2025-08-11: Don't Look Away
- Log: Don't Look Away
- Cast: Tatsuya Suou, Umie Akabane
- Where: Kuzunoha Detective Agency, Wilduck, Aoba Park
- OOC Date: August 11, 2025
- IC Date: June 24, 2012
- Summary: Tatsuya speaks to Umie about something important she has to tell him. Also, BULLYING.
<Pose Tracker> Tatsuya Suou has posed.
It's been a difficult couple of days. Tatsuya essentially evacuated out like a Drake Adventure priest when people started asking questions, and he's been very, very scarce since. Like, probably 'hid for a few days at Mt. Katatsumuri with the zombie World War II soldiers and schoolgirls because they give him more peace than the living' levels of scarce. But he can't stay away forever, so he goes back to one of the haunts he knows is safe...
"... thank you, Uchida-san," Tatsuya says as he receives a brand-new set of motorcycle leathers. He pulls off the damaged, burnt top with a quiet grunt, leaving him in a black tanktop underneath. "And what about everything else?"
"They're writing the incident off as gang violence. The Sumaru PD is very good at spin, at this point," Chief Todoroki explains. "No doubt..."
The NWO. Tatsuya frowns for a moment, and then looks to the burnt remains of his old leathers. It's just a reminder of what's at stake. Jun...
Just then, the presence of someone entering causes the Lucky Cat Statue to go, "Nya~ nya~ nya~! Please insert 1,000 yen!"
Tatsuya looks alarmed. "1,000 yen?! It was only 100 yen before..."
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
The logic, as far as Umie can understand it, is that a crow on a battlefield is anonymous, prone to enemy and friendly fire alike, as it has no sides. It is just a crow, plucking at the fruits of the battlefield, spreading its wings when danger nears. And then, the crow throws a mudo spell at you and, no, it's not a crow, it's an Umie, and she'll have to hide herself away again somehow. Great in battles, or fleeing, but there's one problem: doors *also* can trip someone's attention to look at her. Crows can't open doors, after all! And how does this logic even work, when it's a crow in an office?! (No, wait, she's not being seen as a crow, that's stretching the metaphor too far.)
So yes, there's a door in the way, and even if she can feel that this locale is primed for the supernatural (for some... strange reason??), Umie couldn't just sneak in.
Nor did she have a reason to, until she neared the door and felt a familiar resonance on the other side.
Seeing if this place has any information on Kaneshiro can wait, she...
Right. Door. Damn it.
Maybe if she opens it politely and slips in, maybe Tatsuya won't timestop his way out.
Except...
"It was 100 yen before?!" Yes, that's Umie. Her disguise of a sporty windbreaker, baseball cap, ponytail, and glasses can't fool someone who already *knows* her. It's supposed to be for times when *no one* knows her.
<Pose Tracker> Tatsuya Suou has posed.
Tatsuya pauses, and then frowns gently as he looks to the woman in the baseball cap and glasses. "Tutor-sensei."
Did... did he forget again already? Or is this something approaching *sass* or sarcasm? Is that something like an upgrade in Social Link sensibility? Also, he's just in a tanktop right now, so his arms are on display and... that glove doesn't ride up high enough to completely conceal that there's something like a tattoo snaking up his arm. Just a little bit of it.
Tatsuya pulls the new motorcycle leathers and slips them on afterwards, not apparently aware of his lapse. "I need to know who the other targets are... isn't there anything you can do?"
Tamaki shakes her head gently. "Suou-kun, that'd be at the level of someone who has their ear into all the phone calls this city makes. Sure, Rumourmonger Baofu has the skills, but he's been scarce lately..."
"... he was with--" Maya-nee. "Amano-san, wasn't he." Damnit, people just won't leave her alone. She'll really get embroiled in everything again at this point.
He rises and starts towards the exit, looking towards Umie. "I've got a lot to do... what about you?"
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
After all that, and after Umie did the grand gesture of reminding Tatsuya of her name again, he goes and does this? Umie groans, slipping the rectangular frames off her face. Well, she *did* say he could call her that.
Somehow, it doesn't feel as good this time. (Oh no. Oh no, this is what it's like, when she does the same thing to people, isn't it?)
But maybe, she's fighting to keep a smirk off her face, when her eyes look down to the burnt leathers, and Tatsuya's right arm, along the way.
