2025-08-08: A Woman's Heart
- Log: A Woman's Heart
- Cast: Umie Akabane, Goro Akechi
- Where: Kasugayama High
- OOC Date: August 08, 2025
- IC Date: June 22, 2012
- Summary: Just what exists in a woman's heart? Akechi may know, but does he also know the secret to getting someone to confess a secret they've never told anyone else? (Yes, yes he does.)
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
It's been barely long enough for life to resemble something approaching normal at Kasugayama High, but signs still exist of the supernatural battle and wounds opened within. In Umie's mind, that is why it's still the perfect time to strike fast, before the mundane narrative of gangs (or whatever the news has reported it as) sets in.
In the grounds out front, there's two students in Kasugayama uniforms, tall and imposing, talking to a young woman much shorter than them, standing at 5'1". An uninformed person would mistake one party as being in danger from the other, and make assumptions on which one.
They would be wrong. The girl, dressed in a crisp baseball cap with a ponytail of ash blonde hair threaded out the back, glasses, an oversized unzipped white windbreaker that's allowed to fall off her shoulders just so, a red tank top, white sneakers, and dark shorts that emphasize the definition of her legs, is intentionally projecting the aura of sporty confidence and innocence. It seemed to work at Ebisu Beach, and here as well. In fact, it's working too well.
"Don't worry, babe, we chased the Joker Killer right out. He was cryin' all the way to... to..." He looks to his companion. "Somewhere." ("God, you'll flirt with anything with glasses on, won't you?" says the heavier set one, setting a concerned hand on his comrade's shoulder. "She is playing you like a fiddle.")
"Okay, but what about after he left? What else?" The girl's body language is changing; her arms are folding, she's arcing her body slightly away from the slowly approaching young student. "Did you see something else?" Hidden in her voice us the frustration of someone grasping for answers, but having fewer and fewer spoons to pretend to be the mask she's wearing.
"We were in the bathroom. We didn't see anything," the second student says, sighing helplessly. "He just wants your number."
The girl and the two boys sit frozen in the sleepy evening warmth of late spring. A breeze passes. Opportunities dim.
"... Kasugyama students really are something else..." Umie says, rubbing the side of her head. "Sorry, but, I'm not interested. I'm flattered, though." It sounds like something she's had to say a fair amount of times, in order to let someone down gently. (You never know what a person will turn into, if you're too hasty.)
"Wait, wait, are you a Sevens chick?! I've always wanted to date a Sevens chick! Like, not in a bad way, I've just always wanted to know what it was like..." ( "You're coming on way too strong..." says the second student. Alas, that's why Kasugayama Student #2 finds him so appealing. The way he goes headfirst into situations, always needing his best friend to pull him out and tell him how honest and brave he was for speaking his mind, something they cannot do themselves... )
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
"... Isn't this a sight? One might think it's something off a TV show." The interjecting voice smoothly seems to come out of nowhere, as a figure is promptly at the flanks of the conversation - and stops..
"The Sevens Girl rejects the Delinquent Punk... only for him to worm his way into her heart later with roguish charm and kind heart. It's the kind of drama that might even win me over."
His smile, smug, his uniform - near impeccable, the creases only showing the slightest wear from his day. The tie just subtly loose.
"Or... one might think, if you weren't Kyo Muramoto. A juvenile predator, convicted of 'Chikan' on a public train. Given that you were underage, your records were sealed. I doubt even your 'friend' right there realizes but-"
That smug tone becomes subtly threatening as his smile vanishes, taking another step forward towards him, something darkening in his eyes, "-I certainly don't think your probation officer would appreciate learning that you're 'harassing' another girl on your own school campus."
And before the youth can even respond, while he's still off-balance, he adds, "I have Miyashiro-san's number with me, I'm sure she'd appreciate hearing this girl's first hand account of the matter... if indeed that's what's going on."
It may take even this long to see the briefcase at his side, with the logo for the Akechi detective agency.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
That voice! The young woman turns. Aaah. That uniform, that smile, his monologue detailing the scene, as if he was narrating a play he's seen before.
Goro Akechi, the second coming of the detective prince, has come to save the day by ruining someone's life.
The two students straighten immediately, as does Umie, though she, in particular, seems to be... waiting. She's only met the young man once, but she knows his reputation well enough. His good looks have won many hearts, but his track record speaks clearly for itself.
And ahhh, there it is. Could someone hear the sound of one's heart breaking under the cruel wheel of reality, right then?
Or the quiet rage building in the other?
_Underage_. "Well, then." Umie's voice has dropped to a flat range, but could there be hint of delight in it, now that the scent of misery and hubris wafts gently in the air? "Let me ruin your day further. I'm 20."
Ah, is that the sound of another heart breaking. "_Seriously_?" It's okay, nothing of value was lost.
".... How old did you think I was?"
"Uh." Kyo looks back towards his friend, but the second student is friend no more. No more wingmaning; Akechi just may have freed the other young man from years of seething in the closet over someone who'd never fully understand. In time, he will come to understand that he deserves so much better than _Kyo_.
"Fif.... uh," Kyo begins, trying to read Umie's frown. "Six... no, nineteen! Clearly nineteen! _Twenty_. I love older women!!"
Oh no, her hand is holding her chin now, the elbow held by her other palm. It's practically a few steps from a complete 'X'. "Digging deeper, I see." She looks towards Akechi. "Well, Mr. Detective Prince-san, it sounds like you just saved me a lot of valuable time." The focus is intentional; let Kyo wallow in obscurity, as the _not underage girl_ seemingly fawns over this pretty boy in his appropriately loosened tie and suit. "Would you happen to have a few minutes? I know you're a busy man."
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
Akechi feels the rage radiate off one, after all - even if he gets out of this one without his parole officer is finding out, his school is likely to have a rumor spread around it within the week of his past history.
And then Umie realizes it further, "Oh my... I can't say I expected that. Even I was fooled." He was absolutely not fooled.
But it doesn't matter, what matters is selling it, and so he looks briefly surprised as he looks her way. Women do appreciate a little flattery after all, and it's better to undershoot than overshoot in matters of age.
