2025-08-14: Something Is Wrong

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<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.

Reiya had simply put a note on the bulletin board by the computer nook for SEES:

Meeting Monday, 7 PM
Informational
-Aomori

If anyone asked, he said it was informational about an important mission-related matter that was too sensitive to write where just anyone can see it.

If you ask twice he'll mention the name 'Taro Nakata'.

Now though, there are no snacks. There are no flashlights, because this is not Junpei's Believe It Or Don't. There are no drinks unless you bring your own.

There's just Reiya Aomori, seated in a plush chair, waiting. The television is already off.

He is on time. You might've beaten him here, if you were more than five minutes early.

He's dressed in his uniform still, a little splash of violet the only unusual part of it. And...

It's just about time.
Kurou Ryouhara has arrived from The Rooster Inn. 

<Pose Tracker> Suzume Fukura has posed.

Suzume actually had just got back from her trip to the Cardboard Dragon, where she'd helped set up a video game system and considered trading cards, but did not. It sounds so mundane when you put it that way, and yet... she knows more than she did this morning about the supernatural.

So why not go to another meeting? What's the worst that could happen? Her head explodes from knowing too much?

And so, Suzume, who is clever, brought a drink. No snacks though. She didn't want to share.

Suzume is technically early but that's mostly because she just walked in, walked to the kitchen to get a drink, and came back: Moonkist again. She is on one of the couches and is also still in her uniform, because she *still* hasn't had time to change, dammit.

"OK," she says, when other people start arriving. "So what's up?"

Suzume only asked Reiya once. 

<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.

    Minato Arisato is on time. As it happens, he asked Reiya three times, and learned nothing new.

    Here he is, though. Leaning on the back of the couch in his Gekkoukan uniform, hands in his pockets, looking like he's too cool for school. (Minato would never skip class. Mitsuru would gut him where he stood.)

    He turns his eyes to the clock, and observes, idly:

    "Seven oh-clock..."

<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.

Yukari doesn't even ask once.
 
She just read the board, and now she's here. She too is in her uniform, sitting on the couch, her cardigan still around her waist.
 
She certainly seems to know what this is about, but she's not the type to 'lead' the discussion, so she just quietly sits and waits for Reiya to start.
 
But perhaps her silence can be interpreted in any number of ways - in particular, it's intensity. She has no phone out.
 
Ordinarily if she's sitting in the common room she's on it, or with a fashion magazine, or perhaps even touching up her nails...
 
... she's not doing anything like that.
 
Her silence only breaks when she echoes Minato by saying...
 
"...Yeah."

<Pose Tracker> Shizuka Kuroki has posed.

      Shizuka, for her part, had time to change out of her uniform for the evening, in her usual casual red tee and jeans, coming down the stairs with a yawn and a Mad Bull, a sign that she was planning a late night in the studio that was her room.
 
      She comes into the lounge, leaning on the back of one of the couches, setting the can down on a coaster as she looks over to Reiya.
 
      "Something about someone named Taro Nakata." 

<Pose Tracker> Moriko Kumamoto has posed.

Moriko read the notice. Then sent an angry text or two. Then she showed up anyway. Because while she's still holding a bit of a grudge, she's at least able to split that with 'This is probably important.' so... that's a later problem.
 
 She's brought a metal container with some hot green tea, if the vapor coming off when she unscrews the lid is an indicator.
 
 Taking a seat. She kicks back and tilts the drink towards the rest of the room. 

<Pose Tracker> Hitomi Mandai has posed.

 
Hitomi Mandai looks a little dishevelled, as if she had just Gone to School and then gone to Club Stuff (not the Cardboard Dragon! woe! alack!) and is now Here. She has the ruffle-tie of her uniform blouse undone, but does have a bottled tea in one hand.

"Mhm," she answers Minato.

"... Oh?" she asks Shizuka then, raising her bottle in salute to the approaching Suzume before taking a long slurp off of it. 

<Pose Tracker> Fuuka Yamagishi has posed.

Today was Fuuka's first day back to school. She didn't return to the dorm right away. There's a question of if she even might, now that she's slowly starting to return to a normal life...

...But she does eventually walk through the doors, greeting everyone who happens to be present. She looks a little more tired and low-energy than usual - but when it comes time for the meeting, she's there.

She's often polite and punctual, so she is in fact there more than five minutes early.

She isn't official yet, so she won't complain if someone sees(pun intended) fit to chase her off - but she has expressed her interest, so it may be important for her, too.

She does, however, raise a hand awkwardly.

"Um... I suppose it would be better if we didn't take notes...?" She asks to confirm.

She's the type to take notes. She's good at it! ...But she understands, too, if it would be better to keep it strictly verbal. 

<Pose Tracker> Tyler Gould has posed.

Knowledge is power.

To summon Tyler to the meeting, the very basics were all that was required. There was information to share? Then he would make the effort to be there, it was just the nature of things. Especially when it came to this dorm, when information carried the possibility of being supernatural in origin, which is a world he definitely wants to delve into further.

He might have been the first to arrive; the meeting said 7 PM, he's likely been stationed there since around six. Haunting a chair near the television, nose buried in the little Japanese-English dictionary that he's often carrying around, like many other attendees still in uniform. Purposefully ignoring anyone else until they start? No, studying, because ultimately? While he's definitely a goth, he is *also* a nerd.

To Fuuka's question, he lifts his gaze over the pages of the book, focusing that blue-eyed stare on the girl for a moment or three before speaking in his monotone. "Notes would probably be useful for those not attending." As well as any attending without great memories!

Minato's observation of the time, however, has him instead turning his attention to Reiya, waiting expectantly for the information to flow forth!

<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.

Ririka's been busy lately, what with her band appearing on Sumaru Sundays the night before. (Not that she made a big deal about it or anything, she's not the braggint type.) She'd also been busy replaying the night in the arcade and what she could have done differently to handle certain circumstances.

She just wishes she'd gotten the feedback in a less abrasive way...

But she'd put the meeting on her calendar. Given what she heard from Yukari and who posted it, she's got a good feeling of what it's about.

She's not in her uniform as she comes in and settles on a couch, though, just a skirt and a black band tee. (She'd been studying in her dorm room with some music going. Gotta stay on top of studies, after all.) She's drumming her gingers on her thigh, over her skirt, as her usual.

She looks a little moody, though staring at her lap and making little glances in Yukari's and Reiya's directions. 

<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.

Heads will probably not explode at this meeting, but you can never be sure.

"Thank you for coming," he says when people arrive, nodding to each individually rather than repeating himself. Even Yukari gets a nod. Minato doesn't get two, even though he exhausted Reiya's dialogue tree earlier.

"You may take notes," Reiya tells Fuuka, "So long as you keep them secure, Yamagishi-san. But because others can walk into our dorm's lobby, I elected not to write this on the wall."

Reiya earlier noted Tyler's dictionary, and confirmed, "The meeting will be held in Japanese."

