2025-07-23: Answers and Questions
- Log: Answers and Questions
- Cast: Shinjiro Aragaki, Reiya Aomori, Minako Arisato, Yukari Takeba, Minato Arisato
- Where: Port Island Station back alleys, Tatsumi Port Island
- OOC Date: July 23, 2025
- IC Date: June 14, 2012
- Summary: SEES approaches Shinjiro, looking for answers. They get them, but also receive questions directed their way... some perhaps uncomfortable.
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
School has finally ended for the day, the heat present enough to be felt but not yet overbearing. Port Island Station is crowded, packed with various people going to and from the island.
As students approach the station, there is a little spot for vending machines sending cool drinks. One such vending machine was until recently occupied by a red-coated man with a beanie, buying a canned coffee with what little money he has. While it may be difficult to approach him immediately in the crowd, one who recognizes him as Aragaki, the mysterious teenager with the headbutt of steel that SEES keeps running into, can likely track him down to where he went. Especially if they know ninjutsu.
At the very least, he didn't go far. Right next to the station is a series of alleyways. There is an offshoot of these alleyways, a so-called 'nest' with metal shuttered garage-style doors and small container crates next to a staircase. While sometimes other people are here, it's currently ghosted... except for the guy in the beanie.
Shinjiro cracks open his canned coffee as he seems to be folding something up, stashing it away in a place no one would ever think to look between the crates. Is that... a blanket?
At the very least, he seems alone enough to be approached...should your Guts be high enough. (or, you know, he hears you coming.)
<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.
Reiya doesn't complain of the heat--though, as it happens, he doesn't complain of very much. He was willing to help with this mission, having remembered that Shinjiro stepped up to help them after the incident with the punks...
Reiya, at the time, was worried; while he might be fine dealing with them, his friends and allies...
He's in uniform, because SEES never learns their lesson about this kind of thing. However, he's easy to miss despite it. He puts up a hand to forestall talking when he notices the red-coated young man at the drink station. "...He could get lost in the crowd. I'll follow him, and you can follow me."
Reiya, as it happens, is perhaps bizarrely good at tracking. It doesn't take long for him to find the single person at the 'nest'.
He stops, before turning the corner.
He looks expectantly at Minato and Minako. They're the leaders, after all. He'll follow them with Yukari.
...Unless Yukari charges in. That could happen.
<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
"Got it, Aomori-san," Minako says to Reiya. She follows after him -- at a distance -- until they round the corner. She glances at Yukari, then her brother.
The accusation that Minako Arisato is fearless has been made -- and, all told, it's not really true. But there are times that show off why. In this case, having found a certain infamous, tough-looking delinquent...
...well, she doesn't hesitate to approach. She walks right up to him, then she lifts her hand in a wave -- and she smiles at Shinjiro. It's as sunny as ever.
"Hi there," she says. "Thanks for the help, before."
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
Yukari's in uniform too. There was no club today, which means she's on her way home. That she's walking along with the others? Well, that just means they're going the same way!
"Hmm? Why are we stopping?" Yukari asks as Reiya looks around the corner. "Is something going on?"
However, he looks towards Minako and Minato, and Yukari leans sideways to check around the corner, and catch a glimpse of the beanie.
"Oh hey... it's Aragaki-senpai."
Yukari doesn't 'charge' in but follow pace behind the others, hands and bag behind her back, "Yeah, you really bailed us out back there." It was kind of her fault what happened anyway...
... so eager to prove herself that she got Junpei hurt.
But after the hospital, and here... and the Cardboard Dragon, she definitely has her suspicions about who this guy is.
"You're a surprisingly nice guy." She says, and despite the 'suprisingly' part making it a little back-handed, it's meant as a compliment.
<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.
Minato's Guts are formidable. It was either bravery or a complete misreading of the situation which had him praising that one guy's ingenuity pinning his nose to his face, after all.
It was an insight which helped to get Junpei punched. Oh, well.
Following Reiya's easy enough. Minato doesn't realise that Reiya has made it easy enough. And so, as Minako approaches with a friendly wave...
Minato strolls up, too, lifting his hand.
