2025-08-07: Defacing Aoba
- Log: Defacing Aoba
- Cast: Tsubasa Seki, Yusuke Kitagawa
- Where: Aoba - Bus Stop
- OOC Date: 2025-08-07
- IC Date: Friday, June 22 2012
- Summary: Yusuke finds Tsubasa vandalising a bus stop, and after a false start, chases them down for a real conversation... where he finds out more about Psychotic Breakdowns.
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
It's Friday afternoon in Aoba, and Tsubasa did not get off school recently. No: they never went in the first place. Their cyan, magenta, and yellow wig was very helpful today in smuggling a second wig out of the clothing store underneath it, though the wild pink and blue and purple getup is stuffed in the pocket of their boardshorts now. They're wild and blue, contrasting with the yellow of a tank top which exposes their belly... and, behind them, parts of dressings over healing burns. They've still got bandages around their chest which can barely be glimpsed under there, though, even if they're putting nasty pressure on those wounds.
It would hurt more not to do it.
There are older wounds, too, on the right side of their body -- though their burn scars are obscured by concealer, and at least easy to overlook at a glance. They wear makeup, too, though it's hard to say it's feminine, a long streak down their nose, stripes around their eyes and shaved eyebrows, blue lips and lines drawn on their neck to call attention to an otherwise difficult to sight Adam's apple. (It's difficult to see because it isn't there, but shut up, yes it is.) Their socks are obnoxiously purple, and their ankle-height sneakers are obnoxiously green.
They're assaulting everyone's vision just sitting at the bus stop. On the plus side, they have a dog. ... it's a scary-looking Tosa Inu runt, but still, a dog!
Tsubasa, of course, is bored out of their mind, and so has pulled out a pen and started grinding it into the wood of the seat as they obscure their work with the turn of their body, etching out a terrible defacement! What crass, wretched thing could Tsubasa be marking the world with..?!
... it's a picture of a rose. And it's really quite nice, for the difficult medium they're working in; bold lines, recognisable petals.
('The Thorn Gang was here,' you see, is a bit too long a message to be able to get away with vandalising before someone realises they're breaking the rules of polite society.)
<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.
Scratch, scratch, scratch. The sound of surreptitious vandalism, disappearing into the wider world - the chatter of bystanders, the hum of air conditioning units, the rumble of passing vehicles.
One would have to get closer, to hear it properly. The lanky boy standing at the stop to read the timetable frowns, looking around at the unusual sound - and properly takes in Tsubasa, their back turned to him as they work on their petty defacement.
Yusuke Kitagawa's brow furrows further - his sensibilities are confronted with a garish, clashing riot. His instincts are to avert his eyes, but he finds he cannot; so instead he simply draws in a deep breath, forcing himself to center, before he sits down on the bench as well.
Oh, also, there's a dog? How delightful. Yusuke looks down at Lance and smiles just a little, but does not reach out to her.
He'd have to get the owner's permission first, of course.
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Yusuke draws in a deep breath, and the sound snaps Tsubasa's attention to him, glaring up at him with stark, pale blue eyes. "What's your problem!?" They bark, tone hostile; their voice is gravelly and hoarse, like they've been smoking a six pack a day since they were six. Sitting beside them on the bench, it's more obvious that half their face is textured, different, veiled.
(Lance wags her tail, meanwhile, sniffing at Yusuke, because at least one of them is friendly.)
"Tch," Tsubasa spits, off to the side, without waiting for his justification. They push a hand up on the bench to rise up and stalk off, leaving their ballpoint pen lying there beside their work of art.
Lance ambles off behind them, as they shove their hands in their pockets, with a strange aura of a stormcloud grasping them. (It's nothing to do with Resonance; they have none. No: this is something else entirely. Attitude.)
<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.
When Tsubasa whirls on him, challenging his behaviour, Yusuke is struck dumb; suddenly the stark contrasts of their dress and presentation are fascinating. Before he can recover enough sense to answer them, however, the (boy? maybe?) has stormed off, their dog following loyally...
... and leaving behind two marks of their presence - a pen and a surprisingly intricate carving of a rose.
Yusuke is moved to action. Snatching the pen off the bench before it can roll off onto the ground, he starts to pursue Tsubasa, settling into a loping stride that is going to fairly easily outpace them unless they pick up speed.
"Excuse me," he begins, "You dropped this." He's holding out the pen.
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Ugh, he's following them.
