2025-08-19: Can't Look Away
- Log: Can't Look Away
- Cast: Yukari Takeba, Myunghon Yeo
- Where: The Cardboard Dragon
- OOC Date: August 19, 2025
- IC Date: June 28, 2012
- Summary: Yukari visits the Cardboard Dragon to approach Rumourmonger Merry on a sensitive matter.
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
There's a rumor so old about Sumaru City that it's not even talked about anymore. It came about during the 'history boom' right after the Tatsumi Port Island explosion of ten years ago.
Eiichiro Takeba is responsible...
These days, the Rumormongers don't even talk about it anymore. It's taken for granted. Everyone knew that even back then.
Eiichiro Takeba is responsible...
It's so old hat that people don't even consider Yukari's name anymore as anything that might be connected to him. After all, who would think she's that Takeba?
Eiichiro Takeba is responsible...
But she remembers a time when people did. When boyfriend after boyfriend got to treat her mother like she was a yesterday's garbage because of who she was once married to. When child after child at school called her the 'Disaster Daughter' because 'Shitty parents lead to shitty children.' Everyone knows that.
Eiichiro Takeba is responsible...
Some of them it was even personal for. People trying to start again, who had moved away, only to find out the 'Disaster Daughter' was going to their school. Well it was personal for her too!
Eiichiro Takeba is responsible...
Yukari hates Sumaru City, not because it wasn't a nice place to live for a girl in elementary school who was raised to be a modern girl. She hates it for the culture. She hates Rumors and how they hurt people. She hates them even more knowing they're backed supernaturally to some degree.
So why then is she at the Cardboard Dragon today? Her school bag over the shoulder of her white summer uniform blouse, pink cardigan tied around her waist. Shouldn't she hate those who monger rumors to their own benefit?
It's a good question, and not one she hasn't asked herself again and again.
Perhaps it's the simple practicality of it. She needs information, they have information, simple. Or maybe it's because Merry themselves seemed like some harmless weirdo, rather than someone who bullies people with rumors.
"Eugh..."
Still she had to work herself up to it, it's not so easy as all that. To even seek information is to lay one's self bare, to show their vulnerabilities... and Yukari is someone who armors herself off to that with fashion and makeup to show the world she has none. A thoroughly modern girl so self-confident in her looks that boys take damage just running into the spikes hidden in her 'cute' style.
Eiichiro Takeba is responsible...
Closing her eyes, she takes out her pink flip phone, but not to make a call, instead to open her eyes to look at the anthromorphic moon mascot as the first thing she sees. It's worn down, the paint is chipped from ten years of use of this charm. Memories are never quite as shiny as the reality, but her eyes see it as no different from how she did ten years ago as a child.
"Alright... okay... Tsu-chan. Let's give this a try."
Eiichiro Takeba is responsible...
"It's for Dad." She clutches her phone, and puts it away, walking inside. She's not someone who's into the culture of the Cardboard Dragon at baseline. To her it's for boys who'd prefer to cling to some 2D 'Waifu' than improve themselves so they can interest a real girl and... girls who haven't yet learned how to be responsible.
But she sucks it up, the idea someone might see her there, and approaches Myunghon wherever she might see them.
"Hey there, Merry. I know it's business hours still but... uhhh, well, when you have a minute...?"
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
Life has been one big mess coming at supersonic speeds for Myunghon lately -- the last battle with Strega and the Joker Killer in the Palace had them screaming into their pillow over the fact that the Joker Killer has backing and knows about Palaces and they spent a whole night shredding pieces of their corkboard and had to pin the Old Fashioned Pigtails next to the Fry Guys and they still don't know how the Purple Menace is involved. Ontop of that, they got shrapnel stuck in their body thanks to one Jin Shirato's explosives, and then they were harrassed by Officer Ishiba and had to be rescued by Reiko, which is something they're grateful for -- but still rattled.
At least they sent Tsubasa off to the Peacock Silk. They hope it'll be a small bit of positive light in their life, since it was in Myunghon's too.