"I'm sure you do, Muramoto-san." In regards to his comment on older women, "Why I believe your 'love' for them could pitch a tent right now."
He turns away from him, as the other youth looks confused, then suddenly grabs at his crotch in alarm. His own friend looking at him with disgust/.
As Akechi then looks over to Umie, and smiles in that affable way that looks a touch smoke, "Well naturally, after all isn't that the purpose of a detective? People come to them in order to make certain their time isn't wasted in seeing a mystery solved..."
A dip of the head, "Now, I do believe that we'll be going over here, to make certain no more of Akabane-san's time is wasted." It is the first indication of Akechi's to Umie herself that he knows just who she is.
And has known.
As the two disengage and Akechi moves past them indoors and takes a turn into an empty hallway, "From a maid at a Tokyo festival to investigating a Sumaru high school..."
He places a hand on his chin, as he decided to drop the pretenses some, "Is this another part time job of yours? I know it's difficult to earn a living as a convenience store clerk, but perhaps asking your manager for extra shifts would be more effective?"
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
'Even I was fooled.'
Umie makes a brief face, like she's just popped a sour candy. She knows, in a few years' time, she'll look upon this interaction with longing. To be mistaken as younger... (That self of five years ago made mistakes that could never be taken back.)
As Akechi points out the student's 'love', Umie fights the urge to recoil in disgust; she instead, looks away.
As if it didn't merit comment at all, she gives Akechi a sweet smile. "That sounds like a great idea, Detective."
Akabane-san. Akabane-san. It's not until her head hits and absorbs in the blessed air of the A/C like a bird basking in the sun that it hits the girl.
Suspicion clouds Umie's gaze as she regards Akechi momentairely, but logic, the wingman of reason, steps in. He knows Ren. Ren could have easily told him about her after the festival.
Just mundane talk. Gossip.
She lets her expression fall with a sigh, adopting a manner that feels more natural than the mysterious boy butler or the sporty young girl. "Amamiya-kun's told you about me, I take it?" Umie lets her jacket slip off fully, tying the sleeves around her waist. The thumbsleeves are there underneath; she takes a moment to do a full bow, imitating the boy butler. "<You are correct.>"
"A baseball cap and some glasses isn't _that_ expensive, though," she says as she straightens, with small grin at Akechi. "What about you? I thought your deal was with the Phantom Thieves." The question is reflexively dodged, another tossed in his direction like a smokebomb.
A little *too* quickly, she realizes, as Akechi may have valuable information himself. "Though, if you're here, then... you're not satisfied with the explanation either, are you?"
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
"Oh not at all." Akechi says of Ren Amamiya. "I do enjoy spending my conversations with him, but I've hardly recruited him to be my informant." There's that smug smile on his features, "Indeed I do believe he'd reject the idea quite vehemently."
He has an idea in time perhaps for that to happen on a more transactional basis, but for now, he decides to bide his time.
Umie does then mention that such supplies aren't that expensive, "Well, I suspect not, but a private investigator can be quite the lucrative career if one can make it work for them."
But the Phantom Thieves? He chuckles, "Oh, you must have seen me on TV. Well... let us just say that while I am asked to speak primarily on the Phantom Thieves these days, I am a rather skilled detective, running my own agency. It would be a waste of my talents only to work on a single case at a time."
Instead he takes a notebook out of his pocket, with the same logo on it and - opens it up, flipping about halfway, then moving a few pages back. Once he stops, he begins to read, "Does the name Syuusei Honjou ring a bell to you? He attempted to hire me to locate his 'mentally ill fiance' who had gotten a terrible case of cold feet... or at least, those were his words for your situation. However, I rejected the job... he was, to put it mildly, hiring me under false pretenses."
He does smile at her in this case, "Unless, you actually do wish to get down on your knees and beg him to take you back?"
He takes out a pen, as if he were ready to update his records, just in case. "If that were actually the case, then I'm willing to reconsider matters?"
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Perhaps, Umie judged Ren too quickly. Why would someone so cautious about opening up be the kind of person who'd open up about someone else? Especially as...
"Informant?" It's like it never crossed Umie's mind. She shakes her head, chuckling. "Yeah, you're right. I don't see him as being that kind of person." Could she say for certain? No. The dark-eyed young man's quiet manner has been steady, and their shifts have been dogged with customers. "I just thought... ah, nevermind." Perhaps, it's not in Akechi's nature to have acquaintances. Or perhaps, the same could be said of Ren?
"Private investigator?" Umie shakes her head. "I'm not the kind of person that'd do well at that, for very long."
The topic of Phantom Thieves is a lifesaver once again, to avoid the possible follow-up question or two. "... My friend wouldn't shut up about it, more like," she says, with a wry smile. "If Amamiya-kun hadn't grabbed you out of the way back at that booth last week, you might've been in trouble. But, fair enough."
Her demeanor cools as the notebook comes out. As Syuusei Honjou's name is uttered, whatever casual manner is instantly dropped, crashing like fine china on the school tile below.
"... I'm sure he'd enjoy that, after I cruelly rejected his offer," she says, her voice lowered. "A man's pride is a dangerous thing to toy with. Which is why I tried to make it absolutely clear: he can find his obligatory wife somewhere else. Let it be a doll, for all I care; it might as well be." Fury quietly simmers in her chest like a forge, heating a knife with no appropriate target to lob it at. "Is this where you tell me that I should depend on someone else to save me? Put his name on a website and wait for some phantom to have mercy on my plight? Or maybe, call one of those *other* websites up?"
She stops, taking a moment to calm herself, giving Akechi a small grimace. "Men like him are better dealt with by being ignored." She adds, then, "Sorry. Haven't had to think about him in months. I appreciate you telling me, though, Akechi-san." The name is direct, but is earnest; no matter how Akechi may have broached the subject, he was doing his job by examining the situation. "And thank you, for thinking better of it."
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
Akechi does watch Umie closely as she speaks on Ren, his brown eyes smiling a touch, "You thought? Ah well, it'd be quite normal for a young man to speak of a woman that caught their fancy to another young man as well, but..."