But now...

Reiya clears his throat. "It's time. 7 PM. So..."

"...Taro Nakata is infected with something inhuman."

A pause. "Taro Nakata, being Hazuki Nakao's friend--the boy from the launch party some of us attended. He had been acting strangely; he confronted her at the party, confusing her and many others, and harming his reputation in the process. I followed him from there, at Takeba-san's urging. He felt... strange, to my supernatural senses. This wrongness I felt only increased as I followed him. At first, however, I detected nothing unusual aside from this 'feeling'. He did not go out of his way, did not interact with any Shadows."

"However."

"I was not the only person watching him."

Reiya looks around at the others. "A woman named Yanagi Nagisa caught my attention while we were at Penguin Sniper, in Kichijoji. "She knew more than I did, and for a trade of information, was willing to tell me some."

"He is infected by something called a 'Homunuculus.' They are also known as changelings or dopplegangers; they look like a person, but aren't that person. They begin in the soul, and incubate until they hatch. ...At some point, they devour the original person inside-out, and take their place."

"I do not know how much of this is poetic license and how much is 'true'; so far as I know, we cannot quantify the 'soul'. However... I believe her information to be accurate."

"Nakata-san does not have long. But rather than unwisely press ahead, I wish to discuss my findings before we proceed. ...There will be a larger trade required, of information or otherwise, for her to tell us how to interrupt the process."

"I believe that saving someone from this 'Homunculus' is within our mission's remit. If you disagree, you are welcome to opt out, or even tell Kirijo-senpai your feelings. However..."

"I will be meeting with Nagisa-san again, in any case."

"Questions?" 

<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.

    "Where is the original Nakata-san?", Minato wonders, as he leans on the back of the couch. "If he's been replaced by a copy... is the original 'somewhere', or 'nowhere'?"

    Yanagi Nagisa... Minato will remember that.

    (He is not fashionable enough to know about Peacock Silk.)

    "And what information is she asking for?"

    Minato pauses, brushing his bangs away from his eyes. "As for 'whether' it's SEES's mission... first, I want to hear what the team has to say."

<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.

Yukari does not look in Ririka's direction as she glances her way. And she's definitely not taking notes... she never seems to.
 
But that doesn't mean she's not paying attention. Reiya's statement that Taro is infected with something inhuman gets a momentary look of disbelief.
 
"What? Really?"
 
She might have said 'that feels hard to believe' but it isn't actually, she felt how wrong he felt when he came near her.
 
He mentions Yanagi Nagisa and... the trade for information. "... I know her. She works at that new boutique in Shimo-kitazawa."
 
But then she falls silent again, letting him continue, until he finishes...
 
"Yeah... I think it does. I mean, if not us, then... who else? Just, it feels like we need the rest of that information you're trading for to make a decision on how to go about this..."
 
...
 
"I'm surprised something like this is even possible." She murmurs, like she really is disturbed by it. "... Creepy." One of her hands, rubs her opposite arm.
 
"Here I thought it was just some weird drama between friends but..."
 
No there actually was something to do it.
 
Where is the original Nakata-san? Yukari considers Minato's question, "I dunno... that's kinda important. Like... we usually save people pretty directly, but what if it's like Apathy Syndrome?"
 
Wherein... sometimes people just recover. Or... they don't.
 
"Or... worse than that."

<Pose Tracker> Shizuka Kuroki has posed.

      "A doppelganger? Sheesh, and I was still getting used to the Dark Hour. Though I guess I shouldn't be surprised that there's even more going on out there."
 
      Minato and Yukari ponder the nature of the soul and all that. "From what it sounds like, it's still worth it to try, even if just to get rid of the homonculus. And I don't think Ya-kun would be asking for our help if there wasn't a chance of getting him back." She turns back to Reiya and gives a thumbs up. "I'm in, by the way. It might not be to the letter of our mission, but it definitely seems to the spirt. Plus, it sounds like it'd make a good story." 

<Pose Tracker> Suzume Fukura has posed.

You never know when your head will explode from knowing too much.

Suzume gives Minato, Fuuka and Hitomi a smile, Yukari and Tyler a deliberately neutral expression, and Ririka and Moriko nods. She keeps her mouth shut, though, typing a couple things on her phone (flip, not smart; texting is slow for her) before tucking it away again.

Suzume is clearly antsy. One leg is crossed, ankle resting on the opposite knee, and she bounces it occasionally, burning of energy. But when Reiya actually starts to speak, she plants her feet down and listens.

"I heard him, but I didn't hear the details, I was on the far side." Playing a casual match. "I was gonna talk to Nakao-san afterwards but I never had much of a chance to. Takeba-san sent you?" Suzume looks at Yukari for a long moment. "Well, I guess it was a good idea..."

"...but the rest of it's kind... Do you trust 'Yanagi Nagisa'?" Suzume might have said 'that's impossible'... last month. Even two weeks ago. But given she's ALREADY learned three impossible things today, number four just kind of squeezes in with the rest of them. But it's creepy. She might not be spooked as easily as Yukari, usually, but...

...not being *yourself* is frightening in a way that many things aren't, to her. Being made to be someone else, someone who isn't you...

"I want to know that too," she agrees with Minato. "Both of those." Suzume tries not to look at Fuuka when Minato says 'nowhere'.

Instead, she takes a long drink of Moonkist. Then: "Maybe it's, like..." Suzume considers how to put it. "I got some information from someone in Sumaru. Rumourmonger Merry." She isn't sure who here knows them under that name. "Anyway, they said that sometimes you can run into yourself - or a bad version of yourself, all your dark side - in Mementos, which is a place made up of people's thoughts. Maybe it's like that, and they switched places...? Would it put him in Mementos, or something? Trap him there?"

She's reaching and she knows she's reaching. Suzume scowls. 

<Pose Tracker> Hitomi Mandai has posed.

 
Hitomi settles back as the topic is raised: Taro Nakata. Who is infected with something inhuman. Hitomi looks grave and serious as Reiya tells the tale. Including the second part.

About the Homunculus.

Hitomi's eyes blank slightly. "... What??" she says, before taking another sip of the drink and leaning forward as she does. With an index finger extended from the drink holding hand, "I don't..."

Her eyes turn towards Suzume, who seems to be raising what she might've been thinking of. Her lips purse like her drink turned into lemon juice, but Hitomi leans back in her seat again. "..." 

<Pose Tracker> Moriko Kumamoto has posed.

Moriko's listening quietly the whole time to Reiya quietly. He might have had a good excuse for all of this. Or he might be making it up. She's still fifty-fifty on it. Some of that might just be settling into a new routine with strangeness and the new nightlife.
 
 She returns the nod to Suzume, briefly looking less annoyed even! She lapses into something more contemplative after though.
 
 "What's the price?" Chasing the comment down on the trade of information. "Not that saving someone's not worth it."
 