Right now, the Rumourmonger is, in fact, working rather hard on their laptop, in that strange, almost act-of-contortionism-like manner where their knees are literally up to their cheeks and yet they still can pop their shoulder and arms out to type without impediment. The corkboard is on a sliding mechanism right beside them, and they reach out for a long, bony finger and pin a picture of--
... is that the Hamburger Burglar? They absent-mindedly attach the picture onto Shibuya.
But they snap out of their reverie a moment later, once Yukari speaks up, and there's a moment's worth of fisheyed terror that melts into a pleasant smile, rising to full, wiry height. "Takeba-san. Please, excuse the mess. Yes, of course... can I help you with anything?"
A pause, as they scratch their cheek. "Thank you for your assistance the other day." They might still be sore about the hamburg steak, but Takeba did go with them to the Palace, and that's something Myunghon does genuinely appreciate. "I also... didn't get the opportunity to apologise to you."
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
Yukari still isn't quite sure what to think of the fact she ran into a serial killer. Though technically it wasn't her that ran into him, she was more like adjacent to him. It was her cop acquaintance that fought him.
That's a weird thing to take in, really.
For now though she runs into Merry, and while she's brave enough to greet them - a closer examination of their pose kinda takes her aback some.
"I could always come back later?"
Like she's thinking better of it. But then Merry thanks her, and now she feels too awkward to actually act upon that thought.
"Oh! You're welcome. Really I didn't do much anyway... and it was kind of... uh... educational?"
She takes up a more relaxed stance to try and hide her stress, feet just a little apart, hands behind her back.
She has no idea why anyone would be sore about the hambagu steak, and thus has no idea that Merry might be.
But the apology kinda catches her flat-footed again, "Oh uhhh-For what? Iiii can't really think of anything you'd need to apologize for?" Her brow kinda creases as she thinks about if there's something she's forgetting?
She decides to hold off on asking about more until she figures that part out.
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
"Ah-- I just..." Myunghon frowns deeply for a moment. "I wanted to apologise about how you had to feel unsafe in my store. No matter what the circumstance, it's not something I ever want any of my customers to have to feel. I know we're doing something about it, it just..." They place their finger to their lip for a moment. "I just needed to express it." They bow their head gently.
Yukari's actions about the hamburg steak are entirely reasonable and rational, really -- and Myunghon does internalise that it's their fault that they haven't explained some of their severe hangups and problems about food, and even outside of that, it is true that they needed the calories to go through the Palace.
Maybe they'll admit it to Takeba someday.
"I was glad to have your back-up, and I am sure the others are too. With how much of your time must be taken up by Tartarus, you must have a lot on your plate." Myunghon, as a rule, doesn't assume how busy or not-busy one is with their supernatural life, but... it does feel like a lot, so the least they can do is be appreciative.
"Please, make yourself comfortable -- can I get you a drink? There's no customers at present, so we can discuss what you need now."
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
Yukari had never actually thought about it that way? It is the responsibility of the shop owner in a sense but, "Ohhhh I see. Well, it's hardly your fault." She gives Merry a sympathetic look.
"I can't really get upset at you about every jerk who waltzes in and acts like they own the place. And besides... some of the things he said..."
It's weird thinking about it. It's not like she thinks about Koreans every day or anything? She's sure all the ones that come over are perfectly nice people. They'd definitely be better about fitting in than like... white guys right?
But it does remind her of a few comments she'd heard growing up, especially on the news, when South Korea demands an apology for stuff that happened nearly a century ago... and politicians here refuse to take responsibility.
She'd always taken it for granted that everyone should just 'get over it'.
Now though?
"... well. I think even if you feel the need to take responsibility, he's still the one in the wrong. Even so I mean - if you feel the need? Sure, accepted."
Yukari though seems sheepish over the seeming compliment, "Aha, I'm not really that great even over in Tartarus. You should seem some of our team and what they're like." She even smiles, looking away as a hand cards the side of her hair, "But hey, thanks. And... well, it's not like I was being entirely selfless anyway."