"Yo."
Still in his uniform... does this guy never listen?
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
Reiya tracks Shinjiro down without being seen casually, which is pretty handy. As he drinks his canned coffee, Shinjiro only turns his head when he hears Minako's footsteps, stashing his blanket away and making sure it's out of sight.
"Sure," he replies, before turning back to grab his phone he left on the crate. It's like he's going to ignore her, up until she doesn't leave, and others step in.
That's annoying.
"Hah," he replies to Yukari, grunting once as he takes a seat on the crate. If it might accidentally seem backhanded, he seems to take it a different way. "If I'm a nice guy, then most people must be shitheads."
He pauses, scanning Minato in his uniform first, and then everyone who has entered his field of sight. "You're going to get jumped again. Don't hang out in shady alleyways." A nod, and a broad smirk. "It's bad for your health."
And then, he spots Yukari holding her bag behind her back. He's suddenly doubting if these students have ever been robbed before. "That's how that gets snatched."
Though, he has a feeling that if they followed him here... "But you didn't come all this way just to thank me, did you? Go ahead."
<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.
Minako at least appreciates him!!
Yukari says he's nice; Minato just greets him. Reiya brings up the rear, and gives his piercing stare to Shinjiro Aragaki. ...he was there, at the Cardboard Dragon. He helped, too.
"That may be," Reiya admits of getting jumped again. Reiya... as it happens, is much more thief-proof than most. But Yukari is different.
"You keep pointing out ways to stay safe," he points out. "You are kinder than you want us to believe."
AA pause. He looks to the others. They're the ones who wanted more info; he's just here to help them get it.
<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
Minako glances sideways at Yukari, then at Minato. There's a smile and a nod from her to both of them, before she looks back to Shinjiro. She, too, is in uniform.
She doesn't catch -- or if she does doesn't remark on -- his blanket being nudged away. She smiles a bit. "Well... we wanted to talk to you," she says. "I remember you from the hospital."
Minako considers, then she offers: "You know Sanada-senpai, right...?"
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
"Hmmm." Yukari hums at his comment, like she doesn't quite believe it, "Well... if you say so. Not many guys would have done what you did."
No she's dubious, he's a nice guy, he's well-informed, he's active during the Dark Hour... and he's a friend of Akihiko's.
She thinks she's someone who 'got out' only to find out one can't really.
As Shinjiro notes Minato's going to get jumped again, Yukari says, "Oh I'm not too worried about that, he can take care of himself-"
Before she gets taken aback, "Wait huh?!?" She recoils subtly, before bringing her bag up front, "From, like my hands? In broad daylight? There's... cops around." She points out, but seems to rethink her bag's position.
"That'd be a really bold thief..." She offers in consideration.
Minako is the first to bring up the hospital. And Yukari's appreciative because it means, she doesn't have to!
"He did say you were like an old friend." She adds onto that, as if to nudge. There's more she could say, but let's start with that.
<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.
Minato saw the blanket. Minato does not snitch.
"Who knows," Minato shrugs, when Shinjiro supposes most people must be shitheads. Whether he's agreeing with Shinjiro's assessment of reality or not is hard to say, but...
"That's fine," he assures Shinjiro, though, when he tells him he'll get jumped. "Aomori-san wants to protect us." Don't volunteer him so easily, Minato!!!
He does blink, though, when he advises Yukari how to not get her bag snatched. He never thought of it like that...
"We think you know more than you're telling us," Minato states, plainly. "Since we're searching for Yamagishi-san, we've followed you again. Sorry." Somehow, his 'gomen' doesn't sound all that apologetic...
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
"You're in a different part of society," Shinjiro notes about the bag. "Rules change around here. Good habits need to be trained." He takes account of everything they have to say, but that's where he goes first.
Reiya calls him kinder than he wants them to think. "Think whatever you want. You don't know me."
But then, something that is 'happier', so to speak, as Shinjiro nods. "Aki? Yeah, we go back," he reveals casually. It's not really a secret. "How's he holding up?"
But, then they get more candid with him. "I recognize you. Let me guess, you're all together, right? Same dorm?"