His eyes sparkle with a touch of mischief, "... Perhaps he thought it was gauche to think that way of his 'butler'?"
It's a soft tease, and only a light one, before he then files away that she thinks she doesn't think she'd do very well at the job.
"Ahaha... well I'm glad I made an impression on her." He says, with a sense of good humor on the matter, "But I'll have to thank him, it wouldn't be the first time he's pulled me out of the way of some of my more enthusiastic fans."
He doesn't say how of course, but he'll give credit where credit is due.
Akechi then watches Umie as she lowers her voice, all humor fading, before his pen is recapped, and put away, his notebook soon following.
He doesn't speak, instead waiting for her to get those furious feelings out. Until she asks, 'Is this where you tell me...?' "Not at all..." He says with his eyes lowered slightly.
"...As loathsome as the man is, I'd never suggest you should go to the Phantom Thieves to deal with him."
His voice is soft, but serious, perhaps even slightly regretful in some strange way, like he's apologetic in a sense for bringing him back up to a woman who had him off her mind.
"However, I did think it was important to let you know... you might be right that ignoring him is the best course, but I doubt I'm the only investigator he went to."
As she apologizes, he lets off a chuckle, and brushes it off, "Apology accepted - it's quite alright Akabane-san. As a detective, I do have some experience in understanding a woman's heart in circumstances such as these."
A beat.
"But that does now bring us to the topic at hand. You were asking that pair about the 'Old Maid'... yet you yourself admit you wouldn't do well as a detective." His hand comes to rest on his chin again. "Why the sudden interest?"
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Just as Umie thought her route was planned out, Akechi turns it around on her in a light-hearted way, drawing Umie's cheeks to turn a shade of pink. She laughs, shaking her head. "Ahh, it wouldn't be the first time~" she says, a slight singsong tone to her voice. "But no, I'm pretty certain he seems me as just another nosy boring adult. It was fun, though, changing the script around~"
As for the other times? Some things must remain mysteries.
And feelings? They should remain inside.
"Yeah," Umie murmurs, her eyes downcast. "... Sorry, you're right. You'd be the last person to suggest that. Just... the one time I opened up to a friend about it..." Nevermind there had been evenings when she had considered it, while in the same beat, wondering if it was her heart that would to be targetted next. Corrupt men are a dime a dozen, while people who've taken a life...
Now everything's become distorted, she reflects. Would Syuusei feel happy, to know he's had this effect on her? That Akechi became a part of his passive-aggressive schemes, when he was trying to do the right thing?
"I'll make note of it. Not everyone's like you, after all." A small nod of respect, perhaps; while Akechi had to endure her anger, like Pandora's box, something good was left behind... "Alright."
... An element of trust, whether intention or not, makes these next answers flow a little smoother.
".... They've affected a few friends of mine, so." She looks up. "It's that simple, really. If I become the next victim, it wouldn't be because the Old Maid came after me to shut me up. I'd be one, regardless, I figure." She shrugs, adding with a wry smile, "there's threads that run through Sumaru City. Rumors, connections, things that are just assumed to be true, when the truth's a lot more complicated." She slips her hands into the pockets of her shorts, finally taking off her glasses with a crisp clink of plastic. "Gh... these things always give me a headache when I wear them too long."
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
"Well you only just came of age, I'm sure he can give you some grace." Akechi teases, lightly, as he certainly knows that Ren has problems with adults. So too does he.
Umie does apologize, stating she's the last person that should suggest it, and he watches her, "I presume you were betrayed... that's quite unfortunate." He says, as a fingertip rubs the edge of his chin, "But, perhaps it's for the best."
That's a bold statement to make! But he soon qualifies, "It's a harsh lesson, but the alternative perhaps would be a world where you hadn't been able to escape your circumstances."
And indeed, given the consequences of not escaping, well... that might seem obvious, "Unfortunately, we live in a world where the naivete they actively cultivate in young women, is solely to meet the approval of despicable men who would see them only as property."
It's perhaps not anything that so many women do think from time to time, what's strange is that Akechi just comes out and says it so bluntly, to a woman he only just met.
He's even younger than her!
'Not everyone's like you, after all.'
He does smile warmly, "I'll take that as a compliment." He says, affably, before Umie gets to the meat of what he asked.
"... Well discomfort aside, the aesthetic does work for you." He asides of the glasses, before thinking of it more seriously, "You truly think you'll end up a victim because of the people you associate with?"
Akechi murmurs thoughtfully, "And just whom of your friends would you suspect of being his next victim?"
He asks quietly, but perhaps urgently, "Would any of them have enemies with enough of a grudge that they might perform the Joker Rumor? ... I know that's a difficult question to answer. Give anyone the tools to kill, and the belief they won't be caught... and you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn't have someone like that in their life."
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
"Nope," Umie says, with a sharp, yet playful grin, "It's too late for me. The first bill I got, I immediately thought about complaining about music being too loud, and kids not automatically respecting their elders. Soon enough, the curse falls upon us all~" She's wiggling her red-painted fingers. "--is what old men and women in tall buildings would like others to believe. The reins are in our hands alone, unless we let someone else take them from us." Oh no, she's falling into tutor mode. Umie politely kicks it aside, abandoning her train of thought. That's something for the *other* popular boy at Sevens.
... It's one that she likely learned from him, besides.
"Betrayed?" Umie shakes her head. "No, just, they suggested the Phan-site, if you meant my friend. It felt like loading my problems on someone else." As much as they have given her inspiration, their methods are in the dark; this, however, she's not going to volunteer to Akechi, just yet.
Akechi's words may be harsh, but in light of what Umie just said? "I'm pleasantly surprised," Umie says, touching a hand to her chin. "You really do seem to have some kind of handle on a 'woman's heart', Akechi-san." The transformation from 'title', to 'lightly placed nickname' to 'polite but respectful surname' may be a twisty turvy path, but perhaps, the fact that he's said certain things so bluntly has earned Umie's respect.
Umie looks at her glasses, considering them. "Well, if the detective prince thinks so, I'll have to take it under consideration, then."