At the request to make herself comfortable, she finds a spot to put her bag down (not on the floor) and take a seat, before, "Oh sure, maybe just some tea or something? Or even just water."
She's watching her weight - gotta be careful about those liquid calories!
Despite saying there's no customers, Yukari does glance furtively to make sure no one is watching, before...
"Uhhh so you're a big shot Rumormonger right? I haven't lived in Sumaru City for years and well... there's some stuff... I want to look into that I kinda don't want to get back to my team... if that makes sense?"
Before she makes a quick gesture with a hand, "Oh not that it's like anything bad or anything... just... itttt might upset some of them if they knew I was looking into things."
Welp, Yukari nervously has already said too much, and realizes that she did. Now there's no chance she can back out.
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
Myunghon's relationship with even South Korea is a weird one, because they *are* a native of the islands called Japan and has never, ever once been overseas, not that that's entirely evident to an outside observer. And that same demand for an apology that politicians don't take seriously... was, in fact, something Myunghon's grandmother was directly involved in.
But Myunghon does gently nod as Yukari works through how she herself feels about the situation, and some of the things Kaneshiro said... there's a quiet side-glance for a moment, as they nod gently. "I'd like to say I'm used to it, but... it's come up a bit more than I'm used to."
The way they say that doesn't sound like it's just Kaneshiro, either. But! Yukari accepts the apology, and Myunghon seems a bit more relieved about that, by whatever internal measure they need to get that squared off.
"Yes. And I do have hope we'll find what we need to deal with him."
Rumourmonger Merry is hope, after all. And part of being Hope is being able to constantly project that, in the face of uncertainty. That's the flavour of their Rebellion -- a revolutionary for the people, amongst the people, not the elegant thieves of night, like the Phantoms.
Yukari downplays her involvement in Tartarus, and Myunghon has a sympathetic nod as they start boiling the kettle in the corner. It's not a mini-kitchen setup, but they've appropriated one corner for it because they seem to spend a lot of time down at the storefront using it as living space anyway.
"That last battle against those Full Moon Shadows was quite chaotic. Nothing like I'd seen before in Sumaru. It did look like you had a lot of backup, but even I can't consider that situation under control for a moment. Oh, thank Yamagishi-kun for her aid again if you see her for me?"
Yukari calls them a big shot Rumourmonger, and even they have to pause and consider that. Are they...? The Rumourmongers have never really weighed and ranked themselves against each other -- it feels like a waste of time -- but perhaps. ... it feels kinda good, regardless. They suppose Baofu ended up being one of their de facto organisers due to the power of the website.
But Yukari has a request -- about stuff that they don't want to get back to their team. But nothing bad, just... they might get upset if they knew she was looking into things.
"Mmmm." Yukari looks concerned and worried, though, and Myunghon looks around and gestures with their finger --
"Mafui."
Kudlak rises out as a spell completes, and the area around them feels a bit more... muffled? The kettle's boiling sound, for instance, is completely inaudible now.
"I just put up a small bubble just to make sure no one's listening in, though I don't think we need it... but can't be too safe," Myunghon advises, so as to not alarm Yukari. They think it might give her an extra layer of confidence that what they're saying is private, and it's good practice anyway.
"Now... I did wonder a little -- I did think there were a remarkable amount of students in one place where Tartarus was, at Gekkoukan. And you'd mentioned a chairman when we first met -- there's organisation behind your efforts. SEES, if I recall. And I assume from... adults."
Myunghon brings the tea over -- green tea! No calories! -- and sets it down at the coffee table, before sitting down opposite.
"Are you worried about some aspect that you think may be dangerous to you or your fellow students...?"
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
"... I wish I could say that surprises me..."
Is Yukari's reply. Oh it's true she didn't think about it before, but now that she is thinking about it...
... she realizes she was only looking away from it.