Tsubasa does consider speeding up... but to be honest, the shoulder motions of running kind of hurt right now. It's not, like, impossible, but... on the other hand, they're pretty sure this guy's not a cop, so there's not really a reason for them to bolt.
So they pause, instead, turning to face him in profile. "Ch... yeah?" They ask, as if sceptical anyone would even bother to chase them down for something like that. But a glance down to his hand reveals it: that sure is their pen.
"Oh." They reach out to take it, with a hand bearing evidence of minor burns, just like the rest of their right side. "Thanks."
Lance borks, cheerfully, wagging her tail as she ambles up to sniff at Yusuke again. "Don't bother him, Lance," Tsubasa rumbles, with a frown that's difficult to see on their face for the way they've replaced their eyebrows with makeup.
<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.
"It's not a bother," Yusuke replies as Tsubasa chides Lance, crouching down to offer his hand to the pup - shifting the weight of his portfolio bag over his shoulder as he does so. "You're very friendly, aren't you?" He murmurs to Lance.
There are a lot of things he wants to ask, but he settles on: "Was that your work, on the bench?" as he looks back up at Tsubasa. "It's quite remarkable."
He's noticed the burns, of course, but is extremely aware of how gauche it would be to comment on them. "I apologise for upsetting you."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Lance sniff sniff sniffs Yusuke's hand, and then licks it, gross! Dog slobber!!
"Yeah, she's friendly," is what Tsubasa comments, behind her, as Lance's tail wags ferociously. Careful, Lance. You'll wag your haunches right off...
They rub the back of their neck, an affectation they developed because scratching their head gives the game away far too easily. "Uh, yeah," they say, glancing away. "It's just our tag... no biggie."
Tsubasa shrugs a shoulder, as their hand drops down. "Just rude to stare, dude," they point out, though their stoic tone at least sounds far less pissed off now. "It's whatever. Cool you thought to give the pen back, anyway. Ink's busted, but it's still good for diggin' into shit."
<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.
Yusuke scratches Lance's chin after the dog licks his hand, chuckling a little.
"Your 'tag'? Hmm." He considers; obviously that means this person is some kind of gang hoodlum. On the other hand... "You must have practiced it a lot, to be able to get that level of detail with just a pen."
When Tsubasa clarifies that it's rude to stare, Yusuke looks sheepish. "Ah. I didn't mean to, I was simply... trying to process all the colours." He gives Lance another pat on the head, and straightens up. "Every choice of hue and shade means something, after all."
He's looking at Tsubasa's socks, now, trying to commit the neon green to memory.
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Tsubasa is, indeed, a hoodlum. They definitely look scruffy and thuggish enough to fit the part. But their art...? "I do a lot of that work," they shrug. "Usually stencils and shit, but it's too early to bring my kit out."
You know. On account of the law.
But Yusuke is at least embarrassed by his transgressions, Tsubasa thinks. Just, man, he was distracted by the colours..? "Yeah, I'm a peacock, whatever," they shrug --
-- as the camera cuts to Pernelle for a few seconds --
-- luckily, Tsubasa doesn't know there's a real peacock in Tokyo, yet, so they don't know they've said a significant keyword. "It just kinda means... 'I'm poisonous, don't fuck with me', y'know? Like a dart frog or whatever."
<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.
"Or the blue-ringed octopus?" Yusuke suggests. "I suppose it depends on just how dangerous you want people to think you are."
Sorry, Pernelle, we have moved on to other brightly-coloured fauna.
"Do you do other kinds of art, outside of your... night-time activities?" He indicates his portfolio bag. "I'm on the Fine Arts track at Gekkoukan, myself." Yes, that sure is the Gekkoukan school crest on his bag.
"Oh, uh, I'm doing things in the wrong order. Apologies." He bows, formally. "I'm Yusuke Kitagawa."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Super fuckin' dangerous," Tsubasa volunteers, even if they can't think of something more poisonous than that. Like, some kind of snake, probably? Probably.
They look down at his portfolio bag, and their brows raise, but it's kind of hard to tell because those stripes on their face really aren't aligned the same way. "A real artist, huh? Cool. I ain't, really," they shrug, a hand coming to rest on their hip. "Just doodle and shit. Ain't like Kasugayama'd have an arts program anyway."
Of course they're a Kasugayama punk. You know what they say about Kasugayama. (Hey, wasn't that place on the news just the other day...?)