 The rest she doesn't understand, but asking for in-depth might be a no-go now. So. That's a later problem
 
 The rest of it, that you're eaten from the inside out and become someone else is... worrying. And it shows on her face when she settles back in and considers it. "I'm in. Wouldn't feel right if I didn't try to help." Which is probably of no surprise. New as she is, she's pretty adamant on that. 

<Pose Tracker> Fuuka Yamagishi has posed.

Suzume receives a smile in returns, and then Fuuka nods toward Tyler. It's true - it would be useful. And Reiya allows it, but only if she can keep them secure.

"Alright." Fuuka replies with a nod. She reaches into her bag, taking a look at her notebooks before eventually deciding to sacrifice the newest one in the name of confidential note-taking. And once Reiya starts talking she begins.

...Her pace does slow down briefly, as she considers the weight of what he says. Infected by a Homunculus... a doppleganger that looks like a person but isn't, who'll devour them from the inside out and take their place.

"...That's awful..." Fuuka murmurs, concerned. Her pace picks back up, and she listens as everyone voices their thoughts. Suzume tries not to look at her - but Fuuka is already thinking about her own situation.

"I think... if there is something we can do, I'd like to." She says. "But it's also true that we don't have enough information to go on yet. Where he is, what saving him entails or might cost us... or what Nagisa-san wants in return, and gets out of us knowing. ...I'm in favor of learning as much as we can, first."

She pauses, and looks a bit sheepish.

"If... that's alright for me to say." She adds. 

<Pose Tracker> Tyler Gould has posed.

Tyler *listens*. Listens well as he flips through the dictionary pages, picking up more words as he goes along.

There's several notes that catch his interest. The name of Hazuki Nakao, who's definitely someone *he* knows. The topic of yet another otherworldly threat rearing its head in order to devour someone from the inside out. Which sounds strangely like...

"It sounds like a demonic possession, if you ask me." he chimes in, "An entity from beyond our realm that causes strange, violent behavior with the goal of eventually devouring the soul of its host and taking over. Not an entirely uncommon idea in America, but rarely believed beyond whispers and stories told around campfires to frighten small children."

He doesn't discount the fact that the difference in terminology might just be a linguistic/cultural thing, but he continues.

"...but you say that this Taro *isn't* Hazuki's Taro, just... a replicated body?" A nod towards Minato, here. "Because demons don't traditionally do that, but if it *is* actually his body that was hijacked and there's just an infernal spirit taking it for a joyride... I could potentially recommend some books that might help us on the topic."

Granted, none of the books he's read had anything to do with legitimately fighting spirits the way they do in SEES, but...

Suzume's additional information on doppelgangers gains her Tyler's attention next, nodding in her direction. "A dark side of yourself, hm?" ...this briefly distracts, as he tries to consider exactly that would look like. He suspects it would involve many bright or pastel colors. Perhaps Mementos *is* a truly frightening place.

"I'm also in. If a new otherworldly threat exists, it needs to be dissected, examined, and neutralized so that it is no longer a danger." Beat. "Preferably without harming the host."

<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.

Something inhuman. She should probably be more surprised by that but... she was there. She felt it. So she simply nods. "I could feel it very strongly," she adds. "Though I didn't know what it was..."

She glances sidelong at Yukari as Reiya mentions being urged to follow by her. That's still weird, right? She thinks it's weird, at least.

Yanagi Nagisa... Ririka sits up a little. She recognizes that name, but she probably won't be the only one.

But a mission to save Taro... Ririka doesn't see anything wrong with that, whether or not it's their 'mission' in SEES...

She'll be happy to avoid starting anything with Yukari, who seems to not be looking at her. She can live with that. She does give Suzume a nod, though... though seeing her reminds Ririka of what she failed to warn her about..

Internally she's still cringing at herself.

But she looks to Suzume curiously as she mentions Sumaru. A lot of them get out that way, huh...? "A bad version of yourself... Well, the arcade wasn't a supernatural space, but... other than that, dunno."

"I'd hate to just... leave him to his fate. If we can do something, we should." She same argument she'd made for making the attempt to investigate Fuuka's disappearance. But a trade for information...

She looks down at her lap. "I... have some information to share, too. I don't know if it's related, but..." 

<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.

"I'm not sure," Reiya says of the original. "From what she said, I believe he's trapped inside 'himself'. So... 'nowhere', I suppose."

He shakes his head. "She hasn't asked for specific information. That would make it easier, I think. Instead we have the obligation to offer what we feel her details are 'worth'. ...I've already told her that SEES exists. I felt that it was worth the gamble; others knowing of our organization spreads our reach, rather than impairing our operations."

A pause. "...Of course." Minato, as field leader, has the right to get involved in deciding what's their mission. While Reiya could go this alone...

He'd rather have the team's buy-in.

As for Yukari, "Right. I have no idea how we can help yet. But if that woman works for that boutique, then maybe the others also know something. Has anyone else been?"

It's very creepy. Reiya agrees with that.

"Thank you, senpai." To Shizuka. "I believe the same. Our mission is to save people from the supernatural... We may be specifically focused on the Dark Hour and the Shadows, but I don't think that means we can ignore other things."

Suzume is antsy. And, "Yes. I determined that if both of us sensed something unusual in Nakata-san, then there might be something to it."

A pause. He nods to Moriko. "...I apologize that I haven't been able to speak with you yet directly, Moriko-chan. But the rest of what I'd say is inappropriate for the group. Simply know that I appreciate your willingness to help."

Some people like Hitomi seem not to get it, but Reiya is fine with that; it's definitely Strange.

"Hmmm..." He regards Suzume. "If we have another source for the information, that might help us negotiate a better price. Rumormonger Merry is reliable, though..." Pause. "I'm dubious of the koalas." Pause.

"Nagisa-san didn't mention anything about Mementos. And while I wouldn't say I trust her exactly... I do think her information is accurate."

He looks alive in this meeting; Reiya doesn't always show much feeling, being stoic, but he's engaged and interested in this. Maybe he's happy to save someone? ...Or maybe cloak and dagger matters excite him.

He looks back to Fuuka though; he apprecaites her note-taking, and he agrees that it's awful. "Yes," Reiya agrees. "We don't have enough information. And I don't know what she gets out of this, either. So the more sources of information we can find, the better."

"...But I haven't discovered anything online about Homunculi."

Demonic possession, Tyler relates it to, and Reiya is thoughtful. "So it does. I don't know where the Homunculus comes from. It's possible it comes from some other realm."

"I believe it's the same body," Reiya confirms for Tyler. "If your books have such information, we shouldn't discount them."

He approves of Tyler's scientific approach to the last bit.

But Yukari mentioned Apathy Syndrome, and, "It sounds similar," he admits. "If what she describes is accurate... it may be even worse. In Apathy Syndrome, a loved one is taken from you. With a Homunculus, they're taken and an abomination remains in their place. ...I'm very serious about learning the truth."

"True," Reiya says. "These Homunculi can appear even outside of supernatural spaces." He nods to Ririka. "That's notable."