Does she sound a little low key ashamed for that? ... Maybe.
"... I'm not sure what we'll find, at this point." Is Yukari's guarded statement, "I don't want the guy to win or anything but... I dunno."
What if the only solution is changing his heart? Or... worse? She's not sure what she'd think then.
Hope meets Pessimism, yet again. 'Hi Pessimism' thy name is Yukari Takeba. And as Hope puts the kettle on for Pessimism, she considers her statement, "Oh! Uh! Sure. I'll be sure to pass that along. Yamagishi-san really has been a great help ever since she joined."
Yukari kinda wishes she hadn't, in one respect but... it's what she wanted them to do.
Then Yukari stiffens as she summons her Persona, "Hey wha-" But she explains in short order, and the suddenly on guard Yukari relaxes some as she realizes what's going on, and the kettle is no longer making any noise, "... Alright. Sure that's, uh - a pretty practical measure."
Though it does occur to her that no one would hear her scream either... Yukari takes the cup of tea, as Myunghon digs into what SEES is.
"Uhhhh... that's kind of a weird question? Do I think SEES is dangerous to us? Well... yeah?"
Yukari acts like that's a little obvious, even if she's not acting like Merry is being stupid asking or anything.
"... fighting Shadows. Exploring Tartarus, there's nothing about it that's not dangerous. And everyone who joins us does it without realizing what they're getting into."
There's a sigh at that, like it's a source of endless exasperation for her, "But... I won't say that the people in charge aren't a cause for concern..." She takes a sip of the steaming tea, taking a moment to let it relax her some before, "Uhhhh before I say anything... what do you know about the Kirijo Group? And not just the... stuff everyone knows."
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
Myunghon does feel a bit self-conscious that mentioning their racial struggle does end up making people self-conscious, which is its own kettle to grapple with, that you want to bring up your own cultural issues but making people feel ashamed and that's not the tenor you want the conversation to go at a given point.
"I've been able to find incriminating things in Mementos before," Myunghon shares. "I'm hoping to be able to at least find something that can turn the pressure on him -- some secret that'd be so distracting that Hirasaka won't even be a top ten worry anymore, if it got out."
Yukari looks tense enough already, so they don't say that they might have to resort to blackmail if it comes to it. The topic changes to Fuuka easily enough, and Myunghon says, "She just awakened to her Persona, but she's already so powerful with her senses... I'm still learning a lot about mine, myself."
If the kettle was out of reach of the field, it's not a big one, at least -- which means that escaping the field to scream shouldn't be too hard. Though that wasn't a consideration and more that anything bigger would be bleeding their SP like mad, and they don't have enough Dr. Salt NEO on hand to top it up.
Yukari calls that a weird question, and -- yeah, it is, isn't it? Fighting Shadows, exploring Tartarus... Myunghon considers that and how, yes, Yukari just confirms that those who join them don't realise what they're getting into.
"No, you're quite right. I was concerned if there was any... ah," Myunghon. "Coercion, or manipulation from the adults in charge with regards to the students that join. Just because the activity is dangerous does not mean the poison cannot come from the other direction either... but, those were just my thoughts, as I'm not particularly an expert on the Port Island."
But Yukari brings up the Kirijo Group -- what do they know? "Let's see... at this point, I know that the heiress to the Kirijo Group is involved in SEES efforts," in accidental part because they've seen Mitsuru during the battle with Emperor and Empress, and because Shinjiro's mentioned her before, "and I know the typical aboveground stuff. They splintered from the Nanjo Group, currently headed by Takeharu Kirijo... their big push to electronics... nothing damning so far, but it doesn't mean I'm not suspicious. I have... an interest in large corporations and how they might relate to our struggles."
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
"Wha... really?" Yukari seems actively surprised by the idea that you can find incriminating stuff in Mementos, "... all we found last time were a bunch of pixies trying to murder people who tried out the rumor."
Her face has this expression like she's torn on the idea that one can in fact find out someone's secrets like that...