But Yusuke -- bows, and Tsubasa gives him a sceptical expression. "Dude, I'm not that big a deal," they say, wondering if he's mistaken them as someone with power. "Uh, but nice to meet you, or whatever. Name's Seki. Uh, Tsubasa Seki." That's... often a boy's name, but not always, so there are no clues as to what's going on with them there.
<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.
Yusuke's grasp of the proper 'level' of etiquette to display is... the politest way to put it is 'uncertain', so he in turn accords the most polite etiquette he can, even in situations like this.
(Don't tell him that excessive politeness is in itself a way to be rude, he'll never go outside again because 'how infuriating'.)
"Just because you're not officially studying it doesn't mean you're not a 'real' artist," he says. "Art comes in many forms, and you definitely have skill." He process their name and school, then. "Seki-san, from Kasugayama? ... Have things calmed down a little, there?" 'Cuss High' has a reputation, but not normally an 'outside gang warfare' reputation.
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Tsubasa finds it a bit weird, but... man, whatever, maybe that's just his bit. Artists do tend to be weird.
"Huh," they say, rubbing at an arm, when Yusuke insists art is many and varied. "Ya think? Well, guess so..." Let's be real here: there's nothing more artist than putting down one's art as mere doodles.
Yusuke asks about Kasugayama, though, and their hand grips a little tighter. "Uh... I dunno," they admit, glancing away again. "Haven't been back there since... uh, I got like, hurt in the fight, or whatever." But they're clearly out of hospital now, so what gives?!
Well, they're a punk. Maybe it's just normal for them to skip school if they have an excuse.
<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.
In a peculiar sort of way, Madarame's sins have salved Yusuke of the impulse to put his own work down; after all, nobody would want to steal a mere doodle, right?
"I suppose most of your work isn't something it would be a good idea to point at and go 'I did that', hm?" He smiles faintly - conspiratorially? It's hard to tell. "Still, I wouldn't mind seeing some of it."
They got hurt? His brows climb in concern. "Does it still hurt?" His gaze flicks to their bandages, now. "Is there someone I can contact to help?"
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Mostly work 'round Hirasaka," Tsubasa says, shrugging a shoulder. "Ain't many dudes need to respect the Boss this far out... uh, 'cept I think I heard Pastel Boss lives 'round here somewhere, I guess. ... she's mostly cool." Well, they're not actively at war, anyway.
They frown, though, self-consciously shifting to face Yusuke more so those dressings on their back are less visible. (... they mustn't be a girl, because a girl would be real offended by him looking at their chest like that.) "It's not a big deal," they assure him, which isn't a 'no'. "But, uh... better not."
Tsubasa folds their arms, across their chest, still frowning. "Dunno why, but for some reason, my doc was real invested in tellin' me the Joker Killer wasn't part of it... but someone else who was there told me I wasn't makin' it up. Even though the news ain't sayin' it, neither... freaks me the fuck out."
<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.
Yusuke shakes his head. "It would probably be a very bad idea for the news to proclaim the Joker Killer's existence, when he's still an object of rumour." He and his friends already believe that man is real, but Tsubasa has provided another data point that he certainly exists. "Panic - or worse - would sweep across Sumaru and Tokyo."
(If he's processed any details about what gender Tsubasa is presenting as, they haven't solidified yet.)
Their doctor was invested in telling them... He glowers. "What an... unsightly way to treat a patient. I'm sorry you had to deal with that."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"One way to look at it, yeah," Tsubasa shrugs, when Yusuke supposes terror would sweep the greater Toyko area. "Other way's that they're coverin' it up and keepin' it a rumour."
Tsubasa... is a very cyncial youth, aren't they?
They grunt, though, thinking of Dr. Inoue. "It's cool," they shrug that off, too. "I'm used to it."
THAT'S NOT COOL, TSUBASA!
<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.
"I suppose that's as likely a reason, too. Perhaps it's even both." The idea of there being organizations complicit in the actions of the Joker Killer is... not as surprising to Yusuke as he'd like it to be.
"... So he tells you things like that a lot," Yusuke surmises. "That's not cool."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Shit, who knows, man?" Tsubasa asks, a foot tapping on the path. "Fuckin' crazy-ass dude, like, fuck was throwin' molotovs, what the fuck? And he had this posse of freaks wearing costumes, like -- like this girl in a cat suit who wanted to claw my fucking eyes out, or this goth loli from hell who, fuck, gutted a kid right in front of us with a god damn axe, or..."