A pause. "...Hmm. Well, if you have information, whether it's related or not, I'd like to hear it."

"But otherwise... What do you think, Leader?" Reiya says to Minato. "Is this a SEES matter, or am I on my own?" 

<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.

    Quick inventory... Yukari, in favour, with usual misgivings. Suzume, questioning this 'Yanagi's' intent. Shizuka, all in, and Minato's not surprised to hear his senpai throw her hat in the ring that way. Hitomi: flabbergasted, status unclear. Moriko, in favour, concerned about paying the bill. Fuuka, in favour, wanting more information. Tyler, in favour and seemingly fascinated. Ririka, in favour and holding information.

    Conclusion: more or less unanimous.

    "It sounds like just about everyone wants to help," Minato says. "I'd be a poor team leader if I didn't help you achieve your goals. Besides..."

    He closes his eyes, for a moment. "I'm wondering about this 'body double', too. I want to know more about it."

    ... Minato has a twin sister. What thoughts must be coming up in his mind, hearing about an evil doppelganger?

    "But I hear Fukura-san's caution," he says, "and Takeba-san's, too. Let's reach out to other people, like this Merry, just in case. And... what did you learn, Kawase-san?"

<Pose Tracker> Suzume Fukura has posed.

"They never had any koalas when I was there earlier," Suzume says, almost defensively about Merry. "We just had a chat. I bet I can get more information out of them. They gave me the online address of a site too. It looks like nonsense but if you dig back there's some information there... or so they said. I haven't had time to look yet, I only got the address this afternoon. I can see if there's anything there later, or ask Merry about Homonculi. They didn't mention them but I didn't know to ask."

"Whether it's related or not, I want to investigate Mementos," Suzume says. "I'll organize that if people want me to, because I'm not going alone, but I think we ought to. The Shadows there are different but I don't know if they're related."

"But an important thing... you can't kill a Shadow of a Person. The lesser Shadows, the Full Moon Shadows, those are okay," Suzume clarifies. "But the ones that are *just one* person - Rumourmonger Merry says it's like a pillar, you knock it down and it'll kill the person. If this 'Homonculus' is like that too..."

"...well, I'm not saying I don't want to help, because I do." Just because she doesn't trust Yanagi, second-hand, doesn't mean she doesn't want to help. Suzume always wants to get involved. "But I *am* saying we better be careful what we do. Especially if it's 'real' enough to be out at the arcade. It might be fine, if it's really something else that's just pretending to be him. But if it's not..."

Suzume takes a long drink from her Moonkist, staring at nothing in particular while she thinks further. "If you got more, spill it," she says to Ririka. 

<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.

Is it weird that she thought to ask Reiya to do that? Well... that depends on how one defines weird. Yukari definitely doesn't think it was weird.

"Uh- they're a weird bunch definitely. They even have a talking peacock? I'm... not sure how that's possible, but apparently it is." Is Yukari's answer on the Peacock Silk staff. "He apparently stitched together a really ugly handbag? Aha..."
 
Yukari still has no idea what the heck she's going to do with it. Is Luck worth wearing something that's not her style?
 
She listens to Tyler talk about how Demons don't traditionally do that, considering his evaluation of it, "... Well maybe there's a clue is in the name? I dunno really..."
 
And indeed... it sounds similar, but worse, and she watches him closely, before slowly nodding. "... I can't blame you for that." Indeed, Fuuka and more want to do something, "For me I guess, it depends on what we can do first? I think there's no harm in looking into it. If nothing else... it feels like we don't know as much as we ought to about... a great many things, and if we don't fix that soon, who knows what could happen?"
 
If it's like Apathy Syndrome - there might just be nothing they can do... other than wait. But if there is something...? Then she can weigh what needs to be done once Reiya has more information.
 
She takes a deep breath, before looking Minato's way.
 
After all he's making the decision here.
 
That's about what she expected, before then turning to Ririka finally, as she's asked by Minato to speak. But - she's not saying anything here either.
 
She sure doesn't have to. Maybe Yukari now staring at her when before she was ignoring her is bad enough.

<Pose Tracker> Moriko Kumamoto has posed.

Morika looks at least a little mollified that they'll get the talk. "I'm holding you to that." She says simply enough before shifting back to the other topic at hand. "Koalas?" There's no getting around the look of confusion on her face at the mention of potentially hostile drop bears.
 
 "There are.. myths about that sort of thing." Nodding to Tyler's take on demonic possession. "At least one monk was reportedly killed and replaced by a fox. You'd find similar yokai myths. Think it's been around that long though? Or is it coincidence?" Suddenly talkative! Maybe she's got a thing for mythology after trying to figure out what she's tied to.
 
 Though it's specified it's a replacement body. She lapses back into thought. Twirling her tea around.
 
 She does focus on Ririka as she trails off though. Probably not helping there. Even if it's wholly unintentional.
 
 Briefly distracted by replying to Yukari, "Dopplegangers had you meeting yourself right?" She looks down at her cup, "Not a fan of coincidences." Still, she sits up, "I'll look into it either way." Her mind's made up. Even if it's not tackling potentially coughing up a hereto unknown price. 

<Pose Tracker> Shizuka Kuroki has posed.

      "Yeah, makes sense. Wouldn't be very helpful to just run in, Evokers blazing, and beat Nakata up."
 
      She turns over to Yukari at her assessment of Peacock Silk. "A talking... wh... I mean, I guess parrots... Guess I'll have to check it out next time I'm in the city."
 
      "But knowing that kinda thing's around... It's a bit scarier than Apathy Syndrome, isn't it? At least with Apathy Syndrome, you're still basically you." 

<Pose Tracker> Fuuka Yamagishi has posed.

Trapped inside himself... Fuuka nods thoughtfully, and listens as Reiya continues. So she hasn't asked for specific information, and the woman works for a boutique...

Nothing about Homunculi on the internet, though. Fuuka frowns just a bit. ...That's her usual avenue of research gone - though she'll probably look into it and fall down on a different, unrelated rabbit hole anyway.

Suzume brings up a website, though.

"A site... What kind of website is it?" Fuuka asks. "...I think you're right, though. We probably should be careful." She says... and pauses. Yukari brings up a point of interest about the Peacock Silk people. Why does that sound so - Fuuka gasps with an audible 'oh!'

"I remember seeing a talking peacock on the night you all rescued me." Fuuka says. "There was a woman there with him, too, but I never got her name... They were watching us fight the giant Shadows. I spoke with her briefly, but..."

There was a lot going on, and her exhaustion was rapidly reaching her limits - she didn't have time to do more than that.

Homunculi, compared to Apathy Syndrome...

"...I think they're both pretty scary. I wouldn't wish either on anyone." Fuuka says. 

<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.

Yanagi hasn't specified what she wants in exchange for the information. "Well... it might not be something straightforward. At least, they didn't run their raffle in a straightforward way?" The winning prize of a certain handbag somehow beat out the offer of two custom-written songs, after all... "The peacock really does talk though. His name is Pernelle."