... what if someone can find her own?
It's probably fortunate to go ixnay on the lackmailbay with a teen who is mostly fairly law abiding in the room.
Not that she's a Narc or anything just...
"Yeah... it's almost scary how different is with her directing us around. I'm not sure what to think about it..."
What does one think about Fuuka being so powerful and sensitive straight out of the gate? She seems like such a nice girl, someone who wouldn't want to involve herself in this but...
... the way she pushed back, insisted she does want to do this, when Yukari offered her every out...
"It's not really... coercion I guess. But that doesn't mean there's no pressure either? When someone awakens, it's usually us saving them. And... like that's not a problem of course. Someone needs to save them."
She sighs, her posture just slumping some as she thinks about it, "But people don't become firefighters or cops most of the time just because... they get saved by one right? Here it's telling them they have special powers and... something only they can do with them. And you get the option to just 'stick around and let us protect you' or 'not join at all' butttt..."
There's this vaguely upset shrug of her shoulders, "... it's probably not a surprise that everyone does join up... eventually. You can't turn it off- being awake during the Dark Hour. You can't look away."
Myunghon though relates what they know about the Kirijo group directly, and Yukari nods sullenly at each point, "I see... well, I was hoping you'd know more but... I suppose if it were as easy as just asking..."
Another sip of tea, she's trying not to say too much but - at the same time she's got to give her more.
...
...
...
"... um, so... call it a theory but... you know how Apathy Syndrome really only started making the news like three... four years ago?"
Merry might indeed know it only became common after the SEBEC Scandal. "I think it's been around more like... ten. Maybe it's just a weird hunch but..."
Well here goes, worst case scenario? Reiya just slits her throat as she sleeps.
"... I think the Kirijo Group knows more about the Dark Hour and why it exists than they're saying. Not that I- have any strong evidence pointing to it - just... I don't know."
Her voice drops to become a whisper, "Too many weird coincidences I guess."
Like she's known this to some extent for a while. It's weird for a corporation to develop guns that summon myths from your head! IT'S WEIRD!
Not to mention everything else... just, the Apathy Syndrome thing coinciding with ten years ago sealed it in her mind.
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
"Yeah... it takes a lot of effort, but..." Myunghon does pause, since Yukari is clearly spiralling out in her own way at this revelation, so they don't continue with the analogy they were thinking of, because that probably would just alarm her more. "I don't think you have to worry too much, by the way -- our secrets aren't just out in the open like that."
"I've found myself in something like that role as our group gets bigger, but... it's clear I still have a lot to learn," Myunghon confesses, on their more nascent experience as something approaching a Navigator. But the Cardboard Dragon group doesn't have anyone else doing it, so it would make sense that they should focus more on being supportive.
Myunghon can't know how Yukari feels about Fuuka's resolve, though. That some people are driven like that, and how that makes one feel... that might be something they could sympathise in if they knew, though.
But Yukari explains that while it isn't coercion, there is pressure. Her analogy of firefighters or cops makes a lot of sense. "... I get it. And typically you're still disoriented and don't know up from down when you first awaken. To have people present that already understand how it works -- you'd just end up agreeing with what they say."
Yukari was hoping they'd know more, but Myunghon can only stump out what they know at present. Past the hesitance over a sip of tea... and she couches it as a theory -- Apathy Syndrome?
"... I've been curious about it for a time -- that timeframe also lines up with when the SEBEC Scandal exploded into the news." But Yukari says something truly intriguing -- that it might be *ten* years, not three or four. She thinks the Kirijo Group knows more than they're letting on, and while she doesn't have strong evidence... she speaks of 'weird coincidences'.
"... ten years...? Mmm. Okay, I get why you'd come to someone outside, like me. But... what are these weird coincidences you're talking about, Takeba-kun?" At this point, Myunghon doesn't *know* who made the Evokers.
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
"O-Oh it's not like I'm worried for myself-!" Yukari stammers, perhaps revealing her hand somewhat, "It's not like- I even have any interesting secrets."