But before he can go back to silence, Minato mentions Yamagishi. "Not surprised Kirijo's looking into that. She's always felt responsible... but I assume this isn't just a school bullying matter if she's having you look into it." For someone who barely attends, he seems *very* well-informed. He may already know everything, after all. He's heading to Peace Diner after this as it is.
<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.
Akihiko. Reiya doesn't know him well, but it would seem Shinjiro does. And Yukari is sure Minato can take care of himself, but--Minato, on the other hand, says that. "Yes," Reiya confirms. "I will make sure the group stays safe."
Minato states it plainly; and Shinjiro...
"Yes," he confirms of the dorm. "It isn't," Reiya confirms as well. "Yamagishi-san hasn't been at her house in some time, and I've detected no signs of intentional travel."
Wait, what?
"...It wouldn't be surprising that Kirijo-senpai feels responsible for the safety of the students," he confirms. "It's her responsibility."
"And ours."
<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
"Some thieves are pretty bold, Takeba-chan," Minako says with a sideways glance at her. Then she looks at Reiya, and she blinks at him. Maybe he is bold, too, in his own wya. But then her brother--
She winces a little. It's not how she would have put it.
But, that's Minato for you.
"Senpai is doing pretty well," Minako says. "He's healed up and everything." Then, she glances at the others -- and she nods. "Yeah. We're all in the same dorm. And... yeah, Kirijo-senpai has us looking into it. It's our responsibility, like Aomori-san says."
She hesitates. "So... you know about what we do at that dorm?"
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
"No need to me any favors." Yukari offers to Reiya's comment of keeping the group safe. "I was just walking in the same direction after all."
Well that's a way to politely refuse his protection.
Especially as Minako follows up, "It's not like I'm inviting those types to come at me... but if they wanna take the risk here? Let them try." She says, as if daring such a circumstance to actually happen because she can handle herself thank you.
"Well... he's kinda been a little stir crazy during his recovery. Never seen a guy so eager for a fight, really." Yukari says of Akihiko.
Before she then eyes Reiya's comment, "You're surveilling her house?" She groans at the thought of it, "The Chairman's at it again..."
After all she had to surveil MINATO as he slept and YES she felt super weird about it.
She then assesses Shinjiro's expression, before finally volunteering, "Well yeah, of course he does..." She answers Minako on this, "Aomori-san and I already saw him show up during the 'extra' part of the day."
In order, to confirm it for everyone else here, "So if you think it's more than just a couple of bullies stepping out of line... it's okay to just come out with it."
<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.
Minato bold-facingly claiming that Reiya is protecting them might have a second function, after all -- letting Yukari insist she doesn't need any without leaving Reiya feeling completely spurned. But he can be so oblivious, sometimes. Would he really put that much thought into it...?
He blinks, though, as he turns to Yukari, in the wake of her and Minako's moment about her bag. Yukari's going to fight the thieves off herself... "Scary," he comments, sounding about as scared as a stale piece of bread.
He's probably not making fun of her, but maddeningly, it's only probably.
And, "... scary," he says again, in the exact same tone, when Yukari points out the Chairman's proclivities.
Notably, he doesn't question her at all.
He remembers how he woke up, back then.
But Minako's question about whether Shinjiro knows that has an easy answer, apparently, courtesy Yukari and Reiya. "She's disappeared," is what he has to offer, on the heels of Yukari calling him out. "Yamagishi-san. Iori-san and I haven't turned up anyone who's seen her at school. And Aomori-san's been looking. Since he hasn't found anything, it's unlikely she's just sick in bed."
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
"Sure," Shinjiro says about Mitsuru's responsibility. "Does that make it yours, though?"
He quirks an eyebrow at him surveiling Fuuka's house. That's weird, dude. "Does he still do the puns?" he instead asks when Yukari mentions the chairman.
Minato mentions about Yamagishi gets a nod. "It's really easy to run away if you want to." But he knows that's not it, either.
"I'm glad Aki's healed up. He won't listen if you tell him not to overwork himself, though," Shinjiro says, before sighing, "Fine."
"Let's cut the bullshit."