Ririka doesn't know exactly how to guess what that means for the eventual price, though.

"I visited the boutique, but I haen't talked to anyone there yet. I was, uh... distracted." She's not going to mention her sister being there, though.

"What site was that...?" Ririka looks to Suzume curiously. She blinks at the mention of Shadows, though. "Wait, people have Shadows?" She glances around to see if anybody else is surprised by that, or is at least giving it some due consideration. "Still... if you want to explore Mementos I'll go with you. I should probably practice with my skills..." She looks to Fuuka. "Yamagishi-san, want to team up for that?" Being fellow Naivagors, and all.

But several others are interested in her information... but she catches Yukari looking at her--now she does, of course--and glances away, looking a bit guiltily.

She takes a deep breath... though the rhythmic drumming of her fingertips on her thigh only increases. "So I know I should've said something the other night and I'm sorry I didn't figure out how--" Her cheeks are definitely tinged a bit red, and she's wincing in anticipation of blowback. "... but there was a woman there that night, bright dyed hair, um..."

Quickly she mutters, "... someonesaidshehadgoodabsbutIdidn'tnotice..."

"But her name is Niko Kirisaki. She and some other people attacked Kasugayama last week. That's what the 'gang violence' in the news actually was. I was there and I fought her." A beat. "Annnnd she and this other guy use Evokers."

There's more but there's rather a lot to cover there. Sh winces again as she looks to Suzume. "... it's the woman you played a match with. Sorry. I tired to tell you..." 

<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.

A twin sister, and a doppleganger... Sure, it's unrelated.

"I appreciate that," Reiya says to Minato. "Then I'll leave the details of the mission in your hands, and continue to gather information."

No koalas? "Hmm. That's good," he says to Suzume. "I've only met them the once that I recall." They were... interesting.

"I'm willing to investigate Mementos with you," he confirms as well. "Just let me know when, and I'll make the time." A look to Yukari. "...As Takeba-san says. There's too much we don't know. Too much out there of which we're ignorant."

Don't kill person-Shadows. Noted.

A talking peacock, though... That's pretty unusual.

Yukari can't blame him for it. ...He nods to her. Just because he's agreeing with much of what she says doesn't make them friendly, though; his words towards her remain formal, professional. And as for beating Nakata up...

"Yes. I have no reason to believe that we can selectively target the Homunculus without harming him."

At least Moriko will accept Reiya talking to her later! He has meant to, but he's had many missions...

Also it's awkward.

"I don't know how old the phenomena is," he admits. He could speculate... but he looks at Yukari, and that's the 'tell'--that he might know more than he's saying. Because he's not referring to 'ten years ago', or any other time frame.

Fuuka mentions the woman--"Oh, yes. I remember seeing them, as you mention it..." Hmmm.

Not something straightforwrd. And the talking peacock again. Reiya doesn't display surprise--but he does say, "It would appear that they do, in Mementos. We should keep an eye out for them. Shadows in the form of people... it sounds dangerous to me."

Reiya is too oblivious to notice how GAY Ririka is being about the girl.

Instead he considers. "..."

Evoker-users, among the enemy.

Reiya says nothing about that at all. He suddenly looks very, very thoughtful. 

<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.

    Suzume speaks about the Shadows of people, and Minato watches her attentively. "A load-bearing Shadow..." He wonders, softly. "Yes, we had better be careful."

    He blinks, twice, when Yukari brings up the peacock.

    "Some birds do talk," he points out, simply, supporting Shizuka's wisdom. "And the one I met was nice." Fuuka isn't the only one who remembers Pernelle, evidently. Except...

    PERNELLE, HE JUST CALLED YOU A PARROT!

    "That's true," Minato says, to Moriko. "But not all foxes had ill-will, either. It doesn't sound like a Homunculus is something which can turn out fine for anyone."

    And then... the murderer. "I see," Minato says, looking to Ririka. "So an attractive girl was part of the attack on Kasugayama. We've had a few reports of other people using Evokers improperly, too... let's keep an eye on it."

<Pose Tracker> Suzume Fukura has posed.

When Moriko asks about the koalas, Suzume shrugs. "Koala crackers. They had a bunch the first time I went to the store. They didn't have any this time. I guess they don't feel like it every day."

"Dark Side of Sumaru," is Suzume's reply to Fuuka. "I'll give you the address if you want it. Two sets of eyes are better than one, right? I was going to take a look anyway." Suzume is pretty online herself, if perhaps not quite as good in some technical skills as Fuuka - not that she's entirely aware of that.

Do people have Shadows. "I guess? They sure seemed to think so," Suzume says, "but I've never seen one. I guess it's because Mementos is weird. That's why we've got to explore it." And it seems like 'we should look into Mementos, maybe' is pretty well agreed upon, if perhaps slightly less urgently than the current situation.

But then Ririka explains herself.

"You - " Suzume bites back what she was about to say, very deliberately counts to ten in her head, and then raises her voice anyway: "You fought someone who used an Evoker, with a Persona, who was built like an American linebacker, and you DIDN'T tell me when I went over there? You didn't try to tell me anything! You said 'Fukura-saaan...'" Suzume makes it sound not-quite-whining, which is unfair to Ririka but she does it anyway, "and I figured it wasn't urgent because you didn't say anything else!"

"I can take care of myself," Suzume says, "and she wasn't somewhere where she could call a Persona, but if I'm going to go over to someone who might attack me, actually say something! Or send me a text; just because I'm on an old phone doesn't mean I can't get them!" Suzume huffs her way to a stop.

Also Suzume was the one who said she had good abs. You could have mentioned them then, Ririka! (But she is not about to remind Ririka of exactly who said that.) 

<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.

Yukari nods slowly at Shizuka, "Yeah it doesn't make sense to me, I still keep looking for the microphone but... there's no way they could make a real bird act like that." She admits, feeling weirded out over the whole thing.
 
But Fuuka gasps and- "Seriously?! They were there?" Yukari lets out a sigh, "Man what is with that bird?"
 
Minato does say 'the one I met was nice' and Yukari side eyes him, "Were they though?"
 
Suzume says they have Shadows, and Yukari just gives her a strange look, like she's low key a little alarmed. "Hmmm." But that levels out into suspicion instead, as her eyes flick towards Reiya...
 
... as if he were a stand in for someone.
 
But Ririka confesses her mistake, and also is being really weird about this girl's abs?
 
"... Was the murderer's abs really the only thing you noticed about her?" Yukari just looks exasperated, "Geez... what's with you?"
 
But other than that moment of further disappointment in Ririka - because even if she'd apologized...
 
... it doesn't necessarily make things better in Yukari's eyes. Instead of dwelling on her... Yukari's looking at Reiya again, because Evoker Users. She brought it up once before - to see if Shinjiro knew anything.
 