Pause, as suddenly she can imagine that not mattering to certain people, "...Unless someone was just a bit of a weirdo?"
A lot to learn? It feels a little weird that Myunghon can confess that someone who has been doing this less time is better than them.
Yukari herself has trouble with that. Isn't that the whole point of a senpai being... senior? But it's kinda okay.
Moreso though the statement on being disoriented and agreeing with what one might say, when it comes to awakening, "Yeah exactly. And... not everyone thinks to question just, what they're told, you know?"
Yukari's head tilts slightly, "SEBEC Scandal? Ohhhh that thing about 'chemicals' being released a few years back?" But then she gets suspicious as she thinks on it, "Wait, you think it's connected to that too?"
She seems simultaneously befuddled and astounded, "Well... it would make, a certain sense..." Why does she even say that?"
However, she doesn't answer that, instead Myunghon asking...
"Ten years ago there was a big disaster in Tatsumi Port Island... at a Kirijo Group lab... and a lot of people died. They say it was something like a gas leak butttt... I don't think it was. ... Not really."
Yukari considers it for a time on what to say before, finally just giving in in one respect...
"... Our School's Chairman is someone involved with the Kirijo Group, that's maybe not so unusual, Gekkoukan High School is funded by them... but then you consider that Tartarus grows out of it every night... and that the Kirijo Group studies the Dark Hour and made stuff like the Evokers..."
She hesitates again for a time before shaking her head, "I dunno... I just don't trust that it's not all connected, that's all."
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
Myunghon feels really sympathetic to Yukari for a moment. "... people are sometimes far too much of a... weirdo. In real life." They're reaching their hand to that shoulder the officer yanked far too hard, feeling a bit of pain flare up from recalling the incident. They'd use stronger words. Creep. Stalker. But they don't want to distract from Yukari's current topic of the Kirijo Group.
"Yes... and by that time, they're likely far too in deep -- I can imagine leaving SEES is not easy, since it feels almost as if you might be... deserting. I'm not sure," Myunghon pauses, their thoughts thinking to Shinjiro again and how as much as he says he's left, he clearly can't help but come back to the fore.
"Ah..." Chemicals, right. "Well, that's a long topic of its own, but I have a colleague who can attest that that wasn't what happened. But I have no proof -- just that sometimes, as a Rumourmonger, you start to see patterns where there might not be any, I suppose..." Tamaki's said as much to a fellow Rumourmonger -- but Myunghon hasn't bothered trying to pry, because it seems like a pain point in her past.
They blink, however, as Yukari says 'it would make sense'. "Why is that, do you think? Do you think..." A pause, as they briefly fisheye despite being in polite company. If Yukari thinks that it's a chemical accident, and that it's related to Apathy Syndrome, does she think that the source of Apathy Syndrome might be medical?
"Mm. Well, it isn't the first time a medical company is involved in a conspiracy..." they leave that as invitation for Yukari to expand if she wants, and not if she doesn't.
Ten years ago, there was a big disaster in Tatsumi Port Island. ... at a Kirijo Group lab. A gas leak... it's convenient that these are all the explanations entail, isn't it? Gas leaks, chemical leaks...
"So the Chairman is also involved with the Kirijo Group... mmm," Myunghon considers. But their eye widens as Yukari points out they *made* the Evokers. "The Evokers... they really created them? I see. ... I recall there was that young man who arrived on scene on a motorcycle, too -- I found it odd at the time, because it's common knowledge that devices stop working during the Dark Hour, but there are clearly exceptions."
Yukari confesses she doesn't trust it's not connected. "... all right. Takeba-kun, I'll take this case on for you. I'll start with the incident from ten years ago. I won't ask for payment either -- consider it my gratitude for helping Hirasaka." It always comes back to Hirasaka for them, doesn't it? As much as they want to put on airs, the community is often what they have first in their mind.