It could just be a tattoo. It could be. It should be. He could have gotten it, somehow, during the last two years. (Remember your promise, to yourself.)
Everything in Umie's head screams otherwise. (Don't look away anymore.)
Tatsuya and Tamaki's conversation feels like it's happening through a damp fog, Amano-san. She's heard that name, somewhere? He's... looking into the Joker Killer, like her, and Shinjiro, and Akechi, and Katsuya.
(Why did that thing have Tatsuya's face? Tatsuya Suou's just a high schooler with a cocky smile. A rebel. He'd forget a tutor's name. His phone probably autocorrected it to 'Ocean', like it *always* does. He's not involved in the supernatural. He never was. So why did that thing have--)
"And I think what I need to do right now is come with you, is what."
Nonono, not only did that quip not make sense, he's going to use his Persona and walk away from her if she's like that.
Just... be honest. How is it that Akechi managed to get her to be honest with him, when she can't be honest with someone who likely needs to know what she knows?
If it's not a tattoo.
"Please. I have to tell you something. It's important, okay?"
She can't do it here.
<Pose Tracker> Tatsuya Suou has posed.
Tatsuya pauses with a quiet sigh, and stops for about two seconds flat. That's more than enough time to activate Apollo and get out of here. But instead, he doesn't. He adjusts the sleeves on the new leather jacket, and then tucks up the zip. He glances back towards Umie, and then remarks:
"... I haven't eaten for nearly a full day now, so I need to do that before anything else, Akabane-san."
Look at that. Did she manage to turn a corner with him? He's still not softer in expression or countenance; everything about him still bears the visage of someone haunted, someone who's facing an impossible task that will likely crush them before they're capable of what it is they want to do. Because what they want to do is to essentially hold a fountain back with their bare hands.
But this just isn't about his story alone anymore. And thus...
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Two painful seconds tick by.
The person that should be in the back of the battle is standing in front, and she's not in a good position to turn the tables with a witty remark or by acting like she didn't care. She can't dodge questions when she *has* questions.
'... Akabane-san.'
She can't hide the stupid smile on her face, but she does walk past him.
"... You're lucky I got a bonus last night, Tak-kun," she says, in a singsong voice. "Lead the way. Just... don't disappear on me, okay? It's been a rough week for me too."
A pause. "..... Sorry about your motorcycle, by the way."
<Pose Tracker> Tatsuya Suou has posed.
Tatsuya walks out and is momentarily disoriented because he just realised they're in *Aoba*, not Hirasaka, and thus his initial first instinct of just going to Ma'am for banana ramen is thoroughly dashed and he has to look around and go 'oh god what's actually around'.
"... I wasn't expecting you to keep paying for my meals," he does at least protest, if perhaps out of a part of pride. He stops and turns at the Wilduck Burger, even though internally he wonders just what the hell he's doing. Did he already relent...? The more he gets involved with everyone, the more the cracks are going to spread... is there no way he can protect that...? No, defeatist thinking like that isn't going to help anyone.
"Why're you sorry...? Unless you planted that land mine with those guys," Tatsuya looks puzzled for a moment. "It's true it's really inconvenient, though." Where is he going to get a new bike, at this point? Steal it from a yakuza outfit?
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Umie stops as soon as Tatsuya does, realizing it from his resonance. Her head turns, one red-brown eye peeking behind her in brief surge of paranoia... and worry.
It would also be kind of a dick move, but hadn't she been just as bad, dodging his own brother's questions?
Instead, it's like he's confused, briefly, like he was expecting something else. It's not like he's lost his memory; maybe this was just a new location for him. (Should she keep looking for reasonable explanations for everything, or give in to her paranoia?)
They're moving again now, thankfully, Umie slowing down to let Tatsuya take point "What, did you expect me to leave you hanging when you gave me that look a few weeks ago?" Has it only been a few weeks? It feels like... longer.
And she couldn't abandon Tatsuya at that point, regardless of what Katsuya told her to do afterwards, after that haunted look Tatsuya gave her, like everything had come crashing down, and he was trying to seal the breach in that dam using his body, if necessary.
"Wild Duck? Sure, that sounds good. Maybe we get take out and eat at Aoba Park. I really don't want to talk where there's a lot of people packed together."
'Unless you planted that land mine with those guys.' Umie, her hands planted in her windbreaker's front pockets, makes a face like she's sucked on a lemon.