It was a gamble she kind of lost on, but that doesn't mean it's not still important to look into this.
 
"'Improperly' is a word for it." She says of Minato's descriptor... "The ones in Sumaru City were attacking a cop." It's not the first she's said of it to others here, Reiya - Minato - Minako all knew.
 
Suzume is justifiably upset, after all, it's why Yukari was upset too. But, she doesn't try to win points with Suzume by saying that she yelled at Ririka for the same thing too, instead she just points out.
 
"And well, most of us don't even carry our Evokers when we're going to Tokyo... though maybe we need to be sure we /start/ doing that/ with Persona Users like these around."
 
Yukari adds onto that, because that's a concern of hers after all of this that everyone needs to consider going forward. How to take their evokers with them and conceal them.
 
"Also maybe mention that this girl... was using a 'land mine'?" She looks Ririka's way suddenly, "Maybe don't leave that part out if you're telling everyone? That's not the kind of thing anyone should have access to... so 'Gang Violence' is a little bit of an understatement, don't you think?"
 
Yep, she's sure giving Ririka a withering stare, as if 'Maybe if you weren't so focused on her Abs, you'd remember that.' was one of the thoughts she was having.

<Pose Tracker> Moriko Kumamoto has posed.

Moriko actually manages to look disappointed that the koalas were snacks and not literal koalas. Maybe? "Oh." her tone confirms that disappointment.
 
 "So we can blindside it and call it a night?" That seems like the easiest take to her. There's a pause. "Or is it going to be less-" She trails off. Her experience is limited to two. "Ignore me." She puts her hands up. She doesn't know, she won't interject on whether it'll be that easy!
 
 "I know." the biker replies to Minato with a hint of a smile, though she doesn't elaborate. It's really not that big a mystery though, is it? "But it is kinda relevant right? That one spent years doing his best to be the monk even."
 
 "If you're after abs, you just have to work on them." Sure there was more there, that Ririka said, but Moriko clearly misunderstood what was being suggested. Doesn't even bother her! She thumps her own stomach with her free hand, "Riding a bike keeps you pretty toned really." Well, if you're riding the right way.
 
 "Land mine?" She looks to Yukari then. Frowning. "I- ... how would you get your hands on that?" She doesn't know! Gramps might. Maybe.
 
 He'd probably yell at her for asking.
 
 There's a pause. "I.. could look into hiding them if you want." That IS something she can probably ask about. Maybe.
 
 This is going to be an awkward call home either way. 

<Pose Tracker> Suzume Fukura has posed.

Suzume had not had her Evoker. Sometimes she brings it, but other times she can't figure out how to carry it. She tried hiding it under her shirt but even in her baggy shirts it made a lump you could see sometimes. Maybe she needs a different kind of holster for that? She had been improvising.

But... "Wait," Suzume says, holding up one finger. "Wait wait wait."

"Nobody said *shit* about land mines! I want the land mine explanation too." 

<Pose Tracker> Shizuka Kuroki has posed.

      "Land mine?! What have you all been up to?!"
 
      Shizuka shakes her head and grabs her Mad Bull, taking a sip. "But geez, other Persona users, huh? This stuff's really getting outta hand..."

<Pose Tracker> Fuuka Yamagishi has posed.

"Yes." Fuuka confirms with a nod, as Yukari exclaims her surprise.

Ririka suggests exploring Mementos, and Fuuka nods.

"Yes. I think that may be best. I... want to train my powers more, so I can be of more help." Fuuka agrees with a nod.

And Suzume gives her a name - Dark Side of Sumaru. ...It's a strange name for a website, but...

"Yes, thank you. I'd like to look into it." Fuuka replies. She always feels better if she can do the research herself.

The situation gets a bit more complicated, though. Dangerous Persona-Users with Evokers... So, they have more to worry about than just Shadows.
...Well, she already knew that. She's encountered one before, herself, alongside the others.

...But then the conversation spirals as it seems something happened - and Fuuka finds herself wanting to say something. It feels like there's a lot being directed at Ririka right now and she wants to say something that might help...

...But nothing comes to mind - at least, nothing that her mind doesn't twist into making the situation worse. ...So instead she shrinks down, a bit, focusing on her notes instead. 

<Pose Tracker> Tyler Gould has posed.

Tyler's been a bit quiet, darting around here and there in the book. Coming through his mind for books on the paranormal that would help in the topic -- a trip to the library in the very near future is a must. They should have some useful books, right? He's taking in *all* the new information because... there's a lot of it to catch.

* Fuuka mentioning that the Peacock Crew was at the fight to rescue her. Watching, not helping.
* How the boutique ran its... auction?
* PEOPLE have shadows. (This doesn't surprise him.)
* There's other, non-SEES, non-ex-SEES Evoker users out there fighting them. (Wonder what shooting *them* with an evoker does...?)
* 'Dark Side of Sumaru'. The title in and of itself is intriguing.
* They should start carrying Evokers at all times. Yukari gets a nod of agreement for that piece of advice.

"I'm guessing that they operate in a... less than obvious manner in order to get the very best deal. If you don't know what the price is, you might offer more than it costs, and they don't have to accept until their intended price is beaten." Beat. "Rather brilliant, if somewhat deceitful."

"If nobody else volunteers, I can seek out the Niko girl." Beat. "Maybe the people who attacked Kasugayama were trying to kill one of those dopplegangers..."

Which, given that they aren't the actual bodies of the victims like with a possession? Perfectly reasonable. Mementos trip? "Count me in for that, too. ... and remind me to bring spray paint." Just in case Pastel Tyler shows up. He'll get a *makeover*.

The talk of land mines, however, is dismissed as Perfectly Normal For Strange Japan. Just quietly noted for things to avoid in the future.

As for abs? Yeeeeah, he's not getting into *that* topic.

<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.

You can't prove anything, Reiya!

Ririka blushes as Minato identifies the least important detail. "I d-didn't say that," she insists. "I mean, I wonder how they got them butg they did seem like they knew how to use them..."

Annnnd Suzume is raising her voice. Ririka winces a little. "Yeah, I know. But I did try to tell you to wait but you walked away anyway." She huffs. "I didn't say it like that," she grumbles.

Texted her. "Yeah, yeah," she grumbles. "I'll remember that for next time. I just..." She looks at her lap. "I was just juggling a lot."

Ririka huffs at Yukari. "I didn't notice. Someone else did." Ebisu beach... "If those were the same ones who attacked Sumary TV, then we know they can make supernatural spaces, somehow..." Suzume was there for that, she should remember that. "I've been taking mine to Sumaru, but... yeah, maybe we should." Take them to Tokyo, that is.

"Hey," snaps Ririka to Yukari. "I'm getting there, alright? There was kind of a lot to unpack, sheesh." Oh now she's drumming her fingers and tapping her foot a little. Not impatiently, just in tune with some beat that's rattling around in her head.

She just stares at Moriko, blinking as ab advice is offered. "... what?" Definitely not the right conversation thread, there.