"And..." Myunghon considers this. "Let's see. I don't know how much SEES monitors your phone, but let's establish a code for this if I need to notify you that I find out something about it -- I'll start texting about Koalas."
Between the silence field and the cipher, Myunghon definitely is an old hand at opsec.
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
There's just a deep sigh at Myunghon's words there, as her knees kinda instinctively press harder together and her posture slumps some, "... Yeah."
She can't after all know the racism that Myunghon goes through caused her to get brutalized by the Sumaru PD, to understand the significance of the gesture.
But she does know that if a bunch of guys thought they could get information on the color panties she's wearing that day, they'd probably go for it without hesitation.
She is after all someone guys at her school consider a challenge, and they want what they can't have all the more.
"Well it's not like no one has ever done it before..." She says on leaving SEES, trying not to give Shinjiro away. "If I resigned tomorrow... I can't imagine they'd do more than tell me to turn my Evoker over."
But, wouldn't that leave her helpless to do anything during the Dark Hour? Perhaps that's the point, resigning SEES, you're supposed to give up that agency.
"But yeah it'd be hard for most people to leave because you feel like you're... abandoning the other people who are committed."
Myunghon notes that it's a long topic on it's own, the SEBEC Scandal, Yukari sits up straighter, "Huhhhh..." She says, and there's an abstracted look, like she's putting something together.
"... Well, I do believe you. Saying it's chemicals really does feel like it's a convenient cover up, doesn't it?"
Myunghon though flat out asks, and Yukari replies quickly, with some visible awkwardness, "Oh! I'm just - because what happened Ten Years Ago... they said it was a gas leak, but I don't really believe that. Like I said it feels too... convenient."
Medical company? Yukari just says, "Well no, and it's not like they're just a medical company either..." Though she doesn't expand on that, because she knows her Dad's credentials... at least, that the Kirijo company 'product' doesn't line up with his field.
But in order to say why, she'd have to say that.
She nods once, then again then- "Oh that's really Kirijo-senpai's motorcycle. It actually has... equipment that let her direct us in the field, even though she's nowhere near as... sensitive as Fuuka."
She looks sideways and- "Yeah we don't know how it works either, but..."
Then Merry indicates she'll-! "Wha- really!? Um-! I'd... appreciate that, thank you."
Part of her does feel bad, as she wasn't doing it for Hirasaka, but she also couldn't turn a blind eye either too, could she? "But don't get me wrong, it's not like I'm trying to be a whistleblower or anything. I don't want to leave SEES... and I'm not trying to get us to stop doing what we're doing."
She tries to clarify as safely as possible, "Just... I have to know, for my own sake." And despite the awkwardness of this dance, there's a sudden intensity? Resolve?
"I can't say why, not yet. Just - it's really important to me."
As for SEES monitoring her phone, Yukari just says, "Iiii hope not, but I can't exactly rule it out either."
Not after being put on 'creepy surveil a fellow dorm resident as they sleep' duty. "Aww Koalas... they're so cute!"
She says as she perks up, before she then reminds herself about the importance of what they're doing, "Oh - that'll work out just fine, as I can just... pretend that I'm enthusing about cute animals or something."
A beat.
"Luckily I don't use my phone for anything important like that, I mean who would?"
Suddenly, the entirety of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts may have a certain feeling - a profound sense that the universe (or perhaps a singular teenage girl) is judging them...
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
Just because Myunghon decided they didn't want to be a girl anymore and has embraced that nonbinary identity doesn't mean everyone -- and especially not your aggressors -- will respect that, and it becomes more of a bad cocktail when that harrassment starts dragging you back across gender lines.
So even without it being spoken, it's something Myunghon intimately understands -- and has had to endure just as much as Yukari.
Yukari pointedly doesn't bring Shinjiro up, though it's rather evident to their eye at this point -- but also points out that if she did resign, SEES probably wouldn't do more than make her turn in her (not) gun...