It'd be comedic, if she didn't immediately look down, the brim of her hat nearly overshadowing her eyes. "I'm sorry because you worked on that bike for a while now. You're... not supposed to in the middle of things like this. You're supposed to be enjoying your senior year, and not even know what a Persona is."
Could she really say that, when she had no problem with having a Persona herself, and even enjoyed the freedom it gave her? ".... But maybe that's just me being selfish," she says, moving through the sliding doors.
<Pose Tracker> Tatsuya Suou has posed.
The purchase doesn't take very long -- it's the middle of the day, and people've already largely bought their lunch. Tatsuya purchased something that caught his eye -- a "Mystery Burger". Surely he's not going to regret this. He also got some nuggies and a drink to go with it. How avant-garde, Takkun, not even going for the fries? That's why your little... shoestring operation's going as well as it is! Ho ho ho!
Umie points out that she couldn't have left him like that when he was giving her the look he did. ... does he exude that much of a wet dog look? (Yes, Tatsuya, you kind of do.) Responding would reveal that his pride's been bristled, though, so he's playing it cool... or something like cool.
"There isn't any point anymore in lamenting on what 'should've' been," Tatsuya hypocritically points out as they emerge from the fast food restaurant. To Aoba Park they go, down the street, in relative silence. Tatsuya catches W-Slash from the periphery of his eye as they walk. It used to be that he'd only be able to talk to Rumourmonger Baofu there...
As they step through the Park threshold, Tatsuya looks a bit wary. "There aren't any Demons around, right...?" A pause. "Do you know if the flowers still talk, here?"
... ???????????
Tatsuya, you're *weird*.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Ahhh, the value of being hungry in the middle of the day.
"... Mystery Burger, huh..." Umie looks up at the menu as she slips out her wallet from her purse. "I'll get that too. And fries. And a drink."
It'll be fine, surely.
As Tatsuya spouts some wisdom as they exit Wild Duck Burger, Umie shrugs, her expression falling. "Yeah, you're right. Well, at least now I don't have to play a game of keep away, eh?"
Oh, Umie, you have no idea how much of a hypocrite Tatsuya was, just there.
Carrying her food, she navigates with Tatsuya to Aoba Park, stopping when Tatsuya seems hesitant.
Umie looks around, as if she could sense it in the air. "Not right now, no, but this area does feel primed for it. Maybe later...?" .... why does she feel like she's giving the weather?
"... Badb senses things like that," Umie adds, almost as if it was embarrassing to share, like she was admitting to a favorite lyric of a band she likes. "I think it's to do with battles?" Oh, and!! "Your persona's... Apollo, right?" (As if Tatsuya wasn't yelling it the last time they met.) "The Greek god of the sun." Pause. Umie puts a hand to her chin. "Wait, or was that Helios? Apollo was the one with the lyre--"
It's like she's happy, to be talking about Personas. A skip in her step, sharing something she's guarded for so long. Just... *talking*. No terribleness, no killers, no yakuza bosses threatening to tear down Hirasaka Ward.
A young man happens to be passing by as she passes into the Park. He makes a face, but he's already crossing to the other end of the street. Something just tipped over, in his mind.
Meanwhile?
"....." Umie peers at Tatsuya with a perplexed look on her face. She considers, her chin tilting. ".... Um... I guess? I've heard rumors. But, what do you mean, still talk, here?"
No, Umie, eat first talk less, the mystery burger is *right there* "Oh, we should find a spot. With no flowers."
<Pose Tracker> Tatsuya Suou has posed.
... he said too much again.
"Nevermind. It was just a popular rumour amongst the elderly," Tatsuya tries to dismiss the topic of the flowers. He finds a nice-enough little gazebo overlooking one of the fields of flowers, and sits down. So there aren't Demons right now... but why does Umie say 'maybe later'?
Her excuse is that she's sensitive. Badb can sense this kind of thing. That's convenient enough. But is her insistence in approaching him based on what she remembers from the 'Other Side' too? And if so... why doesn't he know her at all from the 'Other Side'? They never met, or she never existed, or she was a completely different person... he hasn't ruled out that that can't be true.
Tatsuya, on the other hand, doesn't seem to like to talk about Personas that much. ... it reminds him too much of when they'd strategise and talk excitedly about their powers. He can still see Ginko and Eikichi's faces. Of Maya-nee's and Yukino's...
