we are." Shinobu agrees, and nods. "Sure, that sounds like fun."

And then, she laughs.

"Just friends. I already know you're taken." She assures with a nod and a conspiratorial wink.

...She'll be surprised when she learns just how much they've thought this through.
</poem>

2026-09-01: Fitting In, Striking Out

2026-09-04T09:58:50Z

L: Created page with "*'''Log: ''' Fitting In, Striking Out *'''Cast:''' Tsubasa Seki, Hana Fukami *'''Where:''' Yumezaki Centre *'''OOC Date:''' 2026-09-01 *'''IC Date:''' Thu Jan 03 2013 *'''Summary''': ''Hana happens to come across Tsubasa and Lance, who are up to no good (despite their efforts to reform). She talks to them about gender, and her own interest in fitting in contrasts with Tsubasa's cynicism over never being able to.'' ---- Category:Logs Category:Season 1 ..."

*'''Log: ''' Fitting In, Striking Out
*'''Cast:''' [[Tsubasa Seki]], [[Hana Fukami]]
*'''Where:''' Yumezaki Centre
*'''OOC Date:''' 2026-09-01
*'''IC Date:''' Thu Jan 03 2013
*'''Summary''': ''Hana happens to come across Tsubasa and Lance, who are up to no good (despite their efforts to reform). She talks to them about gender, and her own interest in fitting in contrasts with Tsubasa's cynicism over never being able to.''

----

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>

There's a dog sitting down outside of Bikini Line! A scarred tosa inu -- the Japanese fighting dog -- who looks distinctly ''scrawny.''

Lance waits, patiently...

"Ugh, I can't stand strays," a salaryman grouses, as he pauses by her. "You! Dumb dog! Shoo!"

"Aroo," Lance whines, tail tucked between her legs, as this strange man pesters her. She's just about ready to turn tail and flee when --

"Ch-ch," a youth with the world's fakest deep tan emerges from Bikini Line, flaming magenta and aqua hair shocked across their head, a pink and grey hoodie slung over bright orange board shorts and bright aqua tights. Their high-topped sneakers are ''dayglo green.'' In a word: offensive to the eyes.

It's kind of hard to tell just what gender they're offending from, though; even their voice doesn't give it away immediately, as they call: "Eat a dick, man, Lance ain't hurtin' no one."

The tosa inu scampers over to join ''them,'' as the salaryman turns to scowl at this mess of counterculture. "Damn brat --"

"Fuck you, man, you're the one pickin' on a dog!" Tsubasa snaps, with a ''deeply'' rude hand gesture.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

A dog!! ...Hana Fukami wasn't planning on going to Bikini Line. She doesn't, as a rule, do tanning. She was going to pass it right by on her way somewhere else. However...

She happens to hear the commotion. Dressed in pink with a deeper pink coat over and black tights, Hana glances over to see what's going on. A dog and a gender-ambiguous Youth.

Hmm...

Hana is suddenly there, next to the salaryman. "Excuse me," Hana says. "I think there's no need for all that; they were just going to be on their way with their dog, weren't they?" Hana offers.

"It's better if we don't cause a scene, don't you think? It'll only slow everyone down here. And a distinguished man like you doesn't need to be tied up with all this."

"Right?"

She's helping...?

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>

There's ''plenty'' of shopping to be had, here at Yumezaki Centre. But, indeed, there is a dog, and a ?Youth, and a ''disgruntled gentleman.'' And so --

"Ch, yeah, whatever," Tsubasa's cyan lip curls, their shocking makeup the only real indicator that they ''are'' scowling, without eyebrows as they are.

"We can't condone this as a ''society'' --" the man insists, instead, before he looks at Hana a second time and realises he ''recognises'' her. "Oh, Fukami-san! You go to Sumaru? My wife is a fan, but I thought you had a show in central ''Tokyo,'' didn't you...?"

Tsubasa keeps their own counsel, wisely, as he's distracted by the apparent fame of this chick. Indeed, as she engages him, she may realise...

... there's a dotted line where Tsubasa once stood, moments before, as they take the moment's distraction to slip through the crowd like they're ''used'' to dodging consequences.

Being super cas' about it all ''does'' mean she could probably still track them down, though...

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

Whatever. It'll do!

"I do!" Hana answers the salaryman with a smile. "I have family here," she explains, "Though I live in Tokyo. My brother and his wife."

She chats for a moment, before, "I'll let you on your way, though. Thank you for recognizing me!"

And then, soon...

Dot, dot, dot.

Hana walks to where she thinks Tsubasa got off to, plus a cute little dog...

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>

"Ah, you're a family woman, of course," the salaryman nods, thoughtfully. He makes sure to ''get an autograph'' for his wife, and so heads off on whatever he was up to before he decided to pick on a teenager and a dog.

But where ''is'' that dog? The next sign of her doesn't come until Hana walks far enough to reach Tony's 'shop' -- you know, the tables he's set out on the sidewalk. The back of Tsubasa is pretty easy to pick out, as loud as their plumage is... and, indeed, there's a dog sitting under the table they're examining things on.

"Cool," they say, as they lift up a string of pearls. "Hey, you seen anythin' like this come through lately what got ''pink'' pearls?"

"Whoa," Tony says, slowly. "That's rare. Why pink?"

It's because one of the clients of Kuzunoha had hers stolen, but Tsubasa doesn't say ''that.'' Instead: "Saw 'em online, thought they was cool."

"If I don't got it here, I don't got it," Tony assures them. "Do I got it?"

"You don't got it," Tsubasa assures them, after scrutinising their tables a second time.

"Damn," he shrugs. "Tough luck, fella. But hey, ''she's'' pink. Maybe she's got it!"

Oh, no, Tony saw Hana first...

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

"Yes," Hana replies, warm on the matter of her family. She's happy to give an autograph, and then... Dog!

Hana doesn't frequent Tony's shop, but the accessories are good. There, though: the dog! And--more to the point--Tsubasa.

Pink pearls...

Hmmm.

"Oh!" Hana looks surprised as she is pointed out, and then, "I'm afraid I don't." She has pink nails and a pink dress and a pink coat and some accessories but not, as it happens, pink pearls.

"But I was looking for your friend here," she says to Tony, and smiles at Tsubasa. And Lance!

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>

Tony blinks, as his attention focuses on Hana. "Hey, you look familiar...?"

Tsubasa takes the moment to let their sleeve hand over their hand -- as they slip the pearls into a pocket stitched into the hem. In the next moment, as Hana smiles to them and attention comes to them again, they're examining a ''different'' set of pearls, as if it were the one they'd been looking at the whole time...

And, look, it's hard to quantify these split-second opportunistic decisions. Part of it is knowing that Tony is shady as fuck, so it isn't really ''wrong'' to screw him over when he's already doing crime; part of it is that pearls are ''expensive,'' and even with their delves into Mementos and the little Kuzunoha can scrape together to give them for their part-timing, it's hard to justify ''not'' taking the pay bump of an easy steal.

Part of it is just that they're ''really'' good at this, and it feels good to be good at something, even if that thing is 'unethical' or whatever. Chasing dopamine means getting away with illegal shit. That's so normal.

So maybe it's better to say they're in the ''process'' of reforming...

"Uh?" They frown, briefly, as they zone back in to realise that Hana was ''looking for them,'' and they snap reflexively: "I didn't do nothin'!" They totally did somethin'. "Or, uh... you're that chick what talked to that prick, yeah? Like, thanks, you want a medal?" They jerk their thumb -- the thumb of their ''other'' hand, with an arm which is strangely-textured under what looks, this close up, to be concealer on top of a tan -- towards the tables. "Tony-san's got loads, man."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

"Do I?" Hana asks. "You might've seen me then!" She smiles.

But she doesn't go into the whole Thing about where he's seen her, immediately; it does mean that she doesn't see Tsubasa STEALING because she frankly doesn't have that good an eye for crimes. ...All those things might be true, of course. Hana might put it together after. But for now...

They are really good at this, aren't they?

"You didn't," Hana agrees. A beat, "No, thank you. I'm not really the medal type."

"No, I wanted to talk to you. You remind me of some good friends of mine," she says. "And myself, a little."

"...Definitely bolder than me, though. I like the hair."

A beat, and to Tony, "You do have an impressive selection!"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>

"Yeah, I totally have!" Tony insists. "Like, uhhh..."

He's thinking in the background, for a while, as Tsubasa scrutinises Hana. "We ain't..." They start to deny the similarities, for a moment, before their blue eyes narrow -- or narrow ''further,'' there was already a subtle squint to one side. "Must got weird friends," they say, instead. "Aight. Sure."

They drop the pearls -- apparently the ones they were examining -- down on Tony's table, and shove their hands in their pockets, as they turn to stalk off. "Hey!" Tony calls out, as they turn, eliciting a flinch from them. Did he -- "I got it! You're that daytime TV chick! Yeah!"

Tsubasa puffs out a breath, as they call over their shoulder, "Get an autograph later, man, I'm out."

Hana's invitation is just carried in a jerk of their chin, as they look back to her. In the crowds of Yumezaki Centre, their fingers slip into the false pocket of their sleeve, transferring the pearls to a deeper pocket in their hoodie; it's work they do without altering their stride, as they make their way through the avenue, finally stopping by a park bench. They gesture to it, with a hand, as if to offer her a seat, though they just put a foot up by one of the armrests and lean forward onto a knee.

Lance, of course, approaches to investigate her as soon as they stop. "Aroo?" She wuffs, tail wagging first slowly and then very, very fast.

"It's cool," they say, "she's chill. Lance." They jerk a thumb back toward their chest, which, one way or another, ''is'' flat. "Seki," they introduce themself, in turn. "Tsubasa Seki. What, you some kinda famous or some shit?"

Yeah, they've never watched Hana's program in their ''life.''

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

Tsubasa gets it; Hana would ordinarily be self-conscious of someone Noticing, but she all but invited Tsubasa to do so... and there are signs, for one who knows how to look. Some aspects of the hormones take more years than she's had to take full effect, for one.

but Tsubasa moves to leave, and Hana smiles. Then she looks back to Tony. "I'll be back," she assures him, and then makes a V-sign. "That's just right!"

Hana follows, and if she noticed the pearls at all, she sure hasn't said so. Instead, she waits until Tsubasa moves to the park bench... and then she takes a seat, smoothing her skirt and coat out when she does. It's better; she is in heels.

"Hello Lance," Hana says first, smiling at the little dog. "May I?" She won't pet without permission! From both of them.

"I have a show on Tokyo TV," Hana explains. "Flower Talk. It's daytime; a student wouldn't have much chance to see it."

Then, "Fukami," she introduces herself. "Hana Fukami. And I ''do'' like your hair. ...I was never as bold with colors, even before I settled down to be a 'proper lady'."

She notices the scarring, now that they're closer, but--who leads with that?

"It's intolerable, the way people treat those who don't 'fit'..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>

Scarring across their face, yes; and on their arm, where their sleeve slipped up to show it, earlier. On their ''leg,'' too, where those tights ride up and expose a little skin, though they're quick to lean forward and pull their obnoxiously purple socks up over it when they notice that -- because much like the scars on their arm, ''those'' scars are far more obvious than the ones on their face, without concealer slapped over them.

... it's over their whole body.

They don't wanna talk about it.

Instead: "Sure," Tsubasa gives her permission to ''pet the dog,'' and Lance's permission is carried in the way she shoves her face into Hana's hands. Pet her! Love her! She's a good dog!!!!

"Huh," they grunt, in turn, when Hana talks about her television show. "Yeah, ain't my scene. Cool, tho'." That's probably the punk trying ''not'' to be impolite for once in their rude-ass life.

"Ain't gonna," Tsubasa shrugs. "I'm 'X'." X-Gender, they mean; neither a proper lady ''nor'' a distinguished gentleman. And they just come right out and say it...?! "Don't got no end point where I 'pass'. Gonna piss everyone off whatever I do, so may as well do what I want."

Beat. "Uh. Cool you got it sorted to the point a gettin' TV shit, tho'," they add, with a flap of their hand as their elbow rests on their knee, looking down to Hana as she sits. "You cool with settlin', or..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

They definitely don't have to talk about it.

Lance shoves her face into Hana's hand, and Hana laughs happily, petting the dog. "You're so cute!" she tells her. "Yes, you are! You're a good dog!"

But, it's not Tsubasa's scene, and that's fine. "Thank you," Hana says, and leaves the matter of her show at that. Instead...

Still, Tsubasa won't. X...

"I know a few people who are 'X'," Hana says. "I think that doing what you want with your gender is admirable," she says, though she hopes Tsubasa doesn't face 'pissed' all their life. ...Hopes.

"Thank you," Hana says again. "I lucked out, frankly; even then, they expected me to be 'funny'," she says. "But my co-host is really the funny woman. I'm the straight woman... so to speak."

She's wry when she asys that.

"...And mostly I am. I do like being a woman, rather than a man or something else. The trouble mostly comes in what people expect a 'woman' to be and do. That can be... restrictive."

"And between us, I'm not sure what that identity looks like for me, yet, long-term. Even I have things to figure out yet." As an adult.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>

Lance's eyes grow like dinnerplates as her tail threatens to wag off of her body and helicopter off into the air. SHE'S a GOOD DOG?!

"Yeah?" Tsubasa asks, and even their disaffected coolness can't cover the interest they have as they glance aside to Hana, hearing her say she knows more X-Genders. "Met a couple. Most still got least one foot in th' closet, tho'. Uh, 'cept for Kujaku-hakase. Ain't reckon they apologised a day in their life."

They're more cynical about how many people they're bound to piss off, frankly.

"So they know, huh? Sucks. Figured you mighta been stealth or some shit." It took them a hot minute to realise why she'd even find community with them, so what hope do cis people have??? "Yeah, fine so long's it's a joke... shitheads."

When they spit out their bile over that ideal, they at least do so ''away'' from the bench.

"Ch," they shrug, looking back to Hana. "''Onnarashii'' is bullshit, anyway." That's ''proper ladylike speech,'' except for how it's so rigidly enforced: women ought to speak in a high register, with politeness and deference, and using feminine grammar. Calling it out is a particular indication of where Tsubasa falls on the issues of patriarchy.

"Still, huh?" They wonder, glancing down at her again. Even though she's an adult, she doesn't have everything figured out... "Better get crackin'. You playin' catch up, by now." They look out over the street, for a moment, before they get to: "When'd ya figure?" That she wasn't a man, they mean.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

She is a ''good dog''. Hana pets, though her attention is now primarily on Tsubasa. She even gets a second hand in there for a moment or two.

"Most," Hana agrees. "...Hmm. That sounds like a very interesting person!" Hana says, because she doesn't know them. "I know a few others who are out day to day, but... that's not the choice most of us has made."

"Mm-hm. Thanks. I could've been... but the choice was made for me. I can live with that, though; pretending I'm not trans wouldn't be living truthfully, either. I have experiences that most women don't." Still, "Mm-hm. That's just right. But, I've been able to get some dramatic roles, too. So it's not hopeless."

"...I admit," Hana says, "The difference in how men and women speak... Well, I always spoke a little more 'femininely', but it does make it easier in some respects, as a marker I can control." A beat, "But on the other hand... I've known a lot of women who it doesn't suit, too. So I'm not going to defend the concept except by that."

She doesn't really see it as a cultural treasure to be defended. Just a fact of life.

"Heh," Hana vocalizes about catchup. "That's true. But I think I'm farther along on that than most people--I've at least put thought into it."

But, "...A few years ago," Hana answers for when she figured. "In university. Before that, I was mostly content just being a gay man. Well, bisexual, but I primarily thought of myself the other way. But over time... It was a lot of little things that added up. In retrospect, it all makes sense. ...But at the time, I was just trying to muddle through life. It explained some of why my relationships with women had been awkward, for one. ...Gender and relationships... they all tie together. But it was my sister-in-law who made me realize it for sure, in the end."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>

"Cool," Tsubasa says, and do not, infuriatingly, say that this Kujaku is the one associated with Peacock Silk. It can be a fun surprise for later!

"Ch," their tongue clicks to their teeth, hearing her say that the choice was ''made for her.'' "Bastards."

And of soft speech, they say: "Cool if you wanna, fucked if you gotta."

But then -- Hana's not been ''gottaing'' as long as they might have expected. "Not 'til then, uh?" They wonder, leaning on their knee. "... huh. Cool ya sister helped," and if there's some extra distance in their blue eyes, as they look behind Hana into the street, don't worry about it. "Figured meself after I broke up with some prick. Long story, it's whatever. Woulda been last year."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

It's fine! Hana's never been to Peacock Silk.

"Thanks," Hana says of the bastards. And then... Well, it's a brief statement, but it does apply. "True," Hana allows.

Then, she explains... and Tsubasa seems to wonder about that. "I knew I liked men," she says. "The rest... Well, the distinction between a femme man and a trans woman is lost on a lot of people, and it took me a while to realize where I stood, was all."

Breaking up with... "Ahh. I had a bad breakup, myself," she euphemizes, though her hand shakes a little to remember it, one of the subtle signs of remembering that fear. "It was after that that I decided that I'd live as I wanted, instead of just how I was supposed to--more than I already was, I mean."

She doesn't see herself as particularly brave about it.

"I see... Well, there's all sorts of ways to figure it out. I won't pry, but I'm glad you were able to get out of that and learn more about yourself."

"...It's relationships that I have yet to figure out," she say then. "What you want for your 'self' is one thing--what you want in relation to others is different. My partners and I are working that out."

A smile. "Regardless, I wished I'd known more people like us when I was younger... so I thought I'd come after you for a bit."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>

"You're people, huh?" Tsubasa asks, tilting their head. "Guess it tracks, sure. Me, I just got mad..."

People have wondered whether Tsubasa is really ''just'' angry, but they're not worth shedding much ink over. There are a dozen easier rebellions to do than rejecting one's ''gender.''

Still, she's afraid of a breakup... and seeing that, Tsubasa doesn't pry. "Good on ya," they say, instead.

"Outta that, sure," and the implication that there's more they ''haven't'' gotten out of is left hanging.

Instead: "You got two hands fer a reason. Ain't no big. I'm like that, too."

They shrug, again, looking down to meet Hana's gaze for a moment. "It's cool," they say. "We're around. Jus' maybe not all so easy to see like me. Good meetin' ya, anyway, Fukami-san."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

"Mm-hm," Hana answers. "I am. ...Most of the things I wasn't 'allowed' to do as a boy, I figured just came with liking men. But I didn't know about everything."

There are so many easier rebellions than that.

"Thanks."

But there's more... Well, that tracks; life like this isn't easy, and that's if all you have is gender variance. Tsubasa clearly has more than that, from how they speak, how they carry themself. More than that.

She smiles. "Is that so?" she asks. "Well, that's nice. That part at least... I feel we're solid on."

But they're around. Hana looks up at Tsubasa's face, and then nods. "Likewise," she says. "...Good meeting you. And..."

"Maybe we'll meet again. I live in Tokyo, and I work at the Tokyo TV station. ...if you ever need an adult who understands this kind of thing, and you can't go to one you already know... I'll be there."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>

"I didn't figure out I liked girls too 'til after... but, uh, ain't like I had that much time," Tsubasa adds, roughly. "I mean, I coulda, jus' -- got put off it after that prick."

It's fine to date a lot of people in high school, just, you know, Tsubasa distinctly did ''not.''

It's true, though: there's a world of difference between a Weird Girl and Tsubasa.

"Cool," they nod, when Hana says she's solid with her partners being partner''s''. It's as laconic as ever, but Tsubasa isn't blind to the needs of adults who are navigating strange waters, either.

And so: "Sure," Tsubasa says, as they sway into the bench before kicking off of it, straightening up. "I'm in Tokyo sometimes. Got friends there. Kujaku-hakase out there, too, up in Shimokitazawa... y'know, Peacock Silk." So apparently all the trans adults are in Tokyo, which really has some dire implications for the trans ''Sumaru'' youth...

It's probably fine.

"See ya 'round, Fukami-san," they say, as they lift their hand from their pocket in a lazy wave.

If a pearl peeks out from the pocket for a brief instant as their fingers catch on it while they're doing that, no it didn't.

NO NARCS, HANA!
</poem>

2026-08-30: Don't Mind The Mess

2026-09-04T09:55:36Z

L: Created page with "*'''Log: ''' Don't Mind The Mess *'''Cast:''' Yua Ijuuin, Hana Fukami *'''Where:''' Aoba - Penthouse *'''OOC Date:''' 2026-08-30 *'''IC Date:''' Wed Jan 02 2013 *'''Summary''': ''Yua and Hana talk about their relationships, and Yua has some good advice for Hana, particularly regarding jealousy... but she's terribly wary of men, after her experiences with Kimitake, isn't she? Once again, Hana feels the pull of something being not right, but...'' *'''Content warnin..."

*'''Log: ''' Don't Mind The Mess
*'''Cast:''' [[Yua Ijuuin]], [[Hana Fukami]]
*'''Where:''' Aoba - Penthouse
*'''OOC Date:''' 2026-08-30
*'''IC Date:''' Wed Jan 02 2013
*'''Summary''': ''Yua and Hana talk about their relationships, and Yua has some good advice for Hana, particularly regarding jealousy... but she's terribly wary of men, after her experiences with Kimitake, isn't she? Once again, Hana feels the pull of something being not right, but...''
*'''Content warning:''' Lesbian separatism, discussion of domestic violence, allusions to sexual violence

----

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Yua has ''invited Hana over.'' With Tyrrha and Miho on an outing together, and Eiko on holidays for a little while to get to spend a romantic end of year with her ''boyfriend,'' it leaves Yua to keep an empty house... so of course it's time for friends! Which means putting her hair up... even if she goes for a more casual long-sleeved blouse and skirt down past to her knees, plus those omnipresent ''FOOT PRISONS.''

(If the penthouse is looking a little less kept than usual with their maid taking time off, well, never mind that. Yua's twenty-six weeks along, now; bending has become a trial. Miho has to help imprison her feet in those compression socks each morning, now...)

"Come in, come in!" Yua enthuses, when Hana arrives, opening the door for her ''herself.'' She picks up the weighted blanket that was sprawling over the couch to tuck it over the arm, with a, "oh, please don't mind the mess, Eiko-san's just on vacation..."

'The mess' is still objectively pretty clean, just not, you know, live-in maid clean.

It also helps that there are ''freshly baked cookies'' on the coffee table.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

Hana's glad to come over! ...She's had time to dwell a little on the things Yua told her, and she's sure that the sort of person she wants to be wouldn't abandon her to those difficulties. And she had a chance to talk to her closest people a little about it...

So she shows up in pink as usual, and smiles warmly to Yua when she's invited in. "Oh, it's lovely," Hana insists about the mess or lack thereof. "Thank you for inviting me over!"

"Oh!" she says, as she moves to take off her coat, "Cookies! Did you make these, Yuarin?"

Yes, the nickname she was supposed to use.

"You're looking lovely today, too," Hana says. "How are you feeling?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Mmhm! Just this morning!" Yua hums, brightly; that will explain their just-rested fluffiness, certainly. "You know, I send the girls off on their adventures... but I'm already in the kitchen, so why not keep going? I always remember stuff I wanted to make when I'm getting breakfast ready!"

There is, of course, ''milk'' with the cookies, which Yua will take a little of when she sits down.

"Things are good," she smiles, to her. "I'm really sorry I said all those awful things last time... but I'm doing good, really! We all did ''Tsuinuyuru'' and ''Sjoogwachi'' together... you know, ''Shougatsu!''" New Years, she means. "Father was even happy to have Mimi bring him offerings, even though they don't do stuff like that on the mainland... of course, we sent our ''nenga,'' too! Oh, oh, did you get yours?!" Because of course Yua sent ''Hana'' a New Years' postcard, too, with a beautiful Water Snake decorating it. "I got yours! I really like your handwriting, Kotoba!"

She might bounce a little on the couch, hands waving excitedly as they curl in front of her, as she talks about their mixed traditions. That's normal! Same as the weighted blanket is normal.

"So, so, did you have a good New Years' with everyone?" Yua asks, leaning forward for the ''gossip.'' "Did you all get out for the last bell ringing at midnight? Or was it just you and Teruda?" That's right, she's only met Teruo a couple of times, but he's ''already'' got a nickname.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

Fluffy... "I have no argument," Hana says with a little laugh about wanting to make things when getting breakfast ready. "I find I cook a little more than I used to living with someone, myself..."

Things are good--and Yua of course remembers... "It's all right," Hana assures her. "I'm glad you're doing so well. It's nice to be able to do all those things together, isn't it?" Together with Miho, that is. Of course! "Hmmm, for such a traditional family to embrace different traditions... That's nice, isn't it?"

"I did," Hana confirms, get Yua's. "It was lovely--and oh, thank you! I've always tried to have a nice hand..."

Bounce, bounce. It's very cute, actually. Hana smiles and walks over to the couch to sit with Yua. "Oh..."

She flushes a little at the question, but smiles anyway with a little laugh. "It was ''very'' nice," Hana enthuses. "Sa-chan especially was... happy. We all went out, this time, since we're going to be living together in the new year. But of course if anybody asks, I was on a double date with Teruo and the others," she says. "...It was really lovely, though. And it was nice to greet the new year with him yesterday..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Mm, mm! Cooking is better for other people!" Yua agrees, happily. "Like I told you I'm the oldest, right? So I was always helping make food for everyone! Especially in high school... by then, I could just take care of it for mama without needing help or anything!"

You know, how families ''without'' live-in maids end up having to find ways to take a few of the 10000 tasks off of mom so she doesn't implode.

She smiles, flapping happily, when Hana notices their blend of traditions. "Mm, mm! We did a mix of them together! I'm not done, either... the ''Hinukan'' went back home for the holidays, so in a couple days when he comes back I need to do a proper welcome home offering!"

(The ''Hinukan,'' Hana will have picked up when she noticed a shrine in the kitchen the first time she visited, is chief amongst Yua's household Gods.)

"Me too," Yua smiles, of ''nice handwriting.'' And hers is very nice, too!

She giggles, seeing Hana blush. "Good! It's lucky to share firsts with everyone in your household, right? Mmhm, mmhm... it's a model for the whole year to follow!" She's not ''directly'' saying anything about the first day she spent with Teruo, but, well, Hana can read between the lines.

"I'm really happy you had a good time!" She sparkles, instead.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

"You did," Hana recalls. "Ah! That's lovely. Back in high school I didn't cook much," Hana admits. "But I've learned since."

But Hana notices Yua flapping, and it really is nice to see her so happy. The gods went to go back home, though... "I suppose he has to now and then, doesn't he?" she asks. "Well, I hope the rest all go well."

"It is!" Hana agrees. And she wants to ''gossip'' but she's a little shy in the moment. ...But then, why not? "I got to have some of those firsts with Sa-chan, too, but it was Teruo I actually got to wake up with. Ah... it's a nice feeling. I'm a little nervous..." The new lease is coming. And Hana ''can'' read between the lines. "I want things to go on like this..."

"Thank you," Hana says eventually of Yua being happy. "There's a lot of things I want for this year. And I believe... I may be able to get them."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Cooking is something you can learn any time!" Yua says, cheerfully. "It's not like dancing, where you can't go pro if you haven't been doing it since you were a kid." To be fair, Yua doesn't ''know'' much about going pro in the cooking scene, but she's ''pretty confident'' it's not age-gated.

"Mm, mm," she nods, hands clapping to her knees as she leans forward to speak on the Hinukan. "He's visiting when he's staying with us, so he goes back home to tell all the Gods what we've been doing all year!"

She giggles, hearing Hana speak of ''Emisa,'' too. "I'm sure it was a wonderful celebration!" She says, cheerfully. "If everyone's happy, everyone's happy! We all went to the midnight bell-ringing together, and Mimi and Tomo-kun went home together... but Mimi woke me up for the first day, so it was okay!"

Kimitake of course dropped her home without so much as touching her... which Yua can't take for granted, these days, given how he'll lay her hands on her in violence. Mysteriously, she does not mention ''him'' by name -- nor the luncheon she had to attend on New Years' Eve to show off how he had a ''wife,'' before she was able to get to the important business, like warding off evil spirits with garlic.

"I hope you are able to be very happy," Yua says, and if she worries that she's ruined those hopes... she doesn't speak of it, as she smiles to her.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

"You won't be surprised to hear I cook a lot more than I used to for pretty specific reasons," Hana admits with a low tone. "But professional chefs are so intense...!" She knows a little about dancing; mostly 'choreography' is the word relevant to her. But still!

"I see...! That's a lot to do!"

Hana can't help but blush about Emisa almost as much as she does about Teruo--maybe more, since she's newer in that way. "And when I'm with Sa-chan, Ya-chan is usually with Teruo," she further explains, though she's probably gone into that dynamic before. "Ya-chan's so much more athletic than I am," she admitss with a sigh. And has... other attributes. "But I think we're getting along, too."

Oh, that's lovely, getting to go together," she says then, and listens--Miho went home with Tomoki... before she reacts to that, Hana gauges ''Yua's'' reaction, too. But it seems okay. "I'm glad. My, your Miho works hard to keep up... It's good you have someone so devoted."

Kimitake doesn't bear discussing in easy conversation. Hana knows that much.

"Thank you," Hana answers again. "I've thought a lot about everything..."

"And I hope you can be, too, Yuarin."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Yua nods, conspiratorially, when Hana intimates ''why'' she's cooking more. But she actually ''knows'' pro chefs, and so Yua gasps, "oh, I can only imagine!"

Yua is... well, not ''loving'' having to share, but she considers it her ''responsibility,'' managing the home as she is; Tomoki, at least, is considerate of coming into a settled arrangement, and Yua is at least able to ''like'' him. Knowing the pressures on Miho from her family to honour her fiancee, Yua made sure she'd have something good to tell them, and... well, she at least got her back when she woke ''up.''

But when she hears Hana sighing over Miyako, she hears ''that,'' too. "If you're worried, you should talk to them," Yua urges her, gently. "When I didn't feel supported, I started getting dreadfully resentful... if you feel like they like someone else more than you, it's not the kind of poison you can just think away."

She laughs, though, hearing Hana's surprise. "Oh, not at all," she says, veiling her smile behind a hand. "Don't you know what they say about Olympians? The really impressive thing is that ''I'' can keep up!" Tee hee! Yua giggles, before she folds her hands on her lap, smiling down at her belly. "But Mimi really is devoted... like, I said how I got jealous, but once she realised why I was acting weird she made sure I was okay." Which might explain ''why'' she advised Hana to fess up.

Still, her happiness...?

"I'll keep praying," she demurs, still looking to her belly.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

Hana has indeed gotten to know a few. And 'gotten to know' a few, for that matter; she ate pretty well in those days... but Teruo also likes to cook, so she doesn't have to do ''all'' of it when it's just them.

But Yua is very considerate indeed of her responsbilities; it makes the situation a bit different... but close enough that they can share thoughts about it, too.

"I'm a ''little'' worried," Hana admits. "He likes sports, and I'm not really a sporty girl... And, well, I worry that he'll want... a more ''conventional'' woman, in the end," she settles on. "But he's never said anything like that, it's just my own wonderings. You're right, I'll talk to them."

She certainly doesn't want a poison!

"It's complicated... what we all want from each other, I think."

But not at all! Hana laughs back. "Oh, I see," she says. "That is impressive! I'm not sure what my excuse is, then..." Because she's certainly also active. But, Miho is devoted. "I see... Yes, that's very good."

It does make sense; Hana may as well learn from Yua's experience, there. "It's..." She considers. "It's different because I haven't been with a woman in a while. And with Sa-chan it's ''very'' different, but I'm not sure yet how Ya-chan and I should approach each other..."

But Yua will keep praying. "And I'll do the same."

"How is Tyrrha-chan, then?" she wonders. She's heard of Miho and Tomoki, but...!

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Mm, mm," Yua nods, when Hana resolves to ''talk to her partners.'' "I worried about the same kind of thing," because she ''does'' view it as the same, "when Mimi told me she loved a man... I thought, you know, Mimi likes being with men most of the time, so what if... what if it was just easier for her to go with him? What if I was too much trouble? I'm already a burden a lot of the time, Mimi has to support me... what if she preferred having a man who wouldn't give her all that extra work? We always said we chose each other, so it wasn't just destiny, but... that means she can choose someone else if she liked him better, too." Yua's voice grows quiet, as she recalls those enormous feelings. "So I became very sulky... it's funny, I was worried about being too much trouble, but it ended up with me just being a lot more difficult. But in the end, I shouldn't have doubted her... Mimi didn't want me to step aside at all. She was trying to take care of Hiroki, too, since she'd need a husband to adopt him..." Yua sighs, shaking her head. "... and it's not like I could tell her why I needed her to be able to do that really soon, but even before Kimi-san showed me who he really was, I knew I didn't want to leave it undone."

Which is to say: she had an impression Kimitake was bad news long before she ''realised'' it.

"You don't need an excuse," Yua insists, though, on Hana's stamina. "Whatever makes you happy is the right thing for you!"

She tilts her head, as she considers Miyako. "It's hard," she agrees, "since you're both cats. Have you talked about what you both like together, yet? Hmm... and... why don't you get Saga or Teruda to give you some suggestions? That way you don't just get stuck and watch TV when you try to have bedroom time!"

But then--!! Hana switches gears entirely, to her ''daughter with gears.'' "Tykko's out to get another strange food with Mimi!" Yua bubbles, enthusiastically. "She loves eating exotic food the most! This was her first New Years' in the city, too... she was really happy to get all her ''otoshidama!''" The envelopes one gives to children with money inside, that is. It's difficult to imagine Tyrrha ''wanting'' for anything, but it's more the tradition of the thing. "And she was really enthusiastic doing spring cleaning...! Though I think most of that was just her enjoying the opportunity to go through mama's stuff..."

Kids are endlessly curious about that sort of thing, after all.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

Yua's helpful experience is something Hana has to weigh, considering her feelings and how similar they are to some of Hana's own. "Even if I don't need as much care, I'm still a much bigger danger to his reputation than she is," Hana reflects. "...But I suppose that's the other side, isn't it? If it isn't only 'destiny', then she ''could'' choose otherwise..."

She smiles back. "I'm glad you were able to resolve it, though. That does make sense. Hiroki will do better with a father as well sa his mothers, I think." And that sure isn't going to be Kimitake. "The practical realities make it all more difficult, don't they...? But as for me, I suppose if he only wanted the sort of persona Ya-chan is, we wouldn't have met in a gay bar."

But Yua insists she doesn't need an excuse, and Hana smiles. "Thanks. ...Sometimes I worry it's not very 'womanly', but..."

Still, they ''are'' both cats. "We haven't," Hana replies, talked about what they like together. "Just what we like in the others. But that's a really good idea. ...We haven't actually... had... That is, we haven't been 'together', just us yet," Hana says. "But I'd like to. I think that's why I'm not sure where I stand..."

A laugh. "...Even if we do have a lot of good TV to keep up with..."

But Tyrrha! Hana couldn't ''not'' ask about Yua's daughter, after all. "That's wonderful," Hana answers, and smiles. The ttradition! "...Ahah. Yes, I imagine it was curiosity too. But that's good. I like to try a lot of new foods, too."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Maybe I don't have very good self-esteem," Yua admits, her smile dimming, "so it's easy for me to think a red string's the only thing I have going for me... but Mimi's never talked like that," she says, shaking her head. "It's just... Kimi-san does, a lot, you know... when I look back, he was always tearing me down... so I guess that was going on underneath, too."

She sighs, as she admits: "Everyone says it, but I don't really think he needs a father. Why is it always how women aren't enough? But... it's practical, mm, in a place like this, it's practical." She shakes her head, again, smiling to Hana. "But that's right, too, you met in a place like that. Maybe he likes sports, but I bet if you looked at it, you'd see a lot of things you do that he likes a lot, too."

Yua adds, aside: "If that made you a bad woman, it would make us bad women, too, and if I catch anyone saying anything like that about Mimi I'll ''claw their eyes out.''" M--metaphorically, right? Metaphorically, Yua? You're terrified of violence? Right? Why do you sound so serious? Yua???

(Two things can be true. Yua can both be petrified of physical retaliation ''and'' want to blind anyone who talks about her Amazonian Goddess of a wife like she's somehow failed to be a proper woman.)

"Then start there," she adds, of Miyako. "If you don't know what you like, you'll never know where to start. Don't let your dreams go the way of re-runs, Kotoba!"

She's all smiles, though, speaking of Tyrrha. "She's endlessly curious!" Yua says, with fond punctuation. "She still hasn't grown out of asking 'why' about everything... aaa, it's so cute!!"

Yes, Yua ''does'' kick her legs when she says that.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

Of all the reasons Yua might not have good self-esteem... Kimitake badmouthing her to her face is definitely one. Hana looks sympathetic, her face drawing into something a little worried for a moment. "Words like his, over long enough... Even when it was just back then, I didn't feel good about myself with him," she admits.

But a sigh, and! Hana is thoughtful! She tilts her head, taps her cheek with a finger. "I suppose that's true," she admits. "I just assume that it's a good addition, but it's not as if you aren't enough, certainly." Practical, though. In a... 'place like this'. Well, Hana isn't talking practicalities entirely; after all, society wouldn't favor her, either, not that way....

"Thanks, Yuarin," she says. "I'm sure that's true."

It would make them bad women too... Hana nods firmly. "Good," she says. "...You're right. People who tell women how we're allowed to be... They shouldn't feel free to do that."

But start there. "Yes! For our dreams..."

But Tyrrha ''is'' curious. "It's very cute," Hana agrees.

This adorable woman is such a far cry from the despairing person who was at Hana's apartment before... And yet, she is so clearly the same.

"I think it's good when people show their feelings, personally. Stoicism has its charms... but it's fun to see it that way, too."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Yeah," Yua nods, her voice quieting a touch. "I guess you can kind of imagine how he's like... like, even when he talks like he's saying something nice... it's not very nice. You'd think it would be worse now he just says the mean thing out loud a lot of the time now," she adds, glancing aside. "And sometimes it is... mm, like, when I can't tell Mimi why I'm all needy, but... but it's easier now, too, since I don't feel like I'm so replaceable even when he says I'm just in the family to bear children."

He probably didn't say it as clinically as that.

It's not that Yua's viewing it in any kind of childish framework, it's just... hard to discuss these things out in the open, when she spends so much time covering them up.

So it's 'not very nice'. So it's a 'mean thing'. So he's saying she's here to 'bear children'.

... so it's Yua's guilt, as she keeps his secret, and leaves her ''seishitsu'' where she's sure she least wants to be: ''guessing.''

"Check with him," Yua encourages her, again. "That way, you can be really sure!"

And when Hana nods firmly, Yua does, too. "It's a double standard, even for straight people, you know? I hear a lot how women are expected to keep their husbands happy... but they're not supposed to think about bedroom stuff? They're not supposed to care? But that says something really awful about men! If you don't care about it, you don't really want to do it, and that means it's not really okay!" Yua, who has never comprehended asexual living a day in her life, certainly ''thinks'' affirmative consent works like that. "And I mean, even ''good'' men are really selfish," she adds, a frown glowering over her face for a moment, as she remembers her scare over the pressures Miho faced from hers. "... but if they're good, they at least stop doing the bad things when someone calls them out and they actually think about it. So I don't really know how I feel about men... maybe they are people who would be happy to force their wives to get themselves off without having to have an impure partner, but I want to think at least some of them would be embarrassed if we pointed out just what they were asking for when they said women shouldn't like this stuff."

... maybe it's hard to blame Yua for being a bit man-hating, when her man is Kimitake, but... just how many positive male relationships does she ''have,'' anyway? At least she's definitively classing Hana in the 'us' and not the 'them', unlike ''some'' writers.

(Incidentally -- counting generously, and family excluded -- six men. There's Tomoki, despite her misgivings about his character, and Shiryuu, of course, and Seiji, and then her enemies, Masao and Katsuya... and Para-Mind... and... ... ... ... does Tiger count? Can we count Tiger? Can Tiger bring us to seven whole men who Yua would trust to not immediately be the worst people in existence?!)

Yua smiles, though, as she thinks about ''stoicism.'' "Mm, but it can be twice as rewarding to figure someone out when they don't show it!" She says, because of course this is more ''talking about Miho'' which remains ''her favourite thing.'' "Since it's not like they're not feeling things under there, you know? People forget that a lot, so it's a really easy way we can take care of them!"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

"I'm glad you don't feel that way," Hana says. "...He's wrong, too. You're there because Miho loves you, aren't you? That's different."

But check with him... "I will," Hana assures Yua. She's actually kind of looking forward to it now. A chance to talk about how she's feeling...

Maybe that's one of the differences, too.

But a double standard... "That's true," Hana agrees. "That's the stereotype, anyway; I'm not really immune to those... if I don't play it close to how a woman is 'supposed' to be people tend to decide I don't count." She listens, though. "...I agree that if we look at it that way, it makes men look terrible," she says. "It's funny how the stereotypes reveal such terrible underpinnings..."

It makes her think, anyway. "But then, it's women as much as men who tell me how I'm 'supposed' to be."

"...I wonder..."

If she's adhering to these ideas... Is she pressuring others to do the same? When they result in feelings like this?

Hana is kind of uncomfortable with that part of the conversation, but she pushes through, "The people who tell us who we're allowed to be... Those are the ones that most get to me."

But, Yua smiles. Hana smiles too. "Hmmm, that's true too. It's important to remember, too. ...I don't really share all of my feelings with everyone, either."

"Hmmm. Maybe that's a connection point with Ya-chan... She's a little more stoic..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"A whole lot," Yua nods, of Miho loving her. It sounds like they've both got relationships like that!

But then -- ''stereotypes.'' "That's not fair," Yua grumbles, scowling. "I don't like when people decide a woman doesn't count. But... mm..."

Her frown deepens. "... I guess it's a woman who keeps doing 'that'," Yua says, quietly. "But she's doing it to ''fix'' me... so I'll treat ''men'' right. It's not like I can tell her my husband wouldn't want it, anyway..." She makes a discomforted noise, wordless, in her throat. "If men weren't like this, she wouldn't have an excuse," is how she settles it for herself.

The alternative is that she just can't trust ''anyone''... well, maybe Miho's right about that, too.

"What I'm allowed... I guess I'm used to that."

Maybe it's best not to think about it.

"Mm, mm," Yua hums, instead, smiling as Hana speaks of stoics. "You need to learn how to read her, Kotoba! That way, you can help her open up! You just need to find the trick that gets in under their walls... like I touch Mimi's face! It's our code for it being safe for her to think about feelings and stuff!"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

"I don't like it either," Hana says.

But it's a woman doing that... Except, that it's about men after all. Hana quietss at this way of ettling things. She doens't rally have anything to say; she can't contradict Yua like that in her own home, when she's talking about such delicate things...

"I guess we all get used to it," what's 'allowed', "But maybe we shouldn't have to."

Still, there is a nice possibility there. "Right," she says. "...That's sweet. Maybe I can give her another person like that..."

She smiles. "Well, I haven't tried your cookies yet, have I? Let me go ahead and have one. We were talking so much that I almost forgot!"

Delicious.

</poem>

2026-08-28: Old Connections for the New Year

2026-09-04T09:50:45Z

L: Created page with "*'''Log: ''' Old Connections for the New Year *'''Cast:''' Yua Ijuuin, Remi Ryuuja, Miho Ijuuin, Tyrrha Ijuuin *'''Where:''' Saihouji Shrine, Aoba *'''OOC Date:''' 2026-08-28 *'''IC Date:''' Jan 01, 2013 *'''Summary''': ''Yua, Miho, Tyrrha, and Remi celebrate the New Year -- one for the first time, and two for the first time as adults. Remi shares her connection she's made with her family. Yua's papa and father get delicious squid!'' ---- Category:Log..."

*'''Log: ''' Old Connections for the New Year
*'''Cast:''' [[Yua Ijuuin]], [[Remi Ryuuja]], [[Miho Ijuuin]], [[Tyrrha Ijuuin]]
*'''Where:''' Saihouji Shrine, Aoba
*'''OOC Date:''' 2026-08-28
*'''IC Date:''' Jan 01, 2013
*'''Summary''': ''Yua, Miho, Tyrrha, and Remi celebrate the New Year -- one for the first time, and two for the first time as adults. Remi shares her connection she's made with her family. Yua's papa and father get delicious squid!''

----

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

This is actually the first time Yua and Miho have been able to hold their synchronistic Shogatsu-Sjoogwachi celebrations in adulthood. Did you know? Yua was rescued after the Lunar New Year -- she still celebrates -- let alone the Solar New Year; and back then, she was in no state to celebrate ''anything.''

Yua was the one to pen their ''nengajou'' postcards, to send to all their distant relatives; Miho was the one to present incense and dried squid and ''nishiji tamago,'' egg roulade, the food all of course prepared by Yua's hands. There were two sets of offerings for Miho to make, as the head of their household; once, to Takashi, and again to Fuyu. One of these meetings was considerably more formal than the other -- Takashi had of course prepared an entire traditional ''honzen-ryouri'' banquet -- though conveniently, they can wear their fancy kimono to ''both visits.''

It's traditional for men to make those visits in old Okinawa, but, well, the head of their household is a ''woman'' -- and it's not so strange for one's wife and children to come along, in this day and age, so Yua and Tyrrha came along too.

... of course, her offerings to ''Yurika'' had to be long distance, but luckily there are provisions for things to be sent for the new year, so Miho was able to deliver ''awamori'' alongside the traditional dried squid and ''nishiji tamago'' -- the latter more traditional on the ''mainland'' -- and call her appropriately.

After the visits and offerings to their families are over, it's time to visit the ''shrine'' for more New Years' celebrations -- Saihouji Shrine, right here in Aoba, which has flowers all year 'round. Yua wears a cheerful yellow winter jasmine kimono, orange ''obi'' tied about a belly that really can't be obscured at this point; in China, winter jasmine is associated with the ''Lunar'' New Year, which explains why it's the flower Yua's favoured, as opposed to Miho's plums.

The kimono they had commissioned for ''Tyrrha'' in the New Year, meanwhile, happens to have ''both'' yellow winter jasmine and pink plum blossoms. She couldn't choose...

Visiting the shrine in the afternoon has two purposes, though -- and one is to make sure that their friend ''Remi'' comes to visit with them, since she wasn't able to make it out to the traditional midnight viewing of the 108th ring of the bell. It's Tyrrha who greets her first, who has apparently picked up Yua's exuberance, because when they meet Yua is taking a moment to ''sit on a bench.'' (Her poor feets...)

Lo, it's Tyrrha who bounds up to her, pushing a ''mochi'' ball treat into her hands. (No Welwetes, today. Thank god??) "Heyyy, Auntie Remi! You made it--!! Check this out!" She pulls an envelope out of her sleeve -- a traditional ''pochibukuro'' envelope, the kinds adults give to children on New Year's. "Mimama said on the mainland, kids get ''cash!'' It's ''otoshidama!'' Cool, huh?" She's ''probably'' just excited to learn a new thing and doesn't realise the implications there.

"Recchi," Yua smiles, as she takes Miho's hand to help her standing, so that she can go over to hug her, naturally.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
<poem>

Remi had opted to spedn the New Year alone--or at least, that's what she had ''planned''. While she appreciates that Miho and Yua look out for her and make sure she is included in things, her plan had been to ring in the New Year by herself, wanting a moment of solitude to reflect on things.

... Things did not quite go as planned, but she hasn't had a chance to share that yet.

But regardless, she is here now for ''this'' visit, and has arrived in a kimono depicting holly flowers in red and white, wth a green obi, and a few extra layers underneath. (She's still shivering, though.) A kimono graciously provided by Miho, which she had gratefully accepted. Red and white are the colors to ring in the Japanese New Year, of course, but Hollies also represent protection, something she--and all of them--could use more of.

"Tyrrha-chan," she greets, mustering up a smile, though it's a little strained. "Happy New Year's, dear." She listens, and she nods along. "Indeed, that is the tradition." On the mainland... yes. "Speaking of..." She slips an envelope from her own sleeve (she is also wearing gloves, which are untraiditional but are the only thing letting her hands function) slipping out another envelope and pressing it into Tyrrha's hands.

"Yua-chan, Happy New Year's to you, as well." She makes things eaier on Yua and closes the distance so she can give Yua a hug, and she'll also give Miho a hug, too. She's a little troubled, but she's trying not to let it show. "How has the new year greeted you so far?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Miho was glad to be a part of these rituals, not just for a chance to meet with her family, but for the reminder that time moves on, and there is much more to their lives than the Order. ...Would that she could make that 'all' aside from the Order... one day. She takes her duties as head of their household quite seriously, and while it was more formal with the Ijuuin patriarch, it was no less affectionate with the Ooshiro father. Miho is elegant in her plum kimono, her short hair still more than short by the standards of her dress. Tyrrha is here, too! And Miho steps up after her, her strides smaller to match her kimono and footwear.

She of course moves to help Yua first. Naturally.

"Happy New Year," Miho agrees. Miho will accept and return a hug, too!

"I'm very glad that you could join us," she says warmly, and for Miho to show warmth she must really mean it because it shines through even her usual stoicism.

It is important, to spend time together outside of missions and authority.

"So far I an lucky to receive it," Miho says of the new year greeting her. "I am pleased."

A beat, "And it would seem Tyrrha-chan is enjoying herself as well, so how can I not?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

OST: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkvVr6n1cGk Laura Shigihara - Everything's Alright

Alone...

Yua does not want Remi to be alone, though she struggles with the weight of what she's made to do. Even if she needs to be more careful around her...

And she, at least, sees the strain in Remi's smile, though the nuances sail ''right'' over Tyrrha's shaggy green ponytail.

"Happy Mew Year!" Tyrrha grins, and she definitely got ''that'' one from one mother in particular, too. "Huh?" She adds, as Remi, too, pulls out an envelope. "Whoa! Cool! Thanks, Auntie Remi!! Hey, check it out!"

That's Tyrrha whirling around to show the envelope off to her moms -- of whom, Yua giggles, as she steps up to Remi instead to hug her. "Haaappy Mew Year~" she lilts, cheerfully, as if there was any doubt.

And, more seriously: "I'm glad you're here," she adds, quietly, before she parts from her hug to step back.

"Mm, mm," Yua hums, smiling, to Miho, as she expresses her luck for the new year, before she looks to Remi again. "Hee hee... I made sure to smile, so we'll have good luck!"

"The new year is great!" Tyrrha claims, boldly, as Miho recognises her cheer. "Hey, now it's twenty-thirteen, does this mean I start tellin' people I'm sixteen?"

(She's not ''really'' a teenager, you see. She wasn't quite born yesterday... but it's a matter of months, not years.)

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
<poem>

Miho is glad Remi could join them. "Of course, darling. How could I refuse an offer from my dearest friends?" She nods, as Miho continues that she is lucky, and that Tyrrha is enjoying it. "Yes, she certainly is as exuberant as always, isn't she? I am glad to see all of you in such good spirits."

Speaking of good spirits, she smiles at Tyrrha's reaction. "You're quite welcome, dear."

She embraces Yua warmly, though. "Of course, dear. I wouldn't have missed it for the world." It's true that there's a little bit of weirdness, due to the conditioning, that's just something they'll have to work around.

She considers Tyrrha's question, though, looking thoughtful. "Well, it ''is'' true that birthdays were traditionally celebrated on the dawn of the new year, but that hasn't been the case for quite some time, now."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Miho smiles. "Indeed." Of course, Remi ''could'' have refused. That's why they had Miho make the offer. But she didn't! That's worth celebrating.

Mew...

Miho laughs softly. "I see, I see," she asys of the envelope. "Very good."

2013...

"It can mean that," Miho agrees. "Unless you prefer to mark your birthday a different day. Since you came to us, that's the anniversary most improtant to me," she says. So Tyrrha can just pick! And indeed, Yua did smile.

Miho likes it when she does.

"...I am particularly fond of this shrine," she comments. "I chose it for a reason. I like to see the blooms even in winter..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

One day, they'll figure out how to free Remi, too...

Until then, it'll just have to be ''complicated.''

"Yup yup yup!" Tyrrha chirps, cheerfully, at the recognition of her exhuberance. (She doesn't ''look'' all that cheerful -- her expression is permanently a bit pissed off, except for when she grins and looks like she's about to ''eat someone'' -- but it's fine, she ''sounds'' happy.) But then -- her birthday!

"It's traditional, huh? Oh, yeah! I read that in one of Mimama's books!" Miho's books on ''history'' and ''culture'' and ''philosophy,'' that is. "But... you reckon the day I got here's most important?" She pauses, looking to Yua. "Uh, but... I dunno, Yumama seemed kinda down that day?"

"Oh, that was about something different," Yua assures Tyrrha, and she is able to smile, to her, despite the weight of what ''something different'' is. "Finding you was much more important, ''ucha,''" and here, she calls her a ''cookie,'' in the Okinawan fashion. "Why don't you count it from that day?"

"Okay!" Tyrrha goes along with it, quite cheerfully. "I was really initialised on October 7th at 1605 hours, but we can count it from October 31 at 2137 hours!" That's military time, not weird robot time.

And if Yua is disturbed to realise that Tyrrha can count their meeting down to the hour -- at least -- it's carried only in a brief wavering of her smile, as she puts aside what the evening meant for for.

"The flowers are beautiful," she says, instead, turning to them. "I love the comet orchids most of all... they represent prayer, and staying beside the ones you love for all time. We're not able to grow them at home, did you know? It's because they depend on specific pollinators... and we only have our bee hive, up there." They live on the tenth floor -- too high for insects to generally be flying up ''naturally.''

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
<poem>

For as much as she sometimes feels like a burden to Miho and Yua, she does still enjoy their company. They were her closest friends in high school, and they have only become more so after their shared travails with the NWO.

But the blooms even in winter. "A lovely choice, dear. To see the resilience to bloom, even in the dire weather.. rather inspiring, I daresay."

"Indeed it is," Remi says, of tradition. "But as yourMimama says, if you all agree, you can choose to celebrate it differently."

Remi tries to school her face into something neutral when it's mentioned that Yua was not in good spirits that particular day. And then they do, in fact, all decide. "Splendid," she says, trying to drum up cheer again. "Mmm... that puts your 'birthday' rather close to another, as it happen. Two others, in fact."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

They will.

Miho has many books, and she's given Tyrrha many books to read. Miho nods along as she recalls it. "She was," Miho recalls of course, "But... it is what we carry from that day, too." She wonders if it was unkind to think of it in those terms, of clawing Tyrrha from the morass. Still, Yua seems to go with it...

Her activation was so recent as that before they met her... it tracks. "Very well."

Inspiring, though. Miho inclines her head. "And they are not simply shadows of spring and summer; they have their own ways of being, their own blossoms. It is important."

Miho reaches to set a hand on Yua's arm, briefly.

"Yes, it is the downside of living so high," Miho reflectss. "Still..."

"I also favor those. And those two particular birthdays, as it happens."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

That's all too common a feeling, for people who came from that place; Yua often worries that ''Tyrrha'' feels burdensome, just as she does, too...

... though Tyrrha ''seems'' more cheerful than that, aside from a comment or two.

"But you can't be carryin' me, I'm too heavy," is what Tyrrha says, first, when Miho speaks of carrying forward, as Yua goes quiet for a moment and Remi tries to reengage their cheer.

"Psst," Yua lifts a hand to whisper, "that's a metaphor!"

And that's when Tyrrha snaps her fingers, the sound a touch metallic, and says: "Ohhhhhh! I get it!"

Does she really got it...?

Well, no one can say she ''isn't'' related to Yua...

Yua, who chirps, happily: "Mimi's a winter flower, too!" When Remi compliments the flowers for blooming in winter. "She's so pretty...! Doesn't her hair look really good in a kimono now?!" Miho has changed it a ''little,'' after all.

She grasps Miho's hand, smiling up to her, as Tyrrha tilts her head to Remi.

"Eh?" Tyrrha asks. "Who's that?"

Yua giggles. "Hee hee... Recchi and I were born on the twenty ''eighth,'' Tykko!"

"Whoa," Tyrrha says, with all the shock of a youth who's learned forbidden knowledge. "So you had a party like, right before ya met me?"

"Well, no... the Black Mask attacked us, so I couldn't really celebrate," Yua explains, and she's still smiling, but it's for Tyrrha's benefit again. "But don't worry! Mimi made sure to impress him, so we were a-okay!"

"Huh? Black Mask? Ain't that that super-scary enforcer guy?" Tyrrha thinks, for a moment... "Cool! I wanna fight him, too!"

"N--no no no no definitely not!!" Yua squeaks, waving her hands, palms-up.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
<poem>

"Of course," Remi says to Miho. "Winter has blooms to call its own." But there is a brief smile as Miho includes her birthday in the sentiment.

''Does'' Tyrrha have it? "We can explain, if you need us to, dear," Remi comments quietly, trying to at least leave the door open on that front.

"She does look rather fetching, dear, I agree," Remi replies to Yua with a smile. She's happy to see Yua so happy, at least.

"Indeed we were," Remi confirms for Tyrrha, but she grows weary again as a party is mentioned. She didn't much feel like celebrating that day (though she did still go to dinner with Miho, at Yua's insistence.) "We shall simply have to throw a big party this year--and an even bigger one three days after, yes?" Let's keep looking fot he future rather than looking to the past.

Though that thought inevitably leads her to something ele, and her cheer dims. "Though..." She draws her hands toherself, tucking them into her sleeves for warmth as she shivers. "... I suppose we shall have to coordinate any such celebration with... my parents, this year."

That troubled look is back, as she glances to Yua and miho. "By chance, I ran into Tanaka-san at the store yesterday, and one thing led to another..."

Ayuna Tanaka, Remi's personal assistant, while she was in high school, though she also served Remi's family in general. Remi hadn't made contact with her family, since right after hse got out of the lab she needed time to adjust... but the matter only got more awkward as the days nand months went on.

And now, it's awkward for a different reason.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Tyrrha does. But it was a metaphor. "We carry it emotionally. It's the same way that you can't cut someone up and find their mind," Miho explains, just to be safe. And indeed, winter blooms... They are. And Miho is one. Miho ''has'' changed her hair a little now--there's just enough fluff to it to be fetching in a kimono, without being hyper-feminine as was once expected of her. And...

Not so much partying, no. "I'm for a party," Miho says. Then--

Black mask...

"Yes, it's him," Miho says, and shakes her head. "I would prefer you not attempt to fight Black Mask unless I specifically endorse it. ...Maybe one day--but not soon. Some fights are best avoided."

Miho squeezes Yua's hand--and then looks to Remi. Tanaka...

"So, you met her again..." Miho prompts Remi to continue. Because--coordinating with...

"And your parents. So you're speaking with them?" she wonders, because--that's the implication of planning together.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

They can explain it! And so, Miho does. "Ohhh," Tyrrha says, again, and... ''hopefully'' this time she gets it.

Hopefully.