They pause, for a moment, trying to figure out how to describe -- well, their brain eventually settles on it being Tatsuya Suou, anyway -- before they give up, feeling rather quite horrified, and shake their head.
"... uh, the kid's okay," they add, instead. "Like, he's super fucked, but he's, uh, still alive, I think. Not like I saw him after we dragged him outta there, but they said he was hangin' in there..."
They drum their fingers, against their arm, biting at their blue lip. "It's... it's a long story," they settle on, eventually. The, uh... you know, the Psychotic Breakdowns which those Ph..." ... no, they'd better not accuse the Phantom Thieves of anything to a stranger like this. That Phan-Site is getting weirdly popular. "Those, uh, those fuckin', news stories always go on about. You know the ones? Where some horrific violent shit happens and they dunno why? Couple years ago, I was one of 'em... my psychiatrist kept me in hospital for like, a couple extra months even after they got done with my skin grafts and respiratory therapy and shit. So I guess it's not really his fault... sure probably looked like I was nuts."
<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.
Yusuke's face goes stony as Tsubasa describes the events of the fight at Kasugayama. Molotovs? A girl in a cat suit? A girl with an axe who gutted a kid?
"... That sounds like a lot to have to deal with," he says, trying (badly) to hide his increasing concern. "It's good that you managed to get him out of all of that, though."
Perhaps it's not that much of a surprise that someone who spins a tale as tall as the one Tsubasa just did might be considered certifiable. Indeed, Yusuke himself might write the kid off, except...
Except, well, not two weeks ago he was trying to cut down a giant woman who was also a jail-cell imprisoning a bride being exploited by some kind of shady organization, during that Extra Hour Where Normal People Sleep Like The Dead. A story like Tsubasa's doesn't sound that outrageous, in that context - the outrageousness comes from someone like the Joker Killer going so loud.
And then Tsubasa continues to explain their situation. (Yusuke, privately, is alarmed that they would say so much to an otherwise complete stranger... but perhaps Tsubasa's situation is so dire that they have very few people they can tell.) They cut themselves off just after mentioning psychotic breakdowns, but they'll immediately notice the term draws Yusuke's attention. "That happened to you?"
He considers. "... What was it like?"
Yusuke that's a fucked-up thing to ask someone!
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Yeah, I mean -- it must've been molotovs or some shit, right? Like, I didn't get burned for no reason." Tsubasa seems a little confused as to how the fight actually went down, but, well, maybe that's to be expected. It sounds like it was deeply traumatic!
(Or maybe it just wasn't something their brain was in a place to process.)
The direness of the situation is left to implication; Tsubasa was, of course, just explaining why their physician might be keen to gaslight them, as if it all has a logical explanation. Their expression's a touch foul, but it's kind of hard to tell whether that isn't just their normal face.
They don't look like the sort of person who smiles much.
"Beats me," they say, shrugging a shoulder. "One minute, I'm stressin' 'cause Nakajima-san's still not back and I dunno what to do, like, fuck, dude, I was fifteen, fuckin' what am I gonna do findin' dark money comin' into City Hall? Next minute I know everythin's agony and this guy's draggin' me outta the office and I'm in and out and -- y'know, in hospital. Then this guy comes and screens me, says I'm a pathological liar, says I'm psychotic..."
Kenta Nakajima used to be a progressive politician in City Hall, Yongen-Jaya's fiercest protector -- but he was jailed two years ago when his embezzlement was revealed to the world, in connection with arson at City Hall. That much is public information anyone can look up -- though the identity of the arsonist isn't in the news reports, given it was a youth.
Well, here's the arsonist.
<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.
'I didn't get burned for no reason', Tsubasa says, and Yusuke nods, quietly. (He thinks of Ann snapping her fingers and Carmen producing fire out of nothing... but surely you can't call a Persona in Sumaru if it's not the Dark Hour, right?)
... And Yusuke's perhaps-inappropriate question yields some sort-of-useful information (victims of a psychotic breakdown can completely black out during their episode) - and a revelation as to who Tsubasa is, which handily explains a lot - their burn scars, their voice, and why they're in Kasugayama.
... And that they discovered the embezzlement that that news scandal was about. He vaguely remembers it - he was probably engrossed in some sort of project or other at the time two years ago, but he does remember the name Nakajima.
"... I see." He tilts his head, looking Tsubasa up and down with a much more critical eye.