"... but as you said, once you are awake during the Dark Hour, it's very, very hard to look away," Myunghon expresses. "Even as someone not involved, I feel it -- even something as innocent as the air conditioning stopping and the night turning silent has been enough to make me turn and stir, unable to sleep further."
It's probably why they ended up going out so much at night to cavort with Demons.
There is a nod, as far as the SEBEC Scandal and coverups go -- once you start finding one coverup, the others start to look suspicious, don't they? "Do you know where this lab was?" Myunghon remembers to ask, because they aren't going to make the assumption that Gekkoukan was built ontop of its ruins.
"Ah... no, sorry, I was thinking of... another medical company, but I had wondered if you suspected Apathy Syndrome to have a medical cause," Myunghon murmurs, thinking of their father's former company -- Frey -- and how that was attached to the NWO, before their massive leak tore it all down.
But their eye widens a little as Yukari explains it's Kirijo's motorcycle. "I... see. Hm. That does lend more credence to the Kirijo Group's connection to the Dark Hour, does it not? It isn't just the Evoker -- they clearly have the technology to produce multiple items that can circumvent the Dark Hour's limitations."
Even if Yukari wasn't doing it for Hirasaka, she did still risk life and limb to fight Strega, and that counts far more than whatever her motivation may have been. "... I understand. You're all fighting out there to understand Tartarus, and it's important that you do, but at the same time, these doubts deserve to be addressed before they distract you enough at a really important time."
But Yukari's reaction to Koalas is pretty cute too. "Yanagi from the Peacock Silk is making me a Koala pin... I think I've grown quite fond myself." A pause, and a nod. "All right, Takeba-kun. Thank you for confiding in me. Of course, I'll keep it all secret, and..."
A quiet frown. "You said you aren't going to give up or anything, but if the truth *does* end up putting you or your friends in danger from the Kirijo Group, contact me, okay? I'll make sure you have somewhere safe to stay."
Poor Phantom Thieves... it's a miracle Ryuji's phone hasn't become a security liability.
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
"... Yeah." Is Yukari's quiet admission to not being able to look away, "I wouldn't be able to handle it I think, it'd feel too much like running away."
...
"Ah... I don't- think it's medical, no."
Is Yukari's guarded statement, "Well maybe, technically? I think it's... just what happens when a Shadow gets to someone who's awake during the Dark Hour without a Persona. We've noticed after we defeated that pair of Shadows, a lot of people just recovered all over Tatsumi Port Island..."
I mean, is it not medical when your Shadow is something that can be 'eaten' in a sense? That's where Yukari's at.
Yukari nods thoughtfully, "Well yeah, I mean - to be honest, I didn't know that it was so uncommon? Especially after finding out their Evoker Tech was out there... I half suspected for a while they didn't really create them... but no? I'm pretty sure they did..."
She was on the fence until the 'Ten Years Ago' and Reiya joining SEES. But nodding to her, she agrees, "Yeah it's... we wonder if understanding Tartarus might give us more hints on how to get rid of the Dark Hour for good, but now I wonder why they think that in the first place? And well... it only makes sense that they would, if we think it's... connected too. But you're right..."
As she looks away, "And I wouldn't call my doubts... 'distractions'... really." Because in truth, her doubts form the whole basis of why she joined SEES, despite distrusting the Kirijo Group.
"Yanagi-san? Really?" Yukari blinks, seeming surprised, "Aw, well I guess I shouldn't be surprised they can make cute things too... I did wonder, their opening day kinda convinced me they mostly made... weird stuff..."
And really cute stuff is her preference, perhaps... as evidenced by her heart choker and the fact she wears so much pink.
Merry has no idea how difficult it was for her to confide in them... in truth, she doesn't much trust adults in the first place, and... she considered Merry low key irresponsible.
But, she can't keep... doing nothing, and hoping the answers fall into her lap.
"Thank you." She murmurs softly, "I... well alright. If that happens, we'll let you know. I wish I could say that wouldn't happen..." Her eyes grow distant, thinking of Reiya low key threatening her, "... but I guess it really could."