"Yeah! Let's have a big party!" Tyrrha woops, a hand punching the air. "Hollerin' kari-chikiyun!" That's a phrase used when singing at a celebration; it's not Japanese, but both Miho and Remi have known Yua long enough to have picked up a little Okinawan by now.

Miho says she'd prefer her ''not'' fight Black Mask, though, and Tyrrha pouts. "Awwww, man..." She whines, as we note here that this disappointment subroutine might in fact be a critical dependency in all Kirijo robots.

Though --

Remi speaks of Ayuna, and Yua frowns, looking to her with that single eye of hers, as she puts the pieces together alongside Remi's words. She squeezes Miho's hand, before she steps away, to reach out to Remi in turn. "... how are you?" She asks the emotional question, since Miho's handled the ''practical'' one.

Tyrrha, meanwhile, has developed a big question mark over her head, but please clap, she's figured out that the adults are talking and if she just listens for five minutes she'll have a better chance of figuring it out.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
<poem>

"I, for one, should like to avoid this 'Black Mask'," Remi adds. Ajnd she doesn't scare from a fight easily.

She nods to Miho, taking a long sigh. She's still feeling unsettled, to suddenly see them after all this time. "Yes. It... well, it is certainly ''awkward'', to say the least. They were rather shocked, naturally, as was Tanaka-san." Remi looks distant. "... perhaps I waited too long, to reach out."

But there is a brief smile for Tyrrha's enthusiasm. "Indeed, dear." Kari-chikiyun, indeed.

She lets Yua reach out, taking a deep breath. "I feel... quite complicated," she admits. "There are so many things I cannot say, yet wish to... they, in turn, were shocked, to see me again so suddenly..." She looks to Yua and then Miho. "... I... I explained that it was by my insistence that you did not contact them," she mentions. "But I do not know what kind of daughter they expect me to be, anymore. I can't simply... return to my life, to the path they had laid out for me. Not while our 'benefactors' hold my leash."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Hopefully. Miho knows the meaning of parties, though. And even Remi wants to avoid Black Mask... Even if Tyrrha ''is'' disappointed in a very particular way.

Awkward, though. "Maybe," Miho allows, but is not willing to censure Remi for it even so. Instead, she listens, and...

She feels complicated. "I see..."

Tyrrha is powerful.

"Only you and they can navigate that. ...Things are different from how they were. But now that you have made contact with them... That may be for the best. To start somewhere."

"Ultimately, though, the pace at which you acclimiate is up to you."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

And so they all agree: let's NOT fight that guy.

THEY ALL AGREE TYRRHA!

Potential catastrophe aside, though, there's an ''actual'' catastrophe going on ''in Remi's feelings.'' (That's how Yua would describe it, anyway.) "It's not your fault," Yua insists, more bold.

"It's... hard to explain it in a safe way," she admits, squeezing at Remi's arm. "I said I was trafficked... so it's not all the way a lie, just... I know my family's not thinking of them how they really are." But of course, to describe the people who took them ''accurately'' would not be safe at ''all...'' particularly with her father being a military man.

"It's different, but... they're still your family, Recchi. So you'll try, right?" She asks, her brow creasing with concern. "At least give them a chance... to see how it was hard for you."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
<poem>

Only her and her parents can nvaigate it. "I suppose you are right... And I suppose it is overdue. Perhaps I ahve been..." she lets out a hollow lauigh. "... too afraid, to reach out."

The irony, that she should be afraid of something, after what the NWO did to her. But they only engineered a very particular lack of fear.

Remi would have a hard time disagreeing with the categorization of her feelings as a 'catastrophe.' (Even without this unexpected reunion, she often feels out of sorts, or a bit detached... but she puts a lot of effort into masking it.)

"I know," Remi says quietly. She lifts her hand to place it over Yua's on her arm. "I must confess, I said something similar, though I left the details vague, of course, but I was not prepared..."

"They are. And I do want to try. My heart is just... filled with uncertainty. And more has changed than I realized." She looks to Miho and Yua. "... they asked after you both. You shall have to visit. If naught else, you will have to meet... mon petit frère." Her little brother.

Except she was definitely an only child before. And Remi is still a bit numb as she says that, as if she is still processing the news.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

They all agree!!

"It is natural," Miho says. "A monster is easier to face than one's feelings. ...Particularly complex feelings such as these."

But that's how Remi characterized it... Hmm. But it's... yes. It's best not to share the details.

"A little brother?" Miho asks. Hm. yes, that would be...

"I see." Miho does not venture how she thinks REmi might feel at that. Instead she says, "Then we shall have to meet them, and this brother."

"...it is a big piece of news to learn," she settles on.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Recchi can be scared, too," Yua encourages her, hearing that hollow laughter. "I was scared, even though my family knew I came back... it took me a while to actually see them." ... she wasn't in much state to see ''anyone'' when Miho rescued her, as Remi may remember.

(Miho got her out, too.)

She shakes her head, smiling to Remi. "Even if you had a hundred years, I don't think you could have prepared for that. I'm sure you did good, okay?"

But a lot has changed; she has a brother... "Things do change," Yua says, gently. "Like how they'll get to meet Tykko! She wasn't here last time, either!" Tyrrha is still kind of standing there with that big question mark over her head. She's fine, don't worry.

She pauses, and adds: "And it's like how mama went home, too..." They stayed with her, briefly, on their trip to Okinawa; she seems perfectly pleasant and well, but she steadfastly refuses to leave town, any more, alongside Yua's little brother.

"When we were gone a long time, a lot of things happened, right?" Yua asks, rubbing at Remi's arm. "But uncertainty doesn't get less uncomfy if you ignore it, Recchi. Come on! We can face the scary stuff!"

Tyrrha, mysteriously, doesn't question the idea that family can be scary whatsoever.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
<poem>

"That is so... a rapier will not help in confronting my feelings." Miho asks, and Remi confirms. "Yes." She shakes her head slowly. "It most certainly is. Imagine how I felt, to see him suddenly run in shouting for 'Maman' and 'Tou-chan.'"

She's still not sure how she feels. Surprised, certainly. Perhaps even shocked. But is she upset or angry that she might have been 'replaced'? She's still not sure.

Remi tried to attack Miho on sight. She... definitely needed some time for adjustment, too. And she remembers well what Yua was like, back then. But Yua reassures her, and Remi sighs. "It does help, to hear bth of yours encouragement," she admits. "I am... still uncertain of the way forward, but I will... try to take my time, as best as I am able."

But Tyychan wasn't here last time, either. "Ah, I suppose that is true... you will forgive me, if I did not have the presence of mind to mention our dear Tyrrha-chan. I was rather preoccupied, you understand." But she addresses Tyrrha next. "But you are certainly welcome to visit, as well."

But she finds it within herself to chuckle gently at Yua's encouragement. "You are a bright spot as ever, Yua-chan. Very well, then, with your support, I will find my way forward."

"We shall explain, Tyrrha-chan. Suffice it to say, much has changed for me, in the time I have been away from my home. But for the moment..." She looks to the three others with her. "... I should like to enjoy this shrine visit. Shall we?"
</poem>

2026-08-25: Yua's Choice

2026-08-26T13:46:13Z

L: Created page with "*'''Log: ''' Yua's Choice *'''Cast:''' Yua Ijuuin, Miho Ijuuin *'''Where:''' Rengedai Fertility Clinic *'''OOC Date:''' 2026-08-25 *'''IC Date:''' Sun, Dec 30 2012 Part 2 *'''Summary''': ''Dr. Matsuhashi has some confronting things to raise with her patients during Yua's latest antenatal appointment. Miho is willing to steer Yua towards preparing for a lengthy hospital admission during the last months of her pregnancy... but she isn't willing to influence her dec..."

*'''Log: ''' Yua's Choice
*'''Cast:''' [[Yua Ijuuin]], [[Miho Ijuuin]]
*'''Where:''' Rengedai Fertility Clinic
*'''OOC Date:''' 2026-08-25
*'''IC Date:''' Sun, Dec 30 2012 Part 2
*'''Summary''': ''Dr. Matsuhashi has some confronting things to raise with her patients during Yua's latest antenatal appointment. Miho is willing to steer Yua towards preparing for a lengthy hospital admission during the last months of her pregnancy... but she isn't willing to influence her decision about whose life to save if worst comes to worst, because she's never viewed Yua as a tool like the men of the Order. Faced with the question of whose life to save -- herself or her sons' -- if her doctors can only save one of them, Yua must reckon with her determination to live against her determination to bring Hiroki into the world. At length, she chooses herself, with hope that even if she fails today she can still try again tomorrow... though both of them hope it won't come to that.''

----

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"... I am glad the tablets are helping with your blood pressure," Dr. Himari Matsuhashi says, as she releases Yua from the terrible no good cuff around her arm. (She has to sit a certain way for it to work, but she immediately goes ''back'' to latching onto Miho's arm, sitting beside her, once she's done.) "But I'm still concerned, Ijuuin-san. Particularly with the trafficking you're experiencing... so much sexual and physical violence is bad for you and Hiroki-kun."

Here at their antenatal appointment -- most of the way through twenty-six weeks along, as the doctor understandably took a few days off to be with her family during Christmas -- Yua has explained the situation in those terms, and delicately. It misses some details, misses her ''complicity'' in the violence, but... from a certain perspective, it's not ''incorrect.''

Yua looks down, her eye shadowed. "I'm sorry," she says, as if it were a thing she'd simply failed to ''do'' for Hiroki's health. There are so many things she has to think about, like abstaining from raw fish or using pregnancy-safe makeup or making sure she doesn't get sick...

"It's not your fault," she assures her, gently, though she doesn't reach out. (Whitecoats can keep their hands to themselves, thank you!! ... well, ''maybe'' Sachie's okay.) "I'm just glad you're coming back when you get hurt. But I'd like to suggest something a little confronting... okay?"

"Mm," Yua says, clutching Miho's arm and frowning at her.

"I'd like to admit you to hospital for close monitoring for your third trimester," she says. "Your pregnancy is quite high risk, and the hazards in your life..."

"No!" Yua yells, burying herself shamelessly against Miho's side, turning her blind side to the doctor in the world's coldest shoulder. "You couldn't stop them anyway, and I won't go back there! I won't! I won't, I won't, I won't!!" ... Yua's mixed up a ''normal'' hospital and a ''horrific'' one, evidently.

But even if it was a normal hospital, what would spending three months in hospital do to her...?

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Miho is there, of course. She is always here when she can be, and Yua needs her. She cannot particularly hide the way that she is as troubled as the doctor, if not more so, at the violence Yua is experiencing. By now, Miho's subtler expressions are likely easy for Himari to read, particularly on this subject where they're a lot less subtle.

"Yua..." The doctor says it first; it's not her fault. But Miho strokes Yua's arm as she does.

But something confronting...

Miho attempts to meet Himari's eyes as the doctor finds that Yua won't look at her. How serious is she about this? How much does she think it's what's necessary?

"Yua," she says. "No one will force you," she says, and that much she is sure of, right now. "But 'there' isn't a place you've been before; it's not the same."

She frowns, then, still holding Yua. What can they do, then...?

"There must be a way to..."

Miho sighs.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Yua needs Miho frightfully often, but especially here; even in this homey office which is designed to be welcoming for children and families, there are all those implements of her torture, just waiting to be employed again.

... it's not the same, but it's still very difficult to do something as simple as ''go to the doctor.'' Yua even struggles when it's time for her yearly flu vaccine; if not for Miho, she might never see anyone for her troubles at ''all.''

"Mimi," Yua murmurs, feeling her fingers on her arm, and she at least feels safe so long as ''Miho's'' here to stop them from taking her away.

Miho will find Himari's hazel eyes deeply serious, when she meets them; she wouldn't advise such a traumatic thing if she didn't think it ''necessary.'' And Yua --

Yua hums, tilting her head to peek up at Miho, when she hears her name again. "Mm... it's not...?"

"You've had to spend the night at Aoba General a couple of times, now," Dr. Matsuhashi says (to the back of Yua's head, quite patiently and calmly), and gives her a moment to recall them. She can sense Miho's own despair, too; she's working to try and assuage them ''both.'' "Did anything bad happen to you when you were there?"

"They scolded me! They said I should just let them do it!" Yua huffs, at once, recalling the frustration of a few of her nurses. "So I don't trust them one bit! Uh-uh!!" It's a moment longer, her shoulders hunched to hide herself away, before they drop down and she bites her lip as she first looks to Miho and then back to Himari. "... but... it's not like I disappeared or anything, so..."

"You've been hurt very badly," Himari says, gently. "I'm sorry those people weren't considering how you'd feel. But this will be a planned admission -- so as long as it's okay with you, I'll be able to write you a letter for them explaining all about how you need them to be extra considerate. I can arrange for you to tour the ward with Ijuuin-san, too, before you go in." A glance to Miho indicates ''which'' other Ijuuin-san she's referring to. "And I can see it's a very difficult decision for you... I think that so long as you can stay safe at home, you can take a few weeks to think about it. I'd like to see you in hospital at least by week 30, so that we can keep a closer eye on your health and do something right away if you become ill. You'll be at week 27 in a few days, so that means you'll be able to get ready in early January. And Ijuuin-san is right," she nods to Miho, again, "we can't force you to stay, so if you're unhappy, you can leave and come back home."

Yua frowns, troubled, as she thinks about it. "Uuu... in a few weeks? I..." Her fingers curl, in Miho's suit, as she looks up to her. "Mimi, do you think it's safe...?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

They are probably among Himari's more difficult patients, Miho is dimly aware, but she can only let herself be so free with doctors, too; after all, she's long known that she has to keep them at arms' length for her own sake, let alone for Yua's now. The power they can hold is not insignificant...

At least there is that safety, then. Miho inclines her head slightly to the doctor, and then--

Well, it's true; Miho has her own worries on this matter.

"You didn't," Miho tries to reassure Yua. "You were there, when I came back. And you came home to me after."

A planned admission...

So long as she can stay safe at home. But Yua has little control over that, and Miho about as much. It is... frustrating, to say the least.

Miho's eyes stay on Himari for now--until Yua looks back to her, in her suit, and then she looks down at Yua, instead.

"Yes, you have time," Miho says, "To think about it. I do think it's safe. ...I think..."

It's safer than the alternative. It's safer than 'home'.

"Yes. I think it's safe. I think it's worth thinking about, yes?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Miho has her own reasons to worry about doctors... and Yua, her own reasons to worry for ''Miho,'' when she sees them.

But Himari is compassionate, meeting Miho's eyes, if not overly familiar.

"I came home," Yua echoes Miho, softly. "I came home..."

... Yua can't know that Miho has the same worries about home being unsafe that she does; she thinks it's a ''secret,'' that her home is unsafe, because she thinks of that lack of safety in terms of ''Kimitake.''

"Mm..." Yua hums, as she listens to what Miho thinks about it all. She can't know those things, but what she can hear is the way Miho trails off, as she reassures her. She reaches up a hand, to cup Miho's cheek, despite the fact they're ''in public'' and ''someone can see.'' "Mimi troubled... mm..."

Yua takes a breath, and steels herself, and looks back to Himari. "... okay," she says, slowly. "We can... we can get ready for... for hospital time. You'll come see me every day, right?" Yua asks, looking back to Miho. "And you'll bring Tykko? And you'll take lots of photos of Tiger for me? And you'll water all the flowers for me? And you'll tell the Hinukan what's going on for me? And you won't let them do anything bad? So... so it'll be okay!" And it has the kind of desperate force of someone trying to convince ''herself'' of the notion, but she's ''trying.''

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

What is safety, but the freedom from danger? ...What if the danger is always there, waiting?

Miho appreciates Himari more today even than usual. It is difficult, to deal with this. But Yua echoes her, and Miho inclines her head gently. "That's right."

Miho looks down into Yua's eye and realizes she's let her trouble slip--but rather than cursing herself for it, she accepts that Yua (and now, Himari) can see this.

It's not as if their doctor doesn't know things no one else can. If anyone thought to threaten her for that...

Well. Miho has taken some measures, at least, to see to Himari Matsuhashi's safety.

"Good," Miho says to Yua. "I will," she assures her. "I'll bring her, and I'll take many pictures, and I'll care for the flowers, and I will tell the Hinukan what happens."

"...I will make sure it is safe."

"Yua."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

It's hard for Miho, too...

Yua has tried to support her, between needing so much support -- has tried to make sure there's ''someone'' to support her, where she's too injured for it. She knows that Miho is suffering, too, though Miho doesn't whine and wail about it like Yua does, and she wants everything to be all right for ''her'' too.

She doesn't quite appreciate the threat to Himari as she does the threat to Miho's psyche, but in this, as many things, she relies on her ''seishitsu.''

It's a thing Himari can see, quite plainly, as Yua softens to hear Miho assure her over and over again. "Mimi," she smiles, gently, hugging herself to her. "Okay. Mimi's taking care of me, so I'll be brave. I'll do it!"

"It's wonderful that you have someone like Ijuuin-san taking care of you," Himari smiles, though her expression grows serious, again, a moment later. "But while we're talking about hospital time," and she's quite deliberately using Yua's language for it, "there's something serious I'd like to ask you both. Even with the best care, it's possible something could go wrong during the birth... and I'd like to talk with you about your wishes for who to prioritise if the situation becomes critical."

"I..." Yua stops, looking down. "I don't want to die," she says, her voice small. "But... I don't know how long I have left, and... I want Hiroki to be here even if I die. But -- but I don't want to die -- but -- answering this should be easy, right?!" She wails, hiding her face against Miho's shoulder again. "I should just tell you to save him! I'm a bad mama!"

"No, no -- what you're feeling is very normal," Himari assures her. "Even if they wouldn't admit it, most families struggle with this question... that's why I want to ask it here, in a calm office, and not while you're rushing to surgery. I'm sorry... I know it's a difficult thing to answer."

Yua sniffles, looking up to Miho. "Mimi..." Part of her desperately wants to ask what to ''do...'' but part of her is scared of how heavily it must be weighing on her, silently. "Is it too hard?" She asks, instead. "Want me to do it...?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Miho appreciates most threats more than others do. It's just part of who she is.

Still...

"Good," Miho assures Yua, ,and looks to Himari. She does her best, of course. But that serious matter... something can go wrong, and...

Miho's expression is just as serious, then. She expected something like this to come sooner or later, particularly with the difficulties that Yua has had...

"No," Miho says. "It doesn't have to be easy. ...It's natural, to want both. It's normal, to want both. His life, and your life... Certainly, that's what I want."

She considers. She nods to Himari, first. And then--

"What I want," Miho says, "Is to solve it for you, so that you don't have to deal with something so difficult. ...But I must not."

"No matter my reasons, no matter my answer... it is your body that has sustained and supported Hiroki, Yua, and your body that is at risk. It is not my place to tell you what to do, what you must do in this case. I can ensure that your wishes are respected--but I ''must'' not tell you what those wishes ought to be."

Not 'cannot', clearly; she could! She easily could! But she ''must'' not. It would be wrong, to Miho.

"I promise you that I will respect the choice you make. I love you, and I love Hiroki. I hope to be so lucky as to have you both in my life for long years to come."

"...But it is indeed your choice, Yua. I do want you to make it."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

OST: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TtqCLlKOgM P!nk - I'm Not Dead

Yua offers to take the burden from Miho, as if Miho would normally bear it; Miho, in turn, makes it clear that it was never hers to hold. The concept that Yua would ''intrinsically'' be master of herself is -- heartbreakingly -- ''surprising;'' her one remaining eye blinks, as she looks up to her, a touch dumbfounded.

She doesn't need to ''say'' she hadn't thought of it like that to communicate, very clearly, that she hadn't thought of it like that.

"I'm really grateful when Mimi takes care of things for Yua-mama," Yua says, slowly. "But... I think... I'm even more happy Mimi's thinking like that. Mm, like... you still see me as a person... even when I'm bad at it."

She takes a breath, and shifts, grasping the side of the couch to just straight up ''sit in Miho's lap,'' because the world might think they're cousins but their ''doctor'' knows that's an artifact of the dub. "Can you hold Hiroki?" She says, and she's said it enough times that Miho surely knows she ''means'' holding her belly, by now.

(This far along, he ''kicks.'')

Yua sits there, in Miho's arms, covering her hands with hers over her black leotard as she thinks quietly. Her legs kick, in the space between Miho's, but for long moments she says nothing; it's an argument she's having on the inside.

Is it selfish not to die so her child can live? Is it more selfish to die and leave him to Kimitake when no one knows the danger he's in? Is this whole venture selfish, when she'll die anyway? And if she makes her decision based on that time limit, is she giving up on all Miho's efforts to find some way to save her...?

... is she okay with there being no more Yua?

Can she stand a world where she leaves Miho alone?

Why does that thought make her feel so...

"I don't want to die," she says, softly, at length. "So long as I'm alive... I can try again. I'm not dead yet... so I don't want to die."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

It is as important to Miho as anything, especially in light of what Yua was put through--the things that were done to her. ...No, Miho will not take that choice from her.

"I do," Miho says quietly. "You ''are'' a person. No matter what they tell you."

"I can," Miho says, and does precisely that. She holds onto Yua and onto her belly, and listens. An argument on the inside...

Miho glances to the doctor, once, while they talk.

Then, she looks back to Yua.

"...All right," Miho says, and her expression does not make clear if this was a right or wrong answer; indeed, she's quite adamant that she ''not'' say such a thing.

Instead, "Then, Doctor, please listen to Yua's wishes."

"I love you both," Miho says, Yua and Hiroki. "...And I will fight to ensure that your desire is held sacrosanct."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"You never told me that," Yua points out, her smile fragile, as Miho insists they're wrong and she ''is'' a person. "That's why you're my favourite person in the whole world."

Well, one of the reasons.

Sitting on Miho's lap, like this, it's actually kind of hard to see her expression anyway; maybe that's why she moved here in the first place. (Well, the fact that it's prime real estate to be held by her doesn't ''hurt.'') She sighs, leaning back against her, and wonders if one day she'll ''ask'' her whether she made the right call.

... but she can't think like that, when tomorrow's still coming.

"I love you," Yua replies, softly, holding Miho's hands to her. (Perhaps she can feel the belly band she's wearing, beneath her leotard, to keep Hiroki warm; she wouldn't let him get ''cold,'' after all.) "We both love you, Mimi, very much. The most! And -- and I love Hiroki too," she adds, a touch sniffly again. "I'm gonna try really hard, okay...? S--so they don't gotta ask!"

"I know you'll do everything you can," Himari assures her. "And if the worst happens, we'll prioritise your life and your ability to try again. Is that right?" She pauses, a moment, and Yua nods. "All right. Your decision doesn't reflect on your worth as a mother," the doctor goes on, gently. "We can see you love him very much. You've endured a very difficult pregnancy to have him, Ijuuin-san, and that will still be true if we're not able to ensure a successful birth. No matter what happens, we'll be here to support you, all right?"

"Okay," Yua nods, breathing out in a long sigh.

"Mooouuu... but being a person is exhausting..."

... yep, that's still Yua.
</poem>

2026-08-15: A Ceremony at Christmas

2026-08-16T11:19:44Z

L: Created page with "*'''Log: ''' A Ceremony at Christmas *'''Cast:''' Yua Ijuuin, Miho Ijuuin, Tyrrha Ijuuin, Takashi Ijuuin, Natsumi Ijuuin, Juuzou Ijuuin, Ritsuko Ijuuin, Yurika Ooshiro, Fuyu Ooshiro, Yume Ooshiro *'''Where:''' Rengedai - Ijuuin Estate *'''OOC Date:''' 2026-08-15 *'''IC Date:''' Dec 25 2012 *'''Summary''': ''This time, when Yua gets married -- in the eyes of her family, if not the law -- she really does get to wear her ryusou, just like Miho wears her mother's..."

*'''Log: ''' A Ceremony at Christmas
*'''Cast:''' [[Yua Ijuuin]], [[Miho Ijuuin]], [[Tyrrha Ijuuin]], Takashi Ijuuin, Natsumi Ijuuin, Juuzou Ijuuin, Ritsuko Ijuuin, Yurika Ooshiro, Fuyu Ooshiro, Yume Ooshiro
*'''Where:''' Rengedai - Ijuuin Estate
*'''OOC Date:''' 2026-08-15
*'''IC Date:''' Dec 25 2012
*'''Summary''': ''This time, when Yua gets married -- in the eyes of her family, if not the law -- she really does get to wear her ryusou, just like Miho wears her mother's kimono. They dedicate themselves to each other, as Yurika ensures the Gods are watching, and have a wonderful day... even though they're still missing the presence of their mother on Yua's side.''

----

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Yua and Miho are attending ''Father's estate'' for Christmas. There's a ceremony they want to do, on this, the most romantic day of the year...

... and finally, Yua's getting 'married' in mama's ''ryusou'' -- the ''bingata watansu'' passed down through their family, a beautiful spectrum of fuschia, red, white, and green printed atop the blue fabric over her red and fuschia ''dujin'' top and ''kakan'' skirt, a tableau of pine boughs and clouds. In the olden days, even a priestess family like hers which attended the castle would not have been granted such a boon as ''bingata,'' a printing method both labour- and time-intensive; these days, the exclusivity of the art once almost lost is held more in its ''price,'' with bingata silk printing easily costing upwards of 150000 yen or more.

Which is why they've passed the same one down through the family for generations, now.

Her ''ryusou'' has more open sleeves, a thinner waistband, a shorter cut than Miho's kimono; even with her winter ''watansu'' coat, her clothes are built for the Okinawan heat.

She comes to the hall, carrying a basket of flowers; it is a basket she crafted herself, and they are flowers she ''grew'' herself. The low circular table they sit at -- on cushions, as is tradition -- has been set up with the things they'll need for their displays, but of course, first they must ''sit.''

Both the Ijuuins, as it happens, and the Ooshiros -- because Yurika, Yume, and Fuyu are here, too, the matriarch wearing her ''noro'' robes as the others wear their ''watajin'' coats over their ''kakan'' and ''hakama'' respectively. Even though Tyrrha's an Ijuuin, she's in ''ryusou'' clothing, too... perhaps she's the greatest sign of synthesis between them.

... Yua's grandmother, rather than her father, is seated beside Takashi; it is she who rules their family, in their fashion.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Yua and Miho are both here. Here for a reason.

Miho is also in something very old, a beautiful wedding kimono that once her mother wore. The fact that she is allowed to wear it for this is the surest sign that her parents approve of their relationship, for all that they cannot let it show in public. ...Well, maybe that would be an even surer sign. Tradition is tradition, though.

Miho sits with the Ijuuins now, in preparation to sit with Yua in particular when the ceremony is done. She looks over the Ooshiros, and is glad of their presence.

...Naturally, she knew she would be glad to see her parents, brother, and sister.

Miho waits for the flowers; shew aits for Yua's action. Her table is already set up with the components for wht she will do. While it is not to be the full ceremony, she has prepared the individual dishes, the leaves, the water that she will heat...

But for now, she waits.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

OST: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ss7aFUbwzec Vienna Teng - Harbor

Between the dishes and the water are flower-pots; they await her.

Yua needs a little help to sit down so low; she can be excused if she lets her legs sprawl to the side of her, when she's newly twenty-six weeks along. Just one fortnight more, and she'll have gotten Hiroki past the most fraught proposition of a pre-term birth in the ''second trimester''... just a few weeks more, and he'll be able to breathe under his own power.

There are things which make that harder; showing her devotion isn't one of them.

Once they're seated, Yua presses her hands to her knees, bowing to her family. (Both of them; one might abandon one's childhood family on the ''mainland,'' but in ''Okinawa,'' a mother's hearth is never closed to married women.) Well, they practiced this, but... she's still nervous!

"Miho Ijuuin," she addresses her in full, for once, "I want to warm your home, from this world to the next. Since you sheltered me, I've worked hard to see your gardens flourish. I've brought you ivy," she pulls it from her basket, to lay it on the table, to decorate the space, "to speak to our eternal love and friendship in our marriage. Within it I weave Euryops daisies," she adds, as she pulls bright yellow flowers to weave between the vines of ivy, "which bring cheer to cold Winter days and urge harmony in marriage, just as these flowers bloom in harmony. Our love, too, exists in context with our husbands... and while I am for you, our home will nourish us all."

She places sprigs of white flowers in the flower-pots, as she says: "I've brought you hihiragi, from our native shores, whose blooms are rarely seen, to honour your foresight and protection. And I have brought you the first kanhizakura bloom," Okinawa cherry blossoms, from one of her bonsai trees, "to welcome our union to spring. Their pink I join with pink camellia," she slips another pink flower into the pots, "to represent all we have overcome, our determination, and our endless love. With them I bring shepherd's purse," she slips more white flowers in, to compliment the striking pink blooms of the cherry blossoms, "to offer myself to you completely."

In the end, it's a spread of white, pink, yellow, and green; each white flower is paired with a pink flower, to ensure no overtures of death, and the yellow of the daisies balances the green of the ivy's leaves pleasingly.

"Please accept me as guardian of your ''honne'' and home," she says, referring to the true feelings one keeps inside, in contrast to those ''tatamae'' feelings Miho must attend to in her position. "I promise always to care for your precious feelings, and to ensure you flourish just as these flowers have. Let me make sure you have a warm home to return to, at the end of your day, with a hot meal and compassion for your daily trials. Let me raise our children to always honour you. I will be sensitive to you, always." Hands to her knees, again, she bows and asks with humility: "Please protect me and our children, and steady me in sickness and in health, and guide me always towards what is right and honourable. Please accept me as your ''sokushitsu,'' to stand by you, always."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Miho is always there to help Yua, in matters such as these. It's only appropriate that she does, isn't it?

...it is to Miho.

They did practice, and Miho is addressed. She waits, and listens. She keeps her eyes on Yua the entire way through how she speaks, meets her eyes if Yua will. She watches as Yua arranges each flower; speaks of each. Their love, and in context...

Miho is silent; the arrangement is beautiful. And so is Yua.

"Yua Ijuuin," Miho addresses her in turn, and bows in return from her seated position.

"I accept. My home will forever be yours. And..."

She rises.

"You, who would guard my honne and home..."

Miho steps behind the table, and bows to both families again.

"Yua Ijuuin," she says again. "...Accept the shelter I offer you," she implores, sparking the flame and setting the water onto it. She knows precisely how long it must sit, precisely how long it must heat short of boiling. "Accept what sustenance I can give you, for my hearth will always be yours." She stirs the matcha, preparing it for its introduction into the water, and then, in her kimono, brings the small meal she has prepared in individual portions to each family member in turn, Tyrrha included of course. By the time she returns the water heats, and Miho strains and applies the powder and the water, putting them all together.

"You who would be my guardian of home, allow me to protect you out in the world," she says. "Accept my hands as your shelter, my blade as your shield."

"As you provide me somewhere to return, let me guard you in the world outside, and guide you where you need guidance."

"My sokushitsu... Accept my place as seishitsu, and we will live in harmony."

Our love in context will share all those we care for..."

"But never without your place in it."

She finishes brewing the tea, but this tea is only for her and for Yua; she offers the cup to Yua, first.

"Here. This is a token of what I shall provide you; always shall I rely on you."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Yua ''does'' meet Miho's eyes, quite often -- though she looks to her family, too. Her grandmother, who officiates; her father through birth, and her father through Miho; the mother who is able to sit here, her birth mother still unable to bring herself to leave Okinawa, as Yurika travelled out to meet them. Her elder sister, and her younger; her new brother, too. Her eldest daughter...

... but it's always Miho she comes back to, as her one-eyed gaze becomes consumed by Miho's own heartfelt display.

She needs to be serious, but she can't help smiling, her joy full to bursting as Miho swears her home to her.

Yua now becomes a party to be presented to -- though she remains beside Miho. (It is a ceremony written by necessity, in at least one part; getting up is ''harder'' for Yua than it is for Miho.) All her attention is on her betrothed, as she hears her name again. She can't ''stop'' smiling, hearing her beautiful words.

"I accept," she says, her heart full to bursting. "My ''seishitsu''... I will always rely on your shelter."

It is Yurika who speaks, now. "With the Gods as your witness, you will take three oaths three times," and she is not so old as to be frail, still young in her seventies, stern as the maritime cliffs. San-san-ku-do is an old samurai art; of course it would feature here.

But things are a little different, this time... because they're both women.

Yua sips from the cup Miho offers her, three times -- and passes it to her to sip, too. The second cup, Miho will drink from first; Yua sips, when she is done. The third is given to Yua, first, again, and three times she sips before she passes it to Miho again.

Miho is the one leading, but Yua drank first... because she didn't want Miho to feel like she was being placed as a ''man.''

They don't need to attend to worries of women speaking before men in their relationship, after all.

(Though it's notable that Miho ''pours'' each cup, too.)

The bough which Yurika lays on the table, though, isn't just evergreen -- it's evergreen and ''kuba,'' the Chinese fan palm. "Just as the ''kuba'' grows in our ''utaki,'' our sacred sites, so have I brought a bough from my own tree to bring our Gods to this place, as the evergreen calls the Ijuuin's Gods. The eldest woman of the house shall attend the shrine and household prayers," here she looks to Yua, older by scarcely a month, "and make her responsibility the harmony between them. Soon we will come into ''urizun,'' the wet season preceding spring, and Yua Ijuuin will give birth. By the Gods, Miho Ijuuin will protect her, then, alongside the men beside them. The Gods themselves were matchmakers to this union. Let us be doubly grateful for their provenance, as we recognise their dedication to each other and their family."

"I'm grateful," Yua bows, again, as she presents their offering -- a ''haiku,'' composed by Miho and written with Yua's beautiful calligraphy.

Since Yurika's handling the ceremony, it's Fuyu who handles offering the Ooshiro's own offering -- a bottle of ''awamori,'' an Okinawan liqueur made from distilling rice rather than brewing it. He's already discussed this with Takashi, of course: the significance to their shared union is in the sheer ''age'' of the drink, the oldest distilled beverage of Japan, traditional tribute both to Japanese ''shogun'' and Chinese envoys.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

During her own vows, Miho of course does look other than only to Yua... somehow. Her father, who has allowed this in the first place; Yua's father, who is now in this way her father, too. Her brother, with his easy smile and calm demeanor; her sister, who found peace with this idea because of her affection for Yua and the fact that they're both still marrying men.

Tyrrha, who assuredly has never been to witness such a thing... and the officiant, Grandmother, whom Miho has come to so respect.

Yurika speaks. Miho and Yua drink the tea she has prepared.

...She appreciates not being placed as the man, for all that she prefers a masculine presentation outside traditional places.

And Yurika speaks...

"May all of our Gods watch over us," Miho intones back. "I am grateful."

The Ijuuins have their own offering, of course, tailored to the moment--and something that suits the status of their family, reaching out to join hands with the Ooshiro family. Their offering is larger not as a sign of ostentation, but to show appreciation for the family whose daughter will live with theirs.

But the Ijuuins themselves each react in turn; Takashi is ''respectful'' towards the priestess Yurika, not only as a matter of appearance but in apparent sincerity. His wife is smiling upon both Yua and Miho.

Takashi is no priest or priestess, but he will say a word when the Gods have spoken first, in time when it is his turn.

"I am glad to see you so bound," he says to Yua and Miho. "Surely, your fortunes will be forever entwined, and both dear to me as well."

It's not a long speech... but it's appropriate for the Patriarch to say a few words.

Miho, by this point, is looking primarily at Yua though.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Both their sisters struggled with the idea, in fact; Yume was flatly ''against'' it, until she saw Miho's determination after Yua disappeared. She thought it was ''weird.'' And even if it's still kinda weird... she definitely can't say they're not ''serious,'' so she's not going to complain about them these days.

(Besides, Yume thinks, at least Yua's got a real husband too...)

Fuyu, at least, is much more open-minded and easy-going about it all; so, too, Yurika. (And Tyrrha, of course, knows what she's been told about the world.) Yurika joins hands with Takashi, nodding to him, gravely. She may be the matriarch, but she recognises the patriarch, in turn.

So, too, does Yua -- who smiles, warmly, hearing Takashi's words. "Thank you, Father," she says, bowing to him. "We're honoured by your warmth. And we'll always be grateful to you for travelling all this way to invite the Gods to our binding, Grandmother," she smiles, to her, as well. "It may not be the marriage I spoke of when I was young... but I'm still so happy."

"It's the happiness of couples which is the true offering," Yurika says, and she smiles, too. "All the Gods recognise the diversity of existence. Here or there, the stories account time and time again the creativity of divinity. You'll discover the future together."

The celebration is at once small and encompassing, kept to direct family yet characterised by the Ooshiro's joy; Yurika, over the course of the day, gets to know ''Tyrrha,'' including a moment where Fuyu and Takashi take her aside to explain the truth of the matter. (Well, the truth as they understand it; as much truth as they've been able to hear.) There is sake, and awamori, though of course there's also ''juice'' for Yume and Tyrrha and Yua -- who takes some time to sit with the two of them and encourage Yume as the next in line to wear the beautiful print outergarment, in the manner teenage girls have of fantasising about their marriage.

When it comes time to go home, Yua and Miho help Tyrrha out of her ''ryusou'' and tuck her into her charging station for the evening, having had a lovely family dinner already. Once she's taken care of, they retire back to ''their'' room to take care of their outfits --

-- though Yua takes a moment to twirl, in her own ''ryousou.'' "Ahh," she smiles, face flushed, all bubbly, "wasn't I so pretty?! And Mimi too! You were so elegant...!!"

One of Yua's greatest regrets was not being married in her ''ryusou...'' it must have meant quite a lot to her to wear it ''now.''

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Miho's determination did a lot in her life--looking for Yua. For one, it eventually found Yua.

Juuzou Ijuuin is a participant in the family sport of spoiling Miho, meanwhile. He is pleasant and warm and had no trouble with Miho's preferences, having figured them out a long time ago. If anything, he's impressed that she's managed to find a way to have it both ways. ...If anyone takes issue, well, he has a business to run and a family to guide, too.

Yua is happy... so Miho, too, is happy. She considers Yurika's words. To discover the future together...

Well, eventually they do return home. Miho is still in her kimono while Yua twirls, and she smiles warmly at her wife. "You were beautiful," Miho agrees. "You ''are'' beautiful," she corrects.

"And I am glad. ...It would be unseemly, to be anything less when standing next to you."

She reaches out to touch Yua's face. "I love you... sokushitsu. Yua."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

(We note here that Yuken, Yua's youngest brother, looks up to Juuzou... but to be honest, he looks up to Miho ''more.'' Miho has a ''sword.'' It's ''so cool,'' just like in ''anime.'' ... Yuken's staying with his mother, though. Just like her, he hasn't felt up to travelling for a while...)

"Mm, mm! Mimi was so beautiful, too...!" Yua hums, happily, and all the more for how she sometimes feels bad about how she looks right now. That weird mask over her face, that weird line on her belly, and not to mention the ''stretch marks...''

... but if Miho still thinks she's beautiful, Yua doesn't have to worry about it all that much.

She is butter melting, beneath Miho's fingertips, sighing happily as she tilts her face into her palm. "My ''seishitsu,''" she purrs, gently. "I love you, too..."

Yua reaches up, to steady herself against Miho's shoulder, in turn. "Hey," she says, her voice still soft. "Tonight, let's try... okay?" She cuts off precisely what they're working on, but of course, even if Miho ''didn't'' know, the lid of her gaze and shy smile would carry it across. "... I want to be close to you," she adds, softly.

"Even when everything is so dark... you've always been there for me, Mimi. I feel safe, when you're cradling my face... like we really will see the future together. It means so much to me... really..." And in it is one of her greatest gratitudes, a core driving value made manifest, and a terrible fear allayed, as Yua extrapolates the love in her heart.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Miho does have a sword. It's ''very'' cool.

Miho smiles while Yua hums happily. None of those things make Yua less beautiful to her--all the more, because the way her body is shifting, it is for their Hiroki. How could she view Yua's hard work as anything but wonderful?

...Particularly given just how ''hard'' she has had to work, with all the difficulties in the process.

But Miho shapes the melting Yua beneath her with a simple hand to hold her against herself when she steadies herself there. To try? "Yes," Miho agrees. Miho does know, even before Yua smiles so shyly, and she says, "I would like that, too."

But everything...

"That is what I want," Miho says. "I'm glad. ....It means a very great deal to me, too."

"...Come, let's put away our nice things."

But each motion of that can be loving, too.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Where Yua falters, Miho's always been there to steady her, to remind her of the value of her work. Yua went over her speech for ''days,'' figuring out how to express how much Miho meant to her... that she invoked it was impeccably deliberate.

And Miho can surely ''feel'' her heartbeat, pressed against her, as it flutters when she looks up to her.

"To both of us..."

Miho she trusts to handle mama's ''bingata watansu'' with the greatest care; Yua, in turn, is impeccably delicate with Miho's mother's kimono. "It's beautiful," she sighs, feeling the silk for a moment, before she finishes smoothing it as she hangs it up. "Mother was a big help when I was deciding on flowers, you know? I just wish..."

She sighs, a frown creasing her brow, for a moment. "... ah, mama's not well," she interrupts the thought, as she thinks of her. "And Ken-kun takes his duties very seriously, even though he's still in middle school... at least if they're back home, everyone can take care of them, right?" Yua's aunts, Miho knows, didn't make the trip so that they could continue taking care of Yuna while Yurika was gone.

"Besides," she smiles, again, "I got to wear mama's ''ryusou,'' so I'm sure she felt how happy we were today!"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Miho feels it. She feels it against her own fast heartbeat, steady but not so calm as her demeanor suggests. She is a woman of strong emotion, and this is one of those times when it's plain to those who can actually see it.

...But as ever, that strength can be applied gently; she is ''very'' careful with Yua's attire. She smiles back. "I'm glad to get to wear it for you."

A pause. "Yes, I'm sure she was, but..." But. "I understand," she says. "But they can take care of her... and I hope that's true. I certainly will carry this particular happiness with me."

"...It seems to me that it can be seen, without even looking for it. I feel as if it must radiate..."

Maybe Miho waxes poetic, now and then.

She hangs up the beautiful garments with deft care. "I certainly see it in you."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

That Yua is warm, too, is a thing better expressed as an engine than a settling cake; she might grow weary all too easy, in her own sickness, but she's the furthest thing from tired right ''now.''

And Miho's strength is energising, too.

"It was beautiful," Yua says, again, her cheeks flushed. "You were so beautiful. You are," she brings it to present tense, too. "Even after... especially after," and if her face grows a little brighter as she says it, well, they ''are'' putting their clothes away.

She is given pause as she worries over her mother, but when Miho says she's carrying that happiness, Yua smiles again. "Mm, mm," she hums, happily. "I see it...!"

She makes sure that Miho's mother's ''obi'' is arranged and hung properly, so it won't crease or crinkle -- but once she's taken care of it all, she turns to her, her smile shy again.

"Hey... would you like to see a little more...?"

She is the one who invites Miho into the comforts of the home; and now, at least, it is a joy which cannot be torn down by the horrors of her memory.
</poem>

2026-08-14: Cake or Death

2026-08-16T11:15:52Z

L: Created page with "*'''Log: ''' Cake or Death *'''Cast:''' Yua Ijuuin, Shiryuu Ryouhara *'''Where:''' Aoba - Penthouse (Rooftop Pool) *'''OOC Date:''' 2026-08-14 (roughly) *'''IC Date:''' Dec 24 2012 *'''Summary''': ''Yua invites Shiryuu over for birthday cake, after a long, arduous quest to learn his birthday. After some time of bafflement, he manages to get to territory he understands better: the campaign of secrecy and abuse that's plaguing her. She tells him about Natari attack..."

*'''Log: ''' Cake or Death
*'''Cast:''' [[Yua Ijuuin]], [[Shiryuu Ryouhara]]
*'''Where:''' Aoba - Penthouse (Rooftop Pool)
*'''OOC Date:''' 2026-08-14 (roughly)
*'''IC Date:''' Dec 24 2012
*'''Summary''': ''Yua invites Shiryuu over for birthday cake, after a long, arduous quest to learn his birthday. After some time of bafflement, he manages to get to territory he understands better: the campaign of secrecy and abuse that's plaguing her. She tells him about Natari attacking her again, and shares the places where she's tried to resist... though she still evidently feels quite powerless. Shiryuu learns the truth of Tyrrha, and Yua insists she's her daughter.''
*'''Content warning''': References to domestic violence, medical abuse, sexual assault.

----

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

For some time now, Yua has been on a quest.

"Ne, Kiri-chan, do you know Shishi's birthday? ... you do?! Please tell me! ... eh? You want me to make it up to you? I... I cook yummy treats! Will that do?"

And yet, every time Yua cooked delicious cupcakes, made just for Kiria... she insisted they wouldn't ''cut it.''

... even when she got back from the Blacksite... and went through the motions of making another batch... her answer was the same.

Yua was surprised, but at length she found herself grateful; she would feel ''worse,'' she decided, if she were being received with kid gloves. But again, she was out of luck, and again...

... until, finally, she huffed, "oh, then ''here!'' I baked cookies for the faculty, but apparently ''you'' have a bottomless stomach...!"

''Then'' Kiria was satisfied, and so told her Shiryuu's birthday was already days past.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU WARN MEEEEE?!"

Never mind the crumbling foundations her architecture is built on; never mind the way she weeps at the drop of a hat, still, a week later. Never mind the ways in which she's fractured -- the fault lines where she's ''broken.''

What matters to Yua is that she wanted to give Shiryuu a cake for his birthday.

Not to be dissuaded, she's sent out a request for his audience; she's already made sure he has access to the building, so he won't need to climb up the side again. (Unless--??) She's not there to greet him, tonight... but ''Tyrrha,'' her robotic daughter, is.

Whether she meets him at the door or on the balcony, her cheer -- with a hideous grin -- is the same. "Yo, Shihaisha! Yumama told me 'bout ya! Did you know we match?" She asks, dark hands folded behind her wild teal ponytail. "Yeah, before I got a real name, I was 'Shisix', too!"

But -- "... huh, mama? Mimama's in her study, goin' over some security footage for a guy... Yumama's up by the pool waitin' for ya! She wants to see you ''aloooone,'' ooooh!!"

Climbing the stairs and opening the fence, one comes to the ''pool,'' the pool deck beside it, a long koi pond running along the side...

... and ''Yua,'' in a festive red dress down to her ankles, long sleeved and empress-waisted to allow it to fall over her belly with all the proper elegance. (She's twenty-five weeks along, now; one presumes she will soon make use of the deck chairs arranged around.) The night air is crisp from Winter's chill, and Miho, surely, is the one who's ensured she added fingerless gloves and a jacket and a nice warm hat to her ensemble. She has strung a banner from fencepost to fencepost: 'Happy the week after your birthday, Shishi!!' ... except 'happy birthday Shishi' is written in beautiful calligraphy with large font, and 'the week after your' is added in superscript to annotate it. Just like explaining obscure kanji...

There is a ''basket,'' on the patio table, large and hand-woven, with bamboo folded out to form handles for easy loading and carrying. (She learned how to add them...!) "Open it, open it!" Yua urges him, gleefully. Inside is a beautiful chocolate-and-strawberries cake; the icing has been layered through it, and slices of strawberries decorate the top, with whole strawberries - sans stems - dotting the edges... plus one of those magnificently massive ''gift'' strawberries, painstakingly carefully sliced into pieces and arranged roughly in the shape of the whole at its centre -- albeit with each piece tilted outwards, as if it were an opening flower. It is expertly placed to allow a piece of its majesty to crown the pointy end of each slice.

There are also cute little plates, with cute little spoons laid atop them, and a nice cake-carving knife set out. (Ceramic and steel, not paper and wood, thank you very much.)

"I really wanted to do something for you," Yua explains, once he's had a minute to take the sheer presence of that cake in. "You've been so nice to us... you've really done your best, even when it's been hard. Right now... it's super double important I show my gratitude."

'Right now'...

Something happened, over the past week. His people have surely noticed, trained in the psyche as they are. On the twenty-third, she went to visit her husband, too...

But Yua just smiles, clasping her hands together. "Is it okay...?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shiryuu Ryouhara has posed.
<poem>

"You'd be surprised what I know~"

It was, in fact, only natural that Kiria knew Shiryuu's birthday. It was a recorded matter, but more importantly, Kiria and Shiryuu grew up together in Akita. Of course, it didn't mean she wouldn't kill him if the order came down from the shihaisha -- they weren't THAT close, but Kiria never turned down an opportunity to turn the sleepy city at least a little bit upside down. And everything worked out just fine, anyway -- Shiryuu decided to take over, and now Kiria gets to enjoy going to all kinds of exotic locations and eat all kinds of good food.

But don't mistake it for being a pushover, or lazy. What kind of gossip do they take her for? She's not going to be bribed so easily. "I want those ones," she'd said, outlining a picture of the last set of baked goods that crossed out of Pyramid Plaza, shaping the screen of her phone with a neon-painted nail. Oh, these ones weren't even Yua's. They were some on a passing bakery vendor offloading to a nearby konbini. Oh, those ones were the ones they had at the bake sale. Wait. Is that a picture of a literal pie cooling on a windowsill?

Each time but for that once, the reproduction was immaculate. Or so the story was. Each time, "mmm... not quite," the kunoichi of a hundred colors would judge.

"Delicious, but.. nope. Definitely missing something..."
"I couldn't be encouraged to betray our leader for only that much.."
"Sorry, Ijuuin-chan~ these are great, maybe next time it'll be perfect."
"Mou... are you okay? This isn't quite it. Lacking two things this time~"

And then, it turned out what Kiria actually wanted was to deny someone else cookies, as opposed to having perfect reproductions of baked decadence. "Bingo! These are perfect!" They're not even as fresh. But theft is a heady spice. In fact, Kiria is still absently munching, mouth half full when she's finally obliged to give up the secret. Shiryuu's birthday. Mnh, crunch crunch. "Oh, that was on the 17th." Crunch crunch.

'WHY DIDN'T YOU WARN MEEEE'

"Keh-eheh heh-mmnr," Kiria gloats cattily, mouth still full.
"A kunoichi's grace is like a ruthless maze~" Kiria's voice is musical, somewhere between serious and a lilt, spinning on her heel in a little dance before flouncing away, wielding her tray of cookies with just as much satisfaction as the large debatably-legal neon-splotched katana sheath slung across her back. Off back to her post~ crunch crunch crunch. Oh, right. "Thank you~!"

This of course, leads to today.

Kiria, to her merit, is not entirely insensate to the fact that the primaluna is crying -with much more frequency lately- after her visit to the site they haven't been able to penetrate yet. And despite the fact that Kiria also seemed only to care in the most casual way -- she did, in fact, offer Yua a tie-dyed handkerchief once -- she was in fact, quite dutifully taking notes.

It's why despite everything that's happened elsewhere, her summons was replied to with -an unnerving amount- of shinobi presence.

It's hard to tell, of course, the fact that Shiryuu is actually -driven- to the Plaza this time, and in addition to the flower seller, there's also someone on the adjacent building, watching with binoculars. It's probably for the best that Shiryuu's entry to the upper floors of the Plaza is not contested -- he is much more likely to order the concierges black-bagged and tied to chairs lately than anything more polite.

Being stopped by Tyrrha isn't actually a surprise -- she wouldn't know it, but they've met before, aside from the reports he's received. It does create a moment of almost-awkward silence. No singing for show this time -- the boy regards her in only curious shade of brown. His eye is wrapped up behind a sealed patch, with his mouth almost disappearing inside the standing knit of his sweater collar and the trim of a densely knit black wool jade-ornamented winter cap hiding most of his grey hair. Even so, the boy's remaining eye shines as sharp as the jade pendants hanging from his cap.

'Did you know we match?' His eye narrows. "....Aa?"

The sound is quiet, smooth, unperturbed. But there is an unexpected tilt to his words, as if the revelation wasn't one he was prepared to have. "Shi...six.." He finds himself paying attention to the fine details. Not many people can hear the fine synthesis, but Shiryuu is a trained engineer and audio specialist, listening to her voice filter. A single eyebrow arches, barely visible in the shadow of his cap.

Her teeth don't seem to bother him. The boy makes an observation, instead of answering. "You're a cool customer, aren't you...don't lose that quality.

"I'd like to test your strength someday."

He'll be on his way.

Unfortunately, Shiryuu is prepared for a lot of things. A banner, a cake, and a giant themed surprise is not one of them. "Iiieh??" You can hear him from inside the penthouse. "What even is -- this isn't --" If he had two eyes, they'd cross. It's as if the world turned upside down the moment he stepped outside, and now everything is _very_ festive, and Shiryuu is _far_ too well armed to comprehend it, carrying literally every type of weapon known to ninja hidden on his person, save suspiciously the sword he always carries. He may need a bit of prodding.

You have to understand, Shiryuu's actual birthday was spent looking out a window. "This... isn't fine, is it??" the boy asks, showing a level of mortification that might have registered on the Richter scale. He does, in time, reach out to unwrap the basket. He's tempted to just disappear into his coat entirely, but according to his intel, it's probably best he didn'--

Crinkle crinkle. Crinkle crinkle.

".... o-ichigo." Shiryuu's eye widens to the size of a dinner plate as his white haori takes in a pinkish hue from the reflected light inside the package.

"... it's so big," he whispers in muted awe, encountering envy.

"Wow," Kiria comments, from the other side of the business end of some binoculars, some ways away. She lowers them, squints, and then gasps loudly, going to get her cell phone with glee.

Shikon's going to want to hear about this.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"I-I'll show you a maze!!!" Yua ''stomps her foot,'' all puffed up in anger. "Yooooou--!!"

A moment later, though, and she sighs, smiling as she shakes her head. "... I'm glad you like them," and Kiria surely ''heard'' it even if she's sinking back into the shadows.

And when Kiria later offered her a handkerchief, from those shadows, Yua isn't even all that surprised to find the kunoichi revealing her private moment is less private than she thought. She makes sure to orient Miho around the way they're ''helping,'' pretty frequently... but she's not all that bothered by the protection detail, herself.

She's used to having eyes on her, and she's not the sort of person to notice binoculars in a far window.

(Her security consultant wife, on the other hand...)

Luckily, no black bags -- Yua gave Shiryuu a key. (Which is ''also'' something she discussed with Miho, naturally. Of course, it's a key''card,'' so if Miho disagreed with letting him swipe himself up she could simply ''change the code.'') Just as lucky is Tyrrha... who doesn't see anything unusual with Shiryuu's wrapped eye, because of course ''Yua'' keeps one covered, too.

"Heh heh," Tyrrha grins, elbows wagging as she shrugs her shoulders with her hands still folded behind her head. Her merriment is such that her strange red eyes even squeeze shut. "I know about that! It's 'sparring', right? When I find Ryouhara-senpai again, Mimama said I could do that! So you want to too, huh? Cool!" A beat, and she adds: "But we can't fight here," and she advises it quite seriously. "Mimama said no fightin' in the house. Except for Tiger-senpai, he's allowed."

The cat... is her senpai...

Smash cut to Tiger, curled up on Miho's lap in the study, his massive body and magnificent spilling over the edges of the chair, as he raises his head and flicks an ear in response to that distant 'iiieh??'

"Mrah," Tiger says, leaning over to chomp on Miho's cufflink to demand her attention.

Clearly, she's too busy to come save Shiryuu from her house wife.

And Tyrrha's gone back to working on her holiday homework, so ''she'' can't help.

That just leaves Shiryuu with...

"The basket!" Yua explains, her happiness unpertubed by having to walk Shiryuu through the process. "Open, open! Open sesame!"

Her fingers veil her lips, as he gapes about how it ''isn't'' fine, though they can't quite hide her smile. "You get to decide that," she encourages him, warmly, "but I hope it's okay! I thought if I asked you, you'd definitely just tell me that a shadow has no need to mark the passing of years, or something like that... even though it seems like ninjas don't have birthdays, so you wouldn't even know! Sooo, normally I'd have asked you first... but that's why I asked Mimi and Tykko to stay inside, so it would just be us!"

Yua still doesn't see the binoculars, and when the night's this young, she has no hope of sensing that impish glee.

(How does she know ninjas don't have birthdays? Why, you see, she was taking her ''own'' notes, recruiting Kurou to help her make cupcakes. Her analysis: the boy has ''not received enough baked goods.'')

But there -- the cake's great crown, and Yua's smile grows so bubbly it's even reflected in the sparkliness of her ''portrait.'' "Mmhm, mmhm! It's the 'cream of the crop'! That means that if you think of most crops as milk, this one is delicious cream! It's a little daring to cook with something like that... but I'm confident in my baking! So, so? Would you like to try it? You get to cut the cake, Shishi!"

Yua claps her hands together, bouncing on her heels --

-- and then realises something, about the outrageously armed boy she's thanking.

"Oh, but there's a cake knife! A knife for cake! It's nice and clean, so we won't get sick, okay? See, see? On the table? There," she points, helpfully.

Please use cutlery and not your murdersword to cut your cake, Shiryuu.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shiryuu Ryouhara has posed.
<poem>

Yes, luckily. There have been too many black bags needed lately. The recent revelation of a _Ryouhara ninja princess_ dating back to the feudal ages being plastered across the media has left Shiryuu extremely on edge. It's to be expected -- he is a firm proponent of the Ryouhara's 'gokuhi' absolute secrecy policy in ages prior, and most of his work thus far...

...well. It's really a subject for another day, isn't it?

"Make sure to mind your parents," Shiryuu tells Tyrrha promptly on the very edge of what she says. It borders on abrupt, and only the tepid second or two that follows gives the conversation any chance at breathing. "And," he continues, his expression dimming as he steps away, "do well in your studies. Then..."

He never actually finishes his thought, preferring instead to walk away, as if it were all that were needed to be said. (We're sure that's what he thinks.)

Ah, unfortunately, that was a little before all the ruckus.

Unlike Yua, Shiryuu is intensely aware of the price of being caught underprepared for an event of this magnitude. He is also not naive enough to think that this information leak simply comes from nowhere, or that Miho cared enough to try and make a pull of his intel files in the Order.

Shiryuu was actually very good at sanitizing his information footprint, so a leak of this magnitude was inconceivable without a traitor in their midst. This leaves somewhat numb to the halo-like glow of strawberry pink that's settled over him, and furthermore to the stream of excited Okinawa that falls on the dazed boy like a gentle rain, the pupil of his one eye dilating.

"Eeh...." he manages. "Incredible.."
It's so big.

Even so. He's going to tie Kiria upside down off an edge of Iizuna.
But apparently not before Shikon hears all about how a strawberry you can see from space has rendered the shihaisha speechless.

Well, it only is acceptable if he allows it? Shiryuu doesn't comment on it jst yet, and instead the little charms from his knit cap jingle at his temples as he tears his eyes off the pinkish glow to Yua.

Her dress matches the cake... "...ano, Yua, I mean, is it really okay for you to be -- your body, you should be resting, not doing all of this, aa?"

The boy's eye then snaps up to the banner, as if the point being made therein. There is the sense his eyes are much faster than his mouth, and he's noticing too many things at once to render commentary on them all. "I mean, it's not a problem if a shinobi doesn't have... eh.."