She does give Fuuka a grateful nod. She wants get her own powers under control, too. So shje's not as distractable. (As regards to sounds, not abs. That's completely unrelated to her powers.)

Ririka wants to srhink down, too. But she looks to Tyler and emphatically shakes her head. "Don't do that! Seriously." She pauses a moment and repeats it in English, slower. "((Do not do that. Please.))
She takes a deep breath. "Okay, so I only have some of the details because there was a lot happening. Apparently the Joker Killer is real and he was attacking someone at Kasguayama. The Evoker users were from a group called... Strega I think? The two I fought were keeping people from getting into the school. I think the other guy was the one who set up the landmind. They had someone who could block my Navigator abilities, and.... Kasugayama has an Air Raid Shelter, apparently."

She thinks for a moment. "Also there was a really weird Persona there. And something gross popped up on my senses that I have no idea what it was. But yeah. That whole thing was a big supernatural fight that got coered up."

Beat.

"And one of them had a landmine that blew up a guy on a motorcycle, so... they're playing for keeps. The guy-- well, he got up afterl, at least. He seemed to know the most about what was happening."

Another beat.

"... And I think superheroes are real?" 

<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.

This time, Reiya doesn't offer Yukari any freebies. He doesn't look surprised at this information, exactly--but he does look disturbed. Maybe that means something?

An attractive girl... Hmm. "That's subjective," Reiya notes. "It might be hard to use as a detailed description."

He doesn't intervene with Suzume and Ririka, or Yukari and Ririka for that matter. Instead...

"Land mines," Reiya reflects. He does look at Moriko. "I don't know how the average person would," he says of getting their hands on them. "...But Evokers are much rarer technology than land mines." Finally he does say something about it.

He... is already carrying his Evoker more places. As it happens.

Tyler chimes in on the matter of the price, and Reiya nods. "Yes. We have to guess at what's valuable. ...I don't begrudge her wanting 'value', though the sort of person who would hold such information in reserve when it could help someone may not be one all of our team wants to work with."

Tyler volunteers to go find Niko. Reiya nods along thoughtfully--but Ririka asks him not to. Hmm.

Ririka shares more information, and Reiya looks at her for a moment.

"I see."

He considers.

"Oh," Reiya remembers to say. "The meeting's over. You can discuss more if you want. There's more to talk about."

"But that's all I had." He rises from his seat. "...I think I need to figure something out..."

He starts for the stairs. 

<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.

    Land mines. "Huh."

    Minato is probably surprised on the inside. Minato is HOPEFULLY surprised on the inside. His face is still quite bland, though.

    "For now, I recommend you start bringing your Evokers with you for personal safety," he ties off the most important point, as he pushes off the back of the couch. "If you're questioned about them, I'm pretty sure you can just say they're model guns... it's not like they shoot real bullets."

    A pause, as he looks to Tyler. "If you're going to seek them out, be careful. Have someone you can call." That's not a no! WHY IS THAT NOT A NO!

    "But the meeting's over, huh..."

    Minato ambles off, with an aside word to Hitomi to call her over to the roof, supposedly to tend the vegetables, and really to have a chat about her feelings about it all.

    Thoughtfully, the camera doesn't follow them.

<Pose Tracker> Suzume Fukura has posed.

"You just said my name! If you'd said, 'Fukura, it's important', I would've turned around!" Suzume would throw up her arms but she does not want to dump her drink. So she doesn't.

She lets out an irritated groan. "Well, she didn't pull anything. This time. But next time, if you know something like that - about the Strega and the land mines and the muscle girl and everything - you *tell* someone! Especially if someone's about to walk into it!"

Suzume finishes her drink. "Sumaru apparently has a lot of supernatural spaces," she says. "I'd be more surprised if one showed up in Tokyo. But rumours come true in Sumaru, *apparently*, and a lot of the rumours are occult. That's why I went to a Rumourmonger to get the information I got in the first place. So why not? Why not a superhero? I bet there's someone who believes in them, even if it's just little kids!"

Reiya stands up. So does Minato. So, then, does Suzume. "I'm gonna go hit up the web site I got. And change. I am tired of being in this uniform. Yamagishi-san, I'll send you the website too, okay? Maybe between us we can get something out of it." Pause. "If someone posts in English send me the link, I can read it."

Tyler is, like, right there. Suzume does not care. 

<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.

"It's sure half of what you're talking about though." Is Yukari's immediate retort to Ririka 'not noticing it was someone else'. As in 'Do you think I'm stupid or something?'
 
Before she sighs again at what Ririka says, "And I'm supposed to believe that after you forgot to mention this to everyone before?" 'I think Superheroes are real?' "... Righttttt."
 
Leaning back, she looks sideways at Reiya, "Well, maybe. It depends on if they're getting the Land Mines from the same place as they get the Evokers..."
 
That gives her pause, thinking about it. She's pretty sure Kirijo doesn't do land mines? Openly at least - but maybe they're hiding a secret ordnance facility! How would she know
 
"... what if that's just something they get on their own? It... says something about how dangerous they could be."
 
She murmurs on the idea, before looking towards Minato, then sighing, and rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Alright... well, I recommend that we sew hidden pouches in everyone's school bag. I can do it- any other girls able to help out with that? Yamagishi-san?"
 
Why does she assume SHE can first? Well... she's not answering that. She absolutely does not assume any of the guys can.
 
"Anything else, we can talk about later... but let's at least arrange that much first..."
 
Well she was going to mention 'Dark Side of Sumaru' to Fuuka, but she decides to hold off now that Suzume has done it.
 
'If someone posts in English, I can read it.'
 
"Uhhhhh..." Her eyes flick to Tyler Gould as if her mind was going 'Don't we have a white guy for that?' then back to Suzume. And then she just shrugs as if she absolutely decided not to voice that.
 
"We'll figure out the rest later just- the Homunculus thing first... I'm going back upstairs." 

<Pose Tracker> Shizuka Kuroki has posed.

      Shizuka downs her Mad Bull as she listens to all this supernatural nonsense. Her bloodstream is drowning in caffeine and guarana and she still feels like going to sleep after all that. She sighs, crushes the can in her hand, and tosses it into the kitchen trash can.
 
      "Clearly I gotta be getting out more if everyone's having so much fun."
 
      She stretches her arms out, feeling her shoulders crack, and makes her way to the stairs. "Not tonight, though. Working on some abstracts. Keep me posted, okay?" 

<Pose Tracker> Moriko Kumamoto has posed.

Moriko gives Reiya that look, "I didn't even think on the normal side." that one. The knowing sort. "They kind ofar. And... hard to hide without getting into trouble." She frowns. "I mean I could stash it in my leathers easily enough. It's slim, probably replace some padding. Would suck, but-" she shrugs. Her mind clearly latched onto the problem. "Later."
 
 "Thought you wanted to know how to get them." She admits, somewhat distracted to Ririka, "Nothing wrong with it." Still clueless.
 