"It is," Tatsuya answers matter-of-factly. Hmm...? That young man... no, just a passerby. Or is it just a passerby? It could be another plant, by the NWO... they're watching him somewhere. Is that boy, Goro Akechi, involved, or is he an external agent?
"From watching you fight against Shirato last time, you're quite used to it. Have you been doing this for some time now?"
Tatsuya lets that question sit while he unearths his Wilduck Mystery Burger.
It exudes a truly rancid aura. Is that meat... purple? And that salad looks like it's trying to become part of a strawberry shortcake. And what's that mystery third ingredient ontop of everything else, and why does it look like it doesn't remotely belong in the category of edible?
The grill-stamped picture of the duck mascot looks truly cursed today.
It has his face on it.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
"Sometimes that's enough," Umie says, not registering what Tatsuya meant when he tried to sweep the topic of flowers 'this time'. At least she doesn't ask more questions, letting Tatsuya pick a little gazebo. It's perfect, in Umie's eyes: casual enough for passers-by to not think much of it, but private enough that they can talk without Umie feeling like someone might overhear her.
No, don't worry, Tatsuya, you wouldn't know it if Akechi was around. He might even be, right now, with two mysteries he's been keeping tabs on talking to each other!
"Against demons," Umie says, rolling up the grease-stained paper bad to take out her meal. "But also dealing with them in other ways."
It's not like it was with Akechi; there, it was a game of back and forth, of replies and time spent trying on each question, and evading.
Tatsuya's... still Tatsuya, despite his newfound haunted mannerisms. It's still there, but subtle. Like she could just let her guard down, even more than she could before.
But then.... ducksuya.
"Huh... Maybe mine's like that?" Umie unwraps her burger and brings it to her mouth, then stops. She makes a face, and sets her burger down.
Of course, it looks like Tatsuya. Umie glances from her burger to Tatsuya's, then back. ".... I should've gotten what I usually get..."
But still, this was with her bonus money!
She tries to nick off the 'incidental face' with a dark red fingernail.
It still looks like Tatsuya, maybe even *moreso*. Damn pareidolia!
"I'll save it for later." SHE CAN'T JUST EAT IT IN FRONT OF HIM, SHE'S NOT A CANNIBAL
<Pose Tracker> Tatsuya Suou has posed.
Would it be...? Tatsuya currently has Akechi pegged (do you have to put it that way, Tatsuya) as someone who really wants you to know he's around. Perhaps he's not able subtlety, but that 'A' on his briefcase doesn't scream subtlety in the slightest. Isn't it annoying, to have to pretend to be someone else and not lavish everyone with your presence? He's great to have at parties, don't you know?
Maybe he's got a biased view of him, given he made him get a panic attack.
... maybe he's right to, though. After all, he took his place...
Tatsuya doesn't even seem fazed by the burger having his face, though. At this point, this is just extra bullying from Nyarlathotep. You've overplayed your hand! He reaches... and takes a bite of his own duckface.
...
...
"...mrf..." Tatsuya continues chewing, and then swallows. "I feel more Courageous taking a bite of that already... was that candy cream in there?"
The jingles don't show up. The stat is already maxed, because of his imported save, so really, he just ate expensive bad promotional food. Sucks to be you, Takkun!
"What was it that you needed to tell me?"
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Akechi does that to people. (Umie didn't panic, she instead just called someone who's technically a member of law enforcement a bastard, but he took it in stride and Umie's wondering if she should apologize, later. She has his number, after all, and--)
Whatever thought Umie may have had at that moment, whether it had to do with Akechi or not, pings away like an errant bullet as she watches Tatsuya scarf down the Mystery Burger, ducksona and all.
.... so this is the power of a maxed out courage stat...
(In Umie's case, it's New Game because she lost her save, and she's doing a blind run. But could the same be said of everyone?)
A runner jogs by in the distance in the span of time Umie sits there staring at Tatsuya, before she clears her throat. "Well, just... your..."
"Right hand."
Pause.
"Got some candy cream on it." She points to her mirroring hand, to indicate what she means.
There is, but also, she wants to ask about it, so--
But this will take longer for her to broach the subject; instead she uses that time to wrap up her cursed burger and work on her fries, which are thankfully, normal.
She sips her straw, and sighs. ".... But really, your right hand. Your wrist."
The fingers of her own right hand curl in slightly, as she forces the words out. "Can you... take your glove off, please."
<Pose Tracker> Tatsuya Suou has posed.