Wait, where _did_ she hear about all this?
is hand raises to his waist as he regards the cake. Hopefully she didn't get ahold of any anime. Shiryuu doesn't know how to turn into a slime, or manifest goo, or poison someone with his...

Oh, there is one thing he does know. "H-hey," Shiryuu complains, not misssing the subtext. "I'm not so uncouth so as to just cut this up with my jutsu," he says, sheathing something at his waist imperceptibly. "What kind of bakemono have they been telling you I am."

He picks up the cake knife instead, making a tiny noise of exasperation before uttering a thanks to the kami before putting the knife into the cake, and breaking into that powerful strawberry. He's actually good with a cake knife too, and cuts Yua a piece first, balancing a wedge on the flat of the knife before transferring it to the plates, purposefully not paying attention to the cuteness. Focus, Shiryuu.

He does test out the balance of the ceramic blade once or twice before cutting a piece for Miho, and Tyrrha, and then himself. Hmm.

"...aa. I suppose... ah.. thanks..."
So, the thing to notice is that Shiryuu's slice is _razor thin_. If it were a tomato, the slice would be transparent.

It also unfairly prioritizes the big part of the strawberry, on an unrelated note.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Yua's had to gossip about that news, here and there. Her attitude has always been, "... really? Ninja? Um, isn't that... a little fanciful...? Not even ''we're'' that old fashioned..."

Technically, that's not even a lie: the ''Ijuuin'' aren't a ninja clan.

... unless Tyrrha counts. She grins, cheerfully, and agreeably chirps: "Yup, yup! No worries!" ... does she even realise that he's edging on abrupt? She doesn't seem bothered in the slightest... but she doesn't follow him, either.

After all, she's minding her parents, and Yua said this was a Shiryuu-only event!!

"Isn't it so pretty?" Yua bubbles, cheerfully. (She's so cheerful... she'd probably ''tell Shiryuu'' where she learned this if he just asked.) Her smile warms, as Shiryuu worries over her so personally, a hand coming to rest at her belly. "Don't worry," she assures him. "This isn't even close to the most taxing thing I'm doing. I have a chair in the kitchen, so I can sit down whenever I need to! Besides, I'm still second trimester for a few weeks... they say this is mama's most productive time!"

Yua sparkles, helpfully.

"And even if it's not a problem, it's nice sometimes, right?" Yua asks, tilting her head. "Don't worry, I'm sure you won't get used to it! You're super disciplined! Ummm, though I might have made it so Kiri-chan's going to expect sweets from now on..." Yua tilts her head up, tapping at her cheek, thoughtfully. God damnit, she told him where the information leak was even before he asked????

WHY IS HER INFOSEC ALMOST AS BAD AS HER DAUGHTER'S

She giggles again, merrily, as Shiryuu complains of being accused of ''bakemono behaviour.'' "Hee hee...! Okay, okay! Shishi's good at cutting cakes, too!"

And as it happens, he ''is.'' "Thankyu~!" Yua chirps, as she takes her slice, and pops it down on the side of the table as she lowers herself down onto one of the deck chairs around it. (One of the ones for ''sitting,'' not lounging, so she has a hope of getting up again.) "Mm, mm! I'll bring these down for Mimi and Tykko once we're done! Thankyu, thankyu~ you're generously sharing your cake~!"

She smiles, warmly, seeing Shiryuu's razor-thin cake slice -- plus a slice of ''big strawberry.'' "I'm really happy you like it," she says, with less energy but no less ''warmth.'' "Try it... I think I did really well!"

(Yua has, of course, taken her pills to make mealtime easier ''before'' Shiryuu came up.)

The flesh of the cake is lovely, light, and fluffy; the chocolate and strawberry flavours blend in a manner which doesn't so much ''border'' on delicate so much as live in its capital ''city.'' The chocolate is smooth, but there's a crisp, fresh hint of crunch to the strawberries which makes the topping an interesting variation.

And Yua watches attentively to see how ''Shiryuu'' takes it before she has a nibble of her own, and declares: ".... mm! Yummy!"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shiryuu Ryouhara has posed.
<poem>

Shiryuu blinks, giving Yua a look. "Far from the most taxing," he repeats, though he doesn't seem to evince an opinion one way or another. His tone and glance carry that burden, instead.

He's aware of what she's getting into -- it doesn't mean he entirely prefers it in her condition. Not to mention the other concerns..

It's probably for the best he received the information about the leaks from Nahara, one of the more well connected shinobi in the clan. It obviated the need for him to capture one of his workmates whose chatter around the Harai site led to a few chuckles and a friendly elbow or two. Shiryuu might have the same last name, but the new guy on the crew and consummate music nerd couldn't -possibly- been the same family that the Ryouhara and the Akabane have, right? It's like having the last name Sanada, they'd mused -- there's a few descendants of the famous clan out there, but the relevance of having the same last name doesn't mean a lot anymore? One, two strokes, and the kanji is entirely different, right? Just like the Sanada.

Ironically.

Despite being able to keep his mouth shut during that entire discussion, Shiryuu's ability to avoid flying off the handle about the entire matter bordered on heroic. (Not that everyone escaped being the target of a kidnap order. Don't get things confused.) It does mean that right now, Shiryuu's dim-eyed look eats up the lion's share of his objections, especially as Yua concedes the point of him not being a wild beast who destroys cakes at will.

Sometimes, for what he does, it's hard to not be misunderstood -- but the glower Shiryuu gives off to the far distance suggests that he is in fact a wild beast in certain circumstances.

"Aw come on-- she didn't just--" Kiria sets down her binoculars, as Shiryuu looks at her hard enough to melt them. "He doesn't even have both eyes to give me that dirty of a look," the kunoichi groans to herself quietly.

The grey haired boy is wiping the blade off with a napkin by the time Yua spies his plate, settling into one of the loungers. Shiryuu takes great care to cover the other slices, ostensibly to keep the texture fresh for when he takes them inside. Setting the knife politely down on the plate set out for it, she'll note that most of what Shiryuu does is almost entirely nonverbal -- the way he looks up briskly when she spurs him to try it, the somewhat dazed affect of the boy when she bubbles at him. "...aa..."

Despite being fast as lightning, It takes Shiryuu a -long time- to get ready to eat, holding the cake as if it were literally the first time he'd ever held a plate in all his life. To his merit he does sit, taking a seat on one of the loungers as opposed to standing around awkwardly.

It's the wrong lounger, though -- and his absolute refusal to lounge leaves him to perch precariously on the distal edge. It's fine.

On the other hand, there is a soft chime as he slips off his wool cap, the tiny charms hanging from it belling gently before being muffled against the dense fabric and leaving his hair to tumble out haphazardly. Shiryuu also makes a point to fold down the collar of his sweater as well -- it'd be hard to eat without ruining it. It's all very premeditated.

Shiryuu does give her a suspicious look about halfway through, a fast, awkward, watchful look, to make sure she's not watching him about to eat. It'd be too -- !!

Shiryuu manages to dither for a few more minutes, looking around dangerously and scanning his surroundings. It's only when he's satisfied that the shihaisha quietly lifts the plate to his chin with both hands and takes a tiny sniff, then a deeper inhale of the strawberry scent.

"...mmm."

It may simply be his preference for sharp food, as he carefully clips a piece of cake off of the very tip with the edge of a spoon, as precise a cut as he can take with the rounded edge of a spoon. That spoonful disappears into his mouth as the boy quietly samples the cake -- finally, after a whole forever. His eye closes, as his mouth moves around the flavor subtly.

A tiny swallow.

His mouth opens.

".... approved," Shiryuu decides quietly.

It's like a jiggle cake sando with a bright crunch. Magnificent.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Kind of like the last name 'Aragaki', huh? Yua might have thought the boy who refused to come back to school for so long was an islander like her, if she didn't know how he wrote it...

Yua, of course, doesn't know anything about why the Ryouhara's princesses are being publicised right now; but she can ''presume'' it's enemy action, with how secretive they are. Thusly has she strived to insist, whenever the conversation turns that way, that ninjas aren't ''real.''

... and she has, as ever, tried not to look directly at Umie, for Shiryuu's sake.

Even if other people in their organisation may well have ''already'' noticed the kunoichi-hime.

Where one is looking has power, after all. Like the way she glances aside, to smile, and reassure him: "Don't worry about all that." She knows why he'd repeat her reassurance back to her in disbelief... but it's not good cake conversation.

(A thing she may well need to educate Kurou in, one day.)

She catches ''Shiryuu'' looking off into the distance, though, and tilts her head as she looks off in the direction of the building. "Huh? What's wrong?" She asks; she ''still'' hasn't seen Kiria. "... oh! You're worried that she told me, right? Don't be too hard on her, Shishi," Yua urges him, her hands clasping in front of her. "I was very stubborn, and... I kind of needed something to distract myself."

But there, the cake -- and his silence about it! Yua watches as he ''evaluates the cake, only to hurriedly look down at her own slice and hum a "hm hm hm~ o''`" as his gaze shoots over to her to make sure she's not looking. She wasn't looking! (She was totally looking.)

She's still ''listening,'' though. And she hears him remark positively, once and once again, and it's when he ''speaks'' it that she turns her bright smile to him again. "I'm so happy!" She chirps, and nibble, nibble, nom... "Missinom... success!"

did she really just smash the word 'nom' into the ass end of 'mission'

"I tried to use ingredients which wouldn't spoil ''too'' quickly," she says, "so it should be okay in the fridge for, mm, five days or so...? But if you want to keep it longer, cut it into slices and freeze them! Did you know that trick?" Yua asks, with all the bubbliness of her ''special interest.'' "If you freeze cake, it lasts for ages! I'd still eat it in a few months, though... because if something is frozen a long time, it can get burned by the ice, so it doesn't taste as good."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shiryuu Ryouhara has posed.
<poem>

"Ihh," Shiryuu objects wordlessly at first, casting a gossamer look over Yua like a fine blanket at being told not to worry about it. The important thing to remember is that Shiryuu is not at all built for cake conversation, at any level.

He is also carrying enough weapons right now to feel comfortable starting a fight with Izuna. There is that. It sort of adds weight to the matter, psychologically.

"It's my purview..." at least, it is for the time of their involvement, though Shiryuu stops just shy of pressing the matter, though only out of momentum and not from any sense of preservation -- it is one thing Shiryuu seems to feel strongly about consistently, the intersection of children and responsibilities. Having a hand taken off the wheel simply isn't in his DNA, it seems.

Speaking of.

Shiryuu's eye shutters once, as he turns away from the skyline at Yua's guess. "Shinobi are supposed to be better at withstanding interrogation," he reasons, ominously not mentioning Kiria's fate. "We can't just give up whatever information whenever it's convenient. What happens when some villain starts going around asking questions..."

Or spreading around information that doesn't belong to them. Hmph.

Shiryuu is looking back down into his plate in due time, sizing up the absolutely out of control platter of strawberry he's selected for himself curiously, carefully cutting his cake into pieces once he's satisfied he's not under any unsanctioned surveillance. It does give him some time to listen quietly, sectioning out the cake and -- perhaps -- enjoying another bite.

"Mm. .... missinom..?" he wonders at no one in particular. "Like... a missile? ... ohh.." He supposes not. Mission does seem to fit better. At least, when it's her saying it.

He doesn't think Yua has access to any missiles.

The last bit prompts a sharp look from Shiryuu. In the freezer? Like ... to be reheated? "That's..." Shiryuu starts tersely, not knowing what to make of it.

Is that a thing people do with cake? It seems very much like an Umie thing.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Luckily, Yua has gotten ''really good'' at coaxing people who aren't built for cake conversation into cake conversation.

"Mm... cake first, okay?" Is how she demurs his ''purview,'' though it is not, strictly speaking, a closed door.

... she feels strongly about it, too.

She does tilt her head, though, as she says: "But I was the villain asking questions, so isn't it fine?" Which says an ''awful'' lot about how ''Yua'' identifies herself.

Speaking of unsanctioned surveillance --

Cake first!

"Mission... nom! Nom mission!" Yua illustrates, cheerfully, and has another bite. "They're very serious," she relates, gravely, though it is of course the kind of seriousness which is deeply ''unserious.'' "Sometimes nom is very hard. So it's very important each nom be the nommiest!"

She sees his sharp look, and giggles. "When you want to eat a slice, you put it back in the fridge to defrost overnight," she explains, kindly, and does not at least laugh during her ''explanation.'' "Have you ever bought a cheesecake from the supermarket? Did you see how it's frozen? It's still a cake, even though it goes in the freezer and you defrost it when you want to eat it... it's the same idea with this!"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shiryuu Ryouhara has posed.
<poem>

Shiryuu peers at Yua closely, but doesn't otherwise object, instead looking back down to his cake. It's definitely something he does in lieu of satying things -- cake or no cake, the boy acts as if he's decided what to say and what not to say at the beginning of each encounter, as if words were something that could be packed up in a bag and brought with you wherever you go.

In the absence, there is at least cake.

"Noms..." Shiryuu thinks aloud, studying a slice of strawberry intensely. He's familiar with it, but it isn't the sort of word he's used to encountering a lot. It's very saccharine, and it shows in the way Shiryuu is attempting to stay on target, between spoonfuls of cake.

It really is fluffy...

But none of this holds a candle to the absolute blank look Shiryuu has on his face when Yua attempts to explain to him what cakes are like from the store, and she can see where he is genuinely attempting to make the connection. "But that's a whole cycle ... doesn't that cause it to go rancid? Or deflate? Or something? I'm sure I've read something about it somewhere." Maybe it's that it causes cancer? "I'm suspicious of that..."

Shiryuu does not eat a lot of cake, apparently. Nor buy it from anywhere where it's not given as a single serving.

"Is there some sort of special fridge or wrapping?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Noms!"

The reports of Yua are quite dire, but right now, at least, she seems quite cheerful...

... deliberately so.

She smiles, seeing him worry about the fridge. "The big thing that spoils cakes is air," she says, "because it dries them out! So you want to wrap them in beeswax wrap, or plastic wrap, or put them in airtight containers... that way they stay nice and moist! I cut some beeswax paper and put it on the sides of my basket," she adds, "so you won't have to go looking... remember to put the wrapping on the part of the cake that's been cut out, too! Mm, the strawberries will be a little sadder if you freeze them," NOT THE STRAWBERRIES, "but since strawberries really want to be refrigerated, anyway, I made this with oil instead of butter so it wouldn't go hard. It's important to think ahead like that if you're making cake! Like, glazes can sit out at room temperature for ages, but if you use eggs when you're making a glaze cake, you'll still need to refrigerate it to avoid salmon... salmon... salmon ether!"

(Salmonella.)

"But you can leave it in the fridge for a few days," she assures him, too. "Just any normal fridge will do! It will be freshest for the first two or three days, but it's still okay for a day or two after that. If you just keep it in the fridge, it won't change too much! Just maybe a little damp, as the fillings soak into the sponge..."

Yua smiles, gesturing towards Shiryuu with her spoon. "But of course, cakes are for eating! So eat it fearlessly, Shishi! If you're sad when it's gone... I can bake you another! That's my true power!" She smiles so brightly, she just about ''sparkles.''

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shiryuu Ryouhara has posed.
<poem>

Shiryuu blinks once. He really didn't know much about cooking in general -- or rather, what he did know was vanishingly rare and not put into practice very often. And most of how he was raised didn't involve any of this; the concept of wrapped beeswax does ring slightly true in his ear from his own particular single-serving life.

But to ruin the strawberry still does not sit right with him.

Inconsolable, Shiryuu doesn't even seem to consider the idea that 'eating all the cake' is even an option. The boy slowly rotates the plate in his hands, some sixty degrees at a time, pushed in opposing directions by his thumbs until the plate's made one full turn. Two.

"... I guess I've just not had people .. make cakes that often."

He looks down at the razor thin slice thoughtfully -- or more appropriately, what's left of it. Is it a normal thing for people to do on their birthday? It doesn't .. 'feel' .. normal. His hair drops over his eye. "'tte..."

"... salmon ether sounds powerful. but I wouldn't want it in a cake."

This much he knows -- as someone who's had a certain someone's fridge fumigated multiple times despite her best interests in poisoning herself, Shiryuu is intimately familiar with the dangers of salmonella. But he is also cursed with a sidetracked mind, and the idea of fish ether is too much to avoid commenting on. He's still looking down at his cake, though.

It's her true power?? "...Fearsome," the boy thinks, a bit awed before he picks himself up. "But... it'd be too much, even for you, to do something like this for me."

The shihaisha's eye rises, cutting a sharp glance below his eyebrow. A second, two.

"Yua. It's supposed to be 'me' who goes out of their way. That was the agreement... right? I can't bake a pretty cake but... that's not my power, either." He has other talents. ... far less adorable ones.

Shiryuu does glance at the ground, as if expecting one of the sparkles to have landed there as the beginning of a glittering mess.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"There's a first time for everything!" Yua chirps, brightly. "Making room for cake doesn't mean you're not still handling a lot of really important stuff, you know? It just means you also get tasty cake! Why not share some with Ryouhara-kun?" Kurou, contextually. ''Shiryuu'' is too old to be a -kun, now. Definitively!

"It makes you very sick," Yua educates Shiryuu on the topic of ''salmon ether.'' "Especially when you're nurturing a baby... it's very important my eggs are cooked right! But I don't have to worry about that," she adds, smiling to him. "The places we go to eat are all very nice, very skilled... and Eiko-san is very good! Hee hee, I am, too!"

Yua can brag a ''little.'' She's very proud of her culinary skill.

There, though, his gaze cuts, and he finds her smiling, her cheer dimming to something kinder. "I know," she says, gently. "You're terribly worried about me... I really do appreciate it. But I'm so powerless in so many ways, right now... at least if it's making someone who's working so hard to protect me a delicious treat, that's something I can do."

She is quiet, here, for a moment, as she gently reaches over to place her emptied plate back on the table.

She is conflicted.

In another life, could she have given him birthday cake without such a grim spectre overshadowing it...?

"... it happened again," she relates, quietly, with only one life in this wretched world to live. "I, um... I did a rape kit, this time, but... Kimi-san was angry, when he heard I had proof, too, so he said he'd make it disappear. Um, since I tried to tell him that was the last time, but... she'd taken photos, and... he had a copy, so... he said he'd spread them if I told, so we'd be ruined in everyone else's eyes, not just... internally."

She tries to smile, again, but it's thin.

"... I've been recording it, too, but... well, I was lucky I could tell him something else, when I almost said it... I think he might have really hurt me if I really had something."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shiryuu Ryouhara has posed.
<poem>

"Ryouhara...-kun.."

The idea of a gift for the person who is ironically his closest subordinate was a confusing one for the boy. 'What kind of leader do you want to be,' was the question posed. It wasn't a question, at least in this axis, that Shiryuu had a good answer for.

"I think... he'd like it too," he says, implicitly agreeing with her talent, but in that directionless, awkward little way of his, the way he gets whenever something that reminds him of 'kizuna' comes up.

Even now, a box is sitting on the desk in his room at the hotel across the street from Harai, ungiven as of yet.

Even now, in this situation, there remains an open question for the boy in grey, a central one that keeps that plate rotating slowly in his hands.

But... focus. Nerves are soothed with determination and purpose. Life isn't really about silly things like that, is it... not when there are other things like...

Maybe a life three lives away would be far enough. Far enough that cake could just mean something sweet.

To contrast, while Shiryuu's finished most of his cake, the plate still sits in his lap as idle busiwork for his hands, and they only still when she says this thing. 'It happened again.'

It's a very kind way of describing it.

"...I know."

The boy says it quietly, with the tenor of someone with a lot of spies and the ability to add variables together. Everything prior...

Just a distraction. "...I'd hoped differently."

There is an awkward pause that follows. "...sorry."

His thumbs rest on the plate now, holding it in place with its little crescent slivers of cake and berry remaining atop, the curved shapes necessitated by the clean cuts of a spoon. He's studying it, that exact shape.

Even subconsciously..

"It's lucky, I suppose... we've not been able to get someone inside Blacksite, yet." Of course Shiryuu's been looking into the matter, ever since Yua first mentioned it. But with the man called 'Para-Mind' off limits, their ability to penetrate an entire black boxed facility without arousing suspicion was not feasible. At least, not in a fashion that would have maintained the carefully cultivated neutrality that is at Yua's pleasure for the time being.

Shiryuu did say that mentioning 'that woman's' name would be enough.

The boy shifts finally, almost having forgotten his discomfort, to set the plate at the table. He glances at her once -- twice as she says she's been recording, but the thought is quickly replaced with the idea that she could have been badly hurt. "...ch," Shiryuu remarks, darkly. "Even a loser has the ability to choose the way they die, I suppose."

The implication is that Kimitake would probably not be long for this world if he actually carried through on most of the despicable things he's threatened. Even disregarding the inevitable (Miho) Ijuuin and Ryouhara response, it can be boiled down simply to its most dispassionate: There is a consequence to breaking Order assets.

"..but, Yua-san. Is it really okay to keep going on like this," Ryouhara thinks finally, pulling some of his haphazard hair out of his eye with a hand. He's beginning to think about it in a different fashion. She did tell him it was going to be the last time, he didn't make a mistake of not noticing. His eye rests on that plate still, between glances to her.

"...any sliver of moonlight is only a day or two away, even from the blackest sky, right?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Yua hums, encouragingly, when Shiryuu realises that Kurou also likes cake.

But then --

Pray, don't call it a distraction.

The thing about birthday cake is -- it's ''survival.''

And the thing she's surviving keeps leaking out the edges; at least if she tells Shiryuu, she hasn't damned a pure soul. "Me, too," she says, softly, to his hopes.

"Me, too."

(A phrase with two applications.)

And she may be queen of the night, but she is yet bound; ''her'' swipe card might grant her access to the Blacksite, but even then, she doesn't get far before it bars her entry and insists on an ''escort.'' 'You can always go home' -- perhaps that's the message?

Back home... to be processed for parts.

With a moment's hesitation, she lifts her hand up, to pull a comb from her everpresent hair bun. "Ah --?" she says, as she holds it out and finds she won't be able to hand it to him without getting up, the sentence ending a touch unexpectedly on the rising tone of enquiry.

When he takes it, he will find a beautiful comb, with understated, elegant ceramic flowers at the handle of the comb. It doesn't look out of place at all... though what she's ''said,'' at least, may prompt him to scrutinise it with a finer-toothed comb than its traditional shape, to find that the centre of one bloom has the lattice of a ''microphone'' hidden in plain sight. Turn it around, and beneath a discreet rubber stopper to protect it from her hair's oils, a cable port has been hidden on the inside of the comb, where it buries in her teal display.

"... Kimi-san doesn't like women," Yua says, softly, glancing down. "So he'd never think to look twice at my decorations... security at the lab didn't think much of it, either, since the woman who's hurting me," who she evidently still can't bring herself to refer to beyond gesturing at the space she occupies, "already said I'd show up looking nice. My ''seishitsu'' got it for me," she adds, her smile returning for a ghost's breath as she thinks of Miho, "though... she doesn't know I'm recording him, too."

And of course it would be Miho who furnished something this advanced for Yua; ''she'' definitely doesn't have the kind of head for this business. ... or at least, she ''did'' not.

Necessity is the mother of invention.

She grasps at her heart, as she reclines back again. "... he showed me those photos... and asked me who I thought they'd believe. That... that actually hurt more than... than him shoving me into the door. How he called me... awful things, and... and he said Mimi would pay for it. He said she'd be really hurt by not seeing it... I'd ruin the marriage, and... and if I ran home, I'd get in the way, since they were having a date back home, so... so I stayed over like we planned, um... so I wouldn't get in the way..."

Is it strange that the thing which makes her cry is how he responded to what he'd engineered?

Well, we're leaving out all the nights Miho's had to spend soothing Yua's tears over ''sleeping.''

... if some manner of tissue or handkerchief happens to appear by her hands, she can at least use that to manage the issue.

"... I did something bad," she sniffles, at length. "It was... all very heavy, so... so when Kotoba," Hana Fukami, one of Yua's newer friends, "asked what was going on, I really just told her everything... I feel terrible, she's not even ''like'' us, I just -- just doomed her for no reason, just -- selfishly -- I thought I could bear it, but Tykko asked me if I resented her, like, like I wished I'd never brought her from that place and -- and it's not her ''fault,'' my sweet baby, oh, but how can I explain -- oh," and here, again, more tears. "My baby girl...!"

Monster or not, Yua's stepped up as her mother.

She at least -- give her this much credit -- chokes down her tears so the people below won't catch on so easily. And, at length, she recovers again, and wipes her tears. "Ah, so... it's difficult to bear it," she admits, her smile thin-lipped but ''trying.'' "But I must carry on. I... I know I can't do anything, but I just... I think, if I can do something, maybe it's easier. It's... it's easier when I go to that woman thinking, I must learn the truth from her so I can help my daughter... and I even did, you know? Even if it's 'top secret'... not many people think about that when... their clothes are off." She shakes her head, slightly. "Maybe it means Kimi-san is right about me... but at least I'm... doing something. When I can't do anything... there's so much in life I can't do anything about..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shiryuu Ryouhara has posed.
<poem>

It is true in a fashion, as Shiryuu navigates the moment in reft silence. There is no real 'harm' in telling a murderer like the Shirogarasu the ill truth about the world -- it's a thing already known and for good or ill the boy's expression is flat, showing no ounce of anger. The way he speaks is cooling, though it would be inaccurate to paint the boy as _indifferent._

There are other people whose 'bond' instinct would be whole, who would rail harder against the injustice. The derision Shiryuu feels is plain writ in the firm press of his mien, and in many ways his awkwardness is some kind or form of compassion, as one would expect.

But the notion does haunt him; were he already not a killer, would he still think about killing these people so simply? Is exceeding that limit in response to high crime the 'nature of a bond?'

The tiny click of a hammer resounds somewhere in his memory, and the boy visibly flinches before coming to regard the now.

"...?" When she removes the comb from her hair, Shiryuu's attention is drug to the fore and away from Kimitake, the boy looking up briefly before it occurs to him she is offering it for his inspection. Naturally, he takes the opportunity to stand -- though there is no part of him inclined to demand that she stand, no longer having to balance on a lounger specifically not made for sitting upright is also a bonus.

"A meticulous craftsmanship," Shiryuu remarks, turning the kushi end over end. "Our ninkou, Kikushinkyokushuki, is similar," he mulls, though he does not at all explain what that mouthful of a term actually is. Instead, his mind latches on the word 'seishitsu,' a tiny look and a smile halfway between bewilderment and bemusement crossing his face.

For some reason, he seems more familiar with the term than he is with cake. Because of course he is.

"..Yua."

The word comes slowly, on the far side of her despair. Shiryuu doesn't sit again, instead crouching down so that he can rest his elbows on his knees, and even in a crouch his height is not at all tamed. He produces a light sea green kerchief from the inside of his haori, untying it from its knot. He actually eschews a napkin at all, though there are plenty nearby. The little bit of silk he gives to Yua is actually purpose brought for her, with an absorbent inner lining to offset the delicate, soft feel.

"It's easy to command a facade for the people that don't matter, we do it every day, faking a pleasantry when we really mean the worst ill unto them," Shiryuu mulls. "They deserve little more of our time or thought, and buy every fate that befalls them with their lying teeth."

"...but, it's harder to remain that type of soldier when our 'bonds' are involved, I think."

Shiryuu laughs, just a little, humorlessly turning the comb over once more in an idle hand, subconsciously. "It's cruel, I think. The people who most deserve our 'smile' are the ones least able to get hold of it..."

"At any rate. We're braver for it, I think..."

At this point, Shiryuu reaches up to tuck the ornament snugly back into Yua's hair delicately, an attempt to soothe the woman. "... but 'that man' isn't at all worth an ear," he thinks. "It's a miserable affair, but one with no rules. We would have done the same in your position."

Noticeably, Shiryuu isn't asking her what she found out yet.
He knows her well enough to know that she is a fountain of information that doesn't require an ingracious interrogation.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Yua would sooner believe that a pig could fly than that Shiryuu is ''indifferent.''

(She sees the flinch; cannot fathom its precise origin, but knows that her pound of feathers is no lighter than his pound of steel.)

She smiles, though, seeing his bemusement. "Mimi," she explains, gently. "She wanted to be official, too. She knows a lot about stuff like this... she showed me how to look like I was adjusting it when I pushed the little button." There is, indeed, a little button. "Since she knows so much, though, I need to hide the stuff with Kimi-san outside the house... so I'm taping the data stick to the inside of the cash register."

So she --

Does she --

does yua think she's outsmarted all the monsters around her with a trick like that

(Give her some credit: Yua's plan is foolproof, sans her loose tongue, for one solitary reason.

None of the monsters around her would actually suspect her of subterfuge.)

There, though: there, again, her name, and so gently. There are plenty of napkins -- ''nice'' napkins, too, cute and fancy, none of this four hundred yen for a stack of fifty at the bargain store -- but Shiryuu has something much ''fancier:'' a kerchief made for her tears. "Nice feel," she sniffles, with a little smile, as she dabs at her eye; and, indeed, he'll catch her fingers rubbing at the soft texture when her tears are taken care of.

"Mm... I felt selfish, since I was making friends..." Yua sniffles, still, but she's able to say that much without bawling. "Mimi says I gotta make them, like, um, like she's got Ogawa-san, from her team...? And Iwabuchi-san -- I actually see her in flower arranging sometimes, too," which must mean ''that's'' a housewife, "... oh, and Mitani-san and Yamagumi-san? The movie people? Like that...? But... when people don't know, it's... it's hard." She smiles, a little self-effacing, ad she adds: "Actually, I think I might not be very good at it... since the only reason I got closer to Kotoba was that she knew Kimi-san enough to be worried about me... and, mm, I've tried to make some other friends, but, like, like Nobumizu works for us, she's the woman we rely on for getting packages we really need... I'm sure my elder sister would tell me I should make friends with people I'm not paying."

(Ritsuko isn't even just being a ''rich snob'' saying that, either; rather, she's far more aware than Yua of the unequal power dynamics and potential to get people hurt. Part of an honourable samurai tradition is of course being aware of one's strength; when people of the merchant class was raised up to join a samurai's house, their families needed to be ''properly compensated.'')

Her head tilts forward, to let Shiryuu seat the comb back in its rightful place; he can observe, as he does, the way it looks so ''unlike'' surveillance. Even examined close up, the disc floret of the her sunflower simply appears to be richly ''textured.''

"It's hard not to listen to him, sometimes," Yua says, quietly. "But... but I managed to tell Mimi, um... well, not that he was saying it, but... I told her how I felt like... you know, like those women from the red light district." She's referring to sex work. The term which is bothering her so much is ''probably'' not nearly as neutral in form. "Mm... and those recordings... I could show her the one from the Blacksite, so... I think I probably forgot some important stuff, but this way it's not for nothing. I do feel really bad... making her listen to something like that, but... I-I tried," she insists, her tone wobbling a touch, "but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Even when Kimi-san showed me just that little recording... hearing my voice, and the other one, I... I really felt sick."

... which means Miho has the information she learned from Natari, too.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shiryuu Ryouhara has posed.
<poem>

"Mimi-- ieh.. Miho," Shiryuu recognizes. "I wouldn't have thought her ability included techniques of this level. Our sponsors should do better to mind their excesses."

The idea that she's hiding the data in the register leaves the boy tepid. Of course, could he really had been bold enough to think that even Kiria would think to check the register after her looking for subterfuge, themselves? The thought is somewhat sobering, and Shiryuu's dim-eyed expression betrays a hint of that plain bewilderment.

Shiryuu's hands drop away after only a moment's hesitation, the young man's fingertips disappearing beneath the sleeves of his falling haori. He'd let her have the handkerchief -- it was sewn and selected for the visit specifically, so by the time Yua's recovered enough to comment on it, Shiryuu's crisp nod is enough to discharge it entirely to her.

Not quite a gift, not like the cake... but a symbol of the clan's foresight and favor alike.

"...I don't know much about 'bonds,' you know," he reminds her lightly, after she muses on the nature of friends. His eye, still so half-lidded, trades a glance towards her, her own 'eye' wrapped the same as his. But..

"...I start to think sometimes that perhaps friends aren't for the peerless. I start to think on that poor boy, forever and long ago, who strove so hard only to end up alone. I sometimes wonder how his story would have ended if he'd had just a little more time."

"...mm."

Fingertips rise from the edge of one sleeve, rolling the air on and along. "No.. you should make bonds with who you like. Even if they're an 'incontrovertible enemy of your masters,' it's permissible. Even if all-out battle is necessary. A strong bond ... will be tested. Even if it's someone who is paid by you. Shouldn't your goodwill result in a windfall for those around you? The idea that a 'bond' has to be a certain class of person..."

He shakes his head slowly.
"...again. Who decided that to be the case?"

It makes perfect sense that Shiryuu's sense of honor is not at all based in orthodox bushido. It's hard enough to live in this world as a terrible force.

"Iie."

"Even if it was a matter of being 'yujo,'" he says finally and at once to address her feelings neutrally, using an old word for an older profession. "It doesn't matter... one should always strive to live on in ambition, to surmount one's enemies via any means. These illusory notions are things decided by men of 'weak stomachs, poor brows.' It is reasonable to think the stigma of a woman's world was invented by powerless tyrants to share in their misery..."

His fingertips raise to his mouth, curled lightly,

"...But. We are at your hand still, if it's your wish that Miho receives that information that gives you distaste."

He's a lot to speak with the Ijuuin heiress about, even absent that. In all truth, Shiryuu doesn't expect Yua to need that third party, but the offer remains made, even so.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Oh, it may well be that Kiria ''knows'' Yua was the one to hide it there; ''Yua'' doesn't have Miho's abilities, after all, even if she's been given a very nice comb.

But if it's the queen's will...

"Mimi's the best!" Yua chirps, happily ignorant of any of that, her cheer returning to her as she remembers her favourite person. "She'd do anything to keep me safe!"

That cheer does dim, a little, as she says it and reflects in that moment how Kimitake has ''weaponised'' it... but it's still remarkable, really, how happy Yua can be speaking of Miho even in the darkest of conversations.

Still... with a little more time...

Yua reaches out, to rest her fingers against that sleeve of his, gently. "I think you know more than you think," she says, quietly.

"Mm... and... by the end..."

Her dark fingers curl, into the fabric of his haori; for him to have rested his great height upon his haunches on her sighted side means that the hand nearest him will have that black fabric decoration stretched over the back of it, not quite a glove.

"... they made this hood for me," she relates, her voice growing a touch distant. "Over my head... well, half my head... and I can't see anything, or hear anything, or smell anything. Not like my eyepatch, like... different. They thought if they cut me off from this world, I'd see... what they wanted me to see. And for a long time... well, I don't know what they would have done if they thought it was working. Luckily, Mimi rescued me, so... well, that's why Mimi has to tell me it's good to have friends, right...?"

It's not quite ending up alone... but in another sense, it very much ''is.''

'Yujo', though; Yua knows what it means, and her eye is shadowed, as she looks down. She nods, a touch jerkily, as he suggests victory through any means.

"It's okay," she assures him, softly. "I told Mimi... about it. How, um... how Tykko's..." Here, she tugs at that haori of his, as if her earlier contact were ''forethought,'' to pull him in closer so she can whisper. "... Tykko's not really a robot," she relates to him, softly. "The robot's her prison... they stole her memories, and trapped her in there. But since she's really a demon... a Shiisaa, I think... if she learns the truth, she could die, you know? That's why we have to be really gentle with her... even thinking wrong could make her die."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shiryuu Ryouhara has posed.
<poem>

Names themselves can be weapons. It's why Shiryuu is loathe to keep company; and even moreso loathe to speak of the few he does. A flash, sharp and bright, pangs somewhere in Ryouhara when she says that Miho would do anything to keep her safe.

A distant part of him, faraway from the conversation, mulled if Akabane had once felt the same. And how swiftly she may have been disabused of the notion when Ruin still shot her through. Her, and not only that, one of his own. A man who was supposed to be under his protection, while he....

"...." Shiryuu doesn't say anything to Yua for a long time, his glance turning away from her by a handful of degrees, that lovely notion of 'keeping someone safe' left to die on the vine.

'You know more than you think,' she'd said only a few moments ago.
.....mm.

Shiryuu only stirs when he feels the gentle pressure of his voluminous sleeve bunching, the resting position he'd taken on his knees betrayed only by the smallest twitch of a finger, visible as a single fingernail in the drape between his knees.

"A world of darkness..." he thinks of the reprehensible methods. It explains a lot of things in the periphery of the clan before the reign of Akita, and the things done by the prior crows. The colors, no matter the shapes, are the same.

And yet, she pulls him closer. The effort would alarm him -- but Yua is too light-handed for it to be anything more than a _request_, and this much Shiryuu can acquiesce. The boy leans in, the distance closed imperceptibly small, but meaningful.

He blinks, twice. "....ehh?"

He had assumed that 'a plume' had been used on the machines currently assigned to Pyramid Plaza. After all, it's the basis of their own gendai-ryu supralunar ninkougakujutsu. But demons and those austere, gossamer boons did not at all mix. And with demons...

Shiryuu looks up to the open air, a tiny snif separating one thought from another.

".... it's been a long time since I've heard about something like that," the shihaisha thinks aloud.

"But ... can such a being..?" Love? He'd always thought not, according to the doctrine of the Ryouhara, a bloodline destined to be hated by the demons old enough to remember them. But then, isn't a shisaa a protector spirit..?

Shiryuu's eye lids. Perhaps it was that Tyrrha had all but said as much to him, though he hadn't at all had the context to make such a torturous connection at that moment. Based on what Yua says, it would be foolish to think that she knew what she was talking about, even if his thinking was correct. Shisix...

"...how do you think it will affect Hiroki," Shiryuu wonders. "..if something happens outside of your control, you should definitely bring her to us."

The two thoughts are both related, and unrelated.

His gaze slowly peels from the sky.

".... though, it's something to think about, as well. Aren't you getting cold out here, Yua-san..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Shiryuu goes silent, and Yua notices, in her way. Perhaps, in sharing her own unspeakable ills, she can help him find the words for his...?

... she doesn't know just what they are, though.

That's what happens when something is unspeakable.

"Mm," she hums, nodding to him. "But Mimi rescued me... even when I felt so alone. That's why... I think birthday cake is really important."

(Give Yua some credit: she's not as bad at social grace as she ''feels,'' sometimes. Being able to say that she cares for him without saying it so bluntly does take some art.)

"I'd never heard of it at all," Yua admits. But -- "mouuu," Yua pouts, hearing him go on to ''wonder.'' "Don't talk about her like she's just a creature!" She takes a moment, here, to lower her voice again. "Even if it's some sick experiment, Tykko really does worry about us... she almost self-destructed when she gave her all to help us with the Dragon Line. We promised to keep her safe... we're her mamas now, okay? We're protecting her. It's not just a cover story."

She shakes her head, smiling. "It means Hiroki will have a big sister," she says, gently. "Maybe his family will be a little strange... but we already knew that would be true. We'll need to tell Tykko about more things which are obvious to a lot of people, but she's a good girl. She listens to us. And she'll protect him, too."

She looks out, over the chill sky. "... ah, you know... I don't really feel the cold?" Yua wonders, a touch distantly. "For a long time now, I've always felt like I'm too hot... but if you say it's cold, I believe you," she says, looking back to him, and reaching out her hand. "Help me up...? We can pack your tasty cake up proper inside!"

And, of course, distribute the slices for her family in the process.

Tyrrha may be a secret demon, but her love for tasty food is no secret at all.
</poem>

2026-08-11: Yua Resists

2026-08-12T04:42:52Z

L: Created page with "*'''Cutscene: ''' Yua Resists *'''Cast:''' Yua Ijuuin, Kimitake Ijuuin *'''Where:''' Kimitake's Residence, Konan *'''OOC Date:''' 2026-08-11 *'''IC Date:''' Dec 23 2012 (backdated) *'''Summary''': ''Yua cooked dinner for Captain Shimazu, when Kimitake hosted him in his home... but when all was said and done, she tried to draw a boundary with Kimitake. He does not take her desire to stop liaising with the Blacksite well, threatening to use revenge pornography to furt..."

*'''Cutscene: ''' Yua Resists
*'''Cast:''' [[Yua Ijuuin]], Kimitake Ijuuin
*'''Where:''' Kimitake's Residence, Konan
*'''OOC Date:''' 2026-08-11
*'''IC Date:''' Dec 23 2012 (backdated)
*'''Summary''': ''Yua cooked dinner for Captain Shimazu, when Kimitake hosted him in his home... but when all was said and done, she tried to draw a boundary with Kimitake. He does not take her desire to stop liaising with the Blacksite well, threatening to use revenge pornography to further alienate her and Miho from their family. Yua almost divulges her own recordings -- but his hairtrigger temper reminds her what's at stake.''
*'''Content warning''': Blackmail, physical abuse, references to to sexual abuse

----

[[Category:Cutscenes]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

Once they've waved off Captain Shimizu, after he visited Kimitake's home for a delicious Christmas meal cooked by his wife, praising his subordinate for the contacts in research he'd made...

... Yua turns to Kimitake, in the silence which follows.

"Even if he's happy... Saturday was the last time," she tells him, then, quiet yet firm. "I won't debase myself for you any longer. If you force me, I... I'll tell!" Her hands curl to fists, as she looks up to him with determination burning in her eye.

"Hm." Kimitake -- who did, indeed, have a few drinks over dinner -- scowls. "An Ijuuin woman ought to have some steel to her. You behaved yourself around the Captain, so I won't punish you for that." Still, he steps closer -- Yua shifting back in fear, despite herself -- though all he does is pull out his ''phone.'' He flicks through it, a little, and turn it to let her see the photo of ''Yua,'' in a state of undress. The horror on her face strikes her dumb, as he flicks to a video, plays it --

And she hears that woman's voice asking, "Dear me, what would your ''husband'' think?"

And she hears her dull, cowed voice reply: "I couldn't care less about him."

Yua remembers saying more -- about how he was just ''using'' her, and how that woman insisted her disloyalty was why she needed ''help'' -- but the clip cuts at the most incriminating moment of her answer, leave aside her state of undress.

"... if you tell them, who will they believe?" He wonders, calmly. "Did you think Konishi-san wouldn't send me the pictures...?"

"I --" In anger and flushing shame, Yua almost forgets herself, thinking of the recording hair comb in her bun. "I have proof, too, so--!"

... in the end, it's Kimitake's need to punish her which interrupts the victory she might have handed him, as he grabs her by the shoulder to push her back against the front door. "What have you done?" He demands, and the impact -- and Yua's yelp -- is audible. "Tell me!"

Yua knows, deep to her bones, that she won't survive if she tells him, the danger of her defiance looming over her in the flesh. That she thinks quickly is a testament to her hunger to ''survive.'' "A--a rape kit," she chokes out, instead. "I got it done this time... I got proof. S-so, I... I can prove..."

"Is that it?" Kimitake almost looks ''disappointed,'' as he releases her, and she reaches back to steady herself against the sideboard. "All that proves is your infidelity, whore. Even so... I'll arrange for it to disappear. Tch," he shakes his head, stepping back. "You made me lose my train of thought... if you ''tell,'' I'll anonymously release those images to all the usual pornography sites. Even if they believe you... you'll have destroyed their reputation tenfold, after this. You'll not only have caused shame in the family... you'll have shamed the family in the eyes of the ''world.''"

Yua is quiet, trembling, as she looks down.

"You'll go where I tell you to go," Kimitake says, after granting her a moment to ''process,'' "when I tell you to go there, or Miho will be the one to answer for your loose morals. How ''do'' you think she'll cope with not ''seeing,'' it, anyway? Every time I've greeted her warmly, and she's welcomed me into your home... do you really think she'll feel safe enough to do something ''decent'' for once in her life and get ''married?'' It's pretty selfish, forcing her to narrow her attention down to you... especially if you run home right after this. You'll interrupt."

Yua spends the twenty third with Kimitake, Miho spends it with Tomoki... that was their arrangement. Letting them work out some more about their own affection in the home, since he'll come and live with ''them...''

"Don't say mean things about Mimi," Yua says, and through the tears in her eye, her voice sounds reedy. "Leave her alone!"

"What I do to her is entirely up to ''you,''" Kimitake explains, quite calm. "So I do hope you'll see reason and stop saying such transgressive things."

"... I understand," Yua says, quietly, bowing her head. "Please... excuse me."

At least having a room gives her a place to cry, so she can get it all out of her system.

2026-08-08: Don't Look

2026-08-10T19:28:10Z

*'''Log: ''' Don't Look
*'''Cast:''' [[Yua Ijuuin]], [[Hana Fukami]]
*'''Where:''' Hana's Apartment, Shinjuku
*'''OOC Date:''' 2026-08-08
*'''IC Date:''' Sat Dec 22 2012
*'''Summary''': ''Yua has friends! Really! One of them is Hana, who she's involved in her housewife life recently. But when Hana asks Yua what's really going on, she gets more than she bargained for, as the dam breaks and all her poisons pour from her. Hana is left to grapple with the unfairness of learning about a shape she can't unsee -- but she can't stop thinking about the inequity Yua's suffering under, either. Maybe she can't fight a power like that... but she can at least shelter her friend for a little while.''
*'''Content warning''': Discussion of sexual abuse, torture, medical abuse, acid burns, unpersoning, gay bashing

----

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Yua's invited Hana out for tea on and off for a while, now -- and at some point during those coffee chats and catch-ups, she extended an invitation for her to join their housewives' ''baking circle,'' despite the fact that's in Sumaru. Hana is quite a popular addition to the largely-wealthy club, and it means that Yua is able to invite her over to her penthouse for tea afterwards now and then, too. There, she was able to meet Tyrrha, Yua's adopted daughter... and her ''maid,'' Eiko, because Yua is rich enough to live in a sprawling penthouse ''with a maid.''

(There's even a swimming pool... and now, a new addition of a ''koi pond...'')

Sometimes, though, the invitations take Yua to Tokyo, instead... and today, in particular, she's coming to Hana's ''house!'' Seiji, her chauffeur -- ''she's chauffeur rich too'' -- actually stops the car and gets out to escort her to Hana's door, because her brain is ''completely'' frazzled today, she keeps forgetting ''basic steps to basic things'' like ''what door number she's even looking for.'' "I'll be okay," she smiles, to him, when he gets her to Hana's door ''specifically.'' "Thanks, Seiji-san!"

Ring, ring, goes the doorbell... of course, Yua's holding a bottle of pomegranate juice to offer to her.

She can't very well give a house gift of wine right now!!

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

Hana's apartment is high up, which makes for another good reason to have Seiji escort Yua. Shinjuku is a nice place to live, though Hana isn't penthouse wealthy. Hana's enjoyed her chance to get to Sumaru to bake with housewives. She isn't one herself, of course; she works in television. But she does have a Nice Man even if they aren't ''married'', and she's more than willing to smile and join in the conversations. She's pretty good at baking!! ...Since she learned from her sisters-in-law, anyway...

And today, this invitation takes Yua up, up, up, to the floor where Hana lives. The apartment is not ''large'' but it is very ''nice'', with floor-length windows over by one wall to show off a beautiful view of the cityscape, a bar dividing the kitchen and dining areas from the living area, and a nice leather couch with some side tables. There's glass doors to a balcony across the way, and...

Hana opens the door! "Yua-chan," she greets warmly, and accepts the bottle. "Thank you! I'll open it right now." Because of course.

"How are you doing? I hope the trip over wasn't too stressful."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

When Yua first joined a lot of these circles, ''she'' wasn't married, either -- which might be why she's so confident they'll embrace ''Hana'' despite the lack of a ring on her finger. It helps that she ''is'' in television, so everyone knows ''who she is...'' though most of the women who meet for morning tea in these things would be better known through the works of their husbands.

(Even when Yua was just being ''cared for'' by the Ijuuins, that was true, too... and of course, none of her friends were particularly surprised to hear that she'd found a ''suitor'' amongst them, with how close she was with her best friend.)

But up, up, up they go, and Yua's used to living on the tenth floor, but going up here is another thing entirely because there are ''so many buttons'' and she can't just hit the one on the tippy-top to get home now?! Luckily, this isn't Seiji's first rodeo; he's used to taking a few extra minutes to make ''sure'' Yua gets where she needs to go, lately. Particulary with her getting bigger, it would be a big problem if she ''fell''... and she can feel quite faint, sometimes, even before she started with Hiroki.

"Ko~to~ba~!" Yua lilts, happily, as she takes the invitation in. (And takes a few extra minutes to get her shoes off, but never mind that.) "It wasn't bad! Seiji-san made sure I didn't get lost at all! Ahhh, and your view is so pretty...!" She adds, once she's properly ''enhomed,'' and she can pad over to the nearest window. "Look, look!"

Yes, Yua, she knows, she's looked.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

Maybe Hana will be one of these days! ...Well, maybe.

Probably to her man, even. But there are a few matters in the way of that... and Hana is glad at least that none of the others in the circle have ''said'' that those matters are a problem for them.

But she has no Ijuuin family to lean on.

It's fine, though! There are indeed many buttons, and if Seiji were still here he'd get a greeting too. However, since he already made himself scarce...

"That's good," Hana says. "This is where I live! I hope you like it."

The view ''is'' pretty. Hana even smiles. "It's something I really like," she offers. "But make yourself comfortable, please." She comes out with two glasses for the juice, and makes to pour one for Yua.

"Your cookies the other day were really delicious, I should say again." A beat, "You just missed Teruo--something came up at work, and he couldn't stay."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

So long as things aren't said too ''loudly,'' there's an awful lot which the housewives' network will accept. No one knows how messy one's home can get better than a housewife, after all.

"It's so nice!" Yua enthuses, brightly. "Thanks for inviting me! I really like seeing other people's nests, too!"

She rustles herself down, on the couch, arranging some pillows to help support her before she accepts that glass. "Thankyu~!" She chirps, cutely. "I'm really glad you like them! Haaaauuu, I'm trying to bake cookies for another friend, but she keeps saying they're not the right kind... I'll figure out what she likes eventually, though!!"

Kiria is a friend in the Normal People Gloss; 'ninja of a clan sworn to protect her family' is something more of a mouthful.

"Awww, Shinoda-san's busy..." Yua pouts, though it's largely because she's feeling for ''Hana.'' "Mm, mm... well, don't worry! I'll keep you company, Kotoba! Hee hee, though you have more people to rely on, right?" As she's come to realise that Hana is mostly seeing just ''those three people,'' she's warmed up to the idea of ''multiple partners'' a little more. It's not ''that'' much different to her arrangement...

"Sorry I had to cancel lunch last Saturday, by the way," she adds, growing a little quieter. "Just... something came up, so..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

Hana's used to that particular dance.

'Nest' is a cute way to put it; Hana quirks a smile, her pink nails glinting in the room's light as she pours the glasses. "Thank you," Hana tells her friend. "I do try to keep it cozy... Though I'm moving soon, I hope. We've almost finalized things."

Oh, but another friend? "Hmmm. It's fun to figure out, it sounds like." Hana would never dream of being so ''picky'' but it does sound that Yua's having a good time.

"Sadly," Hana sighs. "But it's all right, I get to see him again tomorrow, probably. And soon, maybe all the time!"

She does have more people to rely on, though. "Mm! Sa-chan and Ya-chan are out on a date tonight, though." A little smile, and Hana actually blushes slightly. "...I admit, when I talked to you about how we see other people sometimes, I wasn't expecting things to blossom quite this way... I was sure it was 'casual'. But then, we had been looking at..." Apartments! Maybe Hana's just a little slow on the love uptake.

But by now, Yua's met them; she's seen how Hana looks at Emisa too, and it is ''not'' in a very casual way.

"Oh, it's all right," Hana assures Yua. "I understand that you have a lot going on. ...Is everything all right?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Ahh, you have a house picked out? Yay! That's so great!" Yua bubbles, happily.

And of her cookie quest, she declares, "Next time, I'm trying blueberry chips...!"

She waves her free hand excitedly, hearing Hana's wishes for ''cohabitation.'' "It'll be great!" She encourages her. And then -- her girlfriends. "It feels better knowing you're serious, though, right?" She encourages her, smiling. "So you can really count on them!" She has, in fact, seen the way Hana looks at Emisa... and when she met her, she made sure to keep Hana between the two of them, to avoid any accusations of ''impropiety.''

It's a little scandalous to talk to another woman's sword too closely, you know?

Still -- Hana asks if everything's all right, and --

You know, it's not that Yua's bubbliness is lie; she really is happy about Hana's relationships and her cosy home and her plans for the future.

It's just -- there's a little shadow -- right there, over her eye.

"Oh... um..." Her smile falters, for a moment, as she tries to get to saying that, "it's just a little... it's fine, I just... um..."

A pin could drop.

"... nn," Yua shakes her head, then, one ankle crossing over the other. "It's not fine. It just... can't be helped... so."

What a Japanese way to look at it.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

"We do, we just have to finalize some things. ...It's hard to get them to rent to two 'men' who are together," Hana says with a sigh, her expression sliding, "But if the four of us go in together on something larger... it's less likely to be a problem." Probably because they'll assume the dynamics differ, or maybe because that much more money is more persuasive. Either way...

Hana noticed; she appreciates Yua's propriety, even if she doesn't think it's ''necessary''. And indeed, Hana smiles back. "It does. It makes me feel... warmer. The last time I was with a woman it..." Hana's face falls. "It didn't end very well." She fixes her smile after that, shakes her head.

She focuses on Yua!

And there's a lot to focus on here. Hana looks openly concerned, as it's not fine. "Well..." She sets down her glass, and tries to look Yua in the eye. "I won't pry," she says. "If it's something you can't talk about, that's all right."

"But..."

"...If you think an outside listener would make you feel any better, I'm happy to be her. I promise I'll keep it to myself, if you do."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"You can help each other!" Yua declares, and if that involves a little heteronormativity, well -- that's the way the sausage is made.

She shakes her head, though, reaching out to squeeze Hana's hand briefly. "I saw how you looked at her," she assures her. "But did you see how she was looking at you, too? I really think she wants to take care of you... give her a chance, Kotoba!"

It's one thing to encourage Hana to be open to others, though, and another to...

Her hand curls at her glass, instead, holding it in both hands as she looks down at it. "I can't," she insists, her voice growing thinner. "I can't! I don't... I don't know if it would make me feel better, 'cause... it's too dangerous! Even if you never said anything -- they'd see you looking -- they'd know!"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

They can help each other. And well, it is how the sausage is made. Hana's familiar with the necessities of the world...

But it'd be nice if she could push back, wouldn't it? Maybe someone else will.

Hana accepts Yua's hand on hers, smiling back at her. "She's wonderful," Hana agrees. "She really does want to. And that makes me want to work harder, too." So, give her a chance!! "...And I find I don't mind how Ya-chan looks at Teruo, either," she says. "It gives us something in common."

But while the encouragement is helpful...

Hana frowns a little. "Dangerous?" she wonders. "Yua-chan, that's a little scary..."

"I don't know of anyone who could get to me just for hearing you out in my own apartment," she ventures. "I really am willing to listen."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"But you do," Yua insists, all thoughts of romance fled from her mind. She rocks, on the couch. "You do. You're too close to it. Once you see it, you can't look away. You can't escape. Even when they think they've escaped, it's just the fairytales they believe."

Her voice grows tighter, as she shares this much: "You do. You invited me here. And I can't escape." She breathes -- once -- twice -- three times. "So please just - believe me - it's fine. It must surely be fine," she says, to her cup of juice. "It's just -- sex -- right? Isn't it sometimes just sex? It's nothing..."

... she's trying not to get her involved, but those three lines illustrate exactly ''what'' she's trying to paper over.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

Yua's obvious distress is distressing to Hana in turn, but Hana by contrast has enough distance from it to maintain her composure. Yua rocks on the couch... and she speaks of fairy tales, and things that can't be escaped. Still--

While it ''is'' scary, Yua says the right thing to ensure that Hana definitely won't leave it alone. What she's papering over...

"Some things can be," Hana ventures, "But when it makes you feel like you're feeling now, I don't think it's 'just sex'."

"Yua-chan," she says more urgently. "What's going on?"

Maybe there's something she can do.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

It's not just that one question.

It's the first time Yua reached out to the apartment association to see what the housewives were up to -- telling them she'd 'been sick,' when the gardening circle asked why she was so pale and strange.

It's the first time Yua put her fradulent paperwork in to the regulator to get her position as a teacher, and they asked what university she'd studied in, only for her to say she undertook ''private study.''

It's Yume asking what happened to her, and needing a sanitised account for her own safety.

It's her father needing one, too.

And her new father.

And her new family.

And every student which has ever been concerned for her.

And the people she's met in Sumaru.

It's pretending she loves the man who bound her finger. It's pretending he isn't part of it. It's pretending she's not, too.

Pretending they took her eye, instead of opening it.

Pretending --

'What's going on?', Hana asks.

And Yua tells her, numb and distant, her motion stilling as she collapses into herself.

"I'm not who you think I am. I really was trafficked... but it wasn't by pirates. The day I reported for basic training, I was drugged and taken underground to a facility which doesn't officially exist. I was tortured and interrogated and all the while, they had me perfecting my craft. My passion. My drive. It became part of their thesis. I became part of their thesis. They took my name. They opened my eye. They gave me the power to trap people, to curse them and the land itself with a magic spell, to find them when they try to hide and to hide myself when they try to find me. They made me into an asset."

"And when my body and mind gave out, they handed me over to the woman I loved, who sold her soul to find me. They let me leave. But I wasn't free. Their eyes are everywhere. I see for them, too. I look so harmless... people say things to me. Even my students. Those people target them quite often. Young hearts have power. So I learn their habits, their interests, their desires. So they erode any chance to oppose them."

"There are people out there fighting a war they do not realise was won years ago. But even though there's nothing they can do, they still fight. There's nothing I can do, so I am who they fight."

"But I wanted something for myself. As if I were a person, not a tool to open the way forward."

"They let me leave, so I was able to do that much."

"And Kimi-san couldn't convince me to get rid of him."

"So he sent me back to the place which made me. Back to the woman who interrogated me. The woman who became obsessed with me. He sent me back there, and told me not to make him look bad, and she raped me. She raped me, and she bound me by blood to a robot she had made. A girl who would fight in my stead. A girl who could leave if I let that woman do as she liked. So I let her... so I took that girl home. So I made her my daughter. I still can't bear to have her go out there alone... but she gets hurt instead of me. I'm a monstrous mother."

"One day she was hurt in her soul, and she had to go back. So I took her back. And that woman said to wear a kimono. So I did. So she could take pictures as I undressed. So she could rape me again. And my girl. My beautiful baby girl. She asked me later, when we fed the fish. She asked if I resented her. She doesn't know. She just knows I get upset when I go there. She thought I was upset because I thought she was a burden."

"Kimi-san told me, this time. I couldn't take so long to be upset. I needed to get back to work. People would be suspicious of me. People would talk."