Shinjiro straightens his jacket, finishing off his coffee. "You're the new generation of SEES. You've been doing this for a year at most, but I bet it's been way less. You've only just started messing with the wider supernatural community, and I'll tell you now - this shit is global."
He shifts his neck. "Before I tell you anything, why are you doing this? Is it your responsibility because Kirijo told you to? Because she can find someone else or do it herself. Or is it that you truly want to fight some fucking monsters, save a girl from dying? Because you know, you might be the one on the morgue slab instead." He doesn't seem to be *judging them*, instead trying to sniff out their basic motivation.
"What I'll tell you right now is that the world is wider than SEES thinks. Mementos Demons, Sumaru Rumors, monsters appearing outside the Dark Hour. I bet you don't even know what Resonance means, right?"
<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.
"It's not a favor," Reiya counters Yukari. "It's important for the group to help each other based on their individual skills." It's not that easy, Yukari!! ...But then, it would be easy to assume he just assumes that as the Man he protects--rather than the truth, which he's kept concealed... more or less.
"I understand him I think," Reiya says of Akihiko. "I would be eager to get over my injury, too."
Minako talks about responsibility, and Reiya approves--as for the thieves and their boldness, well, Reiya lifts an eyebrow, but doesn't comment. Instead, she eyes him, and he looks back at Yukari. "I was," he clarifies. "When it became clear she wasn't there, there was no point in continuing. We don't need to know things about her parents."
The Chairman isn't who asked him to!! But Reiya does not sell Minato out. This time. "We did," he confirms of Shinjiro.
As to responsibility... Reiya listens, his stare still there. It is at least easy to run away--but, cutting the bullshit? He understands. It's global...
Reiya doesn't sound surprised by that, for some reason. he doesn't look surprised, either. But he looks to the others before he answers for himself.
"I want to end Apathy Syndrome," Reiya says simply. "...The Shadows shouldn't be here. They shouldn't be feeding on people."
"I am aware of the dangers of our work. We could die, or worse."
"...There are things I don't know. I would be grateful for whatever you can teach."
<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
"The Chairman does this kind of thing a lot, huh?" Minako asks Yukari after that long-suffering sigh.
When her brother explains more, she nods in agreement. Then, she looks at Shinjiro. Her eyes widen when he calls them out -- it's not quite what she expected. She is quiet, while Reiya speaks. There is a glance at him, at mention of Apathy Syndrome.
After the moment of shock, though, the smile comes back to Minako's face. It's as warm as ever. "I can't just look away," Minako says. "It's as simple as that. I've never been good at doing that."
She straightens up a little. "So I want to help Yamagishi, if I can," she says. "And help Kirijo-senpai and Sanada-senpai, too."
She hesitates, then admits: "Never heard of Resonance, though. I'm still learning about stuff outside of Port Island and Dark Hour."
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
"Well, right now we're not exactly a group, just walking home from school." Yukari replies forcefully to Reiya, because she has to be difficult. "When we're on a mission, then you can help me with your 'skills'."
Yukari side eyes Minato, and it's difficult to tell if he's being sarcastic or not. It always is. "What, you think I can't hold my own against some dumb purse snatcher?" Yukari offers, in a manner that is definitely not foreshadowing...
... of a later social link, where she in fact, cannot handle that.
"Yeah he does." She answers Minako at first... however, there's a small discomfited noise as Minato says it again in regards to Shuuji, "I still can't tell if you know how messed up that all was, when you first came to live with us."
Then Shinjiro cuts the bullshit, and her whole stance shifts, to stare at him. Because he calls out what Yukari has only started to understand herself, except of all of them.
And then, he presses them for answers. Yukari allows Reiya to answer first, because she wants to hear if he'll say more.
"That's none of your business why I do this." Yukari finally replies icily, like she's parrying whatever blade Shinjiro's trying to press her with, and attempting a riposte, "I have my own reasons, and they have nothing to do with Kirijo-senpai... or whatever the Kirijo Group is trying to do with the Dark Hour."
No. She won't just say it.
"As for the rest of the world... yeah you think we don't know that? Instead of you trying to pull rank on us... you wanna tell us why cop-killers in Sumaru were wielding Personas?"