Does she think she'll be a victim because of that? "Trouble attracts trouble, but in this case, no. It's enemies that increase the likelihood. Or, well..." She considers. "I wonder if the problem isn't just that the difficulty is made a whole lot lower. Making a phone call, or entering a name into a website removes a person from having to think about their guilt. It's why it made me so angry when my friend suggested it, even if I don't... well, I think of the Phan-site as on another level. To use the Old Maid or Strega to do your work for you... it might mean you never have to think about the fact that you're the cause of it. Not until it's too late to correct it."
Which leads to one fact, that Tatsuya Suou told her. "'Strega' and Joker Killer are connected. Probably because their goals are the same. Members of Strega were here. As was..." Well, she never *saw* the Joker Killer, just...
A thing, with the face of her tutee on it.
Her gaze drifts off. Why? What is the connection between everything? "He... was holding that young man, in his arms," she says, in monotone, with no context, as if in a daze. "While something with his face called. He was not supposed to be there."
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
"Aha - well I'll look forward to my own Coming of Age with some trepidation then... lest I fall into the same trap."
The truth is, Akechi does fear it in a sense. But he also doesn't think about it as much as he might. He lives mostly with one goal in the mind...
... the rest merely keeps life interesting along the way.
"Ah, my mistake." He says apologetically, "There tends to be a pattern in these stories about prideful men and those who betray them to them when people come to us as Detectives. Sometimes our mind tends to jump the gun."
There is something of a pause, "Well, they are a popular fad right now, I can understand why some people might be tempted... however, as you well know, I'm not one to suggest changing someone's heart for my own self-satisfaction... and anyway, I certainly believe you're correct."
He places a hand on his chin, as if lost in thought, "If I had to guess, the Phantoms Thieves themselves believe they are mostly helping those who are unable to help themselves. But does not that encourage relying upon them?"
There's a chuckle as he says he has a handle on a woman's heart, to smiling, "Well, I do tend to handle many a crisis for women who require my services, which comes with listening to them extensively. I'd like to believe I am slightly more in touch with a 'woman's heart' than the average guy my age."
He takes it in good humor, it is perhaps a slight brag, but perhaps he's earned that credential too.
Umie speaks though upon the enemies increasing the likelihood, and speculates upon the availability of it and what effect it truly has... "That is true... and one might wonder how it is the Phantom Thieves are not that far removed from either in that regard. How do they understand which requests are Just, and which are Unjust, in their own 'moral code'?"
Akechi knows goddamn well how they think they do, but he's not about to say that, but... "Hardly surprising... Birds of a feather..." On Strega and the Joker Killer... but what Umie says next.
Detective - Persona 5 Animation OST - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hMdL9SX3nE
Akechi studies Umie's face as she speaks of the incident. "Akabane-san?" He says as if trying to catch her focus, "Are you with me?"
And while there is some small concern in his eyes...
... he's peering more closely...
"Which young man? Can you describe more clearly what happened?"
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Umie's words are simple, but, despite only meeting Akechi for the second time, they're heartfelt. "I think you'll survive." She shrugs her shoulders, holding her hands up. "As for me, I haven't even gotten to my ceremony yet. I'm an April 2nd baby. Not looking forward to it, though..." Usually the shortest, looks the youngest, always the oldest, that's Umie Akabane.
"You're not wrong," Umie agrees, considering, with a wry grin. "Maybe you'll have to put 'oracle' on that resume, someday. I'll let you know."
Akechi is correct. He'd be the last to suggest it; Umie's words could never be for him. Like an angered cat, displaced fury solemn considers its victims. "You've hit upon what worries me," Umie admits, reluctantly, reddish brown eyes looking to the side. "No one can really know what someone's heart's like. I'm not sure what they do, but... I consider them powerful for another reason: the presence of something that fights back is only going to make others reconsider their own actions. Even, perhaps, boring new adults who've just moved into a new city," she adds, with a lopsided chuckle. "Even if those people aren't aiming to be detectives, and probably wouldn't even know it if they met a 'phantom thief'."
But that is a personal action; would she eat her words, when the Phantom Thieves use some terrible supernatural method to harm their victims?
What lies in the heart?
What lies in the heart of someone with the Mark, allowed to walk and breathe among the normal populace, nonethewiser?
Just what does Umie know, and what is in those eyes that widen, locked in a position only she can see?
"... A young man in red. Holding a young man with the soft smile." It's as if she wasn't there, despite her pupils directing themselves to Akechi's hands. No, *a* hand. His right. "Don't remember. Stop it. Don't remember." Her words grow ever softer, held inbetween breaths. "In June, the spider lilies bloom blood red in the fields. A man hangs from the branch, caught between decision and action," she mumbles. "A blackbird cries in the tree, who hears it? Who is there? Who is it, with that face? Black butterflies fill the school hallways."
"It is just the beginning."
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
"Well... why go at all?" Is Akechi's simple response to that. "You ran away from it all, didn't you? The ceremony is merely a formality..."
While he is someone who is shackled to his past, he is curious... is Umie someone who is too, despite their actions?
Even if one gets away, can one truly?
'Oracle'. "Aha... perhaps. Though it's said the greatest oracles were women, isn't it so?" He smiles, somewhat smugly to that idea, "I'd rather not 'dabble' in divination and prophecy unless I know I can rise to the top... besides... if some things are predetermined, then I'd rather focus on the things that are in my hands."
After all, he will forever be a Cursed Child. That is his fate. But from that point forward... can he not at least believe the rest in his hands?
No, he has to believe that.
"So you see them instead as a symbol to inspire others?" He says, as if it's certainly an idea he's considered before, perhaps even something he's debated on television, "If so, then I believe it's a dangerous precedent to set... swaying society to believe that the correct course is changing the hearts of those who wrong them. And what's more, that they are the sole arbiters of right and wrong... to the point where their supporters won't even question the righteousness of their actions."
Whether it's deterrence of wrong-doing, or inspiration of right behavior, Akechi seems genuinely disturbed.
But perhaps not moreso than when Umie begins speaking in abstraction, as an Oracle might.
And Akechi stares at her... right into her dilated pupils. "Try to." He says softly, as if prompting her, despite her warning otherwise.