"I want to tell him I won't keep his secret any more... but he says he'll ruin our lives. Destroy our standing in the family. Destroy the family, just so they'll blame us for it."

"A few days ago, I attacked children. I helped my daughter attack children. And when they ask it of me again, I'll do it again. And when they ask me where you live, I'll tell them all about your nice leather couch. I've done it before. I've done it so many times. So many times my soul is sick. She tries to kill me. When it happens, it hurts so much, I just let her. It's other people who have kept me alive, even though I should be dead. Even though I'll soon be dead."

"And you'll interview another powerful person who is watching you."

"And he'll see where you're looking."

"And I've already ended your life."

"I'm sorry."

"If you don't struggle, it doesn't have to hurt."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

Hana asks, and she does not really know what she's asking. But she finds out.

"Yua-chan..." She starts, but doesn't interrupt further, not at first. At first, Yua speaks of a magic spell, and Hana is perhaps understandably dubious. It would be healthier, maybe, to dismiss all this as the rambling of an unquiet mind.

...But when Yua mention that she is ''harmless'', mentions her students, it is much more real indeed. A war they have already won...

"Yua-chan," she says again instead. And then there is one thing, just one thing, that she can actually address--one thing that she can hold onto, that she can understand. Not that Tyrrha is a robot--though that does explain a few things--but what Yua experiences.

Hana bites her lip--and then reaches out her hand, to offer it to Yua.

"There's a lot you're saying I don't understand," she admits. "But we're still friends, aren't we...?"

"...I'm used to being known to powerful people," she says then. "I don't mind. The man who outed me to the world... he seems so strong, too."

"I can't make you feel better about what's going on, or tell you it's all right. I can barely understand what's wrong."

Attacked...

She tries to reach Yua's hand, to squeeze it, to bring it back to her hands.

"I'm sorry you're going through these things. ...I knew he was heartless, but I didn't realize how cruel he was, th things he's doing to you."

"But you ''are'' a person. And as to that..."

"If I don't struggle, it'll still hurt," she says softly. "The last woman I was with... She decided I was just using her, because I was ''really'' only into men. ...And her brother got that idea. And he hurt me very badly, with his fists."

"...I decided... I didn't want to just be afraid." A spark of something ''almost'' catches in her, a bonfire of rebellion that... doesn't, yet, come to life.

"That if I was going to be hurt for being who I was regardless, that I might as well live as I chose."

"...I'm not strong," Hana says. "I can't fight, definitely not something like you describe."

The powder stays dry. Unlit.

"But so long as I can... I'll make a space for the people I care about."

"It's scary," she says, "But I'm not afraid of that."

"...Friendship means more to me than that."

She's still not a threat to Them. ...Not so long as she thinks she can't do anything.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Oh, her mind's unquiet, too.

Yua is still. She does not reach for Hana's hand. It is only when Hana tries to take hers that the pomegranate juice spills from them, as they forget how to hold a glass. Her eye watches, as if in slow motion, as it tumbles to the

fluffy, white carpet. It's real sheep skin. Even though she's on the floor, laying on that wool means she doesn't feel cold. 'What a contrast,' Natari marvels. 'You're so dark against the white wool... magnificent.' She

carpet. As she watches the stain seep in, she gags, but at least manages to keep it down. Her hand is easily taken. She is easily grasped. Easily moved.

It's Hana's hand, but she's thinking of someone else's.

"don't look," she says, and her voice rasps so quietly it elides all capitalisation.

But Hana has been hurt, too. Yua still doesn't look at her -- isn't really looking ''at'' anything -- as she whispers, "... if you don't give in, you'll die."

"There is no choice you can make against the Powers that Be. Small things... small things are permissible. So long as you serve. So long as you follow. I've hidden hope in the things which don't matter. Like my body. But it doesn't matter, Kotoba. You can't deny them. You can't defy them."

"Did you know that when my best friend went looking for me, because friendship meant more to her, they made her a number and crushed her will and conditioned her into a warrior who would protect me and all those under the aegis of Power without regard for her own life? With no regard for her own pain... she can't resist. Every time she joins us for a mission, I remind her of her shackles. I entrench her suffering. I must mind every request I make of her, every story I tell to her... she cannot help but put me first. All because she cared for me... I ruined her. Just like the woman I love, who became the Groom as I fought as her Bride."

(It isn't ''Yua'' who ruined them; but their ruination was so complete that all Yua sees is her complicity.)

"If they see you looking, they won't hesitate. You've already been noted as a good candidate for propaganda. Since they have other people handling that, you haven't been brought in, yet... but it would be trivial to start. Until one day, you don't recognise yourself. Until one day, you put your face on in the mirror, and it feels like painting by numbers. And then you'll smile, and laugh, and support the children, and perhaps it will feel good, in the moment... perhaps you'll feel like you've helped. Until the car pulls up. Until you need to tell a man in a suit what he wants to hear."

"I don't want to be afraid, either." Her fingers twitch, just the once. "... but I am. I'm scared all the time. I know they're watching me. When I upset them... they had a boy choke me, once. I was terrified. He was disgusted. But he was bound to obey. And so am I."

"I'm sorry, but when they ask me how to break you, I won't be able to refuse. Perhaps small things... small things. I do try. But I must think of my son... perhaps that's why they let me have him, after all."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

There are ways to get stains out of carpets; it can be addressed. More important right now is Yua, who cannot hold onto a glass. Hana reaches down then, to pick it up, to set it on the table, and when Yua asks her not to look...

She bites her lip, and stands. "Yua-chan," she says.

She can't see the flashback, but she can see something is happening behind Yua's eyes. So she doesn't press her any further; maybe touching her is the wrong play, at the moment. She picks up a cloth, sets it to the stain, sits down with Yua again but does not touch her this time. She listens.

...A stain, on the carpet; a stain, in Yua. What she says chills Hana. The stain is an easier thing to focus on than the awful things her friend has to say here.

How much does she already give in? To... someone?

"That's..."

It is something she will have to take time to process. But the depths of Yua's brokenness become clearer to her. What's 'looking'...

"I see."

So what, then?

"So this is what you carry all the time," Hana murmurs, and focuses on that for now. "I'm sorry."

It's frightening, really. Some vast conspiracy... and it might want ''her''? Why did she ask?

...No, she knows why she asked. Because she cares. That powder stays unlit, but it doesn't blow away, either.

"I didn't stop being afraid either," Hana offers. She just decided to be other things, too.

"They've hurt you very badly," she notes gently. "I can't say anything to make it better. ...But I don't even know where to start looking, if I wanted to."

"You're carrying such a heavy burden..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

The cup is picked up. There is a cloth.

"All the time," the shell of a woman echoes. "It's so heavy."

She gives in.

"Don't look," she says, again, and manages a little more life the second time. "Please. Don't start looking. I said so many selfish things, but I don't want to destroy you. It was just the thousandth drop of water," and with restraint and time, even drips of water can become torturous. "Just that."

"Don't say you forgive me... please. You don't know what I've done. Even if I said a thousand things... it wouldn't describe the shape that's overshadowed me. A shape you can only see when you feel it... or when you're told."

"They're safe if they don't see..."

"If they don't see me."

"Oh, God... you can see me, can't you...?"

Folding her hands around her chest, Yua sobs, tilting forward into herself.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

"Like I said," Hana says, "I don't know where to start. It's all right." Hana hands matters, and sees the greater life in Yua for now... she doesn't wnat to 'destroy her'.

It's better, not to poke her nose into such things, isn't it? But that all goes aside for now, to be thought about later.

"I won't," she assures Yua, say she forgives her--not now, anyway. ...She isn't sure she's ready to; part of her resents that this woman has just inducted her into the knowledge of such things, knowing how dangerous it's supposed to be to her.

But that's such an unkind thought. Hana thinks she can do better.

"I don't feel it," she admits. "I can tell you're broken up over it... that it's heavy on you."

"But I don't really understand. I'm not... special, like that. There's nothing about me that's part of grand conspiracies or anything."

"...It's all right, Yua-chan. I'm here. Can I help...?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Yua certainly ''thinks'' Hana should resent her.

She hasn't just stained the carpet.

And thoughts don't wash out like juice can.

"I'm broken," she affirms, quietly.

"I can't be fixed."

As if she's an ornament whose clasp doesn't latch.

"I wasn't special, either. Just a country girl... I didn't even get good grades in my entrance exams... I don't know why me."

"But I've told you why ''you,'' Hanakotoba."

"Because you are useful. Because you may serve."

"What a wretched woman I am..."

She draws in a dragged breath, and looks to Hana, with that tearlogged eye. "... you're really... still asking that..."

"I keep hurting so many good people..."

And in the recrimination, Hana can ''see,'' now she's turned to her, the way her gaze grows unfocused as it grows undecorated, dull and without variation. ... as if she has her foot in two worlds, caught between sitting beside Hana and the abyss which haunts her.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

Yua is broken, and can't be fixed. Hana can see that she feels that way... but she can feel, too, the chill of being told ''why'' her. The reasons that she would come to the notice of this awful 'Them'.

"I don't know either," Hana says gently. But she calls herself wretched, even as Hana again thinks... she is asking that. That is the person she wants to be. And maybe that's why this daunting revelation cows her... but doesn't ''break'' her.

"I am," she says. "...Yua-chan," Hana says. "Can you tell me where you are?"

She's not 'here', certainly. Her mind seems to be elsewhere. "Tell me about my apartment. Things you see."

"All right?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"The office," Yua says, at first, "she messes with the cameras, there's blinds, so, uh -- carpet, I -- I'm bleeding? I --"

But she takes another look, and frowns. "It's dark... something dark is coming out...?" For some reason, her hand lifts, to press to her eyepatch. She pulls it back, and shakes her head, seeing it clean. "Nn..."

Hana says it's ''her apartment,'' and Yua has another look. "I see... you," she affirms, looking to her. "Pink dress... and... zig zags. Coffee table... TV. There's a cabinet... um... a big window? It's sunny... morning... we're up real high..."

She takes a breath, looking back to Hana. "So it can't... be that place. I'm not... buried. I'm not..."

She braces her hands against the edge of the couch -- "Can I--?" She queries, aside -- and scooches herself closer to Hana if she gets that all-clear. "I'm sorry," she says, weight settling back down either way. "It's just been... mm... yeah, really heavy. Knowing I... I'll have to go back there. And -- and she thinks she's ''fixing me.''" ... she's alluded before to having some experience with corrective rape. Is this...?

"So..." Yua starts, a touch haplessly, and trails off. It's a few moments before she picks up with, "... most times, I'm okay... I keep it on the inside. That way, Yua-chan can sparkle for everyone... even though I'm really all dark and grimy. Mm... a lot of people are working really hard for me, so... I feel like I owe it to them to make life happy and warm? So I cover it up," she says, lifting her right hand, to offer it to Hana.

There's black fabric, stretched from a ring around her middle finger to a bracelet.

"Under this, it's ugly... I remember when it's bad. But I cover it up... so it's okay. Um... I can show you? It's just... not pretty, so..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

The office... And blinds. Carpet. Bleeding. But that's not what 'this place' is; it's what Yua remembers.

But something dark? That, Hana doesn't really understand. It seems that the movement moves on though. Cabinet, big window, morning...

"Yes," Hana confirms. "We're up very high! It means my view of the city is very nice. That's what the big window is for."

"You can." Hana lets Yua get closer, will support her if Yua wants to lean on her. She's still not sure all in all how she feels about the rest.. But in the moment, trying to comfort her feels right. Especially with 'correction'.

"That's horrible," Hana agrees soothingly.

Still...

"Just because you can bear it," Hana says, "Doesn't mean it isn't bad. ...It's all right, to feel bad, when bad things happen. I think so, at least."

She looks at Yua's hand. "You can," Hana confirms.

She braces herself to make sure not to react poorly, to... whatever it is.

"I see how hard you're working to be bright. I do."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"A nice view... like home... but you're higher." Yua is trying to come back to this plane of existence, at least.

At first, Yua just lets it be a matter of proximity; to prove to herself that being around another woman isn't ''dangerous,'' despite her mind's desire to insist that anyone short of her wife is a threat. "Mm," she nods. "Mm. I feel... really bad."

But there -- the ring. The fabric is stretchy, Hana will note. "It's hard," Yua says, and she's not just referring to how she has to pull on that ring to tug it off her finger. Beneath --

It's not a black hand, despite it perhaps seeming as if it ''ought'' to be.

It's... a scar, burnlike, shallow and circular on the back of her hand, deeper at the middle. Though it's not deep, the mechanisms of the hand are fragile, and perhaps it makes ''sense'' why Yua would lose her grip on something so easily under stress.

"When some people escaped, they punished the rest of us... drip... drip... drip. It really hurt... I wished I hadn't been picked. Whenever they bandaged it, they'd ring a bell... ring, ring, ring... so now, every time I hear it, my hand burns again."

Yua takes a breath, looking away. "... so... that's why I'd tell them. I'm sorry... I know it's not how I should treat my friends. I know... it's really selfish to have friends... when they're watching me this closely. You never asked for this, either... uu... I just, I... maybe it's since you knew about Kimi-san already, a-and you were worried, or... oh, I don't know..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

"That's right. Your place is lovely, too--but we're not there. We're at mine."

Proximity is fine. Hana listens to Yua; she does feel really bad. But regardless of whether she was going to be mad about it... She's not going to stop just like this.

The ring... Hana knows what it is, and means. But the scar?

"Oh..."

Hana's expression shifts, her lips pressing together hard. "That looks so painful," she says. "It sounds awful. That's not a thing to do to anyone."

But Yua looks away, and... explains. Why she'd tell them anything at all. Why...

"I see," Hana says. "...But people can't get by on their own."

"...I did know about him," she says. "It makes a few things make more sense..."

"But don't worry about that for right now, all right?"

When, then?

"Just take a breath. ...Let yourself be here, for a little while."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Sometimes it still hurts," Yua says, her voice shallow. "Even without the bell. Like, when it's rainy... or when I have to use it too much. I said they couldn't do this to me, since I was a human being... but they just called me a number, and said it was a lesson."

She pulls her ring back onto her finger, tugging and straightening the fabric. "... I guess it was torture," she says, still not able to meet Hana's eyes. "Some of them... do that. It's better now, though. Our boss, she --" -- but Yua shakes her head, clapping her hand to her mouth. "... I better not say," she says, apologetically, glancing sidelong to Hana. "I'm still 'on thin ice'... they'll be mad enough when they figure out I told you all this. Just -- I don't, um -- I don't get choked when I talk back so much these days."

So it's okay? All of this is okay?

Well, it has to be.

Yua ''does'' lean her weight against Hana, now. "Here... it's nice. Is it really okay...?" To be here, one presumes.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

"That's torture," Hana agrees sadly. "IT definitely is." But some of them do that. And their boss... Is better? Hm. "...Sometimes people don't care if someone's 'human' or not. I've seen it, too." Not in the same way, of course. Not so... systemically. But still.

"Well, I'm not planning on telling them," Hana offers, with not quite a smile. "I'm glad it's not as bad as it was at least."

Hana supports Yua as best she can in the moment. Hana doesn't answer immediately. She thinks about it. She has to think about it.

Is it okay...?

"I'm glad you're here," she says instead. "It's good to spend time with friends."

There's a lot she'll have to think about, but...

"Just stay with me for a bit, all right?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Kotoba, too...? Uu... I wish you didn't know." Yua knows enough about the terminal letter to realise it's a matter of ''knowing,'' at least.

"I can't hide anything," Yua says, quietly. "Though... they don't know I've been recording it, yet... I think. So maybe...? I-- I don't know... there's not really anything I can do, just... I wanted to do something. Maybe... maybe they won't know I told. But -- but they probably do?! T--they ask about things they know already, just to make sure I'm loyal, I -- I can't lie!"

Yua's panic grows, but this time, at least, she's present enough to grasp at Hana's hand and squeeze it as she tries to calm herself. (Her grip isn't terribly tight.) "Stay here," she repeats, again, as she swallows. "Just stay here... okay... I-I can stay until it's time for the children's dance, all right? I need to... to watch them, I'm a teacher... I mean, I'm not a real teacher, but they don't know that... I really did want to teach them how to dance."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

"Thank you," Hana says quietly. She is aware, of course. And Yua sees that. But...

Recording. That's a good sign, isn't it? "I won't ask you to lie," Hana says gently, and places her other hand on Yua's, trying to calm her as best she can. She keeps her breathing even, her voice soft.

"You can do that much," Hana says. "Yes. Just long enough for that."

"It's all right, Yua-chan."

She'll have to process more later, but...

It's not right, what those people have done to this woman. And maybe there's a little more in Hana that might ignite one of these days because of it.
</poem>

2026-08-08: Don't Look

2026-08-10T19:26:21Z

L: Created page with "*'''Log: ''' Don't Look *'''Cast:''' Yua Ijuuin, Hana Fukami *'''Where:''' Hana's Apartment, Shinjuku *'''OOC Date:''' 2026-08-08 *'''IC Date:''' Sat Dec 22 2012 *'''Summary''': ''Yua has friends! Really! One of them is Hana, who she's involved in her housewife life recently. But when Hana asks Yua what's really going on, she gets more than she bargained for, as the dam breaks and all her poisons pour from her. Hana is left to grapple with the unfairness of learn..."

*'''Log: ''' Don't Look
*'''Cast:''' [[Yua Ijuuin]], [[Hana Fukami]]
*'''Where:''' Hana's Apartment, Shinjuku
*'''OOC Date:''' 2026-08-08
*'''IC Date:''' Sat Dec 22 2012
*'''Summary''': ''Yua has friends! Really! One of them is Hana, who she's involved in her housewife life recently. But when Hana asks Yua what's really going on, she gets more than she bargained for, as the dam breaks and all her poisons pour from her. Hana is left to grapple with the unfairness of learning about a shape she can't unsee -- but she can't stop thinking about the inequity Yua's suffering under, either. Maybe she can't fight a power like that... but she can at least shelter her friend for a little while.''
*'''Content warning''': Discussion of sexual abuse, torture, medical abuse, acid burns

----

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Yua's invited Hana out for tea on and off for a while, now -- and at some point during those coffee chats and catch-ups, she extended an invitation for her to join their housewives' ''baking circle,'' despite the fact that's in Sumaru. Hana is quite a popular addition to the largely-wealthy club, and it means that Yua is able to invite her over to her penthouse for tea afterwards now and then, too. There, she was able to meet Tyrrha, Yua's adopted daughter... and her ''maid,'' Eiko, because Yua is rich enough to live in a sprawling penthouse ''with a maid.''

(There's even a swimming pool... and now, a new addition of a ''koi pond...'')

Sometimes, though, the invitations take Yua to Tokyo, instead... and today, in particular, she's coming to Hana's ''house!'' Seiji, her chauffeur -- ''she's chauffeur rich too'' -- actually stops the car and gets out to escort her to Hana's door, because her brain is ''completely'' frazzled today, she keeps forgetting ''basic steps to basic things'' like ''what door number she's even looking for.'' "I'll be okay," she smiles, to him, when he gets her to Hana's door ''specifically.'' "Thanks, Seiji-san!"

Ring, ring, goes the doorbell... of course, Yua's holding a bottle of pomegranate juice to offer to her.

She can't very well give a house gift of wine right now!!

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

Hana's apartment is high up, which makes for another good reason to have Seiji escort Yua. Shinjuku is a nice place to live, though Hana isn't penthouse wealthy. Hana's enjoyed her chance to get to Sumaru to bake with housewives. She isn't one herself, of course; she works in television. But she does have a Nice Man even if they aren't ''married'', and she's more than willing to smile and join in the conversations. She's pretty good at baking!! ...Since she learned from her sisters-in-law, anyway...

And today, this invitation takes Yua up, up, up, to the floor where Hana lives. The apartment is not ''large'' but it is very ''nice'', with floor-length windows over by one wall to show off a beautiful view of the cityscape, a bar dividing the kitchen and dining areas from the living area, and a nice leather couch with some side tables. There's glass doors to a balcony across the way, and...

Hana opens the door! "Yua-chan," she greets warmly, and accepts the bottle. "Thank you! I'll open it right now." Because of course.

"How are you doing? I hope the trip over wasn't too stressful."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

When Yua first joined a lot of these circles, ''she'' wasn't married, either -- which might be why she's so confident they'll embrace ''Hana'' despite the lack of a ring on her finger. It helps that she ''is'' in television, so everyone knows ''who she is...'' though most of the women who meet for morning tea in these things would be better known through the works of their husbands.

(Even when Yua was just being ''cared for'' by the Ijuuins, that was true, too... and of course, none of her friends were particularly surprised to hear that she'd found a ''suitor'' amongst them, with how close she was with her best friend.)

But up, up, up they go, and Yua's used to living on the tenth floor, but going up here is another thing entirely because there are ''so many buttons'' and she can't just hit the one on the tippy-top to get home now?! Luckily, this isn't Seiji's first rodeo; he's used to taking a few extra minutes to make ''sure'' Yua gets where she needs to go, lately. Particulary with her getting bigger, it would be a big problem if she ''fell''... and she can feel quite faint, sometimes, even before she started with Hiroki.

"Ko~to~ba~!" Yua lilts, happily, as she takes the invitation in. (And takes a few extra minutes to get her shoes off, but never mind that.) "It wasn't bad! Seiji-san made sure I didn't get lost at all! Ahhh, and your view is so pretty...!" She adds, once she's properly ''enhomed,'' and she can pad over to the nearest window. "Look, look!"

Yes, Yua, she knows, she's looked.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

Maybe Hana will be one of these days! ...Well, maybe.

Probably to her man, even. But there are a few matters in the way of that... and Hana is glad at least that none of the others in the circle have ''said'' that those matters are a problem for them.

But she has no Ijuuin family to lean on.

It's fine, though! There are indeed many buttons, and if Seiji were still here he'd get a greeting too. However, since he already made himself scarce...

"That's good," Hana says. "This is where I live! I hope you like it."

The view ''is'' pretty. Hana even smiles. "It's something I really like," she offers. "But make yourself comfortable, please." She comes out with two glasses for the juice, and makes to pour one for Yua.

"Your cookies the other day were really delicious, I should say again." A beat, "You just missed Teruo--something came up at work, and he couldn't stay."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

So long as things aren't said too ''loudly,'' there's an awful lot which the housewives' network will accept. No one knows how messy one's home can get better than a housewife, after all.

"It's so nice!" Yua enthuses, brightly. "Thanks for inviting me! I really like seeing other people's nests, too!"

She rustles herself down, on the couch, arranging some pillows to help support her before she accepts that glass. "Thankyu~!" She chirps, cutely. "I'm really glad you like them! Haaaauuu, I'm trying to bake cookies for another friend, but she keeps saying they're not the right kind... I'll figure out what she likes eventually, though!!"

Kiria is a friend in the Normal People Gloss; 'ninja of a clan sworn to protect her family' is something more of a mouthful.

"Awww, Shinoda-san's busy..." Yua pouts, though it's largely because she's feeling for ''Hana.'' "Mm, mm... well, don't worry! I'll keep you company, Kotoba! Hee hee, though you have more people to rely on, right?" As she's come to realise that Hana is mostly seeing just ''those three people,'' she's warmed up to the idea of ''multiple partners'' a little more. It's not ''that'' much different to her arrangement...

"Sorry I had to cancel lunch last Saturday, by the way," she adds, growing a little quieter. "Just... something came up, so..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

Hana's used to that particular dance.

'Nest' is a cute way to put it; Hana quirks a smile, her pink nails glinting in the room's light as she pours the glasses. "Thank you," Hana tells her friend. "I do try to keep it cozy... Though I'm moving soon, I hope. We've almost finalized things."

Oh, but another friend? "Hmmm. It's fun to figure out, it sounds like." Hana would never dream of being so ''picky'' but it does sound that Yua's having a good time.

"Sadly," Hana sighs. "But it's all right, I get to see him again tomorrow, probably. And soon, maybe all the time!"

She does have more people to rely on, though. "Mm! Sa-chan and Ya-chan are out on a date tonight, though." A little smile, and Hana actually blushes slightly. "...I admit, when I talked to you about how we see other people sometimes, I wasn't expecting things to blossom quite this way... I was sure it was 'casual'. But then, we had been looking at..." Apartments! Maybe Hana's just a little slow on the love uptake.

But by now, Yua's met them; she's seen how Hana looks at Emisa too, and it is ''not'' in a very casual way.

"Oh, it's all right," Hana assures Yua. "I understand that you have a lot going on. ...Is everything all right?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Ahh, you have a house picked out? Yay! That's so great!" Yua bubbles, happily.

And of her cookie quest, she declares, "Next time, I'm trying blueberry chips...!"

She waves her free hand excitedly, hearing Hana's wishes for ''cohabitation.'' "It'll be great!" She encourages her. And then -- her girlfriends. "It feels better knowing you're serious, though, right?" She encourages her, smiling. "So you can really count on them!" She has, in fact, seen the way Hana looks at Emisa... and when she met her, she made sure to keep Hana between the two of them, to avoid any accusations of ''impropiety.''

It's a little scandalous to talk to another woman's sword too closely, you know?

Still -- Hana asks if everything's all right, and --

You know, it's not that Yua's bubbliness is lie; she really is happy about Hana's relationships and her cosy home and her plans for the future.

It's just -- there's a little shadow -- right there, over her eye.

"Oh... um..." Her smile falters, for a moment, as she tries to get to saying that, "it's just a little... it's fine, I just... um..."

A pin could drop.

"... nn," Yua shakes her head, then, one ankle crossing over the other. "It's not fine. It just... can't be helped... so."

What a Japanese way to look at it.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

"We do, we just have to finalize some things. ...It's hard to get them to rent to two 'men' who are together," Hana says with a sigh, her expression sliding, "But if the four of us go in together on something larger... it's less likely to be a problem." Probably because they'll assume the dynamics differ, or maybe because that much more money is more persuasive. Either way...

Hana noticed; she appreciates Yua's propriety, even if she doesn't think it's ''necessary''. And indeed, Hana smiles back. "It does. It makes me feel... warmer. The last time I was with a woman it..." Hana's face falls. "It didn't end very well." She fixes her smile after that, shakes her head.

She focuses on Yua!

And there's a lot to focus on here. Hana looks openly concerned, as it's not fine. "Well..." She sets down her glass, and tries to look Yua in the eye. "I won't pry," she says. "If it's something you can't talk about, that's all right."

"But..."

"...If you think an outside listener would make you feel any better, I'm happy to be her. I promise I'll keep it to myself, if you do."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"You can help each other!" Yua declares, and if that involves a little heteronormativity, well -- that's the way the sausage is made.

She shakes her head, though, reaching out to squeeze Hana's hand briefly. "I saw how you looked at her," she assures her. "But did you see how she was looking at you, too? I really think she wants to take care of you... give her a chance, Kotoba!"

It's one thing to encourage Hana to be open to others, though, and another to...

Her hand curls at her glass, instead, holding it in both hands as she looks down at it. "I can't," she insists, her voice growing thinner. "I can't! I don't... I don't know if it would make me feel better, 'cause... it's too dangerous! Even if you never said anything -- they'd see you looking -- they'd know!"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

They can help each other. And well, it is how the sausage is made. Hana's familiar with the necessities of the world...

But it'd be nice if she could push back, wouldn't it? Maybe someone else will.

Hana accepts Yua's hand on hers, smiling back at her. "She's wonderful," Hana agrees. "She really does want to. And that makes me want to work harder, too." So, give her a chance!! "...And I find I don't mind how Ya-chan looks at Teruo, either," she says. "It gives us something in common."

But while the encouragement is helpful...

Hana frowns a little. "Dangerous?" she wonders. "Yua-chan, that's a little scary..."

"I don't know of anyone who could get to me just for hearing you out in my own apartment," she ventures. "I really am willing to listen."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"But you do," Yua insists, all thoughts of romance fled from her mind. She rocks, on the couch. "You do. You're too close to it. Once you see it, you can't look away. You can't escape. Even when they think they've escaped, it's just the fairytales they believe."

Her voice grows tighter, as she shares this much: "You do. You invited me here. And I can't escape." She breathes -- once -- twice -- three times. "So please just - believe me - it's fine. It must surely be fine," she says, to her cup of juice. "It's just -- sex -- right? Isn't it sometimes just sex? It's nothing..."

... she's trying not to get her involved, but those three lines illustrate exactly ''what'' she's trying to paper over.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

Yua's obvious distress is distressing to Hana in turn, but Hana by contrast has enough distance from it to maintain her composure. Yua rocks on the couch... and she speaks of fairy tales, and things that can't be escaped. Still--

While it ''is'' scary, Yua says the right thing to ensure that Hana definitely won't leave it alone. What she's papering over...

"Some things can be," Hana ventures, "But when it makes you feel like you're feeling now, I don't think it's 'just sex'."

"Yua-chan," she says more urgently. "What's going on?"

Maybe there's something she can do.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

It's not just that one question.

It's the first time Yua reached out to the apartment association to see what the housewives were up to -- telling them she'd 'been sick,' when the gardening circle asked why she was so pale and strange.

It's the first time Yua put her fradulent paperwork in to the regulator to get her position as a teacher, and they asked what university she'd studied in, only for her to say she undertook ''private study.''

It's Yume asking what happened to her, and needing a sanitised account for her own safety.

It's her father needing one, too.

And her new father.

And her new family.

And every student which has ever been concerned for her.

And the people she's met in Sumaru.

It's pretending she loves the man who bound her finger. It's pretending he isn't part of it. It's pretending she's not, too.

Pretending they took her eye, instead of opening it.

Pretending --

'What's going on?', Hana asks.

And Yua tells her, numb and distant, her motion stilling as she collapses into herself.

"I'm not who you think I am. I really was trafficked... but it wasn't by pirates. The day I reported for basic training, I was drugged and taken underground to a facility which doesn't officially exist. I was tortured and interrogated and all the while, they had me perfecting my craft. My passion. My drive. It became part of their thesis. I became part of their thesis. They took my name. They opened my eye. They gave me the power to trap people, to curse them and the land itself with a magic spell, to find them when they try to hide and to hide myself when they try to find me. They made me into an asset."

"And when my body and mind gave out, they handed me over to the woman I loved, who sold her soul to find me. They let me leave. But I wasn't free. Their eyes are everywhere. I see for them, too. I look so harmless... people say things to me. Even my students. Those people target them quite often. Young hearts have power. So I learn their habits, their interests, their desires. So they erode any chance to oppose them."

"There are people out there fighting a war they do not realise was won years ago. But even though there's nothing they can do, they still fight. There's nothing I can do, so I am who they fight."

"But I wanted something for myself. As if I were a person, not a tool to open the way forward."

"They let me leave, so I was able to do that much."

"And Kimi-san couldn't convince me to get rid of him."

"So he sent me back to the place which made me. Back to the woman who interrogated me. The woman who became obsessed with me. He sent me back there, and told me not to make him look bad, and she raped me. She raped me, and she bound me by blood to a robot she had made. A girl who would fight in my stead. A girl who could leave if I let that woman do as she liked. So I let her... so I took that girl home. So I made her my daughter. I still can't bear to have her go out there alone... but she gets hurt instead of me. I'm a monstrous mother."

"One day she was hurt in her soul, and she had to go back. So I took her back. And that woman said to wear a kimono. So I did. So she could take pictures as I undressed. So she could rape me again. And my girl. My beautiful baby girl. She asked me later, when we fed the fish. She asked if I resented her. She doesn't know. She just knows I get upset when I go there. She thought I was upset because I thought she was a burden."

"Kimi-san told me, this time. I couldn't take so long to be upset. I needed to get back to work. People would be suspicious of me. People would talk."

"I want to tell him I won't keep his secret any more... but he says he'll ruin our lives. Destroy our standing in the family. Destroy the family, just so they'll blame us for it."

"A few days ago, I attacked children. I helped my daughter attack children. And when they ask it of me again, I'll do it again. And when they ask me where you live, I'll tell them all about your nice leather couch. I've done it before. I've done it so many times. So many times my soul is sick. She tries to kill me. When it happens, it hurts so much, I just let her. It's other people who have kept me alive, even though I should be dead. Even though I'll soon be dead."

"And you'll interview another powerful person who is watching you."

"And he'll see where you're looking."

"And I've already ended your life."

"I'm sorry."

"If you don't struggle, it doesn't have to hurt."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

Hana asks, and she does not really know what she's asking. But she finds out.

"Yua-chan..." She starts, but doesn't interrupt further, not at first. At first, Yua speaks of a magic spell, and Hana is perhaps understandably dubious. It would be healthier, maybe, to dismiss all this as the rambling of an unquiet mind.

...But when Yua mention that she is ''harmless'', mentions her students, it is much more real indeed. A war they have already won...

"Yua-chan," she says again instead. And then there is one thing, just one thing, that she can actually address--one thing that she can hold onto, that she can understand. Not that Tyrrha is a robot--though that does explain a few things--but what Yua experiences.

Hana bites her lip--and then reaches out her hand, to offer it to Yua.

"There's a lot you're saying I don't understand," she admits. "But we're still friends, aren't we...?"

"...I'm used to being known to powerful people," she says then. "I don't mind. The man who outed me to the world... he seems so strong, too."

"I can't make you feel better about what's going on, or tell you it's all right. I can barely understand what's wrong."

Attacked...

She tries to reach Yua's hand, to squeeze it, to bring it back to her hands.

"I'm sorry you're going through these things. ...I knew he was heartless, but I didn't realize how cruel he was, th things he's doing to you."

"But you ''are'' a person. And as to that..."

"If I don't struggle, it'll still hurt," she says softly. "The last woman I was with... She decided I was just using her, because I was ''really'' only into men. ...And her brother got that idea. And he hurt me very badly, with his fists."

"...I decided... I didn't want to just be afraid." A spark of something ''almost'' catches in her, a bonfire of rebellion that... doesn't, yet, come to life.

"That if I was going to be hurt for being who I was regardless, that I might as well live as I chose."

"...I'm not strong," Hana says. "I can't fight, definitely not something like you describe."

The powder stays dry. Unlit.

"But so long as I can... I'll make a space for the people I care about."

"It's scary," she says, "But I'm not afraid of that."

"...Friendship means more to me than that."

She's still not a threat to Them. ...Not so long as she thinks she can't do anything.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Oh, her mind's unquiet, too.

Yua is still. She does not reach for Hana's hand. It is only when Hana tries to take hers that the pomegranate juice spills from them, as they forget how to hold a glass. Her eye watches, as if in slow motion, as it tumbles to the

fluffy, white carpet. It's real sheep skin. Even though she's on the floor, laying on that wool means she doesn't feel cold. 'What a contrast,' Natari marvels. 'You're so dark against the white wool... magnificent.' She

carpet. As she watches the stain seep in, she gags, but at least manages to keep it down. Her hand is easily taken. She is easily grasped. Easily moved.

It's Hana's hand, but she's thinking of someone else's.

"don't look," she says, and her voice rasps so quietly it elides all capitalisation.

But Hana has been hurt, too. Yua still doesn't look at her -- isn't really looking ''at'' anything -- as she whispers, "... if you don't give in, you'll die."

"There is no choice you can make against the Powers that Be. Small things... small things are permissible. So long as you serve. So long as you follow. I've hidden hope in the things which don't matter. Like my body. But it doesn't matter, Kotoba. You can't deny them. You can't defy them."

"Did you know that when my best friend went looking for me, because friendship meant more to her, they made her a number and crushed her will and conditioned her into a warrior who would protect me and all those under the aegis of Power without regard for her own life? With no regard for her own pain... she can't resist. Every time she joins us for a mission, I remind her of her shackles. I entrench her suffering. I must mind every request I make of her, every story I tell to her... she cannot help but put me first. All because she cared for me... I ruined her. Just like the woman I love, who became the Groom as I fought as her Bride."

(It isn't ''Yua'' who ruined them; but their ruination was so complete that all Yua sees is her complicity.)

"If they see you looking, they won't hesitate. You've already been noted as a good candidate for propaganda. Since they have other people handling that, you haven't been brought in, yet... but it would be trivial to start. Until one day, you don't recognise yourself. Until one day, you put your face on in the mirror, and it feels like painting by numbers. And then you'll smile, and laugh, and support the children, and perhaps it will feel good, in the moment... perhaps you'll feel like you've helped. Until the car pulls up. Until you need to tell a man in a suit what he wants to hear."

"I don't want to be afraid, either." Her fingers twitch, just the once. "... but I am. I'm scared all the time. I know they're watching me. When I upset them... they had a boy choke me, once. I was terrified. He was disgusted. But he was bound to obey. And so am I."

"I'm sorry, but when they ask me how to break you, I won't be able to refuse. Perhaps small things... small things. I do try. But I must think of my son... perhaps that's why they let me have him, after all."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

There are ways to get stains out of carpets; it can be addressed. More important right now is Yua, who cannot hold onto a glass. Hana reaches down then, to pick it up, to set it on the table, and when Yua asks her not to look...

She bites her lip, and stands. "Yua-chan," she says.

She can't see the flashback, but she can see something is happening behind Yua's eyes. So she doesn't press her any further; maybe touching her is the wrong play, at the moment. She picks up a cloth, sets it to the stain, sits down with Yua again but does not touch her this time. She listens.

...A stain, on the carpet; a stain, in Yua. What she says chills Hana. The stain is an easier thing to focus on than the awful things her friend has to say here.

How much does she already give in? To... someone?

"That's..."

It is something she will have to take time to process. But the depths of Yua's brokenness become clearer to her. What's 'looking'...

"I see."

So what, then?

"So this is what you carry all the time," Hana murmurs, and focuses on that for now. "I'm sorry."

It's frightening, really. Some vast conspiracy... and it might want ''her''? Why did she ask?

...No, she knows why she asked. Because she cares. That powder stays unlit, but it doesn't blow away, either.

"I didn't stop being afraid either," Hana offers. She just decided to be other things, too.

"They've hurt you very badly," she notes gently. "I can't say anything to make it better. ...But I don't even know where to start looking, if I wanted to."

"You're carrying such a heavy burden..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

The cup is picked up. There is a cloth.

"All the time," the shell of a woman echoes. "It's so heavy."

She gives in.

"Don't look," she says, again, and manages a little more life the second time. "Please. Don't start looking. I said so many selfish things, but I don't want to destroy you. It was just the thousandth drop of water," and with restraint and time, even drips of water can become torturous. "Just that."

"Don't say you forgive me... please. You don't know what I've done. Even if I said a thousand things... it wouldn't describe the shape that's overshadowed me. A shape you can only see when you feel it... or when you're told."

"They're safe if they don't see..."

"If they don't see me."

"Oh, God... you can see me, can't you...?"

Folding her hands around her chest, Yua sobs, tilting forward into herself.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

"Like I said," Hana says, "I don't know where to start. It's all right." Hana hands matters, and sees the greater life in Yua for now... she doesn't wnat to 'destroy her'.

It's better, not to poke her nose into such things, isn't it? But that all goes aside for now, to be thought about later.

"I won't," she assures Yua, say she forgives her--not now, anyway. ...She isn't sure she's ready to; part of her resents that this woman has just inducted her into the knowledge of such things, knowing how dangerous it's supposed to be to her.

But that's such an unkind thought. Hana thinks she can do better.

"I don't feel it," she admits. "I can tell you're broken up over it... that it's heavy on you."

"But I don't really understand. I'm not... special, like that. There's nothing about me that's part of grand conspiracies or anything."

"...It's all right, Yua-chan. I'm here. Can I help...?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Yua certainly ''thinks'' Hana should resent her.

She hasn't just stained the carpet.

And thoughts don't wash out like juice can.

"I'm broken," she affirms, quietly.

"I can't be fixed."

As if she's an ornament whose clasp doesn't latch.

"I wasn't special, either. Just a country girl... I didn't even get good grades in my entrance exams... I don't know why me."

"But I've told you why ''you,'' Hanakotoba."

"Because you are useful. Because you may serve."

"What a wretched woman I am..."

She draws in a dragged breath, and looks to Hana, with that tearlogged eye. "... you're really... still asking that..."

"I keep hurting so many good people..."

And in the recrimination, Hana can ''see,'' now she's turned to her, the way her gaze grows unfocused as it grows undecorated, dull and without variation. ... as if she has her foot in two worlds, caught between sitting beside Hana and the abyss which haunts her.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

Yua is broken, and can't be fixed. Hana can see that she feels that way... but she can feel, too, the chill of being told ''why'' her. The reasons that she would come to the notice of this awful 'Them'.

"I don't know either," Hana says gently. But she calls herself wretched, even as Hana again thinks... she is asking that. That is the person she wants to be. And maybe that's why this daunting revelation cows her... but doesn't ''break'' her.

"I am," she says. "...Yua-chan," Hana says. "Can you tell me where you are?"

She's not 'here', certainly. Her mind seems to be elsewhere. "Tell me about my apartment. Things you see."

"All right?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"The office," Yua says, at first, "she messes with the cameras, there's blinds, so, uh -- carpet, I -- I'm bleeding? I --"

But she takes another look, and frowns. "It's dark... something dark is coming out...?" For some reason, her hand lifts, to press to her eyepatch. She pulls it back, and shakes her head, seeing it clean. "Nn..."

Hana says it's ''her apartment,'' and Yua has another look. "I see... you," she affirms, looking to her. "Pink dress... and... zig zags. Coffee table... TV. There's a cabinet... um... a big window? It's sunny... morning... we're up real high..."

She takes a breath, looking back to Hana. "So it can't... be that place. I'm not... buried. I'm not..."

She braces her hands against the edge of the couch -- "Can I--?" She queries, aside -- and scooches herself closer to Hana if she gets that all-clear. "I'm sorry," she says, weight settling back down either way. "It's just been... mm... yeah, really heavy. Knowing I... I'll have to go back there. And -- and she thinks she's ''fixing me.''" ... she's alluded before to having some experience with corrective rape. Is this...?

"So..." Yua starts, a touch haplessly, and trails off. It's a few moments before she picks up with, "... most times, I'm okay... I keep it on the inside. That way, Yua-chan can sparkle for everyone... even though I'm really all dark and grimy. Mm... a lot of people are working really hard for me, so... I feel like I owe it to them to make life happy and warm? So I cover it up," she says, lifting her right hand, to offer it to Hana.

There's black fabric, stretched from a ring around her middle finger to a bracelet.

"Under this, it's ugly... I remember when it's bad. But I cover it up... so it's okay. Um... I can show you? It's just... not pretty, so..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

The office... And blinds. Carpet. Bleeding. But that's not what 'this place' is; it's what Yua remembers.

But something dark? That, Hana doesn't really understand. It seems that the movement moves on though. Cabinet, big window, morning...

"Yes," Hana confirms. "We're up very high! It means my view of the city is very nice. That's what the big window is for."

"You can." Hana lets Yua get closer, will support her if Yua wants to lean on her. She's still not sure all in all how she feels about the rest.. But in the moment, trying to comfort her feels right. Especially with 'correction'.

"That's horrible," Hana agrees soothingly.

Still...

"Just because you can bear it," Hana says, "Doesn't mean it isn't bad. ...It's all right, to feel bad, when bad things happen. I think so, at least."

She looks at Yua's hand. "You can," Hana confirms.

She braces herself to make sure not to react poorly, to... whatever it is.

"I see how hard you're working to be bright. I do."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"A nice view... like home... but you're higher." Yua is trying to come back to this plane of existence, at least.

At first, Yua just lets it be a matter of proximity; to prove to herself that being around another woman isn't ''dangerous,'' despite her mind's desire to insist that anyone short of her wife is a threat. "Mm," she nods. "Mm. I feel... really bad."

But there -- the ring. The fabric is stretchy, Hana will note. "It's hard," Yua says, and she's not just referring to how she has to pull on that ring to tug it off her finger. Beneath --

It's not a black hand, despite it perhaps seeming as if it ''ought'' to be.

It's... a scar, burnlike, shallow and circular on the back of her hand, deeper at the middle. Though it's not deep, the mechanisms of the hand are fragile, and perhaps it makes ''sense'' why Yua would lose her grip on something so easily under stress.

"When some people escaped, they punished the rest of us... drip... drip... drip. It really hurt... I wished I hadn't been picked. Whenever they bandaged it, they'd ring a bell... ring, ring, ring... so now, every time I hear it, my hand burns again."

Yua takes a breath, looking away. "... so... that's why I'd tell them. I'm sorry... I know it's not how I should treat my friends. I know... it's really selfish to have friends... when they're watching me this closely. You never asked for this, either... uu... I just, I... maybe it's since you knew about Kimi-san already, a-and you were worried, or... oh, I don't know..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

"That's right. Your place is lovely, too--but we're not there. We're at mine."

Proximity is fine. Hana listens to Yua; she does feel really bad. But regardless of whether she was going to be mad about it... She's not going to stop just like this.

The ring... Hana knows what it is, and means. But the scar?

"Oh..."

Hana's expression shifts, her lips pressing together hard. "That looks so painful," she says. "It sounds awful. That's not a thing to do to anyone."

But Yua looks away, and... explains. Why she'd tell them anything at all. Why...

"I see," Hana says. "...But people can't get by on their own."

"...I did know about him," she says. "It makes a few things make more sense..."

"But don't worry about that for right now, all right?"

When, then?

"Just take a breath. ...Let yourself be here, for a little while."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Sometimes it still hurts," Yua says, her voice shallow. "Even without the bell. Like, when it's rainy... or when I have to use it too much. I said they couldn't do this to me, since I was a human being... but they just called me a number, and said it was a lesson."

She pulls her ring back onto her finger, tugging and straightening the fabric. "... I guess it was torture," she says, still not able to meet Hana's eyes. "Some of them... do that. It's better now, though. Our boss, she --" -- but Yua shakes her head, clapping her hand to her mouth. "... I better not say," she says, apologetically, glancing sidelong to Hana. "I'm still 'on thin ice'... they'll be mad enough when they figure out I told you all this. Just -- I don't, um -- I don't get choked when I talk back so much these days."

So it's okay? All of this is okay?

Well, it has to be.

Yua ''does'' lean her weight against Hana, now. "Here... it's nice. Is it really okay...?" To be here, one presumes.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

"That's torture," Hana agrees sadly. "IT definitely is." But some of them do that. And their boss... Is better? Hm. "...Sometimes people don't care if someone's 'human' or not. I've seen it, too." Not in the same way, of course. Not so... systemically. But still.

"Well, I'm not planning on telling them," Hana offers, with not quite a smile. "I'm glad it's not as bad as it was at least."

Hana supports Yua as best she can in the moment. Hana doesn't answer immediately. She thinks about it. She has to think about it.

Is it okay...?

"I'm glad you're here," she says instead. "It's good to spend time with friends."

There's a lot she'll have to think about, but...

"Just stay with me for a bit, all right?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Kotoba, too...? Uu... I wish you didn't know." Yua knows enough about the terminal letter to realise it's a matter of ''knowing,'' at least.

"I can't hide anything," Yua says, quietly. "Though... they don't know I've been recording it, yet... I think. So maybe...? I-- I don't know... there's not really anything I can do, just... I wanted to do something. Maybe... maybe they won't know I told. But -- but they probably do?! T--they ask about things they know already, just to make sure I'm loyal, I -- I can't lie!"

Yua's panic grows, but this time, at least, she's present enough to grasp at Hana's hand and squeeze it as she tries to calm herself. (Her grip isn't terribly tight.) "Stay here," she repeats, again, as she swallows. "Just stay here... okay... I-I can stay until it's time for the children's dance, all right? I need to... to watch them, I'm a teacher... I mean, I'm not a real teacher, but they don't know that... I really did want to teach them how to dance."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
<poem>

"Thank you," Hana says quietly. She is aware, of course. And Yua sees that. But...

Recording. That's a good sign, isn't it? "I won't ask you to lie," Hana says gently, and places her other hand on Yua's, trying to calm her as best she can. She keeps her breathing even, her voice soft.

"You can do that much," Hana says. "Yes. Just long enough for that."

"It's all right, Yua-chan."

She'll have to process more later, but...

It's not right, what those people have done to this woman. And maybe there's a little more in Hana that might ignite one of these days because of it.
</poem>

2026-08-07: Aces Wild

2026-08-08T14:26:44Z

*'''Log: ''' Aces Wild
*'''Cast:''' [[Isabeau Fontaine]], [[Kanae Fuyuki]]
*'''Where:''' Shujin - Practice Building
*'''OOC Date:''' 2026-08-07
*'''IC Date:''' Fri Dec 21 2012
*'''Summary''': ''Finals are over, and Yasushi moves in to comfort Isabeau about it... but Kanae interrupts him, and hears uncertainty from Isabeau which doesn't match the confidence of her parkour. Kanae makes a resolution; Isabeau manages an offer, before she bolts. Is this rivalry really a matter of idealism and cynicism...?''

----

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

<Pose Tracker> Isabeau Fontaine has posed.
<poem>

It's the last day of finals, and Isabeau...

... well, she's started going out with the heavy boy from 2-E, so perhaps ''that's'' her excuse for doing ''so'' poorly this time.

"How'd you do?" Yasushi asks, as he finds her coming out of her room.

"Do not ask me that," Isabeau scowls.

"Don't be like that," he encourages her, reaching for her hand. "C'mon. Let's get out of here."

To the practice building, that is -- dead quiet, right now, because there's no ''Tennis Practice'' during ''Finals.'' The giant court echoes with their footsteps, and Isabeau snaps: "You want to talk ''here?'' All Shujin will hear you through this ''microphone.''" She probably means megaphone, but she doesn't know the word for megaphone.

"Don't worry," he assures her, as he slides open the doors to one of the storage rooms where they keep all the things which ''go'' out there. "Come here. Whatever happened, we can figure it out..."

... and Isabeau, notably, follows him.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Kanae Fuyuki has posed.
<poem>

It's the last day of finals... and Kanae managed to compartmentalize well enough that she still did well. Anger clarified for her the fear she was also feeling, and helped her focus on the material she'd been studying all along. She's a very good student, and maybe that will be enough to save her reputation later. ...Probably not, though.

There is no Tennis practice today... but Kanae's been paying attention to the rumors about Isabeau, and as she walks past the practice building, she does indeed hear the giant court echoing. Kanae considers...

Still in uniform, she's avoiding her own 'boyfriend' for the moment. Instead, she walks along after, a little more quietly--

And then pokes her head into the storage room before the door closes. "Hey, Isabeau," Kanae says.

"You haven't introduced me to your guy."

She knows what she's probably interrupting.

That's fine.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Isabeau Fontaine has posed.
<poem>

And so, Kanae pokes her head in the door, and Yasushi's ''already'' got his arm around her, hand to her blushing cheek --

-- which at least means there's not as much room for her to cross before she barks, pale face ''quite'' red: "KANAE, DO YOU ''MIND?!'' YOU LITTLE --"

She barks that in French, but Yasushi can at least pick up ''one'' word.

"Hey, hey," he says, tugging at her shoulder to stop her from descending upon Kanae. "That's not how we do things, here, remember?"

"This is not ''about'' you," Isabeau snaps, scowling to him, switching back to that stilted Japanese. "Give me a ''moment.''"

But instead of doing that, he squeezes her shoulder. (Reassuringly?) "Hey, c'mon. You said you'd hear out my advice, right?"

"... ''fine,''" Isabeau snorts. "What is it."

"Since she's your teammate, you'd call her 'Kanae-chan'," Yasushi explains, patiently.

"''Fine,''" Isabeau says, though it's clearly ''not'' fine, Isabeau's fought viciously against having to use honourifics since she was ''ten.'' ... and Kanae knows it's because the children made fun of her for ''not doing it right,'' so maybe he's really trying to help, telling her what she'd use here? "''Kanae-chan,'' mind your own ''business.''"

"Wait, weren't you two cool now?" Yasushi asks, looking between them. "I heard..."

"Pff... no, you are right. We are chilled." That's not the term, Isabeau. (That's kind of the term.) "Kanae-chan, this is Yasushi-kun. We are... seeing each other, so..."

"It's nice to meet you," Yasushi smiles, to Kanae. "Sorry, we don't mean to be rude. It's just stressful after the last day of finals. You get it, right?"

Was it really ''stress'' that's made ''Kanae's'' breakup gossip around campus?

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Kanae Fuyuki has posed.
<poem>

Kanae's aware of that word, too.

To her surprise, Isabeau is held ''back''. Kanae lifts an eyebrow as the shouting is cut off. Reassuringly?

Kanae, being polite, would apologize. But she really doesn't feel like apologizing today. She's missing out on her planned Christmas date with a guy she doesn't even want to see right now anyway; she's probably going to have to make out with a monster one of these days, and if she's lucky that's where it ends.

And Isabeau doesn't seem very happy, but if she ''did'', Kanae still might feel like blocking this guy.

"That's why it's my business," Kanae says, in Japanese, more sweetly than before. "I have to make sure my rival's guy is treating her right. You get it, right?" she asks Yasushi. "Since we're all friends, can I call you Yasushi-kun too?" she wonders. "Either way, it's nice to meet you too. I won't interrupt you lovebirds too long," she adds. "...Because I totally get it."

"Maybe if Shinichi-kun were around I'd be 'de-stressing' myself."

Smile.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Isabeau Fontaine has posed.
<poem>

Is Isabeau ''capable'' of looking happy instead of terminally pissed off?

(Yes. But the only people who see that are the cats.)

Yasushi, at least, has a friendly smile. He's much more 'jovial' than 'nasty', as far as the stereotypes go; a lot of his friends are looking forward into the future, seeing his father's job in politics, but to be fair boys are also much less likely to think there's anything about him which ''precludes'' him from being fun.

Some things are just locker room talk, you know?

"Of course!" He says, and doesn't tell ''her'' that kind of talk, because of course she's a ''lady.'' "Any friend of Isabeau-chan is a friend of mine! You know, I reckon I saw him when I was leaving class, he was just heading to his locker... you could probably still catch up."

Isabeau frowns. "''Merde!''" She swears, as she clicks her fingers. Does that need any translation? Clearly, she's realised something she forgot, as she helpfully translates back to Japanese: "I forgot -- Kanae-chan gave me her vibration dampeners from her locker the other day so I could buy some more for our team, and I left them at home! Excuse us, Yasushi-kun. It is best if we go home together to fix this..."

"You're sure?" He asks, rubbing her arm. "I was all set to worry about you..."

"I will be fine," she assures him. "You will still escort me to the dance?"

"Sure thing, babe," he assures her, and leans in to smooch her on the cheek -- a thing she's far more surprised by than her loud queerness might suggest, though it doesn't seem entirely ''unwelcome,'' either. "See you then."

"S--see you," she stammers, a little, as she grabs Kanae's wrist and hurries out.

They will ''not'' be going via the lockers.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Kanae Fuyuki has posed.
<poem>

Kanae can guess what the locker room talk about ''her'' is, especially with Shinichi being involved. All the stereotypes they held back from before because of Touma they sure won't now.

"Great," Kanae answers Yasushi. "Oh yeah?" she asks, and to her credit, she hides the fact that that makes her want to go anywhere ''but'' the lockers. But before she has to come up with an excuse--

There's Isabeau, right on cue. "Yeah, I was missing those," Kanae confirms for Isabeau. "Yeah, excuse us. I'm sure you'll get in more 'quality time' later, right?"

That'll add to the gossip, probably.

But Isabeau wants him to escort her, apparently, so...

Kanae is grabbed and hurries out. She lets this happen, letting Isabeau set the terms of where they're going so long as she doesn't make it via the lockers... and as it happens, she doesn't.

But when they make it far enough away...

"Wanna hop the fence?" Kanae offers. "I want to talk, either way."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Isabeau Fontaine has posed.
<poem>

You know what they say about French girls.

"Ugh," Isabeau says, and she says ''that'' in French, when Kanae says she ''wants to talk.'' "Fine. But only since I'm about to ''royally'' show you up."

The fences surrounding Shujin are reminiscent of those which keep in prisoners; easily twice the height of a teenager, the cold, gunmetal grey grating is reinforced by broader steel bars in a rectangle pattern, and the top edge of the fence tilts ''inwards'' at an acute angle to forbid just what they're about to do.

That's never stopped her; she just needs to do up the buckle which crosses her chest and her belly, securing her backpack in ways many of her classmates can't. They make fun of her for bringing a hiking pack to school. And yet --

Grips on her sneakers both make it easy to accelerate from zero -- and to make a running ''jump;'' she lands halfway up that fence, easily, and kicks ''up'' from it with that grip, bringing her hands up to grip the thick bar which runs halfway along the fence. It serves as her anchor as she climbs the wall, rapidly, until that bar sits under her ''feet'' -- and she kicks off of it, to grab the bar where that angle starts.

She dangles, there, where the curve starts. It might look as if she's just trapped herself, like a cat up a tree. Instead, she pushes off of the fence with her knees, her hands swinging her backwards -- her legs flipping up over her head, as she hooks her knees over the top of the fence, and uses the power of those thighs alone to flip herself bodily up and over it. Her hands find the fence, as she completes her full vertical rotation, and hand-to-hand she descends rapidly until her fingers curl and lock around the middle bar and she ''drops'' -- her hands releasing after the rest of her has finished obeying gravity.

''Thunk,'' she lands, firmly, on her feet.

From there, it's a simple ('simple') of flipping down over the concrete, grabbing the bush to arrest her momentum to make sure her second flip doesn't accelerate too fast for her bones to keep up.

The 'ta-daa!' is silent.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Kanae Fuyuki has posed.
<poem>

Kanae knows what they say. She has a feeling she's going to know it ''better'' before too much longer, too.

Now, Kanae asked about jumping the fence knowing that ''Isabeau'' is very good at this kind of thing. However...

She's not especially, not without the power of her Persona anyway.

So Kanae watches Isabeau work for a moment, inclining her head in approval when she moves from dangling to climbing again. But then...

In all the hubbub, she disappears.

...And comes around the other side, having gone out the gate instead.

"Guess nobody can say you can't get over," Kanae says in French, switching to the language Isabeau is more comfortable in. "Nice work."

And Isabeau might be suspicious, because Kanae's being kind of ''nice''.

"But if we're going to stick to our story, you're stuck walking home with me."

"Are you mad I interrupted? Or are you mad somebody saw you?"

Ah, there it is.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Isabeau Fontaine has posed.
<poem>

"I'd like to see you do ''that,''" Isabeau huffs, adjusting her backpack on her shoulders as Kanae bustles out via the stairs. "But of course, you can't. I'm simply the best!"

... there's a reason why, in the cognitive world, she's such a peerless dragoon of a girl. Part of it is her own belief in her abilities -- and part of it is the legend she's built up ''around'' herself. Even now, a few students mutter, having watched the whole affair.

(They can't figure out her bragging in French, but of course, ''Kanae'' can.)

She ''is'' suspicious, though, because normally Kanae wouldn't give her that kind of ''opening.'' Still... "All right," she says, "don't fall behind."

