2025-08-10: People Watching
- Log: People Watching
- Cast: Reiya Aomori, Yanagi Nagisa
- Where: Penguin Sniper, Kichijoji, Tokyo
- OOC Date: August 10, 2025
- IC Date: June 23, 2012
- Summary: Reiya Aomori continues his mission to gather information about the wrongness that follows Taro Nakata. But he's not the only one watching, today. Some information is traded to one Yanagi Nagisa, with the hope of more to come...
<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.
This mission started as a directive from Reiya's least favorite person in SEES, but Reiya will not neglect duty just because it comes from a source he doesn't like. There is something strange about Taro Nakata, and Reiya intends to find out what it is. That night, he wasn't prepared to follow him home and learn more. ...But after school today, he took up the trail again.
Figuring out where someone goes to school is hardly a challenge in the modern world.
So Reiya has been places that Taro has been. He hasn't approached, hasn't made clear his presence, but he's there all right, and to those trained in how to tail someone, they might just have noticed him, if they're very good. But so far, nothing particularly interesting has happened.
Now, though, Taro has gone into Penguin Sniper... and so:
Reiya steps in, and orders some snacks. He's in casual clothes, but not in his Gekkoukan uniform, obviously. His steps are quiet. Even his snacks are going to be quiet, because he doesn't order crunchy pretzels or salty popcorn.
He moves to take a seat where he can watch the darts--where Nakata is. And he pulls his phone, to pretend to be engrossed in it.
Another chance to see something unusual...
<Pose Tracker> Yanagi Nagisa has posed.
There is something strange about Taro Nakata. Reiya knows it; so, too, do a few other people in Tokyo. It's convenient that Kichijoji is so close to Shimokitazawa. When Yanagi is already inside Penguin Sniper having a snack of delicious tater tots and a cream soda by the time Taro Nakata and then Reiya Aomori enter the establishment, surely there's nothing strange about that.
Aside from the fact that Penguin Sniper is a game place and the food is incidental to that, and she is not playing any games. But that's not their business.
She is herself dressed in a long shirt that has no sleeves or indeed sides--it's just two sheets of white pearlescent cloth connected at the neck by a cloth choker and the waist by black skintight shorts that match her undershirt. The sneakers seem to imply this is a glow-up of a sports outfit, but the ruffled cloth that waterfalls out her waistband and over her hips does not agree. Her hair is partially pulled back in a ponytail while the rest is loose; a pair of jeweled pins, gold and garnet, hold it in place. Matching bangles decorate her wrists. On the side of her table, next to her, is a sleek, polished walking cane, a loop of cloth keeping it close to her off-hand.
Next to her, Reiya sits. It's a good seat for watching Taro angrily play a solo game of darts. Yanagi knows, because she's already doing exactly the same thing.
After a few minutes of both of them watching Taro, Yanagi looks over at Reiya and smiles, then looks back at Taro.
Nom, goes another one of those tater tots. Yes, Pernelle will definitely like these; the parmesan-garlic dusting truly elevates them into a new experience. She'll have to take an order home with her once she's done here.
<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.
Of course, it would easier if something happened, something explicitly supernatural and strange, but Reiya is patient. His training prepared him for long, potentially boring missions. And admittedly, watching a boy angrily play darts on his own is not exactly the most stimulating activity.
But he does get the chance to take in the details of everyone else while he's at it, even if his mind files away that which is not immediately useful. The adults at a billiards table; a much less intense darts player; the young woman in the notable outfit beside him.
He looked at her just the once, but she made an impression! His 'casual attire' is altogether more conventional; dressy shirt, top button undone, undershirt, slacks. He looks every bit the Nice Young Man, and the most daring thing about his outfit is the fact that his undershirt is a vibrant purple.
But he looks again when Yanagi smiles at him, and inclines his head back. He considers; tots...
Is she also watching Taro?
...Reiya takes one of his own tots. Now he has two people to observe.
<Pose Tracker> Yanagi Nagisa has posed.
Compared to Reiya, Yanagi does stand out a lot more, doesn't she? Especially with that pale hair and those dark eyes... between that and her extremely slight figure, one might joke that she looks like a skeleton or a ghost. There is a liveliness in her eyes and her smile that might make one not make that joke too, though.
Reiya is also eating tots. Is it the same flavor of tots, or a different one? That is something Yanagi's senses are less able to detect, and after a moment, she leans over to openly eyeball his snack.
When she is satisfied, she leans back, takes a drink of her cream soda, and looks back at Taro. He is not crushing it at darts.
After a while longer, she remarks aloud, "Wow... He's terrible!"
In fairness, it's not like Yanagi knows the rules of darts. She's solely going by the number on the light-up board and also Taro's general rizz or lack thereof.
<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.
Reiya will not joke that she is a ghost, because it would be rude when he doesn't know her. ...But she does look kind of ephemeral in that outfit.
The tots are indeed the same flavor; garlic parmesan is universal, even for ninja. When Yanagi leans over, Reiya looks back at her. His expression isn't quite blank, but it is very neutral. "Parmesan-garlic," he says. "They seem to be a specialty..." Somehow, they're not too powdery, which helps with playing games while eating them.