"You don't seem like a pathological liar to me," he states, bluntly. "It must be... immensely frustrating, to be treated that way."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
It must be impossible, but then, Tsubasa would call Carmen impossible in the same breath.
They wouldn't call it embezzlement, though. According to them, the money was coming in, not going out. But who would listen to a crazy kid who just set themself on fire?
"That's cool," they say, though they still can't manage to meet Yusuke's eyes. (This might be just fine by Yusuke, but Tsubasa doesn't know he's that kinda guy yet, so right now it's not a favour to him.) "Yeah, I guess. It's whatever," another shrug, which they should really give a rest because their back is a horror show but how else are they supposed to express themself?! "Don't even know why I'm tellin' you all this shit... guess it's 'cause I just figured out Dr. Inoue was bullshittin' me yesterday. Wild."
<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.
"... There must not be that many people you can confide in," Yusuke says, "If your own doctors have already written you off."
Is there some way that he can help them, he wonders? It's a lot easier to think about stuff like that without making eye contact.
"Do you... ever experience flashes or images in your head that don't make sense?"
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"I mean, I got the gang... and Officer Shimizu's legit... her sisters, too, I guess. And there's this detective who figured out my case don't make so much sense, so, uh, offered to help me out." Nowhere in that list is anything resembling their family... and on the list are detectives and police officers, despite the fact that they demonstrably break at least some laws. Do they just not know how to pick 'em, or are there just not many options there for them to pick?
(Third option. Reiko is the rare actual Good Cop, but, hell, they've dealt with a lot of cops, they know hard it is to believe there are good ones.)
"Like -- like what? You askin' if I hallucinate? I ain't like that," Tsubasa snaps, on the defensive again. "I mean, sometimes I remember shit, but that's -- different. Or -- like -- guess I'm imaginin' the fire..." A touch of uncertainty sweeps under their snappishness, which thoroughly defangs it all.
<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.
"Not hallucinations," Yusuke tries to explain, "but... fragments of things, like half-remembered memories or dreams? It's hard to explain.
"Anyway - " he continues, unphased by their snapping, "if those kinds of... incongruities happen, if something doesn't make sense to you... I recommend you putting your artistic gifts to use. Draw the images, or give shape to your feelings. Art is a way we can process the world we experience, to try and communicate that to others - or even ourselves."
He has sketches of Madarame's other pupilsvictims, tucked away somewhere private. They're not dead, but it's a way to remember them.
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Tsubasa doesn't think to mention the reams of paper, in their crammed little apartment, filled with recreations of spreadsheets and reports. They don't associate one with the other, facts and figures and artistic drawings.
What kind of artist is good at maths, anyway?!
"Give shape to it, huh... reminds me of what that Mark-san was sayin'." Tsubasa pauses, and adds: "You'd like him. Older than us, but apparently he was big into tagging as a kid too. Then he went to, uh... some fancy art school whatever, can't remember."
They tilt their head, though, as they consider it. "Sure," they decide, after a moment. "I'll do that. Uh, thanks, Kitagawa-san."
<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.
Yusuke would say something about mathematics being intrinsically beautiful, as evidenced by all the natural things in the world that mathematical sequences shape, but that's a conversation that hasn't been broached yet.
"... Mark-san?" Why does that sound familiar. Mark, Mark...
He's drawing a blank. And he can sense it's a blank that should be filled.
... He'll solve that problem later.
"If it works, then I'm glad to have been helpful," he replies to Tsubasa, another faint smile on his face. He fishes a beaten old flip-phone out of his pocket, checking the time on it. "... I'd better get moving. The bus back to the station is soon." He crouches down to address Lance. "You look after your - " he trips over the right word to use, and hedges his bets with "owner, okay?" He stands up, and nods to Tsubasa. "Take care of yourself, Seki-san."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Sure," Tsubasa nods, when Yusuke thinks of the time. "They're dicks about dogs sometimes, so I'm gonna walk."
But dog... go on train...?
(Not only does dog go on train, dog has been trained to catch the train home ALL BY HERSELF.)
Lance happily wags her tail, as Yusuke addresses her. 'Bork!'
Leaving aside the fact that they were therefore only at the bus stop to vandalise it, they lift a hand in a loose salute to Yusuke. "Later, Kitagawa-san." And off they go, ambling down the street.
... they won't think about how interested Yusuke suddenly was in Psychotic Breakdowns for a long time.