Why Umie, just because he's a weirdo that's getting ranch dressing all over his nice motorcycle glove because he didn't take it off doesn't mean you have to SUSPECT him?????
It's probably more gross than ranch dressing, isn't it.
It's like... Cool Ranch.
Nothing's cool. Nothing's cool ranch.
Umie's request makes Tatsuya freeze, and that defensiveness is all up again; he's in full hedgehog mode and is all prickles and suspicion and paranoia. Especially as Umie stumbles and initially makes it an innocent little sin, but then turns back around to eternal punishment.
There's a deep-set frown and piercing eyes there, again. Was he mistaken when he thought she was involved with the NWO? Is she involved with Nyarlathotep instead?! No, no, wait... Napoleon, too, was ultimately brought back to life through rumours and understood that he was a puppet.
"... ... ..."
Tatsuya sighs, perhaps deeply frustrated, like he let his guard down and now he's cornered again and is forced to reveal more information he'd like to conceal.
"Don't listen to the shadows... there's nothing good that can come out of listening to 'him'."
But, fine. Tatsuya knows when he's lost -- he's considering this losing, much like how Akechi cornered him and he felt he lost there too -- so he throws the glove down like it's a challenge, on the gazebo table. The Mark is in plain sight now.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
She should have stayed talking about Personas, and eating weird hamburgers. It was fun, just like how last night with Ren, Shizuka and Masao was fun (despite her denying it), how even verbally sparring with Akechi was fun.
Interacting with the world is fun, isn't it? Not being locked up, following what others tell you to do, being your own person. Knowing things others don't, learning more, not being a disconnected island, a lopsided self.
It can't be a mistake, when Tatsuya gives her that look. Guilt threatens to pull her own gaze away. He's exposing what she had suspected, throwing his glove down like he issued a challenge.
'I figured it out before we ever spoke.' How did Akechi know, with her? Does he suspect Tatsuya too?
Umie takes a glance around, making sure no one can see her. Then, taking her baseball cap off, she sets it down, before steeling herself to look Tatsuya in the eyes again.
Don't look away.
'Isn't this what you wanted?'
The fingers of her left hand hook into the fabric of her right thumbsleeve. "...." Her mouth firms up in a line, and she jerks the fabric away.
Her right hand, exposed to the pleasant shade of the gazebo, is the same as it's always been, no matter how mundane her task as been. The skin is slightly paler, as if it's rarely been exposed to light. It never made sense to cover in her apartment, but sometimes she did, just in case she forgot when she answered the door. Maybe that's just because it's set off against the black of... the same mark. "... I guess... you're in the same boat as me, then, Takkun."
Tears drip on the wood of the gazebo table, as the extended hand shakes. "... Just... finally someone who isn't one of their dogs..."
The bandage's already been ripped off once; it still feels painful. But instead of relief, like when she showed Akechi, it just feels hollow.
Her head sinks to her table; soft sobs follow.
"... I didn't want this..."
<Pose Tracker> Tatsuya Suou has posed.
No matter what it seems like, Tatsuya does have a shred more empathy to know when he's being too cold, but... it's really not coming from a malicious place, either -- it's coming from a place of fear. His eyes widen as Umie takes off her cap, then rolls up her sleeve. He's never realised that pattern before -- it didn't come up in the Other Timeline... no, was he just not aware of it, because he wasn't branded then?
I guess... you're in the same boat as me, then, Takkun.
His gut wrenches, and it's not because he has purple mystery meat and strawberry cream salad in it. Maybe a little bit, but not entirely because of it. But... 'not one of their dogs'?
Before he can interrogate her, though, Umie starts to sob, and he's at a bit of a loss. What... what's he supposed to do here? Maya-nee would waste no time being a gentle, empathic figure, and give her a hug. Eikichi and Lisa would be empathic in their own endearing ways... but he...
"... ... I didn't know," Tatsuya quietly says, a little flustered underneath that emotionally dulled tone. "But... I'm serious. If you hear anything in your head... you have to do everything in your power to not listen to it." He's failing. He knows she probably is too. Nyarlathotep is that insidious. If he's got his attention to you, you're in a way royally screwed already, because you're an open book to him.
"... do you want to tell me, Akabane-san? You're the one who just told me -- 'you don't have to play a game of keep away'."