It's a train ride, from here to Shinjuku and Kagurazaka within it -- but luckily, none of the people commuting ''home'' speak French, either, so they have no idea why her face reddens up as she snatches one of those overhead grips with her unfair height advantage. "Both, obviously!" She snaps, and hopefully no Shujin students are watching ''now...''

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Kanae Fuyuki has posed.
<poem>

"I definitely can't in this skirt," Kanae admits. But she's different; she's not a peerless dragoon at all. In supernatural spaces, Kanae is more noted for just... continuing along the ground, moving forward all the while. She has no such legend to draw on. ...Kanae can figure it out though, and indeed, she wouldn't.

"I won't," she says of falling behind, and soon--the train!

Kanae has no such height advantage either, but she does have her bag hugged to her chest to avoid taking up too much room (and to make it harder for someone to grope her).

She's good at being stable, at least.

"That's fair," Kanae says, still in French, quiet enough so as not to disturb everyone else. "I wouldn't usually get in the way of your fun," she says, because obviously that's supposed to be fun, right? "...But he moved in pretty quick, so I wanted to..."

Ah, that's gonna start a fight.

"I mean, you can't keep that thing away from me if you're busy making out with some guy when he's around me."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Isabeau Fontaine has posed.
<poem>

"You're wearing tights," Isabeau lobs back.

(In summer, Isabeau wears shorts under her skirt, instead. She doesn't realise the whole problem is her skirt flipping to begin with?!)

She blows her lips out, "''pff,''" hearing her start her sentence the first time -- but she thinks better of it, and Isabeau's at least gracious enough to let her. The second --

"Bah," Isabeau scowls. "It's not as if we were going to do anything like that, anyway! We just started seeing each other a week and a half ago! If you hadn't gotten in the way, that was just going to be our fourth date..." ... they've had three dates in a week and a half?!

Isabeau's pretty sure that's normal, don't worry about it, her mother was a great example for romance.

"Well, whatever," she shakes her head. "Don't think so little of me. I can do two things at once, you know."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Kanae Fuyuki has posed.
<poem>

"Yeah, and going over that fence is a great way to rip them, too."

Still, he ''definitely'' moved in quick from what Isabeau says, and Kanae can't help but lift an eyebrow at it. Three dates in a week and a half? "...I didn't say you were going to have ''sex'' with him," she points out. "Just make out. You didn't notice he was putting the moves on you?"

"Anyway I guess you can, since you helped me out today."

Her eyes darken. "...Well, if he pushes you too hard, remember, you don't ''have'' to do anything you don't want to do. Boys want one thing out of girls most of the time--and they'll act really nice to get it."

By this point Kanae is practically scowling, which scares another passenger who she doesn't notice. "...So he's 'helping you out', huh?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Isabeau Fontaine has posed.
<poem>

"Bah," is how Isabeau dismisses the risks.

Still, there's a difference between dismissing risks and not ''seeing'' them. Isabeau is loud, and takes up space; she's a performer. Does that mean she knows what she's getting into? "Euh, well... of course I did," Isabeau scowls. "It's just..."

She pauses. "... you know... when mom was seeing a lot of people... it was annoying, so I never paid all that much mind to it."

That dark expression, though...

"He was quite forward, last time, but... so am I?" Isabeau says, and the way she's not quite sure about defending him is carried in the way that sentence raises in a question. "Euh, you know... he wanted to... tell me how those honourifics or whatever work, and... I guess I can be nice about it if he's trying to be."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Kanae Fuyuki has posed.
<poem>

Bah!!

But at least Isabeau ''did'' notice. Still, waht she says... "Mm. So you didn't exactly learn everything about the subject," Kanae points out. Because it was annoying. That for the reason.

"Mm..." Kanae finally stops scowling and looks back at Isabeau. "If you want what he wants, then that's great," she says. "I don't even think boys are bad to want it... it just irritates me when they lie to get it. Or when they don't tell you what they're really feeling."

"He does seem to be trying, and you seem to be willing to listen to him..." But she's still a little dubious, frankly. But she can't just say she's worried about Isabeau, so instead Kanae sighs.

"Just... Make sure that you don't give up things you want to hold onto because he's being 'nice', is all I'm saying."

Pause. "But you know... Seeing one guy versus seeing a lot of people..." She specifically doesn't say 'guys' in this case, for osme reason, "..it's not like it ends up making a difference. If you pick the wrong ones, they just want to use you anyway."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Isabeau Fontaine has posed.
<poem>

"It wasn't relevant to me," is how Isabeau tries to justify it.

(She's embarrassed.)

But Kanae keeps talking about what he ''wants,'' what ''she'' wants, and she scowls to her. "I'm not so irresponsible as to need to move that quickly!" She snaps. "It's not as if I'll get a new one in a week!" Not like her ''mother.'' "If you can't take the measure of someone, how do you know if you really like them?! If you want to find true love, start by holding him above a volcano!"

M--metaphorically, right, Isabeau?

RIGHT, ISABEAU?!

"... I just... am not heartless. Sometimes it is -- nice when someone is ''nice'' for once." Her fingers curl, around the handhold. (It's not just 'a boy', but Kanae knows that. When she was eleven, she decided that she wanted to marry Feather ''Pink'', after all.) "It's not as if I need anything like that, but if he's going to make the effort..."

Her own expression grows stormy, as she trails off. "... anyway, it's not as if there's much to use in my case," she mutters. "My father isn't the kind of man who throws his weight around like some of theirs... he's a ''scholar.''"

Of course, there's a lot there she might not be seeing, too.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Kanae Fuyuki has posed.
<poem>

"Right. It wasn't." But now it is! That's Kanae's point.

Not so 'irresponsible'. Kanae's not so sure; making it about ''responsibility'' seems to her to be a good way to get argued down to nothing. But what she says strikes, anyway--

"..." Kanae glances away. "I thought I knew," she says more quietly, still in French. "I really thought so."

Metaphorically? Maybe she should do it for real.

But she's not heartless, and Kanae does know it's not 'a boy' necessarily. "It's nice," Kanae agrees. "I guess I'm just jealous. I'm not going to get anything like that for a while. Not unless I want to take a monster home. And I don't."

But not much to use...?

Hm. "...Isabeau," Kanae says, and looks at her more seriously. "Do you really think that?"

She's not just dubious. She's worried. There's a lot she isn't seeing, to Kanae's perspective.

"..."

Kanae scowls again. "Just--"

"I have experience in this, OK? Just try to benefit from it."

At least the train is almost there. That means that she's at least going to get to lower her bag or something.

"So believe me when I say that 'you' are plenty to use already. And if he does, I'm going to dump ''him'' over a volcano, 'nice' or not."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Isabeau Fontaine has posed.
<poem>

"Hmm," Isabeau scowls, when Kanae quiets.

... but for once, she doesn't feel confident enough to attack that head-on.

"You won't!" She insists, instead, when Kanae says she doesn't want to take that monster home. "It's not going to corner you like that. If you think it will, set a camera to record in your window and come to ''my'' house. I know you don't see things my father's way... but even a monster like that can't stand up to him."

Does Isabeau have an outsized view of her father's capacity, or is Laurent a bigger problem than he seems...?

... no, it's got to be Isabeau's blind faith in him.

(Well, either way --)

"Just... don't mention why you're really coming over unless you have to, all right?" She adds, glancing away. "Father... thinks I got hit by a stray serve. I just -- I can handle it."

On her own.

How much is she worth, if she can't handle it alone?

How much is she worth --

"I'm just saying I haven't proved myself by any measure they care about at school," and it isn't a 'no.' "The days where I might have gotten by on physical skill alone are long gone... euh, it's not as if it's even a bad thing, since it changed when they got rid of that creep." Kamoshida, she means.

Her frown darkens, as she says, "... you and your experience. One day you'll realise that warrants more protection, not more ''protecting.'' It's just..."

She struggles with her own concern for Kanae, for a moment, before she realises anger is so much ''easier.'' "Sometimes something is just ''nice!''" She snaps, with the heat building in her lungs. "Quit trying to make this into more awful shit, Kanae! Maybe he really ''did'' just need the opportunity! You're talking like I don't ''know'' I'm a bitch!"

With that furious ''merde,'' she shoves out of the train as the doors open, running into the hillside streets of Kagurazaka.

It's a full six hours before she remembers to actually text Kanae her address.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Kanae Fuyuki has posed.
<poem>

Isabeau insists--but she has a ''plan'', more than just insisting, and maybe just this once Kanae can trust the Wild Hunt for something she can't do herself. "All right," Kanae says. "That's what I'll do, then. If it really comes to that." She says it more quietly than before.

Laurent is an adult, after all; if she can't trust an adult now and then...

Are there really so few she can trust?

"Ah," Kanae says. "Fine."

So Isabeau's not handling it well, either...

"Isabeau," Kanae says again. But the matter of experience quiets her for a moment--she doesn't ''feel'' she's been protected, after all. Quite the opposite.

But anger gets easier, and Kanae opens her mouth and then closes it. "You--"

...

Kanae steps out after Isabeau, but Isabeau's long gone. As she gets out of the way of the other passengers by rote, Kanae sighs again. "Good work, Kanae," she mutters. "You really are just the hateful bitch he thinks you are."

Kanae looks down, lowering her bag to her side. "...Fine," she says. "If I'm 'wild'..."

"I'll ''be'' wild."

Bitterly, Kanae sets out for home.
</poem>

2026-08-07: Aces Wild

2026-08-08T14:12:05Z

L: Created page with "*'''Log: ''' Aces Wild *'''Cast:''' Isabeau Fontaine, Kanae Fuyuki *'''Where:''' Shujin - Practice Building *'''OOC Date:''' 2026-08-07 *'''IC Date:''' Fri Dec 21 2012 *'''Summary''': ''Finals are over, and Yasushi moves in to comfort Isabeau about it... but Kanae interrupts him, and hears uncertainty from Isabeau which doesn't match the confidence of her parkour. Kanae makes a resolution; Isabeau manages an offer, before she bolts. Is this rivalry really a matte..."

*'''Log: ''' Aces Wild
*'''Cast:''' [[Isabeau Fontaine]], [[Kanae Fuyuki]]
*'''Where:''' Shujin - Practice Building
*'''OOC Date:''' 2026-08-07
*'''IC Date:''' Fri Dec 21 2012
*'''Summary''': ''Finals are over, and Yasushi moves in to comfort Isabeau about it... but Kanae interrupts him, and hears uncertainty from Isabeau which doesn't match the confidence of her parkour. Kanae makes a resolution; Isabeau manages an offer, before she bolts. Is this rivalry really a matter of idealism and cynicism...?''

----

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

<Pose Tracker> Isabeau Fontaine has posed.
<poem>

It's the last day of finals, and Isabeau...

... well, she's started going out with the heavy boy from 2-E, so perhaps ''that's'' her excuse for doing ''so'' poorly this time.

"How'd you do?" Yasushi asks, as he finds her coming out of her room.

"Do not ask me that," Isabeau scowls.

"Don't be like that," he encourages her, reaching for her hand. "C'mon. Let's get out of here."

To the practice building, that is -- dead quiet, right now, because there's no ''Tennis Practice'' during ''Finals.'' The giant court echoes with their footsteps, and Isabeau snaps: "You want to talk ''here?'' All Shujin will hear you through this ''microphone.''" She probably means megaphone, but she doesn't know the word for megaphone.

"Don't worry," he assures her, as he slides open the doors to one of the storage rooms where they keep all the things which ''go'' out there. "Come here. Whatever happened, we can figure it out..."

... and Isabeau, notably, follows him.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Kanae Fuyuki has posed.
<poem>

It's the last day of finals... and Kanae managed to compartmentalize well enough that she still did well. Anger clarified for her the fear she was also feeling, and helped her focus on the material she'd been studying all along. She's a very good student, and maybe that will be enough to save her reputation later. ...Probably not, though.

There is no Tennis practice today... but Kanae's been paying attention to the rumors about Isabeau, and as she walks past the practice building, she does indeed hear the giant court echoing. Kanae considers...

Still in uniform, she's avoiding her own 'boyfriend' for the moment. Instead, she walks along after, a little more quietly--

And then pokes her head into the storage room before the door closes. "Hey, Isabeau," Kanae says.

"You haven't introduced me to your guy."

She knows what she's probably interrupting.

That's fine.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Isabeau Fontaine has posed.
<poem>

And so, Kanae pokes her head in the door, and Yasushi's ''already'' got his arm around her, hand to her blushing cheek --

-- which at least means there's not as much room for her to cross before she barks, pale face ''quite'' red: "KANAE, DO YOU ''MIND?!'' YOU LITTLE --"

She barks that in French, but Yasushi can at least pick up ''one'' word.

"Hey, hey," he says, tugging at her shoulder to stop her from descending upon Kanae. "That's not how we do things, here, remember?"

"This is not ''about'' you," Isabeau snaps, scowling to him, switching back to that stilted Japanese. "Give me a ''moment.''"

But instead of doing that, he squeezes her shoulder. (Reassuringly?) "Hey, c'mon. You said you'd hear out my advice, right?"

"... ''fine,''" Isabeau snorts. "What is it."

"Since she's your teammate, you'd call her 'Kanae-chan'," Yasushi explains, patiently.

"''Fine,''" Isabeau says, though it's clearly ''not'' fine, Isabeau's fought viciously against having to use honourifics since she was ''ten.'' ... and Kanae knows it's because the children made fun of her for ''not doing it right,'' so maybe he's really trying to help, telling her what she'd use here? "''Kanae-chan,'' mind your own ''business.''"

"Wait, weren't you two cool now?" Yasushi asks, looking between them. "I heard..."

"Pff... no, you are right. We are chilled." That's not the term, Isabeau. (That's kind of the term.) "Kanae-chan, this is Yasushi-kun. We are... seeing each other, so..."

"It's nice to meet you," Yasushi smiles, to Kanae. "Sorry, we don't mean to be rude. It's just stressful after the last day of finals. You get it, right?"

Was it really ''stress'' that's made ''Kanae's'' breakup gossip around campus?

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Kanae Fuyuki has posed.
<poem>

Kanae's aware of that word, too.

To her surprise, Isabeau is held ''back''. Kanae lifts an eyebrow as the shouting is cut off. Reassuringly?

Kanae, being polite, would apologize. But she really doesn't feel like apologizing today. She's missing out on her planned Christmas date with a guy she doesn't even want to see right now anyway; she's probably going to have to make out with a monster one of these days, and if she's lucky that's where it ends.

And Isabeau doesn't seem very happy, but if she ''did'', Kanae still might feel like blocking this guy.

"That's why it's my business," Kanae says, in Japanese, more sweetly than before. "I have to make sure my rival's guy is treating her right. You get it, right?" she asks Yasushi. "Since we're all friends, can I call you Yasushi-kun too?" she wonders. "Either way, it's nice to meet you too. I won't interrupt you lovebirds too long," she adds. "...Because I totally get it."

"Maybe if Shinichi-kun were around I'd be 'de-stressing' myself."

Smile.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Isabeau Fontaine has posed.
<poem>

Is Isabeau ''capable'' of looking happy instead of terminally pissed off?

(Yes. But the only people who see that are the cats.)

Yasushi, at least, has a friendly smile. He's much more 'jovial' than 'nasty', as far as the stereotypes go; a lot of his friends are looking forward into the future, seeing his father's job in politics, but to be fair boys are also much less likely to think there's anything about him which ''precludes'' him from being fun.

Some things are just locker room talk, you know?

"Of course!" He says, and doesn't tell ''her'' that kind of talk, because of course she's a ''lady.'' "Any friend of Isabeau-chan is a friend of mine! You know, I reckon I saw him when I was leaving class, he was just heading to his locker... you could probably still catch up."

Isabeau frowns. "''Merde!''" She swears, as she clicks her fingers. Does that need any translation? Clearly, she's realised something she forgot, as she helpfully translates back to Japanese: "I forgot -- Kanae-chan gave me her vibration dampeners from her locker the other day so I could buy some more for our team, and I left them at home! Excuse us, Yasushi-kun. It is best if we go home together to fix this..."

"You're sure?" He asks, rubbing her arm. "I was all set to worry about you..."

"I will be fine," she assures him. "You will still escort me to the dance?"

"Sure thing, babe," he assures her, and leans in to smooch her on the cheek -- a thing she's far more surprised by than her loud queerness might suggest, though it doesn't seem entirely ''unwelcome,'' either. "See you then."

"S--see you," she stammers, a little, as she grabs Kanae's wrist and hurries out.

They will ''not'' be going via the lockers.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Kanae Fuyuki has posed.
<poem>

Kanae can guess what the locker room talk about ''her'' is, especially with Shinichi being involved. All the stereotypes they held back from before because of Touma they sure won't now.

"Great," Kanae answers Yasushi. "Oh yeah?" she asks, and to her credit, she hides the fact that that makes her want to go anywhere ''but'' the lockers. But before she has to come up with an excuse--

There's Isabeau, right on cue. "Yeah, I was missing those," Kanae confirms for Isabeau. "Yeah, excuse us. I'm sure you'll get in more 'quality time' later, right?"

That'll add to the gossip, probably.

But Isabeau wants him to escort her, apparently, so...

Kanae is grabbed and hurries out. She lets this happen, letting Isabeau set the terms of where they're going so long as she doesn't make it via the lockers... and as it happens, she doesn't.

But when they make it far enough away...

"Wanna hop the fence?" Kanae offers. "I want to talk, either way."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Isabeau Fontaine has posed.
<poem>

You know what they say about French girls.

"Ugh," Isabeau says, and she says ''that'' in French, when Kanae says she ''wants to talk.'' "Fine. But only since I'm about to ''royally'' show you up."

The fences surrounding Shujin are reminiscent of those which keep in prisoners; easily twice the height of a teenager, the cold, gunmetal grey grating is reinforced by broader steel bars in a rectangle pattern, and the top edge of the fence tilts ''inwards'' at an acute angle to forbid just what they're about to do.

That's never stopped her; she just needs to do up the buckle which crosses her chest and her belly, securing her backpack in ways many of her classmates can't. They make fun of her for bringing a hiking pack to school. And yet --

Grips on her sneakers both make it easy to accelerate from zero -- and to make a running ''jump;'' she lands halfway up that fence, easily, and kicks ''up'' from it with that grip, bringing her hands up to grip the thick bar which runs halfway along the fence. It serves as her anchor as she climbs the wall, rapidly, until that bar sits under her ''feet'' -- and she kicks off of it, to grab the bar where that angle starts.

She dangles, there, where the curve starts. It might look as if she's just trapped herself, like a cat up a tree. Instead, she pushes off of the fence with her knees, her hands swinging her backwards -- her legs flipping up over her head, as she hooks her knees over the top of the fence, and uses the power of those thighs alone to flip herself bodily up and over it. Her hands find the fence, as she completes her full vertical rotation, and hand-to-hand she descends rapidly until her fingers curl and lock around the middle bar and she ''drops'' -- her hands releasing after the rest of her has finished obeying gravity.

''Thunk,'' she lands, firmly, on her feet.

From there, it's a simple ('simple') of flipping down over the concrete, grabbing the bush to arrest her momentum to make sure her second flip doesn't accelerate too fast for her bones to keep up.

The 'ta-daa!' is silent.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Kanae Fuyuki has posed.
<poem>

Kanae knows what they say. She has a feeling she's going to know it ''better'' before too much longer, too.

Now, Kanae asked about jumping the fence knowing that ''Isabeau'' is very good at this kind of thing. However...

She's not especially, not without the power of her Persona anyway.

So Kanae watches Isabeau work for a moment, inclining her head in approval when she moves from dangling to climbing again. But then...

In all the hubbub, she disappears.

...And comes around the other side, having gone out the gate instead.

"Guess nobody can say you can't get over," Kanae says in French, switching to the language Isabeau is more comfortable in. "Nice work."

And Isabeau might be suspicious, because Kanae's being kind of ''nice''.

"But if we're going to stick to our story, you're stuck walking home with me."

"Are you mad I interrupted? Or are you mad somebody saw you?"

Ah, there it is.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Isabeau Fontaine has posed.
<poem>

"I'd like to see you do ''that,''" Isabeau huffs, adjusting her backpack on her shoulders as Kanae bustles out via the stairs. "But of course, you can't. I'm simply the best!"

... there's a reason why, in the cognitive world, she's such a peerless dragoon of a girl. Part of it is her own belief in her abilities -- and part of it is the legend she's built up ''around'' herself. Even now, a few students mutter, having watched the whole affair.

(They can't figure out her bragging in French, but of course, ''Kanae'' can.)

She ''is'' suspicious, though, because normally Kanae wouldn't give her that kind of ''opening.'' Still... "All right," she says, "don't fall behind."

It's a train ride, from here to Shinjuku and Kagurazaka within it -- but luckily, none of the people commuting ''home'' speak French, either, so they have no idea why her face reddens up as she snatches one of those overhead grips with her unfair height advantage. "Both, obviously!" She snaps, and hopefully no Shujin students are watching ''now...''

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Kanae Fuyuki has posed.
<poem>

"I definitely can't in this skirt," Kanae admits. But she's different; she's not a peerless dragoon at all. In supernatural spaces, Kanae is more noted for just... continuing along the ground, moving forward all the while. She has no such legend to draw on. ...Kanae can figure it out though, and indeed, she wouldn't.

"I won't," she says of falling behind, and soon--the train!

Kanae has no such height advantage either, but she does have her bag hugged to her chest to avoid taking up too much room (and to make it harder for someone to grope her).

She's good at being stable, at least.

"That's fair," Kanae says, still in French, quiet enough so as not to disturb everyone else. "I wouldn't usually get in the way of your fun," she says, because obviously that's supposed to be fun, right? "...But he moved in pretty quick, so I wanted to..."

Ah, that's gonna start a fight.

"I mean, you can't keep that thing away from me if you're busy making out with some guy when he's around me."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Kanae Fuyuki has posed.
<poem>

"Yeah, and going over that fence is a great way to rip them, too."

Still, he ''definitely'' moved in quick from what Isabeau says, and Kanae can't help but lift an eyebrow at it. Three dates in a week and a half? "...I didn't say you were going to have ''sex'' with him," she points out. "Just make out. You didn't notice he was putting the moves on you?"

"Anyway I guess you can, since you helped me out today."

Her eyes darken. "...Well, if he pushes you too hard, remember, you don't ''have'' to do anything you don't want to do. Boys want one thing out of girls most of the time--and they'll act really nice to get it."

By this point Kanae is practically scowling, which scares another passenger who she doesn't notice. "...So he's 'helping you out', huh?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Isabeau Fontaine has posed.
<poem>

"Bah," is how Isabeau dismisses the risks.

Still, there's a difference between dismissing risks and not ''seeing'' them. Isabeau is loud, and takes up space; she's a performer. Does that mean she knows what she's getting into? "Euh, well... of course I did," Isabeau scowls. "It's just..."

She pauses. "... you know... when mom was seeing a lot of people... it was annoying, so I never paid all that much mind to it."

That dark expression, though...

"He was quite forward, last time, but... so am I?" Isabeau says, and the way she's not quite sure about defending him is carried in the way that sentence raises in a question. "Euh, you know... he wanted to... tell me how those honourifics or whatever work, and... I guess I can be nice about it if he's trying to be."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Kanae Fuyuki has posed.
<poem>

Bah!!

But at least Isabeau ''did'' notice. Still, waht she says... "Mm. So you didn't exactly learn everything about the subject," Kanae points out. Because it was annoying. That for the reason.

"Mm..." Kanae finally stops scowling and looks back at Isabeau. "If you want what he wants, then that's great," she says. "I don't even think boys are bad to want it... it just irritates me when they lie to get it. Or when they don't tell you what they're really feeling."

"He does seem to be trying, and you seem to be willing to listen to him..." But she's still a little dubious, frankly. But she can't just say she's worried about Isabeau, so instead Kanae sighs.

"Just... Make sure that you don't give up things you want to hold onto because he's being 'nice', is all I'm saying."

Pause. "But you know... Seeing one guy versus seeing a lot of people..." She specifically doesn't say 'guys' in this case, for osme reason, "..it's not like it ends up making a difference. If you pick the wrong ones, they just want to use you anyway."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Isabeau Fontaine has posed.
<poem>

"It wasn't relevant to me," is how Isabeau tries to justify it.

(She's embarrassed.)

But Kanae keeps talking about what he ''wants,'' what ''she'' wants, and she scowls to her. "I'm not so irresponsible as to need to move that quickly!" She snaps. "It's not as if I'll get a new one in a week!" Not like her ''mother.'' "If you can't take the measure of someone, how do you know if you really like them?! If you want to find true love, start by holding him above a volcano!"

M--metaphorically, right, Isabeau?

RIGHT, ISABEAU?!

"... I just... am not heartless. Sometimes it is -- nice when someone is ''nice'' for once." Her fingers curl, around the handhold. (It's not just 'a boy', but Kanae knows that. When she was eleven, she decided that she wanted to marry Feather ''Pink'', after all.) "It's not as if I need anything like that, but if he's going to make the effort..."

Her own expression grows stormy, as she trails off. "... anyway, it's not as if there's much to use in my case," she mutters. "My father isn't the kind of man who throws his weight around like some of theirs... he's a ''scholar.''"

Of course, there's a lot there she might not be seeing, too.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Kanae Fuyuki has posed.
<poem>

"Right. It wasn't." But now it is! That's Kanae's point.

Not so 'irresponsible'. Kanae's not so sure; making it about ''responsibility'' seems to her to be a good way to get argued down to nothing. But what she says strikes, anyway--

"..." Kanae glances away. "I thought I knew," she says more quietly, still in French. "I really thought so."

Metaphorically? Maybe she should do it for real.

But she's not heartless, and Kanae does know it's not 'a boy' necessarily. "It's nice," Kanae agrees. "I guess I'm just jealous. I'm not going to get anything like that for a while. Not unless I want to take a monster home. And I don't."

But not much to use...?

Hm. "...Isabeau," Kanae says, and looks at her more seriously. "Do you really think that?"

She's not just dubious. She's worried. There's a lot she isn't seeing, to Kanae's perspective.

"..."

Kanae scowls again. "Just--"

"I have experience in this, OK? Just try to benefit from it."

At least the train is almost there. That means that she's at least going to get to lower her bag or something.

"So believe me when I say that 'you' are plenty to use already. And if he does, I'm going to dump ''him'' over a volcano, 'nice' or not."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Isabeau Fontaine has posed.
<poem>

"Hmm," Isabeau scowls, when Kanae quiets.

... but for once, she doesn't feel confident enough to attack that head-on.

"You won't!" She insists, instead, when Kanae says she doesn't want to take that monster home. "It's not going to corner you like that. If you think it will, set a camera to record in your window and come to ''my'' house. I know you don't see things my father's way... but even a monster like that can't stand up to him."

Does Isabeau have an outsized view of her father's capacity, or is Laurent a bigger problem than he seems...?

... no, it's got to be Isabeau's blind faith in him.

(Well, either way --)

"Just... don't mention why you're really coming over unless you have to, all right?" She adds, glancing away. "Father... thinks I got hit by a stray serve. I just -- I can handle it."

On her own.

How much is she worth, if she can't handle it alone?

How much is she worth --

"I'm just saying I haven't proved myself by any measure they care about at school," and it isn't a 'no.' "The days where I might have gotten by on physical skill alone are long gone... euh, it's not as if it's even a bad thing, since it changed when they got rid of that creep." Kamoshida, she means.

Her frown darkens, as she says, "... you and your experience. One day you'll realise that warrants more protection, not more ''protecting.'' It's just..."

She struggles with her own concern for Kanae, for a moment, before she realises anger is so much ''easier.'' "Sometimes something is just ''nice!''" She snaps, with the heat building in her lungs. "Quit trying to make this into more awful shit, Kanae! Maybe he really ''did'' just need the opportunity! You're talking like I don't ''know'' I'm a bitch!"

With that furious ''merde,'' she shoves out of the train as the doors open, running into the hillside streets of Kagurazaka.

It's a full six hours before she remembers to actually text Kanae her address.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Kanae Fuyuki has posed.
<poem>

Isabeau insists--but she has a ''plan'', more than just insisting, and maybe just this once Kanae can trust the Wild Hunt for something she can't do herself. "All right," Kanae says. "That's what I'll do, then. If it really comes to that." She says it more quietly than before.

Laurent is an adult, after all; if she can't trust an adult now and then...

Are there really so few she can trust?

"Ah," Kanae says. "Fine."

So Isabeau's not handling it well, either...

"Isabeau," Kanae says again. But the matter of experience quiets her for a moment--she doesn't ''feel'' she's been protected, after all. Quite the opposite.

But anger gets easier, and Kanae opens her mouth and then closes it. "You--"

...

Kanae steps out after Isabeau, but Isabeau's long gone. As she gets out of the way of the other passengers by rote, Kanae sighs again. "Good work, Kanae," she mutters. "You really are just the hateful bitch he thinks you are."

Kanae looks down, lowering her bag to her side. "...Fine," she says. "If I'm 'wild'..."

"I'll ''be'' wild."

Bitterly, Kanae sets out for home.
</poem>

2026-08-07: Let Me Give You Some Advice

2026-08-07T23:38:13Z

L: Created page with "*'''Cutscene: ''' Let Me Give You Some Advice *'''Cast:''' Isabeau Fontaine, Yasushi Fujihide *'''Where:''' Around Tokyo *'''OOC Date:''' 2026-08-07 *'''IC Date:''' Between the events of Shinichi's assault and finals *'''Summary''': ''Isabeau goes on a date with another unpopular boy in school. Thanks, Shinichi! Nature is healing!!'' *'''Content warning''': Preliminary themes of coercive control ---- Category:Cutscenes [..."

*'''Cutscene: ''' Let Me Give You Some Advice
*'''Cast:''' [[Isabeau Fontaine]], Yasushi Fujihide
*'''Where:''' Around Tokyo
*'''OOC Date:''' 2026-08-07
*'''IC Date:''' Between the events of [[2026-07-15:_The_Taming_of_the_Shrew|Shinichi's assault]] and finals
*'''Summary''': ''Isabeau goes on a date with another unpopular boy in school. Thanks, Shinichi! Nature is healing!!''
*'''Content warning''': Preliminary themes of coercive control
----

[[Category:Cutscenes]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

Yasushi Fujihide first approached Isabeau soon after Shinichi Nagisa made her the talk of the school. 'He tamed the Witch!' They whisper, in the halls. 'She's almost ''tolerable'' now! Well, you know what they say about foreign girls... they can be a bit ''slow,'' you know?'

The conclusion is clear: she deserved it. It's a ''good'' thing. This is a point only further underlined by the fact that as the gossip spread, the teachers ''must'' have heard...

... yet no one's asked her if she's okay.

Perhaps the fact that her venerable
scholar of a father hasn't ''intervened'' makes it seem like... she feels like she deserved it, too.

("A tennis ball hit me during practice," is how she'd described the mark to Laurent, a touch sulkily. "Sorry, papa, it's just kind of embarrassing..." ... and it really ''is'' mortifying, though not due to the carelessness she's described.)

... after so many of those comments, she should have scorned anyone who addressed her; should have ''known'' they were only out to make fun of her. But... Yasushi was heavy, just like her. She'd heard their scorn for ''him.'' The polite manner is to say he has a bad personality; the impolite one is to call him ''Sushi Boy.'' (Yasu-SHI!, he always corrected them.)

In her commonality with him, she disregarded the idea that the girls had a ''point,'' saying he was a bad date.

And it's why she answered him, when he approached.

... it wasn't long before they had their first date. Yasushi took her suggestion to go and see a movie at ''Vivienne's'' theatre... and while she didn't make a big thing of it, it surely entered her consciousness that Isabeau was ''seeing a boy.''

That first date was even ''nice.'' Isabeau spoke his miserable language, and Yasushi expressed interest in a subtitled ''French'' movie. They soon had another, Isabeau meeting him after her voice coaching to get afternoon tea together. He was impressed at her healthy eating habits; she thought nothing of it beyond relief that she wasn't coming off as ''fat.'' If he noticed, it must only be his own sensitivity, right?

And then one day she tells Laurent she'll be ''going out'' for dinner, one last hurrah before finals, and yes he's a nice boy, Viv saw him...

... and that's nice, too, except...

"The udon looks nice," Isabeau says, after disguising her struggles with the menu with deep contemplation.

"Are you sure?" Yasushi asks, looking up. "Have you had that before? It's pretty filling..."

"Of ''course'' I have had udon," Isabeau scowls.

"Hey, don't get snappy with me," Yasushi says. "I was just wondering, you know? You're watching your weight, right? I'd feel bad if you got taken by surprise, that's all."

... it's not that Isabeau is watching her weight, but does it look that way to someone looking in from the outside? She pauses, looking down to the menu. He was trying to help, was it...? "I will hear your recommendation," she offers, magnanimously.

"Why don't you try the seaweed salad?" He suggests. "It's a Japanese dish a lot of people don't think about."

So he's suggesting it for ''health'' and ''novelty?'' "... well, all right," she concedes.

''He'' orders noodles, though, and when the server remarks on their meals, he proudly announces: "She's on a diet! I really admire her self-control!"

"Without mastering of myself, I can not master the court," Isabeau sniffs, haughtily, and in that moment makes her salad a point of ''pride.''

"I'm glad you gave us a chance," Yasushi smiles. "You're so talented, Isabeau-chan... o-oh, sorry!" He gasps, alarmed. "Can -- can I call you that?!"

"You wish to go to first names? Very well. Your titles I have no opinion, but I still will not bother." She scowls, chomping at a bread stick angrily. "Whatever I say," she adds, with clear resentment, "it is wrong."

"I think it's clear you just need a little advice," Yasushi says, and the red flag is obscured by: "... you're not ''stupid,'' whatever they say. You're just not from around here, right?"

"... I never wanted to be here," Isabeau grouses.

"Well... I'm glad you are," he says, reaching a hand across the table to her. "Give me a shot. I can help you --"

"I do not need ''help!''" Isabeau snaps, her hand yanking away after a moment beneath his --

-- and he reaches out to snatch it again. "Hey. Hey!" He says, more sharply, as she yanks. "Don't be like that. Don't bolt," he adds, seeing the flight in her eyes. "Just tell me what's wrong."

His grip is surprisingly firm, and so is his concern. Isabeau's weight sinks, as she gives up the idea of leaving in a huff. "I... do not need help, as rule. I rely on myself. Yes? I am strong. I remain strong."

"And alone," Yasushi extrapolates, gently.

Isabeau shakes her head. "I have allies. Friends of my father..."

"I cosy up to my father's friends, too," Yasushi says. "But that's different, right? It's your future. What about right now? At school?"

"... mmn," Isabeau scowls, glancing away, before she frowns and looks back to him. "I do not ''need'' them."

"Okay... it's weird for you, all this communal stuff. I get it. How about wanting it? Like... do you want me?" And the question sounds so vulnerable. "We've gone on a couple dates, I thought it went pretty well..."

"This -- this was a mistake," Isabeau declares, giving her hand another yank. He holds firm, his other hand slipping under hers to grasp her palm instead of just her wrist.

"I think you're scared," he says. "Scared of what happens when you don't fit in. Scared that you might be able to. What are you giving up if you get along? You're the 'Witch', after all... I know you fed those rumours. I think it's your armour."

"What about this?" Isabeau scowls, as his fingers lace between hers.

"I think some part of you must have wanted to let me in," Yasushi says, quite serious. "A girl like you doesn't go on three dates for no reason."

"... you are... nice," Isabeau admits, glancing away. "I was not sure if you were making fun at me, but... you seem sincere. Just... grabbing me this way..."

"Sometimes a guy needs to do something a little rash to get his point across," Yasushi says, apologetically. "You're not from around here, so I'll say it directly... I like you, Isabeau-chan. You're interesting... I feel bad thinking I couldn't get along with you before. But you're not a bad girl," he insists, squeezing her hand. "You're just a little wild. And I really do think you're acting out because you're scared," he says, still clasping her hand firmly.

She's certainly getting there, as she recalls what demarcates ''now'' and ''before,'' those ringing, humiliating strikes. It's disorienting, that reminder of her defeat, the way he almost seems to be excusing it -- and the way he says he ''likes her'' in the same breath.

Is he scaring her? Or is he noticing her fear?

"Maybe a little," she mutters, looking away. "Let me go?"

"You'd never respect a man who didn't fight for you, right?" He asks, squeezing her hand. "So I won't. Not until you give me a chance. If you don't need help, call it -- advice! I just want to give you some advice."

He's doing this... because ''she's'' so forceful...? Isabeau takes a breath, centres herself. "... fine. Speak."

"If we're going to start going out, you'd call me Yasushi-kun," he suggests, helpfully. "Before then, when we were more casual, it would have been Fujihide-kun. And when we hadn't said a word, you'd say Fujihide-san."

"Bah," Isabeau scowls. "This is far too complicated... but this will make you happy?" He nods, and so she repeats: "Yasushi-kun. Euh... does this mean we are... seeing each other?"

"You want to, right?" Yasushi asks. "Or... did I get the wrong idea?"

"No," Isabeau says, softly. "You are... nice to me. Even if you are stubborn... but I suppose you are right. I would not respect cowardice."

Slowly, she curls her fingers around his, too.

... and when it comes time for the next family dinner, Isabeau tells her father she's going on a ''diet.''

2026-08-07: The Ignorance of Youth

2026-08-07T23:34:58Z

L: Created page with "*'''Cutscene: ''' The Ignorance of Youth *'''Cast:''' Yua Ijuuin, Tyrrha Ijuuin, Para-Mind *'''Where:''' Aoba - Penthouse *'''OOC Date:''' 2026-08-07 *'''IC Date:''' Somewhere During Finals *'''Summary''': ''Tyrrha shares some concerns with Yua about her troubles, who affirms that Tyrrha is her beloved daughter and not the problem at all. But what IS the problem? She goes to Para-Mind to help her investigate...'' ---- Category:Cutscenes Category:Season..."

*'''Cutscene: ''' The Ignorance of Youth
*'''Cast:''' [[Yua Ijuuin]], [[Tyrrha Ijuuin]], Para-Mind
*'''Where:''' Aoba - Penthouse
*'''OOC Date:''' 2026-08-07
*'''IC Date:''' Somewhere During Finals
*'''Summary''': ''Tyrrha shares some concerns with Yua about her troubles, who affirms that Tyrrha is her beloved daughter and not the problem at all. But what IS the problem? She goes to Para-Mind to help her investigate...''

----

[[Category:Cutscenes]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

The Ijuuin's new koi pond is a beautiful addition to their rooftop; it sits beside the pool, running long across the side, so that one may lounge in the deck chairs to appreciate both pool ''and'' pond. The head of it features an artificial waterfall, where poisonous waterlilies and their fellows grow at Miho's pleasure, before the water tumbles into a deeper pond with more fish-friendly greenery. Their fish are striking: one dragon glitters black, another Olympic gold, and of course the trio of traditional fish swirl happily in the long pond.

Yua sits on a deck chair beside it, now, alongside Tyrrha -- the girl crouching by the pond as she scatters fish feed, her grumpy face lighting up in a ferocious grin. "They're coming up!" She declares, delighted, as she watches that stunning gold fish peck at the surface of the water. "Nibble, nibble...!"

"Nibble, nibble," Yua agrees, giggling, and knows Tyrrha's been heeding her instructions when she hears it. "Good job, Tykko! You're being so gentle!"

"Yup, yup!" Tyrrha grins. "Fish as pets are delicate, right? Just like Yumama!"

"Just like Yumama," Yua agrees, though the ghost of a frown flickers over her face for a moment.

Tyrrha tilts her head, thoughtfully, and frog-hops around to face Yua. "Hey," she starts, a touch unsure, "Have you... not been happy, lately, mama? I thought it was fine, since you were smiling... but sometimes that smile goes sad."

"Oh..." Yua shows another of those wavering, sad smiles, as she realises she's been caught out. "I wasn't... really trying to deceive you, ''ucha.'' I just... don't want for you to feel responsible. You're still so young..."

"You cheered up, but then you went sad again when I got broke and we went back to the lab," Tyrrha says. "And that girl said 'ignorance is bliss', so are you not happy because you know something?"

"It's not that," Yua says, softly, shaking her head.

"Then... am I happy since I don't know stuff?" Tyrrha asks.

"You're happy because you like to be happy," Yua insists, smiling. "That's who you are. Don't let those girls get to you, okay?"

"Okay," Tyrrha tilts her head, and nods. "I was just thinkin', like... do you resent gettin' assigned me? You were like this when we met, when we went back..."

"No!" And Tyrrha is surprised to hear the fierce emotion, in Yua's voice. "No, baby, no! Oh, come here," she says, spreading her arms; Tyrrha plants a hand against the concrete and pushes herself up, stepping over to Yua's deck chair and crouching beside ''that,'' instead. Yua wraps her up in a tight hug, pressing her lips to her head and smoothing out her hair. "''Ucha,'' look at me, look at me," she says, grasping her shoulders as she pulls back. "None of these sad feelings are because of you. You are ''beautiful,'' Tykko. Now we've met, we've become family, do you remember?" It's an old Okinawan saying, so of course Tyrrha nods. "Mm, so you're my beautiful daughter, my first daughter... I could never resent you."

"Mama," Tyrrha notices, first, "why are you crying?"

"Oh... I'm just very emotional," Yua sniffles, realising she's tearing up only after Tyrrha asks. "It's the baby... but I'm not crying because I'm sad, ''ucha.'' Though I don't want you to feel unwanted! I just -- I love you, Tykko. You aren't merely an assignment! Certainly not!"

"Okay," Tyrrha says, though she still looks confused. "But... you are sad, right?"

"... I am sad," Yua admits. "For your auntie and I, Revelation is a very sad place. It's okay if it doesn't make you feel sad," she adds, squeezing her shoulders. "But... it's a difficult place, for me. That's not your fault, ''ucha,''" Yua adds, firmly. "Nothing about this is your fault. Okay?"

"Okay," Tyrrha frowns. "But, hey... did something happen?"

"..." Yua falters, glancing away, before she smiles reassuringly to Tyrrha. "Leave that to the adults, okay?"

"Okay," Tyrrha says.

... but she still thinks of it, the next day, when she's supposed to think about her exams. When she comes home to Para-Mind tinkering at Welwetes, at the docking station in her room, she isn't offended he's in there. Instead, she hops onto her bed -- largely performative but a thing Yua insisted she have -- and asks: "Whatcha doin', dandy man?"

"Getting myself killed," Para-Mind replies. "Turns out your mama's real convincing -- not the pretty one, the sharp one -- so I'm running through a couple alterations. God willing, they'll blame ''her'' and not ''me.''"

"Ohhhh," Tyrrha says. "So you're doin' somethin' you shouldn't again! Like how ya started workin' for the boss!"

"Something like that," Para-Mind says. "But to be honest, you can't just set up some labs that don't exist and ''not'' expect me to take a look. That's like, my whole job?"

"That's just your job because they caught you doing it," Tyrrha points out. "It doesn't make much sense to me. If you got caught, doesn't that mean you're not very good?"

"Hey, man, I got feelings!" Para-Mind whines.

"No you don't," Tyrrha says. "You said you don't."

"I said they're ''broke,''" Para-Mind insists. "Big difference. You meet a guy what's got no feelings, you're gonna have a bad day. Anyway, screw you, man! I'm the best! You know how rare it is a guy can do the code ''and'' the wires?! Who's the guy who stuck your arm back on quick enough you could go back to school the next day!"

"But you're also the guy who got caught," Tyrrha says, again.

"Yeah, well..." Grumble, grumble. "''They've'' got the best, too. And you know what they say!"

"Nankuru nai sa!" Tyrrha volunteers, cheerfully.

"Okay, stupid question, talking to you, right. They ''say,'' if you can't beat 'em, join 'em."

"Oh," Tyrrha's legs swing, on the edge of the bed. "Is that what Mimama did? She got assigned Yumama and Auntie-san, just like Yumama got me... but I don't think Mimama came from a lab like us."

"Nah, man, she sure didn't," Para-Mind grins, as he twists a wrench. "So yeah, you could say that."

"So if you guys joined 'em," Tyrrha goes on, hands pressed to the edge of the bed, "how come you're getting yourself killed?"

"What, were you born yesterday?" Para-Mind lobbies back, dryly.

"Nope! I was born 74 days and 15 minutes ago!" Tyrrha replies, cheerfully. "Oh, but if anyone asks, I'm fifteen!"

"Everyone believes you," Para-Mind assures her, "and they're ''not'' assuming your mother drank while she was carrying you."

"But you're not supposed to do that," Tyrrha says. "Babies make you weak to poison."

"Bingo," Para-Mind clicks his tongue. "Anyway, if I've done this right, ''she'll'' be left holding the bag... I'm giving ''her'' the keys. They wanna know why I helped, I'll just tell 'em she threatened to cut this gorgeous face of mine."

"Did she do that?" Tyrrha wonders.

"Nah." Para-Mind shrugs a shoulder. "It's called lying, kid. Give it a try, being hopeless at it is a ''dead'' give away you're a fake teen."

"Oh. So does lying to those guys work?" Tyrrha asks.

"Ehhhhhhn," Para-Mind lifts a hand from his rewiring to wobble it back and forth.

"Sounds dangerous," Tyrrha says, still deathly curious. "So why'd ya do it?"

"'Cuz it'll be ''really'' funny," it's Para-Mind's justification for most things in his life.

"Oh." Tyrrha nods. "Do you want to help me do something funny, too?"

"I'm the shark, you're jumping in the tank, pitch it," Para-Mind says, not looking up from his work.

"I want to figure out how to fake powerin' down," Tyrrha says, "so I can switch myself on again."

"Okay, here's the deal --" Para-Mind says, lifting a finger.

"Yeah?" Tyrrha tilts her head.

"Say it a different way, and I'll see what I can do," he points to her, somehow still without looking.

"What, switching myself on?" Tyrrha frowns. "What's so weird about that?"

Para-Mind's drawling, "oh, ''honey,''" has absolutely had this conversation before.

Even so, he's remarkably helpful for someone who claims to give no shits.

... why did the NWO first catch him snooping around, anyway?

2026-08-01: Dragon Mama

2026-08-02T11:24:48Z

L: Created page with "*'''Log: ''' Dragon Mama *'''Cast:''' Yua Ijuuin, Miho Ijuuin, Tyrrha Ijuuin, Para-Mind *'''Where:''' Para-Mind's Van, Pyramid Plaza Garage *'''OOC Date:''' 2026-08-01 *'''IC Date:''' Tue, Dec 18 2012 *'''Summary''': ''Tyrrha's missing an arm and a LOT of context about why that's a big deal for Miho and Yua. Luckily, Para-Mind's enough of a genius to put it back on with the gear in his van... though the matter of explaining why dying is bad is largely up to M..."

*'''Log: ''' Dragon Mama
*'''Cast:''' [[Yua Ijuuin]], [[Miho Ijuuin]], [[Tyrrha Ijuuin]], Para-Mind
*'''Where:''' Para-Mind's Van, Pyramid Plaza Garage
*'''OOC Date:''' 2026-08-01
*'''IC Date:''' Tue, Dec 18 2012
*'''Summary''': ''Tyrrha's missing an arm and a LOT of context about why that's a big deal for Miho and Yua. Luckily, Para-Mind's enough of a genius to put it back on with the gear in his van... though the matter of explaining why dying is bad is largely up to Miho.''

----

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

The Gang Cram Into Para-Mind's Van --

HOW DID WE GET HERE?

So it starts with Yumi catching up with Scion manually, shrieking about how HER ARM IS OFF, being reassured that no mama it's ''fine'' she's ''fine,'' taking her back home through Mementos, ringing Miho, shrieking about how TYKKO'S ARM IS OFF...

Hopefully, Miho's already dropped her own victim off at the collection point by the time that happened. (Funny how Yua and Tyrrha attracting everyone's attention helps other people work, huh?)

But Para-Mind, in hearing the extent of the damage, goes "yeah that's gonna need more than a spanner," and then "well la-di-da, princess, the lab's where all the ''shit'' is," then "nah thanks, I like that bit where it is, look, bring her down --"

And anyway, apparently he can cram an entire mobile mechanic station into the back of his van.

Which is where they're all crammed in right now.

Tyrrha's been put down to low power so she won't ''zap'' the poor guy while he's working, which means she can hold a conversation, but not much more than that. "Huh, cool," she says, as he rewires a section around a big, armoured box in the centre of her chest. "What's that?"

"Magic smoke box," Para-Mind replies, without looking up.

"What's that?" Tyrrha asks.

"Box where the magic smoke lives," Para-Mind clarifies.

"But what's that?" Tyrrha keeps asking.

"Shit where if it escapes you die," Para-Mind concludes.

"You're going to be okay, ''ucha,''" Yua says, from a seat which is thankfully clear enough of tools for her to sit down, even if she's feeling ''slightly'' like a sardine.

"'Course I'm fine!" Tyrrha insists, cheerfully. "Man, I just wish I didn't have to run away... that Joker was soooo cool!"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Miho has indeed already handled the other matter. It was much easier, given the paucity of Persona-users at that location.

She heard about the damage first, naturally. Yua was shrieking, but Miho was very calm in that particular way of hers where she ''sounds'' calm but has a lot more going on underneath the surface. Her arm is off. Is she bleeding? (Does she bleed)? Is she experiencing pain? (She usually doesn't.) Can they fix it? (...Can they fix it ''without'' taking her back to the lab?)

On the other hand, Miho's hearing is pretty good. So there's that.

Now though...

Knock knock. Seiji has brought Miho here, and now...

Miho stands in a suit, having changed out of her armor, and waits for the back door to be opened.

"How are the repairs coming?" she asks.

"Yua, are you all right?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

No -- she doesn't look like it and hasn't ''said'' anything -- CAN THEY?!!?!?!?!?! SHE WAS ONLY BLINDED FOR A MINUTE! JUST A ''MINUTE'' --

Yua, here, is learning the terror every parent learns when they realise just ''how'' few minutes a child needs to put themselves in life-threatening danger. She's barely even changed out of her wedding dress; she's bustled Tyrrha down in the turtleneck and tights she was wearing beneath it.

(There's one of Miho's cloaks hanging over the back of the chair, though. She needed... something to toss over Tyrrha so no one would look at her funny.)

"Get that," Para-Mind says, without looking up, when there's a knock on the door of the van. "Oh, and if it's a meter maid, do me a favour and shoot her?"

"No!" Yua yelps, and the ''shape'' of her alarm is probably audible from outside the door even if the ''contents'' aren't. She needs to take a second to figure out how to stand up in the cramped van, as she says -- "I bet it's Mimi!" -- and then opens the door, to reveal: "See? It's Mimi!"

"Woulda been funny if it was a meter maid," Para-Mind says, fiddling with some wires. "Cram in, close the door, pick a spot, cope."

Yua shuffles back to the seat she'd found, which, at least, is probably still good for ''leaning'' on, even if there's ''stuff'' on all the other seating. "I was watching her," Yua promises, "but then -- then they realised I was transmitting through her antenna, so they broke them, and I wasn't able to reach her and -- and the Joker --"

"She like, split in half right down the middle and tried to EAT ME!" Tyrrha says, and one gets the impression that the only reason she's not bouncing in her seat is because those functions have been depowered for safety. "It was AWESOME!"

So, uh, Tyrrha's fine, apparently.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

At least Para-Mind is hard at work. ...Right?

It is indeed Miho though. "Hello," Miho greets after a moment. "Sure." She doesn't appreciate brusqueness but she does appreciate directness, so it is good enough. Yua is there... and Miho picks a spot near her. Yua promises she was watching, but--

"I see. We'll have to prepare countermeasures for that..." For going for the antennae. But--

"I'm glad you had fun," Miho says, "But you should understand that significant damage to you is distressing for us; it could end your life." That seems to be inherently bad, to Miho, so she doesn't explain it further.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Hard at work, or hardly working, am I right, fellas?

"Hi," Para-Mind says, in response to that greeting, "I'm the guy who's NOT taking you down to the sexual harassment station when you goddamn ''totalled your unit.'' I take payment in cash and political favours."

"Huh?" Tyrrha asks, recalling that thing Yukari said about ignorance for a moment.

"I-it's nothing, sweetie," Yua smiles, to her. "He's just kidding, right?"

"Yeah, yeah," Para-Mind grouses, digging around in there.

The reason why Tyrrha might be so blithe with her secrets might be revealed a little more... if this was one of the guys working on her. If Tyrrha didn't pick up on the ''nuances'' of speaking truth to power, she sure could just end up on ''speaking truth,'' huh?

Apparently he's kind of put-upon having to fix something this extensive in his van... but he's at least ''doing'' it, right?

Yua reaches up, to take Miho's hand, as she warns Tyrrha, who -- well, she ''doesn't'' actually look at her, those autonomic systems are all down, she's doing a passive environment scan for inputs right now, but Miho can ''imagine'' she would be. "What, you guys... don't like that? But like, it wasn't a big deal the first five times..."

"It is a big deal!" Yua insists, and ''she'' sounds upset, though she's -- ''trying'' to keep on top of it all. "Those girls... I'm really sad they didn't survive! And, and I really want you to be okay, Tykko!"

"Huh... but I don't feel like I was gonna die," Tyrrha says, sounding a touch baffled about it all. "It's just like, 'critical damage to 6BD sectors, severe damage to 11A sectors...' ... that's not a big deal, right? If I get broken, you guys can just fix me right up!"

"Tell me more about how easy this is," Para-Mind says, dryly, as he does something which is decidedly ''not'' simple. "Actually, no, you kids are in exams now, right? Gimme a ten-page essay on how awesome I am figuring out this bus duct after you got half of it ripped apart."

"Like, right now?" Tyrrha asks.

"Sure, why not," Para-Mind says.

"Okie-dokie," Tyrrha says, only to pause. "... uhhh, I can't move my hand."

"Sounds like a you problem." Para-Mind's still working. "Tried not getting bit in half about it?"

"Not yet!" Tyrrha says, cheerfully.

Yua, watching this banter with growing concern, tugs at Miho's hand. "Mimi, tell her," she says, a touch whining.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Very well," Miho agrees. "I have fifty thousand yen on-hand. Will that suffice?"

She doesn't seem to take issue with hearing it. Instead, she just goes with it. And well...

There's Para-Mind.

"We don't like that," Miho confirms, though she waits for the rest of them to keep up and speak of it for now. Those 'girls'... the first five times. It is useful data, to know that Tyrrha is the sixth, for instance.

"How would you know how it felt if you were about to die?" Miho wonders. "Have you experienced it previously?"

It's a risky question, but an important one. Miho thinks so, anyway. But the essay...

"You get the essay ''or'' the yen," Miho responds dryly. Then she grows more serious. "Yes, though. It is important to us that you in particular survive--you, not merely one like you."

"But I do recommend avoiding having your arm bitten off in the future. See how it distresses Yua; it also distresses me." She doesn't sound distressed. But she is!

"We can... ''mostly'' fix you, if you are broken. But sufficient damage would render that impossible, and I do not know precisely how much damage that would be. I assume it would be damage to your 'core'--so protect that."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"On-hand? Christ. You people have too much money, taking that off your hands is basically public service. Call me Robin Hood, 'cuz I'm stealing from the rich and giving to myself."

Para-Mind knows not whomst he invokes, with that kind of casual banter...

"Not me," Tyrrha confirms. (She does not realise, in her confirmation, that she's underlining her demon-nature; an individual demon ''can'' be killed, and that demon will be dead henceforth, though a dozen more may take their place.) "But I guess, like... my sisters and brothers got got before I did? Uh, I don't know if I've ever almost died... except for when I melted down a couple days back?"

"Damn," Para-Mind clicks his tongue, when Miho makes her stipulations. "You drive a hard bargain, Ijuuin." Is he talking about her like he's addressing the ''whole class of Ijuuins?'' He just might be.

"Like... me specifically? Even though they'd just make another one...?" Tyrrha ''would'' have tilted her head if she ''could.'' "Huh... you don't look sad," she points out, which must mean she ''does'' have visual scanning capacity despite her cameras not zeroing in on Miho. (You know. Her eyes.) "How come you're not making a face like Yumama is?"

Yumama's face, as it happens, is a bit teary and all wibbly and ''plainly'' upset.

"Oh, yeah, that thing," she says, and here, again, she ''would'' look down at herself but she ''can't.'' "Magic smoke thingum. Yeah, I remember... I did kinda pull back to keep that one free. Is it because I'd 'die' if it got bit?"

"Pre' much," Para-Mind confirms, as he tinkers.

"How did you even escape?" Yua asks, her voice tight. "There was -- I was distracted from looking to you with my own eyes --" Tatsuya found her, she means.

"Oh, that was easy!" Tyrrha would grin, if she ''could.'' "There's this thing buried in my base code, down in root, like, under a bunch of updates, it's like -- down in wordplay, there's a folder for ''puns,'' and that's got ''puns for every occasion''... so I just said, 'looks like I've been disarmed', and they were so shocked by my razor wit that I was able to get away scot free!" She pauses, for a moment. "Well, shocked by my razor wit and Mazio."

"Ah," Yua smiles, deeply concerned, "Tykko..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"I will not call you Robin Hood."

That is all she says about that. Her sisters and brothers who got got, though... hmmm. "Yes, that would count," Miho says. "That is the level of distress we hold."

But no essay. Miho Ijuuin nods.

"That is correct," Miho says, even though they'd make another one. And so she does have scanning capacity. "I do not share my emotions as freely as Yua does," Miho explains simply. "I prefer to keep them inside--to myself--where I can deal with them as I choose."

Miho squeezes Yua's hand.

Magic smoke thingum. "Para-Mind is almost certainly correct," Miho says. "I would listen to him in this matter."

Yua asks... and Miho strokes Yua's arm.

"..."

Miho does not think it was the wordplay.

"That you escaped--and can escape--is important. Remember, should you suffer damage to that degree again, you ''must'' escape. Your priorities must include protecting your own life as well as Yua's. ...Because she would suffer if you died. Because we value you."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Huh... that's a lot, huh?" Tyrrha asks, as if she doesn't ''know.''

(She really might not know.)

She tilts her head, hearing how Miho deals with ''her'' emotions. "So if I took you apart," she asks, "would I find them? I don't know if I wanna do that... I'm pretty sure if you lose all your blood ''you'' die. I think that's probably bad? Hey, how come you lock your feelins' up inside when it's Yumama who got took apart, anyway?"

"That's why, ''ucha,''" Yua says, sadly. "Even if I wanted to, I couldn't hide... besides, I've always been more expressive. Things are simpler without a legacy like Mimi's, you know?"

"I'm always right," Para-Mind says. "Check the bumper sticker, babe."

The bumper sticker, out there, says 'THE SYSADMIN IS ALWAYS RIGHT.'

"Huh... okay, so... yeah, that makes sense," Tyrrha says, thoughtfully, when Miho says she ''has to protect herself.'' "Like, I have the flags tellin' me to retreat when I got damage to too many sectors... so that's why they're like that, huh? Is that this whole 'self-preservation' thing you were talkin' about?"