His notebook pops out, as he quickly changes pages, and writes down what she says swiftly in a shorthand. Right next to a strange sketch of an eye.
"Spider lilies... grave flowers... Blackbird... Black butterflies..."
He jots it down quickly, then turns to another page, a list of the people who were present, trailing down... his pen stopping at Jun Kashihara.
"Blackbird..."
He trails off... before thinking on the matter, and writing down 'Junko Kurosu' -> Karasu
Prophecy does enjoy it's word games, does it not?
"... Fascinating."
One last question, he had best ask it carefully.
"Do you remember me?" He asks, steadily.
It would be the safer, kinder course to just let her go, or to try and snap her out of it. He does nothing of the sort.
A mystery has been dangled right in front of him - and he snaps at it like a ravenous wolf.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
"What, you wouldn't appreciate seeing someone wearing their finest? I *do* happen to have the proper figure for a furisode, you know." It's a gentle tease, despite the uneven smile; for someone who tries to seem like she doesn't care about other's feelings, her choice of words here are... careful.
Even for the sake of another chance to turn his comment around in order to rib the young man, Umie doesn't know Akechi's preferences, after all, despite many Sevens students likely claiming otherwise. (Perhaps, she's just as shackled to wanting to please others, as soon as she takes some liking to them.)
"Yeah. But isn't that so women can be sold as full of divine wisdom, rather than logic?" Umie interjects, idly. "Besides, the 'third coming of the detective princess' doesn't have the same ring to it, does it?"
But what he says next draws Umie to feel a liking to the young man once again. Is this simply him projecting an image he thinks she will like, or is she doing the same? It's not that she disliked him before; he was ultimately meant to be likable from the start, given the image he projected.
But damn it if doesn't *work* just fine, now that they're talking, and he's done things that thrown her idea of him off, just enough.
She looks at Akechi again, considering. Her lips curve in a pleased grin. "I agree, with that. I'd rather believe in the things I can control than give it over to things like fate."
As for the Phantom Thieves? "Yeah. That's the dilemma, right there." Maybe she's being too agreeable here, but these are questions she's considered. It's only natural, when you feel like your own heart might be at stake. "I can be blind to a friend, but not a concept. But maybe that's why I'm not the detective. Just... someone who wants to know." It feels weak, to say it like that.
But Akechi can't know what that's like, to look at your right wrist every time you brush your teeth, or cook an omelet, and wonder.
And since when did crows avoid a red field?
Dilated eyes perch on the last sentence. Something odd, here. Why would... she...?
"You're--" Unlike Tatsuya Suou...
"Goro. A..." She seems fully aware of who Akechi is, recognition building in her eyes like a small candleflame."... ke... chi." By the last syllable is uttered, Umie is back.
She groans, and palms her face, uttering a disgraceful word she's regularly employed in supernatural arenas, but attempts to reign back in polite society, in front of a _member of the law_, no less.
"Shit," says the oracle, in a muffled voice.
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
"Now that would be a sight to see." Akechi says of the Furisode, even if he thinks she's dodging the question.
And Akechi doesn't seem like he's lying either, but nor does he seem... lecherous, sex-crazed? Just flirtatious at baseline, perhaps- like it was merely part of his charm, for his TV Persona. There's never the impression he's undressing someone with his eyes.
"Hmm. You do raise a fine point." Akechi concedes on the idea of the Oracle being full of divine wisdom rather than logic, "Perhaps not. A woman would have an incredibly difficult time establishing themselves in the world we live in."
As he again allows that the Detective Princess is probably not in the card, "Though I doubt you'd be that troubled by the role of 'femme fatale' either. Holmes always did claim that 'Irene Adler' was one of the few that could equal him..."
Most in Japan would believe that one's sex is just another aspect of fate - immutable from the moment of birth. And if gender is such, then must they not all play to the roles, even as they criticize them?
At least Akechi seems to understand these roles ought to be criticized, even as he plays to type. The Detective Prince, requires a Princely image, does it not?
A smile, and a nod on the idea of fate, before he regards her, "Yes it is quite difficult to escape a 'concept'... especially when it's a movement that's become as popular as the Phantom Thieves. We're all subject to the whims of fads and trends."
Him going to a cafe because it's popular, isn't any different from speaking on the Phantom Thieves on TV, is it?
He peers at Umie for a time after she says his name, like he's looking deeper. Searching for the nature of a mystery he can't quite see. "That's right." He agrees, "Are you alright, Akabane-san?"
He asks now, only after pressing her in that trance-like state for information.
Only now can he play the Prince, "... You look a touch under the weather." He says, as he reaches out with a steadying hand, just a light touch, being sure that faux concern enters into his voice.
"May I offer you an escort, to some place where you could have a seat and get some fresh air? Naturally... I insist."
Is the concern truly artificial?
Well... there's little point dwelling on that when it's a dead woman walking.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Akechi's comment about Irene Adler is about to be considered aloud (she should really read some of those short stories), but the Badb in her seizes on another point: another chance to gently tease. "Femme fatale?" Umie's lips turn upwards in that hint of a crescent smile. "Are you saying I could stand to use my charms more, Akechi-san?"
It'd be foolish of Umie to deny that Akechi is incredibly good-looking, albiet in a different way than Tatsuya Suou. He is the boy next door, coupled with style and intelligence. But where Tatsuya endeared himself as an acquaintance with his goofier habits (are those gone, too, now?), it's the sharper comments that have made Umie pay more attention to Akechi. It could all be an illusion, made to soften her enough to talk, but what could he possibly know about her outside of his investigations?
"I'm sure it'll shift before long." Umie grins back. "But wouldn't that be when it becomes more interesting? Or..." No, that's not it at all, is it? "I've wondered, by projecting your leads and thoughts, it felt like it was giving the Phantom Thieves a leg up on you. But now, talking to you..." She folds her arms, assessing Akechi. "You have a direct way to influence people's opinions because of it; everything for the Phantom Thieves is indirect. They are everything and nothing, up until the moment they're observed. They can only control so much."