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Akechi could probably say a word or two about how empathetic Umie was, the other day, when she showd her mark to him. However, the reason Umie revealed it at all was that simple tactic he used: being honest.
He doesn't know. Tatsuya, didn't know.
It's Tatsuya saying something similar, as if he was equally at a loss, that lets Umie's sobs begin to dim. She raises her head, blindly grabbing at the thumbsleeve to wipe her tears. "You didn't know what?" A bleary eye looks up at Tatsuya. "I just forced you to reveal something you've probably been keeping a secret for several weeks. You *do* know I was going to reveal mine first if you refused, right?" She chokes out a laugh. "God, Takkun... You really got a lot of Guts..."
Ah, there. There's that release of tension. But Tatsuya is continuing on, and the pit in Umie's own stomach deepens.
'you have to do everything in your power to not listen to it'.
There's... a voice, but it's Mai-chan. Mai-chan's always been there for her. She was there when Umie was scared. Mai-chan is mischevious. Just like demons are. But sometimes she points out good things. Sometimes...
Wait. _what did she want to tell him, that he's doomed_?!
Umie takes a long drink from her straw, furiously trying to think. Think, think, she's the senpai, you don't just tell your tutee that he's going to die!
"It's called a mark," Umie starts, after she has a sip of her drink. "At least, that's what Ak-- ...."
"...." That blotchy, reddened face squints at Tatsuya now. "... He's probably visited you too, hasn't he? Goro Akechi."
<Pose Tracker> Tatsuya Suou has posed.
The air around the gazebo seems to shift for the less pleasant when Akechi's name is dropped. There's something of a little distaste, but also... a great sorrow, as he refreshes himself on trauma and how Akechi is one of a group of orphans whose orphanage burnt down. The first law of thermodynamics... that's what Sudou was talking about after all...
Several weeks? Something about that is discomforting to Tatsuya, because did Umie know something about when he entered this body? Or did she just mean when they first met?
"... there are lots of secrets you can't reveal to people under any circumstance, but continue eating away at you and the only thing you'd like to do is share it with someone. That's that kind of secret."
And another, but he absolutely has to keep THAT a secret... sorry Umie. It looks like he has more in common with the adults he doesn't understand yet too... he's an absolute hypocrite.
A mark? That's really... plain. Maybe that's just the best thing people have for it. He slides his glove back on, and then consoles himself with a Nugget. Hmm... at least chicken nuggets won't betray him. One of them isn't-- wait, isn't that one sort of shaped in a pageboy haircut...
No, once you do that, you'll start seeing his taunting everywhere.
"He did. But what does he have to do with the Mark? Nothing about him can be trusted, but... he does have information on the Joker Killer."
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
"... Yeah." It makes Umie feel better, hearing that, at least. "It's been that way for me for years. I remember one time you saw me in the middle of summer and just wondered what I was doing, covering up like that." Her lips crack in a small grin. "But I knew, if someone else had it, it meant something...." How did she want to finish that sentence? 'That something happened to them'?
She didn't ask for this; to have someone *else* there. She could handle it just fine; this Mark was hers. She might as well have it, as lonely as it sometimes felt.
'Isn't this what you wanted?' Not to be alone. Not to feel like there's something wrong with her, because everyone else has been an NWO dog. But what about Tatsuya, then, and what he's going through? What if was one of the employees with worked with her, like Ren? Or Katsuya, getting burned from peering into something he shouldn't? Myunghon might as well have one, with how she's bandaged. Shinjiro? How far does she want to go down this rabbit hole?
They all have their secrets, and with this, Tatsuya might as well have ensured his other secret stays covered for a lot longer. Everything odd about him could be explained in one. But only if you wanted to look away from what happened at Kasugayama, that night, and how Tatsuya held that young man. Or how her cheeks still burn from tears, because she confirmed what she suspected was true.
Just a momentary loss of control. That's all it is. Put your mask back on, and help your tutee, Umie. How can you aspire to the role of tutor-senpai if you don't at least do that?
As Tatsuya slides his glove on, Umie does the same with her thumbsleeve, though, casually, she takes off her left, just to show bare skin. "Didn't want that to occur to you later. Just feels weird when it's one arm, you know?"
As soon as Tatsuya makes a face, the cool mask of neutrality Umie had tried to put on dips. She grimaces. ".... Guess that answers my question. But," she adds, recovering, "I can answer that question. He handled a case with a woman, who wanted to know what it was. She saw visions, heard voices that told her not to trust him. He said he had figured out I had mine before he had even met me. "
.... There's more there.