This is, assuredly, ''not'' the first conversation Miho and Tyrrha have had about personal safety, judging by the way Yua nods and hums an affirmative "mm, mm!"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"No," Miho says, with a shake of her head. "Emotions and thoughts... they dwell within the 'mind', which is of a different substance from the body. You could take my body apart and you would never find my mind again, for it would be gone."

That's not disturbing, right Yua?

"...I have my reasons," Miho says. "My feelings are... difficult to deal with," she says. "So I must keep them at remove. It is similar to how when you have a big problem before you, you must stop to think how to solve it, rather than doing so by rote."

But Para-Mind is always right. Miho lifts an eyebrow.

Still...

"Yes," Miho says. "Self-preservation is indeed understanding when you are in a position to die--and working to abate that situation." A pause. "There are things worth giving one's life for," she says. "The defense of one you love, for instance. ...but it is your duty to 'keep' that life safe, absent such a situation. You cannot spend it freely, unwisely, for you belong to more than yourself."

"That is a part of 'honor'."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Huh." Tyrrha says. "So... it's, uh..."

"Magic smoke box for humans," Para-Mind interjects, helpfully(?).

"Huh... so you guys have one of those, too?" Tyrrha sounds quite interested! "But then, like... how do you take someone's mind apart if it leaks out when you open up their body?"

"That's called interrogation," Yua says, quietly. "We can... teach you some things later, okay?" ... well, ''Miho'' can teach her some things. Yua's only real skill in this field is having withstood so much of it.

(There's a lot disturbing about all this, Yua thinks.)

"Oh, so, like... you're scared of your feelings?" That's what Tyrrha gets out of what Miho's saying, with ''zero'' tact. "That sucks. Feelings are great! I love havin' feelings! Sometimes other people don't like me havin' feelings though," she adds, thoughtfully. "They act like I'm havin' the ''wrong'' feelings. I don't get it. How can feelings be wrong?"

"Well, it's complicated," Yua says, diplomatically. "Sometimes, feelings which trangress social boundaries can make people uncomfortable... and those boundaries can be different for different sorts of people."

"Ohhhh," Tyrrha says. "So there's ''rules'' and junk. Okay, yeah, I get rules and junk. So what's the rules?"

"Er," Yua blinks, as she realises something, all a sudden. "I... think I've been asking that for a long time..."

Luckily, Miho already knows a thing or two about ''telling Tyrrha the rules,'' as she tells her about the rule of ''staying alive.'' "Oh, so... since it's something you can only do once, you can't just do it casually, right? Even though there'll be other people just like you afterwards... but I guess there's somethin' about 'me' that you guys care about? Man, and I don't wanna make you make that face... or, uh, not make that face, Mimama. Make an inside face? I dunno. But if it's 'honour', I'll practice real hard!"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Magic smoke box for humans. Para-Mind is helpful, sometimes. Like now!

"To affect the mind, one uses different tools," Miho answers. "It can be affected by the body, but only indirectly. I'll explain more depth to you later," she says. "But for instance, the words I'm using now are impacting your mind; words are a strong way of affecting the minds of yourself and others."

A pause. "...Yes," Miho allows after a moment. "My feelings are great and sometimes monstrous. ...I must grapple with them as one would a powerful enemy sometimes--or as one must care for a valued ally. It is... difficult, sometimes."

"The ''expression'' of your feelings can be appropriate or inappropriate," Miho says. "'Wrong' feelings... are complex. It's not so easy to explain. More often it's 'expression' that does it."

There are rules.

"The rules are many and complex. It is like combat; one cannot simply explain it. One has to experience and train in it."

And there..

"That's correct. You can only give your life once. It must be done carefully, deliberately, never casually."

"Practice as hard as you can," Miho encourages. "...I am not completely immune to emotional expression; I would shed tears, if you were to die. ...But if you are lucky, you will never see that become necessary."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Ohhhh," Tyrrha says. "So it's takin' them apart ''invisible-like''... like magic!"

"Even more invisible than magic!" Yua enthuses, because, of course, Balzac ''is'' visible to the human eye.

But Miho speaks to her monstrous feelings, and one gets the impression ''here,'' too, that Tyrrha would cock her head if she wasn't presently running on shoestring power. (Even a shutdown, on Tyrrha, isn't a true ''shut down.'' What happens, to her, when someone turns the machine off...? Well, they figured ''that'' out with an ''earlier'' version.) "Sooo... Mimama's communin' with the Dragon Lines 'cuz you're a dragon mama?" ''That's'' what she got out of that?! "So does that mean you're both dragons, or..."

"Ah --" Yua's serious expression breaks into a smile, despite the weight she knows her court wife's words to carry, as she looks up to Miho. (She knows the weight of Miho's feelings, of course, because she's the woman privileged to help ''carry'' them; just as Miho protects her out in the world, it's Yua's role to safeguard her feelings in the ''home.'') "Well, how about it? Are we 'Dragon Mamas'? Oh, but don't worry," she adds, to Tyrrha, smiling. "We're bound by our customs, so even if we were dragons, we wouldn't just rampage indiscriminately, okay?" That's another story built into Shiisaa's mythology, after all: the rampaging sea dragon brought low by the roar of a Shiisaa figurine.

Miho may realise she should consider her words carefully... this is an important decision.

"Oh, I thought there was like, a book or somethin'... like that Heihou Kadensho, or Hakagure, or Bansenshuukai!" Of ''course'' she's been given that kind of reading list, samurai treatises on battle and philosophy. "But... there's stuff you can't write down, huh? Like, it's easy for people to write, like, about aggressive and passive modes and stuff," as the Heihou Kadensho discusses methods of engagement in a battle, "but... how do you actually reach out and hit a guy? I'm still kinda puzzlin' that one out."

... loading weapons onto Tyrrha's make and model have proven largely disasterous, because holding the capacity to strike in her own two hands reminds her too much of the power she ought to hold. That functionality ''is'' technically in her system... but it's still ''quite'' buggy.

"It's okay," Yua assures her, gently. "It's hard for me, too..."

(When Miho finds a moment to speak to Para-Mind ''without'' Tyrrha listening in, about the observational unit which is also Tyrrha's weapons platform, she'll discover that there's a ''toggle switch'' hidden in his mane which governs whether it transmits observational data. What? No one told her about that?? Man, sucks to be her, better hope she wasn't banging her wife when that thing was watching. ''Removing'' the uplink entirely is more complicated, though... too bad Tyrrha probably shouldn't witness the verbal battle it takes to convince him it's funnier to help them than to rat them out.)

That's later, though. Now --

Now, Tyrrha is once more thwarted by the inability to cock her head like a confused creature. "That's gotta mean it's the ''most'' powerful, right?" She asks, instead. "Is that, like... how they were sayin' how livin' without achievin' your aim is cowardly?" 'Bushido,' the Hakagure dictates, 'is realised in the presence of death.' It's not just Yua who's meditated on it, apparently.

There's a lacuna of silence, though, as Tyrrha processes what Miho's saying.

"... uh... but if I'm dead, how would I see you cryin' anyway?" She asks, at length. "I thought, like... when you died, you couldn't see anything any more."

"That's true," Yua says, softly. "But I would see it... and Mimi would see me weeping, too. Even when you die, you leave people behind, ''ucha.'' Being able to imagine what they would feel is an important skill... but don't worry if it's hard, okay? You don't need to be good at it all at once. It's better to improve yourself slowly!"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Even more invisible than magic...

A dragon mama. Hmmm. Miho considers this for a moment. She looks to Yua, in turn. Communing...

"Yes," Miho decides. "We are."

She could be a dragon. That would be fine. ...A dragon, rampaging through what is in her way... When it is time, at least. Yes...

"I aspire to it."

They are indeed bound by their customs. And then--a book.

"Exactly," Miho says. "You can write many things about socializing, many guides that could help you.. but in the end, it is the doing of the thing that teaches."

Miho's not going to put weapons in her hands. Not now, anyway.

"...But it is better to make use of tools in combat."

Miho will definitely talk to para-Mind about that. She won't even complain at him. Probably. But now...

"Yes," Miho says. "That is what they say. ...But you need not act on that now. Meditate on it. Consider it."

Pause. "...Perhaps that is so."

"But as Yua says, those left behind will know. It will no longer be your concern... and yet," she says, "It is your concern now."

"It's fine, if it's hard. But in the end..."

"By living with purpose, you will find 'peace' when that time comes."
</poem>

2026-08-01: Reporting to the Top Brass

2026-08-02T01:35:19Z

L: Created page with "*'''Cutscene: ''' Reporting to the Top Brass *'''Cast:''' Yua Ijuuin, Chizuru Ishigami, Hisataka Shinjo *'''Where:''' Aoba - Penthouse / ??? *'''OOC Date:''' 2026-08-01 *'''IC Date:''' Tue, Dec 18 2012 *'''Summary''': ''Yua makes her report on the status of Maria's capture and Lisa's Awakening -- directly, for once, since Miho was busy with her own target. Unbeknownst to her, Chizuru was already going over the materials they'd uploaded... alongside the objec..."

*'''Cutscene: ''' Reporting to the Top Brass
*'''Cast:''' [[Yua Ijuuin]], [[Chizuru Ishigami]], [[Hisataka Shinjo]]
*'''Where:''' Aoba - Penthouse / ???
*'''OOC Date:''' 2026-08-01
*'''IC Date:''' Tue, Dec 18 2012
*'''Summary''': ''Yua makes her report on the status of Maria's capture and Lisa's Awakening -- directly, for once, since Miho was busy with her own target. Unbeknownst to her, Chizuru was already going over the materials they'd uploaded... alongside the object of her affections, the disaffected head scientist Shinjo. It seems she's able to see a side of him which many think died long ago...''

----

[[Category:Cutscenes]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

"Ishigami-san? It's Yua Ijuuin," Yua's voice comes through the phone, later -- once they're back in their penthouse, now her ''feets'' are ''up'' and Welwetes is safely docked and Tyrrha is busily being repaired by Para-Mind. "Is now a good time?"

"Go ahead," Chizuru Ishigami's voice says, smoothly.

"I'll be making my report directly today," Yua says. "Mimi was busy apprehending another target, so... Tykko and I went to catch Maria Sakurai alone, and we were able to do so during one of Lisa Silverman's performances."

"... the girl your woman mentioned," Chizuru notes. "I remember. Go on?"

"Unfortunately, there were a high number of Persona Users present," Yua says, her gaze dropping, as she relates it. "Tykko did her best, Ishigami-san, but... fighting all those people at once might have been okay, but when the Joker attacked her, too, it... ah, it took her arm off."

"They're sinful creatures," Chizuru says, with an air of regret. "Is your daughter all right, Ijuuin-chan?" It's something which has distinguished working at this level, with her fellow mystic, from Yua's experiences with the men below her: Chizuru seems to have ''some'' measure of concern. Those men might have called her Ooshiro-chan, back then; but rather than respecting her efforts to be so deliberately ''cute,'' it was really just more disrespect.

Whether there's a deeper comment as to why she's given ''Yua'' the cute address and Miho the standard respect is beyond the scope of this document.

"Ahaha... she was mostly just annoyed she had to run away," Yua laughs, a little of her tension draining away; ''she'' was horrified, of course, but Tyrrha just insisted that was why the Joker Monsters were the ''best'' fights. "Well, so that was a failure, but... but we had a big success, too! Lisa Silverman has Awakened to her Persona, Eros. I guess it's a lot different to how it was the first time, though... she must have changed a lot this time? Apparently it's not just her, though... even me and Mimi... she told me how in the True World, it was Faust who was the Navigator, and Gretchen was the one protecting them."

"So you switched roles... fascinating. So Silverman-san Awakened, and you retreated after the Joker disabled Tyrrha-san? Is there anything else?"

"Um, the Black Mask stumbled over us... he said it was just a wrong turn, but... w-we really did try our best to complete all objectives!" Yua hurries to assure her. "So if there's any concern over that, ah -- we definitely didn't just let her go! I know it would be bad for us if we didn't really try," she adds, her fear returning, when she remembers Ruin.

"Hmm? If it took a severed arm to dissuade you, I have no complaints," Chizuru assures her, though she still sounds a touch distant about it all. "Was there anything else?"

"Oh -- there was one thing," Yua says, as if it just dawned on her. "The other boy with that staggering potential... Tatsuya Suou? Somehow, even though I'd set up all my mazes, he eventually found me... he knew I was trying to Awaken Silverman-kun, and he wanted to stop me. Um... when he realised I was pregnant, though, he let me go really easily... um, I didn't make a fight out of it or anything, since Tykko had already gotten badly hurt by that point, and, um, my connection was disrupted too. Plus... there's all those reports about how strong he is, and... I'm at twenty-five weeks now, you know...?"

"I don't want you to put yourself in unnecessary danger," Chizuru says. "Avoiding a fight with the Paradox Boy when there was no one to protect you was the right call. All right... I'll review the material. Thank you for your hard work."

"Thank you, Ishigami-san," Yua says, and the phone clicks to silence.

Chizuru looks up, from where she's leant on the back of a lounge -- a lounge where Hisataka Shinjo sits, watching the camera feed Welwetes uploaded.

He nibbles at a potato chip, as he watches the Aqua ball advance on Welwetes' rear camera. It's the sort of casual motion one doesn't expect to see from him at all -- some of the men who serve him have wondered if he deigns to do such things as ''eating'' or ''sleeping'' at all. "Set this to Wyoming Jones music," he says, as the forward camera captures the way the little robo-raptor skids in beneath the chair. Clicking forward --

-- the camera shows how Welwetes went to go fetch a piece of ''broken'' chair for Suzume. "Give whoever programmed it to do this a raise."

"Hmm," Chizuru smiles, gazing down to him with affection. "As you wish."

"There's nothing funnier than seeing the robes of tradition draping on something as modern as a cyborg," Shinjo remarks, as he watches the Joker take Tyrrha's arm ''clean off.'' "'Looks like I'm disarmed'... heh," he ''even chuckles,'' if darkly, and perhaps it's the greatest privilege Chizuru knows to witness him indulging in pursuits he's long left behind.

Perhaps allowing a man such as Shinjo to feel the smallest amusement is why no complaints about Tyrrha's loose lips have made it too far...

2026-07-28: Lawful Evil Lesbians

2026-07-29T12:34:34Z

*'''Log: ''' Lawful Evil Lesbians
*'''Cast:''' [[Yua Ijuuin]], [[Miho Ijuuin]]
*'''Where:''' Aoba - Penthouse
*'''OOC Date:''' 2026-07-28
*'''IC Date:''' Sun Dec 16 2012
*'''Summary''': ''Miho is used to anticipating her home wife's needs, when she needs care -- and she was the security expert who supplied Yua with those concealed recording devices to begin with. She notices some previously deleted files, but it might have just been Yua testing things out, after all. She's able to help Yua eat a little breakfast... though Yua can't keep it down, when she shares her feelings about her rape with Miho, after she finishes her vain attempt. Beyond her despair, though, is a developing sense of her own autonomy -- striking back at Natari in ways she can't expect -- and an enduring and shared desire to rescue Tyrrha, even now knowing she's a trapped demon. She and Miho discuss how they might help her... and underline just why their own orderly existences agree with the fey rules of demon life, in a way which just might help them reach across the aisle.''
*'''Content warning:''' Discussion of sexual assault/medical abuse, emetophobia warning

----

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Yua went straight home, after they visited the laboratories... and claimed it was that ''specific'' design of kimono Natari had insisted she escort Tyrrha while wearing.

She does not expect Miho will miss the way her obi's tied in front, either.

Once Tyrrha's situated and reassured regarding her ''own'' worries for Yua -- they leave her with Eiko, who, thankfully, has been quite happy to add babysitting to her list of duties -- Miho escorts Yua off to the hospital, ''again,'' and they class her as a ''repeat presentation'' and they ask all ''sorts'' of terrible questions...

And Yua just wants to go ''home.'' ... she gets the rape kit done anyway, though.

Like the recording on her comb, it's another angle of evidence, and even if someone is protecting Natari ''now'' -- the Order is constantly rearranging itself in its rule by power.

...

Yua doesn't make breakfast on Sunday morning, because she slept in terribly long -- long enough for Miho to review those materials, and for Tyrrha to help ('help') Eiko make some nice fried sham and eggs for Miho to bring in for Yua, when she's done.

As Yua picks at them, on the bed, still in her nightgown, she says: "... well... they won't need my classes during finals week, anyway."

Yua smooshes some toast into her eggs, and nibbles at it.

"... I'll go back to work when the semester starts back up... in a few weeks."

And she does not say that Kimitake warned her not to spend too long feeling sorry for herself, this time.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Miho did ''not'' miss it; the way her off-hand curled into a fist, she clearly didn't miss it. But she kept it out of her face, and was as supportive to Yua as she could be. Off to the hospital...

Miho is glad Yua is willing to have the procedure done, but still somewhat surprised. ...It shows a resolution on her part that befits whta she's trying to do; Miho will not countermand it.

Instead, that morning she still wakes up early, reviews the materials she's been presented, and then get out for breakfast. She doesn't immediately launch into what she saw. Instead, she watches Yua. "They won't," she agrees. "Most such activities will be suspended as they were in our day, anyway."

But back to work...

"All right," Miho says. "I think that sounds reasonable."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Yua saw the anger which dug Miho's short nails into her palm, with the paradoxical guilt twisting in her gut...

... but Yua wasn't the only one who saw it.

Tyrrha can tell something's not quite right with Yua, and she can guess from that gesture how Miho's burying her own rage. ... and so the girl assured her nobler mother that ''Miho'' didn't have to hit Yua, for some reason, though Yua's desperately-edged reassurance that everything was fine thankfully stopped her from saying just why that's where her mind went ''first.''

(Isn't it normal? Tyrrha thinks, in the way children do.)

Yua, at least, knows there is a gulf of difference between her husband and her wife; she can no sooner fault Miho for her rage than she can condemn herself for imagining the colour of Natari's blood, laid down.

... she asked Miho, after it happened the first time, to secure her some concealed recording devices; it's thanks to the security consultant who loves her so that she has that clever little comb, a microphone hidden in its decorations. She didn't want to simply let it happen, even then... so maybe it was inevitable that she'd ''push'' Natari, given the need.

(It's thanks to her expertise that Miho will note that data has been copied and cleared from the device before this excursion... but perhaps Yua was just testing it?)

"Suspended... I feel that way, too," she says, quietly. "Like... the whole of me was frozen, and... everything's moving, out there, but I don't know why."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Miho was startled by that assurance. It was more than enough to break her out of her own emotions; it made her frown in thought. But it must just be the way Tyrrha is; violence is in her nature. Is that enough to explain it?

Regardless, Miho does not act on that rage. Instead...

She considers those devices, the ones that Yua bought and brought back. Miho does notice that the data was copied and cleared. She wonders about that, but indeed perhaps it was just a test. Now--

"...I know," she says. "I know that feeling. When you're 'away', and everything is still moving, but it's strange, because you aren't, and you're not sure why anything else is at all."

"I don't have the same experiences that you do... but I know some of that feeling."

She pauses. "Do you want to talk about it? Or do you want to talk about what you've found?"

"...Whatever you need, Yua."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Tyrrha ''is'' a violent kind of girl, and that data clarifies just ''why,'' though the official documentation redacts every indication of the truth.

... Yua is not so apt with her redactions, but Miho has at least taught her enough so she knows how to delete a file properly instead of leaving it in ''recycling,'' even if she doesn't know how to cover her digital steps entirely.

"Mm," she hums, poking at her breakfast. "Just like that... like... sham and toast should be yummy, right? But, I don't..."

Tears well in her eye, as she contemplates her breakfast, hen-pecked until it's gone cold. "Mmn," she hums, handing the plate back to Miho. "I'm not hungry..."

She's barely even eaten half of it; she'll need to have one of those ''meal replacement drinks,'' if she's tolerating food this poorly.

... but that's something Miho keeps in easy access, these days, even now they've managed to find a medication regime that lets Yua keep food down a little easier.

(The nausea and what follows it never really ''stopped...'' she just adapted to it.)

Yua leans against Miho, instead. "Mm," she hums, first, reaching across her to hug herself to her. "Even though you scrubbed me clean," a thing she at least managed to put off to ''after'' that rape kit was completed, this time, "... I still feel dirty."

She looks down. "... I hate how she's gentle with me," she says, "because she doesn't want to ''hurt my baby.'' I hate... that she's hurting me so much, and... and she still has ''standards.'' She's an utter brute, but... but she still thinks something... normal? She... she talks to me like... like it's normal, like... like I'd ever want it."

... and wonders if even the little breakfast she's eaten will stay ''down.'' "But it's worse than that, Mimi... I... it was easier to talk to her, like that. Well, it didn't even really feel like me, in my body, but... when we were talking... I wasn't just letting her do it. It was... normal, and... and I tricked her, too. She doesn't even know how I hurt her..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Miho does her best. A demon, though... It explains so much.

"That's all right," Miho says, taking the plate and setting it on a side table. "You don't have to eat it." There will have to be a drink, but that doesn't have to be right now, either. ...Miho has adapted as best she could to anticipating those needs.

But clean and dirty...

"It's because what she did to you hurts more than just your body," Miho offers. "I cannot scrub your spirit. ...But know that I will never think of you as 'dirty'."

A pause. She hates it...

"I see."

Of course she does; people in general justify the things they do. But it wouldn't help to speak of what 'people do' right now.

"It's good that you tricked her," Miho says, resolute. "It's good that you were able to hurt her without her knowing yet. Because she deserves to be hurt, for what she's done to you. For what she will yet do to you--and likely others."

"Remember. You are operating in the dark, because your hands are tied in the light. ...But it is 'justice' all the same, to return to her her hurts."

"You should not be in this position. But you are, and you are doing the best you can within it."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

OST: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4z7WtliYAQ Icon for Hire - Blindside

When Miho tells her to drink, Yua will, at least, drink, though she might warble a sad 'moooouuuu'...

"She targeted me," Yua says, miserably, "because the women of our family are close to the Gods." She worries about Yume, too, though she's too alienated from her to realise that ''Yume'' worries about Yume just the same...

But there are few people alive who think of themselves as 'bad people.'

Natari, describing herself, says she is a ''healer.''

Miho says that it's good, though, and Yua nods, head sinking against her shoulder as she turns her body to tuck herself tighter in against her. "... it's not just me," she says, quietly. "The first time, she said... I made her realise how many women are ''sick.'' She's... hurt other women, too."

With a derisive snort, she adds: "... but she has a scar over her chest. Apparently, she tried it on a Succubus she was detaining... and learned the hard way not to do that to a ''Demon.''" Yua pauses. "I wish she'd ''eaten'' her," she grumbles, with uncharacteristic malice.

Tragically, that Succubus probably ''blew up,'' one way or another, if Natari's accounts are to believed.

... Yua will remember her sacrifice.

"She was... much happier I wasn't making a mess," Yua says, and looks a touch ill just ''relating'' it. "She supposed I'd gotten ''used'' to it... she was so sure she could do ''anything.''" Her fingers fist, in Miho's clothes, as her grip tightens and trembles. "She was happy I was -- ''learning.''"

'You ''can'' be taught' is how she said it, with the arrogance of a woman training a stubborn animal; Miho will have ''heard'' that.

"So I just flattered her a little, and..."

Yua glowers, at a point around Miho's hip, scowling deeply.

"... they really think I'm not worth thinking of at all."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Mouu...

"I see..." Because of that. "The need to taint something holy... I do not understand it."

She shakes her head. But, Yua is sure... it's not just her. "...All the more reason to stop her," Miho says. "If I had those women's names, I would fight for them, too. But I have only yours, and you matter most to me. So I will fight for you."

A pause. A scar... Miho does not smile, but her expression is no less grim for it. "Good for the demon."

But... happier. "I see. Then, we will continue to use her lack of judgement. ...Her 'happiness' will be short-lived. You will find an answer."

Miho has heard it. And still...

"They think that," Miho agrees. "...and they will one day suffer for that."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"It... it's because... Tykko's from Okinawa, so... um..." But remembering that conversation, all Yua can remember is her ''tone,'' indulgent and distracted and fascinated in all the worst ways.

"Mm," Yua nods, looking a touch queasy.

... Natari did make reference to one woman who just won't ''settle,'' when she was remarking on Yua's compliance.

Perhaps it's nothing... or, for the keenly perceptive, perhaps someone's tangled up in the ''courts'' trying to prove Natari's menace.

But finding names in that instance is no small matter.

"Mm-hm," Yua nods, in turn, when Miho frames her as using ''Natari.'' And it is at least something, to think she is striking back in turn, but --

Yua's gone quite quiet, and --

"Nnk --"

Luckily, Miho has adapted very ''well'' to anticipating Yua's needs, so she can fetch a sick bag from the side-table to hand over to her ''before'' she makes a mess of the bed.

So she didn't succeed at eating breakfast at all, huh...?

At the end of it Yua weeps, and for all for efforts she is still so ''ashamed,'' even purging those poisons from inside her.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"I see," Miho says.

She notes the queasy look. And, well... Miho is that perceptive; she reflects on the matter. But the courts will not do what they need, she is sure of that much. Not even with the lawyers and money that she could bring to bear.

Still--

Nnk--

Miho has a sick-bag for Yua before she even needs it, and when Yua weeps, Miho holds her.

"...Yua," she murmurs.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Yua hands the bag over, shakily, to be tucked away in some handy bin; they do at least spin and lock in place, to stop the contents going everywhere.

"Mimi...!" Yua whimpers, clutching herself to her fiercely, and she weeps, and she wails, and it is a thing carried without words for some time.

She does, finally, lift her head; her face is a mess, but she'll let Miho wipe it, the way she's always accepted her care. Perhaps it is all the more precious, when Yua's been intruded on, that she welcomes her.

"Oh," she sighs, looking up to her. "I must... I must be strong, though, mustn't I? For Tykko... they're just, ''experimenting'' on her... they don't care if she dies, Mimi. They only care about -- collecting their ''data.''" Is that what Welwetes is for...? ''Tyrrha'' certainly can't connect to the internet... "She never asked them to do this to her... she doesn't even remember."

Rather than a human raised by ''Demons,'' could a Demon end up raised by ''humans...?''

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Miho does not require words to love Yua; she will wait until she can have them again. And then, when she does lift her head, Miho takes those wipes and gently applies them to Yua's face. It is indeed precious to her--more so now.

But also precious is... "We must," Miho says, because she is not alone in it. "It sounds like them," she admits. "..."

Miho appreciates demons, in their way; one becoming a ''person''...

"We'll help her," Miho assures Yua. Maybe it will happen just that way. "You're the one who can, most of all."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Yua sometimes loses her words, but Miho's always been so patient... she even remembers descending into Blanket Town, against her, regulating against her heartbeat while not offering any social back-and-forth at all.

(She doesn't ''know'' that those times can be relieving for Miho, too, when she can stop trying to put an expression on her face and focus on processing a long day, but that doesn't mean she's entirely ''unaware'' of it either. Everyone feels better after a trip to Blanket Town...)

"Mm, mm," Yua hums, nodding against her. "Mimi too... Mimi's being so strong for us. I know it hurt, Mimi... you hurt too."

Yua tugs at Miho's arm, opposite her, to pull her hand down to Yua's grasp. She laces her fingers between hers, clasping it to her chest, her own still-beating heart. It runs faster than Miho's, at rest; as polished as her physique may be, Miho is yet on another level ''entirely.''

"Mimi's always been so good at explaining things to Tykko... maybe it's because you had to negotiate with a lot of Demons to find your Yua," she says, her voice soft in its third-person reflection. "I might be someone her... her people...? Are used to protecting, but... if I didn't have you beside me, I think she'd have a hard time. It's a lot easier to shake me... you've seen everything, Mimi."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Miho does like Blanket Town. She won't initiate it herself, but it is a fine way to spend some time.

But... "Mm," Miho answers. It does hurt her too. But when Yua pulls, Miho lets herself be pulled, feeling Yua's heartbeat. And there, the matter of Miho and Tyrrha...

"That's part of it," Miho says. "I've encountered many demons. I'm good at dealing with them. But..."

She shakes her head. "It's not just that."

"They make sense to me," she says. "They're logical, if you think of things from their perspective. They seem to have their own variations, just like humans... but when you learn the rules, you know them."

"Sometimes I find it easier to deal with demons than I do humans."

"...Well, that aside, I'm glad I can help. She's important to me, too."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

It's not just that...

Yua listens, clasping Miho's hand to her heart; her eye closes, to focus on the words she's saying, but that doesn't mean she isn't ''listening.'' Miho's orderly existence... demons fit quite well there, don't they?

"Mimi likes when things make sense," she surmises. "Mm, mm... me too! I like when I can sort things... even when I was a little kid, mama said I'd put my toys all in a line, biggest to smallest, reds and then blues and then yellows..."

And now, of course, she sorts her life into ''binders.''

"Tykko's important," Yua affirms, nodding. "Mm, and... Tykko's rules..."

She pauses, tilting her head. "... I don't... remember... what spirit Tykko was supposed to be," because, of course, Natari never ''told'' her, but Yua's own memory is evidently a little hazy. "But... I think she must be ''Shiisaa,'' Mimi. Because... she's weak to fire, but she says it reminds her of failing? And... there's stories of how a Shiisaa statue protected a village in the south from fires started by a mountain's power. So..."

Yua pauses, shaking her head, looking up to Miho again. "... but it's not just that," she adds, her brow creasing. "She's really attached to that Welwetes, right? That's weird, if she's a demon, isn't it? But, I think... they gave it a mane so she'd identify it as her twin. Shiisaa come in pairs, Mimi... and the girls close their jaws to keep good spirits inside the home, and the boys open their mouths to scare evil spirits away. So... that's why, I think."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

An orderly existence, where things make sense. Even if those things aren't quite the same as everyone ''else'' expects to make sense.

"Yes," Miho agrees. Then she smiles, faintly. Sorting... "Yes," Miho says. "I enjoy your organization."

But Tyrrha is important. And her rules... But--

Hmmm.

"I see..." Miho has studied, of course. Demons, but also Okinawan lore, mostly through Yua. So she listens to this tale...

"I see..."

"Yes, this seems logical to me," Miho says. "...And it means that despite..."

Well.

"Well, we'll have to tend to Welwetes too," she settles on saying. "But I see. Knowing this... may be helpful to us. And it says she is fundamentally a protector."

"...In her own way."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Mm, I love Mimi's order," Yua hums, happily, in turn.

Things should have structure! And since their lives are built on the foundation of those structures... maybe they'll be able to help her, even though they're human?

"Those alerts said it was observing, but... mm, maybe there's something we can do?" Yua wonders, frowning. "But..."

She tilts her head, hugging Miho's hand to her as she presses herself in against her. "I know Tykko can be violent... but I don't think it's with a malicious heart. She really doesn't know what will happen... and she's curious, I think. She's only ever hurt me by accident... and she was alarmed when she realised she was holding my hand too tight. And... being able to to be violent just means she can attack anything dangerous, you know?"

Yua lifts Miho's hand, to her lips, to lay a kiss against her fingers. "I love Mimi's bloodstained hands," she says, softly, "because they took up a blade to keep me safe. Every scream is another miracle... if not for that, I'd already be dead. So... we won't reject violence, okay? Whether it's for curiosity, or necessity, or... hidden behind smiles and compliance."

Even if she can't strike a man, isn't Yua enacting her own assault, after all?

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"I'm glad. It is yours, too." Because she shares it!

Still, observing... but there might be something... "Oh," Miho says. "Para-Mind. He may have something useful to say," she says. "...Of course, it will probably be couched in so much drivel," she admits. "But still."

Miho holds Yua. "I agree," she sayas. "She is curious, unknowing. She does not realize the harm she can do..."

Pause. "Well, sometimes she wants to do harm. But I cannot blame that. I feel the same, sometimes."

She pauses, and looks touched as Yua says that soft statement. Those hands...

"...Right," Miho says. "Thank you..."

She nods. "We will not reject it," she agrees. "...Nor each other."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Mine too," Yua smiles, and adopts it willingly.

Miho invokes a force of chaos into their order, though, and Yua tilts her head. "Para-Mind? Would he help us?" She pauses, for a moment, and thinks. "Mm... no, if he thought it was funny, he'd definitely help us." Yua's devoted to her family, but that man... he's dedicated to his ''amusement,'' Yua thinks.

"When it comes to being defined like this, at least... she really is young," because of course Yua can never be quite sure how old a demon really ''is,'' or whether age is even a metric that ''matters,'' to them, classified in different measures. "But... we can teach her when it's okay to hurt people, Mimi. You're stern, so you can give her that order... and I'm soft, so I can help her fit it into the shape she has now. Maybe it's not how she's supposed to be... but I want to protect her, anyway."

And Miho wants to protect ''her,'' and Yua nuzzles her cheek against Miho's hand, finding her palm and looking up to her beneath it. "Never," she promises her. "Miimimi... rest with me a little longer, okay? Then we'll get up... I'll get dressed, and... I can be strong enough to help her, if you're helping me."

Maybe they can go feed the koi together, now the pond's all done... the fish they ''can't'' eat a symbol of stewardship and restraint.
</poem>

2026-07-28: Lawful Evil Lesbians

2026-07-29T08:11:32Z

L: Created page with "*'''Log: ''' Lawful Evil Lesbians *'''Cast:''' Yua Ijuuin, Miho Ijuuin *'''Where:''' Aoba - Penthouse *'''OOC Date:''' 2026-07-28 *'''IC Date:''' Sun Dec 16 2012 *'''Summary''': ''Miho is used to anticipating her home wife's needs, when she needs care -- and she was the security expert who supplied Yua with those concealed recording devices to begin with. She notices some previously deleted files, but it might have just been Yua testing things out, after all. She..."

*'''Log: ''' Lawful Evil Lesbians
*'''Cast:''' [[Yua Ijuuin]], [[Miho Ijuuin]]
*'''Where:''' Aoba - Penthouse
*'''OOC Date:''' 2026-07-28
*'''IC Date:''' Sun Dec 16 2012
*'''Summary''': ''Miho is used to anticipating her home wife's needs, when she needs care -- and she was the security expert who supplied Yua with those concealed recording devices to begin with. She notices some previously deleted files, but it might have just been Yua testing things out, after all. She's able to help Yua eat a little breakfast... though Yua can't keep it down, when she shares her feelings about her rape with Miho, after she finishes her vain attempt. Beyond her despair, though, is a developing sense of her own autonomy -- striking back at Natari in ways she can't expect -- and an enduring and shared desire to rescue Tyrrha, even now knowing she's a trapped demon. She and Miho discuss how they might help her... and underline just why their own orderly existences agree with the fey rules of demon life, in a way which just might help them reach across the aisle.''
*'''Content warning:''' Discussion of sexual assault/medical abuse, emetophobia warning

----

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Yua went straight home, after they visited the laboratories... and claimed it was that ''specific'' design of kimono Natari had insisted she escort Tyrrha while wearing.

She does not expect Miho will miss the way her obi's tied in front, either.

Once Tyrrha's situated and reassured regarding her ''own'' worries for Yua -- they leave her with Eiko, who, thankfully, has been quite happy to add babysitting to her list of duties -- Miho escorts Yua off to the hospital, ''again,'' and they class her as a ''repeat presentation'' and they ask all ''sorts'' of terrible questions...

And Yua just wants to go ''home.'' ... she gets the rape kit done anyway, though.

Like the recording on her comb, it's another angle of evidence, and even if someone is protecting Natari ''now'' -- the Order is constantly rearranging itself in its rule by power.

...

Yua doesn't make breakfast on Sunday morning, because she slept in terribly long -- long enough for Miho to review those materials, and for Tyrrha to help ('help') Eiko make some nice fried sham and eggs for Miho to bring in for Yua, when she's done.

As Yua picks at them, on the bed, still in her nightgown, she says: "... well... they won't need my classes during finals week, anyway."

Yua smooshes some toast into her eggs, and nibbles at it.

"... I'll go back to work when the semester starts back up... in a few weeks."

And she does not say that Kimitake warned her not to spend too long feeling sorry for herself, this time.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Miho did ''not'' miss it; the way her off-hand curled into a fist, she clearly didn't miss it. But she kept it out of her face, and was as supportive to Yua as she could be. Off to the hospital...

Miho is glad Yua is willing to have the procedure done, but still somewhat surprised. ...It shows a resolution on her part that befits whta she's trying to do; Miho will not countermand it.

Instead, that morning she still wakes up early, reviews the materials she's been presented, and then get out for breakfast. She doesn't immediately launch into what she saw. Instead, she watches Yua. "They won't," she agrees. "Most such activities will be suspended as they were in our day, anyway."

But back to work...

"All right," Miho says. "I think that sounds reasonable."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Yua saw the anger which dug Miho's short nails into her palm, with the paradoxical guilt twisting in her gut...

... but Yua wasn't the only one who saw it.

Tyrrha can tell something's not quite right with Yua, and she can guess from that gesture how Miho's burying her own rage. ... and so the girl assured her nobler mother that ''Miho'' didn't have to hit Yua, for some reason, though Yua's desperately-edged reassurance that everything was fine thankfully stopped her from saying just why that's where her mind went ''first.''

(Isn't it normal? Tyrrha thinks, in the way children do.)

Yua, at least, knows there is a gulf of difference between her husband and her wife; she can no sooner fault Miho for her rage than she can condemn herself for imagining the colour of Natari's blood, laid down.

... she asked Miho, after it happened the first time, to secure her some concealed recording devices; it's thanks to the security consultant who loves her so that she has that clever little comb, a microphone hidden in its decorations. She didn't want to simply let it happen, even then... so maybe it was inevitable that she'd ''push'' Natari, given the need.

(It's thanks to her expertise that Miho will note that data has been copied and cleared from the device before this excursion... but perhaps Yua was just testing it?)

"Suspended... I feel that way, too," she says, quietly. "Like... the whole of me was frozen, and... everything's moving, out there, but I don't know why."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Miho was startled by that assurance. It was more than enough to break her out of her own emotions; it made her frown in thought. But it must just be the way Tyrrha is; violence is in her nature. Is that enough to explain it?

Regardless, Miho does not act on that rage. Instead...

She considers those devices, the ones that Yua bought and brought back. Miho does notice that the data was copied and cleared. She wonders about that, but indeed perhaps it was just a test. Now--

"...I know," she says. "I know that feeling. When you're 'away', and everything is still moving, but it's strange, because you aren't, and you're not sure why anything else is at all."

"I don't have the same experiences that you do... but I know some of that feeling."

She pauses. "Do you want to talk about it? Or do you want to talk about what you've found?"

"...Whatever you need, Yua."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Tyrrha ''is'' a violent kind of girl, and that data clarifies just ''why,'' though the official documentation redacts every indication of the truth.

... Yua is not so apt with her redactions, but Miho has at least taught her enough so she knows how to delete a file properly instead of leaving it in ''recycling,'' even if she doesn't know how to cover her digital steps entirely.

"Mm," she hums, poking at her breakfast. "Just like that... like... sham and toast should be yummy, right? But, I don't..."

Tears well in her eye, as she contemplates her breakfast, hen-pecked until it's gone cold. "Mmn," she hums, handing the plate back to Miho. "I'm not hungry..."

She's barely even eaten half of it; she'll need to have one of those ''meal replacement drinks,'' if she's tolerating food this poorly.

... but that's something Miho keeps in easy access, these days, even now they've managed to find a medication regime that lets Yua keep food down a little easier.

(The nausea and what follows it never really ''stopped...'' she just adapted to it.)

Yua leans against Miho, instead. "Mm," she hums, first, reaching across her to hug herself to her. "Even though you scrubbed me clean," a thing she at least managed to put off to ''after'' that rape kit was completed, this time, "... I still feel dirty."

She looks down. "... I hate how she's gentle with me," she says, "because she doesn't want to ''hurt my baby.'' I hate... that she's hurting me so much, and... and she still has ''standards.'' She's an utter brute, but... but she still thinks something... normal? She... she talks to me like... like it's normal, like... like I'd ever want it."

... and wonders if even the little breakfast she's eaten will stay ''down.'' "But it's worse than that, Mimi... I... it was easier to talk to her, like that. Well, it didn't even really feel like me, in my body, but... when we were talking... I wasn't just letting her do it. It was... normal, and... and I tricked her, too. She doesn't even know how I hurt her..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Miho does her best. A demon, though... It explains so much.

"That's all right," Miho says, taking the plate and setting it on a side table. "You don't have to eat it." There will have to be a drink, but that doesn't have to be right now, either. ...Miho has adapted as best she could to anticipating those needs.

But clean and dirty...

"It's because what she did to you hurts more than just your body," Miho offers. "I cannot scrub your spirit. ...But know that I will never think of you as 'dirty'."

A pause. She hates it...

"I see."

Of course she does; people in general justify the things they do. But it wouldn't help to speak of what 'people do' right now.

"It's good that you tricked her," Miho says, resolute. "It's good that you were able to hurt her without her knowing yet. Because she deserves to be hurt, for what she's done to you. For what she will yet do to you--and likely others."

"Remember. You are operating in the dark, because your hands are tied in the light. ...But it is 'justice' all the same, to return to her her hurts."

"You should not be in this position. But you are, and you are doing the best you can within it."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

OST: https:''''www.youtube.com''watch?v=F4z7WtliYAQ Icon for Hire - Blindside

When Miho tells her to drink, Yua will, at least, drink, though she might warble a sad 'moooouuuu'...

"She targeted me," Yua says, miserably, "because the women of our family are close to the Gods." She worries about Yume, too, though she's too alienated from her to realise that ''Yume'' worries about Yume just the same...

But there are few people alive who think of themselves as 'bad people.'

Natari, describing herself, says she is a ''healer.''

Miho says that it's good, though, and Yua nods, head sinking against her shoulder as she turns her body to tuck herself tighter in against her. "... it's not just me," she says, quietly. "The first time, she said... I made her realise how many women are ''sick.'' She's... hurt other women, too."

With a derisive snort, she adds: "... but she has a scar over her chest. Apparently, she tried it on a Succubus she was detaining... and learned the hard way not to do that to a ''Demon.''" Yua pauses. "I wish she'd ''eaten'' her," she grumbles, with uncharacteristic malice.

Tragically, that Succubus probably ''blew up,'' one way or another, if Natari's accounts are to believed.

... Yua will remember her sacrifice.

"She was... much happier I wasn't making a mess," Yua says, and looks a touch ill just ''relating'' it. "She supposed I'd gotten ''used'' to it... she was so sure she could do ''anything.''" Her fingers fist, in Miho's clothes, as her grip tightens and trembles. "She was happy I was -- ''learning.''"

'You ''can'' be taught' is how she said it, with the arrogance of a woman training a stubborn animal; Miho will have ''heard'' that.

"So I just flattered her a little, and..."

Yua glowers, at a point around Miho's hip, scowling deeply.

"... they really think I'm not worth thinking of at all."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Mouu...

"I see..." Because of that. "The need to taint something holy... I do not understand it."

She shakes her head. But, Yua is sure... it's not just her. "...All the more reason to stop her," Miho says. "If I had those women's names, I would fight for them, too. But I have only yours, and you matter most to me. So I will fight for you."

A pause. A scar... Miho does not smile, but her expression is no less grim for it. "Good for the demon."

But... happier. "I see. Then, we will continue to use her lack of judgement. ...Her 'happiness' will be short-lived. You will find an answer."

Miho has heard it. And still...

"They think that," Miho agrees. "...and they will one day suffer for that."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"It... it's because... Tykko's from Okinawa, so... um..." But remembering that conversation, all Yua can remember is her ''tone,'' indulgent and distracted and fascinated in all the worst ways.

"Mm," Yua nods, looking a touch queasy.

... Natari did make reference to one woman who just won't ''settle,'' when she was remarking on Yua's compliance.

Perhaps it's nothing... or, for the keenly perceptive, perhaps someone's tangled up in the ''courts'' trying to prove Natari's menace.

But finding names in that instance is no small matter.

"Mm-hm," Yua nods, in turn, when Miho frames her as using ''Natari.'' And it is at least something, to think she is striking back in turn, but --

Yua's gone quite quiet, and --

"Nnk --"

Luckily, Miho has adapted very ''well'' to anticipating Yua's needs, so she can fetch a sick bag from the side-table to hand over to her ''before'' she makes a mess of the bed.

So she didn't succeed at eating breakfast at all, huh...?

At the end of it Yua weeps, and for all for efforts she is still so ''ashamed,'' even purging those poisons from inside her.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"I see," Miho says.

She notes the queasy look. And, well... Miho is that perceptive; she reflects on the matter. But the courts will not do what they need, she is sure of that much. Not even with the lawyers and money that she could bring to bear.

Still--

Nnk--

Miho has a sick-bag for Yua before she even needs it, and when Yua weeps, Miho holds her.

"...Yua," she murmurs.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Yua hands the bag over, shakily, to be tucked away in some handy bin; they do at least spin and lock in place, to stop the contents going everywhere.

"Mimi...!" Yua whimpers, clutching herself to her fiercely, and she weeps, and she wails, and it is a thing carried without words for some time.

She does, finally, lift her head; her face is a mess, but she'll let Miho wipe it, the way she's always accepted her care. Perhaps it is all the more precious, when Yua's been intruded on, that she welcomes her.

"Oh," she sighs, looking up to her. "I must... I must be strong, though, mustn't I? For Tykko... they're just, ''experimenting'' on her... they don't care if she dies, Mimi. They only care about -- collecting their ''data.''" Is that what Welwetes is for...? ''Tyrrha'' certainly can't connect to the internet... "She never asked them to do this to her... she doesn't even remember."

Rather than a human raised by ''Demons,'' could a Demon end up raised by ''humans...?''

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Miho does not require words to love Yua; she will wait until she can have them again. And then, when she does lift her head, Miho takes those wipes and gently applies them to Yua's face. It is indeed precious to her--more so now.

But also precious is... "We must," Miho says, because she is not alone in it. "It sounds like them," she admits. "..."

Miho appreciates demons, in their way; one becoming a ''person''...

"We'll help her," Miho assures Yua. Maybe it will happen just that way. "You're the one who can, most of all."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Yua sometimes loses her words, but Miho's always been so patient... she even remembers descending into Blanket Town, against her, regulating against her heartbeat while not offering any social back-and-forth at all.

(She doesn't ''know'' that those times can be relieving for Miho, too, when she can stop trying to put an expression on her face and focus on processing a long day, but that doesn't mean she's entirely ''unaware'' of it either. Everyone feels better after a trip to Blanket Town...)

"Mm, mm," Yua hums, nodding against her. "Mimi too... Mimi's being so strong for us. I know it hurt, Mimi... you hurt too."

Yua tugs at Miho's arm, opposite her, to pull her hand down to Yua's grasp. She laces her fingers between hers, clasping it to her chest, her own still-beating heart. It runs faster than Miho's, at rest; as polished as her physique may be, Miho is yet on another level ''entirely.''

"Mimi's always been so good at explaining things to Tykko... maybe it's because you had to negotiate with a lot of Demons to find your Yua," she says, her voice soft in its third-person reflection. "I might be someone her... her people...? Are used to protecting, but... if I didn't have you beside me, I think she'd have a hard time. It's a lot easier to shake me... you've seen everything, Mimi."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Miho does like Blanket Town. She won't initiate it herself, but it is a fine way to spend some time.

But... "Mm," Miho answers. It does hurt her too. But when Yua pulls, Miho lets herself be pulled, feeling Yua's heartbeat. And there, the matter of Miho and Tyrrha...

"That's part of it," Miho says. "I've encountered many demons. I'm good at dealing with them. But..."

She shakes her head. "It's not just that."

"They make sense to me," she says. "They're logical, if you think of things from their perspective. They seem to have their own variations, just like humans... but when you learn the rules, you know them."

"Sometimes I find it easier to deal with demons than I do humans."

"...Well, that aside, I'm glad I can help. She's important to me, too."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

It's not just that...

Yua listens, clasping Miho's hand to her heart; her eye closes, to focus on the words she's saying, but that doesn't mean she isn't ''listening.'' Miho's orderly existence... demons fit quite well there, don't they?

"Mimi likes when things make sense," she surmises. "Mm, mm... me too! I like when I can sort things... even when I was a little kid, mama said I'd put my toys all in a line, biggest to smallest, reds and then blues and then yellows..."

And now, of course, she sorts her life into ''binders.''

"Tykko's important," Yua affirms, nodding. "Mm, and... Tykko's rules..."

She pauses, tilting her head. "... I don't... remember... what spirit Tykko was supposed to be," because, of course, Natari never ''told'' her, but Yua's own memory is evidently a little hazy. "But... I think she must be ''Shiisaa,'' Mimi. Because... she's weak to fire, but she says it reminds her of failing? And... there's stories of how a Shiisaa statue protected a village in the south from fires started by a mountain's power. So..."

Yua pauses, shaking her head, looking up to Miho again. "... but it's not just that," she adds, her brow creasing. "She's really attached to that Welwetes, right? That's weird, if she's a demon, isn't it? But, I think... they gave it a mane so she'd identify it as her twin. Shiisaa come in pairs, Mimi... and the girls close their jaws to keep good spirits inside the home, and the boys open their mouths to scare evil spirits away. So... that's why, I think."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

An orderly existence, where things make sense. Even if those things aren't quite the same as everyone ''else'' expects to make sense.

"Yes," Miho agrees. Then she smiles, faintly. Sorting... "Yes," Miho says. "I enjoy your organization."

But Tyrrha is important. And her rules... But--

Hmmm.

"I see..." Miho has studied, of course. Demons, but also Okinawan lore, mostly through Yua. So she listens to this tale...

"I see..."

"Yes, this seems logical to me," Miho says. "...And it means that despite..."

Well.

"Well, we'll have to tend to Welwetes too," she settles on saying. "But I see. Knowing this... may be helpful to us. And it says she is fundamentally a protector."

"...In her own way."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Mm, I love Mimi's order," Yua hums, happily, in turn.

Things should have structure! And since their lives are built on the foundation of those structures... maybe they'll be able to help her, even though they're human?

"Those alerts said it was observing, but... mm, maybe there's something we can do?" Yua wonders, frowning. "But..."

She tilts her head, hugging Miho's hand to her as she presses herself in against her. "I know Tykko can be violent... but I don't think it's with a malicious heart. She really doesn't know what will happen... and she's curious, I think. She's only ever hurt me by accident... and she was alarmed when she realised she was holding my hand too tight. And... being able to to be violent just means she can attack anything dangerous, you know?"

Yua lifts Miho's hand, to her lips, to lay a kiss against her fingers. "I love Mimi's bloodstained hands," she says, softly, "because they took up a blade to keep me safe. Every scream is another miracle... if not for that, I'd already be dead. So... we won't reject violence, okay? Whether it's for curiosity, or necessity, or... hidden behind smiles and compliance."

Even if she can't strike a man, isn't Yua enacting her own assault, after all?

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"I'm glad. It is yours, too." Because she shares it!

Still, observing... but there might be something... "Oh," Miho says. "Para-Mind. He may have something useful to say," she says. "...Of course, it will probably be couched in so much drivel," she admits. "But still."

Miho holds Yua. "I agree," she sayas. "She is curious, unknowing. She does not realize the harm she can do..."

Pause. "Well, sometimes she wants to do harm. But I cannot blame that. I feel the same, sometimes."

She pauses, and looks touched as Yua says that soft statement. Those hands...

"...Right," Miho says. "Thank you..."

She nods. "We will not reject it," she agrees. "...Nor each other."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Mine too," Yua smiles, and adopts it willingly.

Miho invokes a force of chaos into their order, though, and Yua tilts her head. "Para-Mind? Would he help us?" She pauses, for a moment, and thinks. "Mm... no, if he thought it was funny, he'd definitely help us." Yua's devoted to her family, but that man... he's dedicated to his ''amusement,'' Yua thinks.

"When it comes to being defined like this, at least... she really is young," because of course Yua can never be quite sure how old a demon really ''is,'' or whether age is even a metric that ''matters,'' to them, classified in different measures. "But... we can teach her when it's okay to hurt people, Mimi. You're stern, so you can give her that order... and I'm soft, so I can help her fit it into the shape she has now. Maybe it's not how she's supposed to be... but I want to protect her, anyway."

And Miho wants to protect ''her,'' and Yua nuzzles her cheek against Miho's hand, finding her palm and looking up to her beneath it. "Never," she promises her. "Miimimi... rest with me a little longer, okay? Then we'll get up... I'll get dressed, and... I can be strong enough to help her, if you're helping me."

Maybe they can go feed the koi together, now the pond's all done... the fish they ''can't'' eat a symbol of stewardship and restraint.
</poem>

2026-07-28: Assault from Intimacy

2026-07-28T23:52:23Z

L: Created page with "*'''Cutscene: ''' Assault from Intimacy *'''Cast:''' Yua Ijuuin, Tyrrha Ijuuin, Natari Konishi *'''Where:''' Blacksite Revelation, Narumi Ward *'''OOC Date:''' 2026-07-28 *'''IC Date:''' Sat, Dec 15 2012 (Backdated) *'''Summary''': ''After Natari's unforgivable acts, Yua plies her for information on Tyrrha's true nature... and Natari, her guard down, admits the truth. Tyrrha is not only a robot, but a demon trapped inside one -- and the delicate balance of her n..."

*'''Cutscene: ''' Assault from Intimacy
*'''Cast:''' [[Yua Ijuuin]], [[Tyrrha Ijuuin]], Natari Konishi
*'''Where:''' Blacksite Revelation, Narumi Ward
*'''OOC Date:''' 2026-07-28
*'''IC Date:''' Sat, Dec 15 2012 (Backdated)
*'''Summary''': ''After Natari's unforgivable acts, Yua plies her for information on Tyrrha's true nature... and Natari, her guard down, admits the truth. Tyrrha is not only a robot, but a demon trapped inside one -- and the delicate balance of her nature threatened to boil over when she realised a very human desire to help Miho and Yua. It seems that keeping Tyrrha's nature secret from her is paramount to her safety, though... at least, according to the rapist called Natari.''
*'''Content warning''': Sexual assault, medical abuse

----

[[Category:Cutscenes]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

Saturday sees Yua and Tyrrha going to Kimitake's house; he says Natari has ''requests,'' one of which being her attendance ''this afternoon,'' and Yua says she'd rather not associate her own bedroom with such horrors, anyway.

... her other request, it turns out, is to show up in a kimono; Kimitake has 'thoughtfully' acquired one, for her.

It's purple on white, emblazoned with violets... the symbol of love between women.

He suggests she tie her white obi in ''front,'' and Yua understands all too well the implications of that access, though she doesn't tell Tyrrha in turn. ... she doesn't even pick up on it.

What Tyrrha asks, instead, on the car ride over, is this: "Yumama, why do you look like you saw a ghost? Is somethin' gonna happen...?"

Yua turns back to the back seat, smiling, reassuringly, to her. "Don't worry, sweetie... I just don't like doctors. You'll be fine, I promise! I'll keep you safe!"

And Tyrrha, at least, was reassured.

Scanning her keycard to descend at this hour on a weekend once again sees the facility eerily quiet, and Yua supposes that's on ''purpose...'' though there are at least more technicians, here, today. Tyrrha, placed on standby, is all but swarmed by them. Yua watches them, her hands clasped and hidden beneath her violet sleeves... until she feels a hand slipping around her arm.

Those fingers --

Yua is graven, as a statue, as it takes every effort not to collapse on the spot.

"Come with me," Natari urges her, smiling. "We'll discuss -- ''her'' progress in my office." Yua hears that hitch, where she ''almost'' depersons her, and thinks Natari ''knows'' she would hear it, too.

In that moment she is a coward; she forgets her determination, and cites another. "I promised I'd keep her safe," Yua protests, trying to turn back to her daughter and those technicians.

"Who would trust a promise from a liar?" Natari wonders, close to her, quietly. Laughing, she pulls back to speak more clearly, reassuringly: "Don't worry! You'll be back before she wakes up. She'll never even know you were gone!"

There is an interview lounge, in Natari's office. It ought to be used by her patients, during her psychology sessions; now she sits on it, arm around Yua, fingers playing in her long, loose hair. Yua's kimono drapes loosely over her body; Natari's labcoat, over hers. That Yua's obi has fallen on the carpet is...

Yua doesn't look at it, her arms folding in her lap as she pretends she can't feel that woman's other hand on her knee. "I've done as you asked," she says, her tone hollowed by the weight of it. "I even posed for those photographs, so... how about it?"

"Mm?" Natari asks, clearly distracted; ''she,'' at least, is smiling.

"Those questions I had," Yua says, and distances herself from when she ''said'' them, just as she's far from her body now. As if an observer to herself, she hears herself say: "You can't graft something which doesn't exist... did you really build Tykko from nothing?" Her lashes veil her gaze, eye-liner still ''mostly'' intact, as she presses: "Isn't it more impressive than that?"

Natari laughs, softly, and enjoys meeting Yua's eye far too much. "Oh, certainly! Though I shouldn't really say..."

"Please," and the word is a dagger to her neck, as she keeps her expression carefully demure. "You know so much about me, and... I thought she couldn't possibly just be artificial, after she melted down like that. I know you blame me for being moved to this project, but..." She loathes leaning her weight against her; the terror will poison her from her heart on out. Nonetheless, she is a performer. She acts. "... isn't it possible you did something really striking?"

She contemplates the ease with which she could fish a knife from her sleeve and strike it into that woman's wretched chest.

... but that's terrifying, too, and she didn't bring a knife anyway.

"Questions ''are'' fun," Natari says, indulgent in a way which sickens Yua anew. "All right... let me answer a question with a question. You've noticed the unit didn't ship with much in the way of ''morality,'' haven't you?"

"Mm," Yua dips her head in a nod. "She was confused about which animals were okay to eat... she doesn't seem to understand the pain of other people. She... doesn't even really understand why... coming here... I was afraid," and it's not a ''surprise'' to Natari, because she never stopped ''interrogating'' her, but Yua struggles with it anyway.

"And what made her malfunction, yesterday, mm?" Natari presses, fiddling with her hair.

"She... had to take things seriously," Yua answers, and has to force herself to keep looking at her. "She couldn't take it easy any more..."

"That's right," Natari smiles. "Now, is there anything else?"

"I found... a fruit sold by a demon, once. She said demons loved it, but it was too strong for normal people... even so, Tykko enjoyed the jam I made from it. I thought it was because she was a robot, but..." Yua pauses, looking to her. "... hey... is she really, somehow... a demon?"

"Well, ''you'' said it," Natari absolves herself, cheerfully. "You ''can'' be taught!"

Her shame burns from another angle, as Natari cites ''her'' training. Her gaze drops, for a moment, before she looks to her again. "But... how is that possible?" She asks, and doesn't need to feign her vulnerability in asking.