Reiya does know the rules of darts. He's very good. So he knows just how good Taro isn't.
"True," he agrees quietly.
He considers a question. He decides, in the end, that it would reveal more than it might gain him, so he doesn't ask.
Instead he looks to the scoreboard. "...but his persistence is admirable, I suppose."
<Pose Tracker> Yanagi Nagisa has posed.
"The same as me!" Yanagi says brightly. She realized that after she leaned in, but she does appreciate this unknown boy just telling her so, too. "I wondered if you had a different version. My friend loves these, and I wondered if I should try a different flavor for him, too." She nibbles on another tot.
Reiya agrees that Taro sucks, but at least he's persistent. Yanagi tilts her head as she considers this. "Yes, there's much to be said about continuing to try even if you're bad. That's how you get good, eventually!" she concedes. "But I don't think either of us will see that today."
She takes another sip of her drink. Then she smiles anew at Reiya. "What about you?"
What about him? She does not specify.
<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.
Reiya is polite that way. "No, I don't," he confirms, "But I might try another next time." He has had enough of snacks here; it would be weird if he just sat here eating snacks forever without getting in a game of his own. And maybe, in fact, that's something to be done shortly. ...Not just yet though.
"Probably not," Reiya agrees about Taro. It's obvious now that they're both watching him, and that gives him a few questions. ...But first, in the way of an aphorism he says, "To give in to frustration is to give up on excellence."
What about him?
"I'm very good at darts," Reiya answers. That was definitely not the question.
<Pose Tracker> Yanagi Nagisa has posed.
It would be weird. That's why Yanagi has been getting the occasional glance from the person at the counter. She doesn't mind that or Reiya, though.
Reiya has some smart things to say. He also has an excuse ready at hand. "Hmmm... But that's not why you're here, is it?" Yanagi remarks. "Is he a friend of yours? ...It would be very unfortunate for you if he were."
Does she mean about the difference of their level in darts ability, or...?
<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.
Of course! It's important to have excuses ready to hand. He has four of five of them appropriate to the moment. But while Reiya could give one of those...
What Yanagi says interests him more than he's worried about being found out by her. She's already made that he's observing, after all. So long as Taro himself doesn't...
"It is not," Reiya confirms. "But he has been acting strangely to his friends. ...Of which I have never been one."
A pause, and he looks more fully at Yanagi. "I take it that you do not mean that we would have difficulty relating over darts," he says.
<Pose Tracker> Yanagi Nagisa has posed.
"Hmmm..." Yanagi gives Reiya a thoughtful look as he admits that, while his friends are concerned about Taro, he is not one of them. His follow-up remark nets him a chuckle as her smile squints her eyes shut. "Then you're here because... hmmm... how to put this... he feels 'wrong'?"
Her head tilts the other way as she gives Reiya another thoughtful look. "Though, even if that's the case, how do you know about his friends? Did one of them ask you to look into him?"
It's academic interest, mostly. It doesn't really matter why Reiya is following Taro, just that he is. And since Yanagi is doing the same: "What have you found out so far?"
<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.
"Yes," Reiya replies to Yanagi's thoughtful look and statement. "That's accurate."
"I saw for myself," he answers as to his friends. "A girl, at a launch party for a game, surprised by his behaviors." A pause. "No." One of his friends didn't ask. But he doesn't elaborate on who did. Instead...
"First, that his behavior is changed from previous days, in ways that seem to have no explanation. Second, that his routines are largely the same, on the other hand... There is no obvious action he's taken that suggests the 'feeling' about him is correct. But I haven't fully explored his routine yet, either. My senses say there's a problem; my findings support just a disaffected boy, maybe in a bad mood."
"Nevertheless, he feels 'wrong', as you say." A pause. "And you? What do you know of it?"
<Pose Tracker> Yanagi Nagisa has posed.
"Sometimes people act differently than usual. Things could be going badly at home or in some other aspect of his personal life. That kind of worry and stress can make someone lash out, and if they don't explain to anyone else what's going on, it can seem like a dramatic, random change," Yanagi muses.
She takes a sip of her cream soda. She leans back. "But you know better than that." Because even if his findings support a disaffected boy, his senses tell him otherwise. And the only kind of senses that would let him know that are the kind that come from having a Persona. It doesn't sound like he knows the details on what's going on here, though, which means...
What does she know of it, though?
She smiles again, twirling her straw. "He's been parasitized by a Homunculus."
She does not explain what the hell that means. In fact, there's an expectant look in her dark eyes, like Reiya will need to offer something more if he wants more detail.
<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.
All of those things Yanagi says to Reiya are true, of course. But also true is the next part--that he knows better. She has successfully reasoned out the kind of senses he must have, and that he doesn't know the details--
But Reiya's eyes settle on Yanagi thoughtfully when she uses those words. He's stoic, of course--but she's probably clever enough to see the interest in his eyes in turn.
"...Hm," he says. "A Homunculus..." He glances back to Taro, but nothing magically makes itself clearer at that point. He considers what he has to trade.