And then counters, with something that no one else here may know at all, including maybe even Shinjiro...
"Or why one of them had an Evoker that wasn't the kind we have?"
It's a gamble, to let that card know. She kept it secret for a reason... but given his sudden perceived harshness towards the Kirijo Group... Yukari decides to take a risk... even in front of the others.
<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.
Global...
Minato wonders if there are kangaroos in the Australian Dark Hour.
"It's fine," he assures Reiya. "You can protect Minako-chan and I." Don't volunteer your sister like that, Minato!! ... hey, wait, is protecting the leaders why Reiya let Junpei get punched in the first place?
But the Chairman does that kind of thing a lot. Don't worry about what Minato does. That's not important.
"You can," Minato says, mildly, to Yukari. "That's what's scary." Kick their ass, Yukarin. Minato believes in you.(..?)
"Resonance is the quality of deep sound produced by musical tones in order to create harmony for music," he says, confidently incorrect.
But he wants to know why they're here, and Minato's answer is far simpler still than Minako's eye contact with the darkness... "... Kirijo-senpai asked us to investigate."
Maybe he's just re-affirming that their motivations are none of Shinjiro's business.
Maybe.
He blinks, though, turning to Yukari. "Another Evoker? But... SEES controls the Evokers."
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
Shinjiro nods to Reiya. "Apathy Syndrome, huh? Might have something to do with all of this, but fuck if I know what."
Minako shares her own reason. "Good enough as any. Better to stare it head-on than be a coward." A beat. "You call it Detection. That's the gap in knowledge SEES has with the rest of the supernatural community." To know their internal terms... "Wrong resonance," he tells Minato.
But Yukari gets defensive. Shinjiro keeps it cool, even as an eyebrow quirks at something she says. "I don't care about the Kirijo Group or if they're 'doing something'. If you're unwilling to own your reasons... it's not a secret thing to be able to say it's Apathy Syndrome or needing to look it head on or whatever the fuck motivates you. If you could die, at least die walking proud."
It sounds hypocritical internally, coming from him. He's not going to die proud... but at the least, he can teach others to do better than he ever did. In a way, that kindness bleeds out - he's not trying to be a dick but to help them, in his own fucked up way.
Minato affirms Kirijo asked him to. "Don't do things just because others ask you to." He already talked about owning it, so.
'You think we don't know that?' "You didn't even believe in demons last week."
Though, Yukari lets info slip. "Sumaru's a hellhole," he starts with. "I don't know the details, though. This gotta do with the Joker Killer or something?" He seems interested in knowing, but doubts she'll tell him now that she's likely mad at him.
But the special Evoker... "Huh." Shinjiro doesn't seem *entirely* surprised. He keeps his thoughts closed for this one. Strega has Evokers, sure, but this doesn't sound like that. Could someone else be designing Evokers? Is this what she meant about what the Kirijo Group is doing?
Fuuka, though, is what they asked about. "What do *you* think happened to her?" He's gauging if they've already come to his conclusion.
<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
"As long as I can do some protecting too!" Minako says after Minato volunteers her to be protected. But her smile fades, when she hears this newest revelation.
"Eh...? An Evoker?"
Minako turns her head to look at Yukari. She blinks in confusion -- she hadn't heard this, and she feels surprised, to say the least. How did an Evoker end up outside of the Kirijo Group? And why is it different?
Shinjiro doesn't seem to know. Minako hesitates for a second, before her eyes turn downward. She looks thoughtful -- glancing at Yukari and Minato, at the way he answers them. Then, Minako shakes her head.
"We think she might be in Tartarus," she says. "It seems to add up."
<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.
Reiya is not completely dense. His instinct is to counter, to say that they are on a mission because they're gathering intelligence. But for some reason, Yukari really doesn't want to accept 'protection'. He looks at her for a long few moments--and then Minato reassures him, and he nods. "All right," Reiya answers, and focuses on Shinjiro again.
Yukari can be scary. It's true. But Minato knows resonance, and--Kirijo asked.