But isn't there a power in that, too, being undefined?
Isn't that what a mystery is?
Umie's distress, for better or worse, was set the moment she slipped into that cruel blankness. Her words of 'stop it' and 'don't remember' weren't her own, at that point, but words she heard. Perfect works, to lure someone in. Let the oracle throw her bones and find meaning in them; if the cast net finds something new, perhaps it was already on the cusp of surfacing in one's own mind.
The role of oracle is cast off in time for Akechi to don one of his own: the Prince. The wavering Umie's is stilled by Akechi's hand; as he offers an escort, she has to bite down on her tongue in a foolish quest to keep that pink from coloring her cheeks.
'Ara, what a gentlemen~ Don't lose that cute tsuntsun of yours just because the prince has shown up, make them work for that dere.' Of course Mai-chan would say that, the spoilsport.
"Wouldn't your fanbase murder me in my sleep if they saw you escorting me anywhere?" Nevermind, she's actually considering it, as relief relaxes her tone. "... Ah well, lead the way. Let them work out who I am; I'm sure it'll be fun." Her hand fishes for those damned glasses, which she unfolds and slips on with both hands, then reaches up to straighten her cap. "Lead the way, ou-ji-sa-ma."
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
"Ahaha..." The Detective Prince chuckles at her statement, "... well who doesn't enjoy having a charming woman in their life? Though I'm certainly not implying that you're not already charming enough. Those guys at the front of the school certainly thought so."
One might get the impression he's teasing her some, but being rather ambiguous about it.
"My~ Are you implying that I'm attempting to manipulate the opinions of the masses upon a group that has captured their hearts? That's a rather bold assertion."
Akechi smiles in that far too affable way, "Have you ever considered the Phantoms are doing the same, by remaining so far out of the public eye? A few words upon a calling card, confessions on a TV... their fans can project absolutely anything they desire upon them."
But is that not the same thing he's doing, trying to make people project their own desires upon them?
But the distress comes of her taking on the narrative Archetype of the Oracle, and beyond that comes Akechi taking on the role of the 'Prince'.
"I won't pretend that my fans can't be rather extreme about those who I keep my company with..."
He places his arm at her side, offering it to her, "... but you're a woman who just had a very distressing moment. Imagine what they'd say if I didn't offer you my arm - and my company until I was absolutely certain you were well? How would that reflect upon me?"
His expression becomes subtly more smug, "Besides... if they saw us together, then they could imagine it might be them instead, if they were the one in distress."
A damsel, for a moment - with a self-aware Prince. It offers Umie that out, of just playing a 'fun role' rather than it being objective reality.
He leads her down the way to an empty classroom. It's the end of the day after all, and everyone has left. It's not particularly clean - Cuss High students aren't especially diligent in that regard, but it has seating in terms of a desk which he leads her towards, and helps her settle down.
"There we are... privacy - and breathing room." He tells her as if leading up to something, as he turns around, leaning against a desk at a diagonal from hers. It gives her plenty of space.
"Do these 'spells' happen often?" He asks her, as if genuinely curious on the matter of her health.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
"Ugh, don't remind me," Umie says, making a show of turning her head away in disgust, albiet obviously not towards Akechi. She *did* enjoy jumping in after Akechi's setup; it was no different than how she interacted in battle. Perhaps Badb's strengths aren't in singular, one on one battles, but in pouncing after a weakness, or similarly, creating one. (Or maybe, she just likes it, deep down.)
"I'm saying only a fool would fail to recognize it, and you haven't given me any sign that you are one." Yet another wayward compliment. Though is she a fool for not seeing it? Eeeh, she's not the one having to use social media. (Thank god. Though does that make her a boring adult?)
But Akechi does bring up a good point. "So, they're 'stealing the heart' of the public, in a way? I could see that." She leans forward with an energy she displayed earlier, when they first interacted today; it's not as much that this is a 'weakness', but her grasping onto an idea. "Just as you are, in a way. You aren't what you are on TV, but I wouldn't say that persona--" no pun intended, she mentally thinks, "--isn't entirely a lie, either. Just your mask. And this person in front of me... most likely another mask." And hasn't she been doing it too? This is a far cry from the grumpy gremlin who sunk into a booth at Benny's because a Palace was 'close'.
Visions had stopped her from continuing down that line of thought, for better or worse. Regarding Akechi's offered arm, Umie smirks, taking it. "Aha~ clever. Alright, I accept."
She lets herself be led to a quiet classroom, taking a moment to look around at the locale, now marinating in the late afternoon sun as she's led to her seat. "... You know... it's not so different. Messier, more marked up, but... hardly what I thought I'd see, when I was in Sevens." Maybe the new students have changed the feel?
'Do these 'spells' happen often?'
( BGM: https://youtu.be/64R6OOutUK0?si=tt3HJFkFNNG60jJ6 )
Umie frowns, studying the Detective Prince.
She was relieved when Akechi accepted that these happen, though while in the middle of it, she couldn't say what he did, or how he reacted. Without any evidence of anything specific that he may have done, all she can do is assume it was neutral. "It depends," she starts off, leaning back in her chair as she gestures towards him with one hand. "It's nothing medical, if you're wondering. Your initial instincts concerning Honjou's reasoning are still true."
But what it is, however... Akechi shows no resonance. While it means nothing since she would likely show up similarly to anyone who looked, it means she has to assume he is without one.
She leans back in her chair, crossing her arms and legs. "I'd say they occur maybe... once a month? Maybe more. Maybe less."
This one, though, it had to have happened because of that thing she saw; Umie's certain now.
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
"Well I'd never accuse a woman of being a fool." He replies with a smug tease, "So I suppose you must be right at that. Personally - I'd phrase it more as... putting forth a persuasive thesis, on what 'Justice' ought to be."
And indeed that does sound more favorable than 'manipulation' does it not?
"Well yes. Many people are disenchanted with the direction of the country as it stands. It hardly takes much to convince people they're on the side of Justice. Kamoshida... Madarame... both despicable criminals... but who can say how the Phantom Thieves truly got them to confess their sins 'with their own mouths'?"