"I am following him because I sensed that something was wrong, and another member of my organization suggested I do so. I have... more skill in gathering information than most of our operatives."
"His friends are not involved in our organization; that was saw him was only happenstance. However, our mission requires that we understand elements of... unusual activity, in order that we can respond appropriately." His voice is quiet.
"I can give you that, and the name of our organization. Is that sufficient information to share to learn what a 'Homunculus' is?"
<Pose Tracker> Yanagi Nagisa has posed.
In fairness, it's not hard to reason out when you, too, have extrasensory abilities specifically related to the supernatural. It's merely a matter of comparing apples to apples.
But she does see the interest in his eyes; after all, she dangled that apple in front of him on purpose. Reiya, clever as he is, understands right away what she's getting at and explains the situation in more details. She hums thoughtfully, nodding once.
"That makes sense. Yes, that would be sufficient," Yanagi replies. And if it turns out it isn't, just knowing what a Homunculus won't actually help this young man or his organization.
"A Homunculus... They've been known by many names over history. Changelings; doppelgangers; beings that look like someone you know, but aren't. They infect a person from the inside out, starting at the seat of their soul and slowly incubating until they hatch. At that point, they soon devour the original person and take their place."
She looks back at Taro. "From what I've observed, this one doesn't have much longer until his Homunculus has fully taken his place."
<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.
"Very well. Our organization is known as SEES." They do not hide the nature of their organization; Reiya does not feel it is an overplaying of his hand to share it, accordingly. Quite the opposite--if it gains them information on aspects of the supernatural that they don't yet understand...
It might be a good initiative.
But he likes apples.
"I see," he says. "So they are both real and dangerous." He keeps Taro in his peripheral vision. What would Hazuki feel, to know that her friend is about to be replaced by something 'else'?
"...Hm."
"Is there a way to interrupt the process?" he asks.
<Pose Tracker> Yanagi Nagisa has posed.
SEES... Like the armbands. Yanagi nods thoughtfully, remembering this from the other night. She'd seen the letters but hadn't attributed any meaning to them. So that's the name of their group... That makes sense.
"Yes," she confirms of Homunculi. Technically speaking, he's already been replaced--it's just that there's still some time to bring back the original, true Taro. But Yanagi doesn't explain that nuance.
Likewise, at Reiya's question, she smiles.
"Yes," she repeats, and says nothing more.
It's a good initiative--but there's so much more he doesn't know, and so much more he'll have to offer in order to learn it. When does enough become enough?
<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.
The nuance he may learn later; for now, Reiya is investing in the basics, as dangerous as that might be. So when she smiles, and simply says 'yes', he could become frustrated--
But it's become a very interesting game, actually. It's interest that shines through in his eyes still, not frustration. "Thank you," he says instead of asking for the answer immediately.
"...I would like to contact you later, after I've had a chance to confer with my organization and determine what we are willing to offer for this further information. Would this be acceptable?"
A pause. "...A freebie," he says. "My name is Reiya Aomori."
<Pose Tracker> Yanagi Nagisa has posed.
Yanagi appreciates that about him, that he's interested and not annoyed that he didn't immediately get what he wanted the first time he tried to go for it. It seems like there's a good reason why he's skilled at darts.
"You're welcome," she replies graciously, and then, "Yes, that's fine." She takes one last sip of her soda; the melon green liquid reaches the end of the glass. There are still tater tots left, but those are for Pernelle. It's fine.
"It's a pleasure to meet you properly, Reiya," Yanagi replies, instantly going to first name yobisute. Maybe that will distract him from that 'properly'; maybe it won't. It isn't why Yanagi did it either way. "I'm Yanagi Nagisa. You can call me what you like."
She cleans her fingers on a napkin and produces her phone. "Numbers?"
It'll be but the work of a moment to exchange them, at least.
<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.
He's wanted for a long time to have reasons to use his training, which is more than just backflips and climbing and throwing weaponry. Now Reiya has a chance. It's... invigorating.
Even if he does have to remind himself that a boy's life is at stake, too. That's important.
"Very well," he says. "Likewise, Yanagi-san." he wonders why she goes for the lack of honorific immediately; it might be because she recognizes him, instead. "Hmm. I hope to notice next time we meet, then."
Numbers! Reiya pulls his phone, and takes just a moment to exchange them.
"...In that case, I beleive my mission is complete for today. ...Perhaps I will also play some darts, before I go."
<Pose Tracker> Yanagi Nagisa has posed.
Yanagi chuckles. Yes, Reiya is a clever boy. She quite likes him already. Those children of SEES, the ones who bear the red armbands... so many of them seem so very interesting!
"Do as you will," she replies amiably. For her part, she's scooted out from her table and leans on her stick to stand upright. The remaining tater tots are wrapped in several napkins and set in a canvas bag she definitely had at her feet this whole time; there's a few other goods in there too. (Kichijoji has good shopping.)
"But if you do, I hope you enjoy yourself!" she adds before she hobbles to the exit. ...Walking down all those stairs will take a while, but she'll get through them eventually and without complaint.