Apathy Syndrome, first. Reiya nods. "It has to do with the Shadows," he says, sounding sure. "...But I don't know everything either."
Minako's reason is good. Reiya looks at her for a moment thoughtfully. He admires that. But resonance... Detection, and a supernatural community.
He notes the talk of the Kirijo Group and what they're up to. He won't needle Yukari more than she already has, or Minato for doing things he's asked.
"Cop-killers in Sumaru..." Sumaru's a hellhole. Reiya is thoughtful.
But he adds--
"...The Kirijo Group was originally part of a larger corporate organization," Reiya says. "They split off some time ago. It wouldn't surprise me if other people had access to some of the technology."
What the Kirijo Group is doing? Well, Reiya doesn't explain that, either.
Reiya actually smiles at Minako though. "Mmm. We can protect one another. I'm part of your team too, after all."
But an Evoker...
Well, that's what he's going to say about it. As to Fuuka, Reiya nods. "We can see no sign that she left town, nor signs that she's still here. Logically, she has to be somewhere. ...And our evidence so far points there."
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
Shinjiro may counter that she should own her reasons, "Yeah? I'm plenty proud of my reasons for doing this. I just have no reason to share it with someone who's asking because they think I need to 'prove' myself to them."
Her brown eyes level upon him own as she crosses her arms, "And I've got nothing to prove to you. So, answer me if you want - or don't. This isn't school, so I'm not required to pass your tests."
Despite her sudden hostility, it doesn't mean her opinion of Shinjiro has changed. Someone 'kind' can be complicated, and she knows that.
But he points out that she didn't believe demons exist last week as suddenly he scores a point, but rather than lose her composure, she fires back, "And-? Guess how I found out."
As Shinjiro does ask more about what she brought up, disappointment reigns in Yukari's eyes, not in him though. It's that she let that card slip and isn't likely to gain anything else from it.
Minato and Minako of course latch onto that detail, as does Reiya, as Yukari looks towards Reiya, "The 'Nanjo Group'? Huh... well, they were mentioned as a part of that big scandal in Mikage-Cho a few years back..."
And indeed, there's the statue in the entry hall of the school.
"No. They call themselves the 'NWO'. I don't know much more than that... they attacked a few cops down at Ebisu Beach. ... And they summoned Demons to cover their escape."
Which, well, she gets to say how she learned they were real now. As she then looks towards the others to explain.
"As for the Evoker it was... a Revolver, which she loaded with something she called 'cartridges'. I don't know more than that... it really felt like a sick joke, like some 'Russian Roulette' reference or the like."
The others answer on Fuuka, she doesn't add more to that. It's fine to let the others answer.
She was hoping that Shinjiro was hostile enough to the Kirijo group to say more but... unfortunately, it seems like she was wrong there.
Stupid
I really jumped the gun
...
The next time the Chairman is here I'm borrowing Arisato-kun's headphones
<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.
"I see," Minato says, mildly, when Shinjiro corrects his understanding. He thinks back to his violin, and wonders how different it really is.
Hmm... oh, well.
"Okay," he answers Shinjiro, mildly, when Shinjiro tells him not to just follow along. "I won't answer your question just because you asked me to." Why is he so difficult?!
"Sure," he nods, to Minako. "You can save me. That's fine." That... probably won't echo into the foundations of fate itself, right?
Right.
But... there are other groups with Kirijo's technology, he thinks, looking to Reiya, before he looks back to Yukari as she adds more details. The 'Nanjo Group'...
He wasn't paying attention to any of that, before now.
(Is he really paying attention now?)
"I didn't know there were other forms for Evokers," he says, mildly. "We've only used the one kind." Are there others out there? With different capabilities than theirs? How strange.
Minato tilts his head. "Does the 'N' stand for Nanjo?" He wonders, his tone not shifting an inch.
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
"Sure," is all Shinjiro responds to Yukari. He wasn't trying to make her pass a test, but if she wants to be like that, that just shows her own character... and paradoxically, makes him more worried about someone like her being out there.
"NWO... interesting. Thanks for the tip," he says, clearly going to look into it. "I'll tell you what I know, for that."