"So. Did you get kidnapped by the NWO?" Umie folds her arms and leans onto the table, her voice turning acidic. "I guess I wouldn't be surprised. Probably ran out of innocent little kids to toss to the wolves. But... I'd never expect..." Her tone falls dull. No, it wouldn't make sense. A detective's brother? Was it a mistake?
<Pose Tracker> Tatsuya Suou has posed.
For years... that's right, all of this isn't something that just happened over night. It always started for them ten years ago, on the summer in which they committed that innocent sin and then repressed those memories. She thinks that for him, it'd only started for a few weeks... and then Umie makes an assumption that sounds odd to him -- was he kidnapped by the NWO?
The slight puzzlement in his looks is perhaps the most truth-telling he's going to do all afternoon long here. It's like he never even put two and two together, the Mark and the NWO.
"... tsk..." Tatsuya suddenly grunts at that. "I see... so that's the shape of what's behind everything this time..." He's being damn cryptic again. What does he even mean? Still, he can't get distracted -- he knows the NWO is just another layer, the form that Nyarlathotep's forces have taken this time. It's Napoleon one moment, and then Mayan aliens the other, and then now it's a government conspiracy. It's all just the shapes in which humanity get overexcited and imagine.
"No. I didn't get kidnapped by them," Tatsuya confirms. "But... I know they're after me. That I'm a person of interest. That's probably why they had that land mine prepared, why they went through Strega."
What Umie says about Akechi is... interesting. Who was it... is it Miyashiro? He now knows that Miyashiro's brother died in his place... but there was more than just the one death, back then. Were they all involved? He figured her out before he even met her... what does that mean?
He looks to Umie, then just presses her directly in as gentle a manner as he can muster. "Are you being coerced or controlled by the NWO, then, Akabane-san...?"
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Truth be told, Umie thought she'd never ask that question of anyone. (An hour ago, she thought Tatsuya Suou only *maybe* had a Mark.)
Umie studies Tatsuya's slight confusion. Oh no. Just like she did with Yukari, she let that terrible name slip, and now, Tatsuya--
Oh, but Tatsuya is still so full of surprises.
"... 'this time'?" No, quick, Tatsuya. Distract her... by answering that question.
A certain relief settles Umie's shoulders. No, Tatsuya wasn't thrust in front of a mummified head in samurai regalia while....
....
"... I thought that was Joker Killer." Her head dips, as she brushes her knuckles to her chin. "But then, Joker Killer did use a Mark. You felt it too, right, Takkun?" There's a thread of what there was earlier, when she talked to Tatsuya about Personas, a need to collaborate, turn a thought around in her head, examine it in front of someone else. She raises a finger, her gaze serious. "So that has to mean he's connected. Maybe he's like that other person I felt, at Ebisu Beach. It was not the exact same, but I knew to was a Mark. I *know* what that feeling means--"
Ah.
Umie shifts back on her seat. ".... Really," she begins, a playful, sardonic tone in her short reply. "Nah, they've tried. You know that guy who proposed to me, at my graduation?" No, Tatsuya wouldn't know, but she continues anyway, as if he would. "Part of them. Wanted a cute little wife so he could rise up the political ladder. I doubt *he* knew about my Mark, or he would've looked elsewhere. Another agent tried to get me to spill the beans on your brother. Fat chance of *that*. And now, you?" She leans in. "That's why I insisted on helping you, from the start, the second I felt there was any connection."
".... Well, before that, your brother asked me to check in on you," she adds, a little dully. "... I'd be a terrible senpai if I didn't help you out."
<Pose Tracker> Tatsuya Suou has posed.
If only Tatsuya knew. He'd be like '... is the samurai Napoleon? Just checking'. He can't discount anything around that jerk, Napoleon. If only he knew how close-minded his thinking is. You thought it was restricted to just Napoleon? While you were distracted about Napoleon, we were resurrecting ancient Sengoku-era Sumaru warlords!
Was that the Joker Killer?
"No... that's not his style," Tatsuya answers, inadvertently tipping far too much again. Does Tatsuya actually... know who the Joker Killer is? Umie asks a question soon after, though. He felt the Mark, right? "... to be honest, the inverted field that other woman used was so strong I couldn't sense much. That's why I couldn't just rush straight into Kasu. I'd waste time trying to find out where they were fighting."