Umie indicates this he isn't entirely the person he plays on TV, but that it's... not a lie either, just a mask. "That's a good way to put it." He concedes, "Sometimes to create the change you desire, you have to play the role society assigns to you."
Ren calls it living a fake life, that certainly stung... but he's just smiling, "When you have a goal, and that goal is itself a concept... or an ideal." A small tilt of his head, and his eyes close, "Or perhaps even a 'Proof' of the Justice that I'm trying to achieve - then putting on such a mask is a small price to pay."
This is something he can admit at least to her, even as he puts on the Mask of the Prince, and escorts her - but indeed, he is a perfect gentleman about it. Now that she's out of distress, she lets her take his arm, to touch him - rather than to touch her.
And once out of the way, in a place where she can sit down, and the rays of late afternoon sunlight burn orange through the window, silhouetting his head.
He listens with an expression that seems neutral in the way the light silhouettes him, making it difficult to see his features.
"I didn't think it was."
Akechi continues watching her, "Once a month... good. It's better that way." As he then looks off, allowing more of his expression to see in abstraction.
And then he gets up from the desk, and walks to the blackboard...
... and finds where the chalk is stored and begins to draw something...
It looks vaguely like a hand, but then he draws lines inside of it. The curve of a figure. Three dots for eyes.
"Do you recognize this?" He says, as he finally turns around. "A woman once came to me, asking for help solving the mystery of what 'this' was."
He places the chalk down, and now he's leaning on the teacher's desk at the front of the classroom. The same position as before, but it's a different perspective... from a desk, he'd be any other high school boy.
From up front, he's the teacher, and Umie the student... assessing her reaction to something he has posed.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Akechi senses the fault in Umie's reasoning; she chuckles. "A detective, with a sense of Justice?" The wry humor is delivered with a smile; it's clear irony. Unlike people like Tsubasa, Ren, or Tatsuya, Umie's vision of the police force has suffered little, save for vaue insinuations that the NWO could have their fingers involved in it, just like any organization of power. Those were all old men, vague recollections from her childhood. Not people like Akechi, or Katsuya, each possessing a strong sense of justice.
But maybe that's why Umie would never do what Ren did that one day, when he very casually destroyed Akechi in one master stroke of quick thinking.
"... So it's a battle of wits, for the heart of what the public sees as 'Justice'. A pretty high concept." As Akechi settles on the concept of masks, Umie raises an eyebrow.
That's interesting, that he'd focus on that, though it didn't seem to be from what she said. "I mean, we all have masks," she concedes. "I don't talk like this at my job; people don't come in for a side of discussion with their mouthwash. And really, on a night shift, I'm not either."
And now, in this amber lit classroom, as Akechi shifts from the mask of a high school boy to teacher by picking up some chalk, Umie's heart begins to beat faster. Why does she hear laughing? Maybe it's a faculty member far away, scrolling through their phone.
A hand, with lines. The figure. The three dots for eyes. If she were to unveil her right wrist right now, it'd be pretty accurate.
Well, shit.
Umie should have refused to be escorted by the nice young man and his incredibly silky hair. (Seriously, what is his regimen? It's incredibly unfair that guys usually get the nice hair.)
But it's not a trap, exactly; he is a detective. One of these days, Katsuya will do the same to her. One can't thrust their nose into other's business and not have the same attention pulled to them. It's fine.
Her seat briefly betrays her as she shifts in it; she passes it off as her shifting her legs around. Her expression, when Akechi turns around, has finished its transformation from quiet panic to something resembling the neutral expression Akechi gave before.
"And what did that woman tell you? I'd like to know too." She leans in with a smile, planting her elbows on the desk with her fingers interlaced. "What do you know, Sen-sei-san?"
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
"I know it's difficult to imagine." He responds wryly on a detective with a sense of Justice.
Before nodding in acquiescence, "That's a good way to see it. I simply don't think society should condone individuals who would change the hearts of others for their own self-satisfaction. It's... not far removed from, say, for example..."
Akechi gives Umie a long look, though not an unkind one, "... Honjou-san changing your heart to have you happily walk down the aisle in a bridal gown." It is close to home, but it's meant to be, simply to drive his point home.
With crossed arms does the teacher look at her, the light shining off the side of his far too silky hair.
It's unfair! How does a young man like him manage to make his hair look like he puts no effort into it - and yet it's that shiny.
"Not as much as I'd like. That she saw visions... heard voices." Akechi sets the chalk down, "She told me that they were telling her not to trust me... but that she wanted me to look into it."
His eyes are distant... "The next time I saw her, she was no longer with us. Nothing of what was left of her was recognizable, except..."
A vague gesture at the board, before he turns to look at Umie, and says... almost apologetically, "I do believe that you're involved in something dangerous, Akabane-san. I only wish I could offer you more information..."
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
There. Right there. Akechi just unlocked a new fear. He'd see it in Umie's eyes, and in the flush of resonance that appears like a storm cloud on a hot summer afternoon, which dries up just as quickly.
She had built up the idea that the Phantom Thieves as being so dedicated to a level of 'justice' that they wouldn't fall prey to corruption. But, power corrupts. The NWO is testament to that.
This would be even worse than being compelled to confess. "Then," Umie says, swallowing, "what stops someone else from doing the same thing? If there is a method..."
Akechi doesn't seem to believe it's something mundane, at all. Umie can no longer pretend she believes otherwise.
This is a world where mummy heads talk, and shadows crawl and whisper into your ear. And Akechi, despite not having any sign of a Persona, seems to lack that common, logical position that the world is what it seems to be. Why wouldn't he? Katsuya stumbled into having a Persona himself.
Umie falls back into her chair in mock disappointment. "And here I thought you were a knight coming to save a random damsel in distress." No, he seems to be coming to 'save' *her*, specifically.
'Nothing of what was left of her was recognizable, except...'
A cold chill runs down her spine.
He's got her where he needs her to be, she realizes.
"And say, if I did have this... mark, or tattoo, what would you be able to do? Be the sweet Prince, and coddle me in my last days?"
Or would he... 'Bin-go. Just like that dog in that old American movie...'