"Suit yourself. Not like I'm gonna force you," he tells Minato. He can't actually get a clear read on the guy. Is he a jerk or does he give such little fucks he seems like a jerk, is his current thought process.
Shinjiro nods to the group. "Yeah, Yamagishi is definitely in Tartarus. If she disappeared before today in just the Dark Hour... there'd be signs. Whether or not she's alive is up to her, though. I doubt she's near the lobby, or you'd have found her during routine checks. Which means she must have gotten stuck higher up. But the question is...?"
He stands up, stretching. He's tall.
"How? You know, or you will soon enough. There's only one option, and if you're gonna find her..." He gestures once, as if to say 'you must follow'.
"Any other questions? If not, get out of here, the dealers and other lowlifes are likely to start coming by soon, and that's not a crowd that good students like you need to hang with."
What does that say of him, then, when he seems to literally live here?
<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
"That's... that's weird," Minako says, with a frown. She looks at her brother and shrugs -- she isn't sure what the Nanjo Group is. Then, she cracks a smile.
And pumps a fist. "Leave saving you to me, Minato-kun!"
She laughs a little when she says that.
She looks back at Shinjiro -- her eyes widen a little. She looks down, before she nods. "Yeah," she agrees. She looks up, then, and considers. "Not for me. But... thanks for the advice."
<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.
The NWO... and Yukari is suspicious of the Kirijo Group, too. Reiya keeps both of those facts in mind. The other Evoker is also interesting to him, but--the Nanjo group. "That's right," Reiya confirms to Yukari.
Shinjiro will share what he knows. Reiya listens. Definitely in Tartarus...
"Right. We'll learn the truth."
But questions? Reiya shakes his head. Though, there is...
"You know all of this..."
He considers. He watches Shinjiro for another moment. But he doesn't have enough information, yet.
The 'new' generation of SEES. He knows Akihiko and Mitsuru...
"Hm."
"...I'm willing to leave. We've learned most of what we came for."
A pause, as he turns back to Shinjiro. "...I'll be back."
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
Minako saying she'll save Minato... Yukari looks at her, and finds in that moment... that an ugly emotion bubbles up.
That because they're siblings, it's not even that embarrassing for a guy for Minako to say that.
Jealousy keeps rearing it's ugly head within Yukari Takeba, even if she doesn't vocalize it.
"Iiiii don't really know what it stands for." She admits to Minato, "I got the acronym from someone else who got caught up in that... and well, I didn't really know either." About the Evokers that is.
She stands her ground at least, long enough for him to relent and give her some information in exchange.
"... I'd appreciate that." And her posture eases up to be less tense. After all, she doesn't think badly of him. If he's rough around the edges, well... he has his own reasons.
It's just when two people with rough edges scrape up against each other, someone gets cut from the exchange.
He does confirm that she'd be in Tartarus, "That's what I was afraid of... and who knows how high up she could be, if not there?" She doesn't complain today, merely...
Well, she looks worried, definitely worried.
"... yeah. No other questions really." None he'd answer at least. "Thanks for... saying that much." She allows, reluctantly.
The operation is coming up, they'll learn it then.
"You know what... think I'll go the long way home today."
And as the others walk away... she turns in the opposite direction. It's the longest route possible to go to Naganaki Shrine...
... but she wants to be alone with the thoughts she has right now.
<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.
Minato is a mystery wrapped in an enigma tucked into a burrito. ... man, he's hungry.
He nods, to Minako. "Right." He's very earnest about her desire to save him... apparently. His earnest face is no different from his angry face or his happy face or his bored face.
"Nanjo Witchcraft Organisation..."
He wonders, as Yukari admits she has no idea what 'NWO' stands for. ... it's a pretty good guess, right?
"So you weren't facing them alone," is the other thing he gets from Yukari's explanation. Is it their imagination, or is he relieved Yukari wasn't facing down Evoker-wielding murderers on her own?
Probably their imagination.
But Shinjiro thinks Fuuka is in Tartarus, and Minato nods. "All right."
It's up to Mitsuru, then.
Minato nods to Shinjiro, and turns to leave.
"Good night."
... man, he must be a jerk.