"We're still not sure if it ''is,''" Natari says. "Even when it's all robotic, put a demon in a human 'body', with an artificial 'mind', and it self-destructs -- plus or minus any ''techs'' we had nearby," she adds, breezily. "It's our own private dead grad student problem... ah, but over time, we've made some adjustments and gained progress. Not just us, either -- it's an exciting field of research from ''all'' angles! As for ''ours,'' destroying their sense of self buys us some time -- those ''memories'' yours says she's lost? Nothing as autobiographical as that, my dear. She's not that kind of 'person'. No -- I stole her ''meaning'' from her, and so she stabilised in the machine."

Yua frowns, struggling in her attempts to commit it to memory; she knew that she would be disconnected from herself, so she brought her hair comb with her, to record it all. Still, with it placed on the arm of the lounge, she can't trust that it's still ''capturing''... or that security won't ''find'' it. "I still don't understand," she says, softly. "Why would she react so badly to caring about us...?"

"You've answered your question," Natari says, calmly. "Demons ''don't.'' Not like we do, anyway. A discrete, ordered, linear relationship which treats both parties as distinct, where people protect each other from a sense of love or goodwill... it's as alien to a Demon as they are to us. In growing closer to you -- in fighting harder for you -- she became a little more 'human'. If she were truly a machine, it would be vital for her... of course, it's just as important here, but far more ''volatile.''"

"But... Tykko wanted to protect me from the start," Yua protests.

"She wanted to protect an ''Okinawan woman'' from the start," Natari clarifies. "And a direct lineage from priestesses, no less... do you know how rare those candidates are?"

"Mm," Yua nods.

"Tell me why that is," Natari urges her, squeezing at her knee, and Yua finds herself praying her hand moves no ''higher.''

Yua chokes down the disgust she feels, then, as she elaborates for the woman who's desecrated her temple. "Normally, ''noro'' candidacy is passed down through the priestess's brother's children, but... during the first Shou dynasty, the women who attended the ''gusuku,'' the Ooshiros, there was a long period where they bore only women, and the women had to take up those duties. The village decided that it was important the lineage continue, so exceptions became the norm... that's why, in this place, women can be priestesses despite having children. Normally, shrine maidens will still renounce their duties to marry, or not all their daughters will dedicate themselves, but... Grandmother was an only child."

"Difficult pregnancies do pass from mother to daughter," Natari says, with honest regret. (Yua's seen her belly; she still can't fathom why such an evil woman could male a single statement she'd ''agree'' with. ... she worries what would happen to Natari's children, if the wish in her heart was granted.)

"So you needed me... because she was a protector spirit from Okinawa?" Yua asks, forcing her to meet Natari's eyes again.

"Precisely. You're something of a gateway drug to humanity, my dear." Yua thinks the woman hearing Natari say that must be... terribly unfortunate. "Because caring about you is her purpose, she's been able to tolerate a human form remarkably well. It's difficult to generalise to other types... but we hope to gain more data as she continues to integrate humanity into her psyche for ''other'' units, further research... mm, so do try to keep her alive long enough to get me my answers." Her tone slows, as her hand plays through her hair, and on a reptilian level Yua realises she must get ''out'' of here.

One more question, then. "How can I protect her?" Yua asks, looking to her with a vulnerable expression. "I don't want her to die... I said I'd keep her safe."

"Hmm..." Natari's gaze is hooded, as she contemplates. "Well, at ''this'' stage, revealing the truth of her condition would be ''catastrophic.'' My colleagues have theorised that she'll grow more resilient as she integrates her humanity... but of course, the risk is that's quite ''impossible.'' She's balancing quite precariously... a push too far in ''either'' direction, and she could simply ''collapse.''"

"I'm worried about her," Yua insists, despite the way that awful woman lays hands on her like she ''owns'' her. "She'll... be done by now, right? Can we go and see her?"

... but it's never just one last indignity, with that woman.

By the time they've returned to Tyrrha's bay, the techs have gone home, though they thoughtfully left a 'FOR EXTERNAL USE' folder in her file which Natari was ''kind'' enough to give her.

Yua was given no opportunity to protest the weapons they concealed on Welwetes.

She's smart enough not to ask about the data it was collecting, too.

2026-07-25: Honour in the Dark

2026-07-26T07:41:17Z

L: Created page with "*'''Log: ''' Honour in the Dark *'''Cast:''' Yua Ijuuin, Miho Ijuuin, Tyrrha Ijuuin *'''Where:''' Aoba General Hospital *'''OOC Date:''' 2026-07-25 *'''IC Date:''' Fri, Dec 14 2012 (Dark Hour) *'''Summary''': ''Yua and Miho get Tyrrha home safely -- and it's only then that Yua lets Miho whisk her off to hospital, as she promised Remi she would. It's late enough that the Dark Hour sets in once they've secured a bed for her treatment... and so Miho attends to h..."

*'''Log: ''' Honour in the Dark
*'''Cast:''' [[Yua Ijuuin]], [[Miho Ijuuin]], [[Tyrrha Ijuuin]]
*'''Where:''' Aoba General Hospital
*'''OOC Date:''' 2026-07-25
*'''IC Date:''' Fri, Dec 14 2012 (Dark Hour)
*'''Summary''': ''Yua and Miho get Tyrrha home safely -- and it's only then that Yua lets Miho whisk her off to hospital, as she promised Remi she would. It's late enough that the Dark Hour sets in once they've secured a bed for her treatment... and so Miho attends to her wife, hearing her theories about the deeper workings of the Dragon Lines and her concerns over Tyrrha. It's the latter which lead her to sharing her plans to learn more about the girl's mysterious condition with Miho, though... going where Miho's requests for intel can't, by plying Natari for the truth when she's vulnerable. It's something which leads her to face what she's threatened by, now the Blacksite has called Tyrrha back to check on her... and Yua shares some more of her grief with Miho, alongside her determination to fight. Miho helps to steady her, though, with her own determination: that Tyrrha is their daughter, because they chose her, and so they'll keep her safe no matter what.''
*'''Content warning''': ''References to domestic violence, discussion of sexual assault and corrective rape, discussion of medical abuse, minor references to military sexual assault, racism.''

----

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

When they are fleeing a created space, Yua usually routes them through ''Mementos;'' so, then, did they end up in the entrance there, as they stripped their armor and stowed it away to take home from the bus station right outside.

... someone had to all but ''carry'' Yua back up to the penthouse.

And wipe the blood from Tyrrha's lips.

She was quite attached to Tyrrha, when they got back, assuring her that ''she wouldn't let anything happen to her'' and ''it's going to be okay, ucha.'' Tyrrha, in turn, was disappointed when Miho insisted that Welwetes sleep ''outside''... but he wasn't called a weapons array, during that unit meltdown.

The only thing that ''separated'' her from embracing the poor girl, laying kisses upon her forehead and rocking her gently, was a phone call --

And one side sounds like this.

"Good evening, Kimi-san."
"... they know?"
"Mm."
"But... she's coming back?"
"If you can't tell me she's coming back--!"
"... I did do that. So... mm, you're right."
"... okay. Can... can it wait a day or two?"
"We'll keep her out of trouble... they won't need to worry."
"Don't worry. I'll... be okay, this time. Really."
"Mm, really, I'm fine... thanks."
"Yeah... bye."

Perhaps Miho can imagine the other, Kimitake forced to bear bad news as Revelation comes calling.

When Tyrrha gamely asked her if it was time for a new model, after she sat back down, Yua fiercely insisted she wasn't going to let that ''happen.''

... and she didn't insist on her daughter's bedtime, tonight, because ''she'' at least is thinking of the way Tyrrha might feel being placed on standby.

(Tyrrha doesn't have feelings in quite that same way, which means there's plenty of room for ''Miho'' to make suggestions... but she sure does have feelings, huh?)

Only after she was safely charging did Yua endure anything more than bandaging her wrist; money, it happens, buys a great many things, ''including'' emergency nighttime review. They ''do'' have to go to the emergency room rather than their clinic, though, at this hour, and so Yua is beside herself -- both in suffering and in ''dissociation'' -- hand gripping Miho's like a vice the whole way through.

It's late enough that they easily slip into the Dark Hour... and luckily, they do that when Yua's been found a ''bed.'' There'll be no more adjusting the headrest, for a while, but she's already arranged so that she can hold Miho's hand as she sits beside her.

A coffin overshadows them. A nurse was just coming in to check her vitals...

"... Mimi," Yua murmurs, when she realises the impact of that oppressive green, looking to her as if she'd lost her.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Miho carried Yua. She was less hurt by the battle; it only made sense for her to do so instead of Remi, though she assuredly had to convince Remi very ''hard'' to let her take care of it. ...It may have been that she said that Remi should prepare for battle just in case that did it. Miho also wiped the blood from Tyrrha's lips. And indeed...

Welwetes is not only a weapons array. Miho resisted the urge to destroy the thing.

A phone call...

Miho can indeed imagine the other side. But Tyrrha asks, and Yua won't let it happen. No, Miho suggested... "Just rest," she says. "I'll see to Yua, and we'll all be together again after that."

Now, though...

The Dark Hour is here, and Miho is holding Yua's hand as well. The coffin nearby is unsettling, unpleasant, but--

"Yua," she says quietly, urgently. "Are you here with me?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Tyrrha would be upset if Miho put her pet down!

(Most pets don't have cameras where their eyes should be, though...)

Indeed, though, Tyrrha rested...

... and Yua's blood pressure has seen better days, according to the number that was on the machine before the Dark Hour cut in. The cuff's still around her far arm, thankfully deflated; her attention flicks to it, distress flickering over her eye, before Miho's voice calls her back to her.

"I don't like it here," she says, her voice thin. "Men in white coats..."

They're running ''tests.''

... and there's more of them upcoming, too. She has to go and get a ''glucose screening test,'' soon... but of course anything called a ''test'' is something which Yua needs a week and a crash team to survive, so she hasn't ''completed'' it yet.

"It's quiet, now," Yua says.

"But the doors fail safe for them..."

They need power to ''open'', she means.

... she's not talking about the door on hinges, leading to the private room her Ijuuin wealth has given her.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

She would. It wouldn't be nice. So Miho doesn't!

And Yua...

"I know," Miho says gently. "But you need the medical attention. You did what you did for good reasons," she says, though it galls her because it ''injured'' her, "But your body requires mending."

So many tests; Miho will be here for her during them, but...

But now it's quiet.

"They do," Miho agrees quietly. "... I am frustrated," she admits. "I could not protect you from this..."

"And I could only gather a third of the power I hoped."

"And Tyrrha, too, suffered..." That bothers her. "It's good that you could save her, but..."

"To see you so bloody, it distressed me."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"It must be done," Yua insists, but quietly.

Perhaps she's talking about the medical attention.

(She isn't talking about the medical attention.)

"I could not keep them from you," Yua says, with regret. "Next time... I'll have to try harder."

She looks to her cuff, again. "Nn," she hums, with discontent. "I don't like it!" She ''never'' likes it.

Her gaze drops, though, from cuff to wrist, now ''properly'' dressed with a clear dressing. They asked if it was self-inflicted. Yua agreed that it was; Miho had a lot of explaining to do, after that.

"... she recognised me by sampling my blood," Yua explains, quietly. "That's why I knew... there was only one way to call her back."

For another moment, she is quiet.

"... they want to take her back here," and Yua must not mean ''here,'' this hospital with normal medicine, but to that ''other'' place with sterile white walls. "They'll expect me to escort her... but if I'm the one who stopped her from failing, they won't take her away, right?" Her hand tightens, a little. "And now I'm working out here... they can't keep me there, right?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

It must be done, Yua says, and Miho cannot be certain what she means--only what she does not mean. The medical attention too though... it must be.

"There was no way to," Miho disagrees. "The location was unfortunate. The timing, inauspicious. And the fact that we had to work so hard to make it manifest... I don't know what that means."

But, "I know." She doesn't like it.

Miho was able to explain, at least; self-inflicted doesn't have to mean ''intentional'', after all. And moneyed personages have a way of making certain questions disappear...

But Yua explains it. "I see."

"...She's become important to us," Miho says. "More than just an obligation, by far."

She shakes her head. Then...

"I don't know," Miho admits. "But if she is stable, it would serve them nothing to keep her. If you can keep her functioning, that suits their purposes more."

"...And ours," she says. "But no. They cannot keep you there."

"If they tried, I would come for you once more. I promise you that. And this time, i would not stop the demons feasting on their scientists."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"It's exactly because people were living their normal lives, Mimi," Yua says, with a little shake of her head. "The Dragon Line at Stonehenge, and the Dragon Line at Tamagusuku Castle... these were placed at nexuses of spiritual power which even normal people can feel. Because it was a place where the Gods spoke to them, it was a place you could unearth without more effort than the strength Faust gives you. But..."

Miho's fey companion frowns, as she trails the path between their hands to find her eyes again. "Akihabara... it is not a spiritual place in this way. It is a modern Mecca, filled with the technology of men. With normal people, who live normal lives... the potential of the Dragon Line was so faint. Even so, you wondered why no one found it before us, right?" Yua asks, tilting her head. "But when I looked at it through Gretchen's eyes, I realised... it's only because you'd prayed to the Moon and Scarlet Dragons that you were able to recognise the call of the Purple Dragon, Mimi. Hidden in places where people live their normal lives... the Dragon Lines are buried deep beneath the earth of our reality."

She turns her gaze forward, as she says: "We should be careful... the Purple Dragon's power was still seething, when we left. If they're very sensitive... they might learn the shape of it. If someone else were to recognise one before you did... you said you had to prove yourself worthy, right?" She pauses, delicately. "... even some of those children are worthy," is how she says it.

She has been keeping an eye on Yukari, amongst others.

They could cause them a lot of trouble...

Yua, of course, could cause a lot of trouble ''herself,'' except that money makes everything better.

"Can't I take it off?" Yua asks, of her cuff, a touch whining. "She won't even notice!" That much, at least, is true; people have a striking capacity to write off strange errors in positioning resulting from the Dark Hour... unless, of course, ''they're'' close to Awakening.

But Miho realises how important Tyrrha is, and Yua nods. "When... when I felt that pain, I... I couldn't let her get hurt, Mimi. I promised I'd take care of her... what mama would I be, if I let her -- ohhh, I don't even know what that awful thing was saying -- blow up?!" It probably would have been more violent than ''blowing up.''

... she doesn't know what it was saying.

But Miho reassures her, and Yua clasps her hand, tightly. "You promise," she echoes, looking to her. "Mm... okay, Mimi. You won't let them keep me..."

She bites her bloodied lip, for a moment longer. "... then..." What she starts, she starts slowly. "They were talking about... a host, and... they haven't told us anything. What I need to do is... is... I need to make... get some answers." There's someone she's struggling to reference head on, it can only be one person. "We can't... help Tyyko if we don't know, right? What's going on..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Exactly because... Miho is thoughtful at that, but she trusts in Yua's understanding of the spiritual world. When she says it...

"Yes," Miho answers. "I can see that. So that's why it was so difficult... I suppose we must hope that the next is not in such a place as that."

Buried deep beneath the earth of their reality...

"..."

"I suppose some would be," Miho admits. "Yes, we'll be careful. We'll have to look harder. ...No, I will."

"She wouldn't," Miho agrees. "Probably, at least. She'll have to redo the measurement in any case, so you may as well." This is a small thing she can do to relieve Yua's anxiety.

But...

"''We'' promised," Miho assures her. "...We must keep our word." It is that simple; the practical matters are outweighed. Though...

"I promise," Miho confirms.

"If you can gain more information," Miho says tentatively, "Then that's better. But..."

"I worry, how you might manage to get them. Do not forget that you are yourself important, Yua. Important to me."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"If they were in Sumaru," Yua sighs, "it would be easier... our home is neighbour to demons at the best of times, Mimi."

Indeed, it's just a few blocks away in Aoba that a Succubus runs a beauty salon... Yua's even visited, once or twice, in an attempt to raise her Guts alongside her Charm.

Sadly, only one of those scores ever seems to go up...

"You'll have more opportunities to look now," Yua encourages her, with a faint smile. "Now you're consulting... you get to travel all over, right?"

Yua pouts, hearing that the nurse will have to ''do it again.'' "Mooouu... but it always squeezes way too tight!" She whines, but at least wriggles out of Miho's grip, briefly, to unhook the hook and loop fabric attaching the cuff to her with her free hand. She sighs, as she declares: "That's better..."

(Her ''distal'' arm needs to stay straightened out, thanks to the fluids running into a needle at her elbow... or, well, which ''were'' running into a needle at her elbow. The whole thing's operated by a pump, so ''it's'' paused, too...)

"Mm," Yua hums, smiling, to Miho, when she underlines her own promise. "It's important."

But... so is ''she,'' Miho says, and Yua's gaze drops down.

"... I can't stop it," she says, quietly. "I guess that woman said it had to be me, again... she's obsessed, so... if there's no stopping her, I must at least outwit her." Her fingers bend, pressing thumb to fingers, pressed with tension. "I can't simply lay back and accept my fate... I need to fight, too."

Is that why she took up a sword, just earlier today...?

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"True," Miho agrees. Demons. There are so many... and so easily brought about.

Still...

"Thank you," Miho says for Yua's encouragement. "That's true. I will do much more traveling."

She gives Yua a sympathetic look, but does not relent on the matter of the blood pressure. At least it's better for now. ...As long as they don't mess with the IV, anyway...

But it's important. Miho's sharp features are lit by green light as she considers Yua then, listening.

"...Mm."

"Well, I cannot tell you not to fight," she says. "No, I would not tell you not to fight, will not."

"But remember that your life matters to me. ...Fight, but have care that you can come back, at the end."

"Yes?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Mm!" Yua hums, and manages, at least, to be a ''little'' bright as she encourages Miho on her ''travelling.''

As regards her IV, she'll be good; she's torn out her share in her day, but seeing how distressed Miho was seeing her blood ''before,'' she doesn't want to make her feel ''worse.'' Plus, how would ''Remi'' feel? Yua convinced her to go and get some rest because Miho would take care of her... if she just panicked and tore at it and got her blood everywhere again, Yua's sure ''Remi'' would feel bad, too!

Oh, and she'd be bleeding, and that kind of protest never historically got her any further than restrained and mauled in the ''other'' arm...

... but Yua's more worried about the people she loves, right now.

Perhaps that's why it's so important for Miho to worry about ''her,'' as she retreats into herself, on the bed, no longer looking to the woman she loves more than anything in this wretched world, fingers growing still.

She does not reach out.

No... she is ashamed.

... of her filth and her weakness both, in her eye.

(The former, at least, has been ameliorated by another injection, when they retreated to Mementos...)

"There must be something I can do," she says, softly. "Even someone like me..."

'Someone like her', she says, but it's talking around the word she remembers tumbling from Kimitake's lips so often regarding her. He says she is nothing but an Okinawan whore; to make it about the colour of her skin is an insult on an insult, and he knows full well the weight of the American soldiers he's invoking.

"I'm sorry," she says, then, a tear beading at the corner of her garnet eye. "I should take care of myself better... but... I just can't escape it, so..."

You deserve better, Yua thinks, and does not say.

"I'll make sure we come back," she promises, instead.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Miho would worry a great deal.

But Miho reaches out for ''Yua's'' hand, when she sees that she hasn't reached for hers; she will not hold these things against her, never would. But, at least, they are still together. Something she can do...

What is 'someone like me?' Miho wonders, and her expression clouds. "Yua," she says. "...It is not as if you are some low creature. You are my shining Yua. Remember that."

She doesn't know what he's saying. But--

"I know," Miho says. "...I know."

"But I'll look forward to your return, then. ...I love you."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Miho finds her hand easily movable; when she takes it into hers, at least, Yua remembers how to grasp her, fingers weaving between hers, her hand trembling.

"Nn," she hums, those tears gathering, as Miho insists she's not a ''low creature.'' It's just as Ritsuko assured her, back then, but...

"I'm dirty," she says, her tone hollowing out, because she can't shine any more.

"Taking advantage of another woman's lust to drag her secrets from her..."

Her grip is faint, too.

"I'm sorry," she says, again. "I love you."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Ritsuko assured her for one reason; Miho will do so for another. And there, Yua says it--she explains her feeling. Miho frowns again, but this is not the sharp frown of displeasure she might sometimes wear; it's a softer thing, different.

"Yua..."

"I don't hold it against you," she says. "You're making the best of a bad situation. ...You can't help but endure it. So you're trying to fight in the way that you can."

"...I..."

She shakes her head. "If nothing else, you don't have to be sorry to me, because it isn't your fault."

If anything it's hers, for not being stronger--but dwelling on that won't make Yua feel any better. So...

"I love you, too."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Miho is so kind, and Yua...

Yua just weeps, there on the hospital bed, her shoulders trembling as her fingers curl feebly between hers.

"I'm nothing but a -- a ''whore,''" she insists, quietly, and her psyche will shatter on the word. "Giving my body to maintain order... Grandmother would be ashamed of me. Everyone always said... n-not to talk to the soldiers, or I'd end up..."

She draws a ragged breath.

"You don't understand, Mimi... she got obsessed with me because... because I told things to her! Because she interrogated me... and realised I was s-so ''fascinating!'' If I hadn't -- if I'd just lied -- if I'd made it sound less lavacious -- if I hadn't captured her imagination, there'd have been no reason to hurt me like that! And, and it wasn't just ''me,'' she realised she ''liked'' it, she targeted other ''bians''... s-she says she's ''fixing us.'' It really is... my fault, so..."

Her breath hitches, as her shoulders shake. "I should take responsibility... but all I can do is... is do as they ask," she says, blinking at her tears. "If I could just plunge a blade into her, like... but I can't, Mimi. I know... it would be my blood. If I took care of these problems, I'd pay with my body in an even worse way... I can't lay in your arms if I'm dead!"

As her voice rises, the dam breaks, and she wails.

... she can't tell Miho that the same analysis she's performed on Natari applies equally to ''Kimitake,'' but the feelings are honest, just the same.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Miho listens to Yua weeping and talking--her insistence...

"Yua..."

She doesn't understand? "No," Miho says. "I don't. I can't. I wasn't there with you in that place... I wasn't put into that position."

"...But I don't think that her actions are your fault. If not you, someone else would have been the 'inspiration' for her. It is ''not'' your responsibility."

"..."

Miho rises from her seat then, without letting go of Yua's hand, and puts arms around her. "Yua..."

"She wants you to believe it's your fault, so that she can dodge her own responsibility. But one day, she ''will'' pay for what she's done."

"If no god, demon or deity ensures it first... then I will myself."

"I cannot know how you feel, here. ...But still, I am not ashamed of you. I am proud that you continue to fight these impossible things."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"They wanted to know... everything about us," Yua tries to explain. (Has never been ''able'' to explain, a thousand words a faint echo of that horrific lair. There are some things, they say, which are unspeakable evils; to describe the shape of them is to lose each sick detail to the enormity of the whole.) "Why we loved our art... what shaped us. What drove us. What scared us... our greatest regrets... they suffered no secrets from us, Mimi."

She gulps, and says: "She -- she told me to take responsibility," her voice is tight, as she illustrates one angle of an impossible shape. "The... first time."

''The first time.''

No wonder, perhaps, she is so afraid of the second, a thing Miho has seen her so avoidant of when she acknowledged it at all.

She leans forward, to sink her face in against Miho's shoulder; one arm lifts, to clutch at her, desperately. (The other she keeps flat against the bed, just as Miho's asked her, to stop that needle and its tubing from getting kinked or jostled.) "Mimi...!" She wails, into her.

Miho will kill her, if God or her demons do not... it's a thing which relieves Yua, even knowing the complex web of politics which is keeping her bound right ''now.'' Both of them are woven up and trapped, in their ways...

... but who could move freely and without worry, in a place like that?

(''Nankuru nai sa,'' Tyrrha would say, she supposes... somehow, Miho will make everything turn out fine.)

But it doesn't ''feel'' fine. "I feel so bad... I'm ashamed of ''myself,'' Mimi! I feel like -- like I'm ruining myself -- coming back to you ''ruined!'' I didn't choose her... so it's ''dirty!'' It's not ''right!''" If she'd chosen to lay with her, perhaps it would be a different matter, but...

The only person Yua's chosen is ''Miho.''

"But... but if they won't tell you what's going on when you press them as a handler... I thought that she must be weaker, when she's in a state of undress. Even... even if she's doing those inhuman things... she must still be human, mustn't she? If I can take advantage of that... it's something only I can do." Yua takes a breath, and it trembles, still. "It's... the things Tykko's body said about her... grafting's something you do to grow something that was already grown, Mimi. But I'm scared to ask her about it directly... doesn't it seem like it was an injury to her thinking that hurt her? Or, how she feels, or... mm, you know? If the danger's in her head... she's really vulnerable. And that... meltdown process... it was done with no care towards saving her at all. They don't care..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Everything... "How horrid," Miho says, someone who is fond of her secrets--prefers to stand back, apart, understand before she issues forth statements.

But... she told her that. Miho's eyes narrow. "I have never met her, and yet I hate her. They will be wise if they do not encourage us to meet."

But Miho will--if it comes down to it, if it all crumbles...

She can do that much.

Maybe Tyrrha would say it, but Miho will try.

"I see," Miho says of Yua's feeling. "...I suppose it is because I see it as something she is doing to you; not something you are choosing. Not something you are putting forth."

"...So the fact that you didn't choose is, to me, what absolves you of what would have been that way. I agree, though. It's not right. It is not acceptable. ...I simply blame her, and not you."

Miho sees it.

"Hmm..."

"...Think of the shinobi," Miho suggests. "They who sacrifice open honor for an honor in the shadows--to do what they must, though it might be difficult and dark."

"Our young ally," Shiryuu, "Is not shamed for acting in the shadows. Neither should you be, when the shadows can be where you are strong."

"As for Tyrrha..." She nods, thoughtfully. "To ask her directly would be difficult--I know... I know that it was because of me, that she was hurt. But..."

"They don't. They only care that she would harm them in the melting. ...But we'll protect her. We will."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

There was no standing back, in that place where they sought Revelation.

... not for the people in gowns, anyway.

"She knows better than to show you her face," Yua remarks, bitterly, of Natari always being absent when Miho queries the facility. "No one conditioned ''you'' to stay your hand..."

(It was a more remarkable thing than the children may have realised, that Yua was able to thrust that blade forward at all -- with poor form or otherwise.)

But... Miho points out that not choosing is ''itself'' absolution, and Yua nods, shakily, against her. "Mm... it's her fault. She... she did this to me! I hate her, Mimi... I really hate her... I feel so ugly, hating so much."

Miho suggests that she think of the shinobi, though, and Yua sniffles, nodding against her. "Shishi's been helping me..." She says, quietly. "It's hard for him, because... I told him some difficult things... some things it's really hard to say. Um... don't make him tell you, okay? I... I can't, um..." Her fingers curl, in Miho's suit, and there is so ''little'' power behind them. "... I'd tell you if I could," she whispers, her voice torn at the edges. "Really... really."

... there must be a great many things weighing on Yua. Perhaps some of them are even poisons it is too difficult to share with the woman who shares her bed... if that's so, is it better that she can at least share them with ''someone?'' Shiryuu is at least certainly ''unthreatening''... as someone who Yua would never fancy in a million years, despite his familiar reassuring leadership.

(It's the 'his' of it all. Despite being the femme of the pair, Yua's never had an eye for men...)

"But I realised... I have to be stronger. I need to do what must be done, Mimi... if I don't fight, too, we'll never reach our happy tomorrow. I can't just hide behind you and Recchi... there must be something I can do, even though I'm weak and delicate. For you, and... and for Hiroki and Tykko, too!"

Yua pulls back a little, though, to look to Miho, her hand lifting to her cheek. "I was watching," she says. "Her, and you... while you were communing, Mimi, she... she felt she couldn't just take it easy, since the Dragon Line meant so much to us. I think that's what upset her so... she's a very ''tege'' girl," an easygoing girl, "and to defy that image... it must have been holding her up by a thread. You know... you remember us," she adds, glancing aside, recalling the way she and Remi first acted when they escaped.

"You were there for me, back then," she says, as she looks to Miho again. "... so now, I want to help her, too."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"...True." No one conditioned Miho that way.

Still, she believes what she says. "Yes," Miho encourages. "Blame her. Hate her. ...It is not ugly, to hate that which is awful."

But Miho makes her suggestion, and learns something for it. "...I won't," Miho says, though she is sure even her considerable powers of persuasion would not loosen Shiryuu's tongue if he were determined to still it. "I believe you. ...I will not force the matter, on you or on him."

It is better she can tell someone...

But maybe talking to him would be good, regardless.

Still... "..."

"I cannot argue that," Miho says. "Were it possible, I would shield you from all such things, and take it on myself. ...But I can't; perhaps it's better that we work together, instead. That way, when we win... it will be ''ours''. Not only mine, to be gifted to you."

For both of them.

But hmm... "Yes. A contradiction in her 'spirit'," Miho surmises. "Yes, I remember. She will become more resilient with time. Until then... we must safeguard her."

"I will treat her as my own. ...Because she is. We chose her, after all."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"It's not...?" Yua wonders, and with wonder. "If it's not... then I'm happy...!"

Maybe it's not so bad that she'll tear it down to build her nest, after all...

To say there is a thing she cannot say is as honest as she ''can'' be; Yua knows Miho too well to think she can't see the outline of an unseen shadow, cast over her. She worries over her wife's worries, those things which drive her to see enemies in every corner, but...

But of course Kimitake knew that, when he made her into a liar.

He ''knew'' how grievous it was, this thing which weighs on her, stark and unspoken.

(... he told her she'd regret it, if she took all month to recover a second time, and she had to shape her reply to assuage ''all'' her listeners.)

Miho, though, does not use force like they do, neither Kimitake nor Natari; Yua sighs, into her neck. "Thankyu," Yua murmurs, nuzzling at her. "I trust him, Mimi... maybe you can, too?"

Yua, it seems, thinks it would be good for Miho to talk to Shiryuu, too.

"I love Mimi's gifts," Yua says, quietly. "When Mimi gets me flowers, or pretty jewelery, or chocolates... I'm always so happy! But our life's bigger than that... you shouldn't have to hold it up all on your own. If I'm your 'home wife'... let me protect our home, too, Mimi."

She smiles, when Miho understands so easily; but of course she would, when she knows ''Yua'' so well. "That's right... that's exactly right! Ah... Mimi... I love you so so ''so'' much," she smiles, as she sinks back in against her pillows. (Miho, of course, made sure they brought in ''extra'' for her.) "That's right... we chose her, so she's our daughter, just the same. That's why I went so far, Mimi... I wanted to protect her."

Yua shakes her head, her smile a little gentler. "Nn... I did protect her, didn't I? I saved her... and we'll keep on saving her. We'll keep her safe..."

And the way ''Miho'' can keep ''Yua'' safe, right now, may well be to encourage her to rest, now it seems her heart's a little more at ease.

(... and to hold her hand when the Dark Hour ends and the nurse realises Yua's taken her cuff off when she turned her back for a second, of course.)
</poem>

2026-07-23: The Head's Permission

2026-07-24T23:41:40Z

*'''Log: ''' The Head's Permission
*'''Cast:''' [[Yua Ijuuin]], [[Miho Ijuuin]], Tomoki Hasegawa, Takashi Ijuuin, Kimitake Ijuuin (Flashback)
*'''Where:''' Ijuuin Estate, Rengedai Ward
*'''OOC Date:''' 2026-07-23
*'''IC Date:''' Fri, Dec 14 2012 (Forward-dated)
*'''Summary''': ''Miho, Yua, and Tomoki gather at the Ijuuin Estate to beseech Takashi for Miho's hands in marriage and concubineship. One, he grants publically; the other he grants and decrees secret, minding Kimitake's worries over saving face. Yua doesn't tell them just what Kimitake really said, though... and her violent contempt for the men of this world chokes her to a dead faint, driven by attachment and aversion as the bleak horror of the ignorance she's trapped her family within combines those poisons in her heart. Miho, unaware of what's kept from her, acts with poise to make the best of the grace her father can give his favoured daughter... and Tomoki catches Yua alongside Miho, as he feels the weight of why he has a shot at all.''
*'''Content warning''': Flashbacks to physical violence, misogyny, homophobia, references to sexual assault, wishing death on another

----

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Before it's time to go to Gekkoukan on Friday -- before ''both'' of them go to Gekkoukan, as it happens, because Miho has generously offered to ''visit the youth'' -- Miho calls Yua with a request of her ''own.''

That's how Seiji ends up delivering her to the Ijuuin family estate -- just as Tomoki and Miho are pulling up, as it happens, he's ''very'' good. There's ample room for both cars in the driveway of this venerable home; Rengedai is where the ''old'' wealth lives and breathes, the Konoes and the Takatsukasas and the Kujou and the Nijou and the Ichigou... and that's just the impact of the ''Fujiwara'' clan!

(''New'' money, by contrast, concentrates in Narumi Ward; Yua is quite happy to avoid that place, for some reason.)

That age and comfort is why the homes here don't feel the need to ''overstate'' their wealth in gaudy fashion; their gardens are of course nicely-kept, and none of these estates have to deal with the problem of shuffling cars off of the front lawn playing musical cars when it's time to leave, but the vibe of this street is ''lived-in.'' There are benches at frequent intervals for the obaasan and ojiisan to have ''strolls'' without fear; a lovely little park is even nearby, with a well-kept playset for the youth, and unlike some of the parks in ''other'' districts it's not one you would ''ever'' expect to be afraid to walk across without sturdy footwear. There is pride in place, here -- and people who understand that offences caused to their neighbours may translate to debts their grandchildren carry.

Yua, of course, has gotten out of their Mercer-Benz (with a helpful hand from Seiji) in a ''tutu.''

Yua will never stop being Yua, apparently.

Hair all wound up in her tight bun, eyepatch across her left side (plus a touch of eyeliner around the edges -- don't think about it), a strange decoration stretched from a bracelet around her right wrist to a ring at her middle finger, her mokume gane ''wedding'' ring a finger and a hand to the side... she certainly looks ready to ''teach a dance class,'' at least, with that black sheer skirt down to her knees, black tights and long sleeves covering her body more than she once did.

Tragically, because she's not on the dance floor, she still has to be wearing those practical shoes.

''and her feet prisons''

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

The Ijuuin main home is a large traditional estate--tatami floors, paper for internal doors, the works. It has beautiful decorations, many of which are very old, the family altar kept prominently, and is probably considered a historical site by someone or another.

It's a lovely edifice, and... It is normal for Miho. She leads Yua and Tomoki both up along the way; Miho for her part is in a suit with trousers, and Tomoki is ''also'' in a suit--but his comes with a tie, though it's more 'business' than 'truly formal' overall.

Of course, the driveway is within the walls; thus, it's not too far of a walk to get there.

"This way," Miho directs her wife and potential fiance.

"Father will be expecting us."

Tomoki looks around--but rather than commenting on the decor, "You OK with the walk here, Yua-san?"

Miho seems quietly pleased with his concern, though she echoes the question with a look.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

With a melasma mask blooming over her nose and cheeks, it's ''worth'' asking whether Yua's going to be all right with the walk; most women feel better in the second trimester, but with Yua's health so fragile, it's no wonder she's already feeling like a truck hit her.

''even her belly button is ugly now'' :(

Still, she shakes her head. "I'll be okay... we can sit once we're inside, right?" Yua asks Miho, with a shade of concern.

Of course, then, all those stairs to get up there...

"Um... maybe a little help," Yua amends, bashfully, after she huffs and puffs on said incline a little.

Luckily, one or both them will surely be happy to offer their arm and help her up. And man, ''once'' they're up --

"Don't worry," Yua chirps, smiling to Tomoki. "It might look super intimidating, but everyone's really nice! I used to come here all the time when Mimi and I were in high school! Ahh, I wonder if Gomita-san still works here..." That's one of the maids from Miho's youth, Juhi Gomita; ''obviously'' Yua made friends with the help when she used to visit, she was bussing tables part-time, ''she was one of them.''

The fact that everyone might have been ''really nice'' because Yua is Yua and being mean to her is clearly a cosmic hanging offence is left as a thought exercise for Tomoki.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

No trucks allowed!!

But Miho doesn't think she's ugly...

Still, "We can," Miho agrees. But there are so many stairs. And Tomoki looks to Miho--who is the one who moves to help Yua, which is obviously just because it's not as big a reach for Yua to deal with 6' instead of 6'4", right? Right.

Either way, Tomoki walks along with them, ready in case Yua falls.

Tomoki... definitely gets that implication. He smiles. "I don't get to see the old ways much outside of sets and histories; it's lovely to actually see where Miho comes from!"

A beat, "She does," Miho says. She can confirm!

She remembers; she bought Yua a lot of presents back then, too.

"Father will be expecting us," she says. "But still, wait here with me until we're called in."

A maid curtseys to the group, and walks back into the office where Miho's father is at the moment.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Being fair: that is ''Miho's'' baby Yua's carrying. It's entirely natural that she'd offer her her arm. And Yua leans on her, a little, as they go; and it's not ''just'' affection, it's also ''practical,'' too.

(Two things can be true at once.)

"Her whole family's really traditional," Yua smiles, to Tomoki. "Sooo... you've been reading your ''Kojiki,'' right? Remember, the first volume's about how the mainland sees creation! You know, the seven generations of Gods, and how it ended with Izanagi-no-Mioko and Izanami-no-Mikoto, and how they made islands by churning the ocean up like butter?" It's not that Tomoki should have studied for this test, surely. Yua's just being a teacher about it, ''surely.''

He's going to be fine... surely?!

A-at least Yua remembers her Kojiki... and if she's right, knowing something traditional like that ''might just'' impress him.

Yua sparkles, hearing about Juhi's ''continued employment.'' "That's great!" She chirps, smiling brightly to Miho. "She was always so helpful...!" Maybe Juhi is the one who suggested ''Yua'' read the Kojiki to impress her girlfriend's family, in times past...

Still, Miho urges patience, and Yua nods, "mm, mm!" And if she's ''more'' relieved she can lean on Miho as they're waiting, she at least doesn't mention it. Instead: "Don't worry, I brought a gift, so you'll be okay!"

Because of course it's ''impolite'' to visit the Head's house without an offering...

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Very fair.

"Right," Tomoki answers of the family, and then blinks. "Ah, ha ha..." Reading his Kojiki, is it? Is there a test?? is this something he should've done?? Miho manages to suppress a soft laugh. "Ah, right..."

Then he says, "I'm more knowledgeable about traditional theater than I am the really oldest stories," he admits. Because one is relevant to his craft!

But, Miho smiles. "Yes," Miho says. "I remember."

Being helpful is important. Being helpful to ''Yua'' is especially important, in Miho's mind. But--

"Good," Miho answers of the gift. And Tomoki nods, too. He's been prepared for this. But after a while...

"Please, come in," the maid says, and Miho leads the way inside. They reach a man in a nice suit seated at a desk--Takashi Ijuuin.

"Good day," Takashi says to his guests. "It is always a pleasure to see my youngest and her beloved," he says.

He looks thoughtfully to Tomoki--and does not amend his statement. "Miho-chan. Yua-chan. Young Tomoki-san."

Miho bows deeply. "Father," she says. "Thank you for making time for us today."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Theatre is good, too!" Yua encourages Tomoki, brightly. "I think Father would be really happy if he saw you knew your traditional theatre, Tomo-kun!"

Yua's account of the venerable Head of the Ijuuin Clan might be exaggerating his emotional outbursts a little... but it's the thought that counts!!

"Thankyu," Yua sparkles, cheerfully, as the maid invites them in. And so -- Takashi Ijuuin! She beams, happily, hearing her call her ''beloved.'' (And Tomoki, too? Well, it's ''Tomoki,'' so maybe that's okay.)

"Good morning, Father!" Yua chirps, once Miho's spoken; she's much more energetic, in her greeting, but she bows deeply just as Miho does. "Mm, mm, we're really grateful! We brought you this!!"

'This', Yua reveals as she reaches into her black handbag -- she's high femme enough that of course she always has one -- to reveal a traditional hand-woven basket, inside which are ''cookies.'' The basket's construction is amateur yet enthusiastic; the cookies, he will of course be aware, represent a ''much'' more developed skill. "... they're Yua-mama's extra-special mint chocolate chip!!" Yua elaborates, smiling, when he unveils them.

Calling herself by the most adorable third person in front of a man like Takashi... is Yua secretly the bravest woman in all creation?!

(No, she just knows he's a good person. And he loves Miho soooo much!!! He's so great!!!)

A maid helps her to sit on the cushions they've provided, and fetches her a rolled-up support cushion for her back. "I'm taking it seriously, but is it okay if I sit casually?" She checks, first, before -- "hup!" -- she shifts her position a little to slip her legs out to the side.

She's taking it seriously, but her feet are like ''mammoths,'' her circulation is the ''worst...''

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"I'll keep that in mind," Tomoki replies. And he will! Maybe it'll be relevant sometime. He'll wait for an opportunity!!

But Yua calls him Father and says good morning, and he gives her a restrained smile. "Oh?" he says, as if it were not simply expected--and accepts the basket from the maid who takes it from Yua around the desk to him. He looks into it--

"Ah, how lovely." This is very much not effusive, and yet--she'd know. He really likes these. "Thank you, Yua-chan. We will enjoy these. I'll have to share them with my wife..."

She likes them, too.

"That is fine," Takashi says to Yua, though Miho and Tomoki both sit properly. As it should be. "Thank you," Tomoki says as well.

But then Miho looks to him, and nods, then looks to Yua.

Tomoki's up. "Sir," Tomoki says, and bows in place again. "Thank you for your welcome. I am here to ask permission to marry your youngest daughter. I ask that you consider me, and offer in return that I will treat Miho with the respect and love she deserves."

Takashi is thoughtful at this, looking between the three of them. "I take it you have discussed the matter with Miho-chan," she says.

"...Miho-chan," he says. "Does this mean that you have given up on marrying Yua-chan directly?" He is delicate, to confirm it.

"Before I can consider you, Hasegawa-kun," he says, "I must consider them. You are aware of their relationship, are you not?"

"Yes, sir. I do not seek to change it."

Miho says, "...I'd like you to hear from Yua what we've considered for that."

"...Yua-chan?" he prompts.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"That would make me really happy!" Yua chirps, hearing Takashi mention Natsumi. "Mother's the one who suggested I try adding a smidge of real peppermint leaves instead of just using extract, so I really hope they live up to her vision...!"

(Natsumi might not do much in the kitchen ''personally,'' but of course she knows what the correct thing to do ''is.'' Besides, if Yua's skills include gardening, too, weaving the crafts together heightens ''both'' of them...

... just please don't ask how many pots Yua has had to dedicate to Extra Peppermint which decided to try and escape containment. She once caught it growing ''between the edge of one of the display tables and the wall.'')

But then, there -- Tomoki's request. Yua bows her head, as well, as Tomoki starts, and keeps her gaze on Takashi, even though eye contact is ''a lot.'' (And there is some pain there, yes, as he asks whether Miho's given up.) But Miho bids her to explain, and she nods, again, before she lifts her gaze to look back to him.

Being bid to explain is something she can puzzle out a little better, after a few months of ''high-class parties'' -- surely it's a chance to demonstrate her own courage, just as Tomoki must show his.

Internally, Yua goes: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!

Externally, her hands just tighten, a little, at the skirt across her knees. "We thought... Mimi could take me as her concubine," Yua starts, and she is not so courageous as to be able to say it firmly, but she's really doing her best. "Like... like the old system, when men had a lot of wives? Just, um -- Kimi-san's definitely not dead!" She adds, shaking her head, vigorously; "I-I know it was usually, um -- a thing women did after they were widowed, but I'm definitely not saying anything like that! So -- so let's just call it a death of passion, okay? Not that it was ever like that anyway..." She pauses, looking, sidelong, to Tomoki for a moment, before she looks back to Takashi. "A-and we don't want to both be Tomo-kun's wife, either! That's not what we want! It's not really traditional, that part, but -- but Mimi's the one with two partners? Mimi's the one in charge? So, um... so we thought, if we called her ''seishitsu,'' and I was her ''sokushitsu,'' maybe people could accept that...? And it's not like that's been legal since they dissolved the Tokugawa shogunate, anyway, so... but we wanted to formalise our bond, Father." She bows her head, as she beseeches him: "So... please tell us what you think!!"

That's probably not what she's strictly ''supposed'' to say, but at least it comes from the heart...

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Good," Takashi says of it making Yua happy. "Then you'll have reason to celebrate; I certainly shouldn't eat all of these by myself."

He's... not going to ask.

Tomoki though waits, as Yua explains. And indeed--Takashi waits for Yua's courage.

A concubine, Yua says. Hmm. A death of passion, she calls it. Tomoki glances back to Yua and nods firmly to what she says. When she finishes, he is thoughtful.

Miho waits.

"So... you would use an old tradition, but adjusted to suit your situation..." He considers. "We could not formalize it ''legally,'' for the reason you say; Miho-chan is allowed only one legal partner. However..."

"If you use that among close family... That would be acceptable to me."

"Miho-chan, is this what you want?"

"It is, Father. Whether or not we use the terms beyond ourselves," she says, "I want this--and to have a ceremony with you and Mother, and my brother and sister, to formalize our bond."

"So... this is your answer. Well, Yua-chan is part of our family as well. I think some formality is in order."

Pause. "And you, young man. You are not intimidated by their bond? I would not ordinarily ask a man to share... But for my Miho-chan, I will ask that and more."

"What Miho wants is fine with me," Tomoki says. "...Yua-san is an important part of her life; because of that, she's become an important part of my life, as well, albeit in different ways; as she says, we have no such romantic bond."

Takashi nods, looking between all of them.

"Well. Just because Miho-chan also has Yua-chan, I will expect no less than I would of any son-in-law. You will keep Miho-chan safe, bring her stability, and protect her children. This includes... he knows, yes?"

"He does," Miho confirms.

"Good. Indeed, I will expect more of you... Tomoki-kun." This is his blessing; he is willing to use his name. "You will also be responsible for watching over Yua-chan, when she is with you. And you will have to consider your living arrangements..."

He pauses. "Shall I expect one of your binders, Yua-chan?"

Then he says, "But all these things... Yes. You have my permission. As concubine who would be wife, and as fiance who would be husband."

"However," he says. "There is one voice as yet unheard in this, and his is relevant; does your husband consent to such a formality, Yua-chan? While I see you as my own daughter, his wishes should be respected in matters of propriety."

"...But that is one of the reasons I say some discretion will be necessary."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Hee hee," Yua giggles, hearing Takashi speak of the cookies. "Don't worry! It's an exercise in self-restraint! Even you can get stronger, Father!"

She's relieved -- visibly -- to see him validate their thirst for ''formality.''

And she beams, when Takashi asks after her ''binders.'' "Yup, yup! I'm arranging one as we speak! It's got plenty of room for lots and lots of sections, so we'll be able to cover everything...!"

She's still beaming, when Takashi grants his ''permission.'' "Thank you, Father!" She says, and ''this time'' does not shorten it to one word.

This time.

She's taking it seriously, after all...!

... more seriously, in fact, than any of them can know, as her big smile fades to serious thought as he asks after... the other one.

LAST NIGHT, CASA DE KIMITAKE:

"Thank you for seeing me," Yua says, her normally energetic tone cooled.

"It's unusual for you to visit me without an appointment," Kimitake observes, his own reception cool, as he seats Yua down on the lounge and takes his own seat.

"You're my responsibility," Yua replies, meeting his eyes with her frown, "so I should do this."

"You've grown bold," he says, and it's impossible to ''read'' him. "So at least you've made some attempt to adopt the manner of the Ijuuin. Speak," he adds, gesturing with the glass in his hand.

"Mimi wants to take me as her ''sokushitsu,''" Yua says, and she's sitting straight, too. (He has not, of course, fetched her a footstool.) "Not to make me Tomo-kun's husband... to be her wife, as her concubine."

His wrist flicks; Yua shrieks, head ducking down, as that glass shatters on the far wall. "Haven't you learned your lesson, whore?" Kimitake asks, his voice freezing to the deepest cold loathing as his lip curls. "Keep your indiscretions ''secret.'' What ''madness'' gripped you to think I'd support you ''celebrating'' it?! And after I found you that psychologist, too..."

Yua's face scrunches, her breath quickening, as she blinks back tears and swallows down her terror. "B-b--''because,''" she says, looking to him again, "if you say no you'll need to explain that to ''Mimi,'' and you want ''this'' secret ''more.''"

"Tch." The disgust on his face grows more blatant, but with it is his discomfort as he realises someone he's put down so thoroughly may well have him ''pinned.'' "You two really think you can do as you like..."

"We ''know'' we can't!" Yua cries, and her breath comes raw and ragged, not able to contain her feelings. "That's why... that's why we're doing the tradition!"

"It's hardly the ''tradition'' if you're not both producing sons for your husband," Kimitake points out. "Of which you've ''both'' failed -- but at least ''she'' has a passable ''excuse.'' And what do you think it will say about ''me'' if that upstart actor's taken my wife as his concubine? You ''must'' realise that a man has to ''die'' for his wife to be free to be another man's concubine."

"That's not how it's going to work!" Yua yells, hands balling to fists in her lap. "Everyone ''knows'' we're both seeing Mimi --"

"That's the ''problem,''" Kimitake interrupts her. "You ''flaunt'' it. You make a ''mockery'' of our family, Yua."

"I WISH YOU REALLY WERE DEAD!" Yua's voice climbs, as her fists impotently meet her thighs. "But you're ''not'' and you're not ''gonna be'' so we'll say it's the ''bedroom'' that's dead and people will blame ''me'' for that because I can't hide it so no one will think badly of you and it's ''fine!''"

"It's not fine," Kimitake says. "I was reprimanded just recently, you know, by the Captain himself... for not keeping my family in ''line.''"

"Well he's a ''bad'' --" Yua starts, only to stop, when he stands.

"Finish that sentence," he suggests.

"Uh," Yua shakes her head, looking down. "I--I just -- was saying he was -- having a bad day, I'm sure, so..."

"That's what I thought," he seats himself, again. "... well. If the Head will tolerate the two of you playing your little games, I suppose I'll let you embarrass yourself playing house that way. It at least absolves me of raising your damn cuckoo child in my own home..."

Hiroki, one notes, has developed his ears, by now.

... he's learning the character of the voices he hears most often, and there's one in particular which has a venomous character and leaves his host so ''upset.''

"Thank you," Yua bows, and tries to control her shaking. "I won't bother you for any more of your time... I hope you enjoy the cookies."

"You're at least good for something," is how he waved her off.

And how ''Yua'' reported it, through text message, to hide any pesky signs of upset:

> I went to see Kimi-san, and he said he was okay with our plan if Father was! He's happy about how it might let me stay with you for real! He was a bit worried about whether people would think we were both with Tomo-kun... but I totally reassured him, don't worry!!

Texting ''Tyrrha,'' meanwhile, let her check to make sure Eiko had clocked out for the evening before she went home.

... and ''Tyrrha'' was perfectly happy to accept the explanation that Yua had read a sad story on the news on her way back.

The microphone she'd clipped to her hair comb, meanwhile, caught everything -- not ''perfectly'' but well ''enough,'' in a place Kimitake would have never cared to look. It's not that Yua knew he'd be cruel about her request, but... she had a certain suspicion. Even if she can't tell anyone, if she hides that recorder in her studio... maybe it's something else she can use.

BACK TO TODAY:

Yua ''is'' an accomplished performer; her expression stays intent, as Takashi asks after her husband. If her hands tighten a little, again -- if she seems, if anything, a little ''more'' wound up -- it must just be nerves.

"Kimi-san is willing to accept our arrangement," she says, "so long as you're okay with it. He was just a little worried about losing face if people thought both me and Mimi were Tomo-kun's wives... but he was willing to believe the family would accept Mimi was the one we were both with, even though it's not really the tradition, since... it's your name that carries the most weight, Father. And... he thought it would help them accept why, um... why I was still living with Mimi after Hiroki's born, too? He's not really excited to be a father again... but that's fair. He had a bad experience with getting invested in his kids, you know?" His first wife, who took his two daughters with her, when they divorced. "So it's really okay... but I know people talk, too."

And if a shadow falls over her eye, as she says that, it must just be the weight of the world's disapproval pressing down on her.

(She could tell him, right now, and... and he'd think of something! ... but what if the only answer he could come up with ended with a ''kaiken'' to her throat, like Shiryuu once subtly intimated? If she had to apologise like that now... Hiroki would die, too! ... no. She'll... think of something herself.)

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Father can be stronger...! Takashi laughs politely.

"Good," he says of the binder, and Tomoki quirks a smile at that. Takashi nods in approval of Yua's thanks, too. But... That smile fading?

No, it must be nothing; Yua is accomplished. She must just have some nerves, which is reasonable.

None of them can know what Yua is remembering, of course.

"Yes," Takashi says, "That's very reasonable. For that reason, it is best that you keep the particulars of your arrangement known to family, rather than outside it... But I can handle that matter, certainly. And of course, Tomoki-kun... You will be marrying into ''our'' family, if you wish to marry Miho-chan."

"...Right, sir." He'd thought about it, but it's very blunt to have it confirmed; that said, Takashi's allowed to be a little blunt.

Then he looks to Yua again. "Hmm, yes... I see, that would be difficult for him. Then we'll make sure the arrangements work for everyone. I know he is working to craft his career, after all. So long as you can continue to fulfill your duties to him, I see no reason that you need stay with him when it's Miho-chan that you love most."

"People will talk," he says, "But for my darling daughter..." He nods. "It will be done."

Miho smiles, at that, and bows again. "Thank you, Father."

Tomoki bows, too. It's a cue! "...We'll work with Yua-san on her binder," he suggests, "To get the details together."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

If they asked her, Yua would simply say that she didn't want to make ''light'' of Kimitake's feelings; she may not ''love'' him, but she has a duty to him, still.

"Does it really have to be a secret...?" She wonders, softly, as her gaze drops to her hands. "Mm..."

The battle she's waging, against Kimitake, is one she came to unprepared; the very reason she is able to ask such a question of the Head of the Ijuuin Clan is why the man she married knew to frame his complaints as ''face.'' She wonders for a moment if she could have lied, and wonders far too late.

She glances, aside, to Miho, seeking some clue as to her feelings; it's not hard to guess Yua's, though she bears them quietly.

More secrets...

(She can guess at Tomoki's feelings, on leaving his family; she did, too, after all.)

"Of course," Yua smiles, reassuringly, to Takashi, when he speaks of her duties, and if her eye is a touch dull it must simply be the way she struggles with the weight of reputation. "I'll fulfil my debts to Kimi-san, Father. Don't worry... he really likes my cooking!"

She smiles, and it is bright as it ever is, except... her portrait's not so sparkly, right now.

Yua bows, as the others do. "We're grateful for all your support!" She chirps, and like a rolling stone, it's easier to muster energy the more she does.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Society as a whole won't accept your relationship," Takashi says to Yua, and he says it with gravity and some sign of emotion. (He has more than he shows). "And the more people know something, the more likely it comes out... and causes harm. But the family can know; the trustworthy can know. ...Unfortunately, the best society will be able to understand is that you have ''a'' close bond."

He is gentle, and frankly, doesn't need to explain himself in this situation--he's doing so for Yua's benefit, because Miho is his favorite.

But Miho looks to Yua, and inclines her head.

But Yua reassures. And Takashi smiles. "Good," he says.

"Then..."

"Let us celebrate both of these unions soon. Return to me when you have your preparations done."

That is a 'you may go', of course. But he'll have to catch up more properly sometime that isn't so Businesslike...

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Are they really the ones hurting people... just because they love each other...?

... then, is hurting people to be happy really so bad?

"You're right," Yua murmurs, nodding; the movement's a touch jerky, as if a marionette caught on strings. "... thank you, Father."

She can at least tell he's trying to be gentle, with her. She's grateful for that much. It's not a given, with powerful men. When they lose their patience...

(What kind of man will Hiroki grow up to be, long after she's passed and can reach him no more? Will they take him from Kimitake before he learns from his example? Or will they not see the danger, until... until...)

But Miho nods, to her, and Yua puts away her protests, builds a smile over them, locking them all away to rot. Takashi may well see it, plain as day; she takes her cues from her, still.

And when he says they'll celebrate, she smiles, cheerfully. "I'm really looking forward to it!" It's not even a lie, though --

will he be there?

"Leave it to us, Father! We won't let you down!" Yua chirps, brightly. "I hope you have a really super great day!!"

And they may go, though of course Yua needs a little help to get up, after she was kneeling.

It's as they leave, through that storied house, that Yua leans on Miho a little harder. "So... Father accepts our feelings," she says, though she sounds a touch faint. "What a relief..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Is it?

But Takashi sees, and Miho sees. As to 'him'...

Probably not. Takashi intends it to be Natsumi, his own children, and Yua.

But Yua chirps brightly, and soon, they're back outside of the room, with Miho helping Yua.

Tomoki looks to both of them--he seems happy, too. But he can talk about his in a moment; he can tell Miho wants to say something first.

So she does, "Yes. I thought he would... but I wish we could be more open. I understand why not." A pause. "Perhaps it's fine; I'm used to splitting my public life from my private life. Even so..."

Miho shakes her head. "I am glad he accepts us."

"Me, too," Tomoki says. "if I thought I was just ending your chances... Well, I wouldn't feel good about it, I'll say that."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

OST: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZzFHXmLb9I Enrico - FF8 Succession of Witches (Edea's Theme) Music Remake

The fear that he ''might'' be can just be one more secret woven into her, until she is nothing but them, a thousand unspoken things which gouge the eyes and shred the tongue and...

Yua feels unused to such violent thoughts, but perhaps they're not as foreign as she thought, the way she wished death on that man so virulently.

Certainly, she cannot speak them.

"I..." Yua starts, and Tomoki may not realise the weight of her ''ware'' but Miho yet may; she's spoken to her, before, on her need for public ''legitimacy,'' to be seen as a proper wife rather than a perversion to be kept carefully out of sight. The whole reason she retreated back into the closet... it was not a wish for ''secrecy,'' but a fear of being seen as some purveyor of ''degeneracy.''

"... mm, me, too," she says, instead, quietly. "It'll be okay, Mimi... maybe a miracle will happen."

Maybe she'll need to ''make'' one happen.

... she can't expect Miho to draw all those circles in blood and bone with no help at all.

"You're kind," she looks to Tomoki, then, and lets some of that sadness show through her smile now, at least. "But... we never had a chance to begin with."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Miho realizes it. They've spoken on it before... But in this world, how can it be helped?

"We'll work for it," Miho says of that miracle. She hasn't stopped her goals, after all, even if she no longer wishes to do away with ''everything'' of this world. All the same... that she could do away with.

But perhaps it will change here, too. ...It's hard to say.

Still, Tomoki looks to that sad smile. "...Mm," he answers. "Yeah..."

And he's aware that's the only reason he had one in the first place.

Miho says, "Come. Let's go. ...We should have lunch."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"There's much more I can do," Yua assures Miho, softly. "You won't need to work alone, Mimi." And perhaps it sounds a little strange, that Miho would be the one doing the work, when they've always both been working hard, except...