 On a more serious note, "That can happen?" Still replying to Ririka, notably when the navigator powers are interrupted. "And.. gross or 'gross'?"
 
 No it doesn't make full sense to her.
 
 She does give Tyler a brief glance, "I... could go with you." Maybe that will help. Or between the two of them they'll scare the poor girl. Who knows. She's being proactive though!
 
 As for the Strega thing. She looks down, lapsing into some thought. "You get the people doing the sentai shows and we might get some... oddness." A look to Suzume, her thoguhts interrupted a bit. "I can help out a bit with the searching too if you want." 

<Pose Tracker> Fuuka Yamagishi has posed.

There's a lot going on! The Joker Killer is real, and there's a group called Strega with apparent access to landmines and someone who can block Navigators. A weird Persona, and... superheroes are apparently real.

Fuuka pauses in her note-taking, running that through her head - decides to at least put that down with a question mark, since she doesn't sound completely certain.

"Um... If these people are like that, I'm not certain we should seek them out..." Fuuka admits. It sounds dangerous. They're bold enough to set a landmine at a school - who knows what they could do? She can't stop them - but she feels like she should say something.

The meeting starts to draw to a close - but suddenly, she hears her name being said, and she realises she's being Volunteered.

"Um-" She starts hesitantly, awkwardly. She doesn't feel like she can back out... "Yes, I can... try to help."

...It's a bit of a lie. It's not the kind of handiwork she's good at, but maybe she can fake it well enough if she watches Yukari do it first. She has to... keep up appearances.

Suzume says she'll pass the website to her, and Fuuka nods.

"...Okay, thank you."

With that, she stands up.

"Alright, um... I think I'm going to get started on my homework for tonight. If anyone needs help... please let me know." Fuuka says, standing up. She wouldn't be surprised if a lot of them have other things on their minds - but some of them could probably use the distraction, at least.

...And maybe she'll look up how to sew at some point, too, so she doesn't ruin everyone's bags when she's called on to help. 

<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.

Ririka glances to Reiya as all he has to say is 'I see.' She nods a little at that. (Mostly she's just happy he's not getting on her case, too.)

Minato just tells Tyler to have someone he can call. "Or take someone with you, maybe? I don't think looking for her alone is a good idea..."

"I said wait, you know," protests Ririka weakly to Suzume. "Look, I'll do better next time." She can't quite bring herself to look at Suzume, though.

She lets out a frustrated grunt at Yukari doubting what she has to say. "Well if you're not going to believe me then why don't you get off my back about it? I know I fucked up, but I'm trying to make up for it, okay?"

Ririka shrugs. "She had a helmet with a visor and she was making like, big tokusatsu speeches. Seems pretty 'superhero' to me. But I guess there's no reason you'd believe me about that."

Ririka huffs. "No, that's not even what we're talking about," she says to Moriko. But for Navigator powers... "Yeah. It happened at Sumaru TV, too. And at Sakugayama. I think it was a different person though. It felt different."

Gross or 'gross'. "I don't know. Just... really, really wrong. Like something touched my brain." She shudders.

Ririka's willing to accept the existence of superheroes. There's plenty of other weird stuff, after all.

She doesn't say anythinga bout sewing as she stands up. Since everyone else is elaving... "I've got homework too," she mumbles, and takes her leave.

Those headphones are going on when she gets to her room so she can drown out some thoughts from the meeting tonight. 

<Pose Tracker> Tyler Gould has posed.

'Do not do that. Please.'

Tyler's gaze turns over towards Ririka, considering for a moment. Going and conversing with potential killers doesn't scare him. Besides, if these... homunculus, homunculi? Exist, and appear to be humans, in Normal Space... wouldn't attacking them make *them* look like murderers, too?

Maybe Strega is just misunderstood.

Then Minato says 'don't go alone', and Moriko's offering to join him. "We'll talk more soon," A nod towards Moriko, "In the meantime, definitely let me get your number. Just in case."

Because then he'd have someone to call if he runs into her. She proved herself pretty capable in her debut, afterall! Though he stops short of promising not to seek abs-girl out.

Lying isn't in his DNA.

Although if Niko's dangerous, having someone who can get even more reinforcements might be even *more* important than a single backup.

Suzume gets a *look* when she mentions offering to interpret English...

He says nothing, though. However, there will soon appear posts on the Dark Side of Sumaru using as many hundred dollar and macabre words as he can string together. Besides. Then he'll have someone *else* he can speak freely to.

Yukari talks about sewing hidden pockets in their bags for Evokers... "That's not a bad idea at all. Let me know if you need a hand." Full of surprises, this one.

One by one, the various residents of the dorm depart. Tyler? He goes nowhere... but he does raise the dictionary back up. Hey, the chair's comfortable enough.

<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.

'Then why don't you get off my back about it.'
 
"Because that's what you want." Is Yukari's sharp rejoinder to Ririka as she places her hand on the bannister of the stairs and stops.
 
"You still don't actually think you messed up, or if you do - you think it's being blown out of proportion. You're still making excuses even now because you want us to just forget anything even happened and move on."
 
She looks over her shoulder at her.
 
"... I don't want someone like you who can't even really take real responsibility for their actions directing me around on missions."
 
At least when Junpei messed up on missions, he had the good grace to look ashamed about it.
 
"You just have no shame whatsoever."
 
Tyler surprises her with one last remark - and she wonders if it's an American thing? Do American guys like to sew?
 
"... Well, alright. If you could, make a list for the guys about what kinda fabric lines their bags for now? We'll figure out the rest later."
 
Either way, she realizes she just made things more awkward... so she heads back upstairs.

<Pose Tracker> Suzume Fukura has posed.

"Fine," Suzume says to Ririka, as she picks her way out from the couch to head to the kitchen to recycle her can. She's not going to leave that sitting around. "Do that."

Honestly, it's a change to have Yukari not aimed at *her*. But Yukari's right, this time. It does not quite make Suzume wonder if she was right *last* time, too... but it does encourage her to not return fire at the other girl.

"I'm going upstairs. If you need me, yell," she says, once Yukari is gone - and she intends to do just that. 

<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.

Rirka stops, and just glares at Yukari. "Yeah. I do want that. Because when I messed up you got mad. And when I tried to share what I know you got mad and basically called me a liar. So how about you make up your mind what it is you want, and until then, just get off my back."

She crosses her arms. "Unless you're psychic now too, don't tell me what I think. I messed up! I agree with you! But unless you know what it's like in my head--and am I'm pretty sure you don't--could you cut me some freaking slack already?"

She stares Yukari right in the eye as the other girl glances back at her. "That's fine then. Because apparently you wouldn't believe me even if I did!"

No shame. She's been blushing and cringing this entire time. She is embarrassed, and she even admitted she messed up. Her eyes narrow. "At least I'm not impossible to please."

She stomps her way up the stairs and slams the door.

Those headphones are getting cranked up to 11.

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