That other person at Ebisu...?
Umie starts speaking of a past he's enever experienced. He sounds distasteful, though. But Umie at least on the surface tells him that she's not involved with the NWO -- but they've tried. ... that's a relief, in a way, but can he trust her? ... he's turning up nothing working on his own, though, but... he doesn't want to get too involved... but she's already been ensnared by 'him'.
But the topic of Katsuya comes up. "... can you try to get him to not get involved?" Tatsuya asks, suddenly sounding so forlorn all of a sudden. His shoulders have sagged the furthest they'll go. "I've already ruined his dreams... he shouldn't get involved..."
Is this really the same Tatsuya Suou, who famously bickers and gets on like fire and oil with his brother?
He frowns.
"You'd better not say any of that to him, though."
Oh, there it is.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
"His style?" Umie nods her head. "I guess, it'd make sense the Joker Killer's a guy." She's not exactly disappointed; she'd have no reason to believe one way or another. No memory of a beautiful face, or anything beyond that, even on This Side.
But Tatsuya continues, and it keeps Umie from asking. "I'm beginning to think there's people out there more able to do things like that, beyond me or Kawase-san," she says. "Navigator. That's the term SEES uses, for them." Pause. "At least, that's what I heard. Strega must have someone like that, or, they're someone from the NWO. I couldn't do much about it either; if Kawase-san wasn't there... Mishina-san might've bitten off more than he could chew. Kasugayama students really are something else..."
She wants to ask about the other student-- Jun. The one with the smile, that night. Maybe, she would have forgotten it, otherwise, if--
.....
"... Katsuya-san? I mean..." Umie's expression, now that she's thoroughly loosened her assortment of masks and thrown them out of the gazebo, betrays a flash of guilt. "... I have been trying to make sure he's... safe, in... other ways. By teaching him what I know. Like... I did with you, in... a way." Yeah, Umie totally brought Katsuya to Mementos, in other words. They met someone, who may or may not go by Joker. He didn't give a name. Umie told Katsuya about how identity can be used as a weapon. Lessons! (For better or worse, Umie's used up all her spoons for the week by talking to Akechi. She called him a bastard. She had fun. She doesn't want to admit to it.)
Looking at the downward curve of Tatsuya's shoulders, the way he blames himself, for ruining his brothers dreams...
She's already leaning forward, wanting to extend some form of comfort to the young man, when he says _something else_.
'You'd better not say any of that to him, though.'
_There it is._
Like the scent of blood in the water, there's that smile from Umie: scythe-like, sharp. Back when she tutored This Side Tatsuya, it only showed up occasionally.
But it happened. It happened, when she called Takkun.
It's just... so *tempting*, when he's like this.
Umie reaches out, up and...
..... carefully....
...... pinches the cheeks of one of the two most popular men in Seven Sisters High, a man's man, a person tall enough that Umie has to extend her reach *up*. "*There* it is. You really *are* concerned about your big brother! It's so cute!"
She's laughing, but, it doesn't seem to be *at* him at all.
<Pose Tracker> Tatsuya Suou has posed.
Uh oh.
SFX: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6j1syeNcgM
UH OH. Now he's REALLY done it. Before he can even react, and Apollo's like 'you dug your own grave this time' and shrugs, Umie reaches and piiiiiiiii-nch! For a moment, Tatsuya is completely disarmed, flailing and shouting, "H-hey! Hey, get offa me! Geez, no, I don't care about that loser! He can go-- go get kicked off a blimp for all I care!"
moooooooooooou.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Tatsuya, you damn, damn fool.
You're just making her stronger.
"Oho~"
Powered by the laws of gravity and the opposing force of 'guy desperately tries to prove that he *isn't* concerned about his big brother, no way' Umie hangs on for just enough, but lets go, leaving poor Tatsuya would his wounded pride.
"Don't worry, I'll do my best. But you know how he is." Umie puts one hand on one hip, and, one hand on the table (she had to balance on her knees to accomplish this mighty feat earlier), gives Tatsuya a shark-like grin. "And I'm helping you too. Sorry, Takkun, it might be your only hope. You're going to need me on your side."
One day, she'll wonder why Tatsuya has never asked her when she dyed her hair, or painted her nails, or... just... partially changed her personality, straight up.
But it was always there, really.
And he's still here too.
She'll make sure it stays that way.