"And were you sure it was that mark that did it, besides? Let's say, for example, it was the Joker Killer." Who, most likely has the Mark, now that she thinks about it.
It has to be. Everyone she's felt having the Mark has been a part of the NWO, or... him.
Just how distorted is she?
"Or maybe, it was someone... coming to shut her up," she says, trying to maintain her composure. Her gaze shifts away; the room feels smaller by the second.
It's only a matter of time
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
"That is indeed what I'm worried about... even if they are themselves were using it in a manner that could ostensibly be considered Just..."
He trails off, and Umie doesn't need for him to finish, what happens if someone began using it in a manner that was unjust?
"Sorry to disappoint." He says of the idea of being the Knight here to save a damsel in distress. "And to be qutie honest? I don't know the answer to that."
As Akechi paces forward, to lean back against that desk at her diagonal, moving from that position of dominance, back into that of being at least 'more' on her level.
"There's too much I don't know to deduce to any sort of certainty that this... 'Mark' was the reason for her demise."
If he's trying to play the role of Prince or Knight - attempting to sell himself as her savior, then he's doing quite a poor job of it, isn't he?
'I don't know.'
An admission that there are just many factors about this mystery he doesn't understand - and from the look in his boyish brown eyes, that certainly seems true.
"... I'm not one to make promises I can't deliver upon, Akabane-san. So I won't sell you a line like 'I'll protect you' or the like." He smiles in a way that looks vaguely sad, after all, he couldn't protect this other woman, "I'm a Detective... and the value of a Detective is in solving mysteries that only they can. And if I don't miss my Mark." He doesn't look apologetic for the pun, "You're something of a 'Mystery' yourself."
Out of his pocket, he slides out a card, holds it in both of his hands, but he doesn't quite bow.
"Perhaps it's improper for a young man like myself to offer his number to another young lady so soon, but - if you're rather tired of being considered the 'damsel'... and you're unsuited to the role of 'Detective Princess.' Then why don't you give me a call, from time to time?"
He picks up his briefcase, like he's going to leave in short order... perhaps because he thinks he shouldn't press her any harder.
Obviously she knows more than she's saying, but he knows better than anyone he shouldn't ask.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
The Phantom Thieves are rapidly becoming the furthest thing from her mind.
It would be nice, if Akechi did try to win her over with some vague promise. It would have made it easier to turn him down, and let Akechi ride off into the sunset, where he'd likely become a contact for the occasional pleasant chat.
But no, he shifts from that position, shifting to the role of the high schooler, as he tells her some version of the truth: he doesn't know. It could still be a lie, but even lies can be founded on a basis of truth. In the end, she senses it: he's looking for answers too. To what end? That is a mystery itself.
The pun elicits a wince from Umie; even if she doesn't know the proper term, it may as well be. Brand, Emblem, Tattoo...
'Mark' feels the best word of all.
He offers his card; Umie reaches out and takes it with her right hand gently. "Of course," she allows herself, to say.
Wouldn't it be nice, if someone knew? (Someone she just met.)
Someone who seems to know a 'woman's heart'? (And likely is using that to manipulate her.)
Who admitted he had no answers, but wanted to know what the mystery was? (He's got her there.)
And if Ren likes him, he can't be that bad, can he? (_Nevermind that Ren is an ordinary teenage boy that Umie barely knows beyond 'I think I like him, he takes things off of shelves very nice and brings no drama.'_)
Umie sighs, taking off her glasses, and then her baseball cap, just so she can let her forehead gently knock on the desk like a teenager on her last spoon. "_Honestly._ *Fine*."
And there is the other part of Umie she's been hiding, all this time: that monotone, that sigh, that admittance that life can, and will suck, and she will have to work that night shift, and she will make many, many mistakes. And god help her, she's making another.
In a rough motion, like ripping off a bandaid, she raises her right hand over her head and, with her left, pulls up on the right armsleeve.
The three dots of the hand snaking around her arm stand out in the amber sun of evening against her pale skin.
"There," she says, her voice muffled into the desk. "<Congratulation>, I've only known you for, what, an hour? And you manage to pull this off. You've got _any_ idea how long I've kept that covered? But no, you had to be *honest*. You're a bastard, you know that?"
'Awww, your dere came out~'
Could Akechi sense some friendliness in that voice? He can. This is the same Umie. She's just no longer trying to play her role.
She is simply Umie, now.
Her head rises, wisps of ash blonde hair spilling over her forehead as she looks to Akechi, and takes care to cover her wrist, just in case anyone else strolls by.
But in the end, smoothing those wisps of hair back, Umie clasps Akechi's card between her index and ring finger, a smile snaking on her lips. "I look forward to our next chat, Akechi-san."
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
'_Honestly._ *Fine*.'
Akechi has his briefcase back in his hand, and was turning to leave when Umie cracked, he doesn't smile at this turn of events, instead looking like he's vaguely startled.
"... So I'm told." Is Akechi's response to being a bastard, as a more grim note enters into his voice. It's an insult that could be taken with an easy grace, after all, most famous detectives are bastards in the emotional sense of dealing with them.
But that's not the only sense that he's a bastard.
"An hour? Please... should I feel insulted that you have such a dim opinion of my skills?" As he decides to truly play the role of being a bastard, he smirks at her, "I figured it out before we ever spoke. What 'treasure' did you think I was talking about, while you were playing the role of 'Butler'?"
Now he has that faux affable smile on his features again, "A mystery truly is it's own reward."
And now he does turn, walking to the door, "As do I, so do stay in touch. See you around, Akabane-san."
Out the door he walks, leaving her in the classroom, moving at a sedate pace down the hallway, it's only once he's at a distance, that he notes.
"Well, it is always polite to introduce one's self first."
To someone they might just have to kill some day.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
'I figured it out before we ever spoke.'
Her eyes widen. Her lips open.
"...."
And she begins to laugh, much like she did when he looked up with those crumbs on his lips that day.
A release of tension. There's tears in her eyes, glittering in the slanted sunlight.
"You never cease to surprise me. I just gave you a lead; quite a few, most likely. Don't let me down, Detective Prince."