It all comes down to this world. ''This'' world. This damnable world, with its men who hide violence beneath their charm! This world which holds her down and tears at her until nothing's left! This world which will not even let her raise her own son--!

What is good in this world?! What is worthy?!

Even ''this'' man -- the only reason she looks to him as a peer is the rot which has spread between the truth and this ''false creation!'' In the True World, she would not know his ''name!'' He would be as NOTHING --

That flash of contempt, though, surprises her; and the flash of that extreme expression may seem to be nothing more than what precedes her ''faint,'' as she stumbles, "oh!", though surely Miho will ''catch'' her... and perhaps Tomoki will, too.

"Ah..." She blinks, as she looks between them, and feels a crushing weight of guilt as she realises that he has moved to support her as easily as Miho has. "I'm sorry," she murmurs, softly, as she gets her legs beneath her again, holding to Miho tightly. "I'm just a little lightheaded... ah... so lunch is a good idea!" She smiles, but it wavers, as a dam slowly cracking.

"Let's... let's get... some yummy tuna sandwiches!" She insists, even though cafes always use ''canned'' tuna like they're ''peasants.'' (Specifically ''because'' they use canned tuna, in fact; all Yua's favourite foods come in cans.) "Mm, and I can get the binder, and... and we can start working, and..."

Her fingers tighten, against Miho's suit jacket.

"And it's okay... I know a magic spell..." Yua says, as her weak protests (what is she protesting?) lilt lyrical: "... everything will be okay! Everything will be okay! All the bad things go away when everything turns out okay~!"

... with Miho's encouragement, Yua might even be able to tell Tomoki just why the idea of ''secret'' legitimacy is so upsetting, but it looks like right ''now'' she's just forcing her cheer to put one foot in front of the other.

Still, she doesn't faint again, on the way to the cafe... so perhaps there's something to that spell, after all.

</poem>

2026-07-23: The Head's Permission

2026-07-23T21:27:13Z

L: Created page with "*'''Log: ''' The Head's Permission *'''Cast:''' Yua Ijuuin, Miho Ijuuin, Tomoki Hasegawa, Takashi Ijuuin, Kimitake Ijuuin (Flashback) *'''Where:''' Ijuuin Estate, Rengedai Ward *'''OOC Date:''' 2026-07-23 *'''IC Date:''' Fri, Dec 14 2012 (Forward-dated) *'''Summary''': ''Miho, Yua, and Tomoki gather at the Ijuuin Estate to beseech Kimitake for Miho's hands in marriage and concubineship. One, he grants publically; the other he grants and decrees secret, minding Ki..."

*'''Log: ''' The Head's Permission
*'''Cast:''' [[Yua Ijuuin]], [[Miho Ijuuin]], Tomoki Hasegawa, Takashi Ijuuin, Kimitake Ijuuin (Flashback)
*'''Where:''' Ijuuin Estate, Rengedai Ward
*'''OOC Date:''' 2026-07-23
*'''IC Date:''' Fri, Dec 14 2012 (Forward-dated)
*'''Summary''': ''Miho, Yua, and Tomoki gather at the Ijuuin Estate to beseech Kimitake for Miho's hands in marriage and concubineship. One, he grants publically; the other he grants and decrees secret, minding Kimitake's worries over saving face. Yua doesn't tell them just what Kimitake really said, though... and her violent contempt for the men of this world chokes her to a dead faint, driven by attachment and aversion as the bleak horror of the ignorance she's trapped her family within combines those poisons in her heart. Miho, unaware of what's kept from her, acts with poise to make the best of the grace her father can give his favoured daughter... and Tomoki catches Yua alongside Miho, as he feels the weight of why he has a shot at all.''
*'''Content warning''': Flashbacks to physical violence, misogyny, homophobia, references to sexual assault, wishing death on another

----

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Before it's time to go to Gekkoukan on Friday -- before ''both'' of them go to Gekkoukan, as it happens, because Miho has generously offered to ''visit the youth'' -- Miho calls Yua with a request of her ''own.''

That's how Seiji ends up delivering her to the Ijuuin family estate -- just as Tomoki and Miho are pulling up, as it happens, he's ''very'' good. There's ample room for both cars in the driveway of this venerable home; Rengedai is where the ''old'' wealth lives and breathes, the Konoes and the Takatsukasas and the Kujou and the Nijou and the Ichigou... and that's just the impact of the ''Fujiwara'' clan!

(''New'' money, by contrast, concentrates in Narumi Ward; Yua is quite happy to avoid that place, for some reason.)

That age and comfort is why the homes here don't feel the need to ''overstate'' their wealth in gaudy fashion; their gardens are of course nicely-kept, and none of these estates have to deal with the problem of shuffling cars off of the front lawn playing musical cars when it's time to leave, but the vibe of this street is ''lived-in.'' There are benches at frequent intervals for the obaasan and ojiisan to have ''strolls'' without fear; a lovely little park is even nearby, with a well-kept playset for the youth, and unlike some of the parks in ''other'' districts it's not one you would ''ever'' expect to be afraid to walk across without sturdy footwear. There is pride in place, here -- and people who understand that offences caused to their neighbours may translate to debts their grandchildren carry.

Yua, of course, has gotten out of their Mercer-Benz (with a helpful hand from Seiji) in a ''tutu.''

Yua will never stop being Yua, apparently.

Hair all wound up in her tight bun, eyepatch across her left side (plus a touch of eyeliner around the edges -- don't think about it), a strange decoration stretched from a bracelet around her right wrist to a ring at her middle finger, her mokume gane ''wedding'' ring a finger and a hand to the side... she certainly looks ready to ''teach a dance class,'' at least, with that black sheer skirt down to her knees, black tights and long sleeves covering her body more than she once did.

Tragically, because she's not on the dance floor, she still has to be wearing those practical shoes.

''and her feet prisons''

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

The Ijuuin main home is a large traditional estate--tatami floors, paper for internal doors, the works. It has beautiful decorations, many of which are very old, the family altar kept prominently, and is probably considered a historical site by someone or another.

It's a lovely edifice, and... It is normal for Miho. She leads Yua and Tomoki both up along the way; Miho for her part is in a suit with trousers, and Tomoki is ''also'' in a suit--but his comes with a tie, though it's more 'business' than 'truly formal' overall.

Of course, the driveway is within the walls; thus, it's not too far of a walk to get there.

"This way," Miho directs her wife and potential fiance.

"Father will be expecting us."

Tomoki looks around--but rather than commenting on the decor, "You OK with the walk here, Yua-san?"

Miho seems quietly pleased with his concern, though she echoes the question with a look.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

With a melasma mask blooming over her nose and cheeks, it's ''worth'' asking whether Yua's going to be all right with the walk; most women feel better in the second trimester, but with Yua's health so fragile, it's no wonder she's already feeling like a truck hit her.

''even her belly button is ugly now'' :(

Still, she shakes her head. "I'll be okay... we can sit once we're inside, right?" Yua asks Miho, with a shade of concern.

Of course, then, all those stairs to get up there...

"Um... maybe a little help," Yua amends, bashfully, after she huffs and puffs on said incline a little.

Luckily, one or both them will surely be happy to offer their arm and help her up. And man, ''once'' they're up --

"Don't worry," Yua chirps, smiling to Tomoki. "It might look super intimidating, but everyone's really nice! I used to come here all the time when Mimi and I were in high school! Ahh, I wonder if Gomita-san still works here..." That's one of the maids from Miho's youth, Juhi Gomita; ''obviously'' Yua made friends with the help when she used to visit, she was bussing tables part-time, ''she was one of them.''

The fact that everyone might have been ''really nice'' because Yua is Yua and being mean to her is clearly a cosmic hanging offence is left as a thought exercise for Tomoki.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

No trucks allowed!!

But Miho doesn't think she's ugly...

Still, "We can," Miho agrees. But there are so many stairs. And Tomoki looks to Miho--who is the one who moves to help Yua, which is obviously just because it's not as big a reach for Yua to deal with 6' instead of 6'4", right? Right.

Either way, Tomoki walks along with them, ready in case Yua falls.

Tomoki... definitely gets that implication. He smiles. "I don't get to see the old ways much outside of sets and histories; it's lovely to actually see where Miho comes from!"

A beat, "She does," Miho says. She can confirm!

She remembers; she bought Yua a lot of presents back then, too.

"Father will be expecting us," she says. "But still, wait here with me until we're called in."

A maid curtseys to the group, and walks back into the office where Miho's father is at the moment.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Being fair: that is ''Miho's'' baby Yua's carrying. It's entirely natural that she'd offer her her arm. And Yua leans on her, a little, as they go; and it's not ''just'' affection, it's also ''practical,'' too.

(Two things can be true at once.)

"Her whole family's really traditional," Yua smiles, to Tomoki. "Sooo... you've been reading your ''Kojiki,'' right? Remember, the first volume's about how the mainland sees creation! You know, the seven generations of Gods, and how it ended with Izanagi-no-Mioko and Izanami-no-Mikoto, and how they made islands by churning the ocean up like butter?" It's not that Tomoki should have studied for this test, surely. Yua's just being a teacher about it, ''surely.''

He's going to be fine... surely?!

A-at least Yua remembers her Kojiki... and if she's right, knowing something traditional like that ''might just'' impress him.

Yua sparkles, hearing about Juhi's ''continued employment.'' "That's great!" She chirps, smiling brightly to Miho. "She was always so helpful...!" Maybe Juhi is the one who suggested ''Yua'' read the Kojiki to impress her girlfriend's family, in times past...

Still, Miho urges patience, and Yua nods, "mm, mm!" And if she's ''more'' relieved she can lean on Miho as they're waiting, she at least doesn't mention it. Instead: "Don't worry, I brought a gift, so you'll be okay!"

Because of course it's ''impolite'' to visit the Head's house without an offering...

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Very fair.

"Right," Tomoki answers of the family, and then blinks. "Ah, ha ha..." Reading his Kojiki, is it? Is there a test?? is this something he should've done?? Miho manages to suppress a soft laugh. "Ah, right..."

Then he says, "I'm more knowledgeable about traditional theater than I am the really oldest stories," he admits. Because one is relevant to his craft!

But, Miho smiles. "Yes," Miho says. "I remember."

Being helpful is important. Being helpful to ''Yua'' is especially important, in Miho's mind. But--

"Good," Miho answers of the gift. And Tomoki nods, too. He's been prepared for this. But after a while...

"Please, come in," the maid says, and Miho leads the way inside. They reach a man in a nice suit seated at a desk--Takashi Ijuuin.

"Good day," Takashi says to his guests. "It is always a pleasure to see my youngest and her beloved," he says.

He looks thoughtfully to Tomoki--and does not amend his statement. "Miho-chan. Yua-chan. Young Tomoki-san."

Miho bows deeply. "Father," she says. "Thank you for making time for us today."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Theatre is good, too!" Yua encourages Tomoki, brightly. "I think Father would be really happy if he saw you knew your traditional theatre, Tomo-kun!"

Yua's account of the venerable Head of the Ijuuin Clan might be exaggerating his emotional outbursts a little... but it's the thought that counts!!

"Thankyu," Yua sparkles, cheerfully, as the maid invites them in. And so -- Takashi Ijuuin! She beams, happily, hearing her call her ''beloved.'' (And Tomoki, too? Well, it's ''Tomoki,'' so maybe that's okay.)

"Good morning, Father!" Yua chirps, once Miho's spoken; she's much more energetic, in her greeting, but she bows deeply just as Miho does. "Mm, mm, we're really grateful! We brought you this!!"

'This', Yua reveals as she reaches into her black handbag -- she's high femme enough that of course she always has one -- to reveal a traditional hand-woven basket, inside which are ''cookies.'' The basket's construction is amateur yet enthusiastic; the cookies, he will of course be aware, represent a ''much'' more developed skill. "... they're Yua-mama's extra-special mint chocolate chip!!" Yua elaborates, smiling, when he unveils them.

Calling herself by the most adorable third person in front of a man like Takashi... is Yua secretly the bravest woman in all creation?!

(No, she just knows he's a good person. And he loves Miho soooo much!!! He's so great!!!)

A maid helps her to sit on the cushions they've provided, and fetches her a rolled-up support cushion for her back. "I'm taking it seriously, but is it okay if I sit casually?" She checks, first, before -- "hup!" -- she shifts her position a little to slip her legs out to the side.

She's taking it seriously, but her feet are like ''mammoths,'' her circulation is the ''worst...''

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"I'll keep that in mind," Tomoki replies. And he will! Maybe it'll be relevant sometime. He'll wait for an opportunity!!

But Yua calls him Father and says good morning, and he gives her a restrained smile. "Oh?" he says, as if it were not simply expected--and accepts the basket from the maid who takes it from Yua around the desk to him. He looks into it--

"Ah, how lovely." This is very much not effusive, and yet--she'd know. He really likes these. "Thank you, Yua-chan. We will enjoy these. I'll have to share them with my wife..."

She likes them, too.

"That is fine," Takashi says to Yua, though Miho and Tomoki both sit properly. As it should be. "Thank you," Tomoki says as well.

But then Miho looks to him, and nods, then looks to Yua.

Tomoki's up. "Sir," Tomoki says, and bows in place again. "Thank you for your welcome. I am here to ask permission to marry your youngest daughter. I ask that you consider me, and offer in return that I will treat Miho with the respect and love she deserves."

Takashi is thoughtful at this, looking between the three of them. "I take it you have discussed the matter with Miho-chan," she says.

"...Miho-chan," he says. "Does this mean that you have given up on marrying Yua-chan directly?" He is delicate, to confirm it.

"Before I can consider you, Hasegawa-kun," he says, "I must consider them. You are aware of their relationship, are you not?"

"Yes, sir. I do not seek to change it."

Miho says, "...I'd like you to hear from Yua what we've considered for that."

"...Yua-chan?" he prompts.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"That would make me really happy!" Yua chirps, hearing Takashi mention Natsumi. "Mother's the one who suggested I try adding a smidge of real peppermint leaves instead of just using extract, so I really hope they live up to her vision...!"

(Natsumi might not do much in the kitchen ''personally,'' but of course she knows what the correct thing to do ''is.'' Besides, if Yua's skills include gardening, too, weaving the crafts together heightens ''both'' of them...

... just please don't ask how many pots Yua has had to dedicate to Extra Peppermint which decided to try and escape containment. She once caught it growing ''between the edge of one of the display tables and the wall.'')

But then, there -- Tomoki's request. Yua bows her head, as well, as Tomoki starts, and keeps her gaze on Takashi, even though eye contact is ''a lot.'' (And there is some pain there, yes, as he asks whether Miho's given up.) But Miho bids her to explain, and she nods, again, before she lifts her gaze to look back to him.

Being bid to explain is something she can puzzle out a little better, after a few months of ''high-class parties'' -- surely it's a chance to demonstrate her own courage, just as Tomoki must show his.

Internally, Yua goes: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!

Externally, her hands just tighten, a little, at the skirt across her knees. "We thought... Mimi could take me as her concubine," Yua starts, and she is not so courageous as to be able to say it firmly, but she's really doing her best. "Like... like the old system, when men had a lot of wives? Just, um -- Kimi-san's definitely not dead!" She adds, shaking her head, vigorously; "I-I know it was usually, um -- a thing women did after they were widowed, but I'm definitely not saying anything like that! So -- so let's just call it a death of passion, okay? Not that it was ever like that anyway..." She pauses, looking, sidelong, to Tomoki for a moment, before she looks back to Takashi. "A-and we don't want to both be Tomo-kun's wife, either! That's not what we want! It's not really traditional, that part, but -- but Mimi's the one with two partners? Mimi's the one in charge? So, um... so we thought, if we called her ''seishitsu,'' and I was her ''sokushitsu,'' maybe people could accept that...? And it's not like that's been legal since they dissolved the Tokugawa shogunate, anyway, so... but we wanted to formalise our bond, Father." She bows her head, as she beseeches him: "So... please tell us what you think!!"

That's probably not what she's strictly ''supposed'' to say, but at least it comes from the heart...

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Good," Takashi says of it making Yua happy. "Then you'll have reason to celebrate; I certainly shouldn't eat all of these by myself."

He's... not going to ask.

Tomoki though waits, as Yua explains. And indeed--Takashi waits for Yua's courage.

A concubine, Yua says. Hmm. A death of passion, she calls it. Tomoki glances back to Yua and nods firmly to what she says. When she finishes, he is thoughtful.

Miho waits.

"So... you would use an old tradition, but adjusted to suit your situation..." He considers. "We could not formalize it ''legally,'' for the reason you say; Miho-chan is allowed only one legal partner. However..."

"If you use that among close family... That would be acceptable to me."

"Miho-chan, is this what you want?"

"It is, Father. Whether or not we use the terms beyond ourselves," she says, "I want this--and to have a ceremony with you and Mother, and my brother and sister, to formalize our bond."

"So... this is your answer. Well, Yua-chan is part of our family as well. I think some formality is in order."

Pause. "And you, young man. You are not intimidated by their bond? I would not ordinarily ask a man to share... But for my Miho-chan, I will ask that and more."

"What Miho wants is fine with me," Tomoki says. "...Yua-san is an important part of her life; because of that, she's become an important part of my life, as well, albeit in different ways; as she says, we have no such romantic bond."

Takashi nods, looking between all of them.

"Well. Just because Miho-chan also has Yua-chan, I will expect no less than I would of any son-in-law. You will keep Miho-chan safe, bring her stability, and protect her children. This includes... he knows, yes?"

"He does," Miho confirms.

"Good. Indeed, I will expect more of you... Tomoki-kun." This is his blessing; he is willing to use his name. "You will also be responsible for watching over Yua-chan, when she is with you. And you will have to consider your living arrangements..."

He pauses. "Shall I expect one of your binders, Yua-chan?"

Then he says, "But all these things... Yes. You have my permission. As concubine who would be wife, and as fiance who would be husband."

"However," he says. "There is one voice as yet unheard in this, and his is relevant; does your husband consent to such a formality, Yua-chan? While I see you as my own daughter, his wishes should be respected in matters of propriety."

"...But that is one of the reasons I say some discretion will be necessary."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Hee hee," Yua giggles, hearing Takashi speak of the cookies. "Don't worry! It's an exercise in self-restraint! Even you can get stronger, Father!"

She's relieved -- visibly -- to see him validate their thirst for ''formality.''

And she beams, when Takashi asks after her ''binders.'' "Yup, yup! I'm arranging one as we speak! It's got plenty of room for lots and lots of sections, so we'll be able to cover everything...!"

She's still beaming, when Takashi grants his ''permission.'' "Thank you, Father!" She says, and ''this time'' does not shorten it to one word.

This time.

She's taking it seriously, after all...!

... more seriously, in fact, than any of them can know, as her big smile fades to serious thought as he asks after... the other one.

LAST NIGHT, CASA DE KIMITAKE:

"Thank you for seeing me," Yua says, her normally energetic tone cooled.

"It's unusual for you to visit me without an appointment," Kimitake observes, his own reception cool, as he seats Yua down on the lounge and takes his own seat.

"You're my responsibility," Yua replies, meeting his eyes with her frown, "so I should do this."

"You've grown bold," he says, and it's impossible to ''read'' him. "So at least you've made some attempt to adopt the manner of the Ijuuin. Speak," he adds, gesturing with the glass in his hand.

"Mimi wants to take me as her ''sokushitsu,''" Yua says, and she's sitting straight, too. (He has not, of course, fetched her a footstool.) "Not to make me Tomo-kun's husband... to be her wife, as her concubine."

His wrist flicks; Yua shrieks, head ducking down, as that glass shatters on the far wall. "Haven't you learned your lesson, whore?" Kimitake asks, his voice freezing to the deepest cold loathing as his lip curls. "Keep your indiscretions ''secret.'' What ''madness'' gripped you to think I'd support you ''celebrating'' it?! And after I found you that psychologist, too..."

Yua's face scrunches, her breath quickening, as she blinks back tears and swallows down her terror. "B-b--''because,''" she says, looking to him again, "if you say no you'll need to explain that to ''Mimi,'' and you want ''this'' secret ''more.''"

"Tch." The disgust on his face grows more blatant, but with it is his discomfort as he realises someone he's put down so thoroughly may well have him ''pinned.'' "You two really think you can do as you like..."

"We ''know'' we can't!" Yua cries, and her breath comes raw and ragged, not able to contain her feelings. "That's why... that's why we're doing the tradition!"

"It's hardly the ''tradition'' if you're not both producing sons for your husband," Kimitake points out. "Of which you've ''both'' failed -- but at least ''she'' has a passable ''excuse.'' And what do you think it will say about ''me'' if that upstart actor's taken my wife as his concubine? You ''must'' realise that a man has to ''die'' for his wife to be free to be another man's concubine."

"That's not how it's going to work!" Yua yells, hands balling to fists in her lap. "Everyone ''knows'' we're both seeing Mimi --"

"That's the ''problem,''" Kimitake interrupts her. "You ''flaunt'' it. You make a ''mockery'' of our family, Yua."

"I WISH YOU REALLY WERE DEAD!" Yua's voice climbs, as her fists impotently meet her thighs. "But you're ''not'' and you're not ''gonna be'' so we'll say it's the ''bedroom'' that's dead and people will blame ''me'' for that because I can't hide it so no one will think badly of you and it's ''fine!''"

"It's not fine," Kimitake says. "I was reprimanded just recently, you know, by the Captain himself... for not keeping my family in ''line.''"

"Well he's a ''bad'' --" Yua starts, only to stop, when he stands.

"Finish that sentence," he suggests.

"Uh," Yua shakes her head, looking down. "I--I just -- was saying he was -- having a bad day, I'm sure, so..."

"That's what I thought," he seats himself, again. "... well. If the Head will tolerate the two of you playing your little games, I suppose I'll let you embarrass yourself playing house that way. It at least absolves me of raising your damn cuckoo child in my own home..."

Hiroki, one notes, has developed his ears, by now.

... he's learning the character of the voices he hears most often, and there's one in particular which has a venomous character and leaves his host so ''upset.''

"Thank you," Yua bows, and tries to control her shaking. "I won't bother you for any more of your time... I hope you enjoy the cookies."

"You're at least good for something," is how he waved her off.

And how ''Yua'' reported it, through text message, to hide any pesky signs of upset:

> I went to see Kimi-san, and he said he was okay with our plan if Father was! He's happy about how it might let me stay with you for real! He was a bit worried about whether people would think we were both with Tomo-kun... but I totally reassured him, don't worry!!

Texting ''Tyrrha,'' meanwhile, let her check to make sure Eiko had clocked out for the evening before she went home.

... and ''Tyrrha'' was perfectly happy to accept the explanation that Yua had read a sad story on the news on her way back.

The microphone she'd clipped to her hair comb, meanwhile, caught everything -- not ''perfectly'' but well ''enough,'' in a place Kimitake would have never cared to look. It's not that Yua knew he'd be cruel about her request, but... she had a certain suspicion. Even if she can't tell anyone, if she hides that recorder in her studio... maybe it's something else she can use.

BACK TO TODAY:

Yua ''is'' an accomplished performer; her expression stays intent, as Takashi asks after her husband. If her hands tighten a little, again -- if she seems, if anything, a little ''more'' wound up -- it must just be nerves.

"Kimi-san is willing to accept our arrangement," she says, "so long as you're okay with it. He was just a little worried about losing face if people thought both me and Mimi were Tomo-kun's wives... but he was willing to believe the family would accept Mimi was the one we were both with, even though it's not really the tradition, since... it's your name that carries the most weight, Father. And... he thought it would help them accept why, um... why I was still living with Mimi after Hiroki's born, too? He's not really excited to be a father again... but that's fair. He had a bad experience with getting invested in his kids, you know?" His first wife, who took his two daughters with her, when they divorced. "So it's really okay... but I know people talk, too."

And if a shadow falls over her eye, as she says that, it must just be the weight of the world's disapproval pressing down on her.

(She could tell him, right now, and... and he'd think of something! ... but what if the only answer he could come up with ended with a ''kaiken'' to her throat, like Shiryuu once subtly intimated? If she had to apologise like that now... Hiroki would die, too! ... no. She'll... think of something herself.)

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Father can be stronger...! Takashi laughs politely.

"Good," he says of the binder, and Tomoki quirks a smile at that. Takashi nods in approval of Yua's thanks, too. But... That smile fading?

No, it must be nothing; Yua is accomplished. She must just have some nerves, which is reasonable.

None of them can know what Yua is remembering, of course.

"Yes," Takashi says, "That's very reasonable. For that reason, it is best that you keep the particulars of your arrangement known to family, rather than outside it... But I can handle that matter, certainly. And of course, Tomoki-kun... You will be marrying into ''our'' family, if you wish to marry Miho-chan."

"...Right, sir." He'd thought about it, but it's very blunt to have it confirmed; that said, Takashi's allowed to be a little blunt.

Then he looks to Yua again. "Hmm, yes... I see, that would be difficult for him. Then we'll make sure the arrangements work for everyone. I know he is working to craft his career, after all. So long as you can continue to fulfill your duties to him, I see no reason that you need stay with him when it's Miho-chan that you love most."

"People will talk," he says, "But for my darling daughter..." He nods. "It will be done."

Miho smiles, at that, and bows again. "Thank you, Father."

Tomoki bows, too. It's a cue! "...We'll work with Yua-san on her binder," he suggests, "To get the details together."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

If they asked her, Yua would simply say that she didn't want to make ''light'' of Kimitake's feelings; she may not ''love'' him, but she has a duty to him, still.

"Does it really have to be a secret...?" She wonders, softly, as her gaze drops to her hands. "Mm..."

The battle she's waging, against Kimitake, is one she came to unprepared; the very reason she is able to ask such a question of the Head of the Ijuuin Clan is why the man she married knew to frame his complaints as ''face.'' She wonders for a moment if she could have lied, and wonders far too late.

She glances, aside, to Miho, seeking some clue as to her feelings; it's not hard to guess Yua's, though she bears them quietly.

More secrets...

(She can guess at Tomoki's feelings, on leaving his family; she did, too, after all.)

"Of course," Yua smiles, reassuringly, to Takashi, when he speaks of her duties, and if her eye is a touch dull it must simply be the way she struggles with the weight of reputation. "I'll fulfil my debts to Kimi-san, Father. Don't worry... he really likes my cooking!"

She smiles, and it is bright as it ever is, except... her portrait's not so sparkly, right now.

Yua bows, as the others do. "We're grateful for all your support!" She chirps, and like a rolling stone, it's easier to muster energy the more she does.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"Society as a whole won't accept your relationship," Takashi says to Yua, and he says it with gravity and some sign of emotion. (He has more than he shows). "And the more people know something, the more likely it comes out... and causes harm. But the family can know; the trustworthy can know. ...Unfortunately, the best society will be able to understand is that you have ''a'' close bond."

He is gentle, and frankly, doesn't need to explain himself in this situation--he's doing so for Yua's benefit, because Miho is his favorite.

But Miho looks to Yua, and inclines her head.

But Yua reassures. And Takashi smiles. "Good," he says.

"Then..."

"Let us celebrate both of these unions soon. Return to me when you have your preparations done."

That is a 'you may go', of course. But he'll have to catch up more properly sometime that isn't so Businesslike...

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Are they really the ones hurting people... just because they love each other...?

... then, is hurting people to be happy really so bad?

"You're right," Yua murmurs, nodding; the movement's a touch jerky, as if a marionette caught on strings. "... thank you, Father."

She can at least tell he's trying to be gentle, with her. She's grateful for that much. It's not a given, with powerful men. When they lose their patience...

(What kind of man will Hiroki grow up to be, long after she's passed and can reach him no more? Will they take him from Kimitake before he learns from his example? Or will they not see the danger, until... until...)

But Miho nods, to her, and Yua puts away her protests, builds a smile over them, locking them all away to rot. Takashi may well see it, plain as day; she takes her cues from her, still.

And when he says they'll celebrate, she smiles, cheerfully. "I'm really looking forward to it!" It's not even a lie, though --

will he be there?

"Leave it to us, Father! We won't let you down!" Yua chirps, brightly. "I hope you have a really super great day!!"

And they may go, though of course Yua needs a little help to get up, after she was kneeling.

It's as they leave, through that storied house, that Yua leans on Miho a little harder. "So... Father accepts our feelings," she says, though she sounds a touch faint. "What a relief..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Is it?

But Takashi sees, and Miho sees. As to 'him'...

Probably not. Takashi intends it to be Natsumi, his own children, and Yua.

But Yua chirps brightly, and soon, they're back outside of the room, with Miho helping Yua.

Tomoki looks to both of them--he seems happy, too. But he can talk about his in a moment; he can tell Miho wants to say something first.

So she does, "Yes. I thought he would... but I wish we could be more open. I understand why not." A pause. "Perhaps it's fine; I'm used to splitting my public life from my private life. Even so..."

Miho shakes her head. "I am glad he accepts us."

"Me, too," Tomoki says. "if I thought I was just ending your chances... Well, I wouldn't feel good about it, I'll say that."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

OST: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZzFHXmLb9I Enrico - FF8 Succession of Witches (Edea's Theme) Music Remake

The fear that he ''might'' be can just be one more secret woven into her, until she is nothing but them, a thousand unspoken things which gouge the eyes and shred the tongue and...

Yua feels unused to such violent thoughts, but perhaps they're not as foreign as she thought, the way she wished death on that man so virulently.

Certainly, she cannot speak them.

"I..." Yua starts, and Tomoki may not realise the weight of her ''ware'' but Miho yet may; she's spoken to her, before, on her need for public ''legitimacy,'' to be seen as a proper wife rather than a perversion to be kept carefully out of sight. The whole reason she retreated back into the closet... it was not a wish for ''secrecy,'' but a fear of being seen as some purveyor of ''degeneracy.''

"... mm, me, too," she says, instead, quietly. "It'll be okay, Mimi... maybe a miracle will happen."

Maybe she'll need to ''make'' one happen.

... she can't expect Miho to draw all those circles in blood and bone with no help at all.

"You're kind," she looks to Tomoki, then, and lets some of that sadness show through her smile now, at least. "But... we never had a chance to begin with."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

Miho realizes it. They've spoken on it before... But in this world, how can it be helped?

"We'll work for it," Miho says of that miracle. She hasn't stopped her goals, after all, even if she no longer wishes to do away with ''everything'' of this world. All the same... that she could do away with.

But perhaps it will change here, too. ...It's hard to say.

Still, Tomoki looks to that sad smile. "...Mm," he answers. "Yeah..."

And he's aware that's the only reason he had one in the first place.

Miho says, "Come. Let's go. ...We should have lunch."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
<poem>

"There's much more I can do," Yua assures Miho, softly. "You won't need to work alone, Mimi." And perhaps it sounds a little strange, that Miho would be the one doing the work, when they've always both been working hard, except...

It all comes down to this world. ''This'' world. This damnable world, with its men who hide violence beneath their charm! This world which holds her down and tears at her until nothing's left! This world which will not even let her raise her own son--!

What is good in this world?! What is worthy?!

Even ''this'' man -- the only reason she looks to him as a peer is the rot which has spread between the truth and this ''false creation!'' In the True World, she would not know his ''name!'' He would be as NOTHING --

That flash of contempt, though, surprises her; and the flash of that extreme expression may seem to be nothing more than what precedes her ''faint,'' as she stumbles, "oh!", though surely Miho will ''catch'' her... and perhaps Tomoki will, too.

"Ah..." She blinks, as she looks between them, and feels a crushing weight of guilt as she realises that he has moved to support her as easily as Miho has. "I'm sorry," she murmurs, softly, as she gets her legs beneath her again, holding to Miho tightly. "I'm just a little lightheaded... ah... so lunch is a good idea!" She smiles, but it wavers, as a dam slowly cracking.

"Let's... let's get... some yummy tuna sandwiches!" She insists, even though cafes always use ''canned'' tuna like they're ''peasants.'' (Specifically ''because'' they use canned tuna, in fact; all Yua's favourite foods come in cans.) "Mm, and I can get the binder, and... and we can start working, and..."

Her fingers tighten, against Miho's suit jacket.

"And it's okay... I know a magic spell..." Yua says, as her weak protests (what is she protesting?) lilt lyrical: "... everything will be okay! Everything will be okay! All the bad things go away when everything turns out okay~!"

... with Miho's encouragement, Yua might even be able to tell Tomoki just why the idea of ''secret'' legitimacy is so upsetting, but it looks like right ''now'' she's just forcing her cheer to put one foot in front of the other.

Still, she doesn't faint again, on the way to the cafe... so perhaps there's something to that spell, after all.

</poem>

Minato Arisato

2026-07-18T20:46:48Z

Isabeau Fontaine

2026-07-18T20:46:06Z

Tsubasa Seki

2026-07-18T20:45:10Z

Yua Ijuuin

2026-07-18T20:35:24Z

{| class="toccolours" style="width: 15%; float: right; margin-left:2em; margin-right:0em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align: left; font-size: %110" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#176067; border: 2px #0F4C53 solid; font size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Yua Ijuuin'''
|-
! colspan="2" align="center" | [[File:Yua_Profile.png|300px]]
|-
! style="background:#176067; border: 2px #0F4C53 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''IC Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Full Name:
| Yua Ijuuin, née Ooshiro (伊集院結愛, née 大城)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Arcana:
| The Empress
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Gender:
| Female
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Age (Birthdate):
| {{ICAge|1989|10|28}} (October 28 1989)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Hair Colour:
| Teal
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Eye Colour:
| Red
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Height:
| 5'0" /153 cm
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Residence:
| A Penthouse in Aoba Ward
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Workplace:
| A School Near You!
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Job:
| Part-time Dance Instructor (Physical Education)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Role:
| Nemesis
|-
! style="background:#176067; border: 2px #0F4C53 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''OOC Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Source:
| Persona 2 (OC)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Groups:
| [[New World Order]]
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Player:
| [[User:L]]
|-
|}

'''"I see you, Sybil! Tremble and quake!"'''

A now-wealthy Okinawan woman, Yua Ooshiro was a lost Seven Sisters alumnus who recently reappeared. A ballerina with training in several other styles, she works as a dance instructor to help disengaged students across several Tokyo campuses. She also runs after-school tutoring for individuals and small groups in her Aoba dance studio! She's a strange and theatrical woman, but she is caring, gentle, and generous towards the youth she instructs -- though she can be stubborn, pragmatic, easily flustered, and intolerant of laziness. Neither will she tolerate invasive questions, particularly about the mysteries surrounding her. Secretly, she was kidnapped by the New World Order to Blacksite Revelation for the Sibyl Project, forcing her Awakening through cruel experiments. A reluctantly valuable asset controlled by her handler-slash-partner, Miho Ijuuin, Yua is a talented Artificial Navigator specialising in remote interference. Her fearsome, angry capabilities are augmented by a strange Mark stamped across her blind left eye.

= Background =
Some things are known about Yua. She comes from Okinawa -- her habit of lapsing into the Okinawan pronoun 'wan' instead of her usual Japanese 'ware' has earned her the derisive nickname of Puppy-sensei by some of the students. She's materially well-off, because students have seen her being escorted to school grounds by a ''chauffeur.'' And she disappeared for a few years, because Miho Ijuuin declared to the cameras after the 2008 Olympics that she was going to ''find her''. She doesn't call attention to that last part, though, and sharply shuts down any attempts to explore it. Presently, she works as a part-time teacher, appearing once a week at Gekkoukan, Shujin, and Seven Sisters -- and twice a week at Kasugayama -- running dance classes mainly targeted towards students who have disengaged from PE or from school generally.

== Blacksite Revelation ==

A secret laboratory built into train tunnels under Narumi Ward, a site devastated by earthquakes in 2004 and quietly put aside and reserved for the construction of a building which began operation in 2008. Blacksite Revelation deals in human and demon experimentation, though the latter remains in early stages. The Blacksite's methods of Artificial Awakening and the cultivation of their APUs relied on engaging victims in their talents and drawing out their passions, whilst simultaneously administering drugs and psychological pressure until they were able to forcibly unveil a Persona via use of an Evoker. While torture and cruelty were perfectly acceptable tools, victims at the Blacksite were also nurtured to follow their passions in order to give power to their Persona and lend them some measure of psychological longevity in the wake of their experimentation. Each victim at the site, assigned to a specific Project, is given a Number and 'encouraged' to forget their real names.

Yua, one of the first, was "Number 22"... assigned to Project Sybil.

==Season 1, Episode 1==
Yua begins teaching across several campuses by the start of June, making a name for herself as the quirky part-time dance tutor. At the same time, the NWO begins to demand results from her, and she is compelled to begin tormenting innocents to complete their various missions. She disguises herself as the Bride, Yumi, in order to see to their demands without compromising her daylight identity; this hidden identity at times forces her to remain passive and allow others to be hurt so that she isn't identified.

Following encouragement from her friend Remi, Yua confesses her enduring love to Miho, and asks for the impossible: to be married to her, despite Japanese law prohibiting it. The two of them would go to great lengths to exploit Miho's wealth in order to find a way for them to start a family. At the same time, Yua supports Miho in the final days before they fly to London for the Olympics.

= Persona =
* Gretchen (Empress): A lovely maiden who Faust fell in love with, though she hated the Devil and was a good, God-fearing woman. She is loved by Earth, and affected by the Light. At the end of Goethe's Faust, she accepted her fate -- which is why Gretchen is mad at Faust, now, for dragging her out of the dungeons. She's also mad at ''Yua''. Jail bars driven through her arms allow her to imprison Yua whilst she's Navigating, protecting her from harm.

= Special Skills =
Yua's eye is Marked. This Mark is strange, however -- it is 'Silent', invoking no Demons into the space and leaving those affected with creeping feelings of unease rather than screaming horror. Yua is able to use it to summon her Persona into what would otherwise be a normal space in order to achieve acts of sabotage impossible in the Dark Hour. Whether the difference between her Mark and others has to do with its positioning or her history as a laboratory experiment is presently unclear, but it is reasonable to presume that the lack of respect she receives relative to other users of the Mark is connected to her inability to summon a Demon to eat anyone who spurns her.

Yua's Evoker is a ''Revolver'', accepting Skill Cartridges which she may use to power up her attacks with new tactics.

Yua is a remarkably talented Anti-Navigator, who also has strong Navigation abilities -- gained following a surgical procedure performed on her left eye which apparently blinded it. Her main talents lie in interference and sabotage. She has been seen to be able to create mazes out of her environment by confusing one's capacity to navigate (or Navigate) and disturbing or confusing her victims' perceptions of the space, though she is unable to alter the true physical properties of the area, and cannot create lasting changes in her victims' minds; her confusion lasts only until her trap fades. She has also been seen to teleport in supernatural spaces.

Yua has a strange wealth of information on Navigators, whomst she calls 'Sybils', and has been seen to offer them advice on the use of their abilities. Frequently, she does this whilst otherwise inflicting some evil deed they're attempting to thwart.

== Mark Suppressant ==

Yua was used to create a line of Mark Suppressants. These lower the output of one's Marked abilities in exchange for 'slowing the clock', allowing one to use their abilities more without being destroyed. And these were created and made available to those in the NWO as an afterthought to...

== Mark Enhancer ==

... Mark ''Enhancers'', which instead amplify one's Marked powers in exchange for whatever happens when one hits the ground faster. (Probably nothing. It's fine.) These drugs are, by necessity, extremely experimental, but they are available to those in the NWO brave enough to test them.

= Soundtrack =

; ''Main Theme'' ~ '''Moulin Rouge - The Show Must Go On''' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQKYFUDY_9g
: I'll top the bill / I'll own the kill / I have to find the will to carry on / On with the... / On with the... / On with the show!

; ''Resolution'' ~ '''Masashi Hamauzu - Believe''' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQmvO7O2C0Q
: ''(Instrumental)''

; ''Sparkly Helpful Dance Instructor'' ~ '''Rosalie Craig - Welcome To The Bay''' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKvo1WTFvvA
: Hello, hello, I see you're eyeing / My constant crying / It's not easy doing what I do / But I must go on, seeking all those sighing / The woeful, asking "why"-ing / I'll help them - let's move on!

; ''Miho's Loving Home'' ~ '''Vienna Teng - Harbor''' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ss7aFUbwzec
: You've got a journey to make / There's a horizon to chase / So go far beyond where we stand / No matter the distance, I'm holding your hand

; ''The True World'' ~ '''Halsey - Graveyard''' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPgaYeq9NvI
: Oh, 'cause I keep diggin' myself down deeper / I won't stop 'til I get where you are / I keep running when both my feet hurt / I won't stop 'til I get where you are / Oh, when you go down all your darkest roads / I woulda followed all the way to the graveyard

; ''Gilded Cage'' ~ '''Yuki Kajiura - It's Only The Fairy Tale''' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUFOdRYhDEg
: They're dancing in the shadow like whispers of love / Just dreaming of a place where they're free as dove / They've never been allowed to love in this cursed cage / It's only the fairy tale they believe

; ''The New World Order'' ~ '''CHVRCHES - How Not To Drown''' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7U_LhzgwJ4U
: You promised the world and brought me it hangin' from a string / Stuck it in my mouth, into my throat, told me to sing / That was the first time I knew you can't kill the king / And those who kiss the ring

; ''Unnatural Navigation'' ~ '''Halsey - Control''' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=so8V5dAli-Q
: I'm bigger than my body / I'm colder than this home / I'm meaner than my demons / I'm bigger than these bones / And all the kids cried out, "Please stop, you're scaring me!" / I can't help this awful energy / God damn right, you should be scared of me / Who is in control?

; ''Warning the Young'' ~ '''Three Days Grace - Get Out Alive''' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eE29TpRjPOE
: "This is my last time", she said / As she faded away / It's hard to imagine / But one day, you'll end up like me / Then she said, "If you wanna get out alive, oh, run for your life!"

=Relationships=

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: 75%; text-align: center;"
|-
! scope="col" | Name
! scope="col" | Address
! scope="col" | Arcana
! scope="col" | Association
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Starring Role
|-
|[[Miho Ijuuin]]
|Mimi, Memimi
|Emperor
|NWO
|Loving, devoted fiancee
|''"Mimi's my everything. I really believe in the world she sees... but I want to be with her in this world, too."''
|-
|[[Myunghon Yeo]]
|Myucchi
|Devil
|Cardboard Dragon
|True Companion (Conflicted)
|''"Myucchi helped save me. I know it was different, before... but this Myucchi's never wronged me!"''
|-
|[[Remi Ryuuja]]
|Recchi
|The Tower
|NWO
|True Companion (Concerned)
|''"I love Recchi as a dearest friend, but part of me worries. Is being a knight really fine with her?"''
|-
|[[Shiryuu Ryouhara]]
|Ryouhara-san
|The Chariot
|NWO
|A precious thing
|''"NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO"''
|-
|[[Masao Inaba]]
|Inaba-san
|The Chariot
|Adults
|The Enemy
|''"Forgive me, artist, I am no model for thee."''
|-
|[[Ulala Serizawa]]
|Serizawa-san
|The Star
|Adults
|The Enemy
|''"Hate me, rage against me, and think no more of me!"''
|-
|[[Katsuya Suou]]
|Suou-san
|Justice
|Adults
|The Enemy
|''"I am... sorry. He seems a good man..."''
|-
|[[Haru Okumura]]
|Okumura-kun
|Empress
|Shujin
|A Teacher
|''"Her garden is lovely. I'm sure her coffee beans will turn out great."''
|-
|[[Ichika Kawase]]
|Kawase-kun
|Temperance
|Kasugayama
|A Teacher
|''"I am glad for the Thorn Boss's support. Though... I wonder how I might better support her..."''
|-
|[[Jun Kashihara]]
|Kashihara-kun
|Fortune
|Kasugayama
|A Teacher
|''"Sometimes I think he knows more of teaching than I!"''
|-
|[[Shinobu Shimizu]]
|Shimizu-san
|Hanged Man
|Adults
|Complex Employer
|''"An odd jobswoman Mimi employs. She fights against me, sometimes, though she doesn't know. I am glad for it."''
|-
|[[Julian Marlowe]]
|Marlowe-san
|Fortune
|Adults
|Co-Worker
|''"He seems nice. I DON'T trust him."''
|-
|[[Ayame Watanabe]]
|Watanabe-san
|Death
|Adults
|Mistaken For Homewrecker
|''"I hope that she is able to find your happiness with him, now."''
|-
|[[So-young Park]]
|Park-san
|Sun
|Adults
|Surprised Supporter
|''"Myucchi has a sister...? She pries a little overmuch, but Mimi assures me she means no harm."''
|-
|[[Hyousuke Suzuki]]
|Suzuki-kun
|Chariot
|Kasugayama
|A Teacher
|''"He's a quiet student, but... I worry for what's beneath."''
|-
|}

= Significant NPCs =

== Tiger ==

'''Tiger''' (Fortune): A massive 20-pound Norwegian Forest Cat, with long, thick fur and enough size to entirely occupy Miho's lap or Yua's arms. He's extremely orange, and very affectionate. He makes a habit of jumping up onto the bed to join them in sleeping at night just as they were dozing off, and terrorises Yua's houseplants whenever she forgets to put out catnip for him.

== Family ==

[[Tyrrha Ijuuin]] (The Hierophant): A strange, lackadaisical robotic girl assigned to Yua's care by Natari. Bonded to her by blood, and probably not going to eat her because of it. Yua thinks she's cute as a button, despite getting alarmed by her bloodthirstiness at times.

'''Kimitake Ijuuin''' (The Magician): Yua's fiancé, a thirty year old man who presents himself as kind and gentle to Yua despite his imposing nobility. Secretly, he's also gay... but unlike his cousin Miho, he's been willing to pretend at heterosexuality all this time, and he even has an ex-wife to show for it. Yua's marriage to him was arranged by the Ijuuins in order to help cover for two of their queer children and ensure Yua's entry into the family... but Kimitake's hiding more secrets aside from his sexuality.

'''Yurika Ooshiro''' (High Priestess): The elderly Noro Priestess of Kukojima Shrine and a community leader in Kukojima, though her advice has more often fallen on deaf ears of late. She's deeply troubled by the direction Kukojima is taking, but she keeps her distance and allows members of the community to seek her shrine for advice themselves. She still wonders whether her granddaughter Yua was stolen away to the spirit world, during those years she was stolen.

'''Sessyu Ooshiro''' (Fool): Once a groundskeeper in Kukojima, Yua's grandfather passed away years ago. He was a foreigner to Kukojima, a Japanese man who fled there after a harrowing event... though he rarely spoke of the details. It's through him that the Ooshiro family started displaying autistic traits... such as his drive to name all his children with the sound 'Yu'. (He took Yurika's name, because the Ooshiros were a powerful family on the island.)

'''Hayu''' and '''Riyuko Ooshiro''' (Star and Sun): Yua's older aunts, who are both shrine attendants working under Yurika; Riyuko is destined to take over Yurika's Noro duties, and she's already a leader in her community, while Hayu believes strongly in Kukojima's cultural traditions... and doesn't approve of Yuna's husband at all. Riyuko has two children with her own husband Harutaka -- Miori and Yoshinori, both in their late twenties.

'''Yuna Ooshiro''' (Moon): The baby of the Ooshiro family, Yuna is quite sensitive and easily-overwhelmed, with what the previous generation deemed a 'nervous disposition' -- on top of her autism. Yurika kept her from the world of the priestesshood out of concern for her wellbeing, and she became educated as a teacher, instead, presently working at Kukojima's Elementary and Middle School. After Yua's disappearance, she moved with her youngest son back to Kukojima... where she got them enmeshed in a strange new social group which had formed there. Ever since, she's refused to leave the island...

'''Fukumi "Fuyu" Ooshiro''' (Temperance): A JSDF Sergeant who goes by the nickname his wife gave him, because he just loves her so much, you guys. Fuyu used to be a fisherman in Kukojima, but after his boat was sabotaged, he was forced to turn to the military for work; this choice left him remarkably unpopular back home, where most locals hate the American bases with a passion. A survivalist who always puts his family first, Fuyu is very close with his children, though his work in the defence force makes it difficult for him to be attentive all the time.

'''Yume Ooshiro''' (Lovers): A second-year high school student at Seven Sisters, Yume is a mean little firecracker who talks faster than she thinks. She loves going on dates, and she's an absolute star in English class, too! Don't bring up that her big sister is here once a week, though... she's so embarrassed, she'll DIE.

'''Yuken Ooshiro''' (Magician): In his seventh year at Kukojima Elementary and Middle School (the island's too small to have separate schools for each age group...), Yuken's always been a very kind boy; when Yua disappeared, he took it upon himself to take care of their mother, instead. Unfortunately, he's gotten wrapped up in the same social group his mother's part of, so he hasn't come back to visit her either. He thinks Miho is, just, the coolest, and wants to sword just as good as her when he grows up.

== Servants and Assistants ==

'''Sachie Chiba''' (Strength): A tall, broad-shouldered, heavily-tattooed nurse who used to be a yakuza, before he realised she'd rather pursue an alternate life path. (She heard a rumour that her old Boss was cool with that kinda thing.) She's a community health nurse with strong commitments to autonomy, rough and plain-spoken and physically capable, and she helps Miho and Yua navigate their health after their horrible experiences.

'''Eiko Ikeda''' (Empress): Miho's maid, Eiko is the same age as them, and almost shared Yua's fate, too. A warm-hearted and respectful woman, she takes care of all the household tasks of the Penthouse which Yua doesn't have the time or inclination to handle, though she receives help on many of these tasks from her, these days. Helpfully, Yua's always insisted Eiko not be economically disadvantaged from Miho acquiring a housewife, either. (She doesn't quite realise that Eiko's looking out for her...)

'''Seiji Sahashi''' (Chariot): Their primary chauffeur, and the man entrusted with shepherding ''Yua'' from place to place -- though he's very good at making sure she's able to get to the car, too. Seiji is a tall man with green eyes, and he's always been supportive of Yua and 'Ijuuin-sama', though he -- and his capabilities-- remain largely a mystery to her.

'''Dr. Himari Matsuhashi''' (The Hermit): Yua's doctor at her Rengedai fertility clinic, the woman overseeing her pregnancy. Dr. Matsuhashi serves a particularly wealthy clientele, and so is used to finding ways around the demands of Japanese society to suit those with the funds to secure alternate means. Whether that's arranging for fertility services before a wedding can be arranged in order to ensure it happens, or arranging for the care of lesbian couples, she's more concerned with ensuring people are able to achieve their dreams of having a family than with the methods by which it is made permissible.

== The New World Order ==

'''Fukashi Ura''' (The Emperor): The Director of Blacksite Revelation, and a mean tennis player, too. He is enmeshed in the deep mysteries of the conspiracy; it was his decision to present Yua to Gozen. His hands are black with blood, though he rarely has to act directly.

'''Tomomi Tani''' (Death): A sadistic doctor at Blacksite Revelation who engineered Pavlovian torture for her subjects, believing that any sacrifice -- of others, naturally -- is necessary in order to reach Paradise.

'''Natari Konishi''' (The Tower): A psychologist at Blacksite Revelation, Natari previously worked on Project Sybil before being transferred to Project Hemetheoi after sexually harassing Yua during their sessions together. She has a sick fascination with Yua and her orientation which has led her to further inappropriate gestures... against her coworkers, this time, because her victims aren't really suitable targets any more. Came back into Yua's life through Project Hemetheoi, when she was called back to the Institute to take care of a robot they had made. It was a bad time.

'''Ume Sano''' (Hanged Man): A nurse at Blacksite Revelation who would rather be working anywhere else -- but unfortunately, the only employment opportunity she could secure was at the Blacksite. Assigned to Project Sybil, she does what she can to advocate for her victims; she was the one which convinced the team to allow Yua a picture of Miho in the form of an Olympic trading card, her sole prized possession.

'''Akira Yamaha''' (Hermit): A PhD student whose research serves as a convenient public smokescreen for Blacksite Revelation; in exchange for their backing, he works there to support the doctors in their work. He's willing to overlook his crimes against humanity, sure that he'll be able to do more good when he's a Doctor of Philosophy.

'''Rokuro Nishiyama''' (Justice): An NWO agent assigned to help manage Miho and her team's nighttime operations, Rokuro is constantly dour about how hazardous his job is. He believes that he is being fair, and in his mind, he's right... the problem is, his idea of justice is deeply conservative and misogynistic. He does, at least, have a policy of only sending his women on missions which are plausibly ''survivable.''

'''Fumihito "Para-Mind"' Shimada''' (Judgement): An NWO agent tasked with managing Yua's cover story as a teacher, Para-Mind is responsible for getting her quick information about how she should respond to her struggles in the classroom. A 'data analyst' who regularly hacks into systems for the NWO's benefit, he views everything in life as one big joke, ''especially'' the fact that Yua is an avatar of human misery.

'''Dr. Harry''' (The World): A... consultant...? Who works with Blacksite Revelation to grant them their Skill Cartridges. For some reason, no one connects this guy to the Time Count, despite their jobs and mannerisms being so similar.

= Logs and Cutscenes =

==Season 1==

===Logs===

As Yua Ooshiro:
{{#dpl:
|category = logs&season 1
|linksto = Yua Ooshiro
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 3
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
| addcategories = true
| mode = userformat
| format = ,,\n* [[%PAGE%]],
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}

As Yua Ijuuin:
{{#dpl:
|category = logs&season 1
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 3
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
| addcategories = true
| mode = userformat
| format = ,,\n* [[%PAGE%]],
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}

===Cutscenes===

As Yua Ooshiro:
{{#dpl:
|category = cutscenes&season 1
|linksto = Yua Ooshiro
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 3
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
| addcategories = true
| mode = userformat
| format = ,,\n* [[%PAGE%]],
|noresultsheader=There are no cutscenes on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}

As Yua Ijuuin:
{{#dpl:
|category = cutscenes&season 1
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 3
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
| addcategories = true
| mode = userformat
| format = ,,\n* [[%PAGE%]],
|noresultsheader=There are no cutscenes on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}

= Notes =

The author would like to acknowledge the work of Amakuma Ryukyu (https://amakuma.ryukyu/en/) as a frequent source in their efforts to portray an Okinawan character faithfully.

[[Category:Characters]]
[[Category:Gekkoukan High School]]
[[Category:Shujin Academy]]
[[Category:Kasugayama High School]]
[[Category:Seven Sisters High School]]
[[Category:New World Order]]
[[Category:Nemesis]]

2026-07-17: Trap Set

2026-07-17T22:52:07Z

L: Created page with "*'''Log: ''' Trap Set *'''Cast:''' Yua Ijuuin's husband Kimitake, Captain Shimazu *'''Where:''' Sumaru Police Dept *'''OOC Date:''' 2026-07-17 *'''IC Date:''' Sometime after Ulala's Joker and before Tue, Dec 11 2012 *'''Summary''': ''Kimitake sets a trap. Shimazu escalates it.'' ---- Category:Logs Category:Season 1 Category:Season 1, Episode 2 "That's right, officer," the Woman from Parabellum nods, her hands folded over her cocktail dress as she s..."

*'''Log: ''' Trap Set
*'''Cast:''' [[Yua Ijuuin]]'s husband Kimitake, [[Captain Shimazu]]
*'''Where:''' Sumaru Police Dept
*'''OOC Date:''' 2026-07-17
*'''IC Date:''' Sometime after Ulala's Joker and before Tue, Dec 11 2012
*'''Summary''': ''Kimitake sets a trap. Shimazu escalates it.''

----

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

"That's right, officer," the Woman from Parabellum nods, her hands folded over her cocktail dress as she sits in the interview room. Her husband's name is Imagashi; ''her'' name is in the file, but Kimitake doesn't really think of it, as he's speaking with her. "I saw it myself... the officer showed that man his badge, and said those other people were cooperating with him."

"Can you describe them, for the record?" Kimitake is a tall man with dark green hair and the Ijuuin's signature sharp and severe features; despite them, his voice is soft, and the contrast between the two grants him a certain appeal.

"There were a couple of women with short brown hair... one with short ''dark'' hair, and another with dark hair down to her shoulders, I remember both those dark-haired women were quite tall... oh, and there was his partner, too!" Imagashi-san frowns, as she recalls him. "That man gave me a really skeevy feeling... his hair was longer than any of the women's, earrings, and these impenetrable black glasses! I remember it clear as day!"

"I see," Kimitake says, as he makes another note -- ''assisting in the impersonation of an officer.'' "And what did the officer do which upset you?"

"Well, that partner of his ''assaulted'' a man who just needed to go to the bathroom! Grabbed him, physically! And that Suou-san, he didn't do anything! I was having a little cheeky listen, and I heard the officer himself saying that man's ''life was in danger!'' Oh, I thought it was terribly inappropriate for the police to threaten someone like that... but it wasn't until I spoke to my friend at lawn bowls that she recognised those red glasses of his!"

"I'm very disappointed than an officer would conduct himself in this way," Kimitake frowns, with all due concern. "Please rest assured, Imagashi-san -- we take these reports seriously. It may take a little while for all due process... but I'll give you my personal assurance that we'll hold our force to your standards."

"Oh, I'm just glad ''someone'' is doing something," the Woman from Parabellum sighs, smiling with relief. "Will that be all, officer? I must be back to pick the boys up from school..."

"That will be all," Kimitake smiles, to her. "Thank you for your time, Imagashi-san. It's thanks to concerned citizens like you that we're able to hold Sumaru to such a high standard."

He says what he needs to say, to get the interviews. The housewife's account isn't even the most ''damning'' one, as he packages it up for his folder, once she's gone.

"Assault of a citizen... that's police brutality, Suou-san," Kimitake clicks his tongue, as he sees ''that'' file when he's slipping his interview into the folder. "And all these accounts of standing aside and letting it happen, too..."

----

Leading the Investigators is Captain Shimazu, and he finishes reading the file, folding it back down onto his desk and sitting back in his chair. The door to his office is closed; his meeting with Kimitake Ijuuin is not a matter for the precinct.

There are many who would not object -- but Kimitake himself tries to keep his image clean.

Of the first amongst them who would, Shimazu taps the file. "You've collected a convincing case," he admits, to the man sitting straight and proper opposite him. "But with what there is here... by policy, I would need to issue leave with pay."

"Ah," Kimitake says, delicately. "Our final line of defence. I understand. What is your recommendation, sir?"

"I understand you recently adopted a daughter," Shimazu starts. Kimitake nods -- and the Captain goes on. "She attends Seven Sisters, yes?"

"That's correct."

"Then she'll be familiar with those targets," Captain Shimazu presumes. "Deploy her to retrieve Katayama-san. According to our records, she's connected to people close to the dutiful son... they'll come for her."

"She is... proving to be something of a blunt instrument, sir," Kimitake admits, with regret.

"Keeping your house in order is your own business," Shimazu says, and in ''their'' manner it is devastatingly direct. "If the children involve themselves, simply send them along with her. That man will find a use for them."

"As you wish," Kimitake bows his head, and tucks away some anger for later.